Bonda

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Ingredients
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Besan Flour - 2 cups
Onions - 1 cup, finely chopped
Ginger Garlic - 1 Tsp
Chilli Powder - 2 Tsp
Green Chilli - 2 , finely chopped
Salt - As required
Coriander ,  Curry Leaves - As required
Oil - For Deep Frying
Cooking Soda -  A Pinch
Water
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Method
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1. Mix the besan flour , onion , ginger garlic paste , chilli powder, green chilli, salt , coriander and curry leaves .
2. Add water little by little , so that the mixture remains a paste and not watery.
3. Dissolve the soda in water and add it to the mixture . Keep it aside for about 5 min
4. Heat oil in a kadai for deep frying .
5. Drop the mixture as small balls in to the oil and remove when cooked and brown .
6. Serve with chutney

Mushroom Pepper Soup

Peppry.. Strong.. A wise choice for a rainy evening

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Ingredients
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Msuhroom  - 1 cup,chopped
Onion - 1 , chopped
Peppercorns - 2 Tbsp,crushed
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 Tsp
Water - 2 cups
Turmeric - a pinch
Oil ,Salt - as Required
Corn Flour - 1 Tsp , dissolved in a Tbsp of water
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Method
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1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add onion and salt
2. Saute for a minute and then add the mushrooms
3. Add the crushed peppercorns , ginger garlic paste , turmeric
4. Keep stirring and then add water
5. Once the water boils, close the cooker and allow for 3 whistles
6.  When the pressure is all out ,  add the corn flour paste and heat for a min.
7. Serve hot.

Semiya Payasam...

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Ingredients
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Vermicelli - 1  Cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Water - 2 cups
Ghee - 2 Tbsp
Milk - 2 cups
Garnish
Cashews - 1 Tbsp , Broken
Raisins - 1 /2 Tbsp
Cardamom Powder - A pinch

Optional
Condensed Milk -As desired
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Method
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1. Heat 1.5 Tbsp of ghee in a kadai and add the vermicelli.
2. Fry till it is crisp and add the water.
3. Keep in medium flame and allow the vermicelli to cook
4. Once it is cooked nice and soft, add the sugar and keep stirring.
5.  The sugar melts and the mixture becomes sticky
6. Take it out of the flame.
7. Fry the cashews and raisins in ghee and add it to the vermicelli along with the cardammom
8. Once the mixture is all cool , add the milk

Suggestion :
To make the payasam more yummy,  add condensed milk as a topping while serving. It sure does add to the taste :)

Bitter Gourd Gojju

Bitter , Sweet , Tasty
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Ingredients
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Bitter Gourd - 3 , deseeded and chopped into small pieces
Coconut grated - 1/2 cup
Tamarind - 2 Big Lemon Size
Jaggery - 3 Lemon Size
Haldi - 2 Tsp
Curry Leaves
Mustard
OIl

For the Masala Powder :

Kadala Paruppu - 2 Tblsp
Urad Dhal - 1 Tblsp
Jeera - 1 Tblsp
Fenugreek Seeds - 1 Tsp
Coriander Seeds - 1 Tsp
Red Chilli - 5 to 6
Pepper Corns - 5 to 6
Sesame Seeds - 1 Tsp
Hing - 1 Tsp

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Method
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1. Soak the chopped bitter gourd in water with a spoon of salt + 1/2 cup of butter milk for about a hour to remove the bitterness
2. Dry roast all the ingredients and make a powder . Grind the coconut also along with the powder
3. Heat Jaggery and make a liquid out of it
4. Heat oil in a kadai , add the curry leaves , mustard and hing
5. Add the strained bitter gourd and add turmeric
6. Add water to the kadai till the bitter gourd is immersed in water .
7. Simmer and allow it to cook slowly
8. Once the bitter gourd is soft , add the tamarind and jaggery and simmer for about 2 minutes
9. Add the ground paste and a little water and allow the gojju to boil till all the ingredients are cooked

Mango Seekaranai

Yummy.......
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Ingredients
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Alphonso Mangoes - 2 , medium sized
Sugar - 1/2 Tbsp
Jaggery - 3 Tbsp
Cardamom Powder - 1 Tsp
Milk - 2 Tbsp ( Optional)
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Method
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1. Peel the mangoes and smash the pulp. The pulp should not  have any big lumps
2. Melt the jaggery and add it to the mango pulp
3. Add the sugar and the cardamom powder and mix till the sugar dissolves
4. If desired , milk can also be added to the above
5. Refrigerate it for about an hour and serve hot with puris / maida rotis

Cauliflower Curry

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Ingredients
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Cauliflower Florets - 1 Cup
Onion - 2 finely chopped
Tomato - 1 finely chopped
Coriander Leaves  - 1 handful , finely chopped
Curd - 2 Tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 Tsp
Coriander POwder - 1 Tsp
Turmeric Powder- 1/2 Tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/2 Tsp

Grind To Paste
Poppy Seeds - 1 Tsp
Cashews - 2 Tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 Tsp
Greenchillies - 3

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Method
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1. Heat oil in a pan , add the chopped onions , salt and saute
2. Add ground paste, tomatoes and saute for about a minute
3. Add the rest of the powders , curd and the cauliflower .
4. Simmer and allow the cauliflower to cook slowly
5. When cooked , garnish with coriander leaves

P.S : Before cooking, soak the cauliflower in water with salt for about an hour .

Veg Noodles

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Ingredients
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Carrot , Beans , Cabbage , Spring Onions - 3/4 cup , Finely chopped
Soy Sauce - 1/2 Tblsp
Chilli Sauce - 1/2 Tblsp
Pepper - 1/2 Tblsp
Ajinomotto - 1 Tsp
Oil
Salt
Noodles - 1 Packet

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Method
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1. Cook the noodles separately and allow it to cool
2. Heat oil in a kadai ( wok , if you have one ) and add the vegetables .
3. Add the salt and pepper and keep stiring the vegetables till they are done
4. Add the soy sauce , chilli sauce , ajinomotto and stir .
5. Once they are done, add the cooked noodles and stir for a couple of minutes.

P.S  : Add mushrooms , spring onions  if desired

Soya Manchurian

Weird combination of ingredients with a surprise dish

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Ingredients
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Soya Chunks - 3 cups
Pepper - 1 Tbsp
Garlic - 3 Tbsp
Ginger - 3 Tbsp
Onions - 3 , finely chopped
Corn flour - 1/2 cup
Red Food Color - 1 Tsp
Soya Sauce - 1/2 Tbsp
Chilli Sauce - 1 Tbsp
Red Chillies - Crushed
Oil for Deep frying
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Method
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1.  Boil hot water in a pan and add the soya chunks in it and allow it to boil for a min.
2. Switch off the gas and allow the chunks to be soaked completely
3. Squeeze the water out of the chunks and keep aside
4. In a bowl , add the pepper powder , salt , food color and the corn flour except for a tsp of it
5. Add little water to it , so that the batter has a medium consistency
6. Add the soya chunks to the above batter and allow it to marinate for about 10 min
7. Deep fry the soya chunks till they are cooked
8. Heat oil in a kadai , add the onions , ginger , garlic & salt .
9. Once the onions are transcluscent , add the soya sauce , chilli sauce and the crushed red chillies
10. Fry till cooked and add the fried soya chunks to the mixture
11. Dissolve a table spoon of corn flour and add to the fried soya chunks
12.  Once the mixture thickens , switch off and serve hot with noodles / fried rice

P.S : The oil used for deep frying soya chunks, has a not so good odour. Best to use only required amount of oil for deep frying

Potato Masal for Poori

A lovely South Indian breakfast !!!

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Ingredients
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Potato - 4 to 5
Onion - 2 , long cuts
Tomato - 1 , long cuts
Green Chillies - 4 , slit open
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 Tsp
Curry Leaves - 4 to 5
Coriander Leaves  - a handful , chopped finely
Kadala Paruppu - 1 Tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 Tsp
Turmeric  - 1 Tsp
Salt to taste
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Method
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1. Pressure cook the potatoes with salt
2. Smash the cooked potatoes and keep aside
3. Heat oil in a kadai , add the mustard seeds , kadalai paruppu, curry leaves
4. Once the dhal is fried , add the onions , green chillies , salt , turmeric
5. Once the onions are fried , add the tomatoes , ginger garlic paste and fry till the tomatoes are cooked perfectly
6. Add the smashed potatoes and add 1 cup of water to it
7. Cook till the masal thickens
8. Serve with hot pooris

Soppina Saaru

Very very healthy and very very tasty

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Ingredients
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 Greens  - 3 to 4 different variety each a bunch
 Tuvar Dhal - 1//2 cup
 Onion - 1 chopped
 Tomato - 1 chopped
 Garlic - 5 to 6 pods

 For the Paste - Dry Roast

 2 Tbsp Coriander Seeds
 1 Tsp Pepper Corn
 1 Tsp Mustard Seeds
 2 to 3 Dry Red Chillies
 1/2 Tsp Fenugreek Seeds
 1 Tsp Poppy Seeds
 1 Tsp Uncooked Rice Grains
 1'' Cinnamon Stick
 3 Tbsp Coconut 

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 Method
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 1. In the pressure cooker, add a tsp of oil
 2. Fry the onions , garlic and then the tomotoes for a min
 3. Add the greens and the tuvar dhal 
 4. Pressure cook all of the above till the dhal is cooked
 5.  Once the pressure is gone, add the ground paste to the cooked dhal and greens
 6. Boil till done.