Potato Masala

Ingredients:-

• Boiled potato - 1/4 kg (smashed)
• Onions - 3 nos (cut into long thin slices)
• Tomato - 2 nos (chopped into small cubes)
• Green chillies - 4 or 5
• Turmeric power - 1/2 tsp
• Musturd, Urid dhal - 1/2 tsp each
• Refined Oil - 1 tbsp
• Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp chopped
• Salt to taste
• Water - 1 cup.

Preparation:-

• In a microwave bowl add musturd and urid dhal with one tsp of oil and cook in a micro medium high for 3 minutes. (cover the bowl half while cooking).
• When done, add the chopped onions, green chillies and tomatoes with one tbsp of oil to the bowl and cook them in a micro high for 4 minutes. (without covering the bowl and stir it in between once).
• Finally, add the smashed potatoes, turmeric power, salt, water and cook at micro high for 5 minutes.
• As a final touch, add coriander leaves and serve after 3 minutes.

As this potato masala is cooked in a unconventional way, it retains the flavour and goes well with chappathi and puri.

Peas Pulav

Ingredients:-
Basmathi Rice - 1 cup
Green peas (shelled) - 1 cup
Small onions - 1/2 cup
Coconut milk - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Refined oil - 1 tbsp
Bay leaf - 1
Cardamon and cloves - 2 each
Salt to taste
Sugar - 1 tsp (optional)

To Grind:-
Small onions - 10 nos
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Green chillies - 5 nos
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Preparation:-

• Wash and soak the rice for 10 minutes.
• In a pressure cooker take ghee and oil and heat it.
• Then add the cardamon, cloves and bay leaf and saute it for 1 minute.
• Add the onions and saute till it turns golden brown.
• Then, add the peas and grinded paste and cook them in a low flame till the raw smell goes out and a nice flavour reaches your nose.
• To this, add the coconut milk, water with enough salt and sugar and mix it thoroughly.
• When the mixture starts boiling, add the rice into it.
• Cover the cooker with lid and pressure cook for 10 to 15 minutes in a low flame.

When done, serve hot with onion raithas or vegetable kurma.

Bread & Nuts kozhukattai

Ingredients:

• Bread slices - 5
• Cashewnuts - 15
• Almonds - 10
• Dry grapes - 1 tbsp
• Black dates - 4 to 5 (seed removed !)
• Sugar - 1 tbsp (to be powdered)
• Ghee - 1 1/2 tbsp.

Preparation:

• Cut the bread edges and put it in a blender to make them crumbs.
• Roast cashews and almonds in ghee and grind coarsely.
• Slightly fry the grapes and dates in ghee and also grind to make them bits and pieces.
• Mix all the grinded ingredients with sugar and bread crumbs.
• Heat a tbsp of ghee and pour it over the mixture and mix well. (use hands to mix well (:-)
• Make them into a desired shapes (like kozhukattai )

See, this is a instant dish and here there is no steaming business. Indeed it is very tasty and rich diet, especially for kids

Dry fruits&nuts halwa

Ingredients:-

• Figs - 10 to 15
• Cashewnut - 10
• Almonds - 10
• Pista - 10
• Raisins - 1 tbsp
• Black dates - 10
• Sugar - 1/2 cup
• Ghee - 1/2 cup

Preparation:-
Wash and soak all the nuts and fruits in water for 1/2 hour.
Peel the almonds skin and grind everything into a smooth paste (use the soaked water for grinding.
Heat a pan, add little ghee and pour the mixture into it.
Stir well and when the moisture dries up add sugar. Mix well, add ghee little by little, till halwa consistency obtained. When ready, convert the content into a bowl coated with ghee.

This instant halwa is very easy to cook and very very tasty indeed.