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.
  

Chepala Pulusu (Fish Gravy)

Prep and Cooking Time: 25-30mins

Serves: 3-4 persons

Ingredients

Fish Fillets (Tilapia/ Cat Fish/ Mackerel)- 8-10

Onion- 1 cup, finely chopped

Tomatoes- 2 or 3 big, finely chopped

Green Chillies- 3 or 4, slit and cut

Ginger Garlic paste- 1 tsp

Tamarind- 1 big lemon sized tamarind pulp

Red Chilli pwd- 1-2 tsp

Turmeric pwd- ¼ tsp

Coriander pwd (Dhaniya)- 1 tsp

Cumin pwd (Jeera)- 1 tsp

Fenugreek pwd (Methi)- ¼ tsp

Coconut pwd- 1 tbsp

Lemon Juice- 5-6 drops

Coriander Leaves- 2 tbsp, chopped

Curry Leaves- 2 stalks (Optional)

Cooking Oil- 3-4 tbsp

Salt to taste

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 chilli pwd, turmeric pwd, salt and add 5 drops of lemon
  
• Heat oil in a cooking vessel and fry onions and chillies until they turn transparent, add curry leaves, ginger garlic paste, turmeric and salt and fry for another 3 mins.
  
• Add tomatoes and cook until they are tender and add the tamarind extract and bring it to a boil.
  
• Add chilli pwd, coriander pwd, cumin pwd, methi pwd and coconut pwd and mix well
  
• Now carefully add the fish pieces to the vessel and cook covered for 3mins without mixing.
  
• Turn the fish pieces gently, cover and cook on low heat for 10 mins. Let the sauce thicken and cook until the oil separates as a layer on top of the gravy.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and Serve hot chepala pulusu with rice or roti

Note: Serve it after 15-20 mins, allow the fish pieces to absorb the spicy and tangy flavor of the spices and tamarind. Be extra cautious while stirring the fish pieces while cooking in order to avoid breaking the pieces.

Pulusu Pulihora (Tamarind Rice)

Prep and Cooking Time: 35-40mins
Serves: 4-5 persons

Happy and Prosperous Ugadi to one and all. Thank You for your responses and encouragement. Sorry for the delay in posting this Ugadi Special Recipe. This is a steal from my mother’s recipes, especially the addition of chick peas to the tamarind juice which makes it tastier as the chick peas inherits the tanginess from tamarind and adds that extra taste to the pulihora.

Ingredients

White Rice (Preferably Sona Masoori) - 2 cups
Tamarind - 100gms

Jaggery-1 tsp
Groundnuts - 2tbsp
Chick Peas (Bengal Gram/ Chana) - ½ cup (Optional)
Mustard Seeds (Aavalu) - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds (Jeera) - 1 tsp
Chana Dal – 1 tsp (Optional)
Split Gram Dal (urad dal / minapappu) – 1tsp
Green Chillies- 4-5 split and cut
Dry Red Chillies- 2
Curry Leaves- 2 stalks
Coriander pwd (Dhaniya pwd) - 1 tsp
Turmeric Pwd - ½ tsp
Cooking Oil - 3 tbsp
Salt to taste


Method

• Soak the tamarind in water for about 15mins and then extract the juice from the pulp.

Tip: Soaking ia not required, if you can Microwave the tamarind immersed in water for about 1 min, this speeds up the extraction of juice from the pulp.

• Take a cooking vessel and add tamarind water, jaggery, add chick peas as well and allow it to boil for nearly 20mins until it forms into a thick consistent paste, keep stirring at regular intervals.
• In the mean while, cook the rice separately make sure the rice doesn’t get sticky and add salt, turmeric and 1tsp oil to it and mix thoroughly. Take care not to mash the rice grains.

(This tamarind mixture (without the chick peas) can be stored in a refrigerator if you keep it in a moist-free and tightly closed container for weeks together and you can use it later for making your very own instant pulihora)

Tempering/ Tadka/ Talimpu:

• Heat the remaining oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chana dal, urad dal, groundnuts and red chillies in that order and allow it to splutter.


• Then add green chillies and curry leaves, right before removing it off the flame add coriander pwd and sauté the contents.

Add the Tamarind concentrate to the rice and mix it well, now add the tadka and mix thoroughly.
Serve it with any spicy tangy pickle/pachadi/chutney.