Whole Wheat Pizza

"A healthy whole wheat crust that comes out soft and chewy on the inside and crisp on the outside. Use with your favorite pizza toppings or pizza recipes."

INGREDIENTS:

1 teaspoon white sugar 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F /45 degrees C) 1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 tablespoon olive oil 2 teaspoon salt 2 cups whole wheat flour 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour Vegetables for topping, Marinara Sauce, Cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.
2.	Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3.	When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.
4.	Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Top pizza with your favorite toppings, such as sauce, cheese, meats, or vegetables.
5.	Bake for 16 to 20 minutes (depending on thickness) in the preheated oven, until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top.

Khara Bun

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F /45 degrees C) 1 tablespoon active dry yeast 2 tablespoons white sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 teaspoon salt 4 cups All-purpose flour( Or  3 cups Wheat Flour and 1 Cup All-purpose flour) Green chilies, Dill, Curry leaves, Cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large bowl, stir together warm water(don't boil the water), yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2.	To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
3.	Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, mix green chillies, Cilantro, Dill etc.() Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces, and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
4.	Bake for 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Lavanya's Eggplant with Peanut Butter

Cut the indian baby brinjals into quarters - lengthwise.
Marinate it with salt, turmeric and chilli powder for 20 - 30 minutes.


Heat some oil in kadai and add finely chopped onion.
When onion is bit brown add tomato. For 2 big onions add only 1 tomato.
When tomatoes are mushy add the marinated eggplant and adjust seasoning.
To this add 1 tablespoon peanut butter. Fry everything nicely until oil separates.

Grace Aunty's Eggplant

Ingredients

1. 10 baby eggplants
2. 2 tbsp Grated Coconut
3. 2 tbsp Roasted Dalia (hurigadale in kannada)
4. 2 tbsp Sesame Seeds
5. 1 tbsp Jeera
6. 1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
7. 1/2 big Onion
8. 1 Garlic (whole)
9. 6 Green Chillies

Dry fry all the above and grind with:

• 1/2 tsp Chilli Pd
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric
• Salt

Slit the eggplants and fill them with the ground masala.

Heat oil in a wide pan and season with mustard, 1/2 onion.

Add the eggplant and cook for some time.

Add the juice of 1 lemon size - Tamarind  and cook till oil seperates.

Tips: Can substitute eggplant with Tomato or Capsicum.

Nenju Elumbu Soup or Maarkandam soup ( Lamb Rib bone soup)

Ingredients


Nenju elumbu -200gms (If not available lamb bones can be replaced)
Small onion-10 or big onion (medium size-1 )
Small tomato -1
Rice washed water-2 cups (optional)

For grinding

Pepper corns-1 teaspoon
Small jeera -1 teaspoon
Dhania or dry Malli -1 ½ teaspoon
Red chili -1

Procedure

Before cooking the rice for the day, wash it and soak for 5 minutes. Drain the water and keep ready.
Put the nenjelumbu, onion ,tomato and very little salt along with a teaspoon of turmeric powder in the cooker. Add the rice washed water also and cook for 10 minutes .
Grind the items to be ground in the small jar.
Once the pressure goes open the cooker and add the ground powder and allow the soup to boil for 5 minutes.
There should be 4 cups of soup for this quantity ofnenjuelumbu. Dont add too much or too little water. If soup is less, water can be added and check for the correct hotness and salt. While cooking this checking is very important.
If you want the soup to be little more hot, add little more milagu jeeraga powder.
Salt also can be added according to taste. After 5 to 6 minutes switch off the stove.
Serve the soup hot. Garnish with coriander leaves while serving.

Aunty's Athirasam/Kajjaya

Ingredients:

4 cuprs - Rice (sona masoori, raw rice...)
3 cups - Jaggery
1 tsp -  Saunf
1" piece - Chuuku / dry ginger
4 - Cardamoms
1 pinch - salt


Method:

Grind Saunf, Chukku and Cardamom to a dry powder.

Soak rice in water for 3-4 hours.

Dry the rice in shade by spreading it on a cloth.

Rice should be dried till its alomost completely dry. If you hold a morsel of rice and pour it down, there should be some rice stuck to your hand. That's the required consistency.

Grind the rice to coarse / almost smooth powder.

Pour water over jaggery just to cover it and try to melt it.

Take the jaggery water and bring to boil to a consistency where it froths up and when you feel it between your thumb and index finger, it should feel sticky.

At this point, add rice flour little by little and keep stirring/mixing it.

Add the above ground powder and stir and turn the stove off.

Cool the above mixture to luke warm or room temperature.

Make small patties on a wax paper/ziploc and deep fry in oil. Press any excess oil and enjoy!!!

Aunty's Coconut Chutney

Coconut
Garlic
Tamarind
Salt
Green or Red Chillies

Grind all the above and season.

Farzana's Pal Koottu

Ingredients

• Snake Gourd - 1 medium
• Toor Dal - 1/4 cup
• Channa Dal - 1/2 cup
• Milk sufficient for grinding the below:
• Coconut  -1/4 cup
• Jeera
• Red Chilly - 2
• Salt

Method

Cook Sanke gourd and Dals seperately.
Once the above are cooked well, in a kadai, season with below and add everything together and simmer for few minutes.

• Oil - 1 tsp
• Hing - 1pinch
• Urad dal - 1tsp
• Curry leaves

 

Aunty's Mochai(Avarekalu/Lilva Papdi) Pulao

Ingredients:

• Rice - 2 cups
• Potato - 1
• Mochai(Avarekalu/Lilva Papdi)
• 1/2 onion
• 1 Tomato

• To Grind:
• 1/4 cup coconut
• 1/2 cup Mint
• 1/2 cup Cilantro
• 1 small Onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1" ginger
• 2" Cinammon
• 2 cloves
• 2 Cardamoms
• 6 G Chillies (or according to your taste)

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan.
2. Add 1/2 onion and fry.
3. Add Potato, Mochai and little salt and fry till potato is transparent.
4. Add the ground masala and fry for few mins.
5. Now add tomato and salt and fry till the raw smell goes.
7.  
8. Add rice, mix well. Add 4 cups of water, check for salt and cook the rice.
9. You can cook rice direclty on the pan or in pressure cooker or you can tranfer the whole thing to a rice cooker and cook too.

Aunty's Vadai/Egg Curry

Ingredients:

• Masala Vadai - 8-10
• Coconut - 1/2 cup
• G&G Paste - 1tsp
• Onion - 1 medium
• Tomatoes - 3 small
• Cilantro - some
• Red Chilli Pd. - 1 tsp
• Dhaniya Pd. - 2 tsp
• Garam Masala Pd. - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves
• Salt
• Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Grind Coconut, 1/2 onion and G&G paste.
2. Heat oil in a kadai and season with mustard, 1/2 onion
3. Add Chilli pd, Dhaniya and Garam Masala pd and fry
4. Add ground paste and fry for some time.
5. Add tomato, cilantro, curry leaves.
6. When the tomatoes are little mushy, add water and cook till the oil seperates.
7. Add Vadai or Egg.

Aunty's Cutlet

Ingredients

• Carrot - 1
• Peas - same amount as carrot
• Pudina - 1/2 bunch
• Onion 1/2 big
• Potato 2 1/2 boiled
• Butter
• Corn Flour

Method

1. Fry oil with onion and pudina, add vegetables
2. Mix potato, veg, pepper, butter, Gharam masala to make a dough.
3. Make cutlet shape and dip it in the corn flour paste (watery) and roll it in bread crumbs and shallow fry it.

Aunty's White pumpkin stew

Ingredients

• White pumpkin 1/4 lb
• Tomato - 1 small
• Cinammon - 1"
• Clove - 4-5
• Bay leaf - 2
• Grind all the things below :
• Onion 1/2
• Pudina and cilantro 1/2 cup
• Green chilies -5
• Ginger 1/2"
• Garlic 2 pods
• Coconut 4x1"

Method

1. Season using oil, mustard, onion, cinnamon , clove, bay leaf.
2. Add ground masala.
3. Add tomato and pumpkin. Add a lot of water. Pressure cook for 2 whistles.
4. Eat with set Dosa.
5. If White pumpkin stew is left over. Add butter milk and season with jeera, green chilies, curry leaves and asafetida to make Mor Kolambu.

Chettinad Shrimp/Prawn Biryani

Ingredients

Prawns/ Shrimp- 1 kg( 2 pounds)
Jeera samba/ Basmati rice- 4 cups( 960 gms)
Onion large sliced- 4 nos
Tomatoes large sliced- 4 nos
Ginger and Garlic paste- 3 tbsp
Green chilli- 6 nos
Mint/ Pudina leaves- 1 bunch
Coriander leaves- 1/2 bunch
Curd- 3 tbsp
Cinnamon- 2" piece
Cloves- 6 nos
Cardamom- 6 nos
Bay leaves/ Brinji leaves- 2
Mace- little
Marati moggu- 2 nos
Star anise- 1 no
Red chilli powder- 1 tsp( +/- according to taste)
Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil- 5 tbsp

For marinating Prawns/ Shrimp
Ginger and Garlic paste- 1 tsp
Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Saunf/ Aniseed powder- 2 tbsp
Salt- 3 pinches

Prawn Biryani Method

Soak the jeera samba or basmati rice in water for 10 mins.

Grind green chillis along with Ginger and Garlic paste to a fine and smooth paste and set aside.

Clean, devine and wash the prawns, set aside.

In a medium sized bowl add the marinating ingredients and make smooth paste by adding few tsp water.

Add the prawns to the prepared marination and marinate for atleast 10 mins.

Heat oil in a deep and wide pan, when oil is hot add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, bay leaves, mace, star anise and marati mokku.  Fry until the aroma of whole spices rise.

Add the onions to the pan and fry onions until they turn brown.

Now add the ground ginger- garlic and green chilli paste to the frying onions and sauté until the raw smell leaves.

Add the marinated prawns to the pan and sauté for few secs( don't sauté prawns for long time, as prawns will become rubbery).

Next add the tomatoes, curd, mint leaves, coriander leaves, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and required salt to the pan and give a stir.

Next if you are using zeera samba rice, for 4 cups of rice measure 6 to 7 cups water, if you are using basmati rice, for 4 cups of rice measure 4 cups of water and add it to pan.

Cover pan with a lid and bring the gravy to boil, when gravy starts boiling, remove the lid, check and adjust the gravy seasoning and add the soaked and drained rice.

Stir the rice until the gravy is 1/4th absorbed by the rice. Cover the pan with lid, reduce the heat to low and cook the prawn biryani for 10 mins or until the rice is cooked and tender.

When the Chettinad Prawn Biryani is ready garnish the biryani with rest of the mint and coriander leaves and serve with onion raitha.