Payaru dosa…

I’ve tried this receipe for the first time in my life and I’m happy that it came out very well and my DH liked it very well.

I found the payaru koottan still not finished by my family. I don’t wanna to throw it away either. If I reheat it and serve it the next day, I know for sure my kids don’t touch it or my DH will return a frown look.

So to relish my creative juice, I grinded the payaru koottan and mixed it with plain rice dough.

I poured this payaru rice dough in a nonstick pan as a dosa. Pour little oil on top of the dosa to get nice and crispy.

Enjoy this with coconut chutney/tomato chutney.

Idili uppuma

What do you do with the leftover idili that you would have prepared for breakfast/dinner? Don’t throw it off. Refrigerate it and it can be used to prepare yummy uppuma.



Here we go with the ingredients

1. Idillies
2. Onions – 1
3. 1 tbsp – mustard seeds
4. 1 tbsp- cooking oil
5. green chilly/ dry red chilli – 1-2 slitted
6. 1 pinch of turmeric powder
7. 1 tbsp jeerakham seeds
8. 2 tbsp idili podi/paruppu podi
9. Salt to taste
10. groundnuts

Method of preparation:


Powder the idillies with the hand. Make sure no lumps are formed.

In a kadai, pour some cooking oil and splutter some mustard seeds, kadala paruppu, jeerakham, urud dhal seeds and groundnuts. When it becomes golden brown, add chopped onions, broken dry red chillies and lotsa of curry leaves and stir fry it till it becomes light brown. To this, add a pinch of turmeric powder, idili podi and salt to taste. To this add the powdered idilli and mix it well and allow it to warm.


You may also add chopped beans and carrot to this.

Ven (No..Yellow) Pongal

Ven pongal is something special dish in Tamil nadu. One get this dish as a prasadam in many temple after the drashan. It tastes like ambrosia.

In my home, I prepare this for the breakfast mostly once in a week.

So let us go first with the ingredients:

1. Rice – 1 cup
2. Pongal paruppu/Seruparuppu/deskinned pasiparruppu – ¾ to 1 cup
3. salt to taste
4. ghee for seasoning
5. pepper seeds – 1 tbsp
6. jeerakam seeds – 1 tbsp
7. green chilli – 1-2 slitted
8. curry leaves

Method of preparation:

1. Mix the washed rice and pongal paruppu and add salt to taste and 1 pinch of turmeric powder (optional) to give a nice yellow colour and add 3 and ½ cup of water to it. Pressure cook it till 3 whistles.


For seasoning:
• In a pan, heat little ghee and splutter the pepper seeds, jeerakham seeds, dry broken red chilli/green chilli and curry leaves.

Pour out the seasoning to the cooked rice/pongal and mix it well.



Enjoy this with cocunut chutney and sambhar.

Dosa with cocunut chutney/lady's finger sambhar - Vendakhaiya sambar - Another couple

Any part of South Indian if you visit, the typical breakfast that one get in any house, restuarant or road side shop...(thattu kada...)...is the one and only plain dosa/dosa roast/ ghee roast/ triangle dosa ...it is comes in all variety and flavour (Dosa kept in the form of Pyramid ..it is folded into a cone shape ...my son loves the presentation)..........

Which reminds me of an instance which happened long way back...(Flash back)

We were in pondicherry to attend a friend's marriage and we reached pondicherry early evening after a long car travel from chennai and we were all exhausted and were waiting to grab something in the restuarant...as usual my DH ordered plain dosa for my DChildren. The server brought the dosa and placed it in front of my son. He studied the plate. And "Enda acchey, sambhar dosadey mozhil uzhalladu?...njaan plain dosa elley choichadu...sambhar venda acchey"...(Why daddy,why Sambhar is on the top of the dosa? I asked only for "PLAIN" dosa, i don't want sambhar)...The manager was observing this conversation....He called the server and questioned him "Avunga "PLAIN" dosa thaney kettangha...ne en sambhar pottu konduvanthey..poyi "PLAIN" dosa konduva "...(He asked only for plain dosa...why did you pour sambhar on top of it...go bring another plain dosa)..The server brought another plate of just "PLAIN" dosa......HAHAHA... We had a hearty laugh and he became the whole attraction in the restuarant....all the Servers stood around our table to have a peek at my son..What a brainy chap!!!!

So back to our ingredients section:

You can see the ingredients of cocunut chutney here


You can see how a podi dosa is made here. A plain dosa is one minus the podi (the powder that i had spread on top of the dosa).

For Lady's finger (Vendakhaiya) sambhar, you may follow the same procedure given here Only difference is replace mango slices and drumstick with lady's finger. If you still need the method, i'll try and post it seperately.

Chappathi and Dhal curry - A fabulous couple

Most of the time, our family dinner comprises of Chappathi and a gravy to go with it and of course, some other dry vegetarian side dish.

But chappathi always goes yum with Dhal...If you go to any parts of North India, you get this combo in any restuarant, home, dhabba....

My husband loves it..He is happy when this couple is prepared for any time of the day/ any course for that matter..So easy to make and simply uncomplicated.."why complicate life?"...that is my motto....

OK !! Enough of rattling and back to business...

Ingredients:

1. 2 cup of dhal (Sambhar paruppu)
2. 1-2 slit green chilli
3. mustard seeds, jeeram seeds for seasoning
4. salt to taste
5. 1/2 tbsp of turmeric powder
6. lots of curry leaves
7. corainder leaves for seasoning
8. Ghee
9. 1- chopped tomato
10. onions - 1 cup

Method of preparation of dhal gravy:

1. Cook the dhal in the pressure cooker till 2-3 whistles.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai, splutter 1 tbsp mustard seed, add chopped onions and tomatoes, slit 2 green chilies and fry it until they are done.
3. Add curry leaves and stir fry.
4. Add turmeric powder to this and throw in the cooked dhal and add salt to our requirement.
5. Mix well and when it gets boiled, add 1/2 tbsp of ghee (optional)
6. Remove from the stove and garnish with coriander leaves

Emh!!! the aroma fills the stomach too.....

Chappathi:

1. To one cup of wheat flour, add little by little water (add 1 tbsp of milk too and a pinch of salt - though optional) and knead to a not-so-tough consistency. It should not be sticky nor watery.
2. Take a small ball out of the dough.
3. Sprinkle some dry wheat flour on the slab, press down this small ball and flatten it using a chappathi roller to a thin sheet.
4. In a preheated tawa, greese some oil/ghee (optional). Slip this thin sheet on to the top and allow it to cook for 1/2 minute. Then turn over and cook the other side for another 1/2 minute. Toss around and press at various places so that it bulges out.

Nice and hot chappathi is ready..


So C'mon lets grab the chappathi and enjoy with dhal.

Raddish paratta/ Parantha

I tried this for my DH who avoids potato and other sweet items for known reasons ;-)

When the whole family enjoys aloo paratta, i tried a different stuffing for my DH...
It came out ok...

Let's go for the ingredients:

1. finely chopped Raddish - 1
2. Salt to taste
3. Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
4. Onion - 1 chopped
5. turmeric powder - 1 pinch
6. Chilli powder
7. Green chillies chopped
8. curry leaves and coriander leaves for garnishing.
9. Ginger and garlic - chopped

Method of preparation:

1. Boil the finely chopped raddish with a pinch of salt and mash it using the matthu/spatula. (I could have used my mixie)
2. In a heavy bottom kadai, add 1 tbsp of cooking oil and when hot, splutter some mustard seeds, urudhu daal seeds, kadalai paruppu seeds till it turns slight brown.
3. Add the chopped onions, chopped ginger pieces and garlic pieces, curry leaves and turmeric powder and salt to taste and let it get fried till light golden brown.
4. Add chilli powder/green chillies at this stage and let it also get deep fried.
5. Add the mashed raddish to this and mix well

To make paratta:

Mix 2 cup of wheat flour with required water to make it as a dough for making chapathi's.

Take a big ball of wheat dough and first flatten it into a small circle. Then take a small ball of the stuffing and keep it in the center of the flattened wheat dough and cover this stuffing by making a small pouch of the wheat dough. Then once again press it down and flatten it into a chappathi size circle


In a preheated tawa, pour some ghee and then place the flattened paratta and allow it to cook for some time. Then toss it over.


Enjoy this yum preparation with curd and pickle..

Thaliccha idli

I grind for idli every weekend and it covers the breakfast and dinner for atleast 3 days. First day, it would be idli. Next day also idli..and the next few days the rest of the dough will be used for dosa...My son would say .."Enda ma, daily idli"...and DH would give me a sidelook with a sarcastic smile...So i thought let me try something different ..both in the looks and taste..and here we go with the ingredients:

1. Nicely chopped onions - 1
2. finely sieved carrot - 1
3. curry leaves
4. Dry chilli - 1-2
5. Idli dough

Method of preparation:

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai, splutter 1 tbsp mustard seed, 1 tbsp uzhudu dhal seed, 1 tbsp of kadala paruppu and few groundnuts and few pottu (chutney) kadalai (optional..but it taste well and children would like the bite of groundnut here and there). Sim the burner so that these seeds do not get charred.

Add chopped onions, 1-2 broken red chilly and fry it until they are done. Add curry leaves and stir fry.

Add the above mix into the Idli dough and mix it well.

Pour the above dough in the idli maker and steam it till it is done.

The idli will not only tastes divine but also gives a picturesque look.

So how is the new look????? LOL


Enjoy with some spicy tomato chutney/cocunut chutney...

Kappa story continues...Kappa dosa

HAHAHA...

Even if the kappa (tapioca) thoran/poriyal is still left out, here is one more chance of finishing it up.


The kappa dosa:

Pour rice dough and make a perfect dosa...

then apply the kappa thoran on top of the dosa and smear some ghee or cooking oil.

Allow it to cook for sometime. Then close the dosa into half so that it comes as a semi circle shapped one.



Smear ghee/cooking oil and cook for some more time...



Lotsa of kappa dosa....enjoy

Podi dosai

Nothing great about it..

Just pour rice dough on the tawa like the typical dosa you prepare and sprinkle some idli podi that you get from the market and pour some ghee/cooking oil on top of it. Turn over and cook for 1 minute.

Voila..podi dosai...enjoy with cocunut chutney, tomato chutney..or apadiye sapadalam..;-)

Aloo Parantha/Aloo paratta

I learned this from my cook. I tried it on Deepavali for morning breakfast. Something special from my side to the family.

For stuffing:
Ingredients:

1. Potato - 1 to 2 chopped
2. Salt to taste
3. Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
4. Onion - 1 to 2 chopped
5. turmeric powder - 1 pinch
6. Chilli powder (optional)..I have not put as children will reject it saying "Spicy"
7. Green chillies chopped ..(optional ...same reason as above)
8. curry leaves and coriander leaves for garnishing.
9. Ginger and garlic - chopped

Method of preparation:

1. Boil the potatoes with a pinch of salt
2. In a heavy bottom kadai, pour 1 tbsp of cooking oil and heat it. Splutter some mustard seeds, urudhu daal seeds, kadalai paruppu seeds till it turns slight brown.
3. Add the chopped onions, chopped ginger pieces and garlic pieces, curry leaves and turmeric powder and salt to taste and let it get fried till light golden brown.
4. Add chilli powder/green chillies at this stage and let it also get deep fried.

5. After this, add the smashed boiled potatoes to this and mix it throughly. Garnish it with corriander leaves.


To make paratta:

Mix 2 cup of wheat flour with required water to make it as a dough for making chapathi's.

Take a big ball of wheat dough and first flatten it into a small circle. Then take a small ball of the stuffing and keep it in the center of the flattened wheat dough and cover this stuffing by making a small pouch of the wheat dough. Then once again press it down and flatten it into a chappathi size circle.

In a preheated tawa, pour some ghee and then place the flattened paratta and allow it to cook for some time. Then turn over

and smear some more ghee on its surface and allow it to cook. If you see it will come out nice and glossy...


and ofcourse, the smell haunts the whole kitchen..

Varey waah!!! khiya masa khai




You can enjoy with curd and pickle.

Masala dosa

This is an item which is easy to make and my children loves to have.

How to make Masala dosa:

Ingredients for making the masala:

1. Potato - 3 to 4 chopped
2. Salt to taste
3. Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
4. Onion - 1 to 2 chopped
5. turmeric powder - 1 pinch
6. Chilli powder (optional)..I have not put as children will reject it saying "Spicy"
7. Green chillies chopped ..(optional ...same reason as above)
8. curry leaves and coriander leaves for garnishing.
9. Ginger and garlic - chopped

Method of preparation:

1. Boil the potatoes with a pinch of salt
2. In a heavy bottom kadai, pour 1 tbsp of cooking oil and heat it. Splutter some mustard seeds, urudhu daal seeds, kadalai paruppu seeds till it turns slight brown.
3. Add the chopped onions, chopped ginger pieces and garlic pieces, curry leaves and turmeric powder and salt to taste and let it get fried till light golden brown.
4. Add chilli powder/green chillies at this stage and let it also get deep fried.
5. After this, add the smashed boiled potatoes to this and mix it throughly. Garnish it with corriander leaves.



Pour the rice dough
on the tawa and make it to spread in a circle shape. This is called Dosa.


Apply the masala on top of this Dosa. I pour some oil/ghee on top of it. Then fold it into half to give a semi circle shape.


Emh...delicious masala dosa....

Brown Aval uppuma

Here is another receipe for breakfast....made out of unpolished Aval...good for health...

To make Brown aval uppuma:



Soak the brown aval in water for 2-3 minutes. Add salt to this water while soaking. Sieve it so that water drains off completely. Make sure the brown aval should not become more soggy. Keep it aside.

In the mean time, chop 2 onions and slit 2 green chilies, 2-3 red chilly. Can also add some groundnut and pottu (chutney) kadalai. Some curry leaves for seasoning.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai, add 1 tbsp mustard seed, 1 tbsp uzhudu dhal seed, 1 tbsp of kadala paruppu and few groundnuts and few pottu (chutney) kadalai. Sim the burner so that these seeds do not get charred. When the seeds change the color to light brown, add 2 onions chopped, slit 2 green chilies, 2-3 red chilly and fry it until they are done. Add curry leaves and stir fry.

Then add the soaked brown aval to the above mix, and mix it well thoroughly (sim the burner)……..

Voila, brown aval uppuma!!!!! Enjoy with coconut chutney.

Idli with Tomato chutney

The usual breakfast in any south indian home.....Idli, Sambhar, Cocunut chutney...Emh...Reason being, easy to make, easy to feed the kids...and healthy too.

Tomato chutney
Ingredients:

4-5 ripe tomatoes
2-3 onions
2 green chilli


Method:
Chop all the ingredients above and add a 1 pinch of chilli powder and grind it with little water.
In a kadai, heat some oil and add 1 tbsp of mustard seed and allow it to splutter.
Add 1-2 dry red chilli and lotsa of curry leaves too. The add the above grinded paste to this and let it cook for 5-10 mintues till the raw smell is removed.
Viola the red red tomato chutney is ready.

Enjoy the chutney with Idli/dosa/chappathi...

Ari (Rice) Puttum Kadala

How to make the Ari (Rice) Puttu:

Sprinkle little water on the rice flour and mix it well so that it does not forms lumps. One should make sure that the powder gets wet without lumps being formed. Sprinkle some salt to taste and keep it aside.

Grate coconut and keep it aside too.

To the puttu maker, pour some of the flour and in between put some grated coconut and put in some more flour. Steam it till the steam comes out of the top of the puttu kutti (roughly it takes 5-10minutes). With the help of some spatula/long stick, push the puttu from one end of the puttu kutti. The puttu comes out from the other open end.

One can relish it with kadala kuttan.

Kerala’s famous breakfast – Ragi Puttum Kadala

(Ragi Puttu, kadala, pazham)

How to make the Ragi Puttu:

Sprinkle little water on the Ragi flour and mix it well so that it does not forms lumps. One should make sure that the powder gets wet without lumps being formed. Sprinkle some salt to taste and keep it aside.

Grate coconut and keep it aside too.

To the puttu maker, pour some of the flour and in between put some grated coconut and put in some more flour. Steam it till the steam comes out of the top of the puttu kutti (roughly it takes 5-10minutes). With the help of some spatula/long stick, push the puttu from one end of the puttu kutti. The puttu comes out from the other open end.

One can relish it with kadala kuttan.