Amma Chethi Vantalu

Spicy Prawn Curry

2008-09-13T18:47:00.010+01:00

Ingredients:

Prawns - 500gms
Onions - 2 medium size
Green chillies - 6
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Garlic cloves - 5
Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil for frying
Salt to taste
Tomato - 1 (optional)
Fresh corriander leaves for garnishing.

Masala Paste:

Cumin seeds - 2 tsps
Dried corriander seeds - 2tsps
Whole cloves - 4
Poppy seeds - 4 tsps
Cardamom - 1 pod
Cinnamon stick - small piece
Peanuts - 1 tbsp for a smooth taste.

Preparation :

Clean the prawns and drain water. Add and mix 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp turmeric powder.
Finely chop onions, green chillies, tomato, and fresh corriander leaves and keep them aside.
Make fine paste of ginger and garlic and keep it aside.
Make fine paste of all the above masalas and keep it aside.
Now take 5 spoons oil in a pan and preheat it for 2 minutes. Add finely chopped onions, chillies and fry them well until they turn golden.
Now add ginger and garlic paste to the above and fry them well for another 2 minutes.
Add marinated prawns to the fried contents and mix it well and fry them well for another 10 minutes.
Now add chilli powder, salt to taste and finely ground masala powder with 1/4 cup water.
Mix the contents well and let it cook for another 10 minutes. Add finely chopped tomato to it and let it cook for couple of minutes. Slowly oil starts to ooze..
Add fresh finely chopped corriander leaves for garnishing and stop the stove.
Serve it hot and enjoy.

Tips: To make a proper curry ensure medium heat, fry onions and chillis well and correct salt to taste and ofcourse the above procedure..:). I am sure you'll get the right taste.

Snack at Tirupati..

2008-07-16T22:03:00.001+01:00

మిరియాలు Rasam

2008-03-20T17:25:00.005Z

Miriyalu or pepper rasam is one of my all time favorite recipe especially when it is a rainy day. My dad used to have this hot rasam as soup whenever my mother used to make it. It took me a while to make a perfect rasam as it is all about the quantity of pepper, tomatoes and tamarind. Of course all the other ingredients also matter. Try this recipe and let me know if you like it.

Ingredients:

Tomatoes - 3
Garlic cloves - 3
Cumin - 2 tsps
Pepper corns - 2 tsp
Tamarind paste - 1 tsp
Asafoetida powder - pinch
Turmeric powder - pinch
Water - 3 cups
Oil for frying
Salt to taste
Fresh cilantro(corriander) leaves for garnishing

For Seasoning :

Dried red chillies - 2
Cumin - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - few

Preparation:

First make paste of 3 items (Garlic cloves, pepper corns and cumin seeds) and keep it aside. Do not add any water while grinding. This neither looks like a paste nor dry as powder. Check the picture above.
Finely chop the tomatoes and keep them ready.
Now in a pan add 2 spoons oil and heat it on medium flame.
Once oil is hot add a pinch asafoetida to the oil and then add the seasonings(Dried red chillies, cumin, mustard and curry leaves).
Fry the seasoning for few seconds once they start popping up and smelling good which should take only few seconds add the pepper+garlic+cumin paste to it and fry for few more seconds.
Then add tomatoes and turmeric powder to it and fry them well till it looks like a fine purie.
Now add tamarind paste and 3 cups of water to it and allow it to simmer for 6 - 8 minutes.
Add fresh corriander leaves to it and cover the lid to keep the aroma.
Serve it hot as tomato soup or with hot steamed rice with a fry as side dish such as potato fry, Okra(Bhindi/bendakaya) fry.

Tip: Do not add too much of tamarind or peppers to get a mild version of rasam. More tamarind will dominate the tomato taste, rasam get too much tangy and more pepper makes it too spicy which is not desirable.

గుంట పొంగడాలు (Gunta Pongadalu)

2008-03-17T10:38:00.009Z

My cousin (Veena) gave me this mould which is used to make gunta pongadalu. I make dosa dough for three days. The same dough is used for making gunta pongadalu and I surprise my guests by making a variety breakfast everyday. One day masala dosa, second day gunta pongadalu and the next day ulli dosas and so on :). Thanks to Veena for the mould and the recipe too.

Ingredients:

Dosa dough
Onions - 2
Green chillies - 3
Fresh curry leaves - few
Salt to taste
Oil for frying.

Preparation:

Finely chop onions, green chillies and curry leaves and add to the dosa dough.
Add salt to taste and mix it well.
Now in the mould add few drops of oil and heat it on a medium flame.
Take a spoon full of dough and add it to the mould asshown above.
Once they turn golden brown on one side with a knife turn them to the other side.
Let them cook for a while and take them out into a plate.
Serve them hot with peanuts chutney, podi, ghee and sambar for breakfast or as an evening snack.

Tip: Adding fresh finely chopped cilantro, 1 tsp cumin seeds and finely chopped ginger enhances the flavour.

ఆరటికాయ తొక్కల పచ్చడి (Plantain/Raw Banana skin chutney )

2008-02-25T22:40:00.009Z

This recipe is shared by my pinni(aunt) who was here in London for couple of weeks. When she first time told me this I din't believe we could make chutney with raw banana skin but had no doubt about its taste as anything which she made tasted simply delicious. So here is the recipe. Believe me no one can even guess what the chutney is made of. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

Raw plantain/Banana skin (Boiled for plantain fry)
Green chillies - 5
Tamarind paste - 1 tsp
Cumin - 2 tsp
Garlic clove - 1
Yoghurt (Curd) - 2 spoons
Dried red chillies - 3
Curry leaves - few
Split black gram (Urid dal) - 2 tsps
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Bengal gram (Chana dal) - 2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds (Menthi seeds) - 1/2 tsp
Oil for frying
Salt to taste

Preparation:

From the boiled raw banana which we have used for plantain fry, keep the banana skin aside and cut it into small pieces.
Fry the green chillies in oil and keep them aside.
Now grind the boiled raw banana skin, fried green chillies, garlic clove, 1 tsp cumin seeds, tamarind paste and salt without adding water. As it is thick, add 2 spoons yoghurt while grinding. Make a fine paste and keep it aside.
For seasoning, take 2 spoons oil in a pan and heat it. Once oil gets hot add bengal gram, black gram, dried red chillies, cumin, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. Once the seasoning starts popping up and smelling good which shouldn't take more than few seconds add to the chutney.
Serve it with hot rice and ghee.

Tip: We get curry leaves in indian grocery stores here in London. As soon as I get fresh curry leaves from the market I keep it frozen and use it for long as they remain fresh.

Aratikaya Vepudu (Raw Banana/Plantain Fry)

2008-02-25T22:28:00.006Z

Ingredients:

Raw banana (plantain) - 1
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Water for boiling
Dried red chillies - 3
Curry leaves - few
Split black gram - 2 tsps
Cumin - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Tamarind paste - 1/2 tsp
Oil for frying

Preparation:

Cut raw banana into 4 pieces and boil in water for about 15 minutes.
Once boiled peel the skin and grate it as shown above. Optionally after boiling banana can be thoroughly mashed to prepare this dish.
Apply half teaspoon of tamarind paste thoroughly.
Now in a pan take 3 spoons oil and preheat it.
Add seasonings and wait for them to pop up. It will take only few seconds. Once these starts smelling good add turmeric powder.
Immedietely add the grated banana to it and mix it well.
Now add salt and red chilli powder as per taste and mix it well.
Switch off the stove and serve it hot with sambar or any dal dish which is great combo for this.

Now for the tip: Do not throw away the skin of the raw banana after boiling. This can be used to make chutney.. the recipe for this coming soon on the blog...till then happy cooking!!

Tomato Chutney

2008-02-22T22:59:00.005Z

Ingredients:

Tomatoes - 500 gms
Green chillies - 8
Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp
Garlic - 1 or 2 cloves
Cumin - 1 tsp
Tamarind paste - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for frying and seasoning

Seasoning :

Dried red chillies - 2
Black gram - 2 tsp
Cumin - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves few
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
Oil for frying - 1 tbsp

Preparation:

Cut tomatoes into two halves and make few slits on green chillies and keep them aside.
In a pan add 1 spoon oil and fry the green chillies and keep them aside.
Then fry the tomatoes also on a medium heat till they turn soft as shown above and allow them to cool down.
In another pan dry fry the sesame seeds till they pop up which will take about one minute.
Now in a mixer jar add these fried tomatoes, green chillies, sesame seeds, tamarind, 1 tsp cumin, garlic and salt and grind them to make a coarse paste.
Tomato chutney is ready to be served with hot steamed rice or ulli dosas (Onion dosa).
Season it if you like. For seasoning, take 2 spoons oil and preheat it and keep the stove on medium heat.
Add mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin and black gram and toss them till they pop up.
Now add dried red chillies and curry leaves and fry them till the seasoning starts smelling good, this will take few seconds only.
Add the above to the chutney and serve.

Tip : Raw tomatoes tastes amazing for this chutney. Pan fried sesame seeds are optional to this chutney. These are added to give a smoky flavour to the chutney.

Vankaya Dumpala Pulusu (Brinjal and sweet potatoes tangy medley)

2008-02-05T14:02:00.000Z

Ingredients :

Brinjal (Aubergine or eggplants) - 250 gms
Sweet potato - 250 gms
Onion - 1
Green chillies - 2
Tamarind paste - 1 spoon
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Water - 1 cup
Oil for frying
Salt to taste
Fresh corriander leaves for garnishing

Preparation:

Chop onions and chillies into small pieces and keep them ready.
Cut brinjal and sweet potatoes into bigger pieces as shown in the picture above.
Now in a pan add 3 spoons of oil and preheat it.
Add fenugreek seeds to the oil and fry it for few seconds, when it starts smelling good and turns golden add chopped onions and chillies and fry them well till they turn golden.
Add vegetables (brinjal and sweet potato pieces) now to the above and fry them for about 8 minutes.
Now add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt to taste and mix them well.
Add pulusu to the above. Pulusu or tamarind purie is made by soaking tamarind in water.
Let it cook in medium heat for about 10 minutes and stop the stove.
Garnish it with fresh green corriander leaves and serve it hot with hot steamed rice.

Tip: Fenugreek seeds are very important for this recipe as it adds a flavour and aroma to the curry. Add pulusu only when the vegetables are cooked well in the oil.

Dondakaya Chutney

2008-02-02T16:08:00.000Z

Ingredients:

Indian ivy gaurd (Tindora or Dondakaya) - 250 gms
Green chillies - 5
Dried red chillies - 2
Garlic - 1 or 2 cloves
Black gram - 2 tsp
Cumin - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Tamarind paste - 1 tsp
Curry leaves few
Salt to taste
Oil for frying and seasoning

Preparation:

Chop tindora into small fine pieces and make few slits on green chillies and keep them aside.
In a pan add 1 spoon oil and fry the green chillies and keep them aside.
Then fry the fine chopped tindora also on a medium heat till they turn golden and allow them to cool down.
Now in a mixer jar add this fried tindora, green chillies, tamarind, 1 tsp cumin, garlic and salt and grind them to make a coarse paste.
Take this chutney in a bowl and keep it aside.
For seasoning, take 2 spoons oil and preheat it and keep the stove on medium heat.
Add mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin and black gram and toss them till they pop up.
Now add dried red chillies and curry leaves and fry them till the seasoning starts smelling good, this will take few seconds only.
Add the above to the chutney and serve with rice and ghee.

Tip : Little ripe tindora tastes amazing for this chutney as it gets tangy as it ripens. Remember if it is too ripe then the chutney will taste sweet which is not desirable.

Mushroom Curry

2008-02-02T15:14:00.000Z

Ingredients:

Mushrooms - 250 gms
Onions - 3 nos.
Green chillies - 3 nos.
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for frying
Fresh corriander leaves for garnishing

Ingredients for Masala paste:

Cumin - 1 tsp
Poppy seeds - 1 tsp
Corriander seeds - 1 tsp
Whole cloves - 5
Cardamom pod - 1
Ginger - small piece or 1 tsp paste
Garlic - 2 cloves or 1 tsp

Preparation:

Wash and cut mushrooms into small pieces or keep them whole if button mushrooms.
Chop onions and green chillies into small pieces.
Now in a pan add 3 spoons oil and preheat it.
Add onions and chillies to the oil and fry till they get golden brown.
Now add mushrooms, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt to taste and fry them for about 5 minutes.
Add 1/4 cup of water to it and on medium heat let it cook for another 2 minutes.
Grind the masalas mentioned above into fine paste and add it the curry and let it cook for another 5 minutes.
Once oil starts oozing out, stop the stove.
Add fresh chopped corriander leaves for garnishing and serve it hot.

Gutthi Vankaya Koora (Stuffed Brinjal Curry)

2008-01-24T14:52:00.000Z

Ingredients:

Brinjal (Egg plant) - 500 gms
Onions - 2
Green chillies - 4
Ginger - small piece or 1 tsp paste
Garlic - 2 cloves or 1 tsp
Poppy seeds - 1 tsp
Whole cloves - 2
Cardamom - 1
Corriander seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin - 1 tsp
Tomatoes - 2
Peanuts or ground nuts - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Oil for frying
Salt to taste
Fresh corriander leaves for garnishing.

Preparation:

Make a fine paste of poppy seeds, corriander seeds, whole cloves, cardamom, cumin and peanuts.
Make a coarse paste of onions, chillies, ginger and garlic.
Mix both the pastes together and now add red chilli powder, turmeric and salt to taste.
Mix all the above well and keep it ready.
Now cut brinjal just to slit it in such a way that we can fill it with the mix we have kept ready.
Wash the brinjal in salt water.
In a pan pour 4 spoons of oil and heat.
Season it with half tsp cumin, mustard seeds and few curry leaves if you like.
Now fill brinjal with the paste and put them in the pan one by one and fry them on medium heat.
Fry them carefully to keep them in beautiful shape.
Once they are fried well add a finely chopped tomato to get the tangy taste and fry it for further 4 minutes.
Garnish it with fresh corriander leaves and serve it hot with rice.

Tip: Adding one table spoon of either peanuts (ground nuts) or sesame seeds to make the paste enhances the taste and gives a mild flavour to the curry.
Brinjal turns dark and tastes bitter in the curry if exposed to air after cutting . To avoid this soak them in the salt water.

Gajar ka halwa

2007-12-26T00:57:00.000Z

Ingredients:

Carrots - 1 kg
Sugar - 300 gms
Ghee - 100 gms
Cardamom pods - 8
Milk - 1 litre
Saffron - few flakes
Raisins - 2 spoon
Cashew nuts -100 gms
Pistachio nuts - 50 gms

Preparation:

Grate carrots and keep it ready.
Prepare condensed milk if using whole milk. To do this take 1 litre milk in a pan and boil it in a low flame by occaionally stirring it till it gets thickened.
Add few flakes of saffron in the milk to give it a nice colour and flavour.
Now in a pan add ghee and fry cashew nuts and raisins and keep them ready.
Dry roast pistachios.
Grind the cardamom to make a fine powder.

Now in a pan add ghee and grated carrot, fry it in low heat till it get very soft for about 15 minutes.
Add sugar and mix it well and fry for another 5 minutes.
Add condensed milk to it and mix it well as shown in the picture above.
Add cardamom powder to it and mix it well and fry till it gets thick.
Now switch off the stove and garnish it with fried cashews, pistachios and raisins.
Serve it hot or cold or with an icecream.

Palak Paneer

2007-12-15T18:39:00.000Z

This recipe is my mom's version of palak paneer which is simple, tasty and nutritious.

Ingredients:

Spinach - 500 gms
Butter - 50 gms
Paneer - 100 gms
Cummin - 1 tsp
Garlic cloves - 2
Green chillies - 4 nos.
Salt to taste

Preparation:

Wash fresh spinach
Boil spinach and green chillies in half a cup of water. Allow it to cool down.
Grind spinach and chillies in a mixer to make a fine paste.
Cut paneer into 1cm cubes and fry it in fresh butter till they turn golden as shown in picture below.
Now get the seasoning ready by frying cummin and garlic in butter.
Add spinach paste, fried paneer and salt to taste to the above seasoning and mix them well.
Tasty palak paneer is ready to be served.

Tip:

Add very little water to boil spinach and do not drain the water to keep all the nutrients.

Vegetable Biriyani with Raita

2007-12-15T17:59:00.000Z

Ingredients:

Ghee or oil - 5 spoons
Basmati rice - 500 gms or 3 cups
Onions - 4
Green chillies - 6
Potato - 1
Carrot - 1
Runner beans - 10 nos. or 100 gms
Green peas - 100 gms
Fresh mint leaves - few
Ginger paste - 2 tsps
Garlic paste - 2 tsps
Cashew nuts - 100 gms
Bay leaves - few
Cardamom pods - 5
Cinnamon sticks - few
Whole cloves - 8
Salt to taste
Water - 4 and 1/2 cups

Preparation:

Cut all the vegetables into pieces as shown in the picture above.
Keep the fresh mint leaves ready.
Wash the rice and drain water and keep it aside.
Now in a cooker pour some ghee or oil and heat it.
Add the masalas (cardamom, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, flowers, whole cloves) and fry them.
Add ginger and garlic paste to the above and fry for 2 minutes.
Then add cashew nuts and mint leaves and fry for another two minutes.
Now add onions and chillies and fry them till they turn golden.
Add all the vegetables and fry them for another 8 minutes.
Once you see vegetables turning soft, add rice and mix the contents to cook it for another 2 minutes.
Add water and salt to taste and cook in low flame for another 15 to 20 minutes.
Biriyani is ready to be served.

Tip:
Coconut milk can be used instead of water while cooking biriyani. This gives an extraordinary taste to it.

Perugu Pacchadi (Raita)

This raita goes very well with vegetable biriyani and is simple to make..

Ingredients:

Onions - 4
Green chillies - 4
Tomato - 1
Carrot - 1
Fresh corriander leaves
Yoghurt (Curd) - 2 cups
Salt to taste.

Preparation:

Chop chillies, onions, tomatoes and fresh corriander into fine pieces and grate carrot.
Now in a bowl add all the chopped vegetables, yoghurt and salt and mix them well.
Raita is ready, serve with hot biriyani.

Sambar

2007-12-14T16:26:00.001Z

Ingredients :

Onions - 3 medium (10 mini onions)
Green Chillies - 5
Potato - 1 large
Tomatoes - 2 nos.
Brinjal - 2 nos.
Ivy Gourd - 5 nos.
Okra (Bhindi) - 8 nos.
Drumstick - 1
Fresh corriander leaves - few
Tamarind paste - 2 spoons
Asofetida (hing) - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Cummin - 1/2 tsp
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Garlic cloves - 2
Dried red chillies - 5
Fenugreek seeds (Menthi) - 1/2 tsp
Toor dal (Yellow split peas) - 1 cup
Red chilli powder - 1 spoon
Tumeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 5 spoons
Sambar powder - 2 spoons (Making will come in blogs soon).

Preparation :

Cut all the vegetables into one inch long pieces as shown in the picture above.
Soak tamarind in water to make purie. If you have paste, keep it ready.

In a pressure cooker, take a cup of toor dal and add 3 cups water and boil it till 3 to 4 whistles come. (If you like you could add 1/4 piece of cabbage finely chopped and 1 spoon sambar powder to toor dal while cooking)
Once boiled add salt and mash it into a fine paste as shown and keep it ready.
In another pan add 5 spoons of oil and pre heat it.
Add asofetida powder to the oil and then add the seasonings ( Cummin, Mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds, lightly chopped garlic cloves) and fry them till they pop up.
Now add onions and green chillies and fry for about 4 minutes.
Add all chopped vegetables except tomatoes and bhindi and fry till you see them turning little soft in low heat and covered lid.
Now add tomatoes and bhindi and fry them for another two minutes.
Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and tamarind purie with about 4 cups of water.
Add cooked toor dal to the above, mix it well and allow it to boil for about 10 minutes.

Once vegetables are cooked and sambar comes to boil add two spoons of sambar powder and boil for another 2 minutes and switch off the stove.
Garnish with fresh corriander leaves and serve with hot rice, idlis or vada's.

Gutthi Dondakaya

2007-12-13T20:25:00.000Z

Ingredients:

Fresh green Ivy gourd (Dondakaya) - 500gms
Onions - 2
Dried red chillies - 7 nos.
Tamarind paste - 2 tsps
Cummin - 1 tsp
Garlic cloves - 2
Corriander seeds (Dhaniya) - 3 tsps
Oil for frying - 3 spoons
Salt to taste.

Preparation:

Fry dried red chillies and corriander seeds in a spoon of oil seperately and allow them to cool down.
Chop the onions.
Now grind onions, fried red chillies, corriander seeds, cummin, garlic cloves, salt and tamarind into a fine paste

Now clean ivy gourd or dondakaya into four cut as shown above.
Stuff the fine paste in dondakaya as shown above and keep them ready.
Now in a pan add 4 spoons of oil for frying and preheat it for a minute.
Now add the stuffed dondakayalu in the oil and fry them till they get soft and golden in colour in low flame.
Stuffed dondakaya curry is ready to serve.

Garelu

2007-11-10T09:33:00.000Z

Ingredients:

Urid dal (Black gram) - 1 glass
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Onion - 1
Green chillies - 4
Fresh corriander leaves - few finely chopped
Ginger - very little finely chopped
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Preparation:

Wash and soak urid dal in water for about 2 hours.
Grind this soaked dal with salt into paste (not very fine and not runny).
Finely chop onion, green chillies, ginger and fresh corriander leaves and mix it to the dough.
Add cumin seeds as well and keep it ready.
Now in a pan heat oil for frying.
Take a piece of plastic paper or plate and moist your hand with water. Make small round ball of the dough and make the shape as shown above.
Now carefully place them in oil and fry till they get to golden brown colour.
Drain the oil and serve them hot with chutney or karappodi with ghee.

Ravva Laddu

2007-11-10T09:23:00.000Z

Ingredients :

Coarse semolina (Suji or Ravva) - 2 glasses
Sugar - 1 and 1/2 glasses
Cardamom powder (Elachi) - 1 tsp
Water - 1/2 glass
Ghee - 4 spoons
Cashew nuts - Handful
Raisins - Handful
Fresh grated coconut - 1/2 coconut

Preparation :

First take a pan and dry fry the fresh grated coconut for about 2 minutes and take it in a seperate bowl.
Now in the pan add 4 spoons of ghee and fry cashew nuts and raisins till they get golden brown and take them in a bowl.
In the remaining ghee add ravva and fry it for a while till it starts smelling good and take this also in a bowl.
Add elachi powder (cardamom powder) to the mix of fried ravva, cashew nuts, raisins and coconut and mix them all well and keep it ready.
Now take another pan add sugar and 1/2 glass water to prepare sugar syrup. Boil this syrup for about 5 minutes.
Add the mix to the sugar syrup and switch off the stove. You will notice a sticky paste.
Allow this paste to cool down. After a while it gets a bit dry, make powder with hands and then make small laddu's. Enjoy!!

Tip :

At the final stage if making laddu's is getting difficult, sprinkle little milk and also moist your hand with milk and make laddu's.

Aloo Gobi Mutter Curry

2007-11-09T14:01:00.000Z

Ingredients:

Potatoes (Aloo) - 250 gms
Cauliflower (Gobi) - 250 gms
Green peas (Mutter) - 100 gms
Onions - 2
Green chillies - 2
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Fresh corriander leaves for garnishing
Oil - 4 spoons
Small piece of ginger
2 - garlic cloves
2 - whole cloves
2 - cardamom
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp poppy seeds

Preparation :

Wash and cut potatoes, cauliflower and keep them ready.
Finely chop onions, green chillies and corriander.
Take some oil in a pan and fry chopped onions and chillies till they get golden brown.
Now add potatoes, cauliflower and green peas and cook for about 5 minutes.
Now add turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt to taste and cook for 5 minutes.
Now take all masalas and grind them into a fine paste.
Add the masala paste to the curry and cook for 5 more minutes.
Switch off the stove. Garnish the curry with fresh corriander leaves.

Kobbari Louju

2007-11-08T22:30:00.000Z

Ingredients:

Fresh grated coconut - 2 glasses
Jaggery - 1 and 1/2 glass
Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp
Ghee - 3 tsps

Preparation:

Mix fresh grated coconut and grated jaggery in a pan.
Cook in low heat by continuously stirring for 15 minutes.
Now add 1 tsp cardamom powder and continue stirring for few more minutes.
At one stage you will notice golden brown colour and the mix will not stick to the vessel.
Add 3 tsps ghee and switch off the stove and allow it to cool down a bit.
Now make small lemon size balls as shown. Kids will love this!!

Sorakaya Nuvvupindi Koora (Bottle guard with Sesame Curry)

2007-11-08T22:22:00.000Z

Ingredients:

Bottle guard (Sorakaya) - 500 gms
Onions - 2
Green chillies - 2
Dried red chillies - 8
Sesame - 4 spoons
Garlic cloves - 2
Cummin seeds - 2 tsps
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Black gram (Urid dal) - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Oil - 4 spoons
Salt to taste

Preparation :

Peel the skin and chop the bottle gaurd into small pieces. Also chop the onions and chillies and keep them ready.

Dry fry the sesame seed in a pan and keep them ready.
Now fry the red chillies in a oil and cool them down before grinding into a paste.
Take the above fried sesame seeds, red chillies, garlic and a tsp of cummin and grind it into a fine paste as shown below and keep it ready.

Now take 3 spoons of oil in a pan and once the oil gets hot add all the seasoning i.e, cummin, mustard, black gram, 1 dried red chilli and curry leaves.
Once they pop up, add chopped onions and green chillies and fry them well till they get golden brown.
Now add bottle guard pieces and fry them well till they become soft.
Finally add salt and the sesame paste which we have kept ready and mix it well.
Fry for another 2 minutes and switch off the stove.

Jantikalu

2007-11-08T21:57:00.000Z

Ingredients:

Rice flour - 4 glasses
Dry roasted and powdered urid dal flour - 1 glass
Red chilli powder - 2 tsps
Salt to taste
Butter - 2 spoons
Ajwain - 2 tsps
Sesame - 2 tsps
Oil for frying
Water

Preparation :

Mix rice flour, urid dal flour, red chilli powder, salt, ajwain, sesame, slightly melted butter with water in a bowl to make a thick dough as shown.
Now fill the muruku press or sev maker and press it into preheated oil.
Fry them well till they get to golden brown colour.
Remove and drain the oil and allow them to cool down.
Now you could serve them with hot tea or store them in an airtight container.

Tip:

Frying should be done at a medium heat to get correct colour and crispness, not too low or high as on low heat they get soaked in oil and on high heat they get burned quickly and remain soft inside.

Gummadikaya Pesarapappu Curry

2007-11-08T21:43:00.001Z

Ingredients :

Gummadikaya (Pumpkin) - 500 gms
Pesara pappu (Moong dal) - 1 small cup
Onion - 1
Green chillies - 2
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Water - 4 cups
Fresh corriander leaves for garnishing
For seasoning fresh curry leaves - few
Dry red chillies - 3
Garlic cloves - 2 or 3
Black gram (Urid dal) - 1 tsp
Cumin - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Ghee or oil - 2 spoons

Preparation :

Cut gummadikaya into small cubes, finely chop onion and green chillies.
Take 4 cups of water in a pan and add moong dal and all chopped vegetables which are kept ready.
Let them boil for 10 minutes.
Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt to taste and cook it for 5 more minutes.
Now switch off the stove and keep it aside.
In another pan add ghee and once heated add urid dal, red chillies, mustard seeds, cumin, chopped garlic, curry leaves and fry them till they start smelling good.
Add this seasoning to the boiled dal and gummadikaya.
Garnish it with finely chopped fresh corriander leaves.

Tip :

Do not over cook dal and vegetables. The curry tastes better when seasoning is done in ghee.

Karappusa and Mixture

2007-11-08T21:24:00.000Z

Ingredients :

Gram flour (Besan or senaga pindi) - 2 glasses
Rice flour - 1 glass
Green chillies - 6 nos.
Salt to taste

Preparation :

Take gram flour, rice flour and salt in a bowl.
Grind green chillies into a fine paste and add this chilli juice to the above mixture.
Now add sufficient water and knead the dough and keep it ready.
Take oil for frying in a pan and preheat it.
Now take the dough in the sev maker and press it into the hot oil.
Fry the sev on medium heat till the sev gets nice golden brown colour and remove.
Drain the oil and your karappusa is ready.
Cool it down and store it in an airtight container.
This karappusa can be used to make mixture and the simple recipe follows.

Mixture :

Ingredients :

Karappusa
Peanuts - 100 gms
Cachew nuts - 50 gms
Fresh curry leaves
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Salt to taste.

Preparation:

Fry peanuts, cachew nuts and curry leaves in oil.
Mix all the above in karappusa or sev.
Now add salt and red chilli powder according to your taste and mix all well.
Mixture is ready to eat. Enjoy!!

Pesara Punugulu

2007-11-07T14:50:00.001Z

Ingredients:

Green gram (Moong Dal) - 1 cup
Onion - 4
Green chillies - 6
Cumin - 1 tsp
Ginger - small piece
Oil for frying
Salt to taste

Preparation:

Soak moong dal for 3 to 4 hours. Once soaked, clean dal by removing little skin of the dal. Do not wash the skin of moong dal completely as it contains nutrients.
Chop ginger into pieces, grind the dal and ginger to make a fine paste.
Now add salt, finely chopped chillies, cumin to the above and mix them well.
Preheat the oil for frying in a frying pan.
Now drop small ball size dough as shown in the picture above to the oil and fry them on medium heat. Maintain a proper heat not too high or too low while frying punugulu.
Fry punugulu till they are golden brown in colour and drain the oil and serve them hot as an evening snack.

Tip: Add finely chopped fresh curry leaves and fresh corriander leaves in punugulu mix to have a fresh and mild flavour. Do not make the mix runny as it would absorb lots of oil which we wouldn't want.