For the Taste Buds

Healthy and Tasty !! Ingredients: Chick peas, Kala channa, Peanuts and any other lentil/legumes that you like Pumpkin, Brinjal, Carrot, Beans Tamarind water Green chillies Jaggery Turmeric Asafoetida Coriander and curry leaves Mustard and cumin seeds Salt Dry masala powder (below) Dry Masala Powder: Fry (no oil)  chana dal, urad dal, moong dal, toor dal, coriander seeds, red chillies, sesame seeds (1-2 Tbsps each). Dry grind them with coconut. You can store in fridge for later use. Method: Soak chana and peanuts overnite Chop the vegetables into small pieces and pressure cook them with the soaked ingredients In a vessel, mix tamarind water, cut green chillies, turmeric, asafoetida, jaggery, coriander leaves, curry leaves, salt and dry masala powder. Set it aside for 5 -10 min  In a kadai, splutter mustard and cumin seeds Add cooked vegetables and chana Add the masala water (from 3) Boil it well and serve hot with rice

Ingredients: Brinjal Small onions (pearl onions) Cumin and mustard seeds Garlic Green chillies Tomatoes Tamarind juice (or paste) Coriander powder Chilli powder Turmeric powder Salt Curry leaves and coriander leaves Method: Saute brinjal in oil separately till it becomes soft. Take it out and keep aside Splutter the mustard seeds in oil, add cumin seeds, garlic, curry leaves and green chillies. Saute well Add small onions and saute until translucent Add tomatoes and cook until softened Add the pre-cooked brinjal now Add turmeric powder and tamarind water. Let it boil so that the raw smell goes away Add coriander powder and chilli powder. Boil it well Garnish it with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice

Ingredients: 3/4 cup butter 1 cup brown sugar 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon soda 1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats, uncooked Chopped walnuts and pecans date filling (below) Method: Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. combine flour, salt and soda; add to creamed mixture. Stir in oats, blending well. Pat half of the mixture into a lightly buttered baking pan; put a layer of chopped nuts, spread with date filling then top with remaining chopped nuts. Put a layer of crust mixture. Pat lightly to smooth top crust. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes. Cut into bars while still warm; remove from pan. Date Filling 1 1/2 pounds dates, chopped  1/4 cup sugar  1 1/2 cups water Combine dates, sugar, and water in a medium saucepan; cook over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until smooth and thick. Cool slightly before spreading on oat crust.

Ingredients: Idli Rice - 4 cups Urad Dal - 1 cup Red chillies Asafoetida (Perungayam) Salt Garnishing : Coconut - finely diced Cumin seeds ( சீரகம்) Whole Black peppers Ginger - finely chopped Soaked Chana dal Curry leaves Coriander leaves Method : Soak rice and urad dal separately - 4 to 5 hrs Grind Urad dal (thick paste) Grind Rice with red chillies, asafoetida, salt (thick paste) Mix the doughs together. Thicker the paste, oil consumption will be less Ferment the dough overnite Next day, add the items mentioned in garnishing + add a pinch of baking soda (for crispiness). Don't put too much soda, as it will absorb oil a lot Season it with mustard seeds Fry it in oil

When you have some leftover dosa batter, this is a tasty recipe for a rainy day along with a cup of nice/hot tea! Ingredients: Dosa maavu Onion Green chillies Ginger Curry leaves Coriander leaves Sago (Javvarisi) Method: Soak the sago in dosa batter for about 4-5 hours Add finely chopped onion, ginger, curry leaves, coriander leaves Add salt to taste, if needed, as the dosa batter will already have salt Make vadas out of this batter Enjoy it with a cup of hot tea!

This is a quickie recipe for a delicious snack/drink Ingredients: Almonds - 1 cup Milk - 5 cups Sugar - 1 cup Cashew nuts Sarai Paruppu (I don't know the English name for this!) Saffron Ghee Method: Soak Almonds overnite and peel the skin off Make a smooth paste of almonds with little milk in a blender Mix the blended paste with remaining milk, sugar. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved. Check for sweetness and adjust sugar accordingly Boil the mixture until the raw smell is gone Add saffron when the mixture is medium hot Separately fry cashews and sarai paruppu in ghee and add this to the above mixture Cool it and Enjoy!

Ingredients: Raw peanuts - 1 cup Garlic - 2 cloves Tamarind - 1 tsp Salt - to taste Red Chillies - depending on how hot you want Method: Grind everything together to a coarse powder Goes well with just cooked rice, idli or dosa Can store it for a few months!

Ingredients: Puffed Rice (Pori) Green chillies Onion Curry leaves Coriander leaves Powdered roasted chana dhal (Pottu kadalai) Tomatoes - little bit Mustard and urad dhal - for seasoning Method: Soak puffed rice in water and remove immediately. Squeeze water out of it when you remove with your hand. Make sure the puffed rice is soft. In a vessel (Vaanali), add oil, splutter the mustard and add urad dhal Add green chillies, curry leaves and onion. Saute until the onion is translucent Add tomatoes and saute until they are soft Add the softened puffed rice, roasted chana dhal powder and salt to taste. Mix it well (don't saute too much) Garnish with coriander leaves

Ingredients: Sprouted green gram dhal (Mulaikkattina Pachai Payiru) - 1 cup Soaked Rice - 2 cup Ginger Green Chillies Curry leaves Cumin seeds ( சீரகம்) Coriander leaves for garnishing Method: Grind all the ingredients except coriander leaves with salt Garnish it with coriander leaves In a hot tawa, spread the batter and serve the adai Can go well with ginger chutney or onion chutney

This snack is a specialty in Palani area where my husband is from.. Sounds healthy too... Ingredients - Pori (Puffed Rice) Peanuts (dry roasted) Beetroot Carrot Onion Red chillies Coconut oil Salt Method - Grate beets and carrots Blend it with redchillies and salt Dice onions and mix the onions with the blended vegetables Mix it with pori with some coconut oil and the peanuts Enjoy!