Badam / Almond Kheer

Health Benefits: 

Almonds contain one-eight of our necessary daily protein. And also its cut the risk of cancer and heart disease.

INGREDIENTS

• Milk - 2 cups
• Whole almonds - 20
• Cashew nuts - 2
• Sugar - 1/4 cup
• Cardamoms - 2 or 3
• Assorted nuts (almonds, pistachios) for garnishing
• Few strands of saffron / yellow food colour

METHOD

1. Soak almonds in warm water for 30 minutes and then peel the skin.

2. Grind the almonds along with safforn, cashews and cardamom into a paste.

3. Heat the milk in a heavy bottomed vessel and bring to a boil ; then lower the flame.

 4. Add the ground paste to the milk and stir well. Bring the mixture to boil and leave it for 5 minutes ; add sugar ; mix well for 2-3 minutes and switch off the flame.

5. Let the mixture cool completely, and strain it using a strainer.

5. Refrigerate the kheer for 2 hours for a greater taste ; Serve it cold.

Garlic carrot fry

Health Benefits:

Garlic strengthens the immune system as well as helps to fight chest infections, cough and congestion.

INGREDIENTS

• Oil - 2 tsp
• Garlic - 10 cloves
• Coconut - 2 tbs
• Fennel seed - 1/2 tsp
• Chilly powder - 1 tsp
• Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric  - 1/4 tsp
• Carrot  - 2 medium size
• Salt - as required

METHOD

1. Chop the garlic lengthwise and chop the carrot in half moon shape.Grind coconut with fennel seeds,garam masala powder to smooth paste (if you need water you can add it )

2. Cook the carrot with least amount of water with some salt so that it is only half cooked.

3. Heat oil in a pan, add garlic and fry well till its change to light brown colour.

  

4. Add coconut paste,tumeric powder, chilly powder & salt, fry well till its raw smell leaves; add the cooked carrot with water.

  

5. Let the masala mix well with the carrot (you can add little extra water if needed)

6. Reduce the flame; cook until everything is well done.

                                                                

                                    

Tips:

Cooking carrot with little water reduce its sweetness of the carrot.
Frying carrot until its light brown it gives a nice flavour to it.

Dal Spinach

Health Benefits: 

Spinach is good for skin, hair and bones. It is rich in protein, iron, vitamins and minerals.

INGREDIENTS

• Oil - 2 tsp
• Toor dal - 1/2 cup
• Moong dal - 3 tbsp
• Garlic - 4
• Dry chillies - 2
• Green chilly - 1
• Big onion 1
• Dried fenugreek leaves – 1.5 tsp
• Tomatoes - 2
• Turmeric - 1/4 tsp 
• Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
• Garam Masala - 1 tsp
• Salt - as required
• Baby spinach - 1 bunch
• Cumin - 1 tsp
• Hing - 2 pinch
• Ginger & garlic paste - tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp
• Ghee - 1 tsp

METHOD

1. In a pressure cooker, cook toor dal and moong dal with turmeric powder until mushy.

2. Heat oil in a pan. Add dried fenugreek leaves (crush with your palm to get a nice flavour)

3. Then add the finely chopped onions with some salt.

4. When onion turns translucent, add ginger and garlic paste; fry well until raw smell leaves.

5. Then add chopped tomatoes, cook until the tomatoes become mushy.

6. Add salt,  Garam masala and chilli powder, fry masala well.

7. Add cooked dal. Let the dal blend well with the masala.

8. Now add the chopped spinach (Spinach doesn't need a lot of time to cook) - Add sugar to retain the colour.

9. Let everything boil for 3 more minutes.

10. Heat oil in a separate pan. Add finely chopped garlic pods; fry it's turns to light brown and add cumin, curry leaves and hing.

11. Pour the contents into the cooked dal - Add some coriander leaves and ghee for a nice flavour.

   

12. This dish goes well with Rice/ Chapatti 

Tips:

• After adding the spinach in the dal, cook it only for 3 - 5 minutes - Not more than that.
• Adding ghee gives a wonderful flavour to the dal, so please don't skip it. 

Yoghurt vegetable kuruma

INGREDIENTS

• Oil - 2 tsp
• Fennel seed - 1/2 tsp
• Cinnamon - small piece
• Mixed vegetables - 1 cup (beans, carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, peas )
• Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
• Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Green chillies - 2
• Coconut - 1/2 cup
• Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp
• Mint leaves - 3 tbsp
• Yoghurt - 1/4 cup
• Cashew - 2  (optional)
• Salt - as required

METHOD

1. Heat oil in a pan, add fennel seeds.

2. Once fennel seeds change colour, add all the chopped vegetables, green chilly (you can choose any vegetables of your choice as mentioned above - At least add three veggies)

3. Then add salt, turmeric and chilli powder - Fry the masala and until raw smell leave.

4. Add some water to cook the veggies.

5. Once the vegetables are cooked, add grounded cashew and coconut paste.

6. Let the mixture boil for five minutes.

7. In a bowl, whisk the yogurt with mint and coriander leaves.

8. Switch of the flame and then add the yoghurt mixture.

9. The dish is now ready and it goes well when served with Adai, chapatti, parotta, pulav, idly, dosa etc.

Kaara Chutney (Spicy Chutney)

INGREDIENTS

• Gingely oil - 2 tbs
• Mustard - 1 tsp
• Urad dal - 2 tsp
• Hing - a pinch
• Ripped tomatoes - 2 (ripped)
• Dry chillies - 4
• Garlic cloves - 6
• Salt - as required

METHOD

1. Grind tomatoes, garlic, dry chillies, to a paste with salt.

   

2. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard ; when it stops crackling, add urad dal and hing.

3. Then add the grounded paste to the pan and mix it well.

4. Allow the mixture to start to boil and then reduce the flame and continue to cook in low flame for 15 minutes (or) until the oil separates.

5. Then switch the hob off and the yummy chutney is ready to be served. It goes very well with Idli, Dosa or Oothappam 

Crispy Adai

Health Benefits: 

Lentils consist of fibre, protein, minerals and vitamins. They are low in calories and contains no fat.

INGREDIENTS

• Urad dal - 1/2 cup
• Toor dal - 1/2 cup
• Channa dal - 1/2 cup
• Moong dal - 1/2 cup 
• Idly rice - 1/2 cup 
• Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
• Dry chilly - 3
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves - 1 Spring
• Salt - As required

METHOD

1. Soak all lentils together for 3 hours.

2. First grind the red chillies, fennel seeds and salt to coarse.

3. Then add the soaked items and then grind it to a dosa batter consistency.

  

4. Add turmeric powder and finely chopped curry leaves to the batter.

5. Heat the pan & when it is hot, pour one ladle of batter in the centre of the pan and immediately make a thin circle. 

 

6. Add few drops of oil around and in 

7. Cover it with a lid

8. Cook in low flame until a nice golden colour is achieved 

9. Then fold the Adai and serve it hot. 

Tips:
The consistency of batter should not be too thick, it must be like a dosa batter. 

Egg Fried Rice 

INGREDIENTS

• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Ginger + garlic - 1 tbsp (finely chopped)
• Spring onion - 1 bunch 
• Multi-coloured capsicum (Red, Yellow, Green) -1 cup
• Black pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
• Ajinomoto - 1 pinch
• Salt - as required
• Cabbage - 1 cup
• Dark soy sauce - 1/2 tsp
• White vinegar - 3-4 drops
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp
• Cooked Basmati rice - 2 cups
• Scrambled eggs - 3 off
• Medium size carrot - 1

METHOD - Fried Rice


1. Chop the carrot & capsicum lengthwise ; shred the cabbage finely

2. Heat oil . Then add finely chopped ginger and garlic - Sauté till turns to light  brown.

3. Add the white stalk of spring onion with little salt. Let them fry on medium heat until it turns light brown.

4. Then add vegetables one by one (carrot, capsicum, cabbage) ; fry for two minuets in a high flame.

5. The vegetables should be cooked so that they are still crunchy but not mushy or soft.

6. Then add dark soy sauce, vinegar, black pepper powder, white pepper powder, ajinomoto, salt, sugar ; Stir for another 2-3 minutes

7. Add scrambled egg and rice ; Stir well in a high flame, add the spring onions. Stir to mix. You could add 1/2 tsp of oil to get a glaze (optional)

8. Remove the pan from the hob.

METHOD - Scrambled Egg

1. In a bowl beat eggs with some salt & some pepper powder.
2. Scramble in a pan with about 1tsp of oil. 
3. Don't break down the egg pieces too much while scrambling.

Tips:

• Refrigerate the cooked basmati rice at least an hour to avoid it becoming sticky.
• Add 2 drops of lemon juice while cooking the rice to make it less sticky.
• To increase the darkness of the rice, you can add extra soy sauce.
• For VEGETARIANS - You can omit the scrambled eggs from the ingredients so have it as a vegetable fried rice