Aloo poha

Ingredients:

Attakalu / Poha / flattenned rice - 1 cup
Oil - for frying
Mustard - 1/4 tbsp
Jeera - 1/4 tbsp
Chana dal - 1/4 tbsp
Urad dal - 1/4 tbsp
Hing / Asafoetida - 1/4 tbsp
Curry leaves - 6
Green chillies - 4
Carrot - 1/2 cup chopped
Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup
Onion - 1/2 cup chopped
Peas - 1/4 cup
Potato - 2 medium
Turmeric - 1/4 tbsp

Method:

1) Wash attakalu well.Soak this for around 15 mins or until soft.
2) Chop potatoes into small cubes.
3) In a pan, add 2 tbsp of oil, mustard, chana dal, urad dal, hing, curry leaves, turmeric powder, green chillies, onion followed by potato.
4) Mix well and fry until onions turn golden brown and potatos turn soft.
5) Now add soaked attakulu and fry for around 2 mins. Garnish it with coriander leaves.

Serve attakalu / Poha with fried potatoes.

Note:

1) You can also, Add fried potatoes before serving or else it softens and loses its taste.
2) Potatoes can be roasted too.
3) Other vegetables can also be added.

Beerakayi / Ridge gourd Chutney

Ingredients:

Beerakayi - 1
Onion - 1 medium
tomato - 1 medium
chilly powder - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 4
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Salt - as required
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tbsp
Chana dal - 1/4 tbsp
Urad dal - 1/4 tbsp
Mustard - 1/4 tbsp
Jeera - 1/4 tbsp
Oil -  2 tbsp
Hing - 1/4 tbsp
Red chilly - 1
Curry leaves - few

Method:

1) Add 1 tbsp of oil and fry onion, green chillies, ginger until golden brown.
2) Remove the onion and fry tomato until soft
3) Now fry beerakayi until soft. 
4) Once all the fried ingredients are cooled down, blend this with salt, chilly powder, turmeric to a coarse or smooth paste.
5) Pour this on to a bowl.
6) Make the tempering in hot oil by adding red chilly, cumin, mustard, hing, chana dal, urad dal, curry leaves until they turn golden brown.
7) Top the tampering on top of the chutney.

Note:

1) Tomatoes can be replaced with tamarind / tamarind pulp.
2) Option 1: Dry roast chana dal, urad dal, jeera, red chillies and grind them with vegetables.
3) Option 2: Dry roast Sesame seeds until golden brown with green chillies and grind it with vegetables.

Instant Pakoda

Ingredients:

Onion - 1 medium
Green chillies - 4
Salt - as required
Oil - for frying
Red chilly powder - 1/4 tbsp
Gram flour - 1 cup
Rice flour - 2 tbsp
Water - as required

Method:

1) Seive gram flour and rice flour.
2) Add all the ingredients except oil and mix well.
3) Add water little by little and make small balls 
4) In a pan, add oil and heat until hot.
5) Fry the small balls of the mixture in oil.

Serve hot pakodas with ketchup or coconut chutney.

Ribbon Pakoda

Ingredients

Rice flour - 2 cups 
Besan / gram flour / kadle hittu - 1 cup
Carom seeds - 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric - ¼ tsp 
Hing / asafoetida - A Pinch
Salt - As required
Water - As required
Ribbon pakoda plate / achu
Oil  - deep frying

Method:

1) In a large mixing bowl take 2 cups rice flour, 1 cup besan, add carom seeds, chilli powder,  turmeric, hing and salt.
2) Combine all the ingredients well.
3) Heat 2 tbsp oil and add it to the flour mixturer.
4) Mix well with a spoon and further rub and crumble the dough well between your hands.
5) Add water little by little and start to knead the dough.
6) Knead the dough to smooth, non sticky and soft dough.
7) Take Ribbon pakoda mold and fix to the chakli maker.
8) Grease the ribbon pakoda maker with some oil, this prevents dough from sticking to mould.
9) Now make a cylindrical shape out of dough and place the dough inside maker.
also tighten the lid and heat the oil.
10) Press the ribbon pakoda by moving hand in circular motion into hot oil.
11) Flip the ribbon pakoda and fry in medium flame till they turn golden brown and crispy from both sides.
12) Drain them to the paper towel to remove excess oil.

Serve ribbon pakoda with masala tea or masala milk.

Instant Chakli - Version 1

Ingredients

Rice flour - 2 cups 
Besan / gram flour / kadle hittu - 1 cup
Carom seeds - 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric - ¼ tsp 
Hing / asafoetida - A Pinch
Salt - As required
Water - As required
Chakli plate / achu
Oil  - deep frying

Method:

1) In a large mixing bowl take 2 cups rice flour, 1 cup besan, add carom seeds, chilli powder,  turmeric, hing and salt.
2) Combine all the ingredients well.
3) Heat 2 tbsp oil and add it to the flour mixturer.
4) Mix well with a spoon and further rub and crumble the dough well between your hands.
5) Add water little by little and start to knead the dough.
6) Knead the dough to smooth, non sticky and soft dough.
7) Take Chakli mold and fix to the chakli maker.
8) Grease the chakli maker with some oil, this prevents dough from sticking to mould.
9) Now make a cylindrical shape out of dough and place the dough inside maker.
also tighten the lid and heat the oil.
10) Press the chakli onto butter / Parchment paper moving hand in circular motion.and then leave each chakli into hot oil.
11) Flip the chakli and fry in medium flame till they turn golden brown and crispy from both sides.
12) Drain them to the paper towel to remove excess oil.

Serve Chakli with masala tea or masala milk.

Pepper rasam / Miriyala chaaru - Version 2

Ingredients:

Garlic pods - 6 to 8
Tamarind - 1 small gooseberry sized 
Pepper corns - 3/4 tbsp
Jaggery - 1 tbsp grated (Optional)
Turmeric powder - A Pinch
Coconut Oil - 1 tbap
Salt  - As required
Mustard seeds (Optional)
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tbsp
Red chili - 1 broken
Curry leaves - few 
Asafoetida - A Pinch
Tomato - 1 medium
Onion - 1 medium

Method:

1) Soak tamarind in water or microwave it with little water for 40 seconds and extract the pulp and keep it aside.
2) Crush peppercorns into a coarse powder and also press the garlic pods slightly to release the flavor.
3) Heat oil and add jeera. Add curry leaves,broken red chilli and asafoetida and fry for half a minute.
4) Now add onion. Fry until golden brown. Add crushed garlic pods and fry well.
5) Now add chopped tomato and crushed pepper powder. Fry until soft.
6) Add tamarind pulp to it and add enough water(approx 1 1/2 - 2 cups of water) to it.
7) Add grated jaggery,turmeric powder,salt to it and let it come to a boil.Taste rasam at this point and balance with sweetness and salt required for rasam.
8) Boil for some more time and switch off the flame.

Serve it hot with hot plain rice with any fry as a side dish and papad.

Note:

1) Addition of rasam powder is optional, Add it to make the rasam thick otherwise pepper rasam would be very watery.
2) Increase the quantity of pepper corns to make it more spicy and also adjust jaggery and salt according to your taste.
3) You can skip garlic pods in the recipe,but It is highly recommend to use it.

Tips to grow Methi / fenugreek at home

Ingredients:

Fenugreek seeds - 1 cup
Water 

Method:

1) Wash the dry fenugreek seeds.
2) Fill the water just above the fenugreek seeds and soak them overnight.
3) Rinse well and keep it in a air tight container with its lid 3/4 covered for over 1 days.
4) Clean the soil and keep it ready.
5) Sow the soaked fenugreek and cover it up with soil on top. Make sure the seeds are placed such that the gap between them is around 1 inch.
6) Water it slowly everyday for around week or two. Fenugreek leaves would start showing up.

Note:

1) Same method can be followed to grow cilantro at home.