• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp Green Tea leaves or 1 Green Tea Bag
• 1/2 tsp sugar or 1 tsp Honey (optional)

How To:

• In a tea pot, heat water. Just before it comes to a rolling boil, turn off the flame.
• Add Tea leaves or Tea Bag. Let it soak for 2 mins & NOT more than that
• Strain & Pour into a mug
• Add Sugar or Honey & give it a stir .. Enjoi !!!

You will not fall in love with Green Tea at the very first try, Its an accquired taste.  I drink atleast 2 cups of Green Tea everyday. One, right after I get back from the gym & another cup on the evening. They have plenty of flavours to choose from. Chamomile, Jasmine, Mint, Lemon & loads of others. I have about 3 flavours stored in my pantry right now ..

Of the many ways of enjoying Eggplants, this is my favorite & the easiest. Once the chopping is done, this can be put together in 10 mins flat.

This curry gets its distinct taste from Rasam Powder, a staple at most South Indian homes. That's it.. Just Rasam Powder & it tastes so darn good

• 2 cups Asian Eggplants - Diced & immersed in cold water
• 1 tsp Rasam Powder
• 1/2  tsp Red Chilli Powder
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp Chana dal
• 1 tsp Urad dal
• 1 tbsp Tamarind extract
• 1 tbsp fresh Grated Coconut
• Salt as per taste
• Cooking Oil

• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan,splutter mustard seeds. Add Urad & Chana Dal & allow it to slightly change color.
• Add Eggplants, Rasam Powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder & mix well.
• Add Tamarind extract & Salt. Close the lid & cook over medium flame. Saute at regular intervals to avoid the bottom from getting burnt.
• Don't let the eggplants get mushy, They should be cooked & firm. Check for salt & Garnish with grated coconut. Transfer to a serving dish.

Hope you guys had a great Ganesh Chaturthi. We had a fun festival with family, food, worshipping & some banter.

Like everyone does, we too made Modaks for Ganesha. We made Chaklis & other goodies too, Those recipes are for another day,

For the Filling:

• Mix dry coconut, powdered sugar & cardamom powder together & set aside.

• In a large bowl, add all the ingredients mentioned for the outer layer. Add water little at a time & mix well to form a dough. The consistency should be like a chapati dough.  Cover & set aside for about 3 hours.
• Later, knead well so that the dough becomes soft.
• Divide the dough into 12 equal sized balls
• Take one ball at a time & roll into a thin puri. Hold the puri in your palm, pinch the edges at regular intervals, uniformly. Place a 2 tsp of filling in the centre & close the modak on top by pulling the edges. Make the other modaks in the same way,
• Cover with a damp cloth so that the modaks do not get dry.
• Heat oil in a deep Kadhai & deep fry the modaks on meduim heat until it turns golden brown.
• Cool them & store them in air tight containers.

Today is Krishna Janmashtami & you can have a look at my Krishna here. All the worshipping was done by my family & the eating was done by me :)

• 1 Cup Poha - Thick or Medium variety
• 2 tsp Rasam powder - Home made or any other brand. MTR works great
• A small piece of jaggery
• Tamarind extract from a lemon sized tamarind ball
• 1 tbsp seasme seeds - roasted & powdered
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 4-5 red chillies - broken
• A sprig of curry leaves
• 1 tsp chana dal
• 1 tsp urad dal
• A handful of groundnuts
• 2 tbsp fresh grated coconut
• Salt as per taste
• Cooking oil

• In a pan, dry roast poha until slightly warm. Transfer to a mixer & pulse the poha for a couple of times so that it is crushed coarsely. Do not make it into a fine powder.
• In a vessel, take a little more than 3/4th cup of water, Add Rasam powder, tamarind extract & jaggery. Mix well & allow the jaggery to dissolve completely.
• Add this water to the poha mixture, little at a time. Mix well such that no lumps are formed. Set aside for about 15-20 mins. The poha would have soaked up all the water & should be crumbly. If there are any lumps, separate them with your fingers. It should look like Rava.
• Heat oil in a kadhai, splutter mustard seeds. Add groundnuts, red chillies, curry leaves. urad & chana dal & allo them to slightly change colour. Add poha, sesame seeds powder, Salt & a tbsp of oil & mix well.
• Keep mixing over low heat for about 3 mins.

Transfer to a bowl & serve with yogurt. Enjoi !!!

NOTE:

• I used thin variety poha today. If you are using the thick variety, you made need a little more water. But I really does not make any difference in the taste
• Grated dry coconut can be added instead of fresh coconut. But I personally prefer using fresh coconut
• A tsp of roasted cumin & pepper powder can be added towards the end. I usually do not add this.
• Gojjavalakki is a dry dish so, it pairs well with yogurt.