Kalkandu Pongal

I wanted to try this Kalkandu Pongal and made it on a Navaratri day for Neivedhyam.It tastes different from the sakkarai pongal using jaggery.Lets see the recipe.

Ingredients:

Raw rice	1 cup
Yellow moong dal(Pasiparuupu)	1 tblsp
Kalkandu + sugar(see note below)	1 ½ cups
Milk	2 cups
Water	2 cups
Ghee	6 tblsp
Evaporated milk (see note below)	¼ cup
Cashew nut and raisins	as needed
Saffron	a pinch
Nutmeg powder(optional)	a pinch
Cardamom powder	a pinch

Method:

• Fry raw rice and moong dal in a pan till it turns light brown. 
• Take the rice in a tall vessel,add 2 cups of water and 2 cups of milk and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles.Mash them with a ladle and keep aside.
• Heat a pan,add little ghee and roast cashews and raisins and keep aside.
• In the same pan add the kalkandu,sugar and little water and stir so that the kalkandu melts.Boil till it becomes sticky.Now add the cooked rice and mix well.
• The mixture will become watery,add the evaporated milk and mix well.Add ghee little by little and stir till the pongal thickens and is non sticky.Add the saffron,nutmeg and cardamom powders and mix well.Finally add the roasted cashews and raisins and drizzle 1 tblsp ghee on top.

Note:

• I have used 3/4 cup of kalkandu and 3/4 cup of granulated white sugar and you can make it with kalkandu alone too.
• If you don't want to use evaporated milk,use regular full fat milk instead.

Pav Bhaji

Pav Bhaji is a popular Indian fast food and as the name suggests,soft buns(Pav) is served with a Bhaji(Vegetables cooked in a tomato base).I have tried with different combination of vegetables and this is my friend's recipe which is tasty and easy to make too.

Ingredients:

Potato	2
Vegetables(cauliflower,capsicum and green peas)	1 cup
Onion	1
Tomato	2
Ginger garlic paste	1 tsp
Pav bhaji masala	1 tblsp
Oil	2 tsp
Butter	1 tsp
Coriander leaves chopped	as needed
Salt	as needed

Method:

• Pressure cook Potato and the vegetables.
• Mash them roughly and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan,add onions and fry for a minute.Add ginger-garlic paste and fry well till the raw smell goes off and the onions turn translucent.
• Add finely chopped tomatoes and fry well till they turn mushy.
• Add Pav bhaji masala,salt and fry well.
• Add the boiled and mashed vegetables and add water to get desired bhaji consistency.
• Simmer for 10 mins in low flame till the vegetables blend well with the masala mixture.
• Finally add butter and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

To Serve:

• Cut each pav bun horizontally into two.
• Heat a tawa,add some butter and toast the buns.
• Serve the buns with bhaji and finely chopped onion and lemon slice.

Note:

• You can add a tblsp of tomato paste(store bought) while sauting the tomatoes to get a rich red colour.(I din't add this time)
• The bhaji consistency can be a little thinner than shown in the picture.Adjust water accordingly.I have also not mashed the vegetables completely,but you can mash it completely as per your preference.
• The star ingredient is Pav bhaji masala and I  have used store bought masala.If you want a spicier version,add some red chilli powder while adding pav bhaji masala.

Black Eyed Beans Curry

This Black Eyed Beans curry prepared in a tomato based gravy is quick and easy to make too.Lets see the recipe.

Ingredients:

Black eyed beans	½ cup
Onion	1
Tomato	1
Red chilli powder	as needed
Coriander powder	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	¼ tsp
Ginger	1 small piece
Garlic	1 clove(optional)
Clove	2
Cinnamon	1 small piece
Cardamom	2
Cumin seeds	½ tsp
Salt	as needed
Oil	2 tsp

Method:

• Soak Black eyed beans in water for 6-8 hours and pressure cook.Keep aside.
• Chop Onion and Tomato.
• Grind the Tomato,ginger,garlic,cardamom,cinnamon,clove and all the spice powders(chilli powder,coriander powder and turmeric powder) to a fine paste using little water.
• Heat oil in a kadai and add cumin seeds followed by onion and fry till it turns translucent.
• Add the ground tomato mixture,salt and cook till the raw smell of the masala goes off.
• Add the cooked black eyed beans and required water,cover and simmer in low flame for 5-6 mins.
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve.

Mini Idli with Sambar

I made these cute mini idlis and served them with sambar as sambar idli.This is a nice change to the regular idli with chutney or sambar combination.For the sambar preparation,I have added a combination of Toor dhal and yellow moong dhal but you can make with Toor dhal alone too.

Ingredients:

For the sambar:

Tamarind	Lime sized
Toor dhal	½ cup
Yellow moong dhal	½ cup
Small onion	20
Tomato	1
Oil	as needed
Salt	as needed
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Curry leaves	as needed
For the Masala
Channa dhal	2 tsp
Coriander seeds	1 tblsp
Red chilli	2-3(add according to your spice level)
Methi seeds	¼ tsp
Small onion	4
Fresh coconut grated	2-3  tblsp

For the sambar idli:

Mini idlis,Sambar,chopped coriander leaves ,onion,Ghee for garnishing.

Method:

• Prepare Mini idlis using the Mini idli mould.keep aside.
• Pressure cook both the dhals with a pinch of turmeric powder,mash well and keep aside.
• Extraxt 2 cups of tamarind juice .
• For the sambar,lets first prepare the masala.Heat little oil in a pan and add channa dhal,coriander seeds,red chilli,methi seeds,pinch of hing and fry till they turn golden brown.Allow to cool and grind this along with fresh grated coconut and small onions(raw) to a fine paste.
• Heat oil in a kadai,add mustard seeds,slit green chilli,curry leaves followed by small onions.Fry till they turn golden in colour.Now add the chopped tomatoes and saute till they shrink in volume.
• Add the tamarind juice,salt and let it boil till the raw smell of tamarind goes off.
• Now add the ground paste,mashed dhal and add little water to get the desired consistency.
• Boil for 3-4 mins till everything blends together and nice aroma comes.
• Take a serving plate/bowl,arrange the mini idlis and pour the prepared sambar on top of it.Garnish with finely chopped onions and coriander leaves,drizzle little ghee on top and serve hot.