Ragi Rotti - Rotti made from Millet Flour

Ragi rotti served with Greens Huli and Spicy Chutney Powder

Ragi or Millet is a grain that is considered extremely nutritious. This grain is ground into flour and is very popularly used in Karnataka and some parts of Andhra Pradesh. Raw Ragi, which are green in color, tiny beads and almost looks like mustard seeds are usually roasted, smeared with some salt and a spicy cilantro chutney and consumed as a snack in some villages in Karnataka and Andhra where people have access to fresh ragi produce directly from the fields. I have had the good fortune of tasting this wonderful grain fresh from the fields. And it is a delicious grain...
In Karanataka, Ragi Mudde is a very popular food item. Cheap, easy to make, delicious and extremely nutritious - all in one package, the ragi mudde is served with spicy gravy dishes on the side.

For more details on Ragi mudde, check out Madhu of Ruchi's version of Ragi Mudde.
Also called Ragi Sangati in some parts of Andhra, do check out Indira of Mahanandi's version of Ragi Sankati.

Our favorite with Ragi or Millet flour at home is Ragi Rotti. This rotti can be served with coconut chutney, any sambar or spicy gravy dish or just eaten plain with butter or ghee -the way my kids like it!


Ragi Rotti served with a dollop of Ghee!

You will need:
Ragi or Millet Flour - 2 to 3 cups (Available in most Indian grocers outside India also)
1 Large Onion - Chopped fine
4 Green chillies - Chopped fine or minced
1/2 bunch of coriander or cilantro -Washed and Chopped fine
Curry leaves - a handful - Washed and chopped fine
1/2 cup roasted peanuts - Remove the peel and coarsely grind in a mixer
1 tsp cumin seeds or jeera - Coarsely pound
Salt to taste
Grated Carrots (optional)

Method:
In a large mixing bowl combine all of the above ingredients. Add little water and mix well to bind into a dough (almost like chapathi dough). To make the rottis, take a tennis ball size of dough onto a greased nonstick pan or tava, place in the center and flatten the dough into a circular rotti starting out from the center. Make a circular rotti making sure it is even all over. Drizzzle a little oil or spray on some Pam spray, cover with a lid and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes. The rotti will change color at this point (from lighter to darker brown). Remove the lid and roast until the rotti is slightly roasted, Turnover if needed and cook for another minute. Serve hot with chutney, sambar or any gravy of choice.

For more detail pictures, here's my post on Akki Roti - which is made very much like Ragi Rotti.
And yet another detail post with pictures on Rava Rotti - I had mom make the rotti while I was taking the pictures!

And here are some more versions of Ragi Rotti from some Blogger friends...
Sailu's Ragi Rotti
Seema's Ragi Rotti
Madhu's Ragi Rotti
Asha's Ragi Rotti
and
Latha N's (Latha maami as I call her) Ragi Rotti!

Hope you guys had a fill of Ragi Rotti! Thanks for stopping by.

Diwali Treats and Post Diwali

Seems like my typical day involves a lot of "rush, rush, rush, rush"! Its been a crazy few weeks for me. Time is just flitting across and I cannot believe its almost the end of the year. I admit I've also been slacking on the blog front. Actually slacking on the cooking front. Its hard to cook anything nice and different when there's no one to eat. Both me and K are trying really hard to cut down our intake and eat healthy. Actually more him (and I'm just trying to follow suit). So most days lunch has been raw veggies and dips or dry rotis and some really boring sabji or some really boring sandwich put together with again some raw veggies. And my kids just love raw veggies and American food so we have no complaints. :-)
And I've been thinking of a post but finally had to get out of the slumber when I saw Sia's message "Lathamma, yaavagri nimma next post? " (meaning "Latha when is your next post?") :-) so here I am....
Diwali this year for us was pretty low key. At first, I just did not have the energy to make all the goodies that i usually make. Calorie Check being the second excuse. We cannot afford to have those kind of temptations at home :-) Poor kids, they suffer.. but guess what they don't know better :-)
I'm digressing... so here I am and I don't do anything till Diwali day. But then I have all these wonderful friends who stop by with so many yummy treats and I feel terrible for not having made anything. So I logged on to blogosphere and Food Blog Desam... What did we ever do without this??? Thanks to Mathy and Indira for this wonderful tool!
And there popped Shilpa's wonderful Diwali treats one after another. I took a printout of all her treats and set out to try them.
I made the Mysore Pak... 3 batches of them... and they were a huge FLOP! Its not Shilpa's recipe... poor girl she has wonderful instructions and step by step pictures! Its just ME! I suck at making sweets! Have i told u that before! I dont eat any so I never make any, and if I do, they are disastrous! I think the mysore pak could have used a little more cooking on the stove. I took it off onto my greased tray's a tad bit early. So I ditched that, did not take any pictures!

Next was the yummy looking Shankarpali's. I made the Spicy ones first. They were good! And by the time i got done with these, my whole house was smelling of fried food! I hate that! And I was dead tired, the kitchen a big mess and my kids were screaming with hunger!
So then i ditched all my plans, left the kitchen as is, opened up all my windows, gave my kids some junk to eat (they loved me for that) took Bee's suggestion and poured myself a drink, kicked back and just enjoyed Diwali!

Oh and I also managed to take some pictures of the Spicy Shankarpali and some of the other treats that my friends gave me.
Do check it out....


Diwlai treats - courtesy my friends - Jalebis and Soan Cake, Murrukku and Shilpa's Teekh Shankarpali's

I've been meaning to post some of the other dishes I have made recently but have not had a chance. Here's one that we traditionally make at home.

Adai with Chutney

Adai is a traditional Tamilian breakfast dish. It is rich in protein because of the mix of dals and is very delicious. Though it is so heavy that I usually make this for Dinner on a weekday night. It is usually served with Avial or with some Jaggery and Podi. I just serve it with some coconut chutney, avial or sambar - anything that suits the mood of the day :-)

My recipe for Adai is pretty simple actually.
1 cup Rice (you can use any kind of rice. I use Long grain Jasmine rice or Ponni Raw Rice)
1 cup Dals ( 1/3 cup Toor Dal, 1/3 cup Urad dal, 1/3 cup Channa Dal and 1 handful of Moong Dal)
5 Dry Red Chillies

Wash and Soak the above for at least about 4 hours. Then grind everything together into a coarse mixture by adding water intermittently. The batter is usually thicker than Dosa batter (not runny but like a thick gravy).

Adai Batter

Once the batter is ready you can make adais instantly. To the batter you can add finely chopped onions, chopped curry leaves, small pieces of coconut, some grated carrots or some grated ginger. All of the above are optional.


Adai batter with all the toppings and Coconut Chutney on the side

Pour into rounds Adais just like you would make Dosas or Pancakes. Drizzle oil while pan roasting.
Serve hot with spicy coconut chutney.


Adai and Chutney - a wholesome, satisfying meal


One more look!

And this goes to dearest Linda of Out of the Garden for JFI- Dals.

Another Simple Breakfast dish that I made one of these days was "Goddu Upma". Not sure how this name came by. My maternal Grandmother - Ammama used to always make this for me. Have I told you about her? Ammama - the Krishna Bhakt. She hates to cook. And all along if she had to cook it would be something really simple and quick. Less than 10 minutes in the kitchen - was her policy. Anyway, this was something that she always made for Ekadashi. "Goddu Upma" meaning "Upma with nothing in it"! It was the most basic upma but yet so tasty! I make this once in a while when I am too lazy! (Seems like that's happening more nowadays :-)


Goddu Upma - Simple and Easy

You will need:
1 cup Upma Rava (or Bansi Rava or Coarse Suji)
2 tsp Oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Jeera or Cumin seeds
1 tsp Channa Dal
1 tsp Urad dal
a few curry leaves
a pinch of Hing (Asafoetida).
2 dry red chillies ( broken into bits)
a few peppercorns (black pepper - coarsely ground)

Method:
In a microwave safe dish dry roast the rava for about 1 minute in the microwave. In a pan, heat the oil. Season by spluttering the mustard seeds. Then add the jeera, channa dal, urad dal and Hing. When the dals are golden brown, add the curry leaves and dry red chillies. Then add about 2 cups water, salt to taste and allow the water to boil. When water comes to a rolling boil, add the rava in there and mix well so that there are no lumps. When all the water has evaporated, garnish with chopped cilantro and grated coconut (optional) and serve hot.


Up close!

Hope you guys enjoyed my post. Thanks for stopping by.

Update on 21st November 2007:

Updating this post to post the recipe of the Coconut Chutney on request from a blogger friend - Seema.

For the Chutney:

Fresh Grated Coconut – 1 cup
5 Green chillies
A small piece of tamarind soaked in water
A few sprigs of fresh Cilantro or Coriander leaves
A small piece of Ginger (optional)
1 small clove of Garlic (optional)
2 tbsp Chutney Dal (Dalia, Putnaala Pappulu or Hurkadale)
A pinch of Hing (Asafoetida)
Salt to taste

Combine all the above and grind to a fine paste. Add a little water while grinding. If you are using frozen grated coconut, then add hot water while grinding. Season with mustard seeds, jeera or cumin seeds, hing and a few curry leaves. Serve with Dosa, Idli or Adais.

Also a note: My cousin Reva in Boston insists that Adai tastes best with Jaggery and Butter on the side. After she saw my post, she said "You should update your post with this". She says, that her in-laws and her husband traditionally ate adai this way. We always had Adai with Ghee and some Podi ont he side in our home. But she says after she tried the butter and jaggery combo, she loved it!

Thanks for stopping by.

RCI Karnataka – Some Recipes & Some Memories

For a long time now, I’ve been wanting to make “Saastralu”. I am not sure if anyone is familiar with this term. This is the Telugu term for what in Karnataka is called “Shaavige”. We at home always called it Saastraalu. I am assuming that this is what it is called in Hindupur and Ananthpur districts of Andhra Pradesh (where my grandparents hail from). Have any of you heard of this term? “Shaastraalu” or “Saastraalu”… I did a search on the Internet and did not come up with anything. So I’m just assuming that this dish is borrowed from vibrant Karnataka with which Hindupur and Ananthpur share close proximity with.
Well anyway, coming to the story :-) Back home in India, we were a joint family. A family system that is actually dying in modern India, giving way to more nuclear and independent families. My family, my uncle’s family and my grandparents – all lived in the same home! I have wonderful memories of those times. A home full of ladies, gossip and chatter all the time, and the hub- the good old kitchen! We kids would love to come back from school and college, huddle in the kitchen on wooden boards (called “peeta”) placed strategically in the kitchen. And amongst gossip and jokes participate in the cooking of the evening meal!
And making Shaavige or Saastraalu was always an event. Laborious job that it was, grandma would always grind the rice batter ahead. Then came the part where the batter was poured into idli stands, and the idlis were steamed until soft and cooked.

Rice batter ready to be cooked into soft idlies

Then came the part where we kids played an important role! The soft and hot idlies were stuffed into the shaavige maker (Saatraalu Roll as we called it) – a steel manual press, and with one person holding the stand, the other would twist the handle until soft and stringy rice noodles came out of the machine from down below. Almost like a pasta maker, this was the traditional way that people made Shaavige back then.


Saastraalu Roll or Shaavige maker

The tradition is mostly lost now. What with the whole process being so tedious and laborious, and fresh, soft rice noodles available in the market easily, no one really makes these at home. To solve problems for people away from India, various brands of the dried version of rice noodles is available. Just drop it in hot water, strain and use as needed. A world of Instant solutions!
But nothing can taste like the original and nothing can bring the memories back like the original. I brought the shaavige maker or “saastraalu roll” home with me from India. Time constraints have restricted me from using it often. But every once in a while I atke it out and make those yummy fluffy Shaavige. My kids and sometimes my husband help me. My husband thinks its just a waste of time! The non-foodie that he is, he thinks nothing is worth that much effort. But all the same, he’ll happily eat a plate full of the Shaavige!
My kids love to help me. My little one, Diya, the patient, focused girl she is, loves twisting the handle for me, though her petite frame is just a bit taller than the roll itself!



So when Asha of Foodie’s Hope announced RCI-Karnataka, I definitely wanted to make this and send this to her! What a fitting traditional dish to lovely Karnataka! So finally dear friends, here are the recipes….

For the Shaavige (Rice Noodles):
Soak 5 cups of Boiled Rice with ¾ cup of Raw Rice overnight. Grind to a very smooth paste by adding about 1 to 2 cups of water in intervals. The consistency should be quite thick just like Idli batter. Soak about ¾ cup of Flattened rice (Poha or Avalakki) in some water for about 1 hour prior to this. Grind the poha separately into a smooth paste and mix with the rice batter. This batter need not ferment. You can make idlis with them right away. Then stuff the cooked idlis in the shaavige maker and twist until you get fluffy and stringy rice noodles.


Stringy Rice Noodles

Once you have the rice noodles, there are a multitude of dishes that can be made with them. Lime shaavige, Coconut shaavige, huli shaavige, masale shaavige and sweet shaavige are some of those. We usually made lime shaavige and sweet shaavige at home.


Delicious Lime Shaavige

For the Lime Shaavige:
In a pan, heat about 3 tbsp of oil. Fry some peanuts until golden brown. Remove and keep aside. In the same pan, season with mustard seeds, channa dal, urad dal, curry leaves, chopped green chillies, finely chopped onions. Sauté till the onions are tender. Then add about ½ tsp turmeric powder and mix well. Turn off the stove, add the rice noodles, peanuts and a pinch of salt (the rice noodles already has salt) and mix well. Gently mix with your hand by splitting the noodles until well coated. Squeeze the juice of 1 lime and mix well. Garnish with some chopped cilantro and grated coconut and serve.


Closer Look. Hungry?

For the Sweet Shaavige:

First, we would need to make a powder.
You will need:
2 tbsp White Sesame seeds (til) (Dry Roasted)
4 tbsp Peanuts (Dry Roasted and Skin removed)
3 tbsp Jaggery (crumbled into a powder. Use a mortar and pestle since jaggery is usually hard. If not use a knife to shave the jaggery into crumbles.)
2 tbsp grated Copra (or Dry coconut)

Combine all of the above and grind into a coarse powder.

To serve the Sweet Shaavige:
Place the white shaavige, sprinkle with 3 tsp of the sweet powder, add a tbsp of ghee or a tbsp of milk. Mix well and serve.

Sweet and Savory Shaavige served!

Hope you guys enjoyed this elaborate post. Thanks for stopping by.

The Glory of Puri!

Every Indian understands the glory of this humble homemade bread! What's not to love about this? The wonderful golden puffed look, the paper thin dome or the delicious bites that taste ever so great with sabji on the side. The only setback you ask? Its deep fried! Not the healthiest of breads! So when I saw that Anita of A Mad Tea Party announced this party, I thought to myself "Sure I should participate, it would give me a chance to eat puris!" You see I've not eaten puris in the longest! I love them, but the health factor (read weight factor!) always is top priority! And i was even more excited when I saw all the wonderful puris appearing on favorite blogs around the blogosphere!
In our home, during my growing up years :-), puris were always made once every week. Each time it was served with a different side. The classic of those were Potato Sabji or also called Potato Palya in Kannada, Vegetable Kurma or Moong Saagu! The memories of childhood enforce themselves, and these are still my favorite combinations. My daughter loves to eat Puri with Potato Sabji! She calls it "Puri with Indian Mashed Potato" and eat it like a taco! She cradles the sabji in the puri like a taco and enjoys it! I'm sure these will be her memories for the future!

Here's my puris served with Potato Palya on the side!


Puri with Potato Palya

You dont want me repeating how to make Puris do you? :-) There are tons of Puri recipes out there on all my favorite blogger sites! Do check them out!

As for Potato Palya - This is how I make it!


Thanks for stopping by, Hope you guys enjoyed the Puri Party!

Rava Rotti (Suji Rotti)

Ever since I saw Supriya's post on Sajjige Rotti, i have been wanting to try that recipe. In fact, i have several recipes that i have bookmarked, but I never come around to trying those, thanks to busy schedules! But I do make an effort :-)
But i thought i'll kill two birds with one stone ( just a figure of speech..)! This is my entry to gorgeous Trupti of The Spice who Loved me's - Spring Fling with Family and Friends. And also my entry to the lovely Nupur's of One Hot Stove's event - A to Z of Indian Vegetables - Letter 'R' for this week. I have come to look forward to the roundup every Sunday! She does an awesome job and i just love the variety of dishes!
Thanks Trupti and Nupur for hosting these wonderful events!
And thanks a bunch Supriya for this great recipe. I had my mom make it, since i wanted to enter the Spring Fling. She loved the recipe so much that she said - that she is going to make it when she goes back to Bangalore for my brother and other family folks:-)

Mom pretty much followed Supriya's recipe. She chopped onions, green chillies, curry leaves, cilantro and ginger. Mixed everything with rava or Suji, salt and some water. She then seasoned with some mustard seeds, urad dal and hing. Mixed it with the rava batter. The only difference is, she made the batter thicker and prefered patting it on to the tava or pan rather than pouring it out. We liked it better that way. The rottis were crispy yet soft and were delicious. She served it with some Red hot chutney pudi! It made a yummy and very filling brunch.

Batter for Rava Rotti

Making the Rotti

Making the Rava Rotti

Rava Rotti Served

Cheers Everyone!

Potato Parade

When I found out that the lovely Vaishali of Happy Burp is hosting “Jhihva for Potatoes” for the month of Febuary, I was excited! Potato –that’s an easy vegetable to cook with. There are recipes galore, both Indian and International that make use of this versatile bulb.
Everyone at our home loves Potatoes. What’s not to love about it? It cooks easy, tastes delicious no matter how you cook it and is easily available in most parts of the world!
So without much ado let’s get to the reason for this Post…Potato Recipes!

Potato-Methi Masala Curry


Potato and Methi (Fresh Fenugreek Leaves) – what a perfect combination! Fenugreek leaves have this slightly bitter taste and the humble potato combined with it dulls this effect and gives this curry a rich, exotic creamy flavor that tastes great as a side to chapathis or even with rice. This curry is different from the other aloo methi recipes I have come across. I learnt how to make this curry from my dear grandmother.
She mostly combined traditional masala’s with regular vegetables to make them delicious and authentic. Try them and you’ll surely thank my grandmother for this.

For the curry:
2 Potatoes – Washed, Peeled, Boiled and chopped into cubes. I usually cook my potatoes with some water in the microwave for about 6 minutes.
1 big bunch Fresh Methi Leaves – Wash and chop fine.
1 small Onion – Chopped fine
1 medium Tomato – Chopped into cubes
Salt to taste

For the Masala:
½ cup grated Fresh Coconut
1 clove garlic
5 green chillies
2 cloves
1 small piece cinnamon

Grind the above into a smooth paste with some water. Keep aside.

For the seasoning:
1 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
some curry leaves
a pinch of turmeric powder

To make the curry:
In a pan heat oil, add the seasoning ingredients. When the mustard splutters, add the chopped onions and sauté until light brown. Then add the chopped methi leaves, some salt and about ½ cup water. Cover with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes. Then add the cooked potatoes, the ground masala paste, chopped tomatoes and some more salt if needed. Mix well. Cover with a lid and cook until all the water has evaporated. Stir in between. Serve hot with rice or rotis.

My next Dish is Sabudaana Khicdi.. This simple dish is the traditional dish made on days when the Hindu’s fast from most grains and beans. I make this dish whenever we feel like eating it! No fasting in our home, we are pretty poor when it comes to following religious fasts!
Almost everyone makes Sabudaana Khichdi. It is a Maharashtrian dish that is delicious, bland and chewy. Sabudaana are white, pearly rounds that are hard when dry and are soft and chewy when cooked. They are made from the sap of the tapioca tree. Read more about Sabudaana here.
My way of making sabudaana khichdi varies each time. But I have started to follow this recipe mostly, a recipe I learnt from Radhika .. a friend of mine from whom I have learnt many recipes. She loves giving me these recipes but acts like I am bothering her all the time! But I know .. she loves the attention :-)
Ok, now on to the recipe…

Sabudaana Khichdi

2 Cups Dry Sabudaana (Wash 2 or 3 times in a colander. Drain all the water. Transfer to a bowl. Sprinkle some water and cover with a lid. Keep covered for about 3 hours and keep sprinkling some water and mixing the sabudaana evenly a couple of times in between). The recipe itself is simple, prep time takes a little bit!

2 Potatoes – Peeled and grated. Then keep the grated potato in some water. When you are ready to make the sabudaana, drain all the water well from the potato and use.
1 cup Whole Peanuts – Roasted and ground into a coarse powder. (You may leave the peel on if u want or u can get rid of it after roasting).

1 tsp Sugar
Salt to taste
A few drops of fresh lime juice
Chopped Cilantro for garnishing

For seasoning:
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Jeera or cumin seeds
A few curry leaves
3 green chillies – Chopped fine

To make the Khichdi:
In a pan, heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds and the jeera. When the mustard splutters, add the remaining seasoning ingredients. Sauté for a minute. Then add the grated potato and mix well. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring in between, making sure the potato does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Then add the soaked sabudaana, salt and sugar and mix well. Cook for about 5 to minutes stirring gently in between. When the sabudaana turns translucent, add the coarsely ground peanut powder and mix well. Add the lime juice and mix well. Serve hot garnished with chopped cilantro and grated coconut (optional).

And finally for a simple, traditional Karnataka Dish… Potato Palya. Potato Palya or Potato Curry is a perfect side for Puri, Masala Dosa or even Chapathis. I even use Potato palya as a filler in sandwiches when I have leftovers!

Potato Palya

To make this simple dish you need:
3 Large Potatoes – Boiled, Peeled and roughly mashed. Mash with your hands, since a masher usually mashes it into a very creamy paste, that is usually best for mashed potatoes with biscuits and gravy!
1 Large Onion – chopped lengthwise
3 green chillies – slit lengthwise
a few curry leaves
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste

For the seasoning:
2 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Channa dal
1 tsp Urad dal
¼ tsp Asafoetida or hing

To make the Potato Palya:
In a pan, heat the oil. Add seasoning ingredients. When the mustard splutters, add the chopped chillies, grated ginger, curry leaves and the onions and sauté until the onions are translucent. Then add the turmeric powder and the roughly mashed potato and salt. Mix well. Garnish with chopped cilantro and a few drops of lime juice (optional) and serve hot with puris, chapathis or dosa.

Do check out some more Potato Recipes from my Masala Kitchen:

Potato Fry

Cabbage Potato Curry

and

Ragda Patties

These are my entries to the "Jhihva for Potato" parade at Vaishali's Happy Burp. Enjoy the Parade dear friends and dont forget to leave me a note! I would love to hear from all you wonderful readers. Cheers.

Simple and Easy Rava Dosa

Time just flies! Life has been hectic with work and other activities. In Omaha, every year we celebrate our Indian heritage and culture by organizing a cultural festival called “Rhythms of India”. This is usually organized by the Indian Association here and is a planned event. A lot of work goes into this. Kids and adults, all the same practice for a few months to put up lovely dances to latest movie numbers, folk songs or classical tunes. And I have been busy this year choreographing a dance for my daughter and her friends and also choreographing and practicing a dance - I and my friends are putting up for the event. Now you know what I am doing besides blogging!
But in the meanwhile, I still am clicking away as I cook. Unfortunately I am not making too many exotic dishes. Just the regular mundane stuff.
So anyways, here a simple but yet tasty combination of Rava Dosa with Peanut Onion Chutney. Thanks to my friend Vani for the chutney recipe!
Rava Dosa is a crunchy, flaky Dosa that tastes best when it is served hot. I remember my Bangalore days when we would eat Rava Dosa with Sambar and Coconut Chutney at Woody’s in Commercial Street. They were awesome. I suppose everyone makes Rava Dosa. Here’s my way of making it.

Ingredients:
1 cup Fine or Coarse Rava or Soji
½ cup Rice Flour
¼ cup Maida or All Purpose Flour
Salt to taste
¼ tsp Pepper Powder
1 big Red Onion – Chopped fine
4 Green Chillies – Minced or chopped really fine
2 sprigs curry leaves – Washed and Chopped fine
½ bunch Cilantro or Coriander Leaves – Washed and Chopped fine
½ tsp Jeera or Cumin seeds

Rava Dosa Batter
Method:
Combine the three flours, salt and water and mix well. Make sure there are no lumps in the batter. Add enough water to make the batter runny or thin. Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
To make the Dosas: Heat a tava or griddle. Take a ladleful of batter and pour the dosa from the sides unlike a traditional dosa that is poured form the middle. Spread evenly. Dribble oil onto the dosa and cook on both sides until golden brown. Serve hot with Chutney and Sambar.

Rava Dosa with Peanut Onion Chutney

For the Peanut Onion Chutney:
½ cup Roasted Peanuts (with the skin removed)
1 medium sized onion – chopped and roasted with some oil
A few dry red chillies – roasted with a few drops of oil
A pinch of hing
Some tamarind juice (soak a small piece of tamarind in warm water for about 10 minutes and squeeze to extract juice)
Salt to taste

Ingredients for Peanut Onion Chutney
Combine all the above ingredients and grind to a coarse paste with some water. The chutney is ready to be served.


Peanut Onion Chutney

The Independence Day Food Parade and my non-Entry!

August 15th, the day of India’s Independence. And what more befitting than a Food parade of its various cuisines from various parts of the country! Dear friends, Indira of Mahanandi was kind enough to host this beautiful parade of dishes from various parts of the country. And all the participants.. I must commend their extensive effort in making such delicious and lovely dishes!
As for me, life as usual has been hectic. What with work, the kids, my husband working late hours, my blog and a zillion other activities, I was not in time for the Food parade. But I had taken pictures of my dish and I decided to post it anyway. Actually, I was in such a hurry that the pictures are not that great, but it will get my point across :-)
When Indira said Food parade, I thought of so many dishes. Being a cross breed between a Tamilian and a Telugite and living in Karnataka, I couldn’t decide on what I really wanted to make. My neighbor made it easier for me! She’s pregnant and she asked me if I could make my hallmark Peanut chutney (atleast that’s what I like to believe!) for her. So I invited her home for dinner.. a dinner of Masala Dosa that is a speciality of Karnataka specifically Mysore and Bangalore.
My favorite place to eat Masala Dosa in Bangalore is this small joint called “Sahyadri”. They make the best Masala Dosa’s I have tasted. The Dosa’s are crisp and thick, smeared on the inside with Red Hot Chutney, stuffed with delicious Potato Curry (called Potato Palya), served on the side with piping hot Sambar and fresh Coconut chutney! And to the benefit of the customer’s taste buds the chef adds a dollop of fresh butter atop the Dosa, which sizzles down and melts on the hot Dosa. Mouth watering? Mine too :-)
Here’s how I make my Masala Dosa. It’s not exactly the Sahyadri Masala Dosa but I can guarantee you that it is delicious!

Delicious Masala DosaFor the Dosa, refer to my Recipe here.


Peanut Coconut Chutney

For my Peanut Coconut Chutney refer to my Recipe here . You can serve the Dosa with plain Coconut chutney. Just omit the Peanuts in the above recipe and you’ll be good to go.


Potato Curry

For the Potato Curry: Boil about 4 potatoes in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle. Peel and mash roughly. Keep aside. Chop 1 big Onion lengthwise. Chop a few green chillies lengthwise. You’ll need some chopped ginger and curry leaves. Cashews halves are optional. Heat some oil in a pan. Season with mustard seeds, channa dal, urad dal. Add the chopped onions, green chilies, curry leaves, cashews and ginger. Sauté for about 3 minutes. Add a pinch of turmeric or haldi. Add about ½ cup of water. Add salt to taste. After about 2 minutes add the mashed Potato and mix well. Garnish with chopped cilantro or coriander leaves. Keep aside to serve with Masala Dosa.
For the Red Chutney: Peel one big pod of garlic. Mince in a mixer or blender with about 15 dry red chilies. Keep aside.


Masala Dosa, served with Peanut Coconut Chutney, smeared with Red Chutney and stuffed with Potato Curry.

To Assemble the Dosa: Make one Dosa. When the Dosa is cooked smear a teaspoonful of Red Chutney on the inside of the Dosa. Place a ladleful of the Potato Curry inside the Dosa. Roll both ends of the Dosa in to cover the Potato Curry. Serve on a plate with Chutney on the side. Serve hot!


One more Look...Masala Dosa!

A South Indian staple breakfast - Soft Spongy Idlis

When I first landed here in the US, I was awful at making idlis. No matter what recipe I used it seemed like my idlis turned out horrible! If u were mad at your husband, my rock hard idlis would have been great to throw at him! So anyways, I did not care either way because Idlis were not one of my favorites. But come my first pregnancy everything changed! I had the weirdest craving for idlis! I would crave for hot steaming idlis at all odd times. And I would remember all those Sunday mornings at home in India where my Dad would diligently make a trip to the neighbourhood café called ‘Veena Idli Stores’ to buy hot steaming idlis, chutney and Medhu vada for breakfast for all of us at home, because on Sunday mornings the kitchen at our home was closed!
And that’s when I decided that I have to learn to make soft spongy idlis. I believe in the saying 'Where there’s a will, there’s a way!’ Now I can proudly say that my idlis are mouthwateringly soft and will just melt away in your mouth. Care to look !


Soft and Spongy Idlis with Coconut Chutney

Our simple dinner for tonight - Soft, spongy and hot Idlis with Coconut Chutney.

Method for making and fermenting the batter:
1. Take 3.5 cups of Ponni Boiled Rice and wash it. Keep aside.
2. Take 1/2 cup of Ponni Raw Rice (you may substitute this with 1/2 cup of long grain rice) and wash.
3. Combine both the rices and soak in enough water for atleast 6 hours.
4. Take 1 heaped cup of Washed Whole Urad Gota Dal (the round washed urad). This whole urad gives more fluffiness to the idli than the regular spilt urad dal. Wash and Soak in enough water for atleast 5 hours. Soak 1 tbsp of Methi seeds along with the Urad dal.
5. To grind: Grind the Urad dal by adding little water in intervals and stirring until soft (usually takes about 1/2 hr to 40 min in my ultra grinder). After the urad batter is smooth keep aside.
6. Then grind the rice mixture in the grinder by adding enough water (consistency is usually sligthly thinner than urad batter). Grind almost smooth for about 1/2 hour or 40 mins.
7. Combine both the batters, add enouugh salt and beat well with your hand. As you beat you should air bubbles in the batter.
8. I usually preheat my oven for about 10 minutes. Turn off oven and keep the batter in there for fermenting.
9. After about 6 to 8 hours, use this batter to make soft and spongy idlis. Serve hot with Coconut chutney or Sambar.
Hope this helps.
Friends, please let me know if you have any questions and I will be happy to answer them for you :-)

Madhu's Veg Sandwich

Dear Friends,
Have you guys gone through that phase where absolutely no matter what you do, when you are trying to loose weight, the scale never moves down any further?
I seem to be in that rut now. Overall, I try to cook and eat a well balanced meal, exercise regularly and hope that my weight will go down a couple more pounds. But God must be thinking, Fat chance!
So anyways, I try to do something drastic every now and then, like eat no rice for a whole week or maybe eat cereal for lunch for 2 or 3 days consecutively etc. etc. And my husband gives me all the more opportunity ... Ask me how? He's out of town again, which really sucks, because I'm usually bored and lethargic when he's not around. And guess what, I hardly cook... So for lunch today I was looking for a quick fix. I am not overly fond of sandwiches because as a vegetarian my choices for fillers are limited. I am so bored of the usual Cucumber, Tomato, Lettuce and cheese!
So when I saw Madhu of Ruchi'srecipe for Veg Sandwiches I was thrilled. Anyone from Bangalore or Mysore, knows these. They are ever so popular in the bakeries there and they are so delicious. I had forgotten all about them and thanks to Madhu, my school and college day memories came flooding back. Hope you guys enjoy the pictures and give Madhu's sandwich a try. Cheers!

Veg Sandwich

Paneer Tikka Rolls

Paneer - a rich source of protein, a soft cheese made from milk. The wonderful, versatile source of protein is easy to make and is great in curries, kababs, rice dishes and rolls. We at home love paneer. I make many dishes with Paneer, but this is the first time I tried these Paneer rolls. And they were a hit. My kids loved it and ate it without complaints, it was easy to make and healthy too. I used Tarla Dalal's recipe for Paneer rolls but I improvised a little as I did not have some of the ingredients she wanted us to use. So here's my version of Mrs. Dalal's Paneer Rolls.

Ingredients:
2 cups Paneer - cubed
1 small Tomato - cubed
1 big Potato - Peeled, washed, cubed and boiled (I just boil it in the Microwave for about 8 minutes in some water)
3 tsp Oil


Chopped and Cubed Fresh Paneer

For Garnishing:
1 cup Finely Chopped Red Onions
Chopped Cilantro or Coriander leaves

For the Marinade:
1 cup thick curds, beaten
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Ginger garlic paste
1/2 teaspoon Bengal gram flour (besan)
1/2 teaspoon chaat masala
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 tsp Dhaniya Powder
Salt to taste

Chapathis for the Rolls

Method:
For the paneer tikka filling
1. Mix all the Marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. Add the chopped paneer and chopped tomatoes to the prepared marinade and mix gently.
3.Keep aside for about 1/2 hour.


Marinated Paneer

3.Heat the oil in a pan, add the paneer mixtures, the cubed boiled potatoes and saute on medium to high flame for about 5 to 10 minutes. When stirring, stir gently and ensure that the paneer does not break too much.


Sauteing the Paneer Tikka Curry

To Assemble:
On a flat surface, place a chapathi. Spoon some paneer tikka mixture on the centre. Spinkle with chopped raw onions and chopped cilantro. Roll the two ends to the center. Hold secure with a tooth pick and serve hot. You may even wrap one end of the roll in foil and serve.

Paneer Tikka Rolls

Lunch Box Series - Upma

Upma is a traditional South Indian breakfast made from Cream of Wheat or Suji as it is called in Hindi. The delicious breakfast dish can be made plain or can be made with plenty of vegetables to make it all the more nutritious. There are many ways you can make this dish. I learnt how to make this dish the perfect way from my mother-in-law. This easy to prepare dish is one of my favourite breakfasts and is a great lunch box idea. Hope you all enjoy this easy recipe.

Delicious Vegetable Upma

Ingredients:
2 Cups Coarse Suji or Upma Rava
3 Cups Water
1 Medium Onion - Finely Chopped
1 small Tomato - Finely chopped
4 Green chillies - Chopped lengthwise
1 tbsp grated ginger
a few sprigs curry leaves
salt to taste
1 cup Mix of vegetables of your choice (I generally add Green beans, carrots, 1 small potato, Green peas) - In the above picture I used 1 Small Potato - washed, peeled, cubed and boiled in the microwave for about 8 minutes, 2 tbsp Surti Lilva Beans (Frozen available in Indian store. Also called Mochai in Tamil, Pithak Pappu in some parts of Andhra and Hithak Bele in Kannada). I was out of almost all vegetables at home :-)

For Seasoning:
3 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Channa Dal
1 tsp Urad dal

Method:
1. In a microwave safe dish, place the suji and heat in the microwave for about 2 minutes. Or you can dry roast in a non stick pan for about 4 to 5 minutes. Use medium flame and roast just until suji emits a nice aroma.
2. In a separate dish, place the water for boiling.
3. Chop all vegetables, onions, tomatoes, green chillies and keep aside.
4. In a pan, heat the oil. Add seasoning ingredients. After mustard splutters, add the dals. Once they turn golden brown, add the curry leaves, grated ginger, chopped green chillies and onions. Saute until onions are transclucent.
5. Then add the chopped tomato and saute until it becomes slightly pulpy.
6. Then add chopped vegetables. If you are using potato then pre boil. If you are using green beans and carrots, chop fine and add directly. Saute veggies until they are tender.
7. Add the suji and mix well.
8. Add salt to taste. Mix well. Reduce stove heat to low.
9. Then add the boiling water and mix well. Cover with a lid for just 2 or 3 minutes until evenly cooked.
10. Garnish with chopped cilantro or coriander leaves.
11. Serve hot with pickle or chutney.
12. If packing for lunch, reheat slightly and enjoy warm.

The Story of the Dosa

"Yedukondala Vaada Venkataramana Govinda Govindaa.." which translates to "Lord of the Seven hills, Lord Venkataramana, I hereby call on you"...

Lord Venkateshwara's Abode at Tirumala. Photo Source: www.wikipedia.com

I am a devotee of the famous Hindu God, Lord Venkateshwara of the ever so famous Tirumala/Tirupathi hills. As we were growing up it was a tradition in our home to visit the Tirumala shrine atop the 7 hills in Tirupathi located in the state of Andhra Pradesh in Southern India. This beautiful shrine can be seen as a small speck of light on top of a beautiful gopuram from Tirupathi which is at the foothills of Tirumala. Traditionally we would go there as a family and usually took a car or a bus ride to the shrine. But many a times we have tread the path that millions take, that is of walking to the top - walking the thousands of steps through the hills to reach the top. This is my favourite part of the trip. It was such fun to walk together as a family stopping of and on to drink a Lemon Soda or to buy some roadside snack or to stop for a quick brunch. Talking and sharing snippets of gossip or stories. These are some cherished memories that I treasure.
And this brings me to the reason for this blog. Everytime we walked to Tirumala, we would set out from the foothills - a place called Alipiri. We would start at 6 a.m in the morning when it was still dark. And about 1/4 way through at about 9 a.m we would stop at this hillside store to eat breakfast. This store - not really a store, but a hut thatched with Palm leaves was a small breakfast joint run by this old lady, her son and her daughter-in-law. She would sit outside her little hut in front of a stove made of bricks and fueled by wooden logs, making the most delicious Dosas I have had. They were nothing great, just the softest homestyle dosas that were served on a small plantian leaf with a delicious coconut chutney to go along. Maybe just that after such a long walk, we were always hungry or maybe they really were the best dosas, I dont know. Just the wonderful climate on the hills, the cold hard hillside stone benches where we sat and ate, and the old lady making hot dosas for us we ate, is a treasured memory in my heart. My dad and I always enjoyed these dosas and the delicious watery coconut chutney that she served with it. And everytime I make Dosas I always think of the Old lady of the Hillside cafe and hope and pray that she is still doing good and serving all those hungry travellers.
So in dedication of this old lady, I am blogging the recipe of my Dosa and Chutney that go along with it. Hope you guys enjoy this recipe.

Dosa

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups Ponni Boiled Rice (or any brand of Boiled Rice, also called Uppudu Bee-am in Telugu, Pulungal Arsi in Tamil and Kusubalakki in Kannada)
1/2 cup Ponni Raw Rice (or any regular rice variety)
1 cup Whole White Urad (called Urad Gota)
1 tsp Methi Seeds
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Soak the two rice and Methi Seeds together. Soak overnight.
2. Soak the Whole Urad for atleast 4 to 5 hours or overnight.
3. First grind the soaked urad for 1/2hour in grinder or a mixie, adding water little at a time. Grind until the Urad is soft and fully ground. Keep aside.
4. Then grind the soaked rice and methi until almost soft by adding enough water while grinding. Use a wooden or a rubber ladle to mix the batter as it grinds so that it is evenly ground.
5. Then combine both the ground batter (urad and rice). Mix well. You may mix it by hand. I usually add the ground urad to the rice in the grinder in the end for just another round. So that it is evenly mixed. Then add the salt and mix well.

To Ferment:
1. I usually preheat my oven at 375F for 5 minutes. Turn off the oven and then place the dish containing the batter in the warm oven to ferment for atleast 6 hours. Make sure u keep the batter covered. You may place a big plate below the dish so that if the batter over ferments it does not mess up your oven.
2. People living in hot climates or tropical climate may just leave the batter on the kitchen counter for fermenting.

Basic Dosa Batter

Making the Dosas:
1. Mix the batter well before using to make dosas.
2. Heat a flat griddle (or a tava) until hot. Using 1/2 a chopped onion dab some oil ont he tava and rub the onion back and forth on the tava. This ensures that the Dosa does not to the pan.
3. Take a ladle full of batter and pour in the center of the pan. Use the ladle to spread the batter evenly on the pan into a circular dosa. Dribble some oil on the dosa.
4. Cook until the Dosa is golden brown. Then using a spatula turn the over onto its other side. Roast for another 2 minutes. Remove fold and serve hot with Peanut/Coconut Chutney.

Making the Dosa

Dosa with Peanut Chutney

Note: For Chutney, Please see Recipe of Peanut Chutney

Rice Roti (Akki Roti)

Rice Roti or Akki Roti as it is traditionally called in Karnataka is a famous breakfast item that is popular in most Karnataka homes. This traditional roti (bread) is made from Rice flour and served hot with Chutney in the Southern part of Karnataka. In North Karnataka this roti is served with Eggplant gravy or with Moong Usli (a traditional lentil dish). Switch the Rice flour with Ragi Flour and you have the delicious Ragi Roti. This is an all time favourite at my home. When I was growing up my grandmom made this Roti for us. She would add a dollop of fresh homemade butter on top and side it with peanut chutney before she served it for us. Yumm! Hope you guys enjoy this recipe.

Ingredients:
4 Cups Rice Flour
1 Big Onion Finely Chopped
4 Green Chillies - Finely Chopped or Minced
1 tbsp grated carrot
1 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves (coriander leaves)
2 tsp coarsely pound cumin (jeera) seeds
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 cup water (or enough for kneading the dough)
2 tbsp oil


Ingredients for Rice Roti

Method:
Mix all the ingredients above, except the Flour, Oil and water in a mixing bowl. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Then add the Rice Flour n admix well. Add enough water to bind all the ingredients together to form one whole mass (like Chapathi dough). Grease a frying pan (or tava) with 2 tsp oil. Take a ball of the mixture(as big as a tennis ball) and place it in the middle of the greased frying pan. Flatten the mixture on the pan with your fingers until it is round and flat. Spread a little oil on it. Cover the frying pan with a lid and cook it on med-low flame until it is cooked (color changes to cream). Remove the lid and roast it for a couple of minutes. Turn it and roast it on the other side for a few more minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot with Chutney, Sambar or just plain fresh butter.


Rice Roti


Rice Roti with Radish Sambar