Hotel Sambar

Ingredients:

Thuvar Dal - 1/2 cup, cooked and mashed

Onion - 1/2, chopped lengthwise

Small Onions - 7

Brinjal - 1 small, chopped lengthwise

Drumstik - 4, 1 inch pieces

Green Chili - 1, cut lengthwise

Garlic - 2 cloves, chopped lengthwise

Tomato - 1 medium, chopped

Tamarind Paste - 2 tbspns, mixed with 2 cups water

Coconut flakes - 1 tsp

Jaggery (powdered) - 1/2 tsp

Curry Leaves - few

Coriander Leaves - 1 tbspn

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Red Chili -1

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida - a pinch

Red Chili Powder - 3/4 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1 tsp

Sambar Powder - 2 tbspns

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - as per taste

Oil

Ghee

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. Let it splutter. Now add cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, dry red chili, curry leaves and asafoetida and saute for 2 minutes. Then add chopped onions, sambar onions, green chili and garlic and saute for a while. When the onions turn translucent, add the remaining veggies and saute for 3-4 minutes. Now add the chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chili powder and coriander powder. Saute everything till the tomatoes become tender and juicy.

Now add the tamarind paste mixed with 2 cups of water, salt, jaggery and sambar powder. Adjust the water to your desired consistency. Let this gravy cook till the raw smell of the tamarind goes off. Now add the mashed thuvar dal and let it come to a boil. 

At this stage add ghee and switch off the stove. Garnish with coconut flakes and coriander leaves.

Serve hot with mini idlies, pongal and rice.

Almond Butter

Ingredients:

Almonds (raw) - 2 cups

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Toss the almonds on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 5-10 minutes until nicely toasted (and be careful not to burn them!).

Grind the almonds along with the salt in a food processor or a mixie.

Scrape the sides of the processor for two or three times in the beginning. But once the almonds started to release the oil, they stuck to themselves.

Store the butter in an airtight container.

Paneer Pulao

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice - 1 cup, uncooked

Potato - 1 medium, chopped lengthwise

Onion - 1 small, chopped lengthwise

Peas - 1/4 cup, frozen or fresh

Salt - according to taste

Paneer - 1 cup, cubed

Cinnamon - 1 inch piece

Cloves - 2

Bay leaf - 1, small

Elaichi - 1 

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Red chili powder - 3/4 tsp

Ghee or oil - for frying

Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Water - 2 cups

Method:

Wash and soak the rice for 15 minutes. Drain the water. Now add a tsp of ghee or oil in a pan and roast the rice for 2 minutes. Keep it aside.

Now add another tsp of oil and fry the paneer cubes till golden brown. Keep the fried paneer soaked in hot water. Soaking paneer in hot water keeps the paneer soft. Now fry the onions and potatoes separately and keep it aside.

Add another tsp of oil and fry the cinnamon, cloves, elaichi and bay leaf for a minute. Then add cumin seeds and peas and fry for another 2 minutes. Then add 2 cups of water, salt and red chili powder. As soon as the water starts to boil add the rice, potatoes and half of the paneer cubes.

For the stove top;

Stir it for a few seconds, reduce the heat to very low and cover it with a lid. Wait till all the water gets absorbed. Switch off the stove.

For the rice cooker;

When the water starts to boil transfer the entire contents to the rice cooker. Wait till the rice gets cooked.

Add lemon juice to the rice and slowly give a stir. Garnish with the fried onions and the remaining paneer cubes.
Goes well with all raitas and dal tadka.

Recipe Courtesy: Mrs Mallika Badrinath

Coconut Burfi

Ingredients:

(MAKES 12 – 14 PIECES)

Coconut, - 1 cup grated, heaped

Sugar - 1 cup

Elaichi powder - 2 pinches

Cashews - 5 

Ghee - 1 tsp

Method:

Take a pan and fry cashews till golden brown and set aside. Keep a tray ready greased with ghee. Heat coconut and sugar together. Mix well. Continue heating with constant stirring in medium flame. The sugar will melt and form a thick liquid. Continue this until the mixture starts leaving the pan and forms a foamy whitish bubbles while stirring. Color should not change. If you keep stirring even after the consistency reaches, then the sugar will get caramelized and color will start to change. Add cashews, elaichi lastly. Pour immediately to the greased tray and level it with a greased aluminium foil to give it a smooth finish.  Wait for 10 minutes and cut into pieces while it is still warm. If you set the mixture in tray for so long until it cools down, then it will be difficult make pieces.

Recipe Courtesy: Rak's Kitchen

Sending this recipe to "Tried and Tasted - Rak's Kitchen" event hosted by Sowmya of Nivedhanam and Lakshmi of Kitchen Chronicles.

Kara Sev

Ingredients:

Gram flour/kadala mavu - 1 cup, heaped

Rice flour - 3/4 cup

Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp

Pepper - 1 tsp, crushed

Jeera /cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Butter - 2 tbspns, softened

Oil - for deep frying

Salt - as needed

Method:

Sieve gram flour if it has any lumps. Take both flours in a bowl, butter, crushed pepper,  jeera, salt, turmeric and asafoetida. Mix well. Add enough water to make a stiff dough.  Make as a smooth dough (make sure there is no crack). Take the murukku press (with three holes). 

Fill the press with dough and press in hot oil in large circles. Do not make too many layers. Just two circles. Fry in medium flame on both sides till the bubbles and ‘shhhh’ sounds ceases. Drain in paper towel and break roughly into pieces. Store in air tight container. The pepper flavor incorporates well the next day. 

Recipe Courtesy: Rak's Kitchen

Sending this recipe to "Tried and Tasted - Rak's Kitchen" event hosted by Sowmya of Nivedhanam and Lakshmi of Kitchen Chronicles.

Corn Flakes Mixture

Ingredients:
Cornflakes (Plain) - 4 cups
Peanuts -1/4 cup
Cashews  - 1/3 cup
Raisins - 1/4 cup (optional)
Fried gram (Pottukadalai) - 2 tbspns 
Curry leaves - few
Salt and Chili powder - according to taste
Oil - for deep frying

Method:

Wash curry leaves and dry it well.

Dry roast fried gram and keep it aside.
Heat oil in a kadai and fry cornflakes in batches (Do not fry for more than 5 secs. The corn flakes may turn brown). Remove from the kadai and drain excess oil on a paper towel. Alternatively you can take some cornflakes in a strainer and immerse it gently into the heated oil and fry it.

Fry peanuts, raisins, cashew nuts and curry leaves separately.

Now add everything including the roasted fried gram to the cornflakes. Add salt and chili powder to taste.

Recipe Courtesy: Padhu's Kitchen

Basundhi

Ingredients:

Milk (full fat) - 1 1/2 liters full fat milk 

Sugar - 3/4 cup sugar

Cardamom Powder - 1/ 2 tsp 

Saffron - a few strands

Lemon Juice - 1 tsp

For garnishing - almond and pistachio slivers

Method: 

Soak the saffron strands in a tbspn of warm milk.

Bring the milk to a boil in a broad bottomed non-stick pan. 

Reduce the flame and cook on a slow flame till the volume is reduced to half, for approximately 1 1/2 hour, while stirring occasionally. 

Note: Do not break the cream layers formed.

Add the sugar and the soaked saffron to the milk and cook on a slow flame for approximately 25 minutes, stirring continuously and scraping the sides of the pan. 
Add the cardamom powder and cook on a slow flame for another 5 minutes.

Now add 1/2 tsp of lemon juice and continue stirring for 2 - 3 minutes so that it becomes granular in consistency. Switch off the stove.

Note: Do not add more than 1 tsp of lemon juice. Lemon juice is added to get milk granules and look like cream layers.

Mix well and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Serve chilled. 

Serve warm or chilled, garnished with pistachio and almond slivers. 

Find my recipe on Tarladalal.com

Sending this recipe to Let's Celebrate Indian Sweets hosted by Nupur

Sending this recipe to Shama's Easy to Cook Recipes and Jagruti's Know Your Dairy - Milk Event