Thoran

Serves: 4~5
Preparation time: 5min 

Cooking time: 20min 

Ingredients

* Cabbage - 500gm

* Coconut - ¼cup

* Green Chillies - 2~3nos

* Ginger - 10gm
* Curry leaves - 5os

* Coconut oil - 1tbsp

* Turmeric powder - 1tsp

* Mustard - 1tsp

* Channa dhal + Urad dhal - 1tsp

* Dry Red Chilli - 1nos

* Salt - ½tsp (adjust to your taste)

Method
* Cut cabbage into small fine pieces 

* Grind Coconut, Ginger,. Green Chillies - Do not add water
* Heat coconut oil in a pan and season with Mustard seeds, Channa dhal and Urad dhal

* Add Turmeric powder, Curry leaves and Red chilli

* Add cut cabbage little by little and mix well 

* Add salt over it and mix well

* Close the pan and allow it to cook for about 5~10min

* Simmer the flame and now the grind Coconut, Green Chillies and Ginger 

* Mix them well

Note: 

* Could add fresh green peas if available along with cabbage.

Kaalan

Serves: 4~5
Preparation time: 10min 

Cooking time: 20min 

Ingredients

* Yam - 100gm

* Raw Banana - ½nos
* Curd - 1½cup

* Green Chillies - 3nos
* Red dry chillies - 3nos

* Curry leaves - 5nos

* Turmeric powder - 1tsp
* Fenugreek seeds - 1tsp
* Cumin seeds - 1tsp
* Mustard seeds - 1tsp
* Grated coconut - 1cup

* Salt - ½tsp (adjust to your taste)

* Ghee - 3~4tsp

Method
* Peel skin from Yam and Banana and cut into ½ x 1 inch long pieces

* Grind coconut, Green Chillies, Fenugreek and Cumin seeds into smooth paste preferable without adding water

* Cook the cut Yam and Banana along with salt, turmeric powder until it becomes soft [Note: use as little water as required as we need to almost dry the water]
* Add 1tsp of Ghee and Curd and simmer the flame 

* When Curt starts boiling add the smooth paste of Coconut, Green Chillies, Fenugreek and Cumin seeds

* Stir and boil well

* Season with rest of Ghee, Mustard, Red Dry Chillies and Curry leaves

Oolan

Serves: 4~5
Preparation time: 15min 

Cooking time: 20min 

Ingredients

* White Pumpkin - 200gm

* Coconut Milk (diluted) - ½cup
* Coconut Milk (thick) - ½cup

* Green Chillies - 2~3nos

* Lobia (Karamani) - 5nos
* Curry leaves - 10nos

* Coconut oil - 25ml

* Salt - ½tsp (adjust to your taste)

Method
* Soak the Lobia for 2hrs and pressure cook it

* Peel skin from White Pumpkin and cut into ½ x 1 inch long pieces
* Cut Green Chilles into long slits

* Cook the cut pumpkin along with salt until it becomes soft 

* Add cooked Lobia and slit Green Chillies  and thin Coconut Milk and bring it to boil

* Simmer the flame and now add thick Coconut Milk

* Keep them in simmer for 1~2 min and switch off the flame

* After 2~3min add Coconut oil and curry leaves

Note: 

* Add brown/black Lobia, if possible, it will a contrast look along with the transparent pumpkin and white coconut milk 

Pooran Poli

Serves: 4~5
Preparation time: 60min 

Cooking time: 30min 

Ingredients

* Maida - 2cup

* Coconut - 1nos
* Jaggery - 250gm
* Cardamom - 5nos
* Ghee - 2tbsp

* Rice flour - 3tbsp

* Oil - 50ml
* Turmeric powder - ½tsp
* Salt - ½tsp (adjust to your taste)

Method
(for dough)

* Add salt, turmeric powder to maida flour

* Mix them well and make dough with water [pour water little by little]
* Make the dough little loose [same as parotta consistency]
* Add oil to the dough and mix it well
* Allow it to settle for 1hr

(for pooran)
* Grate the coconut
* Break jaggery into finer pieces

* Grind coconut, cardamom, rice flour by adding very little water make it into a fine paste

* Heat a pan in a low flame 

* Add the above coconut paste

* Add jaggery to the coconut paste

* Mix them slowly until jaggery melts and paste become solid 

* Add ghee and mix well

* Allow it to cool

(for pooran poli)

* In banana leaf apply little oil for lubrication

* Take a lime size (approx.) dough and flatten it with hand

* Take lime size of pooran and make a stuffing in the flattened dough

* Cover the pooan with the flattened dough to form a ball and flatten it again like stuffed parathas

* Heat non-stick tawa pan in low flame

* Gently turn the banana leaf on the pan, such that the poli sticks on the tawa

* Now gently remove the banana leaf from the tawa with the help of a spoon

* Allow it to toast on both sides in a similar fashion to parathas

* Repeat this until dough and/or pooran is exhausted

Note: 

* Where banana leaf is not available, you may use butter paper or any laminated papers

Rava Pongal

Serves: 4~5
Preparation time: 10min 

Cooking time: 30min 

Ingredients

* Rava - 2cup

* Bengal dhal - 1cup
* Pepper - 1tsp
* Cumin seeds - 1tsp
* Cashew - 10~15nos

* Green Chilli - 4~5nos

* Ginger - 10gm 

* Salt - 1tsp (adjust to your taste)
* Ghee - 3tbsp
* Asafoetida - 1pinch
* Curry leaves - 1 bunch

Method

* Heat 2tbsp of ghee in a pan

* Add rava, dhal and fry it [do not burn/roast it]

* When hot transfer to a cooker [preferably a pressure cooker] and cook well

* Once rice and dhal are cooked, heat rest 1tbsp of ghee in a pan
* Add cumin seeds and allow it to splutter
* Add pepper [be careful it might pop]
* Add cashew nuts and fry till light brown
* Add cut green chilli and ginger and fry for a minute
* Add curry leaves and asafoetida
* Switch off the flame and the cooked rava and dhal into the pan
* Add salt and mix well

Note: 

* Serve hot with coconut chutney

* If you are not calorie conscious then you could double/triple the ghee quantity which will give near to Tirupati pongal taste

Mint Pilaf

Serves: 4~5
Preparation time: 45min 

Cooking time: 30min 

Ingredients

* Basmati Rice - 2cup

* Mint - 50gm
* Potato - 1nos
* Carrot - 1nos
* Onion - 2nos

* Green Chilli - 4~5nos

* Ginger - 20gm 

* Garlic - 10cloves
* Coconut - ½cup
* Cinnamon - small piece
* Clove - 2~3nos
* Salt - 1tsp (adjust to your taste)
* Ghee - 2tbsp
* Oil - 2tbsp

Method

* Soak basmati rice for about 20~30min
* Dry soaked rice well
* Grind mint, green chilli, coconut, ginger, garlic, clove, cinnamon into fine paste in a mixer

* Cut onions in long fashion
* Heat oil in a pan

* Fry cut onions until brown

* Add the ground mint paste and cook for 2~3min

* Simultaneously heat ghee in another pan

* Add the rice and stir until rice changes to transparent color [do not burn/roast it]

* Now add the rice to onion and mint mix and mix well

* Add potato, carrot and salt

* You could open cook or cook in an electric cooker [do not pressure cook]

Note: 

* Add just enough water to the rice, if you more water the rice will be over cooked

* After cooking do not mix the rice hard

* Serve hot with onion raita or cucumber tomato raita

* If you have grill you could grill the cooked rice in a porcelain bowl, that will roast the top portion of rice