JEERA RICE

INGREDIENTS:

1. Basmati rice -- 1 cup.

2. Ghee or oil -- 2 tbsp.

3. Jeera/cumin seeds (1/2 tsp of normal jeera and 1/2 tsp of black jeera/shahi jeera/kala jeera)

4. Carrot -- chopped 1/4 cup.

5. Peas -- 1/4 cup.

6. Onion -- 1 medium-sized cut into thin strips.

7. Green chillies -- 3.

8. Salt to taste.

METHOD:

Soak the basmati rice. Heat ghee/oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, once it splutters, add green chillies, onion and saute them for 2 minutes. Then add chopped carrots and peas and saute them for 2 minutes. Now add the rice and mix well. Add 1-1/2 cup of water and salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer the flame and cover the pan and cook until 90% done. Now add 1 tbsp of ghee and mix well and switch off the stove and keep the pan covered for 10 more minutes before serving. Serve this Jeera rice with any Veg or Non-veg curry and raita.

PEAS GHEE RICE/PULAO

This is a simple and yummy rice dish, a great accompaniment with veg or non-veg curry.

INGREDIENTS:

1. Basmati rice – 1 cup.

2. Onion – 2 medium-sized (1 cut into lengthwise strips).

3. Green peas – 1/2 cup.

4. Green chillies – 3.

5. Ginger – 1 inch.

6. Garlic – 2 pods.

7. Cumin seeds – 1 tsp.

8. Cloves – 3.

9. Cardamom – 2.

10. Cinnamon stick – 1 inch.

11. Bay leaves – 1

12. Cashewnut -- 10

13. Oil – 2 tbsp.

14. Ghee – 3 tbsp.

15. Salt to taste.

16. Coriander leaves – 2 sprig chopped.

METHOD:

Soak the basmati rice in water for 10 mins. Grind 1 onion, ginger, garlic, and green chillies coarsely without adding water. Heat 2 tbsp of oil and 1 tbsp of ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. Once it splutters, add cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Then add onion (cut into lengthwise strips) and saute for 2 mins. Now add the ground paste and cook until the raw smell disappears. Now add fresh peas (if using the dried peas, soak and boil before adding) and mix with the masala. Drain the water and add rice to the pan and mix with the masala. Then add 1 tbsp of ghee to it and pressure cook for 2 whistles adding 1 ½ cup of water. Once done, add 1 tbsp of ghee and mix. Garnish with fried cashews and chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with veg/non-veg curry.

VATHA KOLUMBU

This is a spicy gravy of vegetables cooked in tamarind juice.

INGREDIENTS:

1. Tamarind -- lemon size.

2. Vegetables of your choice (Drumstick, small onions, brinjal, potato, ladies finger, etc) – cut into desired size.

3. Garlic – 10 pods.

4. Chilli powder – 1 tbsp.

5. Coriander/Dhania powder – 1 tbsp.

6. Turmeric powder – 1 tsp.

7. Mustard – 1 tsp.

8. Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp.

9. Chana dal – 1 tsp.

10. Asafoetida/hing – 1 tsp.

11. Curry leaves – few

12. Coriander – 1 sprig chopped.

13. Oil – 3 tbsp.

14. Salt to taste.

15. Jaggery/Sugar – 1/2 tsp.

METHOD:

Add 2 cups of water to tamarind and extract the juice. In a heavy bottomed pan, add oil and once it is hot, add mustard seeds, and once it splutters, add fenugreek seeds, chana dal, garlic pods, onions (you can use small or big onions), curry leaves, hing, vegetables and saute them. Then to the tamarind juice, add turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander/dhania powder, salt and mix well. Add this to the pan, stir well and close with a lid and cook in medium flame until it becomes thick and oil floats on top. Add jaggery/sugar, chopped coriander and mix well. Serve hot with rice, idli or dosa. It tastes better when gingelly/sesame oil is used. (You can make this even with dried vegetables ( sundakai vathal, manathakkali vathal or vendakai vathal) or even with field beans.

RASMALAI

This is a rich and yummy desert made with milk, cream, and nuts.

INGREDIENTS:

1. Milk -- 1/2 litre.

2. All purpose flour/maida -- 1 tsp.

3. Lemon juice -- 2-3 tbsp.

4. Sugar -- 1 cup.

5. Water -- 3 cup.

For Cream Sauce:

1. Milk -- 1 litre.

2. Sugar -- to taste.

3. Cardomom powder -- 1/2 tsp.

4. Almonds and Pistachios -- chopped.

METHOD:

Boil 1/2 litre of milk in a pan, remove from heat, add lemon juice and stir gently until the milk curdles (paneer forms) and separates. Now strain the milk in a cloth and pour running cold water on the paneer and twist the cloth to strain out excess water. Make sure there is no water, then add 1 tsp of all purpose flour or maida and knead the paneer to make a smooth dough and make equal size small balls. In a pressure cooker, add 3 cups of water and dissolve 1 cup of sugar, then add the paneer balls. Close the pressure cooker and cook until one whistle and then switch off the stove. After 5 minutes, pour cold water over the pressure cooker lid to remove the remaining pressure. Now the paneer will be cooked. Remove the paneer from the water and cool it.

Take 1 litre of milk in a heavy saucepan, bring to boil and then reduce the heat to medium. Cook until it becomes thick and reduce to almost half of the quantity. Make sure you stir now and then to prevent it sticking to the bottom of the pan. Now add sugar to taste, cardamom powder and cook for 2 minutes. Then switch off the stove. Now add the cooked paneer, but make sure you genly squeeze out the sugar syrup before adding to the reduced milk. Mix gently and garnish with chopped almonds and pistachios. Refrigerate and serve chilled.

Actually you can do this with store-bought paneer also, but put the paneer in a food processor before using it, so that you can make smooth balls.

SPONGE CAKE

This is a simple sponge cake and really tastes yummy.

INGREDIENTS:

1. Eggs – 6.

2. Butter/Ghee – 20 -22 tbsp.

3. Sugar – 20 tbsp.

4. All purpose flour – 20 tbsp.

5. Baking powder – 1 tbsp.

6. Vanilla essence – 4-5 drops.

METHOD:

Beat the eggs. Add ghee/butter, sugar, all purpose flour, baking powder, essence and beat well. Now grease the cake tin with butter and pour the mixture in the cake tin. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius and bake for about 45-50 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut the cake.

Enjoy!!!

CORIANDER RICE

This is a tasty and flavorful rice dish.

INGREDIENTS:

1. Cooked rice – 2 cup.

2. Onion -- 1 medium-sized chopped.

3. Coriander leaves – 1 cup chopped.

4. Ginger -- 1 inch.

5. Green chillies – 2.

6. Asafoetida – pinch.

7. Mustard seeds – 1 tbsp.

8. Curry leaves – few.

9. Salt to taste.

10. Oil.

METHOD:

Grind coriander leaves, 1 green chilli, and ginger without water into a paste. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, once it splutters, add onions, 1 split green chilli, curry leaves, asafoetida and saute them. Then add the coriander paste, salt and mix well and cook till the raw smell disappears. Now add the cooked rice and mix well. Garnish with fried cashews. Serve hot with raita.

EGGPLANT/BRINJAL CURRY

This is a traditional eggplant/brinjal curry from Karnataka.

INGREDIENTS:

1. Eggplants/brinjal – 2, chopped into 1-inch length pieces.

2. Mustard seeds – 1 tbsp.

3. Urid dal – 1 tbsp.

4. Curry leaves – few.

5. Tamarind juice – 2 tbsp.

6. Jaggery -- 1/2 tsp.

7. Oil – 2 tbsp.

8. Asafoetida/hing – pinch.

9. Salt to taste.

10. Masala powder freshly made.

Masala powder:

1. Chana Dal – 2 tbsp.

2. Urid dal – 1 tbsp.

3. Cinnamon – 2 inch stick.

4. Cloves – 2.

5. Poppy seeds – 1 tsp.

6. Coriander seeds – 2 tbsp.

7. Dry red chillies – 2.

Dry roast all the ingredients in a pan and grind into a fine powder, do not add water to it.

METHOD:

Chop the eggplants and soak them in water so that they don't discolor. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and temper with mustard seeds, urid dal, hing and curry leaves. Now, drain the water from the chopped eggplants/brinjal and add to the pan, saute it and cover and cook. When it is half done, add salt, tamarind juice, jaggery, freshly made masala powder and mix well. Add little water if required and cook until done. Serve hot with rotis or rice.