Taikilo ambodo / dangar

Thaikilo and marvala paan are both wild greens. Tikilo resembles methi leaves which grows especially during rainy season and Marvala paan resembles alva paan which mysteriously grows on trees.
Both the greens can be prepped in similar way using the recipe below. I don't think these are available in the U.S which is sad, but I always get to these delicacies on my visit back home.
My mom makes this special dish, always sending a few people on a mission to get these two rarely found greens along with gud-gud alambo .

Ingredients
4 cups finely chopped taikilo or Marvala paan
1 cup rice
1/4 cup urad dal
12-16 red chillies
salt

oil for deep frying
Rice flour for coating the ambodo/vada.

Soak rice for 2 hrs. Dry roast urad dal till light brown.
Grind rice, urad dal, red chillies and salt.to a coarse consistency with the minimum water required.Mix chopped greens.
Heat oil in a kadai. Make small flat balls from the greens mixture. Coat the ambodo/vada with rice flour and dep fry.

Surna koot

Ingredients
Yam about 3 cups, cut in small cubes
8 red chillies
1/2 cup coconut
1 tsps mustard seeds
1/4 tsp hing
1/2 tsp methi seeds
tamarind
1 tsp oil
salt

Method
Heat oil in a kadai and add hing, red chillies, mustard seeds, methi seeds and roast till the mustard seeds splutter.Grind all the roasted ingredients with coconut, tamarind and salt to a fine paste.
Mix fried yam and oil in the ground masala,just before serving.

Karathe Kismuri

 There are two kinds to this kismuri. One being the basic mix of  grated coconut, onions, chillies, cilantro to the fried surn( yam), happol, karathe & sukkal sungat (dried shrimp) followed as kismuri 1 .

Masala kismuri

Second  kind being the ground masala  made with coconut & coriander seeds and red chillies; dry ground with tamarind. All  other ingredients & method remains the same.
The picture here shows ground masala kismuri.

Ingredients
1 bitter gourd ,finely sliced
oil to fry
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1/2 cup coconut
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
2 tsp finely chopped coriander leaves
salt
Method
Add a tablespoon of salt to the bitter gourd peices and keep aside for 30 mins.
 After 30 mins, squeeze out as much liquid as you can and deep fry till dark brown and crisp. Keep aside.
 Mix together *coconut, *onions, *chopped green chillies, *coriander leaves and salt.
Just before serving add the fried bitter gourd and mix well.

The ingredients and method of preparation ( marked as *)remains the same for happola kismuri, vaingan gojju and batate gojju.

Ghar dudhi sali chutney

Ingredients:
Lauki peel - from 1 lauki/bottle gourd
Green chillies - 6 to 8
Tamarind - 1/4 tsp
Chana dal 1tbs
Urad dal 1tbs
Jeera - 1 tsp
Roast all ingredients in a little oil.

Grind with the ingredients below.
coconut 1/2 cup
cilantro 15 stems
salt.


For seasoning
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 1 teaspoon
curry leaves

Season the chutney .

Shevai

My 100th recipe had to be another amchi fav, breakfast eats...SHEVAI.
A big thanks to a dear friend who let me borrow the dhanthe for the authentic ' shevai pilche' experience. Thank's R, anytime u want to eat shevai (come along with the dhanthe), let me know.

Grease the cup of the shevai dhante.
Have the pressure cooker ready with boiling water.

Grease steel (drinking) glasses.


Fill the gllasses with the batter and steam for 15 mins.
Unmold the cooked batter.
Press the dough and make shevai similar to the pic below.

If you are an Amchi, you already know what I'm talking about....rest of you, make a konkani friend to eat this delicacy.

Ingredients:
Rice – 3 cups
ukudo thandul/boiled rice /kuthari/matta– 1 cup
coconut – 1 1/2 cups
Salt to taste

Method:
Soak the white rice for 4 hours.
For the ukudo thandul, I washed, dried and then powdered it coarsely in the coffee grinder.Soak the ukudo thandul powder, seperately for 4 hrs.
Now grind the regular rice with the coconut to a smooth paste. Mix it with the soaked boiled rice, salt and grind to get an even smooth batter mix.

In a konkani house, this is cooked in a special way : In a heavy bottomed pan, cook the batter on medium heat to evaporate excess moisture and bring the batter to upma consistency. While the cooked batter is still warm, not hot...form cylindrical shape ( typically the hands are dipped in cold water in the process, to prevent burning hands).
OR
like I did, apply oil to steel drinking glasses, pour batter into the glasses and steam like idlis in a pressure cooker for about 15 mins. Steaming this way was perfect size for my shevai press and I like the part where I don't have to handle my food too much.

Now grease the shevai dhanthe cup and press the warm idli molds to make shevai. If the batter gets cold, it becomes very hard to press.

This shevai is usually eaten with godda rossu which is sweet (freshly squeezed and strained) coconut juice mixed with jaggrey and ealichi powder.


The pic below is from my visit to India, Aug 07....Vikek was trying his hand at squeezing out the shevai for our breakfast and Miheer is curiously waiting for his breakfast. Gaurav, the boy looking the other way, didn't think SHEVAI for breakfast was that big a deal! It was very special to me and I am thankful to Mom and Vanni for a breakfast made just for me.

Masala Papad

Ingredients
8 papads
1 finely chopped onions
15 stem,finely chopped coriander
3-5 green chillies, finely chopped
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp amchur powder
salt to taste
oil for frying

Fry the papad.
Have all the ingredients mixed up.
Serve the papad and masala mixture separate.

Medhu Vada

Urad dal – 1 cup
Green chillies – 3, finely chopped
Ginger – half an inch, finely chopped
Pepper – 4 to 5 corns
coconut –thinly sliced
Salt

Oil for frying

Method
Soak urad daal for 3-4 hours and grind to smooth and thick batter using minimum water for grinding.
Add the chopped chillies,ginger, coconut pieces, crushed pepper and salt to taste. Form into the vada shape and deep fry in medium hot oil till crisp and reddish brown.
Serve it with idli and sambar.

Paav

After much thought and a lot of research for the desired texture, later, I tried my hand at making paav and made it a few times to achieve the laadhi paav taste. I am pretty pleased with the texture, the appearance and the taste.  My neighbour, my kids and  a good friend gave me a good review  as they were eating the warm bread, fresh out of the oven..... all the above combination made me one happy baker! I hope it will make the others who try this just as ecstatc.
 Makes 24 paav's
Ingredients
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp dry yeast
5 tbsp oil
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 cups warm water

Method:
In a cup of warm water, dissolve sugar and add yeast. Let sit for 15 mins. The liquid should now look foamy on the surface, which assures the validity of yeast. (If it has no froth, discard & start fresh with a new yeast).

In a wide mixing bowl add flour,oil,salt and the remaining cup of warm water + the frothy yeast mixture. Knead to a smooth dough and set it aside for 3 hrs to raise and let the yeast do its magic.

3 hrs later,the dough should have been proofed up. Punch down to delflate.

Grease the pan with butter. I used 9 X 13 glass pan once and an oval porcelain casserole the other time and had no problem with removal of finished paav with both the kind of bakeware.

Make little balls out of the dough and place then in the pan leaving alittle gap between the bread so it has enough room to rise again. After arranging the dough balls, cover with saran wrap and let it sit in the oven for 2 hrs ( without heating the oven). The dough should now  have risen again and all the gaps should be filled up by now.

Remove pan from the oven. Pre heat the oven to 375F. Brush the top of the paav with beaten egg whites or milk. Egg whites gives a nice glaze and darker color ( the picture with the oval paav) and milk has a lighter colored tops (pic with the rectangle dish). Bake for 20 to 25 mins. Remove from the oven and let it cool on the counter top for about 15 mins.

Remove from pan and serve with the bhaji made for the Paav or the  vada paav. Yum!

Sweet Kichidi +Theel godd

Happy Sankranthi!!!

The first festival of the year!
Technicaly, accoording to Hindu calender, it isnt new year until April, but now that I have all the time on my hands , I just need a reason for a celebration.
Theel Godd, also known as 'yellu bella' in kannada is shared among the family, neighbours and any visitor coming home today which means spreading sweetness around you. Apart fron the ingredients listed below, back home, it is a tradition to give molded jaggery and cut up sugarcane pieces. Sweet kichidi and pan polo is traditionally cooked today in Konkani homes.
If u look closely, all festivals celebrated serves the same purpose... making food and sharing. In the end, it's all about food!



Sweet kichidi
rice 1 cup
split moong dal 1 cup
coconut 1cup
coconut milk 1 cup
jaggrey
ghee 3 tbsp
cahewnuts and raisins
Elaichi 1 tsp

Dry roast moong dal. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker, roastcahewnuts and raisins. Add rice, roasted dal, jaggrey, elaichi and coconut + coconut milk and 3 cups of water. Cook till done. While serving,(for unknown reasons)it is is garnished with chopped kadali bananas.Yumm!


This the the dry uncooked Theelgodd that are mixed together and served as a prasad.
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup jaggrey, Chopped into Pieces
1/2 Cup copra,chopped into small pieces
1/2 Cup Groundnuts
1/2 Cup roasted chanadal, putani
1/2 Cup white til

Method:
dry roast Groundnuts, til and putani
Mix all the ingredients together and share the sweetness.

Palak Paneer

Ingredients
Fried paneer 400 gms
Paalak 2 lbs
jeera 1/2 tsp
Dhaniya powder 1/2 tsp
red chilli powder 1/2 tsp
garam masala 1/2 tsp

For paste no 1,
onion, 1 small
tomato, 2 medium
ginger 1" pc
garlic 3 cloves
cilantro 10 sprigs
cinnamon 1/2" pc
cloves 4
green chillies 6

For paste no 2,
boiled and cooled paalak

Heat oil, roast jeera add chilli powder, dhaniya powder,garam masala and paste no 1. Fry the paste for 10-15 mins.Add paste no 2 and fried paneer, salt and cover and cook for another 5 mins.

Shrimp Masala

Another shrimp dish, aka kalwan, great with rice.... my style sungta randai .
Ingredients
Shrimp 2 lbs
onion 1, finely chopped
ginger garlic paste 1tsp
red chili powder 1 1/2 tsp
turmeric 1 tsp
tamarind 1/2 tsp
green chillies, 2 slit

for the green masala
coriander leaves- 10 stems
coconut 1/2 cup
green chillies 4
salt

Heat oil in pan and add onions, and green chillies .saute till it it softens.Add ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, red chilli powder and saute the mixture well.. Add the masala, shrimp, tamarind paste and salt. Cook till the shrimp till done.


Another variation to this...By RAKHI SHANBHAGH
All remains the same, except the masala
coconut
dhaniya
pepper
turmeric
red chilli

Bisibele Baath

This recipe is from my cousin sis, Shaila akka, who is an awesome cook. Most of her cooking is by guessing the amount of ingredients and the food I ate made by her has always tasted awesome to me...be it sungata pannaupkari, pathrodo or bisibele baath. During her visit here in spring last yr, for Mayank's b'day she made a big batch of this for us and all of us relished and ate it like there's no tomorrow.
Pics of the awesomeness to be posted soon!

For the masala
Coriander seeds- 3 tsp
jeera -2 tsp
chana dal-2 tsp
urad dal 2 tsp
cinn 1"
till 2tsp
garlic 6
onion
coconut 2 tbsp
curry leaves
green ch 3
red chh 10-12
methi 15
pepper 1/2 tsp
clove 2
ginger 1"pc
roast all of the above with a little oil
(I roasted all the ingredients together)
grind with the 4 ingredients below
1.tamarind paste 2 tsp
2.coriander leaves- about 25 stems.
3.turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
4.hing 1/2 tsp

For the seasoning
onions 2, chopped
tomato 2, chopped in big chunks
garlic 2 crushed
mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
urad dal 1/2 tsp
jeera 1/2 tsp
curry leaves 2 sprigs
red chillies 4, broken
cashew nuts and raisins about 10 each

Mixed vegetables about 3 cups- beans, carrots, cauliflower,potato, peas.
Basmati rice 2 cups
tuvar dal 1 cup
water to cook the above- 8 cups

Have the ground masala, vegetables, rice and tuvar dal ready.
In a pressure cooker heat 4 tbsp ghee, add all the ingredients for seasoning and saute. Add rice,dal,vegetables, ground masala, water and salt. cook till rice is done, which should take about 30 mins. Serve with ghee.

Appey / Appo

Appe/ appo...Call it anyway u want it, it is a sure hit among the kids.
It can be made with plain dosa batter, add chopped green chillie,onion and ginger for a spicy appo, offering for neivedyam made out of wheat,coconut, jaggery and elaichi and also with the surnoli batter......anyway u make it...it is happily savoured by all.
Here, I made mine with musti polo batter.

Molten lava cake

As the name sounds....This is all you need to achieve heavenly bliss!!!!!!!
One can picture this cake, inverted and broken just to let the melted centre ooze out.
My littlest cousin is very fond of pastries and I could only think of him as I was making this. Here's for u Sandy!

The pics will be posted here soon!


Ingredients:

1/2 C Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 tbs butter
1 egg + 1 yolk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 C confectioner's sugar, sifted
3 tbsp all-purpose flour, sifted


Preheat oven to 425 F and microwave butter and chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl for 45 seconds on high, then whisk until smooth.Add egg, egg yolk, sifted flour,powdered sugar and vanilla and whisk until smooth.Don't beat.

Grease individual tins with butter and flour the surface. Tap to remove any excess flour. Fill the molds/tins halfway and set in the oven for 13 to 15 mins. Remove while the centre is stil jiggly but the tops look done.

Let sit for 2 minutes then run a knife along the edges. Put a small plate upside down on top of the bowl and flip over. If you do it right, you should have a perfect looking upside chocolate cake that oozes chocolate when you crack it open.

Singapore Noodles

I have noodles on my mind ....just about any kind.....konkani style shevai, Chinese style lo-mien, Malay Pad Thai...and have been day dreaming about all the varieties of noodles and this cross-cultural dish came across my mind. I was on a mission for to make all the kinds, one at a time and this came first.
Shevai will be the highlight of this weekend...cant wait to get to that too. Eagerly waiting to borrow the 'danthe' from the Kini's. Go Kini's! whohoo!

My first taste of Singapore noodles was a few years ago and I was floored... and why not....a desi has to love this mildly curry flavoured and Asian inspired noodles. So, here's the recipe I followed and the variation( see the 'note') below.

Ingredients
1 (7-oz.) box rice stick noodles
2 quarts boiling water
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 tbs vegetable oil
1 tbsp minced chopped garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
2 tbs mild curry powder ( I used kitchen king masala)
2 cups onions
2 cups red bell peppers
2 cups green bell peppers
1 cup carrots
1 cabbage
2 tbsp rice wine
2 cups bean sprouts

Directions:
Cover noodles with boiling water. Let sit for 30 minutes. Drain.
Combine salt, 1 tbsp soy sauce and pepper in a small bowl, add shrimp and toss with the sauce. Marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok add shrimp and stir-fry for about 3 minutes, or until shrimp are pink. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in the wok until it begins to smoke. Remove from heat; add garlic, ginger and curry powder to wok and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Return wok to high heat; add onions and stir-fry until limp. Add pepper, red and green, carrots, cabbage and wine. Stir-fry until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.

Add shrimp, noodles, beansprouts and soy sauce to wok; This is best done in stages: sprinkle-toss-sprinkle-toss. Finish with a light drizzle with sesame oil.
cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Note:
1.You will notice the noodles are not as greasy as the other noodles available in Asian restaurants.
2.I also added chopped jalapenos and pineapple pieces ( added along with the vegetables). This addition is done due to my love for hot and sweetness in my noodles and this is how it's served in my fav Vietnamese restaurant in Canton..."Basil Leaf".

Kaarathe thalasani

Another favourite dish of mine which is a passed down recipe from Mom. Although, I don't get the awesomeness of this dish when I cook it, I try my best to mimic the recipe and ingredients to achieve the lost taste...

The dishes pictured here are karathe thalasani,thendle thalasani, cabbage upkari and dalithoy, rice.
Ingredients
2 medium sized bitter gourd /kaarathe
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 onions,thinly sliced
2 green chilies, finely chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp tamarind paste
Salt to taste

a few curry leaves
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp oil

Method
Cut the bitter gourd into half length wise. Slice along the width of the pieces as thin as you can.

Heat oil in a kadai and season with mustard seeds,, garlic,curry leaves, green chillies, gourd pieces and onions and saute till the bitter gourd and onions softens. Add 1 cup of water. Cover the kadai with the lid and cook this dish is completely cooked and evaporate most of the liquid.

Egg Biryani

Egg is my family's all-time favorite. Although, according to my husband, biryani is not Biryani until it has meat in it...but, everytime I make this, I don't need to endorse my cooking to bring him to the table.....biryani does the trick!

Ingredients
6 eggs

2 large onion
6 green chilies
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp dhaniya jeera powder

coriander leaves and mint leaves, finely chopped
few strands of saffron, soaked in 1/4 cup of warm milk

3 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Basmati rice 2 cups
water to cook rice 3 cups
ghee 3 tbsp
bay leaves 2
cinnamon 1" pc
elaichi 2
cloves 2
salt

cashew nuts and raisins

Method
. cook eggs for exact 6 mins from boiling point. This ensures that the yolks are cooked but are still bright yellow.
.Cook rice with 3 cups of water,ghee, bay leaf, cinnamon, alaichi, clove and salt. This should cook the rice halfway through which is perfect for biryani.
.In a kadai, heat oil and fry the onions to golden brown, remove half of the onions and reserve for garnishing.In the same kadai, add cashew nuts, raisins,ginger-garlic paste, green chillies and masala powders and saute till the rawness of masala is cooked. Add salt, . Remove half of the mixture and set aside.
. Now layer half of the cooked rice , then layer the reserved masala mixture on top of the rice, chopped cilantro and mint leaves and sliced eggs. Do the same order for the remaining rice and sliced eggs. Garnish the top with the reserved fried onions and pour saffron milk by the spoonful in different corners and cover with aluminium foil and place it in a 300F oven for 25-30 mins.

After the biryani has been layered and set in the oven, it is best if left undisturbed until it is time to be served since the rice and eggs are cooked to perfection and overturning the dish may ruin its effect...take it from a foodie...u cant go wrong here!

tendle thalasani

Every amchigele knows what a thalasani is - garlic seasoned vegetable. My choice of vegetable today is thendle/thindora/thonde kai/gherkin.
Ingredients
2 lb of gherkins, crushed
3-5 red chillies, broken
5-6 cloves of garlic, lightly crushed
3 tbsp cooking oil
Salt to taste

Method
Crush each gherkins which a pestle,
Heat oil in a khadai, add garlic and red chillies
When garlic turns light brown add gherkins and saute. cover with the lid and cook the gherkin in medium heat.Occasionally, keep stirring the gherkin for even browning of the vegetable and add salt and stir-fry till completely cooked.

Rulao Bhakri/ Dhodak

Ingredients
Rava 1 cup
coconut 4 tbsp
Green chilies 4
Water as required
Coriander leaves, few stems,finely chopped
Sugar – 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method
Mix together all of the above and make thin roti's and roast till edges crisps.

Back home, this is first smeared on a plantain leaf and then patted on the pan, which tastes awesome due to the taste of plantain leaf....well. I was too busy relishing this bhakri that I forgot to take pics.

Batata Saung

My Big Bro's authentic amchi signature dish!

3 potatoes, boiled and cubed
3 medium size onion, chopped
6-8 dry red chillies
2 tbsp coconut
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp tamarind paste
mustard seeds
curry leaves
oil

Roast chillies in a little oil, then grind it with coconut,coriander seeds and tamarind into a paste with a little water.

Heat oil in a pan and season with mustard seeds,onion and curry leaves. Saute to soften the onions.

Add ground paste, potato cubes and salt. Cook on low heat till the curry thickens.
It is said to be the best accompaniment with pan polo.

Paneer pasanda

A rich (cashew nut,tomato and malai) gravy based paneer dish.

Ingredients
paneer 400 gm (1 slab)
Cashew nuts 20
Onions 2
Coconut 2 tbsp
Ginger 1" piece
Garlic 2-3 cloves
coriander leaves- few sprigs
red chillies 6-8
Poppy seed (khuskhus)1 tbs
jeera 1 tsp
dhaniya 1 tsp
Cloves 2
Cinnamon 1"stick
Oil 3 tablespoons
Tomato puree 1 cup
Salt to taste
Fresh cream 1/2 cup
coriander leaves for garnishing

Method

Pan fry the paneer cubes till you get golden edges. Drain and set aside.
Soak cashew nuts for 20 mins in warm water.
Dry roast red chillies along with poppy seeds, jeera, dhaniya, cloves and cinnamon.
Combine onion, coconut, ginger, garlic, coriander leaves , soaked cashewnuts and roasted ingredients and grind to a paste using a little water.
Heat three tablespoons of oil in a kadai, add the ground paste and fry for 5 mins till oil leaves the masala.
Add tomato puree, salt and half cup of water and continue to simmer on low heat for fifteen minutes or till gravy thickens.
Add the fried paneer. cook to a good boil and take the dish off of heat and gently stir in the fresh cream and serve hot.

Dal Fry

ingredients
1 Cup Toor dal
1 tsp Oil

Salt to taste

For the Masala :-
1 inch Ginger
2 - 3 Cloves Garlic
2 tbsp Coriander Leaves
1 big Tomato, Chopped
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Jeera
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 medium sized Onion sliced
4 Green Chilies
Salt
oil

Method:
Pressure cook Toor Dal. chop finely- Ginger, Garlic, Green Chilies, Tomatoes, Coriander leaves and Onions .
Heat Oil in a kadai,add Mustard seeds, Jeera and Turmeric powder. Add the chopped ingredients fry until the moisture evaporates. Add the cooked Toor Dal and Salt to the masala and cook to a good boil. If it is very thick add a cup of water and stir.

Green Tomato Chutney

With summers bounty and abundance of tomatoes, what better way to use the green tomatoes?


Ingredients:
•3 green Tomato
•1 Onion
•3-4 Garlic cloves
•1 tsp Mustard seeds
•Curry leaves
•3 Dried Red chillies
•½ tsp Sugar
•4 tbsp Oil
•½ tsp Hing
•Salt to taste

.In a kadai heat 1 tbsp oil add garlic, onions and red chillies .Saute till onion turns translucent. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook till tomatoes become soft. let the mixture cool down.
.Blend them to make a smooth paste.
.In a pan take 2 tbsp oil and season with mustard seeds, hing and curry leaves.
.Now add the ground tomato paste and salt. cook for 5 mins. Serve with idlis or dosas

Bhindi masala

Bhindi masala aka okra/lay's finger stir-fry desi style!

.1 lb Bhindi
•3-4 Onions
•2 Tomatoes
.1 Tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
•1 Tsp Dhania Powder
•1 Tsp Red Chili Powder
•1 Tsp amchur powder
•1 Tsp Garam Masala Powder
•5-6 Tbsp Oil
•Chopped Coriander leaves
•Salt to taste

In the kadai, heat oil and fry onions. when the onions turn translucent add bhindi and saute till soft( about10 mins), add ginger-garlic paste and mix well. Add all powders and salt.
Add tomato and cook till masala leaves the edges of the pan. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Kadgi Chakko

Ingredients
2 cans jack fruit
1 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 Tbsp tamarind paste
6 red chillies
salt
grind the above to a paste
Seasoning
Mustard seeds
hing
3 red chilies
Curry leaves
Urad daal
oil

Method
Cook jackfruit untill soft but still in peices.
Heat oil, season with mustard seeds,urad dal,red chillies,hing and curry leaves. Add cooked jackfruit peices and ground masala. Cook till most of the moisture is evaporated and the chakko looks like a sukka curry.

Puliyogare

This recipe is passed on by my Tamilian friend who always has this chutney, refrigerated, ready to mix up make Puliyogare in a jiffy. This chutney is good for 3 months under good regrigeration.

Ingredients for the chutney:
1 cup thick tamarind pulp
1 cup peanuts
4 red chillies
3 green chillies cut into small pieces
Mustard seeds
hing
1 Tbsp Sesame seeds
1 Tbsp Urad daal
Curry leaves
Jaggery
Salt

Cooked rice

In a heavy bottom pan, heat oil on medium heat. Add mustard seeds until it crackles.
Next add the curry leaves, hing,red chillies,green chillies,peanuts, urad daal and mix until the peanuts and urad daal gets roasted.
Add the tamarind pulp. Mix well and allow to boil.
After it thickens add salt and jaggery and continue to cook. Keep aside.
To make the rice, add required quantity to the rice and enjoy. Little chutney goes a long way.

Ambuli udid methi

A sweet and tangy coconut based mango curry perfect for ppl who love chatpata delicacies. The masala is my MIL's recipe which she used to make curry out of eggplant and drumstick also.
G's Note: there is no use of tamarind since raw mangoes chunks were used. If using ripe mango or bitter gourd as a substitute, 1/4 tsp tamarind paste is recommended.

Ingredients:
raw mango pieces, about 2 cups

Masala ingredients:
1/2 tsp methi seeds
2 tsp urad daal
1 cup shredded coconut
4-6 red chillies
Jaggery


Seasoning:
mustard seeds
2 red chillies , broken
Curry leaves

Salt

Method:
Cook mango pieces in just enough water till soft.

Heat 1 tsp of oil and roast the urad daal and methi seeds and roast red chillies. Cool. Grind the roasted red chillies along with urad daal, methi, coconut and water, to a smooth paste.

Add coconut masala to cooked mango. Add salt and little jaggery for taste and cook to a good boil for a few minutes, reduce the liquid to a semi-solid consistency.

Season with mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chillies, and add it to the curry.
Serve with rice as a side.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
6 oz. Chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until creamy. Add chips and dry ingredients; mix well. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

These cookies were not only super easy to make, but they came out perfectly. I've always had issues with my cookie edges being crisp and centre under done.
My oldest son used the last 4 cookies to make us some ice cream sandwich's with vanilla ice cream and they were delicious. I need to put up the pics from the cookie session soon to go with the awesome review.

Idli

This is another variation...recipe courtesy of Shaila kalakonnavar, an awesome cook in my eyes.

Sona masuri rice 4 cups
Urad dal 1 cup
moong dal 1/2 cup
Fenugreek seeds/ Methi 2 tsp
Salt

Method:
Soak rice in the water for about 4-6 hrs.
Soak urad dal,moong dal and fenugreek seeds together in the water for the same time as rice.
Grind urad dal and methi to a smooth paste and grind rice until it becomes a thick batter. Let it sit undisturbed to ferment.

After fermentation,add salt and mix the batter well.
Grease the idli plated/ mould/cups with oil or use cooking oilspray and pour batter half full in the mould.
Steam in the cooker for 15 mins.
Serve with sambar and chutney.

Ganache

Ganache is made when hot cream is poured over chopped chocolate and the mixture is stirred until chocolate is melted and is velvety smooth. The proportions of chocolate to cream can vary depending on its use, and you can use dark, milk, or white chocolate and add different flavorings such as liqueurs and extracts to make Ganache variations.

This ganache can be used as a filling in between cake layers, as a sauce to sindaes,as a glaze to cakes, as truffles with chopped nuts and to use as a fondue to coat fruits. Here, I have used it to coat strawberry which serves as dessert for tonights party! Can't wait to get these plump goodness!

Ingredients
Makes about 1&1/2 cup of ganache

8 ounces semisweet chocolate - shredded into pieces
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp liqueur (optional, like grand marnier, kahlua, etc)

Method
Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
Heat the cream and butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Bring it to a warm but not boil (making sure to not over-heat).
Now pour the cream into the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Add the liqueur to flavor the ganache.