Lavanya's Mochai Upma

Ingredients:

Young tender mochai - 1 cup
dry red chillies - 4
Jeera - 2 tsp
salt
curry leaves
cilantro
rava - 1.5 cup

Method:

Boil the mochai separately and cook till tender. Save remaining water if any.

In a kadai, add oil and mustard seeds and dry red chillies and jeera and curry leaves and salt and when they start spluttering, add enough water for teh rava to cook.

When the water starts boiling add the cooked mochai and stir in the rava gently.

Make sure there are no lumps. Cover and cook. When almost done, add chopped cilantro and cook for 2 minutes. Serve hot.

Lavanya's Valaikkai(Plantain) Puttu

Ingredients:

Valaikkai - 2
Onions(shallots would taste better) - sliced
Green chillies - 2 slit lengthwise
Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp
2 cloves crushed garlic
Salt
Curry leaves

Method:

Take a kadai and place the full valaikkai in it. Add water to just cover the valaikkai and close with a lid. Cook until the valaikkai has changed color outside. Do not overcook it. (Probably 15 mins after the water starts to boil). Let it cool and peel the skin off and grate it with a grater.

In another kadai, do tadka of mustard seeds, urad dal and when they start to splutter, add the curry leaves, onions and green chillies and crushed garlic. Saute for a few minutes and then add the grated valaikkai and jeera powder and salt and mix well. Serve hot with sambar sadham.