Veg Fry

Raw banana mash — Aratikaya podi

1. Wash the raw bananas. Do not peel the skin. Make big cuts on all sides. Wrap in a tissue paper and microwave for 4 mins to start with. Keep turning and continue in cycled of 4 mins until they are soft to touch.

2. Once soft, take it out and let cool. Peel the skin once cooled. Mash the peeled banana.

3. In a kadai, dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, red chillies, urad dal and fry. Grind into a fine powder. Mix the powder and chopped coriander into the mashed bananas.

4. In the kadai, add oil liberally. Add hing, mustard seeds, chana dal and fry. Add curry leaves, green chillies, finely chopped ginger and fry.

5. Add the mashed bananas with the powder and toss until the oil is soaked up. Add salt and the juice of one lemon. Don’t add too much lemon, the dish is not supposed to be sour.

Raw banana fry — Aratikaya vepudi

1. In a kadai, heat liberal amount of oil.

2. Add red chillies and curry leaves and let them splutter.

3. Grate the raw banana like chips and add to the kadai. Toss well with the oil.

4. Add salt and cook with closed lid.

5. The banana will stick to the the pan. That is expected. It will give the dish a crunchy feel.

6. Make sure the stuck parts are not burnt. Keep scarping it off the pan. The banana cooks fast.

7. Once cooked add turmeric and chilli powder and toss until they lose the raw taste.

8. The dish is meant to have slightly crispy, slightly powdery and slightly clumpy.

Cabbage senagapappu (Chana dal)

1. Add oil in a pressure cooker and add tadka, curry leaves, green chillies and chana dal. Fry a bit and add ginger garlic paste. Fry until cooked.

2. Add roughly chopped onions and allow them to cook.

3. Add finely chopped cabbage. Fry a bit, add some water and pressure cook for 4 whistles.

4. Put the flame on high, add turmeric, salt, dry coconut and garam masala. Cook until all the water evaporates.

Cauliflower broad beans

1. Break the cauliflower into very small florets. Boil in water until cooked soft.

2. Break the broad beans into small pieces and boil in water until cooked soft.

3. Once the cauliflower and beans are cooked, heat oil in a pan and add them both. Add turmeric and fry for 3 mins.

4. Take the cauliflower and beans out. Add oil and add tadka, curry leaves and fry for a bit.

5. Add salt, chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, amchur and fry.

6. Add back the cauliflower and beans and toss. Add a few spoons of water and cook on high flame with a closed lid until oil separates.

Palakura venna koora

1. In a pressure pan, add oil, tadka, red chillies.

2. Add 1 potato roughly chopped.

3. Add little tamarind. Fry for a bit.

4. Add finely chopped palak, turmeric, salt, and butter. Careful with the salt inase you use salted butter.

5. Cook for 3–4 whistles.

Sake gourd — Potlakaya Fry

1. Remove the seeds and cut the potlakaya into very thin slices. This is very important.

2. Add salt and rest the cut pieces for 5 mins.

3. Squeeze out the water and microwave with closed lid for 5 mins on full power. Toss with spoon and microwave on lowest power for 5 more mins. The pieces are cooked but still crispy.

4. In a kadai, add oil, hing, curry leaves, urad dal, chana dal, red chillies, mustard and cumin seeds and fry until they splutter.

5. Add the potlakaya pieces and mix. Adjust the salt and cook with closed lid for 5 mins until the pieces absorb the oil.

Snake gourd and coconut — Potlakaya kobbari koora

1. Cut the snake gourd into small pieces. Microwave it in 3 iterations for 4 mins each. At this point the pieces can be cut with a spoon.

2. In a kadai, add oil, red chillies, urad dal, chana dal and jeera and fry. Add the snake gourd pieces, salt and fry more on high heat. Add ground dry coconut and mix well. Cook for a minute or two on high heat and then reduce to a simmer and cook with closed lid for 5 mins.

Beans — Chikkudikaya Fry

1. Break and boil the beans in water.

2. After they are boiled, heat oil in a kadai. This is a crispy preparation. Needs more oil. Add the beans and fry until they are semi crispy. Add salt, turmeric, aamchur, coriander powder, cumin powder, chilli powder and mix.

3. Once oil separates, add besan and fry for 4 mins.

Chamadumpa fry

1. Take 1 kg of chamadumpalu. Wash well to remove all the dirt from the skin. Pressure cook for 3 whistles. Remove the skin, dice into discs and deep fry batch by batch on high heat. Sprinkle some salt and chilli powder on the fried discs.

Potato ladies finger — Aloo Bhindi

1. This is a crispy preparation. Needs more oil.

2. In a kadai heat oil and add potato wedges. Fry them until crispy brown. Take them out.

3. Then add bhindi. The bhindi can be longer than usual. Fry them until they are cooked and are crispy too. If you are rushed for time, you can cook the bhindi with the lid on. Once done, take the bhindi out.

4. Add oil if required, add salt, turmeric, chilli powder, aamchur, coriander powder, cumin powder to the oil and mix. Add the aloo and bhindi and toss around until the spices cover all pieces.

Dondakaya verusenaga

1. Cut the tindora length wise into 4 parts.

2. Heat oil in a kadai and add tadka along with hing.

3. Add the chopped tindora, and fry for 5 mins with a closed lid.

4. Add salt and cook with a closed lid.

5. After the tindora is semi cooked, add ground nuts and cook with a closed lid.

6. Once the tindora is cooked, add chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, amchur, turmeric and toss. Adjust the salt if needed.

Palakura tomato

1. Add oil to a kadai. Add tadka and green chillies. Let the chillies fry well.

2. Add onions. Onions need to be cut slightly bigger. Add salt to fry the onions quicker.

3. Add tomatoes and cook until they become tender.

4. Add finely chopped palak, mix and cover with a lid.

5. After the palak reduces, check the salt, add turmeric, add cream from the milk and mix.

Sorakaya Dry

1. Dry roast red chillies, 1 spoon coriander seeds, 2 sps urad dal, ground nuts and sesame seeds. Gring them to a paste with some water.

2. Cut the bottlegourd into medium pieces and pressure cook by adding some salt, turmeric, hing and green chilles.

3. Heat oil in a kadai, tadka, add the contents from the cooker, add the ground paste, mix well and cook on high flame until add residual water evaporates.

Karela — Kakarakaya Fry

1. Peel the Bittergourd and remove the outer green skin. Cut into wheels and remove the center.

2. Add salt to the cut pieces, mix well and allow to rest for 30 mins.

3. Add oil to a kadai. Pour water into the Bittergourd pieces and squeeze out the pieces.

4. Add to the kadai and cook with closed lid until they turn crispy. Alternatively, put the Bittergourd pieces in a microwave safe bowl, add some water, cover with a lid. Cook on highest power for 5 mins. Toss with a spoon and then cook again on lowest power for 5 mins. Let it rest for 5 mins.

5. Remove from the kadai and set aside. Now add more oil, curry leaves, hing, chana dal, urad dal and fry. Add tamarind juice, turmeric, chilli powder, rasam powder and a small piece of jaggery.

6. Allow the mixture to boil and add the Bittergourd pieces and cook with closed lid until tamarind loses its raw taste and the gravy evaporates.

Aagakarakaya — Small Karela Fry

1. Peel the outer layer and slit one side and remove all the stuff from inside.

2. Apply salt to the inner walls.

3. Heat oil in a kadai, add the Bittergourd and fry. Cook with closed lid occasionally tossing until all side are light brown.

4. Remove from the kadai. Add urad dal, chana dal, red chillies, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, garlic and dry coconut and fry. Grind into a smooth paste.

5. Stuff into the Bittergourd and in the kadai add oil, pudina, coriander and curry leaves and fry.

6. Gently put the Bittergourd and close the lid. Cook on medium low until colour changes.