Lal Gajar Ka Halva

Preparation:15 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Total Time: 40 mins
Servings: Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

2 cups grated red carrots
2 cups milk
1/4 cup condensed milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp ghee
1/4 tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder
5 to 6 cashewnuts (kaju)

Method

Heat the ghee in a kadhai, add the carrots and saute for 2-3 minutes on medium flame.Add the milk and cook for 5-10 minutes.Add the sugar and condensed milk and cardamom powder, mix well and cook till it becomes soft and almost dry.Serve hot or chilled.

Rasam Wada

Preparation:15 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total Time: 35 mins
Servings: Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

For The Vadas
1 cup urad dal (split black lentils) , soaked for 2-3 hours
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 tsp chopped ginger (adrak)
4 green chillies , chopped
a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
salt to taste
oil for deep frying

For The Rasam
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
2 garlic (lehsun) cloves , chopped
2 green chillies , chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
1 tsp chopped ginger (adrak)
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera) powder
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper powder
salt to taste
2 tbsp chopped coriander (dhania)
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 tsp oil
3 to 4 curry leaves (kadi patta)

Method

For the vadas
For the vadasCombine the urad dal with ginger, greeen chillies and hing and blend in a mixer till fluffy and smooth.Add the salt, onions, curry leaves and coriander leaves and mix well.Divide the batter into equal portions and make wadas out of each portion.Heat the oil in a kadhai and deep fry each wada till golden brown and crisp from all the sides.Drain on an absorbent paper and keep aside.
For the rasam:
For the rasam:Heat oil in a deep pan and add the cumin seeds, hing, green chillies, garlic, ginger and curry leaves and fry until raw smell of garlic is gone.Add the tomatoes and cook until tomatoes are softAdd 4 cups of hot water, lemon juice and salt and bring it to a boil.Add the cumin seeds powder and pepper powder and boil for just 1-2 mins.Add the chopped coriander and mix well.
How to proceed:
How to proceed:Soak the prepared vadas in this hot rasam and leave it aside until the vadas absorb the rasam and are soft.Place the vada in a serving bowl and top with some more hot rasam.Serve hot.

Chocolate Rasgullas

Preparation:10 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total Time: 10 mins
Servings: Makes 6 pieces

Ingredients

12 rasgullas
1 ltr melted chocolate ice-cream

Method

Squeeze out the sugar syrup from the rasgullas.Cut them into half and arrange them in a tray.Pour the melted chocolate ice-cream on top of it.Cover and cool in the refrigerator.Serve chilled.

Fada Nu Salad

Preparation:10 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Total Time: 20 mins
Servings: Makes 4 to 5 servings

Ingredients

2 cups cooked broken wheat (dalia)
1/4 cup finely chopped spring onions
1/4 cup finely chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp chopped basil
1/4 cup chopped waterchestnuts
1/4 cup boiled kala chana (brown chick peas)
1/4 cup chopped paneer (cottage cheese)
1/4 cup olive oil
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper powder to taste
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp powdered sugar

For The Garnish
1/2 cup grated carrot

Method

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.Serve fresh at room temperature or refrigerate it and serve chilled.

Tilachi Poli

Preparation:30 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Total Time: 55 mins
Servings: Makes 5 to 6 servings

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour (gehun ka atta)
water as required
2 cups toasted sesame seeds (til)
2 1/4 cups grated jaggery (gur)
1/4 cup roasted and crushed peanuts

Method

Combine the sesame seeds, peanuts and jaggery and blend in a mixer till they become smooth and soft.Make the soft dough using wheat flour and required water and keep aside for 15-20 minutes.Make 5-6 equal portions of the dough then roll into a small circle of 3\" diameter.Put a small portion of above stuffing in the middle, close it by bringing all the edges into the middle and roll again into a normal chapati size(5\") siameter.Heat a tava and roast the poli on both the sides till light brown in colour using a little ghee.Serve hot.

Khaman Kakdi

Preparation:15 mins
Cook: 5 mins
Total Time: 20 mins
Servings: Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

5 to 6 cucumber , shredded
salt to taste
1/3 cup roasted chana dal (daria)
2 tsp ghee
salt to taste
1/2 tsp green chilli paste
3-4 drops lemon juice

For The Garnish
2 tbsp chopped coriander (dhania)
2 tbsp grated coconut

Method

Combine the cucumber and little salt in a bowl, mix well and keep aside for half an hour.Coarsly crush the chana dal using a mortar pestle and keep aside.Squeeze out the excess water from the cucumber and transfer the cucumber in another bowl.Add the ghee, green chilli paste, lemon juice and crushed daria and mix well.Garnish with coriander and coconut and serve as an accompaniment with chapatis.

Vatha Kozhambu

Preparation:10 min
Cook: 30 min
Total Time: 40 mins
Servings:

Ingredients

12 baby onions
2 tsp sundaikkai vatthal
1/2 cup urad dal (split black lentils)
1/4 cup oil
curry leaves (kadi patta) and salt to taste
1 tsp black peppercorns (kalimirch)
2 tsp sambhar powder
1 small lemon size tamarind (imli)
seasoning:
mustard seeds ( rai / sarson)
1 tsp urad dal (split black lentils)
curry leaves (kadi patta)

Method

First soak the tamarind in luke warm water.Then add oil in a tava and when the oil is hot add mustard seeds,urad dhal and little curry leaves.When mustard splutters then add onions,sudaikkai vatthal and fry it till golden brown.Then add sambar powder and rost it a bitAdd the tamarind water alone and salt allow it to boil for 7 min.When it is thick add curry leaves.Powder urad dhal(2-tsp)and peppercorns and add it to the boiling mixture.
For seasoning..
For seasoning..Heat coconut oil in a tavaAdd mustard seeds and urad dhal(1tsp)and little curry leaves..When it splutters,pour it in the kozhambu.