Hummus

Hummus is a dip/spread that is made from chickpeas. In fact, hummus is the Arabic word for chickpea. You may notice that many hummus recipes call for garbanzo beans, not chickpeas. Hummus tastes different everywhere. Some types of hummus have a strong lemon flavor, some have an overwhelming garlic flavor, and some hummus has a spicy tone. When making your own hummus, you have to keep your own taste buds in mind. If a recipe calls for a lot of tahini and you don't like tahini, scale down the amount or simply omit it. The fun about Middle Eastern cooking is that the ingredient amounts aren't set in stone. Add a little of this and take away that and you still have a culinary masterpiece!

Hummus is one of the more popular Middle Eastern dips. Served with fresh or toasted pita bread, hummus makes for a great snack or appetizer. Tahini is an important part of the hummus recipe and cannot be substituted. However, it can be omitted.

Source Adapted from here

Ingredients :

• chickpeas or garbanzo beans - 1can or 2 cups

• Liquid from can of chickpeas - 1/4 cup

• Lemon juice (depending on taste) - 3 -5 tbsps

• Tahini - 11/2 tbsp

• Garlic, crushed - 2 cloves

• Salt - 1/2 tsp

• Olive oil- 2 tbsp

Method:

• Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor.

Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

• Place in serving bowl, and create a shallow well in the center of the hummus.

• Add a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of olive oil in the well. Garnish with parsley (optional).

• Serve immediately with fresh, warm or toasted pita bread, or cover and refrigerate.

• For a spicier hummus, add a sliced red Chile or a dash of cayenne pepper.

Storing Hummus :

• Hummus can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and can be kept in the freezer for up to one month. Add a little olive oil if it appears to be too dry.

Note : While using the chickpeas , boil them till tender soft and use the same boiled water (broth) in the preparation process.

Tahini Process :

Ingredients:

• Sesame seeds /Nuvvulu (white)/Till - 2 cups

• Olive oil or vegetable oil - 1 cup

Method:

• Take a pan and toast the sesame seeds for 5-10 minutes, tossing the seeds frequently with a spatula. Do not allow to brown. Cool for 20 minutes.

• Pour sesame seeds into food processor/grinder and add oil. Blend for 2 minutes. Check for consistency. The goal is a thick, yet pour able texture. Add more oil and blend until desired consistency.

Gongura pachadi/Red Sorrel leaves Pachadi

Gongura pachadi is famous through out Andhra and without this pachadi no marriage function will be there in Andhra . Gongura is a very rich source of Iron, vitamins, folic acid and anti-oxidants essential for human nutrition. "Gongura" is popular in Tamilnadu as well, which is called "pulichakeerai" in Tamil. The famous combination with "pulichakeerai" is "Ragi Kali/Ragi Mudde", which once used to be a regular food for the people in villages (since these items are easily available in agricultural forms). In Maharashtra markets, it is called Ambaadi (अंबाडी). It is known as Pitwaa in Hindi, Nalitaa Saaga in Oriya, Mestapat in Bengali, Pandi in Kannada and Sorrel Leaves in English. It is a summer crop, and the hotter the place, the more sour the leaf gets.

This gongura pachadi can be done using dry red chilies or green chilies .When red chilies are used , the consistency of the pachadi will be little hard and dry and need more oil while tempering. Green chilies will give a moist consistency and cannot stay for a longer period.

There are 2 varieties of gongura , one is white stem gongura and the other is red gongura .White gongura has a little bitter taste than the red variety . Both of them really taste well. Gongura pachadi with hot rice with a dash of ghee and slice of red onions. Hmmm!!!! no words to express the taste. so Delicious. So here goes the recipe:

Ingredients :

• Fresh Red Sorrel leaves/Gongura Leaves - 2bunches

• Whole dry red chilies - 10

• Green chilies - 3(depending on

• spice level add more)

• Urad dal /Minapappu/black gram dal - 1/2 tbsp

• Senega pappu/chana dal /bengal gram dal - 3/4 tbsp

• Coriander seeds/Dhaniyalu - 1 tbsp

• Salt to taste

• Tamarind pulp - 1/2 tbsp

• Oil - 2 tbsp

Tempering/Seasoning:

• Oil - 3tbsp

• Mustard seeds/Avalu - 1 tsp

• Hing/Inguva- 3 tsp

• Whole Dry Redchillies - 2 (deseeded)

• Curry leaves/Karevepaku - few sprigs (optional)

Method :

• Heat 2 tbsps of oil in a heavy bottom vessel. Add the leaves and tamarind pulp /extract and sauté them until soft and let all the water in the leaves gets evaporated. Remove and let it cool.

• In the same vessel add 1 tbsp oil and add methi seeds and fry till light brown .

• Add coriander seeds,Urad dal,chana dal and dry red chilies and fry stirring constantly till light brown .Remove them and take into a bowl and let them cool down to the room temperature.

• In a grinder , add all the roasted ingredients(methi ,coriander seeds,urad dal,chana dal ,dry red chilies) into a coarse texture.

• Now add the sorrel leaves/gongura leaves and grind once again along with the above grinded seasoning.

• [you grind the chutney /pachadi as per your taste. I like the pachadi to be in a coarse texture instead of a smooth paste.]

• Heat 3 tbsps of oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds/

• Avalu and let them crackle down , now add the inguva /hing and remove from heat and let it completely cool down before adding to the pachadi/chutney.

• Note: Normally for the pickles and pachadi to stay longer the final tempering needs to be added once they are cooled down to room temperature . Especially when adding hing/inguva if added when it is hot ,there is a chance of pickle getting black in color .

• This pickle can be stored in refrigerator and can be used for 15 days and goes well with hot steamed rice, a dash of ghee and sliced red onions.

Tamarind Rice/Chintapandu Pulihora

Pulihora  or Puliyodhara, or Chitrannam is a very common preparation in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Indian cuisine. Puli means sour taste. Pulihora can also be referred as sour rice. It is also known as tamarind rice or lemon rice. In the North coastal part of Andhra Pradesh, people used to call it Saddi but younger generations may not know this name.It is made with tamarind, a spice very popular in southern India.In the districts of Andhra Pradesh, it is considered as the hindus' festival food. It is given as prasadam in temples, were devotees queue to get pulihora after darshan of the God.Pulihora tastes sour, spicy hot and salty at the same time. It is considered to be a good stimulant for a dead tongue. It is easy and inexpensive to cook and is a good stomach filler.As Hindus consider turmeric powder as a symbol of auspiciousness, this dish is cooked for almost all good occasions and during festive days. It is also distributed in temples under the name of Prasad. Other versions of pulihara are made with Un-ripe sour Mangoes, sour pomegranate and lemon.

This is a all time favourite for everyone at my home . If soem relatives are coming or some occasion is there , going out for a picnic or a long distance , festival , No need to mention any occasion pulihora is the first item in the menu list in my home. So here goes the reciepe :

 Ingredients :

• Rice -1 cup
• Water - 2 cups
• Tamarind - 1 big size lemon /gooseberry
• Bengal gram/Chana dal - 2 tsp
• Urad dal/Black gram dal - 11/2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Green chillies - 4 (depending on spice level)
• Red Chillies - 3
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves - few sprigs
• Asafoetida/hing/Inguva - 2 tsp
• Well Rosated Peanuts - 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil - 2tbsps(for seasoning )

 Method :

• Take rice in a vessel and wash it thoroughly and discard the water and add fresh measured water to it.(for 1 cup of rice = 2 cups of water ).Place this rice in a pressure cooker or in a electric cooker and cook it till it is done.
• Remove the cooked rice from the cooker and spread it evenly ina large plate or vessel and let it cool down .
• Soak the tamarind in hot water for 10 min and squeeze thepulp out of it.(the pulp should be thick and not too watery ).
• Add this tamarind pulp to the cooked rice and salt to it and mix well.
• Cut the green chillies length wise and remove the stalks out of it .
• Take another vessel and add oil for seasoning.When the oil is hot enough, add urad dal,chana dal. mustard seeds/avalu, asafoetida,green chillies,curry leaves and red chillies and let them splutter. Add the well roasted peanuts to it and let them also fry for 3 min in the seasoning. Remove from heat and add the turmeric powder and mix well.
• Now add this whole seasoning mixture to the cooked rice and mix very well thouroughly to ensure all the seasoning,tamarind pulp and salt everthing gets absorbed into the rice and taste's good.
• Serve the pulihora at the room temperature.

Note :

• Usually if it is prepared in the morning it tastes good by evening by absorbing all the ingredients in it.
• Always better to serev this at room temperature.
• Peanuts should be well roasted (crackling sound has to come from the peanuts while roasting) otherwise, peanut inside will be raw and doesn't taste good.
• Usually will be there for minimum of 2 days

Wheat Flour dosa /Godhuma Dosa

After a long time , i am back to blogging . Got a new laptop recently as a birthday gift from my dearest hubby R. So just thought of first clearing all the drafts and then try out the new one’s . In this attempt today i thought of posting one simple ,yet easy and instant breakfast ,healthy breakfast.”Wheat Dosa (Godhuma Dosa) is one of theinstant breakfast which we can prepare when we are running out of time

this is the best one . Here goes the recipe :

Ingredients:

•  Wheat flour /Chapathi atta -1 cup
•  Water - sufficient enough to mix the batter
• Jeera powder - 1 tsp
• Black pepper powder - 1 tsp
• Red Mirchi powder - 1tsp
•  Salt - as per taste

Method :

• Mix a cup of wheat flour with 2 cups of water .
• Stir in a teaspoon of rd mirchi powder,black pepper powder ,jeera powder and salt .
• Thoroughly mix teh batter without any lumps . The consistency of batter must be like the regular dosa batter or like a thick butter milk batter and should be in a pourable consistency not too watery nor too thick .
• Don’t let the batter sit for a long time once the batter is ready start pouring the dosa on the hot tawa .
• To prepare, the dosas lightly oil the dosa tava .
• Heat the tava over medium high and when it is hot pour a ladleful of batter on the hot tawa nd spread it in the shape of a dosa .sprinkle little oil on the surroundings of the dosa and cook for a minute or two.
• Wait until the underside of the dosa turns to be golden and then gently turn it to the other side.cook for another minute or two.
• Remove and serve hot with any chutney.

Upma

Upma is one of the south -Indian famous breakfast. It is very easy to cook , Very healthy and nutritious if we add all the vegetables in it. good combination along with allam pachadi.

Ingredients:

• Rava / Sooji (Semolina)  - 1 cup
• Ginger chopped  - 1 inch (chopped)
• Onion – 1 medium (finely chopped)
• Green Chillies – 3 ( cut round wise)
• Potato  -1 chopped into small cubes 
• Carrot – 1 chopped(optional)
• Green Peas frozen or fresh  - ¼ cup
• Mustard Seeds /Avalu – 1 tsp
• Urad Dal – 1 tsp
• Channa Dal – 1 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil – 2 tbsp
• Few curry leaves
• Few corianders leave (optional)
• Ghee - 1 tbsp
• Lemon juice to taste

Method:

• Heat a heavy bottomed vessel with little ghee in it and roast the rava in a medium –low flame and continuously stir it with a spatula till light brown colour and remove from flame and set aside.
• Now heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, channa dal, and urad dal and curry leaves to it and let them crackle and splutter up.
• Add onion, ginger and green chillies and sauté for 2-3 minutes / till onions becomes transparent; now add all the vegetables, and salt to taste, and let them cook till tender soft by covering it with a lid.
• Now add 3 cups of water and cover the pan and allow it simmer on low heat until the vegetables are done.
• Add the roasted   rava to it stirring constantly till it becomes little thick and without forming any lumps. Cook for 2- 3 mins and turn off the heat.
• Squeeze the lemon juice and add it to the upma (if desired).
• Serve hot garnished with cashews and coriander leaves.

Simple Salad for Roti/Chapathi

Ingredients:

• Carrots – 1
• Cucumber(Keera) – 1
• Capsicum – 1
• Onion – 1 small (cut into length wise  pieces)
• Tomatoes – 1
• Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
• Black pepper powder – 1 tsp
• Salt as per taste
• Green chillies – 1 medium size
• Lemon juice -  2 tsp

Method:

• Wash all the vegetables and cut length wise and sprinkle the red chilli powder, salt and black pepper powder
• Cut the green chillies round and small circles and sprinkle them over the salad.
• Cut a fresh and lemon small size and squeeze the juice of it and pour it on the top of the salad and mix well with a spoon.
• Serve with Roti

Good for health also.

Fresh Vegetable Salad

Stuffed Karela /Kakarakaya /Bitter gourd

Karela/Bitter gourd/ Kakarakaya is one of the favourites of my hubby R .Every time he brings the Karela I used to cook something in the manner which I know and he never used to like it and used to say it is one of my favourite vegetable and you spoil it every time .So this time I really felt very bad on it and started searching for good recipe on that vegetable , one day I came to know that he likes stuffed Karela which is prepared by my mother in law , so without any delay I immediately called her up to find out the recipe and made a note of how she prepares and one day as a surprise, I  prepared  this stuffed Karela for R as per my Mother –in law recipe and presented before him . He ate it and he liked it very much and there is a big smile on his face this time. I am so happy by seeing that what else we want when we prepare something for our dear ones and they liked it and ate it. Thanks to my mother in law for her recipe. Here goes the recipe:

Ingredients:

• Karela /Kakarakaya – 6 small sizes (preferable)
• Dhaniya powder - 1/2  tbsp
• Jeera Powder - 1/2 tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Mirchi powder/Red Chilli powder - 3 tsp
• Besan - 1 tbsp
• Garam Masala powder - 2 tsp
• Peanut powder – ½ tbsp (roasted peanut grinded into coarse/fine powder)
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Salt as per taste

Seasoning /Tadka / Popu:

• Mustard seeds/Avalu – ½ tsp
• Jeera seeds – ½ tsp
• Hing/Inguva – 1 tsp

Method:

• Wash the Karela cleanly with water and cut them length wise keeping the ends intact.
• Remove seeds from the Karela and add little salt to it and keep it aside for 10 – 15 min. Meanwhile, take a bowl and mix Besan, dhaniya powder, Jeera powder, turmeric powder, mirchi powder, and garam masala, peanut powder, salt  with a little amount of oil and form as a semi powder –paste as shown in the picture below.
• Take a vessel and boil quarter vessel water and add the Karela to it and just boil for 10 min in medium flame or till Karela/bitter gourd skin is soft (don’t cook till too soft, be very cautious).
• Remove the water from Karela and place them onto a paper towel to absorb the excess water and let them cool off.
• Now, place the stuffing inside the Karela and tie a thread to the Karela so that the stuffing doesn’t come out. (Tying of the thread is optional).
• Heat one tbsp of oil in a heavy bottomed vessel and add the mustard seeds, Jeera seeds and Hing and let them crackle up then slowly add the stuffed Karela and cover it with a lid. Turn them often with a spatula to ensure that all the stuffing along with Karela is properly cooked.
• Turn off the heat and let them cool off and then remove the thread from the Karela and serve hot with Rice.

Mooli Patte Ki Subzi

Recently when I went to market, I found the leaves of White Raddish (Mooli) and bought them to give a try .It really turned out very well. Even my hubby R liked very well. So this is how I tried it:

Ingredients:

• Mooli leaves (white Raddish) – 1 small bunch
• Dhaniya powder - 1/2  tbsp
• Jeera Powder - 1/2 tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Mirchi powder/Red Chilli powder - 3 tsp
• Besan - 1 tbsp
• Garam Masala powder - 2 tsp
• Oil - 1 tbsp

Seasoning /Tadka / Popu:

• Mustard seeds/Avalu – ½ tsp
• Jeera seeds – ½ tsp
• Hing/Inguva – 1 tsp

Method:

• Wash the Mooli  leaves  cleanly with water and finely chop them .
• Take a bowl and mix Besan, dhaniya powder, jeera powder, turmeric powder, mirchi powder, and garam masala with a little amount of oil and form as a semi powder -paste.
• Take a heavy bottomed vessel and heat the oil and once the oil is hot enough add all the seasoning items and let them crackle and pop up, now put under medium flame and add the mooli leaves and little salt and mix well and close the lid, let mooli leaves gets cooked till tender soft, cook them for around 10 min.. Stir in the middle with a spatula to prevent from sticking to the vessel bottom.
• Now, Sprinkle the powder that is prepared and don’t mix it immediately, just cover it with lid and let it cook for 3-5 min.
• Let all the water in the dal get evaporated and comes closer then mix the dal well with a spatula.
• Remove from heat and take into a bowl and garnish it with fresh cilantro leaves.
• Serve Hot with Rice/Roti.

Punjabi Kadi Pakoras - ICC Event September 2010

Punjabi Kadi Pakora

This post goes for the ICC event for the month of September 2010.

Hi Friends, Back to ICC event after a gap of two months, before last month we are moving from California to Atlanta and busy in packing and unpacking of things and hence could not participate and last month my Sister-in-law and family came to my place to spend some time together, So no time for me to look into the event also busy in enjoying time with my Sister –in –law and my sweetest nephew. So this time I really don’t want to miss the event and when Srivalli  posted the September challenge I was really happy to hear that as Panjabi Kadi Pakoras is one dish I always thought of trying and due to my laziness it got postponed from days to months and finally achieved it today . It’s easy to prepare and my pakoras came out really very well so soft and the kadi came out very well with a thick consistency and pakoras came with a small little tails at the end, By the time R came back to home I served him the hot  Kadi pakoras with Roti . Within no time the bowl is completed and my job is to refill the Kadi in his bowl before I eat my 2 rotis. So you can understand how it turned out. There is a small variation  in the recipe given by Srivalli , I added ginger, green chillies mix to the yogurt and Besan mixture and the pakoras are only simple Besan balls with a little bit of Baking soda added to it .Thanks to Srivalli for sharing the recipe, So here goes my recipe:

For Kadi

• Besan / Senaga-pindi – ¼ cup
• Yogurt/ Curd – 1 cup (sour curd is preferably the best)
• Green chillies – 3
• Ginger – ½ inch piece
• Onion – 1 small one cut into length wise
• Salt as per taste

For Seasoning:                                                                                      

• Methi seeds/Menthulu - 1 tsp
• Avalu/Mustard Seeds – 1tsp
• Hing /Inguva/Asafatodia – 2 pinch
• Dry Red Chillies – 2
• Few Curry leaves (optional)
• Few Cilantro leaves (optional) for garnishing.

For Pakoras:

• Besan – 2 tbsp
• Oil for Deep Frying

 Method:

For Kadi:

• Mix the Besan into yogurt without forming any lumps and add little salt to it and whisk it well. (Don’t forget to add salt to the mix, once we keep on stove top there might be a chance of curd mix getting spoiled)
• Grind the green chillies and ginger and add it to the yogurt mixture   and keep it aside.
• Heat a pan and add some oil for seasoning and add Avalu, Menthulu and Hing and red chillies and once they start spluttering add the length wise cut onions and fry them till transparent or golden brown in colour, stir them in the middle (don’t turn them to black) 
• Finally add the seasoning with onions to the yogurt mixture and bring the whole mixture to boil.
• Mean while, Prepare the batter for pakoras.

Preparation of the Batter for Pakoras:

• Take a small bowl with Besan into it and add slowly little bit of water to make semi – thick batter consistency.

Method for Preparing Pakoras:

• Make small ball from that batter and drop it in the oil and fry the pakoras till golden brown in the colour and remove them from oil and place them on paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
• Soak the pakoras in Luke warm water for a minute and add the Pakoras to the Kadi.

• Boil the Kadi along with Pakoras for some 3 min and garnish it with curry leaves and cilantro leaves.

• Serve hot kadi with pakoras.

Besan and Yogurt mixture 

Onions,Ginger and Green chillies 

Onions in seasoning

Pakora (Besan Batter)

Pakora in oil 

My Kadi Pakora with little tails (hahaha...)

Pakoras Dipped in Kadi

 

Punjabi Kadi Pakora

Pulgam Prasadam

Ingredients:

• Basmati Rice / Sona masoori – 1 cup
• Yellow moong dal -1 tbsp
• Jeera – 2 tsp
• Salt as per taste
• Water – 11/2 cup

Method:

• Wash and drain the water from the rice
• Wash and drain the water from the moong dal and add the moong dal to the rice and now add the water to this mix.
• Heat the vessel and add the above mix of rice and moong dal until cooked.
• Add Jeera and salt while the rice is boiling up and cover it with a lid and cook till rice with moong dal gets cooked (approximately for 10 min in a medium heat ).
• Turn off the heat and let it cool down to room temperature.
• Add little sugar or a piece of jaggery (bellam) before offering to god as prasadam.

Pulgam Prasadam

Menthikura pappu /Methi leave Dal

Ingredients:

• Frozen methi leaves/Fresh bunch of methi leaves – 1 cup
• Toor dal/kandi pappu – 1 cup
• Green chillies – 2 or 3
• Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
• Mustard seeds/Avalu – 1 tsp
• Methi seeds – 1 tsp
• Jeera – 1 tsp
• Hing – 1 tsp
• Few sprigs of curry leaves
• Few sprigs of fresh cilantro leaves (for garnishing)
• Turmeric powder – a pinch
• Tamarind extract/Chindapandu rasam – ½ tbsp
• Oil – ½ tbsp
• Salt – as per taste

 Method:

• Wash and clean the methi leaves and pat dry the leaves.
• Wash and rinse the toor dal along with methi leaves and cook till tender soft in a vessel or pressure cooker.
• Add Salt, Red chilli powder, Tamarind extract to the cooked dal and let it boil for 5 min.
• Heat little bit of oil for tadka/popu in a vessel , once the oil is hot add mustard seeds, methi seeds , jeera, hing ,turmeric powder and slit green chillies and let them crackle.
• Once they start crackling, add the seasoning to the cooked dal and add few sprigs of curry leaves and cook for another 3 min and garnish with cilantro /kothimir leaves and remove from heat.
• Serve Hot with Rice/Roti. 

Crispy Cabbage Pakodi

Crispy Cabbage Pakodi

Recently when I went to the grocery store I got cabbage for a less price, so I got 2 cabbages and from then I was thinking apart from curry I want to try something different and was looking on the internet. Luckily I came across cabbage pakodi recipe from here and thought of doing it as an evening snack to R. outside Environment was a bit cool with black clouds in the sky and it was about to rain and I really feel like having pakodi. I started preparing pakodi and by the time R came back home it was full of rain and on the other hand hot hot crispy cabbage pakodi, within no time whole plate of pakodi are completed. What else to say how they have turned out.

Ingredients:

• Besan /Senagapindi – 1 cup
• Rice Flour /Biyyampindi – ½ cup
• Green chillies – 2 (medium hot) [as per the spice level]
• Red Chilli powder – 1 tsp
• Ginger paste – ½ tsp (original recipe calls for ginger garlic paste but R doesn’t like garlic so I didn’t opt for it)
• Large onion – 1 (sliced)
• Finely chopped Cabbage – 2 cups
• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Curry leaves – handful
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

Method:

• Take a bowl and mix Besan, rice flour, red chilli powder, salt, green chilli – ginger paste, curry leaves, onion, finely chopped cabbage by slowing adding the water; it should not be too watery nor too sticky or hard. 
• The batter should be medium hard and should be able to drop in oil like fritters.
• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel for deep frying and once the oil is hot, drop the batter with your hand like fritters into the oil.
• Fry them till golden brown colour on both sides and remove them with a slotted ladle and remove them onto an absorbent paper or paper tissue to absorb the excess oil.
• Serve them hot with any tomato sauce and chilli sauce.

Dropping the fritter into oil

Frying pakodi 

Cabbage Pakodi

Gulabi Puvvulu/Rose cookies/Rosettes

It was quite a long time that I am trying to post this recipe, it is lying in my drafts section for a while and finally today I took some time out to post this recipe. While I am in California, one of my dearest friends Anitha and me we both used to go for morning walk and used to discuss on many things like education, people, society and many other things. We both used to have combined studies at my home and then we both used to try together any kind of new recipe which she comes across or me. One day in our normal discussion she told me that she got the Gulabi Puvullu  or Rose cookies/Rosettes  mould by listening to that I was very happy as it was quite a long time I ate them when mom used to do it . That’s all we both decided to do that on that day and got the mould and started it they turned out very well. But very unfortunately my camera acted too smartly that day so couldn’t take nice snaps. Sorry for that ….

After, I moved to Atlanta, missing all that fun with my friends and special pot lucks without any occasion. Thanks to Anitha for sharing this recipe. Miss you so much….

Ingredients:

• Maida - 2 cups
• Rice Flour - 1 cup
• Sugar-1 ½ cup
• Elaichi/ Cardamom powder – 2 tsp
• Water- 1 cup
• Oil for deep frying
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Take a vessel and put together rice flour, maida, cardamom powder, salt, and sugar and add slowly the water to make a smooth batter, the batter shouldn’t be too loose and pouring nor the batter shouldn’t be too thick. It should be consistent enough and should form like a dosa batter  
• Take a heavy bottomed vessel and pour oil for deep frying and heat it till the oil is too hot. Now put the mould in the hot oil (this needs to be done before dipping the mould into the batter).
• Remove the mould from the hot oil and dip it in the batter and remove and place it in the hot oil and leave it for less than a minute. Use a spoon/fork to gently shake the mould with it so that the shape of the mould will be left in oil and leaves the mould.
• Ensure to keep the heat in a medium flame (or) adjust accordingly to amount of heat required.
• When the gulabi puvvu turns into golden colour , turn on both sides and remove from oil using a slotted ladle and remove onto a paper tissue to absorb the excess oil in it .
• Repeat the same process till the batter is completed.
• Once cool, Store them in an air tight container.

Okra Curry/Bendakaya Kura

Bhendi/Bendakaya/okra/Lady’s Finger  is one of my favourite vegetables. I am very fond of Bendakaya fry , In my childhood days , my father used to say  that if you eat bendakaya/Okra/Lady’s Finger your memory power will be increased.I really don’t know to what extent that is true . but that is how i started eating the okra still out of so many vegetables given a choice i will pick up Okra  first. i recently learnt from my house owner aunty a variation of this curry.So here goes the recipe:

Ingredients :

• Okra - 10 (fresh /frozen)
• Dhaniya powder - 1/2  tbsp
• Jeera Powder - 1/2 tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Mirchi powder/Red Chilli powder  - 3 tsp
• Besan - 1 tbsp
• Garam Masala powder - 2 tsp
• Oil - 1 tbsp

Method :

• Wash the Okra cleanly with water and cut it length wise  to 1-inch size as shown in picture below.
• Take a  bowl and mix all the ingredients except Okra with a little amount of oil and form as a semi powder -paste .
• Take a heavy bottomed vessel and heat the oil and once the oil is hot enough add okra to it and put under medium flame and let okra gets cooked till tender soft by covering it with a  lid for around 10 min.. Stir in the middle with a spatula to prevent Okra from sticking to the vessel bottom .
• Now , Sprinkle the powder that is prepared and mix well and keep it covered and let it cook for 3-5 min.
• Remove from heat and take into a bowl.
• Serve Hot with Rice/Roti.