Beetroot Leaves Stir Fry | Beet Greens Stir Fry | Beetroot Ela Thoran

Ingredients:

1. Beet greens - 1 bunch

2. Onion - 1 small sized

3. Coconut - 1/4 cup grated

4. Cumin seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

5. Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

6. Garlic - 1 clove

7. Green chillies - 1 or 2 

8. Oil - 1 teaspoon

9. Salt to taste

Beet Greens

Method:

1. Wash the beet leaves(including the stem) and chop them finely. 

2. Take coconut, cumin seeds, garlic and green chillies in a mixer and pulse for few seconds to make a coarse mixture.

3. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds.

4. Add finely chopped onions and saute for a minute.

5. Add finely chopped greens and salt to taste. Cover and cook for couple of minutes. 

6. Add coarse coconut mixture and mix well. Cook for couple of minutes and now it is ready to serve. 

Serve as a side dish for rice. 

Sweet Potato Corn Cutlet

Makes: 8 cutlets

Ingredients:
1. Sweet potato - 2 medium
2. Sweet corn(frozen) - 1/2 cup
3. Scallion/Spring onion - 2 nos. finely chopped
4. Coriander leaves/Cilantro (chopped) - 2 tablespoon
5. Cumin powder - 1/4 teaspoon
6. Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
7. Bread crumbs - 1/4 cup
8. Rice flour - 1 tablespoon
9. Lime juice- 1/2 teaspoon
10. Salt to taste
11. Oil for shallow frying - 1/4 cup

Method:
1. Cook sweet potato with skin-on in boiling water in a pressure cooker or an open vessel. Alternatively, you can cook in an microwave. Wrap the sweet potato(with skin) in a paper towel and microwave for 4 to 7 minutes. Time varies depending on the power of your microwave and size of sweet potato. To check if it is well done, just insert a knife through the sweet potato and it should slide in smoothly.

2. Remove the skin off the sweet potato and mash it well. To this add, frozen corn, finely chopped scallions, chopped cilantro, red chili powder, cumin powder, lime juice, rice flour, breadcrumbs and salt to taste. Mix well to form a dough.
If you think the dough is bit watery, then add more breadcrumbs.

3. Take a small portion of dough (lemon sized) and shape it into patties.

4. Shallow fry the patties on medium flame until both side turn golden brown.

Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Sharkara Varatti | Sharkara Upperi

Ingredients:
1. Raw plantain - 2 nos.
2. Dry ginger powder - 1 teaspoon
3. Jaggery - 1 cup
4. Cardamom powder - 1 teaspoon
5. Salt - 1 teaspoon
6. Sugar powdered - 1 tablespoon
7. Oil for deep frying

Method:
1. Remove the skin of plantain and cut them lengthwise along the center, then cut them into 1/2 inch thick slices.

2. Take 3 cups of water in a bowl and add cut plantain pieces and a teaspoon of salt. Let it rest for 10 minutes.

3. Drain the water completely and lay them on a paper towel to remove all the water.

4. Heat oil for deep frying. When the oil is hot enough, reduce the flame to low-medium and add the plantain slices. Do not overcrowd the vessel.

5. Fry on low-medium flame until they turn crisp. It takes around 35-45 minutes to turn crisp. To test you need to remove a piece from oil and break it half, if it still soft in the center it is undone and needs more frying.

6. Once done, remove from pan and drain excess oil in a paper towel.

7. Now let's make jaggery syrup. Take jaggery and  2 tablespoon of water in a heavy bottomed pan and bring it to boil. Cook until jaggery syrup forms into 1 string consistency. To check, add a drop of syrup in cold water and it should form a ball rather than dissolving in water.

8. At this stage, reduce the flame to low and add fried plantain, cardamom powder and dry ginger powder and give it a good mix. The jaggery will coat the chips well. Now add powdered sugar and give it a final mix.

Before frying

After frying

Pineapple Kesari

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1. Rava/Semolina - 1/2 cup
2. Sugar - 1/4 cup
3. Pineapple pieces - 1/2 cup
4. Ghee - 3 tablespoon
5. Raisins and Cashews - 2 tablespoon
6. Salt - a pinch
7. Turmeric powder - a pinch for color

Method:
1. Heat a tablespoon of ghee in a pan and fry raisins and cashews and set aside.

2. In the same pan, add pineapple pieces and 1/2 cup of water and cook until all the water evaporates.

3.  In a different pan, boil 1 1/4 cup of water and add salt and turmeric powder.

4. Reduce the flame to medium and add semolina and stir continuously. Make sure there are no lumps.

5. Now add cooked pineapple, 2 tablespoon of ghee and sugar and give it a good  mix. Cover and cook for few more minutes and finally add fried cashews and raisins.

Serve hot or cold.
Turmeric powder can be substituted with saffron or yellow food color. Sugar quantity can be adjusted as per your taste.

Banana Bread

Recipe Source: Grandma's Banana Bread

Ingredients:
1. Ripe Bananas - 3 large
2. All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cup
3. Butter (melted)- 1/3 cup
4. Egg - 1
5. Sugar - 1 cup
6. Baking soda - 1 teaspoon
7. Salt - 1/4 teaspoon

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F/180 deg C. Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan.

2. Combine salt and baking soda to flour and set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together melted butter and mashed bananas.

4. Add sugar, egg and vanilla extract.

5. Add flour mixture and mix well.

6. Pour the batter in greased loaf pan and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.