Ragi Halwa

Ingredients:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ragi flour
1 cup ghee
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/4 cup cashew nuts( fried in ghee)
1-1/2 cups water

Method:

1. Melt the ghee in a heavy bottomed pan on medium heat; add both the ragi and wheat flours into the ghee and stir them along with the ghee on low heat until you get a roasted aroma.
2.  In another sauce pan; dissolve the water and sugar. Stir in the cardamom powder to this. 
3. After about 10 minutes and the roasted aromas come out, add in the hot sugar water mixture to the four mix and stir continuously for about 2 minutes or till the water is all absorbed into the flour.
4. Once absorbed, add a tablespoon of more ghee and keep stirring for another 5 minutes until you get the flavors and the right texture.
5.  Turn off the heat, transfer to a serving bowl and serve the Ragi Halwa with the cashew nuts

Namak Paare

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour   1 cup
Carom Seeds (Ajwain)   1/4 tsp
Salt   1/2 tsp
Clarified Butter (Ghee)  2 tbsp
Water  1/4 cup
Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Heat Oil for deep-frying.
2. Mix the following together: Flour, Salt & Ajwain.
3. Mix in the Ghee and rub well till all the Flour is coated with Ghee.
4. Add a little Water at a time and form a stiff dough. It needs to be stiffer than Chapati dough.
5. Rub a little Oil/Ghee on the dough ball, cover and allow to rest till the Oil is ready (minimum 5 min.)
6. Grease the rolling surface and the rolling pin.
7. Take a part of the dough and form a ball and roll it into a square or a round.
8. It needs to be just a hair thicker than a Chapati.
9. Grease a sharp knife and cut strips, rotate 45 degrees and cut again to form diamond shapes.
10. Fry once the Oil is hot.
11. Allow them to cook on one side and flip allowing them to cook on the other side as well.
12. Once done, take them out onto a paper towel, sprinkle some Chaat Masala.
13. Serve hot (if you want them soft or allow them to cool (if you want them crispy)
14. Once cooled down, transfer into an air-tight container and store at room-temperature.

Puffed Rice Mixture

Ingredients:

200 gms puffed rice
3 tbsp oil
10 garlic cloves
7 green chilies (Cut lengthwise)
few curry leaves
1/2 cup peanuts
1/4 cup roasted chana dal 
1/2 tsp turmeric
salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil in a wide pan and add oil and garlic, green chilies.and curry leaves and fry them till garlic gets the golden brown color
2. Add the peanuts and roasted chana dal, salt and turmeric and fry it for few minutes
3. Add the  puffed rice and mix well and let it cook for 5 mins on slow flame
4. Store in a air tight container and serve it with tea.

Rava Kesari

Ingredients:

1 cup sooji/semolina/upma rava
1 1/2 cups sugar (adjust to suit your taste)
2 1/2 cups water
4 tbsps melted ghee/clarified butter/neyyi
12-15 cashew nuts/kaju/jeedi pappu
15-20 raisins/khis mish
3/4 tsp cardamom powder

Method:

1. Heat a heavy-bottomed vessel, add 2 tbsps of melted ghee, add cashew nuts and raisins and toast them till golden brown. Remove them and keep aside.
2. In the same ghee, add sooji/semolina and fry till light pink approx for 6 mts. You have to constantly stir it or else it will burn. Turn off heat, add sugar and mix.
3. Add water and cook on slow flame stirring constantly. It will come together like a thick pudding. It will take approx 8-10 mts to cook on slow flame.
4. Add half of the roasted nuts and raisins and mix. Cook on low flame for another mt. Add 2 tbsps of warm ghee and mix. Turn off flame, remove onto a serving bowl.
5. Garnish with the remaining nuts and raisins and serve warm.

Royala Iguru

Ingredients:

500 gms prawns shelled, de-veined and cleaned
2 large onion finely chopped
10 curry leaves
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
3 green chillies slit length wise
1 tsp chilli pwd
1/3 tsp turmeric pwd
1 tsp coriander pwd
½ tsp cumin pwd
1/4 tsp garam masala pwd
salt to taste
2 tbsp oil
chopped coriander leaves for garnish

Method:

1. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add the chopped onion and green chillis and fry till transparent. Add the ginger-garlic paste and curry leaves and fry for a minute.
2. Add turmeric pwd, coriander pwd, cumin pwd and chilli pwd. Mix well.
3. Add the cleaned prawns, salt and mix well. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Now add 1 cup of water and cook further covered with lid for 5-7 minutes on medium heat. Add garam masala pwd and mix well. Turn off heat and garnish with chopped coriander/cilantro leaves. Serve hot with steamed white rice or chapatis/rotis.

Pongali (Pongal)

Ingredients:

1 cup raw rice
1 liter Milk
1 1/4 cup grated or powdered jaggery
5-6 cardamoms (powdered)
10-12 cashewnuts
8-10 raisins
2 tbsp ghee

Method:

1. Boil the milk
2. Wash rice and add to milk once the milk is boiled and cook at slow flame.
3. Cook jaggery in half cup of water till it dissolves completely.
4. Add the jaggery to the cooked rice after the rice is completely cooked in milk and cook on low flame for few minutes. Turn off heat.
5. Heat ghee and add the cashew nuts and raisins and fry till brown and add these along with the ghee to the sweet pongal. Now add the cardamom powder and mix well.
6. It can be served hot or cold.

kodiguddu Enduroyyala Kura / Egg and Dry prawns Curry

Ingredients:

Eggs - 2
Endu Reyallu (Sun Dried Prawns) = 20 no
Salt to taste
Oil = 2 tbsp
Chilli Powder = 1/2 tsp (Adjust as per taste)
Dhaniya Powder = 1 tsp
Onions = 2 big (Chopped)
Ginger Garlic Paste = 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder = Big Pinch

Method: 

1. Remove the head and tail from the dried prawns,if it has not been removed.
2. Wash the dried prawns thoroughly and soak in water for half an hour.Drain the water.
3. Boil the eggs and remove the shell and slit along the sides.
4. Heat oil in a pan,once it's warm add chopped onions and saute till transparent,then add ginger garlic paste fry for 2 minutes.
5. Now add turmeric powder,salt , Chilly powder and mix well and  add  dried prawns and cook for 8 to 10 mins,on medium heat.Stirring once in a while.
6. Add the eggs in the curry and add water.
7. Cook till the water is evaporated and serve with hot rice.

Gajjar Halwa

Ingredients:

1 kg Carrots
1 litre Milk
3/4 cup Water
3 tablespoons Ghee
2 tablespoons Raisins
2 tablespoons Almonds
2 tablespoons Pistachios
450 grams Sugar

Method:

1)  Wash and grate the carrots. Blanch and shred the nuts.
2)  Take a pan and add some ghee to it and fry the nuts and once the nuts are roasted add the grated Carrots to it.
3)  Once the Carrot are fried, Add the milk. Cook on a low flame for 1 hour stirring occasionally. Add sugar, mix well and cook till the sugar has dissolved and all the milk has been absorbed.
4) Remove the gajjar halwa from heat and arrange in a serving dish. Garnish with almonds and pistachios. Serve cold, hot or at room temperature.

Kodi Guddu Beerakaaya Kura

Ingredients:

250 gms ridge gourd, peeled and chopped
4 boiled eggs, make 3 slits along the sides
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 dry red chillis, de-seed and tear
2-3 green chillis, slit length wise
4-5 garlic flakes, slightly crushed
12-15 fresh curry leaves
big pinch turmeric pwd
salt to taste
3/4 cup low-fat milk

Method:

1  Drizzle half a tsp of oil in a vessel, add pinch of turmeric pwd, add the slit boiled eggs, roast them for a mt, remove and keep aside.
2  In the same vessel add the remaining oil. Add the mustard seeds, let them splutter, next add the cumin seeds and let them turn slightly brown. Add the crushed garlic, dry red chillis, curry leaves, green chillis and combine.
3  Add the chopped onions and saute till transparent. Add the chopped ridge gourd and combine. Cook for 8-10 mts on low to medium heat, stirring once in a while. You will find it leaves water, let it cook in its water.
4  Add salt and cook for another 4-5 mts on medium flame. Add the milk and increase flame and go on stirring while it cooks and you get the curry consistency. This should take about approx 8-10 mts.
5  Reduce flame, add the boiled eggs, place a lid and simmer for 5 mts. Turn off heat and serve hot with rotis or white rice.

Mashed Potato Curry

Ingredients:

Potato (medium-sized) – 4
Onion (medium-sized) – 1
Grated Ginger – 1 tsp
Green Chillies – 3 or 4
Udad Dal – 1 tsp
Chana Dal – 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp
Oil – 1 tbsp
Curry Leaves – 6 to 8
Lemon Juice – 1 tbsp
Salt to Taste
turmeric - pinch

Method:

1. Boil, peel, and mash the potatoes.
2. Chop the onion to fine pieces.
3. In a kadai, heat the oil.
4. Add the mustard seeds and wait till they splutter.
5. Add udad dal and chana dal and fry till golden brown.
6. Add the chopped onions.and fry till the onion pieces turn transparent and add turmeric, slit green chillies, curry leaves, and grated ginger and fry for a minute.
7. Add the mashed potato and salt and mix well. and cook for about 5 minutes.
8. Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice and mix well.

Semiya Payasam

Ingredients:

1 cup Vermicelli

3/4 cup Water

1 cup Sugar

1 cup Milk

3-4 Cashew nuts

7-8 Raisins

2-3 Cardamom

Method:

1. Saute the vermicelli in ghee till it turns brown.
2. Boil water in another vessel..
3. Put vermicelli in boiling water and cover it, stirring occasionally.
4. After the vermicelli becomes soft, add the sugar stirring continuously.
5. Dissolve in the milk and add this to the vermicelli.
6. Powder the cardamom and add it to the mixture.
7. Flavor the desert with fried cashew nuts and almonds.
8. Simmer the vermicelli for about two minutes. Your delicious payasam is ready to be served .

Cabbage Chutney

Ingredients :

Cabbage - 1/2 (finely chopped)
Green Chillies - 10
Oil - 5 tbl spoons
Cumin Seeds - 1 tbl spoon
Mustard Seeds - 1 tbl spoon
Red chillies - 3
Urad dal - 1 tbl spoon
Chana dal - 1 tbl spoon
Corriander seeds - 2 tbl spoon
Garlic Cloves - 3
Salt - 1 or 1 1/2 tbl spoon
Curry Leaves
Tamarind Paste - 1 Spoon

Method:
1. Take a pan and add 2 tbl Spoons of oil and heat it and add Cumin Seeds, Mustard Seeds, Curry Leaves,Urad Dhal, Chana Dhal, Corriander seeds, and cool it and first grind it.

2.  In the same pan slightly fry green chillies and Garlic Cloves.and to the above mixture and grind it.

3. Take Pan and add 2 tbl spoons oil and heat it . Keep cabbage and fry until it comes to brown colour.

4. Now make the cabbage cool.

5. Grind Everything and serve with hot rice.

Savory Maida Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 cup maida/plain flour
1/2 cup sujji
1/4 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp red chilli pwd or green chilli paste
1 tbsp hot oil or ghee or butter
salt to taste
water as required to prepare dough
oil for deep frying

Method:

1. In a wide plate, add the maida, Sujji,  salt, chilli pwd, ghee or oil,  and cumin seeds and combine. Knead the dough till smooth and firm. Test the dough for salt before preparing the biscuits.
2. Pinch a large lemon size ball of the dough and roll into slightly thick roti.  Using a sharp knife, cut the roti length wise about an inch apart. Then cut into 2 inch squares.
3. Heat a wide heavy bottomed vessel with enough oil for deep frying and once the oil is hot, place the cut maida squares one by one into the hot oil, you will find the oil froth up in bubbles. Let the squares/chips fry on high flame till they rise to the surface.
4. Once the chips rise to the surface, turn heat to medium flame and cook the squares till they turn a golden shade. Turn them over gently during the cooking process so that they cook on all sides. Remember the frying has to be done on medium flame to achieve that golden color and crispness. If you reduce flame to low, the chips will absorb a lot of oil, so keep flame on medium to high while frying.
5. Use a slotted ladle to remove onto an absorbent paper and cool. Cool completely before storing in an air tight metallic container.

Rava laddu

Ingredients:

1 cup sooji/upma rava/semolina
3/4 cup sugar (increase according to your choice)
1 tsp cardamom pwd
few cashewnuts
few raisins
3 tbsps ghee
few tbsps milk

Method:

1. Heat a pan, add a tbsp of ghee and toast the cashewnuts and raisins till golden brown. Remove from pan,  keep aside.
2. In the same pan, add the sooji and roast it for approx 7-8 mts till a nice aroma emanates the kitchen and it turns a light brown shade. Remove from pan and keep aside.
3. Take a vessel, add sugar, cardamom pwd, roasted sooji and remaining ghee and combine well. Sprinkle  few tbsps of milk and mix till it forms a crumbly mixture.
4. Using both your hands, form small ladoos and top with a roasted cashewnut and raisin. While shaping the laddos be careful such that the mixture stays together. Initially the laddu might tend to break hence be gentle and place the laddu carefully on a plate and it will harden in a few minutes.