Channa curry (dry)

Ingredients:

Channa: 1 cup

Onion: 1 small chopped

Oil: 2 tbsps

Salt: to taste

Red chilli pwd: to taste

Black pepper pwd: 1/2 tbsp

Cilantro: 1/4 cup

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp

Turmeric: 1/4 tsp

Urad dhal: 1/2 tsp

Channa dhal: 1/2 tsp

Garlic : 3 pods crushed
Method:

Soak channa overnight and pressure cook it by adding water and a little salt. Once cooked drain the water and keep aside.

In a pan heat oil and slowly add seasonings. Once the seasonings started to pop add onion and fry until golden brown.

Now add the cooked channa, red chilli pwd, black pepper pwd and fry untill the channa gets dry.

Adjust salt and garnish with cilantro.

This curry goes well with chapathis or pulaks.

Enjoy.

Instant Cheese Pizza

Ingredients:

Left over Chapathi or pulka: 1

Pasta sauce: 3 tbsps

Shreaded cheese: 1/4 cup

Method:

Take a left over chapathi or pulka.

Spread the pasta or pizza sauce (or ever ketchup tastes good) on the pulka.

Sprinkle the cheese on top and microwave for about 2 minutes.

Let it cool a little bit.

Yummy pizza is ready to eat. Kids will love this a lot.

Enjoy.

Sorakaya pulusu

Ingredients:

Sorakaya : 1 small (Peel the skin and chop into 2 inch pieces.)

Onion: 1 small (chopped)

Tomato: 2 small or 1 big (chopped)

Tamarind: small ball (soak in water for about 30 minutes and take the jest)

Salt: to taste

Red chilli pwd: to taste

Sugar or jaggery: 1 tbsp

Cilantro: chopped

Seasoning:

Oil: 4 tbsps

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

Jeera: 1 tsp

Urad dhal: 1 tsp

channa dhal: 1 tsp

Hing: a pinch

Turmeric: 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves: 5

Garlic: 2 pods (chopped)

Method:

In a pressure cooker take the chopped sorakaya, tomato and onion pieces add a little salt and pressure cook until one long whistle. Remove from heat and wait untill the pressure is all gone.

Heat an other pan and add oil and let the oil heat on medium heat.

Once the oil is hot add all the seasoning and wait untill they started to pop.

Then add the pressure cooked sorakaya mixture, sugar, red chilli pwd and tamarind jest.

Let it cook untill the curry get thickened.

Adjust salt to taste.

Add cilantro and remove from heat.

Goes well with rice along with plain dhal.

Enjoy.

Dondakaya Kura

Ingredients:

Tindoora (Dondakayalu): 1 pound

Oil : 3 tbsps

Salt: to taste

Red chilli pwd: to taste

Seasonings:

Avalu: 1tsp (Mustard seeds)

Jeera: 1tsp

Urad dhal: 1tsp

Channa dhal: 1tsp

Curry leaves: 5

Garlic: 5 pods (chopped into small pieces)

Turmeric: 1/2 tsp

Method:

Wash the tindoora and cut the edges. Then finally chop them like thin strips or as you wish.

Take a pan and add oil to it. Once the oil is hot add the seasonings and fry them until the dhals are golden brown. Now add the chopped tindoora and fry for 5 minutes. Now add salt and red chilli pwd and fry again for about 5 minutes. Now cover the pan and let the cook untill the tindoora is tender on medium flame. Then remove the cover and fry for atleast 15 minutes or untill the tindoora is nicely fried. Adjust salt and red chilli pwd to taste.

This curry goes well with white rice.

Enjoy.

Strawberry picking in Maine

Pasta

Ingredients:

Pasta shells: 1 packet.

Pasta sauce: 1 bottle.

Mixed vegetabels: 1 cup

Salt: to taste

Green chillies: 2

Onion: 1 small

Oil: 3 tbsps

Method:

Cook the pasta as per the instructions on the box.

Sauce preparation:

Take a pan, heat oil and add onions and green chillies.

Fry the onions untill golden brown and add the mixed vegetables, salt and fry untill the mixed vegetables are cooked.

Once every thing is cooked add the required amount of pasta sauce (refrigerate the remaining sauce, stays in the refrigerator for aobut a week) to the mixed vegetables and let it cook for about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat.

In a bowl take some pasta and add sauce. Serve hot.

I had used both spaghetti and pasta shells at the same time as kids love eating them both.

Enjoy.

strawberry halwa

Ingredients :

Strawberries: 3 cups freshly chopped

Milk: 3 cups

Sugar: 3 cups

Ghee: 1/2 cup

Strawberry milk: 11/2 cup ( take 1 cup chopped strawberries and add 1/2 cup milk, blend both the ingredients to make strawberry milk.)

Elachi : 6 pods

Elachi pwd: 1/4 tbsp

Raisins: 2 tablespoons

Sugar: 6 tablespoons

Honey: 6 tablespoons

Method:

Blend the freshly chopped strawberries with strawberry milk,6 spoons of sugar, honey, and elachi pwd into a smooth mixture.

In a heavy bottom vessel heat milk and slowly add sugar. Keep stiring the mixture untill it boils. Should take around 20 - 30 minutes. (I heated the milk in microwave added sugar and trasfered it to the stove.)

Keep in on medium heat and add the blended strawberry mixture to the milk. Keep stiring and add the elachi pods to the mixture. Remove the elachi pods after 30 minutes. (This is just to add flavor to the halwa.)

Keep stirring until the mixture gets thickened. Takes about 2 to 3 hours.

Once the mixture gets thick add the 1/2 cup ghee to the mixture and stir well for the ghee to get dissolved.

Add raisins to the halwa, mix well and remove from heat.

Pour the mixture into moulds for easy consuming. I felt difficult to cut the halwa into pieces from the pie pan, but easy to take from the moulds and eat it.

Let the halwa cool.

This strawberry halwa is really good as the halwa we get in sweet shops.

Enjoy.