Oolan with Red Mung Beans

Ingredients:

1. Kumbalanga ( White Gourd)  -  thinly sliced   into rectangular pieces -2 cups
2. Red Mung Beans - 1/4 Cup
3. Coconut Powder - 4 tbsp
4. Curry Leaves
5. Water- 1 and 1/2 cups  for mixing with coconut powder
6. Green Chillies- 2 No
7. Salt required
8. Oil required

 How to Cook:

1. Mix 2 tbsp of coconut milk powder with 1 and half cup of water well.This gives you the first milk.
2. In a bowl add the above prepared coconut milk , green chillies , salt and cook the 2 cups white gourd in it by closing the bowl.
3. If the white gourd is soft while pressing with a spoon , the white gourd is cooked.
4. Open the bowl and cook for 15 minutes. Keep this aside.
5. Pressure cook the red mung beans .
6. Add the cooked red mung beans to the cooked white gourd.
7. Mix 2 tbsp coconut milk powder with very little water to get a thick coconut milk paste. This gives you second coconut milk.
8. Add the above prepared coconut milk into the cooked white gourd. Add curry leaves and mix well.
9. Add 1 tbsp oil into it .
10. Garnish with few curry leaves. Serve hot with rice.

Rasamalai / Paneer

Ingredients

1. Milk - 8 Cups
2. Lemon Juice- 3 tbsp
3. Water- 3 Cups ( Add 1 more cup if necessary )
4. Sugar -1  Cup for cooking paneer  and 5 tbsp minimum or more  for the rasa syrup
5. Saffron - 1 pinch
6. Cardamon Powder- 1 tsp
7. Pista and Almond chopped- 4 tbsp

How to Cook


To prepare the Rasa of the Rasamalai

 We need to boil the milk and keep on stirring the milk until it reduce to half the volume ( reduced to 2 cups milk ) .The step by step process for the same is given below. 
 1: Pour 4 cups milk in a non -stick pan for boiling and switch on the gas.
 2: Crush saffron with sugar and add this to the milk in the pan immediately. 

   
 3: Keep stirring  occasionally. Milk will start to thicken.  

 4 : After 20 to 30  minutes , it will thicken more and reduce to almost 2 cups. 

 5: After milk khoya is ready,add the cardamon powder crushed. the chopped almonds and pista, sugar to taste ( approximately 5 tbsp minimum) . Switch Off the flame. Keep it aside. 

To Prepare the Paneer

We need to prepare the Paneer for the rasamalai  . You will need a thin cloth .Either a muslin cloth or thin cotton cloth.

 1 :  Take a steel pan and pour 4 cups of milk.

2:When it start to boil add the lemon juice into it slowly.

3:  Milk will start curdling. 

4:Within seconds paneer will start getting separated, a very light green colour liquid start to appear. Switch off the flame at this stage.

5:  Immediately get  ready with a vessel with pores and  a very light cloth  to strain the paneer.

 6:  Place the cloth in the vessel and strain the paneer .

 

 7: Pour some cold water over it to cool it down. it also helps to remove the lemon flavour from the paneer.

8:  Fold the cloth and drain the water out as much as possible.

9: Hang the cloth for half an hour so that the water is drained out of the paneer completely. Please squeeze out once again to make sure rest of the water if any, is also drained out. Open the cloth and take the paneer out.
10: Run the paneer through a food processor to make it smooth.

11:  Go on kneading the dough to make it more smooth.Knead for around 25 minutes.
12: Make small balls ( approximately ping-pong sized balls)  out of the dough.Flatten it .

13:  Take the pressure pan and pour 3 Cups water ( or 4 Cups if necessary ) , 1 cup sugar and switch on the flame.
14: Put the flattened paneer pieces into the sugar solution.

15: Close the pan and let it cook to 1 whistle.

16: After 1 whistle , wait for 5 minutes .Slowly pour cold water over the pressure pan ( take the pan to the sink and pour water from the tap)  to remove the pressure. 
17: As soon as the steam goes out , open the pan and transfer the cooked paneer pieces with a spoon along  with little sugar solution from the pan  (so that the paneer doesn't get dried ) and keep it aside in another bowl.

18:After it gets cooled, take the paneer pieces out and place it between your hands to squeeze out the sugar syrup.Place it in another bowl.

19: After it is done , pour the rasa syrup over the paneer pieces.

21: Your yummy rasamalai is ready . Refrigerate it  for sometime. Serve chilled.

NOTE: You can also make paneer rounds out of the dough and directly use as paneer .



Pudina Chutney

Ingredients 

1. Coriander Leaves -  4 bunches
2. Mint Leaves-2 bunches
3. Green Chilly- 3 No
4. Water- as required to make a paste form  ( 1 to 1 1/4 cup approx)
5. Salt
6. Lemon- 1 full squeezed

How to Prepare 

1. Wash the mint and coriander leaves well. Soak in water and keep aside for half an hour.
2. Mince the coriander leaves as thin as possible.
3. Sort out the mint leaves and mince it as thin as possible.
4. Put the leaves, salt, green chilly ,water in a blender and grind it to form a paste like consistency.
5. Pour the squeezed out lemon and mix well.
6. Check salt and add required salt.
7. Place the chutney in fridge for 1 hour.
8. Serve it with bread or rotis.

Kovakka ( Ivy Gourd ) Thoran

Ingredients

1. Kovakka ( Ivy Gourd) - 3 Cups  ( cut into small pieces)
2. Shallots- 10 pieces
3. Coconut Grated- 1 Cup
4. Garlic ( Optional)- 4 pods
5. Green Chilly- 3 No
6. Turmeric Powder-1/4 tsp
7. Chilly Powder- 1 tsp
8. Oil as required
9. Salt as required

How to Cook

1. Grind the coconut , onion shallots , green chilly ,garlic together  for one round in a mixie.
2. Heat oil in a pan and  add the kovakka ( Ivy Gourd) pieces .
3. Close the pan and cook .
4. After it gets cooked , add the grinded coconut and saute for 1 minute.
5. Serve hot with rice.

Lemon Mint Juice

This is a very refreshing drink .

Ingredients

1. Lemon - 2 No
2. Mint Leaves-1/2 Cup
3. Sugar- 4 tbsp
4. Water-2 Cups

How to Prepare

1. Wash the leaves well.
2. Mix the lemon drops,mint leaves , sugar in a mixie and blend it well .
3. Drain the mixture.
4. Mix 2 cups of water to the prepared mixture.
5. Serve Chilled.

Mango Chammandi

Ingredients.

1. Raw Mango cubes - 1/2 Cup
2. Grated coconut- 1/2 Cup
3. Shallots - 5 No
4. Green Chilly- 1 big
5. Curry Leaves-few
6. Salt As required.

How to Prepare

1. Grind the above mixtures  in  a mixie just twice.
2. Serve hot with rice.

Egg Masala Curry

Ingredients

1. Onion - 3 No
2. Egg- 2 No
3. Ginger- 1 piece
4. Tomato- 2 No
5. Green Chilly-1 No
6. Garam Masala- 1 tbsp
7. Turmeric Powder-1/4 tsp
8. Chilly Powder-1/2 tsp
9. Coriander Powder-2 tsp
10. Chicken Masala Powder- 2 tsp
11. Salt - as required
12. Oil - as required
13. Curry Leaves

How to Cook

1. Heat oil in a pan and saute the ginger , curry leaves, green chilly and onion  till onion turn translucent.
2. Boil water and cook the egg for 2 minutes and keep it aside.
3. Add all the masalas (  from 5 to 10 ) and fry it for 1 minute.
4. Add the tomatoes and cook till the oil becomes clear . Add 2 glass of water , close the pan and cook for 15 minutes.
5. Add the cooked egg .
6. Garnish with curry leaves.

Vegetable Kurma

Ingredients

1. Vegetables(Potato,Carrot,Beans,Cauliflower,Green Peas etc diced )-3Cups
2. Onions- 3 No
3. Cinnamon- 3
4. Clove- 3
5. Cardamon- 3
6. Oil- 2 tsp
7. Cashew nut Paste- 1 tbsp
8. Ginger- Garlic Paste- 2 tsp
9. Chicken Masala- 4 tsp
10. Coriander Leaves- as required
11. Mint Leaves- as required
12. Curd- 1 Cup
13. Coconut Grated- 1/2 cup
14. Lemon- 1 tsp
15. Green Chilly - 2 No
16. Oil - as required

How to Cook

1. Wash the cauliflower florets well. Keep the florets in warm water for 1/2 an hour.
2. Grind the coconut with curd and make paste.
3. Heat oil in  a pan  and add cinnamon,cardamon,cloves, green chillies.  Saute for 1 minute.
4. Add the onions and saute till translucent.
5. When the onion is done add ginger garlic paste and again saute for 2 minutes.
6. When you start getting the  smell of different  flavours , add 3/4 cup water , chicken masala and stir well.
7. When the water dries up and oil turns up  , add the vegetables, saute for 2 minutes.
8. Add coriander leaves, mint leaves , 3 cups water .Close the pan and cook.
9. When the vegetables are cooked well, add cashew nut paste and coconut paste mixed with curd.  Saute for 2 minutes.
10. Remove from flame , add lemon drops .
11. Garnish with coriander leaves . Serve hot with porotta or roti.

Fish Curry

Ingredients

1. Fish - 1/2 kg
2. Mustard Seeds- 1/4 tsp
3. Chilly Powder- 2 tsp
4. Turmeric Powder- 1/4 tsp
5. Coriander Powder- 1 tbsp
6. Pepper Powder- 1 tsp
7. Green Chilly - 2 No
8. Ginger- 1 piece
9. Garlic- 8 pods
10. Curry Leaves
11. Kodam Puli - 3 pieces
12. Oil - as required

How to Cook

1. Wash kodam puli well . Soak in 1/4 cup water and keep it aside for half an hour.
2. Grind the ginger , garlic, curry leaves just once in a mixie.
3. Heat oil in a pan , splutter mustard seeds.
4. Add the grinded mixture, green chilly and saute for 3 minutes.
5. Add the masalas and saute for 3 minutes.
6. Add the Kodam puli water with required salt and water.  Bring to boil.
7. When the water starts to boil ,add the fish pieces . Close the pan and cook till the fish is done.
8. Ganish with curry leaves and serve hot with rice.

Vaidya Cheera Thoran

Leaves used for cooking



Ingredients

1. Cheera (  cut into small pieces)-  4 Cup
2. Coconut   grated - 1 Cup
3. Mustard Seeds -  1 tbsp
4. Onion Shallots- 8 No
5. Red Chilly- 1 No
6. Green Chilly- 1 No
7. Chilly Powder-  1 tbsp
8. Turmeric Powder- 1/2 tsp
9. Oil -as required
10. Salt- as required

How to Cook

1. Heat oil in a pan , splutter mustard seeds.
2. Add red chilly, green chilly ,curry leaves , onion shallots and saute for 2 minutes.
3. Add the cheera leaves, required salt  and saute for 3 minutes , close the pan and let it cook
4. After the cheera gets cooked , add the grated coconut and saute for  2 minutes.
5. Transfer to the serving bowl and serve hot with rice.