Kancheevaram Idli

Ingredients:

The specialty of this idli is it is cooked in different shapes.  My family loves it when it is steamed in small cups.

Boiled rice         -  1 1/2 cups
Regular rice       -  1 1/2 cups
Black gram dal   -  1 1/4 cups
Pepper              -  2 table spoons
Cummin seeds   -  2 table spoons
Dry Ginger        -  1 1/2 inches long
Gingeli oil          -  1/2 cup
Ghee                 -  1/2 cup
Asafotida           -  1 tea spoon
Curry leaves      -  a few leaves
Salt to taste

1.  Wash and soak both the rice together for 4 hours.
2.  Wash and soak the dal for 2 hours separately.
3.  Grind the rice and dal coarsely and mix them together, add salt and keep it closed for about 6 - 8 hours.
4.  In the mean time, coarsely powder cummin seeds, pepper, dry ginger together.
5.  After the batter in fermented,  add melted ghee, gingeli oil, ground cummin seeds, pepper powder, dry ginger, asafoitida and curry leaves.
6.  Leave it aside for another half an hour.
7.  Now grease the molds and idli stand, pour the batter and steam till done.
8.  Serve hot with with chutney powder.
9.  The specialty of kancheevaram idli is that it is cooked in different shapes. 

Chili Pasta

Ingredients:

Pasta                     -  200 gms
Onions                  -  1 no
Green chilies          -  3 - 4 nos

Ginger garlic paste -  2 table spoons
Red chili sauce      -  2 table spoons
Green chili sauce   -  2 table spoons
Soya sauce           -  1 table spoon
Tomato sauce       -  2 table spoons
Fresh coriander     -  2 table spoons(finely chopped)
Cooking oil
Salt to taste

1.  Add water and the pasta to a heavy bottomed vessel.
2.  Add salt as per taste and boil it till the pasta is cooked and done.
3.  Drain the water and run through cold water and once its cooled add 1 table spoon of oil, mix and keep it.
4.  Finely chop onions.
5.  Heat oil in a kadai, add onions, finely chopped green chilies and stir fry till the onions become transparent.
6.  Add the ginger garlic paste and keep stirring till they raw smell leaves.
7.  Now add the cooked pasta and sauces.
8. Stir well and till everything is mixed well and allow it to cook for 3 - 4 mins.
9.  Garnish with finely chopped coriander and serve hot.
10.It can also garnished with finely grated cheese.

Idli Upma

Ingredients:

Idli batter             -  4 cups
Onion                  -  1 no
Green chilies        -  2 nos
Curry leaves        -  a few leaves
Idli milagaippodi  -  3 table spoons
Gram masala powder -  1 tea spoon
Cooking oil         -  2 table spoons
Mustard seeds    -  1 tea spoon
Black gram dal    -  1 tea spoon
Bengal gram dal   -  1 tea spoon
Salt to taste

1.  Make idlies with the idli batter.
2.  Allow the idlies to cool, break it and make it to into granules by gently mixing them.
3.  Finely chop onions, green chilies and curry leaves.
4.  Heat oil in a kadai, add the mustard seeds and dals.
5.  Once the mustard crackles and dals turn golden brown add the finely chopped onions, green chilies and curry leaves.
6.  Stir fry till the onions turn transparent and add salt enough for onions, garam masala and idli milagaippodi.
7.  Also add the idli granules and mix thoroughly.
8.  Serve hot with curd.  Tastes terrific.

Vegetable Kuzhakkatai (Vegetable rice dumplings)

Ingredients:

Rice                -  1 1/2 cups
Jeera               -  1 table spoon
Pepper            -  1 table spoon
Carrots           -  1 nos
Potato             -  1 nos
Beans              -  a few
Capsicum        -  1/2
Green chilies    -  4 - 5 nos
Mustard seeds -  1 table spoon
Asafoitida        -  1 tea spoon
Cooking oil      -  2 table spoons
Curry leaves    -  a few leaves
Fresh coconut  -  2 table spoons
Salt to taste

1.  Wash and spread rice in a shaddy place for 1 hr.
2.  Add Jeera,  pepper to the rice and dry grind it to rawa.
3.  Heat 1 table spoon of oil in a kadai, add mustard to it and once it crackles add curry leaves, asafoitida to it.
4.  Once they crackle add 2 cups of water and salt to it.
5.  Add the rice rawa to it and keep stirring till the water is absorbed and the rice it 1/2 cooked.
6.  Grate carrot, and finely chop potatoes, capsicum,  green chilies and beans.
7.  Heat the balance oil and add the vegetables to it and half cook them adding enough salt.
8.  Add the vegetables to the half cooked rice and mix well.
9.  Make small long balls out of the mixture and steam them in idli cooker.
10.  Serve hot with coconut chutney and tomato chutney.

Rava Upma

Ingredients:

Rava                 -  1 1/2 cups
Onion                -  1 nos
Green chilies      -  2 nos
Curry leaves      -  a few leaves
Lemon juince     -  1 table spoon
Cooking oil        -  2 - 3 table spoons
Mustard seeds   -  1 table spoon
Black gram dal   -  1 table spoon
Bengal gram dal -  1 table spoon
Salt to taste

1.  Boil 2 cups of water and keep it covered.
2.  Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds, black gram dal and bengal gram dal.
3.  Once the mustard crackles and the dals turn golden brown add finely chopped onions, green chilies and curry leaves.
4.  As soon as the onions turn transparent add the rawa and salt and stir fry in low flame till the rawa starts to change colour.
5.  Now add the boiling water to the rava and stir briskly.  It should not form any lumps.
6.  Keep the flame in low and keep stiring till the water is absorbed by the rawa.
7.  Cover the kadai and cook for a few mins.
8.  Remove the upma from stove and add the lemon juice and mix thoroughly.
9.  Serve hot with pickles and chutneys.

Hakka Noodles

Ingredients:

Noodles                            -  250 gms

Onions                               -  2 nos
Cooking oil                        -  2 table spoons
Turmeric powder               -  1/2 tea spoon
Tomato hot & sweet sauce-  4 table spoons
Jeera                                 -  1 table spoon
Salt to taste

1.  Take noodles in a large vessel, add salt turmeric powder and water and cook till done.
2.  Drain the water and wash the noodles thoroughly till cool.
3.  Chop onion into thin long pieces.
4.  Heat oil in a large kadai, add jeera and once it crackles add the chopped onions.
5.  After the onions turn transparent add the tomato sauce and noodles and mix well.
6.  Stir cook for 5 mins till the sauce and noodles mix and blend.
7.  Serve hot.

Rava Pongal

Ingredients:

Rava                  -  1 1/2 cups
Green gram dal  -  1/2 cup
Ghee                 -  2 - 3 table spoons

Asafoitida          -  1/2 tea spoon
Jeera                  -  1 table spoon
Pepper              -  1 table spoon
Curry leaves      -  a few leaves
Cashews           -  1 table spoon(Optional)

1.  Dry roast rava till it becomes hot and colour changes only a little.
2.  Cook green gram dal till the dal becomes totally shapeless.
3.  Add asafoitida, jeera, pepper and salt(Enough even for rava) to the cooked dal and stir well.
4.  Add water till the whole dal mixture measures upto 2 1/2 cups and bring to boil.
5.  Reduce the flame to the lowest possible and add the roasted rava slowly mixing simultaneousness.
6.  Rava has the tendency to form into lumps.  So keep mixing and allow it to cook for 3 - 4 mins.
7.  Remove from stove as soon as the rava is cooked.
8.  Heat ghee in a kadai and add the broken cashew nuts and curry leaves and once the cashew turns golden brown add it to the pongal, mix well.
9.  Serve hot with coconut chutney.