"C" for chilled "Carrot" Soup

Carrot:

The nutrients in carrots
Strengthen the immune system
Help regulate metabolism
Help maintain healthy skin
Help maintain vision
Help protect cells

Studies show that the nutrients in carrots may reduce risk of...
High blood pressure
Stroke
Heart disease
Some types of cancer

Carrots are nature's BEST source of the powerful antioxidant Vitamin A!Anti-oxidants protect cells from free radicals which can damage the basic structure of healthy cells.Carrots are also a natural source of Vitamin C & dietary fiber, and packed with the powerful antioxidants beta-carotene and alpha–carotene.
They have nofat, saturated fat, or cholesterol, are low in sodium and are a good source of potassium.

Ingredients
Carrots - 3 no
Asparagaus - 4 stalks
Onion(Big) - 1,chopped
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Ground Pepper - 1tspn
Salt
Olive oil(or any edible oil) for cooking
Coriander leaves,Thyme leaves for garnishing.

Method
Heat pan with a 1 tpsn of oil and saute Onions.Add chopped Carrot and cook till tender.Add Asparagus(white ends removed) and cook in simmer until the asparagus are very tender.Remove from the heat.Transfer all the ingredients to blender.Add 1 cup of water,salt,ginger and pepper.Blend until smooth.Return puree into to pan.Heat until hot.Remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves,thyme leaves and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serve chilled carrot soup with grated carrot on a piece of bread.

Romaine Lettuce Dal

Romaine Lettuce:
Romaine Lettuce:[ roh-MAYN ] said to have originated on the Aoegean island of Cos,so it is also called Cos lettuce. Romaine's elongated head has dark green outer leaves that lighten to pale celadon in the center. The leaves are crisp and slightly bitter and the crunchy midrib is particularly succulent.

Uses
The leafy green vegetable is used in salads, cooked vegetable dishes, and is commonly used on sandwiches,burgers etc.

How to buy
When purchasing lettuce, look for freshness, selecting lettuce that does not have wilted and discolored leaves.

Storage
To store lettuce, wash the lettuce and dry the leaves with paper towels, seal or wrap it securely in plastic and place it in the coolest part of the refrigerator, which is generally located in the rear and lowest shelf section of the refrigerator.Keep away from Apples, as ethylene gas they give off will turn the romaine brown.

Nutrition
Like all lettuces romaine has a vary high water content and very few calories(about 10 calories per cup). Generally, the darker the green, the more vitamins and minerals (beta-carotene, calcium and iron, etc.) So it should be no surprise that romaine is the most nutritious of all lettuces. Romaine is an excellent source of vitamin C (more than 5 times that of iceberg lettuce).
Actually,We bought it for doing salad but i tried it with dal and it came out with good taste, so we both enjoyed our afternoon meal with this delicious and nutricious dal along with salted fried chillies and vadiyams.

Ingredients
Romaine Lettuce - 3 leaves
Toor dal(Kandi Pappu) - 1cup
Onion - 1,finely chopped
Tomato - 1,chopped
Greenchillies - 2 no
Garlic - 3 pods,crushed
Coriander leaves - 2sprigs, chopped
For Seasoning:
Mustard seeds(Aavalu) - 1tsp
Cumin seeds(Jeera/jeelakarra) - 1 tspn
Turmeric pwd - 1/2 tspn
Asafoetida(Inguva/Hing)- 1pinch
Oil
Redchilli pwd(Optional), Salt to taste.

Method
Boil Toor dal and keep it aside.Heat 1 tspn of oil in the pan ,add mustard seeds.Musatrd seeds start splutters then add jeera,hing and fry upto jeera changes goldenbrown color.Now add garlic,chopped onions fry till Onions become soft.Add chopped tomato and saute for 2 miniutes.
Add lettuce leaves,green chillies,turmeric to the pan and stir for 2 minute and pour 2cups of water and keep lid on the pan.Cook for 7 minutes and add boiled Toordal,Salt to it.Mix well with laddle and cook for another 7 minutes in medium flame.Garnish with corinder leaves and serve hot with steaming Rice, Sailu's" Uppumirapakayalu" and with "Papads".
See for variety of dals from Priya's Everyday dal and Indira's Menthikoora Pappu

"Little Hearts"-"Palmiers"

Palmiers:
Palmiers are thin, buttery puff pastry cookies that are glazed and baked to a caramelized crunch. They're a French invention, hence their name, which translates to palm, because their shape resembles palm fronds. They're also called palm leaves and elephant ears.Palmiers are pronounced as "pahlm-YAYS"in "French".I have taken this recipe from InaGarten's "BarefootContessa".I used coconut instead of cinnamon pwd.

Ingredients
1 Roll of puff pastry
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of dessicated coconut

Method
Preheat oven to 425F.Line a large baking sheet with aluminium foil r parchment paper and spread butter on it.Thaw Puff Pastry Roll before using.Roll out puff pastry on a floured surface into Rectangular shape.In the meanwhile mix sugar and coconut pwd into a bowl and spread it on a levelled surface.Place the pastry roll on the above of the mixture and press gently.Sprinkle the mixture on the top of puffpastry.Start rolling from the leftside and bring it to the middile and do the same thing from the right side until it reaches the center.Place it in a paper and keep in freezer for 10 minutes.Cut 1/2" size pieces.Press each piece with palm and place each palmier on baking sheet.
Bake it for 7 minutes , until it turns to golden brown.Meanwhile combine corn syrup with ½ tablespoon water.Coat palmiers by using brush with corn-syrup mixture and then bake for 4 minutes.Turn cookies and brush with corn syrup another side and bake until golden brown,another 3 minutes.Cool on wire racks and store for up to a week in an air tight container.

This is my entry to “Blog Party - Bite Sized Desserts” by hostess Stephanie of Dispensing Happiness.

"Sweet Pongal "&"Sweet Temple"

Ingredients for (Chakkera Pongali/Sakkarai Pongal):
Sona Masoori Rice - 1 1/2 cup
Split Green gram dal(Pesara Pappu/Payatham Parippu/Moong dal/Hesara bele/Cherupayar parippu/Mugachi dal)- 3/4cup
Fresh r Frozen Grated Coconut(Pachi Kobbari/Thengai/Nariyal)-1/2cup
Jaggery(gur) - 2 cups (400 gm)
Ghee - 1 cup
Milk (Palu/Dhoodh/Pal)- 1 cup
Cashew nuts(JeediPappu/Kaju)- 10no
Raisins(Draksha/Kishmish)- 8no
Cardamom powder(Ellakai/Elaichi)- 6no(crushed)

Heat kadai with a tspn of ghee ,roast green gram dal till it changes to lighter golden color.Wash the rice and add green gram dal with 2 1/2 cups of water and 1 cup milk ,grated coconut in the pressure cooker pan.Rice & dal should cook so soft.Keep it on the medium flame.Take another vessel add jaggery,water and cook on a low heat till the jaggery melts.I will grate jaggery with knife before adding it to water because flakes will take less time to dissolve.Strain the jaggery to remove the dirt by using a muslin cloth.Put the syrup once more on the heat and stir till it starts slightly bubbling.Add powdered Cardamoms,ghee to jaggery & Mix well.Add cooked rice(along with dal) to jaggery and stir well and remove from fire after it becomes soft and no lumps.Heat the 3tbsp ghee.Fry the cashewnuts and raisins and add to the pongal.Mix well and serve hot.
When the Sweet Pongal is ready, it is offered to the "God" on a new banana leaf along with other traditional delicacies,like vadas,payasam etc on auspicious days.

Happy Tamil New Year & Vishu

"Puthandu" or Tamil New Year falls in the month of Chittirai (April) as per the Indian almanac.It is celebrated by Tamilians all over the world which is supposedly the day when Lord Brahma started creation. Tamil New year is also known as" Varusha Pirappu". ‘Varusham’ is the Tamil word for ‘year’ and ‘Pirappu” can be translated as ‘birth’ or ‘beginning’.Puthandu or Varusha Pirappu is significant as it is believed to be indicative of how the rest of the year will be. Therefore, people only entertain positive thoughts and engage in meaningful activities on this day.This is followed by the ritual bath and a visit to the temple to pray for a prosperous and happy New Year.April 14th also happens to be the Bengali New Year Day, Naba Barsha, which begins with the ‘Prabhat Pheries’ (an early morning procession) with songs and dances welcoming the New Year.In Kerala ‘Vishu’ is celebrated by Malayalees commemorating the beginning of the astronomical New Year in the Malayalam Calendar.Today(April 14th)is "good friday" also.
On this New Year day early in the morning, the entrance is decorated with 'Kolam'(Rangoli)is done with raw rice flour.The doorways are adorned with mango leaves to mark the auspicious occasion.A pot with five mango leaves and a coconut, lit joss sticks, a tray of flowers, betel leaves, arecanuts, comb of bananas and the sweet rice are offered to the Sun God and Lord Ganesh to complete the pooja. A coconut is broken by the head of the household and incense is burnt.Vadai,Payasam, Parupu,Sakkarai Pongal and Mango Pachadi prepared as "nivedhyam".

"B" for Beetroot Paratas

Beetroot's main benefits are that it contains no fat, very few calories and is a great source of fibre.
An average sized cup(250 ml) of sliced beets will contain:
Food energy 31 cal (130 kJ)
Carbohydrate 8.5 g
Dietary fiber 1.5 g
Folate 53.2 µg
Phosphorus 32 mg
Potassium 259 mg
Protein 1.5 g
I am inspired and followed by SaffronHut's Spinach Cheese Parata.I like PARATA,PAROTA because it is not a daily intake for southindians.My mom used to do Radish parata.So ,i added Beetroot instead of Radish.

Ingredients:
Wheat flour - 4 cups
BengalGram flour(Sengapindi/Kadalamavu/Besan)-1 tspn
Beetroot - 2 no
Greenchillies - 2 no finely,chopped
Coriander leaves - 2 sprigs
Garlic pods - 2 no,crushed
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Sesame seeds(Nuvvulu/Til/Ellu) - 1 tspn
Ground Cumin(Jeera)- 1tspn
Grated cheese - 1/2cup
Red chilli pwd and Salt to taste
Method:
Add salt to the Grated Beetroot and keep it for 10minutes.Then squeeze the water(I used this water for making dough)from Beetroot and add Jeera,Greenchillies,Ginger-Garlic(both crushed),Coriander leaves,grated Cheese and mix well & cover with a lid.Add 2 tbsp of Oil,Beetroot water,Salt,Redchilli pwd,Besan to Wheat flour.Mix well, add enough water to knead to a soft dough.Cover with a damp cloth and keep aside for 15 minutes.

Divide the paratha dough into small balls.
Roll out each ball with a rolling pin into a small circle, make the beetroot stuffing into a small ball size and place in the centre of the chapathi.
Bring the edjes into the middle and rollback into a ball.
Flatten these balls and roll out into medium sized chapathis on a lightly floured board.
Heat tawa over a medium heat,add some ghee and place paratha.


Keep flame in sim,spread Oil and fry it bothsides.Parata bubble up and chages to goldenbrown color.
Serve hot with dal r any gravy.

"A" for "Apple Basundi"

Ingredients:
1 litre Milk
4 tbsp Sugar
3 medium Apples, grated
Ghee
Ground Cardamom -8 no(Ellakkai,Elaichi)
Raisins 7no
Cashewnuts-6no
Pistachios -6no, crushed coarsely
Almonds - 6no crushed coarsely
Saffron 3 strands
Method:
Put milk to boil in a large deep pan,stirring occasionally.When it starts boiling, reduce heat and boil.Stir frequently, till milk becomes to 2/3 of its volume.Soak Saffron in 2 tsp. hot milk, keep aside.Add the grated apples to the milk with sugar and cook for 10 minutes.Sprinkle cardamom pwd ,saffron milk into to the boiling milk and mix well.
Blanching Almonds:Just add almonds with a quarter cup of water and microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes.Allow to stand for 2 minutes, drain and then peel and chop coarsely.Fry Raisins,Cashewnuts in the ghee and Add Pistachios,Almonds to boiling milk.Boil for another 3-4 minutes.Take off from fire and allow to cool completely, chill in refrigerator for 1 hr and serve.

Foodblogger's Meme

A Foodblogger's Meme Around The World

This is my first meme since I started blogging for 1 month.I am happy to see so many bloggers around me.I have been tagged for this meme by Anthony's
Kitchen

1.These r the 4 recipes I have recently bookmarked from foodblogs to try:

-Homemade Soy MilkbyIndira

-Tapioca CakebyPushpa

-Banana Muffins by Saffron Hut

-Spinach Cheese Paratha at Saffron Hut
(I tried Paratas)

2. A foodblog in my vicinity:

Santhi'sMe and My kitchen


3. A foodblog (or more) located away from me:

- Surys(Lima)Beans and Delhi Ch(a)t


4.The blogs which i found recently:


-ShammisFood,In The Main
from Indira

-Vaishali'sHappy Burp
from Sailu's food

-Revathi's En Ulagam

-Priya'sPriyasKitchenfrom Indira


5. Any people or bloggers you want to tag with this meme?


-Annita'sMy Pleasure ..My Treasure

-MenuToday'smenutoday

-Tanuja's KodalisKitchen

-Karthi'sKitchenmate

-Shilpa's aayisrecipes

-Priya'ssugarsspices

-Sailu'sSailusFood

-Lakshmi'sIndian Rasoi

- VKN's My Dhaba

-BDSN'STaste Corner

So,Iam ending up here coz list is so big.

Crunchy Taco Shells

I like Corn(Mokkajonna kanki,Mokkacholam) always.Mom used to prepare "Sundalu" by soaking overnight(dried corn seeds)after seasoning it with jeera it will be tasty with hot rice.So,after searching on web i got these little information about the nutritional facts of todays recipe.

Corn(Yellow) is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol and Sodium.
Carrot:This food is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Vitamin C,B6, Potassium and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A,K and Manganese.
Cilantro(Coriander):It is also very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol & a good source of Thiamin and Zinc,Dietary Fiber, VitaminA,C,E,K,B6,Riboflavin,Niacin,Folate,Pantothenic Acid,Calcium,Iron,Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper and Manganese
Chickpeas:(r also called Garbanzo beans)r high in Fiber so,it decreases serum glucose and cholesterol(help to stave off heart attacks and strokes)and decreases insulin requirements for people with diabetes.
Ingredients:
Crispy Jumbo Taco shells - 2no
Onion - 2,finely chopped
SweetGrapeTomatoes-7
Green bell pepper -1,thinly diced
Red bell pepper-1,thinly sliced
Garlic pods - 1 no
Ginger 1/2", crushed
Cloves - 2 no, crushed
Ground cumin -1 tspn(Jeera)
Chopped fresh Cilantro - 3Sprigs
Lettuce -1,finely chopped
Carrot-2no,grated
BrownChickpeas - 1 cup(Soaked & Boiled)
Corn seeds(tender one)-1cup
Puffed Rice(Borugulu/Pori/Murmura)- 1 cup
Redchillipwd and Salt to taste
Shredded Cheddar Cheese-2tspns
Lemon juice-1/2tspn
Oil for cooking

For Filling JumboTaco Shells:
Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat.Add cumin seeds when it chages color then add Onion,Tomatoes,Garlic,Ginger and sauté until soft,upto 5 minutes.
Add grated Carrot,boiled Chickpeas,Cornseeds,chopped Lettuce,Redchillipwd,Salt along with 2tbspn of water(I used the stock of Chickpeas),stir well and place the lid for 4minutes.(It should be dry when u add puffed rice.)
Add Puffed rice,Lemonjuice,sprinkle Cilantro leaves on that and mixwell.Use a Spoon to scoop up the mixture into Tacoshells.Serve,passing small grapetomatoes,Cheese,Cilantro as garnishes.
vcc q1-2006

This is my entry to “Virtual Cooking Competition~Appetizers“, hosted by VKN of My Dhaba.

CorianderRice with RadishRaita

Ingredients:
Rice - 2 cups
Green chillies - 3
Coriander - 3 bunches
Ginger - 1" piece
Cumin seeds(Jeera/Jeelakarra/Jeeragam)- 1tsp
Bay leaf-1
Cinnamon stick-1/2inch
Cloves- 5 nos,crushed
Garlic - 3pods
Cardamon- 2 nos crushed
Bay leaves- 1 no
Peanuts
Ghee - 2 tbsps
Method
Wash the Rice and cook seperately.
Grind Coriander leaves,green chillies,ginger,garlic into a paste.In a pan, heat the Ghee,fry Peanuts and keep it aside.Fry the Onions and Greenchillies until it changes to goldenbbrown color.In the same Ghee, add Jeera, after it splutters,add the grinded Coriander paste,Turmeric,Bay Leaf,Cloves pwd,crushed Cardamon,Cinnamon pwd ,fried Peanuts & add Salt and Redchilli pwd if neccessary.Fry until raws smell goes.Now add Rice and mix well.Garnish with Corinderleaves and serve with any raita.But now I did RadishRaita.
RadishRaita:

Ingredients:
Grated RedRadish-2 Bunch
Curd-3Cups
GreenChillies-2no,finely Chopped
Jeerapwd-1Tspn
Ginger-1",crushed
Salt to taste
Corinder Leaves - 2 Sprigs
Method:
Take a bowl add Grated small Red Radish,finely chopped GreenChillies,Jeera pwd,Ginger paste(r Ginger pwd),Curd,Salt.Mix well.Garnish with Corianderleaves and serve chill.

Sundakkai Vatral Kozhambu

"Sundakkai"s botanical name is "Solanum torvum" and "Turkey Berry" in English,"Bhankatiya, katai in "Hindi","Usthikaya" in Telugu and "Sundakkai" in Tamil.
Sundakkai is soaked in buttertmilk,salt and dried in "sunlight".It tastes bitter ,salty.So these are called "Vatral" after dried in sunlight.
This kozhambu(Tamarind gravy) can be a fiery tasting but equally great & tasty preparation.This is prepared in two variations.One using no Garlic/Onions , another using Both Garlic and Onions .This is more on Sour side and also a little HOT.

Ingredients:
Sundakkai Vatral - 7 no(Usthikayalu in Telugu)
Onions-1,chopped
Tomato-1(small) chopped
Drumstick Pieces -6
Garlic-2pods crushed
Ginger-1/2 inch crushed
Curry leaves - a few
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Sambar powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Tamarind paste - 1lemon size(or)1tbspn paste
Asafoetida(Inguva/Perumgayam/Hing)
Pepper -1/2 tspn
Oil - 3 tbsps
Salt to taste

Method:
In a pan,heat Oil,fry "Sundakkai" in goldenbrowncolorand keep it aside.Add Mustard seeds in the same pan let the mustard starts to crackle, immediately add Asafoetida and coarsely broken Pepperafter spluttering,add Onions,crushed ginger-garlic,turmeric pwd & saute for a while.Then,add chopped tomato,Drumstick pieces fry for a while.Add fried Sundakkai,Redchilli,Sambar pwd,Tamarind paste and Salt to that along with some water and bring to a boil and let it simmer for another three minutes until u will get the aroma of sambar pwd.Serve Hot KaraKozhambu with steamimg Rice.See this link for about Sundakkai in
in English

This is my entry to “The Spice is Right - Ancient Spices” food blog event,by Barbara's Barbara of Tigers and Strawberries.

RecipeSource:Aunty

Coriander Vada

Once,I had these Coriander vadas in one of Chennai's restaurant.So,i added coriander to vada batter and got the same taste.
Ingredients for Coriander(Kotthimeera) Vada:
2 cups of Urad dal
5 Green chillies
1 Inch Ginger
1 bunch of corianderleaves(Kotthimeera in Telugu,Kothamalli in Tamil,Kothambir in Kannada)
2 Chopped Onions
2 Sprigs of Curry leaves
Salt to taste
Oil for frying
Preparation:
Wash, soak dal in water for 3 hrs.Drain and grind along with green chillies,ginger into a smooth batter with a less amount of water.Add Chopped Onions,Chopped coriander leaves,chopped curry leaves,salt to the batter and mix well.Heat oil in a deep frying pan.Wet the palm, take some batter and flatten to a round shape, make a hole in the center with finger and slowly slide into the hot oil.Fry both sides till golden brown. Serve hot with Bengalgram dal(Senagapappu in Telugu,Kadalaparupu in Tamil)Chutney.

Bengalgram Dal Chutney:
1 cup of Bengalgram Dal
4 GreenChillies
1 inch Ginger
1 Tomato
4 sprigs of coriander leaves
Oil - 3tspns
Mustard seeds(1/2tsp),Redchillie-1,curryleaves -4 for Seasoning
Method:
Heat oil in the pan and fry BengalgramDal,until it turns goldenbrown color&keep it aside.Fry GreenChillies,tomato,ginger in another of oil.Mix all the ingredients,salt,corinder leaves and grind it into a thick paste.Season it with mustard seeds,redchilli&curryleaves.
RecipeSource:Aunty

Boondhi Ladoo

Ingredients:
2 cups gram flour(Senagapindi,Besan)
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of water
A pinch of yellow color
4 cardamoms crushed
cashewnuts
Making sugar syrup:
Take a vessel add 2cups of sugar and 2 cups of water and make a sticky syrup of one-thread consistency.Add crushed cardamom pwd and cashewnuts.
Preparation of Ladoo:
Mix gram flour with just enough water to make a thick batter.Add the yellow color and mix well without any lumps.Heat oil.Hold strainer on top with one hand and pour batter into the sieve and spread batter into circular moments so that drops will fall into the pan.Fry till pale golden color and drain out and place on tissuepaper.Continue till all the batter is used.Drain thoroughly and put them immediately into the sugar syrup and mix well.While still warm,shape the syrup-coated boondis into round ladoos,and leave till cool and keep open to dry, before storing in containers.

This is the entry for Anthony's Curry Mela 12th.

HAPPY UGADI & GUDI PADWA

Ugadi name has been changed from Yuga Aadi (Yuga + Aadi means beginning of New age).
It is the Telugu New Year day celebrated on Chaitra Suddha Padyami, the first day of the bright fortnight in the month of Chaitra. This festival is known as"Gudi Padwa" in Maharashtra and"Ugadi"in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It is a day of great joy and happiness.This year it is called as "VyayaNamaSamvatsaram"
It is believed that the creator of the Hindu pantheon Lord Brahma started creation on this day - Chaitra suddha padhyami or the Ugadi day. Also the great Indian Mathematician Bhaskaracharya's calculations proclaimed the Ugadi day from the sunrise on as the beginning of the new year, new month and new day. The onset of spring also marks a beginning of new life with plants (barren until now) acquiring new life, shoots and leaves. Spring is considered the first season of the year hence also heralding a new year and a new beginning. The vibrancy of life and verdent fields, meadows full of colorful blossoms signifies growth, prosperity and well-being.
Predictions of the Year :
Ugadi marks the beginning of a new Hindu lunar calendar with a change in the moon's orbit.It is a day when mantras are chanted and predictions made for the new year.Traditionally, the panchangasravanam or listening to the yearly calendar was done at the temples OR on television sets.The day, however, begins with ritual showers followed by prayers, and then the eating of a specific mixture of -"SHADRUCHULA SAMMELANAM"
"Neem flowers for "Bitterness"
Jaggery for"Sweetness"
Raw Mango for"Vagaru"
New Tamarind Juice for"Sour"
Red chillie pwd for"Hot"
Salt for salty taste
This mixture, called "Ugadi Pachhadi" in Telugu and "Bevu-Bella" in Kannada, symbolizes the fact that life is a mixture of pleasure and pain, which should be accepted together and with equanimity.People wake up before the break of dawn and take a head bath after which they decorate the entrance of their houses with fresh mango leaves.Houses are given a thorough wash.People wear new clothes.Ugadi Pachchadi is taken with empty stomach after giving "Nivedhyam" to god.The significance of tying mango leaves relates to a legend. It is said that Kartik (or SubramanyaSwamy)and Ganesha, the two sons of Lord Siva and Parvathi were very fond of mangoes. As the legend goes Kartik exhorted people to tie green mango leaves to the doorway signifying a good crop and general well-being.People perform the ritualistic worship to God invoking his blessings before they start off with the new year. They pray for their health, wealth and prosperity and success in business too. Ugadi is also the most auspicious time to start new ventures.Special dishes are prepared for the occasion. In Andhra Pradesh, eatables such as "Pulihora", "Bobbatlu" and recipes made with raw mango go well with the occasion.In Karnataka ,"puliogure"and "holige". The Maharashtrians make "puran poli".Mangoes with salt, powdered mustard and powdered dry red chilli and a lot of oil to float over the mangoes. This preparation is called "Aavakai" and lasts for a whole year."UGADI" is thus a festival of many shades. It ushers in the new year, brings a rich bounce of flora and fills the hearts of people with joy and contentment.

VeggieBurger

Ingredients:
SesameHamBurger Buns-4(For 2 people)
2 Lettuce leaf
4 roasted Red pepper strips
6 Cucumber slices
3 Onion rings
4 Tomato slices
1 cabbage leaf
2 boiled&mashed Potatoes
1 GreenChilly
1/2 cup chopped Spring onions
1/2 cup chopped Onions
1t sp red chilli pwd
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking
2 tspn Butter

Patties Preperation:
Take mashed Potatoes in a bowl add chooped onions,spring onions,ginger garlic paste, Breadcrumbs,red chilli pwd,salt to taste, and mix it thoroughly. Add more bread crumbs 1 tspn of rawa(sooji)if mixture is too wet.Make it into a small balls and flatten it into round shape. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.Form mixture into patties and cook about 4 minutes per side until patties have formed a dark brown crust.Heat butter and apply to burger buns.
Top burger with roasted peppers, cucumber and onion slices and fresh tomato,lettuce.Drizzle with pepper.Keep Patties in the middle and cover with lettuce and tomato as 3 rd layer and finish it by topping it with burger bun.Serve in a plate with "French fries".
Veggie Burgers are lower in fat and cholesterol and high in Fiber.

Spicy Spaghetti Pulov with Orange juice

Ingredients:
1 small packet of long Spaghetti
1 cup chopped Onions
3 Green Chillies
1 cup of diced Carrot
1 tomato chopped
1 tspn Ginger-Garlic paste
1 tspn Garam masala pwd
1 BayLeaf
1 tspn RedChilli pwd
1/2 tspn pepper
1/2tspn Soysauce
Salt (as required)
Oil for cooking
1/2 tspn Butter(Optional)
Pudina leaves for garnishing.
Method:
Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Drop the Spaghetti and add 1 tspn of oil into the water and boil for 10-12 minutes.When Spaghetti boils,Drain the water.
Take another pan heat oil,ginger-garlic paste fry it for a while and then add chopped onions,greenchillies,bayleaf,crushed clove,diced tomato,garam masala pwd,salt and red chilli pwd and stir for a while and add carrots,soy sauce,add 1/4 cup of water keep lid for 5 minutes.When the gravy becomes thick add boiled spaghetti and sprinkle pepper ,butter & mix well.Place Spaghetti in a plate and garnish with pudina leaves which gives nice aroma & good for health.Serve hot with tomato sauce and Orange juice.I think this is the best combination of HOT & COOL.
This is my entry to Hooked on Heat's Fusion theme of this month.

Mint Pilaf

Ingredients:
Basmati rice - 2 cups
Green chillies - 3
Pudina - 2 bunches
Ginger - 1" piece
Jeera - 1/4 tsp
Bay leaf-1
Cinnamon stick-1/2inch
Cloves- 5 nos
Garlic - 3pods
Ginger- 1 inch piece
Cardamon- 2 nos crushed
Bay leaves- 2 nos crushed
Peanuts - 10-15
Ghee - 2 tbsps
Method
Wash the Rice and cook seperately.
Grind pudina,green chillies,salt to paste.In a pan, heat the ghee and fry the peanuts & keep aside.Fry onions and greenchillies until it changes to goldenbbrown color.In the same ghee, add the jeera, after it splutters,add the grinded pudina paste,turmeric,bay leaf,cloves pwd,crushed cardamon,ginger-garlic paste add salt and redchilli pwd if neccessary.Fry until raws smell goes
Now add rice and mix well.Garnish with peanuts and pudina leaves and serve with any raita.