INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup Red Cow Peas (Karamani)

• 2 cups Ash gourd (Kumbalanga / Poosanikkai) cubed

• 4 nos Green Chili slit (adjust to your spice level)

• 1 cup Thin Coconut Milk

• ¼ cup Thick Coconut Milk

• 1 sprig Curry leaves

• 1½ tsp Salt adjust as needed

• 1 tbsp Coconut Oil

INSTRUCTIONS

• Soak the Karamani / Red chori / Cow Peas in the water overnight. (minimum 6 hours) and pressure cook them

• Remove the skin of the ash gourd (white pumpkin) and cube it into medium size pieces.

• Add the cooked cow peas to a pan and add the chopped ash gourd cubes

• Add thin coconut milk. Cover the pan, keep the flame at medium, and allow the vegetables to cook in coconut milk.

• In between, please check if the ash gourd is cooking and add more water/coconut milk

• Once the ash gourd is cooked completely, add slit green chili, a sprig of curry leaves, and salt. Give a good stir.

• Now add the thick coconut milk. Keep the olan on low flame for a few minutes and give it a good mix. Make sure that we don't bring the mixture to boil

• Finally garnish with coconut oil and few more curry leaves.

• Relish the delicious Olan with Sambar or Mor Curry and enjoy this delicious Olan!

Palak Paneer

Ingredients:

• 2 Onions - cut into 4ths
• 2 bunches Palak
• 10-15 Kaju
• Paneer cubes
• Ginger Garlic Paste
• Garam Masala
• Green chilies
• Salt
• Jeera

Procedure:

• In a pot bring water to a boil and boil the onion pieces for 8-10 mins and keep them aside
• In the same water boil the Kaju for 5-7 mins (till soft) and keep them aside
• In the same water boil the spinach for 5 mins and drop them in ice cold water to stop the cooking and to have the bright green color for palak
• Grind the Onion , Kaju (can add water to get smooth paste) and Palak SEPARATELY  to a amooth paste
• In a pan add oil once hot add Jeera, Ginger garlic paste, Onion paste and Garam Masala
• let the onions look only till very ligth brown (not dark brown) and add Kalu paste and let it cook till the paste starts sticking to the pan
• Add the green chilies and Palak paste to this paste and add little water if needed
• Add salt and paneer pieces and let it cook for 5 min Max else you will loose the bright green color
• Remove from heat and Enjoy with Jeera Rice / Naan/ Roti!!

Curry Powder - Version 2

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Minapa pappu
• 1 cup Senaga pappu
• 2 tea spns Jeera
• 3/4 tea spn Aawalu
• 1/2 cup Dhaniyalu
• 1/4 cup Dry coconut
• Red chillies
• 5-6 clovesGarlic

Procedure:

• Dry roast all the ingredients
• Grind them into a  little coarse powder
• We can use this powder with Egg plant, Beerakaya

Matri

Ingredients:

• All Purpose flour : 1 cup
• Whole wheat flour : 1/4 cup
• Ajwain/ Carrom seeds: 4tsp
• Warm water : 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

Procedure:

• In a bowl mix all purpose flour, wheat flour, ajwain and salt
• Add 4-5 tbsp oil and mix till you are able to make a small pea sizes ball with this dough
• Add water little by little and kneed the dough, the dough should form as a ball but should hard 

• Pinch the dough into small balls like this

• Heat oil in a frying pan, and in the mean while roll the pinched balls into small chapati's with rolling pin

                               

• Using a fork make fer holes in the small chapati's, so the the Matri will not puff up and be crisp

• Once the oil is hot enough, fry all the matri, it takes around 3-4 mins on each side to get a golden brown color

• Matri are ready to eat with Tea!!!!

Cabbage Poriyal

Ingredients:

• Cabbage chopped-1 cup
• Fresh coconut-1/4 cup
• Onions sliced- 1/4 cup
• Chana dal - 1/4 cup
• Mustard seeds
• Jeera
• Urad dal
• Curry leaves
• Turmeric
• Green chillies
• salt
• Oil

Procedure:

• In a pan add some oil and add mustard seeds, jeera and when the seeds start to splutter add the urad dal
• Once the urad dal starts to turn golden brown add curry leaves , green chillies and onions and saute till onions turn golden brown
• Now add the chanadal and little water, to help the chanadal soften a little
• Once the dal is little soft add the chopped cabbage, turmeric powder and salt and cover it with a lid
• When the cabbage is almost done add the grated fresh coconut and again cover it with the lid
• Let it cook on a low flame for 5-8 mins and serve hot with roti or rice !!!

Beetroot Poriyal

Ingredients:

• Beetroot chopped-1 cup
• Fresh coconut-1/4 cup
• Onions sliced- 1/4 cup
• Chana dal - 1/4 cup
• Mustard seeds
• Jeera
• Urad dal
• Curry leaves
• Turmeric
• Green chillies
• salt
• Oil

Procedure:

• In a pan add some oil and add mustard seeds, jeera and when the seeds start to splutter add the urad dal
• Once the urad dal starts to turn golden brown add curry leaves , green chillies and onions and saute till onions turn golden brown
• Now add the chanadal and little water, to help the chanadal soften a little
• Once the dal is little soft add the chopped beetroot, turmeric powder and salt and cover it with a lid
• When the beetroot is almost done add the grated fresh coconut and again cover it with the lid
• Let it cook on a low flame for 5-8 mins and serve hot with roti or rice !!!

Stuffed Roasted Poblano Peppers

Ingredients:

• Poblano Peppers- 3 nos
• Sweet corn- 2cups
• Boiled mashed potato- 1nos
• onion- 1nos
• Garam Masala pwdr-2 tspns
• Red chili pwdr-2 tspns
• Turmeric pwdr- 1 tspn
• Cumin seeds- 2 tspns
• Italian seasoned bread crumbs - 1 cup
• Salt to taste
• Olive oil

Procedure:

• Wash and pat dry the poblano peppers and apply a light coat of olive oil

• Keep them under the Broiler in the oven for 8-10mins till you see a nice char and blisters on the peppers (keep checking depends on the size of the peppers and the oven)

• Till the peppers are done take a skillet add oil and cumin seeds.
• Once the seeds turn a little golden in color add the onions and saute till golden brown, add all the spices and saute for a minute or two
• Thaw the corn in microwave for 2-3 minutes and add it to the skillet and saute for few more minutes
• Now add the mashed potato and let it cook for 3-4 minutes, and take it off the flame

• Let the peppers cool down and remove the skin of the peppers
• Slit open the peppers, be careful not to cut them all the way thru
• Remove the seeds from the peppers using a spoon
• Stuff the peppers with the corn mixture and top it with the bread crumbs

• Bake the stuffed peppers under 500(F) for 5-6 minutes

• Stuffed Roasted Poblano Peppers are ready!!!!

Chekara Pongali

Ingredients:

• Rice- 1 cup
• Chana Dal/Senaga pappu- 1/2 cup
• Water-3 cups
• Milk- 1 cup
• Jaggery- 2 cups
• Cardamom powder
• Cashews
• Raisins
• Ghee

Procedure:

• In a pressure cooker cook the rice and dal by adding water and milk
• Cook for 5-6 whistles, this will let the dal cook nicely
• In a deep pot, add little ghee and saute the cashews and raisins till golden brown
• Add the cooked rice and dal mixture, add little water if you feel the rice is too dry
• Add the powdered Jaggery to this mixture and let it cook on a very low flame for 5-7 minutes, you can adjust the jaggery depending on your sweet level
• At this point the rice and dal mixture should be kind of mushy and watery but not runny
• If you feel the Pongal is too runny, continue cooking for some more time on a low flame
• Add the cardamom powder and remove from the flame
• Chekara Pongali is ready to serve hot!!!!

Mixed Veg Curry

Ingredients:

• Capsicum- Green, Red, Orange, Yellow 1 each
• Carrot - 2nos
• Potato - 1nos
• Peas- As per taste
• Paneer- 1 block
• Onions- 2nos
• Tomato paste- 1 small can
• Ginger garlic paste
• Garam Masala Pwdr- 2 tbspns
• Milk
• Oil
• Kasuri Methi- Few
• Cilantro
• Jeera- 2 tbspns
• Turmeric powder
• Red chillie Powder

Procedure:

• In a deep pan add oil and Jeera seeds, saute for 1-2 minutes
• Now add the ginger garlic paste and once the raw smell of ginger is gone add the onions
• Once the onions are golden brown in color add the tomato paste and saute for 1-2 minutes
• Add the garam masala powder, and let the mixture cook
• Now add all the vegetables and salt and let the vegetables cook on low flame, covering with a lid
• In the mean while take an other small pan and slightly saute the paneer cubes just to remove the raw taste..this is optional, if u like raw paneer thats fine too
• keep the paneer pieces aside
• To the vegetables, add milk,kauturi methi, red chille powder, turmeric and let it continue to cook on low flame
• Once the vegetables are totally cooked add the paneer peices and continue the cooking for 5-6 mintues
• Garnish with cilantro ...Mixed veg curry is ready!!!

Three Bean Salad

Ingredients:

• Kidney Beans - 1can
• Chick Peas-1can
• Black Eye Beans-1can
• Red Bell Pepper-1nos
• Yellow Bell Pepper-1nos
• Green Bell Pepper-1nos
• Orange Bell Pepper-1nos
• Tomatoes-1nos
• Onions-1nos
• Cilantro-1/2 Bunch
• Salt- to taste
• Pepper- to taste
• Olive oil- 6 Tbspns
• Balsamic Vinegar- 2 Tbspns
• Oregano leaves(dried)- 2 Tspns

Procedure:

• Drain and wash the three beans from the cans
• Cut the bell peppers, tomatoes, onions into small cubes
• In a small bowl mix the Olive oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Salt, Pepper and oregano leaves
• In a large bowl mix together all the beans, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions and the oil mixture
• Garnish with cilantro

Punjabi Chole

Ingredients:

• Kabuli Chana/ Garbanzo Beans
• Onions-2
• Tomatoes-2
• Ginger Garlic paste-1Tspn
• Elaichie/Cardamom-2
• Chakka/Cinamon
• Lavanga/Cloves-3
• Jeera-2Tspns
• Red Chillie Powder
• Turmeric
• Salt
• Garam Masala
• Tea Powder

Procedure:

• Soak the chana over night and boil them in a pressure cooker for 3 whistles and let it simmer for 30 mins on a very low flame--this will make the chana soft and not mushy
• In a pan take some oil add jeera and onions--cut into thin slices not a paste
• once the onions turn gloden brown add ginger garlic paste and let it fry for some time
• Add the tomato peices and fry till the tomato pieces are well cooked..the colore should become deep red
• Add salt,red chillie powder , turmeric and Garam masala
• Now add the boiled Chana along with the water
• in an other pot add a cup of water and 5-6 tspns of tea powder and make a de-caution
• Add this de-caution to the chana and let it simmer for 10-15 mins or till the deep brown color is seen
• Punjabi Chole is ready to eat along with Lacha Paratha!!!!

Gutti Vankaya

Ingredients:

• 10-12 Medium sized brinjals
• 1 1/2 Cup Ground nuts
• 3 Medium sized onions
• 4-5 tbsps Jeera
• 10-12 Red Chillies
• 7-10 cloves of garlic
• salt to taste
• Oil for frying

Procedure:

• In a small pan add little oil and fry the jeera and red chillies
• Grind the sliced onions, ground nuts, garlic and the fried red chillies ,jeera and salt to a smooth paste
• slit the brinjals into four..make sure you do not cut them into pieces
• Fill the brinjals with this groundnut mixture completly
• In a large pan add oil and these stuffed brinjals, and fry them for 5-10 minutes on each side or till done
• Gutti Vankaya is ready to eat!!!!

Pappu Pongali

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Rice
• 1 Cup Green Gram (Pesara Pappu)
• 1 tsp Chana Dal
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp Jeera
• 1 tsp Urad Dal
• 2 tsp Cashews
• 3-4 Red chilies
• 2-3 sprigs of curry leaves
• Whole Pepper and Pepper powder
• Salt to taste

Procedure:

• Cook the Rice and Green Gram together with 1:2 ratio of rice/dal to water
• In a pan take some oil and add Chana Dal, Mustard Seeds, Jeera, Urad Dal, Whole pepper, ground nuts, cashews, and red chilies.
• Once the seeds start to splutter add cashews, curry leaves
• Once the rice and dal are cooked add the Tadka, pepper powder and salt and mix will
• Add little water if necessary and let it cook for 5 minutes
• Pappu Pongali is ready to eat with Phalli Chutney or Mango pickle!!!!

Tip:

• Add the tadka to the cooked rice and dal mixture when hot do not let it cool down

Chintapandu Pulihora

Ingredients:

• 1/8 portion Tamarind (Chintapandu)
• 1 portion Rice
• 1 tsp Chana dal
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp Jeera
• 1 tsp Urad dal
• 2 tsp Ground nuts
• 2 tsp Cashews
• 3-4 Red chilles
• 7-10 Green chilles
• 2-3 sprigs of curry leaves
• ½ tsp Hing

Procedure:

• Cook the rice with 1:2 ratio of rice to water.
• Soak the tamarind in 1 cup of water for about 1 hr and take the tamarind pulp
• In a pan take some oil and add Chana Dal, mustard seeds, Jeera, Urad Dal, ground nuts, cashews, and red chilies.
• Once the seeds start to splutter add Ground nuts , cashews, green chilies, curry leaves and hing
• Then add little more oil and tamarind pulp and let it cook till the oil starts to appear on the top
• Then add this tamarind pulp and salt to the cooked and cooled rice and mix well
• Keep this mixture aside for 10-15 minutes so that the tamarind pulp gets absorbed
• Now the pulihora is ready to eat!!!!!

Tip:

• while cooking rice add 1 tsp of oil so that the rice does not stick
• Let the rice cool down completely before mixing the tamarind pulp so that the rice nice and flakey