Bevina hoovu gojju / Veppampoo Pachadi

Ingredients: 
Fresh Neem leaves      1 tblsp
Mustard                        1 teaspoon             
Methi                            1/2 tsp
Hing                              a pinch
Dry red chillies              2
Tamarand pulp             extracted from tamarind  the size of a large marble
Saarina Pudi                1 1/2 - 2 tsp (depending on how spicy you want it to be) Jaggery                        the size of a marble ( or enough to balance the spicy taste)
Ghee                            a little to fry the neem leaves 
Method:
Fry fresh neem  flowers in a bit of ghee and keep them aside. 
Season a spoon of mustard, half a spoon of methi, a bit of hing and a couple of dry chillies.  
Add the fried flowers and tamarind syrup.  Spray half a spoon of turmeric powder.  Let the syrup not be very thick.  Add enough water and salt.  
Boil well for at least 15 minutes on medium flame.  
Add 1 and a half spoons or 2 spoons of saarina pudi and boil further.  Then add jaggery (enough to balance the sourness and spiciness) and curry leaves. 
Gojju is ready. 
                                                                                        Veppampoo Pachadi

Dried or Fresh Neem flowers            1 tsp
Tamarind Pulp                                   From tamarind the size of a large marble
Chilli Powder                                    1/4 tsp
Powdered jaggery                            4-5 tablsp
Ghee                                                1/2 tsp  to fry the flowers
Salt                                                   a tiny pinch

For tempering:
Oil                                                    1 tsp
Mustard                                            1/2 tsp

Method:
Fry the flowers in Ghee.Dried flowers will serve the purpose but if you can get fresh flowers use them.
Add the tamarind juice and a tiny pinch of salt. Boil for a few minutes till the raw smell of tamarind changes.
Add the Jaggery powder and chilli powder and mix well.
You can adjust the taste and vary the quantities of powders according to your preference now..
Cook for 3 minutes on a low flame.
To thicken the pachadi you can dissolve half a spoon of rice flour in water and add it to the pachadi.
Mix well . Bring it to a boil and switch off.
Season with Mustard spluttered in hot oil.

Variation:
This pachadi can be made with a combination of Mango amd neem leaves.
Cut a mango into small pieces and cook it in water with a little salt. Slit a few green chillies and add them to the mangoes boiling in water. Add Jaggery and cook till the mix thickens. Fry neem leaves in ghee and add them to the pachadi.  Temper with mustard spluttered in hot oil
(In this case mango and green chillies replace tamarind and red chilli powder in the earlier recipe.)

Recipes courtesy: Sudha Narasimhachar (via dailysamayal)

Menthyada Gojju

Ingredients:

For Basic Gojju

Fenugreek (Methi seeds)              : 1 tblsp

Tamarind pulp                                 :  from lemon sized tamarind

Rasam powder/ mensina pudi       : 1 tsp (recipe here)

Jaggery                                            :  a large piece

Water                                                :  2 cups

Salt to taste

For powder:

Chana dal ( bengal gram)               : 1 tsp

Udad dal (black gram)                    : 1 tsp

Jeera (Cumin)                                 : ½ tsp

Fenugreek/ Methi                            : ½ tsp

Pepper                                             : 1 tsp

Til (Sesame seeds)                         : 2 tsp

Copra (dry coconut) grated            : 2 table spoons

For seasoning:

Curry Leaves

Asafoetida

Chana dal

Mustard seeds

Red chillies - 2

Oil

Preparation Method:

Soak tamarind in hot water and extract pulp. 

Take a fresh pan and in a little oil fry chana dal, urad dal, jeera, methi, pepper and til. Grind with copra to fine powder. This is for flavour.

Fry methi seeds in oil till a nice golden brown, add tamarind pulp, water and jaggery and bring to boil. Turn flame to simmer, add salt and rasam powder and allow cooking on a slow flame.

Add ground masala to the gojju. Stir well. When it has cooked for a short time, turn off flame. Remember, Gojju thickens when it begins to cool.

Take a large pan and heat two ladles of oil. Splutter mustard seeds, fry chana dal, hing, chillies and karipatta. Add seasoning to gojju. Serve menthyada gojju as a side dish or dip. This has a reasonable shelf life and preserves well in the fridge.

Recipe courtesy: Ratna Rao (via Dailysamayal)