Fish Cooked in Tamerind Sauce (Chepa Pulusu)

Difficulty Rating 2: Special Ingredient Needed

Fish  - 7-8 fillets

Onions, chopped - 1 cup
Green chilies, slit - 4
Ginger garlic - 1 ½  tsp.
Cumin powder - 1 tsp.
Coriander powder - 1 tsp.
Chili powder- 1 1/2 tsp.
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
Tamarind, soaked in 2 cups water & extract juice - 4 tbsp.
Curry leaves - 10-12
Coriander leaves, fresh - 2 tbsp.
Salt to taste
Oil

Seasoning:
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp.
Methi/ fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp.

1.   Heat oil in a wide vessel and add the mustard seeds until they splutter. Add the methi seeds and let them brown. Add the curry leaves and stir for a few seconds.

2.   Add the onions and fry till the onions turn transparent. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a couple of minutes.

3.   Add the turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, chili powder and salt and fry for a minute.

4.   Add the tamarind extract and one or two cups of water and bring it to boil. Carefully place the fish pieces in the vessel and cook covered for 3 minutes.

5.   Add the green chilies. Turn the fish pieces over and cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Do not stir too much or the pieces will break. Let the sauce thicken and till the oil separates.

6.   Adjust salt and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

7.    Serve it after a couple of hours of cooking so that the fish pieces absorb the tangy flavor of the tamarind sauce and spices. Serve with rice.

Thotakura Fry

Difficulty Rating 2:  Special Ingredient needed

1 big bunch fresh amaranth (or fresh spinach) leaves (picked, cleaned, discard thick stalks, use tender stalks)

1 big onion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

4 dry red chilies de-seeded

5-6 garlic flakes, crushed

1 sprig curry leaves

2 green chilies, slit length wise (adjust to taste)

Big pinch turmeric powder

Salt to taste

1/2 TBsp olive oil

1.    Heat oil, add the mustard seeds and once they splutter, add the cumin seeds, garlic, red chilies, curry leaves and green chilies and cook until the garlic turns brown.

2.    Add the onions and sauté till transparent. Add salt and turmeric and sauté further for a minute.

3.    Add the leaves and sauté covered for 15-20 minutes or till done. Serve hot with rice and lentils.

Thotakura Pappu

Difficulty Rating 3:  Pressure cooker needed, Special Ingredients Needed

Thotakurra is an Indian vegetable similar to spinach.  

1 ½ cups Toor dal
1/2 a large bunch of  thotakura/amaranth (or substitute spinach) leaves washed and chopped

½ medium onion diced

1 medium tomato diced

¾ Green chili (adjust to taste)

2 tsp. Tamarind paste (optional)

Salt to taste

½ tsp mustard seeds

1//2 tsp Chana dal (optional)

½ tsp cumin seeds

Few curry leaves (optional)

Pinch asafoetida (optional)

1. 1.     Combine the toor dal, amarath leaves, green chilli, onion and tomato with a pinch of turmeric in a pressure cooker. Cook it in the pressure cooker for 4 to 5 whistles till soft.
2. 2.     Heat oil and splutter a mustard seeds, chana dal, cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida.
3. 3.     Add the spiced oil to the cooked dal mixture. Now add the salt and tamarind and return the dal mixture to the stove and cook for another five minutes.
4. 4.     Serve with hot rice, fry and papadam.

Masala Tomato Rice

Difficulty Rating 2: Special ingredient needed

1 Cup Uncooked Rice
1 small Onion
1 Medium Tomato
2 Green Chillies
½ tsp Sambar Pd
Turmeric
Salt
Oil
½ tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Urad Dal
1 TBsp Peanuts
4 Curry Leaves

1. Cook the Rice as you would normally do.
2. Heat Oil.  Add Mustard, Urad Dal, Curry Leaves and Peanuts.
3. Add Onion and fry till transparent
4. Add Tomato, G Chillies, Salt and turmeric, Cover and cook until the tomatoes break down.
5. Add Sambar powder and fry for 5 mins
6. Add the rice and mix. Adjust the Salt.
7. Serve with Hard boiled eggs for breakfast or a light dinner.

Chicken 65

Difficulty Rating 3: Number o f steps required

1 -2 cup oil, for deep frying

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces

Marinade for Chicken

1 tsp salt

1 tsp red chili powder

½ tsp turmeric

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

½ tsp ground black pepper

Batter for Chicken

1 eggs, beaten

3 TBsp corn flour

Yogurt Mix

1 ½ Cups yogurt, beaten

1 tsp salt

1 tsp red chili powder

½ tsp turmeric

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

For Seasoning

2 tsp oil

5 -6 green chilies (adjust as needed)

6-8 curry leaves (optional)

1.  Mix the chicken in the marinade and leave for 1 hour.  If you don’t have the time to wait for it to marinate, then go ahead to the next step.

2.  Coat the chicken well in the egg n corn flour n mix

3.  Heat a large amount of oil for frying.  Fry the chicken pieces till light golden brown.

4.  Mix the yogurt ingredients and place nearby

5.  As you take the chicken pieces out from frying, put them directly into the yogurt mix.

7.  Heat a small amount of oil.  Add the green chilies & curry leaves

8.  Heat the oil until the curry leaves splutter a lot

9.  Add the chicken n yogurt mix and lower the heat and cook till the liquid from the yogurt dries up, & a dry curry is left.

    10.    Serve. With Talimp Annum, Chapati and a veg curry.

Dahl Makhani

Difficulty Rating 4: Special ingredients needed, Total time required, Pressure cooker needed

1/2 cup Kidney beans

1 1/4 cups Whole Urad Dahl

1 stick butter

1 TBsp Coriander powder

1 cup cream

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp Garam masala

2 TBsp Ginger Garlic Paste

Oil as needed

½ tsp Red chili powder (adjust as you like)

Salt to taste

5 small Tomatoes pureed in a blender

½ tsp turmeric

1. Wash the dahl and kidney beans and soak them in 5 cups of water for a few hours.  Then add salt to taste and cook in the pressure cooker for about 4 or 5 whistles until they are very soft.
2. Heat oil.  Add cumin seeds until they splutter.  Add ginger garlic paste, turmeric and tomatoe puree.  Cook covered on medium for about 10 minutes.
3. Add chilli powder and salt and cook for a few minutes.
4. Add the ingredients from the pressure cooker.  Add water if needed.
5. Add the butter and cream and cook on low for about 10 minutes
6. Serve with Talim Anum and chilcken curry for special ocations. 

Coconut Milk Vegetable Pilaf

Difficulty Rating 2: Special Ingredients needed

1 cup Basmati Rice

1 cup Mixed Vegetables (such as beans, carrots, peas, potato, green bean)

1 small onion chopped

4 Green chillies

1 ¾ cups Thick canned coconut milk (found in the international section of any grocery store)

2 Tbsp Cumin seeds

4 large cloves Garlic finely chopped

1 in Piece Ginger finely chopped

1 in Piece

3 Bay leaves

4 Cardamom/Elachi

4 cloves

Salt to taste

Oil


1.       Slightly steam the vegetables so that they are at least 80% cooked
2.       Wash the rice and soak it for 10 minutes.
3.       Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom and fry.
4.       Add ginger and garlic and fry but do not allow it to brown.
5.       Add onions, green chillies and salt and stir fry until the onions are golden.
6.       Add the veggies and stir fry for 2-3 minutes
7.       Drain the water from the rice.
8. Add the Add the coconut milk, rice and onion/veggie mixture to a rice cooker and cook until the rice is done.

Beet Fry

Difficulty Rating 2: Prep time required

2 Cups Fresh beet chopped into ½ inch cubes
Oil

½ tsp Coriander powder

½ tsp Cumin

Salt

3 Dry Red chillies

A pinch of turmeric

1.    Heat oil in a frying pan and add the cumin-coriander powder

2.  After it begins to splutter, add the red chillies and turmeric.

3.    Then add the chopped beets and fry untill the beets are tender and dry.

4.    Add salt and serve with hot rice.

Ridge Gourd Chutney

Difficulty Rating 3: Special Ingredients needed, grinding required

1 ½ Cups Ridge Gourd chopped into 1/2" cubes

2 Tbsp Roasted Peanuts

4 Green Chillies (adjust according to taste)

¾ Tbsp Tamarind Juice (adjust according to taste)

2 Tbsp Coriander leaves (finely chopped)
Salt

Seasoning:

Oil, Mustard, Chana and Urad dal, Red Chillies, Hing and Curry leaves

1.  Heat oil sautee ridge gourd pieces and green chilli pieces until there are blisters on the chilli. 

2.  Take Ridge Gourd, Chillies, Peanuts, tamarind juice and coriander leaves and blend it to smooth paste. 

3. Heat oil and add the seasoning ingredients, in the order above. Add this to ground chutney and serve.