Idli n Dosa (with Idli rava)

Ok...so this blog had been in cold storage for a very long time....circumstances beyond my control....had been thinking about writing again....but nothing excited me enuff to....bake/cook n ofcourse to blog about...

So what was the trigger...well that's what I wanted to let everyone know...I made idli batter at home after a very long time...I have been making different types of dosas...n ..chillas...and have also tried out some store made batter for idlis ( good ones I have to admit ) ...

Then I decided to make it at home....I had bought some idli rava from the store and had wanted to use it up...now our traditional method is Udad dal n rice...(which I have tried many times before with varying result of softness)...this was a new option which I was planning to try out...so I checked out some recipes from the net using idli rava instead of rice.....got a few different options...decided to go with one of those...n...gosh...it turned out AWESOME...

Adai Dosa



Adai Dosa

 

 It is our anniversary today – and we have planned to go out to dinner, but I had wanted to make something different, something special at home…so decided I would make dosa the previous evening for dinner along with sambhar, potato veggie, chutney….hubby loves dosas ( I think he married a south Indian hoping he would have dosa, idli  everyday,  didn’t happen ) …...but as I said special occasion calls for special dosa…and so today it was the turn of adai dosa…....a mix of various dals (lentils) & rice …..

For a South Indian idli, dosas are normally a common affair…. at Mom’s place she would make the regular rice-udad dal dosa, or else neer dosa – which is only rice ( some make it with coconut & rice ), and she had her own concoctions when she had leftover batter – she would add rava, or maida or even egg and increase the quantity so that she had sufficient dough for another breakfast ( that was when we normally had it ) ….

In my case initially I would make only the regular dosa – rice-udad dal combo, tried neer dosa a couple of times without much success…it requires a skill to pour the batter and turn the skillet  to cover the entire pan and make a paper thin dosa – my mom’s were so amazing that we would generally coax her to make some for us.

Later I broadened my scope ( thru net, friends etc..) and tried  few other variations of dosa – one of which is already on my blog – pesarattu and the other is adai dosa. Am hoping to attempt the neer dosa one day ( hopefully with more success than my previous attempts, wish me luck )….nyways thought I should post my adai on the blog, this is one of the tastiest dosa and sometimes I feel that it can be had on it’s own ( almost )…it is that good….and here’s how I go about it…..

Oh and before I get down to the recipe let me tell you that there are many different combinations and proportions for this recipe – you could try out your combi too….so not too worry about the exact proportions….if you do not have any one dal, omit it or use more of the others…

Ingredients:

1 cup regular rice

½ cup idli rice, or you can use boiled rice

½ cup each of tuvar, moong, chana, udad dal  ( total 2 cups )

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

2-3 green chillies

A few sprigs of coriander

1 medium onion chopped ( optional )

 

Method :

1)      Soak  both rice, all dals, fenugreek seeds in sufficient water for 6-8 hrs or overnight.

2)      Chop green chillies  roughly…and add to above mixture.

3)      Grind with little water to make a fine batter. Do not add too much water initially, you can add it later if required to get dosa batter consistency.

 

4)      Keep for 6-8 hrs or overnight, the batter will ferment and rise to twice it’s quantity.

5)      Add salt to taste and chopped coriander and lightly mix it in.

6)      Take a ladle full of batter and pour onto a non-stick pan. Keep on high heat for a minute and then reduce the heat, keep covered, after a minute check if dosa is done on one side, turn the dosa over and keep for a minute on medium to low heat on the other side.



 

7)      Once done on both sides – take out and serve hot.

8)      If adding onions  - you could either put it in the batter along with coriander or after pouring the batter onto the pan you could sprinkle the onions on the top.

Enjoy !!!

The dosa was a big hit – took some over to Mom’s too…she too loved it, made some mini masala utappam with it the next day ( day of anniversary – so breakfast also was made special )…..here’s wishing my dearest hubby a very happy anniversary….and a big thank you for all the wonderful years that we have spent together.

Pesarattu Dosa - Green Gram Dosa

Pesarattu
Green gram dosa

A few days back it was raksha bandhan / balev...and I wanted to make some sweet for the occasion - decided to make puran poli / vedmi...though that is not the ideal sweet for decorating the rakhi thali...but it has been some time since we had made it and it is a particular favourite of Mom's ( which is another odd thing...you would have thought that I would have probably made something my brother liked...but he is not that fussy about sweets - so it was ok ...I guess ...I hope...I think I had better ask?!?). Regardless it was a good raksha bandhan.....got calls from my sister-in-laws too wishing me...thank you To & Ru....

So nyways thought I would post that down - but the past few days was too busy, besides which I had not taken any pictures of the process or the end product....and now it is all eaten and done with...so maybe the next time I make it....

I had missed blogging the past week...and so when I made dosa yesterday, immediately got out my camera - took pictures before, after and during...and here I am...pictures and post all set to go...

Rice Kheer

Rice Kheer

This plan happened in a very roundabout way...in the morning I started thinking about breakfast, lunch, dinner etc...as in what to prepare...what to organise..what I need...what I have...and such...

I had made some dosa batter...with rice, udad dal, ( the whole process...of soaking, grinding, fermenting etc..) ...had then proceeded to make dosa, sambhar, chutney for lunch a couple of days back...and had some leftover batter...so as I said in my thoughts was to use that up...and decided I would  steam it & voila we have dhokla....that decided on, was wondering what else with that...when hubby suggested kheer( hmmmm )....good idea - rice kheer goes really well with it....and that is how this post came about...made it ...took some pictures ...and decided to put it down...

With re. to kheer or payasam ( as we call it down south...er Southern part of India ) ...there are a lot of options, we make it with sabudana, rice, dal(s), vermicilli ( think I have covered most of it ) but with dhokla normally at my in-laws place it is made with rice...so that was what it would be today...

This is another very simple recipe ( my favourite kind )...and the end result ...awesome....and can be had just by itself, or with dhokla as we plan to later...or it could be served as dessert after a meal...any which way it is delicious...

Capsicum & Tomato Rice

What's for lunch / dinner ? This refrain sometimes makes me throw up my hands...

Racking my brains and trying to come up with something different ( within my repertoire ) every time is not an easy feat...somehow when we were abroad our fare was more varied - it included pastas, some Mexican dishes, more soups and bread  & I find that somehow on our return our general lunch or dinner is chapatis, subzis, rice, dal, salad sort of thing....other than weekends when we would make other stuff...or even one pot dishes...sometimes it is a mix...of the regular and something new...but I feel I need to dig deeper and find some long lost recipes of mine...

So I am more than happy to come across new recipes which gives me more options to our regular fare...which does becomes boring after a while... :-( .....and gives me something new to answer to the above question...

I came across an old recipe book with a whole bunch of ways to make rice...it was like finding a treasure...it makes for a great light lunch or dinner with salad or raita or just curds or lassi...especially on a hot summer day...

So here goes the recipe for the capsicum & tomato rice....not sure why it was called Mexican rice in the book - maybe the combi of capsicum & tomato? anyways I did add a twist to the actual recipe by adding some tomato ketchup...this is to moisten the dish ( do not like if the rice is too dry ) and for added flavour...

Capsicum & Tomato Rice

Ingredients :

1 cup - long grain rice - or basmati
2 capsicums ( green or a mix of green & yellow ), chopped into strips
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 inch ginger, chopped
1-2 green chillies, chopped
salt to taste
1/2 tsp jeera
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 -1/2 tsp red chilli powder
2 Tblspns tomato ketchup

Method :

1) Soak rice for about 30 minutes - then cook it with about 1 and half cups of water and a pinch of salt till done...try to keep the rice grains separate and not mushy.

2) In a non-stick pan, heat a tsp of oil, add jeera, and when it splutters, add the chopped ginger and green chillies.

3) Fry for half a minute and then add chopped onions till it turns translucent, then add turmeric and chilli powder.
Then add chopped capsicums and fry till it softens a bit - for a couple of minutes.

4) Add chopped tomatoes and cook till it gets soft and mushy...and then add 2 tablespoons of tomato ketchup and stir it in.

5) Stir in the cooked rice gently, keeping the flame on low so as to not overcook any further...while seeing that all the grains are coated with the above capsicum, tomato mixture.
Switch off the heat...and garnish with a few sprigs of coriander leaves and serve.

Enjoy !!!

Manni .....Halwa from Karnataka



Manni

This is a sweet dish made predominantly in Karnataka...or rather it has come from there - now it is of course made the world over where all the Kannadigas reside..:-)

Each house has it's own version of the recipe....and there are quite a few that just like it the way it is made at their own or their mother's place...

The original recipe calls for rice, coconut or coconut milk and jaggery...along with cashews, raisins and cardamom...

My mom had modified the above to include a whole bunch of other things ...one to make it more healthy and second to utilize what is at home ( I think )....and we having gotten used to the way she makes it .... & do it the same way...
After making ( in huge quantities )  she used to pour it out onto plates and also 2 elliptical steel containers - so that once it had cooled we could cover with lid and take home...it made for convenient storage in the fridge and gave us our equal portions ( this is me and my sister - once we were married and had moved  out...)
So now I do the same....

So going back to the recipes given below are both ...

The first one is...

Ingredients :

1 cup rice - soaked for 2-3 hrs
1 cup coconut - grated
3/4 cup jaggery
1/4 cup cashews broken
1/4 cup raisins
2-3 pods of cardamom - crushed
2 tsps of ghee
a pinch of salt

Method:

Grind to a fine paste the soaked rice and coconut - then add jaggery, cashew, raisins and cardamom - along with about 5-6 cups of water....in a heavy bottomed pan.
Bring to a boil - then reduce heat and on low flame - keep stirring till it all comes together...Add the ghee, pinch of salt and stir till it is incorporated.
This entire process takes at least 30 - 45 minutes...
Once it is done - pour it onto a plate and cool - then refrigerate to harden - and cut into diamond or square shapes.

This is the simpler method - and the halwa is more light ....since it uses only rice...
Instead of coconut - some use coconut milk - in that case the rice is soaked and ground to a fine paste with a little water, then coconut milk is removed from 1 coconut - to get about 4 cups of coconut milk and it is mixed with the rice paste and jaggery and the process is the same as above.

At our place we used to make it with 1/2 rice and rava mixture...as below

Ingredients:

1 cup rice
1 cup rava ( sometimes 3/4 rava & 1/4 ragi )
2 cups coconuts grated ( some tender coconut was also added ) ( as I mentioned we would use what was available at home at the time of making )
1 cup of cream ( this was malai which was gathered from the milk and stored in the fridge for making of ghee )
1/4 + 1/2 cup cashew
1/4 cup raisins
8 - 10 cardamoms crushed
a pinch of saffron
1 and 1/2 cup of jaggery
1 tsp of roasted and then crushed fenugreek seeds.
1/4 tsp salt.

Method :

1) Soak rice for 2-3 hours. Then grind the rice along with the coconut & 1/4 cashew adding water as required till it is a fine paste.
2) Transfer to a heavy bottomed pan and add the cream of milk, 1/2 cup cashew chopped, raisins, jaggery, salt, fenugreek seeds powder.
3) Add about 8 cups of water in parts - first 4 cups of water and mix well and heat the pan on high flame till it comes to a boil stirring continuously...then reduce the flame and continue to mix.
(If during the grinding process a lot of water was used then you can reduce the above 8 cups to 6 )
4) After about 10 mins - add the balance water, cup at a time - and mix to incorporate - this is so that it can absorb it slowly and continue cooking.
Also add saffron and cardamom powder at this stage.
5) At this point you can do a taste test and adjust salt, sweet ( jaggery ) and even fenugreek seeds ......it should not be bitter - the fenugreek  just heightens the taste of coconut and jaggery.
6) The mixture should be stirred till it all starts coming together - then pour it onto big plates ( at least 2 ) or containers. Due to the cream - the plates needs no greasing...
7) Cool for about 1/2 hr - then refregirate and then cut into pieces and serve. You can decorate the top with either cashew or raisin.
Enjoy !!!

Carrot Rice

My pressure cooker has been on the blink ....and before you ask...yes I have only the one....and next question why have I not rushed out to get another...am still trying to figure that one out...

Sometimes I feel I have some sort of inertia...am intent on following Newton's First Law of motion...and that means no movement until an external force is applied....wondering  what will be the stimulating factor for me...anyways I digress. 

So how do I manage? What happens to our rounded out meals of  chapatis, subzis, rice, dal and salads...well till now no dals have been cooked (since pc malfunction)  other than moong dal ( yellow split dal )....which being easy to cook in regular pan on stove top is first in line...and of course the standard khichdi - rice & moong dal ( again the same reason )...curd rice...etc... and at times have also borrowed some cooked tuvar dal ( have a source conveniently situated )...

But today I felt I needed to hunt out something new in rice dish.....otherwise our taste buds might languish in gastronomic purgatory...and had also wanted to make use of some carrots which would soon be meeting it's demise too....and so set out on a internet search for carrot, rice...and somehow in my mind ginger seemed to go with it...so added ginger to the list...

Actually did find quite a few options on the net...was totally surprised....what's with all of these recipes...did all of them also have their pressure cookers on the blink ?....
Not planning to look a gift horse in the mouth...I decided to adapt one of them to suit my ingredients...and so here's how I went about it...

Ingredients :

1 cup of rice
2 medium carrots, grated
1 small onion, chopped
1 green chilli, chopped ( could add more if you like it spicier)
pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 inch piece of ginger, grated or chopped fine
1 tblspn of roughly crushed roasted peanuts
1/2 tsp urad dal
salt to taste
2 tsp butter, 1 tsp olive oil or any other vegetable oil
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chilli powder


Method:
Wash and soak rice for about 20 minutes, then cook till done.
Heat a non-stick pan.  Add the butter and olive oil.
Then add mustart seeds, when it splutters, add urad dal
Add onions and fry till it turns translucent.
Then add the ginger and green chilli.
Then adding the crushed peanuts, give it a quick stir and then add carrots.
Add turmeric and chilli powder and salt...cover and let it cook for couple of minutes..till the carrots have softened.
Add the cooked rice and mix it all together gently -taking care not to crush the rice.
Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Add few coriander springs and serve.

Enjoy !!!