Groundnut chutney

This sounds a simple recipe to post for all those who make it everyday for dosa/idly/upma, Ive many friends asking for my groundnut chutney recipe. Chutneys are part of every south indian life. We can barely live(eat :) ) without it.for every breakfast item there need to be a chutney. There are so many varieties of chutneys. With groundnut itself many chutney dishes are there. Im posting the basic groundnut chutney.

If you are planning to cook some indian breakfast dishes make sure to accompany it with this chutney.

Ingredients:
groundnuts - 1 1/2 cup
green chillies - 2
tamarind jus - 1 tspn
salt- 1 tspn (as per taste)

Procedure:

dry roast groundnuts and green chillies  in a pan.

Add groundnuts, salt, tamarind jus (or small tamarind piece) in a food processor till smooth paste.

Can add tadka/seasoning to make it more delicious

for tadka/seasoning --
add 1 tspn of oil . after oil is heated add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and red chillies (break into small pieces). once fried add to the chutney and mix well.

This chutney can be had with idly/dosa/pongal/upma etc.

guthi vankaya (stuffed brinjal)

Stuffed Brinjal/Gutti Vankaya is the tastiest dish with its heavenly deliciousness, A recipe passed over by my mother along with some of her childhood stories to go with it. It is my mother's favourite dish and also my uncles' as she says, Here is the recipe for you all

Ingredients:
Green brinjals (7 to 8 - tender ones)
oil - 3 to 4 tbspns

For stuffing:
Urad dal (minappappu) - 3 tsp
Split chick peas (Senagabedalu) - 3 tsp
coriander seeds (dhaniyalu)  - 1tsp
dried coconut
Red chillies (dried) - 20
small piece of tamarind
Onions - 3

PROCEDURE:
1. Dry roast the urad dal, split chick peas coriander seeds, red chillies and dried coconut.
2. Grind it into fine powder.
3. Now add onions to the powder, some salt and grind into smooth paste.
4. Now take the brinjals and make 2 cuts into the brinjal to make space for stuffing.
5. Now stuff the brinjals with the stuffing
6. Now take a flat bottomed pan and put some oil and let it heat. Place the stuffed brinjals in the pan and some oil on them.
7. Cover it with a lid and let it cook properly. After a while, open the lid and turn the brinjals around to cook the other side also,
8. After it is all cooked (brinjals should change color) , switch off the stove and pour the remaining paste (if left out) on the brinjals and close the lid
Note: Do not put the excess paste in the pan in the beginning itself. It will get burnt by the time the brinjals get cooked.

Vermicelli Payasam / Kheer

The first sweet most of the children in India ate would be Kheer/Payasam. In Hindu tradition we have a ceremony the first time child eats something apart from milk.On this occasion the father/uncle/grandfather would feed the kid with some sweet.Payasam/Kheer is made especially for the kid.
When we were kids the sure dish we know for any festival is kheer.Any auspicious occasion or festival Kheer is made and we used to wait for the next festival to eat this. There are different ways Kheer is made with different ingredients too. My favourite among them is Vermicelli Kheer its easy to make and delicious to eat.Herz a sweet recipe to all.

Ingredients:

vermicelli/ semiya - 1 cups
milk - 2 cups
sugar - 1/4 cup
cardammom - 2 pods
cashewnuts - 8
kismis - 4
ghee - 1 tspn

Procedure:

Boil milk . add sugar, cardammom and vermicelli and cook with closed lid for 10 mins. If vermicelli not cooked keep for another 5 mins. If you are a sweet person can add more sugar. fry cashews and kismis in ghee. Add these to the kheer.

Can be had either hot or keep in fridge for 30 mins and serve cold.

Veg pulav

Ive been eating veg pulav all my life. My mom makes the best pulav. Evertime we go home we ask her to make us .Starting from lunch to dinner we can never get off from it and end up with bulging stomachs. There are many variants for veg pulav with different spices added. This is the most simple one among them.

Its quite easy to make and dosent require more time to stay in kitchen.Thats the one big reason we've been making it frequently. With office work to do ,household chores to complete and just from a long day of office its very tiring to stay in kitchen for long hours and cook up somthing good. For this just put all the ingredients and wait for the aroma while relaxing.Its quite healthy too (if too much oil or ghee isnt used) coz it contains lots of vegetables. You can add as many vegetables as you like.

Ingredients:

Potato -2
Carrots -2
Baby corn - 6
beans - 10

garlic - 4 finely chopped
cinnamom, cardamom, Bay leaf, cloves, star anise - each one
ginger - 1 small finely chopped
green chillies - 2 slit
onions - 2
ghee/oil - 3 tbspn

rice - 1 cup
water -2 cups

salt to taste

Procedure:

take a handi add oil/ghee. once heated add the spices, garlic,ginger, green chillies. add onions and fry till transluscent. add the vegetables and saute it for 5 mins.

add rice ,water and salt and cook for 20 mins.

add raitha or kurma to make it more delicious

Beetroot Pulav

I love the color thats associated with cooking beetroot.Everydish made with it gives a good color, slight sweetness and delicious tastes.A pulav with feast to eyes,nose and ofcourse tongue.

Ingredients:

Beetroot -2
potatoes -2
onions -2
pudina /mint - 1 bunch ( 1 cup)
green chillies -3
ginger -1 small
garlic - around 10 pods
ghee - 2 tbspn

Spices
star anise -1
cinnamon- 1
cardamom - 2
bay leaf - 2
cloves - 2
mace - 1

rice - 1 1/2 cup
water - 3 cups
salt - 1 1/2 tspn ( as per taste)

Procedure::

wash mint leaves and remove leaves separately.
 Cut onions into long thin slices. slit the green chillies.
wash beetroot peel and grate it. Peel potatoes and cut into medium size cubes.
make a paste of ginger, garlic and the spices.

Soak the rice while doing the prep. The grain will look long after cooking.

Take a handi add ghee. Once ghee is heated add green chillies. fry for a minute . add the spices paste and fry for a minute.
add onions and fry for 5 mins till cooked. add the pudina/mint and fry for 2 mins.
add the grated beetroot and potatoes and saute for 3-4 mins.
add 3 cups of water and add salt as per taste. stir it well. after the water starts boiling add rice and keep in low flame and cook for 20 mins. alternatively can be cooked in pressure cooker for 3 whistles or electric rice cooker.

Add raitha as side dish.

Carrot paratha

If you want to start eating healthy try reducing the rice and increase wheat rotis. Reducing carbs is one way to maintain your diet while you focus on exercises.
For those who arent big roti fans try making it interesting by adding healthy vegetables , and for those who love it another dish to your huge list.
Carrot paratha.. This isnt a stuffed paratha which makes it easy to prepare.
You can skip the oil in this recipe if you want and Its just mentioned oil.. you can choose what oil you want to use.. olive oil,canola oil, sunflower oil, groundnut oil... Canola oil is used in this recipe.

Ingredients::

Wheat flour - 1 cup
Carrot - 1
salt to taste
oil
water - 1/4 cup

Procedure::

Peel the carrot skin and grate it. Take a pan add 1 tspn of oil and fry the carrot till half cooked.

Take a bowl add wheat flour, 1/2 tspn salt(as per taste) and add the carrot. Add water slowly to form a dough. Knead the dough for 5 mins till soft. If its sticky try kneading it ,if dosent work add little flour and knead it. If too hard add little water and knead well. Add 1 tspn of oil and knead it for another 5 mins.

Make small balls of the dough and roll it with rolling pin to form a circle /chapathi.

Take a flat pan and place paratha on it.let it roast for a minute and flip it . after a minute add 1/2 tspn of oil and spread on both sides and roast for another minute.press the corners to cook it well.

Eat it with any side dish or curd/pickle

Stuffed Capsicum

Ingredients:

Capsicums - 4
Potato -1
Onion -2
Tomato -1
green chilli -2
Rice - 1 cup
soy sauce - 1 tbspn
vinegar - 1 tspn
garam masala - 2 tspn
coriander powder - 2 tspn
turmeric powder - 1 tspn
cumin seeds - 1tbspn
ghee - 1tbspn
oil - for frying

Procedure::

Wash the rice and boil rice with 2 cups of water. Boil potatoes.

Take a tawa add 2 tbspn of oil. once the oil is heated add cumin seeds.
add chopped green chilli and fry it for a minute. add finely sliced onions and fry for 2 minutes until translucent.
Add finely diced tomatoes , 1 tspn of salt and cover it with lid for 2 mins.
Add the garam masala, coriander ,turmeric powder, soy sauce and vinegar and mix it well.
Peel of the boiled potatoes and mash it.
Add the mashed potatoes to the curry mixture.
Mix the boiled rice to it. fry it for 2 mins. add salt as required.

Cut the bottom of capsicum so that it can stand on its own. try slicing very minimum to avoid hole at the bottom. slice the head of the capsicum. apply oil to the capsicum inside and outside. fill it with the rice mixture.add some ghee on the filling.

Take a flat bottomed tawa and sprinkle some oil in it. put the filled capsicums in it. cover with lid and fry for 10 mins. make sure all the sides of capsicum are cooked well by moving it.

Hot stuffed capsicum can be served with tomato sauce or any chutney.

Egg Curry

Ingredients:

eggs- 4

tomato - 1 big

onions- 1 big

coconut milk - 3 tbspn

ginger garlic paste - 1 tbspn

mustard seeds- 1/4 tspn

cumin seeds- 1/2 tspn

green chilli - 1

chilli powder - 1/2 tspn

salt as needed ( 1/2 tspn)

water

oil - 1 tbspn

baby pongal

Aloo chips curry

Ingredients:
aloo – 4
tomato – 2
onions- 2
red chilli powder
turmeric powder
mustard seeds
cumin seeds
channa dal
.coriander leaves – optional

procedure:
wash and peel the potatoes and cut into medium slices as sliced for bajji/chips
cut the onions into thin slices and finely chop tomatoes.
add oil in a wok and add the seasonings channa dal, mustard and cumin seeds.
after they splutter add the onions and fry till transluscent.
add the chopped tomatoes and add some salt and cook with closed lid for 3 mins.
once the tomatoes become soft add the aloo chips.mix well and cook with closed lid for 10 mins till aloo is cooked.
add the chilli powder and turmeric powder and mix well and cook for 2 mins without lid.
this can be had with roti or rice.