Vendakka Puli - Imli Bhindi/Okra/Ladies Finger Gravy

Ingredients:

• Ladies Finger - 4 to 5
• Tamarind / Imli - 1 small lemon size
• Soak it in water and keep the essence after squeezing. ( 2 cups)
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt - 1 1/2 tsp or as required
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Chili Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Jaggery / Sugar - 3 tablespoon
• Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Black gram / Urad Dal - 1/2 teaspoon
• Bengal gram / Chana Dal / Kadala Parippu - 1/2 teaspoon
• Sesame / Til Oil - 1 tablespoon
• Wheat / Corn powder - 2 teaspoon (for thickening)

Preparation Steps:

1. Cut ladies finger into small pieces and keep it aside.
2. Heat the oil and splatter Mustard seeds, Black gram and Bengal gram.
3. Add ladies finger pieces into it.
4. Saute until the texture changes.
5. Add tamarind paste, turmeric powder, chilli powder, asafoetida, salt and jaggery.
6. Boil till it reduces to 1 1/2 cup.
7. Mix the wheat powder with 1 tbsp water.
8. Add this mixture to the boiling gravy.
9. Serve hot with Molakoottal.

Ovenless Steamed Choclate Cake Inspired

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour / Maida - 1 1/2 Cups
• Curd - 1 Cup (Not sour, in room temperature)
• Cooking Soda - 1/2 teaspoon
• Baking Powder - 1 1/4 teaspoon
• Cocoa Powder - 3 tablespoon
• Sunflower Oil - 1/2 Cup
• Sugar - 3/4 Cup
• Vanilla Essence - 1 teaspoon
• Butter - 1/2 teaspoon
• Aluminium Foils for covering

Preparation Steps:

1. Grind Sugar, Cooking Soda, Baking Powder and Cocoa powder.
2. Add this powder to Curd and mix it very well.
3. Keep it aside closed for 5 Minutes. You should be seeing small bubbles coming out of this mixture.
4. Add Vanilla Essence to this and mix it.
5. Add Sunflower Oil to this.
6. Add Maida and mix it gently.
7. Transfer this mixture onto cake tin. 
1. Smear butter into vessel.
2. Add maida and tilt vessel so that maida is evenly applied in the vessel. 
3. Remove the excess flour. 
8. Cover this using Aluminium foil so that no vapour is entertained.
9. Steam this for 30 minutes in pressure cooker.
10. Allow it to cool and turn it upside down.
11. Cut into pieces and serve.

Chef's Note: This is not my recipe, but got this from another website. I was so impressed with this preparation that I could not stop trying and posting the information here. This is not an exact steps of reproduction of the recipe I found out, but has some changes as per my convenience.

Chef's Diary: You can use the batter (till step 6) as bread spread. The taste will be similar to nutella.

Kadai Pizza (No Oven)

Ingredients: 

• Pizza Base
• Pizza Sauce/Topping
• Vegetables (Capsicum, Corn, Onion, Tomato etc)
• Processed Cheese/Pizza Cheese
• Paneer
• Pizza seasoning (Oregano, Basil, Chilli Flakes etc) 

Preparation Step 1:

• Saute the vegetables (excluding tomato) and keep it aside.

Preparation Step 2:

• Spread Pizza sauce/topping on the Pizza base. 
• Spread shredded cheese on the surface.
• Put vegetables and Paneer on top of the cheese.
• Put more cheese as an outer layer.
• Cook in slim fire in a non-stick pan with lid closed for about 5 minutes (or till the cheese starts melting).

Tip: If you want the pizza crust to be roasted/thick pour half tsp. of oil and keep it for 2 to 3 minutes.

Enjoy your Pizza.

Chef's Diary: Its more than a year that I was planning to try the pizza at home. Only now I could prepare it. As it was my first time I bought the Pizza crust/base and the Pizza sauce. I am waiting for the time when I prepare both. I will share the ingredients and the steps to prepare the pizza once I try. Till then happy cooking time.