Masala Vadai/Paruppu vadai

               One of my all time favs and a wonderful snack for any occasion. Does not take much time to make these except for one this - is has to be deep fried, which makes us think of the calories ;)

Ingredients:

1. Channa Dhal - 2 cups (Soak 2 hours)
2. Onions - 2 (finely chopped)
3. Green chillies - 3 (chopped)
4. Ginger - 2 inch (chopped)
5. Cilantro   Chopped
6. Curry leaves Chopped
7. Salt as required

How to make it :

1. Soak channa dhal for not more than 2 hours.Take 5 spoons of soaked dhal and keep it separately.Then grind the dhal coarsely in a mixer / food processor. 
2. Add salt and all chopped items like onions,chilly,ginger,cilantro and curry leaves to the coarsely ground dhal. Now mix the soaked whole dhal into this. This will make the vada more crisper.
3. Note the more coarser the dhal is ground, more tastier is the vada. Do not add water to the batter .. it will suck more oil.
4. Now heat oil in kadai and once the oil is nice hot add the vada and deep fry the vadai until it turns color. Put the vada on tissue paper for the extra oil to be absorbed.
5. Serve it with Sambhar and chutney of your choice. 

Sambhar

              Any breakfast or tiffin in South India is incomplete without Sambhar :).So will be my blog if i dont add this here. Sooper easy and delicious.

Ingredients:

1. Toor Dhal/Lentil  -1 cup
2. Green chillies - 3 
3. Red Pepper powder - 1 spoon ( optional)
4. Tamarind pulp (Optional if tomatoes are bland)
5. Onion - 1 big
6. Tomatoes - 1 big
7. Garlic - 4 pods (Crushed)
8. Crushed black Pepper - 1/2 spoon
9. Turmeric powder - 1/4 spoon
10. Any vegetable (Drumstick/Radish/brinjal)

How to make it :

1. Pressure Cook Lentils with water for 2 whistles until they are smashy and well cooked.
2. Take a pan, add oil and add curry leaves and mustard and let it splutter.
3. Then add the crushed garlic pods and split green chillies and saute it.
4. Then add the chopped onions and let it saute for few mins. Now add the chopped tomatoes and turmeric powder,chilli powder and pepper powder.
5. Let it cook until the raw masala smell goes off. Now tranfer the cooked dhal into the pan and with vegetable with required salt and let it cook. You can add tamarind pulp if you are a fan of the tangy taste in the sambhar. 
6. Once the sambhar is ready add some cilantro to add flavour to it. Serve it with Idly,dosa , vada or Rice.

Fruit Custard

               Custards are one of the most easiest and tastiest Indian desserts. You can add fruits to it and make it a fruit custard.So simple as it sounds. Make sure the fruits you add does not ooze out water and make the custard more watery.When you choose to add bananas , remember .. add them at the last when you are ready to serve.

Ingredients:

1. Milk - 500 ml
2. Custard Powder - 3 spoons
3. Whipped cream
4. Sugar - 2 cups
5. Saffron 
6. Bananas,Strawberries,grapes,kiwi and Apple
7. Any fruit of you choice.

How to make it :

1. Boil milk in a crock pot and sugar and stir it occasionally.
2. Add the custard powder and and the saffron and let it boil.
3. Let it thicken until it becomes half of it. Make sure the milk doesn't get burnt.
4. Allow it to cool and mix the cream and leave refrigerate it so that i settles well.
5. Add the fruits little before you are ready to serve it. Make a wonderful dessert.

Tilapia Fish Curry

          My mom used to make meen kozambhu and  I have always been a big fan of this fish curry and my blog will be incomplete without this as it has lot of memories of the old times :). She usually saves it for the next day, yes it is tastier when it settles for sometime.I tried it out with Tilapia bcos we get those fresh here :).Soo easy to make and very tasty.

Ingredients:

1. Tilapia Fillets 3 (Cubed) 
2. Onion - 1 big
3. Garlic pods - 5-6 (chopped)
4. Ginger - 2 inch (chopped)
5. Green Chillies - 3
6. Tomatoes - 1 big
7. Tamarind 
8. Chilli powder
9. Salt

How to make it :

1. Cube the fishes and mix it with chilli powder, turmeric and some salt and let it marinate for sometime.
2. Take a pan add some oil and saute the fillets gently on medium flame until it turns colors. This is just to make the fish firm so that it does not dissolve in the gravy.
3. Take a kadai and add oil and green chillies and onions and let it saute well.
4. Then add the chopped garlic and ginger. Saute them until you get the aroma.
5. Add the sliced tomatoes and chilli powder and turmeric powder and let it cook until an aroma comes. Add some water and tamarind paste and let it cook.
6. Once the curry is cooked, add the tilapia fish into the curry and literally  do not stir. Let it cook for like 5 mins on medium flame and switch it off.
7. Let it settle for sometime for it to be more tastier. Serve it with hot rice. Enjoy!!

Potato- GreenPeas Curry

Ingredients:

1. Potatoes - 2 (Sliced into cubes)
2. Green Peas
3. Onions - 1 big
4. Tomatoes - 1 big
5. Ginger Garlic paste - 1 spoon
6. Coriander powder  - 2 spoons
7. Red Pepper/Chilli powder - 1 spoon
8. Turmeric powder
9. Grated Coconut - 3 spoons 

How to make it :

1. Take a pressure cooker or a kadai and add oil and add the usual stuff like cloves and some mustrad.
2. Add onions and fry until its transparent and then add the ginger garlic paste.
3. Then add the minced totmatoes and let it cook.
4. Grind the coconut and coriander powder to a paste.
5. Add the paste to the cooker and add the turmeric powder and chilli powder and let it cook, until raw smell goes off and oil seperates.
6. Now add the potatoes and the green peas and add salt and let it cook for 2 whistles.
7. Serve it with roti or white rice. Enjoy!!

Rava Laddu

Ingredients:

1.      Fine Rava/Soojii   - 2 cups

2.      Sugar  - 2 cups

3.      Ghee – 30 gms

4.      Milk – 30 ml (As required)

5.      Cardamom powder – pinch

6.      Raisins  - 20

7.      Cashews - 20

How to make it :

1. Take a pan and add 2 spoons of ghee and roast the cashews until light brown and also roast the raisins until they puff up and keep them aside
2. Now add the remaining ghee and roast the rava/soojii until a nice aroma comes. Make sure you do not burn the rava.
3. Transfer this into a big bowl and add the cardamom and the nuts and sugar and mix well.
4. Then add milk as required so that it is in a consistency to make perfect balls. Don’t add too much or too little.
5. You can also transfer the above mix to the kadai and cook it for 2 mins in low flame, but I didn’t do that as my consistency was good for making  the ladoo.
6. Make the laddoo  and let them dry for some time and then store it in a container and put it in the refrigerator

Murukku (Diwali Special)



Ingredients:

1.       Rice flour – 3 cups

2.      Bengal Gram (Pottu kadalai)/ roasted gram flour – 1 cup

3.      Chilli powder – 2 spoons (as required)

4.      Roasted urad flour – 3 to 4 spoons

5.      Salt as per taste

6.      Ajwain seeds – 1 spoon

7.      Sesame seeds – 1 spoon

8.      Butter – ½ to  ¾ stick

How to make it :

1. Soak rice for   2 – 3  hours and grind it with little water as possible or use rice flour from Indian stores. I did it the traditional way.
2. Grind and sieve Bengal gram or use roasted gram power.
3. Ghee roast the urad dhal flour until aroma comes and let is cool and grind it to fine powder and seive it.
4. Take a big bowl and mix all the above with salt and chilli powder and the ajwain/sesame seeds and mix it well.
5. Take the mix in the murrukku machine and squeeze it into desired shapes and designs with various plates.
6. Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry the murukku until its cooked. Let it cool for some time and store it in a air tight container.
7. Enjoy diwali with tasty murukku. Happy Diwali