Methi Paratha

At a loss of what to pack for lunch tomorrow?

Travelling somewhere and need to carry along your own food?

Or

Just wondering what to make for breakfast tomorrow?

TA-DA!!!

Presenting Methi Paratha -  A humble, healthy, whole wheat flatbread flavored with spices and Methi leaves or Fenugreek leaves.

Methi Paratha is perfect for boxed lunch or breakfast. Number one reason being - it doesn't leak!! So you don't need to worry about a messy lunch bag. Also, it doesn't spoil for a long long time (by long long, I mean at least 2 days in tropical weather, much more in cooler weather). And the dough stays great in the fridge for at least 4-5 days. So you can make it ahead of time and store it.

And guess what's the best part?? Leftovers.... Seriously... Just cut them into small triangles and follow this recipe to get your own flavored Whole Wheat Nachos. Complains, anyone?

I've been making Methi Paratha for a long long time and I've faced certain issues with the way I was making them earlier. I never cooked the Methi leaves, I just chopped them and added it to the dough. All was well until I added the salt. After that though, my dough would just keep getting watery and sticky and I had to just keep adding more and more wholewheat flour to try and stiffen the dough a bit. And by the end of it the paratha would have the methi leaves to the flour ratio all messed up. Also, I'd end up with a messy rolling pin which would have bits of dough stuck to it that I had to clean before rolling out the next paratha.

If you are facing the same problems, read on.

Gee (in her big sister wisdom) showed me how to overcome this. Such a simple solution. Just cook the methi leaves slightly. Cooking them makes the leaves release the water in them. Also adding a little bit of salt during the cooking ensures almost all the water in the leaves is out where you can see it. This leads to a smoother dough that does not turn to sticky in a few minutes. The dough retains it's consistency and is super easy to handle. No sticky rolling pin either.

As for any paratha, Methi Paratha needs to be cooked on a medium to high heat. Cooking them on low heat, makes them hard and brittle. You may need to be watchful that you don't burn them while cooking on higher heat, but hey, you get soft parathas as a result of it.

If you liked this, you may also like:

• Baked Wholewheat Chips - Perfect way to finish off those leftover parathas
• Szechwan Paratha - An Indian-Chinese fusion paratha

Methi Paratha

Methi Paratha is a whole wheat flat bread flavored with fresh Methi or Fenugreek leaves and spices. 

Recipe Type:  Main
Cuisine:            North Indian
Prep Time:     20 minutes
Cook time:     30 minutes
Yield:                Makes 8-10

Ingredients:

3-4 cups Methi Leaves (washed and chopped)
2 cups Wholewheat Flour
1/2 cup Water
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
2 tsp Oil
Salt as required
Oil or Ghee for cooking the Paratha

Method:

In a pan or kadhai, heat the 2 tsp of Oil.
Add the chopped methi leaves into it and stir well.
Cover and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes until the methi leaves have wilted.
Now add the coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder. red chilli powder and 1/4 tsp salt and mix well.
Cover and allow it to cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and keep it aside.
In a big bowl or plate, mix together the whole wheat flour and the methi leaves mix.
Now add salt as required and water. Knead it into a smooth dough.
Made small balls of the dough and roll it out into parathas (about 1-2mm thick).
Heat a greased tava or a griddle on medium high heat. Place the paratha on it and spoon oil.
Flip and cook the other side when the first side has cooked (small brown spots appear on it).
Serve hot with butter, pickle or yogurt.

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Avarekalu Uppit | How to make Hyacinth Beans Upma

Avarekalu Uppit or Upma is a basic South Indian breakfast made by cooking toasted semolina in a vegetable broth containing boiled Avarekalu or Hyacinth beans.

I had a nice chat with one of my friend's in the bus yesterday. We were chatting away about food, we are both obsessed foodies and were super hungry by the time we reached halfway, thanks to our little chitter chatter. During our extremely animated food talk, we realized some universal truths:

•  "What to cook?" is a more exhausting question than actually cooking that "What" on a daily basis
•  Every Indian mother thinks their children should stop cooking "Special" dishes and learn to make the basic mundane daily food.

Do you agree with me? Or have some more universal truths? Leave me a comment and we can discuss it in length.

"What to cook next week?" is a regular question I ask myself and the people around me every weekend so I can stock up on the raw material. And pretty much every woman I ask, asks me back the same question. Sigh. 

And the second point takes me back almost 15 years in time when I was still living with my parents and had recently discovered I love to cook. I'd flip through the magazines at the library and find some new recipe and rush home to try it. And my mom had just the same response my friend's mom had - Learn to cook basic everyday food and then learn the "Specials". 

The wisdom in those words dawned on me much later in life when I moved to Bangalore for a job and had to eat out everyday. I craved for simple home cooked meals like my mom made. So now I balance my simple meals with my special meals. And sometimes, I mix the two.

This Avarekalu Uppit is my version of special and simple, all combined together. Avarekalu or Hyacinth beans are extremely seasonal and make their appearance for a short time in the winter. Imagine my surprise when I found street vendors selling it at this time of the year. I had to pick them up. Addition of avarekalu made my simple uppit, special for me. 

Avarekalu is a local name for Hyacinth beans. They have a very subtle delicate flavor. In winter, there is a fest dedicated just for Avarekalu in Bangalore where the creativity of the chefs is displayed as they make anything and everything using avarekalu. Ah! Simple special moments in life!!!

Uppit or Upma is a dish usually had for breakfast in South India. It is made my cooking toasted semolina or rava in a vegetable broth. You can make uppit with just onions and tomatoes or load it up with veggies like carrots, peas, green beans, cabbage, capsicum or like in this recipe - Avarekalu. To make a simple Avarekalu Uppit, you can skip all the other vegetables except the avarekalu, onion and the tomato.

You may also like to check out the recipes for Uppit/Upma or Avarekalu Saaru.

Avarekalu Uppit or Hyacinth Beans Upma

Avarekalu Uppit or Upma is a basic South Indian breakfast made by cooking toasted semolina in a vegetable broth containing boiled Avarekalu or Hyacinth beans.

Recipe Type:  Breakfast
Cuisine:            South Indian
Prep Time:     20 minutes
Cook time:     30 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 cup Semolina or Rava or Sooji
1/2 cup Avarekalu
1 small Carrot
6-8 Green Beans
1 small Potato
1 Onion
1 small Tomato
1 sprig Curry leaves
1-2 Green Chilli
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
2.5 cups Water
4-5 tsp Oil
Salt to taste
1 tsp Lemon juice
2 Tbsp finely chopped Coriander leaves for garnish
1 Tbsp grated fresh Coconut for garnish

Method:

In a kadhai or pan, toast the rava for 4-5 minutes on low heat until fragrant.
Chop the onion, beans, carrot, potato, tomato and the chillies.
Heat oil in a kadhai and add the mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add the curry leaves.
Immediately add the onions and green chillies and fry until the onions are translucent.
Add the other vegetables along with the avarekalu to the kadhai and stir for 1-2 minutes.
Add the water and cover and cook until the avarekalu and the beans are cooked.
Add salt.
Add the rava while stirring continuously to avoid forming lumps.
Cover and cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes.
Turn off the heat and allow the uppit to rest for another 5 minutes.
Now add the lemon juice and garnish with coriander and coconut and mix well.
Serve hot.

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Instant Ragi Dosa

Continuing with my Instant recipes with this Instant Ragi Dosa. It is an instant dosa or crepe  made with rava or semolina and ragi flour (finger millet flour).

As much as I love Bangalore, I also love getting out of Bangalore once in a while. There are but only a few roads that lead out. One of them is the Mysore road. I'm not too fond of the Bangalore-Mysore highway. Too many speed breakers and way too many vehicles. Barely feels like you have left Bangalore. But it has some silver lining, in the form of the various eating joints all along the way. There is this Kamat restaurant on the way where I first ate the Ragi Dosa. And it was love at first bite. Crispy dosa served with some coconut chutney. I'd never imagined Ragi could taste sooo good.

I'd had ragi in the form of Ragi Rotti or the Ragi Mudde, but never the Ragi Dosa. I simply loved it and when we came back, I was off to buy Ragi Flour to make it. Ragi Dosa is made exactly like the Rava Dosa, only the rice flour is replaced with ragi flour.

Ragi Dosa is perfect for those mornings when you haven't planned ahead for breakfast. All you do is mix stuff together and throw them on a hot griddle or tava. Yup no spreading it with love like the regular Dosa or pancake, you have to throw it on and let it take the shape it likes. No obsessing over the round shape. 

It is also perfect for that 5pm hunger of mine. A great alternative to all that fried stuff around. 

Making awesomely crispy Ragi Dosa requires patience, something I lack, so sometimes I'm just okay with soft ones. But I have the following tips to making a great Ragi Dosa. The same work for Rava Dosa as well.

• Mix and make the dosa immediately. Do not leave it to soak. Soaking allows the rava or semolina to soak up all the water and it won't get crisp.
• The batter needs to be thin. Make a few and try, you will know if you need to add more water. The consistency should be similar to that of buttermilk.
• Pour the batter when the tava or the griddle is really hot and then lower the heat and leave it to crisp up.
• Don't skimp on the oil. The dosa needs oil to crisp up, at least 1-2 tsp per Dosa. Oil-less Ragi Dosa is just not as tasty. 
• I add onions, curry leaves, cumin seeds, coriander leaves and chilli. A well seasoned Ragi Dosa does not even need any accompaniments, it tastes delicious on its own. All these are optional and you can leave them out to make a plain Ragi Dosa

Buttermilk consistency Batter

Spoon the mixture on a hot tava. Flip when browned.

Instant Ragi Dosa

Instant dosa made with Ragi flour and Semolina

Recipe Type:  Breakfast
Cuisine:            South Indian
Prep Time:     10 minutes
Cook time:     30 minutes
Yield:                5-6 Dosas

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Semolina (Rava)
1/4 cup Ragi flour
1 Tbsp All purpose flour (Maida)
1 Tbsp Yogurt (Curd)
1 small Onion (finely chopped)
5-6 Curry leaves
2 Tbsp Coriander leaves (chopped)
1 tsp Red chilli powder
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1.5 cups Water
Salt
Oil for frying

Method:

Mix together all the ingredients except oil and whisk until free of lumps
Heat a tava and grease it
Pour spoonfuls of the batter on the tava
Allow it to cook on low flame
Spoon oil on the dosa
Once the dosa is cooked, it will leave the sides of the tava, else use a spatula to loosen the dosa from the tava
Flip and cook for 1 minute
Serve hot with chutney

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Instant Rava Idli

I had an INDULGENT weekend. I-N-D-U-L-G-E-N-T!!!

I'm spelling out stuff, so I guess you get the picture.

Spicy Biryani lunch, Cheesy Pasta for dinner, Deep fried Bread Rolls for snacks and a heavenly TRIPLE Chocolate Milkshake, I’ve had it all. And I cooked none of it. Nada. 

I’m sure it will take me a month to work it off. Sigh!!

All those guilty pleasures made me want to eat a healthier breakfast this Monday morning. I’d never been a Rava Idli fan, regular Idli, give it to me anyday and I’ll eat it. But I wondered why would one eat that hard lump of rava (semolina) for any meal? This was until I made my own.

Eye opener – Rava Idli does not have to be a hard lump. It can be soft like the regular rice Idlis. It can actually be delicious.

All credit goes to Gee, my sis. Someday she got the MTR instant rava idli packet and made it and repeatedly kept telling me how good they had become. MTR is a legendary restaurant in Bangalore that actually invented the Rava Idli when there was food shortage during a war. A place you should visit for some rich South Indian food.

The restaurant rocks, but I won’t accept defeat from a packet. Na-ah.

So I made just to show her that she can make equally good Rava Idlis with just the ingredients she has at home. I had no plans of liking them at all. It was just a competition with the packet, that’s IT. (I'm competitive that way). At least that’s what I thought, until I ate them. I mean if I make them, I have to taste it, right? And what a pleasant surprise it was. Soft smooth Rava Idli. And so easy to make as well. No overnight soaking, no overnight fermenting. Just mix and steam.

I'm always on a lookout for breakfast recipes. And they obviously have to be HEALTHY and EASY to make. These Rava Idlis satisfy all my criteria. So they have been back on the menu time and again since that day. 

Some additional steps that you may have to do if making your own healthy Rava Idlis, and it is totally worth it:

• Toast the Rava / Semolina - You can either toast it when you decide to make the Rava Idlis or you can toast the rava whenever you have time and store it. Toasting helps increase the shelf life of rava. You can then use it instantly while making Upma too.
• Grate a carrot, Chop a chilli - Yup, you will need to grate a carrot and chop some chilli and coriander. 
• Tempering - Heat a little oil, throw in some lentils (dals), mustard seeds, curry leaves and chilli. This is seriously a 10 seconds job.
• Mix once - Mix tempering with the rava.

The rest is exactly like the packet. Mix in the ingredients. Allow it to rest for some time. Then steam them as usual. Ta-da - Instant soft smooth Rava Idli.

Instant Rava Idli

Popular South Indian instant steamed breakfast cakes made from semolina or rava and yogurt.

Recipe Type:  Breakfast
Cuisine:            South Indian
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Cook time:     30 minutes
Yield:                8 Idlis

Ingredients:

1.25 cups Semolina or Upma Rava
1 cup Yogurt (Curd)
1 small Carrot
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
2-3 tsp Oil
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Urad Dal
1 tsp Chana Dal
8-10 Curry leaves
1 Tbsp chopped Coriander leaves
1 chopped Green Chilli
1/2 cup Water
Salt to taste 
Oil to grease

Method:

Toast the rava in a kadhai on low flame for 8-10 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Remove it into a large bowl once done.
Heat oil in the kadhai and add mustard seeds to it.
Once the mustard seeds splutter, add the urad dal and the chana dal.
Once the dals brown slightly, add the curry leaves and chilli. Pour this tempering to the toasted rava.
Mix well and allow to cool.
Once the rava has cooled, add grated carrot, yogurt, chopped coriander, baking soda and salt and mix well.
Add water by the spoonful. The consistency of the batter should be similar to the regular idli batter.
Leave aside for 10-15 minutes.
In the meanwhile, prepare the idli steamer. The water in the steamer should be boiling when we put in the idli, else the idli will become hard.
Now grease the idli mould, and pour in the batter.
Steam for 10-15 minutes.
Serve hot with chutney or sagu.

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Mysore Masala Dosa

Mysore Masala Dosa is a rice and lentil pancake that has a chilli and garlic chutney spread on the inside and stuffed with a potato bhaji and served with a simple coconut chutney.

Weekends are meant to be slept in. Aren't they? But sometimes, waking up early on a weekend has it's own excitement - that slight chill in the air, the sky all grey and cloudy, birds chirping away from their hiding places and an occasional car or bus on the road. At times like this, all I need is a steaming hot cup of coffee and a blanket to wrap myself as I sit in the balcony watching the world go by. And you know what's better than that? Having a plate of absolutely delicious homemade Mysore Masala Dosa to eat.

There is absolutely nothing like a Mysore Masala Dosa for breakfast. The good thing about Bangalore is you can eat a Masala Dosa morning, evening or night and for as little as Rs.20 and for as much as Rs.200. But this homemade Masala Dosa is sooo much better than the restaurant ones. I swear you won't like those once you have tasted one that YOU made at home.

A Mysore Masala Dosa is crisp and golden brown on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. It has a spicy red chilli and garlic chutney spread on the inside and is always stuffed with a potato bhaji. Served with a simple coconut chutney, it actually makes one of the most delicious breakfast. Sometimes, dinner too. Skip the red chilli chutney, to get a regular Masala Dosa.

In the age of fast food, a Dosa is a mix of both food movements - slow and fast. It needs to go through the slow process of fermentation but after that, it is a matter of minutes to cook it. 

Points to keep in mind:

• There are many recipes out there that replace the rice with rice flour or with all purpose flour, but a Dosa tastes authentic only when it is made with with rice grains as opposed to flour. 
• I ALWAYS use an age old cast iron griddle or tava to make Dosa. It gives it that amazing color and crispness, but my sister swears by her non stick tava or griddle. Either way, a Dosa tava is meant to be absolutely flat, non stick or cast iron. You can also use a flat frying pan. 
• In winters or if the day is cold, you may need more time to ferment the batter. Keeping it near a warm stove or oven helps. If you live in a hot region or it is summer, you may need only 6-8 hours for the batter to ferment. 
• You will know that the batter is fermented when it has risen and tastes sour. 
• If you do not plan to use the entire batter at one go, remove the excess and only add salt to the batter you plan to use immediately. 

Mysore Masala Dosa

Mysore Masala Dosa is a rice and lentil pancake that has a chilli and garlic chutney spread on the inside and stuffed with a potato bhaji.

Recipe Type:  Breakfast
Cuisine:            South Indian
Prep Time:     24 Hours (Including soaking and fermenting)
Cook time:     5 minutes per Masala Dosa
Yield:                Makes 12-15

Ingredients:

For the Dosa:

1.5 cups Dosa Rice (Use regular rice if you don't have dosa rice)
0.5 cup Urad Dal or Split Black Gram
1 tsp Fenugreek seeds or Methi seeds
Water to grind
1-2 tsp Salt
1.5-2 tsp Oil per Dosa

For the Red Chilli Chutney:

8-10 dry Red Chillies
1-2 Garlic cloves
1-2 Tbsp Water
1/2-1 tsp Salt

For the Potato Bhaji:

3-4 medium sized Potatoes (Boiled and Peeled)
1 large Onion
3-4 Green Chillies
1 sprig Curry Leaves
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
3-4 tsp Oil
Salt to taste
2 Tbsp finely chopped Coriander Leaves

Method:

To make the Dosa Batter:

Soak the rice, urad dal and methi seeds for 8-10 hours. To make Dosa for breakfast, soak the grains the previous morning. So you can grind the batter at night.
Drain the water and grind the soaked rice and dal into a fine batter. Use as little water as possible while grinding. Adding too much of water will not allow the batter to become fine. Start with 1/4-1/2 cups of water and then add more if required.
Pour the batter into a deep vessel. Mix well if you ground the batter in batches.
Cover and keep in a warm place to ferment overnight.
When the batter has risen and become sour, it has fermented enough and can be used to make Dosa.
The batter keeps well in the fridge for almost a week. See "Points to keep in mind" above for more information on storage.

To make the Red Chilli Chutney:

Remove the seeds from the dry red chillies and soak them in warm water for 30 minutes.
Grind them into a fine paste along with the garlic, salt and a little water.
Store in an airtight box in the fridge. It keeps well for 2 weeks in the fridge.

To make the Potato Bhaji:

Mash the potatoes into rough cubes.
Slice the onions and chop green chillies.
Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds.
Once they splutter, add the curry leaves, onions and the green chillies.
Fry the onions until they are translucent.
Add the potato and mix well. 
Now add the salt and turmeric powder. Mix well.
Fry for 1-2 minutes.
Garnish with the chopped coriander leaves.

To make the Mysore Masala Dosa:

Grease a cast iron or non stick griddle and heat it.
Once the griddle is hot (not smoking), pour one ladle full of batter on the griddle and spread it from the inside out into a thin circle.
Drizzle a spoonful of oil on it and allow it to cook on medium heat.
When the side touching the griddle turns golden brown and crisp and the side facing you is cooked and there is no raw batter there, spread 1/2-1 tsp of the red chilli chutney on the dosa.
Place a spoonful of potato bhaji on the dosa and fold the dosa into half.
Serve it hot with coconut chutney.

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Instant Cucumber Dhokla | Cucumber Chickpea Steamed Cakes

Cucumber Dhokla is a savory steamed chickpea flour and semolina cake with added cucumber that is perfect for breakfast or as a tea time healthy snack.

I've been missing around the blog for 2 weeks now. I've been busy cooking up an amazing spread that will soon appear here. Now that's what I would love to say. But that's not what I have been doing. Everyone at home has been under the weather and what I have been cooking has been just soup and regular dal rice. and my taste buds totally ditched me too. I could barely make out what the food tasted like. 

I can finally taste the food and I'm SOO happy about it. 

I've recently gotten obsessed with one particular fruit and one particular vegetable - the water melon and the cucumber. And today is all about the Cucumber. I've been adding cucumber to almost everything - Upma, Akki Rotti, Sambar etc. What I love about adding Cucumber to any dish is that it ends up giving it that moistness along with a very subtle flavor. That is exactly what it did to this Dhokla.

Cucumber Dhokla is my own concoction that is inspired from the traditional Dhokla. I recently had a cucumber pakoda (Seriously!!!) and it tasted good (Really!). I never would have guessed that cucumber that besan (chickpea flour or gram flour) would go so well together. So when I set out to make dhokla this time, I got a little creative, I added in a grated cucumber and a bit more. I also added in a little bit of grated carrot, a few frozen peas, and finely chopped capsicum. Although technically, I should be calling it a mix vegetable Dhokla. I prefer calling it the Cucumber Dhokla, cause that flavor it had in the end was all fresh Cucumber.

You can skip the remaining vegetables and just stick to the cucumber and it will taste just as good - I promise.

Instant Cucumber Dhokla | Cucumber Chickpea Steamed Cakes

Instant Cucumber Dhokla is a savory steamed chickpea flour and semolina cake with added cucumber that is perfect for breakfast or as a tea time healthy snack.

Recipe Type:  Breakfast
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     20 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

For the Cucumber Dhokla:

3/4 cup Chickpea Flour or Besan

3/4 cup Semolina or Rava

1 grated Cucumber

1 tsp of Ginger- Garlic Paste

1 crushed Green Chilli

1 grated Carrot (Optional)

1 Tbsp Green Peas (Optional)

2 Tbsp chopped Capsicum

1.5 tsp Fruit Salt or Eno

1/4 tsp Asafoetida or Hing

2 Tbsp Yogurt or Curd

1 cup Water

Salt to taste

Oil to grease the steamer

For the Tempering:

3-4 tsp Oil

1 tsp Mustard Seeds

8-10 Curry Leaves

1-2 tsp of Lemon juice

1/2 tsp of Sugar or Jaggery

For Garnish:

2 Tbsp fresh grated Coconut

2 Tbsp finely chopped Coriander leaves

Method:

Preparing the Steamer:

1. You can steam in an Idli steamer or a pressure cooker or a large deep saucepan. If using a pressure cooker, remove the whistle.
2. Pour around 2-3 cups of water in it and cover it and allow the water to come to a boil.
3. Place a small upturned  flat bottomed bowl or vessel at the bottom of the steamer.

Preparing the Dhokla:

4. Mix together all the ingredients except the water, oil and the fruit salt.
5. Add 3/4 cup of water and mix well. Add more water if required. The dough should be thick yet pourable. Almost like a cake or idli batter. The quantity of water depends on the type of rava and besan.
6. Once your steamer is ready, grease a flat vessel that will fit into your steamer with oil. 
7. Now add the fruit salt and the remaining water and mix well. The fruit salt should cause the batter to start foaming and become light.
8. Pour the batter into the greased vessel and place it in the steamer.
9. Allow it to steam for 10-15 minutes. Depending on the depth of your vessel, you may need to keep it in longer. The Cucumber Dhokla is ready when a skewer or knife comes out clean.
10. Allow it to cook and remove from the vessel. 

Preparing the Tempering:

11. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds.
12. Once the seeds splutter, add the curry leaves.
13. Remove it off the heat and add the sugar and the lemon juice.

Assembling the Cucumber Dhokla:

14. Cut into bite sized pieces.
15. Pour the tempering over the Cucumber Dhokla.
16. Garnish with the coconut and the coriander.
17. Serve warm with coriander chutney or sweet and spicy yogurt.

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Gojju Avalakki | Tamarind Beaten Rice

Some things get better with time - wine, cheese, wounds are some. I am inclined towards believing this Gojju Avalakki is one of them too. 

I made it for breakfast yesterday, and I thought it was good. But was it good enough to surpass all those Drafts I have and immediately make it to the blog? I wasn't so sure. May be it could wait a week? This was the first time I made it. I've eaten it before but never cooked it myself, so I overestimated the quantity and made enough for breakfast and more. So when I had my 5pm hunger pangs, I took it out of the fridge and microwaved it. One spoon down and I was thinking, this is good... Second spoon and I was like this IS GOOD and I have to take photos before I finish this entire bowl.

Then it was a rush to catch the last few rays of natural light and no time to think about composition or background or anything, just click click click and hope they turned out good enough. I'm happy with the clicks. 

Gojju Avalakki or Huli Avalakki is a simple and quick dish from Karnataka that is made with beaten rice or poha or avalakki and tamarind. It is flavored with Sambar or Rasam powder. 

I searched online for recipes and found so many different versions. A lot of them powdered the beaten rice and somehow that did not appeal to me. I like the texture of the beaten rice flakes, so I skipped that step. A lot of the recipes also used both rasam and sambar powders, so did I since I had both at home. You can use either one or both depending what is stocked in your house. I used store bought ready made powders. 

There were many complicated recipes, but I made my own that is extremely simple. All you need to do is squeeze out the juice of tamarind and add all spices to it. Add it to the tempering and then add washed beaten rice to it. Very simple and easy - I guarentee you.

Have I mentioned how much I love fresh coconut? I love to garnish anything and everything with coconut. I was super generous with it, I definitely used 1-2 Tbsp more that what I have in the recipe, but I listed down what any normal person without my fetish for coconut would add. I always believe the more the coconut the tastier the dish. I even used coconut oil. 

I have mentioned 2 Tbsp for peanuts too, but then you can go all NUTS over peanuts and add more. 

Gojju Avalakki | Tamarind Beaten Rice

Gojju Avalakki or Huli Avalakki is a simple and quick dish from Karnataka that is made with beaten rice or poha or avalakki and tamarind. It is flavored with Sambar or Rasam powder. 

Recipe Type:  Breakfast
Cuisine:            South Indian
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:      15 minutes
Yield:                 Serves 3


Ingredients:

3 cups of Beaten Rice or Poha or Avalakki (Use the medium or thick variety, not the paper thin one)
1/2 cup warm Water
1 big lemon sized ball of Tamarind
2 tsp of Rasam Powder
1 tsp of Sambar Powder (Replace with 1 tsp of Rasam powder if you don't have sambar powder)
1 tsp of Red Chilli Powder (Optional)
A pinch of Hing or Asafoetida
2 Tbsp of Peanuts
2 Tbsp of fresh grated Coconut
3-4 tsp of Coconut Oil or vegetable oil
1 tsp of Mustard seeds
1 sprig of Curry Leaves
1 tsp of Jaggery Powder or Sugar
2 Tbsp of finely chopped Coriander Leaves
Salt to taste

Method:

Method:

Soak the tamarind in 1/2 cup warm water and keep it aside for 10 mins.
Squeeze the tamarind pulp into the water to get tamarind juice.
Add the rasam powder, sambar powder, hing, red chilli powder, jaggery powder or sugar and 1 tsp of salt and mix well.
Wash the avalakki twice and drain the water completely and keep aside.
Heat oil in a kadhai or pan and add the mustard seeds.
Once they splutter, add the peanuts and fry until the peanuts turn slightly dark.
Add the curry leaves and the tamarind juice.
Cook on medium low heat for 2-3 minutes.
Add the avalakki and mix well. Add salt as needed.
Cook for 4-5 minutes on low heat.
Garnish with fresh grated coconut and finely chopped coriander leaves and serve.

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Breakfast Bruschetta Duo - Tomato & Onion and Avocado & Olives

Saturday.... Finally... What is your PERFECT Saturday?? Leave me a comment...

Mine is waking up late, a hearty breakfast, a good cup of ginger tea and the morning paper. 

I got all of that today with these Breakfast Bruschetta Duo. Soooo PERFECT....

I like to keep breakfasts as simple as possible. Usually, breakfast is my simplest meal of the day. On weekdays, I snooze and snooze my alarm until I have to wake up ( Don't you just love the SNOOZE button? ) and then there is a whirlwind in the house as I rush around to get ready to go to work. I definitely don't have time for a fancy breakfast. So something quick that I can whip up is the solution. 

I make BreakFEAST only on weekends. But after an extremely hectic week, I really did not fancy any more hard work on Saturday!!! So today was the day to keep it simple yet hearty and TASTY.

I woke up at 9 and bam! it's 9.30 and I was plonked on the bean bag in front of the TV watching the latest season of MasterChef and eating my oh-so-easy-yet-delicious Breakfast Bruschetta Duo. Don't they look AMAZING?? 

I love love LOVE colorful food. Makes me wanna eat it immediately. I had to control my urge, until I could finish taking photos. The idea of Breakfast Bruschetta Duo is inspired from the Goddess of TV cooking - Nigella. I did not follow her exact recipe though, I changed the topping to my liking.

I could have these Bruschetta for lunch, snacks, tea and dinner... I could pretty much have them all day long. I cannot get enough of them. So FRESH and so EASY. All I had to do was find the freshest sourdough bread in the supermarket yesterday. And today morning, all I did was chop chop chop as Raj made ginger tea for us. And then just toast the bread, top with the chopped veggies, sprinkle salt and pepper... a drizzle of some extra virgin Olive Oil and we're DONE.

I don't know anything that could be easier than that and look that GOOD. Do you?

I used a sourdough loaf. I've made these before using Baguette. They taste just as good with regular bread. Use what you have and it'll still taste just as delicious. 

The first Bruschetta is topped with chopped fresh tomato, red onion and coriander, while the second one is topped with sliced avocado, green olives and fresh mint leaves. I also made a third kind - the Tomato and Avocado one. But they were eaten before I could get a single photo. You see, it started out as may be 3 bruschettas per person. Then Raj saw them and I saw them and both were tempted, so we were like let's just make it even so we both get 2 of both. By the time we were done with 3, we wanted MORE.... So he was on toasting bread duty, while I went to chopping. And we had a third variety. 

That's the best thing about these Breakfast Bruschettas, you can mix and match the toppings. Put what you love. Someday, when I have all the time in the world, I'm gonna make my other favorite bruschetta - the caramelized onion and mushroom one... yummmm.... Until then, back to the simple life.

Breakfast Bruschetta Duo - Tomato & Onion and Avocado & Olives

A duo of bruschettas perfect for breakfast - one topped with tomato and onion and the other with avocado and olives. 

Recipe Type:  Breakfast
Cuisine:         International
Prep Time:    20 minutes
Cook time:     5 minutes
Yield:             8 Bruschettas

Ingredients:

1 Sourdough loaf or Baguette
1 large Tomato
1 red Onion
A handful of fresh Coriander leaves
1/2 Avocado
8-10 green Olives
A handful of fresh Mint leaves
2 Tbsp of extra virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Freshly cracked Pepper
Lime

Method:

Slice the bread into thick slices.
Toast them on a griddle or tava for 3-4 mins. Remove onto a plate.
In the meanwhile, finely chop the tomato, red onion and coriander leaves and mix well.
Slice the avocado and the green olives.
Top half the slices with the tomato mix and half with the avocado and olives one. Add Mint to the avocado and olive bruschetta.
Sprinkle salt and pepper.
Drizzle the olive oil. Squeeze lime on the bruschetta.
Serve immediately.

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Churmuri Soosla | Puffed Rice Breakfast

I LOVE ___ This is usually how I start my posts. You must think I love practically everything that I can eat (i.e. Vegetarian). I do hate some food. Well, hate may be a strong word. More like dislike. And I dislike something that more than half the world loves - Breakfast Cereals.

I'll replay a usual breakfast discussion between me and my hubby dearest Raj.

Me (crestfallen, yet optimistically looking for answers) - "I don't know what to make for breakfast"

Raj - "Don't worry, lets eat cornflakes"

Me - "Nooooo... I'll make something, give me 10 minutes"

He loves it, I dislike it (at least the ones currently in the market). All those cereal lovers out there, please FORGIVE me for my next statement. I somehow feel Cereals are just loaded with sugar and offer nothing health wise. And I'm somehow not a big fan of sweet breakfast.

So this promise of 10 minutes isn't always upheld, but then, he's out there with the Newspaper and doesn't really keep track of time.

Isn't a girl allowed plus or minus 10 minutes? I'm sure she is. This wonderfully light breakfast of puffed rice (Churmuri or murmura or mandakki or kadle puri. Whew! that's a lot of "or"s) is done and on your plate in less than 20 minutes. And no - I'm not exaggerating at all.

Puffed rice is exactly what the name says - it is puffed up rice. It is basically Rice Popcorn (more like popRICE). There are varieties in it - salted and unsalted. They both differ slightly texture wise. I've always used the salted variety.

This Churmuri Soosla as I call it, it my goto breakfast when I'm short of time. It's light, quick and it has the sweetness from the onions, tartness from the tomatoes and the lime, the heat from the green chillies and freshness from the coriander leaves. Basic spices like cumin seeds (jeera) and turmeric (haldi) just make it all the more delicious. You can skip the roasted gram, but I highly recommend it. If you cannot find it, I'd say try replacing it with powdered roasted peanuts and that should do.

Churmuri Soosla | Puffed Rice Breakfast

A light South Indian breakfast made with puffed rice.

Recipe Type:  Breakfast
Cuisine:          South Indian
Prep Time:     10 minutes
Cook time:     15 minutes
Yield:              Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

150 gms of Puffed Rice / Churmuri
1 small Onion
1 medium sized Tomato
1-2 Green Chillies
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 Lemon / Lime
1/3 cup of Roasted Gram / Puthani
3 tsp of Oil
1 tsp of Cumin seeds
6-8 Curry leaves
1 Tbsp of finely chopped Coriander leaves
Salt to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a pan or kadhai.
Add the cumin seeds and allow them to brown slightly.
Add finely chopped onions, curry leaves and slit green chillies. Cook until the onions turn translucent.
Add chopped tomatoes and fry them for around 2 minutes until the tomatoes are soft.
Add the turmeric powder and mix well.
Wash the puffed rice and squeeze out the water.
Add to the pan and mix well.
Now add salt and lemon juice.
Grind the roasted gram into a fine powder and add to the pan. Mix well.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

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Matar Dhokla

Dhokla is a steamed savory cake that is a favorite of western India. They are usually made of semolina and chickpea flour. They are light and fluffy and taste delicious with a tangy green chutney.

I never knew there was so much variety in something this simple.

I was browsing through cookery books in the library when I glanced upon Tarla Dalal’s Non-Fried Snacks. I’m a big fan of non-fried snacks. The book has some good recipes, majorly it has different types of dhoklas and muthias. And this Matar Dhokla or Green Peas Dhokla was a featured recipe.

It is still just as simple to make as the regular dhokla, but now has the added goodness of green peas. You can use either fresh or frozen peas, according to what you have available. 

The addition of peas gives it that lovely vibrant green colour and the slight sweetness of peas. 

Some people like to soak their dhoklas in a diluted syrup of sugar and lime juice, while some enjoy it with creamy yogurt. It tastes awesome with both.

Step-by-step Instructions:

1) Puree the green peas with a little water.

2) Mix together the chickpea flour, semolina, pea puree, salt, ginger- chilli paste, yogurt and salt into a smooth batter.

3) Now add the fruit salt or eno to  the batter. Pour the remaining water over it and mix well. It should start getting frothy.

4) Grease a shallow vessel that fits inside the steamer and add the batter to it.

5) Place the vessel in the steamer and steam on medium flame for 12-15 mins. Insert a knife in the middle and if it comes out clean, it is done.

6) Turn off the stove and allow it to rest for around 2-4 mins.

7) Then remove slowly and cut into desired shape.

8) Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds.

9) Once they splutter, add the curry leaves and chilli and fry for 20-30 seconds.

10) Pour over this tempering on the dhoklas. 

11) Garnish with the fresh coconut and the coriander leaves. I also sprinkled a few pomegranate seeds to add some freshness.

Matar Dhokla

Steamed savory cake made with green peas and chickpea flour.

Recipe Type:  Snacks

Cuisine:          Indian / Gujarati

Prep Time:     15 minutes

Cook time:     30 minutes

Yield:              Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

Dhokla

1 cup Fresh or Frozen Green Peas

1.5 cups of Chickpea Flour / Besan

4 Tbsp Fine Semoline / Chiroti Rava

1 tsp of Ginger-Green Chilli Paste

2 Tbsp of Yogurt / Dahi

1/2 cup of Water

1.5 tsp Fruit Salt (Eno)

2 tsp of Oil for greasing

Salt to taste

Tempering

4 tsp of Oil

½ tsp of Mustard Seeds

10-15 Curry Leaves

1-2 Slit Green / Red Chillies

Garnish

2-3 Tbsp of grated Fresh Coconut
2 Tbsp finely chopped Coriander Leaves

Method:

Puree the green peas with a little water.
Mix together the chickpea flour, semolina, pea puree, salt, ginger- chilli paste, yogurt and salt into a smooth batter.
Prepare the steamer. (see note)
Now add the fruit salt or eno to  the batter. Pour the remaining water over it and mix well. It should start getting frothy.
Grease a shallow vessel that fits inside the steamer and add the batter to it.
Place the vessel in the steamer and steam on medium flame for 12-15 mins. Insert a knife in the middle and if it comes out clean, it is done.
Turn off the stove and allow it to rest for around 2-4 mins.
Then remove slowly and cut into desired shape.
Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds.
Once they splutter, add the curry leaves and chilli and fry for 20-30 seconds.
Pour over this tempering on the dhoklas. 
Garnish with the fresh coconut and the coriander leaves.

Notes:

STEAMER - I used an idli steamer. You can use a pressure cooker without the whistle or any deep saucepan with a lid. 

1) To prepare it, add around 2-3 cups of water to the steamer and cover and cook on high flame until the water boils. 

2) Next place a small flat bottomed vessel or bowl upside down in the steamer. The top of this bowl should be above the level of water.

3) Place the plate / vessel with the dhokla over this upturned bowl. The purpose of the bowl is that the dhokla plate / vessel does not touch the boiling water directly and is slightly higher than the water level.

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