SEMIYA PAYASAM (VERMICELLI KHEER)

A simple and easy to make kheer is semiya payasam. Fried samiya combined with good amount of milk and sugar makes a wonderful and delicious dessert. This is one such dessert which can be made very easily even by a beginner in cooking. You can make this in less than 15 minutes so try this for a hurry evening party or a playful sunday.
INGREDIENTS

• Semiya                1 cup
• Water                  2+1/2 cups
• Milk                     2 cups
• Sugar                   1 cups
• Ghee                   1 Tsp
• Cardamom           1/2 tsp
• Nuts                    2 Tsp

PROCEDURE
Boil the milk and water separately.
In a pan heat the ghee and fry the nuts. Remove them and keep aside. In the same pan add the semiya and fry it till golden brown.  Add the fried semiya to the boiling water.( If using the fried semiya add it directly to the water)
Cook for 10 minutes or until the samiya absorbs all water.
Now add the boiled milk and sugar, cook for another 10 minutes. Adjust sugar according to your taste.
Adjust milk according to the consistency required.
Add the cardamom powder and fried nuts. Serve hot.
TIPS

• The kheer thickens as it cools down or even if it is refrigerated. So add a few table spoons of hot milk before serving.
• To enhance the taste add evaporated milk or khoya.
• Pre soak a table spoon of sago(saggubiyyam) and add it to boiling water and semiya.
• Crunchy nuts enhance the taste of the payasam so add the fried nuts just before serving.
• Add a pinch of saffron or color to make it even more attractive and flavorful.

GARELU

This recipe is a must for most of the festivals in almost all of the South Indian families. Packed with lots and lots of protein this festive recipe is liked by every one. In the olden days these urad dal fritters were deep fried in ghee and the taste would be heavenly. But now a days they are fried in oil and ghee is confined to drizzling it on top of the garelu. Mostly called as garelu in the homes, these are called as vada in hotels. A combination of Idly and Vada along with sambar is a best breakfast to start a day with. Well, coming to making these garelu…………the trick lies in making the batter. Many end up making the batter thin so the end product, garelu, will not taste good. So utmost care should be taken while grinding the batter. If using a wet grinder 4 hours of soaking of the urad dal is enough, but if you are using the mixie then go for over night soaking. Enjoy the garelu with ginger chutney and sambar….don’t forget a spoon full of ghee on  the top.
INGREDIENTS

• Urad dal                   3 cups
• Green chilies           4
• Ginger                     1 inch piece
• Pepper corns           1 Tsp
• Cilantro                    3 sprigs
• Curry leaves             5-6
• Oil                            for deep frying
• Salt                          to taste
• Onion                      1 medium(for ulli garelu)

PROCEDURE
Soak the urad dal for 3-4 hours. If using a mixie for grinding, soak for 8 hours. Also, if you are using the black gram dal(pottu minapappu) soak for 8 hours and remove the skins.
Grind the dal along with ginger and green chilies. Do not use extra water. If required just sprinkle a little water just to make the blades of the mixie or the stones of grinder run easily. Make a very thick paste of the dal.
If you are using the mixie then divide the soaked dal into small portions and grind, so that there is a even and easy grinding.
Now add the chopped curry leaves, cilantro, pepper corns, salt and mix well. (Note: do not add the salt while grinding. Adding salt while grinding make the batter thin)
Heat oil in a deep wok. When the oil is heated well make the vadas on a banana leaf or ziploc cover and gently drop them in the oil. Wetting the hands and ziploc cover with water helps in making round vadas and this also helps in removing vadas easily from the leaf or ziploc cover.
Cook the garelu on a medium flame till golden brown. It takes about 3 minutes.  Serve hot with chutney and sambar.
Finely chop the onion and mix it to the batter. Make the mouth watering ulli garelu.
TIPS

• If the batter is very loose it will be very difficult to make the garelu. So be cautious while grinding.
• Onions will ooze out water so make the garelu immediately after making the batter.
• If the batter is loose, Garelu will absorb more of oil. So make the batter as thick as possible.
• Don’t use oil to grease the banana leaf or polythene sheet. Use water only.
• Finely chopped Palak or cabbage can also be used instead of onions.
• Fry the vadas on a medium flame. If the flame is high they don’t cook from the inside and if the flame is low they absorb more oil.
• Try adding a couple of spoons of rice flour if you are not getting the round shape or if the vadas are absorbing more oil.

ROASTED EGGPLANT CHUTNEY

Roasted eggplant chutney is one chutney which is loved by everyone in my family. I love using onions in this this chutney which makes it even more tastier. Try this for your dinner in the night.
INGREDIENTS

• Eggplant                      1/2 kg( use the large and round ones)
• Onion                           1 small
• Oil                                1 Tsp
• Chana dal                     1/2 tsp
• Urad dal                       1/2 tsp
• Mustard seeds             1/4 tsp
• Jeera                           1/4 tsp
• Coriander                    3 sprigs

PROCEDURE
Smear some oil on the eggplants and roast them on direct flame. Alternatively you can roast the eggplant in oven. Heat the oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit and bake for 30 to 45 minutes. Be sure to turn the eggplants for every 15 minutes so that they roast evenly on all the sides. The outer skin should completely turn black  and that's when they are done.
Let cool and now peel the eggplants. Mash them and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan, add the dals, mustard, jeera. When the tadka is done add the finely chopped onion. Add enough salt and fry till golden brown.
Add this mixture to the mashed eggplant. Add the chopped coriander.
Mix well and serve with hot rice.
TIPS

• Applying oil to eggplants before roasting helps remove the skin easily.
• I like adding onions, you can even skip onions.

CARDAMOM COOKIES

Cardamom cookies are one such cookies which remind me my childhood. My Mom used to add a teaspoon of cardamom powder to the cookie dough and now the flavor of the baked cookies would sweep our home. As I grew up I came across many different cookies with different flavors, orange flavored, cinnamon flavored, lemon flavored etc, but cardamom cookies remain the best flavored-cookies. There are many different varieties in making these cookies, but I give my simple and easy recipe. Give it a try.
INGREDIENTS

• Maida(all purpose flour)            2 cups
• Powdered sugar                        1+1/2 cups
• Butter                                       1 cup
• Baking powder                          1/2 tsp
• Baking soda                               1/4 tsp
• Cardamom powder                    1/4 tsp
• Nuts  of your choice

PROCEDURE
Sieve the maida, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom powder.
Take the room temperature butter and add the powdered sugar to it.
Mix well to a fine paste. Add the flour mixture little by little to the sugar-butter mixture and form a dough.
If you feel the mixture is crumbly add little of oil or milk.
Now make a stiff dough and knead it for 10 minutes.
Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes.
Remove the dough and knead for another 5 minutes and make small rounds.
Do not flatten them. The cookies flatten while baking.
There should not be a single crack on the cookies.
Use any nuts of your choice to decorate the cookies.
Heat oven to 325 degree Fahrenheit. Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes.
The cookies should turn golden brown from the bottom and remain white on the top with a nice aroma.
Remove the cookies and cool them.
Just after removing from the oven the cookies are soft . They harden once cooled.     

PLANTAIN WITH TAMARIND AND JAGGERY

Many of you might not have heard of this recipe. Aratikaya mudda kura, as called in Telugu, is very delicious. I gave a twist to it by adding fried cashews. Give it a try if you opt for a variation from the normal plantain fry( aratikaya vepudu).
INGREDIENTS

• Plantain               2 large
• Jaggery                1 Tsp
• Tamarind juice     2 Tsp
• Salt                       to taste
• Turmeric               a pinch
• Curry leaves         a few
• Green chilies        1
• Cashews               10
• Chilly powder       1/2 tsp(optional)
• Oil                        2 Tsp
• Chana dal             1/2 tsp
• Urad dal                1/2 tsp
• Mustard seeds      1/4 tsp
• Hing                      a pinch

PROCEDURE
Peel the plantains and pressure cook them. Cool and mash them.
In a pan heat the oil and add the chana dal, urad dal, mustard seeds, broken cashews. When they are half done add the hing, curry leaves, turmeric.
Now add the mashed plantains, green chilies, salt. Fry for 2 minutes.
Add the tamarind juice, jaggery. Cover and cook on a slow flame for 2-3 minutes. Mix well.
Add the chilly powder mix well and serve hot with rice and ghee.

ONION CILANTRO CHUTNEY

A simple chutney which can be made in minutes is onion cilantro chutney. There is no much cooking process except the tadka. Raw onion and cilantro are used in making this chutney and this tastes awesome with hot rice and ghee. Give it a try.
INGREDIENTS

• Onion                1 large
• Cilantro             10 sprigs
• Oil                      1 Tsp
• Salt                    to taste
• Red chilies         3
• Tamarind            small piece
• Sugar                  1/2 tsp(optional)
• Chana dal           1/2 tsp
• Urad dal             1/2 tsp
• Mustard              1/4 tsp

PROCEDURE
Cut the onions into medium size pieces.  Here I used the less hot white onions, you can use the red onions too. Wash the cilantro and roughly chop it.
Heat oil in a pan and add the dals, mustard , red chilies. When the tadka is done remove it and cool it.
In a mixie jar add 3/4 of the tadka, cilantro, red chilies, tamarind, salt, sugar. Grind the mixture to a fine paste. Now add the onions pieces and pulse the mixie till every thing is mixed well. The onions should not form into a paste. Some pieces should remain in the chutney. Now add the remaining tadka, mix well and serve with rice and ghee. This goes well with any dosa also.

BEERATHOKKU PACHADI

The skin of the ridge gourd is as good as the ridge gourd itself. The vegetable is full of fiber and especially the skin is very high in digestive fiber. The taste of this chutney is also very awesome. The chutney is prepared the same way as the ridge gourd chutney is prepared. Tender ridge gourd peel chutney goes well with rice and a spoonful of ghee.    
INGREDIENTS

• Ridge gourd peel                   1 cup
• Salt                                        to taste
• Green chilies                         2
• Red chilies                            2
• Oil                                         3 Tsp
• Chana dal                              1 tsp
• Urad dal                                1 tsp
• Mustard                                1/2 tsp
• Sugar                                    a pinch
• Garlic                                   2 pieces
• Tamarind                             a small piece

PROCEDURE
Wash the ridge gourd peel and cut it into small pieces. Heat oil in a pan and add the dals, mustard, green chilies, red chilies, garlic. Fry all of them till done. Now remove every thing and set aside. In the same pan add little more oil, add the chopped ridge gourd peel, salt, tamarind piece and  sugar. Fry for 5 minutes till done or until all the moisture is evaporated and the raw flavor is gone. Now grind the previously fried tadka, chilies, garlic. Now add the fried ridge gourd peel to the blender. Grind to a paste. You can add a little bit of water if required. Remove and serve with hot rice.

BEERAKAYA GUTTULU

This curry is so delicious that you will want to make it every time you are cooking ridge gourd. Similar to the gutti vankaya, this curry is also so tempting, filled with flavorful and mouthwatering stuffing. If the beerakayalu are very tender then you do not get the perfect guttulu so go for a little harder and larger ridge gourd. This goes well with rice or roti. You will need to have lot of patience while cooking to get perfect guttulu, so make the curry when you are not in a hurry.
INGREDIENTS

• Ridge gourd                       2 large
• Oil                                      4 Tsp
• Chana dal                           1 Tsp
• Onions                               1 large(chopped)
• Dhaniya                              1 Tsp
• Jeera                                  1/2 tsp
• Red chilies                          4     
• Salt                                     to taste
• Coriander                           4 sprigs

PROCEDURE
Take large ridge gourd, peel them and cut them into 3 or 4 large pieces. Now take each piece and cut them just like you cut the brinjals for stuffed brinjal curry. A ‘+’ shaped cut starting at one end and running the knife half way without making pieces.
In the meanwhile heat a pan and add a table spoon of oil. Add the chana dal, dhaniya, jeera, red chilies. Sautee for a minute till the dal changes color. Now add the chopped onion and fry all of them till the onions looses the raw flavor. Now cool the mixture and grind the mixture along with salt and coriander leaves.
Now take a spoon full of the stuffing and stuff it inside the  cut ridge gourd pieces. Tightly press the ridge gourd pieces and now you can tie a thread to the ridge gourd so that the stuffing don’t come out while frying.
Take a large pan and add the remaining oil. When the oil is heated add the stuffed beerakayalu. Sprinkle a little of salt and cover with a lid. After 2 to 3 minutes remove the lid and mix gently. Now increase the flame and let the ridge gourd cook without the lid. Let all the moisture evaporate. Let all the sides of the ridge gourd pieces turn golden brown. When the curry is done remove into a serving dish. Serve hot with hot rice and ghee.    

ALMOND CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Almonds and chocolates are a perfect combination. The chocolate covered almonds are favorite for many. This combination when used in cookie is double delicious. Here I have used chopped almonds and solid milk chocolate in this recipe. The cookies turned awesome and they will be a perfect tea time snacks on a cool winter afternoon.
INGREDIENTS

• Maida                     2 cups
• Butter                    4 Tsp
• Milk chocolate        1/4 cup grated
• Sugar powder          3/4 cup
• Chopped Almonds   2 Tsp
• Milk                          2 Tsp
• Baking powder         3/4 tsp
• Baking soda              1/4 tsp

PROCEDURE
Sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar powder. Mix in the room temperature butter and form a crumbling mix.
You can either use the grated chocolate or chocolate chips. Add  2 Tsp of milk in the chocolate and microwave for about 1minute(you can also use double boiler to melt them).
When the chocolate melts add the finely chopped almonds and the flour butter mixture. Mix well and form a dough.
Unlike the normal cookie dough, this dough will be a little bit crumbling but can be made into a dough.
Knead the dough for about 10 minutes.
Now take a small portion of the dough and make a small round. Don’t make it flat. Cookies flatten as they bake. Finish making all the cookies.
Refrigerate the cookies for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Now grease the cookie tray and dust it with maida. Place the refrigerated cookies on the try and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes.
The cookies will still be soft, let them cool before removing. The cookies harden once cooled.
These cookies will be so soft and will just melt away in your mouth. 
TIPS

• Measurements and ingredients used in baking should be very precise, to get the perfect output.
• Temperature of ovens vary so check the cookies after 15 minutes, if you smell the sweetness and see the cookies risen remove. Otherwise wait for another 5 minutes.
• Just after baking any cookies will be soft, once cooled they become hard.
• If the cookie dough is very crumbling and cannot be made into a round add a spoonful of milk and mix again.
• Use the roasted almonds for a crunch.
• See that there are no crakes on the cookies. Even a hairline crack can pop open once baked. You can see cracks in my cookies. So be careful while making the cookie rounds.

BASIC COOKIE RECIPE

Cookies are the all time favorites for every one. These soft mouth melting baked munchies can be had at any time. Cookies are no different to Biscuits. Biscuits are the more commercial form of cookies. Both are the same except the cookies, in general, are much more softer than biscuits and are freshly baked in homes. Of course there are crunchy and harder  cookies also. Biscuits are double baked cookies on commercial lines.
As a child I have always watched my Mom baking the cookies. Those were the days when we don’t have a oven in our house. My Mom used to heat sand in a pan and then place the cookie baking dish on it and baked them till golden brown. The same way she used to bake the cakes also. That was a tedious process. But now I have a oven, so it became very easy baking the cookies.
Cookies are generally made with the plain white flour, but now a days they are being made with a wide variety of different flours to make them healthy. Oats, oat flour, ragi flour, Wheat flour, chickpea flour etc are used in different ratios to bake different cookies. Different kinds of nuts, dry fruits, essences, chocolates, butters, spices are added in different proportions to make different cookies.
Here I give a simple basic cookie recipe. You can make variations to this recipe by adding nuts or chocolate chips. This recipe is very easy, give it a try.  
INGREDIENTS

• Maida                   2 cups
• Sugar powder       1+1/4 cups
• Butter                  3/4 cup
• Baking powder     1 tsp
• Baking soda          1/4 tsp

PROCEDURE
Sift the maida, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.
Use the room temperature butter. Don’t substitute ghee for butter.
Mix in the sift mixture and butter to form a dough. Knead the dough to make it very soft. (The consistency should be that of the puri dough) If you are not able to make a dough add a tablespoon of milk.
After making the dough divide it into small portions and make small rounds. Do not flatten them( cookies flatten while baking). Refrigerate them for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit  and bake the cookies for about 20 to 25 minutes.
When you feel the sweet aroma and the edges of the cookies turn brown remove from the oven.
The cookies will be still soft, don’t panic. They harden once cooled.
Here I have used cashews on the top as a decoration. Press the nuts of your choice on the cookies before baking.

TIPS

• The cookies melt in your mouth if the  you knead the dough for 10 minutes.
• If you want the cookies to be crispy and dome shaped, try using less butter. This way you will have cookies which remain fluffy and not flat.  
• Remove the cookies immediately once the edges turn slightly brown.
• Refrigeration of the pre baked cookies is an important step. The cookies melt away in your mouth with this small step.
• Cookies are soft initially after removing from the oven, they harden once cooled.
• I normally refrigerate the round dough patties before baking. Alternatively you can refrigerate the whole dough, remove it and make the patties and bake them.
• Don’t use water in any situation. Use milk if you are to use.