Vangibath/Eggplant curry

Ingredients

Eggplant	250 gms
Urid dhal	1 tsp
Channa dhal	1 tsp
Mustard seeds	½ tsp
Turmeric powder	¼ tspn
Vangibath powder	2 tbspn
Curry Leaves	1-2 sprigs
Salt	As per taste
Oil	1 tbpsn
Asafoetida/hing	¼ tspn

Method

1. Wash and cut eggplants into thin, long pieces and place in cold water in a bowl to remove bitterness.
2. In a pan, heat oil. Add mustard seeds, turmeric, hing, urid dhal, channa dhal and curry leaves.
3. Fry for a minute or two until the dhal turns red.
4. Next, add eggplant and fry for few minutes until it is soft. Add vangibath powder, salt and mix well. This curry goes well with rice.

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Vangi bath powder

Ingredients

Channa dhal	100 gms
Urid dhal	100 gms
Dhania/coriander seeds	25 gms
Red chillies	25 gms or 10-12
Cinnamon sticks	6-7 pieces
Cloves	2-3
Oil	1 tsp
Asafoetida/hing	2 pinches
Dry coconut( grated)	25 gms

Method

1. Heat ½ tspn of oil in a pan on a medium flame. When it is hot, add cinnamon sticks, cloves, red chillies and hing and fry for 1 minute, taking care not to burn the cinnamon and keep it aside.
2. In the same pan, add channa dhal and dry roast for 2 minutes and then add dhania and roast for another minute.
3. Add urid dhal and dry roast for a further 2 minutes. Roast everything together until they are light brown colour, taking care not to burn them. Otherwise the aroma of the powder will change.
4. Finally when it is cooled, powder it along with shredded coconut and store it in an air-tight container. This powder can be used to make not only vangi bath but also other vegetables like capsicum, cabbage, potato and beans.

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Broccoli Curry

Ingredients

Broccoli	2
Carrots	2
Peas (fresh or frozen)	50 gms
Onions	1  large
Tomatoes (fresh or canned)	2 big ones or half can
Cumin seeds	1  tsp
Oil	1 ½ tsp
Coriander powder	1 tsp
Salt	According to taste
Chilli powder	2 tsp
Garam masala( Kitchen king)	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	1 tsp

Method

1. Chop onions finely.
2. Wash and cut broccoli into small flowerets and carrots into long, thin pieces.
3. Steam cook broccoli, carrot and peas.
4. Heat oil and add cumin seeds. When it splutters, add onions and fry until golden brown.
5. Now add all the powders and fry for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and salt and fry for another 3 minutes.
6. Add all the vegetables and fry until everything is mixed properly.
7. This curry goes well with chapatti and puri. Also, if you can’t find broccoli, you can use cauliflower instead.  

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Carrot Halwa

Ingredients                                        

Carrots (grated)	1 cup
Sugar	1cup
Ghee	3 tbsp.
Cardamom powder	1 tsp.
Milk	½ cup
Chopped cashews	2 tbsp
Sultanas	1 tbsp

Method

1. Peel and grate carrots.
2. Put milk and carrots in a heavy saucepan. Boil until thick, stirring occasionally.
3. Once it starts thickening, add sugar and cook further until all the moisture evaporates.
4. Add ghee and cardamom powder.
5. Stir on low heat for a further 2 minutes.
6. Fry cashews and sultanas in ghee and pour it over the halwa and mix it.
7. Serve hot or cold.

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Vegetable Sambar/Huli

Ingredients

Carrots	1 or 2
Beans	A handful
Potatoes	1 or 2
Chokoes	½
Peas  Fresh/frozen	a handful
Thoordhal	1 cup
Channadhal	2 tbs
Coriander seeds	½ tbs
Methi seeds/fenugreek	½ tsp
Red chillies	5/6
Dry coconut (grated)	6 tbs
Tamarind	Lemon size
Mustard seeds	½ tsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Oil	1 tsp
Asafoetida/hing	¼ tsp

Method

1. Wash and cut all the vegetables.
2. Pressure cook thoordhal and vegetables.
3. Meanwhile, fry all the dry ingredients except coconut with 1 tsp of oil until light brown in colour. When it is cool, wet grind with coconut and hing.
4. Mix cooked dhal and Vegetables along with tamarind juice and the ground mixture. Add salt and boil it.
5. Heat a tsp of oil and add mustard seeds, curry leaves and hing and when it splutters, mix it with the sambar.
6. Serve hot with rice.

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Onion Pakoda

Ingredients

Onions	3 big ones
Green chillies	3-4
Channa basin	2 cups
Rice flour	¼ cup
Mint leaves	2 tbspn
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Oil	2 cups
Salt	To taste

Method

1. Cut onion into thin pieces lengthwise.
2. Add salt and keep aside for 5 - 10 minutes.
3. Add Besan flour, rice flour, green chillies, chopped curry leaves and mint leaves to the onion-salt mixture.
4. Mix nicely and if required use a little water (onion mixed with salt leaves water). Don't make the batter too dilute.
5. In kadai heat oil and put one spoon of batter in to the oil. Fry until brown in colour.
6. Serve hot with green chutney/tomato sauce.

The same can be done by adding vegetables like carrots, potatoes, cauliflower and capsicum along with onions, following the same procedure above. 

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Nippattu

Ingredients

Rice flour	2 cups
Maida	¼ cup
Peanuts	100 gms
Roasted gram (hurigadale)	100 gms
Sesame seeds	100 gms
Dry coconut pieces	50 gms
Chilli powder	2 tspns or according to taste
Asafoetida/Hing	½ tspn
Oil	For deep frying
Salt	As per your taste

Method

1. In a bowl, mix rice flour, maida, peanuts, roasted gram, sesame seeds, coconut pieces, chilli powder, asafoetida and salt, without adding water yet.
2. Now heat oil in a small laddle. When it is really hot, pour it over the above mixture. Be careful not to mix it with hand straight away as the oil will be very hot.
3. Using a wooden spoon or a plastic big spoon, mix the ingredients until everything is mixed.
4. Now add water and knead into a  thick dough. Cover it with a wet cloth and keep it aside.
5. Now shape them into lemon-sized balls. Press them into the shape of a circle on a grease-proof paper or a wet cloth. Make enough to fry for each batch.
6. Heat oil in a kadai for frying. When it is hot, start frying the nippattus until they are crispy and store them in an air tight container.

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Red Capsicum Rice

Ingredients

Red Capsicum	250 gms
Frozen /fresh  Peas	1/4 cup
Urid dhal	1 tsp
Channa dhal	1 tsp
Mustard seeds	½ tsp
Turmeric powder	¼ tspn
Vangibath powder	2 tbspn
Curry Leaves	1-2 sprigs
Cashews (broken)	A few
Salt	As per taste
Oil	2 tbpsn
Asafoetida/Hing	¼ tspn

Method

1. Wash and cut capsicum into long, thin pieces and keep aside.
2. Cook rice and spread it on a plate and let it cool.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, channa dhal, urid dhal, turmeric and cashews. Fry until they are golden brown and add curry leaves and hing. Next, add capsicum and peas. If you’re using frozen peas you don’t need to boil them. If you’re using raw peas, make sure you boil them before adding them.
4. Fry until the capsicum becomes soft. Now add salt and mix well and finally add vangibath powder. Fry for a further 2 minutes. 
• If you don’t have vangibath powder, you can make it before hand and keep it in an air tight container.
• All you need is 2 tbspn channa dhal, 2 tbspn urid dhal, 1 tbspn coriander seeds, 2 one-inch cinnamon sticks, 2 cloves, 5-6 red chillies and 3 tbspn dry coconut.
• Dry roast all the above except coconut using ½ tspn of oil. When it is cool, powder them along with coconut and store it.
5. Add rice to the capsicum and mix it well. Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves and serve with raita of your choice. 

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Southekayi Hasi Gojju / Dosakai Gojju / Cucumber Gojju

Ingredients

Cucumber	1 big or 2 small
Fresh coconut	3 tbsp
Green chillies	3-4
Sesame seeds	3 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds	¼  tsp
Salt	According to taste
Mustard seeds	½ tsp
Oil	1 tbsp
Coriander leaves	3 tbsp

Method

1. Peel and cut cucumber into very fine pieces and keep aside.
   
2. Dry roast sesame seeds and fenugreek seeds and keep it aside to cool.
   
3. Fry green chillies in ¼ tsp of oil.
   
4. Wet grind coconut, green chillies, sesame seeds, fenugreek seeds, coriander leaves and salt into a fine paste and mix it with cucumber.
   
5. Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add it to the cucumber and mix it.
6. Check for the taste of salt and adjust accordingly. 

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