Grapes white & Great Dip

Fresh grapes white tooth pick sweetened condensed milk coarsely powdered fried cashews take a tooth pick pick a fruit swirl in condened milk dip it in cashew powder guests will love this great to serve... not much work and a great dessert Happy eating Happy serving

Instant raw mango pickles

This is a crunchy tasting one... Cut raw mango into fine pieces. Add salt and chilli powder as per taste. Heat gingely oil or sesame oil in a kadai. (This recipe needs more oil since we won't have enough time to let it soak in it's own juices) Use enough oil to cover every piece of mango. add mustard to the hot oil, switch off the flame, add hing powder & methi powder. (just a pinch of hing powder & methi powder) Add the oi to the raw mango mixture and mix well... Can be served with ghee rice,dhal rice,curd rice,sanbar rice, puri, dosas etc... Best with curd rice....

Raw mango sweet

Grated raw mango Jaggery Ghee Ratio is 1 cup jaggery for 1 cup raw mango and tbspn ghee Heat ghee in a pan add grated raw mango... pinch of saltky Allow the mango to soften add jaggery keep mixing at a low flame When in the consistency of fruit preserve remove it. One of my chithis(aunts) used to make this during summer vaccation

A very easy pineapple desert....

Dice a pineapple into small cubes. Mix it with sugar and let it soak...longer the better. Leave it in the fridge in an airtight container. 4 to 5 hours should be enough. It will be good in fridge upto 3 days or so but will lose some flavour. So better use it the same day. First pres coconut milk. Processed sweet cherries.(The red ones that come in small packs) Take a bowl to serve you desert. spread some pineapple pieces. Pour some syrup over it. Add firt press coconut milk. Cocunut milk cream can also be used instead. Just a little for flavour.If added too much the desert will become runny. Say half tbspn coc milk for 1/2 cup pineapple. Then again it largely depends on your taste. Top it up with cherries.... This makes a great desert. If you want you can add a dollop of icecream....Yum

pakoda - south indian snack

This yummy snack and hot tea is an all time favorite in my home town...And is very easy to make...

To grind :

Channa dhal - 1/2 cup (as per the cup measurement that we get in stores)
Red chillies   - 2
Garlic cloves - 2
Asafoetida    - 1 pinch
Salt              - as per taste
oil                - 2 cups (for deep frying)

 To mix with batter :

Rice powder - 2 tbspn
Crushed fennel seeds - 1 tspn
Onion - 1 finely chopped
Ginger- finely chopped 1 tspn
Coriander leaves finely chopped - 1 tbspn
Mint leaves finely chopped - 1/2 tbspn

Soak channa dhal for 5 hours (if you don't have time, 3 hrs is okay too)
Drain the soaked dhal
Put it in a mixie jar.
Add all the To grind ingredients.
Grind it in pulse for 4 seconds...
Don't add water

Heat oil in a pan

Remove dough.
Add rice powder, crushed fennel seeds,onion,ginger,coriander leaves and mint leaves...
Take some dough in your hand and drop little by little in the oil..
Not a smooth round one...just with ragged edges and no proper shape...
If you prefer you can add bits of cashew to this and add this to the hot oil
Fry till golden brown
Make small pakodas so as it to get crispy ones...
If you remove it before it completely turns golden brown, the pakodas will be soft inside...
And that is not bad either...

Go for it...
Happy cooking...

Yummy potato fry...

potato 1/4 kg
oil      - for deep fry- refined oil
garlic  -  5 pods
ginger - small bit - optional
salt    -   as per taste
chilli powder  - 1 tspn or as per taste
till - 1 tspn
coriander leaves - finely chopped - 2 tspn


Cut the potatoes into equal sized cubes..not very small pieces or very big ones

 Heat oil in a pan and when it is hot, add ginger piece.take it out.

Adding ginger to oil before deep frying any item gives a good flavour is also good for health.

Add garlic pods and remove once it becomes brown

 Add a handful of cut potatoes and deep fry them.

Remove from oil when it is slightly brown (don't wait till golden brown)

Add another handful of potatoes and fry them and do it until all ur potatoes are done.

Let the potatoes cool really well...

Now heat a pan.

Add 1 tbspn of oil and then add the fried potatoes,garlic,salt,chilli powder and add 10 ml of water

Just splash the water all over.

Stir it and put a lid and cook for 1/2 minute

Remove lid, stir and let any remaining water evaporate.

Add coriander leaves and till seeds and stir again.

Serve hot.

Goes well with many dishes like pulao, bisi bela bath, curd rice,lemon rice.

Or wrap it up in ur chappathi, add a few onion rings if u like

Or just serve it in a plate and eat with ur fav raitha

Aval payasam...

 It's the easiest, fastest and tastiest of all payasams...

wash 1 cup aval(thick one)...
Drain the water and let it sit for 3 minutes.
Now add boiled milk(1 and half cup) to a pan
Now add aval to this..
Let it cook it minium flame for about 8 minutes..
Then add 4 tbspn of sugar...or as per taste...and once sugar dissolves, remove from flame
Roast cashew(4) and dried grapes(4) in ghee(1 tbspn1) and add it to yo4u payasam...

For variation try this :

1.Add 1/4 cup of freshly grated coconut to this just before removing from flame.

OR

2.Add half cup coconut mik and one cup milk instead of one and half cup milk

OR


3.You can make it as oats payasam replacing aval with oats..