Cabbage Pakora (Pakodi)

Ingredients:
Cabbage - cut into small pieces
Besan(Chick Pea floor)
Turmeric
Cumin Seeds (Jeera)
Chilli Powder
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

Method of Preparation:
Add all the above ingredients thoroughly and make it a thick paste with little bit of water. Keep a deep vessel on stove and pour oil in it. Let the oil heat. Put the above mixture in small chuncks in the oil. Deep fry them, you will see color changing then turn it around. let the color change on the other side too. Take it out from the oil and place it on the kichen tissue paper, to absorb the extra oil. You can serve this with ketchup or any chutney.

Note: To know if the oil is heat or not, just put a pinch of the above mixture in it. If the oil is heated then it will immediately come up with color changing slowly.

Carrot Kheer

This is a simple recipe which I tried on Ugadi.

Ingredients:
Fresh Carrots - 5-6 in number
Milk - 1/2 litre
Sugar - 2 cups
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 table spoon
Cashews and Almonds - upto your taste and desire.

Method of Preparation:
Wash and peel off skin for carrots. Cut the edges of carrots. Boil the Carrots in a pressure Cooker. In the meanwhile, boil the milk in a thick bottemed vessel. After the carrots are done then grind them to a paste and add it to the boiled milk. Stir constantly. Add Sugar to the above mixture. Add Cardamom powder and leave it until it comes to boil or the raw smell of carrots goes away. Sprinkle the Shredded cashews and almonds. Serve it hot or serve it after refrigerating.

Preparation Time: 20-30 minutes
Category: Dessert (Sweets)


Note:
Can get baby carrots which will reduce you first two steps of peeling and cutting edges.

Mamidikaya Pulihora (Mango Rice)

Mamidikaya Pulihora is special for Ugadi(Telugu New Year). The following is recipe for it. It is simple, easy and fast to make and tasty to eat.

Ingredients: (For two persons)

Rice - 1 cup
Mango - 1
Oil - 4-5 table spoons (or enough to fry the following)
Mustard seeds - 1 table spoon
Cumin seeds - 1 table spoon
Chana Dal - 2-3 table spoons
Peanuts - 50 grams
Asafoetida - a pinch of powder
Turmeric - 1 small tablespoon or a pinch of it for colour
Green Chillies - 5-7 in number (Can add more if Spicy is preferred)
Red Chillies - depending upon taste (if required)

Method of Preparation:
Cook the rice seperately as you do regularly. Peel the skin of mango and grate it using a grater. keep it aside. Take a pan/vessel and heat oil in it. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds. Allow mustard seeds to splutter and then add Asafoetida, chana dal, green chillies, red chillies(if needed), turmeric and fry for few seconds or until all the above items are fried a little bit. then add the grated mango into it. mix it for a minute or two and remove it from stove. Add salt to the above mixture.

Spread rice in a bowl or which ever you feel conveniant and spread the above mixture on it. Mix the rice and mixture with hand or spoon. Your Mamidikaya Pulihora is ready.

Note:
1. Using the old fashioned grater is good rather than the grater of food processor. Shall post the picture of it soon for an idea.
2. You can use any rice but the rice should be seperated(phool phool laga undali).We can get that quality if we use Sona Masoori rice or Basmati rice.
3. The Mango used for this should be raw and sour. You can get this mango's in Indian Stores.
4. Red chillies are not needed but it depends on your taste.
5. Shall post some pictures soon.

Preparation time: 10-15 minutes at Max(Excluding cooking rice)
Category: Main Coarse (Rice Variety)

Pesarattu (Split Moong Dal Dosa)

Recipe:
Split Moong Dal - 3 cups
Cumin Seeds - 2-5 table spoons (depending upon your taste)
Ginger (Peeled)- Small piece
Green Chillies - 5-6 in number
Salt to taste

Method of Preparation:
Soak Moong Dal Overnight in water. Next day morning Grind it to smooth paste with Ginger and Green Chillies. No need to ferment the batter. Your batter is ready to make dosas.

To prepare Dosa's:
Take a flat pan and heat it. Sprinkle water on it to test if it is hot or not. If the water on it evoparates with sound then the pan is hot enough to start the dosas. Take a big spoonful of batter and pour it in the middle of pan. Slowly spread out from middle making round shape. (Practice makes it come out real neat round). Pour very little Oil around dosa. let it be for a minute. After that turn the dosa other side. and pour very little oil. When you feel that both sides are done then remove dosa from pan and serve hot with any chutney.

Best Combination:
Pesarattu tastes good with Upma and Ginger Chutney.

Terminology:
Cumin Seeds - Jeera(Hindi), Jeelakarra (Telugu)
Split Moong Dal - Pottu Pesaru Pappu (Telugu)
Flat pan - Dosa Penam (Telugu)
Ginger - Adrak(Hindi), Allam (Telugu)
Green Chillies - Hari Mirch (Hindi), Pachi Mirapakayalu (Telugu)

Note:
1. Cumin seeds are good for digestion. Since Moong dal is heavy food, adding cumin seeds makes it easy to digest.
2. Adding oil while making dosas should be much less. Can just take a table spoon dip it in oil and spread it around dosa.

Preparation Time: 2-3 minutes per dosa.
Category: Tiffins

Eggless Vanilla Cake

Ingredients
½ Can of condensed milk
100 ml of soda water
1/3 cup of butter
1 tablespoon of powdered sugar
1 1/4 pressed cups of all purpose flour
3/4 table spoon level of baking soda
3/4 table spoon of baking powder
2 table spoons of vanilla extract
Small baking dish

Method of Preparation
First Preheat the oven at 300 degrees before starting mixing . Take Maida(all-purpose-floor), with baking soda and baking powder and sift them . keep aside this mixture.

In a big bowl add butter and sugar and mix well together .Then add condensed milk and beat well for 5min continuously. Add soda water and beat well. Add vanilla extract and mix well till you feel that it has been puffed up . Add maida mix gradually and mix it in single direction. While mixing we must be very careful so that it will not create any lumps. Put a timer and mix it exactly for 3-4min in only one direction. Do not change the direction. Grease the baking dish with butter and put all purpose floor in it. Dust it properly and then pour the batter into the dish and bake it at 200 degrees for 5-7 min and then bake it at 150 degree for 35-40min. when done then remove it and keep it outside at room temparature. Do not try to remove the cake before it cools down.

ICING
Cream cheese 1 pack
2 sticks of butter
1 box of confectionary sugar
1 table spoon of Vanilla Extract

Take both of above and keep it in room temperature one night before you plan to do. Add Confectionary sugar to it. Then add 1 table spoon of Vanilla extract to it. After the cake is cooled, add the icing around it and over it smoothly. Dip the knife in hot water and then apply icing.

Note: If you have a cake baking dish from walmart(or any other store) then you dont need apply butter and dust it with all purpose floor as mentioned above.

Preparation Time: 1 hour
Category: Dessert (Sweets)

Aloo Jeera

Aloo Jeera

Ingredients
Potatos - 1/2 pound
Oil - 4 spoons
Jeera(Cumin Seeds) - 2tablespoons
Ginger - 1/2inch
Garlic - 4 cloves
Turmeric - 1 table spoon
Red chilli powder - 1 1/2 table spoon
Tomato - 1
Garam masala - 1 table spoon
Dhania Powder (Coriander Powder) - 1 table spoon
Coriander leaves
Salt to taste

Method of Preparation
Boil potatos with water. Peel and dice them. Chop onions, garlic, ginger, coriander and the tomato.

Heat oil and sauté jeera until they crackle. Add garlic and ginger and sauté until golden. Add Garam Masala, Dhania powder, Salt and stir. Then add the potatoes. Sprinkle turmeric and chilli powder and stir. Add tomato and simmer the flame. Cook covered for 5 minutes and the Aloo Jeera is ready.

Pretty simple isn't it ......

Preparation Time: 20 minutes Max.

Category: Main Coarse (Dry Curries)

Arabic Rice

I tried this recipe on my husband's birthday. I think it can also be called Nuts rice :). Its really soft with not much spices especially for dinner.

Ingredients
Rice 1cup
Water 2cups
Onion-3 medium size
Ilaichi-2
Dalchini-1 stick
Cloves-4
Walnuts-1/4cup
Pine nuts-1/4 cup
Kaju(Cashews)-1/4 cup
Badam -10
Salt to taste

Method of Preparation
Heat oil in a presuure pan. Add onions and fry them till they become brown. Add all the nuts and fry them. Add the cloves, ilaichi and dalchini and add rice. Stir the above. Fry above for a minute and then pour hot water. For a cup of rice add 2cups of water. And salt and stir once more. Cook for one whistle. Then add fried raisins before serving..

Note: The water quantity depends on what rice is used for this like Sona Masoori or Jasmine or Basmati. so add water as you do regularly while cooking rice. Also the number of whistles for pressure cooker depends on the regular usage too.

Variation: If you dont have a pressure cooker. After adding salt just move everything to an electric Cooker.

Preparation Time: 1/2 hour Max.
Category: Main Coarse( Rice Varieties )

Seera

Seera is naivedyam for Satyanarayana Swamy Puja.

SEERA

Category: Sweet
Time for preparation: 10 - 20 minutes

Ingredients:
Rava or Suji 1 cup
Sugar 2 cups
Water 2 cups
Ghee
Cardomom powder
Dry fruits: Cashews,Almonds,Raisins (optional)

Method of Preparation:
Take a vessel and put the ghee and fry cashews. Cashews can take from the ghee and put a side or it can be in the vessel. Put the the suji and roast it until suji changes its color. Some frying aroma comes out. Then add water and sugar to it. Stir it and put it in the low flame and cover it with a lid till done.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Category: Sweets

Red Bell Pepper Chutney(Pachadi)

Red bell pepper as many of you have seen in chinese grocery stores is the main ingredient in this recipe. I shall post the pictures of it soon.



Ingredients:
Red Bell Pepper (Chopped into small pieces)
Oil for frying
Mustard seeds
Cumin Seeds
Chana Dal
Urad Dal
Red Chillies
Tamarind Juice
(Tamarind soaked in little water for 10 minutes. You can also heat the tamarid + water in microwave for 30 seconds rather than waiting for it to be soft)

Method of preparation:
Take a pan or kadai. Put oil in it. Let it heat for few seconds. Add mustard seeds. let the mustard seeds splutter. Add cumin seeds, Red chillies, Urad dal, Chana dal to it. let it be for few seconds so that the dal's are fried a little bit. Now add Red Bell Pepper to it. Add turmeric and salt and let it cook with closed cover on it for few minutes or until the red pepper is soft.



Let the above mixture cool. Grid the above with the Tamarind juice and the Red Bell Pepper chutney is ready.


Note: Red Bell Pepper tastes sour in order to remove that sour we need to add enough red chillies and tamarind juice, so that the taste compensates a little bit.

Preparation Time: 15-20 minutes
Category: Side Dishes(Chutney/Pickles)

My Indian Cooking

Hi

I am here to share my recipes with you.
The site I love for recipes is http://www.nandyala.org/Mahanandi
She posts everything including pictures. which givs us a very nice idea of how it should be at different stages of cooking. Thanks for the inspiration.