Mupparuppu Idly

We make idlies usually with rice and urad dal. But this is a slight different idly made with 3 different dals - Toot dal, Chana Dal and Urad Dal. And thats the name "Mupparuppu Idly" meaning 3 Dal Idly. Its rich in protien and it tastes exotic. But believe me, it will be little heavy than regular idlies due to the Dal content. I learned it from one of my friend and I love it so much that I tried the next weekend itself. Be careful when grinding the dal and rice as it should be coarse to get fabulous idlies. This batter also tends to ferment soon as we add dal, ginger and g.chillies. So plan to use it immediately after it ferments.

 

Ingredients:
To GrindIdly rice - 1 1/2 cup
Chana Dal - 1/2 cup
Toor Dal - 1/2 cup
Urad Dal - 3/4 cup
Ginger - 1 inch
Green chilly - 4

Seasoning:
Pepper - 2 tsp
Jeera - 4 tsp
Urad dal - 4 tsp
Chana Dal - 8 tsp
Cashews - 4 tsp
Asafotedia - 1/4 tsp
curry leaves - 2 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt
Coconut powder - 1/2 cup (can add small pieces of chopped coconut instead of powder)

Procedure:

Soak the urad dal separately and the rice with all other dals together for 2-4 hrs.
Grind the urad dal, ginger and g.chilly separately until well ground and fluffy. Add water little by little to make it fluffy.
Grind the rice and other dals togther very coarsely. Be careful when you grind this as it will be done very quickly. If you grind it for smooth, the idlies won't be good.
Mix the ground urad dal and the rice and other dals and let this ferment overnight, the same way as we do for idly batter.
Heat oil in a pan and add the jeera, pepper, urad dal, chana dal, cashews, curry leaves and asafoetida one by one. After the dals turn color, add coconut and saute and turn off the flame. Mix this seasoning to the fermented batter and add required salt.

Mix well and pour this in greased cups (preferably high raised tumblers) and steam for 15 - 20 minutes.

After done cool them and remove from the cups. Use a knife to Slightly loose the corners from the cups and tap them gently from the bottom. Serve them with coconut/mint chutney.
I'm sending this for Let's cook #19 Legumes/Lentils happening in Tickling Palates

Kalakand / Paalgova

Paalgova as it is called in my native place is a milk sweet. The one available at the "Aavin" milk booths are most famous. It usually comes in bowls/tins and doesn't have any shape (just like kesari). Recently I had a similar sweet in my friends house and got to know its name as "Kalakand:. It was shaped square with some nuts garnished on top. She told its simple to make this with Ricota chesse and condensed milk.

I browsed for the recipes and used the one I found in Show-Me-the-curry. I made this for Krishna-Jayanthi and it was super simple and tastes fabulous. I did it in microwave and you can do it stovetop too by keep on mixing over medium heat. And most important, it takes just one bowl to make and you don't have much cleaning.  Just try it out wen u have a chance.

Ingredients:
Ricotta Cheese – 15 oz
Condensed Milk – 14 oz
Rose Water – 1/4 – 1/2 tsp (or 2-3 drops of Rose Essence)
Cardamom Powder – 1/4 tsp
Chopped Pistachios – 1/2 tbsp
Chopped almonds – 1/2 tbsp
Yellow food color - a pinch (optional)

Method:
1. In a microwave bowl, mix the Ricotta Cheese and the Condensed Milk well. Mash down all the lumps with a help of a whisk.
2. Cook in the microwave for 5 minutes uncovered. Take out and mix well. Make sure that you loosen the edges.
3. Back in the microwave 3 more minutes, uncovered. Take out and mix.
4. Microwave for 2 minutes, covered. Take out and mix.
5. Microwave for 2 minutes,cross covered, take out and mix.
6. Add the yellow food color, mix well and microwave for another 6 minutes, uncovered taking out and stirring every 2 minutes.
7. It is ready when it reaches a granule consistency but still sticky and together. you can make a ball together at this stage. Mix well then.
8. Add in the Powdered Cardamom and Rose Syrup/Rose Essence and mix well again.
9. Grease a square and rectangle bowl and transfer this mixture to that. Press down and flatten the mixture.
10. Sprinkle chopped Pistachios and Almonds on top and press them down to help them
stick.
11. Cover and allow to set either in the refrigerator for an hour or on the counter-
top for a few hours.
12. Cut into desired shape and serve

Linking this recipe to South Indian Cooking happening @ Anu's Healthy Kitchen.

Rajma Spinach Dosa

Dosas can be made many varieties. The popular being the plain version. My favorite is Onion Dosas. This is an just another quick version. All you need to have is some cooked and mashed(or powdered) rajma with some chopped spinach. Just add this to dosa batter and this instant variation of dosa will be ready in minutes. A tasty and a healthy treat for your appetite. You may also try adding other veggie combinations.

Ingredients:

Dosa Batter -  2 cups
Chopped spinach - 2 tbsp
Chopped onions - 2 tbsp
Cooked Rajma, mashed - 2 tbsp
Salt
Oil

 

Procedure:

Add chopped spinach, onions and mashed rajam to the dosa batter. Add salt as needed. Mix the batter well.

Heat a dosa tawa/griddle and pour a ladle of the batter on the tawa and gently spread around the corners. Spread 1 tsp oil on the corners and keep it covered on medium flame.

After it starts to turn color on the corners, flip over and cook the other side.

Serve hot with your favorite chutney.

I'm sending this for Let's cook #19 Legumes/Lentils happening in Tickling Palates

Kuzhi Paniyaram - Sweet and Spicy

Kuzhi Paniyaram is a delicacy of Southern Tamilnadu. This could be served as a main dish or even for snacks. Traditionally this is made with lots of ghee/oil but thanks to non-stick pans (we need the kuzhi paniyaram pans) we can make this with very less oil.

This recipe has slight variation from my earlier one. I recently came across this recipe being made with a javvarisi/sabudana and the rice was with different proportions too. It was mentioned that it makes soft paniyarams. And it was true that the paniyarams were super soft and spongy. I really liked the texture of it.

Make this ahead for parties and it will be super hit. This time I made both spicy and sweet versions. Here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:

Idli rice - 1 1/2 cup
Raw rice - 1/2 cup
Urad dal - 1/4 cup
Javvarisi/Sabudana  - 1/4 cup
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
Salt

Spicy

Urad dal - 1 tbsp
Chana Dal - 1 tbsp
Choped onions - 1 cup
Green chillies - 2
Pepper - 1 tsp
Chopped coriander leaves - 2 tbsp
Curry leaves - 1 tbsp
coconut powder - 2 tbsp
Oil - 2 tsp

Sweet
Jaggery - 1 cup (adjust according to taste)
Coconut - 1/4 cup


Procedure:

Batter
Soak the rice and dals with fenugreek seeds together 6 hours. Wash and soak the sabudana separately for 6 hours. Grind all of them together to a very nice batter. Add little salt to this and let it ferment (You need not add salt for fermentation during summer. This way batter will stay good for long time).

Separate this batter equally in 2 halves. One half can be used for the spicy paniyarams and other one for sweet paniyarams.

Spicy Paniyarams:
Heat oil in a pan and add urad dal and chana dal. After they turn orange add pepper, g.chillies and onions and saute till they are soft. Now add the curry leaves and coconut powder and mix well. Put these contents with coriander leaves to the batter and add required salt. Mix well and add water if required.

Heat the paniyaram pans with little oil in each hole. Pour this batter and keep covered on medium flame. After one side is cooked flip all the paniyarams to the other side and cook till done.

Serve with Coconut chutney

Sweet Paniyarams:
Put jaggery in hot water(very little) and let it boil to melt it down. Filter this and add this to batter. Add the coconut powder also to this. The batter is ready.

Heat the paniyaram pans with little oil in each hole. Pour this batter and keep covered on medium flame. After one side is cooked flip all the paniyarams to the other side and cook till done.

Delicious paniyarams are ready.

I'm sending this recipe for Anu's South Indian Cooking Event #1

Navaratna Kurma

Kurma is our favorite sidedish for Chapatis. But I always had to add coconut to make kurma and I was searching for alternatives. Then only I came to know that Navaratna kurma is made without coconut. So I tried it out immediately and the result was fabulous. As the word 'Navaratna' says we've to add nine different veggies for this. But I managed with watever was in my refridgerator.

Try it out today and make a delicious dinner. Enjoy!!!

Recipe source : Edible garden

Ingredients:

2 cups of diced, mixed vegetables - I used carrot, beans, peas, corn and potato
A few cubes of paneer
10 cashew nuts soaked in warm water, drained and ground to a paste
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 tomato, quartered and pureed
3 green chillies
1" piece of ginger
4 garlic cloves (or use 1 tsp ginger garlic paste)
1 tsp tomato paste (or use another pureed tomato)
1 cup milk
10 raisins
1 tbsp butter (or ghee)
Salt to taste

Spice Powders:
2 tsp garam masala (or use 1 tsp freshly ground masala like cloves, cardamom, cinnamon)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp jeera

Procedure:

Heat the butter or ghee in a kadai / pan and add raisins. After they bubble up add the onions until transparent

Grind the green chillies with the ginger and garlic and add to the onions. If using ginger garlic paste, just crush the chillies and add along with it. Fry for 30 seconds.

Add all the spice powders. Fry for a minute. Then add tomato puree and paste and fry till butter leaves out on sides (4-5 mts)

Add milk and about 1/2 cup of water, more or less.

Add the chopped vegetables. Mix well an cook covered for another 5 mins or so, until the vegetables are cooked, yet firm.

Add the cashew nut paste and mix well. Add salt and paneer cubes. Cook open for another 5 minutes until the gravy thickens and comes together

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with chapati, nan, roti, or pulao.

Rice crackers - Chekkalu

It is Krishna Jayanthi and I was searching for some new and easy snacks, I came across this recipe. This is very similar to 'Thattai' / Elladai. But this is made with fully rice flour and no urad flour. This is super simple if you have rice flour ready at home. Just with a few ingredients, we can make this ready in no time. And it tastes fabulous and will just be finished shortly. My husband likes this even with sambhar/ curd rice. Its damn good. The only difficult part, I would say is to flatten the balls. But you can master this after the first 2 rounds.

Enjoy this great, easy snack for any evening.

Ingredients:

Rice flour - 1 cup
Butter - 1 tbsp
Salt -  1 tsp / as required
Chana Dal - 1 tbsp (soaked for an hour. If you haven't soaked put it in boiling water for 10 mts)
Water - few drops
Oil - to deep fry

To grind
Green Chillies - 3
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves

Procedure:

Take a bowl add rice flour & salt.Mix the dry mixture.

Grind ginger,curry leaves & green chillies to a fine paste .Add this paste to the flour along with chana dal and mix well.

Add butter to the mixture and mix well as it will work as a binding agent.At this point add few drops of water.Knead the dough. Make sure not to add excess water.

Divide the dough in equal parts as desired.Make small balls out of it similar to a dumpling.Take a plastic sheet rest the dumpling on it ,cover it with the other side of the plasticsheet & press it with your palm. 

Repeat the same procedure for all dumplings. You can do this flattening parallel when you are frying.

Heat oil in a deep frying pan.Ensure that oil has reached its correct temperature; then add chekkalu slowly.Allow it to cook on medium flame .

They are ready to be served


Tips:

Be careful when adding water to the dough as excess water may not give crunchy taste
Fry in medium temperature.
The dough kneaded is appropriate only when it forms uneven edges when pressed on the sheet.

I am posting this recipe for Let’s Cook #18 ~ Starters / Appetizers happening at Tickling Palate, Celebrate Month of Shravan at Spicy treats and Anu's South Indian Cooking Event #1

Strawberry Banana Popsicle

I got a new popsicle mould and am on the process of experimentting new varieties. I tried some fruit versions to include healthy bit for these cold treats. I tried a blend of strawberry and banana. Basically you can add any smoothies to this and freeze them to get your favorite popsicles. This give a lovely color and great taste. This is very inviting for kids and you can happy about doing home-made popsicles.

Ingredients:
Strawberry - 10
Banana - 1
Milk - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 tbsp

Procedure:

Blend the strawberries smoothly. To this add half cup of milk and 1 1/2 tbsp of sugar. Strain this after blending well. If needed add more sugar.

Pour this in the popsicle moulds for 1/3rd. Keep this covered in freezer for 1 hr.

In the meantime blend the bananas smoothly with sugar and half cup of milk. Blend this and strain to remove any solid parts/seeds.

After 1 hr the strawberry flavor will be half set but not watery. Now add the banana mix on top for another 1/3 portion. Keep this covered in freezer for another 1/2 hour.

I added more milk in the strawberry blend for the last part. This gave me a pink color. After 1/2 hour fill the moulds with the remaining strawberry blend. Now keep the popsicle sticks and press them slightly hard to push it till the end. Freeze this for 2 more hours.

Yummy strawberry banana popsicles are ready for kids.