Fried Rice

Ingredients :

Basmati Rice – 1 Cup
Cabbage – ¼
Carrot - 1
Bell Pepper Green – ½
Bell pepper Red – ½
Scallions(Spring Onions) – 1 Bunch
Egg – 2 (optional)
Soy Sauce – 1 tbs
Pepper powder– 1 tsp
Salt – to taste
Oil – 1 tbs
Procedure :

1. In a rice cooker or pressure cooker , add 2 cups of water to the rice .Cook the rice separately and keep it aside.
2. Cut all the vegetables in a way as you wish.

3. Take a deep pan , add oil. Once it is hot , add Carrot , Bell pepper and sauté for 3 minutes.
4. Add half of the chopped cabbage, bottom part of scallions and sauté for 3 minutes.
5. For Egg lovers, Pour egg into mixture and cook , stirring occasionally. (vegetarians can skip this step . It's optional)
6. Add the cooked rice in to the mixture .Now add soy sauce , salt and stir it .
7. Add rest of the cabbage and top part of scallions and stir it for 3 minutes.
8. Spread the pepper powder on top the fried rice .

Hot fried rice is ready. You can enjoy with Gobi Manchurian / tomato Sauce.

Spicy raagi Adai

Raagi adai is a healthy and high fibre dish. It’s very simple to make. My Mom used to make sweet and Spicy versions of raagi adai . it’s simply delicious item which I always loved to eat and cook. 

Ingedients :
Raagi Flour – 2 cups
Drumstick leaves - 1 bunch
Small Onion - 1
Green Chilli - 1
Curry Leaves – 3 or 4
Salt - to taste
Oil – as needed


Procedure :

1. Mix Raagi flour , Drumstick leaves , chopped onions , Geen chilli , salt together and add hot water as required to make as dough as shown in the picture.

2. Take a big lemon size dough and spread the dough on a clean wet cloth as shown in the picture. (use cloth so that it will be easy to transfer in Nonstick pan/tawa)

3. Brush the tawa with oil. Then transfer the dough spread to the tawa. Once it is cooked , then turn to the other side and cook.

Raagi Adai is ready . Serve it hot. It doesn’t require any side dish and it is easy to make.

Gobi 65

Gobi 65 is a colorful fried dish made with cauliflower. This is the one used to make Gobi Manchurian also.

Ingredients :

Small Cauliflower - 1
Maida - 1 cup
Corn flour - 1 cup
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Any chicken Masala Powder - 1 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Soy sauce - 2 tsp
lemon juice/vinegar - 2 t2p
Salt - to taste
Orange color - 1 pinch
Oil - to fry

Procedure :

1. Mix all the ingredients mentioned with water and make it as a batter(similar Idli batter consistency)

2. Cut the cauliflower into small pieces.

3. Dip the cauliflower piece in the batter and fry it in oil.

5. Crispy Gobi 65 is ready now.

Spicy Pongal (Ven pongal)

This is a pongal which is made with peppers and cumin. It requires minimal ingredients and easy to make instantly.

Ingredients : 

Raw Rice (Pacharisi)  - 1 cup

Moong Dal   - 1/3 Cup

Ginger - 1 inch

peppercorns - 2 tsp

Cumin - 2 tsp

butter - 1/2 cup

Cashew Nuts - 7

Salt  to taste

Procedure :

1. Soak the rice and moong dal for 1 hr.

2. Take a pressure cooker and put Rice,Moon Dal , 1 tsp pepper , 1 tsp cumin , salt and 4 cups of water.

3. Wait till 4 whistle sound and keep it aside.

4.Take a small pan , and add butter and heat it. Then add the chopped Ginger , rest of the pepper ,cumin and Cashew nuts.

5. Now add the above butter to the rice cooked in pressure cooker and stir it well.

6. Pongal is ready. Enjoy it with Coconut chutney and sambar.

Coconut Chutney

Coconut Chutney is mainly used as dip sauce for idli/Dosa/pongal/vada. It's easy to make and requires less number of ingredients.

Ingredients :

Coconut - 1/4 of a whole coconut
(or)
1 cup of shredded coconut
green chilies - 4
Pottu kadala - 1 cup
Oil - 2 tsp
mustard - 1 tsp
Cumin - 1 tsp
urad dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 string
salt - to taste


Procedure :

1. Grind Coconut, Green Chillies and pottu kadala,salt with a cup of water amd make it as a thin paste.
2.Heat the oil  in a pan. Add Mustard, Cumin , Urad dal , curry leaves and let the mustard splutter.
3.Mix the above prepared oil with the chutney
4.Coconut chutney ready now.

Black eye beans and Brinjal gravy

This dish is known as karamani kozhambu in Tamil Nadu. Since i did not get karamani in my place, I just did it with Black eye beans.This gravy go well with rice and idli/Dosa.

Ingedients :
Black Eye beans - 1 Cup
eggplant (Brinjal)- 3
Onion - 1
Tomato - 2

Chilli Powder - 1 tsp

Corriander powder - 1/2 tsp

shredded Coconut - 3/4 cup

Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp

Mustard - 1/2 tsp

Cumin - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - as needed

Coriander leaves - to garnish
Oil - 3 tsp
Salt - to taste

Procedure :
1. Soak the Black eye beans for 5-6 hrs. Then cook the beans in a pressure cooker and keep it aside.(2 whistle sound  is enough)

2. Cut the brinjal lengthwise. Chop the onion , tomatoes into small pieces. Grind the coconut and fenugreek together to fine paste and keep it aside.

3. Heat the oil in the pan. Then add cumin, curry leaves ,Mustard and let it splutter.

4. Now add chopped onions and saute unitll it becomes translucent.Then add the Brinjal and saute it.

5. Then add the chopped tomatoes to the onions and cook it for 2 minutes.

6. Add chilli powder , Corriander powder, Salt to the mixture and cook it for 5 mintues.

7.Add the grinded paste and let it cook for 5 minutes. Add more water if the gravy is too dry.

8. Now add  cooked Beans and cook it few minutes.

Now Black eye beans and Brinjal gravy is ready to serve . Garnish it with Corriander leaves.

Okra Curry

Okra is often known as lady's fingers . Okra is my favorite vegetable which I used cook more often. It's good for health aslo as it is rich in Protein, Iron, Phosphorus, Zinc and Copper.

Ingredients :

Okra -  20 nos (Slice it lengthwise)
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Green/Red bell pepper - 1
Chilli Powder  -  1 tsp
Corriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Mustard  -  1/2 tsp
Cumin - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - as needed
Coriander leaves - to garnish
Oil - 3 tsp
Salt - to taste

Procedure :


1. Heat the oil in the pan. Then add cumin, curry leaves ,Mustard and let it splutter.

2. Now add chopped onions and saute unitll it becomes translucent.

3. Add the sliced okra and saute for 3 minutes.

4. Then add the chopped tomotoes to the onions and cook it for 3 minutes.

5. Add chilli powder , Corriander powder,Salt  to the mixture and cook it for 5 mintues.

6. Cut the bell pepper in to small pieces ans add it to the okra Curry and let it cook for 5 mintues.

7. Okra curry is ready now. Garnish the okra curry with Corriander leaves to serve.