Vankaya Allam Koora/ Eggplant With Ginger Twist

Vankaya Allam Koora served with Pappu Thotakoora, Rice, Indian Omelette, Yoghurt and Pickle.

Ingredients:

Eggplant - 1 Large, Fat (Wash, top and tail cut off and dice in to pieces)
Oil - 3 tbsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Seasoning:

Mustard seed - 1/2 tsp, Chana Dal - 1 tsp, Urad dal - 1/2 tsp and Curryleaves - 1-2 sprig.

Smash in pestle in to smoothly:

Ginger - 1 inch
Green chillies - 5-6

Proceed:

1) Heat a flat non-stick pan add oil heat it up, keep it on medium flame.

2) Do seasoning: first add mustard seeds, close the lid when it is stopped spluttering add chana dal and urad dal wait until it becomes light golden color, add curry leaves once it is fried, immediately follow step 3.

3) Add eggplant pieces , increase the heat to medium-high mix well, cover with a lid and cook until half cooked.

4) Remove the lid, add turmeric and salt to taste cook until eggplant are fully cooked.

5) Now add smashed ginger and green chilli paste, mix well cook for 1 min and serve.

Serve this with Rice, Dal, Rasam, Yoghurt and Ghee on side.

This is my JFI - Ginger Contribution.

© 2007 by Rajani Rayudu

Aloo Fry/ Potato Fry

Aloo Fry served with Pappu Thotakoora, Rice, Yoghurt, Mango pickle and ghee on side.

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 6 no. (Wash them, skin removed and chop them in to bite size pieces)
Ginger and Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp each
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp (powder it in pestle)
Curry leaves - 1 - 2 sprig
Oil - 4 tbsp

Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Proceed:

1) Heat a flat deep non-stick pan on medium heat, add oil. When it's hot add fenugreek powder (remember do not burn the fenugreek powder, you will have bad taste), when u get light aroma add curry leaves.

2) Add potato pieces, mix well and keep the lid for 5 mins or until potatoes are half cooked.

3) Remove the lid and add gg paste, chilli powder, turmeric and salt to taste, mix well. Cook it for 5 more minutes or until fully cooked, with out keeping lid on top, by stirring time to time.

4) Lastly add garam masala powder, mix well and cook further few mins and serve.

Tip:

After you finished cooking potatoes, keep the lid on for few more mins . The steam which comes from the potato will cook it evenly.

© 2007 by Rajani Rayudu

Baked Beans Wonder

Bread Rolls - 7 no. (sliced horizontally)
Baked Beans - 1 tin
Cheese - as needed

To Sprinkle on top:

Mixed herbs, Basil, Garlic granules and Cayenne pepper - a pinch each

Proceed:

Preheat oven on 160' C. Line a tray with baking paper, arrange buns cut side up, top it with 1tbsp baked beans on top spread it, sprinkle as mentioned above and top it with cheese evenly on top. Bake this until cheese melts. Be careful not to burn.









Serve it with tomato sauce.

Tip:

Orange? to absorb iron from baked beans (vitamin c)

© 2006 by Rajani Rayudu

Dosa Twists

Dosa Batter:


*Urad Dal - 1 cup
*Long grain Rice - 3 cups

Wash and soak these two separately in lots of water overnight.

*Cooked Rice - 3 handful  (long grain rice which is been cooked)

Keep one small container, one large container (thick bottomed dish).
Discard the water from the rice. In mixie jar add rice ( just more than the level of blade ) and add the same level of water and grind in to smooth. Keep this aside in small container. Do this way for the remaining rice until u finish off the rice. For the last batch of the rice, after grinding add cooked rice and grind in to smooth paste add this to the large container.

Now discard the water from urad dal. Add small amount in to mixie jar, instead of water add rice liquid which u kept aside in small container, grind in to smooth paste, add this to the large container. Do the same way for the remaining urad dal.

To run little bit smoothly add little amount of water.

Add 1 and 1/2 tsp salt to the smooth batter, mix well, cover and keep this on top of the water heater and leave it to ferment for 24 hrs for cold countries and 12 hrs for temperate climate.

***Masala Dosa Twist:

Potatoes - 5 no. (washed, boiled and skin removed, smashed lightly.)
Oil - 2 and 1/2 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp
Red chillies - 2 no. (split)
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Onion - 1/2 no. (chopped)
Green chillies - 5 no. (chop them round)

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

Water - 1/2 rice cup.

Lemon - 1/2 no.
Coriander leaves - small handful

For Potato Masala:
Take a flat deep non-stick pan, heat it up add oil.

Do the seasoning as mentioned above from mustard - curry leaves.

Add green chillies and fry a little, then add onions and fry until light brown.

Add turmeric and salt and mix well.

Add potatoes and fry for few mins. add water and coriander leaves, mix well and cook until water is absorbed.

Add lemon juice mix well, taste for salt and tartness .switch off the flame.

Proceed:

Heat a non-stick tawa put 1 and 1/2 ladleful of batter in the center and spread into round circle. keep the lid on top for few secs, remove it drizzle little oil around the dosa wait for few secs or cook until brown underneath and turn it over cook for 30 secs. Turn it over again and keep 1 tbsp of potato masala in the middle and overlap the corners on one another and serve.

Serve with Peanut Chutney or Coconut Chutney.


















***Karam Dosa Twist:

Red onions - 2 no. (skin removed and chopped in to chunks)
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp

Grind these in to smooth paste and keep aside.

Pappula podi

Grind some dalia in coffee grinder with little salt in to smooth powder and keep aside.

Proceed:

Heat a non-stick tawa put 1 and 1/2 ladleful of batter in the centre and spread into round circle. keep the lid on top for few secs, remove it drizzle little oil around the dosa wait for few secs or cook until brown underneath and turn it over cook for 30 secs. Turn it over again and spread 1 tbsp of onion mixture in the centre and spread all over the dosa, sprinkle some pappula podi on top, all over the dosa. Fold in half and press it with back of a spatula to release any excess water, smear some ghee on top. Turn it again, press it with spatula, smear some ghee on top and turn again, cook for few secs and serve.

Serve this with Ulli Chutney.
































***Egg Dosa Twist:

Eggs - 2 no. (beaten lightly)
Salt and pepper

Proceed:

Heat a non-stick tawa put 1 and 1/2 ladleful of batter in the center and spread into round circle. cook for few secs add beaten egg on top ( only few tspns ) sprinkle salt and pepper on top, drizzle some oil around the dosa and cook for few secs or until light brown underneath and turn over cook for 30 secs more and serve.

Serve it with Mixed Dal Chutney.

***Ulli Dosa Twist:

Onion 1 no. (finely chopped)
Tomato - 1 no. (cut in half and remove the pulp and chop)
Coriander leaves - small handful (chop finely)
Cumin seeds - 1 pinch (to sprinkle on top)

Proceed:

Heat a non-stick tawa put 1 and 1/2 ladleful of batter in the center and spread into round circle. sprinkle some, of all the above ingredients on top of dosa, cook until lightly brown underneath, drizzle some oil around the dosa and turn over carefully, cook for 1min and serve.





Serve with Chutneys.

***Ponganalu Twist:

Leftover dosa batter, red onions chopped finely (1 no.), green chillies chopped finely (3 no.), coriander leaves chopped finely (small handful), soaked chana dal (1-2 tbsp) and turmeric (1/4th tsp).
Mix these in batter. Heat ponganalu pan, add around 1/4th tsp oil in each round, when it is heated fill the moulds with the batter until 3/4th level. keep the lid for 4 mins, remove and turn the balls and cook further 2-3 mins and serve.


Serve with Ulli Chutney.

Meaning:

Ulli = Onion

Tips:

Long grain doesn't mean Basmati Rice. Here I have used Australian Long grain Rice. Use this rice for better results.  Here, the mixie I used is normal mixie, for ex:- sumeet. Not those wet grinders. Somehow I am not able to get the results that I wanted from wet grinders. If I am able to get the proportions right for wet grinder then I will post it separately for readers. Wet grinders are good for making Idli's, that's my opinion :-)

another method:

1 cup split Urad dal
2 cups Australian long grain rice
1 cup Idli rice (u can find this in Indian grocery store)
1 tbsp Fenugreek seeds.

Wash and Soak overnight and grind into smooth paste with the same water which is been soaked. no need to add any cooked rice for this method as we have added idli rice to it. fenugreek seeds are also added for healthy version.

© 2006 by Rajani Rayudu

Sambhar

Sambhar

Ingredients:

Toor Dal/ Kandi Pappu - 1/2 cup (small toor dal) + 1/2 cup (large toor dal)
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Chillipowder - 1 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Water - 2 and 1/2 cups

Cook these everything in pressure cooker until mushy.

Tamarind - 1 lemon size

Add enough water to the tamarind, microwave for 1 min , cool a bit and squeeze the juice.

Jaggery - small bit (around 1 tsp)

Onion - 1 no. (chopped in to chunks or u can use small onions, use as a whole)
Green chillies - 4 no. (slit Lengthwise)
Carrot - 1 no. (sliced in to half moon shape)
Potato - 1 n0. (skin removed, washed and cut in to small chunks)
Drumstick pieces - handful
Whole Tomato (from a tin) - 3 no + juice little bit (to give that nice red tint)

Sambhar Powder (I use MTR brand) - 5 tsp

Proceed:

1) Heat a large deep skillet, add tamarind juice to it along with jaggery and cook for few mins until slightly thicken.

2) To that add now all the veges, 5 cups of water and salt to taste. Mix well cover and cook it on medium heat for 10 mins.

3) Add cooked toor dal, mix well uncover and cook for 10 mins.

4) Add squashed tomato and sambhar powder, mix well and cook further 10 mins.

5) Do seasoning: 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, curry leaves - 2 sprigs and little hing (asafoetida).

When seasoning is finished add it to above (point 4) and switch off.

Serve it with Rice, Aratikaya podi kura or Aloo Fry, Yoghurt and Poppadums on side.

© 2006 by Rajani Rayudu

Kodi Pulao/ Chicken Pulao

Kodi Pulao

For Chicken Marination:

Chicken Drumsticks - 750 g (Skin removed, please read tips and cut in to two pieces, wash)
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Black pepper powder - 1 tsp
Yoghurt - 3 tbsp
Ginger and Garlic paste - 1 tsp each
Salt - 1 tsp
Lemon - 1 no.

Marinate these for 1/2 an hour and pre-cook it with out oil until 3/4 th cooked.

Set 1:

Cardamom - 3 no. (just split it to open)
Whole cloves - 4 no.
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
Mace/ Javithri - 1 no.
Marati Mogga - 2 no.
Star anise - 1 no.
Bayleaves - 5 no.
Bujju Puvvu - small handful

Soak these in water until needed.

Set 2:

Cardamom - 3 no.
Whole cloves - 4 no.
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
Nutmeg powder - 1/4 th tsp
Mace/ Javithri - 1 no.

Powder these coarsely in pestle and cover until needed.

Other things we need:

Onion - 1/2 no.large (Sliced thinly and cut in half once)
Green chillies - 2 no. (Slit length ways)
Pudina/ Mint - handful
Oil + Ghee - 1 and 1/2 tbsp each
*Home made Chicken masala - 1 tsp ( for masala ingredients follow my kodi kura recipe)

Basmati Rice - 5 rice cups (*use Kohinoor Basmati, I just love the aroma of the rice)

Water - 6 and 1/2 rice cups + 1 rice cup Lite Coconut Milk + 2 tsp Salt (mix these and keep aside.)



Proceed :

1) Heat oil and ghee in a deep flat non-stick dish, add set 1 spices, discarding water. After that add Set 2 powder, be careful not to burn the spice powder. Add mint leaves and green chillies, Mix well.

2) Add onions and fry until light golden color.

3) Add cooked chicken pieces along with the liquid it has produced during cooking. Mix well. Add my *Home made chicken masala powder and mix. Fry for 3-4 mins or until all the liquid has dried up.

Meanwhile wash the rice 3 times, discard water and add this rice to above dish and cook on high heat by mixing gently to combine. Now transfer this to electric cooker, add measured water to it, gently mix, put the lid on and cook.

4) Once it's stopped cooking, do not open the lid. Wait for 10 mins and clean the lid with the help of cloth and put the lid back. Do this for every 10 mins, until you finished off 30 mins stand by.

5) Now gently mix with fork to combine and serve.

Serve with Kodi Kura and Perugu chutney on side.


Tips:

To remove skin with ease, hold the drumstick at its bulky end. Take a thick paper towel and pull the skin off using it.

Before mixing the rice with a fork, remove all the spices which came on top after you waited for 30 mins stand by, this will ensure it won't get in between while you are eating. That's why all my rice dishes has no spices in the pictures. :-)

Meanings:

Kodi = Chicken
Bujju Puvvu = Dagad Phool = Black Stone Flower

Menu Suggestions:

Can be served with Kodi Vepudu or Chepa Vepudu or Royyalu Vepudu, Kodi Kura or Goat Curry or Royyalu Iguru and Perugu Chutney on side.

© 2006 by Rajani Rayudu

Kanuma Specials

For Non-Vegetarians:

Chicken Leg Fry

Kodi Kura / Chicken Curry

Royyalu Kura

Serve these curries with Kobbari annam/ Coconut rice and Perugu chutney/ Raita

For dessert try out my Rasmalai.

For vegetarians:

Mango Lassi

Vankaya Chikkudu Ginjala Kura/ Eggplant Lilva curry.

Aloo Kurma.

Serve these with Kobbari annam/ Coconut rice and Perugu Chutney/ Raita

For dessert try out my Firni.


One can do Garelu or Alasanda vadalu, check out both mahanandi and sailu's blog for recipes.

Happy Cooking!

© 2006 by Rajani Rayudu

Chakkera Pongali and Pulihora

[ Chakkera Pongali:

*Rice - 1 glass
*Mung Dal - 2 tbsp (roasted lightly)
*Water - 3 glasses

Cook these in pressure cooker until soft.

Fry Cashews, Sultanas, Coconut flakes in Ghee and add it to above along with Cardamom Powder.

Do sugar syrup - u need for every 1 glass of rice add 1 and 1/2 glasses of sugar. add small amount of water to sugar and cook until the sugar is slightly sticky.

Add this sugar syrup to the pressure cooked rice and mix well and switch off. ]

Aava pettina Pulihora

[ Aava pettina Pulihora/ Tamarind Rice with Mustard Twist:

*Rice - 3 rice cups (preferably ponni rice or any white rice but not basmati)
*Water - 6 and 1/2 rice cups
*Turmeric - 3/4 th - 1 tsp

Cook these in electric cooker before hand.

*Tamarind - 2 big lemon size

Soak tamarind in water (just to the level of tamarind) overnight. In the morning take out pulp
as much as u can from the tamarind. Add this tamarind juice in a small skillet and cook it until water evaporates on very low heat. Keep stirring and keep the lid ajar. Cool this mixture and keep aside.

For seasoning:

Oil - 6 - 7 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 and 1/2 tsp
Sesame seeds - 2 tsp
Peanuts - 2 handful
Chana Dal - 4 tsp
Urad Dal - 2 tsp
Red Chillies - 10 no. (split)
Green Chillies - 10 no. (cut length ways)
Curryleaves - 3 sprigs
Ginger - 1 inch (cut finely)
Asaefoetida (hing)- a pinch

My secret formula for pulihora:

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp, powder this in pestle and add 1 no.lemon juice to it and keep a side.

Proceed:

1) Add Rice in a big wide bowl, remove any lumps which may form by separating it with your fingers.

2) Add cooked Tamarind paste to the rice and mix (be careful while adding this u can still add a bit later too)

3) Do seasoning in the order given under seasoning ingredients and once finished, add this seasoning to point 1, along with secret mix which I mentioned and salt to taste and mix everything well. Check for salt and tartness.

For serving:

You can serve it with Bangaladumpa vepudu or Potato fry (Indian style) and yoghurt on side, I eat just as it is. Good for picnic, train journey, festivals and for those unexpected guests.

Meanings:

Aava = Mustard paste

Pulihora = Tamarind Rice ]

Chakkera = Sugar

© 2009 by Rajani Rayudu

Experiment Food

I tried Egg Pulusu ( Kodi Guddu Pulusu ) from "cookingpleasures " blog posted by Meena .
It's delicious . Even simpler things in life reminds you of your mother and when I tasted this dish I remembered my amma.

Please do try it. I thank Meena for her delicious dish and for reminding us our mother.

Even my husband liked it, do u know it's very hard to please him? If he reads this I think he might kill me. hihi...........



© 2006 by Rajani Rayudu

Pappu Thotakoora/ Dal with Amaranth leaves

Amaranth leaves can be found in red colour too.

Ingredients:

Toor Dal/ kandi pappu - 1 cup
Thotakoora/ Amaranth leaves - big bunch (washed and leaves chopped)
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Seasoning:

Oil - 1 - 2 tbsp
Garlic flakes - 2 no. (smashed lightly)
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - a few sprigs

Proceed:

1) Boil Kandipappu/ toor dal with enough water until half cooked.

2) Add turmeric, chillipowder and salt to taste.

3) Add thotakoora, do not mix at this point, keep the lid. Cook until kandipappu/ toor dal is well cooked.

4) Do the seasoning and add it to above and switch off.

Serve with Rice, Ghee, Mango pickle, Aloo Fry and Yoghurt on side.

© 2006 by Rajani Rayudu

Panasa Pottu Kura/ Rawjackfruit fry

Aava pettina Panasa Pottu Kura

Set 1:

Young jack fruit tin - 565 g
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
little salt

Set 2:

Oil - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
Chana dhal - 2 tsp
Urad dhal - 1 tsp
Red chillies - 5 no. (split)
Green chillies - 5 no. (slit)
Ginger - 1 inch (chopped finely)
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Asafoetida (hing) - a pinch

Set 3:

Mustard seeds - 1 and 1/2 tsp
Lemon - 1/2 no.

Proceed:

1) Set 1- Remove young jack fruit from the tin discarding water, keep the fruit in the blender and blend it until chopped finely. keep this in pressure cooker bowl, to that add little handful of water, turmeric and salt, pressure cook for 1 whistle. Remove excess water when it is cooked. keep aside.

2) Set 3- Take mustard seeds in pestle and pound it in to powder, to that add lemon juice, cover and keep aside.

3) Heat a deep non-stick kadhai, add oil and heat it up. Add one by one from set 2 in the order given above, do poppu thingi. Add now point 1 and fry until water is evaporated or less, switch off the flame and add salt to taste (remember you already added little salt before). Add point 2 paste and mix well.

Serve with plain white rice, mudda pappu and majjiga charu.

Notes:

1) Raw Jackfruit? Please visit these url for more info.

http://www.answers.com/topic/jackfruit

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/jackfruit_ars.html

2) You can find these in tin form too in Chinese groceries and Indian groceries. Select the raw jack fruit for cooking.

© 2006 by Rajani Rayudu

Double-Ka-Meetha

*Mckenzie bread - 1 loaf

Plain one only, remove the edges and cut diagonally in to two and dry it openly for 2 hrs by keeping the pieces side by side.

*Butter, as needed

*Sugar and water - 1:1 ratio

Cook these together with 2 cardamom (crushed) on medium low for 15 mins. and keep aside.

*Milk - 1/2 litre

Cook it in microwave until it becomes 1/4th litre by rotating the dish every min. Keep the cream (malai) aside which forms on top.

*Pistachios and Cardamom - 5 no. each (crush it finely together)

add this to above milk and cook 1 more min.

*Cream - 100 ml

add this to the above milk and keep this aside.

Proceed:

Smear butter on one side of the bread pieces and keep this aside.

Heat a small non-stick pan add small amount of butter for each slices and keep the un-buttered side down cook until golden brown and turn again and do the same. Keep this on the tray. When it is still hot pour about tsp of sugar syrup on it and wait until it seeps down add the tsp of milk mixture on top of it and sprinkle some finely sliced toasted almonds and cashews on top.

Do the same way for all the slices, remember to keep the slices side by side but not overlapping. When everything finished wrap it with food wrap and refrigerate for an hour or so and serve.




Notes:

Choose bread which is very thick.

Serve this dessert with Hyderabadi Biriyani and Haleem.
Courtesy: My husband

© 2006 by Rajani Rayudu

Happy New Year to u all

Happy New year to u all!

I made Fried Rice, Chicken Leg Fry, Keema Undalu, Royyalu Iguru, Chilli Chicken and Nupur's Fig and walnut Kulfi. Yum.................

I thank Nupur for her wonderful and tasty dessert. Every one who visited me in this year liked it, including me. Thank u Thank u............


















© 2006 by Rajani Rayudu