Ingredients:
250 gms de-seeded dates
100 gms shelled walnuts
100 gms unsalted butter
100 gms powdered sugar
250 gms flour (maida)
1 egg
150 ml water
2 tsp baking powder

Method:

Chop walnuts coarsely. Chop the dates into small chunks. Add boiling water and a pinch of baking powder to the dates, mix well and set aside.

Sieve together the flour and the remaining baking powder. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in the egg. Fold in the flour and the then the nuts and then the dates. Add a teaspoon or more of milk if needed. Put the mixture in a pre-greased loaf bin and bake at 360 F for 50 minutes. Check if done by inserting a needle in the center. If needle is coated keep for 5-10 minutes more. Remove from oven, cool, wrap in foil and keep. Cut after 24 hours and serve alone or with a bit of butter.

Idiyappam:

Wash and soak 2 cups of parboiled rice for 3 to 4 hours and grind fine. Add required salt. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a kadai, add a cup of water and stir in the batter and keep stirring to make a homogeneous mass. Ensure the bottom does not burn. Remove from fire. While still hot, take fistfuls of the cooked dough and make balls. Dip your hand in cold water and do it to stand the heat. Stuff the balls one by one into a murukku press with omapodi plate (fine holed one) and press into idiappam onto a greased idli plate. Steam the idiyappams for about 10 minutes in the pressure cooker without the weight. The steamed idiyappams can be removed piece by piece for serving. Repeat with remaining dough.

Vadakari:

For Vadai:

Soak 60 ml each of Toor dal and Channa dal with 2 red chillies for an hour. Drain and grind with 2 green chillies, a pinch of aniseed (saunf- optional) and required salt. The ground mixture should be coarse and NOT watery. Add one finely chopped onion and chopped curry leaves and coriander leaves and mix well. Pour the mixture into a greased plate or idli plate and steam for 10 to 15 minutes. Cool and cut into pieces.

For Gravy:

onions- 3 medium- chop fine
tomato- 5 medium- crush
ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp
grated coconut- 1 cup
cardamom-1
clove-1
turmeric powder- 1 spoon
salt
oil

Grind the coconut with cardamom and clove and extract milk.
Heat 3 spoons of oil in a pan, add ginger garlic paste and onion and saute. Add the tomato and saute further. When it is cooked and oil floats, add the coconut milk, turmeric powder, required salt and 2 cups of water. When the gravy thickens slightly, add the vada pieces and cook for some more time.

Ingredients:

Raw rice- 2 cups
Green chillies- 6
jeera or ajwain- 1 tsp
salt to taste
Oil for smearing

Method:

Wash and soak rice for a couple of hours. Grind fine with salt and chillies and leave overnight to sour a little. Add jeera or ajwain and mix well.

Smear oil lightly on thali vadam plates and lightly spread batter on each plate. Place the stand in a cooker or steamer and steam for two minutes. Remove stand from cooker and remove the vadams on to a plate and dry in sun. Repeat until all the batter is done. Dry well and store tight in canisters. This can be either microwaved or deep fried.

Ingredients:

Rice Flour- 240 ml
Urad flour- 60 ml (dal roasted, powdered and sieved)
Ghee or butter- 60 ml
Channa dal – 1 tablespoon
Coconut grated- 1 tablespoon
Chilli powder- 1/4 teaspoon
Salt- 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida powder- 1/4 teaspoon
Oil for frying

Method:

Soak channa dal for one hour. Take a wide basin and mix salt and asafoetida powder in 1/4 cup of water. Add the flours, chilli powder, drained channa dal, coconut and butter and mix well. Add more water as needed and make a firm dough. If the dough is too dry, cracks will form on the thattai and it will break. In that case, sprinkle a little water and mix well. Adjust salt if needed. Divide the dough into small balls- bigger than marble but smaller than a small lemon.Keep covered.

Spread a smooth cloth, keep a ball of dough on it. Place an oiled polythene paper on the ball and press with a flat bottomed cup (dabara would be ideal). Remove the paper and repeat with 3 more balls. Heat oil in a frying pan and when hot enough to fry, take and slip 4 or 5 thattais gently into the oil. Fry on medium heat, turn both sides and remove when golden and the noise subsides. Drain on paper. Repeat with the balance dough. After the first batch is over, check for crispness. If not crisp, add a little more of butter.

Cool and then store in a air-tight container.

Ingredients:

Maida- 120 ml
Channadal- 60 ml
Coconut grated- 45 ml
Jaggery powdered- 60 ml
Oil and ghee for smearing, cooking
A pinch each of salt and turmeric powder
A pinch of cardamom powder

Method:

Take maida in a bowl, add salt and turmeric powder, 2 spoons of oil and mix well. Add water and make a pliable dough. Pour two teaspoons of oil over the dough and let it soak for an hour at least.

Soak channa dal in water for 30 minutes and then pressure cook. Drain and grind in mixer till powdery.

Heat jaggery with a spoon or two of water in a pan, add coconut, channa dal powder and cardamom and keep mixing until a homogeneous mass is formed. Take care not to let the jaggery burn. If needed a little ghee can be used. Cool and divide it into 10 balls for filling.

Divide the dough also into 10 balls. Take one ball of dough and pat it with hand on a plastic sheet smeared with oil into a 3″ diameter circle. Put one ball of filling. Bring the edges of the dough over the filling and fully cover it. Pat this ball into a 5″ circle using oiled fingers or use a flat bottomed cup to press and make the obbattu. Heat a tawa. Take the made obbattu carefully and cook on both sides on the tawa using a little ghee. Repeat with the rest of the balls of dough/ filling. Spread a little melted ghee when serving.

Ingredients:

10 chapathis triangular and slightly crisp.
1 large capsicum
1 large onion
1 large tomato
1 large carrot
1/4 kg baby potato
1 bunch spinach (palak is best)
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp red chilli powder
salt
A fistful each of fenugreek leaves and mint leaves
1 tsp Aamchur powder
2 green chillies
Oil
butter

Method:

Grind Fenugreek leaves, mint leaves and Amchur into a chutney with required salt. Take care that it is not watery.

Steam potatoes and cut into large cubes with jackets. Cut vegetables in long and thin slices. Cube the tomato. Remove all stems from spinach.

Saute all veggies except tomato in light oil till brown. Dissolve salt in a small amount of water and pour uniformly over veggies while sauteing. Add cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli powders and saute till golden brown. Saute the tomato separately till mild brown. There should be no juice left. Add cumin, coriander powder and then mix with the rest of the veggies.

Making the roll:
Lightly butter the chapathis, place veggies in the middle. Put some green paste on top of the veggies. Roll well and grill to make them slightly crisp.

Ingredients:
Dosa Batter – 500 ml
Semolina- 2 tbsp
Onions-2 medium
Green chillies-3
Ginger- 1/2″ piece
Curry leaves-10
Mustard- 1tsp
Channa dal-1 tsp
Oil for cooking
salt to taste
A pinch of soda bi-carb

Method:

Chop onions, ginger and Green chillies fine. Heat a little oil, crackle mustard seeds, add channa dal, saute and add the curry leaves. Add this to the batter. Add all other ingredients except oil to the batter and mix well.

Heat the appam mould and add a tsp of oil in each depression. Pour batter till just below the rim in all the kuzhis and cover with a lid. Keep the flame on medium. After a minute, check if one side is done. If done, the appam will come out easily when moved. Turn over all the appams and cook for half a minute more. Remove, drain the appams and make a fresh batch. Eat with coconut chutney, green chutney or onion sambar.
 

Ingredients:
Cashewnuts- 50 gms
Gram flour- 160 ml
Sugar- 400 ml
Ghee- 160 ml
Grated Coconut- 80 ml
Vanilla essence- a few drops
Cardamom powder- 1/2 teaspoon

Method:
Dry roast the cashew cool and powder in a mixer. Keep aside. Fry the gram flour in half the ghee until fragrant and keep aside. Make sugar syrup of one string consistency. Add grated coconut and mix well. Add the Gram flour and ghee and keep stirring for a few minutes. Lastly add cashew powder, essence, cardamom and stir without burning till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and is ready to be poured for setting. Remove from fire and pour on to a greased plate/ tray. Allow to cool and set a little. Cut into pieces before it completely sets. Remove the pieces after it cools completely and store airtight.

Ingredients:

240 ml Bengal gram flour
40 ml Bombay rawa
3 tsp sugar
salt to taste
2 tsp Enos fruit salt

For tempering-

1 tablespoon oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 green chillies slit
a few curry leaves

For garnishing-

1 tbsp grated coconut
1 tbsp chopped coriander

Method:

Mix the bengal gram flour, rawa, sugar and salt well. Add enough water to make a thick batter- like idli batter. Add Enos fruit salt. Sprinkle water on it and blend in well. Pour batter in a greased thali and steam for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove, cool and cut into squares. DO NOT REMOVE FROM THE PLATE.

In a pan, heat oil, add mustard and when it crackles, add chillies, curry leaves and add 30 ml water, a pinch of sugar. Bring it to boil and then pour all over the cooked dhokla. Decorate with coconut and coriander leaves.

Green Chutney:

Roast 120 ml of ground nuts until fragrant. Cool and grind with 2 green chillies, salt, 1 tsp sugar and a handful of coriander leaves. Add 5 to 8 drops of lemon juice and mix well.

Ingredients:

100 grams sesame seeds
50 grams Bengal gram dal
3 green chillies
3 cloves garlic
6 tbsp curd- should not be sour
2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp oil
salt to taste

Method:

Roast the sesame seeds and gram dal separately until fragrant.Powder in a mixer. Add all the other ingredients and run the mixer for 10 seconds. Garnish/ decorate with chilli powder and a little oil. Serve with Carrot, cucumber sticks and potato fingerchips.