My hand recipes

Avadalu / Perugu Garelu

Ingredients:

For Garelu / Chitti Garelu - 10-12

Urad dal - 1 cup

Salt - as per taste

Oil - to deep fry

For buttermilk:

Curd - 250 ml

Water - required

Green chillies, slit length wise - 4-5

Ginger, finely chopped - 1/2 inch

Fenugreek seeds - 4-5

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tbsp

Curry leaves - few

Turmeric- 1/4 tbsp

Hing - pinch

Salt - as per taste

Oil - 1 tbsp

Finely grated carrot - to garnish

Finely chopped coriander - to garnish

Boondi mixture - to garnish

Procedure:

How to make Garelu / Chitti Garelu?

Wash thoroughly and soak urad dal overnight or at least for 6-7 hours. Blend soaked urad dal to get a smooth batter. Add salt and mix well. Take a wide kadai and heat oil. When oil is sufficiently hot, wet your hand and take a small portion of batter, gently press it and make a hole in the center. Slowly drop this in oil and deep fry until they turn to light golden yellow color. Immediately transfer deep fried hot garelu in to a bowl of cold water and wait for at least 1 minute until they absorb water and turn soft. Now remove soaked garelu from water and gently apply pressure to squeeze all the excess water. Finally transfer them in to seasoned spicy buttermilk.

How to make seasoned spicy butter milk?

1. Take a wide mixing bowl, add curd and beat well to get a smooth mixture. Add required water and churn well to get lump free butter milk. Adjust salt and keep aside.
2. Take a small pan, heat oil, add fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and let them splutter. 
3. Add green chillies, chopped ginger, curry leaves and fry them. Then add turmeric, hing and mix well. Now transfer this immediately in to butter milk mixture and mix well.
4. Then add soaked garelu in to seasoned butter milk and wait for 1-2 hours until they are well absorbed with butter milk and turn soft and fluffy. Finally garnish with finely chopped carrot, coriander leaves and boondi mixture.

Rasmalai

Ingredients:
Rasgullas - 12
Milk - 3 cups
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Saffron strands - few
Pistachios, chopped - to garnish
Ghee - 1 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Take a wide cooking vessel and heat it. Add milk and boil it under medium flame until the milk thickens or until it reduces to almost half the original quantity.
2. Once the milk starts thickening, add sugar and mix well. Continue boiling for few more minutes and switch off the flame. This is called Rabri.
3. Take a little portion of milk, when it is warm, add few strands of saffron and extract color from them by pressing with your fingers.
4. Take a small pan, heat ghee and fry chopped pistachios for a minute. Add half of them in to rabri and mix well.
5. Finally take a large bowl, place all the rasgullas, pour all the prepared rabri on them and garnish with remaining chopped pistachios and serve chilled.

Rasgulla

Ingredients:
Milk - 1/2 liter
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
Ice cubes - few
Pistachios, finely chopped - few

For sugar syrup:
Sugar - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Cardamom powder - large pinch

Procedure:

1. Take a wide cooking vessel, add milk and heat it. When the milk starts boiling, add lemon juice and stir well until the milk curdles and the whey gets separated. 
2. Once the whey gets separated completely, switch off the flame and add ice cubes (this helps to stop the process of curdling and prevents hardening).
3. Take a wide strainer with muslin cloth transfer the whey and water in to it. Once all the water gets discarded place this under running tap water to wash the whey (this process removes the sourness of lemon).
4. Bring the edges of the cloth together and squeeze all the excess water. Now hang the whey cloth for at least 30-45 minutes until all the moisture gets escaped.
5. After some time, remove all the washed whey from cloth and knead it continuously for 10-15 minutes until you get a nice smooth dough.
6. Take a small portion of dough and make in to small balls of required size and set aside until used.
7. Heat a pressure cooker, add sugar, water and stir well until all the sugar dissolves completely. When the sugar syrup is boiling, add cardamom powder and mix well.
8. Now slowly transfer all the balls in to boiling syrup. Be sure that you do not overcrowd the vessel. Once after cooking they almost turn double.
9. Close the lid and cook under low flame until you hear one whistle. Switch off the flame and wait until all the steam escapes on its own.
10. Now open the lid wait for few minutes and transfer the prepared rasgullas in to refrigerator along with syrup at least for 30 minutes.
11. Finally serve chilled rasgullas with chopped pistachios and relish.  

Mixture/Savory Mixture/Spicy Mixture

Ingredients:

Kara Boondi - 1 cup

Sanna Karapoosa (Sev) - 1 cup

Corn Flakes - 1/3 cup

Atukulu (Poha) - 1/2 cup

Roasted Bengal gram (Dalia) - 1/3 cup

Cashews - less than 1/4 cup

Peanuts - 1/4 cup

Curry leaves - few

Red chilly powder - 1/2 tbsp (adjust according to your taste)

Hing - pinch

Turmeric - pinch

Sugar - 1/4 tbsp (optional)

Salt - as per taste

Oil - 1 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Take a kadai and heat oil. When oil is sufficiently hot, add corn flakes and fry them until they slightly alter their color. Remove them from oil and keep aside. Similarly add poha, dalia, cashews, peanuts, curry leaves one by one separately and fry them until they are done.
2. Take a large kadai and heat 1 tbsp oil. When oil is hot, switch off the flame, add hing, turmeric and stir well.
3. Now add all the deep fried ingredients like corn flakes, poha, dalia, cashews, peanuts, curry leaves, boondi, sev, red chilly powder, sugar, salt and mix well. Use clean, dry hands for even mixing of all the ingredients.
4. Transfer the mixture in to clean, dry and air tight container and enjoy. 

Tofu Broccoli Stir Fry

Ingredients:
Tofu cubes  - 3/4 cup
Broccoli Florets - 1 & 1/2 cup
All purpose flour (maida) - 3 tbsp
Corn flour - 2 tbsp
Ground black pepper - 1/4 tbsp
Salt - as per taste
Water - required
Oil - 2 tbsp

For sausage:
Onion, small - 1, finely chopped
Green chillies, small - 2, finely chopped
Ginger - 1/2 tbsp, finely chopped
Garlic - 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Red chilly powder - 1/4 tbsp
Black pepper - 1/4 tbsp
Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
Hot and sour sauce - 2 tbsp
Tomato ketch up - 1/2 tbsp
Salt - as per taste
Water - required
Green onions - 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Oil - 1 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Wash, clean and separate broccoli in to medium sized florets. Similarly cut tofu in to medium sized cubes and set aside.
2. Now take 3-4 cups of water in a cooking vessel and let them boil. When water is boiling, add broccoli florets and cook them for not more than 2-3 minutes.
3. Drain all the excess water and set all the half boiled broccoli florets keep aside until used.
4. Take a medium sized mixing bowl, add maida, corn flour, salt, pepper and mix well with sufficient water to get lump free batter of desired consistency.
5. Take a wide non-stick kadai and heat oil in it. Now dip each tofu cube in to batter and roast on both the sides until they are slightly colored.
6. Remove all the roasted tofu cubes and set aside.
7. In the same pan, heat oil, add finely chopped green chillies, ginger, garlic and stir well for a minute.
8. Add finely chopped onion and stir well until they are slightly tender. Add red chilly powder, black pepper and mix well.
9. Now add soy sauce, hot and sour sauce, tomato ketch up and stir well. Then add sufficient water and keep stirring until nice saucy consistency is attained.
10. Adjust salt, add broccoli florets, roasted tofu cubes and stir gently until they are well mixed. Close the lid and simmer at low flame for another 1-2 minutes.
11. Finally garnish with finely chopped green onions and serve hot.

Chilli Paneer

Ingredients:

Paneer cubes/Cottage cheese - 1/2 cup

Capsicum - 1/3 cup (I used green and red)

Oil - to deep fry

For making batter:

Maida - 3 tbsp

Corn flour - 2 tbsp

Baking soda - pinch

Salt - as per taste

Pepper - 1/4 tbsp (optional)

Ginger garlic paste - 1/4 tbsp (optional)

For making sauce:

Onion - 1, finely chopped

Garlic pods - 4, finely chopped

Ginger - 1/2 inch, finely chopped

Green chillies - 2-3, finely chopped

Soy sauce - 2 tbsp

Red chilly sauce - 2 tbsp

Tomato sauce - 1 tbsp 

Black pepper - 1/4 tbsp

Water - 1/4 cup (add 1/4 tbsp of cornflour in water and mix well to get lump free mixture)

Salt - as per taste

Green onions - few, finely chopped

Oil - 1 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Take a mixing bowl, add maida, cornflour, baking soda, salt, ginger garlic paste, pepper, little water and mix well to get a smooth mixture without any lumps. The batter should not be too thick or too loose.
2. Now add paneer cubes in to batter and keep aside for few minutes. Meanwhile take a kadai and heat oil until it is sufficiently hot.
3. Now drop slowly all the paneer cubes coated with batter carefully in to oil. Do not over crowd the kadai. The paneer cubes may stick together.
4. Once they turn to golden brown remove them from oil and transfer them in to plate with tissue paper to absorb excess oil.
5. Now take another kadai, heat oil, add finely chopped ginger, garlic, green chillies, and stir well for half minute.
6. Add finely chopped onion and stir well for a minute or two until they are tender. Now add thinly chopped capsicum and saute them for one more minute. Do not over cook. They should retain the crispness.
7. Add soy sauce, red chilly sauce, tomato ketch up and mix well. Now add cornflour mixed water and stir well until you get nice saucy consistency.
8. Now sprinkle some salt, pepper and mix well. Add deep fried paneer cubes and stir gently until all the paneer cubes are coated with sauce.
9. Finally garnish with finely chopped green onions and serve hot.

Coconut Rice with coconut milk

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice - 1 cup

Coconut milk - 1 1/2 cup

Onion - 1, thinly sliced

Green chillies - 3

Ginger garlic paste - 1/3 tbsp

Whole garam masala - Cinnamon stick-2 inch, Cardamom-3, Cloves-4, Star Anise-1, Bay leaves-2

Cashews - 2-3 tbsp

Chopped mint - 2 tbsp

Chopped coriander leaves - to garnish

Salt - as per taste

Ghee - 1/4 tbsp

Oil - 1/2 tbsp

How to extract coconut milk?

Grate half coconut finely, add 1 cup of hot water and wait for few minutes. After sometime, grind the mixture in to smooth paste. Now transfer the ground mixture in to a clean muslin cloth and extract milk from the mixture. Repeat the same process by adding little more water to the left over coconut mixture on muslin cloth to extract second phase coconut milk. Alternately you can also use canned coconut milk which is readily available in market.

Procedure:

1. Wash basmati rice and soak it for at least 15 min.
2. Take a pressure cooker, heat ghee and oil. Add whole garam masala, cashews and fry until nice aroma comes out.
3. Now add chopped green chillies, sliced onion and fry for 2 more minutes.
4. Add ginger garlic paste, chopped mint leaves and give a nice stir.
5. Add soaked basmati rice and stir gently. Now add coconut milk, adjust salt and stir well.
6. Cover it with lid and pressure cook until you get 2 whistles.
7. Once all the steam escapes of its own, open the lid, add chopped coriander leaves and stir gently with a wooden spatula to retain the texture of rice. Finally serve hot with your favorite gravy.

Tomato Chutney for Idli & Dosa

Ingredients:

Tomatoes (large) - 3

Onion (medium) - 1

Chana dalia / Roasted Bengal gram - 1/4 cup

Red chillies - 3-4 (adjust according to your spice level)

Ginger - 3/4 inch

Sugar - 1/4 tbsp

Salt - as per taste

Oil - 1 tbsp

To temper:

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tbsp

Urad dal - 1/4 tbsp

Curry leaves - few

Hing - pinch (optional)

Oil - 1 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Take a kadai, heat oil, add red chillies, chana dalia and roast them until they slightly alter their color. Transfer in to mixer bowl and let them cool. Once they reaches to room temperature, blend them in to fine powder and keep aside.
2. In the same pan, add chopped ginger and fry until nice aroma comes out. Add chopped onion and saute until they are tender.
3. Add chopped tomatoes and cook them with covered lid until mushy. Cool them completely and transfer them in to mixer bowl with ground dalia and red chillies.
4. Blend all of them together with sugar and salt to get a smooth mixture. Add required water to get desired consistency.
5. Finally temper it with urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, hing and curry leaves. Serve it with idli or dosa. 

Mamidikaya Pappu (Raw Mango Dal)

Ingredients:

Kandipappu (Toor dal) - 1 cup

Raw mango - 1 (medium)

Onion (small) - 1

Green chillies - 4-5

Turmeric - 1/4 tbsp

Salt - as per taste

Water - 3 cups

To temper:

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/8 tbsp (optional)

Red chillies - 2

Hing - pinch

Crushed garlic pods - 3-4

Curry leaves - few

Oil/Ghee - 1 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Peel off the outer layer of raw mango, chop them in to small chunks and keep aside.
2. Now transfer measured toor dal in to pressure cooker and wash thoroughly.
3. After discarding all the excess water, add chopped raw mango, roughly chopped onion, slit green chillies, turmeric, water and close the lid. Place weight on the top and heat the flame.
4. After hearing one whistle, transfer flame to low-medium and cook until you get 3-4 whistles.
5. After sometime, when all the steam escapes of its own, open the lid and mash it thoroughly with a ladle or dal masher.
6. Add little hot water, if required to get desired consistency. Adjust salt and keep aside.
7. Take a small kadai, heat oil or ghee. Add fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and let them splutter. Then add red chillies, crushed garlic pods and give a nice stir. Once they are done, add curry leaves, hing and switch off the flame.
8. Transfer the tadka immediately in to the dal. Stir well and serve hot with white rice by adding a drop of ghee and your favorite side dish or papad.

TIP: The quantity of raw mango may vary based on the sourness of the mango you use.

After cooking dal, if you feel that the sourness is insufficient, adjust it by adding required amchur powder.
If your toor dal does not cook easily, it is advisable to cook dal and mango separately and later mix together.

Aloo Gobi/ Potato and Cauliflower Curry

Ingredients:

Potatoes (small) - 2 (diced in to small cubes)

Cauliflower florets (small) - 1 cup

Onion - 1 (medium), chopped very finely

Tomato - 1 (small), chopped finely

Green chillies - 2, finely chopped

Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tbsp

Coriander powder - 1/2 tbsp

Cumin powder - 1/4 tbsp

Red chilly powder - 1/4 tbsp

Garam masala - large pinch

Amchur powder - 1/4 tbsp

Kasoori methi - 1/8 tbsp

Turmeric - 1/8 tbsp

Salt - as per taste

Coriander leaves - to garnish

Oil - 2 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Half boil chopped potatoes, cauliflower florets separately and keep aside.
2. Take a kadai, heat oil and add cumin seeds. When they splutter, add chopped green chillies, onion, ginger-garlic paste and saute for few minutes.
3. Add chopped tomato and continue cooking until they turn mushy.
4. Add turmeric, red chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, amchur powder, kasoori methi and mix well.
5. Now add half boiled potatoes and cauliflower florets. Sprinkle some water and cook for few minutes.
6. Once the vegetables are well cooked in masala gravy, adjust salt, sprinkle garam masala and stir gently.
7. Finally switch off the flame, garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or roti. 

Cornflakes Mixture

Ingredients:

Corn flakes - 2 cups (I used Kellogg's cereal flakes)

Ground nuts/Peanuts - hand full

Chana Dalia (Roasted Bengal gram) - hand full

Cashews, broken - 3 tbsp

Red chilly powder - 1/2 tbsp

Chat masala - pinch

Salt - as per taste

Curry leaves - few

Oil - 1-2 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Take a wide kadai, heat oil, add peanuts, curry leaves and start roasting them. Once they are almost done, add broken cashews and fry them until they turn to golden brown.
2. Add chana dalia and continue frying for 30 seconds.
3. Add corn flakes and roast them under low flame until they slightly alter their color.
4. Sprinkle red chilly powder, chat masala, salt all over and mix gently without disturbing the texture.
5. Switch off the flame, cool them completely and store in air tight container.

Methi Pakoda / Methi Pakora

Ingredients:

Methi leaves - 2 cups, tightly packed

Besan - 1/2 cup

Rice flour - 2 tbsp

Onions - 2 medium, chopped length wise

Green chillies - 2-3, finely chopped

Ginger - 1 inch, finely chopped

Aamchur powder - 1/2 tbsp

Garam masala - 1/4 tbsp

Curry leaves - few, finely chopped

Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp, finely chopped

Salt - as per taste

Oil - to deep fry

Procedure:

1. Wash, clean and separate all the methi leaves from stems and roughly chop them.
2. Add chopped onions, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, coriander leaves, besan, rice flour, aamchur powder, garam masala, salt and mix well by sprinkling some water to form a tight batter similar to that of normal onion pakoda batter.
3. Heat oil in a wide kadai, until the oil is sufficiently hot.
4. Now drop the batter in to oil as small fritters and fry them under medium flame until nice golden yellow color is achieved.
5. Finally drain all the pakoda in to plate with tissue paper and serve hot with green chutney or tomato ketch-up.