Neem Flower Powder

Ingredients:

Dried Neem Flowers 1/2 cup Urad dal powder 1/2 cup Salt to taste Ghee 1 tsp

Method of preparation:

Heat ghee in small pan, add dried neem flowers. Stir constantly and let them brown a bit. When they turn golden brown, remove from heat.

In a bowl, mix urad dal powder, fried neem flowers and salt thoroughly. Serve with rice and ghee.

Notes: You can add garlic while frying neem flowers.

Urad Dal Powder

Ingredients:

Urad dal 1/2 cup Whole dried red chillies 5 Oil 1 tsp

Method of preparation:

Heat oil in a skillet on medium low, add broken red chillies. After few seconds add urad dal and mix well. When dal turns light brown, cool down the mixture to room temperature. Grind into somewhat fine powder and store tight for further use.

Notes: some recipes using this powder are Garlic balls, Sweet coconut chutney,Cauliflower pickle, Spinach pickle, Spicy plantain, Fenugreek leaves pickle.

Spicy Curry Leaves Powder

Ingredients:

Curry leaves 50 -70 leaves app. Urad dal 3/4 cup Coriander seeds 1/4 cup Whole Red chillies 6-10 Tamarind 2 inch sized ball Garlic pods 3 Oil 2 tsps Salt to taste

Method of preparation:

Wash curry leaves thoroughly and pat them dry. Heat a deep pan, add curry leaves and roast on low heat until they lose green color.

Heat tsp of oil in a pan, add urad dal. When they start to change color, add coriander seeds. Toast the seeds, remove from heat and keep aside.

Heat a tsp of oil in same pan, add broken red chillies. Toast them for few seconds and keep aside.

Grind toasted urad dal, corainder seeds, red chillies into fine powder using a spice blender. Then add pieces of tamarind and grind again. Now add roasted curry leaves, garlic cloves and salt. Grind into somewhat fine powder and serve with rice or idly with a dollop of ghee.

Notes: Store tight and karam podi stays for months.

Dalia Powder

Ingredients:

Split Roasted Bengal gram/ Dalia 1 cup Dried whole red chillies 2-4 Cumin seeds 2 tbsps Garlic pods 5 Salt to taste

Method of preparation:

Grind all the ingredients into fine powder using spice blender. Adjust quantity of ingredients according to taste. Store tight and it stays fresh for months. Serve with rice and ghee.

Notes: This is mostly used as last minute spice powder for curries and chutneys.

Dry Coconut Powder

Ingredients:

Dry coconut 1 cup grated Chana dal 2 tbsps Urad dal 2 tbsps Dried red chillies 5 Tamarind 1 inch sized ball Salt to taste Oil 1 tsp

Method of preparation:

Heat oil in a pan, add broken red chillies, chana dal and urad dal. Saute them until they brown a little bit and then add grated dry coconut. Remove from heat let it cool in same pan.

Grind the contents of pan along with tamarind and salt into powder.

Notes: Tastes great with rice and ghee.

Sesame powder

Ingredients:

sesame seeds 1cup dry red chillies 6-10 salt to taste

Method of preparation:

Heat a pan, dry roast sesame seeds and red chillies by stirring continuously. Cool it and grind into coarse powder along with sufficient salt. Nuvvu Podem / Noopodem can be served with rice.

Sesame Mango Pickle

Nuvvu Pindi ooragaya / Nuvvulu vuragaya

Ingredients:

Sour Raw Mango 1 Red Chile Powder 1 cup White Sesame Seeds Powder 1 cup Salt 3/4 cup Sesame Oil 2 cups

Method of preparation:

Wash, clean and pat dry mango. Cut the raw mango with the seed into big chunks.

If the mango is not sour enough, reduce the quantity of salt. In a clean mixing bowl, mix raw mango chunks, red chile powder, sesame seeds powder and salt together with half a cup of oil. Then transfer all the mixed ingredients in to a clean sterilized jar. Leave the jar for 3 days and on 4th day add remaining oil until most of the mango chunks are soaked. Seal the jar with a muslin cloth and leave it 5 – 10 days for the pickle to develop. If taken care to use dry utensils and to not expose to humidity (moisture spoils the pickle), the pickle stays fresh for a year.

Notes: White sesame seeds powder is nothing but the finely ground white sesame seeds.

Pickle Rice with Mango

Avakaya Annam Lo Mamidi Pandu.

Raw mango pickle is mixed with steamed rice. Firm ripe mango is peeled and slice the mango. Freshly sliced ripe mango is served with mango pickle rice. Makes: a Serving of Pickle Rice with Mango.

Ingredients:

Mango Pickle 1 tsp Fresh Ripe Mango 1 Steamed Rice 1 1/2 Cups

Method of preparation:

Peel and slice the firm ripe mango discarding its seed. In a plate, mix together steamed rice and mango pickle. Serve the mango pickle rice with ripe mango slices. Notes: Make sure the mango is ripe but firm.

Suggestions: Adjust the spice with mango pickle. Variations: You can also serve sliced mango with yogurt rice. Other Names: Pickle Rice with Mango,

Masala Dosa with Chutney Recipe

5

3

Masala Dosa - A delight from down south! Make this delicious South Indian Dosa with this reciepe. Masala Dosa is famous all over the world for it's taste, size and the uniqueness. Originally coming from the Mysore in Karnataka, it has become popular among all over India and now the world. Usually eaten as a snack, it is also regularly served during breakfast.

Ingredients

For the Batter:

• 1 cup plain rice
• 1 cup parboiled rice
• 1/4 cup white urad dall
• 1/2 tsp. methi (fenugreek) seeds
• 1 /2 tsp soda bicarbonate
• 1/2 cup curds the batter. 10-12 tsps. ghee or oil as preferred
• water for grinding
• For the masala:
• 2 large onions in vertical slices
• 2 large potatoes boiled and peedled
• 4-5 green chillies
• 1 tbsp. chopped coriander
• 8-10 cashews halved
• 1/2 tsp. each udad dal, cumin & mustard seeds
• 2 tbsp. oil
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric
• salt to taste

For the chutney

• 1/2 cup grated coconut 4 red chillies or 1 tsp. red chilli powder
• 1 long bean tamarind
• 2 flakes garlic
• 1 tbsp. groundnuts
• salt to taste

How to make Masala Dosa with Chutney

Chop potatoes coarsely. Chop green chillies. Heat oil, add cashews and brown lightly. Add dal, seeds and splutter. Add chillies and onions. Fry till tender. Add turmeric, salt,potatoes, coriander. Mix well.

Wash the rices and dal together. Add plenty of water and methi seeds. Allow to soak for 7-8 hours or overnight.Rewash the rice by draining the water 2-3 times. Grind to a paste. Rawa -like grains should be felt in

Add soda bicarb and salt and mix well. Keep aside in a warm place for 8-10 hours.Beat the curds well. Add to the batter, add more water if required. The consistency of the batter should be enough to thickly coat on a spoon when dipped. Heat the iron griddle or non-stick tawa well.

Pour a spoonful of batter in the centre, spread with the back of the spoon to a thin round. Pour a tsp. of ghee or oil over it. Spread chutney spread over dosa. Place a tbsp. masala in the centre. Fold into triangle to cover masala. Remove with spatula when crisp. Serve hot with chutney and/or sambar.

Chutney spread.

Can be Used in Masala Dosa and other dosa recipes. Grind all ingredients together to form a firm chutney. Use very little water.