Karonda Coconut Chutney - Vakkai Pachadi

Ingredients:

• Karonda- 10-12 
• Coconut pieces- 1 tbsp or so
• Green chili- 2-3 depending on taste
• Oil- 1/2 tsp
• Salt- 1/2 tsp or so
• Turmeric powder- 1/8 tsp (optional)

For Initial Tempering:

• Oil- 1/2 tsp
• Chana dal- 1 tbsp
• Urad dal- 1/2 tbsp
• Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp
• Dry red chilies- 3-4 broken into pieces

For final tempering:

• Oil- < 1/2 tsp 
• Mustard seeds-1/4 tsp
• Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida- 1/4 tsp
• Dry red chili- 1 broken into pieces (Optional)

Method:

1. Wash and dry the karonda. 
2. Cut into pieces and remove the seeds.
3. Prepare the initial tempering. Let it cool.
4. Add oil to a small pan and saute the karonda and green chilies for 3 minutes. 
5. The aim is to soften the karonda and reduce its bitter taste. 
6. Let it cool to room temperature.
7. Add the initial tempering to the mixer jar and grind into coarse powder. 
8. Add the coconut pieces, salt and grind again. 
9. Now add the cooked karonda with green chilies. Add turmeric powder (optional).
10. Grind into a paste.
11. No need to add any water.
12. Once the paste is done (it has to be something between coarse & smooth) prepare the final tempering.
13. Add the tempering to the chutney and mix well.
14. Serve with rice, idli, dosa, uttapam, etc
15. It will stay good in the refrigerator for 3 days.

Carrot Ladoo

Ingredients:

• Carrot- 3 medium sized (wash, peel and grind into a paste)
• Condensed milk- 200 gms
• Pistachios- 8-12 finely chopped
• Crushed cardamom- 1/4 tsp
• Fresh coconut - 1/4 cup grated (can be substituted with desiccated version)
• Desiccated coconut- 1/8 cup (for rolling the ladoos)
• Water- 3 tbsp (if required)
• Ghee/ Clarified butter - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Wash, peel and grind the carrots into a fine paste. Add 2-3 tbsp of water if the mix is to dry. It happens if the carrots do not have enough water content in them.
2. Grate/grind fresh coconut (I removed the brown part). 
3. In a nonstick pan, add 1 tsp ghee. To that add the grated coconut and roast for 5 minutes. 
4. Keep stirring it regularly to avoid burning or coloring of coconut. 
5. The aim is to remove the moisture and rawness of the coconut.
6. If using desiccated coconut, roast for 1-2 minutes only. 
7. Then add the carrot paste and mix well. 
8. Continue stirring it regularly for 6-8 minutes. 
9. The paste should not taste raw. 
10. Then add a small can of condensed milk (200 gms) and cardamom powder.
11. Mix well. Let the mixture thicken up. 
12. Add the finely chopped or sliced pistachios and mix. 
13. Keep the heat on low and mix occasionally. 
14. Once the mixture forms a lump and sticks together in the center of the pan, turn off the heat. 
15. Let it cool to room temperature.
16. Apply some ghee on the palms of your hands and start making ladoos. 
17. Once all ladoos are done, take 1/8 cup desiccated coconut in a plate and roll the ladoos one by one gently in it.
18. The aim is to let the desiccated coconut finely coat the ladoos. 
19. Let the ladoos sit for 10-20 minutes to completely cool down. 
20. Store in an airtight box for 4 days or in the refrigerator for 1 week. 

Note:

• Use homemade condensed milk or substitute it with sugar or jaggery. 
• I haven't tried the jaggery version, but take care not to let it overcook. The mixture will harden. 

Tricolor Idli

Ingredients:

• Idli Batter- 1/3 cup (I had the batter ready at home)
• Carrot- 1 big
• Green Chili- 1 big
• Coriander leaves- a handful (washed)
• Salt- 1/8 tsp
• Lemon juice- a quarter of a lemon (10-15 drops)
• Semolina/ Rawa- 2 tbsp (to get a good texture)

(I tried for 4 idlis. Increase the proportions accordingly for the required number of idlis.)

Method:

1. Wash, peel and roughly chop the carrot.
2. Grind the carrot along with 3 tsp of idli batter to get a lump-free batter.
3. If required add another 2-3 tbsp of idli batter. Make sure the color remains orange. The idea is to not use food color. 
4. Take into a separate bowl. Add a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp semolina/rawa. Mix well.
5. Now, wash the mixer jar (or use another one) to prepare the green batter.
6. Add broken green chili, washed coriander leaves, 3 tbsp idli batter and grind into a smooth paste. 
7. Do not add water anywhere. 
8. Now, take the green batter into another bowl and add a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp semolina. Add 1-2 tbsp of idli batter if required. 
9. Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice to balance the flavor of chili. 
10. The batters are ready to use. 
11. Take the idle racks and grease each mold with ghee. 
12. With a spoon carefully add carrot batter at the in one part of the mold. Keeping the batter thick will prevent from mixing of colors.
13. Now, with another spoon add the plain idli batter below the orange one.
14. Then do the same for the coriander batter.
15. See the image beside for idea. 
16. Steam it for 15 minutes like the normal idli.
17. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 2 minutes.
18. After removing the racks from the pan, do not take out the idlis immediately. 
19. Let those sit for another minute.
20. Now carefully with a sharp-edged spatula remove the idlis from the mold.
21. Plate and serve with a chutney of your choice. 

Or try the 

• Ginger Chutney
• Mint Leaves Chutney 
• Raw Tomato Spring Onion Chutney
• Methi Leaves Chutney 
• Mango Coconut Chutney
• Sambar

Tricolor Meeta Chawal (Sweet Rice)

Ingredients:

• Cooked rice- 3/4 cup (I used normal short grain)
• Sugar- about 4-5 tbsp (Depending on taste)
• Clarified butter/Ghee- 1 tbsp (or less)
• Cinnamon- 1/2 inch piece
• Cloves- 2
• Water-  <1/2 cup
• Cookie cutters (Can use plating molds. I don't have any, hence I used cookie cutters)

For coloring:

• Orange- Glucon D orange flavor- 1 tbsp (max.)
• Green- Crushed and powdered Pistachios- 1 tbsp powder 

• I got pale shades as I did not use any additional food color. For darker shades, add one drop of food color each. 
• Along with crushed pistachios, add 1/2 tbsp of kiwi crush (optional) for better color. 

Method:

1. As I used cooked rice, I spread the rice on a plate to remove excess moisture. 
2. A trick that worked for me was to wash the cooked rice with a small glass of cold water. The grains separated and stayed good. 
3. Take a nonstick pan. Add 1 tbsp ghee. Add the cinnamon and cloves. 
4. Then add sugar and water. Add water immediately because we do not want to caramelize the sugar. for this recipe. 
5. Let the sugar melt and come to a boil. 
6. Add the cooked rice and mix well. 
7. Cover with lid and keep the heat in low. 
8. It will take around 5 mins for the sugar syrup to be soaked by the rice.
9. Gently mix once in a while without breaking the grains.
10. As the mix turns glossy and there is no liquid left, turn off the heat. 
11. Let it cool for a minute.
12. Separate the rice into three parts. 
13. To one part add the Glucon D orange flavor powder and mix. 
14. To the second part add powdered pistachios and mix. 
15. Here add 1/2 tbsp or less of kiwi crush for extra flavor and color. 
16. I did not add because I felt both orange and kiwi flavors in a single dish would be overpowering. 
17. Or add one drop (not more) of food colors to get the desired shades.
18. Keep the third white part of the rice as it is. 
19. Grease the cookie cutters (I forgot to do that and they edges got disturbed)
20. Take a plate and place the greased cookie cutter. 
21. Add some green colored rice and press gently.
22. Then add plain colored rice and press gently.
23. Finally, add orange colored rice and press gently.  
24. Let it sit for a minute. 
25. Using a spoon or your fingers press lightly on the rice and gently remove the cookie cutter. The mold will come clean leaving the arranged rice in tricolor. 
26. Be patient and careful. 
27. Or use the circular mold and plate in a similar way. 
28. Serve and enjoy. 

Dry fruit Ladoo

Ingredients:

• Cashew- 10-12
• Almonds- 10-12
• Pistachios- 15
• Melon seeds- 1- 1 1/2 tbsp (tarbuja seeds)
• Pumpkin seeds- 1 tsp 
• Chironji - 1 tbsp (Charoli seeds)
• Poppy seeds- 1 tsp (Khus Khus)
• Dried Fig- 8-10 pieces (Anjeer)
• Dates- 1/2 cup (I used Lion seedless dates)

Method:

1. Soak anjeer and dates in warm water for 15-20 minutes. 
2. Spread on a dry cloth and gently press to remove excess water. 
3. Let them dry for 10-15 minutes. 
4. Meanwhile, chop cashew, almonds, and pistachios into small pieces. 
5. Dry roast the nuts on a low flame (except melon seeds, pumpkin seeds, and poppy seeds). 
6. Stir frequently to prevent the nuts from over roasting. 
7. Roughly chop the soaked anjeer and dates. Grind into a pulp.
8. Add the melon and pumpkin seeds. These will swell and pop, so be prepared to stir continuously. 
9. Add poppy seeds and stir of 1 minute. 
10. Add the paste of anjeer and dates. 
11. Mix well so that it becomes a spreadable mixture. Cook for 3 minutes, mixing in once in every minute.
12. The idea is to remove the excess moisture from the pulp/paste to increase the shelf life of the ladoos.
13. Turn off the heat. 
14. Let it cool to room temperature.
15. Apply some ghee on hands and make ladoos.
16. Let those sit for a few minutes. 
17. Then store in an airtight container. 
18. The ladoos will stay good for 10-15 days if placed away from moisture. 

Note: Find Dry Fruit Jaggery Ladoo here. 

Bittergourd Pulusu

Ingredients: 

• Bittergourd- 2 (karela/ kakarakaya)
• Onion- 1 medium thinly sliced
• Tamarind- 1/4 cup (washed and soaked in 1 cup water)
• Jaggery- <1/8 cup (reduce/ increase the quantity as per taste) 
• Green chili- 1-2 slit 
• Salt- 1 tsp 
• Red chili powder- 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder- 1/8 tsp

For Tempering:

• Oil- 1 tsp+ 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds- 1/4 tsp (Methi)
• Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp (Jeera)
• Dry red chilies- 2 broken into pieces
• Asafoetida- 1/8 tsp (Hing)

Method: 

1. Wash and chop the bitter gourd into small pieces. Soak tamarind in a cup of water. 
2. Add 1 tsp oil to a small pan and fry the bitter gourd pieces until soft. Keep stirring in between. 
3. Then add sliced onions to the same pan and cook until they are transparent.
4. Meanwhile, squeeze tamarind and get maximum flavor into the water. 
5. Place a dish on the stove and add the tamarind water. Keep the heat in medium. 
6. To it, add the cooked bitter gourd and onion pieces. 
7. Next add salt, chili powder, turmeric, jaggery. Mix well. 
8. Prepare the tempering. 
9. Add 1 tsp oil to a tempering pan and add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin, dry red chilies. As the mustard seeds splutter add asafoetida and turn off the heat. 
10. Add the tempering to the cooking pulusu. 
11. Reduce the heat to simmer. Mix occasionally.
12. Cook for 5-10 minutes. The consistency should not be too liquidy. 
13. Turn off the heat. 
14. Serve with rice, roti, parantha, etc
15. It stays good an entire day. 
16. Prepare in the morning and serve for lunch and dinner.