Chickpeas Urundai Kozhambu

To make the chickpea balls:

Soak a cup of chickpeas overnight. 

Rinse and drain the water.

Grind it coarsely along with a tsp of chilli powder,  1tsp saunf, a half inch piece of ginger, 3 cloves of garlic and 2 tsp of salt.

Mix it with one finely chopped garlic and two tbsp of chopped cilantro and 2 tsp of chopped curry leaves. Keep aside. 

To make gravy:

Soak half a lemon size ball of tamarind in one cup of water and take out the juice. 

Heat 1 tbsp of sesame oil.

Add 1 tsp mustard and half tsp fenugreek.

When they pop, add a sprig of curry leaves.

 Add half cup of sambar onions chopped into two or three pieces each. Add ten cloves of peeled garlic, chopped likewise. Saute on slow heat, till transparent.

Add one medium size tomato chopped finely.

Add one tsp of salt and saute well till it becomes mushy.

Now add 1tsp of chilli powder or kuzhambu milagai powder, 2 tsp coriander powder and half tsp turmeric powder.  

Mix well till the oil separates. Now add the tamarind juice and another cup of water and bring to boil.

Make lemon sized balls of the chickpea dough and add them one by one in the gravy.

Simmer covered for about about seven minutes and turn over the balls gently without breaking. 

Now make a paste of quarter cup of coconut and 1 tsp saunf. Mix with half a cup of water. 

Add it into the gravy and simmer for a few minutes 

Switch off the heat and rest for sometime.

It goes well with chappathi or rice.

Glutenfree Eggless Banana Muffins

3  fully ripe brown spotted Bananas
2 tablespoons of flax seeds ground finely
About 3/4 cup of water
Half cup maple syrup
Half cup coconut oil or canola oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup rice flour, preferably brown
1/2 cup oats ground finely or millet flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Method:

Mix the flax powder and water in a bowl and keep in fridge to substitute for eggs. After 15 minutes it will be ready.
Heat the oven to 375 degrees f or 170 C for five minutes.
In a large bowl mix the mashed bananas with the maple syrup, oil, lemon juice and vanilla extract.
In another bowl mix rice flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add the flaxseed mix into the large bowl of banana and mix well.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined without overdoing it.
Fill a muffin tray with the mix into paper cups.
Top with the nuts.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes.
Cool in the cups for a few minutes when they are done and out of the oven.
Cool completely and store in an airtight container for upto four days in fridge or upto one month in the freezer.
Ypu can mix chopped dark chocolate to the dry mix as a richer variation

Potato-channa Masala,korma

Soak 1 cup of channa overnight. Wash it well and drain the water.
Add enough water now to immerse the channa with one inch of additional water.
Pressure cook it with a pinch of turmeric, a pinch of heeng and a pinch of salt.
In a deep nonstick pan, heat three tsp of oil. Put in a tsp of saunf, 1 clove, 1 bayleaf, 1/2 inch cinnamon and 1 star anise. When they pop,  add a big onion chopped finely. Saute till it is light brown.
Lower to medium heat.
Add a tsp of ginger-garlic paste, one slit green chillies for flavour and a half inch of chopped ginger saute for a minute.
Sprinkle one tsp chilli powder, 2 tsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and 1 tsp of channa masala and saute.
Add 2 tsp of kasuri methi and saute.
Add a big tomato finely chopped or pureed and saute till oil separates.
Add two cups of water and boil a cup of peeled and diced potatoes. When they are half done add 2 tsp of salt.When they are almost done add the cooked channa and bring to boil. Check for salt. Simmer till it absorbs the masala, about five minutes.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Sundal- Black eyed peas

Soak a cup of black eyed peas (karamani) for five to seven hours. Or keep it soaked in fridge overnight if the climate is very hot.

Boil water in a pan and cook the peas till soft. Or else pressure cook for five minutes.

Drain the water.

Heat a tsp of oil in a pan.
Put in half a tsp of mustard, 1 tsp urad dal and when they pop and brown, add two red chillis broken into pieces and 1 tsp of grated ginger and a pinch of perungayam(heeng). stir quickly and add the cooked peas.
Stir on low heat and add a tbsp of grated coconut as garnish and switch off heat.
This is the basic recipe for sundal. (Cooking time of various peas differ, otherwise the basics are the same.)

Karunaikizhangu sukka

Peel the yam and cut into cubes. Boil the pieces in enough water to cover an inch above the pieces with turmeric and salt.

Drain the water when the pieces are cooked and cool the yam.

Grind a tablespoon of grated coconut with a handful of peeled sambar onions and 1 tsp of sombu (aniseeds, fennel)

Heat a tbsp of oil in a thick bottomed pan and put in a tsp of mustard seeds.

When they pop add a sprig of curry leaves and the ground paste.
Saute for a few minutes with a tsp of salt, 1 tsp of chilli powder and 1 tsp of coriander powder.

Add the yam pieces and continue sauteing on medium heat.

Let the yam brown over low heat without burning the masala.

Potato Green peas kari

Ingredients
Four potatoes
Half cup fresh or frozen peas
One big Onion chopped finely
Four cloves of garlic chopped finely
Oil 1tbsp
Mustard 1/2tsp
Cumin seed 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder 1tsp
Coriander powder 1tsp
Turmeric 1/4tsp
Salt 1tsp or to taste
Garam masala or sombu powder 1/2tsp
Curry leaves
1tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1/4 tsp heeng

Method
Pressure cook the potatoes for five minutes
Cool, peel and cut into half inch cubes. Keep aside.
Heat the oil in a heavy pan.
Put in the mustard and cumin seeds.
When they crackle, put in the curry leaves.
Add the heeng and then the curry leaves.
Stir and add the chopped garlic and then the onions.
Add the masala powders and sauté for ten seconds.
Add the green peas and a tbsp of water. Stir well and cook covered on low heat for a few minutes till the peas are cooked.
Add the cubed potatoes and sprinkle the salt.
Mix gently and let the dish roast slowly on low fire.
Turn it over gently now and then and when the potatoes absorb the flavours, turn off heat.
Add the coriander leaves and mix gently.
Serve hot with rice or rotis.

This can be used for making samosas or cutlets too.

Vietnamese chicken

Half kg boneless chicken
3 garlic cloves minced
1 fresh red chilli chopped after removing seeds
1green capsicum deseeded and cut into cubes
Half cup chicken stock or quarter chicken stock cube dissolved in hot water
Two tablespoons tamarind juice
One tablespoon sugar
Coriander leaves for garnish
Two tablespoons oil

For the marinade: Fish sauce one and a half tablespoons
1tablespoon sugar
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp fresh pepper powder
Stalk of a lemongrass bottom part's inner core sliced thinly

Method:

Prepare the marinade in a large bowl and put in the chicken pieces and mix until well coated.
Cover with a cloth and keep aside for minimum half an hour.
Heat the oil in a wok and stir fry the garlic on medium heat till golden brown.
Add the chicken, chilli and capsicum. Stir fry on high heat till chicken is browned for two minutes.
Reduce heat to medium and add the chicken stock, tamarind juice and sugar.
Bring it to boil and reduce to simmer cooking uncovered for three minutes, stirring occasionally till the chicken is tender and cooked.
Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with chopped coriander.
Serve hot with rice.

Digestive powder, anna podi

Take 100 gm each of the following ingredients:
Pepper
Cumin seeds
Dried Ginger(peeled and chopped)
Thipplili (available in Indian Tamil medicine shop)
Cardamom
Dried Curry leaves
Dry roast all the above mentioned till golden one by one and keep in a bowl to cool. Take the pan off the heat. Dry toast 50gm perungayam (heeng) in the hot pan with the heat off and put in 100 gm rock salt and stir with it. Add these too to the bowl of condiments.
When cool grind to a powder in a mixer grinder and store in an airtight jar.
Take a tsp of the powder mixed with a quarter cup of cooked rice and ghee or til oil  before eating your regular meal at least thrice a week for good digestion.

Chicken fritters, Chicken Fry

Boneless chicken pieces, preferably breast pieces cut into strips, half kg
Cashew pieces 50gm 
Ginger garlic paste 1tbsp
Corn flour 1/4cup 
Rice flour 1/4 cup 
Coriander leaves chopped1tbsp 
Pudhina ,,,,1tbsp 
Green chilli chopped 5
Egg 1
Lemon juice 1
Curd 1tbsp
Salt to taste
Method:
Mix all well.Marinate for an hour.
Heat oil for deep frying.
Deep fry on medium heat for ten minutes till golden brown. (Take care not to overheat the oil as the chicken will burn on the outside and undercooked inside.)

Mutton Masala

Grind to a paste:
2 tbsp roasted coriander seeds, powdered
1tsp roasted and ground jeera
Turmeric 1 tsp
Salt 1 tsp
5 red chillies with the seeds removed
1 cup dahi

In this marinade, put in one kg of washed mutton and marinate for two hours.

Heat 1tbsp oil and 1 tbsp ghee in a pressure pan.
Put in 2 bay leaves, 2 cardamoms, 2 black cardamoms, 1 inch piece of cinnamon.
When they pop add ten chopped garlic and saute till golden.
Add four medium sized onion sliced thinly and saute till brown.
Take out the mutton pieces only from the marinade and add to the masala in the pan and saute till brown.
Add the marinade and stir well.
Add a cup of water to the marinade vessel, wash it out and add it to the pan. Cover with the lid and bring to pressure.
Pressure cook for fifteen minutes.
Open lid after the steam cools down.
Simmer for a few minutes with the lid open.
Garnish with coriander leaves.