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.  

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.