Favourite Snack : Puri for PaniPuri

Ingredients :

Rawa/semolina/sooji 1/4 cup
Maida/all purpose flour 1 tsp
Warm water As needed
Salt As needed

Preparation :

Sprinkle warm water/Soda just enough needed and make a crumbly looking sooji as shown in the picture.

Then add maida and knead well for 10 minutes and add a tsp of oil towards the end.

The dough should be stiff and smooth,so better be careful while adding water and maida. (adding more maida or water will make the poori chewy).Keep aside for 15 minutes.

Roll in the dough on a  clean counter top.Roll very very thin,it was bit hard for me,but still its possible. Cut into small rounds using a lid(I used my mini coffee filter’s lid)

Prick with fork if you don't want the poori's to puff up.

Heat oil and fry the poori's over medium flame till crisp.

You can store in airtight container for a week.

Healthy Snack : Oats (kudumulu)

Ingredients :
Quick cook oats(quaker) 1 cup

Water 3/4 cup
Grated coconut(optional) 2 tblsp
Salt As needed

To temper
Coconut oil (or any) 2 tsp
Mustard 1 tsp
Urad dal 1 tsp
Curry leaves A sprig
Green chillies 3
Hing 2 pinches

Preparation :

Heat a kadai with oil and temper with the items given under ‘To temper’ table in order. Add water and salt to it and bring to boil.

Add the oats and put the flame to low and mix well. Add coconut if desired and mix well. If its too dry you can sprinkle a tblsp of water.

After a minute, the oats get cooked and becomes sticky rather than brittle. So this is the correct stage to put off the flame. Cool down the mixture and grease your hands. Make equal sized balls and make kudumulu..

Steam cook in greased idly plates for 4-5 minutes. Serve immediately!

Oats snack is ready enjoy with red chutney!!!!

Breakfast Reciepe : Instant Oats Dosa

Ingredients :

Quick cook oats(Used Quaker) 3/4 cup
Rice flour 1/2 cup
Sooji or wheat flour 1/4 cup
Green chilli 1 no, chopped
Coriander leaves chopped 1 tblsp
Ginger chopped 1 tsp
Cumin seeds/jeera 1 tsp
Pepper 1 tsp
Onion 1 no,chopped
Salt         as needed
Water as needed

Preparation :

Make a thin batter of the all the ingredients except onion.

Heat dosa pan and sprinkle the onions and then pour the batter to make dosa.Sprinkle little oil.Cook in medium flame and no need to flip,when the dosa becomes golden brown,take out and transfer to the serving plate.

Enjoy with sambhar or any chutney.

Healthy Breakfast : Oats Idly

Ingredients :


Oats  1 cup
Wheat rava(godhumai rava) 1/2 cup
Curd 1/2 cup
Vegetables of ur choice As needed
Water 1/2 cup+more if needed
salt 1 tsp(adjust per ur taste)
Eno fruit salt 1/2 tsp
Lemon Juice from 1/2 of a lemon
Green chillies,finely chopped 2 nos
Chopped coriander leaves 1 tblsp
Chopped ginger 1 tsp


To Temper :


Oil 11 tsp - tblsp
Mustard 3/4 tsp
Urad dal 1 tsp
Channa dal 1 tsp
Curry leaves 1 sprig


Preparation :

Dry roast Oats for 3 minutes in medium flame until nice aroma comes.Powder it coarsely after it cools down.

Heat a pan with oil and temper the items in the table ‘To temper’ ,followed by the veggies u decided to add and ginger,green chillies,coriander leaves. Give it a quick fry and add the wheat rava and fry for a minute in medium flame.


Transfer to mixing bowl,add salt,curd,lemon juice,water as required and make a batter,which consistency is similar to our idly batter.(neither too runny nor too thick). Mix well. Add Eno fruit salt just before making idlies and mix well. This will give you a frothy/airy batter which gives a soft spongy idly.

Serve hot with any chutney of your choice.

Easy Sweet : Halwa in Microwave

Ingredients :

Corn flour 1/2 cup

Sugar 1 & 1/2 cups

Water 2 cups

Ealchi powder A pinch

Cashews 5 nos.

Ghee   2 –3  tsp

Food colour 1/2 pinch

Preparation :

Mix corn flour,sugar,water and food colour in a large microwavable bowl, without any lumps.

Microwave in high for 6 minutes. After 4 minutes in between, mix once. Again microwave for 6 minutes, stirring in between after every 2 minutes of interval.

Fry cashews in ghee till golden brown and mix well. Grease a plate with ghee and pour in the plate and let it cool down for 1/2 hour or so. Cut into pieces!!!1

Hyderabad Special : Dum Biriyani :)

Ingredients :

1. Basmati Rice – 4 Rice cooker cups (I measure rice with rice cooker cups and rest with US standard cups)
2. Chicken – 2 pounds/1kg, with or without bones cut into medium sized pieces
3. Oil – 1 tablespoon
4. Salt – 2 tablespoon
5. Cardamoms – 2
6. Star anise -1
7. Food color/Saffron – Soak in 1 tablespoon of water.


For Marination:
1. Cloves/Lavang – 6
2. Cinnamon/Dalchini – 1 inch piece
3. Cardamom/Elachi – 4
4. Star Anise – 2
5. Black Cardamon – 2
6. Bay leaves – 5-6
7. Black peppers – 20
8. Javitri/Mace – 2
9. Shaji Jeera/Black Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon
10. Yogurt/Curd – 1 1/2 Cup
11. Green chilies – 2, Split
12. Red chili powder – 1 teaspoon
13. Salt – 1 teaspoon
14. Mint – 1 cup, chopped
15. Cilantro – 1 cup, chopped
16. Lemon juice – 2 tablespoons
17. Turmeric – 1/2 teaspoon
18. Ginger Garlic paste – 2 tablespoons
19. Oil – 2 teaspoons


Procedure :

1. Wash chicken pieces and drain completely. Make small slits into the chicken pieces with knife, in this way the spices incorporates well into the chicken. Add salt, lemon juice, turmeric and leave for 10 minutes. Add of the ingredients for marination and refrigerate overnight, or at least 3-4 hours.

2. Rinse the rice and soak it in water for 30 minutes. In a heavy deep pan boil about 2 liters of water. Let the water bubble, add salt, cardamoms, star anise, oil to the boiling water and cook for 1 more minute. Now add rice and cook for just 5-6 minutes under medium-high heat(7 out 10 flame setting).
3. Drain the rice immediately. In a different pan add the chicken pieces, spread them flat and add the rice on top of the chicken pieces. Spread rice in the pan, pour saffron water, so that it spreads on some of the rice. Cover with a cloth and keep a plate or some heavy item on top so that the flavor wont go away, and cook for 10 minutes under medium heat(5 out of 10 heat setting) , 10 minutes under high heat(7 out of 10 heat setting) and again 10 minutes under medium heat(30 minutes total).
4. Transfer the rice and chicken pieces into a wide bowl and mix them together.

Dosa/Idly Combination :Tamarind Chutney

Ingredients :

Red chillies - 15/20
Dhaniya  - 1 tbsp
Methi - 1/2 tbsp
Jeera - 1tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tbsp
curry leaves
Oil - 3tbsp
Ginger - small piece
Tamarind Pulp - 5tbsp (thick pulp)

Preparation :


Heat the pan and add 3 tbsp's of oil.
Now add mustard seeds,jeera,methi dhaniya,red chillies,curry leaves one by one..
Fry it for 2min.then remove the pan,now add the ginger pieces..
keep it aside..let it be cool.

Take the food processor now add all the fried items. 
And add  5 tbsp of Tamarind pulp, salt,tumeric powder.

Now the Tangy and Tasty Tamarind chutney is ready..


Note : if you want you can add garlic..

Prawns Curry

Ingredients : 

Prawns - 1/2 kg

Onion - 1

Tomatos -2

Mustard seeds -1/4 tbsp

Jeera -1/2 tbsp

Chilli powder - 3tbsp

Dhaniya powder - 2tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4tbsp

Pepper powder -1/4tbsp

oil-5 to 6 tbsp

salt

corriender for garnish

garam masala powder -1/2 tbsp

Preparation :


Take a cooker add prawns,salt,turmeric powder and water boil it upto one vessel..then filter that water...

Take a pan and heat it add oil then add mustard seeds,jeera,then onions.

Fry it nicely until it turns golden brown.then add tomatos fry it nicely until the oil comes out...

After that add chilli powder,turmeric powder,dhaniya powder and salt.

leave it for another 2 min then add half boiled prawns into it..

cook for few minutes..then add garam masala,corriender...

serve with roti,white rice...yummy yummy prawns curry is ready.... :)

Easy Reciepe Pepper prawns

Ingredients:

Prawns - 250grams, deveined

Red Chilli powder - 1tsp

Turmeric - 1/2tsp

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1tsp

Salt to taste

Curry leaves

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Coconut oil - 1tbsp

Lemon juice - 1tsp

Preparation :

• Marinate the prawn with red chill powder, turmeric powder, salt, and ginger garlic paste for about an hour.
• Heat the coconut oil, add the mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add the curry leaves and then the marinated prawns.
• Cook for about 5mins. Remember prawns cook fast..remove from fire in 5mins else it will overcook.
• Serve hot and top with some freshly squeezed lemon

Chilli Chicken Reciepe

Ingredients :

400 gms boneless chicken

1 egg

2 tbsp all purpose flour

2 tbsp cornstarch

Salt to taste

3 tbsp yogurt

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tbsp red chilli paste (grind red chillies using little water and make a paste)

1 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1 medium onion (finely chopped)

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

Oil to deep fry

Preparation :-


Cut chicken into cubes. Add salt, egg, all purpose flour, cornstarch, red chilli paste. Mix well. Deep fry one by one. In another pan, heat oil. Add onion and cook till translucent.
Add ginger and garlic paste, mix well.
Add coriander powder, red chilli powder and mix well.
Add yogurt, mix well.
Remove the fried chicken pieces. Add it to the yogurt mixture.
Add salt and mix well.
Add garam masala powder and cilantro. Mix well.
Serve hot.

Special pulav : Chana/Chola pulav

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice - 1 cup
• Chana (cooked or canned) - 1/2 cup
• Onions - 1 medium (sliced)
• Tomato - 1 medium
• Ginger/Garlic paste - 1 tsp
• G.Chilly - 1
• Cocounut milk - 1 cup
• Cinnamon - 1 inch
• Cloves - 2
• Cardamom - 1
• Green peas -1/2 cup

For the paste:

• Onion - 1/2 medium (chopped in cubes)
• Garlic - 2 cloves
• R.Chillies - 2
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Grated coconut - 2 tsp

Procedure:

• Soak the Basmati rice in water atleast for 10 mins. Drain the water, and fry the rice in a pan with a tsp of ghee for a few mins or until the water evaporates. Set aside.
• Heat 1/2 tsp of oil and fry the ingredients mentioned above for the paste except the coconut. Grind them to a paste with coconut.
• Heat ghee/oil in a large wide pan and season with Cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.
• Add the sliced onions and g.chilly and fry until onion turns golden brown.
• Add the ground paste and fry in low heat until the water is completely evaporated and you see oil starting to separate.
• Now add the fried basmati rice and mix well. Finally add the tomatoes, chana,cooked green peas,ginger garlic paste  and salt and mix again. At this point, if you have kasoori methi, you can add it crushed.
• Add 1 cup water and 1 cup coconut milk and bring to boil. Simmer for 10 mins or until the rice is fully cooked.                                                                                                                                                                                    

Mouth watering Chana pulav is ready! Goes well with any mild side dishes like cucumber raita or even any mild curry.....

Special Sweet - Bobbatlu/polilu

Ingredients :


• Toor dal (Kandi pappu)/chana dal (pacchi chanaga pappu)- 1 1/2 cups
• Jaggery- 1 1/2 cups
• Grated coconut- 1/2 cup
• Cardamom- 1 spoon
• All purpose flour (Maida)- 2cups
• Oil- 4 tsps
• 2 pinches of salt
  Semolina (halfcup)

Preparation:

Cook the Toor dal, till its soft but still holding its shape. (See the picture above). It’s important not to over cook the dal. Drain all the water (make sure there is absolutely no water in the dal) and let the dal cool down for few minutes.Now transfer the dal to a food processor with the grated jaggery, coconut and cardamom powder. Pulse or grind the whole mixture till smooth. Taste it, if you feel you need more sweet add little more jaggery to it. The purnam mixture is ready.

Mix all the above ingredients with some water. The consistency of the dough should be little bit softer than chapathi dough. When you pull the dough, it should stretch easily. Cover the dough and leave it for four hours.while mixing the dough add more oil...then it will be easy..While pressing the poli just apply the oil to u r hands and apply some oil to cover(plastic paper) then press it as small roti....dont press more..if u press more puram will cum out... Roast the poli on pan/tawa by applying oil/ghee on both sides in low flame..

Note: 

Take little dougth and then keep puram in it...(too little is fine)

If u add ghee u will feel the nice taste..... so try to add ghee while frying....

Rice Combination - Menthukura pappu

Ingredients:


1 cup packed menthu akkulu/menthu kura 
1 cup tur dal (kandi pappu, red gram)
1 medium sized onion chopped finely
1 tomato, finely chopped (optional)
4-5 green chillis slit length wise(indian variety)
1/3 tsp turmeric (pasupu)
2 whole dry red chillis(deseed and tear into pieces)
5 garlic flakes slightly crushed
1 tsp chopped ginger
10 curry leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds(jeera)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds (ria,aavaalu)
1 tsp salt
chopped coriander leaves for garnish
2 cups water
oil

Preparation :

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a sauce pan and add the mustard seeds and let them splutter.
      Now add the cumin seeds, slightly crushed garlic, whole red chilli pieces and curry leaves and fry for a minute. This is called “Popu” or “Talimpu” in Telugu (Andhra). The tempering adds flavor to the dish.
Now add the chopped onions, chopped ginger and green chillis and fry for 2 minutes on medium heat.Add the chopped tomatoes and saute for 3 mts. Remove from heat.Add this tempering mixture and turmeric to tur dal and add 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker.Now add the washed and picked fenugreek leaves (menthu kura) on top and pressure cook upto till three to four whistles or until tur dal is soft.Wait until the pressure is released and remove the lid.Add salt to this cooked mixture and mash with ladle till well combined.Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rice and ghee, papad and vadiyaalu and you have a complete meal. You can also serve with rotis.

New Snack - Corn Pakodi

Ingredients:

1. Corn – 1cup (I used the frozen corn)
2. All purpose flour or Maida  - 1cup
3. Rice flour – 1/2 cup
4. Green chilli paste – 1tsp
5. Ginger paste – 1tsp
6. Cumin  – 1tsp
7. Salt to taste
8. Oil for deep frying

                                          Method:

• Mix all the above ingredients with a little water and make a thick batter.
• Take a spoonful  of the batter (need not worry abt the shape) ,drop them in oil carefully and  deep fry in oil till golden brown.

                                                                                        

Enjoy them with any chutney or tomato sauce.

Special Rice - Capsicum Rice

Ingredients:

1. Cooked rice – 3cups
2. Capsicums -2 (big size)
3. Ghee/oil – 2tsp
4. Curry leaves – few
5. Salt to taste
6. Roasted peanuts for garnish.

Masala powder:

Roast the following ingredients in ghee and grind them into a powder along with grated coconut.

1. Red chillies – 3 to 4
2. Coriander seeds -  1 tsp
3. Cumin seeds – 1tsp
4. Urad dal – 1tsp
5. Cinnamon stick -1″
6. Peanuts – 2tsp
7. Grated coconut – 1tsp
8. Ghee(clarified butter) – 2tsp
9. Lemon juice – 1tsp(optional)

Method:

• In a wide bottom pan heat oil /ghee,add mustard seeds and curry leaves.
• After the mustard starts spluttering add capsicum pieces and cook for 5min.(Do not over cook the capsicum)
• To this add the above ground powder , salt and mix well.
• Reduce the heat and add the cooked rice and combine with the mixture and salt well.
• Turn off the stove ,add roasted  peanuts at the end, mix well and serve with  raita or any gravy of your choice.