Chintapandu Pulihora(Tamarind Rice)

Ingredients:

• Rice : 2 cups
• Tamarind : 300gm
• Oil
• Ground nuts : 2 tb sps
• Channa Dal : 2 tb sps
• Urad Dal : 1 tb sp
• Hing : A pinch
• Jaggery: 3 Tbsp
• Cumin seeds : 1 tb sp
• Cashew nuts : 2 tb sps(cut into small pieces)
• Mustard seeds : 1/2 tb sp
• Chilies : 10
• Curry leaves : 20
• Turmeric
• Salt : As per taste

Procedure:

To prepare tamarind juice(chintapandu pulusu):

• Clean tamarind without seeds.Add 1/4th cup of water to tamarind and microwave for 1 min to soften the tamarind.
• Squeeze and filter the tamarind juice.In the thick bottom vessel add oil and squeezed juice.Cut chilies vertically in the middle(not till end) and put half of them to this mixture.Add 1tb sp salt as well in the end and stir well.Cook till the mixture is thick and raw smell of tamarind is gone.Add water in between if needed.Add jaggery as well.Take off from the heat and let it cool.

To prepare Pulihora:

• In the mean time cook rice as normal .
• Put this rice in wide vessel and let it cool.Now add 2tb sps of oil, 1/4 tb sp of turmeric and mix well.
• Take a kadai, heat oil .When oil is hot add ground nut, Channa Dal,curry leaves,Urad Dal, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, chilies, hing, cashew nuts and fry well.
• Now add this seasoning,tamarind juice to rice and mix well.Add salt if needed.
• Keep this aside for 20-30 min and serve.

Can be served with curd or Rita.

Gatti Pakodi

Gatti Pakodi, a crispy crunchy easy to preare and tastes yummy.


Ingredients:

• Rice flour : 2 cups


• Chilies : 5


• Ginger : 1/2 of lemon size


• Oil : for deep fry


• Butter/dalda : 3 tb sps


• Salt : As per the taste


• Onion: 1 small (optional)


• Water : As needed

Procedure:

• Grind chillies and ginger as smooth paste.


• Take mixing bowl and add rice flour, salt, chili paste, butter and mix well with water.Mix well till it becomes soft dough, not too hard.


• Heat oil in kadai .When oil is hot, take small amount of dough make any shape of your wish and put in oil.Those should be not too thick or long.Take dough into your palm, press it flat on your fingers and put in the oil .


• Fry well till they turn to cream color and take off from the oil and serve.

Can be stored for 1 week to 10 days.

This is my entry to Colors of Taste: Rice flour and Colors of Taste Powders.

Uses of lemon

Ha, it's summer time.Every one search for coolness in food and atmosphere.A glass of lemon juice after a household work or a return to home after office gives full energy.Lemons play a important role in Indian cooking.

Hmm.... the aroma of lemon leaves freshness around the place.No household is complete without a lemon on hand.Try to choose that are heavy , with a bright yellow color and fresh scent.

Here are the few uses of lemon in our regular household work:

• Rub cutting board with a lemon to remove odor.
• After you have juiced the lemon, put the left out rind in the cooker while cooking.This turns inside bottom to clean and shiny.
• Put the rind in hot water while taking bath and leave it for few min.And take bath with that water, it gives freshness.
• Put a piece of lemon in refrigerator open to prevent odours.Apply and massage on hair and leave for 30min before taking head bath.This reduces dandruff.
• Apply on neck and hands and leave for few min and clean it off.This reduces darkness and cleans neck part.
• Dip a lemon half in sugar and use to soften rough feet and elbows.
• Dry the rinds completely along with peel of orange, pomegranate and powder it.This can be used as natural scrub.
• Clean the copper pots or rust stains with a lemon dipped in salt.
• Store the lemon juice by adding a spoon of salt in it.

Fruit Custard

Ingredients:

• Milk : 2 cups
• Custard powder : 4tb sps
• Sugar : 1/2 cup(adjust accordingly)
• Pomegranate : 1
• Apple : 1
• Banana : 1
• Grapes : 1
• Cashews : 3 tb sps
• Honey : 3tb sps
• Raisins : 3 tb sps

Procedure:

• Take 1/4 cup milk in a bowl and add custard powder and mix it without any lumps.
• Heat milk in thick bottom vessel.When milk is half boiled add custard milk and stir continuously.Add sugar and stir till powder is mixed completely and smell is gone.
• Take off from the heat and let it cool completely.Stir occasionally to avoid forming dry layer on top.
• In the mean time cut all fruits into small pieces.Can add all the fruits which ever desired.Break cashews into small pieces.
• When the milk mixture is completely cool, mix all fruits, raisins,cashews and mix well.
• Now add honey and mix well and keep in refrigerator.

Serve cool!!!!

Aakakarakaya(Kantola) fry

Ingredients:

• Kantola : 1 Frozen pack
• Oil : For deep fry
• Red chili powder : 2 tb sps
• Salt : According to taste
• Channa Dalia(Putnalu) powder : 2 tb sps

Procedure:

• Take out the kantola pieces from freezer and keep them in salter water for sometime.
• Take out the pieces and put them in colander or stainer.
• Heat oil in deep kadai.When it is hot, put the kantola in oil.
• Fry them till the rawness of kantola is gone.Remove the pieces from oil and put it another pan on low flame.
• Now add salt, chili powder, Channa Dalia powder and fry fro 2 sec.
• Now take that into serving bowl and serve.

Bell Pepper, tomatto Chutney

Ingredients:

• Bell Pepper: 1
• Tomato : 1 Big one
• Onion : 1
• Chili(Green or Red) : 4-5
• Tamarind : 1/4 th size of lemon
• Oil : 3 tb sp
• Garlic paste : 1 sp

For Talimpu:

• Urad Dal - 1/2 tb sp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tb sp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tb sp
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Oil - 2 tb sp

Procedure:

• Wash and cut bell pepper, tomatto, onion and chili in to medium sized peices.
• Take a pan.Add oil , when it is heated add chopped veggies, garlic and cook until rawness is gone by covering with lid(Maggapettadam).
• When it is fully cooked , take off from the heat and add tamarind to that.Let it cool completely.
• In the meantime prepare talimpu.
• Grind the cooled content by adding salt.Do not add water.
• Take into serving bowl and add talimpu on top.

Goes well with rice, idly, dosa.

Peanut Chutney

Ingredients:
Peanuts : half cup
Green chillies : 4-5
Tamarind extract - 2 spoons(as needed)
Oil - 2- 3 spoons
Salt - As needed
Garlic: 1 pod
For Talimpu

• Mustard seeds : 1/2 tb sp
• Cumin seeds : 1/2 tb sp
• Urad Dal : 1/2 tb sp
• Channa Dal : 1/2 tb sp
• Curry leaves: few

Procedure:

• Take kadai and add little amount of oil.Fry groundnuts and chillies till groundnuts turn light brown color.Take off from the heat and let it cool fully.
• Now grind the groundnuts along with garlic in mixer .Once it is fully powdered add water,salt,  tamarind juice and grind it once again.
• Take this to serving bowl and prepare talimpu and mix it.

Can be served with idli, dosa,umpa.
Variations:
1) You can green chillies instead of red chillies.
2) You can add roasted Channa Dal(putnalu) or coconut powder .Taste changes for addition of each ingredient.
3)If you make chutney by adding very little water, it is a good chutney to have with rice.

Nimmakaya Pappu chaaru(Lemon Rasam)

Ingredients:

• Pesara pappu(Moong daal) -- 1/2 cup
• Onion - 1/2
• Potato - 1
• Chillies - 2 or 3
• Ginger (optional)
• Urad Dal - 1/2 tb sp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tb sp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tb sp
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Oil
• Salt - according to taste
• Lemon juice - according to taste

Procedure:

• Wash moong dal for 2 times and add 2 cups of water .Cook it well .when moong dal is half cooked add chopped onion, potato, chillies and ginger.Check and add water in the middle.
• Cook this content till moong dal is like creamy and potato is soft.Add salt and keep for 2 min.
• In another kadai add oil and put tadaka with ingredients.
• Add this tadaka to moongdal rasam.Let it cool for sometime.
• Add lime juice and mix well.

Vankaya Pachi pulusu

Ingredients:

• Brinjal -1
• Tamarind juice - 1 cup(koncham pullaga vunte chaalu)
• Onion - 1/2(chopped)
• Chillies -2
• Hing - A pinch
• Haldi - A pinch
• Salt
• Jaggery powder - 1 spoon

For Talimpu:

• Mustard seeds : 1/2 tb sp
• Cumin seeds : 1/2 tb sp
• Urad Dal : 1/2 tb sp
• Channa Dal : 1/2 tb sp
• Curry leaves: 20
• Oil : 5-6 tb sp

Procedure:

• Squeeze juice from tamarind and keep aside.
• Take brinjal which is with stem and wash it and let it dry for some time.Now put this brinjal on bare stove(don't use kadai or plate) and let it cook for some time.Mid times twist brinjal round to cook evenly and fully.
• Brinjal becomes soft when it is fully cooked like this.
• Take out from the stove and let it cool for some time.Take out the outer skin of brinjal with hand , cut the stem and mash the brinjal with hand(not too much).
• Add that content to tamarind juice.Add onions as well.
• Now put tadaka in kadai.Add oil and all other ingredients of talimpu along with chopped chillies.(Don't fry chillies too much).
• Add tadaka, salt ,jaggery powder to tamarind juice and mix it well.

Biyapupindi rottelu (Rice flour Roti)

This is one of my favourite dish.
Ingredients:

• Rice flour - 1 cup
• Chili - 3
• Onion - 1 big
• Channa Dal - 3 tb sp
• Moong Dal - 3 tb sp
• Curry leaves - 10
• salt - According to taste
• Water - 1 glass
• Oil - for deep fry

Procedure:

• Soak Channa Dal, Moong Dal in water.Cut onion and chili into small pieces.
• In a mixing bowl add soaked Moong Dal, Channa Dal, chopped onion and chilies, salt, curry leaves, salt and mix it well with hand.
• Now add rice flour and mix it well by adding water.The dough should be like chapatis dough.
• Heat oil in a deep pan.Take small portion of dough and do as ball.Take a plastic sheet or any smooth surface and put a drop of oil and spread it.On that surface put the ball and press till it becomes small thin round shaped dosa(not too thin).
• Now take that and put it in oil slowly and fry till it turns to dark golden color.
• Take out on to a tissue to absorb oil and serve.
• Can be served with any chutney.

Tomato bath

Ingredients:

• Tomato - 1 medium size


• Suji rava - 1/2 cup
  
• Potato - 1/2
  
• Onion - 1
  
• Chili - 2
  
• Ginger - 1 inch
  
• Salt - according to taste
  
• Water - 2 cups

For Talimpu:

• Mustard seeds : 1/2 tb sp
  
• Cumin seeds : 1/2 tb sp
  
• Urad Dal : 1/2 tb sp
  
• Channa Dal : 1/2 tb sp
  
• Curry leaves: 20
  
• Oil : 5-6 tb sp
  
• Cashew nuts: 5

Procedure:

• Wash tomato, potato,onion , chili and cut into small pieces.Chop ginger into very fine pieces.
  
• Take a vessel, pour oil.When oil is heated add ingredients of talimpu .Add cashew nuts at the end.When talimpu is done add onion, chili , potato, tomato pieces and fry till they are half cooked.
  
• Now add 1 1/2 cup water to it and let it boil for some time.When water is boiled add salt and stir for some time.
  
• Take suji rava bowl in left hand and deep spoon or spatula in right.Pout rava slowly by stirring the content with spoon at the same time.This won't allow to form lumps.Continue stirring till it is cooked fully.