Dosa

INGREDIENTS

Basmati Rice - 2 cups
Boiled rice- a handful
Urad dal - 3/4 cup
Yeast - 1/2 tsp (optional - makes real soft idlis if you add yeast)
Water - enough for the batter
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Soak rice in water for a minimum of 3 to 4 hours. The more the better. You can even leave it soaked overnight.
2. Urad dal typically needs to be soaked only for an hour. However, there is no harm in soaking it for a longer time.
3. Grind the rice first with required amount of water. Make sure that there are no rice bits remaining after pulsing it.
4. After grinding the rice, add the dal into it and pulse it. Add the boiled rice and yeast and pulse again.
5. Make sure the batter is of the correct consistency by adding water.
6. Slightly heat the oven and turn it off.
7. Place the batter inside the warm oven and turn the oven light on. This makes the batter rise quickly in cold areas.
8. Just before making the dosa, add required amount of salt into the batter.
9. To make the dosa, heat a tawa. Make sure its not steaming hot. This is the secret to making great dosas. The tawa should be medium hot while pouring the batter and after spreading it, turn the heat to high. So after making a dosa, you can either sprinkle some water on the tawa to reduce its heat or take it off the flame and wipe it with a cloth before you put in the batter for the next dosa.
10. Pour about 3 to 4 tbsp of the batter into the tawa and spread it by making circles with the spoon. After spreading it, pour some ghee over the dosa. Wait till it turns light brown in colour and your dosa is ready to be served with chutney and sambar.

Tip - You can make real soft idlis with the same batter.

Uzhunnu vada

INGREDIENTS
Urad dal- 1 cup
Onion- 1(cut into small pieces)
Green chillies- 3 (Cut into small pieces)
Peppercorn- 1 tsp
Ginger - 1 1/2" (finely chopped)
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- 1 sprig (finely chopped)
Oil to deep fry
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Soak Urad dal in water for an hour.
2. Grind the dal with very little water. It should be a thick batter. Try using a food processor or a coffee grinder.
3. Add the green chillies, ginger, asafoetida, curry leaves and salt.
4. Mix well and circulate the batter in an upward motion using your hand. This allows air to be incorporated into the batter. This makes the vadas soft and fluffy.
5. Now add the onions and the peppercorns.
6. Heat oil in a kadai or a pan.
7. Now wet your left palm and put a spoonful of the mix on your palm. Make a hole in the center. Carefully put into the frying pan.
8. Fry till golden brown and serve hot with chutney or sambar.

Pork ribs

INGREDIENTS:
Pork Ribs - 1 kg (Back ribs is needed. Cut out each rib into individual pieces)
Dried red chilli - 15 (whole)
Ginger - 2" piece
Garlic - 8 cloves
Peppercorns- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Cinnamon- 1 big stick
Cloves - 1 tsp
Fennel seeds(perumjeera) - 1 1/2 tsp
Vinegar - enough to make a paste
Oil - enough to shallow fry the ribs

DIRECTION:
1. Make a paste out of the ingredients mentioned above. It should be a dry paste. So, use very little vinegar. (Try using a coffee grinder to make the paste)
2. Marinate the pork ribs with this mix and leave it overnight in the fridge.
3. Next day, cook the ribs without adding water. First put it on low flame and cover it. This process helps the water to ooze out of the meat. Once the water comes out, cook uncovered till the water evaporates.
4. Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry the ribs on medium heat. Make sure the masala on the ribs is fried well. Enjoy!