Green Peas-tomato soup

Ingredients:
½ cup fresh green peas
10 medium size ripe tomatoes
2 medium size onions
1 small piece of ginger
1 tbsp pure ghee or butter
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp red chillies powder
½ tbsp sugar (optional)
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnish

Method:
Step 1: Cut the tomatoes into two parts and ginger into small pieces and onion into medium pieces. Step 2: Add one cup water and cook into medium flame with lid over the vessel.

Step 3: When tomatoes become soft then remove the skin of tomatoes with steel spoon.

Step 4: Blend this material with blender until it becomes smooth.

Step 5: Drain this pulp if the skin and seeds of tomatoes in it.
Step 6: Heat a thick pan and add pure ghee on low flame.

Step 7: Add cumin seeds when ghee is mallet.

Step 8: Turn the flame on medium and then add the fresh green peas in it.

Step 9: Simmer until they are very tender.

Step 10: When skin of peas is slightly change then puree tomatoes pulp in it.

Step 11: Stirring while and cook it for 10 minutes on medium flame.

Step 12: Then add red chillies powder, salt and sugar in it.

Step 13: When it begins to slightly thicken turn off the flame.

Step 14: Add fresh coriander leaves after the turn off the flame.

Step 14: Serve hot into serving bowl.

Step 15: Garnish with coriander leaves and cream.

Step 16: I like to eat with plane simple rice and roasted papad. But you also serve as soup in your menu. Note:
1. You also add carrot and another vegetable which you like the taste and it goes good taste with tomatoes.
2. Also add garlic or cloves or pepper powder or cinnamon if you like this type of taste.

Idli,Sambhar and Chutney

Idli
For making fluffy soft idlis you need:
4 cups idli rice
1 cup split urad dal
1\2 cup Fenugreek (methi) seeds

Soak:
* Wash and soak the urad dal, idli rice and fenugreek seeds separately in water for at least 6 hours.
To Grind:
* Drain the extra water from fenugreek seeds, rice, urad dal and mix all together.


* Grind this material in mixer with adding minimum water.


* Make a smooth batter and add salt. The final batter should not be too thick or too watery.


To make idlis:
* Allow the batter to ferment for at least 12 hours.

Preparation:
Step 1: Heat 1 cup of water in idli cooker.
Step 2: Add the 3 tablespoons of batter in each of the idli plate and put it in idli cooker. Close the idli cooker with lid.


Step 3: Cool for about 10-12 minutes. Let stand for 1 minute and unmould.


Step 4: Serve hot with chutney of your choice and sambhar.



Cooking Tip:
* Well fermented flour will give really fluffy and soft idli’s.
* If you live in US or any cold country, try keeping the flour in a conventional oven and keep the light on inside the oven.
* Fenugreek seeds is good for health so I add this in batter.

Sambhar

Ingredients for sambhar masala:
2 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds
6 curry leaves
1\2 tbsp asafetida powder
1 tbsp urad dal
4 cloves
2 small pieces of cinnamon

Method for the sambhar masala:

Step 1: Roast all the ingredients individually in a pan.

Step 2: Grind them together in a grinder.

Step 3: Make smooth powder. If you made more than you required than you store it in an air-tight container and use it when required. I was always made fresh smabhar masala for nice aroma.

Ingredients for sambhar:
1\2 cup chopped white gourd
1\2 cup chopped carrot
2 big size drumstick (diced)
1 big size finely chopped onion
2 cups tuvar dal
3 tbsp sambhar masala
Few curry leaves
1\2 tbsp cumin seeds
1\2 tbsp mustard seeds
1\2 tbsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp red chilli powder
A pinch of hing
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnish.

Method for the Sambhar:

Step 1: Wash the tuvar dal. Cook it in cooker with sufficent water. Grind with grinder.

Step 2: Boil the vegetables and add salt to taste.
Step 3: Drain extra water form cook vegetables.

Step 4: Heat the oil in another pan and crackle mustard seeds. Then add cumin seeds and a pinch of hing.

Step 5: Add finely chopped onion in it and fry for few minutes.

Step 6: Now add the vegetables in it and cook for one minute.

Step 7: Pour the tuvar dal and add turmeric powder, red chilli powder in it.

Step 8: Add sambhar masala and simmer over medium flame for 15 minutes.

Step 9: Turn off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with Idli and dosa.

Tips:
* To ensure that the smabhar tastes fresh, do not use sambhar masala that is over two month-old.
* If you prefer your smbhar strong, then add a pinch of clove powder to tuvar dla while soaking it.
* If the smabhar is too thick, dilute milk in water and add it to the smabhar.
* If you add more water while cook the tuvar dal then can be reused to cook vegetable this will help retain the flavor and nutrition of the sambhar.

Idli Chutney

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh/frozen coconut

½ cup dalia (Pottu Kadali/ fried gram dhal)

4 green chilis

Salt to taste

For seasoning:

2 tbsp oil

1/2 tbsp mustard seeds

1/2 tbsp urad dal

3-4 curry leaves

Method:
Step 1: Grind coconut, ½ cup dalia, salt and chilies to a smooth paste adding required amount of water.

Step 2: Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they start popping, add urad dal.

Step 3: When dal turns slightly brownish, add curry leaves. Fry for a little while. Pour this seasoning over chutney.

Step 4: Mix well and serve with hot dosa or idli.

Orissa Kichdi

I made simple dish for orissa cuisine…this event is hosted by Swapna as lebel of RCI: Oriya…..Congrats Swapna for hosting and wait for you beautiful round up my dear….

Ingredients:
1\2-cup rice,
1\2-cup green gram dal,
10-12 Resins,
4-5 Cashew nuts,
1 small piece of Ginger,
6 cm dry coconut part,
2-tbsp oil,
5-6 cinnamon,
1-2 cardamom,
1-long green chillie,
1-tbsp cumin seeds,
1\2-tbsp turmeric powder,
1-tbsp sugar,
3-cup water for cooking,
Salt to taste.

Method:
Step 1: Wash the dal and rice smoothly and keep it aside.

Step 2: Cut the dry coconut part in to long strip and cut cashew in to two parts.

Step 3: Finely chopped the green chillies in to round pieces and ginger small pieces.

Step 4: Heat the oil in cooker and fry the coconut pieces and cashew nut until golden brown. Keep it aside.

Step 5: Heat the oil and add the cumin seeds, cardmom and cinnamon pieces.

Step 6: After that add wash rice and dal in it. Also add 3-cup water for cooking.

Step 7: Place the chopped ginger, green chillie pieces, salt, turmeric powder, and sugar in it.Step 8: Mix well and after that add resins, fry cashew nuts and fry coconut pieces and cover the cooker with top.

Step 9: Pressure cook for three whistles. Two whistles on full flame and one in law flame so khichadi cook well.

Step 10: Place it in serving bowl.