uttapam recipe....

ingredients (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

• 400 grams parboiled rice or idli rice or 2 cups parboiled or idli rice
• 2 cups water for soaking rice
• 120 grams whole husked urad dal or ½ cup whole husked urad dal
• 1 cup water for soaking urad dal
• ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds/methi seeds
• ½ cup water for grinding urad dal or add as required
• ¾ cup water for grinding rice or add as required
• 1 tsp rock salt or add as required

how to make the recipe:

soaking:

1. in a bowl take ½ cup husked whole urad dal and ¼ tsp methi or fenugreek seeds. you can also use split husked urad dal instead of husked whole urad dal.
2. rinse both the urad dal and methi seeds for a couple of times.
3. then soak them in 1 cup water for 4 to 5 hours.
4. in another bowl take 2 cups parboiled rice or idli rice.
5. rinse the parboiled rice or idli rice for a couple of times and keep aside.
6. add 2 cups water. mix well and soak everything for 4 to 5 hours.

grinding:

1. strain the urad dal and reserve the water. keep this water for grinding the dal.
2. use the wet grinding blade in the jar for grinding both urad dal and rice. add the strained urad dal in the grinder jar.
3. first add ¼ cup of the reserved water and grind for some seconds. then add the rest of ¼ cup water and continue to grind till the batter is light, smooth and fluffy. if the mixer becomes too hot while grinding, then stop. let the mixer cool down and grind again. quantity of water depends on the freshness of urad dal. i always add ½ cup water for grinding ½ cup of urad dal.
4. pour the urad dal batter in a large bowl or pan. the batter should be fluffy, smooth and light.
5. to the same jar, add the half of the rice.
6. then add ¼ to ½ cup water and grind till smooth. a fine grainy consistency of rice is also fine in the batter. you can grind the rice in two to three batches. i grind in two batches. for rice i always end up adding overall ¾ cup water and a few tablespoons more of the water at times.
7. pour the rice batter in the bowl containing the urad dal batter.
8. add 1 tsp rock salt or as per taste. in very cold temperatures, avoid adding salt. instead add ¼ tsp sugar. sugar aids in the fermentation process.
9. mix both the batters very well with your hands or a spoon or spatula.
10. cover and allow the batter to ferment overnight for for 8 to 20 hours. the timing will vary depending on the temperature conditions in your city.
11. the batter should increase in volume and double or triple.
12. just lightly stir the batter. check the consistency. if the batter looks too thick, you can add about ⅛ to ¼ cup water or more if required. mix well.

preparing uttapam:

1. heat up a tawa or a cast iron pan, brush or spread some oil on the tawa. pour the batter with a ladle or spoon. for non stick pan, you need not grease the pan. the tawa has to be hot. while making uttapams, you can regulate the flame from low to high. before pouring the batter, reduce the flame to low.
2. gently spread the batter to a thick pancake.
3. cook the uttapam on a medium flame.
4. drizzle some oil on the top and sides.
5. uttapams take a longer time to cook than dosas. cook till the base is golden.
6. then flip and cook the other side.
7. both sides should be cooked well. prepare the uttapams this way with rest of the batter. you can also make idlis or paniyarams or pungulu with this batter.
8. serve these plain uttapams hot or warm with coconut chutney and sambar. you can also pack them in tiffin box as they remain soft even after cooling down.

onion pakoda

onion pakoda...

ingredients (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced or ½ cup tightly packed thinly sliced onions or 100 grams onions
• ½ cup besan/gram flour, 56 grams
• ¼ cup rice flour, 30 grams
• 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves/dhania patta
• 1 teaspoon chopped curry leaves or 7 to 8 chopped curry leaves/kadi patta,
• ½ teaspoon fennel seeds/saunf
• a pinch of turmeric powder/haldi
• ¼ teaspoon red chili powder/lal mirch powder
• 1 or 2 green chilies, chopped                                             
• 5 tablespoon water or add as required
• salt as per taste
• oil for frying (can use peanut or sunflower oil)

how to make the recipe:

1. take ½ cup besan and ¼ cup rice flour in a mixing bowl.
2. add onions, spices, herbs and salt, except oil.
3. then sprinkle 3 tablespoon water all over.
4. mix well. cover and keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes.
5. the onions will release their juices and the batter will become more moist. then add 1 to 2 tablespoon more water and mix well again. i added 2 tablespoons water. i usually keep the batter more moist than what is the norm for this recipe. as i feel some moisture helps in making these pakoras not too dense. the batter has to be of a thick dropping consistency.
6. heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or pan. when the oil becomes medium hot, drop spoonfuls of batter in the kadai.
7. flip each pakora when they become pale golden.
8. continue to fry till the pakoras are golden and crisp, turning over them as required.
9. once they are fried to perfection, then remove them with a slotted spoon.
10. keep onion pakodas on kitchen paper towels so that extra oil is absorbed. fry in batches this way.
11. serve onion pakoda hot with tomato chutney, coconut chutney, mint chutney or tomato ketchup

masala chai

                    

masala chai....

ingredients (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

main ingredients:

• 2 cups water, 500 ml
• 4 teaspoon sugar or add as per taste
• 2 teaspoon assam tea                                            
  
• ¼ cup milk or add as per taste

masala:

• ½ inch cinnamon/dalchini
• 2 to 3 green cardamoms/chotti elaichi
• 2 cloves/lavang
• 1 inch ginger/adrak

how to make the recipe:

1. take ½ inch cinnamon, 2 to 3 green cardamoms, 2 cloves and 1 inch ginger in a mortar-pestle.
2. crush coarsely and keep aside.
3. in a sauce pan or a small pan with a handle, heat 2 cups water (250 ml).
4. let the water come to a boil and then add the crushed spices.
5. boil the spices along with the water for 2 to 3 minutes.
6. add sugar as per taste. i usually add 4 teaspoon raw sugar. you can add more or less.
7. now add 2 teaspoon assam tea. boil for a minute. this boiling time depends on how strong you want your tea. if you prefer a strong intense tea, then boil for a few more minutes.
8. add milk. after adding milk boil for 2 to 3 minutes.
9. if using chilled milk, then boil with tea for 2 to 3 minutes. if using hot milk, then add the milk and switch off the flame.
10. pour the tea through a tea strainer directly in the cup.
11. serve masala chai hot with some indian snacks or indian cookies or biscuits.

crisp soft pooris

crisp soft pooris

ingredients (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

• 2 cups whole wheat flour/atta
• 3 tbsp fine sooji/rawa/cream of wheat
• ½ tsp salt or add as required
• 1 tsp oil
• ⅔ cup water or add as required for kneading dough
• oil for deep frying

how to make the recipe:

kneading:

1. in a bowl take 2 cups whole wheat flour/atta, 3 tbsp fine sooji/rawa/cream of wheat and ½ tsp salt or add salt as per taste.
2. mix everything very well with a spoon or with your hands.
3. add water little at a time and as required. also add 1 tsp oil.
4. begin to mix first and then start to knead the dough.
5. then add more water as required and knead the dough really well. the dough may appear hard as first, but as you continue to knead it will become slightly soft. the sooji absorbs water while you knead. so if the dough looks sticky, then don't worry. continue to knead and the stickiness will go away. the dough should not be too soft but a little stiff and tight.
6. cover and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes. after 30 minutes again knead the dough lightly.

rolling and frying:

1. make small to medium sized balls of the dough. cover and keep aside.
2. now take a dough ball. with your palms slightly flatten it and apply oil to it on both sides.
3. gently roll to a small or medium sized poori or circles which is neither too thin nor thick. you can roll the poori and fry it simultaneously or place the rolled pooris in a plate and later fry them. do cover with a clean kitchen towel, so that they don’t dry up.
4. heat oil in a deep frying pan or kadai.
5. when the oil is sufficiently hot then add one poori at a time.
6. the poori will rise gradually on top and begin puffing up.
7. gently nudge with the slotted spoon so that the poori puffs up very well.
8. once the oil has stopped sizzling, gently flip the poori and fry the other side.
9. once both the sides are crisp, golden and fried well, remove the poori with a slotted spoon. drain on kitchen paper towels.
10. serve pooris hot or warm with any potato curry or any veg curry.

khara pongal or veg pongal

khara pongal or veg pongal recipe

ingredients (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

main ingredients:

• ½ cup seeraga samba rice or regular rice, 100 grams
• ¼ cup moong dal, 60 grams
• ½ tsp cumin seeds, lightly crushed
• ⅛ tsp asafeotida/hing
• 1 inch ginger, chopped or 1 tsp heaped chopped ginger
• 3 to 3.25 cups water or add as required
• salt as required

for tempering:

• 1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
• 1 tsp black pepper, whole or crushed. you can also add ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 sprig curry leaves/kadi patta or 10 to 12 small to medium curry leaves
• 10 to 12 cashews, whole or halved
• 2 to 3 tbsp ghee

how to make the recipe:

cooking rice & moong lentils:

1. pick ¼ cup of moong dal first to get rid of stones if any. then heat a small pan or a small kadai and add the moong lentils.
2. on a low flame stirring often roast the moong lentils till they become aromatic.
3. the moong lentils only need to be roasted till they become aromatic. no need to brown them.
4. now take them in another bowl or you can use the same pan for rinsing.
5. add ½ cup rice in the bowl containing the roasted moong dal.
6. rinse both rice and roasted moong dal a couple of times with water.
7. drain very well and then add them in a pressure cooker.
8. now add the following ingredients - ½ tsp cumin seeds, ⅛ tsp asafeotida/hing, 1 tsp heaped chopped ginger. also add salt as per taste. crush the cumin seeds in the palms of your hands and then add. this gives a nice aroma.
9. pour 3 to 3.25 cups water. the amount of water to be added depends on the consistency you want and also on the quality of moong dal. i get moong dal which takes a long time to cook. usually i cook the moong lentils for 7 to 8 whistles. so i added 3.25 cups water. if you get moong dal, which cooks quickly in 2 to 3 whistles, then add 2 to 2.5 cups water.
10. pressure cook on a medium to high flame for 7 to 8 whistles or 11 to 12 minutes.
11. let the pressure settle down on its own and then you remove the lid to check the doneness and consistency. if the pongal has a consistency like that of pulao, then add ½ to 1 cup hot water and mix very well. both the rice and the moong dal should be cooked very well. if you want you can even slightly mash the cooked rice and moong lentils. if cooked well, then cover with the lid and keep aside.

tempering:

1. in another small pan, heat 2 to 3 tbsp ghee. 3 tbsp ghee gives a good taste and flavor.
2. add 1 tsp cumin seeds. let them splutter.
3. then add 10 to 12 cashews.
4. fry till the cashews become light golden.
5. once they begin to get light golden, then add 1 tsp black pepper and 10 to 12 curry leaves.
6. stir very well and fry till the curry leaves become crisp. the black pepper should also be fried well.
7. now pour this entire tempering on the pongal.
8. mix very well.
9. cover with the lid (with the vent weight/whistle on the lid) and keep aside for 5 to 6 minutes. this allows the tempering flavors to infuse with the pongal and the aroma to stay in.
10. then remove the lid and serve ven pongal hot with coconut chutney or sambar.

notes

the pongal recipe can be doubled.

crisp dosa recipe

crisp dosa recipe

ingredients (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

• ½ cup idli rice or parboiled rice, 100 grams
• ½ cup regular rice, 100 grams
• ¼ cup urad dal/husked whole or split black gram, 50 grams
• ⅛ tsp methi seeds or 2 pinches
• 2 tbsp poha/flattened rice
• 1.5 cups water for soaking both rice and lentils
• ¾ cup water for grinding, do add water as required
• ½ tsp rock salt or non iodized salt or sea salt crystals or himalayan pink salt
• oil as required

how to make the recipe:

prepping and soaking:

1. in a bowl take ½ cup idli rice or parboiled rice along with ½ cup regular rice.
2. to the same bowl, add ¼ cup urad dal and ⅛ tsp methi seeds.
3. rinse the rice, lentils and methi seeds together a couple of times and keep aside.
4. in a separate bowl, take 2 tbsp poha.
5. rinse it once or twice in water and then add rinsed poha to the bowl containing the rinsed rice+lentils+methi seeds.
6. pour 1.5 cups water. mix. cover with a lid and soak everything for 5 to 6 hours.

grinding batter in a mixie:

1. drain all the water and add the soaked ingredients in a wet grinder jar.
2. add ⅔ to ¾ cup water and grind till you get a fine grainy consistency of rice in the batter. a smooth consistency of batter is also fine. if the mixer gets heated up, then stop and wait for some minutes. when the mixer cools down, grind again. depending on the jar capacity, you can grind everything once or in two batches. i ground in two batches and added overall ¾ cup water.
3. now take the batter in a large bowl or pan.
4. add ½ tsp rock salt. mix very well. cover and allow to ferment for 8 to 9 hours or more. time of fermentation will vary depending on the temperature conditions.
5. a proper fermentation will double or triple up the volume of the batter and you will see tiny air pockets in the batter with a light sour aroma.
6. now lightly stir the batter, before you begin to make dosa.
7. heat a cast iron pan. when the pan becomes hot, spread ¼ to ½ tsp oil all over the pan. do keep the flame on low to low-medium flame, so that you are easily able to spread the batter. if the pan base is very thick, then keep the flame to medium.
8. do not spread oil if you are using a non stick pan, as you won't be able to spread the batter.
9. now take a ladle full of the batter. pour the batter and gently spread the batter starting from the center and moving outwards.
10. cook the dosa on a low to medium flame. do regulate the flame as per the pan size and thickness.
11. when you see the batter on the top cooked, then sprinkle ¼ to ½ tsp oil on the edges and center.
12. with the spoon spread the oil on the dosa.
13. cook till the base is nicely golden and crisp. the base will leave the pan when its gets cooked.
14. fold and serve hot. make all dosas this way.
15. serve these crisp dosas plain or with potato masala and coconut chutney.

notes

- recipe can be doubled.
- if doubling the recipe, then soak urad dal + methi seeds in a separate bowl. grind urad dal and methi seeds separately. grind rice separately. then mix both the batters in a large bowl or pan. grind soaked rice in two to three batches.