Noone Vankaiye - Spicy Brinjal Fry

Ingredients:

Make a dry powder mix of:
Coriander seeds - 3 tsp
Poppy seeds - 1 tsp
Whole Cloves - 6
Cardamom - 6
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch

Onion - 1 and 1/2 large no. (finely chopped)
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 tsp
Tomato paste - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp
Brown Jaggery - small lime size
Small purple eggplants - 6 (slit like a flower in the center)
Oil
Salt

Method:

Heat oil in a deep nonstick pan,  fry the above on low flame until the oil seperates from the masala. Add the jaggery last. In a seperate pan, fry the eggplant for about 30 seconds. Once cooled, stuff the eggplants with the masala. Place these stuffed eggplants with the rest of the masala and cook for sometime.

Best eaten with White rice and rasam, my favorite combination!

Masala Vada

Ingredients :

Split Bengal gram - 1.5 cup ( soak in water for about 4 hours)
Onion - 1 medium size (chop very finely)
5-6 finely chopped curry leaves

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

5 finely chopped green chillies

2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Method :

Drain the water from the Channa(Bengal gram). First grind 2 tbsp dal to a fine paste without adding water. Now add the remaining dal and grind coarsely.(for 5-6 seconds) . Keep aside 2 spoons of the dal-mix it later with the other ingredients.
Mix all the other ingredients into it. Make medium sized dumplings, flatten and deep fry till they turn golden brown on both sides. Best served along with 'Payisam'.

Uttappam

For batter :
Soak - for minimum 3 hours
Urad dal - 3/4 cup
Sona masoori rice or jasmine rice - 2 cups
Blend the above with 1 cup of 'Avalakki', into a paste (don't make it very smooth).
Add some baking powder and salt, and let it ferment for about 8 hours.

Rest of the ingredients - toppings:
Onions, tomato, green chillies, coriander leaves and curry leaves - very finely chopped. Add a pinch of salt and a pinch of jeera powder for taste. Mix them all in a separate bowl.

Take a dosa pan, preferably a flat one, pour a small cup size of the batter on it, (spread it evenly like a flat pancake). The thickness of the dosa needs to be slightly thicker than the normal masala dosa. Immidiately spread the toppings all over the batter and sprinkle oil generously on it. Once it turns dark brown, flip it. Leave it on for about a minute and transfer it to a plate. Serve hot along with some coconut and mint chutney.

Diwali breakfast - Bisi Bele Bath (Divesh's favourite!)

Ingredients for the masala powder:

Dhania: 100gms
Red chillies : 100gms
Chana dal(Bengal gram dhal): 100gms
Urad dhal: 100gms
Dry coconut: 100gms
Cinnamon : 10 gms
Marathi moggu: 5 pieces
Cloves: 1 tsp.
Dry roast all the ingredients except coconut separately and grind to a fine powder.
The quantity of red chillies may be increased or decreased according to personal taste.

Ingredients:
Carrot: 50 gms, French beans: 50 gms, Green peas: 50gms, Lima beans: 50gms
Tomato: 150 gms
Curry leaves : few sprig
Coriander leaves: few
Tamarind paste: 1 tsp.

Rice : 1cup
Toor dal: 1 cup
Bisis bele bath powder: 2 tbsp.
Salt to taste
For garnishing:
Ghee: 1 tbsp.
Mustard seeds: 2 tsp.
Red chillies: 2 nos.
Cashew nuts (optional) : few
Hing : 1 tsp.

Method:

Wash and Chop all vegetables. Wash and drain the rice and dal. Soak the tamarind in ½ cup of warm water.Accordingly add 3 cups of water for each cup of rice, 2 cups of water for each cup of dal and one cup of water for each cup of vegetables.Boil water according to the above proportion in a pressure cooker and add all the vegetables, rice, dal and turmeric powder and close the pressure cooker. Put the weight on and cook until 3 whistles.
Allow the pressure cooker to cool. Open the lid and check if the rice is cooked well and there is enough water content. If not add one more cup of water and boil, bisibele bath powder and salt. Extract the juice out of soaked tamarind and add to the boiling rice. Add half the ghee also to the mixture. Boil for 5- 10 minutes stirring well taking care not to burn the contents.
For garnishing:
Heat the remaining ghee in a pan. When the ghee is hot, add the hing powder, mustard, cashew nuts, broken red chillies and few curry leaves. When the mustard seeds stop spluttering and the cashew nuts turn to a pink color, add the contents to the prepared rice. Garnish with finely cut coriander leaves .

Vanghibath or Brinjal rice.

Ingredients :

Indian eggplant - 1lb, sliced long
Rice - 3 cups, fully cooked
Potatoes - peeled and cut into cubes
Peas - 1 cup
Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup, finely chopped
Vanghibath powder-grind
Coriander seeds -5 tbsp
Urad dal - 3 tbsp
Channa dal - 3 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds - 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 2 tbsp
Red chillies - 8
Cinnamon - few
cardamom - few
Cloves - few
Marati moggu - 2
(grind the above into a fine powder)
Seasoning -
Oil
Onions -2 medium, chopped
Red chillies - few
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Coriander leaves - 1 cup, finely chopped
Ginger-garlic paste - 1/2 a spoon
Turmeric powder - 1/2 spoon
Salt

Method :

After you fry all the ingredients in oil for seasoning, add the vanghibath powder and let it fry in oil on low heat for sometime. Then, add the vegetables and cook on low heat with a covered lid until done. Garnish it with coriander leaves when finished. Mix it properly with rice and serve along with raitha.

Rava Idlis

Ingredients :
Rava/ sooji/ semolina - 2 cups
Yogurt - 1.5 cups - beaten
Water - 1/2 cup
Oil - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tbsp
Cashew nuts - 1/2 cup
Urad dal - 1 tbsp
Channa dal - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves (dried or fresh) - chopped - 1 strand
Asofoetida - a pinch
Red dried chilli - 2 cut
Green chillies - 2 finely chopped
Ginger paste - 1/2 tsp
Tomato- very thinly sliced - about 1/2 an inch long
Cilantro - 1/4 cup - finely chopped, and few big leaves uncut
Salt
[Optional- can add grated carrot and cooked green peas to the mix]

Method :

First, heat oil in a pan. Add the ingredients starting from mustard seeds to the red chilli, one after the other. Now add the rava, turn off the heat and slightly roast it. Keep aside and let it cool. Meanwhile, take the yogurt, add the green chillies, ginger paste, salt, and chopped cilantro. Mix this with the rava well adding the rest of the water.
Spray some oil on the idli plates. Place a slice of tomato and a cilantro leaf in every cup on the plate. Now pour the mix and place them in the idli maker and steam cook it for about 15mins or less. Serve with coconut chutney.
(Chutney recipe will be put up in my future posts)

Vegetable pulav

Ingredients :

Basmati rice - 2 lb
Onion - 1 sliced
Cut carrat and peas - 1 cup
Spices - few each for seasoning
Pudina - 1 cup chopped
Coconut milk - 1 can
Turmeric 1/2 tbsp
Oil & salt
Grind - 1 cup of -
Coriander
Green chillies
Onion

Method :

Heat oil, add all the ingredients one by one, except for the coconut milk. Fry everything till oil separates from masala. Now add the coconut milk and cook for sometime. Add rice and pour the required amount of water and cook till its done. Garnish with coriander leaves.
(I have also put up the recipe for 'vegetable biryani' in one of my earlier posts.)

Salmon in coconut curry.

Ingredients :

(Marinate and toast in oven for 5 minutes)
4 salmon steaks
Cumin powder - 2 tsp
Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
White vinegar - 2 tbsp
Salt, oil.

Onion - 1 chopped
Green chillies - 5 chopped
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Dhaniya powder - 1 tsp
Coconut milk - 3/4 cup
Salt, oil.

Method :

Heat oil in pan, add the onions, chillies, ginger-garlic paste and dhaniya powder. Fry for sometime on medium heat. Add the coconut milk and let it cook for sometime. Add the fish and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Garnish with coriander. Served with plain white rice.

Vegetable biryani

Ingredients :

To grind-(masala)
Onion - 1/2
Ginger - 1/2 cup
Garlic - 1 cup
Coriander - 1 cup
Mint leaves - 1/4 cup
Cinnamon stick - 4
Cloves - 5
Red chillies (dry) - 8
Green chillies - 10
Moggu - 2
Garam masala - 2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
[fry all the above ingredients in oil before grinding]

Seasoning -
Cinnamon stick, cloves, Cardamom, bay leaf - few (each)
Onion - 1 thinly sliced
Garlic - 4 flakes
Green chillies - sliced long

Basmati rice - 5 cups (150 ml cup)
Vegetables - chopped (carrot, peas, beans, lima beans, cauliflower)
Tomato - 1 small chopped
Coconut milk - 1 cup (150 ml)
Salt, Oil.

Method :

Heat oil in a large vessel. Add all the seasoning ingredients one at a time and fry on medium heat for few minutes. Add the masala and fry for sometime on medium to low heat till the oil separates from masala. Add the tomatoes and then the coconut milk.Mix the vegetables and Let it cook for sometime. Now add the rice and salt and add about 6 cups of water and cover it very tightly with a lid. Let the rice cook on very low heat for approximetly an hour. Serve with raitha!

Kara bath / Upma.

Ingredients :

Bansi rava (upma sooji) - 2 cups - roasted
Carrot - chopped finely - 1 cup
Peas - 1 cup
Onion - chopped thin and long
Green chillies - 6- cut long
Grated coconut - 1 tsp (slightly roasted)
Salt.
To grind:
Garlic - 1 flake
Onion - 1 inch
Ginger - 1/4 inch
Pepper corns - 1/4 tsp
Coriander - 1 tbsp
Seasoning :
Oil - 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Channa dal - 1 tsp
Moggu (spice) - 3
Bay leaf - 3
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon stick - 1
Curry leaves - 1 strand
Cashewnuts - few
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Method :

Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add all the ingredients under 'seasoning', starting with mustard seeds. Then add the cut onions and green chillies and fry on medium heat. Add the masala paste and salt and fry till the oil separates from it. Now add the vegetables and pour 2 cups of water. Let it cook for sometime covered. Once the vegetables are done, add the rava into the pan while stirring constantly. Add water if necessary and cook it covered on very low heat.Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and the grated coconut. Best eaten with kesari bath(sweet dish).

Rava Dosa

Ingredients

For 5 dosas:
Rice flour - 1 cup
Sooji - 1/2 cup
Maida - 1/4 cup
Baking powder - 1 pinch
Salt to taste
Oil

Seasoning:

Oil
Jeera
Curry Leaves finely chopped
Onion - 1/2 medium sided, finely chopped
Green chilies - 4 , finely chopped
Ginger & garlic paste - 1/4 tbs
Cilantro - finely chopped

Method:

Mix all ingredient in a bowl and add water,(the batter needs to be very thin). In a sauce pan, add 1 tbs of oil and add all seasoning ingredients and fry for 1 minute. Mix it with the batter. Pour the dosa on tava and fry on one side only. Serve hot with chutney.