Carrot Thoran

Ingredients:
Carrot:3 (finely chopped)
Onion:1/2 (finely chopped)
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder:a pinch
Oil:1 tspn
Mustard seeds:1 tspn
Split urad dal:1 tspn
Dry red chilli:2(broken into halves)
Curry leaves
Grated coconut:1/4 cup

  Heat oil in a pan.Pop mustard seeds and add urad dal,red chillies and curry leaves.Add chopped carrot and onion.Add salt to taste and turmeric powder.Cover with a lid and cook until done.Stir occasionally.Once cooked,add grated coconut and mix well.Remove from the flame and serve as a side dish for rice.

Uzhunnu Vada

Ingredients:
Urad dal:1 cup(soaked for 3 to 4 hours)
salt to taste
Onion:1 medium(finely chopped)
Green chilli:2 to 3(chopped)
Curry leaves
whole pepper:2 tspn
Sooji rava:1 handfull
Oil for deep frying

Grind urad dal to a thick paste adding salt and little amount of water.Add chopped onions,green chilli,curry leaves,whole pepper and rava (for crispiness) to the ground paste and mix well.Make it into desired shape and deep fry in oil.(Wet your hands with water to avoid sticking while shaping it).Fry till slightly brown.Take the vadas from oil and remove excess oil with tissue paper.Serve hot with chutney.

Dal and methi(fenugreek leaves) curry

Ingredients:
Toor dal/Moong dal:1 cup
Methi:1 bunch
Onion:1 (chopped)
Garlic:4 to 5 pods(sliced)
Tomato:2 (chopped)
Oil:2 tspn
Mustard seeds:1 tspn
Fenugreek seeds:1/2 tspn
Cumin seeds:1/2 tspn
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder:a pinch
Chilli powder:1/2 tspn
Sambhar powder:1/2 tspn
Coriander leaves

Heat oil in a pressure cooker  and add mustard seeds.After it pops add fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds. Saute for 10 seconds and add chopped onion and garlic.Once onion changes color add chopped tomatoes and saute.Then add dal,add turmeric powder,salt to taste,chilli powder and sambhar powder.Saute till raw smell of the powder goes off.Add dal and adequate amount of water and close with the lid and cook until 1 whistle comes.Switch off the flame.Remove the lid when the pressure fully goes off and add previously cleaned methi leaves to it.Cook until done.Garnish with coriander leaves.Serve with rice.

Zucchini Soup

Zucchini:1 (diced)
Onion:1(chopped)
Potato:1 (peeled and diced)
Chicken broth/vegetable broth :2 cups
Butter:1/4th of a stick
Italian seasoning:1/2 spoon
Salt to taste
Ground pepper:1/4 tspn

In a pressure cooker melt butter and saute onion in it.Add diced potato and zucchini and saute for some time.Add chicken broth cover with the lid and pressure cook till one whistle comes.When cooled puree it in a blender in batches.Transfer it to a cooking pot and bring to boil.Add water according to the consistency.Season with italian seasoning.Serve hot.

Nadan vallerika pullisery

Ingredients:

• Cucumber/vallerikka 1 no:
• Turmeric powder a pinch
• Salt required
• Dry red chilly/green chilly 2 no:s (depends on the spiciness required)
• Grated coconut ½ cup
• Cumin seed ¼ tsp
• Yogurt/curd(mesure according to the soreness required)

Seasoning:

• Mustard 1tbsp
• Fenugreek seeds ¼ tbsp
• Curry leaves 4 to 5 no:s
• Oil 4 tbsp
• Red chilly 2 no:s

Cut cucumber into small pieces and cook with turmeric powder and salt. Cook until it can be mashed and mash some pieces. Grind coconut, cumin, red chilly, with yogurt into a paste. Add to cooked cucumber and cook for 2 minutes. Take off from the stove. Heat oil for seasoning. Sputter the mustard and add fenugreek seeds, curry leaves and red chilly. Add this seasoning to pullisery.

Egg Kurma

Eggs:3 hard boiled
Onions:2 ( finely chopped)
Tomato:1 (chopped)
Ginger garlic paste:1 tbsp
Green chilli: 2 
Cinnamon stick:1/2 inch
Cloves:2 to 3
Cardamom skin:1
Fennel seeds:1/2 tspn
Turmeric powder:a pinch
Coriander powder:1 tspn
Garam masala:1/2 tspn
Chilli powder:1/4 tspn
Pepper powder:1/2 tspn
salt to taste
Grated coconut:1/2 cup
Cumin seeds:1/2 tspn
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves

Grind coconut and cumin seeds together to a paste and keep aside.Heat oil and put cinnamon stick,cloves,cardamom,fennel seeds and saute for some time.Add onions and ginger garlic paste,curry leaves and fry till onion turns slightly brown.Add chopped tomatoes and green chillies..To that add coriander powder ,turmeric powder,garam masala,chilli powder,pepper powder and salt to taste.Cook untii tomatoes are done.Add the ground paste and add adequate amount of water for gravy.Cook till the gravy becomes thick.Add eggs and simmer for few more minutes.Garnish with coriander leaves.

Rava Kesari

Ingredients:
Sooji :1 cup
Sugar:1 cup
Butter:1/2 stick
Water:2 1/2 cups
Kesari color:a pinch(optional)

Heat 1 inch of butter and fry broken cashews and raisins.Put rava and fry till it becomes slightly brown.Meanwhile boil water in another vessel and add kesari color to it.Add the water to roasted  rava.Let the rava cook in medium flame.When rava gets cooked add sugar.Keep stirring.Add the remaining butter and fry till the rava comes out from the sides without sticking.Pour into a greased plate and cut into desired shape or serve as such.