Paruppu Thengai Poli

This sweet dish is made on BHOGI festival the day before PONGAL in south of India.
Bhogi is celebrated by burning the old things which are no more in use and the next day is the harvest festival Pongal when new things are bought for the home. But, considering the current global warming it is clever not to burn but to bow and give to the needy people around.
POLI is also called as BOLI in some areas. It is made up of only Parupu Poli (Channa dal poli), Thengai Poli (Coconut poli), Masala Poli (carrots, beans, potato salty Poli).
Today i have made a combination of Thengai and Parupu Poli.

Ingredients:
Maida - 2cups
Salt -1/2tps
Water - 1 1/2cup
Refined Oil - 2cup
Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1cup
Elaichi/Elakai/Cardamom - 3-4
Thengai/Coconut - 1/4cup scrapped freshly
Kadalai paruppu/Channa Dal - 1/4cup
Vellam/Jaggery/Gudd - 1/4 cup
Plastic thin sheets - 2
Yellow food colour - a pinch

Method/Vidhiee:
1. Knead the maida by adding salt to it with water. Add Yellow food colour.
2. Make into a dough and add refined oil 1/2cup and knead well.
3. Cover it with a plastic sheet tightly.
4. In a mixer jar add coconut,jaggery,cardamom (pods broken and the flavour inside need to be added)
5. Meanwhile boil the channa dal to 3/4 consistency where you can mash them by a spoon.
6. Once the channa dal is done strain them and add to the mixie jar.
7. Grind them so that all the particles get broken down but, donot make them into paste.
8. Grind them corasely but not any pc that would hamper the process.
9. Now remove the sheet from the kneaded dough and mix the jaggery coconut mixture with it well.
10. Traditionaly the jaggery mixer is stuffed inside the dough by flattening them into a chappati, rolling them and again flattening them.
11. Here, i have used the method of mixing both the jaggery mixture and dough.
12. Now heat a tawa in a low flame.
13. Take one of the plastic sheet and grease them with oil.
14. Take a medium size ball of the mixed dough and flatten them with your hands or fingers on the sheet.
15. Starting from thinning the ends and then again flattening the centre to the end.
16. Be sure that the edges are thin as when you cook them they tend to turn thick.
17. Now gently take the flatten dough and put on to the pan.
18. Cook on both sides till light brown spots are seen.
19. Now add 1tps of ghee and cook on one side and another 1tps on other side.
20. Traditionaly the POLI floats in ghee when on tawa which is now immposible as the ghee prices are high and so to our health :)))
21. Hence, add ghee as per your wish.

Serve hot with adding 1/2tps of ghee or white butter on top.

Veg Kholapuri

Caution this is an extremely hot and spicy dish. It has loads of oil and butter. Hence, make adjustments to the recipe as per your needs.
Ingredients:
Cauliflower - 1 cup
Potatoes - 2
Carrots - 2
French Beans - 5-6
Green Capsicum - 1
Onions - 4
Green Peas - 100gms
Ginger Garlic paste - 1tbs
Tomato Puree - 1/2cup
Kashmiri Red chilly paste/powder - 2tbs
Regular Red chilly powder - 1tbs
Green Chilly - 3
Kasuri Methi/Fenugreek leaves/Vendhaya elaigal kanjadhu - 1tbs
Jeera powder - 1tbs
Coriander powder - 1/2tbs
Turmeric powder - 1tbs
Garam Masala - 1tbs
Vegetable masala - 1tbs
Salt
Oil to fry -2cups
Oil to saute 3tbs
Butter to garnish
Green coriander to garnish

Method / Vidhiee:
1. First cut the cauliflower into chunks. Cut the carrots 2cms thick lengthwise. Also cut the beans lengthwise. Cut the potatoes to lengthwise same as carrots.
2. Slice 3 onions and saute them till golden brown and grind them along with ginger garlic paste and keep aside.
3. In a pan add oil to fry the veggies. Once the pan is hot put the veggies that were cut and fry them till they turn light brown. Do not make them crisp.
4. Drain them and marinate them with pinch of salt, Vegetable masala, kasuri methi and keep aside.
5. In a wok add oil , jeera then add onions that were sauteed and ground into paste along with ginger garlic.
6. Add the dry masalas such as turmeric powder, red chilly powder saute well.
7. Add the Kashmiri chilly powder/paste to it. Add the cashewnut paste.
8.Add tomato puree and salt to it.
9. Bring it to boil till the oil leaves side. Now add garam masala.
10. Add 1/2cup water to it and bring to boil.
Meanwhile
1. Cut the remaining onions and capsicum into big square dices.
2. In a wok add butter and saute the capsicum and onions. They have to be crunchier hence do not saute till soft. Just toss them and add the green chillies after chopping them lengthwise. Add pinch of salt.
3. Now add the Veggies cauliflower,potatoes, carrots to the wok along with boiled Peas
4. Add the gravy that was prepared.
5. Add the gravy how ever you require and its not needed that you add the whole of the gravy.
6. Mix well
Serve hot with green coriander,butter and Red fried chillies.

Soya Masala Dosa

Soya is one of the very rich source of protein esp for vegetarians.
Ingredients:
Dosa Batter - 1 cup
Soya nuggets - 2cup (even Soya granules can be used)
Onion - 2
Tomatoes - 2
Ginger - 1inch
Curry Leaves
Green Coriander
Mustard - 1tbs
Jeera - 1tbs
Asafatida - 1pinch
Turmeric powder - 1/2tbs
Red chilly powder - 1/2tbs
Garam Masala powder - 1/2tbs
Refined oil to saute - 2tbs
Salt to taste
Water - 2cups
Butter if preferred to make dosa
You can use garlic chopped or ground if required.

Method/Vidhiee:
1. Boil the soya nuggets in water and squeeze them to take out excess water.
2. Now slice them into small pieces.
3. Finely chop onion, green chillies, ginger, green coriander, tomato.
4. In a wok add refined oil heat it and then add mustard seeds splutter them.
5. Add asafatida, jeera and curry leaves.
6. Add onions, green chillies, ginger to it and saute them till they become transparent.
7. Add tomato and saute for 1min.
8. Add all dry powders and saute well. Add salt as required.Remember the dosa batter also has salt so put salt a bit low.
9. Now add the soya which were minced or diced.
10. Saute them well. Do not have any water texture.
11. End by adding green coriander leaves.

Few more tips: You can even add tomato sauce and soya sauce to give it a Chinese touch.

Method for making the Soya Masala Dosa:
1.Now take the dosa batter heat a tawa and pour 1/2tps of oil and spread well.
2.Lower the heat and pour the dosa batter and spread well in circular or oval motion.
3.Now raise the heat and then add butter to corners.
4.Make a crisp dosa turn to another side. leave for 30secs.
5.Now again turn to the white side which is the inner side and the brown side facing downwards.

6.Add the soya masala it a bit in the middle and close the dosa in half moon shape.
7.Press it gently so that it closes well. Add few more drops of butter/oil/ghee to it and serve hot.

This dosa doesn't require any condiments. You can even soya masala for rice chapattis and phulkas.

WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY,FUNFILLED AND TASTEFUL NEW YEAR 2012:)