Milagu Kozhambu

Ingredients:

Whole Black Pepper - 2 tbsp
Urad dhal - 1 1/2 tbsp
Dried Red Chilli - 3-4
Curry leaves - 3-4 strips
Asafoetida - 1tsp
Tamarind - 2 lemon sized
Ghee - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Gingely / Sesame Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Fry Black pepper, urad dhal, red chilli, curry leaves, asafoetida one by one in 1tsp of ghee.
2. Squeeze the tamarind and make tamarind water out of it.
3. In a pan, heat oil, cracle mustard seeds, curry leaves, add tamarind water, turmeric powder, sal to taste. Let it boil for sometime.
4. Add the ground masala powder to that.
5.  Let it boil for few mins till the bubbles comes. Add a little amount of jaggery to enrich the taste.
6. Finally add 1 or 2 tbsp of oil to it, so that you can have that kozhambu for more than a week.

Carrot Halwa / Gajar ka halwa

Ingredients:

Grated carrot - 2 cups
Milk - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 cups
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Unsalted butter/ghee - 4 tbsp
Cashews and raisins for garnishing

Method:

1. Fry the cashews and raisins in a little ghee and keep it aside.
2. Boil the milk until it gets reduced to half. Keep the flame in medium heat for 10 mins. Stir it occasionally so that it does not stick to the pan.
3. Melt the butter in a pan, and stir fry the grated carrot on medium heat for 5 mins so that the carrots leave the raw smell and slightly change the colour. See to that the carrots do not get burnt.
4. Add the boiled milk and cook for about 10 mins until the milk gets completely absorbed by the carrots.
5. Add sugar and stir well. Cook for few mins and add the cardamom powder and cook till the ghee starts oozing out from the halwa.
6. Garnish with the fried cashews and raisins.