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Our main food is rice, we use it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. On “fasting days”, we eat rice only once in a day. Other meals, we eat something that is made of wheat or other lentils/floors.

I make these dosas on such days. Moong dal is beleived to be cold on the digestive system and the body. It is rich in proteins. Ginger and green chillies give a very nice flavor to dosas. Since these do not require fermentation, a lot of planning is not required. These are similar to pesarattu and adai, but slightly different.

Ingredients:
1 cup urad dal
1 cup moong dal
2 tea spns ginger pieces
3-4 green chillies
Oil
Salt

Method:
Soak urad dal and moong dal in water for about 2hrs. Grind them along with ginger, green chillies and salt to a smooth batter (of dosa batter consistency). Instead of grinding ginger and green chillies to the batter, they can also be mixed to the ground batter.
Heat tava and make thin dosas. Cook them from both sides like any other dosas.
Serve hot with ginger chutney.

Serves : 5-6
Preparation time : 30mins

PS: 1 cup of red masoor dal can also be added to the dosas along with moong and urad dal.

This is a chutney based on a coconut chutney I tasted at my cousin’s home during Christmas holidays. We both loved the chutney. When I came back, I made a different version of that chutney. I had a very little coconut in my fridge, so I mixed both coconut and onion. It turned out delicious. I have been making this chutney with dosas and idlis ever since.

Ingredients:
1 cup onion
3/4 cup fresh/frozen coconut
1 tea spn coriander seeds
6-7 red chillies
1 tea spn jaggery
1/2 tea spn tamarind extract
1″ ginger
Oil
Salt

Method:
Heat oil and add coriander seeds. Fry for a minute. Add red chillies, onion and fry till onions are translucent. Add coconut and fry for few minutes. Grind with all other ingredients to a smooth paste (add very less water to help in grinding).

Serves : 4-5
Preparation time : 20mins

According to Wiki
Chili con carne (literally “Chili with meat”, often known simply as chili) is a spicy stew made from chili peppers, meat, garlic, onions, and cumin. Traditional chili is made with chopped or ground beef. Variations, either geographic or by personal preference, may substitute different types of meat and may also include tomatoes, beans, or other ingredients.

I have been watching different chili recipes on TV and blogs for a long time now, but somehow never tried to make one at home. There is no question of eating it out, as I haven’t seen a vegetarian or chicken only version in restaurants here. I was very interested when my colleague Tracy told me he has a very good vegetarian chili recipe that he will share with me. As soon as he gave it to me, I tried it. We both enjoyed the sweetish spicy chili on a very cold day. V had a weired way of eating it, he added some sev on top and claimed it tasted a lot like chaat. I loved it as it is.

I did not have some of the ingredients in my pantry, so I used whatever I had. I will mention my changes in brackets.

Ingredients:
1 medium-sized butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes (1 acorn squash)
2 medium sized carrots, diced (3/4 cup chopped carrots)
1 medium sized onion, diced (3/4 cup chopped onion)
3 tbl spn chili powder (1 tea spn chilli powder)
28oz can plum tomatoes (8 oz can tomato sauce)
4oz can chopped mild green chiles (1 tea spn chilli flakes)
1 cup vegetable broth or water
3/4 tsp. salt or to taste
2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained (1/2 cup black beans soaked overnight and pressure cooked)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Low-fat sour cream for garnish (Did not use this)
Olive oil

Method:
In a large pot over medium high heat, heat olive oil. Add squash and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, remove. In same pan, heat remaining olive oil and cook carrots and onion until well browned. Add tomato sauce, chilies, vegetable broth(or water), and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, stir in black beans and butternut squash and cook on a medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer another 15 minutes or until squash is tender and chili thickens. Stir in cilantro. Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top.

Serves : 4-5
Preparation time : 30mins