Macaroni Salad

What you need:
3 cups cooked macaroni (shell or cut)
2 tablespoons chopped dill
1 cup thick curds
2 tablespoons fresh cream
1 green chilli, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
salt to taste
For the garnishing
lettuce leaves
spring onion trees

Method
1. Heat the butter, add the macaroni and dill and cook for 1 minute.
2. Mix the curds, cream, green chilli and salt thoroughly and mix with the macaroni.
3. Surround with lettuce leaves, decorate with spring onion trees and serve warm.

Beetroot Salad

What you need:
4 medium-sized beetroots, boiled
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
For the dressing
vinaigrette dressing

Method
1. Cut the beetroots into small cubes. Add the dressing and put in the refrigerator.
2. Just before serving, add the dill leaves.
3. Serve cold.

Carrot Salad

What you need:
2 teacups grated carrots
1 head lettuce
1/2 teacup chopped dates
2 tablespoons chopped toasted almonds (optional)
For the dressing
honey and lemon dressing

Method
1. Put the carrots in ice-cold water for 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly.
2. Put the lettuce in ice-cold water for 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly.
3. Break off the individual lettuce leaves into bitesize pieces and prepare a bed of the leaves in a serving bowl.
4. Spread the grated carrots in the middle.
5. Sprinkle the chopped dates and toasted almonds over the carrots.
6. Put in the refrigerator.
7. Serve cold with the dressing in a separate bowl.

Almost Soup

What you need
2 coconuts
6 teaspoons cornflour
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons ghee
2 curry leaves
To be ground into a paste
2 tablespoons chopped coriander
2 small green chillies
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Method
1. Grate the coconut. Add 6 cups of warm water and blend in a blender. Strain to obtain coconut milk.
2. Heat the ghee and fry the cumin seeds for 1 minute. Add the paste and curry leaves and fry again for 1 minute.
3. Mix the cornflour and coconut milk, add to the paste and boil for a few minutes.
4. Serve hot.

Fried Vegetables

What you need:
3 teacups vegetables (baby corn, capsicums, cabbage and cauliflower), cut into long strips
oil for deep frying
For the batter
5 tablespoons cornflour
5 tablespoons plainflour
1/2 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper powder
1/4 teaspoon Ajinomoto powder (optional)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
To serve
green garlic sauce
schezuan sauce

Method
1. Mix the ingredients for the batter and add enough water to make a thick batter.
2. Dip the strips into the batter and deep fry in oil.
3. Serve hot with green garlic sauce and Schezuan sauce.

Chinese Soup

What you need:

6 teacups clear vegetable stock
1 teacup mushrooms, sliced or baby corn (parboiled)
1 teacup carrots, sliced (parboiled)
10 to 12 whole spinach leaves
1/2 teaspoon oil
salt to taste

Method
1. Put the stock to boil.
2. Add the mushrooms and carrots and boil for 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add the spinach leaves and salt. Boil for few seconds.
4. Trickle the oil on top.
5. Serve hot with chilies in vinegar, chilli sauce and soya sauce.

Cocunut Rice

What you need:
3 teacups cooked rice
2 teacups chopped spinach (palak) or 1 cup chopped suva bhaji (dill)
1 chopped onion
2 chopped green chillies
3 tablespoons ghee
salt to taste
For serving
coconut sauce

Method
1. Heat the oil in a tava and fry the onion for half a minute.
2. Add the green chillies and fry again for a few seconds.
3. Add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add the rice and salt and cook for a few minutes.
5. Serve hot with coconut sauce.