Kanjeepuram Idli

Ingredients
Par boiled 3 cups
Urad dhall 2.5 cups
Dry ginger powder 1 t.spoon
Pepper 1/2 t.spoon
Cumin seeds 1/2 t.spoon
Hing 1/4 t.spoon
Curry leaves
Cooking Oil 6 t.spoons
Ghee 2 t.spoons
Salt 1.5 t.spoons
A pinch of baking soda




Method
Rinse and soak par boiled rice and urad dhall in water for 2
hours. Grind the above coarsley and add hing and salt and
a pinch of baking soda to this.
Keep it overnight so that this will ferment.
Fry pepper, cumin seeds, and curry leaves in oil and ghee. Add
this to the flour. Add dried ginger powder and mix everything
together.
Coat a flat vessal with oil, and pour the idli flour into this
and pressure cook for 45 minutes in low heat without pressure
cooker weight.

Peas Masala Bath

Ingredients
Rice 2 cups
Peas 1-2 cups
Coconut 1/4 cup
Green Chilles 4-5
Ginger a small piece
Clove 4
Cardomam 2
Cinnamon Stick a small piece
Mustard 1/4 t.spoon
Salt
Cooking oil 2-3 t.spoons


Method
Cook rice with less water as you would cook for pulauv.
Wet grind coconut, green chilles, ginger, clove, cardomon, and cinnoman
stick and keep it aside.
Splutter mustrad in oil, and add the ground masala, salt and keep
stiring for a few minutes until the flavour comes out.
Now add the cooked rice, peas, and mix it gently.







Green Pepper Bath

Ingredients
Rice 2 cups
Tomatoes 2
Cumin seeds 1/2 t.spoon
Red Chilles 6
Cinnoman Stick a small piece
Green Pepper (Bell Pepper/Koda Mulakai) about 2 washed and cut
Salt 1.5 t.spoons
Cooking Oil 1-2 t.spoons


Method
Cook rice with less water as you would cook for pulauv.
Wet gring tomatoes, cumin seeds, red chilles, cinnoman stick, and salt
and keep it aside.
Fry in little oil the chopped green peppers for a few minutes. Now add
the ground masala and keep frying until the flavour comes out.
Add cooked rice to the above and mix it gently.

Bisi Bele Bath

Bisi Bele Bath is a popular dish made out of rice, lentil (dal), tamarind, chilli powder, ground spices, coconut and other vegetables served with ghee on top. It is very similar to 'Sambar sadam' of Tamil Nadu except that it has his own distinct flavour.

Ingredients:
• Tur dal - 1/2cup
• Rice - 11/2cups
• Madras onions - a handful
• Small brinjals - 2
• Carrot - 1
• Drumsticks - 2
• A small piece of vegetable marrow
• Turmeric powder - a pinch
• Tamarind - size of a lime
• Red chillies - 6nos
• Green chillies - 4nos
• Mustard - 2tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Cashewnut - 20gms
• Coriander leaves - few
• Ghee for frying
• Salt to taste For Powdering
• Red chillies - 6nos
• Fenugreek seeds - 1tsp
• Coriander seeds - 1tsp
• Grated coconut

For Masala
• Poppy seeds - 1tsp
• Cloves - 4
• Cinnamon - a small piece
• Cardamoms - 4
• Aniseeds - 1/2tsp


Method of Preparation :
Peel Madras onions. Peel and cut vegetables into 1 inch pieces. Wash rice and dal thoroughly. Place it in a container with 21/2 cups of water, a pinch of turmeric powder and chopped vegetables.
Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the ingredients for powdering until fenugreek turns golden brown in colour. Powder and keep aside.
Heat some more oil and fry poppy seeds, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, aniseeds. Powder and keep aside. Soak tamarind in a little water and extract juice.
Heat oil, add red and green chillies, mustard and curry leaves. When mustard crackles, add to rice and mix well. Add tamarind juice, salt to taste and mix thoroughly.
Heat a little ghee and fry Cashewnuts until golden brown in colour. Add to rice along with powdered ingredients and masala powder. Mix well. Remove from fire. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and add some ghee just before serving



Vegetable Biriyani
Serves 6

Ingredients :
Basmati Rice
- 2cups Cardamom - 4nos
Beans - 100gm Andhra moggu
Carrot - 100gm Bay leaves - 1
Turnip - 100gm Salt - 1/2tsp
Green peas - 1/4cup Oil - 50gm
Onion - 250gm Ghee - 100gm
Garlic - 2flakes Chopped Cilantro leaves - 1/4cup
Ginger - 1/4" piece Chopped Mint leaves - 1/4cup
Green chillies - 2nos Cashew nuts - 20gms
Cinnamon - 2"piece Salt bread - 1/2 cup (optional)
Cloves - 4nos


Method of Preparation :
Wash rice and drain. Slice beans, carrots and turnip into thin long pieces. Cook these vegetables with green peas and keep aside.
Slice 1/3 of the onions and keep aside. Grind the remaining onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies into a fine paste. Dry roast andhra moggu and coarsely grind it along with half quantity of cinnamon, clove and cardamom.
Heat oil and ghee in a vessel and roast bay leaves and the remaining cinnamon, clove and cardamom. (Reserve some ghee for frying cashew nuts and salt bread) Add sliced onion and sauté till golden brown. Add ground paste kept aside and fry.
When it's done, sauté well with ground cinnamon and add rice, fry for a while. Add salt to taste along with 4cups of water and mix well. Close the vessel and cook the rice on a low heat. When it is done add the cooked vegetables and boil for some time. Finally add chopped cilantro and mint leaves.
Cut the salt bread into fine pieces and deep fry in ghee or oil until they become crisp and brown. Fry cashew nuts in the same ghee.
Before serving the biriyani, garnish it with fried cashew nuts and salt bread.



Pulihora (Tamarind Rice)
Serves 6


Ingredients :
Rice - 1cup
Bengal gram dal - 1/4cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4tsp
Thick Tamarind pulp - 1/2cup
Curry leaves - 12
Urad Dal (Black gram dal) - 2tsp
Mustard - 1/2tsp
Cashew nuts - 1tbs
Split Red chillies - 2nos
Split Green chillies - 2nos
Asafeotida - a pinch
Ginger - 1 piece
Sesame seed powder - 4tbs
Oil - 4tbs
Salt - to taste


Method of Preparation :
Wash the rice and dal and cook it together with enough water (don't overcook). Spread the rice into a vessel and sprinkle turmeric powder, 2tbs oil, salt, tamarind pulp and 7-8 curry leaves.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan and add urad dal, mustard seeds and cashew nuts. When the seeds begin to crackle, add ginger, red chillies, green chillies, asafeotida and the remaining curry leaves. Fry for a while, remove from fire and add it to the rice. Sprinkle sesame powder, mix thoroughly and cover with a lid for an hour.
Serve with seasoned yogurt.


Tomato Rice





Ingredients: 3 cups rice-soaked
5 medium sized tomatoes
1 medium size onion-chopped
3/4 cup chopped carrot and beans
1 cup green peas
2 green chillies-sliced
1 inch cinnamon stick
4 cloves
3 cardamoms
3 bayleaves
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
4 tbsp oil
salt - to taste

Method: Boil the Tomatoes and squeeze out the juice, add water to make 6 cups of tomato juice.

Pour oil in the pressure cooker and heat it over the stove.

Add bay leaves, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon stick and fry till they change color.

Add onion, chillies, chopped carrot and green peas and fry for 3-4 minutes on high flame and then add ginger garlic paste and fry for another 1 minute.

Add soaked rice and fry for a minute or so and then add salt and prepared tomato juice and close the cookers lid and let it cook under pressure till 2 whistles.

Before serving, add ghee and chopped coriander leaves to hot tomato rice

Navrattan Korma


Ingredients: 500 gm mixed vegetables-chopped and ready to be cooked
1/4 cup ghee
2 tsp ginger- finely chopped and ground with garlic
1 tsp garlic-finely chopped
1/2 cup onions-grated
4 cloves
4 pepper corns
1/4 tsp cinnamon-broken small
4 green cardamoms
1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/2 tsp chilli powder or to taste
100 gm blanched almonds
1 cup coconut milk
coriander leaves and almonds-slivered and roasted for garnish

Method: Blend the blanched almonds and coconut milk in a blender and keep aside.

Heat the ghee and add the onion paste. Stir-fry till brown.

Add the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon and cardamoms and mix well.

Add the vegetables, salt and chilli powder and stir fry over high heat till well coated with the masala..

Lower the heat and cook till bite like, stirring a few times.

Add the coconut milk mixture and simmer for 2-3 minutes, and serve garnished with the coriander leaves and the almonds.

Vegetable Malai Kofta Curry
Ingredients:
For Koftas
Paneer (cottage cheese) - 250g
Flour - 3 tbs
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Green chillies - 3-4
Coriander powder - 1tbs
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Chilly powder - 1/4 tsp
Grind all the above ingredients and shape dough into small koftas/balls of 1" size and deep fry on medium heat.

Masala for Curry
Large tomatoes, pureed - 4
Ghee - 4tbs
Chilly powder - 11/2 tsp
Shah jeera - 1 tsp
Garam masala (spice mixture) - 1/2 tsp
Grated coconut - 2tbs
Powdered poppy seeds - 2 tsp
Crushed garlic - 1/2 tsp
Crushed ginger - 1 tsp
Medium sized onion - 1
Curd - 1/3 cup
Fresh cream or malai - 100g
Method:
Fry ginger, garlic and onions. Add remaining ingredients except curd and cream. Cover and cook till ghee separates. Add beaten curd. Cook for a minute. Add koftas, thick cream and serve.


Chana Curry
Ingredients:

Chana - 250 gram
Chopped Onion - 2 nos
Crushed Ginger - 1/2 tsp
Crushed Garlic - 1/2 tsp
Green Chilly - 2 nos
Oil - 4 tbs
Red Chilly Powder - 1tsp Tomato chopped - 1no's
Coriander powder - 1tbs Coriander Leaves - 2 sprigs
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Lime (Juice) - 1 tsp
Cumin Small - 1/4 tsp Poppy seeds - 1 tbs
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Method of Preparation:
Cook chana with salt and turmeric and keep it aside.
Heat oil and add the onions, a pinch of salt sauté, then add sliced green chilly,crushed garlic and ginger, coriander powder,red chilly powder,turmeric,garammasala,cumin seeds and sauté well. Then add tomatoes, mix well.

When the oil comes out of it add the cooked chana with poring little water also. After that add the grinded poppy seed and lemon juice to it.Garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve hot.