Puri

Ingredients                                        

Wheat flour	3 cups
Salt	1 tspn
Oil	1 ½ cup

Method

1. In a mixing bowl, add wheat flour and salt and mix with water. Knead it into a thick pizza-like dough. Cover it and leave it aside for at least 2 hours.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan, preferably a small one in a slow flame.
3. Knead the dough once more and make it into small balls about the size of a lime.
4. Roll each ball with a rolling pin into a round circle. It should not be too thick or too thin.
5. Now increase the flame to medium and start frying the puris. Once the puri is fluffy, turn it to the other side. When it is light brown in colour, remove it and drain it on a paper towel.
6. Serve the puris hot with saagu, navarthna kurma, potato curry or channa masala.

Refer to the curry section for the recipes.

Idli, Vada & Sambar

Idli

Ingredients                                        

Par boiled rice	3 cups
Raw rice	1 cup
Urid dhal	1 ¼ cup
Salt	As per taste

Method to make the batter:

1. Soak the rice and urid dhal separately overnight.
2. Grind the urid dhal in a wet grinder or any Indian blender into a smooth batter.
3. Grind the rice into a paste. It doesn’t have to be smooth; it can be a little coarser than the urid dhal batter.
4. Add all the batter into a container and mix it well. Leave it to ferment overnight.

Method to make idlis:

1. Firstly, an idli mould and an idli cooker are needed to make idlis.
2. Prepare the batter by adding salt and check the consistency of the batter, ensuring it is neither too thick nor too watery.
3. Apply oil to the idli plates so that the idlis won’t stick to the plate after it is steam cooked.
4. With a big spoon, take the batter and fill the idli plates.
5. Meanwhile fill the idli cooker with water (about 1 ½ inch height) and keep it on the stove and let it boil.
6. Carefully place the idle plate stand in the idli cooker and close the lid.
7. Cook for about 10-11 minutes and then turn off the stove.
8. Remove the idli plate stand and let it cool for about 5 minutes. Carefully remove the idlis from the plate and serve it with green chutney or sambar.

Vada

Ingredients

Urid dhal	1 cup
Pepper (black)	1 tsp
Ginger	1 tsp
Green chillies	2
Curry leaves	A few
Coconut pieces	2 tbspn
Oil	2 cups
Salt	To taste

Method

1. Soak the urid dal in 2 cups of water for about 3 hours.
2. Powder the black pepper coarsely and keep it aside.
3. Chop the ginger into very tiny pieces and keep it aside.
4. Drain the water from the soaked urid dhal. Grind the urid dhal with a small amount of water so that the consistency is thick.
5. Add pepper, ginger and salt to this mixture. If you want it to be spicier, chopped chillies can be added.
6. Heat oil, pat the batter on a foiled plastic sheet and make a donut-like shape. This can also be achieved by using a vada maker.
7. Slip the vadas into hot oil and fry until they are golden brown.
8. Serve hot with chutney or sambar.

 For Thair Vada:

1. Follow the above steps up to step 7.  
2. Prepare yogurt with a little bit of water. Add salt and season it by heating 1 tbspn of oil.
3. Add mustard seeds, urid dhal and curry leaves. When it turns light brown in colour pour it into the yogurt.
4. Add the fried vadas and let it soak for 10 minutes and then garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve.

Tomato and Onion sambar

Ingredients

Thoor dhal	1 cup
Tomato	2 large
Onion	2 large
Channa dhal	2 tbspn
Coriander seeds	2 tspn
Methi /Fenugreek seeds	1  tspn
Mustard seeds	1  tspn
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Oil	2 tsp
Salt	As per taste

Method

1. Cut tomato and onions into long, thin slices.
2. Pressure cook thoor dhal, tomato and onions.
3. Meanwhile, fry all the dry ingredients except coconut and mustard seeds with 1 tsp. of oil until light brown in colour. When it is cool, grind with coconut into a smooth paste.
4. Mix cooked dhal, tomato and onion along with tamarind juice and the ground mixture. Add salt and boil it.
5. Heat oil and add mustards. When it splutters, add curry leaves and pour it over the sambar.

Coconut chutney

Ingredients

Roasted gram	½ cup
Green chillies	3-4
Fresh coconut	½ cup
Coriander leaves	5 tbspn
Ginger	½ inch piece

In a mixer grind roasted gram, green chillies, coriander leaves, ginger, salt and freshly grated coconut with little water and grind it into a paste.

Avarekai Uppittu/Anapakai Upma

Ingredients

Semolina/Rava coarse	1 cup
Urid dhal	1 tsp
Channa dhal	1 tsp
Mustard seeds	½ tsp
Cumin seeds/jeera	1 tbspn
Avarekai/Anapakai Fresh/ frozen	150 gms
Green chillies/curry leaves	5-6
Fresh coconut	¼ cup
Asafoetida	¼ tsp
Salt	As per taste
Oil	3 tbspn

Method

1. Roast rava with 1 spoon of oil in a kadai until it turns golden brown and the raw smell disappears. Keep aside.
2. Heat oil in the kadai. Add mustard seeds, urid dhal, channa dhal ,curry leaves and green chillies and fry until they are light brown.
3. Now add 2 cups of water to the this and when the water is boiling add anapakai/averekai.
4. When anapakai is almost cooked, it should be soft when you mash it with your finger. Add salt, jeera and hing and allow it boil for 2 minutes.
5. Now add rava little by little. Stir continuously so that lumps are not formed.
6. Cook covered for about 2 mins. Add grated coconut and mix well.
7. Remove from the stove and add lemon juice and serve hot.

Vegetable Upma

Ingredients

Rava or semolina (coarse)	1 cup
Carrots, peas, beans and potatoes OR frozen mixed vegetables	1 cup
Tomatoes fresh or tin	3 or 1 tin
Green chillies	3 - 4
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Coriander leaves	2 tsp
Oil	5 tbsp
Fresh coconut	3 tbsp
Cashew nuts	A few

Method

1. Boil mixed vegetables in a vessel and keep aside.
2. Fry rava with 1 tsp of oil until the raw smell goes and the colour changes to a light brown.
3. Cut green chillies and coriander leaves.
4. Heat oil in a kadai or a round vessel. Add mustard seeds, turmeric, channa dhal, urid dhal and cashews and fry until it is golden in colour.
5. Add green chillies, curry leaves and coriander leaves and fry. Add tomatoes and fry until the tomatoes become soft.
6. Now add mixed vegetables with water and let it boil for 5 minutes.
7. Add salt, cumin seeds and ingu and boil for 1 minute.
8. Add rava and mix it so that it doesn’t t get lumps.
9. Lastly, add fresh coconut and mix it.

Set Dosa

Ingredients

Par boiled Rice	1cup
Raw rice	1 cup
Urid dhal	¾ cup
Methi seeds	4  tspn
Puffed rice	1 cup
Poha	1 cup
Yogurt	¼ cup
Salt	As per taste
Oil	For making dosas

Method to make the batter:

1. Soak rice, urid dhal and methi seeds separately overnight.
2. Grind urid dhal and methi seeds together into a smooth paste.
3. Next grind rice and poha and puffed rice into a fine paste.
4. Lastly add yogurt while grinding the rice and in a container mix all the ground batter and cover it and leave it to ferment for at least 10 hrs. The batter should rise and ferment well and is ready for making dosas.

Method to make dosas:

1. Take the fermented batter in a bowl and add salt, a spoon of sugar and water and mix it well so the consistency of the batter is not too thick or too watery.
2. Heat the tawa and add a spoon of oil and pour the batter in a small circular shape. Do not spread it and add a tea spoon of oil around the dosa.
3. The dosa should start bubbling like a pancake. Turn it on its other side and cook for a few seconds. It should not become very crispy – since this is set dosa, it is supposed to be soft.
4. It is recommended to eat the dosa in sets along with green chutney or korma.