VEN PONGAL

VEN PONGAL

INGREDIENTS:
Raw rice- ¾ cup
Moong dal- ¼ cup
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Pepper- 1 tsp
Ginger- 1 tsp finely chopped
Curry leaves- few
Asafetida- ¼ tsp
Ghee- 5 tbsp
Cashew- 20 gms
Salt to taste

Method:
In a vessel, take the rice, dal, cumin seeds, asafetida powder and salt. Add 4 cups of water to it.

Pressure cook it up to 5 whistles .

Heat the ghee in a kadai and fry the cashew till golden brown & keep aside.
In the remaining ghee fry the pepper, ginger, curry leaves .

Add all the fried items to the pongal and mix well.

Serve hot with coconut chutney, sambhar, etc.,

STUFFED BITTER GOURDS

STUFFED BITTER GOURDS

INGREDIENTS:
8 medium sized bitter gourds
3 potatoes
1 tomato
2 medium sized onions
½ tsp turmeric powder
2 green chillies
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 lemon
Oil for frying
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Boil the potatoes. Peel the skin and mash it well.

Scrape off the scaly skin of the bitter gourds and keep them immersed in salt water for half an hour. Drain of the water and slit them lengthwise on one side, apply a little salt on the inside and keep aside for few minutes.

Chop tomatoes, onions, green chillies. Heat oil in a frying pan and add chopped onions, green chillies and fry for a while. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala, salt and fry for few minutes. Add chopped tomato, mashed potato and fry well. Squeeze the lemon juice before removing from fire.

Stuff bitter gourds with the above filling and gently tie with a string.

Heat oil in a frying pan and gently put on the stuffed bitter gourds. Fry well on all sides until done.

Stuffed bitter gourd is ready.

VETTIVER SARBATH

VETTIVER SARBATH

Ingredients:

Vettiver- 25 gms
Water – 2 cups
Sugar- 2 ½ cups
Citric acid- ¼ tsp
Yellow food colour- a pinch
Sodium benzoate- a pinch

Method:

Clean the vettiver and cut into pieces. Soak it in 2 cups of water for a whole day.

Filter the vettiver water. Add sugar and citric acid to the vettiver water and boil it.

Remove it from flame and allow it to cool.

Dissolve the sodium benzoate in little water. Add yellow colour and sodium benzoate to the sugar syrup. Store it in a clean and dry bottle.

Mix ¼ cup of syrup with ¾ cup of cold water. Serve chilled.

Your delicious vettiver sarbath is ready.

ORANGE SQUASH

ORANGE SQUASH

INGREDIENTS:

Orange juice- 1½ cups
Sugar- 2 ½ cups
Water- 1 cup
Citric acid- 1 ¼ tsp
Orange essence- 1 tsp
Potassium meta bi sulphate (KMS)- 2 Pinch
Orange food colour- a pinch

Method:
Squeeze the orange and extract the juice.

Take sugar, water and citric acid in a vessel.

Heat the vessel. When the sugar syrup starts boiling , keep it down and allow it to cool.

Dissolve the KMS in little water.

Add orange juice, colour, essence, KMS to the sugar syrup. Mix well and store it in a clean and dry bottle.

Mix 1 measure of syrup with 3 measure of cold water or soda. Serve chilled.

VERMICELLI PAYASAM

VERMICELLI PAYASAM

REQUIRED ITEMS:
Roasted vermicelli- 200 gms
Milk- 1 ltr
Sugar- 300 gms
Cardamom- 6
Cashew- 25 gms
Raislins- 25 gms
Ghee- 2 tbsp

Method:
Fry cashewnuts and raisins in ghee and keep aside.

Boil the milk.

Add the roasted vermicelli to the milk and simmer for few minutes till the vermicelli becomes soft.

Add sugar and cardamom. Stir well till it dissolves.

Add fried cashewnut and raisins.

Serve hot or chilled.

Delicious vermicelli payasam is ready.

COCONUT CHUTNEY

COCONUT CHUTNEY:

Ingredients:
Grated coconut- 1 cup
Roasted gram (pottu kadalai)- ¼ cup
Green chillies- 2 or 3
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds- ½ tsp
Curry leaves
Oil- ½ tsp

Method:
Grind the coconut, roasted gram, green chillies and salt in the mixer grinder to a smooth paste by adding little water. Season it with mustard seeds & curry leaves. It goes well with idly, dosai, adai, etc.