Karamani Sundal

From Gita Iyer (Agraharam YouTube videos)

Ingredients
Black eyed peas (karamani) - 1 cup, soaked for a few hours and pressure cooked with salt for 5 mins.
Red chillis - 6
Channa dal - 1 tbsp
Dhania seeds - 1 tbsp
Uncooked rice - 1 tsp
Hing - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - a few

Tempering:
Oil
Mustard - 1 tsp
Curry leaves- a few
Red chillis - 1

Method

1. Dry roast the following ingredients together in the same order: channa dal, red chillis, dhania seeds, raw rice, curry leaves, hing. Grind to rava-like consistency in the mixie.
2. Temper with tempering ingredients and add in the cooked karamani. Stir fry till all water has evaporated.
3. Sprinkle ground powder per  taste and adjust for salt. 
4. Store any remaining powder in air-tight container for future use.

Ellu sadham

From Gita Iyer (Agraharam YouTube videos)

Ingredients
Black sesame seeds - 1/4 cup
Urad dal - 1/8 cup
Red chillis - 4 long
Curry leaves  - 10
Salt
Rice (sona masoori, ponni etc) - 1 cup uncooked - cook it like you regularly would.

Tempering:
Sesame oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - a few

Method

1. Dry roast the urad and the red chillis and curry leaves till urad turns red/brown. Set aside
2. Toast sesame seeds till it pops/becomes crunchy. 
3. Cool both urad and sesame seeds into a slightly coarse mixture. Use short pulses else sesame seeds will exude oil and the mixture will turn into a big glop.
4. Add tempering ingredients into a pan and when mustard pops, add the ground powder.
5. Mix the ellu podi with rice as required and serve.

Peerkangai Kootu

From Gita Iyer (Agraharam YouTube videos)

Ingredients
Peerkangai (ridge gourd) - 2 medium size
Green chilli - 1 
Poppy seeds - 1/2 tsp
Coconut - 1/4 cup
Milk 1-2 tbsp
Pottu kadalai - 1 tbsp
Moong + tur dal - 1/3 cup (pressure cook with turmeric, salt and 1/2 tsp jeera)

Tempering:
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Coconut oil

Method

1. Cook chopped peerkangai with turmeric and salt till done.
2. Microwave coconut with a few tbsp of milk for a minute.
3. Grind poppy seeds + coconut + green chilli + pottu kadalai.
4. Add the boiled dal to the cooked peerkangai and bring to a boil for 10 mins
5. Add the coconut paste and bring to a boil and switch of heat.
6. Temper with the tempering ingredients.

Paruppu usili

Again, from Gita Iyer (Agraharam recipes YouTube)

I usually make the whole amount of the steamed usili mixture specified below and split it into two and freeze one of the halves. It de-freezes beautifully (take out of the freezer the previous night and put it into the regular refrigerator section) to make another batch of paruppu usili. If you do that, reduce the beans amount by half.

Ingredients
Tur dal 1/2 cup (soak for 2 hours)
Channa dal 1/2 cup (soak for 2 hours)
Red chillis - 6
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Hing - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 10
Salt
Green beans - About 40 (chopped)

Tempering:
Oil
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Method
1. Grind the soaked dals with red chilis, turmeric, hing, curry leaves and salt. No extra water should be added and it should be ground a little coarsely.
2. Put the ground dal mixture into a pan making little depressions here and there and pressure cook this for 12 minutes.
3. When the usili is cooled down, crumble it with your fingers.
4. Add a generous amount of oil to a pan and pop the mustard seeds.
5. Add the chopped beans with a little water and cook till beans are soft (should not be mushy)
6. Add the usili mixture, mix well and roast till you can see brown spots here and there.

Thani kuzhambu with pumpkin

Another one from Gita Iyer (Agraharam recipes YouTube)

Ingredients
Red chilles 5
Channa dal 1 tbsp
Dhania seed 1 tbsp
Urad dal 1 tbsp
Shredded coconut - 3 tbsp
Tamarind extract 1/2-1tsp (depending on how sour you want it)
Jaggery - 1 small piece
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 10
Pumpkin about 1/4 kg - cut into pieces and cooked with salt and turmeric

To temper
Channa dal - 2 tsp
Urad dal - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Coconut oil

Method

1. Roast red chillies, channa dal, dhania seeds and urad dal till it begins to change color. Then add the coconut and continue roasting it till coconut turns light brown. Add the curry leaves. Grind this roasted mixture into a fine paste.
2. Heat coconut oil in a pan and add all tempering ingredients. When mustard begins to pop, add the tamarind extract mixture (mix concentrate with water if using concentrate) and the jaggery.
3. When above mixture comes to a boil, add salt and 1/2 tsp turmeric and boil.
4. Add the pumpkin and let the flavors blend in
5. Add the ground coconut paste and bring to a boil and switch off heat.

Vaazhakkai kootu kuzhambu

Another winner from Gita Iyer (Agraharam YouTube videos)

Ingredients
Tur dal - 1/4 cup (pressure cook with a little turmeric)
Black eyed beans - 3 tbsp cooked with salt
Raw banana - 1 medium size, chopped into bite size pieces
Coconut 1/4 cup
Urad dal 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Sambhar powder - 2 tsp
Tamarind extract (1/2 tsp tamarind concentrate)
Salt

To temper
Coconut oil
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - a few

Method

1. Fry 1/2 tsp urad + 1/4 cup coconute + 1 sprig curry leaves. Urad dal should be roasted but coconut should not brown.
2. Mix chopped raw banana, sambhar powder, tamarind extract, cooked black beans (there should hardly be any water in this mixsture) and salt. Pressure cook for 1 whistle (turn off stove after first whistle.
3. Boil the pressure cooked raw banana mixture on the stove with a little water till the raw smell goes off.
4. Add the cooked tur dal to the above mixture and let it boil for 10 mins.
5. Add the ground coconut paste the boiled mixture and bring to a boil. Adjust for salt and turn off heat.
6. Season with all the tempering ingredients.

Keerai Poricha Kootu

I have a bunch of delicious recipes from the fabulous Gita Iyer of Agraharam (YouTube) fame. I am noting them all down for my own reference.

Ingredients
Whole green moong dal - 1 cup
Urad dal - 2tsp
Red chilles (dry) 2
Black whole pepper 1/4 tsp
Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
Spinach - 1 big bunch
Curry leaves - a few
Salt
Coconut oil

For tempering
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Coconut oil

Method:
1. Cook whole green moong dal for 15 minutes in pressure cooker.
2. Roast 2tsp urad dal and curry leaves in coconut oil till urad dal is well roasted (red/brown color).
3. Grind urad dal + curry leaves from above with raw coconut.
4. Cook spinach with a couple tablespoons of water and salt till it is wilted and cooked.
5. Add the cooked green moong dal to the cooked spinach and let it boil for 10 minutes.
6. Add the ground coconut mixture to the cooked spinach-moong dal and let it come to boil and switch off heat immediately. Adjust for salt if needed.
7. Temper with mustard and urad dal (no hing or curry leaves).