Soupy pasta

Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:

Content	Quantity	Comment
Tomatoes	5 medium
Onion	2 medium	Sliced thinly
Garlic pods	5-6	Chopped
Pasta	1-2 cups	Choose any variety
Vegetables	2 cups	I used broccoli, sweet corn, baby corn
Basil leaves	5-10 leaves	Chopped
Salt	To taste
Oregano	1 tsp
Water	To cook
Olive oil	1 tbsp	You can use ghee or butter for cooking onion and garlic.

Method:

Take a bowl of water with a teaspoon of salt. Bring it to a boil. Take a knife and just make light cut marks on tomatoes. Be careful not to cut the tomatoes. Add it to the boiling water and cook till the skin starts separating. Remove from water and run it through cold water. Peel the skin and allow it to cool.

Take oil in a small pan. Add garlic and onions and saute till translucent. Remove and cool.

Cook the vegetables in salt water, run through cold water and set aside. Cook pasta in boiling salt water till soft, run through cold water and set aside.

       

Combine tomatoes, onions and garlic and grind it to a smooth paste. Add water as required. Combine the soup, salt and vegetables and bring it to a boil. Add cooked pasta, basil leaves and oregano and cook for 5 minutes more.

       

Serve hot in a bowl.

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Horse Gram Sambar

Servings: 6-7

Ingredients:

Content	Quantity	Comment
Sprouted Horse gram/ Molake kattida Hurali Kalu	2 cups	After sprouting, refrigerate for 4-5 hours before using
Coconut	½ cup	Dessicated
Dried Red chillies	3-4 big
Cinnamon	1” inch piece
Black cardamom	1 number
Black Pepper	6-7 numbers
Jeera	1 tsp
White sesame seeds	1 tsp
Urad dal	2 tsp
Almonds	2 numbers
Jakai / Nutmeg	1 small piece / ¼ tsp powder
Tamarind juice	¼ cup - ½ cup
Salt	To taste
Jaggery	2 tsp
Water	As required
Curry leaves	1 sprig

Method:

Pressure cook the sprouted grams for 3-4 whistles with very little water. Set aside to cool.

Dry roast cinnamon, pepper, cardamom, jeera, nutmeg, sesame seeds, almonds, red chilies separately. Grind the roasted ingredients with coconut and ¼ cup of cooked sprouted grams to a smooth paste.

Add more water to the cooked grams and strain it well using a colander into the ground paste. Mix well. Add curry leaves, ¼ cup of tamarind juice, salt, jaggery and bring it to a boil and simmer. Check for salt and spice and adjust. If you feel that its very spicy, you can add the remaining tamarind juice bit by bit until it suits your taste buds. Also add salt to adjust the taste. Simmer will for 2-3minutes more and take it off the heat.

Serve hot with rice.

Tip:

1. Dry Spicy curry: Heat oil, add mustard, jeera, curry leaves, green chillies, cooked sprouted grams, and roast for 10 secs. Add salt, ¼ tsp of sugar, 1-2 tbsp of water and cook covered for 2-3 minutes. Once the water is all absorbed, add dessicated coconut, ½ lime and mix well. Switch of the stove, keep covered for 5 minutes before serving. You can serve it with rice, roti, chapathi, etc..

2. Sweet Curry: Heat oil, add jeera, mustard, curry leaves, cooked sprouted grams, sugar, 1-2 tbsp of water and cook covered for 2-3 minutes. Once done, add some dessicated coconut and switch off the stove. Keep it covered for 5 minutes before serving. You can serve this dish as a sweet too.

3. You can use val beans/avare kaalu instead of horse gram. It will taste good too.

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Simple Tomato Chutney

Servings: 200 grams

Ingredients:

Content	Quantity	Comment
Tomato	1-1.5kg	Cubed and juiced
Salt	To taste
Hing/Asafoetida	½ tsp + ½ tsp
Chilli powder	1 tsp	More if required
Methi powder	¼ tsp	Roast and ground
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Oil	1 tbsp

Method:

Take the tomato juice,methi powder and ¼ tsp of hing in a heavy bottom pan and bring it to a boil. Simmer on low flame until it starts thickening with the lid open. Add chilli powder, salt and mix well. Continue to simmer on low flame. After 2-3 minutes, check for salt and spice and adjust if required. Continue simmering till all the water dries up. Remove from flame. Temper with mustard seeds and remaining hing.

       

       

       

Serve with dosa, idli, chapathi, roti, rice….

Tip:

1. This chutney can be used to make instant rasam.

Instant rasam - Take 2-3 tbsp of chutney, rasam powder, salt and water. Bring it to a boil and serve with rice. (Take water only enough to retain the taste of tomato, else you will need some tamarind juice to adjust the tanginess).

2. You can use this as a substitute for tomato or tamarind in sambar as well. The dish tastes better.

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Curry leaf chutney

Servings: 100 grams

Ingredients:

Content	Quantity	Comment
Curry leaves	1 bowl	3-4 small bunches
Onion	1 big / 2 small	Thinly sliced
Tamarind juice	2-3 tbsp
Salt	To taste
Red chillies	7-8
Jeera	1 tbsp
Oil	2 tbsp + 1 tsp	For cooking + Tempering
Mustard	1 tsp
Water	As required
Asafoetida	¼ tsp

Method:

Take some water in a bowl with a teaspoon of salt. Bring it to a boil. Add the cleaned curry leaves and cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain and set it aside.

       

Take a pan. Dry roast the red chilies till light  brown. Set aside. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in the same pan. Add jeera, once it starts popping, add onion and saute till translucent. Add the tamarind juice and cook on low flame for 5 minutes while constantly stirring and ensuring that you don’t burn the tamarind. Set aside to cool.

       

Grind together all the cooked ingredients with salt and very little water if required. Remove the chutney to a bowl and temper with mustard and asafoetida.

Serve it with the dish of your choice.

Note:

This chutney tastes better when you add sambar/madras onion than the normal ones.

Tip:

You can alternatively cook the red chillies and curry leaves along with onions with extra water just about 1/2 cup. This way it can be stored for a longer time.

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