Aanpakaya (Bottle Gourd) Allam kura

Ingredients:

• Aanapakaya - 1 No's Medium
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 Tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 Tsp
• Urad Dal - 1 Tsp
• Chana Dal - 1 Tsp
• Red Chillies - 1 No
• Green Chillies - 5 No's
• Ginger - 2 Inch (Add more or less as per taste)
• Curry Leaves - 1 Strand
• Turmeric - 1/4 Tsp
• Salt - 1 Tsp
• Hing - 1/4 Tsp
• Oil - 4 Tsps

Preparations:

1.  Peel the skin of Bottle Gourd, clean it and chop into small pieces.
2. Make a coarse paste from green chillies and ginger and keep aside.
3. Take Oil in a pan. Add Chana Dal and  Urad Dal and fry till it turns red. Add Mustard and Cumin seeds and let them Pop. Add Turmeric, Hing, Curry leaves and Red Chillies and stir fry for few seconds.
4. Add green chillies and ginger paste and cook till the raw smell goes off, for about 1 min.
   
5. Add peeled and cut Bottle Gourd pieces to seasoning and cook covered on a medium flame for another 15-20 minutes. Add water at this stage, if required.
6. Cook till bottle gourd is soft and water evaporates. Add required salt and mix well.
7. Turn off heat and serve hot with Rice.
   

Nuuvu Podi / Spiced Sesame Powder

Ingredients:

• Sesame Seeds - 1 Cup
• Red Chillies - 10 - 12  No's
• Salt - 1 1/2 Tsp or to Taste

Preparations:

1. Heat a pan and dry roast sesame seeds, stirring continuously on a very low flame.
2. Roast till there is no rawness in the seeds and they are golden brown in color. When fully roasted remove the seeds and spread them in a plate to cool. 
3. Take the red chilies and break them into small pieces and fry for one or two more minutes till they become crisp.
4. Take a mixie jar and add roasted Sesame Seeds and red chilies to it. Add the required salt. Now  grind for few seconds using PULSE button. 
5. Store in a air tight jar.

Tips:

• If you grind the sesame seeds for more time oil oozes out and the powder becomes lumpy & tastes oily. So use PULSE button in the mixer grinder and crush the sesame seeds.

Beerakaya (Ridge Gourd) Kura

Ingredients:

• Beerakaya - 2 No's Medium
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 Tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 Tsp
• Urad Dal - 1 Tsp
• Chana Dal - 1 Tsp
• Red Chillies - 1 No's
• Curry Leaves - 1 Strand
• Turmeric - 1/4 Tsp
• Salt - 1 Tsp
• Red Chilli Powder - 1 Tsp
• Hing - 1/4 Tsp
• Oil - 4 Tsps

Preparations:

1. Take Oil in a pan. Add Chana Dal and  Urad Dal and fry till it turns red. Add Mustard and Cumin seeds and let them Pop. Add Turmeric, Hing, Curry leaves and Red Chillies and stir fry for few seconds.
2. Add peeled and cut Ridge Gourd pieces to seasoning and cook  covered on a medium flame for another 15-20 minutes. Cook till water evaporates.
3. Add required Salt and Red chilli powder and mix well.
4. Turn off heat and serve hot with Rice.

Tips:

•  We can also add curry powder to enhance the taste at the end.

Aanapakaya (Bottle Gourd) / Beerakaya Nuvvupodi Kura

Ingredients:

• Aanapakaya - 1 No's Medium
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 Tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 Tsp
• Urad Dal - 1 Tsp
• Chana Dal - 1 Tsp
• Red Chillies - 1 No's
• Curry Leaves - 1 Strand
• Turmeric - 1/4 Tsp
• Salt - 1 Tsp
• Hing - 1/4 Tsp
• Oil - 4 Tsps
• Sesame Seeds Powder - 3 Tsps

Preparations:

1. Take Oil in a pan. Add Chana Dal and  Urad Dal and fry till it turns red. Add Mustard and Cumin seeds and let them Pop. Add Turmeric, Hing, Curry leaves and Red Chillies and stir fry for few seconds.
2. Add peeled and cut Bottle Gourd pieces to seasoning and cook covered on a medium flame for another 15-20 minutes. Add water at this stage, if required.
3. Cook till bottle gourd is soft and water evaporates.
4. Add required Salt and Sesame seeds powder and mix well.
5. Turn off heat and serve hot with Rice.

Tips:

•  We can also use  Birakaya / Ridge Gourd instead of Aanapakaya and do the same curry.
• Add little salt as sesame seeds powder also has salt in it. 
  
• Refer to Nuvvu podi recipe for Sesame seeds powder.

Curd Rice / Daddojanam

Ingredients:

• Raw Rice - 1 Cup
• Curd/Plain Yogurt - 1 Cup
• Milk - 1/2 Cup
• Coriander  - 3 Springs
• Curry Leaves - 2 Strands
• Green Chillies - 4 No's
• Ginger - 1Tsp
• Salt - 1 Tsp or to Taste
• Asafoetida - 1/4 Tsp
• Oil - 3 Tbsps
• Mustard - 1 Tsp
• Cumin - 1/2 Tsp
• Urad Dal - 1 Tsp

Preparations:

1. Wash the rice thrice and pressure cook with 3 cups of water for 5 whistles in medium flame. Once done, mash the rice well and mix milk.Add more water if needed.
2. Let it cool down.Add the curd and mix well.
3. Add finely chopped green chillies, ginger, salt and mix well.
4. Heat a pan and add oil to it. Add mustrad, cumin,urad dal and fry well. Add chopped curry leaves and asafoetida. Add this to the rice mixture and mix well.
5. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Note:

• Instead of milk, you can ad hot water too,but milk gives richness to the curd rice.
• You can also add the grated ingredients like carrot, cucumber and mango, but are optional.Sometimes instead of veggies, some people will add fruits like Grapes, pomegranate and apple.

Sambar

Ingredients:

• Toor Dal - 1/2 cup 
• Tamarind - 1 Tbsp (Gooseberry Size)
• Ladies finger - 12 No's
• Onion - 1 Medium (Small Shallots or Regular)
• Tomato - 1 Medium
• Green chillies - 4 No's
• Sambar powder - 1 1/2tsps (Home made or MTR Powder)
• Turmeric - 1/4 Tsp 
• Salt - 1 1/2 Tsps or To Taste 
• Jaggery - 1 Tsp
• Water - As Required
• Oil - 3 Tsp
• Mustard - 1 Tsp
• Methi Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Jeera - 1 Tsp
• Asafoetida (Hing) - 1/4 Tsp
• Curry leaves - 1 Spring
• Coriander - 2 Springs

Preparations:

1. Soak tamarind in hot water.Pressure cook 1/2 cup dal with 1 1/4 cups of water for 4 whistles. 
2. Clean and pat dry ladies finger with a clean kitchen towel. Cut into 1 inch pieces. 
3. Cube onion, tomato and slit green chillies.
4. Heat a pan and add oil for tempering. Add Mustard, after it splutters, add Methi seeds followed by Jeera. Add asafoetida and then curry leaves. Add onion, fry till transparent and then add green chilli.
5. Add tomatoes and fry for a minute. Add cut ladies finger and fry in a medium flame stirring 
6. occasionally to avoid burning.
7. Mean while, extract tamarind juice and add to it.Add water and bring it to boil. 
8. Add turmeric, sambar powder, asafoetida,jaggery and salt. Boil until the ladies finger gets cooked. 
9. Roughly mash the cooked dal with a ladle.Add dal to the boiling sambar and boil for 5 minutes or until the required consistency arrives. 
10. Garnish with fresh curry leaves and coriander leaves.

Note: 

You can also add any other vegetables like Carrot, Bottlegaurd, Brinjal, Drumsticks,Green Peas, Beans  etc...

Peanut Chutney

Ingredients:

• Peanuts/Groundnuts - 1 Cup
• Chana Dal - 1 Tbps
• Urad Dal - 1 Tbsp
• Green Chillies - 4 to 5 No's
• Ginger - Small Piece (Optional)
• Salt - As Needed
• Water - As Required
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 Tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 Tsp
• Hing - 1/4 Tsp
• Curry Leaves - Few
• Oil - 2 Tsps

Preparations:

1. Dry roast peanuts in low flame to ensure even roasting. Once its is crisp, transfer to a plate for cooling and roast channa and urad dal. Cool everything. Remove the skin of the peanuts completely.
2. Place in the mixer and grind with green chillies, ginger (if desired), salt and water. Grind smoothly.
3. Heat oil for tempering in a small pan. Add mustard seeds , jeera and allow them to splutter. Add Hing and curry leaves and turn off the heat. Pour the tempering over the chutney and mix well.
4. Serve this hotel style coconut chutney along side with idli or dosa.