Cracked Wheat Mango Kheer

Godhuma Ravva Mamidipandu Payasam.
Cracked wheat is boiled along with milk till soft and cooked. The cooked cracked wheat is then flavored with cardamom powder and freshly extracted mango pulp. Serve cracked wheat mango kheer garnished with blanched and sliced almonds.
Makes: around 2 Cups of Cracked Wheat Mango Kheer.
Ingredients:
Cracked Wheat 1/4 Cup
Milk 2 1/2 Cups (app)
Jaggery 1/4 Cup
Ripe Mango 1
Cardamom Powder a Pinch
Almonds a Few
Method of preparation:
Soak almonds in warm water for couple of minutes.
Alternatively, microwave almonds in few tablespoons of water for few seconds.
Peel the skin and slice the almonds.
Wash the ripe mango and extract all the juice (around 1 Cup).
Crush any big pieces of mango (if any) and keep aside.
Heat milk in a sauce pot on medium low heat.
Stir in cracked wheat and boil till wheat becomes soft and cooked.
Add little water if necessary while cooking the cracked wheat.
Remove the sauce pot from heat, stir in cardamom powder and jaggery.
Let the milk cool to room temperature.
Stir in mango pulp and sliced almonds.
Garnish with few tablespoons of fresh mango pulp and sliced almonds.
Serve cracked wheat mango kheer.
Notes: Make sure cracked wheat is cooked well before removing from heat.
Suggestions: Adjust jaggery according to sweetness of the ripe mango. Avoid jaggery if using sweetened mango pulp (ie canned mango pulp).
Other Names: Cracked Wheat Mango Kheer, Godhuma Ravva Mamidipandu Payasam.

Spicy Onion Chutney

Spicy Onion Chutney.
For spice, dried red chillies are soaked in water till soft. Onion is chopped up and ground into coarse mixture along with dried red chillies. The mixture is then briefly cooked in oil along with whole spices and tamarind. Serve spicy onion chutney with dosa etc…
Makes: around 1 Cup of Spicy Onion Chutney.
Ingredients:
Whole Dried Red Chiles 7
Tamarind 4 – 6 inch Piece
Onion 1
Salt to Taste
Talimpu:
Mustard Seeds 1/4 tsp
Cumin Seeds 1/4 tsp
Urad Dal 1/4 tsp
Oil 2 tsps
Method of preparation:
Peel and finely chop the onion.
Soak tamarind in few tablespoons of water for sometime and extract all the juice.
Soak red chiles in warm water for around 30 – 40 minutes.
Grind the soaked red chillies into paste using a spice blender.
Stir in chopped onion and grind again into coarse mixture.
Remove the ground onion red chilli mixture onto a plate.
Heat oil in a pan, add all talimpu ingredients in order.
When mustard seeds start spluttering, add the ground onion mixture, tamarind extract and salt.
Boil on low flame for around 5 minutes or until oil separates from the mixture.
Serve spicy onion chutney with dosa etc…
Notes: Make sure onion is cooked well before removing from heat.
Suggestions: Adjust red chillies according to spice level. If the chutney is very spicy, add more tamarind extract.
Other Names: Spicy Onion Chutney.

Moong Dalia Laddu

Pesara Pappu Laddu.
Split moong dal is roasted on low flame till aromatic and ground into powder along with dalia and cashews. Roll the ground moong dal mixture into laddu using warm ghee. Store moong dalia laddu tight in a jar and it stays fresh for couple of weeks. Serve moong dalia laddu as required.
Makes: around 20 Moong Dalia Laddu.
Ingredients:
Split Moong Dal 1 Cup
Dalia 1/4 Cup
Cashews 5
Sugar 1 Cup
Pure Ghee app. 1/4 Cup
Method of preparation:
Microwave the ghee for few seconds and keep aside.
Heat thick bottomed wok on low flame, add moong dal.
Roast the moong dal by stirring continuously until it turns lightly golden brown or until aromatic.
Use a spice grinder to grind the moong dal in batches into somewhat fine powder.
Powder should be fine enough but not too powdery that it looses its texture.
Grind the sugar into fine powder and keep aside.
Grind the dalia and cashews into fine powder.
In a mixing bowl, add powdered moong dal, powdered cashews and dalia and powdered sugar.
Mix thoroughly and slowly stir in ghee to the above mixture so that the mixture becomes wet and can be mold-able.
Take a small handful of mixture and carefully roll the mixture into small lemon sized ball.
Repeat the same with remaining mixture.
Store moong dal dalia ladoo tight in a jar and serve.
Notes: Make sure moong dal is roasted well.
Suggestions: Adjust ghee and sugar if necessary.
Variations: A small piece of dry coconut can also be added while grinding.
Other Names: Moong Dalia Laddu.

Spiced Cashews

Karam Jeedipappu.
Whole cashews are deep fried in oil till dark golden brown in color. Once the cashews are removed onto a bowl, they are seasoned with red chili powder and freshly ground black pepper powder. Store spiced cashews in a tight jar and serve as a snack.
Makes: around 2 Cups of Spiced Cashews.
Ingredients:
Cashews 2 Cups
Red Chili Powder 1/4 tsp
Black Pepper Powder 1/8 tsp
Salt to Taste
Oil for Deep Frying
Method of preparation:
Heat oil in a deep pan on medium heat.
Once oil is medium hot, fry the curry leaves, remove from pan and keep aside.
Then add the cashews and fry on low flame for around 2 – 3 minutes or until cashews are dark golden brown in color.
Divide the cashews into batches if the deep frying pan is small and can’t fit all the cashews at once.
Remove the deep fried cashews onto absorbent paper.
Sprinkle red chili powder, black pepper powder, curry leaves and salt.
Store spiced cashews in a tight jar and serve as a snack.
Notes: Make sure oil is at right temperature.
Suggestions: If oil gets too hot, lower the flame and let the oil come to couple of degrees before adding cashews, else cashews burn as soon as they hit the oil.
Other Names: Spiced Cashews, Karam Jeedipappu.

Quick Sesame Rice

Nuvvulu Annam.
White sesame seeds are toasted on low flame till golden brown in color. They are then ground into powder with cashews and mixed with steamed rice and spices. Serve quick sesame rice with few tablespoons of yogurt or with raita.
Makes: around 2 Servings of Quick Sesame Rice.
Ingredients:
Steamed Rice 2 1/2 Cups
Sesame Seeds 3 Tbsps
Raw Cashews app. 10
Green Chiles 3 – 4
Red Chili Powder 1/4 tsp
Salt to Taste
Talimpu:
Mustard Seeds 1/4 tsp
Cumin Seeds 1/4 tsp
Urad Dal 1/4 tsp
Broken Dried Red Chiles 3 – 4
Curry Leaves 5
Oil 2 tsps
Method of preparation:
Heat a heavy bottomed pan on low heat.
Add sesame seeds and toast the seeds till light golden brown in color.
Remove the sesame seeds from heat and cool to room temperature.
Grind sesame seeds and cashews into fine powder using spice blender
Remove stems, wash and slice the green chiles.
Fluff the steamed rice and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan, add all talimpu ingredients in order.
When mustard seeds start spluttering, add green chiles.
Fry briefly, stir in steamed rice, ground sesame seeds powder, red chili powder and salt.
Mix well and remove from heat.
Serve quick sesame rice with few tablespoons of yogurt or with raita.
Notes: Make sure the sesame seeds are not over toasted.
Suggestions: Make sure to adjust spice with green chiles or red chili powder. Don’t over cook rice.
Variations: Add finely chopped onion once the talimpu ingredients are added.
Other Names: Quick Sesame Rice, Nuvvulu Annam.

Cabbage Mango Chutney

Cabbage Mamidikaya Pachadi.
Freshly chopped cabbage is briefly cooked in oil till soft but crunchy. Raw mango is peeled and grated. Cooked cabbage is then ground into chutney with green mango and spices. Serve cabbage chutney with steamed rice and dollop of ghee.
Makes: around 2 Cups of Cabbage Mango Chutney
Ingredients:
Cabbage 1 Small Head
Green Chiles 2 – 3
Green Mango 1 Small
Mustard Seeds 1/4 tsp
Salt to Taste
Oil 1 tsp
Talimpu:
Mustard Seeds 1/4 tsp
Cumin Seeds 1/4 tsp
Urad Dal 1/4 tsp
Broken Dried Red Chiles 3 – 4
Asafoetida a Big Pinch
Curry Leaves 5
Oil 2 tsps
Method of preparation:
Peel and grate the mango.
Wash, remove outer leaves and dice the cabbage.
Remove stems, wash and slice the green chiles.
Heat oil in a pan, add green chiles and cabbage and fry on medium flame till soft but with light crunch.
Remove from heat and cool the cabbage to room temperature.
First grind mustard seeds with a pinch of salt into fine powder.
Then add the green chiles, cooked cabbage and salt.
Grind the cabbage mixture coarsely.
Then stir in grated mango and grind for couple of seconds.
Remove the cabbage chutney onto a bowl.
Heat oil in a pan on medium heat, add all talimpu ingredients in order.
When mustard seeds start spluttering, remove from heat and add to above bowl.
Stir the cabbage chutney well and adjust any seasonings if required.
Serve cabbage chutney with steamed rice and dollop of ghee.
Notes: Make sure raw mango is sour enough.
Suggestions: Keep little bit of cooked cabbage aside in case the chutney is over ground. Add the reserved cabbage and grind briefly to bring some texture into the chutney.
Other Names: Cabbage Mango Chutney, Cabbage Mamidikaya Pachadi.

Ridge Gourd Raita

Beerakaya Perugu Pachadi.
Ridge gourd is lightly peeled and chopped into pieces. It is then cooked oil along with spices. Once the mixture is cooled down, it is added to yogurt. Ridge gourd raita is garnished with cilantro and can be served with steamed rice or with roti.
Makes: around 2 Cups Ridge Gourd Raita.
Ingredients:
Ridge Gourd 1/2 Small
Yogurt 1 1/2 Cups
Onion 1
Green Chiles 2 – 3
Turmeric Powder a big Pinch
Salt to Taste
Cilantro few Sprigs
Talimpu:
Mustard Seeds 1/4 tsp
Cumin Seeds 1/4 tsp
Urad Dal 1/4 tsp
Broken Dried Red Chiles 3 – 4
Asafoetida a Big Pinch
Curry Leaves 3
Oil 2 tsps
Method of preparation:
Lightly scrape, wash, remove ends and chop the ridge gourd into small pieces.
Whisk yogurt in a mixing bowl.
Wash and finely chop the cilantro.
Heat oil in a pan, add all other talimpu ingredients in order.
When mustard seeds start spluttering, add green chiles and onion.
Once onion turns translucent, add the chopped ridge gourd.
Cook covered on low flame for few minute or until ridge gourd is soft.
Uncover, stir in turmeric powder and salt
Remove from heat and keep aside to cool down.
In a mixing bowl, mix together yogurt and above ridge gourd mixture.
Garnish with cilantro and serve ridge gourd raita with steamed rice or with roti.
Notes: Make sure ridge gourd is cooked well before removing from heat.
Suggestions: Adjust the consistency of the raita with water.
Other Names: Ridge Gourd Raita, Beerakaya Perugu Pachadi.