Plain Dosa

Dosa is my all time favorite....Lots of Dosa innovations have happened over the years...masala dosa, chilli cheese dosa, tomato dosa, green dosa, onion dosa, vegetable dosa... these are just a few... But somehow, the taste of the simple plain home made dosa... can never beat anything...

Have it with a tsp of dosai podi, yogurt, and a lil sugar (for sweet people like me ;)..) ... You just wont believe... you will eat a minimum of 10 dosas....

What I used

1 cup of Urad dal
4 cups of Idli Rice
(Par boiled rice / Puzhungal arisi)
1 tsp of methi seeds
(fenugreek / vendayam)

How I made it

Wash and Soak Par boiled rice for 5 - 6 hours and Urad dal for 1 - 2 hrs. Add the methi seeds to the urad dal when and soak them as well. In the grinder(blender), grind the urad and rice seperately. Mix the two batters, add salt to taste and leave it to rest and ferment over night. On the next day morning, mix the batter well and add a little water to thin it out.

Place a flat gridle pan (tawa) and bring it to medium heat. You can use a non stick pan or the iron tawa. Spread a table spoon of batter on the pan. Make the desired size dosa, use a circular clockwise motion, and draw the batter from center to the circumference. Add 1/2 tsp of oil around the dosa. It takes 2 - 3 minutes for the dosa to brown on one side. Then gently flip the dosa to the other side, add 1/2 tsp of oil and cook for 1 minute. Remove and serve hot with chutney, sambar or the magic milagai podi..

Tricks:

Check out my tricks for idli batter. It is the same, except you can grind the rice smoothly for dosa.

If you are in a hurry, Try grinding the urad & Rice together... this works for dosa too...

At home, generally a amma makes idlis with the fresh batch, makes yummy dosa with a a day old batter , and the third day it becomes... Uthappam... and the fourth day... if there is any batter remaining... it becomes "kuzhi paniyaram"

Mini Sambar Idli

Mini Sambar Idli... This is my little brother's favorite. My mom always used to make this just for him whenever she made idlis... To top it off...She would add a dollop of extra special love (ghee). the aroma would literally pull you into the kitchen...

What I used

Idli Sambar
30 Mini Idlis
1 tsp of ghee
Corriander leaves

How I made it

Use the mini idli molds instead of the regular idli ones. In a bowl of Idli sambar, add 15 mini idlis and soak for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 tsp of ghee and garnish with corriander leaves. Serve hot. Am sure the kids will love this.

Idli Sambar

Idli Sambar, got this recipe from my MIL, believe me it is out of the world.... I have really started liking this sambar a lot... The trick is to add moong dal in addition to the toor dal... and adding more tomatoes, and cutting down the tamarind...

What I used

One Onion - chopped
2 big tomatoes - chopped
1/2 cup toor dal
1/2 cup moong dal
Tamarind ( half the size of a golf ball)
A pinch of turmeric powder
1 tsp of sambar powder
3 tsp of oil for seasoning
1 tsp of mustard seeds
1/4 tsp of fenugreek seeds (methi)
Curry leaves and corriander leaves to garnish
Salt to taste
2 cups of water

How I made It

Pressure cook the dal seperately. Soak the tamarind in 1/2 cup of water for 15 minutes and extract pulp. In a small cooker add 2 tsp of oil, add the onions and saute until they are transparent, add the tomatoes and saute until they become soft. Slit the green chillies and add them to the gravy. Add the sambar powder, turmeric powder and saute until the raw smell of the sambar powder goes off. Then add the tamarind pulp and salt and cook for a few minutes. Mash the dal well and add it to the sambar. Add another cup of water ( check for sambar consistency). Taste it and add a little salt or dry chilli powder if needed. Pressure cook this in low flame (for one whistle). Once the pressure releases, Season the sambar with mustard & methi seeds. Garnish with curry and corriander leaves. Serve hot with Idli, Vada, or Pongal.

Tricks:

Pressure cooking the second time, helps all ingredients to blend well and the sambar is of smooth consistency.

In addition to onion & tomato, you can also add other veges like carrots, brinjal (eggplant), drumstick

Make some mini idlis and dip them in a bowl of sambar... Garnish with a tsp of ghee and some finely chopped onions and corriander leaves... Yummy mini idli sambar plate ready :)

Make some medu vada... Soak the vada for 10 - 15 minutes in hot sambar...Garnish with a tsp of ghee and some finely chopped onions and corriander leaves... Yummy sambar vada plate ready :)

Idli

IDLI is a staple breakfast for most South Indians... And am sure all the moms prefer to make the batter over the weekends... so almost every household, the monday mornings would start with hot n steamy idlis... Eat them with simple coconut chutney / tomato chutney / mint chutney.... or simply idli podi....Or even better... idli sambar... It is so heavenly and they pump up your mornings....
As a kid, I never used to like idlis, but with all these cereals and oats breakfast...... IDLIS have become a craving & a luxury...I am so glad, I got my own grinder... now I can make idlis whenever I want ...Yuhoooo...

What I Used

1 cup of Urad dal
4 cups of Idli Rice
(Par boiled rice / Puzhungal arisi)
1 tsp of methi seeds
(fenugreek / vendayam)

How I made it

Wash and Soak Idli rice for 5 - 6 hours and Urad dal for 1 - 2 hrs. Add the methi seeds to the urad dal when and soak them as well. In the grinder(blender), grind the urad and rice seperately. Mix the two batters, add salt to taste and leave it to rest and ferment over night. Place a layer of wet muslin cloth on the idli plate, and pour batter up to 3/4 in each mold. Donot mix the batter, because this may flatten the batter and idlis will turn out flat / hard. Steam cook this for 7 - 8 minutes. And serve hot with sambar, chutney or idli podi... Yummy idli ready.

Tricks:
1. With the skyrocketing prices of rice... Idlis have actually become a luxury... so I tried to mix 2 cups of idli rice with 2 cups of Long grain rice (I get the Blue ribbon brand from Costco). And luckily they turn out really well...Some of my friends have also tried 4 cups of long grain rice... But somehow, I like this better...
2. If you use a mixie, you might want to try 3:1 measure for rice: dal. If your idlis turn out hard, then you will need more urad dal. If your idlis turn out flat, you will need more rice.
3. The Urad dal normally takes 30 - 40 minutes to grind (depending on the grinder and the dal). Add in the water in small quantities in 5 minute intervals. This helps to make a fluffy batter.This should be very smooth and nicely aerated.
4. The rice would take 20 - 25 minutes to grind, just sprinkle water as you grind. Stop when the rice is a little coarse. Do not grind it very smoothly.
5. Mix the batter with your hand... this helps it to ferment better, using a spatula may not help sometimes.
6. During winter, heat the oven for only 2 minutes on 250F and then place the batter inside overnite. This helps the batter to rise even in cold weather.
7. Remember to leave room for the batter to rise in the vessel you place it. Mom generally places the bowl of batter on a plate, so that even if the batter rises and overflows, the mess is easier to clean.
I use a piece of wet paper towel on my idli plate. This makes life so easier, I dont have to think about washing and drying the idli muslin cloth.

Rava Upma

What do I say about this.... the very first rava upma I made was for Vembu thatha (mom's dad)... when I was 10 yrs old... He was really kind enough to appreciate my efforts ... he told mom... "Enna nanna upma pannirku paaren... thuli kooda ennaiye vidaama...." (She made some real good upma... without using any oil).... hahahaha....and made me feel so proud... Little did I realise ... upma tastes really good only when you add oil....

It has taken me this long to master this recipe... now Mr.B proudly proclaims... that I make the best rava upma ;).... better than his granma, his mom or even my mom.... My bro, mom, dad, MIL & FIL also second this ... hehehehehe...

What I used
1 cup of rava
2 - 3 cups of water
1 medium onion (chopped)
1 green chilli (chopped)
1 inch cube ginger (finely chopped)
1 tsp of mustard seeds
1tsp of channa dal
1 tsp of urad dal
curry leaves
2 - 3 tbsp of oil
salt to taste.

How I made It

In a non-stick pan, dry roast the rava place it aside. In the same pan, add 1 tbsp of oil and add mustard, once the splutter, add the dal, onions, curry leaves, chillies and ginger. Saute this until the onions are transparent. Add the rava and roast this for another 3 - 4 minutes. Boil 3 cups of water seperately. Add this boinling water to the roasted rava mixture and keep stirring. This will help avoid lump formation. Add another tbsp of oil & salt and mix well. Leave this on low flame to cook for 10 minutes. Once the rava is cooked, add another tbsp of oil & increase the heat to medium high. This will help to raost the bottom layer. Serve hot with some chutney or just sugar.

Tricks:
You will be roasting the rava 2 times, this will avoid getting lumpy or sticky upma. This recipe calls in for a little extra oil... but believe me it will taste heavenly :)

Add 2 cups of water intially, then add little by little when the rava cooks. Do not add too much of water as it may become sticky and runny.

Goms paati used to garnish the upma with grated coconut instead of using onions... and top it with 1/2 tsp of coconut oil... this taste toooooooo good too.

Amma also adds tsp of turmeric, 1 cup of chopped vegetables (potato, carrot, grean peas, tomato)... and this makes yummy kichdi... Serve this hot with cocounut chutney....

Ghee Pongal

Ingredients

3/4 Cup of Rice
1/4 Cup of Moong dal
3 Cups of water
2 tbsp Ghee
1 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Jeera
1tsp finely chopped ginger
A pinch of Hing
Salt to taste
Roasted Cashew and Curry leaves for garnish.

Method

Pressure cook the rice and dal in 3 cups of water. In a seperate pan, heat 1 tbsp ghee and add pepper , Jeera and ginger. Once they are roasted add a 1/2 cup of water and bring this to a boil. Add the salt and the cooked rice and mix well in low flame. Remove from flame and garnish with cashew & curry leaves. Add the remaining ghee and Serve hot.

Suda Suda Ghee Pongal ready !!!

Tips: When you make larger quantities, to keep the Pongal hot, place it in the oven (@ 250*F) until you serve. Always serve the Pongal hot...:) thats when it tastes the best...

Chakkarai Pongal

Pongal Special - Thai Pongal - A harvest festival celebrated in the South of India.

This brings memories of Pa taking us to the market to get "Karumbu", " Inji kothu , manjal kothu and vaazhai ilai" for the pooja. And ma making yummy "chakkarai pongal" in the "Pongal paanai". Wish I was a kid again :)

Ingredients

3/4 Cup of Rice
1/4 Cup of Moong dal
1 Cup Milk
3 Cups of water
3/4 Cup Jaggery (Gud)
1 tbsp Ghee
1 tsp Elaichi Powder
Roasted Cashew and Raisins for garnish.

Method

Pressure cook the rice and dal in 3 cups of water. In a seperate pan, Boil milk and add the cooked rice mixture and cook again for another 10 minutes. Then add the jaggery and stir well till it mixes. Add the ghee and simmer for another 10 minutes. Remove from flame and garnish with elaichi, cashew and raisins and Serve hot.