Heerekaayi Porachukootu (Ridgegourd pepper gravy)

Ingredients:

• Ridge gourd - 2 
• Toor dhal - 3/4 cup
• Channa dhal - 1/4 cup
• Salt - to taste
• Dry coconut - 3/4 cup
• Curry leaves - 2 stalks
• Mustard - 1/4 tsp
• Oil - 1 tsp

To grind:

• Black Pepper - 1/2 tbsp
• Urad dhal - 1/4 cup
• Cinnamon - 1/2 inch
• Channa Dhal - 1/8 cup
• Asafoetida - 1 pinch
• Red chilli - 1
• Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Cut ridge gourd into medium sized pieces and cook.
2. Pressure cook toor and channa dhal.
3. Dry roast all ingredients under "to grind".
4. Grind the roasted ingredients with dry coconut (or fresh coconut if dry is not available) into fine powder.
5. Mix the ground powder with cooked vegetables and cooked dhal and boil with curry leaves.
6. Splutter mustard with a pinch of hing in a spoon of oil and garnish.

Akki Rotti - Hot rice bread

Ingredients:

• Rice flour - 2 cups
• Coconut - 1.5 cups
• Jeera - 1 tbsp
• Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup chopped
• Salt - to taste
• Hing - a pinch
• Vegetables such as capsicum, green peas, cabbage (optional) - 1 cup chopped
• Ghee/butter/oil

Method:

1. Chop vegetables finely.
2. If you are using peas, boil for sometime till soft and place aside.
3. Mix vegetables with rice flour, salt, coconut, coriander leaves and hing evenly, by adding water little by little till pasty consistency is reached. Mixture should neither be too watery nor too dry.
4. Take a handful of the mixture and flatten on a non-stick surface (such as package of Lays chips) greased with ghee/oil/butter. Dip hands periodically in a cup of water before flattening so hands do not stick to mixture.
5. Transfer rotti to tava and roast on tava till golden brown spots appear.
6. Serve hot with a dash of butter.

Vegetabe Saagu

Ingredients:

Vegetables:

• Carrot - 2
• Beans - 15 to 20
• Peas - 1 cup
• Potato - 1
• Beetroot - 1
• Chow chow - 1
• Salt 

To grind:

• Coconut - 1.5 cups
• Coriander seeds - 1.5 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Cardamom - 1
• Cinnamon - 1 small piece
• Pepper - 15-20 balls
• Red Chilli - 1 to 2
• Jeera - 1/4 tsp
• Coriander leaves - 1 cup chopped
• Mint leaves - 1/2 cup chopped
• Ginger - 1/2 inch
• Rice grains - 1 tsp
• Hing - a pinch

Method:

1. Cook all vegetables with salt (If you are using a pressure cooker, remove after 1 whistle and cool immediately).
2. Grind all ingredients under "to grind" into a smooth paste.
3. Mix ground paste with the cooked vegetables and boil for few minutes.
4. Serve with hot puri.

Radish Moong Curry

Ingredients:

• 1 big radish
• Moong Dhal - 1/2 cup
• Coconut - 1/2 cup
• Salt - to taste

For seasoning:

• Oil - 1 tsp
• Mustard - 1/2 tsp
• Red chilli - 1 or 2
• Bengal gram dhal (kadale bele) - 1/2 tsp
• Urad dhal - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - 2 stalks
• Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Method:

1. Grate the radish (or chop fine) and place aside.
2. Roast the moong dhal in a kadai till it turns golden brown and emits a nice aroma. Put aside.
3. Now, in a frying pan, add all ingredients for seasoning.
4. Add the grated radish and roasted moong dhal into the pan. Add salt and cook with water. (Alternatively, you can pressure cook roasted moong dhal and grated radish, followed by seasoning and adding the coconut at the end. Just remember not to overcook if you are using a pressure cooker).
5. Add coconut and leave the mixture on stove for few minutes

Stuffed Brinjal

Ingredients:

• Small brinjals - 8
• Besan - 3 tbsp
• Groundnuts - 2 tbsp
• Coriander leaves - 1/3 cup
• Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
• Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
• Jeera - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Asafoetida - 2 pinches
• Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
• Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp
• Cooking oil - 2 tbsp

Method: 

1. Roast groundnuts till golden brown and grind into a coarse powder. Keep aside.
2. Mix besan and coriander powder and roast for few minutes till the smell of raw besan disappears.
3. Add chilli powder, salt, lemon juice, turmeric, asafoetida, groundnut powder and coriander leaves into the besan-coriander powder and mix thoroughly into a homogenous mixture.
4. Slit brinjal using 2-3 cuts such that the brinjal is still one single piece, so that it can be stuffed conveniently.
5. Stuff the brinjal with the mixture.
6. Put 2 tbsp oil into a kadai and add the stuffed brinjals. 
7. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and close the lid. 
8. After a short while, remove lid, add little water to help in cooking of the brinjal and place back lid. Turn into low flame.

Boorulu - Stuffed sweetballs

Ingredients:
Fresh grated coconut - 1/3 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup
Elaichi - 3
Moong Dhal - 1/2 cup
Urad flour - 1/3 cup
Rice flour - 2/3 cup
Salt - to taste
Ghee - 2 tsp

Method:
1. Soak moong dhal for 2 hours.
2. Grind into coarse paste (like rava).
3. Pour into idli maker and steam like idli.
4. After idlis cool, mash with hand into small pieces.
5. Mix rice flour and urad flour with water and 1 tbsp jaggery and 1 pinch salt, into a pasty consistency. This should be done 1 hour prior to deep-frying boorulu later in step 12, as this needs to be left aside for an hour.
6. Put 2 tsps ghee in a kadai, and add coconut and saute for 2 minutes.
7. Add into the moong dhal mixture.
8. Add 1/4 cup water into jaggery and set to boil in medium flame, till it gets a sticky consistency.
9. Once jaggery syrup is ready, add into the moong dhal mixture.
10. Add powdered elaichi into the mixture.
11. Add a pinch of salt into this and make lemon sized balls.
12. Dip into the rice/urad flour paste and deep fry till golden color.
13. Serve hot or cool.

Mint Coriander Pulao

Ingredients:

Rice - 2 cups
Pudina leaves (washed and chopped) - 1/2 cup
Coriander leaves (washed and chopped) - 1/2 cup
Potatoes (medium sized) - 2
Carrot (medium sized) - 1
Peas - 1/2 cup
Mealmaker (optional) - 1/2 cup
Ginger (grated fine) - 1.5 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Vegetable oil - 2 tsp
Ghee - 4 tsp (or if you skip oil, you can put 6 tsp ghee)
Cinnamon - 1 stick (about 1.5 inch)
Star aniseed - 2 petals
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Clove - 2
Green chilli - 1

Method:
1. Wash the rice, soak for 15 minutes.
2. Wash and cut the vegetables and keep aside.
3. Dry grind cinnamon and star aniseed and put aside.
4. Put oil/ghee in a pan, add clove, coriander powder and grated ginger, and saute for half a minute.
5. Now add the vegetables. Add salt, chilli powder and turmeric.
6. Now add chopped pudina leaves and coriander leaves.
7. Add ground cinnamon and star aniseed powder and saute for 4 minutes in medium flame.
8. Transfer sauted contents to pressure cooker.
9. Drain water from rice and add rice to the cooker. Add 5.5 cups of water and keep on medium flame.
10. When the mixture starts to boil, taste the mixture for salt. Place lid and cook for 3 whistles. After 3 whistles, put on low flame and continue to cook for 3 minutes.
11. Serve hot with yoghurt raita.


Variation: Do not put pudina and coriander leaves. Instead, add 1/3 cup grated and ground coconut to the 5.5 cups of water while mixing with rice. Also, add 2 tomatoes to the vegetables.