Capsicum Onion - Green chutney

Ingredients:
Green capsicum - 1/2
onion - 1/2 large
red chilli - 2 1/2
urud dal - 2 spoons
hing - a pinch
Tamarind - 1/4 tea spoon
salt - as needed
gingelly oil - 3 spoons

Preparation:
Heat oil in kadai. Add urud dal and fry until it turns into light brown.
Add red chilli and hing. Fry for few seconds and take it out
fry onion until it slight turns into golden color and take it out
Add green capsicum, salt and tamarind. Shallow fry for 2 mins.
Grind all the ingredients fried. Don't grind it too smooth.

Yummy green chutney with a tinge of sweetness is ready to serve with Hot Idlis / Ghee Dosas !!

Servings: 2 - 4

Green Moong kadi

This curry is made from split green moong dal. This is a variation of kadi made in Northern parts of India

Ingredients:
Green Moong dal (split) - 1 cup
tomato - 1/2 large
Red onion - 1/2
Potato - 1
ginger (grated) - 1 spoon
green chilly - 1
red chilli powder - 1 spoon
cumin, corriander powder - 1 1/2 spoon
turmeric powder - 1/4 tea spoon
salt - 1 3/4 spoon
Curd - 2 spoons
Besan - 1/2 spoon

For Seasoning:
curry leaves - 1 twig
corriander leaves - 2 twigs

For tempering:
oil - 2 spoon
cumin seeds - 1/2 spoon
cloves - 2
cardamom - 2
bay leaf - 1

Preparation:
Soak green moong dal for 6 hours
Put cleaned Moong dal and potato in pressure cooker.  Add 4 cups of water and 1 spoon of salt. Cook them for 4 whistles. After 10 mins, open the cooker, take out the potato and peel the skin. 
Smash the dal and keep it aside.
Temper all items in kadai. Add grated ginger and slightly toss
Add onions to it and shallow fry it.
Add tomatoes to it and fry until it turns smooth.
Add 1/4 spoon of salt and chilli powder.
Dry fry corriander, cumin seeds and powder those.
Add the spice powder to dal and cook for 2 mins
Add smashed dal, potato, 1/2 spoon of salt and 2 cups of water to mix and let it boil for 5 mins in sim.
Dissolve besan in curd, 1/4 cup of water and mix it with dal.
Add green chilli and let the dal boil for 2 more mins.
Season it with curry leaves and corriander leaves.

Yummy green moon dal kadi is ready !! :)

Servings: 8 - 10

Usage: Serve it with Roti

Dal with Fenugreek leaves

This dish will reduce body heat. Both Moong dal and fenugreek leaves are cooling agent.

Ingredients:
Moong dal - 1/3 cup
green chilli - 2
fenugreek leaves - 1 small bunch
tomato - 1
oil - 1 spoon
turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon
hing - a pinch
salt - 1 spoon or as needed

To Temper:
oil - 1 spoon
mustard - 1/2 spoon
red chilli - 1

Preparation:
Pressure cook Moong dal with 1 cup of water.
smash cooked moong dal and keep it aside. Add water to liquefy dal if needed.
Saute fenugreek leaves in 1/2 spoon of oil
slightly sprinkle salt over leaves and keep it aside.
cut tomato into 4 to 6 pieces
Saute tomatao pieces in 1/2 spoon of oil and cook until it softens
Add turmeric, hing, salt and 3 cups of water
let it boil for 5 minutes
Add dal, sauteed fenugreek leaves and green chilli to the boiling mixture
Cook the dal until it thickens to right consistency

Temper mustard and red chilli in oil and add it to dal.

Now aroma of fenugreek leaves, call you to dine !!

Servings: 4
Mix it with white rice or Have it with Roti !

Badhusha

Preparation time: 50 mins

Making Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:
All purpose flour / Maida - 2 cups
Thick Curd - 1 cup (Ensure its fresh and not sour)
Butter - 50 g
baking powder - 3/4 spoon
baking soda - 1/2 teaspoon

To Fry:
Refined oil - As required
Ghee - 1 spoon

For Topping:
Dry grated coconut (coloured with food colour) - 4 spoons 

For spice powder:
Sugar - 2 cups
Water - little more than 1/4 cup

Preparation:
Keep the butter in room temperature until it becomes soft
Mix baking powder and baking soda with flour
Add butter to it and mix well
Add curd and mix it. No need to knead well. Its enough if the dough is flaky.
Cover the dough and keep it aside for 20 mins
Make small balls and slightly make it patty. No need to keep it exactly round
Press thumb at the centre of ball and slightly twist it

Heat the oil
Fry the patties in medium or less than medium heat
Take out when it is evenly light brown

To make sugar syrup, boil the sugar with Water until you get Single String consistency
Make thick syrup, so that it will form white coating on badusha after it cools down.

Put the fried Badhushas in sugar syrup
keep it soaked for a minute.
Take out Badhushas and sprinkle dry grated coconut on top of it
Keep it aside for sometime
White layer will form on top once Sugar coating solidifies

Now enjoy your festival with yummy colorful Badhusha sweet !

Serving: 12 - 15

Biscotti

Ingredients:
All purpose flour / Maida - 1 cup 
Butter - 150 g
Sugar - 1 cup
baking powder - 1
Egg - 1 Medium
Dry fruits - 100g
Nuts - 3/4 cup
Apple-Pomegranate juice - 1 cup (or quantity needed to soak the dry fruits)
Vanilla extract - 1 spoon

For spice powder:
cinnamon - 3" piece
cloves - 2
cardamom - 6

Preparation:
Keep the butter in room temperature until it becomes soft
Soak the dry fruits in juice for 40 mins
Pre-heat the oven at 400 deg for 30 mins
Dust half of the nuts with flour and keep it aside. Chop the remaining nuts.
Make a nice spice powder with cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and couple of spoons of sugar

Knead the soft butter well with sugar, until it becomes creamy and foamy
Add flour, baking powder, spice powder, vanilla extract, dusted nuts and soaked up dry fruits to butter mix. Mix all ingredients thoroughly without any lumps
Add eggs and knead the mix well to make a light batter

Grease the baking pan with butter. Sprinkle flour over it.
Pour the mix into baking pan. Sprinkle chopped nuts for toppings
Bake it at 350 deg for 14 mins and 365 deg for 16 mins. Mix initially melts and gets baked after sometime. 
Ingredient raises up.
Slowly the colour changes to brown and nice aroma comes out. This is when you can stop baking. 

Take the cookie out of oven
Make the markings with knife to cut it into pieces
leave it open for 20 mins.
Run the edges of pan with knife, tap it and flip it in tray. Take out the cut pieces and store it in airtight container.

Enjoy your evening chai by dunkin' biscotti :P