#36 : Sorakaya Pachadi ~ Bottle Gourd Chutney

This is yet another awesome pachadi /chutney I recently learnt from my mom-in-law. It has a nice summery feel to it and is made my blending Indian squash with green chillies and cilantro. It is usually eaten mixed with hot rice and a little bit of ghee but also tastes great as a dip or with rotis. Look , what a beautiful color this squash is !

Ingredients

• 1/2 small Bottle gourd - Cubed into 2-inch pieces
• 7 Green Chilles
• 2 Tbs Tamarind-Juice extracted 
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric
• A Sprig of Cilantro
• 2 Tbs Oil
• Salt to taste

For Tempering

• 1tsp - Oil
• 1 tsp - Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp - Urad Dhal
• 2 Dry Red Chillies 
• 1/8 tsp - Asafoetida
• 1/4 tsp - Fenugreek powder

Method:

1. Heat 2 Tbs oil in a pan. Add the diced bottle gourd to it and fry for about 2 mins. Add green chilles. Cover the pan with a lid and turn the flame down to medium heat
2. Let the  cook for bottle gourd 20mins until all the water evaporates and oil starts to ooze out . Keep stirring from time to time to avoid burning 
3. Transfer the fried bottle gourd-green chilli mixture to a blender. Add salt,cilantro,turmeric and grind to a course paste (Do not use water when grinding and use the pulse option on the blender) 
4. For Tempering-Heat oil , add the mustard seeds , let them splutter . To it add urad dhal, red chillies and fry until the urad dhal is slightly brown. Remove from flame and add asafoetida and fenugreek powder. Add this tempering to the ground pachadi 
5. Serve with hot rice and ghee

#35 : Majjiga Pulusu ~ Yogurt Stew

This recipe is from Kalyan. He is the chef in charge for anything Yogurt. In fact, after our wedding everyone in the family mentioned that my father-in-law makes the most awesome (awesomest if there is a world like that :P) yogurt stew possible. When they learnt that I dislike yogurt, they were all disappointed and sad that I would miss on something wonderful. Kalyan tells me that he would eat nothing but this yogurt stew for all the meals when it is made by his dad. It is usually made in huge quantities and is all gone by the end of the day. Now, how can I not share this recipe. 

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups Yogurt 
• 7-9 Green Chilles
• 2 inch piece of Ginger ( Big sized )
• 1.5  Cups of bite sized Mix Vegetables - ( Okra , Bottle Guard , Carrot, Eggplant )
• 2 Big Tomatoes
• 2 Tbs Gram Flour / Besan  diluted to a lump free paste by adding water
• 1 tsp Turmeric 
• 3 Cups water
• 2 Tbs Oil
• Salt to Taste

For Tempering

• 2 tsp - Oil
• 1 tsp - Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp - Cumin Seeds
• 2 Dry Red Chillies 
• 5-6 Curry Leaves
• 1/8 tsp - Asafoetida
• 1/4 tsp - Fenugreek powder

Method:

1. In a big sauce pan heat 2 Tbs oil and sauté the vegetables/tomatoes until slightly tender and almost cooked
2. Make a paste out of the ginger and green chillies and set aside.
3. Add 3 cups of water to the yogurt and make buttermilk. Add turmeric, salt and the diluted gram flour/besan to the buttermilk
4. Add this buttermilk to the cooked vegetables. Also add in the ginger-chilli paste. Bring to a boil on low-medium heat/flame and simmer for 10 mins
5. For tempering - Heat oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, aasafoetida-fenugreek powder and fry for a minute. Add this to the vegetables-buttermilk mixture. Cook for 2-3mins and turn off the heat/flame
6. Serve with steaming hot rice 

#34 : Rava Laddu ~ Sweet Semolina balls

The minute I think of Rava Laddus my mouth waters. These have a nice flaky texture with the right amount of sugar and ghee to make them melt away with each bite. When my grand mom (dad's mother) makes these they are out of the world. Each time we kids visited her, she would pre-prepare huge steel containers full of these. Every now and then we would pop one in the mouth and sometimes have competitions of who could eat the most in a day. While I cant make them as delicious as hers, I try to get better each time. One could use ghee to make them into round balls, but I use mildly warm milk. There turn a little hard the next day and that is what I like about it the most. I like to bite into mine to enjoy the sweetness :-)

Ingredients:

• 2 Cup Semolina
• 2 Cups Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Dried Desiccated Coconut
• 4 Tbs Ghee
• 1/3 Cup Warm Milk + a few tsps 
• 3 Cardamom pods ( crushed )
• 4 Tbs chopped Cashews and Raisins

Method:

1. Heat ghee in a wide pan and add chopped cashews. Once they turn golden add raisins and fry until they plump up. Remove them from ghee and set aside
2. Add semolina to the remaining ghee and fry in medium-low heat for about 10-12 mins. The Kitchen will fill up with a beautiful aroma and the semolina will turn lightly golden. To it add the dried coconut and turn off the flame/heat and let it cool down 
3. In a blender add sugar and cardamom and make a fine powder
4. In a wide pan mix together toasted semolina, powdered sugar, cashews/raisins. To it add warm milk and make into golf sized balls. ( Keep adding milk slowly as and when needed to form the balls )
5. Store in air tight container. Enjoy as an evening snack or a quick sweet fix after a comforting meal

#33 : Mamidikaya Pulihora ~ Raw Mango Rice

Mangoes!How much I love them. Be it ripe or raw they steal my heart.They are the reason I look forward to summers. Did I not yet mention my love for jasmine flowers? One day when we buy a home, I'd surely grow those in the backyard. Another summer love

"Mamidikaya Pulihora" is made my adding grated green mangoes to steamed rice and is spiced with green chillies and tempered with seasoned oil and mustard seeds. Adding cashews to this rice mixture gives a nice crunch and balances the sour zing to the green mangoes. I first tasted it when Kalyan made in and fell for it instantly. My love for raw mangoes traces back many years. I also shared a dhal made using them here. 

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Cooked Rice ( hot / just steamed)
• 2 Cups Grated Raw Mango ( Green Mango )
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder 
• 1 Tbs Oil
• Salt

      For Tempering :

• 2 Tbs Oil  ( Groundnut/peanut oil preferable )
• 1 tsp - Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp - Urad Dhal
• 1 tsp - Channa Dhal
• 5-6 Cashews
• 3-5 Green Chillies -Slit
• 2 Dried Red Chillis
• 1/4 tsp - Asafoetida
• 4-6 Curry Leaves

Method:

1. In a wide pan mix hot cooked rice, oil and turmeric. Add grated mango and mix to incorporate 
2. For tempering - Heat oil , add mustard seeds, urad dhal, channa dhal and cashews. Once the dhal begins to brown add red chilles, green chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida and fry for a minute. Add this to the rice-grated mango pulihora. Mix well
3. Serve immediately after tempering. Makes a wonderful side for a festive meal. We usually make it for Ugadi, the Telugu New Year 

#32 : Sooji Halwa ~ Kesari ~ Semolina Pudding

Happy times are synonymous to this Halwa. It is easy to make and uses ingredients available in a standard Indian pantry. Let it be a festive celebration or an urgent quick sweet fix this halwa is a popular choice. It is a not so favorite dessert for me but Kalyan adores it :-) I usually end up making it whenever he requests for it and it surely makes him happy. He has fond memories of scooping out bowls of this halwa as a child which he called "sweet upma" 

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Semolina
• 3 Tbs Ghee 
• 3 Cups Water
• 3/4-1 Cup Sugar
• 3 Cardamom pods ( crushed )
• 4 Tbs chopped Cashews and Raisins
• 4-5 Strands of Saffron
• A pinch Orange food color ( Optional )

Method:

1. Heat ghee in a wide pan, add chopped cashews. Once they turn golden add the raisins and fry until they plump up. Remove them from ghee and set aside
2. Add semolina to the remaining ghee and fry in medium-low heat for about 10-12 mins. The Kitchen will fill up with a beautiful aroma and the semolina will turn lightly golden. Turn off the flame/heat and let it cool down 
3. In an other wide pan bring water to a boil. Add sugar, saffron,cardamom and orange color if using
4. To the boiling water add the roasted semolina. Add cashews and raisins and cook until all the water is absorbed and the ghee begins to oozes out slightly. Turn the flame/heat to low and cover and cook for 5 mins
5. Serve warm scooped into a bowl or can be put into a mold and cut into squares 

#31 : Vankaya Tamato Pachadi ~ Eggplant Tomato Chutney

This is yet another recipe I got introduced to after I met Kalyan. I have a special place in my heart for Eggplant. It is one of my favorite vegetables to cook with. This pachadi  has a perfect balance of  flavors and is spiced up with ground green chilles. Totally lip smacking when mixed with steamy hot rice. 

 Ingredients:

• 3 Big tomatoes diced into 4 pieces each
• 2 Long Chinese Eggplants - Cubed into 2-inch pieces
• 8-9 Green Chilles
• A Sprig of Cilantro
• 3 Tbs Oil
• Salt to taste

For Tempering

• 1tsp - Oil
• 1 tsp - Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp - Urad Dhal
• 2 Dry Red Chillies 
• 1/8 tsp - Asafoetida
• 1/4 tsp - Fenugreek powder

Method:

1. Heat 3 Tbs oil in a pan. Add the diced tomatoes to it and fry for about 2 mins. Add the eggplant pieces and green chilles. Cover the pan with a lid and turn the flame down to medium heat
2. Let the eggplant-tomatoes cook for 20-30 mins until all the water evaporates and oil starts to ooze out . Keep stirring from time to time to avoid burning 
3. Transfer the fried eggplant-tomato mixture to a blender . Add salt and cilantro and grind to a smooth paste ( Do not use water when grinding ) 
4. For Tempering-Heat oil , add the mustard seeds , let them splutter . To it add urad dhal, red chillies and fry until the urad dhal is slightly brown. Remove from flame and add asafoetida and fenugreek powder. Add this tempering to the ground pachadi 
5. Serve with hot rice 

#30 : Dosa ~ Indian Lentil Crepes

Anybody with a love for Indian Cuisine will like dosas instantly. They are light and crisp and when dipped in Chutney, they make the yummiest breakfast food possible. When I was little, I would grab a chair to climb on the kitchen counter to watch my grand mom make them. The art of spreading the batter into a thin-even-round fascinated me . And really, all it takes is one bite to fall in love with them.