Spinach Onion Pakora

Ingredients:

Besan flour - 2 cups
Rice flour - 2 teaspoon
butter- 1/2 tablespoon
spinach - a handful(chopped)
red onion - 1(chopped length wise)
red chili powder - 1/2 teaspoon
salt - as needed
Ginger - a small piece(chopped)
Water - as needed
Cashew - 10-15(broken pieces)
hot oil - 2 tablespoon
Oil - for frying

Procedure:

• First in a bowl add besan flour, rice flour, red chili powder, salt and butter.
• Mix  all  till the butter is mixed with  the flour.
• Now add spinach, red onion, ginger and cashews to the above mixture.
• Add very little water because moisture in the onion and palak will be enough.
• Heat oil in a kadai, when it is hot take 1 tablespoon of hot oil and mix it with the above mixture.(it will make the pakora crispy)
• Lower the flame and take lemon sized mixture and put it into the oil without shaping it. ( should be uneven shape)
• Fry till golden brown and drain it in a paper towel.
• Enjoy  crispy pakora with ketchup or chutney.

Puliyotharai Mix

Fan of MTR's famous puliyotharai mix? Now you can make this at the convenience of your own home kitchen. Ditch the store-bought powders, and try it yourself for double the goodness!

Ingredients:

Tamarind - Lemon sized amount
Channa Dal - 1/ 2 cup
Dhania - 3 tablespoon
Seasame Seeds - 1 teaspoon
Black Pepper - 1 tablespoon
Red chili - 6 or 7
Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
Asafoedida - as needed
Salt - as needed
Fenugreek - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 1 teaspoon

For temper:

Peanut - 100 grams
Urud Dal - 1 tablespoon
Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon
Curry Leaves - 8-10
Seasane Oil - 1 tablespoon



Procedure:

1. In a heavy bottomed pan, add oil. Roast channa dal, dhania, seasame seeds, black pepper, red chili and fenugreek until golden brown and set aside.
2. Now add tamarind in the same hot pan and fry until it is dry and allow it to cool.
3. In a mixer cup first add tamarind and grind for a minute. Then add all the roasted items, asafoedida, salt and blend it into a fine powder.
4.In the pan add oil and when it is hot, add mustard seeds. When it splutters add urud dal and peanuts. Fry for few minutes and then add curry leaves and switch off the stove.

5.Mix it with the powder and store it in a clean air-tight container.

6. Mix with rice and enjoy your fresh puliyotharai anytime! 

For Making Tarmarind Rice:

First cook Basmati rice and allow it to cool in a big tray. Add Puliyodhari podi to the rice and add little sesame oil and mix it and enjoy the rice.

Urud Dal Vada

Ingredients:

Urud Dal - 2 cups+ 1 teaspoon rice
Green Chili - 3
Salt - As Needed
Asafoedida - a pinch
Curry leaves - 7-8
Oil  - for frying
Water - Depending on consistency of batter

Procedure:

1. Soak urud dal and rice for 1 hour.
2. First grind chili in a food processor or Indian grinder. Then add the dal with little water.
3.This should be a thick dough.
4.Heat oil in a pan. When it is hot, wet the palms of your hand and get a lime sized amount of dough and pat on the other hand and make a hole at the center.
5. Now slide it into the hot oil.
6. When it is roast, remove it from the oil and serve.

Kolam

Looking for inspiration? This padi kolam brings the right amount of authenticity to any Indian festival.

Sweet Appam

Ingredients:

Whole wheat Flour - 1 cup
Rice Flour - 1 Tablespoon
Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Banana - 1
Water - 1/4 cup
Cardamom- a pinch
Canola Oil - to fry

Procedure:

1. First in a bowl add water, jaggery and wait until it dissolves.
2. Now drain the jaggery mixture in a strainer.
3. Mix wheat flour, rice flour, banana, and cardamom to the jaggery mixture and get it to the consistency of a dosa batter.
4. Once the oil heats up, pour the batter into the hot oil with a laddle. Wait until this become a medium brown color.
5. Using a strainer, get rid of the excess oil.
6. Serve and enjoy!

Mixed Dal Vada (Ama Vada)

Ingredients:
Toor dal- 1 cup
Channa dal - 1 cup
Moong Dal - 1/2 cup
Urud Dal - 1 spoon
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Dried Red Chili - to taste or about 5
Salt - to taste
Oil - to fry
Curry Leaves -1 stem (about 10-15 leaves)
Asafoetida - a pinch

Procedure:
1. First soak all dals for at least two hours.
2. Wash all the dals and drain all the water.
In the meantime, heat the vegetable oil.
3. In a food processor, add dals, turmeric, asafoetida, and salt.
4. Using the food processor, pulse until it becomes a coarse mixture.
5. Add curry leaves and then dab a bit of oil on hands and press the mixture to the vada shape.
6. Fry until it becomes a slight brown shade.
7. Serve and enjoy!

Mango Pachadi (Festival Special)

This recipe is generally done for special occasions in Tamil households. This is a wonderful recipes that will leave mouths watering. Try it for yourself and indulge in this mango goodness.

Ingredients:
1 Slightly Raw Mango
Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Water - As needed + 3 Tablespoons

Procedure:
1. Cut the mango into thin flat slices.
2. Pressure cook the thin mango slices with just enough water to immerse the slices up to 1 whistle. Now set this aside.
3. Under medium heat, add jaggery and 3 tablespoons of water to a sauce pan. Stir until everything dissolves. Let it boil for about 5 minutes.
4. Filter the jaggery mixture to get rid of solid particles.
5. Add this liquid to the mango slices and let it boil. Boil this until you get a thick, loose jelly-like consistency.
5. Once this has boiled long enough, transfer to a bowl and enjoy!

Avocado Chapathi

The perfect way to get in the deliciousness of avocados into the staple Indian food: chapathis!

Ingredients:
1 Avocado
Wheat Flour - 2 cups
Salt - to taste
Red Chili Powder - To Taste
Water - As Needed
Oil - 1 Tablespoon

Procedure:
1.  Mash the avocado finely.
2. To the avocados, add salt, red chili powder and oil. Mix well.
3. Slowly incorporate the flour and add water as needed.
4. Cover the dough and let it sit for 15 mins.
5. Using a rolling pin, make the chapathis to your desired shape.
6. Place in a hot pan and flip the chapathi every now and then.
7. Serve and Enjoy!