For the Taste Buds

I used to hate bitter gourd for its bitterness. But the below recipe which I got from my friend  Deepa doesn't taste bitter at all and I like it very much. Ingredients: Paavakkai Toor dal - cooked Asafoetida Mustard Urad dal Tamarind water Turmeric Sambar powder Curry leaves Coriander leaves Masala podi: Dry roast and grind- Coriander seeds - 1 Tbsp Red chillies - 4 Channa dal - 2 Tbsp Peppercorns - 1 Tbsp Cumin seeds - 1 Tbsp Method: Remove the seeds from bitter gourd and slice it into cubes Sprinkle the salt over the bitter gourd and set aside for few hours and wash it thoroughly (This will remove the bitterness) Splutter mustard, add urad dal, asafoetida  and curry leaves Add bitter gourd and saute it well Add turmeric, tamarind water, salt and  sambar powder and let it boil. Add cooked toor dhal and the special podi and let it boil until the raw smell goes away Garnish it with coriander leaves 

Ingredients: Cornflour - 1 cup Milk - 3 cups Sugar - 1-1/2 Cups Nuts (almond or cashews or pistachios) - finely chopped Ghee Cardamom, crushed Saffron, optional Method: In a vessel, mix the flour, milk and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Keep aside Saute the chopped nuts and cardamom separately in ghee and keep it aside Heat the flour mixture in a medium flame Keep stirring constantly until it thickens. Add some ghee to avoid the mixture sticking to the vessel Mix in the nuts and saffron Transfer it to a deep dish coated with oil or ghee Allow it to cool, which would solidify/sets the halwa Knife it into desired shape Serve it hot or cold!

Ingredients: Any colored bell peppers Onion Corn Garlic Black Beans Cumin powder Barbecue sauce Method: Chop the peppers, onion and garlic into small cubes Saute everything with little olive oil Add cumin powder after the onions have turned translucent Shut off the heat, add barbecue sauce Serve Hot!

I basically used this recipe from bigoven. It came out really good and yummy! Ingredients- Crust: 1 1/4 cup oreo cookie crumbs 1/3 cup melt unsalted butter Filling: 450 g cream cheese softened 1/2 cup sugar 3 eggs room temperature 50 g dark chocolate melted and cool 2 tbsp Kahlua - I used Rum, in place of Kahlua, b'cos that's what I had! Preparation- Preheat oven to 350F. Make the crust by mixing all the crust ingredients together. Press the mixture onto the bottom of the spring form pan. Bake crust for 10 mins. Set aside to cool. Turn down oven temperature to 275F. Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and egg (one at a time). Blend well. Reserve 1 tbsp melted chocolate, and pull the remaining chocolate and Kahlua in the mixture. Mix well. Pour the filling over the cooled crust. Tap the pan on counter a few times to release all the air in the batter. Bake in waterbath for an hour, or until the edge of the cheesecake is puffed but the cent