Appetizers, Starters and Snacks
Masal Vadai
Quick Paneer Bites
Gobi Manchurian
Paneer Puff flowers
Pasi Paruppu Sundal
Chole Tikki
Hot and Sour Idli

Chutneys and Dips
Spicy Tangy Tomato Chutney
Thakali Thokku
Pudina Thogayal
Thakali Thayir Pachadi - Tomato Raitha
Bajji Milagai Thogaiyal
Peerkangai Thogaiyal

Rasams, Soups
Lemon Rasam
Rasam Mix - Wet
Thakali Rasam

Breakfast and Tiffins
Masala Dosai
Roesti
Peas Semiya Upma
Egg Dosa
Pori Upma
Chutney Upma
Arisi Kurunai Upma

Rice, Pasta, Noodles
Paneer Pulav
Indian Style Pasta
Baked Broccoli and Cheese Pasta
Veggie Rice
Quick Egg Biriyani
Schezwan Fried Rice
Egg Fried Rice
Mushroom Garlic Pasta
Vegetable Pulav

Indian Flat Breads
Aloo Paratha

Dals
Dal Palak
Dal Makhani
Methi Dal / Menthiya Koora pappu
Chole Masala

Vegetables, Gravies, Kootu, Sambar and Curries
Avarakkai Kootu
Palak Paneer
Paneer Butter Masala
Rajma Palak
Egg Curry
Egg Masala (Dry)
Aloo Methi
Aloo Mutter Bhaji
Dry Green Aloo Gobi
Dry Palak
Spicy Plain Palak
Thenga Pal Kurma / Veg Stew
Milagu Kozhambu
Kurma / Veg Saalna
Mutter Paneer

South Indian Brahmin Cooking
Mor Kozhambu / Plain Kadi - I
Mor Kozhambu - II The Authentic version
Beans Curry/ Poriyal
Vazhai Poo Usli (Banana Flower-Lentil Cake Stir Fry)
Red Radish Sambar
Avial

Refreshing Drinks
Panakam and Neer Mor

Sweets, Desserts
Gulab Jamun
Rava Kesari
Rava Ladoo

Podis (Powders)
Rasam Podi
Ellu Podi

Dry Palak

Dry Palak
Spinach cooked with dry spices
Serves 2

What we need:
Palak- 150 g
Onion, medium sized - 1, finely chopped
Tomato, medium sized - 1, finely chopped
Turmeric powder - 1 tbsp.
Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp.
Cumin (Jeera) seeds - 1 tbsp.
Broken Urad dal - 1 tbsp.
Red Chilli - 2 or 3, torn
Oil - 2 or 3 tbsp.
Salt - as needed
Water - as needed

How to do:

1. Heat oil in a pan, and add mustard. When they start to sputter, add cumin, broken urad dal and red chillies.

2. Once they are done, add the onion and fry till they are soft. Add salt.

3. Throw in the tomatoes, turmeric powder, and chopped palak. If needed, sprinkle water to cook the palak.

4. Keep stiring occasionally. In about 3 to 5 minutes, palak will turn soft and cooked. Check the seasoning and remove from flame.

Serve with sambar rice, rasam rice or as a filling in Rotis.

Egg Fried Rice and Gobi Manchurian

Of late, I have started realising the demerits of being abroad. First thing that comes screaming is "INDIAN FOOD". Oh yes, we do have a lots of Indian restaurants here, but none of them serve the dishes in their original spiced versions. (Looks like the chefs have lost the cook-books!) And whenever I order for a (read: in quotes) spicy dish, I invariably find fresh green chillies sticking out of my bowl. Phew...

So my little kitchen often transforms into Chinese, Tandoori, South-Indian restaurants, desperately trying to recreate the magics. The following is one such attempt turned quite successful. Now enough of my rambling, over to our recipe!

Egg Fried Rice
Eggs cooked with sauteed onion and rice
Serves 2

What we need:Eggs - 3 to 4
Rice - 1 Cup, cooked
Onion, medium sized - 1, sliced
Green chillies - 2 to 3, finely chopped
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tbsp.
Pepper powder - 1 tbsp.
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp.
Salt - as needed
Oil - as needed
How to do:1. Cook the rice and set aside. The grains of the rice should be separate.
2. Break the eggs in a separate bowl and beat them well. Add a little salt and mix well. Set it aside.
3. Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan. Add onion, green chillies and ginger-garlic paste.
4. Fry well till the onion turns soft.Now add pepper powder, salt.
5. Slowly add the beaten eggs, and keep stirring. Scramble them and keep mixing till the eggs are cooked and broken.
6. Now add the rice and mix gently. Add soy sauce and mix well. Check and adjust the seasoning and remove from flame.

Note: You can add chopped beans, carrot to make it more colorful and nutritious.

Gobi Manchurian
Indian version of Cauliflower Manchurian
Serves 2
What we need:Cauliflower, medium sized - 1
Onion, medium sized - 1, finely chopped
Tomato paste - 2 tbsp.
Tomato sauce or ketchup - 1 tbsp. Optional
Garlic - 3 to 4 pods, minced
Soya sauce - 1 tbsp.
Green onions (Spring Onions) - 3 to 4 sprigs
Green Chillies - 2 to 3, minced
Ginger paste - 1/2 tbsp.
Corn flour - 2 tbsp. heaped
Chilli powder - 1 tbsp.
Salt - as needed
Oil - 2 to 3 tbsp.
Water - as needed

For the batter:Corn flour - 5 tbsp. heaped
Chilli powder - 1 tbsp.
Oil - 6 to 7 tbsp.
Salt - as needed
Water - as needed

How to do:
Part 1:
1. Pick the cauliflower into medium sized florets and wash them well. Drain and set aside.
2. In a bowl, mix corn flour, chilli powder, salt. Add water slowly to make batter. The consistency should almost be like a dosa batter.
3. Heat oil in a deep pan. Dip the florets into the batter and drop in the oil. Fry well till they turn golden brown. Do not coat the florets with too much batter, as it will become soggy in the gravy.
4. Drain in a kitchen towel and set aside.

Part 2:1. Heat oil in a kadai. Add the onions, green chillies and garlic. Add salt and fry well till the onions turn soft.
2. Add the tomato paste, tomato ketchup (optional) and chilli powder. Mix well.
3. Add half of the spring onions, soya sauce. Now add half a cup of water.
4. Mix 2 tbsp. of corn flour with little water and make a paste. Take care that all the lumps are dissolved.
5. Add this to the boiling gravy, and keep stirring. Now the gravy will start to thicken.
6. Add the fried Cauliflower florets and coat them evenly with the mixture.

Garnish with the remaining spring onions.
Note: For dinner parties, you can make part 1 and part 2 before hand and leave them aside. When you are ready to serve, heat the mixture a little, add the florets, mix well and serve immediately.

To relish this as a gravy, in step 3, add 2 cups of water.
Serve together Egg Fried rice and Gobi Manchurian and earn a pat-on-the-shoulder from your loved ones! :)

Masal Vadai

For V, piping hot vadais and coconut chutney are inevitable favorite and he never bothers to count how many he had.

Till our marriage, I had limited my business with vadai just till the dining room. But after learning the secret to please my hubby dear, I learned to make this lip smacking snack. Now it is just a matter of hours notice, and they are ready for the evening bite with tea!

We can make many variations using the same batter like
1. Mix Pudina to make pudina vadai
2. Mix chopped banyan flowers (Vazhai poo) to make Vazhai Poo vadai
3. Use Chopped Cabbage instead of Onion to make Vadai for Neivedyam

Masala Vadai
Spicy Lentil cakes
Makes 5 to 6 vadais

What we need:
Kadalai Paruppu (Chana Dal) - 1 cup
Onion, medium sized - 1, finely chopped
Coriander - 5 tbsp., finely chopped
Red Chillies - 2 or 3
Salt - as needed
Asafetida - a pinch
Oil - for deep frying
Water - as needed

How to do:
1. Wash and soak the dal for about 1 hour.
2. Drain and grind with red chillies, salt, asafetida and very little or no water.
3. In a bowl, mix this batter with chopped onions and chopped coriander. Check for salt and adjust accordingly.
4. In a deep pan, heat oil. To check the heat, drop a small bit of batter in the oil. It should come up immediately.
5. Take some batter and using a banyan leaf/ butter paper /hand, flatten out to make the shape of vadai. Use some oil to avoid batter getting sticky.
6. Drop into the oil, and fry on both sides till golden brown.

Serve with coconut chutney or tomato sauce.

Paneer Butter Masala

This dish is one item that recurs every time we go to a restaurant! It is our love for paneer, and simplicity of the dish that makes me crave for it. Having smitten by "Paneer Bug", nowadays I am trying out a lot of varieties in Paneer, and this one never fails me.

Tastes best with Rotis and Nan, my (weird) choice is to have it with Chinese Veg. Fried rice. (Psst, it tastes so good!!)

Paneer Butter Masala
Indian Cottage cheese cooked in mildly spiced gravy
Serves 2

What we need:
Paneer - 150 g, cut into cubes
Butter/Oil - 3 to 4 tbsp
Tomato Puree - 1 cup
Green Chillies - 1, minced
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tbsp.
Cumin (Jeera) Seeds - 1 tbsp.
Chilli powder - 2 tsp.
Cumin powder - 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder - 1tsp.
Yoghurt - to 4 tbsp.
Garam masala - 1 tsp. Optional
Coriander - for garnishing
Kasoori Methi/Dry Fenugreek Leaves - 1 tbsp. Optional
Salt - as needed

How to do:
1. Heat Oil (or butter) in a kadai and fry the paneer. Drain and keep it aside.
2. Heat the remaining butter (or oil) and add the cumin seeds. When they sizzle, add the ginger-garlic paste and green chillies.
3. When they are done, add the tomato puree, turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin powder and salt.
4. Fry well till the oil starts to separate. Now add 3 to 4 tbsp. of yoghurt and stir well. Reduce the flame to low.
5. Add the fried paneer cubes, mix well, and sprinkle a tsp. of garam masala.
6. Remove from the stove and garnish with fresh chopped coriander.

Note:
1. Sprinkle crushed Kasoori methi for a better flavor (at step 5).
2. If dealing with calories is not a problem, you can drizzle a dollop of butter over the gravy before serving.
3. Those who don't eat garlic, can omit it and use only ginger. It has a flavor of its own.

Dal Palak - A Warm bowl of Comfort!

This time I am sharing with you my all-time favorite recipe, Dal Palak. Dal as such is highly nutritious, and having it cooked with palak make the whole package an irresistible combination.

While Dal Palak goes well with Roti, Chapathi, I prefer to have it with rice and papad and find it absolutely comforting. And I am sure you can't agree more with me.

Dal Palak
Moong Dal cooked with Spinach
Serves 2

What we need:
Moong dal - 1 cup
Spinach leaves - 150 g
Onion, medium sized - 1, finely chopped
Tomato, medium sized - 1, finely chopped
Garlic - 3 to 4 pods, minced
Green chillies - 1 or 2, finely chopped
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp.
Ghee (or) Oil - 4 to 5 tbsp.
Salt - as needed
Water - as needed

How to do:
1. Wash and clean the Spinach. Roughly chop them.
2. Wash and pressure cook the dal (for about 15 to 20 minutes). Mash them well.
3. In a pan, heat oil or ghee, add cumin seeds.
4. When they start to sputter, add the onion, green chillies and garlic. Fry till they are soft.
5. Now add the tomatoes, spinach and cook till they turn soft and start to pulp.
6. Add salt, dal and a cup of water.
7. Bring to a boil and remove from the flame.

Serve with rotis or rice and papad.

Rasam Mix (Wet)

The idea of having a rasam mix was born out those bottles I used to see at Ambika Appalam Depot, Sri Krishna Sweets in Chennai. They are very much a boon to the bachelors and even us, house-wives, to make rasam in less than 3 minutes.

We had planned for a long weekend get-away to Paris and MIL was already planning for the menu after holidays; I must say she is a dheerga darisi, because after a long holiday that had only french fries and pizza for lunch and dinner (thankfully the hotel we stayed provided a decent American breakfast.. But no indian there too!!), I was looking a spicy homemade rasam to satisfy my palates.

We prepared this mix before hand and kept in the fridge. It was just a work of 3 minutes to make the rasam and less than that to happily to drink it off the plate ;) And I will bet anywhere, nothing can be so overwhelming than having a simple homemade rasam after you palates have died consuming an all-foreign-food!! :)

The quantity I have mentioned here makes enough rasam for 3 to 4 people. Adjust the ingredients accordingly to your needs.

Rasam Mix (Wet)

What we need:
Tomato, medium sized - 1
Tamarind extract - 5 to 6 tbsp. Made from a marble sized tamarind ball
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp.
Dhania (Coriander) seeds - 1 tbsp.
Pepper corns - 6 to 7
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Chana dal - 1 tbsp.
Toor dal - 1 tbsp. Optional, but gives a frothy texture
Red Chillies - 2 to 3
Salt - as needed

How to do:

1. Dry roast all the ingredients except tomato and tamarind extract.
2. Blend the roasted ingredients along with salt, tomato and tamarind in a mixer/blender without adding water.
3. Transfer to an air-tight jar and store it in the refrigerator.

Making Rasam with this mix:

Dilute this mix with enough quantity(2 to 3 glass) of water. Bring it to a boil, garnish with coriander leaves.

Tips: Temper mustard and cumin seeds in Ghee and add to this mixture to give a better flavor. Grind a pod of garlic along with the other ingredients for an added flavor and taste.

Methi Dal / Menthiya Koora Pappu

Summers here are not exactly the summers that I had experienced. Sun shines brightly for 3 to 4 days and when the temperatures touch 25+, it starts to rain. So weird for someone like me from India! So whenever it is raining, the interest in cooking also drops with it. When the palates crave for something simple and enriching, nothing beats like digging into a bowl of rice and dal, with a dollop of ghee over it, and a deep fried appalam to complement it... Yummy!!

The other day I was scanning through the fresh-produce section in the supermarket when this box of green grabbed my attention. I never thought I'll find fresh "vendhaya keerai" or the green methi here in Switzerland and t was a like meeting a childhood friend accidentally after long time ;)

Here I have used half and half toor and moong dal. You can also use only toor or moong dal; anyways, it is tasty.

Methi Dal or Venthaya Keerai paruppu

Dal cooked with Green Methi leaves and spices

Serves 2

What we need:

Toor dal - 1/2 cup

Moong dal - 1/2 cup

Methi leaves - a small bunch

Onion, medium sized - 1, finely chopped

Tomato, medium sized - 1, finely chopped

Garlic - 3 to 4 pods, minced

Green chillies - 1 or 2, finely chopped

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp.

Mustard - 1 tsp.

Ghee (or) Oil - 4 to 5 tbsp.

Salt - as needed

Water - as needed

How to do:

1. Wash and clean the methi leaves. If desired, roughly chop them.

2. Wash and pressure cook the dal (for about 15 to 20 minutes). Mash them well.

3. In a pan, heat oil or ghee and add the mustard. When they start to sputter, add cumin seeds.

4. Once they are done, add the onion, green chillies and garlic. Fry till they are soft.

5. Now add the tomatoes, methi and cook till they turn soft and start to pulp.

6. Add salt, mashed dal and a cup of water (if needed).

7. Bring to a boil and remove from the flame.

Serve with rice and papad.

Egg Dosa

Like any other child, I used to be very rebellious when it comes to eating food.. But take me to a restaurant; I'd happily munch down dosas, chole baturas without complaining. I wasn't particularly fond of any rice items and used to survive on MAGGI and dosa, to an extent! ;) This Egg dosa was born out of such desperate attempt of Mom to make me eat egg. So when she served me this, I thought it was dosa and gulped it down without a second look! Now years later, I still love that dosa.

It doesn't taste much like egg when eaten hot (unless you are an avid foodie, can't make out much difference!). Do try this out, and let me know your comments.

Egg Dosa
Rice based Pan cake cooked with Egg
Makes 3 to 4

What we need:
Dosa batter - 2 to 3 cups
Eggs - 1 or 2
Oil - as needed
Salt - as needed

How to do:
1. Break the eggs in a bowl and beat them well. Salt them lightly if needed.
2. Pour this mixture into the bowl of Dosa batter and mix well.
3. Make dosas as usual.

Serve with tomato or chilli sauce.