Narayan Kataar ( NanKhatai / Butter Cookies)

What you will need:
Maida/All purpose flour - 2 cups
Powdered sugar - 1 cup
Ghee/Clarified butter - 3/4 cup
Green Cardamom - 8 ,Skin removed and the seeds crushed
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

How to prepare
Mix the flour, baking soda and sugar together in a bowl. Add the crushed cardamom and mix well. Melt the ghee. Add a little at a time, while mixing and kneading the dough it reaches the consistency of chapati dough.
Cover and keep the dough aside for 4 to 6 hours.
Make small balls out of the dough, around the size of a small lemon and slightly flatten them between your palms and place them on a greased baking sheet. Maintain some gap between the cookies.
Preheat the oven at 200°C. Bake them for about 15 minutes or until u see small cracks on top. Take the tray out of the oven and wait until the cookies cool completely. Store in an air-tight container.

Spicy Cookies / Tea time cookies

What you will need:

• Maida/All purpose flour - 2 cups
• Yogurt - 3 tbsp
• Ghee/Clarified butter - 1/2 cup
• Green chillies - 4 to 6
• Curry leaves - 2 strands
• Cumin seeds - 2 tsp, slightly crushed
• Sugar - 2 tsp
• Salt to taste
  
  How to prepare
  Mix all the ingredients together except the ghee. Add melted ghee little at a time and knead the dough. Set it aside for about an hour.
  Roll the dough into big rounds just like you would roll the chapatis. Using a cookie cutter cut out pieces out of the rounds. Grease an aluminium foil and place the pieces on them. Preheat the oven to 300F and bake until done.Do not place the baking tray on the bottom rack of the oven as you do not want to burn the bottom of the cookies. After baking, cool the tray and store the cookies in an air tight container. Can be served with tea or as snacks.

Jhalke Fry (Fried Fish seasoned with garlic)

I had been to US to visit my husband's cousin. That is where I first had this fish preparation. It was nice and spicy. I have been wanting to try preparing this at home for a long time. Finally, I prepared this fish last night and the whole house smelled of fish and garlic. The combination of curry leaves, asafoetida, fish and garlic brings out a great flavour.

What you will need:
Fish (Mackrel) - 6 to 8 pieces
Red chilli powder - 3 tsp

Rice flour - 3 tsp

Gram flour (besan) - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - dissolved in water

Garlic - 8 to 10 pods, finely chopped

Curry leaves - 2 strands

Oil - 3 tbsp

Salt to taste

How to prepare

Mix the red chilli powder with rice flour, salt and gram flour. Add the asafoetida dissolved in water to make a paste. Apply this paste to the fish and leave it to marinate for 2 to 3 hours. I usually leave it in the refrigerator overnight.

Heat oil in a wide pan. Add curry leaves. Place the fish pieces in the oil one by one. Cover and cook until the first side is cooked. Now carefully flip the fish pieces.

Sprinkle the chopped garlic on the fish. Cover and cook the other side.

Turn the heat off and keep the pan covered for an additional 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Mooga upkari / Moong sprouts palya

What you will need:
Moong sprouts - 1 cup

Dried red chillies - 2

Green chillies - 2

Fresh shredded coconut - 2 tbsp

Asafoetida, dissolved in water - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 2 strands

Oil - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

How to prepare

Heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When they crackle add the curry leaves and red chillies. Now add the moong sprouts, salt and green chillies. Add 1/4 cup of water and cover and cook until the moong is almost cooked. Now add the shredded coconut. Cook until the moong is done and is not mashed up. Turn the heat off and add the asafoetida dissolved in water.

Masoora Randayi (Lentils in spicy sauce)

This is a recipe from my mother-in-law. Everyone back home loves this dish. It is also very easy to prepare. It can be served with pan polo /Neer dosa , poori , chapati or parantha.

What you will need:
Whole masoor (Black lentils) - 1 cup ( you can even use any other beans)
Potato - 1 small
Onion - 2 small
Garlic - 4-5 pods
Ginger - 1" piece
Coconut - shredded - 3/4 cup
Cinnamon - 1" piece
Black peppercorns - 3 to 4
Green chillies - 5 to 6
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Cook the masoor and potato in a pressure cooker until soft. Peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes. Grind together onion, garlic, ginger, coconut, cinnamon, peppercorns and green chillies into a fine paste.
Heat a pan. Add the cooked masoor, potatoes, salt and the paste. Mix well and bring it to a boil. Heat oil. Add mustards seeds and when they crackle, add the curry leaves. Pour the tempering over the dal.

Chicken Sukka

What you will need:

• Chicken - 12 pieces, cut into small cubes
• Whole dry red chillies - 12 to 15 (or less if you do not like it too hot)
• Onions - 2 medium, finely chopped
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Coconut grated - 1.5 cups
• Clarified butter / Ghee - 3 tbsp
• Tamarind - lemon sized, exctract a thick juice
• Garlic - 12 - 15, finely chopped (Use 6 - 8, if using american garlic)
• Curry leaves - 2 strands
• Poppy seeds - 2 tbsp
• Black peppercorns - 6 to 8
• Caraway seeds (shahi jeera) - 1 teaspoon
• Green cardamoms - 2 to 3
• Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Salt to taste

How to prepare
Dry roast poppy seeds, black peppercorns, caraway seeds, coriander seeds, green cardamoms, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds. Cool and grind with coconut and 12 red chillies to a coarse paste, adding the tamarind juice. Add the cumin seeds and grind coarsely. The coconut mixture should be dry and coarse.
Heat half of the ghee in a pan. Add chopped garlic and 2 whole dry red chillies. Add salt and turmeric powder. Now add the chicken pieces and cook until the chicken is almost cooked on a low flame without adding water. Add the coconut and spice mixture and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes until the chicken is completely done.
Heat the remaining ghee in a pan. Add the curry leaves, stir-fry briefly and then add the chopped onion. Fry the onion until golden brown and pour it over the cooked chicken. Serve hot.

Spicy Corn

What you will need:
Corn - 1 cup, canned or frozen
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Fresh garlic - 1 tsp crushed
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped
Green chillies - 2
Butter - 2 tbsp
Red chillies - 4 dried
Lemon juice - 2 tsp
Fresh coriander leaves
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Wash the corn in water. If frozen, thaw the frozen corn.
Grind the onion, green chillies, garlic, cumin and coriander powder with salt.
Heat the butter in a skillet. Add crushed red chillies and stir.
Add the onion and spice mixture and fry for around 5 minutes or until the raw smell of the onion goes off. Add the corn and stir-fry for another 2 minutes.
Transfer the corn mixture to a serving dish. Sprinkle lemon juice and garnish with fresh cilantro.

This recipe is my entry to 15 minute cooking @ Spices etc

Tinglavare Kolombo / Sambar

What you will need:
Tingalavaro - 1/2 cup
Toor dal - 1/4 cup
Vegetables - 1 cup (potato, beans, carrots etc)
Tamarind - lime sized, soaked in water
Green chillies - 3 to 4
Sambar powder - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Mustard seeds - 2 tsps
Jaggery - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Cook the beans, toor dal and vegetables with some salt, jaggery and green chillies.
Squeeze the juice out of the tamarind soaked in water. Mix the sambar powder with the tamarind juice and add to the beans and vegetables. Bring it to a boil and turn the heat off.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When the seeds crackle, add the curry leaves. Pour the seasoning over the sambar.
Serve with rice, idly or dosa.

Vaingana song (Eggplant / Brinjal in a spicy tangy sauce)

What you will need:
Onions - 5 small, sliced
Tomato - 1 medium, roughly chopped
Eggplant/Brinjal - 1 medium sized, cut into small cubes
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Tamarind - lime sized, soaked in water
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Squeeze the juice out of the soaked tamarind and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan. Add the onions and fry until the onion is slightly brown in color.
Now add the chopped tomato, salt, red chilli powder and tamarind juice. Add 1/4 cup of water if you dont like it very dry.
Cook until the tomato is completely cooked and is completely mashed. Now add the eggplant and cover and cook.
When the eggplants are cooked, turn the heat off.
Serve hot with chapati or naan.
Also, if you make it a little watery, you can even mix it with rice and eat it.