Black Turtle Beans Soup

Ingredients:

• Black turtle beans – 100 g
• Onion – ¼ cup
• Tomato – 1
• Garlic cloves – 3
• Cumin seeds – 1 Tea spoon
• Pepper powder – 1 Tea spoon
• Fresh cream – 2 Table spoon
• Oil
• Mustard seeds
• Salt to taste
• Coriander for garnishing

 Method:

• Soak black beans 6 -8 hrs in water. Discard soaked water and rinse them well in fresh water. Cook them with little water and keep it aside.
• In a vessel, heat one table spoon of oil. When the oil is in medium heat add cumin seeds and chopped tomato, sauté till they are slightly mashed. Grind them to a fine paste with a table spoon of cooked black beans.
• Heat oil in a vessel and add mustard seeds. When they pop up add onion and a pinch of salt. Fry till onion is slightly brown.
• Now add chopped garlic cloves, ground mixture, pepper, a cup of water and cooked black beans.
• Adjust salt and cook the mixture until it is done (in a slow flame).
• Add fresh cream (two table spoon) if you like.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.

Spicy Cardamom Pistachio Biscotti

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour – 250 g
• Granulated sugar – 150 g
• Cardamom powder – 1 Tea spoon
• Pistachio – 60 – 70 g
• Clove powder - ½ Tea spoon
• Baking power – 1Tea spoon
• Vanilla essence – 2 drops
• Egg – 2
• Salt - pinch

 Method:

• In an electric egg beater, beat eggs with sugar until fluffy and add vanilla extract.
• Mix all purpose flour, cardamom powder, clove powder, baking powder and salt together then mix with egg mixture. To this mixture add chopped pistachios.
• In a slightly floured surface, roll out the mixture (dough) and make into two equal logs (about three inches wide).
• Place the logs in a parchment lined baking sheets. Make sure that there is enough space between the logs.
• Pre-heat oven at 350 degree F and bake them for about 20 minutes.
• Remove baking sheet from oven and let it cool for six to eight minutes.
• Then cut the logs diagonally into one inch slices.
• Place the cut slices in the baking sheet (cut side down) and bake at 325 degree F for eight to ten minutes and turn the slices over and bake for another 10 minutes.
• Allow them to cool and store in an air tight container.

Split Channa dal and Snake Gourd Poriyal

Ingredients:

• Split channa dal – 50 g
• Snake gourd – 2
• Onion – 1
• Urud dal - ½ Table spoon
• Mustard seeds – ¼ Table spoon
• Red chili powder – ½ Table spoon
• Turmeric powder – ¼ Tea spoon
• Grated coconut – 2 Table spoon
• Oil – 1 Table spoon
• Curry leaves – few
• Salt – as needed

Method:

• Soak split channa dal in water for about half an hour and cook them with little amount of water (do not mash).
• Chop snake gourd into small pieces. Cook them by adding salt, turmeric powder and red chili powder.
• In a pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they pop up add urud dal and fry for few seconds.
• Add chopped onion and a pinch of salt. Fry until onion becomes slightly brown.
• Add curry leaves, cooked snake gourd and channa dal. Toss them well. Adjust the salt and close the lid. Simmer for few seconds.
• Add grated coconut and turn off stove.
• Serve it with plain rice or sambar rice or curd rice.

Broccoli Paruppu Kuzhambu

Ingredients:

• Broccoli -1 large flower head
• Toor dal – 150 g
• Onion – 1
• Tomato – 1
• Garlic cloves – 3
• Kuzhambu podi (Sambar powder) – ½ Table spoon
• Turmeric powder – ¼ Tea spoon
• Salt
• Curry leaves – few
• Coriander leaves

 Method:

• Cook toor dal with water and keep it aside.
• Chop broccoli (into small florets), onion and tomato.
• Heat oil in a vessel and add mustard seeds. When they pop up add onion and a pinch of salt. Fry till onion is slightly brown.
• Add broccoli, tomato, curry leaves, turmeric powder and kuzhambu podi (Sambar powder). Mix and cook them well.
• Now add cooked toor dal, required amount of water for the gravy and crushed garlic cloves. Adjust salt and cook the mixture until it is done (in a slow flame).
• Garnish with coriander leaves.

Note:

• It goes very well with steamed rice, idly, dosa and chapati.

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients:

• Sifted all purpose flour – 2 cups
• Unsifted whole wheat flour – 2 cups
• Baking powder – 1 Tea spoon
• Baking soda – 1 Tea spoon
• Salt – ¼ Tea spoon
• Golden raisins – ¼ cup
• Caraway seeds – 2 Tea spoon
• Buttermilk – 1¼ cups

 Method:

• Preheat oven to 375 degree F. In a large bowl, combine all purpose flour, wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in the raisins and caraway seeds.
• Add enough buttermilk to make dough that is firm but not dry. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it is smooth – two to three minutes. Shape the dough into a round loaf and using a sharp knife, slash a large X ¼ inch deep across the top.
• Coat a baking sheet with the cooking spray, place the loaf on it and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

 Courtesy: Great Recipes For Good Health

Nutty Lemon Rice

Ingredients:

• Cooked rice – 400 g
• Split channa dal – 1 Table spoon
• Urud dal - 1 Table spoon
• Cumin seeds – 1 Table spoon
• Dried Red chili – 2
• Lemon juice – 100 ml (app. 2 lemons)
• Turmeric powder – ½ Tea spoon
• Mustard seeds
• Oil – 3 Table spoon
• Asafoetida - Pinch
• Curry leaves – few
• Salt to taste
• Roasted cashews and ground nuts – 2 Table spoons

 Method:

• In a vessel, heat oil. When the oil is in medium heat add mustard seeds. When they pop up, add split channa dal, black gram seeds, curry leaves, red chili and asafoetida. Sauté till dal mixture is slightly brown.
• Turn off heat after adding turmeric powder, cumin seeds, salt and lemon juice to dal mixture.
• Add this to cooked rice and mix thoroughly by not breaking rice.
• Adjust salt and sprinkle roasted cashews and ground nuts.

Sundal Kuzhambu

Ingredients:

• Sundal (White chick peas) – 150 g
• Onion – 1
• Tomato – 1
• Ginger and garlic paste – 1 Table spoon
• Curry masala powder – ½ Table spoon
• Turmeric powder – ¼ Tea spoon
• Coriander powder – ½ Table spoon
• Cumin seeds – ½ Table spoon
• Fennel seeds - ½ Table spoon
• Poppy seeds - ½ Table spoon
• Ginger and garlic paste – 1 Table spoon
• Kasthoori methi – 1 Table spoon
• Whole garam masala (clove, cinnamon, cardamom)
• Oil
• Salt
• Curry leaves – few
• Coriander leaves

 Method:

• Soak chick peas 5- 6 hrs in water. Discard soaked water and rinse them well in fresh water.
• Cook them with little water and keep it aside.
• Grind together cumin seeds, fennel seeds, poppy seeds and a handful of cooked chick peas into coarse paste.
• Chop onion and tomato.
• Heat oil in a vessel and add mustard seeds. When they pop up add whole garam masala, onion and a pinch of salt. Fry till onion is slightly brown.
• Add tomato, ginger and garlic paste, coriander powder, curry leaves, turmeric powder, kasthoori methi and curry masala powder. Sauté till raw smell disappears.
• Now add ground mixture required amount of water for the gravy and cooked chick peas. Adjust salt and cook the mixture until it is done (in a slow flame).
• Add fresh cream (one table spoon) if you like.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve with hot rotis or steamed rice.

Idly and Carrot Chutney

Idly:
Ingredients:

• Idly rice – 800 g
• Whole black gram – 200 g
• Fenugreek seeds – 2 Table spoon
• Sago - Handful
• Salt – 2 Table spoon
• Water 

 Method:

• Soak black gram and fenugreek seeds (together about one hour, preferably in cold water) and grind them with required amount of water (used for soaking), in a wet grinder.
• Soak idly rice with Sago (about one hour) and grind to a fine paste with required amount of water in a wet grinder.
• Mix these two batters, add salt and allow it to ferment for about 6- 8 hrs in room temperature.
• Pour batter in idly pan and make idlis by steam cooking for about 15 – 20 mins.

 Carrot Chutney:
 Ingredients:

• Carrot – 3
• Tamarind – 1 Table spoon
• Black gram seeds – 1 Table spoon
• Split channa dal - 1 Table spoon
• Dried red chilies – 3
• Cashew nut – 1 Table spoon
• Dry roasted Groundnuts – 1 Table spoon
• Ginger – small piece
• Grated coconut – 25 g
• Curry leaves –Few
• Salt

 Method:

• Heat a table spoon of oil in a pan. Add cashew nut, black gram, split channa dal, curry leaves and red chili. Fry till they are slightly brown in low flame. Keep it aside.
• Then fry grated carrot in the same pan till raw smell disappears and allow it to cool.
• Grind them with grated coconut, cashews, groundnuts, ginger, tamarind paste and salt.
• Serve with hot idlis.

Chicken Scaloppini

Ingredients:

• Chicken scaloppini – 400 g
• Skim milk yoghurt or fresh cream – 100 ml
• Cheese shavings – 10 g
• Bread crumbs – 100 g
• Italian seasoning – 1 Table spoon
• Red chili powder – 1 Table spoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 Tea spoon
• Oil for frying
• Salt

 Method:

• In a large bowl, mix bread crumbs, cheese shavings and Italian seasoning together. This is called “breading mixture”.
• In another bowl, add red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt in yoghurt (or cream).
• Dip scaloppini in yoghurt mixture and coat with breading mixture.
• Heat a table spoon of oil in a pan and shallow fry scaloppini until it is done. 

Almond Cookies

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour – 2 cups
• Almond flour – 1 cup
• Unsalted butter – 1 cup
• Brown Sugar – 1 cup
• Salt – pinch
• Almond or Vanilla essence – ½ Tea spoon
• Rice flour – 1 Tea spoon

 Method:

• Grind sugar and keep it aside.
• In a large bowl, mix ground sugar, butter, salt and essence.
• To this mixture add all purpose flour, almond flour and rice flour.
• By using your hands mix well and make the dough into disc shape.
• Don’t work too hard with the dough.
• Then take the dough and by using a roller roll out into half inch thick.
• Cut into small rounds with a cookie cutter and place them in a non stick backing dish.
• Refrigerate them for about 30 mins to retain their shapes while baking.
• Pre heat oven at 325 degree F and bake in the middle rack until the cookies are golden brown.