Gulab Jamun

Ingredients

Milk Powder -  1 cup
All Purpose Flour - 3 tblspn
Baking Soda  a pinch
Ghee  - 1 tsp
Salt a pinch
Yogurt - 2 tblspn
Oil or Ghee for Deep frying

For Syrup:
Sugar - 1.5 cup
Water - 2 cup
Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp

Method:

Sieve flour, milk powder, salt and baking soda. Now take this in a bowl, add in ghee and yogurt. Knead it into a soft sticky dough.  Let the dough rest for 5 mins while you make the syrup.
Take sugar and water in a sauce pan, bring it to boil. Simmer it for a few mins till it gets little sticky.
Now add in cardamom powder and mix well. Take a  small portion of dough and shape it into smooth balls, without any cracks. Now heat oil or ghee for deep frying. Drop the jamuns in and fry till golden. The oil should be on low, when you drop a jamun ball in, the ball should first sink to the bottom then slowly rise to the top.
Drain and drop into hot Sugar syrup  Cover and let them soak for 2 hours.
Serve warm or cold.

Sweet n Sour Mixed pickle

Ingredients

Baby Onion- 4 nos
Jalapeno chilly- 5 nos
Ripe lemon - 10 nos
Dates chopped - 100 gm(1 cup)
Sesame/gingely oil(nallenna) - 1 cup
Sugar - 2-3 tablespoon
Mustard seed - 1 teaspoon
Fenugreek seed(uluva) - 1 teaspoon
Green chilly - 4, sliced
Ginger - 1 tablespoon, sliced
Garlic - 1 tablespoon,sliced
Ginger and garlic paste - 1 teaspoon each
Kashmiri chilly powder - 1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida (kayam)- 1 teaspoon
Vinegar - ¼ cup
Salt

Instructions

Boil 4 cups of water with salt in a medium - big size saucepan. Remove from gas. Add lemon to it & stir well. Keep it covered for 10-15 minutes till the lemon skin becomes soft.
Once the skin becomes soft, strain the water completely. Dry the lemon with cloth or kitchen towel. Cut the lemon into 2-3 pieces. Add salt, half of the sugar (1- 1½ tbsp) and asafoetida to the lemon pieces and mix well.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan & splutter mustard & fenugreek seeds. Add sliced ginger, garlic and green chilly. Fry till it becomes golden brown. Keep it aside. Add some more oil to the pan, when it becomes hot, add chopped dates and baby onions and jalapeno chillies.  Cook till it becomes soft. Keep that also aside. Add some more oil and when it becomes hot, add ginger garlic paste. When it becomes golden brown, add kashmiri chilly powder, turmeric powder and 1- 1½ tbsp sugar (the powders should be added at lowest flame). Stir well till the gravy becomes dark red (make sure that you don't burn the masala). Add vinegar to this masala and let it boil.
Once the vinegar boils, add the previously sauted ginger, garlic, green chilly & dates,onion and jalapeno chilli to this. Mix well. Add the lemons stored at room temperature. Combine everything well. Check salt and add more, if needed. Remove from gas & let it cool completely.

Green Apple pickle

Ingredients

1/4kg Green apple
1/2cup Mustard seeds
1/2tsp Fenugreek seeds
1/2cup Red chilly powder
2tbsp Salt
Vinegar- Half a tsp
Curry leaves- a handful
1tbsp Turmeric powder

Tempering

1/2cup Oil
1tbsp Mustard seeds
1/2tbsp Turmeric powder
1tsp Asafoetida powder

Heat the oil for tempering in a pan, add the mustard seeds, once its starts spluttering, add curry lraves, asafoetida powder and turmeric powder and put off the heat.
Let it cool completely.
Meanwhile grind the mustard seeds,fenugreek seeds,turmeric powder, red chilly powder with half a cup of water as fine paste, add in salt, vinegar and blend it well.
Now add the grounded masala to the diced apple, pour the cooled tempered oil mixture over the top. Green apple pickle is ready.

Egg Burjji

Ingredients:

Eggs – 3, well-beaten
Oil – 1 tbsp
Onion – 1/4, medium, finely chopped
Ginger – 1/2 tsp, minced
Garlic – 1/2 tsp, minced
Green Chilies – to taste
Tomato – 1/4, medium
Bell Pepper – 1/4 cup, diced
Boiled Green peas -1/4 cup
Cilantro – 5 sprigs, finely chopped
Coriander Powder – 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala – 1/4 tsp
Cumin Powder – 1/4 tsp
Turmeric Powder -1/8 tsp , optional
Red Chili Powder – to taste
Salt – to taste

Ingredients:

1. Beat the Eggs  well.
2. Heat Oil in a non-stick pan.
3. Once hot,add in the Turmeric Powder and right after that the onions.
4. Cook for 2-3 minutes till the Onions become translucent.
5. Add in Ginger, Garlic and Green Chilies.
6. Cook for another couple of minutes.
7. Add in Tomatoes, Bell Pepper, Boiled green peas and Cilantro.
8. Add Salt, Red Chili Powder, Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder and the Garam Masala.
9. Add a little Salt in the Eggs and give it another mix and add them into the Pan.
10. Stir constantly and cook till the Eggs dry up to the desired consistency.

Egg Bajji

Ingredients

Oil To Fry
Salt -1/2Teaspoons
Chilli powder 1/2Teaspoons
Rice flour -1/4Cup
Gram Flour  or besan-2Cup
Eggs(boiled) -4 Large

Method

Mix besan,rice flour ,salt n chilli powder in water.Make a smooth paste. Dip the boiled egg in the batter and fry it for a minute. Set aside. Again dip it for a second coating and fry it in oil till light brown. Cut into vertical halves and serve hot.

Kerala Sukhiyan

Ingredients

Cherupayar or green gram – 1 cup
Grated coconut – 3/4 cup
Jaggery –  1/4 – 1/2 cup or to taste
Cardamom powder – 1 tsp
Dry ginger powder, cumin powder – 2 pinches
Turmeric powder – 1 – 2 pinches
All purpose flour / Maida – 1/2 – 1 cup
Water – As required for making the batter
Rice flour – 1 – 2 tbsp
Salt – A pinch

Method

Cook the green gram in a pressure cooker or a vessel (do not overcook it) with enough water, until done. Drain the excess water and keep aside. Melt the jaggery in 1/4 cup water, sieve and boil it. Add the grated coconut and mix well. Now add the cooked green gram. Stir until it becomes somewhat dry ( for around 15 – 20 mts). Now add cardamom powder, dry ginger powder, cumin powder and mix well. Switch off.

Mix maida, turmeric powder, rice flour and a pinch of salt in water to make a somewhat thick batter. When the green gram-jaggery- coconut mixture is cold enough, make small balls out of it. Dip them in the maida batter and deep fry. Serve with hot tea.

Plantain Bonda

Ingredients

Ripe plantain - 2
Coconut grated- 3/4 cup
Rava- 1/3 cup
Sugar- 3-4 tbs
Cardamon -5
Cashew nuts-6-7
Raisins- a few
Ghee- 2 tsp

For the batter

Maida/All purpose flour- 3/4 cup
Rice flour-3 tbs
Sugar-1 tsp
Salt- a pinch
baking powder- a pinch
Oil for frying

Method

1) Mash plantains properly  with your hands.
2) Heat ghee in a pan and roast cashew nuts and raisins, drain and keep aside.
3) In the same pan, roast rava and coconut till it is golden brown.
4) Add the grated plantain and saute for about two minutes.
5) Allow this mixture to cool. Add sugar and cardamom and the roasted cashew nuts and raisins and mix well.
6) Make this into small balls and keep aside.
7) Mix all the ingredients listed under batter. Add enough water to make a smooth batter not so thick and not so thin( idli batter consistency).
8) Heat oil in a pan and when it id hot enough, take balls one at a time and dip into the batter and carefully drop into oil. Fry all sides evenly.
9) Drain in paper towel.

Ulli Vada

Ingredients

Onion – ½ kg sliced thinly
Coriander Leaves -1/2 cup chopped
Green Chilli-4 chopped
Ginger Garlic Paste -1 tblspn
Kadala Mavu-1 cup
Rice Flour – ½ cup
Curry leaves – 2 spring
Jeerakam -1 tblspn
Turmeric Powder -1 tsp
Chilli Powder-2 tsp or to taste
Baking Soda -1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying + 1 tblspn for adding in batter

Method

In a mixing bowl add sliced onions, green chilli, curry leaves, cilantro, salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, baking soda, fennel seeds and mix well with your hands.
You should mix this really well so that the water from the onions start to come out. After mixing this leave it aside for 5 mins.
Add gram flour & rice flour a spoonful at a time and mix well..This vada don’t need any  additional water, the moisture in this onions is enough for making the batter.
Now heat a tablespoon of oil and pour it in the batter and mix well.This batter should be a  think one, so that you can form dumplings out of it.
Heat oil for deep frying..Make small balls out of this mixture and drop in hot oil.Fry this till golden on a medium flame..This will take around 5-10 mins
Now drain this in a paper towel.Serve hot.

Pappad boli

Ingredients

1. Idli rice – 1/2 cup (Soak it in water for around 15 mts and grind to a smooth batter along with dry red chillies.)
2. Dry red chillies – 6-7
3. Besan/ Kadala mavu – 3 tsp
4. Black sesame seeds – 1 tsp
5. Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
6. Salt – A pinch or to taste
7. Water – To make a thick batter
8. Pappad – 15- 20
9. Oil – For deep-frying
 
Method

Grind the idli rice and the dry red chillies to a smooth batter adding enough water. Add the cumin seeds, black sesame seeds,  salt and kadalamavu. Mix well. Add more water if required.
Dip the pappads in this batter and deep fry in oil one at a time until golden brown turning them over, in between.

Beetroot Halwa

Ingredients

About 3 cups grated beetroot
3 cups full fat whole milk
6 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp ghee
5-6 teaspoon cardamom crushed
15 to 20 whole cashews
1 tbsp raisins

Instructions

Rnse, peel and grate the beetroots.
In a thick bottomed pan combine milk and grated beetroot.
On a low to medium flame, bring the whole mixture to a boil and then simmer.Keep on stirring at intervals..
The grated beetroots will cook in the milk and the milk will start to reduce and evaporate.
When the milk has  reduced, add the ghee, sugar to the halwa mixture.
Stir well and continue to simmer and cook on a low flame. Keep on stirring the beetroot halwa. Towards the end, add the cashews, cardamom powder and raisins and simmer till all the milk is evaporated. Switch off the burner and serve it hot, warm or cold.