Hearty Spices

In a pan, heat a tbsp of Ghee and add 3 cups of Phool Makhana to it. Tossing ocassionally, roast for 5 minutes on medium heat. Transfer to a plate and in the same pan, add 2 tsp of Ghee . Add 3 cloves of crushed Garlic and saute until it is fragrant.  Switch off the heat and add a tsp of Red Chilli Powder, 1/4 tsp of Turmeric Powder, Salt to taste and give it a good mix. Add the toasted phool makhana to the pan and toss to evenly coat.

Dough - Take a cup of All Purpose Flour, 2 tbsp of Rice Flour and a cup of Wheat Flour in a bowl. Add Salt to taste and 2 tbsp of Warm Oil to the mixture. Mix well and add required water to the mixture to get to a soft chapathi dough consistency.Make a ball out of the mixture and let it rest aside. Filling - Heat 2 tbsp of Oil in a pan and saute a thinly sliced Onion, 2 minced Green Chillies until onions turn golden brown. Then add Salt to taste, a tsp of Red Chilli Powder, a tsp of Cumin Powder, a tsp of Chat Masala to the pan and mix well. When the mixture comes together, remove from heat and let it cool. Binding paste - Add a tsp of All purpose Flour to a tbsp of Water and make paste. Roll the dough into a thin sheet and cut them into rectangular strips (3 x 6 inches) and cook them on a hot girdle (like Chapati). When cooked, remove them from the girdle and keep aside. Repeat until all the dough is used.  Take each cooked strip and fold them from one side to hol...

Preparation - Take 6 large White Bread slices and crumble them into small pieces. Add ¾ cup of Yogurt, ½ cup of Rice Flour, ¼ cup of Sooji, ½ tsp of Cumin Seeds, ½ finely chopped Onion, an inch of finely minced Ginger, 4-5 Curry Leaves, 3 finely chopped Green Chillies, few finely chopped Coriander Leaves and 2-3 finely chopped Mint Leaves to the bowl, Add Salt to taste and mix to form a soft dough.  Vada - Make small balls, gently flatten them on the palm and make a small hole in the center. Deep fry in oil till golden brown, drain on paper tiwel and remove the excess oil. Serve hot with Chutney, Tomato ketchup or Sambar. 

Heat a tbsp of Oil in a pan. Add and saute a medium Onion, finely chopped, 2-3 Green Chillies finely chopped till the onions turn pink. Add a tsp of Ginger Garlic paste and saute for 2 minutes. Now add a small finely chopped Capsicum and fry for a minute. Add and saute a finely chopped Tomato until it is slightly mushy. Now add  ¼ tsp of G aram Masala Powder, a tsp of Pav Bhaji Masala,  ½ tsp of R ed Chilli  Powder and a pinch of Turmeric Powder and fry for a minute. Add a cup of Crumbled Paneer, Salt  to taste and give a good mix and saute for a couple of minutes.The mixture should be moist and not dry,add a tbsp of water if required and cook for a minute. Add 2 tbsp of Butter and mix well, removing from the heat. Garnish with a tbsp of Lemon Juice, 2 tbsp of Chopped Coriander Leaves,  ½” of  chopped Ginger . Serve hot along with butter toasted Pav and sliced onion and lemon wedges.

Soak a cup of unroasted Peanuts in the water for 5 minutes and keep aside. In a bowl, mix 4 tbsp of Gram Flour, 2 tbsp of Rice Flour, a tsp of Red Chilli Powder, ½ tsp of Garam masala powder (optional), a pinch Asafoetida (optional), ½ tsp of Turmeric powder, Salt as per taste and keep it aside. Drain the water completely and sprinkle the powder to the peanuts and tossing gently to coat evenly. Grease a microwavable plate with a tsp of Oil , spread the peanuts in the  plate and drizzle a tsp of Oil on the peanuts and cook it till it becomes crispy (5 minutes), mixing every 2 minutes.

Heat a pan; dry roast 2 tbsp of Coriander Seeds, 3 Dry Red Chilies (broken) and ½ tsp of Whole Black Peppercorns until golden brown. Remove from heat; allow cooling and grind to a fine powder. Wash, drain the water from the 1 lb of Ground / Minced Chicken or Mutton and blot with a paper towel. Add a cup of Fried Onions, finely chopped 20 sprigs of Coriander Leaves, finely chopped 5 Green Chilies, 2 tbsp of Ginger Garlic Paste, a tsp of Garam Masala, a tsp of Dry Mango Powder, ground masala powder and Salt to taste . Mix well, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to marinate. Remove from fridge, and mix in ½ of a beaten Egg. (you could add bread crumbs if the kabab doesn't hold it's shape). Heat  2 tbsp of Oil on a skillet. Shape the Meat mixture into 3 inch ovals, slightly flatten them and place them in the skillet. Brown the kebabs on one side then flip them over and brown on the other side. Serve hot with Mint Chutney. Note - Place the kababs on an oiled bakin...

Grind ½ cup of Roasted Gram Dal / Dalia, ¼ tbsp of Garam Masala Powder, ¼ tbsp of Ginger Garlic Paste, ½ cup of chopped Coriander Leaves, ½ tbsp of Cumin Seeds and make a dry powder. Add 1 cup of Fresh Corn, Salt to taste and grind again to a coarse mixture.  Take small amounts of the corn mixture and make balls out of them. Press them gently to look like a round shaped Pattis, place each one in a plate of All Purpose Flour  and dust roughly on it. Once dusting the patties with the flour is done, heat 2-3 tbsp of Oil in a nonstick pan and shallow fry them turning them for every 3-5 minutes until they are fried. Place them on a tissue paper to absorb excess oil and serve hot with ketchup.

Chat - Combine 3 tbsps of Sev, 2 tbsp of crushed roasted Peanuts, a boiled Potato (diced into small cubes), ¼ cup of boiled Chick Peas (optional), small cup of boiled Corn Kernels, 1 small Onion, finely chopped, a Green Chilli, finely chopped, a small Tomato (de-seeded and chopped finely), 2 tbsp chopped Coriander Leaves, big pinch of Chaat Masala Powder (optional), ¼ tsp Red Chilli Powder, ½ tbsp Lemon Juice, Salt to taste in a bowl. Drizzle a tbsp of Tamarind Chutney over it and serve. Tamarind Chutney - Add  a cup of Tamarind Pulp, ½ cup of pureed fresh Dates, ¾ cup of grated Jaggery or Brown Sugar and 2 cups of Wa ter to a pan and cook on a medium heat till the dates and tamarind turn soft. Remove from heat and allow cooling. Grind to a smooth paste. Heat this ground sauce in a vessel on medium flame and cook it for 2-3 minutes. Add ½ tsp of Red Chilli Powder, 1 tsp Cumin Powder, 1 tsp Fennel Seeds Powder, 1 tsp Salt and m...

Preparation - Clean, peel, boil and mash 2 Potatoes in a bowl. To it, add cleaned and finely chopped 2 bunches of Spinach Leaves, finely chopped 2-3 Fresh Green Chilies, finely chopped large Onion, 1½ tbsp of grated Ginger and finely chopped small bunch Coriander Leaves . Combine well and add crumbled 4-5 Bread Slices, coarsely pounded 1 tbsp of Coriander Seeds, a big pinch of Garam Masala Powder, a tsp of Amchur Powder / 1-2 tbsp of Lemon Juice, Salt to taste . Mix well and shape into round patties. Kebabs -  Heat a non-stick tawa and drizzle some oil. Place the kebabs and shallow fry on both sides till brown. Serve hot with tomato sauce.

Paneer Filling -  Grate Paneer to get a 1 cup of Grated Paneer . Wash, peel, boil and mash a small Potato to get ½ cup of mashed Potato . Mix them both together in a bowl. Add Salt as needed, 1 tsp of Red Chilli Powder, 1 tsp of Garam Masala Powder, ¼ tsp of Turmeric Powder, finely chopped 2 Green Chillies and chopped Coriander Leaves  to the bowl and mix well. Keep aside. Dough for Samosas (Shingaras) - Take 1 cup of All Purpose Flour In a bowl, add 3 tbsp of Oil and ¼ tsp of Salt to it kneading thoroughly for about 5 minutes. Add tsp of Water at a time to it, kneading for 3-5 minutes until the flour is made into a tight dough ball. Pinch off five equal sized balls from the kneaded dough, roll between your palms to get a circular shape, and keep aside covering with a moist cloth. Using a rolling pin on a smooth hard surface, flatten out the dough ball into an oval shape. Bisect each of them across the width to get two triangular pieces. T...

Janthikalu Dough - Mix together 2 cups of Rice Flour, a cup of Besan / Gram Flour / Senaga Pindi, Salt to taste, 2 tbsp of Hot Oil, 1 tsp of Red Chilli Powder, 1 tbsp of Carom Seeds/Ajwain and 1½ tbsp of Sesame Seeds in a bowl and combine well. Slowly add water little by little to make soft dough, just soft enough that it is pressed through easily with the janthikalu press. Taste the dough for salt and red chilli powder before deep-frying. Janthikalu / Fritters - Heat a wide heavy bottomed vessel with enough oil for deep-frying. Take the janthikalu press and use the disc with medium holes; fill half of it with the dough and once the oil is hot, reduce to medium flame and using circular motion, press the jantikalu press to make concentric layers of the janthikalu dough. As you press the dough into the hot oil, you will find the oil froth up in bubbles, which will eventually subside as the janthikalu turn to a golden shade. When the janthikalu turn a golden color, turn over to th...

Mix together a cup of Rice Flour, 1¼  Chickpea Flour, Salt to taste, 1 tbsp of Hot Ghee / Oil, a tsp of Red Chilli Powder and ½ tsp of Powdered Carom Seeds (Ajwain) in a bowl. Slowly add Water little by little to make soft dough, just soft enough that it is pressed through easily with the janthikalu press with smallest holes disc. Taste the dough for salt before deep-frying. Heat a wide heavy bottomed vessel with enough Oil for deep-frying . Fill the janthikalu press with the dough and using circular motion, press the jantikalu press to make concentric layers of the sev dough. When the sev turns a golden color, turn over to the other side and let it also cook to a golden brown. Use a slotted ladle to remove onto an absorbent paper and cool. Repeat the same process for the rest of the dough. Cool completely before storing in an air tight container.

Stuffing - Powder 1½ tsp of Carom Seeds (Ajwain)  in a mortar and pestle. Mix the powder with a tbsp of Tamarind Pulp and Salt to taste  with  few drops of Water to make smooth paste. Chillies - Slit 8 long Green Chillies length wise and remove the seeds. Stuff these chilies with the tamarind mixture and keep aside for 4 to 5 hours. Bajjis - Mix a cup of Gram Flour (Besan) in a bowl, add Salt to taste, ¼ tsp of Baking Powder and slowly add Water to get batter in right consistency. Keep aside for 2 hours. Heat Oil in a pan till few drops of batter into the oil sink and then rise to the top. Now dip the prepared chilies in the batter and drop them in the oil and fry on medium heat till golden brown. Remove them on to a paper napkin to remove excess oil and slit them lengthwise.  In a bowl, take finely chopped Onion, add some Lemon Juice and mix well. Stuff this onion mixture in the fried bajjis and serve hot.

Stuffing - Saute 3 tbsp of Peanuts and 2 tbsp of Sesame Seeds in a pan til golden brown. Grind to a fine paste and add Salt to taste, ½ tbsp of Tamarind Paste and mix well. Chillies – Wash the 12 Green Chilies , drain and make slit lengthwise. Remove the seeds and fill the stuffing and keep aside. Batter – In a bowl, mix 1 cup of Gram Flour (Besan), 2 tbsp of Rice Powder, a pinch of Baking Soda, ½ tsp and Carom Seeds (Ajwain), Salt to taste and water as required. Bajji – Heat oil in a kadai (pan) to deep fry the stuffed Chillies. Dip the stuffed chillies in the prepared batter and then deep fry them in the hot oil. Remove and drain the chillies. Serve hot by slitting the bajji and stuffing with onions and coriander leaves . Sprinkle lemon juice over them.

Pressure cook 1 cup of Black Chickpeas till soft or for 3 whistles. Add Salt to taste and combine. Heat 1½ tsp of Oil in a pan, add ½ tsp of Mustard Seeds, ½ tsp of Cumin Seeds and let them pop. Add ½ tsp of Black Gram Dal (Urad Dal) and saute for a minute till they turn red. Add a pinch of Asafoetida, 2-3 chopped Green Chillis, a sprig of Curry Leaves and saute for 15-20 secs. Add the cooked chickpeas, 2 tbsp of Grated Coconut (optional) and combine. Adjust salt and turn off heat.

Pastry Sheets - Thaw a Puff Pastry sheet for atleast 30 minutes and cut into 6 squares each approximately about 3.5 inches wide by 5 inches long. Eggs - Boil and cut 4 hard boiled Eggs into halves, lengthwise. Keep aside. For Onion Masala -  Heat a tbsp of Oil in a pan, toss a clove of Garlic - minced, 1 tsp of Cumin Seeds and 1 medium Onion - cut into thin slices , saute until golden brown on low heat. Then add Salt to taste, 1/8 tsp of Turmeric Powder, ½ tsp of Garam Masala and 1 tsp of Red Chilli Powder . Mix well and add few Cilantro Leaves . Place a spoonful of onion masala in the middle and then a halved egg, cut side down. Fold the two ends of the strip, so that it encloses the egg. Seal the edges by applying very little water. Preheat oven for 375 F and bake for about 15-25 minutes. Serve hot with ketchup!

Veggies - Peel and chop an Onion , finely and keep aside. Roast 1/4 Red Bellpepper and finely chop it, keep aside. Wash and chop 2-3 Basil Leaves, a tsp of Parsley and keep aside. Egg Mixture - Mix Salt to taste, 1 tsp of Red Chili Powder and 1/2 tsp of freshly ground Black Pepper and 2 tbsp of Half and Half / Milk . Add 2 Eggs and whisk it till the yolks are blended thoroughly. Add the veggies, 1 tbsp of Parmesan / Cheddar Cheese, 1 tbsp of Cooked Chicken cubes (optional) and mix well. Omlette - Spray the pan with 2 tsp of Oil and pour the egg mixture, cook on each side for 4 minutes. Serve it like a sandwich between 2 Bread Slices.

Red Garlic Chutney - Heat 2 tsp of Oil in a skillet and roast 1/4 cup of Garlic Cloves until brown. Drain and remove the Garlic and set aside. Add a cup of Shredded Coconut to the same skillet and roast until golden brown. Now, pulse the Garlic, Coconut, Salt to taste and 2 tsp of Red Chili Powder with very little Water to a coarse chutney ans keep aside. Green Chutney - To a blender, add a bunch of Cilantro, 2 Green Chili, 2 Garlic Cloves, 1/4 tsp of Cumin Powder, Salt to taste, Juice of 1 Lime and a tbsp of Water, or as needed and blend to a smooth chutney. Tamarind Chutney - Heat a skillet and add a cup of Water,  1/4   cup  of T amarind paste,   3  tbsp  of S ugar,  1/2  tsp of S alt, 1/2 tsp of Red Chili Powder,  1/2   tsp of  C umin powder & a small piece of Ginger and bring to boil. Boil on low heat until it coats the back of the spoon. Potato Mixture -   Wash, boil, peel and mash 4 Potatoes...

Marinade - Marinate 4 Chicken Legs, slit with ¼ cup of thick Yogurt, 2 tsp of Ginger Garlic Paste, 1 tsp of Lemon Juice, 2 tsp of Red Chilli Powder, 1 tsp Pepper Powder, ½ tsp of Cumin Powder, 1 tsp of Garam Masala, Salt to taste and pinch of Tandoori Color (optional) for at least 3 hours or overnight in fridge. Stove - Heat 2 tbsp Oil in a pan and add the chicken pieces to the pan. Cover the pan and let it cook on slow heat. Cook slowly until cooked on one side, then turn and cover again. Add oil if necessary. When cooked, increase the flame and let it cook until it changes its color to brown. Oven - Preheat the oven to 450C. Add Oil to a grill pan and place the chicken legs in the pan, cover with an aluminium foil and grill for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and grill for 10 minutes. Turn the pieces and grill for another 10 mins. Sprinkle some lime juice on top and serve.

Alasandalu (Black Eyed Peas) - Soak 1 cup of Black Eyed Peas in water for 1-2 hours and then pressure cook for 4 whistles with 2 cups of Water . Drain the water from the cooked beans. Popu (Seasoning) - Heat 1 tsp Oil in a saute pan, add 1 tsp of Cumin Seeds, 1 tsp of Mustard Seeds and 1 tsp Urad Dal . Once they splutter, add chopped Onion, chopped 2-3 Green Chilies and Salt to taste . When the onions are cooked, add the cooked peas and mix well. Remove from heat and sprinkle 2 tsp of Lemon Juice and garnish with chopped Coriander Leaves.