Aloo Masala/Sagu

Ingredients:

1. Potatoes - 1/2 kg
2. Onions (cut length-wise)- 2 large
3. Green chillies (slit length-wise)- 5-6
4. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp.
5. Chana dal - 2 tsp.
6. Mustard - 1 tsp.
7. Oil - 1 tbsp.
8. Curry leaves  - 1 sprig
9. Coriander leaves - for garnishing
10. Salt - to taste

Procedure:

1. Pressure cook the potatoes, peel and mash them.
2. Heat oil in a kadai. Temper with mustard seeds.
3. Season with chana dal, green chillies and curry leaves.
4. Add chopped onions and fry till they become translucent. Add turmeric powder and salt.
5. Add the mashed potatoes and mix well.
6. Add a little water if required to maingain the paste-like consistency.
7. Garnish with coriander leaves.
8. Serve with dosa or puri.

Variations:

1. You could add grated ginger along with green chillies for flavour.
2. You could add grated coconut at the end for garnishing while using it as a filling for masala dosa.
3. You could add a little water and make a gravy-like consistency (sagu) when served with puri. Squeeze a bit of lemon to sagu for an enhanced flavour.

Gobhi Matar Dry

Ingredients:

1. Cauliflower - 1
2. Peas - 1 cup
3. Jeera - 1 tsp
4. Chilli powder - 1 tsp.
5. Dhania powder - 1 tsp.
6. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp.
7. Salt - to taste
8. Oil - 1 tbsp.

Procedure:

1. Cut the cauliflower into small florets.
2. Boil water in a vessel. Add turmeric and salt. Add the cauliflower florets to this and boil for 2-3 minutes. Switch off the stove and keep closed for around 5 minutes. Drain the water. The cauliflower would be almost cooked by now.
3. Heat oil in a kadai. Temper with jeera.
4. Add green peas and stir fry for 2-3 minutes till the peas become tender. Add the cauliflower florets, chilli powder, dhania powder and salt if required.
5. Toss it for 1-2 minutes and remove from flame.
6. Serve with rotis.

It tastes equally good if the peas are omitted and more cauliflower is used instead.

Rajma Masala

Ingredients:

1. Rajma ( kidney beans) - 2 cups soaked for 12 hours or more
2. Tomatoes - 2
3. Onions - 2
4. Garlic - 5-6 pods
5. Ginger - 1 inch piece
6. Coriander powder - 1 tsp.
7. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp.
8. Chilli powder - 1/2 or 1 tsp.
9. Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp.
10. Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp.
11. Bay leaf - 1 or 2
12. Salt - to taste
13. Oil - 1 tbsp.

Procedure:

1. Finely chop onions and tomatoes. Crush ginger-garlic using a pestle. (Earlier I used to puree the tomatoes, onions and ginger-garlic together in a mixer, but later switched to this method).If garam masala is not available, pound a small piece of cinnamon and 2-3 cloves and use this powder instead.
2. Pressure cook the soaked rajma directly in a cooker for 8-10 whistles with enough water to cover the rajma . The soaking time and the duration of cooking depend on the type of rajma. Red rajma takes longer to cook whereas white rajma cooks sooner. You can also try using Kashmiri rajma which cooks easily. When pressed lightly between 2 fingers, the cooked rajma should get mashed. If not, the rajma needs to be cooked for a longer time. Rajma can never be overcooked. So it is always better to cook for a longer time in case of doubt. Once the rajma is completely cooked, mash it lightly with a masher. This makes the gravy homogeneous.
3. While the rajma is cooking, heat oil in a kadai, add bay leaf, ginger-garlic paste and fry lightly. Add chopped onions and fry well for 5 minutes till the onions turn light brown and shrink. Add chopped tomatoes to this and cook well till the tomatoes are soft. Add chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, jeera powder and garam masala powder to this.
4. Add the above masala to the cooked rajma in the cooker and mix well. Add salt as per taste. Add a little water to adjust the consistency.
5. Cook this again for one or two more whistles in the pressure cooker. 
6. Serve with rotis or rice. You might want to make the gravy thicker for rotis than for rice.

I tried the same recipe with fresh alasande kaalu ( fresh black eyed beans or karamani). Since this was fresh, I skipped the soaking step and also the cooking time required was less. It tasted just as good.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:

1. Broccoli florets - 2 cups
2. Olive oil or Butter - 1 tbsp.
3. Milk - 2 cups
4. Corn flour - 2 tsp.
5. Onions ( chopped) - 2
6. Garlic - 5-6 pods
7. Salt and pepper powder - to taste

Procedure:

1. In a pan, heat oil/butter. Add the garlic and onions and saute till they turn golden brown.
2. Add broccoli and cook till the raw smell is gone and the broccoli is tender.
3. Add milk and bring to a boil.
4. Cool the above and blend in a mixer till it becomes a thick liquid
5. Boil the bended mixture once again.
6. Make a thin paste out of the corn flour and add to the boiling soup to thicken it.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with garlic bread. While serving, you might want to garnish the soup with croutons or grated cheese or finely chopped coriander.

Khichuri

Ingredients:

1. Rice - 1 cup
2. Moong dal - 1 cup
3. Potatoes - 1 or 2 cut into big cubes
4. Cauliflower florets - 1/2 cup
5. Peas - 1/2 cup
6. Tomatoes - 1 chopped finely
7. Green chillies (slit length-wise)- 3-4
8. Ghee - 3 tsp
9. Bay leaf - 1 or 2
10. Cloves and Cinnamon powder - 1/4 tsp.
11. Salt to taste
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp.
Pach Phoron http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panch_phoron - 1 tsp.

Procedure:

1. Dry roast the rice and dal till you get the aroma.
2. In a big vessel, heat ghee and temper with pach phoron ( or simply jeera).
3. Add green chillies, bay leaf, clove-cinnamon powder.
4. Add all the vegetables and fry lightly for a minute.
5. Add the roasted rice and dal.
6. Add 5-6 cups of boiling water to this and add the turmeric powder.
7. Cover with lid and cook on low flame till the rice and dal are cooked. Stir occasionally to avoid burning at the bottom of the pan.
8. When almost cooked, add salt and one or two more cups of water and stir.
9. Cook in open vessel further till the excessive water evaporates annd the khichuri is completely cooked.

Recipe inspiration and Pach Phoron - Courtesy RumaLo

Teppanyaki

Ref : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teppanyaki

Now that you have seen the Wiki, let me put in my disclaimer :

This recipe is not what you read about, but a loosely similar improvised version of the same done at the Terminal Food Court in Infy.

So if you liked the Terminal Tappenyaki (and are missing it sorely, like me), here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 kg Assorted Vegetables - Aloo (peeled and cut like finger chips), Capsicum ( cut like Aloo) , Beans ( same length as Aloo, cut into halves length-wise) , Carrots ( cut like Aloo) , Bhindi ( Cut diagonally the same length as Aloo), Gobhi ( cut into florets), and if you like them, Karela, Kundri, Beetroot (ugh!)
2. 2 onions, chopped length-wise
3. Everest Pav Bhaji masala ( don't ask me how this idea struck me) - 2 tsp.
4. Chaat masala - 1/4 tsp.
5. Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp.
6. Salt - to taste
7. Oil - a little more than usual :-(  - Around 2 tbsp.? Maybe.

Procedure:

1. Microwave all the vegetables for around 4 minutes on high. They should be half-cooked.
2. In a big tawa ( or kadai) , heat oil and fry the onions till golden brown.
3. Add the half-cooked veggies and toss well. Make sure the vegetable pieces are all oil-coated so that they dont get mashed or get stuck to each other.
4. Add all the masalas and stir fry. It shouldn't take more than 2-3 minutes to get cooked with all that oil.
5. Serve hot with phulkas.

Try adding other masalas like jeera powder, dhania powder, amchur powder etc. and let me know if they taste better.