Recipe : Ragi Idlis (Vegan)

I don’t remember the last time I made an overnight fermented batch of idlis from scratch (easy availability of ready made idli batter in most cities I've lived in or my instant rava idlis with sour curd recipe were the culprits 😁)

Totally inspired by Deepa (Paticheri)'s session at last weekends Desi Cultures workshop, I decided to make idlis from scratch.

 

I'd bought powdered ragi at the start of the lockdown and I knew I wanted to make idlis with ragi, rather than just rice to make it slightly more nutritious.

Using idli rava and ragi powder, helped shorten the process slightly. 

Ingredients:

1 cup urad dhal (split and skinned black gram)

1 tsp methi (fenugreek seeds)

1 cup ragi powder / ragi hittu / ragi flour

1 cup idli rava (this is ground idli rice)

Water to balance

Salt to taste

 

Method :

Soak the urad dhal & the methi seeds for  2 - 4 hours.

Grind smooth with a little water as necessary.

Transfer the ground urad dhal to a large vessel (10-12 cups volume)

Gently fold in the ragi flour and the idli rawa to the ground urad dhal.

Add water as necessary to get a thick idli batter.

 

Leave to ferment and rise for 8 hours / overnight.

 

Add salt to taste and give a gentle stir (I know some people add salt before fermenting, my nana always added salt just before cooking, so thats how I do it now)

Prepare your idli steamer (stove top or microwave)

Pour the batter into greased idli moulds (75% full) and steam until done.

It took me 5 minutes in my microwave steamer of 12 idlis at a time. The time is dependent on your steaming mechanism and how deep each idli mould is.

This quantity of batter gave me 36 medium idlis.

Take the idlis out of the moulds.

Serve hot with sambhar and chutney.

Today I served the idlis with spicy sambhar, Bangalore thela style green coconut chutney, Andhra style peanut chutney, a bit of chutney pudi in sesame oil.

 

Tips :

It’s been super cold here 3C in Joburg, but my friend Ajit Iyer & @paticheri’s tip to leave the maavu/batter in the oven with the pilot light on totally worked like a charm. 

Deepa's other suggestion, was to leave it on top of the fridge, but my fridge does not get warm on the top (rather on the rear)

Kim's Tips:

The batter is going to rise a lot, so when leaving it to ferment, put it in a vessel where it fills around half the volume.

Keep that vessel on a deep plate or bowl to catch any spills (especially if you are leaving to ferment overnight, inside your oven or on top of your fridge - it will save you valuable time if the batter overflows)

Work Backwards on timings. 

- If you want idlis for breakfast, you want to grind & mix everything just before you close the kitchen for the night. So soak the dhal around tea time.

- if you want idlis for dinner, then soak the dhal as soon as you wake up and give the batter at least 8 hours to fernent before you need to cook it for dinner.

 

Leftovers :

Leftover idlis work well later in the day, just give them a mild steam or sprinkle water and warm in a microwave.

Turn idlis into Masala Idlis.

Warm ghee, put some chutney powder in it and fry quartered idlis in it.

If batter remains and turns a bit sour, you can make ragi dosas from that batter or appes.

Recipe : Sheviyo Upma / Multigrain Vermicelli Upma - Vegan

I found a packet of dried multigrain vermicelli at the Indian store on our last trip. I had thought that I’d just steam it and serve it like sheviyos/idiyappam with coconut curry. But after the khao swey last week, this idea wasn’t as exciting and felt repetitive.

I remembered a dish that nana would make with leftover sheviyos and tried to recreate it. Not bad at all.

Ingredients:

200gms pack of multigrain or ragi vermicelli

1 tsp oil (coconut oil preferred, but any neutral oil works)

1 tbsp split channa dhal

2 tbsp split urad dhal

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1-2 sprigs fresh curry leaves

2 dried red chillies - broken

1/2 cup fresh or frozen grated coconut

1-3 chopped green chillies for taste

Salt to taste

A squeeze of lime

Sugar - optional

Method :

Multigrain or ragi vermicelli is different from regular maida vermicelli and needs slightly different treatment.

If you packet comes with instructions, follow those.

If it doesn't have instructions, soak the multigrain or ragi vermicelli in warm to hot (not boiling water for precisely 3 minutes.

Don't leave it too long, it will start to dissolve.

Now drain the multigrain / ragi vermicelli and steam for 5-6 minutes either in a steamer or in a covered bowl in the microwave

If using, leftover sheviyos/idiyappam, they can be given a light steam only if they have begun to dry out too much, they don't need soaking

Take a wide bottom vessel, heat it and add the oil.

To this add channa and urad dhal and let them crisp up (not burn)

Now add mustard seeds, curry leaves and the dried red chilli.

When they splutter, add the coconut and stir fry for a bit, to your level of doneness 30sec - 4 minutes.

To this add the steamed vermicelli and stir fry. If it is too dry, add little splashes of water at a time.

Add chopped green chillies and salt to taste.

Mix well and take it off the heat. The vermicelli does not cook for more than 2 minutes.

Squeeze a bit of lemon on top.

Serving Options :

* a sprinkling of sugar

* a coconut chutney

* a salty mango pickle with a bit of coconut oil

Recipe : Peach Sheera / Sooji Halwa / Rava Halwa / Sweet Upma / Semolina Pudding - (Vegan option)

Sooji halwa in Mangalore and around is called sheera.

Pineapple sheera / pineapple kesari / kesari bath  is the most common variant of this dish and Hotel Woodlands in Mangalore used to make an excellent version.  However in the recent season, mango sheera has been all over my social media feeds.

Friends and family know my aversion to fruits. The smell of most fruits makes me nauseous.

However, I do enjoy a few types of fruits and I do love a very select few. Preserved peaches are not really fresh fruit, but I Love them.

I found this brand called Brenda’s here in Johannesburg that are organic and low on added sugar that I really love, so I pick up a couple of jars each time.

This time instead of adding sugar to the sheera, I used the sweetness of the raisins and peaches with a little canning liquid.

I'm first going to give you the recipe of regular sheera, that is often served as breakfast or tiffin in Mangalore / Udupi. One of my uncles, loves pairing it with pooris for a more filling start to the day. Our Manglorean version of Poori + Shrikhand I guess.

Mum often gave us this for breakfast before heading off to school

Ingredients :

2 tbsp ghee

2 tbsp raisins - (optional)

1 tbsp broken cashewnuts - (optional)

1 cup fine sooji / Bombay rava / semolina

2 cups milk (or water or a mix of the 2 - the more milk, the richer the taste)

1/2 cup sugar

Method :

Soak raisins in a little water to rehydrate.

Heat your liquid component - milk / water / milk + water to boiling hot.

In a large pan or kadhai, heat the ghee.

Toast the nuts to golden brown if using and remove from the pan.

Roast the soji / rava / semolina on a medium flame until lightly browned.

Now add the raisins if using.

Add the boiling liquid and stir continuously to prevent lumps.

When it smells cooked and starts to come together, add the sugar and mix well.

When it starts to dry, turn off the heat, add cashewnuts and serve hot.

You can also set it on a greased plate and cut shapes when cooled and serve it at room temperature.

Variations & Tips :

You can add 2 pinches of cardamom powder / cinnamon powder / nutmeg powder at the end, for a more fragrant version.

Since the liquid in preserved fruit always seems to get leftover, instead of 2 cups milk + 1/2 cup sugar, I used 1/2 cup canning liquid and 1.5 cup milk.

I think the original recipe would call for about 1 cup sugar, that's way too much for us and I have found that 1/2 cup works well. You may want to adjust the sweetness to your personal preference.

If you are making a fruit version, then remember to account for the sweetness of the fruit.

Fruit Versions - Pineapple kesari / Mango sheera/ Peach sheera ...

For the above quantities, use 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup fruit chopped fine (or even pulped if you want a super smooth version)

If you are using an acidic /sour fruit like pineapple, then the liquid is only water, no milk.

Fruits that are traditionally added are bananas or pineapple, but you can use mangoes, peaches or any other fruit that you have on hand.

The fruit is added AFTER you turn off the gas, as it really doesn't need to cook. It will just be gently warmed in the residual heat of the halwa / sheera.

A Note on Udupi Tiffin Rooms Menus:

Pineapple sheera is called kesari bath - the kesar (saffron) colour often coming from turmeric rather than the more expensive herb.

Kesari bath could also be just a yellow coloured sheera without pineapple - but definitely sweet.

Upma is referred to as khara bath (salty)

So if you see a dish called chow chow bath on the menu, it means one serving of sweet sheera and one serving of salty upma.

Recipe : Sajjige Rotti / Rawa Rotti / Rulavanchi Bhakri / Thick Semolina Dosas

Sajjige rotti / rulavanchi bhakri / rava rotti / thick semolina dosas with 2 types of chutney.

I may have mentioned before, but weekend brunches are special. These are the only 2 days that the husband has time for a leisurely noonish meal - without being on a conference call or rushing for one.

While he loves eggs made any which way for a weekend brunch, I’m taking the opportunity during this lockdown to cook dishes from my childhood or other memories. I'm not a breakfast person at all. I normally have One Meal a Day, since long before OMAD was a thing. During our 5 years in London, weekends meant heading out to see / do  / experience something and breakfast / brunch was built into the day's schedule.

This is the first time, I'm actually cooking so many breakfast / brunches at home - albeit only on the weekends. This is also the 2 meals of the week that I enjoy a carb heavy meal (since its eaten so much earlier in the day) and a cup of coffee with sugar - during the week, its green tea without sugar.

Coming back to the sajjige rotti, the way I made today’s rotti was not the thinner crispy version that’s made like a crepe. This is a very rustic style thick batter (almost chapatti dough consistency) that is shaped by hand on the pan / tawa, so its much thicker like a bhakri.

Since I was doing the hand shaping for the first time, the first dosas / rotis were a bit uneven shaped. Once I got the hang of it, they became much rounder, but since they are slow fried on a low flame, we were gobbling them as soon as they came off the pan - so didn’t take a better picture.

Ingredients:

2 cups Bombay Rava - medium fine semolina

2 cups sour curd (slightly liquidy, not as thick as store bought yoghurt - for store yoghurt, make it 1.5 cups yoghurt + 1/2 cup water)

2 tbsp coconut / dessicated coconut (optional)

1 medium onion chopped

1-6 green chillies chopped (depending on spice tolerance)

2 sprigs curry leaves chopped (only leaf not stem)

2 sprigs corriander chopped - with stem

2 tsp chopped fresh ginger (don't use the stringy bits)

1 tsp jeera / cumin

salt to taste

oil to fry

Method:

Mix the Bombay rava, coconut if using and the curd / yoghurt.

Mix well and leave overnight.

You want a dough, that is much thicker than a dosa batter and actually comes together, but not as tight as a chapatti dough.

You can keep the dough for just 20-30 minutes too, but I like the way the flavour / sourness develops overnight.

It also means a tiny bit of extra sleep in the morning :)

If you have left it overnight, depending on the weather conditions, you may notice that your batter has become drier or wetter than the night before.

Don't adjust it at this stage.

Add  the onions, chillies, curry leaves, coriander leaves, ginger, jeera and mix well.

These are the traditional additions, feel free to experiment with flavours you like.  For eg. my chillies are now 3 weeks old (grocery run in the coming week), so I felt they weren't spicy enough, so I also added a 1/2 tbsp of crushed black pepper.

Mix well, preferably use your hands to get a more even mix. (be sure you have washed with soap and not just used santizer :) )

There will be some liquid content in the onions, ginger and herbs.

Now if the dough feels too dry, add a few drops of water.

If the dough feels too wet, add a little rava to the mix.

The picture above shows the consistency that you want.

Make portions. With the above quantities, I got about 10 portions.

The next step is shaping them.

Traditionally, the rottis are shaped on banana leaves or some other traditional leaves (I forget which ones my nana used) and flipped onto the pan.

Modern methods, involve shaping the rotti on a greased plate or on plastic sheets.

Personally, I found these methods very fiddly and also I was only cooking for 2, so I shaped them directly on the pan.

Take a flat frying pan  / crepe pan or dosa tawa.

Heat the pan on medium heat.

Grease the pan with a few drops of oil. The traditional method is to use a small onion or potato cut in half speared onto a fork (don't let the tines come all the way through, you will end up scraping your pan). I currently use a silicon pastry brush to grease the pan.

I made portions like above, popped one on the pan. Dipped hand in a bowl of water and then flattened  the dough directly on the pan itself.

You need wet hands to use this method, doughy hands will make the dough stick to your hands. So rinse hands in a bowl of water, before shaping the rotti.

Flatten the rotti evenly to between 1/2 - 1 cm thickness.

Don't make them too large or they will be very difficult to flip over.

Fry for a few minutes on each side until slightly browned.

I served it hot off the pan with 2 types of chutney, although I have to say that the coconut chutney went better with this dosa / rotti. The advantage of this rotti, is that it can even be eaten without chutney, making it a one pot meal.

A dab of white butter on top is also a perfect accompaniment.

Kim's Tip 1 : If you have just a little chutney left in the fridge, you can add it to the rotti dough.

Kim's Tip 2 : This recipe is an excellent way to use up curd / yoghurt that has turned a bit sour. If you don't have sour yoghurt, add a tsp of fresh lemon / lime juice to your yoghurt and use.

Let me know if you try this out.

We got a good warm bit of sun this winter noon.  So, after this meal, someone decided a nap was in order, followed by a cheery wake up with South Indian Filter Coffee.

While the other someone was out in the sun tending to the garden and feeding our sparrows, laughing doves, wagtails and other birds who have become extremely demanding. They chirrup loudly if the feeders are approaching empty to let me know it’s time for a top up.

Recipe : Green Coconut Chutney

In Manglorean / Udupi cuisine, chutneys are eaten with breakfast items - dosas, idlis , vadas, sometimes even with hot rice. They are a very essential condiment and there are multiple versions and variations of them. I have quite a few on this blog.  These chutneys do not resemble the bottled "chutneys" of the UK in any shape or form.

Also, its not just different from the UK chutneys. For eg : My mum-in-law who is from UP once tasted a mild coconut chutney I had made at home and her feedback was "iss mein khatai hi nahin hain" (there is no sourness in this). In their house in UP, a chutney has to be sour.

This chutney is one of those that will go well with any South Indian / Udupi / Tamilian type of snack or breakfast. In the picture above, I have served it with chattambade / dalvada.

Ingredients :

1 cup fresh/frozen coconut

1 cup tightly packed corriander leaves & stems (if you don't normally use stems, save them for this chutney)

1-2 cloves garlic

2-6 green chillies

salt to taste

Method:

Grind all the ingredients to a fine paste.

Do not add any water, unless absolutely necessary.

Adjust salt to taste.

If the coconut is too sweet for your taste or the garlic / chillies too sharp, a little squeeze of lime (<1/2 tsp), can help round up the flavours

Kim's Tip: If you do not have fresh/frozen coconut, you can substitute with good quality dessicated coconut as follows.

Take 3/4 cup of dessicated coconut, add warm water slowly and keep mixing. Do not go above the 1 cup level. Let is sit for at least 15-20 minutes, then use like regular coconut.

Recipe : Chattambade / Dalwada/ Parippu Vadai/ Masala Vada - Vegan

Chattambade/ Dalwada/ Parippu Vadai/ Masala Vada with Green Coconut Chutney.

This vegan fried snack made with split channa dhal / split Bengal gram / split chickpea lentils is made across India and is called different names across the country. Each household uses their own spicing and ratios. Some add a mix of different lentils to their wadas.

This one is my method and suits our tastebuds best.

Ingredients:

2 cups channa dhal / split chickpea lentils

1 chopped onion
2-10 chopped green chillies depending on spice tolerance
1 handful chopped coriander
2 tbsp chopped ginger
2 tbsp chopped curry leaves (optional)
Salt to taste

Oil to fry

Method:

Soak 2 cups channa dhal / split chickpea lentils overnight (8 hours at least)

Drain to remove as much of the water as possible.

Some people coarsely grind the entire lot. We like the crunch from the whole bits, so I coarsely grind 80% of the dhal and use 20% whole.

Mix the ground and whole lentils together.

Add all other ingredients except oil

The mix should be dry enough to form vadas/cutlets.

If it’s too wet, you can add besan/chickpea flour.

My batter was just a bit wet (I didn’t have time to leave the soaked dhal to dry), so I formed the wadas (slightly flattened balls) and left them on a sheet of kitchen roll to get rid of the slight excess.

Deep fry in hot oil on medium flame until golden.

Don't be tempted to increase the heat, you will get burnt outsides and raw insides.

Serve hot with chutney / ketchup.

Nana occasionally made these as a tea time snack, but we had these for brunch on a cold winter day.

Kim’s tip : If grinding fresh chutney, do that first and then grind the dhal in the same jar without rinsing/washing. The leftover chutney imparts good flavour to the dhal. 

Recipe : Nana Maggie's White Coconut Chutney

This is the traditional white coconut chutney that is served with snacks at Udupi / Manglorean restaurants.

It can be eaten with idlis / dosas/ vadas / hot rice - the options are endless.

This is my grandma's recipe. Her recipes were never precise, she was much worse than me at measuring stuff, these are my approximations.

Ingredients :
1 cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen, not dessicated)
5 green chillies
1-2 cloves of garlic

Lime juice to taste (1/2tsp - 1 tsp)

Salt to taste (a pinch or so)

For Tempering:
1 tsp coconut oil (other oils can be used)

1/2 tsp urad dhal

1 sprig curry leaves
1/4 tsp mustard seeds

Method:
Grind all the ingredients for the chutney together.
You want a bit of coarseness, not a very smooth paste.
You can add a few drops of water at a time, if it gets too dry.
Transfer to a heat proof bowl.

In a tempering pan, heat the coconut oil and add the urad dhal, followed by the curry leaves and mustard seeds.
When it splutters, add the tempering to the ground chutney.

Serve with idlis, vadas or dosas.

This chutney keeps well in the fridge for 7-10 days.

Consume at room temperature.

Kim's tip:

Add a pinch of sugar if your coconut isn't sweet enough.

Recipe : Mummy Lorna's Red Coconut Chutney

This is a Red Coconut chutney which is seen more in homes than in restaurants. Very few Udupi restaurants actually serve this chutney. This is not the chutney that is applied on the inside of the Mysore Masala Dosa.

This is my mum's recipe. Personally, I prefer this chutney to the regular white chutney.

Ingredients :
1/2 cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen, not dessicated)
3 tsp channa dhal roasted
2 dry bedgi chillis (more colour than heat)
marble size ball of tamarind / 1 tsp tamarind paste
1/2" ginger
Salt to taste

For Tempering:
1 tsp coconut oil (other oils can be used)
grain of asafoetida / hing 

1 sprig curry leaves
1/4 tsp mustard seeds

Method:
Grind all the ingredients for the chutney together.
You want a bit of coarseness, not a very smooth paste.
You can add a few drops of water at a time, if it gets too dry.
Transfer to a heat proof bowl.

Heat the coconut oil and add the asafoetida, followed by the curry leaves and mustard seeds.
When it splutters, add the tempering to the ground chutney.

Serve with idlis, vadas or dosas.

This chutney keeps well in the fridge for 7-10 days.

Consume at room temperature.

Recipe : MTR Ragi Rawa Idli

I prepare Rawa Idlis at home quite frequently as they are quite easy and fast to make, but the other day I spied the MTR Ragi Rawa Idli mix at the supermarket. My only experience with Ragi until now, has been Ragi Muddhes at a friends house in Sakleshpur when I was in college. And with due apologies to everyone in Karnataka for whom it is a staple breakfast, it is one of my least liked food items, ever. I found it tasteless and heavy and no amount of extolling on the healthy properties of Ragi, has ever induced me to try them again.

However this new range of multigrain breakfast mixes by MTR sounded promising and I was hoping the ragi rawa idlis would be lighter on my tummy than the muddhes.

The recipe on the back was simple enough. Mix with 1 cup sour curd (yoghurt) rest for 3 minutes and steam for 12 minutes.

I tried this and the mixture did not seem very exciting. so I added a little salt, cashew nuts, 2 green chillies chopped fine and some finely chopped corriander to the mix.

I also added some eno for aeration to make the idlis fluffier and I was very happy with the result.

It costs 60Rs for a 500gms packet. I got 24 microwave size idlis. Ragi digests slowly and it is full of fiber, so it keeps you feeling full for quite a long time. We actually had them for a light lunch and the 24 idlis were more than enough for both of us.

Serve hot with sambhar and chutney or just ghee and chutney pudi.

We quite liked the taste, once we got used to the texture and so I think, I'll try incorporating ragi flour into some other dishes as well.

Recipe: Manglorean Tendli (Gherkin) Fry (Vegan)

Tendlis are one of my favourite vegetables. Its one of the few veggies that really retains its crispness and also absorbs the flavour of whatever you cook it with.

The tendlis available here in Guwahati are very different than the ones we get in Mangalore. Manglorean tendlis are thin and long, the ones I got here are shorter and fatter and hence take longer to cook, but the taste is the same.

Looking at the seeds, tendlis are more likely to belong to the cucumber family, rather than the parval family, but I'm not too sure about this.

Ingredients:

 200 gms tendlis quartered vertically
1 onion chopped
2 dry red chillis
4-5 methi dana (fenugreek seeds)
7-8 peppercorns (optional for heat)
1 tsp jeera (cumin)
2 tsp channa dal
2 tsp urad dhal
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp vegetable powder
1-2 tsp tamarind paste
salt to taste
1-2 tsp of dessicated or fresh coconut to taste (optional)
1 sprig curry leaves (I've run out and they aren't available here, so I haven't used them)
1-2 tsps oil (preferably coconut, but any other refined oil is ok)

Take a look at the Manglorean tendlis to see what I'm talking about regarding size.

Method:
Keep all the seasoning ingredients ready, so you aren't fumbling when its time to put them in. (since there are so many of them, the risk of them burning while you search for ingredients is quite high)

 Heat a pan (the wider the surface the better), add the oil to it. Now add seasoning ingredients in the following order: methi, peppercorns, channa dhal, urad dhal, jeera, curry leaves, red chilli, mustard seeds. The spacing between each is dependant on how long each one takes to cook and to avoid burning.

Add the onion and coconut, fry lightly for a minute or so.
Then add the quartered tendlis and fry on low heat.
When half cooked, add the tamarind paste (if its commercial check the salt content and dilute in a bit of water, so that it will spread out rather than stick in a ball) and vegetable powder.
Conitnue to cook on low heat until done.
Serve hot with rice and dhal or rotis.

This is a dish prepared by the Konkana community in Mangalore. I have also seen a version of this cooked in Andhra Pradesh.

Recipe: Utthappams

Utthappams are traditionally eaten at tea time with batter leftover from breakfast dosas, but now with refrigeration and other techniques, they are eaten for breakfast too.

The ingredients for utthappams are simple - leftover dosa batter and whatever toppings you choose. And a little eno fruit salt if required for aerating the batter. The batter needs to be slightly on the thicker side and slightly sour.

Onions, tomatoes, green chillies and corriander are the traditional toppings for utthappams and can be used in any combination. Since our house has slightly picky eaters: one wont eat raw tomato another doesn't eat raw onions, I normally have all these ingredients chopped but I don't mix them up. I then scatter the appropriate ingredient on the utthappam depending on whom I'm frying it for.

Method:
Bring the batter to room temperature.
Add some eno fruit salt to the batter to aerate it if required.
Heat a little oil in a frying pan.
Pour some batter into the pan and spread into a circle.
Sprinkle the toppings of choice on top of the dosa.

Once the bottom starts to crisp up, you can either flip it over (the toppings will get a bit fried) or cover the pan and steam it slightly (the slightly  raw sweet taste of the toppings remains) so the top is also cooked.

How much you fry the utthappam can also vary depending on personal preference. I like mine crispy like below for tea time and softer as further below for breakfast (and as you may have guessed from the pics below, I :) am the picky eater who doesn't like raw tomatoes)

Serve with chutney.
The picture above is with Green Tomato Chutney and the picture below is with Mummy's White Coconut Chutney and my MIL's Green Tomato Chutney

Utthappams are great for breakfast or an evening snack. But can also be your meal if you like.

Options:
While onions, tomatoes, green chillies and corriander are the traditional toppings for utthappams and can be used in any combination. Grated coconut is also an excellent topping if you like. You can experiment with any vegetables that cook quickly like shredded carrots, chopped bell peppers and pair them with appropriate chutneys or curries.

Grated cheese is also an option for fussy children who may not like the veggie toppings. (but try and avoid overturning the uttappam if this is the option you choose, instead cover the pan and cook till both sides are done.

You can even experiment with cooked minced meat if you like. The only things you need to keep in mind are:
1. the topping should be cooked within the time it takes for the utthappam to fry - so precook the topping if necessary
2. the toppings should not be too heavy, else the utthappam will collapse.

Also refer my previous post on Onion Utthappams

Recipe : Onion Utthappam

Sometimes if all your idli or dosa batter doesn't get used up at the meal you planned it for, it tends to turn a bit sour by the time you next want to use it, or the fermentation falls flat when you refrigerate it. This doesn't make the batter completely useless. You can use it to make utthappams.

Ingredients:
Leftover idli/dosa batter
chopped onion
chopped green chilli
chopped corriander leaves
salt to taste

little oil to fry
eno fruit salt if required.

Method:
Bring the batter to room temperature.
Add some eno fruit salt to the batter to aerate it if required.
Mix the onion, chilli and corriander leaves.
Heat a little oil in a frying pan.
Pour some batter into the pan and spread into a circle.
Sprinkle the onion mixture ontop of the dosa.

Once the bottom starts to crisp up, you can either flip it over (the onions will get a bit fried) or cover the pan and steam it slightly (the raw sweet taste of the onions remain) so the top is also cooked.
Serve with chutney.
Its great for breakfast or an evening snack.

Since I served it as dinner, I also served some aloo methi with peas alongside.

Variations:
You can make tomato utthappams, coconut utthappams and basically any other topping you can think of.
If you don't want to sprinkle the mixture each time you make a dosa, then mix the cuttings into the batter itself and then fry. But you will have to finish up the batter quickly. It won't keep too long (until a next meal)

Recipe: Mummy's White Coconut Chutney

This is my mum's recipe. She too is an excellent cook and I may not give her enough credit on this blog, as nana takes centre stage among my cooking idols. Nana had a retinue of household help. Mum does it all on her own. She turns out dinners for 40-50 people and makes really elaborate dishes.

When I'm cooking for larger groups, I automatically cook simpler recipes because of the quantities involved and I want everything to be fresh. Mum will forego a few hours of sleep and do the grating, grinding, coconut milk extraction of 10-12 coconuts, cleaning of the fish and meat etc, grinding of poli (dosas) batter and still be smiling when the guests arrive.

Ingredients:
5 green chillies
1/2" ginger
1-2 cloves garlic
1/4 coconut
1/2 tsp salt
tamarind marble sized ball (substitute lime juice / vinegar for color - tamarind will turn the chutney dark)

Method:
Grind with a little water.
Season with curry leaves and mustard.

Other items on the plate are sambhar, Chutney pudi chutney, idlis & dosas

Recipe: Dosas & Idlis

This recipe is for dosas and idlis made from store bought batter. Will give a recipe for batter once I am confident of the proportions.

Empty the store bought batter into a bowl at least 2 hours before intending to use it. Add salt to taste.

Keep it overnight if you want to make this for breakfast. Leave the bowl in a warm place in your kitchen, so it can ferment. (with the pilot light on in your oven, if the weather is cold.

 Add a teaspoon of Eno before using, if you feel that the batter hasn't risen enough.

To make idlis, grease the idli moulds (so it will be easy to remove the idlis when done).
Pour batter in the moulds, leaving enough space in the mould, for the idli to expand when cooking.
Arrange moulds in such a way that the moulds are not exactly one on top of the other.

I steamed the idlis in the microwave for 5 minutes.
Serve hot with chutney & sambhar.

For dosas, lightly grease a pan
Pour a spoonful of batter in the pan and spread evenly (in spirals from center to outside) and slightly thinner in some places.

If you want your dosas really crispy, you will need to dot a few drops of oil or ghee on the dosa.

When done on one side, slip and lightly cook on the other side

Serve hot with chutney and sambhar.

With the leftover batter, I will make utthapams in the morning.
I will follow the same method for making dosas, but immediately after spreading the batter in the pan, I will sprinkle a combination of finely chopped onions+tomatoes+chillies+corriander. and fry on both sides.

For onion utthappam, add only onion
For tomato utthappam or tomato omlette as it is called in Mangalore. Mix the fnely chopped tomato into the batter with a hint of tureric powder.

Items in the plate are coconut chutney, sambhar,idlis, dosas and chutney made from chutney pudi

Recipe : Rava Idlis

Idlis are pretty simple to make. They are ground rice fermented overnight and steamed.

But given the constraints of finding the right kind of rice in Egypt, I prefer to make something called rawa idlis (rawa=semolina - the stuff used to make basbousa)

This one is pretty simple:
2 cups semolina dry roast it a bit
Once it has cooled down back to room temperature, add 2 cups of yoghurt and mix thoroughly with a little salt to taste.
Add enough water to turn it to a consistency similar to griddle cakes.


Let it sit for 20 minutes, then you steam them in little containers.

In the microwave, I steam it for 3 minutes in a container that looks similar to this

I think over the stove it needs to be steamed for 15 minutes in a container that looks like this the idlis are shaped in this
I don't know what you would use as a substitute for this but if you look closely you will realise that the circular crevices in which you put the batter have little holes at their base to allow the steam to cook the batter.

Variations:
I prefer to substitute 2 cups semolina with 1 cup semolina and 1 cup powdered oats.
This gives a lot more fibre content and slow breakdown of carbohydrates in the body, so keeps you feeling full for longer.

Above is the recipe for the basic batter.

You can add the following items to the batter
A few frozen peas
Some grated carrot
Chopped cilantro
Chopped chillies
A few chopped cashewnuts to make it fancy
Any herbs and spices you particularly like

If you want the idlis really puffy and light, you can add a pinch of Eno fruit Salt (unflavoured) - a mix of Sodium bicarbonate and citric acid - just before the steaming process.


Rava Idlis should turn out looking like this


Idlis can be eaten plain, with chutney, with any gravy item. The traditional accompaniments are coconut chutney and sambhar.
You can even enjoy them with a dollop of ghee on top and some chutney pudi if you have access to that.