Soya Meat Balls - Vegetarian

Ingredients
1.Soya chunks -10
2.Potato -2
3.Onion -1
4.Cashew -10
5.Poppy seeds - 1tsp
6.Roasted gram - 3tbsp
7.Cardamom -2
8.Cinnamon - a tiny piece
9.Bread crumbs - 2tbsp + 1cup
10.Thyme -1tsp
11.Coriander leaves - 2tsp
12.Oil for frying
13.Salt.

Method
1. Soak soya chunks in boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes, drain and rinse in cold water. Squeeze out water from the soya chunks and blend to a paste.
2. Cook potatoes and mash well. ( can use a blender)
3.Grind onion to a paste.
4. Combine cashew, poppy seeds, roasted gram, cardamom, cinnamon and powder them.
5. In a bowl mix, ground soya, mashed potatoes, onion paste, spice powder, 2 tbsp of bread crumbs, salt and finely chopped coriander leaves. ( can add finely chopped green chilly or pepper powder, I have not used them because I prefer it this way).
6. Mix dry thyme to the rest of the bread crumbs and keep it ready for coating.
7. Make balls, roll it in bread crumbs and deep fry in oil.
The entire process is easy if you start from dry ingredients. First make bread crumbs in a dry blender, then powder the cashew mixture, using the same blender, grind the onion, then potatoes and finally mince the soya all done one by one separately and not together.
 Serving suggestion: Serve with buns along with tomato ketchup.

Macaroni

Ingredients
1. Macaroni - 150gms
2. Garlic - 4 cloves
3. Milk - 100ml
4. Cheese -2 cubes
5. Red chilly flakes - 1tsp
6. Thyme - 1tsp
7. Oil or butter - 2tsp

Method
1. Cook macaroni as per instructions in the pack and keep aside.
2. Heat oil or butter in a pan, add garlic, saute' till it is brown and crisp, add milk( can use cream ), add crumbled cheese and continue to stir on low heat till the cheese melts and becomes a thick sauce.
3. Add cooked macaroni, mix well. As cheese has salt in it, check for salt and add only required amount of salt.
4. Sprinkle red chilly flakes and dry or fresh thyme. Serve hot.

Poori kizhangu - Poori and Potato masala

Ingredients - Poori
1. Flour (Maida) - 5 cups
2.Wheat flour - 1cup
3.Salt
4.Oil -2tsp
      +
    1/2 to 1 cup for deep frying

Method
Combine maida, wheat flour, salt and a tsp oil and mix well . Add enough water and knead to a soft dough. Divide the dough into small portions. Dust some flour and roll each portion into small poories and deep fry in oil.


Things to remember
If maida alone is used, poori will be chewy and if more than 2 cups of wheat flour is used the poories will absorb more oil and it will be greasy.
The flattened pooris should be fried immediately or else they will become dry and the pooris will not be soft, but crisp when fried.
To get a crisp poori, roll the poori dough to thin circle. To get a poori that puffs up, roll the dough to round of 1/4inch thickness.

Potato masala
Ingredients
1.Potato - 300gms
2.Fennel Seeds - 1tsp
3.Onion - 1(large)
4.Green Chilly - 2
5.Ginger - 1inch piece
6.Turmeric powder - 1tsp
7.Bengal gram flour (kadalai mavu) or cornflour -2tsp (optional)
8.Oil-2tsp
9.Salt
10.Mustard+urad dal - 1tsp
11. Curry leaves - few

Method
1.Heat oil in a pan, add mustard+urad dal, fennel and curry leaves. Add sliced onion, slit green chillies, chopped  ginger, saute' for a minute or two. Add a cup of water, turmeric powder and bring to a boil, add cooked and mashed potatoes, salt and stir well. Let it boil on low heat.( Mix bengal gram flour or cornflour to a little cold water and add to the boiling masala and stir well till it becomes thick - optional.) Remove from heat and serve.
(If the masala is of the required consistency then avoid using b.g flour or cornflour, this is added just to thicken the potato masala. If the curry is boiled for a few more minutes, the liquid will evaporate and the masala will become thiick, this is what I do instead of using b.g or cornflour)

Era Biryani - Prawn Biryani

Ingredients
1.Basmati Rice - 3 cups
2.Prawns - 500gms
3.Onion - 4
4.Tomato - 3
5.Ginger  - 1 1/2 inch piece
6.Garlic - 6 cloves
7. Green chilly - 2
8. Chilly powder+coriander powder -2tsp
9. Turmeric powder - 1/4tsp
10.Juice of 1/2 a lemon
11.Oil -1/2 cup
12.Mint + coriander leaves - 2tbsp
13.Ghee -1tsp
14.Cardamom, cloves, cinnamon- 2 each
15.Bay leaf -1

Method
1. In a thick bottomed vessel, heat oil and add the whole spices. When they crackle add thinly sliced onions, saute' till they are light golden colour, add chopped tomatoes, stir till they are cooked. Grind ginger garlic and green chilly to a paste and add to the tomatoes, stir and add turmeric powder, red chilly+coriander powder, salt and mix well. Add the prawns and cook. Once the prawns are cooked add 6 cups of water and bring it to a boil, add washed and soaked basmatic rice, lemon juice, finely chopped mint and coriander leaves and a tsp of ghee. Cover and cook for 10 minutes on low heat. Serve hot.

Ginger chutney

Ginger is good for digestion and I love the flavour of ginger in everything, be it tea, chutney or uppuma. When used in the right dish in the right manner, it enhances the taste of the food. I came up with this ginger chutney one morning, when I was in a hurry, not having enough time or patience to fry them in oil, cool and then grind, I just combined everything that  I thought would taste good, in a blender, made a puree and then let it boil in oil for a few minutes while I carried on with my work. Needless to say it turned out to be a big hit. Though the ingredients look similar in all the chutneys, the taste definitely differs, when done in different methods. This is a very easy chutney which can be made in a jiffy.
Ingredients
1.Onion -1
2.Tomato -2
3.Red chilly -1or2
4.Ginger -1inch piece
5. Salt

Method
Grind all this together in a blender.
 1. Heat 2 to 3tsps of oil in a pan, add mustard + urad dhal, when it crackles add curry leaves, 1/4tsp of asafoetida and immediately add the ground chutney with little water. Let it boil for a few minutes, until the chutney is reduced to the desired consistency. Remove from heat and serve with idly or dosai.

kara chutney

 South Indian cuisine is not complete without chutney and they are usually made with coconut as the basic ingredient. Since coconut is believed to be high in cholesterol, I try to avoid coconut in my cooking and use it sparingly, unless it is a completely coconut based dish. Chutneys without coconut, tastes good if made in in the right manner.
Ingredients
1. Onion -2
2. Tomato-2-3
3.Coriander seeds -1tsp
4.Red chilly - 2
5.Ginger -1small piece (about an inch)
     or
 Garlic - 3-4 cloves
6.Oil - 2tbsp
7.Salt
8.Asafoetida- 1/4tsp
Tempering
1.Mustard+urad dhal-1tsp
2.Curry leaves.

 Method
 1. Heat  2 tbsps oil in a pan, saute diced onions.When they change to light golden colour, add chopped tomatoes, cook for a minute, add ginger or garlic and saute till everything is well cooked, add asafoetida and saute for a minute before removing from heat. Let it cool.
2. In another pan, heat 1/4tsp of oil and roast red chilly and coriander seeds and keep aside.
3. Grind onion, tomato mixture and the chilly coriander seeds, with little salt to a fine paste. If it is too spicy add a pinch of tamarind.
4. Heat 1tsp of oil in a pan, add mustard +urad dhal, curry leaves and pour it over the chutney, mix well and serve with  pongal, Idly or Dosai.

Medhu vadai

Ingredients
1.Urad dhal -1 cup
2.Onion-1
3.Green chilly -1
4.Ginger- 1tsp
5.Curry leaves- few
6.Asafoetida - 1/4tsp
7.Salt to taste
8.Oil for deep frying

Method
1.Wash and soak urad dhal for 2 hours.
2.Grind urad dhal to a fine paste( butter soft), using little water. If the batter has excess water, it will absorb more oil.
3.To the ground urad dhal batter add finely chopped onion, green chilly, ginger, asafoetida, curry leaves and salt. Mix well.
4.Wet your hand, (this prevents the batter from sticking to your hand) take a small portion of the batter, make a hole in the middle using the thumb and drop it  in   hot oil (medium heat). Fry the vadai ,till they are golden colour on both the sides. Serve with chutney or sambhar.

Ven pongal

Ingredients
1. Raw rice - 3/4cup
2.Split mung dhal -1/2 cup
3. Asafoetida - 1/4tsp
4. Salt - 1tsp
5. Cashew - 6
6. Pepper - 1tsp
7. Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
8. Curry leaves - few
9. Ghee - 1tsp
10. Oil - 2 tbsp

METHOD
 1. In a pressure cooker, add washed rice and mung dhal. Add 5 cups of water, asafoetida, salt and 1/2 tsp of oil or ghee.
2. Close it and bring to full pressure on high heat(with the regulator), reduce heat and cook for 15minutes. Remove cooker from heat and allow to cool naturally. Open the cooker and mash the pongal lightly and add the seasoning and mix well. Serve with sambhar, chutney and vadai.
Seasoning
1. Heat oil+ghee in a pan. Add split cashew nuts, roast them till they change to golden colour, add pepper, cumin seeds, curry leaves stir well and add this to the cooked pongal.

Egg kurma

Generally Egg curries are made using boiled eggs, but my grandmother and mother have always made by breaking the eggs in the gravy and it gives a different taste and flavour to the kurma . This recipe is a favourite among my folks and it is very easy and quick to make.

Ingredients
1.Eggs - 3
2.Onion - 2
3.Tomato - 2
4.Ginger garlic paste - 1tsp
5.Chilly powder - 2tsp
6.Coriander powder - 2tsp
7.Turmeric powder -1/4tsp
8.Coconut paste - 2tbsp
9.Cardamom, cloves and cinnamon - each 2
10.Oil - 2tbsp
11.Curry leaves - few
12.Fennel seeds -1/2tsp
12.Salt and coriander leaves

Method
1.Heat oil in a pan, throw in cardamom, cloves, fennel seeds and cinnamon, add sliced onions and saute' for two minutes.
2.Add finely chopped tomatoes and stir till the tomatoes becomes soft and mashed well.
3.Add ginger garlic paste, stir, add turmeric powder, chilly powder, coriander powder and  the salt.
4.Stir for a few seconds and add water, bring to boil, add coconut paste and let it boil for 2 minutes on medium heat.
5.Now reduce the heat completely, break in the eggs one by one, giving enough space between the eggs, so that they don't touch each other. Cover the pan and continue to cook on low heat for five minutes. After 5 minutes, with a flat ladle, carefully flip over the eggs one by one, for the top side to cook, which only takes a minute or two. When done garnish with coriander leaves and serve with chapati or rice.

Chocolate carrot cake

Ingredients
1. Flour (maida) - 3/4cup
2.Cocoa Powder- 2tbsp
3.Baking powder- 1tsp
4.Baking soda- 1/2tsp
5.Carrot - 3/4cup (grated)
6.Condensed milk -1/2cup
7.Melted butter or oil - 1/2cup
8.Sugar - 2tbsp (powdered)
9. Raisins and nuts - 50g

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade.
2. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and the baking soda together 3 times.
3. In a wide based bowl take condensed milk, oil ( I have used oil here) and sugar. Add the flour mixture to this, add grated carrots, raisins and nuts. Mix well slowly, transfer to a greased and dusted loaf tin and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. If needed, a tsp of vanilla essence can be added.

Garlic chutney

Ingredients
1.Onion-2
2.Tomato-3
3.Garlic-4-5 cloves
4.Red chilly-2
5.Mustard+urad dhal-1tsp
6.Curry leaves-few
7.Asafoetida- 1/4tsp
8.Tamarind- 1/4tsp (only if necessary)
9.Oil-2tbsp + 1tsp
10.Salt

Method
1.Heat oil in a pan, add diced onions, saute till it turns pink, add tomatoes, garlic and red chillies. Stir now and then till the tomatoes are cooked. Add asafoetida, before removing from heat. Let it cool. Add salt and grind to a paste. Taste a little, if it is too spicy then add a tiny bit of tamarind, to balance the heat and grind again.(since 3 tomatoes are used tamarind will not be necessary)
2.Heat 1tsp of oil in a pan, add mustard+urad dhal. When it splutters, add curry leaves, stir and pour it over the ground chutney. Serve with Idly and dosa.

keerai masiyal

Ingredients
1.Greens(Araikkeerai or sirukeerai) - 1
2.Garlic - 3 cloves
3.Onion-1(small)
4.Mustard+urad dhal-1tsp
5.Red chilly-2
6.Asafoetida-a pinch
7.Oil-1tsp
8.Curryleaves-few
and salt

Method
1.Cook greens in an open vessel with little water, a pinch of salt and garlic.
2.Grind this to a paste, when it is cool
3.Heat oil in a pan, add mustard+urad dhal, split red chillies. when it begins to splutter, add finely chopped onion. When the onion is light brown add asafoetida, stir for few seconds, remove from fire and add this to the greens. Add salt according to taste. Serve with rice.