Masala Dal

Masala Dal:

A tasty combination of four dals.It is one of our favorite dal in our home.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup moong (yellow dal) dal

1/2 cup masoor (split red lentils) dal

1/2 cup channa dal

1/2 cup toovar (yellow lentil/ pulse) dal

3 onions, grated

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp. Coriander powder,

1 tsp. Garam masala powder

3 tbsp. ghee or oil

Coriander seeds-1tsp

Cumin seeds -1tsp

Red chillies powder-1tsp

Turmeric powder-1tsp

Cinnamon-1stick

Pepper corns-3

Cloves-3

Garlic (crushed)-3

Ginger(peeled)-small piece

Method:

1.Wash all the dals together.

2.Add 4 teacups of water and cook until done in a pressure cooker.

3.Grind coriander seeds, cumin seeds, red chillies, turmeric powder, cinnamon sticks, pepper corns, cloves, garlic,

ginger and coriander leaves into a smooth paste and keep aside.

4. Heat the oil or ghee and fry the onions till light pink in color.

5..Add the paste, mix well with the onions and cook for 3-4 minutes.

6 Add tomatoes and mix well and cook for 5 minutes so that the tomatoes are done.

7. Add the cooked dals and salt to taste; stir the ingredients together.

8. Cook for 5 more minutes and , garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.with rice, chapatis.

Chakka Varatti (Jack Fruit Halwa)

Jackfruits when tender,can be used to make variety of savory dishes and when ripe,can be eaten as a fruit or for preparing a kind of jam called Chakka Varatti. This Chakkavaratti is used as a key ingredient in authentic dishes like Chakka Pradhaman, and Ela Adai .

Ingredients

Ripe jackfruit-1/2 kilo
Jaggery-1kilo
Grated coconut-1 cup
Ghee- 1/2 cup

Method:
1. Remove the seeds from the chakkapazham (jackfruit)
2. Cut into small pieces and boil this with 1 cup of water and smash it well using a spatula
3. Then grind it to a smooth paste in a blender.
4. Add jaggery and boil.No need to add water.
5. Allow the mixture to cook on medium-low heat till the water is reduced
6. Stir continuously till it becomes very thick .
7. Add 1 tsp of ghee,whenever it starts to stick,probably in every 15 mts.
8. Add ghee and coconut and remove from the flame
9. Allow it to cool naturally and keep it in a dry air-tight container.
10. Want to keep this chakkavaratti for a longer period do not add coconu

Mango Lassi (yogurt drink)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup mango puree
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Method:
Blend all ingredients together. It's that easy! Serve over ice for a refreshing drink.

Mango Milk Shake

This is a delicious, refreshing, and easy-to-make drink for hot summer days
Ingredients:
2 cups -cubed mangoes
1/2- litre milk
6-8 tsp granulated sugar
Few ice cubes
Method:
1.Put cubed mango pieces with 1/4 cup of milk in a blender.
2. And run for 15 seconds or until mango pieces get crushed to a smooth paste.
3.Add rest of milk, sugar, ice cubes and blend for another 30 seconds.
4.Serve chilled in tall glasses.

Sevai...(Rice Noodles)

It is a south Indian meal which is very time consuming to make. But it is very tasty Sevai can be made in 2 ways. The difficult way is by first principles and the easy way is by using Chinese thin rice noodles.

The difficult way to make sevai -

Ingredients:

Parboiled rice (puzhungal arisi)-4 cups

2 tbsp coconut oil

Salt to taste

Water to soak the rice

Method

1. Soak the rice in water for 8 hours or overnight.

2. Grind to a very smooth, thick batter (like idli batter) using only as much water as necessary finely adding the salt... Stir in the salt and the batter.

3 Heat a pan Add 2 tsp oil (this makes sevai tasty and non sticky) and stir the dough till it becomes thick and sticky.

4. When the dough is not too hot, wet your hands with water and make big balls and keep.

5. Boil water in another pan. After the water boils, put the rice balls in it and let it cook.

6 .When the balls float to the top, check to see if they are cooked properly.

7. You can do this by cutting into half and seeing if they are not sticky.

8. Put each ball on the sevai nazhi(sevai traditional press) and sevai comes out.

9. It should be hot otherwise it gets difficult to press. Keep aside to cool (you can put the dough in the idli mould and steam them instead of boiling in water)

Easy Way:

Method:

1. Soak the rice in water for 8 hours or overnight.

2. Grind to a very smooth, thick batter (like idli batter) using only as much water as necessary. Stir in the salt and oil once the batter is ready.

3. Grease some idli plates and pour the batter in each depression. Steam in a pressure cooker, without using the weight, for 10 minutes.

4. Turn the heat down to a simmer and carefully remove one idli plate from the stand. Close the cooker again. It is important that the noodle dough stays hot until just prior to being used

5. . Scrape the "idly" into the hollow cylinder of the sevai press.

The pressure forces the noodles out of the tiny holes in the hollow cylinder. Use up the remaining dough in the same manner.

I make several varieties of sevai - coconut, lime, tamarind, sweet with jaggery. My favorite however, is Plain sevai.

Lemon Sevai:

1 tsp of mustard
1 tsp or urad dal
1 tsp of channa dal
1 or 2 green chillies
A few curry leaves
Fresh cilantro for garnish
2 tsp of cashews for garnish
2 tsps of lemon juice
1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
A pinch of asafoetida
Salt to taste
Oil as needed
1. Pour oil in a pan and add the mustard. Once they splutter add urad dal, channa dal, green chillies and curry leaves.
2. Add the turmeric powder and asafoetida mix well and remove from the flame.
3. Transfer the plain sevai to the pan with seasonings and mix well
4. Add salt, lemon juice and cilantro and mix till all are incorporated.
5. Garnish with roasted cashews.