Ven Pongal~~Ingredients~~

•1 cup: Raw rice

•½ cup: Milk

•1/3 cup: Green gram dal

•11/2 tsp: Black pepper

•1 tsp: Cumin seeds

•1 tbs: Broken cashew nuts

•1 tbs: Finely cut ginger (optional)

•A few: Curry leaves

•2 tbs: Ghee

•5 cup: Water

•Salt to taste

~~Method~~

1.Wash rice and dal and cook them together in five cups of water for 10 minutes.

2.Add salt, curry leaves and ginger with half a cup of milk. Simmer for a minute and remove from fire.

3.Fry cashew nuts, pepper and cumin seeds in ghee.

4.Pour this over the rice-dal mixture.

5.Mix well and serve steaming hot with ghee on top.

Medu Vada~~Ingredients~~

•1 cup: Urad dal

•1 big piece: Ginger

•3-4: Green chilli's

•1/2 tsp: Pepper corns

•1 tsp: Hing

•A few: Curry leaves

•Oil for deep frying

•Salt to taste

~~Method~~

1.Soak the urad dal in water for an hour.

2.Grind to a paste all the ingredients except oil with as little oil as possible.

3.Refrigerate the batter for an hour.

4.Heat oil in deep pan for deep frying.

5.Shape into Vadas and deep fry on both sides till brown.

6.Serve hot.

Masala Vada ~~Ingredients~~

•1/2 cup: Toor Dal

•1/2 cup: Channa Dal

•1 tbsp: Urad Dal

•1 large: Onions (finely chopped)

•5-6: Red Chillies

•1" inch piece: Ginger

•A few: Curry leaves

•Oil for deep frying

•Salt to taste

~~Method~~

1.Soak all dals together for an hour.

2.Grind all ingredients except onions to a coarse paste.

3.Heat oil for deep frying.

4.Add onions to the paste.

5.Shape like Vada and deep fry.

6.Serve hot with ketchup or chutney.

Romaali Roti~~Ingredients~~

•11/2 cup: Whole Wheat Flour (Atta)

•50 gm: Maida

•½ tsp: Baking powder

•2 tbsp: Oil

•Water to knead

~~Method~~

1.Mix wheat flour, maida, salt and baking powder and sieve them together.

2.Pour oil in the flour and add water bit by bit and make a smooth and elastic dough and set aside covered with moist muslin cloth for 1/2 an hour.

3.Now make small balls of the dough and roll like a thin chapati of about 12" diameter circle using little dry flour (it should be thin as a tissue).

4.Heat an inverted griddle (tawa).

5.Place the roti carefully over it and cook till done.

6.Fold it like a handkerchief.

7.Serve hot with hot vegetables.

Idli ~~Ingredients~~

•4 cup: Long grain rice

•2 cup: Uncle Ben's Converted rice

•1 cup: Urad dal whole

•Salt to taste

~~Method~~

1.Soak the long grain rice for 6-7 hours and urad dal for an hour.

2.Dry grind the Converted rice.

3.Grind the soaked rice to a coarse paste & urad to a fine paste.

4.Mix all three, add salt and let it ferment at least for a day.

5.Steam them and serve hot with chutney or sambhar.

Masala Dosa~~Ingredients~~

~~For Dosa~~

•2 cup: Rice - preferably parboiled

•1/2 cup: Split and husked Black Gram (Dhuli Urad) - soaked with rice for 5-6 hours

•1/2 tsp: Fenugreek Seeds

•Oil to smear the pan for cooking the dosas

•2 tsp: Salt

~~For Masala~~

•500 gm (3 cups): Potatoes - boiled, peeled and cubed

•1 1/2 cups: Onions - sliced not very thin

•1/4 tsp: Powdered Turmeric

•2-3: Green chillies - chopped coarsely (optional)

•6-7 : Curry leaves or 1/2 tsp dried curry leaves

•2 tbsp: Oil

•1 tsp: Mustard seeds

•2 tsp: Salt

•1/2 cup: Water

~~Method~~

1.Grind daal mixture together to a very smooth consistency. Add salt and enough water to make into a dropping consistency. Leave to ferment for about 5-6 hours, till a little spongy.

2.If thickened too much, add a little water to thin a bit. Heat tawa, and brush oil over it. When really hot, splash a little water over it, and immediately pour batter onto it, spreading it thin, with a circular motion. This will have to be very swift and will need a bit of practice.

3.After spreading the batter, lower the heat and dribble a little oil around the edges so that it seeps under the dosa. When edges start browning a bit, pass a flat spoon under it to ease the dosa off the pan.

4.Put desired filling in the centre and fold the two edges over. Serve accompanied with sambhar and chutney

~~For the Masala Filling

1.Heat the oil in a heavy based pan and add the mustard seeds, then onions, curry leaves and green chillies, and sauté over high heat till the onions are a little transparent.


2.Add the salt and the turmeric and mix well before adding the potatoes. Turn the potatoes around till well mixed and add the water and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.