SuvaiArusuvai - Veg Recipes of India

Ingredients: Ginger - 2 inch piece (50 gms) Tomato - 6 nos (preferably the sour ones) Ghee - 2 tbsp Curry leaves - 1/2 cup Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup Asafodeita - 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Green chilly - 1 no Rasam Powder - 1/2 tbsp Salt to taste Method: Grind the tomatoes along with curry leaves, coriander leaves, asafodeita, rasam powder and salt. Peel and mash the ginger coarsely and add it to the ground paste. Add 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil. When the bubble starts appearing on top, remove from flame. In a seasoning laddle add ghee, and when hot add mustard seeds and when it splutters add green chilly slit into two. Saute for a few seconds and add it to the rasam. Though this can be had with rice, it is good to have as a soup too.

Ingredients: Apple Juice - 8 cups Cinnamon powder - 2 tspns Nutmeg powder - 2 pinches Cloves - 4 nos 1 Orange Cinnamon sticks - 2 nos Whipped cream - 1/2 cup Method: In a sauce pan heat the apple juice, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder, cloves and orange slices. Cook in medium flame till the mixture is hot, stirring occasionally. Remove from flame and transfer it to another vessel while still hot. Garnish it with cinnamon sticks and whipped cream. Great appitizer drink.

Ingredients: Water Melon - Small size 1 Ginger Juice - 1 tbsp Sugar - 2 tbsp Method: Scoop out the pulp from water melon. Deseed it and grind it along with ginger juice and sugar. Serve it with ice cubes. I had it recently in Annalakshmi restaurant. It tasted heaven. The taste was different.

Ingredients: Ginger - 1 inch piece Sugar Syrup - 1 tbsp Honey - 1 tbsp Salt one pinch Chilled water - 1 cup Method: Cut ginger into small pieces and grind it with 1/4 cup of water. Drain it through a sieve. Take 1 tbsp of ginger juice and mix it with sugar syrup, honey and salt. Add the chilled water. This is a great cooler. The above quantity is for one glass of the drink. Can increase the quantity in the same proportion for more glasses.

Ingredients: Cinnamon Powder - 2 tsp Sugar - 1/2 cup Orange Juice - 3 cups Lemon Juice - 1/2 cup Pineapple Juice - 1 cup Water - 2 cups 7 up - 2 litres Method: In a hard bottom pan add water, sugar and cinnamon powder and boil for about 5 mins or till the sugar dissolves. Transfer it to a large vessel and add orange juice, lemon juice and pine apple juice. Refrigerate it. Just before serving add 7 up or to 1/2 cup of the mixture add 1/2 cup of 7 up. Decorate the rim of the glass with a lemon rind.

Ingredients: Corinander seeds (Dhaniya) - 1/4 cup Thuvar Dal - 1/4 cup Red Chillies - 6 to 8 Hing  (asafodeita) - 1/2 tsp Tamrind - 1 lemon size                  or Tamarind Paste - 2 tbsp Ghee - 2 tbsp Tomato Puree - 2 tbsp or 1 big tomato (optional) Coriander leaves finely chopped - 3/4 th cup Salt to taste Method: Grind thuvar dal coarsely. Grind coriander seeds also coarsely. Make 3 cups of tamarind juice either out of tamarind or tamarind paste. Heat  1 tbsp of ghee in a shallow pan, add the ground thuvar dal, when it turns golden brown add the ground coriander seeds and red chillies. Add asafodeita, tamrind juice and salt and bring it to boil in a medium flame. Let it reduce in quantity (say to almost 1/2). Add 1.5 to 2 cups of water and tomato puree and bring it to boil again. Add coriander leaves to it and when it starts bubbling remove from flame. In a sesoning laddle add the remaining 1 tbsp ghee and add mustard seeds to it and let it splutter. Once done

Though I add a bit of Mint Leaves, whenever I have it at home to the Rasam I make, I came across the special Pudina Rasam recipe which every one in the family liked very much. Infact it turned out to be a great soup too. Ingredients: Mint Leaves - 1/2 bunch Tomato - 2 nos (big sized) Garlic - 2 to 3 flakes Cumin Seeds - 2 tsp Pepper - 1/2 tsp Red Chilli - 1 Tamrind Paste - 2 tbsp Salt to taste Hing - a pinch Rasam Powder - 1 tsp Ghee - 2 tbsp Method: Add 2 cups of water to tamrind paste and mix thoroughly. Cut tomatoes into small pieces. Add salt, finely chopped tomatoes and rasam powder to the tamrind paste and boil it. Grind fresh mint leaves, garlic, cumin seeds, pepper  and add it to the boiling tamrind water. Let it boil again. When it bubbles remove from flame. In a pan add ghee and when hot add mustard seeds, when it splutters add the red chilly and asafodeita. Add it to the Pudina Rasam. Decorate it with fresh mint leaves.

This is another famous drink from north India. Came to know that this helps in easy digestion. Preparation is very easy. One can prepare the ingredients and store it in a cool dry place and add it to cool water and serve whenever needed. Ingredients: Jeera - 2 tbsp Mint leaves - 2 tbsp Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp Black Salt - 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp Sugar - A pinch Chilled Water. Method: Grind mint and coriander leaves into a fine paste. Dry roast Jeera and grind it finely. Roast the powder again. Mix the ground paste, jeera powder, lemon juice, black salt and sugar. Blend them well. (This can be stored for a day or two if refrigerated). Add a tspn full of it to a glass of chilled water. Add an ice cube if prefferred; decorate it with finely chopped mint and coriander leaves. Instead of lemon juice, aamchoor powder can also be used.

Inspired by the drink that we had in Olives, I got this recipe from one of my friends. This is a very popular Rajasthani drink and is prepared whenever there is a festival or Puja in the house. Though this is a Rajasthani dish, this is famous all over North India it seems. Ingredients: Milk - 1 litre Sugar - 1/2 cup (powder it well) Pepper corns - 10 to 12 Saffron Strands - A few Almonds - 1/4 cup or 12 to 15 nos. Poppy Seeds (Khus Khus) - 2 tbsp Cardomom Powder - 1/4 tspn White pepper corns - 20 (optional) Method: Boil the milk and make it to 3/4th. Grind Almonds, Poppy Seeds, Cardomom Powder and White Pepper Corn and add it to the boiled milk and refrigerate it for 3 to 4 hours. Then drain it through a seive and add sugar, pepper corns and saffron stands. Chill again. Just before serving add a few pieces of soaked and peeled almonds and cashewnuts.