Simply Pan Cakes

Ingredients:

Maida/All Purpose Flour- 1cup
Baking Powder - 1tsp
Baking Soda - pinch
Milk - 3/4cup
Sugar- 2tbsp
Salt - pinch for taste
Egg - 1
Butter - 2tbsp (optional) can be replaced with oil.

Procedure:

• Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar with a whisk and keep aside.
• In another bowl add milk along with butter/oil and mix gently with a whisk and add the egg and mix it for 2mins. 
• Now add the flour mix into the milk mixture slowly and mix it with the whisk and make sure there are no lumps and keep it aside for 10-15mins.
• Heat the skillet/dosa pan on medium heat.
• Grease it with butter and add one full laddle of the batter in the middle of the pan.(a perfect batter will get some small bubbles on top of the pan cake when poured on the pan.) We can add more than one if we have a big pan and want to make small pan cakes as shown in picture.

• When the bubbles on it popped, gently flip them onto another side and cook it, serve. 
• Repeat the process with the remaining batter and serve them hot with honey or maple syrup.

Note:

1. Make sure that the pan is not too hot as it may burn the edges of the pan cake and loose its fluffyness.
2. You can use just the baking soda and 1tsp vinegar inspite of egg if you are a vegan and want to avoid egg.
3. After flipping if you cover it with a lid and cook, makes more softer and fluffy pan cakes.

Kandi Podi/Putnala pappu podi

Ingredients:

Chana Dal - 1 cup
Kandi Pappu- 1/4cup
Putnala Pappu / Dalia - 3tbsp
Dhaniyalu - 2tbsp
Jeera - 2tsp
Red chillis - 5 to 6
Curry leaves - 1 bunch (optional) 
Salt to taste

Procedure:
1. Dry roast chana dal, kandi pappu and when they are half way add the remaining items including salt and roast for another 5 mins and let it cool.
2. When cool transfer it into mixie jar and grind it into a fine or course powder as per your taste and store it in an air tight container.

Tips:

• This podi goes good with hot rice along with sesame oil or ghee.
• Very good with idlis. Can mix with oil or dry podi is also fine.
• You can use more putnala pappu (equal proportions with that of chana dal) if you like that taste more. 

Pappu Chekkalu/Chekka Vadalu

Ingredients:

Rice Flour - 3cups
Maida - 2 cups
Green Chillis - 12
Chana Dal - 1/4 cup
Chilli powder - 1tsp
Ajwain seeds/Vamu - 2tsp
Butter - 1/4 cup
Oil for deep frying
Oil - 5tsp for making Chekkalu
Curry leaves - few
Salt - 2 1/2 tsps

Procedure:

• Soak chana dal for 2-3hours and keep aside.
• In a large mixing bowl take rice flour, maida, salt, chilli powder, ajwain seeds, chopped curry leaves, soaked chana dal and mix well.
• Now crush the green chillis, jeera in the hand grinder or mixie and mix it into the flour.
• Heat butter and add that into the flour and mix well. 
• Now add little water at a time and mix well till the dough is similar to chapati dough. (for right consistency test make sure that the dough is not sticky to hands while mixing).
• Take thick polythene cover (preferably any ziploc cover) to roll these chekkalu. 
• Add 1-2 drops of oil on the ploythene cover and place small ball of the dough on it and press it with fingers evenly till they are thin round shapes as shown in the picture.

• Now heat oil for deep frying and add these pappu chekkalu one by one into it and fry till they are golden in color.

          (Make sure they are not too dark. Because dark colored chekkalu may taste bitter)

• Repeat the process with the remaining dough and let them cool and store it in a dry air tight container. 

Tomato Rasam

Ingredients:

Tomatoes - 2 (medium)/3 (small)
Pepper Corns - 1/2 tsp
Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp
Green chillis - 2
Rasam Powder - 1tsp
Garlic pods - 3
Coriander leaves -  for garnishing

For popu/tadka:

Ghee - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing - pinch
Methi seeds - 6 or 7

Procedure:

• Boil tomatoes in 3 glasses of water for 5 to 10 mins till they are soft.
• Now take only the tomatoes from the water and peel the skin, mash them soft and then add this mixture, salt, rasam powder into the water above again.
• Course grind the garlic pods, green chillis with hand grinder and keep aside.
• Heat oil,ghee in a separate skillet and add all the tadka items and when the mustard seeds started spluttering add the above grinded mixture, pepper powder, jeera powder and fry for 2 mins and add this to the boiling rasam and let it boil for 5 to 10 mins.
• Lastly add the coriander on top and serve it hot with rice. 

Simple Nilava Tomato Pachadi/Pickle Andhra Style

Ingredients:

Tomatoes- 3lb (around 11-12 medium size tomatoes)
Mustard seeds- 1tsp
Turmeric- 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder- 2 1/2 tbsp
Salt - 3tsp
Tamarind - small piece (add only if the tomatoes are not so tangy)
Vinegar- 1tsp (optional)
Methi seeds - 2tsp
Oil- 2tbsp

For tempering/popu:

Oil - 1/8cup
Mustard seeds- 1tsp
Red Chillis- 5
Curry leaves - 15 to 20
Hing- Pinch
Garlic- 6 whole pods (cut into rounds)

Procedure:

• Dry roast methi seeds till they are lightly brown in color and when slightly the aroma of the seeds comes out and transfer it into the blender. Let it cool and make into powder.
• Cut tomatoes by removing the upper part and keep aside.
• Heat the pan and add oil, mustard seeds and when they start spluttering add cut tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes on high heat till they are soft and reduce the flame to medium low.(make sure the tomatoes are cooked without the lid on it)
• Meanwhile add chilli powder, salt, tamarind, vinegar and keep mixing. 
• Cook it till oil separates from the tomatoes. For this it may take around 45mins to 1hour on medium flame.
• When all the water evaporates and oil oozes from the puree add the methi seed powder, mix well, switch of the flame and let it cool. 
• Heat oil in a separate pan and add all the tadka items mentioned above and when mustard seeds starts spluttering switch off the flame. Add this to the tomato mix and let them cool completely. 
• Transfer it into a dry, air-tight container and store it in refrigerator. 
• This pickle goes well idlis, dosas and also with hot rice.

Tip: 
To make it into chutney you can add 1tbsp of pickle into 1cup of yogurt and mix well.