BITTER GOURD CRISPS

Ingredients:

Medium sized bitter gourds - 2
Gram flour - 2 tbsp
Rice flour - 1 tsp
Salt, chili powder, turmeric powder  - to taste
Oil to fry

Preparation:

Clean and slice bitter gourds into small circles. Add some salt and turmeric powder.  Mix well and leave for 30 minutes. 

Now after 30 minutes add other ingredients except oil. 

If it already left some water no need to drain and mix with that. Otherwise is water is needed sprinkle little water and mix well.


Heat oil in frying pot and deep fry in medium high heat until crispy.


Place over paper towel to remove excess oil.

Crispy bitter gours fry is ready to serve with curd rice or as side dish for any other rice dish.

NANJIL PARUPPU KUZHAMBU / DAL CURRY

Ingredients:
Thoor dal / yellow lentil - 1/2 cup
Small onion - 5 pieces
Green chili - 1 or 2
Dried red chili - 1
Asafoetida - 1 small piece or 1/4 tsp powder
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Tamarind - 1 small piece
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Tomato - 1 small or 1/2 big
Coconut scrapping - 1/4 cup
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - optional
Salt to taste
Oil for seasoning

Preparation:
Pressure cook dal with green chili, onion, tomato and asafoetida for 3 minutes after first whistle.


Crush coconut, cumin seeds, tamarind and turmeric powder without water in a mixer grinder or in a stone grinder.


Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add red chili and roast for a second. Immediately pour pressure cooked dal. Add crushed coconut mix and salt to taste. Allow to boil for 5 minutes.


Season with curry leaves and serve with rice. As I currently live in Germany and i did not get curry leaves, I omitted curry leaves.

TOMATO RICE

Required:Cooked basmati rice or any other rice-8 cups
Tomato-4
Onion-1
Cinnamon-1/2 inch piece
Cloves-2
Salt to taste
Ghee-1 tbsp
Cashew nuts-2 tbsp
Raisins-1 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste-1/4 tsp

Preparation:Keep boiled rice separately in a vessel. Heat ghee in a kadai and roast cashew nuts and raisins. Keep them aside separately. Now add cinnamon, cloves and ginger-garlic paste to the same ghee. Now sauté thinly sliced onion and tomato. Sprinkle little water, add chilly powder, turmeric powder ans salt to taste. Allow to cook. When done put this to the cooked rice and mix well. Add the roasted cashew and raisins. Finally add fresh coriander if necessary. Serve hot with onion curd, pickle, potato fry and egg.

CURD RICE

Required:
Raw rice-1 cup
Curd-1 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds-1 pinch
Green chilly-2
Asafoetida-1 pinch
Curry leaves-1 sprig
Coriander leaves-1 tsp
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Cook rice separately. In a pan heat oil splutter mustard seeds, add green chilly, curry leaves and asafoetida. Add curd and salt to taste. Pour this curd to cooked rice. Mix well and sprinkle chopped coriander leaves.

Variation:
In oil cashew nuts and raisins can be added for taste. Pomegranate seeds, seedless green grapes can also be added finally.

EGG BIRYANI

Required:
Basmati rice-4 cups
Egg-6
Onion-2 big sized
Tomato-1
Mint leaves-1/2 cup
Ghee-1 tbsp
Curd-1 cup
Chilly powder-2 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Cinnamon-3/4 inch piece
Cardamom-2
Cloves-3
Mace-½ piece
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Heat ghee in a pressure cooker. Add cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and mace. Saute onion, mint and tomato. When done add curd, chilly powder, turmeric powder and salt to taste. Mix well. Add soaked rice with 6 cups water. Cook with pressure weight for 15 minutes. Boil egg and cut both the sides slightly. Put to biryani when hot and keep for 5 minutes. Serve with onion curd.

LEMON RICE

Required:
Rice-2 cups cups
Lemon-2 small sized
Ginger-2 tbsp (very finely chopped)
Garlic-2 tbsp (very finely chopped)
Light green variety chilly-10 numbers (less hot variety)
Cashew nuts-1 tbsp
Gingelly oil-2 tbsp
Channa dal (Bengal gram dal)-2 tsp
Mustard seeds-2 pinches
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp

Preparation:
Cook rice separately. In a kadai heat oil and roast cashew nuts, sauté ginger, garlic and whole green chilly separately and keep aside. Then add mustard seeds, channa dal and turmeric powder. Add salt to taste for rice as well. Finally add lemon juice taken from 2 lemons. After adding remove from flame immediately. Mix with rice. This tastes good with red chilly thick coconut chutney, tomato thokku and egg.

CHICKEN BIRYANI

Required:
Chicken-750 grams
Basmati rice-4 cups
Curd-1/2 cup
Chilly powder-1/2 tsp
Coriander powder-1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Tomato-3
Onion-3 medium
Mint leaves-1/2 cup (finely chop)
Fresh coriander-1/2 cup (finely chop)
Ghee-2 tbsp
Cashew nuts-2 tsp
Raisins-2 tsp
Green chilly-6
Ginger-1 inch piece
Garlic-8 cloves
Cardamom-1
Cinnamon-1 inch piece
Cloves-4
Mace-1 piece
Oil-2 tbsp

Preparation:
Heat oil in a pan and saute onion, green chilly until onion becomes brown.

Add ginger-garlic paste, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, mace. Finally add chicken. When chicken turns white add curd, salt, chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and cover the pan and allow to cook. When cooked soft remove from flame.

Meanwhile half-cook rice. In a pressure cooker spread cooked chicken, Chopped tomato over the chicken, mint and coriander leaves and half-cooked rice over this. Fry cashew nuts and dry grapes in ghee. Spread this over rice.


If necessary add rose-water or rose-essence or kesari powder mixed water.


Close the lid and keep in lowest flame for 15 minutes. Serve hot with chicken fry, chicken gravy or mutton gravy, onion curd, pineapple jam and boiled egg.