Hearty Spices

Rice Rava - Boil 3¼ cups of Water, ½ tsp of Salt, ¼ tsp of Turmeric Powder in a saucepan. Add 2 cups of Rice Rava (Uppidi Pindi) and combine. Place lid, reduce heat and cook till soft. Remove from heat, spread out the cooked rice rava on a wide plate to cool. Squeeze juice out of 2 big Lemons , add ½ tsp of Salt to the juice and mix well. Keep aside.    Popu - Heat a tbsp of Oil in a pan, splutter ¾ tsp of Mustard Seeds, ¾ tsp of Cumin Seeds, a tbsp of Channa Dal, a tbsp of Urad Dal, 2-3 broken Red Chillies for few minutes. Add 4 slit Green Chillies, 1¼ tsp of finely minced Ginger, Peanuts as needed, few Curry Leaves and a pinch of asafoetida , saute for 30 seconds or till the peanuts are roasted. Add the popu and lemon juice to the cooked rice rava and combine well. Let it sit for at least 1-2 hrs for the flavors to set in. Serve hot with yogurt or papad.

Heat 3 cups of Water in a saucepan and add a large chopped Tomato, a tsp of minced Ginger, ½ cup of Tamarind extract, a tbsp. of Toor Dal, a tbsp. of Rasam Powder, ½ tsp of Turmeric Powder and bring to boil. Add 2 tbsp of Chopped Coriander Leaves, Salt to taste and bring to another boil. Heat a tbsp of Ghee in a tempering pan. Saute ½ tsp of Mustard and ½ tsp of Cumin seeds along with 2-3 pods of Garlic, few Curry Leaves and a pinch of Asafetida . Add this tempering to the charu and mix well. Remove from heat and serve hot.

Cream a cup of Butter with   ¾ cup of White Sugar and  ¾ cup of Brown Sugar , until combined. Add 2 Eggs and a tsp of Vanilla and mix well. Combine  2½ cup of All Purpose F lour, a tsp of Salt, and a tsp of Baking Soda in a separate bowl and gradually stir into butter/sugar mixture. Once combined, stir in 2 cups of Chocolate chips and a cup of coarsely chopped Pecans. Spoon dough onto ungreased cookie sheet in a tblsp amounts. Bake in a 375 F oven for 13 to 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown.  Makes about 4 dozen.

Wash 250 gms of Okra , dry and chop them into ½" pieces. Heat a tbsp of Oil in a pan, splutter ½ tsp of Mustard seeds, ½ tsp of Cumin Seeds, few Curry Leaves . Add a finely chopped Onion and saute till transparent. Add the okra pieces, a pinch of Turmeric Powder and combine. Saute on medium high heat for 3-4 minutes. Now reduce to low heat, add a tbsp of Yogurt or Lemon Juice and cook for 4-5 minutes. Saute in between so that they don’t burn. Add ½ tsp of Red Chilli Powder, ½ tsp of Cumin Powder, ¼ tsp of Coriander Powder and reduce heat to cook till the okra turns soft. Add 1½ tbsp of Roasted Peanuts , combine well and cook for another minute on medium high heat, season with Salt and remove from heat. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Channa Dal - Soak 1½ cups of Channa Dal in water overnight. Batter - Drain the water from the dal and grind to a coarse paste without adding water. Add 6-7 finely Green Chillies, a large chopped Onion, 2 tbsp of chopped Corriander Leaves, 2 tbsp of chopped Mint Leaves, few chopped Curry Leaves, an inch of minced Ginger, Salt to taste and run the mixie once to mix. Vada - Take a lemon sixed ball of batter and pat into a round shape on a greased palm. Slide it into the hot oil to deep fry till golden in color. Repeat till all the batter is done. Serve hot with green chutney/coconut chutney or tomato sauce.

Wash ¼ kg of Purple Brinjals and make + quarters with stalk intact Masala Paste -  Heat 1 tsp of Oil in a pan; saute 4-5 Garlic cloves and a Cinnamon stick for a few seconds. Add a thinly sliced Onions till golden brown, for 4-5 minutes. Keep aside to cool. Once cool, make a coarse paste. Remove the paste into bowl; add Salt to taste, a tsp of Red Chilli Powder, a tbsp of Jaggery, a tsp of Coriander Powder, combining well and stuff the brinjals. Curry - Add a tsp of Oil in a pan; splutter few Curry Leaves and a pinch of Fenugreek Seeds . Place the stuffed brinjals in the oil and cook on medium high flame for 2 minutes. Cover cook on low heat for 12-14 minutes, stirring in between. Add  lemon sized Tamarind  to a cup of hot water . Bring to a boil and reduce flame and place lid and cook over low heat for 13-15 minutes. Remove lid and cook till the brinjals roast well and it comes together like a dry saute (mudda kura), for about 8-10 minutes. Turn ...

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). Grease a 9-inch square baking pan. Combine 8 oz of Cream Cheese with ¼ cup of Sugar and 1 egg in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Stir 1 cup Chocolate chips into the cream cheese mixture. Set aside. Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat off, and set a heatproof mixing bowl over the water. In the mixing bowl, combine  ¼ cup of Butte r with a cup of chocolate chips ; stir until just melted and blended together. Stir in the remaining ½ cup of Sugar and 2 eggs , then sift together   2/3 cup all-purpose flour,  ½ tsp of Baking Powder, and ¼ tsp of S alt ; stir into chocolate until evenly blended. Pour half of the batter into the prepared baking pan. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the chocolate layer. Top with remaining chocolate mixture (this doesn't need to completely cover the cream cheese layer). Using a knife, swirl the top chocolate layer into the cream cheese to make a marble...