Karavadai (spicy vadai)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup toor dal
1/2 cup channa dal
1/2 cup urad dal
1/2 cup rice
3 red chilies whole
4 green chilies finely chopped
Few curry leaves
1 inch piece ginger finely chopped
1/4 tsp asafoetida
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method:
Soak the toor dal and channa dal with whole red chilies and set aside.
Soak the rice and urad dal and set aside.
Soak a handful of channa dal and set aside.
Now coarsely grind the toor and channa dal along with red chilies. Then grind the rice and urad dhal into a smooth batter and add to the other coarse batter. Add the required amount of salt, green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, and asafoetida. Mix everything together into a smooth batter, then add the handful of soaked channa dal.
In a deep pan, heat oil on medium flame. Make dumplings out of the batter and fry until golden.
Serve with coffee or tea.

Tomato chutney sandwich

Ingredients:
1 loaf white bread
4 large tomatoes
2 tsp red chili powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp asafoetida
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
Salt to taste

Method:
Grind the tomatoes into a smooth paste without adding water.
Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and when the mustard seeds pop add asafoetida, red chili power, turmeric and mix well. Add the tomato paste and mix well, add salt as needed and leave on medium flame. Cover the pan until all the water evaporates and keep stirring occasionally.When the chutney is thick, remove from flame and let it cool a bit. Spread the chutney on bread and toast in a sandwich maker. The bread should be buttered on the outside.
Serve as a snack or appetizer.

Dhokla

Ingredients:
1 cup besan (chickpea) flour
1/2 cup yoghurt
1/4 tsp cooking soda
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp turmeric
4 green chilies (ground into paste)
1 piece ginger (ground into paste)
3 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
4 green chilies finely chopped
1 bunch cilantro finely chopped
1 tsp oil
1/4 tsp salt
Few curry leaves
1/2 cup of water

Method:
Mix besan, yoghurt, 1 1/2 tbsp oil, cooking soda, baking soda, sugar, and ginger and green chilli paste and keep aside for four hours.
Grease a plate, pour the mixture into it and steam it in a large pot. When cooked remove from steam and cut into pieces.
Put 1 tsp of oil into a small pan. When heated add mustard seeds, green chilies, curry leaves, and when mustard pops add 1/2 cup of water and bring it to boil. Remove from flame and pour it on the steamed dhokla.
Sprinkle cilantro on top. Serve warm with any chutneys, chili sauce or tomato ketchup.

Puli aval (flattened tamarind rice)

Ingredients:
1/4 kilo aval (flattened rice) thick variety
Small gooseberry-sized tamarind
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp urad dal
1 tbsp channa dal
4 whole red chilies
Few curry leaves
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1 tbsp jaggery
1 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp oil

Method:
Extract the tamarind juice, add turmeric, required amount of salt, jaggery, asafoetida, then add the aval after washing it and keep aside.
Add oil in a heavy bottom pan. When heated add mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, red chili, and curry leaves. When the dal turns slightly golden add the soaked aval. Saute until everything mixes well and remove from the flame.

Bread uppuma

Ingredients:
10 slices of white bread
2 medium-sized onions
6 green chilies
Few curry leaves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
Pinch of asafoetida
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste




Method:
First powder the bread slices in a blender and keep aside.
Add oil in a nonstick pan. When heated add mustard, urad dal, green chilies, asafoetida, and curry leaves. Sauté until the dal turns golden, then add the onion. Sauté for a while, then add the powdered bread, salt and mix well. Remove from flame.

Kachori

Ingredients for puris:
3 handfuls maida (all purpose flour)
1 tbsp oil
Pinch of salt

Ingredients for masala stuffing:
3 tbsp besan (chickpea) flour
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin powder
3 cloves
3 cardamom
1/2 cinnamon stick

Method:
First make a dough out of maida, salt and oil, and set it aside.
Finely powder the cloves, cardamom and cinnamon, add cumin powder.
In a nonstick pan, add oil and heat. Add the chickpea flour and fry until the aroma releases.
Reduce heat and add turmeric and red chili. Sauté for a while, then add the other spice powder along with a little salt. Let it cool down.
Make the dough into small balls and roll like puris. In the center add the masala stuffing powder and seal it. Roll out again into small puris, then deep fry.
Serve with ketchup and yoghurt spread on top.

Bisibela bath (sambar rice cooked with vegetables)

Ingredients:
1 cup toor dal
1 cup rice
1 carrot
2 medium-sized onions
1 potato
3 drumsticks
2 bunches of cauliflower
1/2 cup peas

Ingredients for masala:
1 tbs chana dal
1 tbs coriander seeds
8 red chilies whole
1/2 tsp whole pepper
1/2 tsp turmeric
Few curry leaves
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1 small lime-sized tamarind

Method:
Fry the masala ingredients in a little oil, then grind it and keep aside.
Take a deep vessel and cook the dal with turmeric. When the dal is half cooked add the rice.
When the rice is half cooked, cut the vegetables into large cubes and add to the rice and dal. Squeeze the tamarind juice and add to the mixture with the required amount of salt.
Add the masala powder and let everything cook together on a low flame. Add cilantro and a little jaggery.

Eggplant ennai kozhambu

Ingredients:
1/2 kilo small-sized eggplant
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 small lemon-sized tamarind
1 tbsp jaggery
6-7 curry leaves
Pinch of asafoetida
Handful of cilantro leaves
Salt to taste

Ingredients for stuffing:
1 tbsp chana dal (chickpea lentils)
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp urad dal
10 red chilies whole
2 small cardamom
1 small cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp cloves

Method:
Dry fry all the stuffing ingredients until golden color, powder it with the required amount of salt and set aside.
Slit the eggplant, put them in a bowl of water with pinch of turmeric and keep aside.
After some time the eggplant will bloom like a flower. Remove from water and stuff with the spice filling.
In a nonstick frying pan, add oil and when heated put in the mustard seeds and curry leaves, pinch of asafoetida, and 1/2 tsp turmeric. When the mustard pops, add the eggplant and keep the flame on low. Fry the eggplant. Take the tamarind, soak in water and extract the juice. Pour it on top of the eggplant, add a little jaggery and allow it to boil. When the gravy is thick remove from the flame and garnish with cilantro.
Serve with rice and chapati.

Pal poli

Ingredients:
1 liter milk
1 cup semolina
1 1/2 glass sugar
Orange food coloring (optional)
Oil for deep frying








Method:
If the semolina is coarse, put it in a blender and powder. Add water and make a soft dough and set aside for half an hour.
In a deep saucepan add milk and sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce flame to low.
Roll out small pooris from the semolina dough, then fold it into a semicircle and roll it out again. Deep fry the pooris and soak them in the milk. When it is nicely soaked, remove and put it on a plate.
Serve this sweet dish warm or cold.