Onion Pakoda

Preparation Time : 15 min

Cooking Time :10 min

Yield :4 people

Ingredients:
Onion - 2 large thinly sliced
Besan / gram flour - 2tblspn
Rice Flour - 1tspn
Red chilli powder - 1tsp
Curry leaves – few
Coriander / cilantro Leaves – few (chopped)
Oil - for deep frying
Salt - to taste
Directions:
First take a big bowl and add sliced onions,besan,rice flour,chilli powder,curry leaves, coriander leaves and salt in it.Mix it very well. No excess water required because when you wash the onions they would have left some water.
Heat the oil in a pan.When the oil is hot, take some mixture in hand and drop them in oil little by little.Deep fry them.
Crispy onion pakoda is ready. Enjoy!! 

Khova / Mawa in a microwave

Preparation Time : 5 min

Cooking Time :5 min

Yield :4 people
Ingredients:

Sweetened condensed milk - 14 oz can
Ghee -1 tspn
Curd / yogurt -2 tspn
Directions:
 Mix all the ingredients together in a microwave safe bowl.Put it in the microwave for 3min.Remove from microwave and mix it then put it again for about 2 min.It will look like bubble up.
Mix it and put it again for another  2min.Remove from microwave and mix it.It's like crumbly. Easy khoya is ready.
It tastes great.You can use it in any kind of sweets.
Note:My Microwave is 750 watts.

Vegetable and cheese Quesadilla

Preparation Time : 10 min

Cooking Time :10 min

Yield :2 people

Ingredients:

Tortilla - 2 (I used store bought)
Olive Oil - 2 tblspn
Garlic - 2 cloves chopped finely
Onion - 1 medium size sliced thinly
Capsicum / Bell Pepper - 1/2 sliced thinly
Mushrooms - 5 chopped 
Black olives -6 chopped
Squash - half chopped
Italian seasoning -1 tsp 
Salt to taste
Red chilli sauce - 1 tblspn
Mozzarella/Colby jack cheese- as needed
Directions:
First Heat oil in a pan.Add garlic and fry them.Add onions and all the above vegetables in it.saute for 2 min.Add chilli sauce,salt and Italian seasoning in it.Cook it till it mixed up very well.The stuffing ready now.

Take one tortilla and filled with vegetable stuffing and top with cheese.

Close with another tortilla.

Heat the pan and put the stuffed tortilla in the pan.Care fully turn both sides and cook with little oil.

Take out from the pan and cut it into 4 pieces.

Enjoy with sour cream!!

Daddojanam

Preparation Time : 15 min

Cooking Time :10 min

Yield :4 people

Ingredients:
Rice - 1 cup
Water -3 cups
Curd/ Yogurt - 4 cups
Salt -according to taste
For tempring:
Oil -1/4 tbsp.
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp.
Mustard seeds -1/2 tsp
Urad dal -1 tsp
Curry leaves -5
cilantro 5 sprigs chopped
Green chillies: 2 slit lengthwise
Red chillis -2 pieces
Directions:

Soak the rice in water for 1 hr.Add the water and cook the rice till it is done.Let it cool down.

Add curd and salt to the cooked rice, mix it very well.Heat the oil in a pan.When the oil is hot add the tempering ingredients one by one and fry them.

Let the tempering cool down and mix it to the curd rice

Garnish with cilantro.Enjoy!!

Pala Thalikalu / Thalikala Payasam

Happy Vinayaka Chavithi...May lord Ganapathi bring happiness and peace to all.This sweet is a must have on Vinayaka Chavithi.This is a rich sweet made of  hand made noodles  and sugar.

Preparation Time : 30 min

Cooking Time :40 min

Yield :4-6 people

Ingredients:
Wheat flour-3/4 cup 
Rice flour - 4 tsp
Ghee - 1/2 tbsp
Milk-2 cups
Sugar/jaggery - 2 cups
Cardomam powder- 1/2 tsp
Water -4 cups
Dry fruits -for garnish
Directions:

First take wheat flour and make into a chapathi dough and put aside.Take rice flour and make into a batter.
Now take the dough little by little and roll the dough on your fingers to form noodle shape.Make the noodles out of all the dough.
Next take 4 cups of water in a saucepan and bring them to a boil.Add ghee in the boiling water and add the hand made noodles and boil them for 15 min.Add sugar and boil it for about 3 min. Wait until sugar is dissolved.
Add rice flour batter and mix it slowly,while you are mixing the sauce will be thickened. When the sauce thickened add cardamom powder and hot milk. Cook for another 3 min.
Now switch off the flame.if you want you can add dry fruits. Enjoy!!

Sweet Pongal /Paramannam

Preparation Time : 10 min

Cooking Time :20-30 min

Yield :4 people

Ingredients:
Rice – 1 cup
Moong dal -1 cup
jaggery – 2 cups grated
Ghee – 2 tblspn
Dry fruits -few
Water – 4 cups
Milk -half cup
Cardamom powder -half tspn  
Directions: 
First wash the rice and moong dal. Now take a pressure cooker and add 4 cups of water ,now add the rice and moong dal and close the cooker. Cook till you get 3 whistles.
let it cool down, then open the lid and put on low flame and add 2 cups of grated jaggery and cook till it melts.
Now add milk,cardomam powder and ghee.Mix it very well and cook for about 3 min.Lastly add the fried dry fruits in ghee and switch off the flame. Enjoy!! 

Mango Pulihora

Mamidikaya Pulihora

Preparation Time : 20 min

Cooking Time :10 min

Yield :4 people

Ingredients:
Green mango - 1 big 
Cooked rice - 3 cups
Salt - to taste
For tempering:
Oil - 4tsp
Cashews - 2tsp
Ground nuts - 4t
Channa dal - 2tsp
Mustard - 1tsp
Jeera - 1tsp
Green chillies - 4
Red chillies (dry)  - 3
Turmeric powder - pinch
Curry leaves - few
Black pepper corns-few
Directions:
Peel the mango & grate it.Take the cooked rice in a bowl and add grated mango and salt.Mix gently with your fingers.Make sure the rice should be completely cool.

Now prepare the tempering (Thalimpu)

Heat the oil in a pan on medium flame.Now add all ingredients one by one and fry them.Next switch off the flame and put a side.

When the mixture is cools down mix with rice. 

Mango pulihora is ready.

Green Mango Halwa

Preparation Time : 10 min

Cooking Time :20-30 min

Yield :10-15 pieces

Ingredients:
Green Mango - shredded 1 cup
Sugar -1.5 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 tblspn
Food color -optional
Dry fruits - for garnish
Directions:
Heat ghee in a pan and fry the shredded green mango for about 5 min.

Add milk and cook until the milk is fully evaporated.Keep stirring in between.

Add color and sugar.Then cook it on medium low.

After a while the mixture become loosen, keep stirring the halwa until it thickened.

Pour the mixture on to a greased tray with ghee and rest for 2 to3 hours.

Cut the mango halwa into pieces.Sweet and tangy halwa is ready.Garnish with nuts.

Vegetable Pitla

vegetable pitla for Roti

Preparation Time : 10 min

Cooking Time :30 min

Yield :4 people

Ingredients:

Potato - 1 med size

Onion - 1 med size

Tomato - small

Capsicum -1/2 size (Chopped)

Carrot - 1/2 size ( chopped)

Besan/Gram flour - 1/2 cup

Turmeric -1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Coriander powder- 1/2 tsp.

Green chillies- 3 chopped 

Mustard seeds -1 tsp

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Ginger garlic paste -1 tsp

Oil -1 tbsp.

Curry leaves- 5 leaves

Cilantro -for garnish  chopped

Directions:

Wash and peel the potatoes and cut them into small pieces about 1/2 inch size.Keep the potato pieces in water ,they will not turn black.
cut the onion and green chillies into small pieces,take besan in  a small bowl and add 1 cup water to form a smooth batter without any lumps.
Heat the pan and put the oil . When the oil is hot add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds.When they splutters add the turmeric and green chillies. 
Add the chopped potato,chopped carrot,tomato and onion pieces and cook them for 1 min,cover and cook for 5 min.
Add the ginger garlic paste,salt and mix it very well,Add the chopped capsicum and mix it.
Add 2 cups water and let it cook for 5 min,
Mix the besan batter slowly to the curry and add curry leaves and cook it for another 5 min,
switch off the stove and garnish with cilantro leaves.
Enjoy with puri or chapathi. 
It tastes really very well.If you have any leftover vegetables you can use it.You can add any kind of vegetables that you like.

Mutton Biryani

Mutton Biryani Recipe

Preparation Time : 40 min
Cooking Time :30 min
Yield :4 people
Ingredients:
For Marinate:
Mutton/Goat -2 lb
Curd /Yogurt - 1 and half cup
Shan Mutton Biryani mix -2 tblspn      
Mint leaves - 1 cup
Coriander leaves -1 cup
Fried onions - 1/2 cup
Red chilli powder - 1 tspn
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn
Garam masala - 1/2 tspn
Salt -To taste
Lemon juice - 1 tblspn
Oil - 1tspn
For rice:
Basmati rice -4 cups
Cumin seeds - 1 tspn
Cardamom & cloves - each 3
Water - 6 cups
Salt - 1 tspn
Oil - 1/2 tspn
For Toppings:
Fried onions - half cup
Mint leaves - half cup
Coriander leaves -half cup
Butter - 1tblspn
Directions:

First, wash the mutton and marinate it with the ingredients above and put it a side for about 2 hours.

Meanwhile cook the rice with the ingredients above and cook it for about 70% done.

After 2 hours cook the mutton in a pressure cooker for up to 2 whistles.Don't add any water.

                                  Mutton is cooked perfectly.

                   Now,drain the rice and put it in a colander.

Heat the butter in a big pan and add the cooked mutton and cover it with rice.

Add mint,coriander leaves and fried onions on top of the rice.Put the tight lid on and cook it for about 20-30 minutes on medium low heat.

Mutton Biryani is ready.Enjoy.