Medhu Vada

Ingredients
4 cups urad dal
1 cup ordinary rice
1 tsp. ginger grated
1 tbsp. coconut grated coarsely
8-10 whole pepper corns
1 tsp. cumin seeds
salt to taste
oil to deep fry

Method
Wash and soak dal and rice together in plenty of water overnight. Drain, grind to a soft batter, a fine grain should be felt in it.
Do not make the batter thin. It should be thick enough to shape vadas.
Add all ingredients and beat well with hand to incorporate air.
Heat oil, wet palm and take an idli sized lump on fingers palm side up.
Make a hole in the middle with thumb.
Slip gently into hot oil, repeat for more.
Or use a medhu vada press.
Fry 5-6 at a time on medium flame.
Drain, serve hot with chutney and sambar, or accompany with idli.

Masala Idli

Ingredients
2 idlis, cubed
1 cup mixed vegetables of your choice
2 onions, chopped
1 small piece ginger, finely chopped
2 green chilies, chopped
1/2 tsp. red chili powder
1/2 tsp. coriander powder
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
2 cinnamon sticks
2 cloves
2 cardamoms
1 tbsp of fresh coriander
mint leaves
(for garnishing)

Method
Heat oil in a pan and add the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Then add the chopped
onions and stir for few minutes till they turn golden brown.
Now add the vegetables and saute for few minutes. Then add the ginger, salt, chili powder,turmeric and coriander powder.
To this add the idlis and stir till contents are thoroughly heated. Transfer into serving dish and garnish with mint and coriander leaves.
Tip: Garlic can also be added. Add few tomatoes if desired. The idlis can be made to very small pieces using your hands instead of cutting into cubes for this dish. Try out the masala idli instead of the usual fried rice or biryani for a change.

Manchurian Dosa

Ingredients
2/1150 gms urad dal (black gram)
500 gms rice
10 gms methi (fenugreek) seeds
50 gms chana dal (bengal gram)
250 gms carrots
150 gms beans
100 gms green peas
5-6 green chilies, chopped
150 gms spring
(green) onions
chopped
50 gms oil
3-4 garlic cloves
finely chopped
a small piece of ginger
finely chopped
2 tsp soya sauce
1 tsp chili sauce
1/4tsp ajinomoto
2 tsp corn flour
few coriander leaves
chopped
salt to taste

Method
Soak urad dal, rice, methi seeds, chana dal in water for 1-2 hours. Drain the water and grind to a smooth paste. Keep aside for 6-8 hours until it gets fermented.

Cut the carrots, and beans into small pieces and boil until they are tender along with green peas. Drain the water and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and fry the chopped green chilies, ginger and garlic pieces. Also add boiled carrots, beans, green peas, soya sauce, ajinomoto, chili sauce, little water and cook for a while.

Mix little water to the corn flour and mix well. Add this to the above carrots mixture and mix well. Sprinkle green onions and coriander leaves and remove from heat. The manchurian curry is ready.

Heat non-stick dosa pan and rub the pan with wet cloth. Now make dosas from the above
dosa batter. Add the curry on the top and spread throughout the dosa. Sprinkle little oil,roll the dosa and remove. Repeat for the remaining dosas.

Layered Roti

Ingredients
2/1/2 cups wheat flour
salt
thin buttermilk or water.

Method
Knead soft dough with above ingredients.
Make 4 mm thickness round about 6" diameter. Apply 1/2 tsp ghee and spread all over
with fingers.
Fold into half. Press greasy fingers onto it. Fold again to quarter. Press with fingers.
Roll in dry flour. Now roll out again to a triangle about the size of a roti.
Heat griddle (tawa) and place roti on it. Turn to roast other said.
Now put a little ghee on both sides and shallow fry till crisp. Serve hot with any desired
accompaniment.

Kancheepuram Idli

Ingredients
pepper : 2 tbsp powdered
jeera : 1 tbsp
asafoetida : 1/2 tsp
ginger : 1" grated
urad dhal : 2 tsp
bengal gram : 2 tsp
g.chillies : 8 (finely chopped)
oil : 100 grams
Method
Pour water into the idli vessel and let the water boil.
Place the plate without the idli cloth.
Take small steel cups and pour 1 tsp ghee or oil into it and pour the prepared idli batter
into the cup. Place the cups on the plate in the idli vessel. Steam the idli's for twenty minutes.
These idli's are best served with ginger kuzhambu.

Dahi Vada

Ingredients
urad dal - 1 cup
moong dal - 2 tablespoon
curd/yogurt - 3 cups
jeera - 2 tablespoon
dry red chillies- 2 - 3
coriander leaves- a small bunch
sugar - 1/4 teaspoon
salt to taste
oil for frying.

Method
1. Soak both the dals overnight or 6-8 hours, grind it to smooth paste.
2. Now take the curd and beat it nicely with a spoon along with salt and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar.
3. Fry jeera and the red chillies without oil and grind it to powder, add this to the beaten curd with very little water.
4. Now fry the vadas in oil, and as soon as you take it out put the vadas in warm water for 5- 10 second, after that take the vadas out and squeeze any excess water with hand and put it in the curd.
5. Finally, you can garnish your dahi vada with coriander leaves. If you like you can add mustard, jeera, curry leaves and asafoetida seasoning to this.

Brown and White Triangulars

Ingredients
6 slices brown bread
6 slices white bread
3 potatoes boiled, peeled and mashed
3-4 green chillies
4-5 pods garlic
1 piece ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric
salt to taste
2 tbs cheese grated
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander
butter to apply

Method
1. Crush together chillies and garlic.
2. Mix all ingredients except bread and butter.
3. Cut bread -- any uneven side of bread, so that one brown slices matches one white slices.
4. Apply butter on inner side of each slice.
5. Place some potato mixture on white slice.
6. Cover with brown slice.
7. Press into a preheated sandwich toaster.
8. Toast very light. Serve hot with ketchup.

Coconut Puri

Ingredients
For Dough:
2 cups maida (all-purpose) flour
1 cup wheat flour
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
for filling:
1 cup finely grated coconut
1/2 cup gram flour
2 tbsp oil 8-10 sprigs curry leaves
cut into fine pieces
8 green chilies, chopped
1 cm ginger, finely chopped
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp salt
a pinch of asafoetida

Method
1. Mix maida, wheat flour, salt, oil with enough water to make a firm dough.
2. Heat oil in a pan, season with mustard seeds and asafoetida. When mustard splutters, add green chilies, ginger, curry leaves and fry for few minutes.
3. Then add coconut, gram flour and fry till roasted. Allow it to cool.
4. Also add salt, chili powder, little water and mix well. Make into small balls.
5. Make larger balls of the dough, fill them with the coconut gram flour balls, flatten them and
gently roll them out into small puris. (Be careful that the filling does not come out).
6.Deep fry in hot oil till puffed, golden and serve hot with any chutney.

Banana Dosa

Ingredients
250g all-purpose flour (maida)
4 bananas, mashed
1 egg
75g sugar
2g cardamom powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 glass milk
50g oil

Method
1. Beat the egg well and to this, add sugar, milk and mashed bananas. These ingredients
can also be mixed in a blender.
2. To the all-purpose flour, add the above banana mixture and mix well to form dosa batter.
3. Now add cardamom powder and baking powder to the batter and mix well.
4. Heat a flat pan and make thin dosas. Fry on both sides until golden brown in color with
little oil.
5. Serve hot with any juice.