Pongal... South Indian dish ....

Today I was out at the Hindu temple and cultural center in Madrid, Iowa with my Indian student Bharat Mp from Tamil Nadu.  He told me we were eating some pongal that is a south Indian dish.  I found it very tasty and want to try it.  Here is the recipe: Sweet Pongal
Relish a sweet dish during the harvest festival of South India - ’Pongal’, and add delight to the festival. Ingredients:

1 cup raw rice
1/2 cup green gram dhal
1 cup milk
2 1/2 cups water
3 cups jaggery powdered
4 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp cashewnuts
2 tbsp raisins
5 cardamoms powdered
2 cloves powdered
1 small piece nutmeg grated or powdered
A pinch of saffron

Saag... Indian dish with leafy greens...

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/indian-saag/

Saag is an Indian dish made with leafy greens, such as collards, kale, bok choy, spinach and many others.  I used fresh kale and bok choy from our farmer's market here in Ames.  I added frozen Indian veggies from Pammel Groceries in Ames which included ratalu (Indian yam), bhindi (Indian okra), methi (fenugreek leaves that are chopped and in blocks),  and Punjabi tinda (Indian baby pumpkin).  I then boiled all these together and used my immersion mixer to combine into the saag (shown above).  I also added various Indian spices, such as tumeric, garam masala, and curry powder.  This gives it that spicy flavor associated with Indian cuisine.  This saag is a very healthy vegetarian soup, even much like a health tonic.  Enjoy!

South Indian dosas... like crepes...

One of my favorite southern Indian dishes are dosas... like crepes.  We had some out at the Hindu temple and cultural center of Iowa in Madrid, Iowa today.  They may be served also with coconut curry.
Very nice!