Raw Banana Pulusu

Ingredients:

• Raw banana- 1 1/2 
• Tamarind- 1/8 cup (Washed)
• Water- 1 cup (or less)
• Jaggery- 1 tbsp
• Onion- 1 big
• Green chilies- 1-2 slit 
• Curry leaves- 5-8
• Turmeric powder- 1/8 tsp
• Salt- 1 tsp
• Coriander powder- 1/2 tsp 
• Cumin Powder- 1/2 tsp
• Red Chili powder- 1/4 tsp (or more)

For Tempering:

• Oil- 2 1/2 tbsp (1 + 1 1/2)
• Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp (Jeera)
• Dry Red Chilies- 3 broken
• Asafoetida- 1/4 tsp 

Method:

1. Wash and peel the raw banana. The skin will be thick so use a knife to remove it.
2. Cut the banana into 1/2 inch pieces and boil for 7-10 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and turmeric powder after 6 minutes of boiling.
3. Meanwhile, wash and soak tamarind in 1/4 cup of water. 
4. Peel and chop the onion. 
5. Slit the green chili. 
6. Once the raw banana is parboiled, mash half of it with the back of a spatula. 
7. Do not throw away the excess water. We will use it for the pulusu.
8. Place it on the heat again (simmer). 
9. In a small pan add 1 1/2 tbsp of oil. 
10. Add green chilies and chopped onions. 
11. Fry till transparent.
12. In the meantime, squeeze tamarind and make pulp. Add the pulp to the mashed banana mix. 
13. Add the fried onions to the mix.
14. Keep stirring occasionally.
15. Add jaggery, salt, and the powders.
16. Mix well. 
17. Take the same small pan and prepare tempering.
18. Add 1 tbsp oil to it.
19. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dry red chili, asafoetida. 
20. If using garlic add peeled and crushed garlic to the tempering.
21. Once the mustard seeds splutter, turn off the heat. 
22. Add the tempering to the pulusu and mix well.
23. Let it sit on simmer for about 5 minutes.
24. Turn off the heat and let it settle. 
25. The pulusu will thicken up a little.
26. Serve with rice, roti, dosa, etc
27. It can be used for both lunch and dinner. 

Curry Leaves Powder & Idli Powder

Ingredients:

• Curry leaves- 1 cup (washed and dried of moisture)
• Chana dal- 1/3 cup 
• Urad dal- 1/3 cup 
• Coriander seeds- 1/4 cup(dhaniya)
• Cumin seeds- 1 tbsp (jeera)
• Dry red chilies- 50 gms
• Tamarind- 1/8 cup (wash once and keep aside)
• Oil- 1 tsp 
• Salt- 1 1/2 tsp 
• Garlic- 4-6 unpeeled (optional)

Method:

1. Wash curry leaves and dry them on a clean cloth. The aim is to remove excess water. 
2. Meanwhile, take a pan and add 1 tsp oil. 
3. To that add chana dal and urad dal. Roast until they become golden in color. Keep the heat on low at all times. 
4. Add coriander seeds. 
5. Make sure to keep stirring it regularly. We do not want to burn any of the items. 
6. After a minute, add cumin seeds (jeera) and then the dry red chilies. 
7. Take care to not let the red chilies turn dark. 
8. Once they become crisp, turn off the heat. 
9. Transfer onto a plate and place the washed tamarind on the hot spices. 
10. This will help clean up the moisture from the tamarind. 
11. Now, in the same pan, add the curry leaves (without oil) and fry until crisp.
12. Turn off the heat. Transfer onto another plate.
13. The spices should be at room temperature for us to grind them along with the tamarind. 
14. Transfer to the mixer jar and blitz until it becomes a rough powder.
15. Then add salt, and unpeeled garlic (optional) and grind again. 
16. You can keep the powder a bit coarse or totally smooth. It depends on your preference. 
17. Then separate half of the powder and add the crisp curry leaves to the remaining half. 
18. Grind it again to make powder. 
19. Now, we have two version of powders- one without curry leaves and another with curry leaves.
20. Transfer to clean, dry airtight containers and let them cool for a few minutes.
21. Then close the lid and store in a dry place. 
22. The powders will stay good for up to 3 months.
23. Serve with idli, dosa, parantha or add to curries. 
24. The normal brown powder can be used as stuffing in bitter gourd, brinjal, ridge gourd, etc curries. 

Homemade Choco Almond Spread

Ingredients:

• Almonds- 1/2 cup
• Cocoa powder- 1 1/2 tbsp (or less)
• Sugar powder- 4-6 tbsp ( or less)
• Extra virgin Coconut Oil- 1/2 tsp (optional)
• Chocohips/grated dark chocolate- 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method: 

1. Dry roast the almonds for 3-5 minutes. 
2. Make sure they don't burn or become dark.
3. Once cooled add to a mixer jar and start grinding. 
4. It might be a bit easier in a food processor, but when grinding in a normal mixer jar, it will take around 20-30 minutes including the time needed to cool. 
5. Keep grinding until the jat gets hot. 
6. Open the lid and let it cool down. 
7. Use a spoon to regularly scrape the sides of the jar. 
8. Repeat the process until the almond becomes a paste and releases oil. 
9. It will happen eventually. We need to be patient, that's all. :) 
10. Once it releases oil, the mix will look like this. (refer picture 4)
11. 
12. Now add cocoa powder and choco chips (optional).
13. Add sugar powder and grind again. 
14. Keep pulsing. The mix will become smooth and silky. 
15. If it looks too thick, add 1/2 tsp coconut oil (or olive oil or almond oil). 
16. Coconut oil has a slight aftertaste. If you do not prefer it, use something else.
17. Once the spread looks like the store brought one, taste it (make sure not to eat it all ;) ).
18. Add cocoa powder or sugar powder if necessary. It depends entirely on your taste.
19. Transfer to an airtight box. 
    
20. Let it cool before closing the lid.
21. Store in refrigerator. 
22. I made a small batch. Change quantities accordingly. 
23. It will stay good for more than a month, I guess. 
24. Mine is a month old and tastes good.