Rawa Idli

Idli

Idli is a speciality of the southern part of India. It is easy to cook and is a very healthy dish. This is the staple diet for people in South India and is fondly cherished by people all over India as a delicacy. Idli can be eaten raw, with chutney, with sambhar, as upma or fried with onions/capsicum/tomatoes.

I have researched a lot on how to get the soft idlis, and here is the mix that I use.

Ingredients

For 28 Idli
1 bowl fine Rawa
1 and 1/2 bowl course Rawa
1 bowl yoghurt (natural)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda (please dont use baking powder. We need to use baking soda)
1 bowl luke warm water
1/2 tea spoon yeast
1 table spoon gunpowder (Gunpowder is a special South Indian spice made from a mix of dried lentils and other spices)

Method

Take a bowl and add 1 bowl of fine Rawa to it. Then add 1 and 1/2 bowl course Rawa. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon baking soda. Add 1 cup natural yoghurt. Mix well.

Dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of yeast in 1 table spoon of luke warm water and mix the dissolved yeast to the above mix.

Finally add 1 bowl of luke warm water to the mix and mix well.

If you will cook the idlis in a Microwave, then keep a little extra water. If you will cook the idlis in a gas idli cooker, then keep the water little less.

Leave the mix to stand for 15-20 minutes.

After the batter is fermented for 15-20 minutes, mix well. Grease the Idli cooker (gas or Microwave). Add the Idlis to the stand. Cook the Idli at High setting of Microwave for 10 minutes. Should you use the gas pressure cooker, keep the flame at the highest and cook for 10 minutes.

In either case, ensure that the cooker has enough water at the bottom of the Idli stand, so that there is enough steam for the idlis to cook.

Tip: You can add roasted lentils like roasted chana daal to the Idli mix to add taste.

Special Bengali Spices

Panch Phodan

This is a spice mixture that has its origin in the state of West Bengal. The spice mixture is not only very tasty, but also very healthy to use in all kinds of food. You can use it in daal, vegetables and curries.

Ingredients

1 table spoon Methi Dana

2 table spoon Jeera

1.5 table spoon Kalunjee (also known as Mangrel in some places)

1 table spoon Mustard Seeds

1 table spoon Saunf

Tip: Keep the spices mixed together and while making any curry, dal or vegetable, splatter the panch phodan in hot oil to start. Make sure that it doesnt burn.

Vegetarian Spaghetti


Spaghetti is a long, thin, cylindrical pasta of Italian origin. Spaghetti is made of semolina or flour and water. Italian dried spaghetti is made from durum wheat semolina, but outside of Italy it may be made with other kinds of flour. Traditionally, most spaghetti was 50 cm (20 in) long, but shorter lengths gained in popularity during the latter half of the 20th century and now spaghetti is most commonly available in 25–30 cm (10–12 in) lengths. A variety of pasta dishes are based on it, from spaghetti alla Carbonara or garlic and oil to a spaghetti with tomato sauce and other sauces.


For the dish today, we make a simple vegetarian spaghetti. Cooking time for the dish is 15 min. 


Ingredients


1/4 packet of spaghetti noodles
1 medium sized onion finely sliced in long thin slices
1/2 capsicum sliced finely in long shreds
1/2 cup chopped beans
2 table spoon soya sauce
1 table spoon vinegar
1.5 table spoon chilly sauce
1.5 table spoon tomato sauce
3 table spoon cooking oil
1 pan of water
salt and red pepper to taste


Method


Heat the 1 pan of water with 1/2 tea spoon salt and 1 table spoon of cooking oil. 
When the water has almost started to boil put the spaghetti in the water. I normally break the spaghetti noodles into half so that they are manageable. You can keep them in the length that you like. 


Boil the noodles nicely in the water and make sure that the spaghetti is completely cooked (else it will stay hard from the centre). When the spaghetti is done, drain it under cold water in a sieve and keep aside. I also like to wash the spaghetti noodles under cold water when they are boiled completely. This ensures that they don't get sticky. However make sure that the spaghetti is completely cooked up to the inside of each spaghetti noodle, else the cold water would make it hard from inside. Keep the drained and washed spaghetti aside and let the remaining water drain off. 


Now take a pan, and heat two table spoon of cooking oil. Add the onions and fry till translucent brown. Add the shredded capsicum and chopped beans to it, and stir fry for 3 minutes. Add 1.5 table spoon of chilly sauce and 1.5 table spoon of tomato sauce. Mix well. Don't fry too much else the mixture will become will very dry. Immediately add the 2 table spoons of soya sauce, 1 table spoon of vinegar and noodles. Mix all of these well. Add salt and red pepper as per taste. Mix well and let the noodles come to a uniform heat. Take care that the noodles dont get too dry. 


Serve hot. 


Tip: If you like more sour taste, increase the vinegar content by another 1/2 spoon. 

Jalebi


Jalebi is a very popular Indian sweet dish, and is mostly used the 'Celebration Indian Sweet'. It is used across all major occassions like Holi, Republic Day, Independence Day and in many parts of India is eaten as breakfast every morning. Gwalior is famour for eating Jalebi and Poha as breakfast. Many people also enjoy eating jalebi dipped in milk.


Ingredients
1/2 cup whole purpose flour (maida)
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon gram flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon refined oil
1/2 cup luke warm water


For sugar syrup, we will need
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 table spoon lime juice
2- pinch of cardomom powder
1/4 teaspoon kesar


Method

First dissolve 1/2 teaspoon yeast in 1 tablespoon of luke warm water. Ensure that no lumps remain. Then add 1/2 cup of whole purpose flour (maida) to it. Add 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon refined oil and 1/2 teaspoon gram flour and mix well. Ensure that there are no lumps formed in the batter.

Finally add a little less than 1/2 cup of water and make a smooth batter. The consistency of the batter should be similar to the batter we make for cakes.

Cover with a lid and leave in a warm place. The batter will ferment. Let it ferment for an hour. Dont over ferment the batter.

Make a cone (like the one used for putting henna) and keep the diameter of the mouth as about 3-4 mm.

After an hour, fill the fermented batter in the cone. Heat oil in a pan and when the oil is hot, make jalebis directly in the oil moving the cone in circular motions. Fry the jalebis till golden brown and set aside the fried jalebis on a tissue paper.

Meantime on another flame, take 1 cup of sugar in a pan and add 1/2 cup water. Add 1 table spoon lime juice, 2- pinch of cardomom powder and 1/4 teaspoon kesar to it. Bring it to a boil, and keep stiring. Ensure that the sugar does not burn. When the syrup become little thick remove it from flame.

Add the fried jalebis to the sugar syrup while it is hot. Delicately move around the jalebis in the sugar syrup so that all of them covered with the sugar syrup.

Serve hot or cold, as per taste.

Tip: Serve jalebis with poha and hot milk in the breakfast. This is a very wonderful and healthy breakfast. Many people eat Jalebi soaked in milk to treat headaches.




More Jalebi's :D

Poha

Introduction

'Poha' is a very popular North Indian snack, widely used as breakfast and evening snack.

A) Ingredients

1. Poha (1 Cup)

2. Onion (1 Medium Size) - finely chopped

3. Potato (1 Medium Size) - finely chopped

4. Tomato (1 Medium Size) - finely chopped

5. Curry Leaves - better if fresh

6. Mustard Seeds (small) - 1 tbsp

7. Salt (to taste)

8. Pepper ( to taste)

9. Turmeric - 3/4 tbsp

10. Cooking Oil - 2 tbsp

B. Method

Wash the poha under water for 30 seconds, sieve the water away nicely and keep the poha aside so that any water left can dry away. Make sure that the poha doesnt stick to each other and is feathery.

Heat a pan, and add the cooking oil. Now add the curry leaves and mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds are cracked, add the finely chopped onion, and fry till onion is golden brown. Now add the finely chopped potatoes. Keep frying till the potato is cooked. Now add turmeric and mix well. Once the potato is cooked, add the poha and mix well so that the poha is nicely mixed with all the mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. In the end add the finely chopped tomato and cover for 2 minutes.

Poha is ready. Serve hot with a nice cup of tea.

Tips: Both the taste and nutrition of poha can be increased by adding more finely chopped vegetables like carrots, capsicum, peas etc.

Healthy Breakfast

Introduction
Lazy weekend, and no intention of cooking an Indian breakfast. Here is what I tried, and loved it completely. This is kind of a real experimental one, a mix of a very Indian and a very European breakfast style.
A) Ingredients
Boiled black gram peas - 1 bowl
1cm * 1cm Dices of swiss cheese - around 1/2 bowl
1/2 cm * 1/2 cm dices of red capsicum and green capsicum - 3/4 bowl.
Nescafe - 1 cup
Salt - per taste
Black pepper - per taste
red chilly powder - per taste
Everest Chat Masala - per taste
B) Method
Place the boiled grams peas, cheese dices and diced capsicum in a plate.
Sprinkle black pepper, red pepper, salt, chat masala as per taste.
I used an easy to make coffee sache of Nescafe to make me a cup of delicious coffee.

And thats it !! :) You are done. A super healthy and amazingly yum breakfast.

Sambhar Masala (Spicy)

Introduction
Sambhar : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambhar_(dish)
A) Ingredients
Arhar Daal - 1 bowl
Finely chopped mix of vegetables ( 4 beans, 1/4 red capsicum, 1/4 green capsicum, 1 mid sized potato, 2 green chillies) - 1 bowl
Onion (finely chopped) - 1
Mustard seeds (small) - 1 1/2 table spoon
Jeera - 1 table spoon
Dried full red chilli - 1
Turmeric - 1 table spoon
Red Chilly Powder - Per Taste
Salt - Per Taste
Sambhar Masala - 3 1/2 table spoon
Cooking Oil - 4 table spoons
B) Method
Souk the arhar daal in a bowl of water and keep aside.
Add 4 table spoons of oil in a pressure cooker, and let it heat.
Break the red chilli into two halfs and put in the oil when it is hot. Then add jeera (cumin seeds) and mustard seeds (small). Let the seeds break, and make sure they dont burn. Add chopped onion, and let it fry till it is translucent. Add the 1 bowl of vegetables, and stir fry for 1 min. Then add the 1 bowl of soaked daal. Stir nicely. Add turmeric, salt and red chilly powder. Finally add the sambhar masala and close the lid of the pressure cooker. Let it boil till it is completely cooked and mixed with each other very nicely.
Serve hot with rice, or uttapam, or dosas.

Tip: To add to the taste, add lemon juice before serving (per taste).
Do not use sweet vegetables such as carrot or peas for sambhar. That reduces the spicy nature.

Rava Uttapam Style Pancakes

Introduction

Rava Uttapam is a traditional south Indian dish, and I have just changed this a little bit and made it like little pancakes. Healthy, Light and tasty food - can be used for breakfast, lunch, snacks or dinner.

Recipe (server 1)

A) Ingredients

Sooji - 5-6 table spoons

Besan - 1 table spoon

Curd - 3-4 table spoons

1/4 Red Capsicum - sliced finely into 1/2 * 1/2 cm cubes

2 green chillies - sliced finely

1 baby corn - sliced into fine dices of 1/2 cm width

Curd - Enough to mix with 1 bowl of rice

Cooking oil

Salt - Per taste

Red Chilli Powder (Optional, Use if you like spicy food)

Chat Powder (Optional, Use if you like spicy food)

Water

B) Method

Mix Sooji, besan and curd nicely in a bowl and leave for 2-3 min.

Add all the sliced vegetables, salt (to taste).

If you need to make the whole thing more spicy add red chilli powder (1/2 spoon) and chat powder (1/2 table spoon).

Mix the whole mixture well and add little water (around 2-3 spoons) and get the mixture to a medium thick consistency.

Heat a pan, and add little oil. Spread out 2 table spoons of mixture at a time, and make small pancakes out of it.

Cook as much as you would like to have it crisp. Serve hot with sauce.

Tip: The vegetables mix can be varied and different combinations can be used, for example can use tomato, onion, beans etc. Try not to use something like carrots as that will get a sweet taste.

You can serve this with tomato sauce, coconut chutney, green chutney or any kind of chutneys you make like :)

Curd Rice

Introduction

Curd Rice is a very popular south Indian Dish. Why I always love it, it is the fastest, easiest and the most yummy dish :D

Recipe (server 1)

A) Ingredients

Boiled plain rice - 1 bowl

Curd - Enough to mix with 1 bowl of rice

Cooking oil - 1 1/2 table spoon

Full dried red chilly - 1 piece

Brown Mustard Seeds (small ones ) - 1/3 table spoon

Red Chilli Powder - Per taste

Salt - Per taste

B) Method

Mix the rice and curd nicely in a bowl and keep aside.

In a small pan, heat the one a half table spoon oil. Split the dry full chilly into two pieces and put into the oil, once the oil is hot. Then put around 1/3 spoon of mustard seeds (small ones) into the oil, and let them crack. Make sure the seeds dont burn. The moment they are cracked, pour the hot oil mixture from the pan straight into to rice-curd mixture.

Add red chilly powder and salt to taste, and serve hot.

Tip: Mustard is a special ancient spice used across India. This helps cure bronchitis, and reduces muscular and joints' pain.

Whole Wheat Cake

Introduction

This is a gift recipe from my dear dear friend Divya Devpriya (Love her for being such a wonderful person and confidante). With love and flavour added by Divya and my dearest mom, we finally baked our first whole wheat cake, an absolute delicacy with lot of healthy ingredients.

Recipe (Serves 4)

A) Ingredients

Whole wheat flour - 1 Cup

Powdered/granulated sugar - 3/4 Cup

Refined Oil or Amul Butter or Malai - 1/2 Cup

Baking Soda - 1/2 Tsp

Baking Powder - 1 Tsp

Vanilla Essence - 4-5 drops

Eggs - 2

Milk - 1/4 Cup

Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Salt (Optional) --> These add a special taste to the cake. Depends on liking.

Zuccini - 1 Cup, or Dried Grapes (Kishmish) - 1/2 cup

B) Method

1. Take the granulated sugar and butter in a pan and mix it well.

2. Then add the two eggs. You can also choose to add three eggs (as per taste).

3. Then add the wheat and refined flour that has been seived once with the baking powder and soda added to it.

4. Add the milk and the essences.

5. In the last add the dried ingredients and zuccini. (Optional)

6. Put the ready cake batter in a greased pan, and bake at 200 degree C for about 1/2 hour.

You can test the readiness of the cake with a toothpick or cutting knief inserted through the cake.

Tip: Dust the dried ingredients like kishmish (dried grapes) with dry refined flour (maida) and then put it in the cake batter. Doing this will ensure that the dried grapes dont sink to the bottom.

To give different flavours to the cake, you can try to add banana crush, mango crush etc.

Quick Snacks: Garlic Bread

A) Ingredients:

1. A loaf of garlic bread

2. Garlic - 1

3. Corn

4. Mozarella cheese

5. Chilli flakes (to taste)

6. Salt (to taste)

7. Dried Oregano (to taste)

8. Hot Molten butter - 2 spoons

B) Method

Cut slices out of garlic bread of about 1 and a hlaf cm thickness. You can vary the thickness as per your liking. Keeping too thin slices will make the bread very crispy. Keep the pieces aside.

Clean and peel the garlic, and crush each slice into a paste. Mix this paste with around 2 spoon of hot molten butter. Apply this final paste nicely on each garlic bread slice. Make sure that the butter and garlic paste is evenly spread out on the slices. Now shred mozarella cheese over the garlic bread slices.

Sprinkle the corn over the garlic breads, and sprinkle salt over it. Now put these garlic breads in a microwave over for 3 min on high. Make sure that the cheese is nicely molten over the bread and has percolated through the bread skin.

Take out the bread. Sprinkle with chilli flakes and dried oregano. Serve hot. For best results, couple up with lemon iced tea.

Goond ki Panjiri

Introduction
An age old recipe famous in north India and cherished as a dessert. This is a dish from Maa (my mother's) ki Rasoi :)
Recipe (Around 20 pieces of panjiri)

A) Ingredients
For Panjiri
100 gm: Coconut powder
100 gm: Dried/peeled melon seeds (Kharbooje ki giri)
100 gm: Eatable goond
250 gm: Sugar
250 gm: Ghee
1 glass: Water
B) Method
--> Heat ghee in a pan, and deep fry goond slowly one table spoon at time. The goond will bubble up as white balls. The substance is little sticky, and upon frying it will loose the stickiness. Fry all the goond, and keep aside. When it cools down crush it into smaller pieces.
--> Similarly fry the melon seeds in ghee and keep aside.
--> Mix coconut powder with the goond, and keep aside.
--> In a pan take 1 glass of water, and add the 250 gm sugar to it. Bring to boil, and stir well. Bring the liquid to a thick consistency where it doesnt flow free like a liquid.
--> In the meantime keep another dish ready with a little ghee applied to all its sides, so that when we pour the final mixture into this, the mixture doesnt stick to the walls.
-> In the hot sugar syrup, add the coconut powder and goond mixture. Add the fried melon seeds and mix it well.
--> Pour the hot mixture into the dish that we kept aside, and settle it into a even layer. Cut small pieces and serve when cold.

Hare Bhare Kabab

Introduction

This is an impromptu recipe invented by my sweet little sister and me on an important day of our lives, Indian Independence Day (15th August), in our small little kitchen.

Recipe (Serves 4)

A) Ingredients

For Kabab Batter

1 Cup: Sooji (Rava)
1 Cup: Sour Curd (if Sour Curd is not available, regular curd can be used)
11/2 tbsp: Salt (to taste)

3/4 tbsp: Red chilly powder

1 medium sized finely chopped onion
1 medium sized finely chopped tomato
2 finely chopped green chillies
finely chopped beans/carrot/cauliflower (1 cup)
finely chopped garlic (1 tbsp)
finely chopped coriander (2 tbsp)

For frying

oil/ghee
2 tbsp self rasing flour mixed well into 1/4 cup of water to bind the kababs while frying (Binding mixture)

B) Method
Mix sooji + curd + 1 and 1/2 tbsp. salt + 3/4 tsp red chilly powder in a bowl. Mix well to make a thick batter.
Add the finely chopped onion, tomato, green chillies, garlic, coriander and cut vegetables to the batter, and mix well. Allow to stand for five minutes.

For frying, heat oil in a deep pan. Make a little ball out of the batter, dip it in the binding mixture, and deep fry. Allow to fry on a medium flame till golden brown from one side. Turn over and fry again the other side till golden brown. Drain out the kababs and serve hot with chutney and salad.

Tip: Garnish with fresh coriander, green chilli, tomato and chat masala.

Gatte Ki Sabji (Spicy vegetable of corn flour rolls)

Introduction

Originating from the Indian State of Rajasthan, and traversing down to the grounds of Bihar and Jharkhand, 'Gatte ki Sabzee' leaves a wonderfully spicy taste to the tongue. Specifically healthy as it consumes very little oil, and easy to cook. This particularly is a saviour when you might not have your refrigerator stacked with enough vegatables to cook. For those who arent very familiar with the name 'gatta', 'gattas' are small rolls of corn flour dough boiled and cut to pieces. Here is the recipe.

Recipe (Serves 6-7)

A) Ingredients

For Gatta rolls

200 gm: Besan

2 tbsp: Ghee

1 tbsp: Dhaniya

1 tbsp: Red chilly powder

1 tbsp: Garam Masala

1 tbsp: Salt

2 tbsp: Oil

a pinch: Haldi (Turmeric) Powder

For gravy

2 medium sized onion (finely chopped)

2 tomatoes (finely chopped)

1/2 bowl chopped fresh cilantro (dhania leaves)

1 tbsp: Red Chilli Powder

1/2 tbsp: Haldi (Turmeric) Powder

1/2 tbsp Jeera seeds

Salt to taste
2-3 tbsp oil/ghee

B) Method
Mix besan + 3/4 tbsp. salt + ½ tsp red chilly powder + 1 tbsp. dhaniya powder + 1/2 tbsp. garam masala and ghee. Make a dough out of it. The mixture will turn out little sticky, so take an oil drop on your palm, and make 5-6 thin and long strips of the dough. Put these strips in boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Cut these gattas into small pieces. Keep aside.
For the gravy, pour 2-3 tbsp oil/ghee in a pan, and add zeera seeds to it. When they crack, add chopped onion, chopped dhania leaves and chopped tomato. Stir well till the gravy becomes one.
Add 1 tbsp of dhania powder + 1/2 tbsp red chilli powder + salt to taste. Mix well.
Now add around 2 cups of water, and finally add the gattas. Bring it to a boil and take it off the heat.
Then leave the preparation in the pan covered, so that the aroma seeps in. We are done and ready to serve.