Semiya Kesari

Everyone likes this sweet for an evening snack or as a dessert.

Ingredients
Semiya/Vermicelli 1 tumbler 200 grams
Ghee/ clarified butter
Cardamom - 1 or 2
Water : 3 tumblers
Sugar - 100 grams
Cashews
Kesari/saffron powder

Procedure:
If what you have isn't fried vermicilli, you have to fry it in ghee. Keep a kadai, add 3 teaspoons of ghee and fry the vermicilli until they are light brown. Remove and keep aside. In the same kadai, add a teaspoon of ghee and fry the cashews. Keep aside. In the kadai, pour 3 tumblers of water and bring it to a boil. Then add the fired vermicilli. Let it cook for about 10 min. It should become soft. Otherwise cook until they become soft. If there is not much water for it to cook, add more water. Add the sugar now. Also add the kesari powder. Mix well. Check for sweetness. If you want it to be more sweet add more sugar with a little water. Let all the water get evaporated. Now add the cashews and serve hot.

Egg Salad Sandwich

This is a delicious easy to make snack.

Ingredients:

Boiled Egg - 2. (Take a vessel and add water and let it come to a boil. Then add the eggs and let them remain in the stove for 15 min with the medium heat on. After that switch off the stove. After about 10 min, peel the eggs. The eggs shouldnt be over cooked to an extent that blue lines/grey colouring happens to the yolk. All nutrients are lost that way. By trial and error, you will learn the perfect timing for boiling your eggs.)

Bread slices
Pepper powder
Salt
Chilly Powder
Onions chopped

Procedure:
In a bowl, add the 2 boiled eggs. Add salt to taste. Add a teaspoon of chilly powder. Add some pepper powder. With fork, mix these. Keep on mixing well so that the yolk breaks and the whites stay in bigger pieces. Add some mayonnaise or butter which will help in forming a paste. The whites shouldnt be broken into too small pieces as they only give texture to the dish. Add the onions. Mix well again. You can add more ingredients like chat masala , lemon juice or whatever flavours you like.

Now heat the tawa, add little butter and toast the bread slices. Then scoop up the mixture and spread on a slice. Top it up with another bread. Now your egg salad sandwich is ready. This will serve two people.

Vidya's Chapathi roll

This is an easy to make snack or dinner.

Ingredients:
Vegetables like carrot, beans, tomatoes, onions finely chopped and boiled slightly in microwave or sauted in kadai with little water so that they are soft.
Chapathis
Butter
Salt
Pepper powder
Chilly powder
Chat masala

Procedure:
Drain all water from the vegetable mixture. Add little salt and a teaspoon of pepper powder, half teaspoon of chilly powder and half teaspoon chat masala. You can add any other flavouring as per your taste. Mix well.
Spread butter onto a hot chapathi and spread this mixture. Roll it and its ready to eat.

Appa Chutney

This is named so coz it is my dad's favourite chutney.

Ingredients:
Coconut - 1/4 th of a medium size half a coconut (1/8 th of a full coconut)
Red long chillies : 4
Marble sized Tamarind
Salt to taste
Onion 1 chopped
Tomato 1 chopped

To Season:
Mustard
Ulutham parupu/Urad dal
Curry Leaves
Oil

Fry the chillies until they are dark in colour. Grind the coconut along with the chillies, tamarind and salt.
Add some oil and once heated, add the mustard seeds and ulutham parupu. Add the curry leaves too. Then add onions and saute them for a while. Then add the tomatoes too. After the tomatoes are soft, add the ground paste. Add water as much as you want the consistency to be. Check the salt and adjust. Let it come to a boil. Then switch off the stove.