Lentil Sprouts Usli..

A simple and nutritious usli/fry, which is very tasty and wholesome and takes only a few minutes to prepare. We make these Uslis usually with different kinds of sprouts or soaked beans.

This post is my contribution to the JFI-Sprouts at Ammalu' Kitchen hosted by Dee.

So, here goes..

Ingredients


Lentil sprouts - 2 cups
Onions, chopped - 1 small or half of a big one
Green Chillies, slit lengthwise - 2
Curry leaves - 3
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Lemon Juice - 1 tsp
Fresh/Frozen Coconut - 1 tbsp (optional). I did not use it.
Salt - to taste
Oil.


Method


- In a kadhai, heat little oil, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds. Once the seeds crackle, add the curry leaves and the green chillies. Add the chopped onions and fry till they turn soft and transparent.
- Add the lentil sprouts, turmeric powder & salt and saute for a minute. Just sprinkle about a tbsp of water, not more.
- Sprinkle the grated coconut (if using).
- Cover and cook on medium-low heat for about 5 mins, with stirring once in between.
- Pour lemon juice and mix well and its ready to serve.
- Serve as a side in a vegetarian meal.


Note: I have seen my mom using both red chillies as well as green ones in this dish. I dont know the difference, but I personally prefer green chillies.

Stuffed Thai Eggplants....

I found these cute little Thai eggplants and bought them thinking I will make the Engaayi. But I changed my mind and followed the same recipe that I did for the Stuffed Okra that I had made earlier.

The only difference in the recipe is that in a non-stick pan, I fried 1 big sliced onion in some oil, put in 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds and then put in the stuffed eggplants. I put 2 tsp of lemon juice instead of 1.

The rest of the recipe is the same and is here.

Eggplants with stuffing mixture

The dish tastes great with rotis or as a side with rice and dal. Hope you like it..

Tangerine Cranberry Chutney- Hot & Sweet

A simply delicious chutney that I can gaurantee will leave you licking your fingers and wanting more. A complete mix of sour, sweet and spice. That explains it all, isn't it ??

The recipe is adapted from Laxmi Hiremath's ' The Dance of Spices'...

I have made some changes to the original recipe. Will note the differences below.

The following is the way I made this chutney..

Ingredients

1 Small tangerine.

1 1/2 cup - fresh cranberries, stemmed and washed.

1 tsp - grated fresh ginger

3/4 cup - jaggery

Cardamom powder-made from seeds of 3 pods

Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp ( Reduce it if you want it less spicy )

Salt - to taste

1 inch stick - Cinnamon

Method

- Halve the tangerines crosswise without peeling, remove the seeds and cut into 1/2" wedges.

- In a heavy pan, combine the tangerines with the cranberries, ginger, jaggery, cardamom, cinnamon, chilli powder and salt. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce the heat to low & cook, sitrring regularly, until the jaggery dissolves and the tangerine rind is slightly softened, about 10 mins.

- The chutney is done when its thick and glossy & will be reduced in quantity.

Note :

- The original recipe calls for sugar, but I used jaggery instead.

- The original recipe has 1/4 cup of onions to be added and cooked along with other ingredients, but I didn't add the onions.

- Original recipe calls for 1/4 cup of chopped, toasted walnuts also, but I skipped them. If adding the walnuts, after the last step, stir in the walnuts.

For best flavour, allow the chutney to sit, covered at room temperature for a day before serving. You can store this in the fridge upto 2 weeks.

- Serve as a side with some kind of rice, or on bread or enjoy just by itself.

Dill Rice..

I had made this Dill rice and thought of sharing it. I like the fragrance and flavour of these leaves and try to use them whenever I can. Instead of addition to a dish, I thought this time of making a rice itself with Dill in it and it turned out very good. So, here goes..

Ingredients

Basmati Rice - 1 1/2 cup
Dill leaves, chopped - 1 1/2 cup ( only the leaves, no stems)
Onions, chopped - 1 medium
Garlic, finely chopped - 3 cloves
Ginger, grated - 1/2 inch piece
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - a big pinch
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Udal Dal/Split Black gram - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 4
Lemon Juice - 1 tsp (optional)
Garam Masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - taste
Oil

Method

- Wash the rice and soak it in water.
- Meanwhile, in a non-stick pan, heat some oil, add the udad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves. Once the mustard seeds crackle, add the onions and saute till they are soft and transparent. Then add the ginger and garlic and saute.
- Then add the dill leaves, saute for a minute, add salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, mix well.
- Drain the water from the rice and add to the pan. Mix well with everything for a minute, then add 3 cups of water and add the garam masala and lemon juice. Check for salt.

- On medium high heat, bring to a boil. Mix the rice slowly once. Then cover the pan and cook on very low heat till done.

- Serve hot with a side of your choice.

P.S.- I served mine with Cranberry chutney and yogurt.

Set Dosa with Vegetable Saagu..

Hmm, so I was all set to make Set Dosa and Saagu on the weekend. Google just made me scratch my head with all the different variations. I called up Mom and asked her and she gave me two different options to make Set dosas. I frowned at both the options and told her that I think she is confused as to what I want and irritated her. The ingredients she told me were no matches to my Google searches, so the arguing. She just told me to try and then tell her what happened ;). I was really pleased with the soft, spongy dosas that resulted in exactly what I wanted. So, am sure there are plenty of variations and this might not be the authentic way of making Set Dosas, but this is what I tried and will stick with coz I got excellent results. I will try mom's option #2 soon too. Do try it to know what I mean.

Set Dosa

Ingredients

Rice - 1 cup

Methi seeds/Fenugreek Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Moong Dal - 1/2 cup

Chana Dal - 1/4 cup

Toor Dal - 1/4 cup ( I used the orange masoor dal instead )

Grated fresh/frozen Coconut - 1/4 cup

Poha/ Beaten Rice/ Avalakki - 1/2 cup

Salt

Method

- Soak the Rice with the Methi seeds, moong dal, chana dal and toor dal for about 6-8 hrs.

- Before grinding, wash and soak the poha in water for about 10 mins. Squeeze out all the water.

- Grind the soaked rice and dal mixture alongwith the poha and grated coconut to a smooth batter. Take care that the batter is not too watery or runny.

- Add salt at the end of grinding, mix and let the batter ferment about 10-12 hrs or overnite.

- Once fermented and ready to make dosas, heat tawa, pour a ladle full of batter and just spread very lightly so that the dosa is thick. Drizzle oil/ghee on sides and top and once one side is done, flip and cook for just about 5 secs on the second side. When first side cooking, you will see tiny holes forming indicating a soft and spongy texture of the dosa and will be cooked through on both sides, but I turned and cooked the second side also for about 5 secs.

- Serve hot with Saagu.

Note : These dosas are made round and thick in size ( like pancakes).

Had never made Saagu also before, though eaten in the restaurants many a times in Bangalore with hot Puris and Set dosas. When I googled for the recipe, again confusion at all the variations. Mom of course, had her own recipe. Finally, I took tips from all the recipes that I saw and mom's recipe and made the Saagu which I thought would suit us. It indeed turned out yummy :). I followed LG's Saagu recipe mostly here, but added some extra ingredients apart from those she has mentioned. So, thanx LG :)..

Now, some recipes call for adding garlic while some I see don't. Are these both different options?? If anyone knows, please do let me know.

Saagu

Ingredients

Coconut - 1/4 cup ( reduce the quantity to 2 tbsp if you find this too much).

Putani/Hurgadale/Dalia/Roasted Chana Dal - 2 tbsp

Khus Khus/Poppy seeds - 2 tsp

Green Chillies - 3

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Cloves/Lavang - 5

Black Peppercorns - 7-8

Cinnamon/Dalchini - 1 inch piece

Cilantro - 1/4 cup

Mint leaves - 8-10

Tamarind - 2 small pieces

Surti Papdi/Flat beans/Chapparada Averakayi - 1 cup

Potato, cut into chunks - 1 1/2 cup

Carrots, cut into chunks - 1 cup

Onions, cut into chunks - 1 cup

Tomato, cut into chunks - 1 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - 5-6

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Oil

Method

- Boil the cut vegetables with little salt and enough water in a pressure cooker upto 1 whistle.

- Make a paste by grinding together all the items from Coconut to tamarind with very little water.

- In a pan, add oil, add the mustard seeds and when they start crackling, add the curry leaves.

- Add the ground paste & turmeric powder to the pan and on low flame, fry this paste till the oil starts oozing out slightly.

- Add the boiled vegetables along with the water, mix everything, adjust the salt and simmer to boil. Add water to adjust consistency if needed.

- Once simmered and boiled for about 5 mins, take off from flame.

- Ready to be served with Dosa, Puris, or Chapatis.

A year old and Mysore Pak..

Yes, this date last year was my first post. After much contemplation and inspired by many blogs here, I did start blogging, more-so to keep a record for myself of what goes on in my kitchen. Initially, I had plans of not stricting this blog just to food, but to bring in more about the Konkani culture, things about my native place and our customs and traditions. Somehow, I have not been successful in doing that so far, but its always on my mind to someday include other things than food. Hopefully, I will be able to do that.


I know I started with a great deal of enthusiasm with posts on a regular basis, but haven't really been able to do that for sometime now. Sometimes, its other things happening at home, sometimes laziness and at other times just a feeling of having no recipes or nothing to blog about :).


Thanx to all you wonderful people who visit this blog and leave your valuable comments for me everytime. It has helped a lot and I really appreciate each of you of leaves a comment here and gives your suggestions. A request to all those who read to please drop in a line and leave your feedback too. It just boosts up the spirit :).


The most wonderful part of blogging is having got to know some wonderful people in the blogosphere and am really glad to have come across these people and their friendship. So thanx to you all.


Let's celebrate this with some Mysore Pak, what say ??

I followed VahChef's recipe here. The video was really helpful. There is room for improvement in my making of the Mysore Pak, so hopefully next time, it will come out better than this time.

I did a little bit of adjustment with the quantities he mentioned.
These are the quantities I used..


Besan/Gramflour - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 cup. As he mentioned I used half ghee & half oil.
Sugar - 1 1/4 cup
Water - 1/2 cup


Check out the video & recipe here.


OK, too much of a sugar-dose happening with Diwali and Halloween in the past weeks. So, no more sweet posts for sometime now. Ya rite, with the holiday season coming up, I sure can only wish for that :)..

Rava Laddu..

While on the phone with my Mom before Diwali, I realised that I was way behind schedule for making snacks and sweets for Diwali. My mom said she had prepared only a couple of goodies as its only her and dad at home. On hearing that I really felt ashamed for not having even started with anything. Rava laddu was one that she mentioned that she has made. On hearing that I went back memory lane and how much we love these. It was a long time since we had these, and I had never tried making them at home also. So, I quickly took down the recipe from her and finally made them for the diwali puja.

The one thing I have noticed and love about the Rava Laddus we make is the addition of Cloves/Lavang in it. Have not seen it being used so much in Rava laddu recipes and I wonder why. It gives a very nice fragrance and flavour to the laddus.

Ingredients

Rava/Semolina/Suji - 1 cup

Water - 3/4 cup

Sugar - 1 cup

Cloves/Lavang - 5, slightly crush them.

Raisins - 2 tbsp

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Ghee - 2 tbsp

I also used a little milk while binding the laddus.

Method

- Heat the ghee in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the cloves and the raisins, when they puff up, add the rava to the pan and on low flame, fry with constant stirring till a nice aroma comes from the rava. Transfer the rava to a plate.

- Now add the water and sugar to the pan, stir and boil till the syrup forms to slightly sticky consistency. It took me about 7-8 minutes.

- Add the cardamom powder to the syrup. Switch off the flame and now add the rava to the syrup. Mix well so that no lumps are there and the mixture is uniform.

- The mixture will be very wet and sticky at this point. Cover the pan and keep aside till it becomes a little dry,i.e. for about 30 mins.

- When still warm enough to handle, take little mixture at a time, and shape into laddus.

- Let cool completely and then store in air-tight container.

Note :

- I used a little milk on my palms while shaping the laddus.

- Midway thru making the laddus, I had to slightly warm the mixture again, as it became slightly dry. Turned out ok with slight warming and with the little moisture from the milk.

Sweet Boondi...

Firstly, Wish you all a very Happy Diwali. Hope the festival of lights brings joy, health and happiness to one and all.

Now, if you have guessed from the title, yes, my intention was to make Boondi Laddus, but something went wrong somewhere and this post turns out to be just Sweet Boondis ;)..
I think the sugar syrup I made was too less and moreover a little beyond the required consistency, hence couldn't bind the boondis at all. Better luck next time, but nonetheless, they tasted great, so no regrets there. It didn't take us much time to finish the whole thing all at one shot. It reminded me of the sweet boondis offered in temples.

Ingredients

For Boondi
Besan/Gramflour - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/4 cup approx.

For syrup
Water - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup

You also need
Raisins, roasted in ghee/butter - 1 tbsp
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Method

- In a pan, take the water and sugar quantities mentioned for the syrup and boil till you get a one-string consistency.
- Mix the besan with the water and form a smooth batter without any lumps.
- In a kadhai, heat oil. Hold the skimmer/jharana/ladle with tiny holes that you use for deep-frying, about an inch above the hot oil, pour the besan batter on the ladle such that the batter drops down though the tiny holes of the ladle and forms boondis in oil.
- Adjust the consistency of the batter if you feel that the batter is too thick or too thin to drop down.
- Take out the boondis from the oil once they stop sizzling and add to hot syrup, so that they soak in the syrup.
- Once all the boondis are added to the syrup, add in the cardamom powder, and the raisins and mix the boondis well so that the syrup is evenly coated on them.
- Leave for about 10 mins and take them out and spread on a dry plate till they dry up.
- Ready to eat.
- If keeping for later, once cooled completely, store in air-tight container.

Stuffed Bhindi/Okra

We love Okra and we love almost anything with it. But stuffed bhindis is a special one on the list and we never get tired of eating it. Yes, its a little cumbersome to get the whole dish done, from the slitting and stuffing, but all worth in the end ;)...So, here goes...

Ingredients

Bhindi/Okra/LadiesFinger, small tender ones - about 20 - 25

Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Haldi powder/ Turmeric powder - a pinch

Jeera/Cumin powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Besan - 3 tbsp

Amchur powder/Mango powder - 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 tsp (optional)

Salt - to taste

Oil

Method

- Wash the bhindi, pat completely dry. Cut the stalk portion of it and make a shallow slit lengthwise such that the bhindi still remains intact as one whole.

- Mix the besan, cumin powder, coriander powder, amchur powder, chilli powder, turmeric powder & salt.

- Stuff a generous amount of this mixture into the slit bhindis. Pour the lemon juice over the stuffed bhindis.

- Heat a wide non-stick pan, drizzle little oil all over the pan, and place the stuffed bhindis evenly so that the bhindis are directly on the pan and not on one another.

- Keep the flame on very low, cover the pan and let them cook. Keep turning the sides every once in a while to avoid them getting burnt and evely fried on all sides.

- Enjoy hot.

Note :

- Lemon juice is optional. I did not add it this time, but the mango powder gave it a nice tang and was enough.

- I usually add a little bit of garam masala powder also to the stuffing mixture. But you can leave it out and it tastes just fine too.

- I like to sprinkle the leftover stuffing mixture over the bhindis in the pan so that they would get caoted with it also.

- A great way to enjoy these stuffed bhindis are to soak them for a minute in a bowl of yogurt and then have them with rotis or just like that.

Bread Upma

Thanx to chatting with a friend, I was reminded about this breakfast item which I hadn't made in a long long time. Apart from remembering the recipe, a great tip that I got from her was the addition of egg to it. I really liked this tip and made this Bread upma with the addition of egg. So, thanx to her.


Ingredients


Bread Slices, torn into small pieces - 12
Onion, chopped - 1 big
Green chillies, chopped - 3 (or according to your spice level)
Tomato, chopped - 1 medium
Cumin/Jeera - 3/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 5 (I did not use these)
Turmeric powder - a pinch (optional)
Egg - 2 (optional)
Cilantro - optional
Salt - to taste
Oil

Method

- Heat little oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, when they start cracking, add the cumin seeds, green chillies and curry leaves.

- Add the onions and fry till they turn soft and transparent and then add the tomotoes and fry till soft.

- Add in the turmeric, salt and eggs and beat till they scramble evenly. Now add the bread pieces, add the cilantro and mix everything well. Switch off heat and keep covered.

- Serve hot.

Note : If you don't eat eggs, just omit the eggs and follow the rest of the procedure.

Masalya Ambat/Curry..

This is another of my favourite curries from what my mom makes. This is a curry which is very fragrant and super delicious. We usually serve it with rice, and also idlis and rotis.

Do try it and you will not be sorry.

Ingredients

Boiled Toor dal - 1/2 cup

Green Beans, cut into 1" pieces - 3/4 cup

Potato, cut into chunks - 3/4 cup

Tendle/Tondekayi/Gherkins, cut into halves - 3/4 cup

Fresh/Frozen Coconut - 1/4 cup

Coriander seeds - 1 tsp

Fennel Seeds/Saunf - 1/2 tsp

Cloves/Lavang - 3

Dalchini/ Cinnamon- 1/2 inch piece

Dried Red Chillies - 4

Tamarind - 2 small pieces

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - to taste

Method

- Grind the coconut, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon, red chillies, tamarind, turmeric powder with little water to form a fine paste.

- The dal should be boiled to be very soft and mushy.

- Boil the veggies with little water and salt, together or one by one till soft but not mushy.

- To the pan with veggies, add the boiled dal and the ground paste, adjust salt and boil till the raw smell goes away from the masala.

- Ready to serve with hot rice or idlis or rotis.

Note : You can add other veggies also to this, but my mom says that the combination of green beans, potato and gherkins works best for this dish.

Green Rice with Chickpeas & Soya Nuggets..

The green rice is an inspiration from a friends recipe. I would blog about that actual recipe soon, but this is something that I adapted and made without any onions or garlic and added some soya nuggets and chickpeas to make it more filling and to save myself from making an extra side ;)..

This turned out be a completely tasty one dish meal and we loved it.

Ingredients

Cooked Rice, fluffy and grains separate - 3 cups

Cilantro leaves, stems removed - 1 1/2 cup

White Chickpeas - 1/2 cup, soaked overnite or in hot water for abt 2 hrs.

Soya nuggets - 1 cup

Green Chillies, slit - 2

Ginger, roughly chopped - 1 inch piece

Udad dal - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 1/2 tsp ( optional )

Salt - to taste

Method

- Heat abt a tsp of oil in a pan, add the cilantro leaves, ginger and green chillies and saute till the cilantro leaves wilt. Take off from flame. Once cooled, blend in a mixie to form a fine mixture.

- Soak the soya nuggets in hot water for abt 5 mins, then squeeze out the water and pressure cook them with salt and about 1/4 cup water for 1 whistle.

- The chickpeas have to be cooked too. So either pressure cook the soaked chickpeas with little salt till soft but not mushy or use canned ones.

- Once all these are ready, in a pan, heat little oil, add the mustard seeds and udad dal. Once the mustard seeds crackle, add the cumin seeds, the ground cilantro paste and the cooked soya nuggets and the chickpeas. Add little salt and saute for about 2 mins. Switch off flame.

- Now, add the cooked rice, lemon juice and mix everything well so that the rice gets evenly coated with the mixture.

- Serve hot with yogurt and pickle or papad.

Note :

- I think mint leaves would be great in this too. Just plain mint or a mixture of both mint and cilantro would taste great.

- I think next time, I would increase the quantity of cilantro slightly more, just for the color, though tastewise, this was just rite and gave it the rite flavour.

- Adding onions and garlic would bring about a nicer flavour to this rice, but this time I opted for not adding both.

- I cut the soya nuggets into smaller pieces as the chunks are very large otherwise.

- Lemon juice is optional, but I think it gives it a nice touch.

Instant Microwave Dhokla..

This recipe is a sure winner for instant Dhokla made in the microwave. Its perfect when you need to dish out something within minutes. I got this recipe on the internet.

Ingredients

Besan/Gram Flour - 1 cup

Yogurt - 2 tbsp

Oil - 3 tsp

Turmeric - a pinch

Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Baking soda - 1/8 tsp

Hot Water - 1/4 cup

Salt - to taste

For the Seasoning:

Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Green chillies, slit lengthwise - 2

For the pouring liquid:
Water - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 2 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Salt - a pinch

You will also need :
Cilantro, chopped - a handful, for garnishing.

Method

- To the besan add a pinch of turmeric, yogurt, oil,1 tsp lemon juice, salt to taste & with the hot water make a smooth batter.
- Add the baking soda and mix. Pour the mixture immediately into a greased glass bowl & microwave it between 7-8min. Please see note below.
- Let it stand for a minute and then cut into square pieces.
- Then for the seasoning, heat little oil, add mustard seeds. Once they start crackling, add the cumin seeds & green chillies and then pour this seasoning over the cut dhokla pieces.
- Prepare a mixture by taking 1/2 cup water and adding to it 1 tsp lemon juice, 2 tsp sugar & a pinch of salt.
- Pour with a spoon on the seasoned dhokla pieces & then garnish the pieces with chopped cilantro.

Note : - After 3 mins of cooking, keep checking for doneness of the Dhokla. If overdone, it gets browned and burnt in the centre. Microwave cooking times will vary, so please keep that in mind.
- Pouring the prepared liquid on the dhokla pieces is important as the pieces when warm soak up all the liquid and result in very soft and moist pieces, which otherwise dry out from the heating.

This post is my contribution to MEC-Snacks and Savouries hosted by Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes.

MEC is the brainchild of Srivalli of Cooking 4 All Seasons.

Thank you for telling me about this Meera.

Lentils with Pepper & Garlic...

When you have a cold and sore throat, are down with fever, this dish will be a great relief to your throat. With lots of crushed black pepper, garlic, and the nutrition of the lentils, its simple and soothing. Make it of thinner consistency and slurp like soup, or keep it slightly thick and serve with hot rice.

Ingredients

Brown Lentils - 1 cup

Black peppercorns - 10-15, crushed.

Garlic cloves - 4

Onion, chopped - 1 small

Tomato, chopped - 1 big

Mustard Greens or any other greens - 1/2 cup ( optional)

Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1 tsp

Red Chilli powder - 3/4 tsp or more.

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 tsp (optional)

Salt - to taste

Ghee

Oil

Method

- In a pressure cooker, heat about a tbsp. of ghee, add the crushed black pepper corns and cumin seeds. Once they sizzle, add the chopped onions and fry till transparent and soft.

- Then add the chopped tomato, saute till they get soft.

- Add the lentils, mustard greens (I used these, but any greens you want to use), turmeric and chilli powders, salt, aprox. 3 cups of water, and cover the cooker with the whistle placed.

- Let it cook for upto 2 whistles on medium flame.

- Once the pressure drops down, open the lid and add the lemon juice (if using).

- In a separate small pan, fry the crushed garlic cloves in oil till lightly browned. Immediately pour it over the cooked mixture and cover.

- Serve hot with rice or just plain as soup.

Note : Leave out the greens if you do not want. I just thought it would be a plus to add some.

Kala Chana Sprouts Dosa..

Inspired by the green gram Pesarattu (the Andhra Dosa delicacy), I thought why not with something else ??

I had sprouted black chickpeas ready, so thought that would be a good ingredient to try it with..

Must say they turned out very good, so was glad I made them..Do try it and you will not be disappointed.

Ingredients

Black Chickpeas sprouts - 3 cups

Rice flour - 2 tbsp

Onion - 1 small

Green chillies - 5 small

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Salt - to taste

You also need

Cilantro, chopped - a little

Onions, finely chopped - 1/4 cup ( optional)

Method

- Grind the Sprouts with onions, green chillies, ginger using enough water.

- Take the mix in a bowl, add salt and rice flour and mix well to avoid any lumps.

- Now, add the cilantro and the finely chopped onions ( if using) and mix well.

- Heat a non-stick tawa, pour little batter on it, spread lightly in circular motion, drizzle oil on sides and on top and when done on one side, flip and cook on other side till done.

- Serve hot with a chutney or with chutney pudi.

Note :

1. You can do this without sprouting the chickpeas also. Just soak the chickpeas for about 8 hrs and then use.

2. The chopped onions mentioned in the second part is optional, you could do without adding them to the batter also.

3. Instead of rice flour, you could soak a tbsp of rice in water for a few hours, and then grind it with the chickpeas and other ingredients.

4. The batter should not be runny, so adjust the water accordingly.

Kananga Paayas/ Sweet Potato Payasam..

On my last grocery trip, I came across these White sweet potatoes that we get in India. Why excited??? Coz I love these and also for the reason that a couple of times before, I have been fooled by the Yams (orange flesh) which look like sweet potatoes, but don't taste the same. So, this time when came across the actual ones that I adore, I didn't think twice, just picked up a couple and made this wonderful Payasam that is my Mom's recipe. I've always loved this Payasam. Do give it a try if you haven't tasted it before.

Ingredients

Sweet potato, grated - 1 1/4 cup

Rava/Semolina - 1 tsp

Chana Dal - 1 tbsp

Coconut Milk - 1/4 cup

Jaggery, grated - 1/2 cup ( Increase more if you like sweeter)

Elaichi powder - 1/2 tsp

Raisins - 2 tbsp

Cashews - 2 tbsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Method

- Soak the chana dal in water for about an hour. Then cook it till it is soft and just cracks but not mushy. Keep aside.

- In a pan, heat ghee, fry the raisins and cashews, and take them out on a plate.

- Now add the rava to the ghee and fry for a minute. Add about 1/2 cup of water and the grated sweet potato to the pan, and let it cook till it becomes soft.

- Now add the boiled chana dal, jaggery and mix well.

- Add the coconut milk and elaichi powder and just bring to one boil. Switch off stove and garnish with fried raisins and cashews.

Note :

- The sweet potato can be either grated or cut into very fine pieces for this.

- The rava gives thickness to the payasam once its cooked, so adjust the water keeping this in mind, else it will turn out too thick.

- I have not used cashews this time, but it tastes great when both cashews and raisins are added.

- Take care that the chana dal does not become mushy.

- I have used fresh coconut milk, by blending fresh coconut with water and then extracting the white milk from it. You can use canned lite coconut milk too.

Alayile Pita Rotti - Konkani Style..

Alayile Pita Rotti is one of my favourites in the breakfast menu. These rotis are just amazingly soft and melt in the mouth type. The way you make these is slightly different.

Traditionally, these are made with rice flour, but my mom makes them most of the time with wheat flour. So I have followed her way of making it..

So, here goes..

Ingredients

Wheat flour - 1 cup

Water - 1 cup

Salt - a pinch

Oil

Method

- In a wide vessel, bring the water to a boil. Add the salt and a tsp of oil to it. Switch off the flame.

- Now to this hot water, add the wheat flour little by little at a time, with constant stirring and mixing, just that the whole thing forms into one mass without any lumps.

- Once done, cover the vessel with a lid so that the dough remains hot.

- Now, once you can handle the dough, take little mixture of the dough at a time, make a small ball, pat with some wheat flour and roll out like regular rotis.

- Heat a tawa, and fry the rotis on both sides till done without any oil.

- Serve hot with a chutney or side of your choice.

Note :

- The method remains the same when you use Rice flour too.

- Don't worry if you cannot make the dough into a uniform mass, take care to avoid the lumps though. When you take little mixture at a time while rolling, you can knead the little ball again and make it even.

- The dough has to remain hot while rolling out, once cold its not possible to roll them out. So ensure that you keep the dough covered everytime you take a little of the mixture.

- These rottis are served usually with a chutney( a coconut-ginger chutney always at my place), but you can serve them with any side of your choice.

- I served mine with a Mushroom-Corn Curry this time..

Mushroom Corn Curry..

Ingredients

Mushrooms, sliced - 2 cups

Fresh/Frozen Corn kernels - 1 cup

Red Bell pepper, sliced thin - 1 cup

Onions, finely chopped - 1/2 cup

Tomato, stewed - 1/2 cup ( I used the canned ones ). You can use fresh also.
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste


Method

- Heat oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds and onions and fry till onions are transparent.

- Add the stewed tomatoes and fry well.

- Add the mushrooms, corn and the bell pepper and saute well for a minute.

- Add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and garam masala powder.

- Cook till done.

I'd like to send this to Lata's Combi Breakfasts event..

Update : Am also sending this to Deepa's ' RCI- Konkan Cuisine'. Thank you Deepa.

Favourite Spice- Teppal/Sizchuan Pepper..

Am rushing in this entry to Sunita's Think Spice-Think Favourite Event...

When it comes to a favourite spice, its a difficlut choice, since I like most of the spices, but Teppal or Sizchuan pepper as it is known definitely tops my list.

It is very commonly used in Konkani cuisine. During season, people collect it and try to use the fresh spice as much as possible. It is also dried during this season and made ready to stock up for the rest of the year. So a Konkani household will mostly forever have stock of this spice. This is what dried Teppal looks like. It has a black seed inside which is removed and not seen in this pic.

Teppal has a very strong pungent and peppery taste. The spice is just used in dishes for its flavour but cannot be bitten into or eaten. One has to pick it out from the dish and keep it aside. If bitten into by mistake, you will be really sorry, coz it leaves a very strong burning kind of sensation and flares up the tongue. So, though you will love the unique aroma and flavour that this spice imparts to the dish, be sure to remember to pick it out from your dish while eating and not bite into it :)..

Teppal is used in a whole lot of curries and dishes, from vegetarian to fish. But today, I will share with you a very simple potato curry that we make and which is called Talasani..

Ingredients

Potatoes, cut long like french fries - 3 medium

Teppal/Sizchuan pepper - 7-8 pieces

Red chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Tamarind - small lemon sized ball. ( Soak this in water and once soft squeeze out all pulp from it. Alternately, use ready to use tamarind extract ).

Salt - to taste

Oil

Method

- Slightly crush the Teppal/Sizchuan pepper with a pestle, and soak it in very little water. Keep aside.

- In a pan, heat little oil, put in the cut potato pieces, saute for a while.

- Add the soaked Pepper pieces alongwith the water, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, tamarind water, and salt and mix well.

- Add little water, cover the pan and let the potatoes cook till done but not mushy.

- Once done, the dish should be dry and not watery.

- Serve hot as a side with rice and a curry.

Note : You can either cook this without adding any water or the way I have mentioned here, by adding water. To cook without water, you will need to saute the potatoes in slightly more oil and then cover the pan and cook on very low heat till done.

The dish usually is made very spicy, and looks bright red in colour, but somehow, I didn't get the colour.

DO NOT eat the peppers. Pick them out while eating.

So, off this goes to Sunita...Thank- you for hosting and Congratulations on completing one full year with THINK SPICE Sunita..

Click - Citrus..

This is my entry for this months Click event - Citrus hosted by Jai & Bee of Jugalbandi.

This is a shot of Fresh lemon soda that I made today..I got the idea for the shot from a photo that I had seen.

For the soda, I just took some freshly squeezed lemon juice, a tsp of sugar and a pinch of salt and poured some club soda over it. Tastes great :)...So here it is...

Kodubaale-1..From Asha's blog..

This is a Kodubaale recipe that I tried from Asha's blog. She had mentioned that in this recipe, all-purpose flour can be replaced by atta ( wheat flour). What a great idea I thought and gave it a try. All I can say is that at the end of frying, only half the batch went into containers :). Yes, they were that good. So, thank you Asha for a wonderful recipe and this great tip of using atta in this recipe.

I followed Asha's recipe exactly. Only variation is that I added 1 tsp of cumin seeds to the dough alongwith other ingredients.

You can view Asha's recipe here. Thank you again Asha.

Tried & Tested- Watercress with Chickpeas

As I was looking through the recipes to try out from the great duo, Jai & Bee at Jugalbandi, for the Tried & Tested event, I actually came to bookmark quite a long list and then it was quite challenging for me as to which one to try first.

I had never cooked watercress before and when I saw it combined with Chickpeas in their recipe, I thought it was a must try for me.

The verdict...An absolute winner this dish is..We had it with rotis and it was just wonderful..

Thankyou Bee & Jai and your site just rocks with all the informative articles and the mind blowing photograhy, not to mention your sense of humour...

I followed the recipe as is, except that instead of the mentioned Kashmiri garam masala, I just used normal garam masala that I had.

You will find the recipe here.

Thank you Zlamushka, for hosting this event..

Simple Veggie Stir-fry..

This is the first time I tried making a simple veggie stir fry. I just kept the ingredients to the minimum and the result was quite pleasing. Served with some peas rice, it was just wonderful. This is what I did..

Ingredients

Sugar snap peas - 1 1/2 cup

Carrots, cut into rectangular thin long strips - 1 cup

Green Bell pepper, cut into thin long strips - 1 cup

Zucchini, cut into thick long strips - 1 cup

Broccoli florets - 1 cup

Firm Tofu, cut into chunks - 1 cup

Soya Sauce - 1 tbsp

Ground Red Chilli paste - 1 tbsp ( I used readymade )

Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Oil

Method

- Heat approx. 1 tsp of oil in a non-stick pan. Add the tofu chunks into it, and on medium flame, saute till they turn brown on all sides. Once done, take out from pan and keep aside.

- Add little more oil to the pan, once hot, add the veggies all at once and on high flame, stir for about 2-3 mins. Add the sauteed Tofu chunks also back into it.

- Add the soya sauce, red chilli sauce, lemon juice and salt, mix well and switch off flame.

- Serve hot with mildly flavoured rice or eat plain by itself.

I'd like to send this to JFI-Soya, hosted by Sia of Monsoon Spice..

Thank-you for hosting Sia :)...

Banana Buns/Mangalore Buns..

Famous by the name of Mangalore Buns, I've tasted and had these most in Goa only. Whenever we go to Goa to visit our Kuldevata( family God) temple, this is on our breakfast menu at the temple canteens. Most of the small canteens in and around the temples in Goa have the Buns-Bhaji or Buns-Chutney on their menu. The ones where we have are really to die for, perfectly and evenly golden brown all over, sweetish, they serve it with a simple chutney, but you would care less for the chutney as they taste great just by themselves.

My mom makes these only rarely at home. Maida/All-purpose flour is used traditionally, but my Aayi and MIL both use wheat flour (atta) when making this.

So, here goes..

Ingredients

Over-ripe Bananas, peeled and fully mashed - 1/2 cup

Buttermilk - 1/4 cup

Sugar - 2 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp. ( My mom sometimes uses Ajwain/Carom seeds instead of cumin also).

Wheat flour - approx. 2 1/2 cups ( Decide on the amount you need to get a stiff dough. This is the quantity that I used up).

Baking Soda - 1/8 tsp

Salt - to taste

Oil - to deep fry

Method

- In a bowl, take the mashed banana, add the buttermilk, sugar, cumin seeds, baking soda and salt and mix together nicely.

- Slowly add the wheat flour little by little and make into a stiff dough.

- Cover the dough and keep aside for about 3 hrs.

- Now, make small round balls out of it, roll slightly thick to the size of a puri.

- Heat enough oil to deep fry in a kadhai and drop in the puris. As it puffs up on one side turn and let it fry on other side till golden brown. Fry this on medium heat, else the inside will remain uncooked.

- Serve with chutney or enjoy just plain. Make sure to consume it while its still hot.

Note : These are supposed to be made sweet, so you would need to add more sugar.. However, I always like them slightly less sweet and as I always serve them with chutney or chutney pudi, I add less sugar.

I'd like to send these to the following two events..

1. WBB-Combi Breakfasts hosted by Lata of Masala Magic..

2. SWC-Karnataka hosted by Sheetal of My Kitchen.

Thank-you Lata and Sheetal..