Puff Pastry with Mixed Vegetable Curry.

    Ingredients

Carrots, Potatoes, Peas Cauliflower. Fresh/ Frozen vegetables.	500 gms
Onion	1  big one
Chilli powder	2 tsp
Garam masala( Kitchen king)	2 tsp
Oil	1 tbs
Salt	As per  taste
Pastry Sheets (frozen)	3-4

Method

1. Boil vegetables with just enough water for 3-4 mins, or steam cook. 
2. Drain any excess water.(as this curry should be dry).
3. Chop onions finely. 
4. Heat oil and fry onions until golden brown. 
5. Add all the spices and fry another 2 mins and add the vegetables and salt and fry until everything is mixed well. 
6. Let it cool completely.
7. Thaw the pastry sheets on the bench top for 5-6 mins.
8. Cut each sheet into 9 squares (3x3). 
9. Take each square and fill a spoon of curry and seal all the edges properly. 
10. Complete all the sheets in the same way and arrange them on the baking tray and cook in the preheated oven on 180 degrees for 10-12 mins. 
11. Keep checking once it turns golden brown, remove it from the oven.
12. Serve this hot with green chutney/tomato sauce.

Lemon rice with capsicum/peas/carrot

Ingredients

Rice	2 cups
Lemon	1 big or 2 small
Frozen peas	A handful
Capsicum (Red & Green)	1 each
Carrot (grated)	1 big
Green chillies	2-3
Cashews	10-12
Mustard seeds	½ tsp
Channa dhal	1 tsp
Urid dhal	1 tsp
Turmeric	½ tsp
Hing/Asafoetida	¼ tsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Coriander leaves chopped	3 tbsp
Fresh  coconut grated	½ cup
Oil	2 tbspn
Salt	According to taste

Method

1. Cook rice and separate it in a bowl, allowing it to cool.
2. Wash and cut capsicum into long, thin slices.
3. Heat 1 tbspn of oil and add capsicum and fry for 3-4 minutes. When it is nearly cooked, add the grated carrot and frozen peas and fry until the peas are cooked. If using fresh peas, make sure you boil the peas first before adding.
4. Cut the lemons and squeeze the juice. Keep it aside.
5. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, turmeric, channa dhal, urid dhal and cashews. When it is brown, add green chillies, curry leaves, hing, salt and the vegetables and mix well.
6. Once the rice is separated and cooled, add fresh coconut, lemon juice and the cashew mixture. Mix it thoroughly and sprinkle chopped coriander leaves on top.
7. Serve with pappadams or chips.

Capsicum Rice/ pulao

Ingredients

Basmati Rice	2 cups
Capsicum (Red, Green & Yellow)	2 cups
Tomatoes	2 big ones
Corn kernels	½ cup
Carrot (grated)	1 cup
Onions	1 large
Bay leaves	A few
Ginger/garlic paste	3 tsp
Green chillies	1-2
Garam masala(Kitchen king)	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	2 tspn
Chilli powder	1 tsp
Cashews (broken)	A handful
Cinnamon sticks	2-3 pieces
Cloves	2 nos
Cardamom	2 nos
Coriander leaves chopped	2 tbspn
Oil/ghee	2 tbspn each
Salt	As per taste

Method

1. Cook basmati rice, spread it in a bowl and allow it to cool.
2. Slice onions and tomatoes and keep aside.
3. Wash and cut capsicum (all colours) into long, thin pieces.
4. Heat oil in a pan, add capsicum and fry for 2-3 mins.  Add corn and grated carrot and fry until they are cooked and keep it aside.
5. Heat ghee in a pan and add bay leaves, followed by cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. When it turns light brown, add onions, ginger garlic paste and fry until they are translucent.
6. Add tomatoes and salt and fry for few more minutes until the tomatoes are cooked. Then add turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala and sauté for 1 minute.
7. Add the fried capsicums and mix everything and cook for 1 minute.
8. When it is cool, add the rice to the mixture and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add fried cashews and chopped coriander leaves and serve with raita.

Oats Laddu

Ingredients                                        

Oats (Rolled or cooking oats)	2 cups
Sugar	1 ¼ cups
Ghee (melted butter)	¼ cup
Cardamom powder	1 tsp
Cashews (broken) and sultanas	2 tbsp

Method

1. Heat 1 tbspn of ghee in a heavy bottomed kadai and add oats and roast it until the raw smell goes. Take care not to burn the oats.
2. Once cool, powder it along with sugar and cardamom into a very fine powder.
3. Heat the remaining ghee and add broken cashews (preferably very tiny pieces) and sultanas. Fry until light brown and switch off the stove.
4. Now put the powdered oats and mix everything well.  Shape the mixture into small balls. Please note here that the ghee should be hot as it will melt the sugar and make it easy to shape. If you find that the mixture is very dry, keep adding small amounts of hot ghee.

This recipe is similar to besan laddu.

Red Capsicum Chutney

Ingredients

Red Capsicum small	2
Tomatoes small	2
Red chillies	3-4
Peanuts	2 tbsp
Curry leaves	a  few
Fresh coconut	1 tbspn
Mustard seeds	½ tspn.
Asafoetida	¼ tspn
Oil	2 tbs
Salt	As per taste

Method

1.      Wash and chop capsicum and tomatoes into small pieces and keep aside.

2.      In a pan heat 1 tbsp. of oil and add red chillies and peanuts and fry until they are cooked.

3.      Now add capsicum and fry for few minutes and then add tomatoes and fry  until they are soft.

4.      Let it cool completely.

5.       Now grind everything along with coconut and salt into a smooth paste, and transfer it into a bowl.

6.       Heat oil and add mustard seeds and when splutters add hin and curry leaves and pour it over the chutney.

7.       This chutney goes well with anything like rice, dosa,idli, pongal & chappathi.

Lemon Pickle

Ingredients                                        

Lemons	5-10
Green chillies (long)	1 optional
Mustard seeds	1 tspn
Hing	1 tspn
Pickle masala	2 tbspn
Salt	As per your taste
Oil	10 ml

Method

1. Wash and cut lemons into very tiny pieces. Put it in a bowl and keep aside.
2. Add salt and mix thoroughly. Keep it in the fridge for about 10 days.
3. The lemons have soaked in the salt and become soft and juicy. Now add pickle masala and mix everything well with a dry spon. If you are using readymade pickle masala, then add only a tiny bit of salt as the masala already contains salt.
4. Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add hing and pour this over the lemons. Mix it and store it in an air tight container.  

Tomato Thokku

Ingredients                                        

Ripe tomatoes	1  kg
Methi seeds	2 tspn
Mustard seeds	1 tspn
Asafoetida	½ tspn
Chilli powder	2 tspn or as per taste
Salt	As per taste
Oil	50 ml

Method

1. Wash and dice tomatoes into very tiny pieces and keep aside.
2. Heat about 40 ml oil in a heavy bottom pan and add methi seeds. When it turns brown, add the tomatoes and fry for few minutes. It will leave water but don’t worry! Cook in a medium heat stirring occasionally. Make sure it does not get burnt or stick to the pan.
3. When all the water has evaporated and it starts to become thick, add chilli powder and salt. Keep frying until the oil leaves the side of the pan and the tomatoes have changed the colour and become thick.  Make sure it is not watery as this has to be thick and chutney-like consistency.
4. Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add hing and pour this over the fried thokku.
5. When it is completely cooled, store it in a dry container and keep it in the fridge. It will last up to a month when stored properly. This goes well with anything.

Peas Pulao/Peas Rice

Ingredients

Basmati rice	2 cups
Fresh/Frozen peas	¾ cup
Green chillies (optional)	2-3
Jeera/cumin seeds	1 ½ tsp
Cinnamon sticks	3-4   ¼ inch pieces
Cloves	2-3
Cardamom	2-3
Bay leaves	3-4
Coriander leaves chopped	2-3 tbsp
Salt	According to the taste
Saffron for color and flavor	2 strands
Oil & Ghee	2 tbsp each

Method

1. Wash rice and keep aside.
2. Heat oil and ghee in a pan. Add cumin seeds followed by cinnamon sticks, clove, cardamom and bay leaves and fry for few seconds and then add peas. If using fresh peas make sure to boil before this. If using frozen peas you can add this straight away and fry for a minute.
3. You can cook this rice in 2 ways: by using the electric rice cooker or cooking on the stove in a heavy bottomed pan. For 1 cup of rice use 1 ½ cups water, add the fried mixture and salt mix everything and cook.
4. Serve this rice with any kurma / gobi manchurians or any curry of your choice.