New year, new flavours

Yellow moong dal (pacha parupu / green gram): 1/4 cup

Grated or powdered jaggery: 1/4 cup 

Milk: 1/2 cup 

Cardamom powder: 1/4 teaspoon 

Ghee: 2 teaspoons 

Cashew nuts: 6, broken into halves

Heat 1 teaspoon ghee in a small pan and fry cashew nuts until light brown. Transfer them to a plate. 

Heat remaining 1 teaspoon ghee in same pan and roast pacha parupu until light brown. It will take approx 3-4 minutes to turn light brown on medium flame. 

Cook roasted pacha parupu in a steel/aluminium pressure cooker (3-litre capacity) with 3/4 cup water for 3 whistles. Use medium flame to pressure cook roasted green gram. Turn off heat and leave it idle to let the pressure come down naturally. 

In the meantime, dissolve jaggery in 1/4 cup hot water (use of hot water will make it dissolve faster). Strain it through strainer and discard any impurities it may have. 

Open lid of the pressure cooker carefully and mash moong dal with the help of large spoon or spatula. 

Add jaggery syrup, milk and cardamom powder and cook over medium flame. 

Stir to mix well and bring it to boil. 

When it starts to boil, reduce flame to low and cook until thick, approx 4-5 minutes. Stir it continuously to avoid sticking and burning of dal on the bottom and sidewalls of the cooker. 

Turn off flame and transfer it to a serving bowl. Garnish pacha parupu payasam with fried cashew nuts and serve warm or chilled.

Pineapple: 200 gms 

Turmeric powder: 2 gms 

Mustard seeds: 2 gms 

Curry leaves: 2 gms 

Yogurt: 400 gms 

Fresh cooking cream: 200 gms 

Sugar: 150 gms

Mix yogurt with sugar well and add cream. Keep it aside.

Take a small pan, add few drops of oil, let it heat and hen add mustard seeds. Add curry leaves along with turmeric power once mustard seeds splutter. 

Add seasoning to the yogurt and cream mixture.  

Add pineapple cubes and mix well. Garnish with curry leaves. Serve cold.

Ripe mango (Alphonso if possible): 500 gms 

Ripe green banana: 3 nos 

Milk: 650 ml 

Cardamom seeds: 3 nos 

Cardamom powder: 1 gm 

Sugar: 100 gms 

Pistachio (chopped): 10 gms 

Almonds (chopped): 10 gm 

Refined flour: 5 gm 

Rose water: 2 ml 

Saffron: 0.5 gm 

Ghee: 30 ml

Wash all the mangoes and bananas. Peel and chop nicely. 

Take a thick bottom pot. Boil the milk with saffron. Reduce it until it gets a thick consistency. Keep it aside and let it cool. 

Heat ghee in a thick bottom pan. Once the ghee gets hot, add cardamom seeds. Once it crackles, add the mangoes and chopped banana together and sauté nicely. 

Sauté until the mangoes get mashed. Then add refined flour. 

Sauté it nicely. Add cardamom powder and sugar. Let it cool. 

Take a big bowl. Add the mango sauce and condensed milk together and mix it well. Add all the chopped nuts together. 

Add a few drops of rose water to the payasam and let it cool. 

Serve in glasses or bowls after one hour in the fridge.

Gooseberry cubes (Nellikai): 200 gms 

Shallots (small onion) (optional): 8 nos 

Ginger (sliced): 1 gm 

Cumin seeds: 2 gms 

Green chillies: 2 nos 

Yoghurt (Thick): 100 ml 

Salt: To taste

Grind all the ingredients together, except the curd, into a coarse mixture.

Add the thick beaten curd to the mixture until thick and smooth. 

For tempering the chutney, heat the oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. Once they crackle, add urad dal. After it reaches golden brown colour, add curry leaves and add the tempering to the pachadi and stir well. 

Add seasoning as per taste.