Method:
In a pan heat sugar and water together until the sugar dissolves in the water. Deseed the black cardamom. Add the sugar syrup, black cardamom seeds and ghee to the wheat flour. Knead well and make stiff dough. Roll it to about 1/8″ inch and cut it using a sharp edged lid or a cookie cutter. Deep fry the cut pieces in ghee until it turns reddish brown on either sides.

Garnish it with poppy seeds. This is Roath or say a biscuit version of the Roath made during Kashmiri festival, Pun.

Ingredients:
All purpose flour – 1 cup (heaped)
Sugar – 1 cup
Canola oil – 1/2 cup
Eggs – 3 large
Baking powder – 1tsp (heaped)
Baking soda – a pinch (or maybe 1/8 tsp)
Vanilla essence – 1tbsp
Yoghurt – 1-2 Tbsp
Walnuts – To garnish

Method:
Mix the eggs, oil and sugar with a hand mixer for about a minute. To this mixture add the vanilla essence and mix it well. Now add the all purpose flour and mix it. To this add 1tbsp yoghurt, baking powder, baking soda and mix well. If the batter appears very thick, you can add 1 more tbsp yoghurt and mix well (This step is completely optional). Pour it over a greased baking dish (I used a 8-inch x 2-inch round dish). Garnish with walnuts or anything you like.

Preheat the oven at 350F and bake for about 25-40 mins (Oven settings vary). So keep a watch on the cake from 25 mins.

Method:
Soak the broken wheat and dal for 15 minutes.Drain and keep aside. Boil 2 cups of water and keep aside. Heat the pressure cooker, add cumin seeds, cloves and cardamom and dry roast for 30 seconds. Add the onions,ginger-garlic paste and dry roast for few seconds. Add the Broken wheat, moong dal, peas and tomatoes and dry roast for a minute while stirring continuously.Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, salt and hot water. Mix well and pressure cook for 3 whistles. Stir well and serve hot with curd.

Bottlegourd – ½ Kg
Milk – 600 ml
Ghee – 3 tbsp
Roasted Cashewnuts – 10
Sugar – ¼ Cup
Powdered Green cardamom – ½ tsp

Method:

Wash, peel and grate the bottlegourd. Heat milk and reduce it to 2/3rd of the original quantity. Heat ghee in a pan and add the grated gourd and sauté for about 7 minutes.  Add reduced milk and cook stirring continuously till the liquid content is evaporated. Add sugar, cardamom powder and mix thoroughly. Serve hot or cold with grated cashewnuts.

Method:
Wash and Soak the basmati rice in a cup of water for about 2 hours. Drain and keep aside.  Peel and powder the cardamom. Soak saffron in a tablespoon of warm milk. Heat milk in a pan and bring it to boil. Add rice to the boiling milk and simmer. Cook stirring continuously till the milk reduces to one-third of the original quantity. Add sugar and mix well, by partially crushing the rice. On a low flame, heat ghee  in a pan and roast the cashewnuts. Add cardamom powder, saffron milk and roasted cashewnuts to the rice and milk mixture. Rice kheer is now ready. This can be served either hot or cold.

Kalpana’s tip for Roasted cashewnuts:
I tried toasting the cashewnuts raw, without ghee, but the results were not satisfactory and so decided to use a dash of ghee. This helps in roasting the cashewnuts uniformly.

Method:
Clean the moong dal and pressure cook it with 1.5 cups of water for 2 whistles. The dal should not be mashed. Beat the curd with chilli powder and turmeric powder.Heat oil in a pan, add asafoetida,the mustard seeds, and the curry leaves. Add the moong dal and mix gently. Add the green chilli-ginger paste, salt, and the beaten curds and mix well. Simmer for 10 to 15 mins. If the curds are not sour, add about 1/2 tsp of lemon juice. This dish is best served with rice.

Courtesy: Tarla Dalal – Dals

Method:
Grind the grated coconut and the broken cashewnuts into a paste. Heat oil in a pan and sauté the lady fingers in oil until crisp.  Heat the oil again; add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and urad dal. When they crackle, add the red chillies and curry leaves. Add the onions and sauté until it is golden in colour. Add the tomatoes, chilli powder, turmeric powder, the ground paste and salt and fry until the oil comes out from the sides. Add 1¼ cups of water to the curds, beat well and add it to the mixture. Add the sautéed bhindi and cook for a few minutes.

Finely chopped fenugreek (Methi) leaves – 1 cup
Toovar dal – 1 cup
Jaggery – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – a pinch
Chilli powder – 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Ghee – 2 tbsp
Asafoetida – a pinch
Crushed Garlic – 4 cloves

Method:

Clean, wash and soak the dal in water for about 30 minutes. Drain the water. Pressure cook the dal with turmeric  powder, salt and 3 cups of water till the dal is done.Whisk well, add ½ cup of water, jaggery and chilli powder and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, heat the ghee in a small pan and add the asafoetida and garlic.Sauté till the garlic turns golden brown.Add the fenugreek leaves and sauté for 2 minutes.Pour this tempering over the cooked dal and mix well.

This dish is best served with rice.

To be ground into a paste:
Soak rice, channa dal and toor dal together for 15 to 20 minutes. Grind the soaked dals and rice, coconut, cumin seeds, ginger, and green chillies into paste.

Method:
Beat the curd with salt,turmeric and the ground paste. Bring it to a boil.  Add the tempering to this curd mixture. Garnish with finely chopped coriander.

For tempering:
Heat oil in a pan. Add asafoetida, mustard seeds and let the mustard seeds splutter. To this add Ajwain, dry red chilli pieces, curry leaves and fry for 10 secs.

Amma’s tip: You can also add few fried pieces of Okra or pumpkin to the beaten curd before bringing the curd to a boil.

This in my opinion is Tamil version of Kashmiri Yakhni or Punjabi Kadhi. This dish is known as மோர் கொழம்பு. This is best served with rice.

Method:
Heat 2 tbsp oil on a flat pan. Fry the Tofu cubes till both sides turn golden brown in color. Boil the spinach with 1/2 cup of water in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle. Remove the steam. Alternatively you can blanch the spinach in a big vessel of boiling water. Drain excess water, and blend the boiled spinach into a smooth purée. Heat 2tbsp oil in a pan and fry the onions till they turn translucent.Add the garlic, ginger, green chillies and turmeric powder and fry again for about 20 seconds. Add the tomatoes and fry stirring continuously till the mixture leaves oil. (If interested,you can blend the fried ginger, green chillies, onion and tomatoes). Mix this with the spinach purée, fried Tofu, garam masala, salt  and 1/2 – 1 cup of water and bring the mixture to boil.

You can also use Paneer instead of Tofu. This dish is known as Palak Paneer