Vermicelli Pulav:

Khara Pongal/ Ven Pongal :

Ahh..what to say about humble Pongal? It is one of the comfort food for any South Indian. It is most prevalent in Tamilnadu as a Ven Pongal and a Khara Pongal at Bangalore.

Be it breakfast or as popular Tiffin Item or Lunch or Dinner in a chilly winter season, with added healing properties of ginger, black pepper, hing and loads of ghee to soothe your soul.

It is one of the wholesome, one-pot meals. As the Makarasankranthi festival is around the corner, I would love to share the recipe I follow at home and loved by my family.

Ingredients:

Rice – 1 cup

Moong dal /green gram dal – 1 cup

Ghee – 2 tbl spoons

Cumin – 1 tsp

Hing – ¼ tsp

Green chillies- 2 (slit)

Ginger – 1′ ( julienne)

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Turmeric – 1 tsp

Milk – 1cup

Water – 7 cups

Salt

Fresh coconut gratings – ½ cup

Tempering: Ghee – 1 tbl sp, mustard, cumin- 1 tsp, black pepper – 1 tsp – 2 tsp, curry leaves – 1 spring, chopped cashew nuts – 1 to 2 tbl spoons.

Extra ghee – to serve ( optional)

Method:

-Dry roast yellow moong dal for 2 to 3 minutes. Cool it. Wash rice and dry roasted moong together and soak it for some time, or you can use it directly.

-Take a cooker, add 2 tbl sp ghee, add cumin, hing, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves and turmeric and fry for 2 minutes.

-Now drain the rice and moong dal, add-in, mix everything and add water, milk and boil.

-When water starts boiling, add salt, coconut, close the lid, and cook for three whistles.

-Crush black pepper and cumin by putting them together in a mortar and pastel. Keep it ready.

-After opening the lid, make tempering by heating ghee, splutter mustard, add crushed pepper and cumin, curry leaves, cashew bits and fry until the cashew becomes light brown. Pour over the tempering on ready Pongal.

-Mix everything, serve with tamarind gojju, sambar, Raita or chutney.

NOTE: I usually use Broken rice, which is used explicitly for Pogal and available in all the local Rice traders here in Bangalore.

If it is not available, I would prefer to use Jeeraga samba rice/ small grain rice/ sannakki.

 

Oats Rava Vegetable Idli :

I normally prefer rava idli by adding oats. As you all are aware, I have 2 types of oats idlies in my blog. One is plain Oats Rava idli and another one is Regular Rava idli style by adding oats to it. I normally prefer Rava idli style and if it is for tiffin box or Brunch adding vegetable is an incredibly good option. It is my dear friend Smitha’s recipe and I want to thank her for sharing such a filling, nutritious and healthy recipe in our Foodie group. 

Addition of vegetables with oats increases the nutritional value of the dish. This recipe doesn’t demand much curd as well. Hence for me,  this is one more recipe to indulge in that too without any grinding and prior planning.

I normally prepare the dry mixture the previous night and keep it ready to cut short my early morning job. It works very well. Dry mix consists of seasoning and roasting part.

How I did:

Ingredients:

 (a) Main Ingredients

Upma Rava – 2 Cups
Quick cooking Oats – 1 Cup

(b) To be ground into a coarse paste

Black Pepper Corns – 10 -12 or, as desired
Cumin Seeds – 1&1/2 Teaspoons
Ginger Root – 1 Inch Piece
Green Chillies – 4 to 6 or, as per your spice levels

(c) Vegetables –

Preferably grated, or very finely chopped

Bottle Gourd – 1/4 Cup (grated)Carrots, medium sized – 2 (grated)
Green Peas, slightly crushed – 1/4 Cup
French Beans, Finely Chopped – About 8 to 10
Fresh Coriander Leaves, finely chopped – 4 Tablespoons

Fresh Curry Leaves, finely chopped – 2 to 3 Sprigs

(d) Other Ingredients

Cashew nuts – A few or, as required (For garnish)
Salt – To taste
Cooking Soda / Baking Soda – ½ Teaspoon
Lemon Juice – 1 Teaspoon
Water – As required
Yogurt – 1/4 to 1/2 Cup + 2 Spoons to mix with soda
Oil – To grease the idli plates/molds

(e) For Tempering

Asafetida – A generous pinch
Black Mustard – 2 Teaspoons
Cumin Seeds – 1/2 Teaspoon
Chana Dal & Urad Dal – 1 Teaspoons each
Oil – 4 Tablespoons

Method:

-Dry roast Rava, halfway through add oats and fry further until it is done. Cool.

-Dry roast pepper, cumin. Dry grind these by adding ginger, green chilli and keep aside.

-For Seasoning part, Take one wok, do the seasoning, heat oil, splutter mustard, fry chana and urad dal, add cumin, hing, ground spice mix, chopped curry leaves , coriander leaves and fry a little.

– Add crushed peas, finely chopped beans, and grated bottle gourd. Add salt and switch off. Cool completely. 

-Now  Mix in roasted Rava and oats with veggie seasoning.

-Add ½ cup yogurt, keep it aside for 15 minutes.

-In another bowl take lemon juice, curd, cooking soda mix nicely and add to batter.

-Then adjust with water, make idlies by keeping cashew at center.

-Serve with Hot and sweet coriander chutney.

 

Idli soup /Side dish for Idlies :

Idli dunked in hot dhal is known as Idli soup. Which is an ideal breakfast, especially when you are not well and craving for a soothing meal. It is one of our favourites too.

Here dhal is made by mixing Toor as well as Green gram / moong dal.

Ingredients:

Toor dal – ¾ cup

Moong dal – ¼ cup

Turmeric – ½ tsp

Ghee – 1 tablespoon

Mustard – 1 tsp

Cumin – ½ tsp

Hing – ¼ tsp

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Ginger julienne – 1 tsp

Green chillies – 2 to 4

Onion – 1 Small ( chopped )

Tomato – 1 small (chopped)

Lemon – (optional)

Method:

-Wash both the dals, cook by adding turmeric and water, mash and keep aside.

-Do seasoning: Heat ghee, splutter mustard, cumin, hing, curry leaves, green chillies, ginger, onion  and fry for a while.

-Add chopped tomato and fry further. Add mashed dhal, sufficient water ,salt, boil for a while.

-Garnish with coriander as well as little lime juice and serve with idlies .

Note:

-This dhal should be a little thin in consistency.

-Dunk idlies with soup and enjoy.

 

 

 

Paneer Pulav:

This is a one pot meal and is wholesome and quick. Working days are always hectic and when you have to pack dabbas, it is a challenge to think of some interesting wholesome food. This pulao is one such thing, my family doesn’t mind having even in dabbas when cold or piping hot for a quick weekend lunch.

It needs very little ingredients as well as time. Here I have taken Beans, carrot, peas along with paneer chunks to enhance the nutrition.

Ingredients:

Basmati rice or any rice of your choice – 3 cups

Veggies of your choice – 1 bowl (Beans, carrot, peas)

Paneer – 200 grams

Bay leaves – 2

Cinnamon- 1 “

Cardamom – 2

salt

Oil – 3 to 4 tablespoons

For Masala:

Cinnamon – 1”

Clove – 4

Ginger – 1”

Garlic – 10 cloves

Green chillies – 5 to 6

Coriander leaves – little

Pudina – little

Coconut – 2 tablespoons

Curd – 1 small cup

Method:

-Wash rice and soak for 20 minutes. Drain and keep aside.

-Chop veggies, grind masala and keep aside.

-For masala: Fry clove, cinnamon, green chillies, garlic, sliced ginger, coriander, pudina and coconut by adding little oil, cool and grind into smooth paste by adding curd.

-Take one cooker, add oil, drop cinnamon, bay leaves ,cardamom. Add chopped veggies and fry until raw smell vanishes.

-Next, add masala, add salt and fry until oil leaves at the sides.

-Add drained rice, fry for 2 minutes. Add paneer chunks mix gently and add water (1:2 cups) and when it starts boiling, close the lid.

-Cook for one whistle, keep in a simmer for 1 to 2 minutes and switch off.

-When pressure releases, mix everything and serve with onion raita.

 

Masala Dosa:

Who doesn’t love Masala Dosa? It is an absolute favourite in our family.

A properly made crisp Dosa is very delicious if the batter is perfectly fermented with little sour flavour and correct consistency.

Normally Masala Dosa can be served either by applying Red chutney or Green chutney.

Red chutney what I make is not very hot and made with only chillies. It is coconut-based garlic flavoured chutney.

In other hand, green chutney smeared Dosa is something I relish in Hotel MTR outlet in Bangalore. I tried to replicate the taste at home, and it is once again a coconut chutney, which is flavoured by coriander leaves.

In our coastal region, you never get to see red chutney applied Masala dosas. It is normal paper plain Dosa with bhaji at the centre and rolled like a paper roll and served with the watery ginger chutney and sambar as an accompaniment.

In our house we normally make red chutney and apply and enjoy garlicky flavoured chutney with aloo masala.

First, we will see How to make Dosa Batter:

Ingredient:

Dosa rice -1 cup

Idly rice -1 cup

Urad dal – ½ cup

Bengal gram/Chana dal – 1 tbl sp

Fenugreek/methi seeds – 1 tsp.

Beaten rice – ¼ cup

  Method:

-Wash all these ingredients couple of times.

-Soak this in a sufficient water (washed rice and dal should submerge) for 3 to 4 hours. Drain water from the rice and keep aside. This water is used while grinding according to the requirement. Grind soaked rice –dal mixture by adding salt in to a very fine /smooth batter by using wet grinder or Mixer grinder. I prefer Wet grinder and it certainly gives much finer, perfect batter. After removing the batter adjust the consistency by mixing properly. Now keep this ground batter for fermentation in a big vessel, so that it will allow room for puffed/fermented batter. It will take anywhere between 8 to 16 hours (according to the outside weather)

Note: In Bangalore I usually soak my lentils around morning, grinding happens around afternoon 2 to 3 pm and until next morning I keep the batter for fermentation. This is how I get my perfectly fermented batter. 

Potato Bhaji/ filling:

Ingredients:

Potato – 6 big

Onion – 3 big

Green chilli – 2 to 3

Grated ginger – ½ “

Turmeric – ½ tsp.

Salt

Seasoning: Coconut oil -2 tbl sp, mustard- 1tsp, Urad dal -1 tsp., chana dal-1 tsp, Cumin seeds – ½ tsp, hing – ¼ tsp, Red chilli -1, curry leaves -2 springs.

Chopped coriander leaves for garnishing.

 Method:

-Wash potato cut in to half and put this in a cooker with sufficient water. Cook for two whistles. Cool, remove outer skin, mash and keep aside.

-Slice onion and slit green chillies.

-Take one kadai, add coconut oil, mustard, when it starts to splutter, add cumin, hing, Urad dal, chana dal, red chilli. When dal becomes red add Curry leaves, slit green chillies and onions.

-Add turmeric and fry onions till it becomes light brown.

-Now add one to two cups of water, add salt.

-When water starts boiling add mashed potato and mix nicely. Check for the seasoning and close the lid and cook for a while until it becomes homogenised and water drains.

-Switch off the gas and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

 

Red Chutney: It is garlic flavoured very thick coconut chutney.

Ingredients:

Grated fresh coconut – 1 cup

Red chilli – 2

Garlic cloves -7 to 8

Tamarind – ¼ tsp.

Salt

Method: Roast Red chillies by putting ¼ tsp of oil.

Put all the ingredients together in a mixer jar, dry grind at first and then put very little water and make very thick consistency. This chutney is used for applying over the Dosa while making.

 

Green chutney: This chutney can be smeared as well as served as an accompaniment with Dosa. If you are smearing, keep the consistency little thick and if you are serving as a side, you can add little water and make it thin.

Ingredient:

Grated fresh coconut – 1 cup

Roasted gram/ puffed gram – ½ cup (putani or Hurigadale)

Green chillies – 3 to 4

Tamarind – little

Sugar – ½ tsp

Salt

Coriander leaves – 1 small cup

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

Fist grind coconut, puffed gram, salt, tamarind by adding little water. Then add chopped coriander and curry leaves and churn a little and add seasoning with mustard and curry leaves.

 

White Coconut Chutney: This is served as a side dish and usually with ginger flavour.

Ingredients:

Fresh grated coconut – 1 cup

Green chilli – 1 or 2

Tamarind – ¼ tsp.

Salt

Ginger – ½ “     

Method: Grind all these by putting sufficient water and adjust the consistency. Do seasoning by putting coconut oil, mustard, red chilli and curry leaves.

 

How to Prepare Masala Dosa:

Now everything is ready, and we can proceed with our preparation.

-Keep the Dosa griddle over the gas stove for heating. You can use Iron griddle or Non-stick one.

-Nicely mix fermented Dosa batter and check for the consistency. If it is thick add ½ cup of water and adjust and keep it ready.

-When Dosa tawa becomes hot, pour one serving spoon of Dosa batter, move spatula in to a circular motion and spread the batter.

-sprinkle little ghee /butter/oil and cook until it is little brown in a low flame.

-when it is light brown spread Red garlic chutney or Thick green chutney at the centre of the Dosa in a circular motion and keep one serving spoon of potato filling at the centre and fold.        

-Now serve this ready Masala Dosa with White coconut chutney and Enjoy.

 

 

 

Spinach, Corn and Cheese Sandwich:

When I hear the name of spinach and corn sandwich or while making, my memory normally goes back in time. We got introduced to this sandwich in Indigo flight long ago. My daughters used to just love the sight of it and used to enjoy their flight travel, mainly because of spinach and corn sandwich. Because of their fondness towards the sandwich, I used to make this at home and today once again I made it for them and decided to write, my version of recipe.

Ingredients:

Bread slices

Cooked corn – 1 cup

Bunch of spinach – washed and chopped

Whole wheat flour – 2 table spoons

Milk – 1 cup

Butter – 1 table spoon

Chopped garlic – 4

Salt

Pizza Seasoning or oregano – 1 tsp

Chilli flakes – 1 tsp

Grated cheese – as needed

Method:

-Dry roast whole wheat flour, take out, mix with hot milk and make a paste and keep aside.

-In the same kadai, add butter, toss garlic, chopped spinach and cook.

-Add in roughly churned cooked corn, flour added milk paste, boil.

 

– When mixture becomes thick, add seasoning of your choice, grated cheese and mix.

-It is our sandwich filling.

-For sandwich preparation, apply this mixture, over one slice, cover with another slice of bread.

-Apply butter on the outer surface and place it in a sandwich maker and roast.

-Enjoy with ketch up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tiffin Sambar:

Tiffin usually depicts south Indian breakfast. Normally Idli, Dosa, Pongal. This particular sambar is very good combination with Idlies or dosas as well as goes very well with mini idlies which normally known or served as 14 idlies, mini idlies or button idlies at restaurants.

In this sambar, we don’t use any coconut and basically a seasoned mixed dhal with sambar powder as well as baby onions, tomatoes and with or without drumstick pieces.

Ingredients:

Toor dal – 1 cup

Moong dal – ½ cup

Green chillies – 2 (slit)

Baby onions /shallots – 20 (halved)

Tomato – 1 (chopped)

Drum stick – 1 (Cut into 2” pieces) (optional)

Tamarind – 1 tsp

Salt

Jaggery – 1 tsp

Turmeric – 1 tsp

Sambar powder – As needed

Chopped coriander leaves – 2 table spoons

Seasoning:

Oil – 2 table spoons

Mustard – 1 tsp

Cumin – 1 tsp

Hing – ½ tsp

Curry leaves – 1 string

Method:

-Wash and cook toor and moong dal in a pressure cooker. Mash and keep aside.

-Take one tawa, do seasoning. Heat Oil, splutter mustard, cumin, hing and curry leaves.

-Fry onion until it is transparent. Add turmeric, green chillies, tomato and drumstick pieces as well as salt and fry until tomato cooks.

-Add Sambar powder toss for 2 minutes and pour tamarind water, jaggery and boil.

-Add Cooked dal and adjust the consistency and boil nicely.

-Garnish with chopped coriander and serve as a side dish for any south Indian breakfast items.

-If you are serving with Button idlies/ mini idlies Pour one to two serving spoons of sambar, place 14 idlies and once again pour some sambar over those idlies and serve.

 

 

 

 

 

Mangalore Buns:

Mangalore Buns is a mildly sweet, deep-fried poori which has a honeycomb texture inside.  It is pure bliss to have this super tasty breakfast occasionally. The main ingredient of this delicacy is Banana and curd. That is the reason it has the fragrance, a little sour, melt-in-a-mouth texture and a sweetish taste.

In Mangalore, each hotel in any nook and corner will offer this super yummy dish throughout the day as a snack. Usually, they serve this with coconut chutney or super thin dhal which is called Thovve.

In our household, we relish this with Thovve. Thovve is nothing but cooked Toor dal boiled with slit green chillies, lots of asafoetida/hing and salt and seasoned with coconut oil or ghee, mustard and curry leaves.

Usually, buns are prepared by using all-purpose flour, but I normally make this by using whole wheat as a healthy choice.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour – 3 to 4 cups

Curd – ½ cup

Sugar – 6 to 7 teaspoons

Salt – 1tsp

Cooking soda – 1 teaspoon.

Bananas – 4 (small variety)

Cumin seed – 1 tablespoon.

Coconut oil – 2 teaspoons.

Oil- to fry

Method:

-Take one mixing bowl; pour in curd, sugar, salt, and cooking soda. Mix nicely in a circular motion by using your hand.

-When sugar dissolves, add in bananas and mash or add mashed bananas. Now add cumin.

-Starts making the dough by adding Whole wheat flour or All-purpose flour or half and half, however you prefer.

-Dough should be a little sticky, hope you are clear over here, if not please refer to the above picture and refer to my fingers.

-At this stage, pour in coconut oil and coat this on the outer side of the dough. Now keep this oil-applied dough in a bigger container or in that same vessel by closing the lid.

-It should ferment, rise and becomes double. It will take almost 7 to 8 hours in normal weather. In cold areas, even more, time is needed. I keep it for almost 20 hours rising in Bangalore weather.

-Next day morning, Keep oil in a thick Kadai for heating. When it becomes hot, take the fermented dough and keep it ready.

-Don’t mix or knead the dough. Take a small amount of dough, make this into a ball and roll the ball into discs with thickness as shown, by applying flour while rolling. (please refer to the above picture).

-Check the oil, if it is hot start frying buns.

-Slip the rolled disc into hot oil, when it comes up, immediately starts pressing from the back of the frying spoon. (please refer the picture no. 1) Now disc will fluff (No. 2) and fry nicely on both sides.

-Serve these fluffy and soft buns either with Thovve or coconut chutney.

 

Chole Bhature (Chana Bhatura) and Alu subzi:

Do I need to introduce every one’s favourite dish? It is basically a deep-fried bread with the fermented / proofed flour dough which Is served with semi dried chick pea curry and potato dry Subzi. This is how we eat or were introduced to this loved-by-all dish.

To prepare we need –

For Chole:

Ingredients:

Chana / white chickpea – 1 cup (soaked and swelled)

Black salt – 1 table spoon

Amla powder / Anardana powder – 1 tea spoon

Oil – 1 table spoon

Ghee – 1 table spoon + 1 tea spoon

Onion – 1 (chopped)

Green chilli – 1 (slit)

Ginger – ½ inch (sliced)

Garlic – 4 (crushed)

Tomatoes – 2 (chopped)

Turmeric – 1 ½ tea spoon

Red chilli powder – 1 tea spoon

Coriander powder – 2 tea spoons

Cumin powder – 1 tea spoon

Garam masala – 1 ½ tea spoon

Kasuri methi – 1 table spoon

Salt

Coriander leaves – chopped

Method:

-Cook soaked chana with enough water, black salt and amla powder. It would take any where between 5 to 6 whistles in the pressure cooker.

-Take one tawa, Heat oil and 1 table spoon of ghee. Add onion, green chilli, garlic and ginger fry until it is transparent and light brown.

-Add in all the masalas, from turmeric to Kasuri methi and salt fry for a while. Add tomato, continue frying until tomato wilts. If needed sprinkle some cooked water from the chana and cook tomato well.

-Cool this mixture and grind this into a smooth paste by adding ladle of cooked chana as well. (it would help gravy to thicken)

-Now mix in this paste with cooked chana and start boiling until oil oozes out and garnish with chopped coriander leaves and 1 tea spoon of ghee.

 Now we will move towards Bhature / Bhatura :

Ingredients:

Whole wheat – 2 ½ cups

Maida – 1 cup

Chiroti Rava – 1 cup

Curd – ½ cup

Water – ½ cup

Salt

Sugar – 1 tea spoon

Yeast – 1 tea spoon

Oil – 2 tea spoons

Method:

-Take Luke warm water- mix in curd, sugar, salt and yeast. Close the lid and wait until it proofs and bubbles.

-Dry mix all the flours or you can take only Maida as well. Make a dough by using yeast water and apply an oil and keep aside for 2 to 3 hours or until doubles the volume.

-When it is ready or time to serve, roll a small disc and deep fry.

Now one more dish, which is purely an optional item:

Alu Subzi / potato dry:

Ingredient:

Potatoes – 5 to 6

Mustard oil – 2 table spoons

Sun flower oil – 2 table spoons

Cumin – 1 tea spoon

Turmeric – ½ tsp

Coriander powder – 1 to 2 tsp

Red chilli powder – 1 to 2 tsps.

Amchur powder – 1 tsp

Garam masala – 1 tsp

Little Subzi masala – 1 tsp (optional)

Sugar – 1 pinch

Salt

Coriander leaves – chopped (to garnish)

Method:

-Cook potato in pressure cooker for 1 whistle. Peel the skin and dice.

-Take one tawa, heat oil, cumin, diced potatoes, all the powders and fry until masala is coated and becomes little crispy.

Garnish with coriander greens.

For deep fried chillies and Onions :

I normally slit the chillies, put a drop of lemon and salt inside and marinate. While frying bhature, deep fry and serve.

Half the onion, slice width wise and separate the layers by hand and sprinkle some salt and chopped coriander.

While plating, place Bhature, chana , potato, little onions and one chilli and serve with love 😊