Sprouts-Aloo masala

INGREDIENTS: Serves 4 to 5

1. Green gram sprouts - 1 cup
2. Potatoes -  3 medium sized
3. Onions - 3 medium sized
4. Tomatoes 2 medium sized
5. Ginger and garlic - shredded - two teaspoons
6. Coriander , cumin seeds,mustard seeds - for seasoning
7. Green chillies - 2 cut vertically

METHOD:

• Pressure cook the potatoes and sprouts together for two or three whistles. If you like mashed version leave it upto 5 whistles.Add the salt necessary for the potatoes and sprouts before pressure cooking.
• Peel the potatoes and mash them . Keep it aside.
• Take a kadai and add 5 to 6 teaspoons of cooking oil. After it heats add the mustard seeds and allow it to crack.
• Add the cumin seeds,coriander and shredded ginger and garlic and fry well for about 30 seconds.
• Add the onions and after they are half fried,add the tomatoes.
• Add the salt needed for the onions and tomatoes as we have already added some salt for the potatoes.Also add turmeric powder and chilli powder according to taste.
• Stir well and fry it for 5 mins.Add the mashed potatoes and sprouts and mix well.
• Pour one or two cups of water , mix well and keep the stove in low flame covering the kadai.
• Leave it covered for around 10 minutes.
• After this , taste the masala and add salt or chilli powder if needed.
• Add one spoon garam masala ,stir well and keep it for 5 more minutes.
• Leave it on stove until you have reached the consistency you need.
• Yummy sprouts - aloo masala is ready to serve. You can use few drops of lemon if you like the tangy flavor after switching off the stove.

Chandrakala

INGREDIENTS: Makes around 20 to 25

FOR KHOA: (Stuffing)

1. Milk - 1.5 liters preferably milk with fat.
2. Sugar - 2 cups - around 250g sugar or even more if needed
3. Elachi powder 
4. Cashews and almonds - 10 numbers each

FOR SUGAR SYRUP: 

1. Sugar - around 1 cup 
2. Water - as needed

FOR OUTER LAYER: 

1. Maida(All purpose flour) - 1.5 cups
2. A pinch of salt
3. A pinch of baking soda
4. Ghee - 4 tea spoons
5. Water - as needed

METHOD: 

KHOA : 

• Take a thick bottom vessel and add the 1.5 liters milk. Add the sugar and keep stirring until it thickens .
• After it thickens, keep the stove in medium flame and stir until it becomes light brown khoa.
• This usually takes 1 to 1.5 hours. You can also get unsweetened khoa and add the sugar after grinding it .
• Once the khoa is ready add the elachi powder.Roast the cashews and almonds and cut them into fine pieces.Add this to the khoa, mix well and keep aside. Make cylindrical shape khoa and keep it ready to stuff inside the outer layer.
• You can taste the khoa and see if the sugar is sufficient.Else if needed add powdered sugar accordingly. 

SUGAR SYRUP:

• Add the sugar and water to just cover the sugar.That is the usual way i do.Allow the mixture to boil until it reaches just one string consistency. 
• The mixture will be slightly thick and not too thin. 

OUTER LAYER DOUGH: 

• Mix all the ingredients to the consistency of poori/chapati dough.
• After mixing the dough well , apply one or 2 spoons of ghee so that the dough is very soft.
• Leave it aside for 1 to 2 hours.

FRYING:

• Make chapatis/pooris out of the dough using ghee or oil. 
• Place one or 2 spoons of khoa in the center and and cover is with the other half . This should resemble half moon shape. Join the sides and give a slight twist and seal the cover.Remove the remaining pinch of dough and use it for subsequent pooris.
• Take a kadai and pour cooking oil and allow it to heat. 
• Fry the moon shaped sweet to golden brown.
• After removing from oil, put it in the sugar syrup for 15 mins.
• Remove it from the syrup after 15 mins and its ready to serve:)
• 
  

Cheese-Aloo Balls

INGREDIENTS:

1. Grated Cheese - 3/4 cup
2. Potatoes cooked and mashed - 1 cup 
3. Onions - 1 or 2 finely cut.
4. Rava and maida - 2 teaspoons each
5. Bread crumbs - 2 teaspoons
6. Salt,chilli powder , garam masala powder - according to taste
7. Coriander leaves,green chillies,curry leaves - finely cut 

METHOD:

• Wash and pressure cook the potatoes with salt.Mash them well.
•  Take a frying pan, add two teaspoons of cooking oil and sputter few mustard seeds. 
• Add the cut chillies,curry leaves and coriander leaves.Add the finely cut onions and add the salt needed for onions.
• After the onions turn golden brown add the mashed potatoes. Add chilli powder and garam masala powder and mix well.Once the mixture is well mixed remove from flame.
• Take an amla sized potato ball  and flatten it with your palms.Take  1/2 spoon of grated cheese and place it in the center of the flattened potato and close it so that the potatoes covers the cheese and forms a proper lemon sized ball for frying.
• Mix the maida,bread crumbs(crush a rusk if you do not get bread crumbs) and rava in a clean bowl.Add a pinch of salt for taste. Do not any water . This is a dry mixture that forms the outer covering.
• Roll the cheese stuffed potato ball in this mixture and deep fry using normal pan and cooking oil or using a kuzhipaniyaram pan if u have one.I used my kuzhipaniyaram pan as it consumes less oil and it is quicker.