1 1/2 C red lentils
3 1/2 C water
6 serrano chilies (or 3 jalepeno?), either whole or sliced in
quarters
1/4 t turmeric, or more to taste
1 1/2 t salt

4 T ghee, butter or vegetable oil
1 C minced onions
1 C chopped tomatoes
1 T grated fresh ginger

2 T ghee or vegetable oil
1 T panch phanon mix
4 dried small red chilies
1-3 cloves garlic

There are three basic steps to this recipe: cooking the lentils in water,
making a tomato/onion/ginger mush, and making a spiced oil.

1. Rinse lentils well, add water, serrano chilies, turmeric and salt.
Bring carefully to boil and cook over low to medium heat, partially
covered, for 25 minutes. Cover and cook another 10 minutes. Adjust
salt.

2. While lentils are cooking, cook onions in a frying pan in the oil until
they are golden brown (approximately 10 minutes), stirring constantly.
Add tomatoes and ginger and continue cooking until the tomatoes
decompose into a delicious and fragrant mush (approximately 8 minutes.)
Stir constantly so that tomato mixture doesn’t stick. Turn heat to low
if necessary.

3. Scrape out this mush into the lentils and stir it in. Let lentils sit
while you make the spiced oil.

4. Do a quick rinse of the frying pan, without soap, and dry thoroughly.
Add the remaining 2T oil and heat over medium high heat. When oil is
hot add panch phanon mix and heat until the seeds begin to pop, about 15
seconds. Add red chilies and fry for another 15 seconds, until they
turn a little darker. Turn off heat and add the crushed garlic and let
sizzle for about 30 seconds. Stir this mixture into the lentil/tomato
mixture and serve with rice. Adjust salt.

—————
Using ghee changes the taste compared with oil. I prefer it for step 4. It
tastes good either way though.

500 gram(s) lobsters shelled and meat washed
1 big onion finely chopped
2 medium tomato(es) blanched and chopped
2 teaspoon(s) coriander powder
1 teaspoon(s) cumin powder
½ teaspoon(s) turmeric powder
1 teaspoon(s) red chilli powder
½ teaspoon(s) black pepper powder
½ teaspoon(s) garam masala (hot spice mix)
2 tablespoon(s) yoghurt
2 tablespoon(s) oil
4 tablespoon(s) water
salt to taste
finely chopped fresh coriander to garnish Grind to a fine paste:
1 cup(s) grated coconut
2 flakes of garlic
1 teaspoon(s) chopped ginger
2 green chilli(es)
1 teaspoon(s) poppy seeds

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and saute the onions on medium heat for about 3 minutes or till the onions are light brown in color. Add the ground paste and fry till it is golden-brown. Add the tomato pieces and fry till the oil leaves the sides. Add all the spice powders except for the garam masala (hot spice mix) and mix well.
Mix in the lobster meat, salt and the yoghurt. Stir-fry on high heat briefly. Stir in the water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes or till the lobster meat is cooked and tender. Sprinkle the garam masala (hot spice mix) and garnish with finely chopped fresh coriander.
TIP:

It is important that the lobster is fresh because its meat is easily removable then.
Serve hot with: steamed rice and / or slices of bread, rotis

3 cups rice (not basmati!), soaked overnight — room temp. water. 1 cup urad dal (a specific type of lentils avail. at Indian grocery stores— no substitution; other dals will not work like this)
Soaked separately overnight — room temp. water
Traditionally, stone grinders (huge mortars) and rolling pestles are used to grind the rice and the urad dal and motorized versions of those are now available at Indian elcetronic stores in D.C. A mixie
or a blender cuts the grains into fine pieces, but does not “mash” them like the stone grinders do. So there is a good deal of difference taste when you use a blender. But still, it is not bad at all if you make sure that you grind the rice really fine. Cover the rice with water just 1/2 “above the rice line in the blender.
Grind till Sssssmooth.
Grind the dal separately, with water that barely covers it. Grind a long time (be patient!), stirring once
in a while and grinding again. When
the dal is ground very well, and small air bubbles appear once you stop running the blender, it is enough. Add more water if necessary. But this should be very thick.
MIx the rice and the urad dal pastes, with 1/2 tsp salt.
Add one tablespoon beaten yogurt, and mix well.
Keep covered to let oit ferment fro at least 5 to 8 hrs or more. (Keep it close to a heater or in any warm place).

Once it has risen, stir briefly, and keep it oin the fridge.

You have the batter now.

Grease a griddle with plain sesame oil or peanut oil if you care about max. flavor; if not use veg. oil. The heat should be medium or slightly higher. When hot (a few drops of water will sizzle gently and disappear), using a metal ladle, pour one ladleful over the griddle; with quick and even and gentle strokes, spread the batter out
with the ladle as if you are drawing concentric circles on the batter. Do it either clockwise OR anticlockwise else you get lumps.
It takes a few tries believe me, and some of us who are trained well in this mess up occasioanlly. drizzle oil around edges, and on top. Once the bottom is cooked, turn it over, and cook the top. Be careful when using your spatula (metal preferred) to take it out to flip it.

This can be served with chilli-dal-spice powder and oil or ghee, coconut chutney, cilantro or mint chutney, onion chutney, or
red garlic chutney, and/or saambar. (If you want their recipes, email me) This is standard breakfast or supper fare for us, growing up in the south.

Else, as in your restaurant, make a filling as follows:

1. Take 2 large boiled potatoes, peel and mash coarsely.
2. Thinly slice one large red onion, 2 cloves of garlic (optional) and 3 or 4 green chillies.
3. Grate a 1″ piece of ginger.
4. Cut up a tomato if you want.
5. Take a sprig of curry leaves and chop them coarsely.
6. Heat some veg. oil, add some fennel seeds, and cummin seeds (1/2 tsp. each) 7. Add 1/2 tsp of black mustard seeds.
8. When they crackle, add the green chillies, ginger, garlic (if used), and onions and fry them with a little salt for a while till
onions are transparent. Add curry leaves.
9. Next add 1/2 pkt of frozen peas, tomatoes (if you choose), and fry for 5 minutes.
10. Add the potatoes, and more salt if desired. stir well till blended 11. Add some chopped cilantro if you want.

When making the dosai, spread the batter out as mentioned earlier, drizzle oil, and keep the skillet or griddle covered (any
cover will do as long as the dosai area is covered; just be sure the cover does not touch the dosai). In less than a minute, the dosai will be cooked with oil on the bottom, and its top will be cooked by the steam that is generated when you cover it. The color is now not the white of the batter but kinda dull; you’ll know)

Turn the heat down, place the cooled filling acrooss the center along the diagonal, and fold both sides overlappingly over it
to form a cylindrical shape. Increase the heat slightly, drizzle more oil, and cook both sides till golden.

Else, place the filling in the center, and fold from three sides, forming a triangle, overlapping and covering the filling.

Cook as above.

If you have left over batter, and really fermented, make “OOTHAPPAM”: Chop some onions, green chillies, and cilantro really well, mix with salt.Soon as you spread out the pancake, sprinkle the chopped stuff on top. Drizzle oil on top, flip it over carefully when the bottom is cooked, and cook the other side. Serve with coconut chutney.

If you are into a health-diet, do not drizzle oil over and around pancake. Just grease the griddle lightly with a paper towel; in this case, cook just one side of the dosai on the greased surface, covering the dosai to let the steam cook the top. This dosa is very soft and tasty.

Back home, we add some fenugreek seeds to the urad dal, soak and grind them together for a superior texture, flavor, and color.

Hope that helps! I have babbled too much, but really, it is very easy to make once you have the batter.

8 medium sized pieces (about 800 grams) of chicken
2 tablespoon(s) yoghurt
2 tablespoons clarified butter (ghee) / butter / oil
4 medium onions finely chopped
1 teaspoon(s) hot spice mix (garam masala) powder
2 bay leaves
salt to taste
finely chopped fresh coriander leaves to garnish

To be ground
½ teaspoon(s) turmeric powder
2 tablespoon(s) cashewnut bits soaked in some water
4 whole dry red chillies roasted
1 tablespoon(s) each of poppy and cumin seeds roasted
½ teaspoon(s) nutmeg grated
1 teaspoon(s) blade of mace
1 teaspoon(s) each of red chilli powder and black peppercorns
1″ piece cinnamon broken
2 cloves
2 green cardamom(s) pounded

Fry a small portion of the chopped onions in a little hot clarified butter (ghee)/ butter / oil till they are well browned. Let it cool and grind it along with the ingredients to be ground to a fine paste. Mix this paste with the yoghurt, rub it onto the chicken pieces and marinate for a few hours in the refrigerator.
Heat the clarified butter (ghee) / butter / oil in a heavy bottomed pan till hot. Add the bay leaves and fry for a few seconds. Add the remaining chopped onions and saute on medium level for about 3 minute(s) or till the onions are light brown in color.
Add the chicken pieces , hot spice mix and salt to taste. Cover and cook on low level for about 25 minutes or till the chicken is fully cooked.
Garnish with finely chopped fresh coriander leaves.

TIP:

The cashewnut pieces can be replaced by the same measure of chickpea flour to thicken the gravy.
Serve hot with: Cumin Rice (Jeera Chawal), white rice or Indian bread (Roti).
(from syvum.com)

Ingredients

3 in piece of fresh ginger peeled and coarsely chopped
3 tbsps peeled and coarsely chopped garlic
6-8 lamb chops from the ribs, remove all extra fat
8 fl oz grated or finely chopped tomatoes
2 medium sized onions very finely chopped
1 tbsp cayenne
12 fl oz Greek yoghurt beaten
1 1/2 tsps salt
1 tsp ground roasted cumin seeds
1-2 tsps Punjabi garam masala
3 tbsps lemon juice
2-3 tbsps chopped fresh green coriander

Method

Put the ginger and garlic into the container of an electric blender with 2-3 tablespoons of water and blend to a paste. Put the chops, tomatoes, onions, cayenne pepper, yoghurt, salt and ginger-garlic paste into a large wok or heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir and bring to the boil. Turn the heat to low, cover and simmer for 50 minutes or until the chops are almost cooked. Add the cumin seeds and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the meat is tender and the sauce thick. Add the garam masala and lemon juice and stir. Sprinkle fresh coriander over the top and serve.

TIPS
In the Punjab, tomatoes are grated to make a puree. Don’t be tempted to use ready-prepared tomato puree instead of fresh. The spice combinations in garam masala vary in different parts of India. In the Punjab this one which you can try making yourself is common: 5 tbsps coriander seeds, 3 tbsps cumin seeds, 2 1/2 tbsps black peppercorns, 2 1/2 black cardamom seeds, 2 in cinnamon stick, 4-5 cloves, 1/6 nutmeg. Put the coriander and the cumin into a cast-iron frying-pan over a medium heat. Stir until lightly roasted. Allow to cool. Grind with the remaining ingredients in a clean coffee grinder and store in a tightly lidded jar.
Copyright of the British Broadcasting Corporation

Posted by RB on Friday, January 18, 2002
Comments (2)
Chicken Curry with Tomatoes (Murgha Kari)
This dish from the Punjab takes only 30 minutes to prepare. In India fresh tomatoes would be used in this dish.

Ingredients

4 medium onions, chopped
2 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 cup butter or cooking oil
1 cup or 1 can (8 ounces)tomato sauce
2 teaspoons salt
1 frying chicken (2 to 3 pounds)
3/4 cup hot water

Method

Use a casserole or large skillet with lid. Cook onions and curry powder in butter for 10 to 15 minutes. Add tomato sauce and salt. Disjoint and skin chicken, and place in sauce. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat, turning frequently until sauce becomes quite dry and chicken tests done with fork, about 15 minutes. Add hot water, cover pot, and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

Basmati Rice Cooked 2 cup
Grated carrot 1 cup
Thinly sliced onions 1 medium size
Thinly sliced green chilli 2
Mustard seeds 1 tsp.
Cumin seeds 1 tsp.
Bay leaf 1-2
Curry leaves 8-10
Red chilli powder 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp.
Garam Masala Powder 1/2 tsp
Chopped Coriander leaves 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil 2 tbsp.

Method:

1. Heat oil in a deep frying pan or kadhai.
2. Add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start crackling add cumin seeds and bay leaf. Add thinly sliced onions, green chillies and fry till pink. Keep this aside.
3. Add thinly sliced onions, green chillies and fry till pink.
4. Add grated carrot and curry leaves. Saute for a while and then add salt, chili powder, turmeric powder and garam masala.
5. Add cooked rice and gently mix well. Cover the pan and cook on a low flame for about 3-4 minutes.

Carrot Rice is ready to serve. Decorate with chopped green coriander leaves.

Basmati rice 2 cups
Lemon juice 5 tbsp.
Mustard Seeds 2 tsp.
Urad Daal 2 tsp.
Chana Daal 2 tsp.
Dried Red chillies 2-3
Turmeric Powder 1/2 tsp.
A pinch of asafoetida
A pinch of Turmeric
Roasted Peanuts 1/2 cup
Curry leaves 10-12
Grated coconut 1 tbsp.
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil 2 tbsp.

Method:

1. Wash rice well before cooking.Then take rice with 3-3/4 cup water and add a little salt to it. Cook it in pressure cooker (wait for 1-2 whistles and then switch off the gas). You can also cook it in a pan or do microwave cooking just the same way as you cook ordinary rice.Once the rice is cooked, keep it aside.
2. Heat oil in a deep frying pan or a kadai.
3. Add asafoetida, dried red chillies cut into two, urad dal and chana dal.
4. Cook until dals change colour to light brown.
5. Add peanuts and mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to crackle, then add curry leaves. Fry for 10 seconds more.
6. Next add turmeric powder and stir well.
7. Add cooked rice, salt and lemon juice. Mix well very gently so that the rice grains does not break.

Garnish with grated coconut and serve hot.

Carrots, potatoes, french beans (cut into tiny cubes) 2
Canned corn 1/2 can
Peas 1/2 pack (frozen)
Onions(finely cut) 1 cup
Tomatoes 2-3
Cloves 2-3
Cinnamon 1 stick
Bay leaves 1-2
Ginger-garlic paste 1 tsp
Red chilli powder 1 tsp.
Turmeric Powder 1 tsp.
Garam Masala Powder 1 tsp.
Mustard seeds as required
Cumin powder as required
Vegetable oil 4 tbsp.
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves chopped

Method:

1. Make a paste of the tomatoes and 1/2 cup of onions in the blender.
2. Boil all the vegetables in a pressure cooker and set aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan.
4. Fry mustard, jeera, and all the spices.
5. Once mustard splatters, fry the onions till light brown.
6. Add tomato-onion paste and saute until oil separates.
7. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala, cumin powder and salt.
8. Add the vegetables and cook on low flame for 7 – 8 minutes.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot. Can be served with rice or chappathis.

2 cup(s) raw rice soaked for 4-5 hours
4 cups coconut shavings
1 cup(s) cooked rice
1 cup(s) coconut water
½ teaspoon(s) yeast granules dissolved in some coconut water or little hot water
salt and sugar to taste

Drain the soaked rice and grind it along with the coconut shavings and cooked rice to a fine thick paste. Coconut water may be preferably used instead of water for grinding. Add the yeast and mix lightly. Mix in the salt and sugar to taste. Allow to ferment at room temperature for at least 6 hours.
Heat a small non-stick wok. Pour approximately half a cup of batter and quickly but gently swirl the pan around such that only a thin layer of the batter covers the sides and a thick layer collects at the bottom. Cover with a lid and cook each appam on medium heat for about 3 minute(s) or till the edges have become golden crisp and the centre is soft and spongy. Another sign of doneness would be when the edges start coming off the wok.
TIPS:

In case coconut water is unavailable, water may be used instead. However, coconut water is preferred since it acts as a fermenting agent.
Coconut water should not be thrown once the coconut is broken. The coconut can be cracked over a bowl to collect the water. Coconut water is very nutritious; hence, one can drink it or use it in stews instead of water. In this recipe, it has been used for grinding the coconut and rice since it acts as a fermenting agent. This will make the pancakes fluffy and spongy.
A special traditional metal wok called ‘appam chatty’ in Kerala is used to cook the appams. Oil is a must in these woks. Nowadays a special non-stick ‘appam chatty’ has replaced the metal one giving oil-free appams. Any small non-stick wok can be used for this purpose.
A well-fermented batter will form small holes (like a lace) all over the appam while cooking. This makes the appams very light.
Serve hot with : recipes such as
Mixed Vegetable Stew (Kerala Vegetable Stew),
Goan Vegetable Curry, and
Vegetables in a Spicy Gravy (Sabzi Kurma).

4 teacup(s) cooked long grain rice (called Basmati rice in India)
2 teacup(s) grated coconut
1 teaspoon(s) mustard seeds
2 teaspoon(s) each of split black gram and split bengal gram
½ teaspoon(s) asafoetida
4 green chilli(es) chopped
2 red chilli(es) broken into bits
4 tablespoon(s) butter or ghee (clarified butter)
a few curry leaves and salt to taste
a handful of fried cashewnuts to garnish.

Heat butter / ghee (clarified butter) on medium level in a large heavy-bottomed vessel for about 2 minute(s). Add the mustard seeds and fry till they splutter.
Now add the grams, red chilli bits, asafoetida and fry for a few seconds till the grams turn light brown. Add the chopped green chilli(es), curry leaves and the grated coconut. Saute on medium / low heat for about 4 minutes till the coconut is light brown in color.
Add the rice and salt to the coconut mixture and mix well. Keep on low heat for 2 minute(s) or till the rice is flavored with the coconut mixture. Garnish with fried cashewnut bits.
Suggestion: Great way to use left-over rice.

Serve hot immediately with: Kerala Mixed Vegetable Stew (Kerala Vegetable Stew) or any other curries of your choice.