CARROTS AND BEANS IN COCONUT MILK GRAVY

Two English veggies (veggies brought to India by British) Carrots and Beans combined with the authentic Kerala coconut gravy tastes awesome. Coconut, cashews and some Indian spices are combined to make a silky gravy and the veggies are slow cooked in the gravy to make a mouth watering curry. The curry goes well with any Indian bread. 
INGREDIENTS

• Carrots and beans         2 cups(chopped)
• Onions                             1 medium(made to paste) 
• Tomatoes                       1 large(pureed)
• Cashew paste                 1 Tsp.
• Coconut milk                 1 cup
• Water                              1/2 cup
• Salt                                   to taste
• red chilly powder           to taste
• Whole garam masala    1 Tsp.
• Sugar                               1 tsp.
• Coriander                        3-4 sprigs chopped.
• Oil                                      2 Tsp.

PROCEDURE
Cook the carrots and beans and keep them aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add the whole garam masala. Add the onion paste. Fry till the paste becomes golden brown.
Now add the pureed tomato. Fry till the oil oozes out.
Add the salt, sugar, red chilly powder.
Fry and add the boiled veggies and water. Cover and cook on a slow flame for 10 minutes.
Remove the lid and add the coconut milk, cashew paste. Cook till the gravy thickens.
Serve hot with sprinkled chopped coriander.

CLEAR CORN SOUP

A simple soup with tasty sweet corn. Made with only one main ingredient, corn and nothing else. I love the gorgeous color of the corn and want it to dominate  the soup, so I made the clear soup. You will love the taste and will want to make it always. Give it a try.

INGREDIENTS

• Corn                1/2 cup
• Water              1 cup
• Salt                  to taste
• Pepper            to taste
• Coriander       for garnish
• Butter              1 tsp.
• Corn flour        1 Tsp.

PROCEDURE

Cook the corn and set aside. Cook till they are very tender and soft and not too mushy.

Heat butter and add the cooked corn. Mix well.  Add the water.

Let the soup come to a boil.

Simmer and cook for 5  minutes.

Mix the flour in some water and pour it in the soup.

Let the soup thicken.

Adjust the thickness according to your taste.

Add the salt and pepper. 

Add tasting salt for an extra taste(optional).

Garnish with coriander and serve hot.

SOJJAPPALU

Sojjappalu- a traditional Andhra sweet made for many festivals. Also called the sweet puri, this recipe is surely one of the best traditional sweets. Puri is filled with the kesari(suji halwa) and then deep fried to golden perfection. One cannot stop eating one. You will want to have one after another. Give it a try for the next special occasion.
INGREDIENTS

• Maida                     2 cups
• Salt                         a pinch
• Ghee                      2 Tsp.
• Water                     to make the dough

for the filling

• Sooji                      1 cup
• Sugar                     1+1/2 cup
• Ghee                       4 Tsp.
• Dry fruits               2 Tsp.
• Water                     2+1/2 cups

oil for deep frying the sojjappalu
PROCEDURE
Add ghee and salt to the maida and mix well. Add enough water and make a soft dough, just like the puri dough.
Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes.
Mean while make the sooji halwa.
Heat ghee in a pan and add the dry fruits. Fry them and remove them into a bowl.
In the same ghee fry the sooji for a minute and add the water. When all the water is absorbed by the sooji add the sugar.
Cook on a medium flame till the halwa is thick.
Add the fried nuts and remove onto a plate.
Let the mixture cool. The halwa becomes even more thicker after cooling.
Heat a deep frying pan and add enough oil to fry the sojjappalu.
Take a small portion of the dough and gently press it on a banana leaf or polythene cover. Use oil or ghee so that the dough do not stick on to the hand or the cover. Make a small sized puri.
Take a lemon sized ball of halwa and fill the puri with the halwa and bring all the edges of the puri together so that the halwa is fully covered.(just the way you make  aloo paratha)
Again make the ball into a flat thick disk.
Make all of the sojjappalu and deep fry them on a medium high flame till they are golden brown and crisp on the out.
Remove them onto a paper towel to remove excess oil.
Enjoy them hot or cold.
TIPS

• The halwa should be covered fully with the maida layer, otherwise the halwa will come out while frying.
• Add more sugar to suite your taste.
• If you are making a big batch of sojjappalu, make sure you cover them before they are fried, otherwise the maida layer will dry up.
• Use as much of oil or ghee while pressing the sojjappalu, so that they remain soft ever after a day or two.
• You can also try frying the sojjappalu on  a tawa with little ghee or oil.