Best Of 2008

Pesarapappu Vadalu ( Moongdal Vada) Pesarattu with Allam pacchadhi

Senaga pappu vadalu

Shahi Tukda

Vadappa ( thin and crispy rice flour roti )

Guthi Vankaya Vepudu ( eggplant fry)

Egg Biryani

Chicken keema

Barvan Bhindi ( Stuffed okra)

Malabar Chicken Curry ( kerala style)

Jeera Aloo

Egg Paratha

Potato fry ( simple and melt in mouth)

INGREDINTS

3 potatoes (russet potatoes work well for this recipe)

1 onion ( chopped)

2 to 3 garlic cloves ( chopped)

3 tbs oil

1 tsp cumin seeds and musturd seeds

1/2 tsp turmuric powder

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp coriander powder

cilantro

salt

METHOD

.

Boil potatoes until fork tender with a pinch of salt , peel and squeeze with your hands ,so that half mashed and half chunkey

.

Heat oil in apan ,add cumin seeds , musturd seeds and chopped onions , sautee until onions are soft , then add garlic and cilantro , fry for 1 more min

.

Now add sqeezes potatoes ,Mix well and fry on low flame for 5min

.

Sprinkle salt , turmuric , redchilli powder and coriander powder ( mix gently so that potatoes are not mashed completely)

.

Fry on low flame until golden on one side ( make sure not to burn potatoes)

.

DONE

.

Serve hot , with chapathi , puri ,paratha

Cut Mirch

INGREDIENTS

10 mirchi bajjis ( chopped in to bite size pieces)
1 cup chopped onions
juice of 1 lemon
cilantro
oil for deep fry

To make masala powder ( pappula podi)

1/2 cup roasted chana dal ( pappulu)
1tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves
salt

Grind all the masala ingredients in to a fine powder and keep aside


METHOD
.
Heat oil in a wide pan for deep frying , fry chopped mirchi bajjis on medium flame until golden and crisp , drain on paper towel
.
Add chopped onions , masala powder ( pappula podi) , lemon juice and cilantro
.
Mix well and serve hot

Vegetable Biryani

INGREDIENTS

2 cups of mixed veggis ( potatoes , carrots , greenpeas, beans, califlower )
2 cups basmathi rice

1 onion ( sliced)
1/2 cup tomato puree ( use canned puree to get the good colour to biryani)
2 tsp ginger and garlic paste
6 to 7 green chillis ( slit)
cilantro ( handfull)
mint (optional)

4 cloves
4 cardamom
2 inch cinnamon stick

1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala powder

6 tbs oil
2 tbs ghee

1/4 cup cashews (grind to a smooth paste )
pinch of safforn ( soaked in 1/4 cup warm milk)

1 tsp Garam masala for sprinkling in layers

METHOD
.
Wash and Soak rice for 20 min , Cook 2 cups of rice with 3-1/2 cups of water and 1 tsp of salt
.
Chop all the veggies in to big pieces
.
Heat oil in a pan , add cloves , cardamom , cinnamon then add sliced onions , sprinkle salt
and cook on low flame until onions are brown
.
Now add green chillis and cilantro fry for a min , and add tomato puree , cumin powder , coriander powder , red chilli powder mix everything and cook on low flame for 5 min
.
Then Add chopped veggies , cover and cook on low flame for 10 min or until veggies are soft
.
Now add cashew paste and garam masala powder mix everything and cook for another 5 min , and turn off the stove
.
Take a baking dish , add a layer of veggi mixture ,top it with rice , ghee and garam masala , again add remaining veggi mixture ,top it with remaining rice , ghee ,garam masala and saffron milk
.
Cover with tight lid or foil ,bake on a preheated 350 oven for 30 min
.
Done , serve hot

Cheesy Tortellini

INGREDIENTS

1 pound tortellini ( store bought)

FOR SAUCE

1/2 stick butter
2 tbs all purpose flour
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1-1/2 cup milk
pinch of black pepper powder and salt


1/4 cup mix of both cheeses for topping ( mozzarella + parmesan)

METHOD

.

Cook tortellini according to package directions , and keep aside

.

Boil milk in a sauce pan and keep aside

.

Melt butter on low heat , add flour , mix well and cook until raw smell of flour gone may be a min or 2

( make sure not to brown the flour )

.

Wisk hot milk in to flour and butter mixture with out any lumps

.

Now add both the cheeses and melt on low flame until sauce is thick ( u can add more milk if the sauce is too thick)

.

Add a pinch of pepper powder and salt , mix well

.

Preheat oven to 350

.

Place cooked tortellini in a baking tray , pour cheese sauce over pasta , sprinkle

remaining cheeses and bake for 20 min or until golden on top

.

Done

Gongura Pacchadi

INGREDIENTS

2 cups gongura leaves
1 small lemon size tamarind
1/2 onion chopped
salt

1 tbs oil
4 dry red chillis
1 tbs coriander seeds
1 tbs cumin seeds
1/2 tsp methi seeds

3tbs oil
1 tbs chanadal
1 tbs urad dal
1 tsp cumin seeds and musturd seeds
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 dry red chiili
3 cloves of garlic ( crushed )

METHOD

.

Soak tamarind in 1/2 cup of water for 15 min , extract pulp and cook on low flame for 5 min ,keep aside

.

Heat 1 tbs oil in a pan , add coriander seeds , cumin seeds ,methi seeds and dry red chillis fry on a low flame until golden ,remove in to a plate and keep aside ,

.

Again heat 1 more tsp of oil in a same pan ,add gongura leaves and fry on medium flame for 5min

.

Add all the above ingredients in to a food processer and grind to a smooth paste (tamarind paste , fried gongura leaves ,roasted coriander , cumin and methi seeds ,red chillis and salt )

.

Now for tadka , heat 3 tbs of oil , add cumin seeds , musturd seeds , chanadal ,urad dal , dry red chilli , garlic cloves and curry leaves , roast everything on low flame then add ground gongura paste in to tadka and cook on medium flame for 5 min , remove in to bowl ,add chopped onions and mix well

.

Done , serve with rice and ghee

Pesarapappu Vadalu ( Moongdal Vada)

Ingredients

1 cup whole moong dal
1/2 cup rice flour
Pinch of baking soda

1 cup chopped onions
1 tbs cumin seeds
2 sprigs curry leaves

4 to 5 red chillis
2 inch ginger root
salt

Oil for deep fry

Method

.

Soak whole moong dal overnight ( or) 7 to 8 hours

.

Once moong dal is soft , drain water completely add ginger , red chillis and salt

.

Grind to a coarse paste ( use can use little water to run blender)

.

Now add chopped onions , cumin seeds , curry leaves , rice flour and baking soda, mix well and keep aside
.

Now heat oil in a wide pan ( medium heat ), shape vadas on parchament paper (or) foil ,

.

Dip your fingers in very little water before shaping vadas , so that dough does'nt stick

.

Drop shaped vadas in to oil , fry on low flame until golden

.

DONE, SERVE HOT

Guthi Vankaya Vepudu ( eggplant fry)

INGREDIENTS

8 small indian eggplants
4 tbs oil
1 onion sliced
1 tsp cumin seeds and musturd seeds
cilantro
ghee for serving


Masala powder

1 tbs coriander seeds
1 tbs cumin seeds
1/2 tsp methi seeds
5 to 6 curry leaves
4 dry red chillis
2 tbs oil
salt

Heat 1 tbs oil in a pan add all the masala ingredients , roast on low flame until golden , cool and grind to a fine powder along with salt
.
Add 1 tbs oil to masala powder ,mix well and keep aside

METHOD

.

Clean eggplants with water , pat dry and place them in a pan in 1 layer , drizzle

2 tbs of oil , cover with lid and cook on low flame for 15 min until soft ( turning in the middle with out burning)
.

Once eggplants are cooked completely , remove from pan and let them cool

.

Take cooled eggplants ,slit inthe middle and stuff 1 tsp of masala powder , stuff the remaining masala in to all the eggplants
.

Heat 2 tbs of oil in a pan add cumin seeds and musturd seeds ,add sliced onions

sprinkle a pinch of salt on onions , place stuffed eggpants and roast on low flame for another 15 min

.

Sprinkle with cilantro

.

Serve this with ghee and hot white rice ( ghee is compulsary)

Sour Cream Scones (savory)

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp black pepper powder
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter, cubed
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream (or) egg wash for color

METHOD
.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

.
In a food processor, pulse flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and black pepper together

.

Add the cubed butter until a coarse meal forms

.

Pulse in the sour cream

.
Turn the sticky dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough comes together into a ball

.

Gently pat the dough down into a 3/4 inch thick square shape , With a large knife cut the dough square into 4 smaller, equal squares. Then cut each smaller square diagonally, with an X, making 4 smaller triangles

.
Transfer the 16 triangles in to parchment lined baking sheet

.

Brush the tops of each scone with heavy cream (or) egg wash

.

Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes until the bottoms of the scones are light brown

.
Remove from oven, cool slightly on the sheet pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Malabar Chicken Curry ( kerala style)

INGREDIENTS

1 pound chicken ( with bones cut in to pieces)
4 tbs oil
1 tomato ( chopped)
1 tsp cumin seeds and musturd seeds
1/2 tsp turmuric powder
salt

INGREDIENTS FOR MASALA

2 tbs oil
1/2 cup chopped shallots ( u can use red onion )
1/4 cup fresh grated coconut
8 curry leaves
1/4 cup cilantro ( optional)

2 tsp pepper corns
1 tsp fennal seeds
4 cardamom pods
4 cloves
1 inch cinnamon stick

1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder

METHOD

.

Heat 2 tbs oil in a pan add chopped shallots ( or onions) roast on a low flame until brown

.

Now add cardamom pods , cloves , peppercorns ,fennal seeds, cinnamon ,curry leaves and fresh grated coconut , to the above browned shallots , roast everything on a low flame until coconut is brown ( make sure not to burn), then add chilli powder and coriander powder fry for 1 min

.
Grind all the above browned masala with 1/4 cup water and cilantro ,to a smooth paste and keep aside

.

Now heat 4 tbs oil in a preassure cooker , add cumin seeds and musturd seeds,

then add chicken pieces , salt and turmuric ,mix everything and cook for 2min

.

Then add ground masala paste and chopped tomatoes to the chicken , mix and cook on low flame for 5 min

.

Now add 1-1/2 cup of water to the chicken mixture , cover and cook for 2 wistles

(until chicken is cooked completely ) and gravy is thick

.

Done , serve hot with roti , appam or rice

kobbari kajjikayalu

Ingredients For Dough

1 cup maida ( all purpose flour)
2 tbs hot oil
pinch of salt
water to knead the dough

Ingredinets For Filling

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup decicated coconut powder
pinch of cardamom powder

METHOD

.

Add salt and hot oil to maida ,mix until maida is coated with oil ,then sprinkle little by little water to make a stiff dough

.

Knead the dough for 5 min and keep aside

.

Add sugar , coconut powder and cardamom powder to bowl and mix well

.

Take dough and make a small balls , cover with damp cloth

.

Now take 1 dough ball , roll in to thin ( like poori) , spread a spoonfull of coconut mixture on one half of the circle

.

Damp edges of the rolled dough on one half with water , combine both the edges , press and seal like as shown in pic and keep under damp cloth

.

Do the same precedure with all the remaining dough balls

.

Heat oil in a wide pan on medium flame , drop 4 to 5 kajjikayalu in to oil and fry on low flame until golden

.

Drain on paper towel , let them cool and store in a air tight container

Tomato Rasam

INGREDIENTS

1 cup tomatoes ( chopped)
1 tsp tamarind paste
1/2 tsp turmuric
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp jaggary
2 tbs oil
cilantro
salt

RASAM POWDER

1 tsp black peppercons
1 tsp cumin seeds
8 curry leaves
3 garlic cloves

Make a corse powder of all the above ingredients

Method

.

Combine chopped tomatoes , tamarind paste , turmuric , chilli powder , cilantro

salt and 3 cups of water in a sauce pan

.

Bring to boil and let it simmer for 15 min untill tomatoes are mashed completely

then add jaggary , keep aside

.

Heat 2 tbs oil for tadka in a pan .add corse ground rasam powder ,sautee for 1 min on medium flame

.

Pour tadka over rasam and serve hot with rice and pickle

Mix Veg Kootu

INGREDIENTS

1 cup split moong dal
1 cup bottle gourd pieces
1 cup cabbage (chopped)
1 carrot ( chopped)
1/2 cup green peas

FOR MASALA

3/4 cup fresh grated coconut
5 green chillis
1 tbs cumin seeds

Grind all the above 3 ingredients in to a smooth paste , and keep aside

FOR TADKA

3 tbs oil
1 tsp cumin and musturd seeds
curry leaves

METHOD

.

Preassure cook moongdal , bottle gourd pieces , cabbage , carrot and green peas with a pinch of turmuric, until dal is cooked completely

.

Now add ground coconut paste and salt ,mix everything and (add water for your required consistency ) ,let it boil for 4 to 5 min on medium flame

.

Heat oil in a pan add cumin seeds , musturd seeds and curry leaves ,pour over cooked veggi dal mixture

.

Done ,serve hot with POORI ( it does not taste good with chapathi (or) roti)

Spinach Egg Masala

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs
1 big onion ( chopped)
1 - 2 cups spinach ( chopped )
1/2 tomato ( chopped)

3 tbs oil
1 tsp cumin and musturd seeds
1 tsp ginger and garlic paste
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp chicken masala powder ( store bought ) (or) cumin and coriander powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmuric

salt
cilantro

METHOD

.

Heat oil in a pan add cumin seeds and musturd seeds ,when they start to splutter add chopped onions , sprinkle salt and satee for 3 to 4 min until soft
.

Now add ginger and garlic paste , fry for 2 min then add spinach ,mix everything and cook on medium flame for 3 to 4 min ( do not cover panwith lid)

.

Now add chopped tomato ( use just 1/2 tomato ), garam masala powder , chilli powder , chicken masala powder and turmuric , cook for 2 min

.

Add eggs with out distrubing the yolks to the spinach mixture , POUR 1/2 cup of water on the corner on pan , cover and cook on medium flame for 5 min

.

Once the egg is cooked fully ,increase flame and sautee for 3 to 4 min

.

Garnish with cilantro

.

Done serve hot with roti (or) rice

Mixed Veg Paratha

INGREDIENTS FOR FILLING

2 potatoes
2 carrots
1 cup green peas
1 onion
2 tbs oil
1 tsp ginger and garlic paste
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp aamchur (or) lemon juice
salt
cilantro


INGREDIENTS FOR DOUGH

2 cups wheat flour
2 tbs oil
salt
water to make dough



METHOD
.
Boil potatoes , carrots and green peas , Drain water and let them cool , once cool grate potatoes and carrots , mash green peas , Mix everything and keep aside
.
Make a soft dough with wheat flour , oil , salt ( like chapathi dough) apply oil on top and keep aside
.
Heat 2 tbs oil in a pan add finely chopped onion ,sautee until soft then add ginger ,garlic paste ,chilli powder , garam masala powder , aamchur powder and salt then add grated potatoes , carrots and mashed green peas ,Mix everything and sautee on medium flame for 5 min ,then add chopped cilantro ,keep aside and let the whole mixture cool
.
Once the veggie mixture is cooled make a lemon size balls , then take dough and make balls, as shown in above picture ,

.
Now take one dough ball and roll ,then stuff with veggi ball , cover and roll again in to a thin chapathi
.
Heat a nonstick skillet , and roast paratha on both sides with 1 tsp of oil until golden

DONE serve hot with yogurt

Chicken fry

INGREDIENTS

1 pound chicken ( cubed)
1 onion ( sliced)
1 tomato (chopped)
4 to 5 green chillis (slit)
1 tbs ginger and garlic paste
1/2 tsp turmuric
1/2 to 1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 spring curry leaves
4tbs oil
1 tbs ghee
salt
cilantro
cashews
lemon juice


Garam masala

4 cloves
5 cardamom
1/2 cinnamon stick
8 black peppercons

dry roast and grind to a coarse powder

METHOD

.

Marinate chicken with lemon juice , salt , chilli powder and turmnuric for 30min

.

Heat oil in a pan add green chillis , curry leaves , sliced onions, fry until brown then add ginger and garlic paste , sautee for another 2 min

.

Add chopped tomatoes and marinated chicken , fry for 5 min , cover and cook on low flame until chicken is cooked completely and no water left

.

Now add coriander powder , ghee , cashews and above roasted spice powder

.

Fry on medium flame until dry , sprinkle with cilantro

.

Done ,serve hot