Lentil Soup or Ulava Charu or Lentil Rasam

To make rasam powder

1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp urad daal
1 tsp chana daal
2 red dry chillies

Dry roast all ingredients for rasam powder and grind into powder using coffee blender. Keep aside.

1 cup lentils (ulavalu/horse gram)
6 cups water (more if necessary)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp tamarind paste
1/4 tsp turmeric

Seasoning:

1 tsp mustard seeds
4 or 5 curry leaves
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp urad daal
2 dry red chillies
3 cloves garlic (crushed)

Boil lentils in water with turmeric until lentils are cooked. Add more water if necessary. Let cool. Blend lentils into paste using a spatula or if you are using a blender make sure paste does not become too fine. Fry all seasoning ingredients except garlic in oil until mustard cracks. Add garlic after mustard cracks. Add the seasoning mix to lentil paste. Mix well. Add salt, tamarind paste and 1 tbsp rasam powder and mix thoroughly and let this liquid boil. Turn it off after boiling point.

Garam Masala Powder

6 Coriander seeds
10 cardamoms
2 tsps whole black peppers
3 tsps cumin seed
3 or 4 one " sticks of cinnamon
14 cloves

Grind all ingredients to smooth powder.

Samosa

For Stuffing:

4 potatoes
1 cup peas
2 big onions
1 green chilly
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp amchoor powder (mango powder)
1 pinch turmeric
1 " ginger
1/2 tsp garam masala powder (check for recipe in powders category)
Oil for frying

Seasoning:

1 tsp mustard
1 tsp urad daal

For samosa wraps:

You could buy ready made samosa wraps in Indian grocery stores but you could also make home made wrappers.

2 Cups all purpose flour
1 pinch salt
3/4 cup water

Mix above ingredients to make thick dough like you make for poori. Keep aside for 1 hr.

Cook potatoes in water, peel skin off and smash them. In a pan add oil and seasoning ingredients. When mustard cracks add onions and chillies. When onions turn brown add peas and rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Add smashed potatoes. Stir well and keep aside.

Make small ball out of all purpose flour mixture. Using a rolling pin press the ball to make circle with a dimes width. Cut the circle to half. Put a spoon full of stuffing in the center of half circle. Fold wrap to make a triangle shape and close the edges pressing hard. You could use wet hands for closing the edges. Like this repeat procedure to make as many samosa's as you make with the dough. Deep fry one at a time in oil until golden brown.  

Ribbon Muruku

1 Cup gram flour (besan)
2 cup rice flour
1/2 stick butter
1 tsp cumin powder
1 " ginger
4 green chillies
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup water

Blend ginger and green chillies with water and squeeze out juice. Repeat this procedure until squeeze all the juice and then throw out pulp. Mix cumin powder salt and flours and knead with butter. Add ginger and chilli juice and water. Make dough. Prepare chakkli and press with slit to shape ribbon muruku. Fill with dough and press into hot oil skillet until golden brown. Drain and remove. Cool and store in air tight container.

Hot Boondi

2 Cups gram flour (besan)
3/4 Cup rice flour
1 1/3 - 1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp salt
1 pinch baking powder
Oil for frying
few curry leaves

Sift the flours with baking soda. Add the rest of the ingredients except curry leaves. Mix with water. Heat oil on medium heat. Hold the strainer or spoon with holes above the oil in the skillet. Take a large spoon full of mixture and pour into the small holed spoon and spread gently. Small portions of the dough drops into the oil to make round droplets of boondi. Remove the spoon from above the oil as soon as the skillet is 3/4th full of boondi. Stir and fry until golden brown. Drain in a slotted spoon and remove. Prepare all the dough in the same manner. Be sure to stir gently with the spoon and not fast to avoid the boondi from falling in clusters instead of small droplets. Fry curry leaves in little oil, then smash leaves and mix with boondi.

Snack Mixture

1/2 Cup peanuts
1/3 cup chana daal
1 cup broken rice sticks (atukulu/poha)
1 cup rice crispies (murmaralu/mummra)
1 cup boondi (optional)
1 cup vamu pusa (optional)
few curry leaves
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic paste
1 tsp amchoor powder (dry mango powder)
1 tsp ghee (melted unsalted butter)

Soak chana daal in water for an hr and drain. Heat oil in a skillet on medium high heat and fry chana daal to light brown. Set aside on paper towel. Fry rice sticks until fluffed. Fry peanuts for a couple of mins. Fry curry leaves for 30 secs. Mix along with garlic paste, ghee, amchoor powder with the rest of the ingredients.

Vamupusa

2 Cups gram flour (besan)
1 cup rice flour
1/4 stick butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ajwain seeds (vamu seeds) coarsely ground
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 1/2 cups water

Mix butter with salt, ajwain seeds, chilli powder and flours. Knead until smooth with water. Place dough in chukli press using small holes mould. Fry until golden brown. Cool and store in a tight container.