Rava Idli - ರವೆ ಇಡ್ಲಿ

Preparation time: 25-30 minutes

Serves: 2 people / 12 idlis
 
You will need:

1. Semolina/Rava/Sooji/ರವೆ: 1 cup
2. Green Peas (optional): 1/4 cup
3. Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
4. Curry leaves: 3-4 nos.
5. Green chillies: 3-4 nos. 
6. Coriander
7. Chana Dal: 1/2 tsp
8. Urad Dal: 1/2 tsp
9. Cashews: 5-6 - broken into pieces
10. Yogurt: 2 tbsp
11. Baking Soda: 1/2 tsp
12. Asafoetida / Hing
13. Cooking Oil: 1/2 tbsp
14. Water
15. Salt

To cook:

• Heat oil in a skillet and add mustard seeds and hing.
• Then add the chana dal, urad dal and cashews and saute until golden brown
• Then add the green peas, green chillies and curry leaves. 
• Now add the rava and mix well. Take it off the stove. The rava only needs to be warm and does not need to be roasted.
• Let the rava mixture cool and then transfer into a bowl.
• Add yogurt and baking soda and stir for approx 2 minutes or until you see the batter rising. 
• Add a little more baking soda if you want really fluffy idlis.
• Add some water to get a smooth batter. 
• Now add the coriander leaves and salt and mix well.  
• Apply oil to the idli stand and pour the batter. 
• Let it cook for at least 10-15 minutes.
• Serve hot with coconut chutney!

Kidney Beans-Rajma Curry & Jeera Rice

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 2 people

Kidney Beans / Rajma Curry

You will need:

1. Rajma / Red Kidney Beans: 150-200 gms
2. Onions: 1 no. - finely chopped
3. Garlic: 1 no. diced
4. Tomatoes: 2 nos. -diced/pureed
5. Red chilli powder 
6. Rajma Masala powder/paste: 1 tspn
7. Cooking Oil: 1 tbsp
8. Salt

To cook:

• Soak the kidney beans in water preferably overnight or for a minimum of 6-8 hours.
• Once fully soaked, pressure cook the beans along with some salt. Keep this aside.
• Heat oil in a skillet and add the onions and garlic. Saute until they turn translucent.
• Now add the pureed tomatoes and stir it for a while.
• Add the red chilli powder, rajma masala powder/paste and salt.
• To this, add the cooked beans and mix well. 
• For a gravy consistency, add in some water. 
• Rajma curry is ready!

Rajma Curry with Jeera Rice

Jeera Rice:

You will need:

• Long grain/ Basmati Rice: 1.5 cups - thoroughly washed
• Cumin Seeds: 1 tbsp
• Ghee/Butter: 1 tbsp
• Salt (optional)

To cook:

• Heat the ghee in a pressure cooker.
• Add cumin seeds and saute until brown.
• Now add the washed rice and stir it for about 1 minute.
• Add water (1.5 times the quantity of rice) and close the pressure cooker lid
• Let it cook until you hear a couple of whistles.
• Serve it hot with the Rajma curry! 

Pigeon Peas Pulao - ತೊಗರಿಕಾಳು ಪುಲಾವ್

This is one quick and easy pulao that uses minimum ingredients and there's hardly any chopping/dicing involved.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Serves: 2 people
 
You will need:

1. Rice: 1 cup - thoroughly washed
2. Pigeon Peas / Toovar lilva /  ತೊಗರಿಕಾಳು (fresh/frozen) : 100 gms
3. Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
4. Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
5. Cloves: 4 nos.
6. Cardamom: 4 nos.
7. Bay leaves: 1-2 nos.
8. Curry leaves - 3-4 nos.
9. Green chillies: 3-4 nos.
10. Turmeric powder
11. Asafoetida / Hing
12. Cooking Oil - 1 tbsp
13. Salt
14. Coriander: to garnish

To cook:

• Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add mustard seeds.
• Once the seeds start popping, add ingredients (nos 3-9)
• After the spices give out a nice aroma, add in the pigeon peas and mix well
• Add the rice now and stir this for about 1 minute
• Add 1 cup of water (the rice to water ratio should ideally be 1:1) and salt. Mix well.
• Close the pressure cook lid and let it cook until you get a couple of whistles. 
• Garnish with coriander and serve hot with some ghee on top!

Pigeon Peas Pulao

Tip:

• Increase the quantity of water (preferably more than 2X rice) and add whole black peppers - et voila.. pigeon peas khichdi!
• If you can't find pigeon peas, add green peas instead plus a pinch of red chilli powder for an extra kick!  

Raw Banana Curry - ಬಾಳೆಕಾಯಿ ಪಲ್ಯ

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Serves: 2 people
 
You will need:

1. Raw bananas - 3-4 nos - peeled and diced into small pieces
2. Onions - 1 no. - diced
3. Tomato - 1 no. - roughly chopped
4. Mustard seeds - 1 tspn
5. Turmeric powder
6. Red chilli powder 
7. Asafoetida / Hing
8. Cooking Oil
9. Salt

To cook:

• Heat the oil in a skillet and add mustard seeds. Once the seeds start popping add hing, turmeric powder and the raw bananas. 
• Saute the bananas until they turn golden brown. Once cooked, keep this aside.
• In the same skillet, add some oil and saute the onions. 
• Once the onions are caramelized, add tomato and salt. 
• Add red chilli powder or any other spice powder of your choice. ( I added some leftover rajma masala paste!)
• Add a little water if you want to get a gravy-like consistency. 
• Once the onion-tomato gravy is cooked, add the sauted bananas and stir well.
• Goes well with hot chapatis and rice! 

Raw Banana Curry

Tip: For a better flavor, mix the bananas with the red chilli/spice powder before you saute them!

Dry Coconut Dal - ಕೊಬ್ರಿ ದಾಲ್

This is a simple upgrade to the humble dal!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Serves: 3-4 people

You will need:

1. Toor Dal - 1 cup
2. Dry coconut - 1/2 cup
3. Coriander Seeds - 1 tspn
4. Curry leaves 
5. Mustard seeds 
6. Turmeric powder
7. Asafoetida / Hing
8. Cooking Oil - for tempering
9. Salt

To cook:

• Cook toor dal in a pressure cooker and keep it aside. 
• In a blender, grind the dry coconut and coriander seeds with a little water. Make sure the paste is nicely ground. Once done, set it aside. 
• Next, in a pan, add the cooked dal, the above ground paste, turmeric powder and curry leaves. Let it come to a boil. 
• Once boiled, add salt and give it a good stir.

For tempering: Add oil, mustard seeds and asafoetida.

Serve it hot with rice!

Dry Coconut Dal

Tip: The ground paste can be stored for upto 2 months in a freezer!

Ivy Gourd Curry - ತೊಂಡೆಕಾಯಿ ಪಲ್ಯ

This is a recipe popular in and around Mangalore and it includes chickpeas!

Preparation time: 30-40 minutes

Serves: 2 people

You will need:

1. Ivy Gourd  - ತೊಂಡೆಕಾಯಿ- 200 gms - diced into 1/2 inch pieces
2. Green peas - 1 cup
3. Chickpeas - 1 cup - boiled
4. Coconut (dry/wet) - 1 cup
5. Red chillies - 4-5 nos.
6. Mustard seeds - 1 tspn
7. Tamarind paste - 1 tbsp
8. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn
9. Asafoetida / Hing - 1 pinch
10. Cooking Oil - 1 tbsp
11. Salt

To grind:

• Grind the ingredients (nos. 4-7) in a blender to a smooth paste and keep it aside.

To cook:

1. Heat Oil in a skillet. Add mustard seeds, hing and turmeric powder.
2. Once the mustard seeds start popping, add the diced ivy gourd pieces. 
3. Saute this for about 15 minutes or until the ivy gourd becomes tender
4. Once cooked, add green peas (fresh or frozen) and the cooked chick peas and stir for 2 minutes. 
5. To this add the above ground paste and salt according to taste.
6. Mix well and Serve hot.

Ivy Gourd Curry

Ideal with hot chapatis or rice!

Ade Dosa - ಅಡೆ ದೋಸೆ

This instant dosa is a healthy, nutritious option if you are looking to add more proteins in your diet. Ideal for breakfast!

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes

Serves: 3-4 people / 12 dosas

You will need:

1. Rice - 2 cups
2. Urad dal - 1/2 cup
3. Chana dal - 1/4 cup
4. Toor dal - 1/4 cup
5. Moong dal - 1/4 cup
6. Methi seeds - 1 tspn
7. Red chillies - 5
8. Onions - 1 (optional)
9. Cooking Oil
10. Salt to taste

 To grind:

• Soak all the ingredients (1-6) in water for at least 5 hours.
• Once soaked, grind all the ingredients along with the red chillies and onion. The red chillies give a nice red tinge to the batter.
• Add water accordingly and ensure the batter is nicely ground to a smooth paste.
• Dosa batter is ready to be used. Needs no fermentation!

To cook:

• Heat a skillet (preferably cast iron) and spread the dosa batter. 
• Add some oil to the edges so that the batter doesn't stick to the pan.
• Serve hot with chutney or pickles! 

Ade Dosa

Tip: Skip the red chilies and you have Masala Dosa batter!

Chickpeas Spinach Curry - ಕಾಲು ಸಪ್ಪು ಪಲ್ಯ

A simple and easy to prepare dish that combines two of my favorite ingredients - chickpeas and spinach! 

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Serves: 2-3 people

You will need:

1. Chickpeas - 2 cups 
2. Spinach - 1 bunch - chopped
3. Onions - 1 no. - chopped
4. Garlic - 2 cloves - diced
5. Yogurt - 2 tbsp 
6. Garam Masala
7. Dhaniya/Coriander powder
8. Cooking Oil (Use olive oil for extra flavour)
9. Salt 

To cook:

• Soak chickpeas overnight and pressure cook them with some salt. You could also use canned chickpeas otherwise
• Cook the chopped spinach in water for about 5 min and keep it aside
• Heat oil in a skillet and add chopped onions and garlic and saute until brown
• Add garam masala, dhaniya powder and salt and mix well
• To this, add yogurt, spinach and cooked chickpeas
• Add some water to get a gravy like consistency
• Serve hot with Rice or Chapatis

Chickpeas Spinach Curry

Lentil Dumplings - Nunchinunde - ನುಚಿನುಂಡೆ

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Serves: 2-3 people / 16 dumplings

You will need:

1. Toor dal (Lentils) - 1 cup 
2. Green chillies - 3-4 nos.
3. Cilantro
4. Coconut (wet/dry) - 1 cup
5. Onions (optional)
6. Cooking Oil
7. Salt

To cook:

• Wash the toor dal and soak in water for about 4-5 hours. 
• Once well-soaked, grind the dal along with the cilantro, green chillies.and coconut. Add very little water.
• Make sure the paste is NOT fully ground. Ideally a little coarse consistency is required.
• Transfer this paste into a bowl and add chopped onions (optional)
• Spread some oil onto an Idli stand
• Make oval shaped balls of the paste and place them in the Idli stand  
• Cook this for approx 10-15 minutes.
• Serve hot with some ghee on top
• Makes for a healthy breakfast dish, else eat it with rice as a lunch/dinner meal.

Lentil Dumplings

Veg Hakka Noodles

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Serves: 2 people

You will need:

1. Hakka Noodles - ~400 gms
2. Onions (2 nos.) - chopped
3. Garlic - diced (optional)
4. Peppers (green/red/yellow) - diced
5. Carrots - 1 cup - diced
6. Green Peas - 1 cup
7. French beans - 1 cup
8. Pepper/Red chilli flakes
9. Cooking Oil (preferably peanut oil) - 1 tbsp
10. Soya Sauce - 1 tsp
11. Salt 

To cook:

• Cook the hakka noodles with salted water. Once cooked, drain the water and drizzle some oil and keep it aside. Adding oil makes it less sticky.
• Heat oil in a wok and add the onions and garlic and let it saute until the onions are caramelized. 
• Add the peppers, carrots, green peas and french beans cook until they are almost tender. 
• Add the cooked noodles plus pepper/red chilli flakes and soya sauce. 
• Mix well and serve hot.

Veg Hakka Noodles