Peanut Chutney(Groundnut)

Peanut chutney is fantastic, tastes better than coconut chutney.For breakfast dishes like upma, pongal, pesarattu, dosa, and vada at my home so I prepare peanut chutney quite often.
The main use of groundnut is as a source of edible oil, but the high oil and protein contents also make it an important food crop.
Peanuts are also known as earthnuts, ground nuts, goobers, goober peas, pindas, jack nuts, pinders, manila nuts, g-nuts, and monkey nuts.
Ingredients:
1 cup - peanuts
5 dried red chillies
6 small onion and 1 garlic clove - sliced to big chunks
½ tsp salt or to taste
1/4 cup coconut grated
tamarind - one small ball
1 tsp each - cumin,coriander seeds, urad dal and six curry leaves

Method:

Roast the peanuts to golden brown color. Cool and rub the skins off. I love the roasted peanut taste produced in this slow-cooking method.
Fry all of above in oil. Then, put them in a mixie jar and make a paste, till it is fine. Add water if required.Tastes yummy.

Mushroom Briyani

A mushroom is the fleshy,spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom,Agaricus bisporus.Indian mushroom recipes are very popular. Try our easy mushroom recipes.
Ingredients

Mushroom -2 cups
Bashmati rice-3 cup
Onion-1
Tomato-2
Green chilly-4
mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
garlic pods-10
ginger 1/2 inch
Tumeric powder-1/4 tsp
chilly powder-1 tsp
Bay leaves
fenugreek seeds-1/2 tsp
clove-5
caradmom(few sticks)
mint leaves(few)
coriander leaves(few)
curry leaves(few)

Method

Grind green chilly,ginger,garlic to a fine paste.
Meanwhile soak the rice for 10-15mins.
In a pressure cooker add the ghee and oil.After it is heated add cloves,cinnamon,
cardamom and bay leaves.Fry for 2-3mins
Add onions and fry till golden brown.Now add the sliced mushrooms fry till they are cooked.
Add the paste till the raw smell goes followed by the tomatoes.Let it cook till the tomatoes get mashed.After that add mint leaves and coriander leaves.
Add the rice and mix them well so that the rice grains are well coated with oil.Doing this
will make the rice grains from sticking.
Add water and salt.Leave it to boil,when the water is almost absorbed close the lid.
Mushroom briyani is ready.taste is very yummy.

Kolukattai

Every year for Vinayaka chathurthi, we will make kolukattai recipe. This recipe is very easy to make and tasty too. We can use ready made rice flour available in Indian grocery store.
Ingredients:
Rice flour - 1 cup
Oil - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
For filling :
Jaggery - 1/2 tbsp grated
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Sesame seeds-50 gm
Potukadalai-1/4 cup
Coconut grated-1/4 cup
Method
First fry sesame seeds and then grind the potukadalai and sesame seeds like powder.
Heat tsp of ghee and add grated coconut and fry till it becomes dry
For stuff add grated jaggery ,grounded powder and fried coconut.
Take a cup of rice flour and add salt to it and luke warm water to it and form a dough. Dough should be little soft.
Grease your hands with little oil and take a lemon size flour dough and flatten them with your hands to a little circle. Now place a tsp of stuff filling in the center and seal all the edges.
Finally place all the kolukattais in the idly cooker and steam it for about 10-15 min.
Kolukattai is ready to serve.

Chilly Parota

Chilli parota, one of my real favorite recipe, This is the one i wish to order if i go to any restaurant. I prepared this dish for dinner.Its really very yummy.
Ingredients
Parathas - 3 (I use the ready made layered parathas)
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1tsp
Green Chilly - 2
Green peas- 3 tsp
Onions - 1 medium
Tomatoes - 1 medium
red/green bell pepper - 1/2cup
chalna - 1cup (you can substitute with chilli, corriander and cumin powders in equal ratio along with 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder)
Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
cumin - 1/2tsp
Method
Heat oil in a large wide pan and add the pepper, cumin, curry leaves allow to splutter.
Then add green chilly, onions, tomato, spring onion, bell pepper and green peas.
Once you feel the nice aroma, add chalna and cook for a few mins.
Before the paste becomes completely dry add the shredded parathas, salt and fry until the parathas are well mixed.
Finally add a few coriander leaves and mix well.
chilly parota ready to serve. You can serve it with yogurt with onion.

SnakeGourd Kootu

kootu is something you will only find in a household and rarely ever in a restaurant.Kootus are essentially vegetable and lentil dishes which are semi-solid. It tastes very good and goes great with rotis.
Ingredients

Bengal dal-1/2cup Snakegourd -1/2 cup
Onion(medium) - 1 no(finely chopped)
Mustard seeds - ¾ tsp
Curry leaves - 1 spring
Redchillies- 2 nos
Turmeric powder 1/4 tbsp
jeera-1/2 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds-1/2 tsp

Method
Soak the dals in water for 1/ 2 hour and grind (drain all the excess water completely) coarsley along with red chilly and jeera seeds. Heat 2tbsp of gingelly/sesame oil (any vegetable oil is good, but gingelly oil gives a better taste) add poppy the mustard seeds ,curry leaves,fenugreek seeds and saute the onions until transparent .Add salt to taste and chopped snake guard . once vegetable is cooked, add finely grind mixutre. Serve with rice or parotta. This koottu must be thick

Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

6 cups of water

4 small potatoes

cubed2 medium onions

sliced2 carrots diced1 1/2 oz

beans (42 gms)

3 large tomatoes skinned and cut into cubes

1 cloves

2 tbsp. split green peas

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Butter

4 tsp. Grated craft cheese

4 level tsp flourWhite pepper to taste

Method

Combine all the ingredients except for the butter and cheese in a large soup pan and parboil on medium heat till the vegetables are done. Keep aside.In a non-stick pan heat butter over low heat. Once the butter has melted add the flour to the pan and dry fry the flour for a few minutes. Keep stirring to ensure that the flour does not brown.To this add the soup stock along with the vegetables and stir over medium heat for five minutes.Remove from fire and to the soup add grated cheese. Serve at lunch or dinner.

Beetroot Pachadi

Beet root has natural property of cleaning the kidneys and gall bladder.It is used traditionally as a blood building food .It is particularly rich in Vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus and iron .It very tasty to eat.

Ingredients

Beetroot(grated) - 2 cups

Ginger(grated) - 1 1/2 tsp

Onion(medium) - 1 no(finely chopped)

Mustard seeds - ¾ tsp

Curry leaves - 1 spring

Green chillies(split) - 2 nos

Curd - 2 cups

Oil - 1 - 2 tbsp

Salt - As required

Method

Heat oil in a pan.Splutter mustard seeds.

Add onion and green chillies and sauté the onions, till they become translucent.

Add the grated beetroot, ginger, curry leaves and salt and fry, till the mixture is dry and beetroot is fully cooked.

Remove from flame.When the mixture has become slightly cool, add curd. You can adjust the consistency by adding more curd.

If you prefer the pachadi to have a thin consistency, you can use a mixture of buttermilk and curd.