Green Peas And Broccoli

Ingredients
1/2 kilo of broccoli, medium sized florets removed and washed in warm water
1/4 kilo of green peas
1/2 cup freshly scraped coconut
3 green chillies chopped
Salt to taste
Oil, mustard seeds, turmeric and asafoetida for the tempering

Method
In a kadhai take oil, add mustard seeds, let them splutter then add asafoetida and turmeric powder, chopped green chillies, now add the green peas and broccoli, sprinkle water, add salt and the scraped coconut, cook covered. See that the veggies cook in the steam of the water added, check at intervals and keep adding water if dry.do not overcook, let the florets remain firm but cooked and moist. Tastes best with hot phulkas.

Appe Made Of Multi Lentils And Rice With Coconut ChutneyThis makes for a tasty South Indian breakfast or midtime snack.

Ingredients
1 cup rice
1/2 cup Split black lentil
1/2 cup split pigeon lentil
1/2 cup split bengal gram lentil, soaked for about two to three hours, ground to a fine paste, the batter should be of idli consistency. kept overnight will give you soft fluffy appe.

1/2 cup plain oats
1/4 cup semolina
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon of pepper powder
2 onions finely chopped
oconut chutney.Small bunch fresh coriander finely chopped
These should be added the next morning about half an hour before making them in the appe pan.

Now heat the appe pan, pour little little oil in each depression, pour the batter with a small spoon. Cover cook for a while, flip and cook with a sprinkle of oil to a golden brown colour. Savour with coconut chutney.

                                   
                                               Vangi Bhat

A south indian Rice delicacy which I always loved but did not know the method of making it. Thanks to one of the regional cookery shows which gave me a chance to learn and enjoy my home made Vangi Bhat. Infact I made it for Raksha Bandhan and my family loved it. Now I hope you people too enjoy making this dish.

Ingredients
2 cups basmati rice, wash and keep ready
3 brinjals, the ones which are thorny on the stock and light purple in colour chopped into long medium sized pieces
2 capsicums chopped into big sized squares
1/2 cup green peas
1/2 cup freshly scraped coconut
Few curry leaves
2 dry red chillies roughly broken
3 tspoons of tamarind paste
1 tspoon of grated jaggery
Salt to taste

For the Masala
Take a little coconut oil, add 1 tspoon of split black gram lentil, 1 tspoon of split bengal gram lentil, 4 dry red chillies, 2 big pieces of cinammon, 4 cloves, 2 green cardamoms, 2 tspoons of coriander seeds, 1/2 cup dry grated coconut, 10 curry leaves, roast all ingredients to a light brown colour add a pinch of turmeric powder and dry grind to make a masala, keep ready.

Method

In a pressure cooker take 3 tspoons of coconut oil, temper with mustard seeds, turmeric powder, asafotida, add 2 dry red chilli roughly broken, few curry leaves, add the capsicum, brinjal, green peas and roast a bit, add rice, salt to taste, grated jaggery, tamarind paste, the freshly scraped coconut, mix well, add double the water of the quantity of rice, mix well cook to three whistles and your Vangi bhat is ready to savour. 

                                      

                                                     Coriander Dal

A preparation which my son and myself enjoy, specially with a lot of the fried garlic on top.

Coriander Dal topped with a tempering of Fried Garlic. Extremely tasty Dal dish eaten with chapati, bhakri. Very typical to interior Maharashtra. I personally enjoy it with steaming hot plain rice too.

Ingredients
1/2 cup toor dal pressure cooked with a pinch of turmeric powder and asefotida
1 bunch of fresh coriander finely chopped, stocks can be used for extra taste
A coarse paste of 5 garlic cloves and 3 green chillies
Salt to taste
10-12 cloves of garlic chopped the way it is shown in the picture
Juice of half a lime

Method
In a deep bottom pan put oil, add mustard seeds, let them splutter, add asefotida, turmeric powder, add the chopped coriander, sautee well, add salt stir for a while, add the boiled dal, some more salt as required, add the juice of the lime, give it a nice boil.
In a small pan make a tempering of little oil, mustard seeds, a bit of turmeric powder, asefotida, add the chopped garlic pieces fry them to a golden brown. Top the dal with the tempering and serve.

Another delicacy for the people who observe fasts in Shravan. A cool dessert for the midtime hunger attacks. 

Sago Pearl Porridge With Tender Coconut
I have given it a coastal twist

Ingredients
1/2 cup sago pearls
1 tspoon clarified butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup thick coconut milk
Few pieces of tender coconut ( the very soft malai from the coconut)
Fruits to your taste, I have used brown grapes, orange and apple.

Method
In a deep bottom pan roast the sago pearls in clarified butter till they swell up and look like fried pearls, add milk, few strands of saffron, bring to a boil, keep stirring till the sago peals soften completely, add sugar, by this time the milk thickens and also the pearls with starch will make the porridge into a nice consistency. Add coconut milk once you take it off the gas. Cool it completely, add the pieces of tender coconut and fruits of your choice. Decorate with tender coconut pieces and saffron strands. Savour this on a sunny afternoon.

 A simple yet tasty  vegetable dish which can be made with  ingredients easily available in any normal Indian kitchen.
Potato Brinjal Curry
This is a curry which tastes good with both rice and roti. It is a balance if sweet sour and spicy tastes. 
Ingredients
3 madium sized brinjals chopped into squares 
3 potatoes peeled and chopped into squares 
2 tspoons roasted sesame seeds, roasted peanuts, chutney dal, dry grated coconut all ground to a coarse powder
1 tspoon of goda masala
2 tspoons of grated jaggery
2 tspoons of tamarind pulp
1 tspoon of chilli powder
Salt to taste
coriander for garnishing

MethodIn a kadhai take oil, put mustard seeds, asafotida, turmeric powder, add the brinjal and potatoes, sprinkle little water, add salt, cook covered till 3/4 th cooked, then add the dry powder, jaggery, tamarind pulp, c.hilli powder, goda masala, water as per need, cover and cook till done. Garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy

                     

Keral Kadal Curry

This is a curry I ate when I stayed with Nalini Muralidharan at Cochin. We enjoyed all the Kerala specalities at her place, was an unforgettable experience. Credit goes to Nalini for my knowledge of this dish :) Thanks dear.

Ingredients

 2 00 gms brown chickpeas soaked overnight and pressure cooked

1) The ingredients below should be sauteed in a little coconut oil and ground into a paste
2 onions chopped into thin strips
1/2 cup dry grated coconut
4 dry red chillies

2) The ingredients below should be dry roasted and powdered
2 cloves
1 small piece of cinammon
Few seeds of green cardomom
1/2 tspoon fennel seeds
1/4 of a mace flower

3) 1 tomato chopped and pureed with a small ladle full of the pressure cooked chick peas

Salt to taste
2 dry red chillies broken into pieces for the tempering

Method
In a kadhai take some coconut oil, pour the first step paste into it saute well, now add the second step powdrered masala, cook well, add the third step puree, cook well, add the pressure cooked chick peas, salt to taste and let it boil well, add water as desired. In a small wok take a little oil, fry the dry red chillies and pour on top of the curry. Serve with dosa, puttu or chapati.

I have used red thai curry for the tempering.