Tomato Onion Chutney

Serves: 4

Fresh Tomatoes - 3 medium, coarsely chopped
Onion - 2 medium, coarsely chopped
Red chillies - 5, broken into half
Tamarind - size of a small lemon
Pepper - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Garlic paste - 3/4 tbsp
Ginger paste - 3/4 tbsp
Oil - 3 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Channa daal - 2 tbsp
Coriander - for garnishing

1. In a thick bottomed saucepan, heat about 2 1/2 tbsp of oil until it is hot but not smoking. Add the onions and cook them until the onions turn slightly brownish. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. Then add the tomatoes to the same pan and fry until they are soft and set aside
3. In a smaller pan, fry thr ginger, garlic, tamarind, jeera, pepper and red chillies for about 2 min.
4. In the blender or food processor, first powder the items from the smaller pan. After they are coarsely powdered, add the tomatoes, onion, coriander and salt to taste and grind all the ingredients to a fine paste. Remove the chutney to a serving bowl.
5. For the seasoning, heat the remaining oil and add the mustard seeds and wait for them to crackle. Once the mustard seeds crackle, add the channa dal and stir-fry until they turn evenly brown. Pour the seasoning on the chuntney. Garnish with coriander.

Paneer chilli

Serves: 2

Paneer - 1 cup, chopped into cubes
Green chilies - 3-4
Soya sauce - 1 tsp
Tomato ketchup - 1 tsp
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Onions - 1/2 cup lengthwise slices
Capsicum - 1/2 cup slices
Oil - 1 tbsp
Coriander - 2-3 strands
Salt

1. Heat oil and fry the paneer cubes till they turn slightly brownish and then take them out
2. In the remaining oil, add ginger-garlic paste and onions, fry till onions turn translucent
3. Add capsicum, slitted green chilies and fry till they become soft
4. Add soya sauce, tomato ketchup, salt and paneer and mix well
5. Garnish with coriander leaves

Chana Dal Chutney

Serves : 4

Kadle bele/Chana dal - 1/2 cup
Udinna bele/Urad dal - 1/4 cup
Red chillies - 8
Tamarind paste - 1 tbsp
Dry coconut - 2 tbsp, optional
salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tsp

1. In a skillet, shallow fry on medium-low heat the Channa dal with the oil until it turns uniformly brown and set aside.
2. Now heat the Urad dal and the red chillies on medium-low heat until the Urad dal turns uniformly brown and the red chillies color deepens and set aside.
3. Grind together the channa dal, urad dal, red chillies, tamarind paste, coconut, salt and 1/2 cup of water until the contents reduce to a fine paste. Add more water if the mixer is unable to run.
4. Remove the chutney from the mixer jar to a bowl and add more water as you would like the consistency to be.

Can be served with idlis, dosas, chappatis, and also with rice.

Idli Sambar

Serves:4

toor daal - 1/3 cup
Onion - 1 medium, cut in inch cubes
Potato - 1 medium, cut into inch cubes
Tomato - 1 medium, cut into inch cubes
Turmeric - a pinch
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Curry leaves - 6-8
Coriander - 5-6 strands
Salt - 2 tbsp
Sambhar powder - 1 tbsp
Vangibath powder - 2 tbsp

1. Wash the toor daal and cook in the cooker along with the tomato, onion and potato. Add turmeric and enough water to soak the items.
2. Once the daal along with the vegetables is cooked, take out from cooker and mix the contents, and add the sambar powder, vangibath powder and salt
3. Heat on the medium-low flame for about 5 min so that all the ingredients blend well
4. For the seasoning, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds and wait for them to crackle
5. Once the mustard seeds crackle, add asafoetida, curry leaves and fry for about 10 sec. Add the seasoning to the sambhar and garnish with coriander.

Masala Dosa

Serves: 4

Long grained rice - 1 1/2 cups
Idli rice - 1/2 cup
Urad dal - 1/2 cup
Fenugreek seeds/Methi seeds- 2 tbsp
Chana dal - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste

1. Wash and soak all ingredients (other than salt) together for atleast 6 hrs
2. Drain and reserve the water and grind both separately in a blender to a fine paste, adding some the reserved water as needed (if the grinder/blender seizes up) until the mixture is of batter consistency.
3. Add the salt, and mix thoroughly; keep overnight to ferment
4. The next day, check the batter; make sure that the batter has fermented (notice increase in volume).
Wait till fermentation which depends on the weather conditions. When it is ready to be used, add some water if too thick and mix so that it is of a pouring consistency.
5. Heat the tava/griddle on medium-high heat . While pouring the batter bring back to medium.
6. Put little oil/ghee or butter and wipe with paper towel. Pour the a laddle full of dose batter and spread in circualr motion. Pour a little oil (about 1/2 teaspoon) all around the crepe and on the centre as well. Let it cook for about min or untill the edges of dose leaves the tava.

7. Then lower the heat and spread approximately 1 tablespoon of onion chutney evenly all over the dosa. Carefully place 2 tablespoons of simple potato sabji in the centre, fold the the dosa at the middle.

8. Sprinkle a little ghee or butter. Roast for a minute or two. Remove from flame, top it with another tsp of butter and serve immediately with coconut chutney.

Alternatively, stuff the dosa with the aloo sabji only, and serve the onion chutney as a dip.

Idli

Serves: 8-10

Idli rice - 1 cup
Rice - 1 cup
Urad daal/uddina bele - 3/4 cup
Pre-cooked rice - 1/4 cup
Salt - 2 tbsp

1. Wash and soak the 2 types of rice together, the urad separately for about 8 hours. Soak the pre-cooked rice separately for about 8 hrs also.
2. While grinding, grind the soaked urad daal first, the batter should be very fine, smooth to the point to looking foamy. Set the urad dal paste aside.
3. Then grind the pre-cooked rice. Add the soaked rice to this and grind to a smooth paste.The rice batter also needs to be fine, but can be a little coarse compared to the urad daal batter.
4. Mix the rice and the urad daal batter together and let it ferment overnight.
5. Morning, check if the batter has fermented (notice increase in volume and some sour smell). If it fermented, then add the salt and mix well.
6. Steam the idlis in a pressure cooker or idli cooker for about 10-12 minutes.

Cooks tips:
- Fermentation which depends on the weather conditions and mix the batter well before cooking using a idli stand in the cooker

- Enough water to withstand 10-12 minutes of steaming should be added to a pressure cooker before using to cook idlis

Mushroom-Peas curry

Serves: 4

Mushroom - 2 cups, chopped
Peas - 1 cup
Onion - 1 large
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Cloves - 5-6
Cinnamon - 1/2 tsp
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Tomato - 2 medium
Green chilly - 1
Salt - to taste
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Coriander - 6-8 strands

1. Grind the onion into a fine paste and set aside.Grind the tomatoes and the green chilly into a puree separately.
2. Heat oil in a medium saucepan, and add cardamom, cinnamon and cloves and fry for 1/2 a min
3. Then add the ginger garlic paste, fry for a min. Add the onion paste and heat on medium-low flame until the paste turns into a golden brown colour.
4. Add the coriander powder, red chilli powder and mix well. Then add the tomato puree and heat for another min.
5. Add the mushroom and heat on medium flame until the mushrooms are cooked. If using fresh peas follow the mushrooms with the peas and mix the contents well. If using frozen peas add only in the last 2-3 min.
6. Once the mushroom and peas are cooked add salt to taste and sprinkle the garam masala, mix and close the vessel and heat for a min.

Garnish with coriander and serve immediately.

Spicy Poha

Gojjavalakki

Serves: 4

Thick Poha/Avalakki - 2 cups
Jaggery - 2 one inch cubes
Tamarind - about the size of a lemon
Rasam powder - 2 tbsp
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Peanut - 1/4 cup
Channa daal - 2 tbsp
Urad daal - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chillies - 8
Curry leaves - 8-10
Coriander - 6-8 strands
Dry coconut - 1/4 cup (optional)
Oil - 2 tbsp

1. Pulse the poha in a blender a couple of times, so that it is crushed coarsely,  and set aside.Make sure not to powder it too smooth.
2. Mix the jaggery, tamarind, salt and rasam powder in 3 cups of water and place on stove on low heat. Keep stirring until all the jaggery and salt dissolves. Do not boil the water. Mild heating is good enough.
3.Pour the spiced water on the crushed poha in batched while mixing continuously. Add enough of it to make the poha damp. Be careful not to add too much water and make a paste of the the poha.
4. Cover and let soak. After about 15-20 minutes, check if the poha is too dry. If it is add little more of the spiced water and soak for another 15-20 minutes. The poha would have absorbed the spices well, by now.
5.  Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and wait for them to crackle. Once the mustard seeds crackle, add the asafoetida, and peanuts. Fry for about 20 seconds, so that the peanuts are slightly done before add the channa dal and urad dal.
6. After add the channa dal and urad dal, fry on low heat until all the dals turn uniformly brown. Then add red chillies and fry until their colour deepens.
7 Immediately add the poha, turn off the heat and mix well. Once mixed heat, turn the heat on again and just mix the contents while the heat is on until the poha becomes a little warm.
8. Garnish with coriander and serve hot

Panchrangi Dal

Serves: 4

Toor dal - 4 tbsp
Moong dal - 2 tbsp
Masoor dal - 2 tbsp
Urad dal - 1 tbsp
Channa dal - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Cloves - 2
Curry leaves - 4-6
Red chilies - 4, small
Green chilies - 4, finely chopped
Ginger - 2 tsp, finely chopped or grated
Garlic - 2 tsp, finely chopped or grated
Tomatoes - 2, diced
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Coriander - 4-5 stalks
Juice of one lemon
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste

1. Wash the dals, soak for an hour and then drain.
2. Add enough water to cover all the dal and cook in a pressure cooker or cook dal till soft on the stove.
3. Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds
4. Once the mustard seeds crackle, add the cumin seeds, cinnamon and cloves
5. Then add the curry leaves, green chillies, red chilies, ginger and garlic and fry for 1 minute.
6. Now add the tomatoes and garam masala and cook until the tomatoes are soft and blend well with the spices added earlier.
7. Then add the cooked dals, and salt and mix well. If the dals were not cooked completely earlier, they need to be cooked now, else mixing and heating till the contents blend is good enough.
8. Turn off the heat completely and add the lemon juice and mix.
9. Garnish with coriander and serve hot or warm