You would require:
1 cup poha (which is flattened rice), 1 liter of whole cream milk, 5 almonds, 5 pistachios, 5 cardamoms powdered, 1 cup sugar, 4-5 cashews broken, 15-20 raisins, water and little bit of salt.

Wash and drain the poha. Leave it for 10 minutes.  Separate the poha grains using your fingers from the vessel. Boil the milk in a large vessel and when the milk starts boiling add poha and stire gently in it. Bring the mixture to boil. Simmer till the milk volume reduces to half. Stir occasionally once or twice. It is time add sugar and cardamom, stir it to dissolve. Add the raisins and cashews. Simmer the whole mixture for 2 minutes and garnish with chopped almonds and pistachios. The aval payasam is ready.

Masala Dosa

Masala dosa is a very popular south Indian recipe which you can find in almost all types of fast food joints in India and restaurants. The masala dosa is the most popular recipe among south Indian dishes in other parts of India.

You would require:
2 ½ cup uncooked rice, 1 cup of urad dal preferably whole, 2 tablespoon fenugreek, salt to taste and 2 table spoon cooking oil. For Masala you would require 3 boiled potatoes peeled and chopped, 1 onion chopped, 2 chillies, 1 tbsp turmeric powder, 1 tbsp chana dal, ½ tbsp mustard seed, salt to taste and coriander leaves if you wish.

You have to soak the urad dal, rice and fenugreek seeds separately for at least 8 hours in water. Now grind them well together using the requisite amount of water to make a fine paste. Add salt and set the mixture aside for fermentation for the whole day.

Now when you are ready to prepare masala dosa, cut the onions, and arrange the rest of ingredients to prepare the masala dosa. Sauté the chopped onion in a pan with cooking oil and add mustard seeds, chana dal, and chilly to the sauté onion. Fry till they are brown in color. Add salt and the chopped potatoes, turmeric, chilly powder continuously. Cook it for few minutes. It is time now to pour the ladle on a non-stick pan and give it a circular shape. Put little oil around it and turn around while bubbling appears. Now fill the center of the dosa with the masala (one spoon) prepared. Fold the dosa to cover the masala. The dosa is ready to be served with chutney of coconut and sambhar.

The South Indian food is loved by folks because of their simple preparation techniques and the nutrition value which remains intact in their recipes. You can prepare quickly some South Indian recipes without compromising the taste, aroma and nutrition of food. All you need is to arrange the ingredients of the required recipes. Remember, the South Indian Food are very much taste oriented and if you minus one ingredient, perhaps there may be some chance of mission the origin flavor of it. For example a lot people prepare dosa a popular dish of south India without fenugreek seeds in them which reduce the taste of the dosa to a large extent.

Here are few simple yet healthy recipes of South India Food which you can prepare in your home in no time.

Carrot Rice

This is a yummy dish of South India Cuisine and served as quick breakfast or lunch at homes.

The ingredients:
2 cups of basmati rice cooked well. 1 cup of fresh carrot grated and 1 onion chopped finely. 2 green chillies, ½ cuped boiled peas, 1 tabsp urad dal, 1 tbsp cashew nuts, 1 tbsp mustard seeds, salt to taste, ½ tbsp red chilly powder, ½ tbsp turmeric powder, 4 tbsp lemon juice, coriander leaves, oil for cooking and little bit of cumin.

Take a shallow pan and heat 2 tbspoon of oil. Add the mustard seeds, when they strart spluttering add the urad dal and cashew nuts. Sauté the mixture in oil in low flame till they are brown in color and add turmeric powder, chilly powder, and salt. Now mix the grated carrot and boiled peas and sprinkle with water. Keep the pan cover in low flame till the carrots are tender. Now add lemon juice and add the boiled rice to the pan. With a cooking spoon mix the rice well with the stuff in the pan. Cook for another 3-4 minutes in medium flame. Garnish with coriander leaves. The delicious carrot rice is ready.

Chettinad Chicken

This chicken recipe is very popular throughout India because of its preparation style and nutrition value.

The ingredients:
1 kg of chicken washed can cut into bite pieces. Ginger garlic paste, 2 onions chopped, 1 ½ tsp black peppercorns, 1 ½ tsp white poppy seeds, 2 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 twigs of curry leaves, 2 tbsp fennel seeds, 4 green chillies, salt to taste, 1 tbsp turmeric powder, 1 tbsp chilly powder, cooking oil, 1 tomato mashed properly and coriander leaves for garnishing.

Smear the chicken pieces in salt, turmeric powder, chilly powder and little oil properly. Heat the oil in a large shallow pan, add cumin seeds, fennel seeds, chopped onion, and fry till they are brown in color. Add the black peppercorns, poppy seeds, green chilies, curry leaves to it and sauté the spices properly. Keep the mixture aside and now add the remaining onion and ginger garlic paste to the oil and fry till they are brown in color. Add the smashed tomato, coriander powder, sauted spices, and rest of powders of turmeric and chilly. Mix the mixture well and if require sprinkle water over it. Now add the chicken and add salt for taste. Fry the mixture in medium flame for at least 6 minutes. Pour some amount of water and cover the lid of the pan and cook for 15 minutes. The gravy would turn almost dry. When the chicken becomes tender and the gravy quite thick put off the flame and cover the lid for another 5 minutes. The Chettinad chicken is ready to be served with hot bun or rice.

The traditional Hyderabadi cuisine are known for their spicy flavor, hot fragrance, liberal use of exotic spices, ghee and use of dry fruits in most items. They use the meat of lamb extensively as a non-vegetarian food. The delectable recipes of Hyderabad are famous throughout the world. Tourists flocking to India rarely miss the chance to visit the place of historic importance and get a taste of the cuisine.

Here are few recipes of Hyderbadi Food:

Beef Korma

Though beef is not eaten by majority sections in India, yet the item is very popular in South India. Beef korma is a delectable dish of Hyderabad and it is served well with hot tandoori rotis or rice.

You would require:
2 lbs of beef cut into pieces of 1 inch. ¼ cups of sliver almonds, 8 cloves of garlic, 7 cloves preferably whole, 1 tbsp ginger-root which is chopped coarsely, 1 tbsp coriander seed, 1 tbsp cumin seeds, 1 tbsp cardamom seed with pods, 1 tbsp red peppers crushed, 1 ½ tbsp salt, 1 tbsp ground cinnamon, 6 tbsp cooking oil, 3 medium onions sliced very thinly and separated, ¾ cup of whipping cream, ½ cup plain yogurt, 2 tbsp flour, ¼ tbsp garam-masala, 2 tbsp parsley or you can choose snipped coriander, water of required amount.

Combine all the spices and blend them in a blender to fine powder. Add little water, and then blanched almond, cloves of garlic, ginger-root, salt and grounded cinnamon to the mixture and blend them well till the mixture is in the form of paste. Boil the meat and then deep fry them in cooking oil. Now it is time to fry the onion on a big pan and add all the blended ingredients into it. Sauté till the color is deep brown. Now add the meat and pour ½ cup of water to the pan. Cover the pan for simmering the whole stuff for 45 minutes till the meat becomes tender and keep on stirring from time to time. Now stir the yoghurt, adding whipping cream, garam-masala and flour to it. Cook and stir the whole stuff till the gravy is thickened. Garnish the cooked korma with coriander leaves and the beef korma is ready to be served hot.

Hyderabadi Biryani

Ingredients required:
720 gm of mutton finely cut into bite pieces, 400 gm of rice parboiled, 4 tbsp lime juice, 10 blanched almonds, ½ tbsp mint leaves, 1 cup butter, 1 handful of chopped coriander leaves, ½ tbsp cumin seeds, 1 large sliced onion, 3-4 cardamom, 3 tbsp oil, 5-6 pods of garlic, 3-4 cloves, ginger finely grated, ½ tbsp saffron, 2-3 green chillies chopped, 1 cinnamon, ½ kg curd, 130 mg milk, 4 cups of water.

Wash the rice and boil it in a cooker. Soak the saffron in water. Now fry the sliced onions in the oil till they are brown in color. Put it aside. Fry the garlic, ginger, red chillies and almonds in fresh butter, add mutton to it and salt and stir the mixture well. Add little amount of friend onions to it. Now add water and cook on low flame till the meat is tender and some thick gravy is left. Put curd in a muslin cloth and let the water to drain away. Mix the cardamom, cumin seed, min leaves, chopped chillies, coriander in the drained curd. Strain the saffron water and add lemon juice to it. Add all these to the mutton on the pan and mix well. Now sprinkle half of the boiled rice and spread a layer of friend onion and then the rest of rice over it again. Pour the milk and some butter over it. Cover the vessel and seal the edges with flour paste. Place the can on flame for about 45 minutes. The biryani is ready for serving with chutney and raita.

Life without sweetness is boring. Sweets have always been the integral part of Indian cuisine. Perhaps no where in the world you would come across such a variety of sweets that are predominantly available in every nook and corner of the market streets in India. Along with chat-patas the sweet is another favorite item for evening snacks as well as after meal servings. The sweet dishes are different from Western dishes in the sense they are prepared never with the concept of calorie but taste and richness. They aid in digestion and are normally consumed after taking a good meal.

An Indian meal almost remains incomplete without the sweet dishes. Here are few recipes of popular Indian sweets which are available in all corners of the country.

Khir

Ingredients you would require:
milk 2 liters, 4 tablespoon of sugar, 200 gm of pure basmati rice, few raisins, dry fruits, sliced almonds, chopped cahew nuts, a little bit of permitted color if required and bay leaves.

Heat the milk in a large pan and simmer it till it reduces to 3 quarters of its original volume. Now add the rice on it and let it get cooked for 10 minutes. The milk volume will be now reduced to half. Add sugar and heat for 1 minute. It is time to add the bay leaves, raisins, cashew nuts, almonds and dry fruits. Keep stirring while you put the ingredients in the khir. Cook for another 3-4 minutes. The khir is ready. But don’t serve it hot. Khir is usually served when it is cold and the taste of cold khir is very captivating after a good meal.

Rosogulla

Ingredients you would require:
1 kg of cottage cheese, sugar 1 kg, water 1 ½ liters, ghee 5 tablespoons, semolina 2 tbsp, standard-flour 2 tbsp, rose water few drops and cardamom powder. Sometimes permitted color and flavors are also used.

How to Prepare Rosogulla?

Pour the water in a deep pan and add sugar. Boil the mixture for 20-30 minutes till the volume is reduced to ¾.  Put aside the syrup prepared. Now it is time to prepare the rosogulla balls. Take a mid size bowl which can hold the cottage cheese. Add the cottage cheese to ghee, standard flour, semolina, and cardamom powder. Mix the entire ingredients together fine that they form dough. It must be soft enough to make the balls. Knead the prepared dough evenly until your palm becomes oily.

Now you can make the balls of rosogolla using the dough. Make the balls not less than 1 ½ inches of diameter. Add the prepared balls in the sugar syrup and get them cooked again for another 20-30 minutes. Now you will notice the balls turning spongy. Put off the flame and let it cool. After 15 minutes you should add the rose water to it. The rosogullas are ready to be served after one hour.

Try out these exotic and tantalizing soups recipes for yourself and your family and I am sure you all would never forget its scrumptious taste ever. So what are you all lovers of soups waiting for? Get into your kitchen and start preparing these exciting and tempting recipes.

Winter soup with rice and cheese balls

Ingredients:
For cheese balls:
2 tbsp cooked rice;2 tbsp grated cheese;2 tbsp chopped parsley;2 level tbsp plain flour;2 pinches chili powder;2 pinch salt; ghee to fry

For soup:
2 onions; 2 potatoes; 4 carrots; 200gm pumpkin; 1/2 teacup fresh cream; 1 teacup milk; cheese balls; salt and pepper to salt; chopped parsley to serve

Method:

For cheese balls:
Mix all the ingredients. Shape into small round balls. Fry them deep in ghee. Serve hot with soup.

For soup:
Cut all the vegetables into big pieces. Wash; add 8 teacups of water and put to cook in a pressure cooker. Blend the mixture in a liquidizer and strain the soup. Add the butter and boil for 10 minutes. Warm the milk. When you want to serve, add the warmed milk, cream, salt and pepper. Add the cheese balls and decorate with chopped parsley.

Fruit and nut soup

Ingredients:
2 sliced potatoes;1 chopped onion;4 chopped spring onions with leaves;4 sticks celery,chopped;200 gm fresh cream;1 tbsp butter; salt and pepper to taste; grated cheese; toasted almonds and grapes to serve

Method:

Heat the butter and fry the onions, spring onions and celery for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and fry again for a little while. Add 4 teacups of water and cook. When cooked, blend in a liquidizer and strain. Boil the soup for a few minutes. Beat the cream and add three-quarters to the soup. Add salt and pepper and mix well. Serve hot topped with the balance cream, grated cheese, almonds and grapes.

Spaghetti and vegetable soup

Ingredients:
100gm spaghetti;4 tomatoes;1 carrot;1 potao;1 tbsp grated cheese;1 bay leaf;1 tbsp cornflour;1 tbsp butter; salt to taste

Method:

Break the spaghetti into pieces and place into a container with water. In another container, place tomatoes with 1 cup of water. Place both containers in pressure cooker and cook for 10 minutes. Extract puree of tomatoes. Drain spaghetti, chop vegetables. Heat the butter in a saucepan; add the vegetables and bay leaf. Fry until vegetables are tender. Add tomato pieces, boiled spaghetti, salt to taste and water. Allow to simmer on a low fire. Add grated cheese just serving.

Protein rich pulses are a must in the Indian meal because they offer much of the nutritional material required for the upkeep of our body system at a lower cost-they are substantially cheaper than meats. you will find all variety of pulses, here in India, from whole to spilt pulses like sabat urad (whole black gram), chana dal (spilt Bengal gram) with or without skin, lentils like arhar dal (red gram) and dried beans like rajma (kidney beans).listed below are some delicious recipes made from such pulses which forms a very part of Indian culture.

Tuvar dal (red gram) in Gujarati style

Ingredients:
7 cups water;1 ½ cups oily red gram washed;1 tsp turmeric powder;5 ½ tsp salt;1 tsp red chili powder;1 ½ tbsp coriander powder;65 gms jaggery crushed;1 medium chopped tomato;5 green chilies slit;7 pieces cocum washed;2 tbsp coriander leaves chopped

For tempering:
2 tbsp vegetable oil;1 tsp mustard seeds; ½ tsp cumin seeds;2 whole dry red chilies; 1 sprig curry leaves ;1 large pinch of asafetida

Method:

1. Pour 4 cups water into cooker. Add red gram, turmeric powder and salt. Stir once.

2. Close cooker. Bring to full pressure on high heat. Reduce heat and cook for 3 minutes.

3. Remove cooker from heat. Allow to cool naturally.

4. Open cooker. Mash dal well with back of a ladle to blend with liquid.

5. Place cooker with dal on high heat. Add remaining water (3 cups) and all other ingredients except those for tempering.

6. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

7. For tempering, heat oil in a pan for about 1 minute. Add mustard and cumin seeds. When crackling, add red chilies, curry leaves and asafetida. Stir for a few seconds and pour over dal. Stir and serve hot.

Sambhar

Ingredients:
11/2 tbsp vegetable oil;6 whole dry red chilies;3 whole dry red chilies(Kashmiri);1 tbsp Bengal rgam;1 cm. piece asafetida;1/2 cup grated coconut grated;2 sprigs curry leaves;1/4 cup coriander seeds;1/2 tsp cumin seeds;1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds;5 ½ cups water;1 cup red gram washed;1/2 tsp turmeric powder;4 tsp salt;25 gms tamarind soaked in 1 cup hot water for 15 minute and pulp extracted; 1 medium onion chopped into 5 pieces;2 drumsticks peeled and cut into 5cm.long pieces

For tempering:
2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1/2 tsp mustard seeds

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan for about 1 minute and roast together whole chilies, Bengal gram,asafetida,coconut,1 sprig curry leaves, coriander, cumin and fenugreek seeds till coconut turns golden brown.

2. Grind roasted ingredients into a paste, adding a little water (1/2 cup) from time to time. Now pour 3 cups water into cooker. Add red gram, turmeric powder and salt. Stir once. Close cooker .bring to complete pressure on high heat. Reduce heat and cook for 4 minutes. Then remove cooker from heat .allow to cool naturally.

3. Open cooker. Mash dal completely with black of a ladle to blend with liquid. Add round paste, tamarind pulp, onion, drumsticks, remaining curry leaves (1 sprig) and water (2 cups).stir once.

4. Close cooker. Bring to full pressure on high heat. Remove cooker immediately from heat. Reduce pressure by placing cooker in a basin of cold water for about 2 minutes. Open cooker.

5. For tempering, heat oil in a pan with mustard seeds, when they starts to crackle, pour into sambhar. Stir and serve hot

Energy rich rice has been the staple food of India since the earliest times. It is easy to cook and blends well with vegetables, meats and pulses. There are three main varieties of rice: the short grained colam rice, used in most of east, west and south Indian; the long grained basmati, used mainly in north India, and the par boiled rice mainly in the coastal regions of south India.

Here are some delicious and mouth watering rice dishes with all together different flavor and touch that you can prepare at your home and enjoy.

Mint and dry fruit pulao

Ingredients:
2 cups basmati rice; 1 tbsp oil; 1 tbsp mint leaves (chopped); 1/2 cup assorted nuts (chopped) (almonds, cashew nuts, raisins, walnuts); water to cook; salt to taste

Method:

Clean, wash and soak the rice for 10minutes.
Heat oil in a pan, fry the rice for few seconds, add water, salt to taste and cook with absorption method.
When done, mix the mint and the dry fruits and serve on a platter along with assorted vegetable pickle, raita or papads.

Tomato coconut pulao with olive raita

Ingredients:
1 cup basmati rice;2 tsp oil;2 bay leaves;2 green cardomoms;1 tsp jeera;1/2 cup tomato puree;2 tomatoes (chopped);1 tsp garam masala;1 tsp garlic(chopped);1 small onion(chopped);1/2 cup grated coconut;2.5 cups hot water; salt to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a pan, sauté the garlic and onion with the whole garam masala, jeera, add the tomato puree and chopped tomatoes and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the washed and soaked rice, salt to taste, add hot water, bring to a boil, simmer until done, allow then open the lid. Serve garnished with fried red chili and serve with pickle, papad and olive raita.

For olive raita

Ingredients:
1 cup whipped curd;10-20 black olives sliced;6-9 green olive sliced;1 tsp chaat masala; 1tsp green coriander leaves(chopped)

Method:

Mix all together, chill and serve.

Lime rice-Tamil style

Ingredients:
5 cups water;4 cups washed colam rice;1 tsp turmeric powder;1/2 cup vegetable oil;1 tsp mustard seeds; 1tbsp Bengal gram;1 tbsp split skinned black gram; 1 sprig curry leaves;16 green chilies chopped; 4 ¾ tsp salt; 1/3 cup+ 1tbsp lemon juice

Method:

Pour water into cooker. Bring it to boil on high heat. Add rice and turmeric powder. Stir once. Close cooker. Bring to full pressure on a high heat. Reduce heat and cook for 2 minutes. Remove cooker from heat. Allow to cool naturally. Open cooker. Flick rice gently with a fork to separate grains.

In a pan, heat oil for about 2 minutes. Add mustard seeds. While crackling, add Bengal gram, black gram and fry till golden brown. Add curry leaves and chilies. Stir for few seconds. Remove pan from heat and pour over rice. Mix salt with lemon juice and pour over rice. Mix well. Serve hot.

Sweets of all kinds are very popular in India and are eaten at the end of a meal. In some parts of India, they are one of the items for breakfast. And when one thinks of an Indian festival, one cannot but conjure up visions of a variety of multicolored mouth watering sweets.

The sweet dishes here complement and even compete with all the items that have gone before it. It may surprise you but it is a fact that wide variety of delicious sweets and deserts can be seen in different part of India. Rice Kheer and Gajar Ka Halwa are very popular all over India with their many variations, along with Meethe Chawal, the saffron flavored rice adapted from zarda pulao, a favorite festive recipe of the Muslims.

One can also taste south Indian variation of north Indian kheer known as Semiya Payasam; the famous Bengali delicacy –Rasogolla (fresh cottage cheese balls in syrup).Different novel presentation of broken wheat or dahliya in form of lapsi can be experienced in any part of India in its specialized flavors.

The lip smacking rasagolla sweet dish preparation is discussed here below.

Rasagolla

Ingredients:
1 litre of cow’s milk;1/4tsp of citric acid finely dissolved in ½ cup water;1 tsp polished flour;1 cup crystal sugar;3 cups of water; some drops of rose essence

Method:

1. To make chenna (paneer)
   Boil milk in a pan, and then allow it to cool for sometime. Now carefully skim fat from its surface. Boil the milk again. Little by little add citric acid, and stir it continuously. When milk start to curdle up, put the pan aside from heat flames, leaving it covered for 10-15 minutes. Now set muslin over any bowl. Pour all the curdled milk into this muslin to strain it. Carefully gather all the corners of this muslin and then tie it properly on the top of curds about 5-7cms. Hang it up now for at least 15 minutes. Smoothly squeeze this bag now, take it down and set it amid two cutting boards. Leave any heavy object of about 3 kgs for about 1-11/2 hour on the top board .afterwards remove weight. Untie this bag and remove the chenna.

2. Put the chenna on a smooth surface and knead it finely using the heel of your hand at least for 1minute.side by side starts pouring flour over it and then knead it again properly till cheena acquires soft and rich-smooth touch (roughly 5 minutes).now divide this mixture into 10 equal fractions. From each fraction, prepare balls of 4cms.in diameter. Roll each of these balls between palms with slight pressure till they turn smooth and even.

3. Fill the cooker with water and sugar crystals and allow it to cook on high heat. Bring it to a boil, while stirring it constantly for the preparation of sugar syrup. Carefully leave chenna balls in this sugary syrup one by one.

4. Place the lid on cooker and allow it to cook on full pressure on a heated flame (high). Trim down the flame later and again cook for about 5-7 minutes.

5. Place your cooker aside from heat and let it to cool slowly and naturally. Now take off the lid of cooker, and Stir in some drops of rose essence. Finally transport the rasogollas along with some sugar syrup in a serving bowl. Cool it off for some time and then serve chill.

Long before the chowmein conundrum congested our collective consciousness, the only smoodle of a noodle we could boast of in India was the simple sev and seviyan. The noodle have been slurped, gulped and twirled for centuries by cultures around the world but as for now, it won’t be wrong if I say that indeed, India has been totally noodle-ified today.

Noodles vary in width-they can be as thick as coffee stir sticks or as thin as thread. When it comes to length, however, they are usually served long and uncut in the belief that long noodle symbolize a long life. This is one reason why, in keeping with Chinese tradition, noodles are commonly served at birthday celebrations. noodles ,collectively known as mein, can be made from just about anything-wheat, mungbean, cornflour, rice, soyabean…..interestingly what we refer to as chowmein in India is actually lo mein-a dish in which boiled noodles are tossed in the work and mixed with other ingredients. Chowmein, on the other hand, have stir-fried ingredients served over noodles!

Below are some lip smacking noodle recipe that you can try out.

Manchurian salad with noodles

Ingredients:
2 cups boiled hakka noodles

For vegetable Manchurian balls:
1 cup grated carrots;1 capsicum(chopped);1 tsp garlic(chopped);1 tsp ginger(chopped);1/2 cup cabbage(chopped);3 tbsp maida;2 tsp Soya sauce;1 tsp chili sauce; oil to fry; salt and pepper to taste

To prepare the Manchurian dressing:
2 tbsp Soya sauce;1 tbsp chili sauce;1 tsp oil;1 tsp garlic(chopped);1 tsp ginger(chopped);1 tsp chilies(chopped);1 tsp coriander leaves(chopped);1/2 cup water;1 tbsp cornflour solution to thicken;2 tsp green spring onion(chopped);salt and pepper to taste

Method:

For vegetable Manchurian balls:
In a bowl mix the veggies with sauces and salt and Maida, and mix well, drop spoonful of the mix in oil and fry them until golden brown. Remove and keep aside.

To prepare Manchurian dressing:
Heat oil in a pan, sauté garlic, ginger, chilies, add the water, Soya sauce, chili sauce, seasonings, and bring to a boil. Add the cornflour solution and spring onion greens and coriander leaves. Mix well and remove. Cool and toss with Manchurian balls and noodles and serve chilled. Garnish with cherry tomatoes.