Cheera Thoran

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time 15 minutes
Serves 2










Ingredients:

2 cups frozen spinach
1 small onion chopped
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon mustard
3 dried red chillies
curry leaves
salt to taste
oil

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard, red chillies, curry leaves and let it crackle. Add onions, salt and saute until it turns pink. Add chilli powder, turmeric powder and saute until the raw smell goes. Add spinach. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.

Potato Masala Curry

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves 4











Ingredients:

3 - 4 medium size potatoes
1 cup canned coconut milk
1 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
2 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon freshly ground garam masala (recipe included)
1 teaspoon mustard
5 - 6 dries red chillies
curry leaves
salt to taste
coconut oil/vegetable oil

Method:

Pressure cook potatoes. Cut it into small cubes and keep it aside.

Dry roast 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed, 3 cloves, 1/2 inch cinnamon stick and powder it.

Heat oil in a pan. Crackle mustard. Add curry leaves and dried red chillies to it. Reduce the flame. Add red chilli powder, coriander powder, salt and saute for a minute. Add potatoes and saute for a few more minutes. Add coconut milk to it. Bring it to a boil and switch off the stove. Boiling it will for long will dilute the dish.

Chow Chow Kootu

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves 4

1 medium size chow chow
1/2 cup channa dal

To Grind:

1/2 cup coconut
1 teaspoon cumin powder
3 - 4 dried red chillies
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

To Season:

oil/ghee
1/2 teaspoon mustard
curry leaves

Method:

Grind all items under ' To Grind' to a fine paste.

Boil water in a heavy bottom pan. Add channa dal to it and cook until it is half done. Add chow chow to it and cook for 10 minutes or until chow chow is almost done. Add the ground mixture to it.

Heat oil/ghee in a pan. Add mustard and curry leaves to it. Pour this into the curry and mix well.

Green Brinjal Thoran

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves 4










Ingredients:

1 pound green brinjal
1 cup chopped onions
1 tablespoon shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon cumin
curry leaves
salt to taste
oil

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Crackle mustard and cumin. Add onions, curry leaves and saute until it turns transparent. Add chilli powder, turmeric powder, shredded coconut and saute until the raw smell goes. Add the chopped brinjal and salt. Cover and cook until brinjal is completely cooked. Cook without lid for 5 more minutes and switch off the stove.

Note: Please do not add water. Brinjal will cook in steam.

Van Payaru Thoran

Preparation Time: 30 mins.
Cooking Time: 20 mins.
Serves 2











Ingredients:

1 cup dried van payaru
1 tablespoon shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin
salt to taste

To Season:

1/2 teaspoon mustard
3 - 4 red chillies
1 sprig curry leaves
oil

Method:

Boil water and soak the beans for 30 mins. Add salt and pressure cook.

Crush coconut, chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin seeds, garlic in a mortar.

Heat oil in a kadai. Add all the items under 'To Season'. Add the pressure cooked beans along with the excess water to it. Add the crushed mixture. Cook until the water dries and leaves a little moisture.

Beans Thoran

Preparation Time : 20 mins
Cooking Time : 15 mins
Serves 4











Ingredients:

1 pound beans
1 table spoon shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 cup water
salt to taste

To Season:

1/2 teaspoon mustard
5 - 6 dried red chillies
oil

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add items under 'To Season'.
Add Beans and saute for a couple of minutes. Add water and cover and cook until it is half cooked.
Add shredded coconut, chilli powder and turmeric powder once it is half cooked. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Then cook uncovered for couple of minutes. This will dry the extra water.

Cabbage Thoran

Preparation Time : 20 mins
Cooking Time 10 mins
Serves 4










Ingredients:

1 pound cabbage
1 tablespoon shredded coconut
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
salt to taste

To Season:

1 teaspoon oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard
5 - 6 dried red chillies
curry leaves

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add all items under 'To Season'. Crush coconut, cumin, garlic, chilli powder, turmeric powder using a mortar.
Add chopped cabbage to the pan. Cover and cook for 2 - 3 mins. Add the crushed mixture and salt to it. Cover and cook for 3 more minutes.
Saute for one more minute without covering.

Cabbage gets cooked real fast. Leaving it on stove even for a few extra minutes will make it mushy.

Sambhar

Ingredients:

1/2 cup toor dal
1/4 cup moon dal
1 small onion, chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
1 small potato, chopped
1 brinjal, chopped
2 green chillies, chopped
1/2 teaspoon chilly powder
3/4 corriander powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
Curry leaves
Cilantro, chopped
Mustard
2 red chillies
Oil
Salt to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a pressure cooker and fry the moon dal until the it turns golden. It should not turn brown.
To this add toor dal, vegetables, salt and pressure cook it.
Add chilly powder, corriander powder, turmeric powder to the cooked vegetables and let it boil for sometime.
Heat oil in a tava. Add mustard and let it splutter. To it add red chillies, curry leaves and cilantro. Pour Sambhar into this and switch off the stove.

Chickpeas Kurma

This is one of my favourite dishes. You can eat it with almost anything. It goes well with Rice, Roti, Dosa, Upma etc.











Ingredients:

1 can of chickpeas (1/2 pound)
1/2 onion chopped
1 tomato chopped
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
Salt to taste

To Grind:

1/4 cup coconut
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
3 Red Chillies

To Garnish:

2 teaspoon oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1 red chilli broken into pieces
1 sprig curry leaves
1/4 cup corriander leaves

Method:

Pressure cook onions and tomatoes for one whistle. Grind all the item under "to grind" part to a fine paste. Add it to the cooked onions and tomoatoes. To it add the canned chickpeas. Bring the curry to a boil. Heat a pan. Add two teaspoon oil. splutter mustard and add rest of the items one by one in the order given. Pour it over the curry.

Note: The canned chickpeas is usually salted. So check the salt level before adding salt.

Brinjal Fry

To make this recipe you need the Indian eggplant. The brinjal needs to be fresh for this dish to taste good as you do not add many spices to it.

Preparation Time : 10 mins
Marinating Time : 15 mins
Cooking Time : 10 mins







Ingredients:

3 Brinjals
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 table spoon oil
Salt to taste.

Method:
Make a paste of chilli powder, corriander powder and salt using the lemon juice. Add little water if the marinade is too dry. Slice Brinjals and marinate it for 15 minutes. Heat oil in a pan and cover and cook the brinjals for 5 mins. Turn the side and cook it without the lid for another 5 minutes. The Brinjal is ready to be served :)