Radish Sambar

Ingredients

1. Small Radish - 3-4 nos.
2. Onion - 1 medium size.
3. Thoor Dhal - 1 cup.
4. Tamarind Paste - 2 tbsp.
5. Asofotedia Powder - A pinch.
6. Coriander Powder - 1 tsp.
7. Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp.
8. Sambar Powder - 1.5 tbsp.
9. Mustard Seeds - Little.
10. Jeera - Little.
11. Coriander Leaves - Little to garnish.
12. Salt - To taste.

Directions
Place the thoor dhal with two cups of water in a small vessel. Keep the vessel in the pressure cooker for three whistles. In the mean time in a bigger vessel put the tamarind paste and add some three to four cups of water. Mix the paste thoroughly in the water. Next let the water to boil in medium flame. Cut the radish into small slices. Chop the onion. After about 2 minutes of boiling the water add sambar powder to the water. Let the water boil for some more time. In another frying pan put some oil and let it heat. Then add jeera and mustard seeds to the oil. Once the mustard seeds start bursting in oil add the chopped onions too. Fry the onions until they become a little brown. Add this to the boiling mixture of water and tamarind paste. Next add the radish to the boiling water mixture for it to cook. Also add the pinch of asofotedia, 1 tsp of coriander powder and a tsp of turmeric powder to the mixture. Stir the mixture well. Then once the thoor dhal in the cooker is done add some little water to it and nicely smash it with a spoon. Then add the dhal to the mixture of tamarind paste and water. Stir well and let it cook for around 3-4 minutes. Add salt to taste(Atleast 1 tbsp is necessary). Stir well. Garnish with coriander leaves. The sambar is done! Serve hot with white rice :)

Tomato Rasam

Ingredients

1. Tomatoes - 1.
2. Thoor Dhal - 1/2 cup.
3. Tamarind Paste - 2 tsp.
4. Rasam Powder - 1.5 tbsp.
5. Asofotedia Powder - A pinch.
6. Lime Juice - 1 tbsp.
7. Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp.
8. Mustard Seeds - Little.
9. Jeera - Little.
10. Coriander Leaves - Little to garnish.
11. Salt - To taste.

Directions

Place the thoor dhal and one cup of water in a small vessel. Keep the vessel in the pressure cooker for three whistles. In the mean time in a bigger vessel put the tamarind paste and add some three to four cups of water. Mix the paste thoroughly in the water. Next let the water to boil in medium flame. Cut the tomato finely. After about 2 minutes of boiling the water, add tomatoes. Also put the 1.5 tbsp of Rasam powder into the mixture. Let the mixture boil for some more time. Once the thoor dhal in the cooker is done add some little water to it and nicely smash it with a spoon. Then add the dhal to the mixture of tamarind paste, water and tomatoes. The add 1 teaspoon of turmeric power to the mixture. Stir well. Add the 1 tsp. of lemon juice to the mixture. Add salt to taste(Atleast 1 tbsp is necessary). Garnish with coriander leaves, mustard seeds and jeera. The rasam is done ! Serve hot with white rice :)

RICE in Rice Cooker

This is probably the easiest of the lot!
Graduate students it is best to buy a rice cooker. There will be a small cup that comes with the cooker itself. Some good brands here are Aroma, Black and Decker and many more. The cost of these are in the range of 12$ - 18$. These are avaliable in Wal-Mart.

Directions:
Put as many cups of rice you want in the vessel of the rice cooker. For every cup of rice add two cups of water and close the lid and turn the switch to Cook! When the rice is cooked the switch turns back to warm and its ready to eat. Just one thing to remember. For every cup of rice add two cups of water. If there are four people keep atleast 3 cups of rice.