Avial (Mix veg stew)

INGREDIENTS: Serves 4

1. Mix veggies - Carrot,Beans,Potatoes,Peas,Groundnuts,Sweet potato - Any 3 or more of your choice.
2. Rock Salt - As per taste
3. Curry Leaves ,Jeera seeds - For garnishing
4.  To Grind - Coconut(About half of a coconut), jeera seeds - 2 teaspoons , Green chillies - 2 medium sized. 
5. Cooking Oil - 1 teaspoon
6. Red chillies - 2 medium sized

METHOD:

1. Grind using mixer all the items given in "To Grind" list using little water and make it a paste and keep aside.
2. Boil all the veggies after adding required salt in a cooker.
3. Take a heavy bottomed pan add a spoon of oil and add jeera seeds,red chillies,curry leaves for seasoning.
4. Add the boiled vegetables,ground paste and after it reaches the desired consistency switch off the stove.
5. Optional is - Adding 1 teaspoon of coconut oil after switching off stove will increase the taste. 
6. Another option is adding 1 tablespoon of curd after switching off the stove.

Aloo Gobi Curry

INGREDIENTS:

1. Potato - Medium sized - 4
2. Gobi/Cauliflower - 1 medium sized 
3. Sambhar powder - 2 teaspoons 
4. Rock Salt - to taste
5. Mustard seeds,urad dhal,curry leaves,coriander,Red or Green chillies,Bengal gram dhal - For temepering
6. Oil - 2 teaspoons
7. Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

METHOD:

1. Soak the cauliflower in hot water with rock salt and turmeric powder.Leave it for 15 mins or more to remove the insects.Cut the cauliflower and potato and keep it ready.
2. Take a heavy bottomed kadai , add oil and once it is hot ,splutter the mustard seeds.Add urad dhal,bengal gram dhal,curry leaves,red chillies in order.
3. Add the cut potato and cauliflower florets .
4. Add rock salt,turmeric and sambhar powder and close it after adding 1/2 cup water.
5. Stir occaasionally. Once the curry gets cooked switch off the stove and add the coriander leaves and serve!

Rasa Podi

Rasam Powder: Makes around 200g and can be stored for upto 1 month or more in clean dry airtight container.

1. Toor dhal - 1.5 cup(100g)
2. Dhaniya/Coriander seeds - 1 cup(100g)
3. Asafoetida cube - around 1/4 inch
4. Jeera seeds - 2 teaspoons
5. Black pepper - 1 teaspoon(Increase this if you want spicy version)
6. Red chillies - 2 medium sized

Dry roast all the above ingredients and add a drop of oil and fry the asafoetida cube.Grind all these ingredients in mixer and keep it in a airtight container.

Rasam with Rasapodi(No dhal,No tomato version)

INGREDIENTS:Serves 4. Whenever you are affected by cold or heavyness this is a wonderful medicinal rasam.It has ginger,garlic,pepper,jeera,turmeric,redchillies - All of them combats in fighting cold.You can even take it as soup 2 or 3 times a day when you have heavy cold.

1. Tamarind - Less than lemon size
2. Red chillies -1 big size
3. Mustard seeds - to temper
4. Jeera seeds - to temper
5. Pepper seeds - 5 or 6 whole
6. Curry leaves and coriander leaves - to temper
7. Ginger - 1/2 inch piece(Optional)
8. Garlic pods - 3 or 4 (Optional)
9. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
10. Rock salt/salt - to taste
11. Hing/Asafoetida - 1 small cube that is fried or powder 1/4 teaspoon
12. Rasam powder - 5 teaspoons 

I make my own rasam powder.This is the recipe for that. You can even use store bought but this powder gives authentic taste.

Rasam Powder: Makes around 250g and can be stored for upto 1 month or more in clean dry airtight container.

1. Toor dhal - 1.5 cup(100g)
2. Dhaniya/Coriander seeds - 1 cup(100g)
3. Asafoetida cube - around 1/4 inch
4. Jeera seeds - 2 teaspoons
5. Black pepper - 1 teaspoon(Increase this if you want spicy version)
6. Red chillies - 2 medium sized

Dry roast all the above ingredients and add a drop of oil and fry the asafoetida cube.Grind all these ingredients in mixer and keep it in a airtight container.

METHOD:

1. Extract the tamarind water and add the salt,turmeric powder,asafoetida,cut ginger and cut garlic.
2. Take a small frying pan and add 1/2 teaspoon oil. Splutter the mustard seeds and add jeera,pepper,curry leavesand red chillies and keep aside. 
3. Once the raw smell of the tamarind goes add the rasam powder and little water .You can check the taste and add water and powder accordingly.After adding rasam powder keep the stove in low flame,once you get white froth like bubbles switch off and remove from flame.
4. Add coriander leaves and the already tempered items from step 2. Rasam is ready to serve!

Ginger Juice for Digestive problems/Inji Sorasam

INGREDIENTS: To make around 250ml

1. Ginger - about index finger length - 2 big pieces
2. Dhaniya seeds/Coriander seeds - 1.5 tea spoon
3. Honey(Optional)
4. Salt
5. Lemon

METHOD:

1. Peel the ginger and cut into pieces.Add the dhania seeds,ginger and grind in mixer .Add water of about 1/2 cup.
2. Strain the mixture and add some more water to the residue and grind in mixer again.Strain the decotion again and add it to the first decotion.
3. Now this decotion can be taken raw with salt & lemon juice or with honey if you cannot bear the tangy taste. Another option is to heat this solution before adding lemon and honey and then drink it with lemon/honey.
4. It is a very good digestive and it clears the stomach infection. My mum used to give this to me whenever I complain about loss of appetite/Stomach bloating.Also, this needs to be taken in empty stomach in mornings.Do not have this more than once per week.

Thengai Thogayal

INGREDIENTS:

1. Shredded coconut - 1 cup
2. Red chillies - 2
3. Mustard seeds - 1/2 spoon
4. Black or white urad dhal - 2 teaspoons
5. Asafoetida cube - 1 small 
6. Tamarind - button sized ball
7. Salt 
8. Curry leaves - few (optional)

METHOD:

1. Take a pan and add a teaspoon of oil.Allow the mustard seeds to splutter and add the urad dhal and red chillies.After they get fried roast the asafoetida,curry leaves,coconut and tamarind and remove from stove.
2. After they get cooled add salt and all the above items.Add little water and grind it well in mixie.Thengai thogayal is ready to serve with hot rice!

Adai/Lentil Dosa

INGREDIENTS:

1. Toor dhal - 1 cup
2. Bengal gram dhal/kadalai paruppu - 1 cup
3. Boiled rice/puzhungarisi - 1 cup
4. Raw rice/pacharisi - 1/2 cup
5. Urad dhal(Black gives more taste) - 1/2 cup
6. Asafoetida - Powder (1/2 spoon) or solid roasted piece 
7. Red chillies - 7 to 8
8. Curry leaves(optional) - few sprigs
9. Salt to taste
10. Jeera/cumin seeds- 2 spoons
11. Finely chopped onions/murungai keerai (Optional)

METHOD:

1. Soak all the dhals for 3 to 5 hours .
2. Add the other items and add enough water to make it a batter.
3. Do not add too much water.The batter should be slightly thicker than idli/dosa batter.
4. Adding finely chopped onions/murugai keerai to the batter makes it more tasty.
5. Take a tawa and take the dough and make it like a dosa.
6. Make a small hole in the centre and add little oil in the hole.
7. Adai needs little more oil than dosa/idli .Also it will take more time to get cooked on both sides.Yummy adai is ready to serve!