Rava (semolina) kesari

Ingredients:
1 cup semolina
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 cups water
50 grams butter
2 pinches of food color
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
Handful of cashews

Method:
Melt the butter, add semolina and fry until golden. Add water and cook without creating lumps. Now add the sugar, food color and fried cashews. Keep stirring on a medium flame until the mixture does not stick to the pan.
Serve this dessert hot or cold.

Potato and onion pakoda

 











Ingredients:
4 onions
2 potatoes
1 green chili chopped
1 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
Pinch of asafoetida
3 handfuls gram flour
1 handful rice flour
1 tbsp cilantro
Oil for deep frying
Salt to taste

Method:
Thinly slice the onions. Wash, peel and grate the potatoes.
Mix the onions, potatoes, green chili, asafoetida, gram flour, rice flour, cumin powder, cilantro and salt. Add 2 tbsp of hot oil and mix well. Add a little water to make a thick batter. Drop the batter in small quantities into hot oil and deep fry.
Serve with tomato ketchup or chili sauce.

Sago vadai

Ingredients:
2 cups of sago (big size)
2 large potatoes
6 green chilies chopped
2 handfuls of rice flour or bread crumbs
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1 pinch of asafoetida
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method:
Soak the sago for 4 hours. Drain the water and keep aside.
Boil potatoes and nicely mash. Add it to the sago with green chilies, red chili powder, asafoetida, rice flour or bread crumbs and kneed into a nice dough.
Make small flat patties and deep fry.
Serve hot with tomato ketchup or coriander chutney.

Moroccan baghrir

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup semolina (rava/suji)
1 tbsp yeast
3 tbsp butter
4 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt

Method:
First blend the all purpose flour, semolina, yeast, and salt with water. Make into a smooth but thin batter like pancake batter.
Heat the butter with honey into a syrup for the topping.
In a nonstick frying pan, pour batter to make small pancake without oil. Allow to cook without flipping until the bubbles appear.
Serve the baghrir with the honey/butter syrup.

Spinach sambar

Ingredients:
1 cup toor dal
1 medium-sized onion
2 tomatoes
2 pinches asafoetida
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp sambar powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 bunch spinach
2 tbsp oil
Few curry leaves
1 tbsp cilantro
1/2 tsp tamarind paste or gooseberry size tamarind
Salt to taste

Method:
Pressure cook the dal and keep aside.
Dice the onions and tomatoes into cubes, and chop the spinach.
In a deep pan, add oil, mustard seeds, cumin, and fenugreek. When the mustard pops put in the curry leaves and onion. Sauté for a while, then add tomatoes and sauté, then add the spinach. Sauté until the spinach is cooked. Add the sambar powder and asafoetida.
If using tamarind paste, add that to the spinach, add salt and a little water. Allow it to cook until the raw smell of the sambar powder is gone. Then add the cooked toor dal. Let everything boil and come together before removing from flame. Garnish with cilantro.
Serve with rice.

Capsicum fry

Ingredients:
3 large-sized capsicum (bell peppers)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 pinches of asafoetida
1/4 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
4 or 5 curry leaves
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Method:
First wash and cut the capsicum into cubes. In a frying pan, add mustard seeds, cumin, asafoetida, turmeric powder, chili powder, and curry leaves.
When mustard pops add the capsicum, salt and sauté until the capsicum becomes tender.
Serve with rice or chapati.

Vermicelli (semiya) uppuma

Ingredients:
3 cups of vermicelli
1 large onion chopped
2 tomatoes
2 green chilies
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
5 curry leaves
2 pinches asafoetida
3 cups water
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Method:
First dry fry the vermicelli until it turns a light golden color and keep aside.
Cut the onions and tomatoes into small cubes.
Put oil in a deep frying pan, and when heated add mustard seeds, urad dal, green chili, and asafoetida. When the urad dal turns light golden add the onions and sauté for a while, then add the tomatoes and sauté some more. When the tomatoes are soft add the required amount of water and salt.
When the water comes to a boil add the vermicelli and fully immerse it in the water. Allow it to cook and stir occasionally to mix everything. When the vermicelli is cooked remove from the flame. If desired, add 1 tsp of ghee (clarified butter).
Serve hot with any chutney.