Idli

Idli is mostly eaten as breakfast or tiffin and is usually served with a variety of chutneys and sambhar. It is a popular recipe and Southern Indians have brought this recipe wherever they have settled throughout the world. The idli batter is made of urad dal(whole or split) and rice rava (cream of rice, rice suji) with a proportion of 1:2.

Serves - 4 people
 

Ingredients for preparation : 

Urad dal - 1 cup
Idli rawa - 2 cups
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tbsp
A pinch of baking powder

Method :

1. Soak the urad dal for about 8-10 hrs. (I usually soak them in the morning around 8-10 a.m).
2. After the 8-10 hrs of soaking grind the urad dal into a nice paste.The more soft the urad dal is the more soft idlies will be. While grinding add the fenugreek seeds to it.
3. Mix the paste with the idli rawa without forming any lumps.
4. Now this batter needs to be fermented so that it can be ready to make idlies.So, keep it covered and leave it for overnight fermentation for about 6-8 hrs.
5. Next day morning, the idli batter will look fermented and is ready to use.
6. Add a pinch of baking powder and salt.
7. Now take the idli plates, pour spoonfuls of batter and fill the plates with idli batter.
8. Place these filled idli batter plates in a vessel with boiling water. Cover it tightly and cook them on steam for about 15-20 mins.
9. After which let them cool for a min and remove the idlies using a spoon.
10. Serve hot with your favorite chutney or sambhar.

--> Read more...

Chole

Chickpea/Garbanzo beans are high in protein and one of the earliest cultivated vegetables. My recipe using them is called Chole in Northern India. This goes well with with puris. Since puris are little fatty I am presenting it with chapatis/rotis.

Serves - 4 people
Preparation Time: 20 mins 

Ingredients for preparation :

2 cups of Chickpeas/Garbanzo beans, soaked in water overnight or for 8-10 hrs
2 onions chopped
4 green chillies slit lengthwise
1 big or 2 small tomatoes or tomato puree can used accordingly
1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
½ tsp of turmeric powder
½ tsp of chilli powder
1 tsp of chole masala powder
1/2 cup coriander chopped
salt as per taste
1 1/2 tbsp of oil

Method :

1. Pressure cook the soaked chickpeas/garbanzo beans for about 4-5 whistles . Drain the water and keep aside.Canned garbanzo can also be used.
2. Heat oil in a big sauce pan, add onions, green chillies and keep mixing until the rawness of onions is gone.
3. Add turmeric powder, chopped coriander and ginger garlic paste and saute it .
4. Add chilli powder, chole masala powder, salt and let it fry for a sec.
5. Now add tomatoes and saute them nicely till are smashed.
6. Then finally add the cooked/canned chickpeas and mix them well.
7. Add little water and cook covered for few mins till it becomes like a gravy.
8. If you like it dry wait until all the water evaporates.
9. Garnish with coriander.
10. Serve it hot with puris/rotis/chaptis along with sliced onions and lime pieces.

--> Read more...

Alu-Fry

This is my first posting on my blog and the recipe I am posting is a simple one, alu-fry. Almost everyone loves potatoes and likes to have them . This is one of my husband's favorite dishes and he prefers to have the potatoes fried till they get roasted nicely and crispy. I think the simplicity of this recipe makes it more tastier :).

Cooking is an art which everyone expresses in their own way. For me cooking is an art and a journey which is never ending. I will post recipes mostly which are South Indian where I hail from. My inspiration to start my own blog came after I started trying recipes from various blogs. I hope you will enjoy my recipes and your comments are always appreciated.
 

Serves - 4 people
Cooking Time - 20 mins

Ingredients for preparation :

Potatoes diced 4-5
Coriander a handful
Green chillies 2
Curry leaves few
Onions finely chopped 1
Turmeric powder 1/2 tbsp
Chilli powder 1 tbsp

For Seasoning :
 

Urad dal 1/2 tbsp
Mustard Seeds 1/2 tbsp
Cumin Seeds 1/2 tbsp
Oil 4 tbsp

Method :

1. Heat oil in a kadai and add the urad dal to it. Once it starts changing color add mustard and cumin seeds and fry for a min.
2. Add chopped onions,green chillies, curry leaves and chopped coriander to it.
3. Then add turmeric and chilli powder to it and saute it nicely.
4. Now add diced potatoes and salt and mix well.
5. Cover the kadai and let the potatoes cook.
6. Finally,garnish with chopped corainder.
7. Serve hot with roti, puri or rice.

--> Read more...