Cucumber Chutney

This recipe is from cookbook "Cooking at home with Pedatha. An authentic recipe of Andhra. The blend of tamarind, flavour of sesame seeds powder with cucumber gives a petulant taste. It goes well with chapathis.rotis and dosas.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cucumber peeled and chopped in 1inch long and 1/2 inch cube
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder 
• 2 tsp Sambar powder
• 1 1/2 tsp Sesame seeds  
• 1 tbsp Jaggery
• 3 tbspTamarind pulp
• Oil
• Salt to taste
• Coriender leaves for garnish  

Tempering:

• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp black gram
• 2 red chilies
• 1/4 tsp Asafoetida powder
• few curry leaves 

• Dry roast the sesame seeds and grind to fine powder. keep aside
• Heat 2 tbsp oil in a medium saucepan, add mustard seeds when it splutters add black gram,curry leaves, red chilies and asafortida powder.
• Add chopped cucumber and saute for min, add turmeric, tamarind, sambar powder, sesame seeds powder, jaggery. Cover and cook in a low flame until the cucumber are tender.
• Laslty, add the salt, mix well and granish with finely chopped coriender leaves.

Kiwifruit Pistacho Bread

I have been looking for Kiwifruit recipes on web and found this one interesting and simple. I made this with little of variation by adding nutty kutty pistachos and a desi touch by adding cardamom powder. It tastes bit sour-sweet with wonderful caradamom aroma.

5-6 med. ripe kiwi fruits
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup chopped pistachos
1/4 tsp cardamom powder

Wash and peel the fruit. Chop finely  to make 1 1/2 cups.
Heat a pan add chopped fruit and sugar.
Bring to a boil, stirring until fruit loses some of its color. Allow to cool.
Beat eggs and oil well.
 Blend together flour, baking powder and salt.
Add the baking soda to cooked kiwi mixture. Stir until bubbles form.
Add this to the egg mixture and then add flour mixture, Pistachos and cardamom powder to it.
Stir until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour the mixture into a well greased loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees about 55 minutes.
Cool in pan 10 minutes and turn out onto wire rack.

Enjoy when its warm or at room temperature.

Bitter Gourd fry

Because of it's bitterness, for some it's a favourite and for some it's not.
From Health standpoint, consuming of cooked bittermelon reduces risk of diabetics, bloodpressure and diffferent kinds of cancer.

Ingredients:
4 Bitter Gourd
1 Onion sliced
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chili powder or depending on your taste
1 tbsp coriender powder
2 tbsp fennel seeds crushed
oil to fry
Salt

Peel the bittergourd and wash thoroughly. Cut in to round thin slices and add salt, mix and keep aside for about 3 hours.
Wash out thoroughly again and squeeze out excess water.
Heat the oil and fry the bittergourd unitl golden.
In a medium saucepan heat 2 tbsp oil add sliced onions and saute it until golden. Now, mix all the masala and salt as required and saute for a min.
Lastly, add fried bittergourd mix well, cover and cook for 4-5 mins in low flame.

It goes well with curd rice.