Ingredients:

Fine Rawa (chiroti rawa)- 150 ml
salt- pinch
Almonds- 10
Ghee- 1 tbsp
Maida- for dusting
Oil
Milk- 600 ml
Sugar-100 ml
Cardamom- 3-4
Saffron- a few strands

Method:

Soak almonds in water, peel and grind fine with a little milk. Mix rawa, salt and badam paste and knead into dough and let rest for 20 minutes. Then rub ghee on it and knead well even by pounding with the roller. Sprinkle a little water and pound/ knead. Make small balls and roll into small rounds. Fold into a semi circle and paste the edges together.

Boil milk, add sugar, and continue to boil until slightly thickened. Add cardamom powder and saffron. Keep it hot.

Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the prepared polis. Turn and fry both sides. Drain and soak in milk. When the next poli is fried, remove the soaked one and place in a big plate. Continue with the rest of the polis. After all polis are fried and soaked, pour the rest of the milk on all the polis. Take care not to stack the polis or they may get stuck together.

You can omit the almonds or add the almond paste to the milk for a different flavour.

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Ingredients:

Tender cooked corn – 2 cups
White sauce
Grated cheese – 100 gms
Butter
Salt and pepper to taste

For white sauce:

Butter – 1 tbsp
Plain flour (maida)- 1 tbsp
Milk-1 cup
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

White Sauce:

Melt the butter on a slow flame. Add the flour and cook on a slow flame, while stirring throughout, until froth appears. Add the milk gradually and stir continually until the sauce thickens. Add salt and pepper and mix well. Add cheese and mix well.

Au Gratin:

Take corn which is at room temperature and mix it well with the white sauce. Optional: other veggies like carrot, broccoli, cauliflower etc can also be added. In a baking dish pour the mixture and bake for 15 minutes at 400F. Serve at room temperature.

Ingredients:

Rice- 150 ml
Toor dal-75 ml
Tamarind- 1 ball the size of a small lime
Mixed chopped Vegetables-200 ml (Beans,carrot,potato,peas etc.)
Oil 4 tbsp
Mustard- 1 tsp
Curry leaves- 10-15
Salt to taste

Roast in oil and powder:

Gram Dal- 20 ml
Dhania seeds- 20 ml
Red Chillies-6
Methi- 1/2 tsp
Copra- 30- 40 ml
Poppy seeds-2 tsp
Cardamom-1
Cloves-3-4
Cinnamon- a small piece

Method:

Extract tamarind juice and keep aside. Cook rice and Dal together in the pressure cooker for 5 whistles with 600 ml water. Vegetables can also be kept in the same cooker in a separate dish. Heat oil in a large pan, add mustard, splutter and then curry leaves. Add tamarind water and salt and 2 cups of water. Boil till the raw smell goes. Add the masala powder and vegetables and boil some more. Mash the rice dal mixture and add to the boiling liquid. Top up with the rest of the oil and mix well. Check the consistency and add some hot water if needed. Keep hot and add a dollop of ghee and mix before serving. Serve with Boondi on top, raitha and chips.

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Kofta:
Lauki (Suraikai)-500 gms
Gram flour- 1 cup
Green chillies-3-4
Salt to taste
Oil

Method:

Peel and grate Lauki. Squeeze out all the water from lauki and reserve the water. Add gram flour, chopped green chillies and salt. Heat oil in a pan and fry the mixture in the shape of small pakoras. Drain and keep.

Tomato Gravy:

Tomato- 5 medium
Onion- 3 medium
Chilli powder- 2 tsp
Dhania powder- 1 tsp
Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp
Garam masala powder- 1 tsp
Oil- 3 tbsp
Coriander leaves- 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:

Blanch the tomatoes in boiling hot water, remove skin and chop fine. Grate the onion. Heat oil in a pan, add onion and fry till golden, add ginger-garlic paste and fry. Add all the powders and fry for a minute. Add the tomato pieces, 1 cup of water and boil for about 10 minutes till the mixture thickens. Arrange the koftas in the serving dish and pour the gravy over the same. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with chapathi, poori or pulao.

Ingredients:

For the wrap:

Maida- 240 ml
Corn Flour-45 ml
Oil- 15 ml
salt to taste
water to mix.

For the filling:

Cabbage shredded thin- 500 ml
Onion- 1 medium sliced thin
Carrot- 1 medium slivered thin
Capsicum- 1 small slivered
Cooked noodles- 60 ml(optional)
Spring onions- 2-3 chopped fine
White pepper powder- 1 tsp
Sugar- 1 pinch
Ajino-moto- 1 pinch
Soy sauce- 1 tsp
Oil
Salt to taste

Method:

Mix the flours and salt for the wrap, add oil and mix well. Add water little by little and make a smooth dough. Roll into 5″ thin rounds. Heat a tawa and lightly toast the rolled wraps and keep aside.

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and saute the onions for a minute. Add all other vegetables other than spring onion, salt, pepper and saute well. Add sugar, spring onion, ajino moto and soy sauce at the end, saute and cool the mixture.

Mix a tbsp of maida in a little water into a paste and keep aside.

Take a toasted wrap, and place 2-3 tbsp of filling on it. Fold the lower end over the vegetable mix, fold both the sides and roll tight. Using the paste, seal the open ends of the roll and keep aside. Prepare all the rolls as above. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the rolls on medium heat till golden. Drain on tissue and cut in a slant into 1″ pieces and serve with tomato, chilli sauces.

Tukkada (or Diamond Chips)

Ingredients:

Wheat flour- 180 ml
Maida- 60 ml
Ghee or Butter- 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Chilli powder- 1 tsp
Water
Oil for deep frying

Method:

Mix the flours, butter,salt and chilli powder well. Add water little by little and knead into a soft dough. Make small balls and roll into chappathi. Cut the same into diamond shape using a knife or a pizza cutter. Deep fry the diamond cuts till golden. Drain, cool and store in a airtight container. A nice snack with tea, coffee or by itself.

A sweet variety can be made with a modification. Omit the salt and chilli powder and proceed as above. Make a single-string syrup with sugar, dip the diamonds in it, remove and cool.

Ingredients:

Potato- 400 gms
Tomato- 200 gms- chop into small pieces
Curd- 150 ml- whisk smooth
Sugar-1 tsp
Oil- To deep fry and cook
Salt to taste

Grind together:
Cinnamon- 2 pieces
Cardamom-2
Cloves-4
Poppy seeds- 1 tbsp
Peppercorn-5
Curry leaves-10
Ani Seed- 1 tsp
Red Chillies-3
Green Chillies-2
Ginger- 1 inch
Coriander leaves- 100 ml
Salt

Method:

Scrub and boil the potatoes with jacket in a pressure cooker for 3 whistles. Peel,cool and cut into 3/4 inch square pieces. when absolutely cool, deep fry the pieces and keep aside. Take oil in a pan and fry the ground masala for 5 minutes on a medium flame taking care not to burn. Add the tomato pieces,curd and fry well till oil separates. Add sugar, salt and water if needed. When the gravy is thick, add the fried potato pieces and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves. If desired garnish with fried nuts and raisins.

Ingredients: Sugar- 1 cup Fried Gram (Pottu kadalai)- 1 cup Cardamom- 10 Cashew nuts -8-10 Raisins-8-10 Ghee- 1/4 to 1/2 cup (Recipe Courtesy Prabha’s Palumma)

Method:

Powder fine sugar and fried gram separately and mix well. Powder cardamom seeds also and mix. Break cashew nuts into small bits. In a spoonful of ghee, roast cashew nuts until golden and add raisins and remove from fire. Add this to the powder mixture and mix well. Heat the rest of the ghee. Add a little warm ghee at intervals, mix with the powder and make into a ball. If ghee is not enough, you cannot make the ball stand. If ghee is too much, it will be too sticky.

Ingredients: Semolina- 200 ml Sugar- 300 ml Ghee- 100 ml Cashew nuts- 10 Raisins- 1 tablespoon Saffron- 2 pinches Cardamom powder- 1 tspWater/ milk- 400 to 500 ml depending on the texture of the Rava

Method:

Break cashew nuts into 4.Dissolve saffron in a little warm milk and keep aside. Heat a pan, add a little ghee and roast cashew nuts and raisins and keep aside.
Boil 400- 500 ml water in one stove.
Heat the balance ghee and roast semolina until golden. Add 400 ml hot water/milk and cook on low heat. If semolina is very coarse add the extra water also, then close the lid and cook for a minute. The mixture will be soft. Add the sugar and keep stirring to prevent burning. When the Kesari is done, add saffron milk, cardamom powder and fried nuts and raisins. If needed add another spoon of ghee.