Vegetable puff

Ingredients

• Pastry sheets
• Mixed vegetable - 2 cups (beans, carrot, peas and potato)
• Onion - 1/2 small size (chopped)
• Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
• Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
• Garam masala - 1 tsp
• Mango Powder - 1 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Coriander leaves - handful (chopped)
• Salt to taste

Method

• Boil the chopped vegetables with some salt and keep it aside.
• Add oil to the pan on low heat and ginger -garlic paste.
• Fry till the oil separates. Now add onions and fry for a minute.
• Then add all the spice powders, little salt and the vegetables.
• Mix well. Add coriander leaves and mix it once again.
• Allow it to cool completely.
• Cut the pastry sheets into desire shapes.
• Place the stuffing in the center of the sheet and fold it as such the stuffing is covered completely.
• Use little water to seal the edges.
• Preheat to oven to 400 degree Fahrenheit and place the prepared pastries and bake it for 20 mints or till becomes slight brown color.

Tips for the recipe - If you are using frozen sheets, thaw it completely. Do not stuff the mixture when it is hot. For best looking puff pastries brush some egg white on top which I didn't do this time.

Capsicum chutney

Ingredients

• Capsicum - 2 (finely chopped)
• Onions - 1 
• Tomato - 1
• Coconut - 2 handful
• Curry leaves - few
• Green chillies - 7 or adjust
• Tamarind - very little (I used 1/2 tsp of tamarind paste)
• Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil as required

Method

• Fry the chopped capsicum with little oil, till it gets cooked but not soggy or browned. Keep it aside.
• Heat oil in the pan on high medium flame. Fry the onions, curry leaves, green chillies, asafoetida & then tomatoes. 
• Finally add the coconut. Also some salt & tamarind.
• Cool & grind everything together to smooth chutney.
• This goes well with idly or dosa.

Tips for the recipe - For more taste you can do the seasoning with urad dal, curry leaves & asafoetida.  

Vendaikai kuzhambu (ladies finger curry)

 

   This is very simple kuzhambu yet delicious. This goes well with plain rice. Also can be served with idly & dosa.

Ingredients

• Ladies finger - 2 cups
• Shallots- 10 (chopped)
• Curry leaves - few
• Tomatoes - 2 small or 1 big
• Fenugreek seeds - a pinch
• Coriander powder - 1 1/2 tbsp
• Sambhar or chili powder - 1 tbsp
• Mustard & urad dal - 1 tsp
• Green & red chillies - 3-4  each
• Coconut - 2/3 cup
• Aniseeds - 1 tsp
• Oil as required
• Salt to taste

Method

• Chop the ladies finger & dry roast it to remove stickiness. keep this aside.
• Head oil to the pan & splutter mustard & urad dal.
• Add fenugreek seeds, chillies, curry leaves & onions one by one.
• Fry till it becomes translucent. Add tomatoes. 
• Add some salt & spice powders. when the tomatoes becomes mashy, add the vegetable & mix well.
• Now grind coconut & aniseeds. Pour this mixture in the vegetable & mix well. 
• Add little water if necessary. Cover & cook for few minutes.
• Remove from flame, when it reaches desire consistency.

Tips for the recipe - Adding sesame oil will give more authentic taste than the refined oil.

Lemon Rice

Ingredients

• Rice - 2 cups
• Lemon - 1/2 or to taste
• Mustard - 1/2 tsp
• Chana dal - 1 tsp
• Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Hing - 1/4 tsp
• Green chillies - 6
• Curry leaves - 1 spring
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp 
• Turmeric powder -1/8 sp
• Coriander leaves - handful
• Sesame oil - 2 tbsp

Method  

• Heat oil in the pan & splutter mustard & urad dal. 
• Add channa dal,cumin, fenugreek, chillies, hing, curry leaves & coriander leaves. 
• Fry for a minute and add turmeric & salt. 
• Now add the rice & finally lemon juice. 
• Mix well & serve.

Bread and egg fry

Ingredients

• Bread slices - 4
• Onions - 1-2 (sliced)
• Tomatoes - 2 (chopped)
• Curry leaves - few
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Sambhar or chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Eggs - 2-3
• Coriander leaves - few (chopped)
• Pepper to taste
• Salt to taste

Method

• Heat oil to the pan and add cumin. Then add curry leaves, onions and fry till it becomes translucent.
• Now add tomatoes and fry till it becomes mashy. Add salt and chilly powder.
• Fry for a minute and then add eggs. Mix well.
• When the eggs 3/4th done, add the chopped bread pieces.
• Keep mixing till its done completely.
• Garnish it with coriander leaves.
• Sprinkle some pepper while serving.

Tip for the recipe -You can also add little Garam masala. I want to keep it mild. So I didn't add much spice powders. Do not over cook the eggs or else it becomes hard.

Ridge gourd poriyal

    

                This is very simple yet tasty dish with few ingredients. Mom use to add tomatoes to this. But this recipe is more yummy than adding tomatoes.

Ingredients

• Ridge gourd (long variety) - 4
• Onion - 2
• Sambar powder - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Mustard and urad dal - 1 tsp
• Oil as required

Method

• Scrap the outer skin and chop the vegetable into small cubes.
• Heat oil to the pan on medium flame. Splutter mustard and urad dal.
• Add curry leaves and onions. Fry till onion becomes translucent.
• Now add the vegetable, salt and sambhar powder. Fry for a minute. No need to add water.
• Cover and cook it on low flame. The vegetable will ooze out water.
• Stir often till the vegetable in done and becomes dry. Serve it with rice.

Tips for the recipe - You can either slightly or completely scrap the outer skin of the vegetable.
Both taste good. Here I scraped it out completely. You can use it for chutney.

Potato pepper fry

Ingredients

• Potatoes - 4
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 1/2 tbsp
• Pepper corns - 2 tbsp
• Curry leaves - 1 sprig
• Salt to taste
• Oil as required

Method

• Boil the potatoes with salt. Drain the water when its done. Add some cold water. Then peel the skin and cut them into small cubes.
• Coarsely grind the pepper corns.
• Heat oil to the pan on low flame. Add ginger garlic paste and sauté till the oil separates.
• Now add pepper, curry leaves, salt and the potatoes. Mix slowly till it gets coated.
• Increase the flame to medium and allow the potatoes get roasted.
• It may take 10-15 minutes. Mix it every 3-4 minutes till its done. Serve it as a side dish for rice.

Tips for the recipe - Boil the potatoes & then cut them into cubes. This will help the pepper masala to get nicely coated with the potato.