Idli

Idli is a popular south-indian breakfast dish generally eaten with sambhar or coconut chutney. It is a soft and spongy steamed cake made by fermented batter of rice and udad dal. I am a big fan of south-indian food for the soul reason of it being not only tasty but at the same time very healthy if eaten in moderation.

Preparation time: 5 hrs soaking + 8 hrs fermenting
Steaming time: 10 min. + 5 min. resting
Cuisine: South-indian
Type: Breakfast

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cup idli rice
• 1 cup udad dal
• salt to taste
• water as needed

METHOD:

1. Wash thoroughly rice and udad dal seperately 3-4 times.
2. Soak atleast for 4-5 hrs.
3. Drain all the water and grind dal and rice seperately to a smooth batter adding a tbsp of water if needed.
4. Keep the batter at warm place to let it ferment for 8-10 hrs. till it is risen and doubled in quantity.
5. Add salt to taste to the portion of batter that you are going to steam.
6. Grease the idli stand with oil and take a ladleful of the batter and fill the idli mould till 3/4th only.
7. Meanwhile, bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a pressure cooker or idli steamer.
8. Put the batter-filled idli stand inside the cooker or steamer and cover the lid. Remove the pressure or vent if using cooker before steaming.
9. Steam on high flame for first 5 min. and then 5 min. more on medium flame.
10. Switch off the flame and remove the lid. Let the idli stand rest for 5 min. inside the steamer.
11. Remove the stand and scoop out the idlis using a spoon or knife.
12. Serve hot with sambhar or coconut chutney.

Note:

• Do not add salt to all the batter at once. The batter will get sour quickly instead add the required amount that you are going to steam.
• The batter should be of dropping consistency, neither thick nor runny. Adjust by adding water if needed a teaspoon at a time to get soft and spongy texture.

Oats Uttapam

Instant oats uttapam is a healthy breakfast loaded with the goodness of nutritional vegetables. I make these very often at home as it helps in weightloss as well, due to the high fibre content in oats, we tend to feel full for longer period of time. Use any seasonal vegetables for topping either chopped or grated for extra crunch and nutrition.

Preparation time: 30 min.
Cooking time: 10 min.
Type: Breakfast
Serves: 3-4

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup semolina (sooji/rava)
• 1 cup curd (dahi)
• 1 cup water
• salt to taste
• 1 cup diced vegetables (onions, tomatoes, capsicum, carrot, cabbage)
• 10-12 curry leaves (finely chopped)
• 2 green chillies (finely chopped)
• handful of coriander leaves (finely chopped)
• oil as needed

METHOD:

1. Grind oats to a fine powder in a mixer grinder.
2. In a bowl, mix together ground oats, semolina, curd and water. Cover and leave for 30 min.
3. Add salt to taste and mix well.
4. Heat a non-stick pan, put 1 tsp oil and grease well.
5. Pour a ladle full of batter and lightly spread it in a round shape.
6. Sprinkle chopped vegetables and curry leaves, gently press with a wooden spoon. Put few drops of oil on top.
7. Cover with a lid and let it cook for a min.
8. Once the base is nicely browned, flip it and let it cook for a while.
9. As it gets nice and crisp, serve hot with any chutney or sambhar.

Note:

• Adjust the quantity of water in the batter depending upon the water absorbed by semolina. It should be of pouring consistency.
• You may use grated carrot or cabbage for topping as well.

Lemon Rice

Lemon rice is a south-indian lemon flavored rice delicacy which is quite very handy to make. Its great to use leftover rice for this recipe and takes only 5 min. to prepare for kids lunch box. This can be accompanied with a variety of dishes like sambhar, rasam or coconut chutney.

Cooking time: 10 min.
Cuisine: South-indian
Type: Main-course
Serves: 2-3

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups cooked rice
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2tbsp oil
• 1/2 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp split bengal gram (chana dal)
• 1 tbsp skinless split black gram (dhuli udad dal)
• 1 tbsp peanuts
• 1 tbsp cashew nut 
• 3-4 green chillies (slit)
• 10-12 curry leaves
• 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• salt to taste

METHOD:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and let them crackle.
2. Add chana dal and udad dal, fry for a min. till golden in colour.
3. Add peanuts and cook for 30 sec.
4. Next add, cashew nuts and fry for 10 sec. only.
5. Add green chillies and curry leaves followed by asafoetida.
6. Next add turmeric powder and salt to taste.
7. Immediately add cooked rice and mix well.
8. Finally add lemon juice and cook for a couple of min.
9. Serve hot alongwith rasam, sambhar, chutney of your choice. 

Sambhar

After posting masala dosa recipe... writing about the classic south indian dish sambhar becomes inevitably predictable. It is one such basic dish which is a great accompaniment for so many other south indian main-course or breakfast dishes like idlis, vadas, uttapams, dosas, appams and what not. It is so simple to prepare yet tastes delicious when made with a variety of vegetables like pumpkin, bottle gourd, carrot, drumstick, onion and tomato. You can choose the vegetables according to your or your family's liking or according to the availability of the vegetables.

Preparation time: 10 min.

Cooking time: 50 min.

Type: Main-course

Cuisine: South-indian

Serves: 6-8

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup toor dal
• 4 cups vegetables (pumpkin, bottlegourd, carrot, cauliflower)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup tamarind pulp

For tempering:

• 1 tsp mustard seeds (sarson)
• 2-3 dry red chillies
• 8-10 curry leaves
• 1 pinch asafoetida (heeng)
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste (crushed)
• 1/2 cup onions (chopped)
• 1/2 cup tomatoes (chopped)
• 1 tbsp sambhar masala
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• salt to taste
• 3 tbsp oil
• fresh coriander (to garnish)

METHOD:

1. Pressure cook dal with 4 cups of water and salt till 2 whistles.
2. Add diced vegetables and pressure cook for 1 whistle and immediately let all the pressure released from the cooker to stop the cooking process of the vegetables.
3. Add tamarind pulp in the cooked dal and vegetables mix and let it simmer.
4. Meanwhile prepare the tempering, heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, let it splutter.
5. Add dry red chillies and curry leaves and asafoetida.
6. Next, add onions and ginger-garlic paste and saute for 2-3 min.
7. Add sambhar masala, red chilli powder and salt and mix well.
8. Add tomatoes and cook till they are tender not mushy.
9. Add the tempering to the boiling sambhar and cook for couple of min. more.
10. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with idli, dosa or rice alongwith coconut chutney.

Note:

• Consistency of the sambhar can be altered according to personal liking depending upon the amount of water added.
• To make tamarind pulp, take 2 tbsp full of tamarind and soak in half cup of water for 2-3 hrs and then extract the pulp easily using a strainer.

Masala Dosa

Masala dosa is a staple dish of south india, but it is very common in north indian restaurants. The crispy rice and lentil crepes stuffed with spicy and tangy masala potato filling makes it a favourite of people from all walks of life.

I ususally make the batter in large quantity and then enjoy idlis, dosas and uttapams with the same batter. The only difference among all is the consistency of the batter, that i will discuss in my future posts on idlis and uttapams.

Preparation time: 8-10 hrs
Cooking time: 20 min.
Type: Main-course
Cuisine: South-indian
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

For dosa batter:

• 2 cups rice
• 1 cup udad dal (split black lentils)
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 3 cups water
• 1 tblsp salt

For potato filling:

• 1 kg potatoes ( boiled, peeled and mashed)
• 1 cup onion ( chopped)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2-3 green chillies
• 10-12 curry leaves
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• salt to taste
• 1 tblsp lemon juice
• 2 tblsp oil
• few coriander leaves (chopped)

Method:

For dosa batter:

1. Rinse and soak all the ingredients in enough water for 6-8 hrs,
2. Grind coarsely in a mixer grinder.
3. Cover and let the batter ferment overnight in a warm place. After fermentation the batter will be light and fluffy and almost double so the bowl should be large enough to accomodate it.
4. Add salt when making dosas.

For potato filling:

1. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let it splutter
2. Add green chillies and curry leaves.
3. Next, add onions and cook till translucent.
4. Add all the spices and mashed potatoes, mix well.
5. Cook for 2-3 minutes and finally add lemon juice and coriander leaves.

Preparing masala dosa:

1. Heat non-stick tava, smear some oil and sprinkle few drops of water.
2. Wipe out with a kitchen towel.
3. Take a ladleful of the fermented batter and spread in a circular motion making thin and round dosas.
4. Apply some oil on the sides and top of the dosa and let it cook till the edges are golden brown.
5. Now put the prepared potato filling in the center and fold the dosa making a semi circle.
6. Serve hot with sambhar and coconut chutney.

Note:

• Add salt when making dosas in the required quantity of batter only and refrigerate the leftover unsalted batter.