Rajma Masala

Serves two.

Rajma Masala was the standard Sunday family lunch when I was growing up. It's not very easy to make, but is definitely worth all the effort!

You need -

1.5 cups of red rajma beans

Finely chopped - 2 tomatoes, 2 onions, some ginger and chillies, coriander

Garam masala and salt

What you have to do -

- Soak the beans in 8 times the amount of water for 24 hours and then pressure cook for 10-15 whistles depending on how soft you want the beans

- In a kadai, sautee the onions, ginger and chillies in 2tsps of oil until golden brown

- Add the tomatoes and salt to taste

- Once it turns soft, add 2 spoons of garam masala, and the rajma with the water, and cook until the water evaporates to make it as dry/wet as you prefer it

- Garnish with fresh finely chopped onions and coriander

Best served with -

- Basmati rice

- Rotis

Enjoy on a cold rainy Sunday afternoon!

Dal Tadka

Serves two

This is one of the easiest foods to cook up and goes with both rotis and rice.

You need -

- 1 cup toor dal/lentils

- Some cumin seeds, turmeric, freshly ground pepper, chopped chillies and coriander, salt to taste and asafoetida

What you have to do -

- Steam cook the dal in a pressure cooker for 4 whistles

- In a kadai, heat some oil with 1 tsp of cumin seeds, asafoetida and chopped chillies

- Take the dal out of the cooker and add it with the excess water

- Add a pinch of turmeric and salt and mix well

- Cook until dal boils and the water is no longer separate from the actual lentils

- Garnish with freshly ground pepper and chopped coriander

Arbi / Chepankazhangu (Colocasia) Fry

You need -

A bowl full of Colocasia / Arbi/ Chepankazhangu

Some chilli masala, garam masala, rasam powder, turmeric and salt

5-6 spoons of oil

What you have to do -

- Steam the unpeeled arbi in a pressure cooker until the whistle goes off 4 times

- Take it out after the cooker cools and and peel the arbi

- Chop it up into similar sized pieces and add the masala powders

- Shallow fry the arbi in a pan until it turns dark-brown and crisp

Serve with rasam, rice and papad!

Choc-Almond Fudge Drops

Makes 12 balls

You need -

2 bars of dark chocolate (bournville)

1 can of condensed milk

1 tablespoon of butter

A handful of crushed almonds

What you have to do -

- Break the dark chocolate into little pieces, put in a bowl and heat

- Add condensed milk immediately and mix it up until the pieces melt into the batter

- The batter will get bubbly (within 5-6 minutes) so be careful to make sure it doesn't burn - mix until you get an even consistency and the batter seems to be consistent

- Add the almonds and take it off the flame

- Wait for it to cool and then use your palms to make small Ferrero Rocher sized balls

Wrap these little drops of heaven in small pieces of foil and share!

Channa Masala

Serves four.

I'd never made Channa Masala before and I decided to give it a shot. It turned out to be surprisingly easy and so gave me a great sense of accomplishment.

You need -

3 cups of Kabuli Channa

3 tomatoes

2 onions

Chopped Chillies & Coriander

Channa Masala Powder

Coriander Powder

Garam Masala

Salt

What you have to do -

- Soak the Channa overnight in a bowl full of water - before cooking, drain and wash the Channa

- Cook in a pressure cooker for 5 whistles on high flame

- Chop up the onions and tomatoes in small cubes

- In a Kadai, sautee the onions in oil until golden brown and then add tomatoes and chillies

- Add salt, 1 tsp. Garam Masala, 1 tsp. Coriander Powder and 2tsp. Channa Masala Powder (add more Channa Masala Powder if you want more flavor)

- Add the steamed Channa into the mix and add water based on how dry/wet you like the Channa and then cook for another 15 minutes

- Garnish with chopped coriander

Serve with -

- Rotis

- Basmati Rice

- Poori

Neer More (Butter Milk)

Serves two.

Easy-to-make, quick drink, to beat the heat.

You need -

2 small cups curd

1.5 glasses water

Salt to taste

Mustard

Chopped coriander

Asafoetida

1 tsp oil/ghee

What you have to do -

- Put the curd, water and salt in a bowl and churn with a hand blender or a fork for 2-3 minutes until you get an even consistency

- Garnish with burst mustard and asafoetida in oil/ghee, and with chopped coriander

Serve chilled on a hot afternoon!

Kozhakattai (sweet coconut dumplings) Part 2

Today I put together the two mixes and made the final sweet.

After bringing both mixes to room temperature, here's what I did:

- Apply a little coconut oil on your hands, and make little balls out of the rice mix (meil mau) using your palm

- Using your fingers, spread it out into thin flat cakes of 2" diameter - making it thinner towards the edges

- Put 1 tsp of the filling (poornam) in the center and then shut the filling with the edges - much like you'd do while making aloo paratha

- Pinch off the thick top part to give it an even outer coating

- Steam for 15 minutes by placing in a perforated plate over hot water, or by placing in an idly plate in a pressure cooker

Best when served hot!

Kozhakattai (sweet coconut dumplings) Part 1

Every year, my grandma would make the most delicious Kozhakattais on Ganesh Chaturthi day. This year, I'm in Hyderabad, and so I decided to try making them myself. This is a delicate dish and takes time, so I'm making it over two days.

Today, I made the two batters (meil mau & poornam), and tomorrow I'm going to make the actual kozhakattais. Here's what I did today:

For the outer shell (meil mau)

You need -

1 cup rice

4 spoons of coconut oil

A pinch of salt

What you have to do -

- Soak the rice in 2 cups of water for 2 hours

- Strain the water (but save for later use) and put the rice in a blender

- Blend until you get the pasty consistency of a very thick soup

- On a very low flame, put the rice paste, the coconut oil and the pinch of salt in a kadai

- Stir continuously until it gets hard but not too dry - it should have the same consistency as the batter you'd make for rotis

- Put away in a box in the fridge

For the inner filling (poornam)

You need -

1 coconut

Some jaggery

Some ground cardamom

What you have to do:

- Grate the coconut or put it in a blender for a few minutes

- Heat a kadai on a low flame and melt a small cup of jaggery

- Once it starts to turn into liquid, add the coconut and cardamom

- Continue to stir the mix on the low flame until it gets crunchy and the liquid is no longer separate from the coconut

- Put in a bowl and put away in the fridge

For part 2, visit this post.

Indianized Pasta & Garlic Bread

Serves two.

I don't have an oven or a toaster, but still find this to be a very easy-to-make dinner - using just the stove, a kadai and a pan. It takes me about 15 minutes.

(Taken using my phone one evening - please excuse the quality of the picture!)

Pasta:

You need -

2 cups of macaroni

1/2 pack of tomato puree

1 onion

2 tomatoes

Garlic salt, oregano, salt, pepper

Cheese slices (optional, but recommended)

Coriander (optional)

What you have to do -

- Boil the mac until it's soft - add some salt and a drop of oil in the water to keep it from sticking to one another

- In a kadai, sautee chopped up the onion and tomatoes, and add half a pack of puree and wait for it to bubble

- Add salt, pepper and the garlic salt and mix

- Then, add the boiled mac and mix well

- Put in the cheese slices and watch it boil into the mix

- After letting the mac absorb the 'gravy,' add some oregano, garlic salt, chopped up coriander, and then take it off the flame

Garlic Bread:

You need -

4 slices of bread (brown/multi-grain if you want to make it healthy)

Garlic Salt

Butter

Grated cheese (optional)

Chopped green chillies

What you have to do -

- Apply butter on both sides of the slices of bread and sprinkle with garlic salt

- Heat on the tawa on a low flame and wait for both sides to turn golden brown (to make it crispy, turn the flame off and leave the slices on the hot tawa for a short while)

- Sprinkle the grated cheese and green chillies on top and wait for it to form a crust (with the heat of the toast)

Basundhi

Serves four.

I had a few friends coming over for lunch and card games one Saturday, and I decided to try my hand at Basundhi. It took time - but was actually quite easy to put together.

You need -

1l milk

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cardamom (powdered)

6 crushed almonds

3 strands of saffron

What you have to do -

- Boil the milk in a kadai until it reduces to half its quantity - you'll start seeing layers in the milk

- Add the sugar and mix until it dissolves

- Once it comes down to 1/4th it's quantity, add the cardamom and saffron

- When the mix is layered and coarse, take it off the flame and garnish with almonds

- Serve hot or cold!

Note: This is a very heavy dessert.

Dry Capsicum Masala

Serves two.

This is amongst the easiest veggies to make - it takes me less than 7 minutes and goes very well with rasam, rice and papad.

You need -

1 large capsicum

1 teaspoon oil

Some salt, garam masala, cumin seeds

What you have to do -

- Heat the oil with cumin seeds

- Add large chopped pieces of capsicum

- Sautee for 2 mins and add salt and garam masala

- After another 3-4 minutes, take it off the stove

Rawa Dosa

I love Rawa Dosa, but the closest I've come to making it at home is to use MTR's Instant Rawa Dosa Mix. Credits for this recipe also go to Deepsy's mum.

Made by Deepsy's mum, held by Deepsy, and eaten by yours truly!

You need -

1 portion maida (flour) or wheat

2 portions rice powder (arsi powder)

3 portions rava

Some coriander

Some jeera/cumin seeds

Some curry leaves

2 chillies

Chopped Onions (optional)

What you have to do -

- Mix all the above ingredients with water to get a loose consistency

- Set aside for 5 minutes

- Heat the pan with a little oil, and pour the batter out (the batter shouldn't be spread in sweeping circular motions like a regular dosa - it should be poured out in a circle while maintaining minimal thickness)

- Sprinkle some oil all over and around the corners - the dosa will come out with a lot of little holes (it's very natural)

- Serve with curd/chutney/sambar

A variation -

Instead of mixing the batter in water, mix with would sour butter milk. This gives it a completely different taste. Once you mix the batter, leave it aside for about 30 minutes before cooking.

Serve with -

- Tomato or coconut chutney

- Pickle

- Curd

- And a cup of strong hot coffee!

Kannadiga Rasam (Deepsy's mum's recipe)

I've spent most of my school days in Deepika's house. Deepsy's mum makes a really different kind of rasam and I could never quite figure out what was so unique about the taste. As you know, I spent the last weekend at her place, and this time, I watched her in action. Here's what the final product looked like:

I took this picture in a hurry, so it's not very good - but it's a start.

You need -

2 cups boiled dal/lentil

Rasam powder

Jaggery

2 tomatoes

Tamarind

1 piece of green chilli

Jeera/cumin seeds

Mustard

Coriander

Curry Leaves

Asafoetida

What you have to do -

- Put the tamarind in hot water and boil

- Add chopped tomatoes and continue to boil

- Add the rasam powder, the single chilli, a pinch of salt, a small piece of jaggery and continue to boil until fully cooked

- Add the two cups of boiled dal

- Boil it together for 5 minutes and take it off the flame

- Burst mustard, jeera, curry leaves and asafoetida in hot oil and garnish rasam

- Finely chop coriander and sprinkle on the rasam

Hummus

I spent my weekend in Bangalore, with Deepika's family. Deepsy has been one of my closest friends since school, and she was getting engaged. I obviously had to be there for it!

While she was away working on Friday, I spent a lot of time with her younger sister, Surekha. And, we got to talking about many things - caricatures to photos, the River dance to Irish authors, and recipes to cuisines. That's when she asked me about Lebanese food and, specifically, hummus. I love hummus and would recommend it anytime, to anyone.

Surey, if you're reading, this one's for you.

You need -

500gms chickpeas/channa that has been soaked overnight & boiled (drained)

lemon juice from 2 lemons

4 spoons of water

1 teaspoon salt

Half cup tahini (put 50 gms black sesame seeds, few drops of sesame oil, some salt and water in a blender to make tahini paste)

2 cloves garlic—roughly chopped (optional)

Some cumin seeds (optional)

and a blender!

What you have to do -

- Put all items in a blender and blend until you get a smooth paste

- Put in a bowl, and garnish by sprinkling some chilli powder and cumin powder on the top

- Also create a groove in the center and pour a spoon of olive oil (it should look like this)

- Put it in the fridge for a bit, and serve cold!

To complete the meal, serve with -

- Salad: Toss some cucumber, tomatoes and bell peppers in a spoon of olive oil, a dash of lime, some salt and pepper

- Bread: pita, roti, naan or toast

- Falafels

This makes for a healthy and light dinner, but needs some advance shopping and planning.

PS - If you're looking for a good Lebanese platter with fantastic hummus in Hyderabad, I strongly recommend '4 seasons' at either Tolichowki or Kondapur.

Rasam (molaga tanni)

Credit for this recipe goes to my grandma.

You need -

A cup of boiled dal/lentil

2 tomatoes

Some coriander and curry leaves

Rasam Powder (if your grandma doesn't make it for you, you can buy MTR)

What you have to do -

- Boil 5 cups of water

- Chop up tomatoes lengthwise and allow it to boil with the water

- Add the cup of dal/lentil and allow to boil for another few minutes

- Add salt to taste, and two spoons of rasam powder and boil for another 10 minutes

- Take off the stove and add chopped coriander

- Heat a spoon of oil, add mustard, asafoetida and curry leaves and add to rasam

Serve with hot rice, any dry curry and roasted papad - and you have your quintessential Tamil meal!

Parisian Crepes

I tasted my first crepe while in Paris, in 2007, at a little cafe opposite the Louvre museum metro stop - and I loved it!

(at the Louvre, soon after the crepes)

Since then, I've experimented in my own kitchen and I must say - it has come out very well.

You need -

3 cups maida/flour

3 eggs

3 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 small spoons of baking powder

2 spoons of molten butter

2 spoons of flavored essence (optional)

Fruit of your choice (banana, apple, strawberry, pineapple recommended)

Honey/chocolate syrup

What you have to do -

- Mix the maida, eggs, milk, sugar, baking powder, butter and essence to make a loose flow-ey batter. It has to have the consistency of olive oil.

- Let it sit for about 10-20 minutes. You can put it away in the fridge and come back to it later if you're preparing it ahead of time.

- Heat a wide flat pan with a small amount of butter.

- Pour out the batter evenly, while ensuring that you're maintaining the least possible thickness.

- After it cooks for a bit, it will separate from the pan. Turn it over and let it cook on the other side.

- As it cooks, add cut fruit and honey/chocolate syrup.

- Roll it over or fold twice and serve!

Some interesting variations -

- Make chocolate pancakes with slices bananas and leave it in the fridge for a few hours. They're quite yummy on a hot summer afternoon or make for a good dessert.

- Chocolate + Banana + Coconut shavings = very yum!

- Strawberry + Honey = very very yum!

- Add white/brown chocolate chips to make them crunchy and super-chocolatey.

Bread Upma

This has got to be my favorite Saturday morning breakfast. When you wake up late on weekends, and live with girls who are too lazy to buy real vegetables to cook with, this comes as a savior. It's easy to make and the ingredients are usually available in the kitchen.

Naagu posted about this once, after we spend a lovely Christmas day together, way back when she still lived in Hyderabad. Click here for what happened that day and how you can make the upma.

Vanilla French Toast

I don't have any pictures yet - I'm still to get into the habit of taking pictures after I cook, so that I can post them. But, here's my recipe, anyway.

You need -

Brown Bread or Multi Grain Bread

2-3 Eggs

3 spoon fulls of Sugar (add more if you like it really sweet)

5 drops of Vanilla Essence

What you have to do -

- Beat the eggs, milk, sugar and essence together

- Heat a flat pan with some butter

- Dip the bread in the mix (be careful not to dip for long as that breaks the bread)

- Cook the bread on both sides until it turns golden brown

If you want to make it fancy: Stack three full slices of bread one on top of the other, and top it off with a fried egg.

Pour yourself a glass of orange juice, cut up some fruit, brew some mild black tea, and there you have it - the perfect heavy Sunday breakfast!

My inspiration

Very inspired by my paati's (grandma's) ability to cook up the world's most delicious south-Indian food in minutes, and by Naagu's ability to make recipes look so exciting, I've set this blog up.

(It was also one of my to-do things before I turn 25.)

Here's to a blog full of easy to cook breakfast & dinner ideas!