800 gram(s) pomfret fillets cleaned and washed
4 tablespoon(s) lemon juice
salt to taste
banana leaves to wrap each fillet Grind to a fine paste:
1 cup(s) grated coconut
1 cup(s) chopped coriander leaves
6 green chillies
1 tablespoon(s) coriander seeds
4 teaspoon(s) cumin seeds
2 tablespoon(s) chopped garlic
2 tablespoon(s) lemon juice
salt to taste
lemon slices to garnish

Make horizontal slits in the fish fillets to create pockets. Rub the fish fillets with some salt and lemon juice. Keep aside for at least 30 minutes.
Apply the green paste to the fish fillets and marinate them for at least 15 minutes. Place each marinated fish fillet on a banana leaf (or a portion of the leaf) along with a little of the marinade spread on both the sides. Wrap each piece separately. Arrange the fish packets in a steamer and steam for about 25 minutes.
At serving time, unwrap each fish fillet and arrange on a platter. Garnish with lemon slices.
TIPS:

The fish traditionally used in this recipe is pomfret.
Traditionally the fish is steamed in a banana leaf which gives it all the flavor. However, if the banana leaf is not available, aluminum foil can be used instead.
Serve hot with: steamed rice accompanied with a tall glass of chilled Appetizing Kokum in Yoghurt (Quick Sol Kadi)

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.

Spinach 1/2 kg
Paneer 100 grams
Onion 1
Butter 3 tbsp.
Bay leaves 2-3
Cumin seeds 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Black pepper powder 1/4 tsp.
Ginger-garlic paste 3/4 tsp.
Green chilli paste 1/2 tsp.
Garam Masala Powder 1 tsp.
Vegetable oil as required

Method:

1. Mix ginger-garlic paste, green chilli paste and some water with spinach. Pressure cook it for about 7-8 minutes (just before the first whistle).
2. Cut paneer into small cubes. Keep 3 cubes separately for decoration.
3. Heat oil in a pan. Fry the paneer pieces on ‘medium’ heat till they turn slightly brown. Set the paneer pieces aside.
4. Heat 2 tbsp. of butter. Fry bay leaves and cumin seeds. Add chopped onion. Fry until the onions become pink.
5. Add salt, black pepper powder, garam masala. Stir well.
6. Add paneer and cooked spinach (grinded). Mix well.
7. Put palak paneer in a baking tray .
8. Add rest of the butter. Bake for 1/2 hour at 180 deg C.

Grate the paneer kept aside for decoration. Decorate. Palak paneer is ready to serve.

Basmati rice 2 cups
Mixed vegetable
(cauliflower, potato, carrot, french beans) 1 cup
Green peas 150 grams
Thinly sliced onion 3
Thin sliced green chillies 2
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder 1 tsp.
Cinnamon, caraway seeds 2 tsp.
Cloves 4
Black pepper powder 1/2 tsp.
Tomato 4
Yogurt (curd) 1/2 cup
Vegetable oil 4 tbsp.
Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp.
Dry fruits (cashew nuts, raisin) 3 tbsp.

Method:

1. Wash rice well before cooking.Then take rice with 3-3/4 cup water and a little salt added to it and 2 tbsp of dry fruits.Cook it in pressure cooker (wait for one whistle 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.
2. Cut all the vegetables into small thin pieces and fry each one of it separately in oil. Also fry the green peas.
3. Then fry mustard seeds, green chilli, cinnamon and caraway seeds powder, cloves, black pepper powder for about half minute and then add onions. Fry till the color of onion changes to pink.
4. Add salt and red chilli powder and stir it properly.
5. Add fine chopped tomatoes and fry till they are properly cooked.
6. Next add yogurt (fine) and stir well.Heat it for about 10 seconds.
7. Add all the fried vegetables.
8. Lastly add the cooked rice and mix well with very light hands so that the rice grain doesn’t break. Cook for about 3 minutes.

Keep the vegetable biryani in a serving dish. Decorate with dry fruits and green coriander leaves.

Spinach 1/2 kg
Paneer 100 grams
Onion 1
Butter 3 tbsp.
Bay leaves 2-3
Cumin seeds 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Black pepper powder 1/4 tsp.
Ginger-garlic paste 3/4 tsp.
Green chilli paste 1/2 tsp.
Garam Masala Powder 1 tsp.
Vegetable oil as required

Method:

1. Mix ginger-garlic paste, green chilli paste and some water with spinach. Pressure cook it for about 7-8 minutes (just before the first whistle).
2. Cut paneer into small cubes. Keep 3 cubes separately for decoration.
3. Heat oil in a pan. Fry the paneer pieces on ‘medium’ heat till they turn slightly brown. Set the paneer pieces aside.
4. Heat 2 tbsp. of butter. Fry bay leaves and cumin seeds. Add chopped onion. Fry until the onions become pink.
5. Add salt, black pepper powder, garam masala. Stir well.
6. Add paneer and cooked spinach (grinded). Mix well.
7. Put palak paneer in a baking tray .
8. Add rest of the butter. Bake for 1/2 hour at 180 deg C.

Grate the paneer kept aside for decoration. Decorate. Palak paneer is ready to serve.

:: Ingredients
Urad dhal- 2 cups washed & drained
Par boiled rice- 4 cups (washed & drained)
Salt to taste
Baking Soda- 2 tsp.
Oil- 3 tsp.

:: Method
Soak urad dhal & rice separately for about 6 hours. Drain the excess water. Grind
the rice into a coarse paste by adding some water. Then grind the urad dhal
separately into a smooth paste. Mix both the ground paste together and add salt
to taste.
Cover and keep in a warm place overnight to ferment. Next day, add the baking
soda and mix well.
Grease the idli plates with little oil and pour 2 tablespoons of the idli batter in
each mould. Pour a cup of water in a pressure cooker and place the idli moulds in
it. Steam cook for 15-20 minutes. To check whether it is cooked or not, touch one
of the idlis with your finger if it comes out clean its cooked. Remove them using a
spoon.

Ingredients

1/2 kg chicken pieces (small pieces)
250 gms mushrooms (halved)
2 onions, chopped finely
1/4 tsp ginger paste
1/2 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
3 tbsp oil
2 tbsp maida
Salt as per taste
Chopped corriander leaves

Method:

Marinate chicken pieces with salt, pepper and turmeric powder for 20 mins.
Heat oil on a pan and fry the chicken pieces till golden brown
Drain the pieces place separately in a big flat casserole
In the same oil (if less then add some oil) and fry onions till transparent
Add ginger-garlic paste and simmer for 2 minutes
Add red chilli powder and garam masala
Add maida and stir till light brown
Add chicken broth and mix well stirring continuously
Simmer for 2-3 minutes
Pour the sauce over the chicken pieces
Bake it for 20 minutes at 250 degrees fahrenite
Remove from the oven and spread mushrooms over it
Bake again for 10-15 minutes (till chicken is cooked)
Garnish with corriander leaves