Back home from a long, hectic fun-filled vacation in India. Trying to beat the winter doldrums and fit into my my regular schedules as I juggle between office, house hold chores, while I keep thinking of all the fun, frolic, shopping, pampering, and a lot of  foods that I have grown up eating. Its been a month since I am back from a holiday and I still feel lazy enough to get into the kitchen to cook elaborate meals. Blame it on me or the cold nights we have, I am looking for quick meals that I could wrap up in no time. Here comes one recipe from my kitchen to all of you made with Anapakaya/Sorakaya aka bottle gourd. My mom cooks quite of few varieties with this green beauty which I plan to blog sooner or later but for now I decided to settle down with this simple curry cooked with onions and simmered in milk brings out the taste in this utterly delicious vegetable which I seldom ate when I was a child. Here is how….

Ingredients:

1 anapakaya/sorakaya/dudhi/bottle gourd - cut into bite sized pieces (about 3 cups)

2 mullakada/drumsticks cut into 2 inch pieces

1/2 tsp mustard seeds (avalu)

1/2 tsp jeera

8-10 curry leaves

6-8 green chilies (slit lengthwise)

2 medium onions finely chopped

2 garlic pods

1/4 tsp turmeric

salt to taste

2 tbsps oil

1 cup of water

1 cup of warm milk

Freshly chopped coriander leaves for garnish - 3-4 tbsps

How To:

• Heat oil in a pressure cooker, throw in the mustard seeds, and jeera. As they splutter, add green chillies, curry leaves and garlic pods. Saute for half a minute. Add chopped onions, turmeric and salt. Fry till onions turn soft and light golden brown in color (around 8-10 mts)
• Add drumstick pieces and fry for another 2 mts. Add water, cover with the pressure cooker lid and turn the flame to a high. When pressure starts put the whistle on and cook till 2-3 whistles. Turn the flame to low and let it cook for another 3-4 mts. Turn off the flame.
• When the pressure leaves, open the lid and cook on high if there is any water left in the curry. Once the water evaporates, add in a cup of warm milk and cook on medium flame till the curry resembles thick gravy consistency.
• Finally, add in freshly chopped coriander just before turning off the flame. Mix well and turn off the flame.
• Serve hot with rice or rotis.

Ever heard of the story behind the origin of sambhar, the delicious lentil stew a jewel from the andhra kitchen? Read this interesting story at wiki. Stories apart, a couple days earlier, I posted how to make home-made sambhar powder, and do not want to leave it half complete to  my readers without posting the recipe for sambhar. A perfect dish for the cold winter nights here. I could’nt stop thinking about home as I taste this delicous lentil stew that takes me back to my childhood once again. Eat it accompanied by crunchy pappadums or a simple potato stir fry, it tastes amazing. Here is how it is made:

Ingredients:

Kandi pappu (Toor dal) - 1 Cup

1 tsp cooking oil

Shallots or Sambhar Onions - 10 -12

Mullakada/Drumsticks - 1 (Cut into 2 inch pieces)

Sorakaya/Anapakaya/Bottle gourd - 1 cup (peeled & cubed)

2 medium sized tomatoes - cut into quarters

1 carrot - Wash & cut into cubes

4-6 green chillies - slit lengthwise (Adjust to your spice levels)

5-6 curry leaves

1 large lemon sized tamarind - soaked in 3 cups of warm water and pulp extracted

Salt to taste

Pinch of turmeric

1 tbsp sugar or grated jaggery

1 tsp grated coconut

2 tbsps sambhar powder

For popu/tadka/tempering:

Cooking oil - 2-3 tbsps

3-4 crushed garlic cloves

1 tsp avalu (mustard seeds)

3/4 tsp jeelakarra (jeera)

3-4 dried red chillies (tear roughly)

2 pinches of hing/inguva/asafoetida

10-12 curry leaves

Freshly chopped coriander leaves for garnish - 3-4 tbsps

How To:

• Pressure cook dal with 2 cups of water, 1 tsp oil till 3-4 whistles. Once the pressure leaves, open the lid and mash the dal smoothly or let cool down and grind it in a mixie/blender. Set aside. I prefer to grind it because I love the taste when dal blends in with vegetables.
• In a wide bottomed vessel, add all the cut vegetables, tamarind pulp, salt to taste, turmeric powder, curry leaves, green chillies, mix well and bring it boil. Turn the flame to medium and allow to cook till the vegetables turn soft but not mushy (about 15-20 mts).
• Now add in the mashed/ground dal to the boiled vegetables and bring to a boil. Add water if required or to make the sambhar slightly thinner. Add sugar/jaggery. Adjust tamarind pulp, salt if required.
• In a small bowl, make a thin paste of the sambhar powder adding little water and transfer this to the boiling sambhar. (Adding the powder directly to the sambhar would’nt dissolve instead forms into lumps and settles down under the vessel.) Cook for around 8 mts on low flame. Add grated coconut, mix well.
• While the sambhar cooks, in another pan heat oil, add crushed garlic and fry for a minute. Add mustard seeds, jeera. As they splutter, add dry red chillies and hing powder. Just before turning off the heat add curry leaves, toss and turn off the flame. Transfer the tadka to the boiling sambhar.
• Garnish with coriander leaves. Turn off the flame and serve it with hot rice and papad or with idly or dosa.

Home - made Sambhar Podi

I have mentioned in my earlier posts, that no matter how many attempts I make, never could I cook a delicious sambhar like the one mom makes back at home.I guess the taste to her sambhar always lies in the sambhar podi (spice powder) that she makes.  The sambhar podi that I am posting today is one of the versions that I learnt from my friend keerthy’s mom whose sambhar reminds me of the taste I had at a hotel in madras (now called ‘chennai’) when I was 10 years old. I usually make this in small batches that would last a month. This recipe yields about 1 cup of sambhar powder.  Well, since I started it finally, I am going to call this a ‘How to make homemade’ series here after. My readers have been mailing me asking ‘how to’ questions so I guess this is going to be an appropriate post to start with. So, dear readers, this is for you all from my kitchen to yours. I promise to blog my moms version of homemade sambhar, but its going to be only after I’m back from my India trip which is a few more weeks away. Oh I’m so excited!   Ok! So here is how we make it :

Sambhar Podi Ingredients

Ingredients:

Kandipappu (toor dal/red gram dal) - 2 ½ tbsps

Pachi Senagapappu (Chana dal/Bengal gram dal) - 1 ½ tbsps

Minapappu (Urad dal/split black gram dal) - 1 ½ tbsps

½ tbsp raw rice (I used sona masoori)

½ tsp menthulu/fenugreek seeds

5 tbsps dhaniyalu (coriander seeds)

½ tsp avalu (mustard seeds/rai

1 tsp jeelakarra (cumin seeds/jeera)

2 tsps miriyalu (black pepper corns/kali mirch)

12 endu mirapakayalu (dried red chilies)

12-14 karivepaku (curry leaves)

½ tsp pasupu (turmeric powder/haldi)

½ tsp inguva (asafoetida/hing)

How To:

• Heat a wide, heavy skillet or vessel. On medium flame, add all dals + rice (ingredients 1 to 4) and roast for 4-5 mts till they turn golden brown and the aroma comes out. Keep frying them so they roast evenly on all sides. Transfer them to a plate and set aside.
• In the same skillet, on low flame add methi seeds and roast them for around 3 mts till they turn red. Remove to the plate of dals. Set aside.
• Return the skillet, and on medium flame roast the coriander seeds for about 4-5 mts or till they turn brown in color and the flavor is released. Set aside.
• Now in the same skillet, on low flame add avalu/mustard seeds. In a few seconds they start to pop. Remove and transfer to the plate of dals. Set aside.
• Again, in the same skillet increase the flame to medium low, add cumin seeds and pepper corns and roast for about 3-4 mts till the flavor comes out. Remove, and transfer them to the same plate that was set aside earlier.
• Lastly, in the same skillet, on medium low flame, throw in the dried red chillies, and fresh curry leaves, and fry for about a minute. By this time the red chillies start turning their color and the curry leaves appear little crunchy. Remove, transfer to the plate that was set aside and allow all the ingredients to cool completely.
• Once cool, add asafoetida, and turmeric powder, all the roasted spices to a blender and grind it to smooth powder as shown in the picture.
• Remove and Store in an airtight container or a glass bottle. This stays fresh up to 2 to 3 weeks.

When it comes to food, I almost eat any vegetable. But with hubby dear, I have to be experimental to please him. This week I decided to include greens in my menu, and while I was shopping around in our neighbourhood Indian grocery store, found these fresh methi leaves in the greens aisle. Then came into mind this delicious hyderabadi curry, (murgh methi aka methi chicken) that I almost forgot to cook these days. Protein enriched chicken cooked with fresh methi leaves that are rich in calcium, potassium and iron! What more do I want other than a healthy meal that looks beautiful and tastes delicious. The curry came out so delicious that I had to help myself with multiple servings forgetting about my calorie count that I have been conscious about lately. Here is how I cooked it:

Ingredients:

Boneless Chicken - 1 ½ lb (around ¾ kg) cut into medium sized pieces

Onions - 3 medium sized (about 2 cups) - finely chopped

2 medium sized tomatoes - finely chopped & grind to a smooth paste

Cooking oil - 4 to 5 tbsps

shahi jeera (Black cumin seeds) - 1 tsp

10-12 fresh curry leaves

Salt to taste

Turmeric (pasupu) - 1 tsp

Ginger & Garlic Paste - 2 ½ tsps

Cumin powder - 1 ½ tsp

Coriander powder - 1 ½ tsp

Red chilli powder - 3 tsps (Adjust according to your taste)

1 cup of water (add more if required)

2 tbsps yoghurt - whisk it with a fork smoothly and set aside

Fresh methi leaves (fenugreek leaves) - 2 cups tightly packed (roughly chopped)

Garam masala powder - 2 tsps

2 tbsps or few freshly chopped coriander leaves for garnish

How To:

• In a wide bottomed vessel, heat oil. On low heat, add shahi jeera and fry for a few seconds. Add curry leaves, toss them and then add chopped onions, salt and turmeric. Increase the flame to medium and fry till the onions turn golden brown (around 8 mts).
• Add ginger & garlic paste and fry for 1-2 mts till the raw small disappears. Add cumin powder, coriander powder, chilli powder, mix well. Add chicken, mix well, cover and cook for 4-5 mts stirring in between. Add tomato paste, water and bring it to boil on high flame. When the gravy starts boiling reduce the flame to medium, cover and cook for around 10 - 15 mts or till the chicken is tender and the gravy starts turning thick. By this time the oil starts floating on top of the gravy.
• Add whisked yoghurt, gently mix, add freshly chopped methi leaves, gently mix so the chicken pieces do not break. Lower the flame and allow to cook uncovered for 5 mts. Just before turning off the heat, add garam masala powder, mix well, adjust salt and chilli powder if required. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with steamed basmati rice, rotis or naan.

Happy Diwali to all my readers and their families. Let me guess whats going on back home!  Homes lit up with bright lights, sweet shops over flowing with people, and everyone can’t seem to stop munching their favorite dishes. Festive dishes are best loved just the way we always had them as kids. We simply can’t help the fact that we love food just the way our grandmothers or mothers used to make it. Since it’s all about memories this diwali, I decided to bring my dear readers something from my nannamma’s (grandma’s) kitchen that would light up your plates & palettes. Tamarind Rice aka pulihora and pesarapappu boorelu. I have blogged recipes for nimmakaya pulihora and purnam boorelu earlier but today’s recipes calls for tamarind in the pulihora and moong dal/pesarapappu stuffing for the boorelu.  Here’s how we make them:

Pulihora (Serves 4 persons)

Ingredients:

3 cups raw rice ( I used sona masoori)

Large lemon sized tamarind (Soak in 1/2 cup hot water and extract the pulp)

5 dried red chillies (roughly broken with your fingers)

4 tbsp cooking oil

10-12 curry leaves

1 ½ tsp turmeric

Salt to taste

2 pinches of hing/asofetida

For the popu/tadka

2 tsps cooking oil

3 tbsp peanuts (roast them on low flame with 1 tsp oil and set aside0

2 tbsp senagapappu (chana dal)

1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)

1 tsp avalu (mustard seeds)

8 green chilies (slit lengthwise) - adjust to your spice levels

10-12 curry leaves

How To:

• Cook the rice so the grains remain separate, allow to cool and work with your hands or with the back of flat spoon to remove lumps out of the rice. Alternatively, you can spread rice in a wide plate when hot and allow to cool.
• In a sauce pan, add tamarind paste, dried red chillies, oil, turmeric, curry leaves, salt, and asofetida/hing. On medium flame bring it to boil then reduce flame and cook for about 10-15 mts or till the paste turns thick yet flowing in consistency and the oil separates. Turn off the flame and set aside to cool. This step will yield about one cup of paste.
• In a pan/kadhai heat oil, add senagapappu and fry for a minute till light brown on low flame; Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, let them splutter. Add green chillies, and curry leaves. Fry for a minute or two on low flame. Set aside to cool.
• Now add about 3/4 cup of the cooked tamarind paste, roasted peanuts, and the popu/tadka to the rice. Mix well. Cover and leave aside for a couple hours for the flavors to set in. Refrigerate the left over tamarind paste in an airtight container for further use.
• Serve with yoghurt/curd and boorelu on the side.

Pesarapappu Boorelu (makes about 20 boorelu)

Ingredients:

1 cup minapappu (whole urad dal)

2 cups raw rice

2 tsps sugar

pinch of salt

oil for deep frying

For the Stuffing:

1 cup pesarapappu (yellow moong dal. Soak in water for 4-5 hours, grind with 1 cup of water like idly batter)

1 cup grated coconut

1 ¼ cup sugar

¼ + 3 tbsps of water

2 tsps elaichi powder (cardamom powder)

1 tsp ghee

How To:

• Soak minapappu and rice overnight, grind it to smooth batter(the batter should be slightly thick than dosa batter consistency), cover and leave aside in a warm place for 3 hours. Add pinch of salt, sugar. Mix well. Cover and keep aside while we prepare the stuffing.
• Pressure cook the ground moong dal batter like idly’s in an idly stand for 15 mts on low flame. When cool, mash the idly’s that resembles crumbs. Set aside.
• In a wide sauce pan, add sugar + water, turn on the flame on high, mix well till the sugar dissolves and bubbles start showing up. When the bubbles start forming, stop mixing, and let cook till one string consistency. To check, touch the syrup with your forefinger, then touch your thumb and pull apart gently. If the syrup is ready, then one string is formed and the string does’nt break. The entire process takes about 4 mts. Add elaichi powder, mix and turn off the flame.
• Now mix grated coconut, crumbs of pesarapappu idly’s, ghee and put it back on medium flame. Cook for another 8-10 minutes stirring continuously till the mixture forms a ball. Turn off the flame, and allow to cool.
• When the stuffing is warm enough to handle, grease  your palms with little oil or ghee, and make balls as shown in the image above.
• Heat oil in a wide, deep bottomed vessel. Dip each ball into the rice&dal batter, let it coat evenly. Drop each ball gently into the oil and fry till golden brown in small batches.
• Serve warm. Left overs can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days or 1 week in a refrigerator.

Another popular hyderabadi dish that you would surely fall in love with is “bhagara baingan”. Fresh baby  brinjals cooked in a sesame, peanut and tamarind based gravy is sure to leave your guests licking their fingers.I choose to make this delicious dish with tiny purple brinjals because they not only taste good but also consume less oil. Serve it with plain rice or as an accompaniment to hyderabadi biryani, its gonna be a sure hit at your parties.

Ingredients:

8-10 small purple brinjals (vankaya) - Wash and with stem intact make slits in a + shape

3 medium onions (about 2 cups finely chopped)

2 green chilies (slit lenghtwise) - adjust according to your spice levels

1 tsp ginger & garlic paste

1 tsp Turmeric powder

 2 tsp Chilli powder (adjust according to your spice levels)

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

½ tsp garam masala powder

2 tbsps oil

salt to taste

small lime sized tamarind (soak in 1 cup of water and extract pulp out of it)

1 cup of water

freshly chopped coriander leaves for garnish

For the popu/tadka:

1 tsp  Mustrad seeds (Avalu)

1 tsp Cumin seeds/Jeera

½ tsp fenugreek seeds/menthulu

 1 pinch Asafoetida/Hing (optional)

2 dried red chillies

 1 sprig Curry leaves

 3 - 4 Tbsp Cooking Oil (for cooking brinjals)

1 tbsp (for tadka)

Make into slightly coarse powder:

2 tbsps sesame seeds (roast on low flame, cool and grind along with peanuts)

2 tbsps roasted peanuts

How To:

• In a wide bottomed vessel, heat 3-4 tbsps oil. On medium high heat, fry the slit brinjals along with the stem for 2 mts. Now on medium low flame cook the brinjals till tender (about 10-15 mts). Keep checking in between so they don’t get burnt or stick to the pan but do not over stir. I normally turn them over using thongs. Once tender, remove and set aside the brinjals while you prepare the gravy.
• In the same pan, heat 2 tbsps of oil, throw in the chopped onions,green chillies and on medium flame, fry till the onions turn soft  and light golden brown. Then add ginger - garlic paste and fry for 2 mts. Turn of the flame, allow to cool and grind to a smooth paste.
• Now lets, bring the curry together. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and let them crackle. Add hing, dried red chillies, curry leaves and toss them for a few seconds.
• Add the onion paste, turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, sesame and peanut powder, salt, tamarind extract, and water. Bring it to boil.
• When the water starts boiling, slowly add the sauted egg plants, and on low flame cook it covered till the brinjals are soft and the gravy is thick. Adjust the spices if required. Do not stir too much. The brinjals might break and turn mushy.
• Garnish with freshly chopped coriander and serve hot with steamed rice, biryani or rotis.

 Note:  Alternatively, after step 3, sometimes I transfer all the contents to an electric cooker and turn it on, so you can leave the guess work out of cooking the brinjals. But be careful to carefully remove the brinjals while serving because they are tender and break easily.

Have’nt you ever wanted someone to give you a big hug and hand you over a hot cup of coffee when you are tired and are back home? Did you ever notice that a dish that your neighbour or a friend sends in, tastes heavenly and utterly delicious? Speaking of myself, I’ve never  been in a great mood to step into the kitchen since a while. I wish if there was a magical fairy that appears in a wink of eye, hold my hand, assure everything’s gonna be alright, hand me a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows, make my bed, fold my clothes and what not. But then, the truth is that we are adults and are supposed to do things for ourselves, so off went I into the kitchen comforting myself. Wait a minute! Did I say ‘Comfort’. I realised I’ve gone way beyond what I wanted to exactly say. Did’nt I? So, in a nutshell its comfort food at home today and all that comes to mind is coconut rice and aloo curry. Lets take a peek at how we cook this scrumptious one pot meal that goes well even with just raita and papad on the side.

Ingredients:

2 cups rice (I used sona masoori) - Rinse under cold water, drain, set aside.

4 cups coconut milk

1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

1 tbsp oil

1″ cinnamon stick

2 elaichi

3 cloves

2 bay leaves

3 tbsps cashew nuts

6-8 green chillies slit lengthwise - Adjust to your spice levels

1 large onion finely sliced (about ¾ cup)

¼ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp chilli powder

1 ½ tsp ginger - garlic paste

2 tbsps freshly chopped coriander

Salt to taste

Note: If you are using canned coconut milk that is thick, measure the milk first. Say the canned milk is 2 cups, then add 2 more cups of water to the coconut milk to have the right measure of liquid required to cook 2 cups of rice.

How to extract coconut milk: Grate a coconut, add 1 cup of hot water and leave aside for 30 mts. Grind it to a fine paste. Place a muslin or thin cotton cloth on a vessel and pour this mixture onto the muslin cloth. The strained milk is called ‘first milk’ of coconut. Use your hand to squeeze out the milk from the ground coconut. Add one more cup of water to the residue and run in the grinder for a minute. Strain on to muslin cloth. This second extract is called ’second milk’ of coconut.

How To:

• In a wide bottomed vessel, heat ghee and oil. On medium heat, add cinnamon stick, elaichi, cloves, bay leaf and fry for a few seconds. Add cashew nuts and fry till golden brown. Add green chillies, and sliced onions and saute for 3-4 mts on medium flame till the onions turn soft.
• Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, salt, ginger-garlic paste, chopped coriander and fry for 1-2 mts. Add drained rice and fry on medium flame for 1-2 mts.
• Add coconut milk, and bring to boil. Check for salt at this point. If the milk tastes salty then by the time the rice is cooked it would settle down to the right amount of salt.
• Once the milk starts boiling, lower the flame, place a lid on top and cook for about 25-30 mts or till the rice is done.
• Fluff it with a fork, serve hot with carrot kurma, aloo curry or raita.

No party, gathering or wedding in an andhra home is complete without finger foods. One of hubby dears and my all time favorite is watching our favorite movies munching on hot bajjis dipped in ginger chutney. As a child, I remember eating them the entire day for breakfast, lunch, dinner and still not bored. Serve it with a cup of tea as an evening snack or as a side with idly, upma or semiya upma, trust me you are surely gonna love it. Lets take a peek at how we cook this:

Ingredients:

2 large Potatoes/Plantains or a vegetable of your choice (peel the skin)

1 cup senagapindi (besan)

1 tbsp rice flour

1 tsp chilli powder

salt to taste

¼ tsp baking soda

Water

Oil for deep frying

How To:

• Peel the skin off the potatoes and slice them to 1/4 inch thick rounds. Leave them in a bowl of cold water while you prepare the batter for bajjis.
• In a bowl, combine besan, rice flour, chilli powder, salt, baking soda with enough water to make a slightly thick smooth batter. Set aside.
• In a deep pan, heat oil till piping hot. Reduce the flame to medium. Dip each potato or plantain slice  in the wet batter till well coated and gently drop into the oil. Fry all pieces to golden brown in small batches taking care of not over-crowding the pan.
• When the bajjis start turning golden brown in color, increase the flame and let them fry for another minute. Remove and drain on a kitchen towel.
• Serve hot with allam chutney and semiya upma

Does’nt matter what time of the day it is, I’m always ready for a bowl of soup and the first one I pick wherever I go is none other than “Tomato Soup”. On regular days, you will see me devour a bowl of creamy tomato soup and a french baguette on side at panera bread, absolutely with no guilt. But there are days when I tend to be diet conscious, resisting myself from take-outs or frequent stops at a nearby restaurant, and instead choose to cook at home. Here is a simple version of a home-made tomato soup from my cooking diary that I made countless number of times and never went wrong . Absolutely delicious, perfect on a rainy day and can be made in a jiffy with a handful of ingredients from your kitchen. For those of you who do not prefer to add cream can omit it or use light cream if you are health conscious. Lets take a peek at how we cook this:

Ingredients:

5 medium tomatoes

1 tbsp oil

1 bay leaf

4 spring onions or 1 medium onion (finely chopped)

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic (3 - 4 garlci cloves)

1 tsp black peppercorns (crushed)

3 cups water

2 tbsp cornflour

2 pinches of orange red food color

2 tbsps freshly chopped coriander for garnish

2 - 3 tbsps Cream (optional)

How To:

• In a deep sauce pan, add 3 cups of water and bring it to a nice boil. Meanwhile take the tomatoes and make slits with the edge of a knife (Do not cut them deep but just cross cut on the skin) . This would help to peel the skin off easily when they are boiled.
• When the water starts dancing, slowly add the tomatoes and leave them for 1/2 minute then take them out and peel off the skin. Roughly chop the tomatoes and set aside.
• In a heavy sauce pan, heat oil and throw in the bay leaf, chopped onions and fry on medium flame till the onions turn soft. Add chopped tomatoes and cook till they turn soft.
• Add salt, garlic, peppercorns. Fry for a  minute on medium flame.
• Add 3 cups of water. Stir, and gently simmer on low heat for 15-20 mts. Turn off the flame, allow to cool for a while and make a puree out of it in a blender.
• Meanwhile dissolve the cornflour with little water to make a thick paste and set aside.
• Return the pureed soup to the stove, add orange red food color, cornflour mixture slowly and stir on medium to low heat for about 3 to 4 minutes or till the soup turns thick. Adjust salt if required.
• Pour into bowls, garnish with freshly chopped coriander and cream. Serve hot with any apetizer or with plain papads.

Ask me about an easiest, quick breakfast to whip up in around 15 mts. I’d say “atukula upma” without hesitation. “Atukulu” also called as poha or rice flakes is nothing but rice dehusked and beaten flat to make small flakes. Have it as breakfast or as an evening snack over a hot cup of tea, no matter what time of the day you eat, it tastes delicious. Oh! and its a perfect dish that can be enjoyed in your lunch box too. Lets take a peek at how we cook this:

Ingredients:

2 cups Atukulu/Rice flakes

 3 - 4 Tbsp Cooking Oil

2 Tbsp Peanuts

1 tsp  Mustard seeds (Avalu)

1 tsp Cumin seeds/Jeera

1 tsp  Split Urad dal (minapappu)

1 tsp  Channa dal (pachi senagapappu)

 1 pinch Asafoetida/Hing (optional)

 1 sprig Curry leaves

1 medium Onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup chopped)

Salt to taste

 1 tsp Turmeric powder

 2 tsp Chilli powder/ 2 green chillies, finely chopped (adjust according to your spice levels)

Juice of 1 big lemon (about 4 tbsp) (adjust if you need more)

 To soak atukulu you need:

• A big bowl of hot water. (I use the hot water that comes out of our tap. That heat should be sufficient enough)

How To:

• Take a big bowl of hot water (about 6 cups). Add atukulu to water, mix gently and leave it for 5 mts to soak.
•  After 5 mts, drain atukulu in a strainer so that all the water is discarded and leave it aside while you chop and fry onions. Do not press or squeeze the atukulu with hands.
•  Take a deep pan/kadhai, heat oil. On medium flame, add peanuts and fry for 2-3 mts or till the peanuts are toasted. Take care not to burn them.
•  Add avalu, jeera, and let them splutter. Add minapappu, and chana dal. Fry for for a minute or till the dals turn light golden brown in color. Add hing powder and fry for a few seconds.
• Add curry leaves, chopped onions, salt and turmeric. Fry on medium flame for about 5 mts till the onions turn soft and then add chilli powder. Mix well.
•  Add drained atukulu to the fried onions and mix gently to coat with the spices and onions. Adjust salt and chilli powder if required.
•  Turn the flame to low and allow to cook for 2 mts. Just before turning off the heat, add lemon juice and mix gently. Taste the mixture; adjust seasonings (salt, chilli powder or lemon juice) if required.
•  Serve hot over a cup of tea.