Vegetable Noodles

Prep & Cooking Time: 30-35 mins

Serves: 4 persons

Ingredients

1 packet noodles

Onions- 1 cup, finely sliced

Green/ Red Capcicum- 1-2, finely sliced

Beans, Carrots, Broccoli, Zuccini, Baby Corn - 1 cup

Garlic- 5-6 cloves- finely chopped

Red Chilli pwd- ½ tsp

Red Chilli flakes- ½ tsp

Pepper pwd- 1 tsp

Soy Sauce- 1tsp

Tomato Sauce- 2 tbsp

Cooking Oil- 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Method

• Boil the noodles in water with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp oil. Cook for 2 mins and drain the water. Allow the noodles to cool.
  
• Heat oil in a skillet, add onions and cook until they turn transparent.
  
• Now add all the vegetables except garlic and add ½ tsp salt to preserve the color of the veggies and cook for not more than 2-3mins.
  
• Add the noodles to the vegetables and sauté the contents.
  
• Add chopped garlic, red chilli pwd, red chilli flakes, pepper pwd, soy sauce, tomato sauce and salt to taste and toss on medium heat for 1 min.
  
• Serve hot with spicy vegetable sauce.
  

Fish Fry (Chepala Vepudu)

Prep & Cooking Time: 20-30 mins

Serves: 4-5 persons

Ingredients

Fish Fillets (Tilapia/ Cat Fish/ Mackarel)- 8-10
Wheat flour (Goduma pindi)- 2 tbsp
Ginger Garlic paste- 1 tsp
Dhaniya pwd (Coriander pwd)- 1 tsp
Cumin pwd (Jeera pwd)- ¼ tsp
Chilli pwd- 2 tsp
Turmeric- ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Coriander Leaves- 2 tbsp
Lemon Juice- 2 tsp
Cooking Oil- 3 tbsp

Method

• Wash the fish properly and clean again with rock salt (optional) and add turmeric pwd to avoid the raw smell of the fish.
  
• Marinade the fish with ginger garlic paste, chilli pwd, turmeric pwd, coriander pwd, cumin pwd, and salt as needed and keep aside for 20-30 mins.
  
• Heat oil in a pan, coat the fish pieces with wheat flour and fry on medium flame for 7-8 mins and flip over the pieces and allow it to cook on the other side for another 5-6 mins until they turn golden brown. Ensure that the pieces don’t get stuck to the vessel.
  
• Garnish with coriander leaves and sprinkle the lemon juice.
  
• Serve hot with White Rice and Curry or Rasam.
  

Tasty, Crispy Fish fry is ready!!!

Palli Chutney (Groundnut/Peanut Chutney)

Prep & Cooking Time: 15-20 mins

Serves: 4-5 persons

Ingredients

Peanuts- 1 cup

Green Chillies- 3-4, slit and cut into halves

Tamarind- 1 lemon sized pulp

Mustard Seeds (aavalu)- ½ tsp

Cumin Seeds (Jeera)- ½ tsp

Split black gram (urad dal/minapappu)- ½ tsp

Dry Red Chillies- 2

Curry Leaves- 1 stalk

Salt to taste

Cooking Oil- 1tbsp

Method

• Pre-heat a skillet and roast the peanuts to a golden brown color for 1-2 mins. Cool and rub the skins off.
  
• Take the groundnuts, green chillies, tamarind pulp, 1 cup of water and grind them to a fine paste in a blender/ food processor.
  
• Remove the chutney to a bowl add salt to taste and stir well.
  
• For tempering/ tadka/ talimpu: Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, split black gram, dry red chillies and after the spluttering subsides add curry leaves and remove it from the flame.
• Add the tadka to the chutney and mix well.
  
• Serve with dishes like idli, dosa, vada or upma.
  

Egg Biryani

Prep & Cooking Time: 30-40 mins

Serves: 4-5 persons

Ingredients

Basmati Rice- 4 cups

Boiled Eggs- 5

Onions- 1 large, finely sliced (equivalent to 2 cups)

Carrots- 1 cup, finely shredded

Green Chillies-7-8, finely chopped

Cardamom/Elaichi- 5-6 pods

Cloves/Lavang- 5-6

Cinnamon stick/Patta- 3-4, 1-inch sticks

Bay Leaves-2

Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp

Garam Masala pwd (Preferably homemade)- 2 tsp

Red Chilli pwd- ½ tsp

Turmeric- ½ tsp

Lemon Juice- 3 tbsp

Coriander Leaves- 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Cooking Oil- ½ cup

Method

• Boil the eggs with a tsp of salt, slit them into halves and keep aside.
  
• Heat oil in a deep pan, add elaichi, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves and sauté. Once they start spluttering add onions, green chillies and turmeric, cook until the onions turn transparent. Then add ginger garlic paste and salt.
  
• Now add the shredded carrot and cook for about 5-7 mins until the carrot becomes tender.
  
• Add the garam masala, chilli pwd and stir the contents.
  
• Fry the eggs in this onion and carrot mixture for about 2mins, mix carefully and ensure that the yolk doesn’t come out of the eggs. Remove the eggs and keep them aside.
  
• Add the cooked basmati rice to this mixture, add the lemon juice and stir the contents.
  
• Now add the eggs to the rice. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with Raitha.
  

Raitha: To the curd/yogurt add finely chopped vegetables like onions, tomatoes, green chillies, cucumber, and coriander leaves, salt to taste, a dash of sugar and a pinch of chilli pwd and mix well.

Tasty Egg Biryani is ready!!!

Tomato Dal

Prep and Cooking Time: 20- 25mins

Serves: 4-5 persons

Ingredients

Arhar Dal (Kandi Pappu/ Toor Dal/ Split red gram)- 1 cup

Tomatoes- 2-3 medium, finely chopped

Green Chillies- 3-4, slit and cut

Garlic cloves- 4-5, peeled, crushed coarsley

Mustard Seeds (aavalu)- ½ tsp

Cumin Seeds ( jeera)- ½ tsp

Chilli pwd- 1 ½ tsp

Turmeric- ½ tsp

Curry Leaves - 1 stalk

Cooking Oil- 1 ½ tbsp

Salt to taste

Method

• Pressure cook the dal with 3 cups of water along with turmeric pwd and chillies. Donot over cook the dal as it seems to taste better if the dal is just done and not mushed.
  
• Now add chilli pwd, salt and 1-2 cups of water to the boiled dal and allow it to come to a boil.
  
• Heat oil in a skillet add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and once they start popping add curry leaves and garlic, saute well and then add tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are tender and mush them.
  
• Add these contents to the dal and mix well.
  
• Cover and keep aside for 5 minutes.
  
• Serve hot. Goes well with hot rice accompanied by a spicy mango pickle/pachadi.
  

Carrot Egg Curry

Prep & Cooking Time: 20 mins

Serves: 4-5 persons

Ingredients

5 Eggs

Onion- 1 large, finely sliced

Carrots- ¾ cup, finely chopped

Green Chillies- 2-3, finely chopped

Mustard Seeds- ¼ tsp

Split black gram (urad dal/minapappu)- ¼ tsp

Ginger Garlic paste- ½ tsp

Turmeric pwd- ¼ tsp

Red Chilli pwd- 1 tsp

Dhaniya pwd (Coriander pwd)- ¾ tsp

Cooking oil- 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Method

• Beat the eggs in a bowl and keep it aside
  
• Heat oil in a deep pan, add mustard seeds and split black gram. Once the spluttering subsides, add onion and green chillies, sauté and cook until onions turn transparent.
  
• Add turmeric and ginger garlic paste, sauté it and add the chopped carrot pieces and cook covered for 3-4mins.
  
• Now add the egg mixture to this, do not stir, leave it on medium flame for 1-2 mins
  
• Add chilli pwd, dhaniya and salt and now scramble the eggs and mix well.
  
• Serve with hot Rice or Roti.
  

Yellow Squash Curry w/t Garlic & Cashew

This recipe goes out to all those vegans out there, who might have come across yellow squash but had no idea how to cook it. Yellow squash is a good source of dietary fiber, calcium, iron and vitamin A & C as well. So the next time you go for groceries don’t forget to stuff your bag with yellow squash, you must definitely try this recipe.

Prep & Cooking Time: 20-25 mins

Serves: 4-5 persons

Garden Fresh Yellow Squash

Yellow Squash cooked with Garlic & Cashew

Ingredients

Yellow Squash- 3-4, peeled and diced

Onions- ½ medium, chopped

Green Chillies- 2-3, slit and cut

Garlic Cloves- 3-4, finely chopped

Cashew Nuts (Kaju)- 6-7, finely chopped or powdered

Chilli pwd- 1 ½ tsp

Turmeric pwd- ¼ tsp

Dhaniya pwd- ½ tsp

Coriander leaves- 2 tbsp, chopped

Salt to taste

Method

• Heat oil in a cooking vessel, add onions, chillies and turmeric and cook till the onions turn transparent.
  
• Add the yellow squash to this, mix well and add salt to taste. Don’t cook with with a covered lid, this makes the curry liquidy. It is supposed to be semi-dry.
  
• When the squash is soft and cooked, add chilli pwd, dhaniya pwd, cashew nut pwd and chopped garlic, mix the contents and cook for 1-2 minutes.
  
• Garnish with coriander leaves and Serve hot with white rice or roti.
  

Apple Toasted Bread

Prep and Cooking Time: 20-25mins

Serves: 5-6 persons

Ingredients

Bread- 8 slices

Apple- 2, peeled, cored and finely sliced

Melted Butter- 3 tbsp

Sugar- 1/4 cup

Method

• Mix the sugar and melted butter and dip each slice of apple in the melted butter.
  
• Place the bread in a buttered baking pan or Aluminium foil
  
• Arrange the apple slices on top of the bread slices
  
• Put the baking pan in the oven and let it bake for about 15 mins until the apple slices turn brown and tender.
  

Rava Dosa

Prep and Cooking Time: 20-25mins

Serves: 4-5 persons

Ingredients

Rava/ Sooji/ Semolina - 2cups

Maida / All Purpose Flour-1 cup

Rice Flour- 1 cup

Curd- 2-3 tbsp

Onions- 1 medium, finely chopped

Green Chillies- 3 or 4, finely chopped

Cumin Seeds/ Jeera- 1-2 tsp

Salt to taste

Water - 4 cups (approx)

Method

• Blend rava, rice flour, maida, curd, green chillies, salt and water to make a thin batter. Allow the batter to stand for a minimum of 1- 2 hours.
  
• It might thicken after a while, at the time of making dosas add little water so that the batter is watery and flowing.
  
• Pre-heat a tawa and then reduce the flame and pour a ladle full of dosa batter starting from the sides and finishing off in the middle as rava dosa cannot be spread like ordinary dosa.
  
• Drizzle ½ tsp of oil along the edge of the dosa and in the middle.
  
• Sprinkle some jeera and chopped onion over the rava dosa. When it starts turning golden brown turn it over and fry until it turns crispy.
  
• Serve it hot with chutney or sambar.
  

Vankaya Masala (Spicy Brinjal)

Prep and Cooking Time: 25-30mins

Serves: 3-4 persons

Ingredients

Brinjals- 10-12

Onion- 1 large, finely chopped

Cumin Seeds (Jeera)- 1 tsp

Chilli pwd- 1-2 tsp

Turmeric pwd- 1 tsp

Dhaniya pwd- 1-2 tsp

Amchur pwd (Raw Mango pwd)- 1-2 tsp

Salt to taste

Cooking Oil- 3 tbsp

Method

• Stuffing: Mix chilli pwd, turmeric pwd, dhaniya pwd, amchur pwd and salt to taste.
  
• Take each brinjal and on the end, opposite of stem, make four sections but not all the way through and fill the brinjals with the stuffing.
  
• Heat oil in a deep pan, add jeera and once the spluttering subsides add onions, turmeric and cook for 2mins.
  
• Now add the stuffed brinjals to this along with the left over stuffing and sauté well.
  
• Cook it with a covered lid for 10-12 mins until the brinjal becomes soft and tender. Keep mixing it at regular intervals and ensure that the contents dont burn.
  
• Serve it with hot rice or roti.