Set Dosa (Sponge Dosa)

This is a popular dish of Karnataka. This dosa comes out so soft like a sponge that it is also called sponge dosa and it tastes great even when it is not hot.

Ingredients

• 4 Raw rice
• 1 cup Avil (Poha or beaten rice)
• 1/2 cup Urad dal
• 2 tsp Methi seeds
• 1 tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)

Rava Dosa

Rava Dosa is an instant variety of dosa that does not require any soaking/fermenting time and it is also very easy, crispy and quick to make. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup Rava (Semolina)
• 1/4 cup Rice flour
• 2 green chillies finely chopped
• 1 tsp Ginger finely chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped Coriander
• 1/2 tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp Jeera
• 1/4 tsp Asafoetida

Method

1. Mix all the above ingredients with water so that the batter has a runny consistency.
2. Heat the tawa on high and pour a laddle on the tawa. You cannot spread this batter like a normal dosa. You have to pour it around. If you are unable to pour the batter freely or if the dosa comes out too thick, then add more water to the batter.
3. Decrease the heat to medium and flip the dosa over when it is completely cooked on the down side.
4. Once the other side is also cooked, remove it from the tawa and serve it hot. 
5. Repeat the above process for the remaining batter to make yummy hot instant Rava dosas!

Batura

This is a deep fried Indian bread that tastes good with Channa Masala and the combination is so popularly called Channa Batura or Chole Puri.

Ingredients

• 2 cups All Purpose Flour (Maida)
• 1 cup Yogurt (Adjust as required)
• 1/2 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp ghee for the dough
• Oil for deep frying

Method

1. Mix the flour, sugar, salt, ghee and add the yogurt little by little and mix well to form a soft pliable dough.
2. Cover the dough with a wet cloth and keep aside for 1 hour.
3. Gently punch the dough and divide it into small lemon size balls.
4. Roll out each ball into circles 1/4 " thick.
5. Heat oil in a wok and start to fry the rolled out baturas one by one.
6. Serve the batura hot with Channa as side dish.

Jawarsi Upma

Jawarsi Upma or Sabudana Kichadi is generally made during Ekadesi and other fasting days as this is one of the dish that is allowed to be eaten by people who cannot fast completely due to any reason. There are many ways this kichadi is prepared but this is my mother's version of the recipe and we all love it.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Jawarsi (Sago)
• 1/4 cup Peanut powder (Roast the peanuts and make a coarse powder)
• 1 small-med Potato (cut into cubes)
• 1 tsp Mustard
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1/4 tsp Urad dal
• 1/4 tsp Channa dal
• 2 tsp Oil
• 2 Green Chillies
• 1/2 tsp Ginger grated
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric
• Pinch of Asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)
• Few springs of Curry leaves and Cilantro to garnish

Method

1. Wash the Jawarsi and soak it overnight with enough water. (If you forget to soak it the day before, soak it for atleast 3-4 hours.) Drain the jawarsi in a colander when you are ready to make.
2. Heat oil in a big kadai/pan and add the mustard and cumin seeds. When they crackle, add the urad dal and channa dal. When they turn slightly brown add the green chillies, ginger and curry leaves
3. Add the cubed potatoes and fry it for a few minutes till it is cooked.
4. Add the Jawarsi and salt and stir well on low flame till the Jawarsi gets cooked (They will become transparent when cooked.)
5. Add the peanut powder and mix well for a few minutes.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Adai / Savoury Pancakes

Adai is a speciality of Tamil Nadu and is rich in protein. It can be had for breakfast, snack or dinner. It goes well with Avial, Chutney, Jaggery or just with Butter or Ghee.

Ingredients

• 3 cups Idli Rice
• 1 cup Toor Dal
• 1 cup yellow Moong Dal
• 1 cup Channa Dal
• 10 Red Chillies (Adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)
• 1/4 tsp Asafoetida
• 1 spring of Curry leaves

Method

1. Soak the Rice and Dals for 2-3 hrs.
2. Drain and add the Rice, Dals, Red chillies, Asafoetida, and Salt to the mixer and grind coarsely. Add only just enough water required to grind. The Adai batter should be thick and not watery.
3. Heat a girdle and add a laddle of batter in the center and spread it in a circular motion. Add a tsp of oil around it.
4. Once the bottom side is done (i.e. when it turns a light golden brown) flip it over and cook the other side too.
5. Once both the sides are done, remove from the girdle and serve hot!
6. Repeat for the remaining batter. The leftover batter can be refrigerated and used within 3-4 days.

Variations

1. Add 1/2 cup of chopped greens like Drumstick leaves, Methi leaves, Mint leaves or Coriander leaves in the batter to make tastier and healthier Adais.

Arisi (Rice) Upma

This is my mother's easy recipe for Arisi Upma. It can be served as breakfast but we make it very often for dinner when we are not in a mood to make chappatis and curries. Arisi Upma goes well with just pickle or chutney.

Ingredients
for Upma

• 1 cup Raw Rice
• 1/4 cup Toor dal
• 1 tsp Pepper
• 1 tsp Jeera
• 1 tsp Salt(Adjust to taste)

for seasoning

• 1 tbsp Oil (Gingelly oil preferred)
• 1/2 tsp Urad dal
• 1/2 tsp Channa dal
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 Red Chilli
• 1 spring Curry Leaves
• A pinch of Asafoetida

Method

1. Grind coarsely all the ingredients for the Upma (except Salt) in a mixer.  
2. Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard. When it starts spluttering add the channa dal, urad dal, red chilly and asafoetida. When the dals turn a light brown add the curry leaves and switch off the heat.
3. Take a cooker vessel and add the ground mixture and water in the ratio of 1:2. Then add the Salt and the seasoning to it.
4. Pressure cook the mixture for 3 - 4 whistles or cook till done.
5. Rice Upma is ready to be served.

Suggestions/ Notes

• To make it healthier I like to add moong sprouts to it. You may add them along with the water just before cooking in the pressure cooker (step 3). It is healthy and also very tasty.
• You may grind and store the toor dal, rice, pepper and jeera mixture (mentioned in step 1), so that you can make the upma instantly whenever you want.

Homemade Bread

I bought a bread packet from the store and saw that there were almost some 15-20 ingredients in that while actually the bread would take only 5-6 ingredients. This only means so many preservatives/chemicals/artificial flavourings are added to increase the shelf life and in turn harm our self. So I decided to try making the bread at home and followed the recipe at Breadworld by halving the recipe since I wanted to make only one loaf. Making bread at home is unbelievably easy except you have to have patience to wait while the dough rises. Nothing can beat the taste of freshly made bread and that too when it is homemade it becomes healthy as you know what you are eating. I have decided not to buy any more bread. So be ready for more bread recipes!!

Ingredients

• 3 cups All purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tbsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 packet Active Dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
• 3/4 cup Warm Water (Not very hot! Around 110F)
• 1/4 cup Milk
• 1 tbsp Butter

Method

1) Add the Sugar and Yeast into the Warm water and keep aside for 5 min till it foams up.

2) In the meantime, add 2 cups of Flour and Salt and mix.

3) Warm the Milk and add the Butter and add them to the flour. Add the yeast solution too and knead the flour well. Add the remaining flour little by little while kneading. Knead well for 8-10 min.

4) Grease a big bowl with a little butter and place the kneaded dough ball in that and flip it over once so that it is slightly greased on top too. Cover it lightly and allow the dough to rise in a warm place for 1 hr.

5) When the dough has almost doubled in size, punch it down and shape it into a rectangle.

6) Grease a loaf pan (8 1/2"  x  4 1/2") and place the dough in it and pat it slightly so that it takes the shape of the loaf pan.

7) Cover it loosely and place it again in a warm place allowing it to rise once again for around 30-45 min. It will look as below once risen.

8) Bake at 400F for around 25-30 min or till done.

9) Remove from pans and cool on wire rack.

10) Once completely cooled, slice the bread with a knife and serve with Butter!

Dill Poori

This is a very flavourful dish. It can be eaten as it is or with pickle or chutney. You may sneak in more veggies like grated carrots or beetroot to make it more colourful and healthy.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Whole Wheat flour
• 1/2 cup Dill Leaves finely chopped (Adjust to taste)
• 1 green chilli finely chopped.
• 1/4 tsp salt (Adjust to taste)
• Water (As needed)
• Oil to deep fry

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients except oil with enough water to form a pliable dough.
2. Make small balls from the dough and place them in a deep bowl. Add 1 tsp oil and close the bowl with a lid and shake it well so that the oil gets coated on all the poori dough balls. (This is a very useful tip given by my aunt Chandra. This way it will be easy to roll the Pooris without it sticking and also the oil to be fried will not get messy, which it would if you add flour while rolling the Pooris.)
3. Heat Oil in a wok and start rollng the pooris into 3-4" circles.
4. Check the oil if it is hot by dropping a small bit of the poori dough into it. If it is ready, it should sizzle up immediately.
5. Drop the rolled out pooris one by one. Once they puff up or brown on the down side, flip it and take it out with a slotted spoon and place them on Paper towel so that the excess oil is absorbed. Serve Hot!

Ragi Dosa

This is a very healthy, tasty and instant dosa. Even those who dont like ragi will love this dosa. Don't get intimidated by the colour of the dosa as ragi is always that colour but it is very tasty and nutritious.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Sprouted Ragi Flour
• 1/2 cup Rice Flour
• 2 Green chillies finely chopped
• 1" Ginger piece finely chopped
• 1 spring Curry Leaves
• 2 cups water / or as required
• A pinch of Asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)
• 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

Method

1. Mix all the ingrdients in a big bowl to a running consistency.
2. Heat a skillet on high and pour a ladle of the ragi dosa batter on it and reduce the heat to medium. You cannot spread the batter like the normal dosa, so you have to pour it in a circular motion.
3. Add a little oil around the dosa so that it doesn't stick to the skillet.
4. When it gets cooked and becomes crisp, set the heat on high again and turn it over for a few seconds and serve.
5. Repeat the process for all the remaining dosas and serve them hot with chutney.

Akki Roti

Akki Roti is made of Rice flour and is my daughter's favourite. It is a very healthy dish that can be served as breakfast or snack. They are crisp on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Rice Flour
• 1/4 cup Dill Leaves chopped
• 1 green chilli finely chopped
• 1/4" piece ginger finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)
• 1 Carrot grated
• Water (as needed to make the dough)
• Oil to cook the Akki rotis

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients except oil to form a dough.
2. Divide the dough into small balls and heat a skillet.
3. Apply some oil on the palms of your hands and take one of the dough balls flatten it on your palm.  Don't make it too thin. It can be a 1/4" thick.
4. Place it on the skillet and apply oil on the roti.
5. When it turns slightly golden brown at the bottom, flip it and add some more oil till the other side too turns golden brown. Cook it till it becomes crisp and golden brown on both sides by adding more oil if needed.
6. Serve hot with pickle!

Variations

1. If you don't have dill leaves, you may replace dill with 1/4 cup chopped cilantro and 1/4 tsp ajwain in this recipe for a different flavour and aroma.

Suggestions/ Notes

1. My Akki Rotis are small, about the size of my palm as it is easy and less messy to make it that way. In case you want to make big Akki Rotis, take a Ziploc cover/ plastic sheet and rub it generously with oil and flatten the dough to make a big circle. Carefully peel it off the Ziploc sheet and place it on the skillet.

Croissant Upma

This Upma is very tasty and easy to make too. This recipe serves 3.

Ingredients  

• 6 Croissants cut into pieces
• 2 Tomatoes chopped
• 2 green chillies slit lenghtwise 
• 1 tsp finely chopped ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt ( adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp finely chopped coriander leaves

Method   

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the tomatoes, green chillies, ginger, turmeric and salt and fry them till the tomatoes are cooked.
2. Then add the croissants and mix everything well and cook it on low flame for 1 min with the pan closed.
3. Take the pan off the stove and garnish it with the coriander leaves.
4. Serve Hot!

Hash Browns

My whole family loves Hash Browns, so I tried it at home today and it came out very good. Making at home is a healthier alternative as the store bought ones will have many preservatives and the nutrition of the dish will also be less compared to the freshly made ones. Hope you like it too. This recipe makes 6 medium size hash browns.

Ingredients  

• 2 - Potatoes
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Method   

1. Peel and grate the potatoes and transfer them to a microwave dish and microwave it for 1 min or till the grated potatoes are semi cooked. (Dont over cook them)
2. Then transfer them to a cheese cloth and squeeze the moisture out. (Dont squeeze too hard and make them mushy.)
3. Now shape them into small rectangles and place them on a frying pan/ tawa.
4. Add a little oil or butter and after a few minutes check if that side has browned.
5. Flip it over and cook till both sides are brown.
6. Sprinkle salt and pepper and serve hot.

Sending this to the Event Any One Can Cook: Series 43

Dill flavoured Upma

I love the aromatic flavour of Dill leaves and I wanted to make something with it and that resulted in this upma.

Ingredients  

• 1 cup - Rava
• 1 cup - Chopped Carrots and Beans
• 1/2 cup - Lima beans
• 1/4 cup - Dill Leaves finely chopped (You may use less if you don't want the taste of dill to be dominating.)
• 1 - green chilly ( Add more if you like it spicy)
• 1 tsp - ginger paste/ finely chopped ginger
• 1 tbsp - lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp - salt ( adjust to taste)
• 2 cups - Water
• 2 tsp - oil
• 1 tsp - ghee
• 1 tsp - urad dal
• 1/2 tsp - mustard
• Pinch of asafetida

Method   

1. Heat the ghee in a saucepan and add the Rava to it. Fry it till golden brown and keep it aside.
2. Now heat the oil in the saucepan and add mustard and asafetida
3. When the mustard starts crackling add the urad dal and fry it till golden brown.
4. Now add the ginger and green chilly, then the chopped vegetables, lima beans and the dill leaves and give them all a stir.
5. Now add the water and bring it to a boil.
6. Add the salt and then add the rava. Be careful while adding the rava as it will start spluttering. Simmer the stove and stir continuously to break the lumps.
7. Switch off the Stove and add the lemon juice.
8. Serve hot!