Hearty Spices

Combine  2 tbsp of Honey, a tsp of Olive Oil, a tbsp of Lime Juice, and a tsp of Cinnamon and whisk to blend in a small bowl. Set aside. Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill or heat a gas grill. Lightly coat the grill rack with cooking spray. Position the cooking rack 4 to 6 inches from the flame. Lightly brush  an inch of Pineapple round slices with the marinade. Grill or broil, turning once and basting once or twice with the remaining marinade, until tender and golden, about 3-5 minutes on each side. Serve warm with icecream or by itself.

Marinade - Wash and cut 500 gms of boneless Chicken . Grind ½ Red Onion into fine paste.  Marinate the diced chicken with the ground onion paste, 1½ tsp of Red Chilli Powder, ¼ tsp of Turmeric Powder, 1 tsp of Ginger Garlic paste, ¼ tsp of Garam Masala powder, 1 tbsp Lemon Juice for an hour.  Chicken - Add and cook the marinated chicken in a pan with ½ cup of Water till the chicken pieces are tender. Drain the cooked water from the chicken and keep aside. Curry - Heat 2 tbsp of Oil in a pan; add and saute a finely chopped Red Onion, 5 slit Green Chillies and few Curry Leaves till brown. Add the retained cooked water and cook till gravy comes together. Add the cooked chicken and saute till the moisture is evaporated. Garnish with chopped Cilantro and serve with rice, dal or rasam.

Marinade - Clean and dice a kg of Chicken into bite-sized pieces. Marinade the chicken pieces in a cup of Curd, ¼ tsp of Turmeric Powder, a tbsp of Red Chilli Powder, 1½ tbsp of Ginger Garlic Paste and keep aside for 30 minutes. Garam Masala -  Dry roast and powder  4 Cloves, 3 Cardamoms, 3 tsp of Coriander Seeds,  1½ inch Cinnamon and keep aside. Gongura Paste - Boil ¼ cup of Water in a saucepan, add and cook 2 cups of fresh Red Sorrel Leaves, a bunch of Coriander Leaves (optional), 4 slit Green Chillies and ½ cup of Mint Leaves for 3 minutes. Keep aside to cool and grind to a fine paste. Curry - Heat 2 tbsp of Oil in a pan; add and saute  finely chopped 2 Onions, few Curry Leaves  till light golden color. Add the marinated chicken and cook on high heat for 5 minutes. Reduce heat, cook for another 10 minutes, add the gongura paste and combine well. Add Salt to taste , ground masal...

Dry roast a small cup of Moong Dal in a sautepan for 3 minutes. Wash the dal and pressure cook with 2 cups of Water, a pinch of Turmeric Powder, 1½ tsp of Ginger Green Chilli paste and a chopped Onion , till soft. Once the pressure is off, remove lid and mash the dal lightly, add a pureed Tomato  and cook for 5 minutes. Add ¼ tsp of Cumin Powder, ½ tsp of Red Chilli Powder, a Pinch of Garam Masala, 1½ tbsp of Fresh Cream , mix and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Heat a tsp of Ghee in a sautepan, saute few Mint Leaves till crisp. Add and saute a finely sliced Onion till transparent. Add them to the dal, mix and serve hot with rice or rotis. 

Roast a cup of White Sesame Seeds on medium heat until they turn golden brown. Keep aside to cool. Chop a cup of Jaggery into a fine powder. Grind both the roasted sesame seeds and chopped jaggery into coarse powder. Make round balls using few drops of milk, if needed.

Wash  250 gms of Ivy Gourds and cut out the tip and tail ends. Slit each of them into 3 lengthwise strips. Heat a tbsp of Oil in a pan; splutter  a tsp of Cumin Seeds, 3 dry Red Chillis, a pinch of Asafoetida and few Curry Leaves for a few seconds. Add the sliced dondakayalu and combine. Add Salt to taste, a pinch of Turmeric Powder ; mix well and saute on medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Now reduce to low heat, add  a finely sliced Onion and let it cook, approx 15-18 minutes (till they begin to have a wrinkled appearance and turn to a deeper color). Add  1¼ tbsps of Toasted Sesame Seeds ; combine and let it cook uncovered for another minute and remove from heat. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Yeast - In ¾ cup of Lukewarm Water , dissolve 1 tsp of active dry Yeast and keep aside for 10 minutes. Dough – In a bowl, take 2 cups of All Purpose Flour, a tsp of Sugar, a tsp of Salt, a pinch of Baking Soda and mix well. To it, add 2 tbsp of Oil, 2½ tbsp of Yogurt and mix well to make dough. Add yeast mixture and knead to make smooth and soft dough. Cover the dough and keep in a warm place for 3-4 hours till the dough becomes double in volume. Naan - Heat a pizza stone in the oven for 30 minutes at 500 F and then put it on high broil. Knead the dough for about 2-3 minutes and divide the dough into six equal parts. Take each piece of dough, one at a time, and roll into 8-inch oval shape. Dust lightly with dry flour to help with the rolling. Lightly wet your hands and take the rolled Naan, and place onto the pizza stone in the oven. In about 2-3 minutes, the naan will have golden brown color on top and is cooked. Take it out of the oven and brush l...