Coconut oligalu or Coconut bhakshyalu

Ingredients:
Cardomon powder-1tbsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Coconut-1 cup
Jaggery-1 cup
Maida -4 tbsp
Atta-1/2 cup

Preparation:

Make dough with maida and atta, Make a soft dough and keep it aside.

Grind the Coconut piece first and then add jaggery. Do not add water.

Keep it in a thick bottomed vessel and heat till it becomes Soft. You should be able to make round balls with it. Add cardamom powder to this mix.

Now make the dough into small balls in equal proportions. Roll each ball like puree and stuff with the a spoon of coconut-jaggery mix.

Roll stuffed balls like chepati.We call them as oligalu or bhakshyalu. Now fry them on a chapathi pan with lots of ghee.

Serve them hot or cold.  This is a Ugadi special sweet in Andhra Pradesh.

Thotakura Vepudu ~ Amaranth Leaves Stir-Fry

Ingredients:
Amaranth Leaves Bunch - 1 medium ( chopped 2 cups)
Onion- 1/2 medium
chana dal-1tbsp
urad dal-1tbsp
cumin seeds-1/2tbsp
mustard seeds-1/2tbsp
putnala pappu powder-2tbsp
Green Chilli - 2
salt - 1/2 tsp
Cilantro - 1 Tbsp
Oil - 1 Tbsp

Method:

Heat non-stick pan and add oil. Once the oil is hot add the chana dal, urad dal, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds, followed by curry leaves.

Add chopped onions, green chili and turmeric powder. Saute for 2 min.  Add Chopped Amaranth leaves and stems to the pan and mix it well with onions. Saute for 2 min. Once the leaves are wilted add salt. Keep it on high and stir-fry. 

putnala pappu powder, saute on medium flame for 3-4 min

Taste and adjust the seasonings and add Cilantro on top and switch off the stove. 

Serve hot with white rice. Enjoy!

Tips:

• If Amaranth is abundant in your area you can separate the stems from leaves and make this fry only with stems. We have scarcity of Amaranth so just used stems and leaves together in this recipe. 
• Instead of grinding the garlic you can use the coarsely chopped garlic, in that case add garlic to the oil after the tempering is done, so that gets roasted leaving nice aroma to the fry.