Carrot Stir Fry ~ Grated Carrot Stir Fry ~ Carrot Turumu Vepudu

Carrot stir fry / Carrot turumu vepudu

How to make Carrot Stir Fry / Carrot Turumu Vepudu :
Prep & Cook Time : 20 - 25 minutes ;
Serves : 2 - 3 ;
Cuisine : Andhra

Ingredients :

• Carrot - 1/2 kg carrots,peeled and grated
• Onions - 1 large,finely chopped
• Green chilies - 2
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Chana dal - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Hing / asafoetida - pinch
• Oil - 1- 2 tsp
• Coriander leaves for garnish ( optional )
• Salt as needed

Method :

1. Heat oil in a pan or cooking vessel, add mustard seeds,then add cumin seeds,chana dal, asafoetida and curry leaves and saute for a few seconds.
2. Add the chopped onions and green chilies and saute for 3 minutes.
3. Then add grated carrots and salt, mix and saute on medium heat for 3 - 5 minutes. Place lid, let it cook on low flame.Keep checking in between,sauteing them so that they don't burn. The sauteed carrot will loose moisture and begin to have a wrinkled apperance. Remove lid at this stage and saute on low flame for 3 minutes.
4. Then add chili powder and saute for a minute .Turn off heat.
5. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve warm with steamed rice or side dish for any curry . 

Carrot stir fry / carrot turumu vepudu

Rava upma Recipe (Sooji Upma) ~ Quick Breakfast Recipes ~ Upma Recipe

Upma is one of the most easiest breakfast and can be done in a jiffy.Today we will learn how to make rava upma following this easy recipe.

Rava Upma ( Sooji Upma)

How to make Rava Upma (sooji) :
Prep Time : 5 mins ;
Cook Time : 10 - 12 mins ;
Serves : 2

Ingredients :
Rava / sooji - 1 cup
Water - 2 1/2 cup
Onions - 1/2
Green chilies - 2
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves for garnish
Salt as needed

Method :

1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds,urad dal ,chana dal and curry leaves and saute for a minute. .
2. Add the onions and green chilies and stir till translucent and soft .
3. Then add rava or sooji and stir frequently and do not allow it to brown . Once done then add hot water and salt to taste and stirring constantly to prevent any lumps from forming .
4. Cook in low flame till it becomes little thick .Then turn off the heat.
5. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves 
6. Serve with mango pickle or any pickle or peanut chutney or Tomato chutney ....

Rava Upma ( Sooji upma)

Notes :

•  If you want a more gooey upma then add 3 cups of water.
•  You can add vegetables along with this to make it wholesome and healthy.
•  I add tomatoes occasionally if you like just go ahead adding it.

Dondakaya Pachadi or Tindora Chutney

Ivy gourd is called as Dondakaya in telugu and Tindora in hindi. It is widely used in Andhra cuisine.This ivy gourd is good for digestion and keeps stomach gases suppressed.It is used to make curries,stir fry and even chutney.

We at home make this dondakaya chutney to go with our steamed rice and we also use this as a side for our dosa and idli for breakfast. Today we will learn how to make Dondakaya pachadi / Tindora Chutney following this easy recipe.

Dondakaya Pachadi / Tindora Chutney

How to prepare Dondakaya Pachadi / Tindora Chutney :

Prep Time : 10 minutes

Cook Time : 10 minutes

Yield : 4

Main Ingredients : dondakaya

Ingredients :

• Dondakaya - 1/2 kg 
• Red chilies - 2
• Green chilies - 3
• Garlic - 5 cloves,crushed
• Chana dal - 1 1/2 tbsps
• Urad dal - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Tamarind - 1/2 tsp
• Salt as needed

For poppu / tempering :

• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Red chili - 1
• Curry leaves - few
• Asafoetida / Hing - pinch
• Oil - 1 tsp 

Preparation :

• Wash and cut dondakaya/tindora into thin strips or rounds.

Method :

1. Heat oil in a pan or vessel and then add cumin seeds,urad dal,chana dal and red chilies and saute for 3 min.
2. Add green chilies,garlic and dondakaya pieces and saute for 10 minutes. The dondakaya should be slightly brown as shown in the picture . Turn off heat and allow to cool .
3. Grind all the above ingredients to a coarse paste,adding tamarind and salt . Add 1 to 2 tsps of water if required, then transfer it to a serving bowl .
4. In a small pan add a tsp of oil and then add mustard seeds. Once the seeds jump around, add red chili,curry leaves and saute for few seconds.
5. Finally pour over the chutney. 
6. Serve spicy and tasty chutney with hot rice and ghee. It can also be had as a side dish for idli and dosa .

Dondakaya Pachadi / Tindora Chutnry

Punugulu with Dosa batter ~ Punukulu

Punugulu are a traditional Andhra breakfast /snack item.Even though they are prepared at homes,they are one of the popular street snacks there and can be prepared in two ways either using a batter specially meant to prepare punugulu or can be made using leftover rice / idli or dosa batters.Both ways they taste great and are prefect along with tea or coffee on a cold,especially for a rainy day.

Punugulu with Dosa batter (snack)

Prep Time : 10 minutes ;
Cook Time : 15 - 20 minutes ;
Yield : 5-6

Ingredients :
Dosa batter - 2 cups
Rice flour - 2 tsps
Wheat flour - 1 - 2 tsps
Onions - 1/2 , finely chopped
Green chilies - 2 , finely chopped
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig , finely chopped
Coriander leaves - 2 tsps , finely chopped
Salt as needed
Oil for deep frying

Method :

1. Combine all the above ingredients except oil.Mix well and leave aside for half an hour .
2. Heat oil for deep frying .Once the oil gets hot,reduce flame to medium.Place a table spoon for batter into the hot oil. (You can use your hand instead of spoon to drop small balls of the batter into the hot oil ). Place 7-8 punugulu in the first batch . Do not crowd the vessel .
3. Turn the punugulu as they change color and cook till golden color.
4. Remove onto tissue paper.
5. Serve them with peanut(groundnut)chutney or Andhra kaaram chutney(red chutney).

Punugulu with Dosa batter (snack)

Tips :

1. Add more rice flour if the batter is too thin. It should be a slightly think batter .
2. You can use fermented fresh dosa batter or 2-3 days old dosa batter which gives a rice flavor to the punugulu.

Punugulu with dosa batter (snack)

Cabbage stir fry

Today I present to you a vegetarian dish with a simple list of ingredients.Did i mention that it is an easy to prepare vegan recipe that is sure to be relished by kids and adults alike.I served this stir fry with rice,brown rice,tomato rasam,avakai (mango pickle),sambar and curd.Made for a simple mid day meal .

Ingredients :
Cabbage : 1/2 cabbage,finely chopped
Mustard seeds : 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds : 1/2 tsp
Urad dal : 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida : 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves : 1 spring
Dry red chilies : 2
Green chilies : 2
Turmeric powder : 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder : 1/2 tsp
Coconut powder : 2 tsp
Oil : 2 tsp
Salt as needed

Method :
1. Heat oil in a pan or vessel,add mustard seeds and allow to splutter.then add cumin seeds,urad dal and allow to turn light brown .
2. Add dry chilies,green chilies,currry leaves,asafoetida and turmeric powder and saute for a seconds on medium flame .
3. Add the sliced cabbage and mix to combine well .Cook without lid for 9-10 minutes.Low flame,place lid and cook for 10-15 minutes stiring once in a while .
4. Remove lid ,add coriander powder and salt and mix.Cook for another 5-6 minutes and turn off heat .
5. Garnish with coriander leaves and or grated coconut.
6. Serve warm with rice or chapati .

Cabbage Stir Fry

Tips :

 1. You can add grated coconut towards the end of the cooking process .

Andhra Style Tomato Curry ~ Easy Tomato curry (Thakkali Curry) Recipe ~ Tomato Onion Curry

Tomato curry is the easiest and simplest to prepare among all the vegetarian curries. It does not require much of vegetables. Just tomatoes would do the work. Andhra style tomato curry is tangy and yummy. For beginners in cooking ,this is something to try out for .

Prep Time : 5- 8 minutes ;

Cook Time : under 20 minutes ;
Serve : 2 - 3 .


How to make Andhra style tomato curry in step by step :

Ingredients :
Tomatoes - 3 - 4 (finely chopped )
Onions  -  1 (finely chopped)
Green Chilies - 2-3
Red Chili powder - 2 teaspoon
Coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon (optional)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Oil - 1 - 2 teaspoon
Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Urad dal - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves - few
Water  as needed
Salt as needed

Method :
 1. Take a pan to heat and add oil to it.Add mustard seeds,cumin seeds and urad dal and then saute for a minute.
 2. Then add onions ,green chilies and curry leaves and fry till it turns light brown in color.

 3. Add tomatoes, turmeric powder,salt and cook for 8 - 10 minutes by covering them with a lid .

 4. Then add red chili powder,coriander powder and water and then cook for another 5 - 8 minutes .

 5. Once done remove from heat and serve hot .

Andhra Tomato Curry /Thakkali Curry

Serving Options :
Serve Andhra style tomato curry with steamed rice and ghee ... This goes well with Idli ,dosa, puri and chapati also .

Note :
1. If you want thick curry,then don't add water into that .
2. If you want spicy tomato curry,then add ginger garlic paste after second step .

Sponge Cake / Plain Soft Cake /Homemade Cake

Sponge Cake / Plain Cake

How to make Homemade Plain Soft Cake/Sponge Cake :

Ingredients :

All purpose flour - 1 cup
Unsalted butter - 1 cup (1 stick)
Powdered sugar - 1 cup
Egg - 3 to 4
Baking soda - 1 tpsp
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Vanilla essence - few drops (optional)

Instructions :

1. Preheat oven to 350 F .
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl (all purpose flour,sugar&cardamom powder) .
3. Keep the butter at room temperature. Blend it with hand mixer until it becomes fluffy (the more we beat ,then it comes more fluffy )
4. Add egg at a time and blend well .
5. Add dry ingredients to the above and blend well.Finally add vanilla essence and mix well .
6. Grease the cake pan with oil or butter.Fill the pan with the cake batter 3/4th full and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean .
7. Soft and spongy cake is ready.

Sponge Cake / Plain Cake

Tips :

1. Beating the eggs is the most important step.It makes the cake really soft if you beat really well.
2. The cake will give a nice aroma when it is done. This is a basic technique to find out if the cake is done or not.