Kalkandu Vadai

Surprised myself that I am attempting this one this late in life...lot of my friends and family have been doing it for ages!!! Simple recipe, but need to be careful not watering the batter and cooking it in slow flame.
Recipe:
* Soak whole urad for 2hrs and filter it well (strain water as much as U can)
* For 1 cup urad, you can do 1 cup or 3/4th cup sugar or kalkandu
* Grind the kalkandu into powder and then start grinding the urad.
* After few minutes, add the powder to the urad and grind well. DO NOT ADD WATER!!!!
* Once it is fine paste, take it out. Batter will be little sticky.
* Make vadas and deep fry. Cook in slow flame.
* Let it cool down and then serve.
Pros: U can make it well ahead of time, it stays soft for a long time
Cons: Very Oily and also splatters a lot as U make the vadas, so make it before cleaning the stove!!!

Nachos & Quesadillas

Most of us here in the US will enjoy this..for the fact that U feel fresh after the meal. This is similar to the burrito bowl that I posted few months back. More pictures...Nachos & Quesadillas
Recipe:
* Black beans soaked, pressure cooked with salt, little garlic and taco seasoning
* I mashed half of them and saved the rest in a bowl
* Shredded cheddar cheese, guacamole (avocado mashed with lemon, salt and little onion, g.chillies)
* Fajita - sauted onions & color peppers (capsicum) with black pepper, salt
* Store bought - medium salsa, sour cream and optional => cheese sauce/queso
* Chopped black olives, green onions, lettuce
* Home made salsa - little onion, tomato, cilantro, lemon juice, salt
Nachos: Spread some tortilla chips and layer all of the above. Optional, if using shredded cheese, layer cheese on chips and melt in microwave for few seconds and then add the other toppings.
Quesadillas: On a flour tortilla, spread the mashed beans and top it with lot of shredded cheese, toast it in a tava. Then rest of the toppings can be served as sides.