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.

Baked Samosa

Samosa is one of the most popular snack of north India. It is a triangular shaped crisp and flaky pastry filled with spicy and tangy potato filling. The list of choices available for the filling is endless. It can be served at small get togethers like high tea or kitty parties alongwith a hot cup of tea or coffee. These are generally deep-fried but today i made them baked brushing a very little amount of oil on these and they came out very crisp and flaky.
Shaping these samosas becomes a fun activity for my 8-year old daughter who is always keen to know what i am making and will always accompany me in the kitchen.
So, try these healthy yet delicious samosas and am sure you will not miss the deep fried ones.

Ingredients:
For the pastry cover (dough)

• all-purpose flour (maida)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
• clarified butter or ghee
• water as required

For the filling:

• 6-7 potatoes (boiled and peeled)
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 1-2 green chillies
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp mango powder
• 1 tsp rock salt
• salt to taste
• coriander leaves chopped
• 10-12 raisins
• 10-12 cashew nuts
• 1 tbsp oil
• oil for deep frying

METHOD:

1. Firstly, mix the ingredients of the covering and make a hard dough. Cover and let it rest for 30 min. 
2. Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and let it splutter. Add green peas and green chillies and cook for few min. add roughly mashed potatoes, raisins and cashewnuts and all the spices. Mix well. 
3. Divide the dough into lemon sized balls and roll out a thin roti. Cut the roti in two halves. now take one semicircle and make a cone, place a tablespoon of filling in the centre and apply little water to seal the open edges carefully and give the shape of a samosa.
4. Lightly brush all the samosas with very little oil and bake for 30-35 min. in a preheated oven at 200 degree celcius.
5. Serve hot with the coriander chutney or tomato ketchup.

Note:

• Do not over knead the dough of samosas else they will not be flaky and crisp.
• You may deep-fry these samosas instead of baking.

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. 

Instant Bhature

Chhole Bhature is the most famous north-indian breakfast. But making bhaturas at home requires a lot of patience and practise. Today, i am going to share my quick and easy recipe for making instant bhaturas which come out exactly like the ones we eat outside.  The addition of semolina keeps the bhatura puffed up for longer and gives a nice texture.

Preparation time: 5 min.
Passive time: 30 min.
Cooking time: 10 min.
Cuisine: North-indian (punjabi)
Type: Breakfast
Serves: 3-4

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (maida)
• 1/2 cup semolina (sooji/rava)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1tbsp oil
• 1-1.5 cups soda water/carbonated water (to knead)
• oil for deep frying

METHOD:

1. In a mixing bowl, take maida, sooji, sugar, salt and oil. Mix well.
2. Gradually add soda water and knead like chapati dough.
3. Cover the dough and leave for 30 min.
4. Apply oil on your hands and divide the dough into equal-sized round balls or portions.
5. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan for frying.
6. Roll out the flattened round ball into an oval or round shape.
7. Gently lift the rolled out bhatura and slip into the hot oil.
8. Press the centre of the bhatura with a slotted spatula using light strokes, bringing the hot oil over it. This ensures puffing up of the bhaturas well.
9. Deep fry till nice golden colour.
10. Serve hot with punjabi chhole and pickle.

Punjabi Rajma Masala (Red Kidney Beans Curry)

Rajma masala with rice is a very popular dish of north-india (Punjab). It is the favourite of everyone at my home. Rajma or kidney beans are a great source of protein and being a vegetarian, it becomes a necessity to cook these often. Two varieties of rajma are available in india. One is lighter called 'chitra rajma' and other one is darker known as 'jammu rajma'. In this recipe, i have used the lighter one which i find more tastier.

Preparation time: 15 min.
Cooking time: 1 hr.
Cuisine: North-indian (punjabi)
Type: Main-course
Serves: 2-3


INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup red kidney-beans (rajma)
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic-green chilli paste
• 2 onion (sliced)
• 4 tomatoes 
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• salt to taste
• 4 cups water
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• fresh coriander (to garnish)

METHOD:

1. Wash and soak kidney beans in 5-6 cups of water overnight.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add ginger-garlic-green chilli paste and cook for 30 sec.
3. Add sliced onions and cook till golden brown in colour.
4. Remove from flame and let it cool.
5. Grind together browned onions and tomatoes to make a smooth paste.
6. Add all the spices to the same pan and cook for a few seconds.
7. Next, add the ground paste into the pan and mix well.
8. Cook this mixture till oil seperates.
9. Now add soaked rajma into the cooked masala and mix well.
10. Add the above masala coated rajma into a pressure cooker alongwith 4 cups of water.
11. Pressure cook till one whistle and then simmer for 30 min.
12. Add garam masala and garnish with fresh chopped coriander.
13. Serve hot with roti or rice.

Note:

• Kidney beans can be boiled seperately first and then the masala can be mixed. But I like to make my rajma the way i shared.
• If u forget to soak the rajma at night. Next morning, soak these in hot water for an hour and use in the recipe.
• Adjust the quantity of water according to the thickness of curry you like.

Lauki Kofta Curry

Lauki kofta curry is a nice option for those who aren't a big fan of bottle gourd as a vegetable but enjoy curries. Even kids enjoy this when made with lesser spices.

Preparation time: 15 min.
Cooking time: 45 min.
Cuisine: North-indian
Type: Main-course

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients:

For the kofta:

• 1/2 kg bottle gourd (lauki)
• 1/2 cup chickpea flour (besan)
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
• salt to taste
• oil for deep frying

For the curry:

• 3 medium-sized onions (sliced or grated)
• 1/2 kg tomatoes (pureed)
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic-green chilli paste
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp green cardamom powder
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4 cups water
• coriander leaves (to garnish)

Method:

For the kofta:

1. Peel and grate the bottle gourd. 
2. Squeeze out juice from the grated bottle gourd.
3. Add all the remaining ingredients except oil for making kofta in the grated bottle gourd and mix gently.
4. Heat oil on medium heat and make small balls of the kofta mixture and deep fry till golden brown in colour.
5. Keep aside on tissue paper.

For the gravy or curry:

1. Heat oil in a pan, add ginger-garlic-green chilli paste and saute for few seconds.
2. Add onions alongwith a teaspoon of salt to speed up the process of browning onions.
3. Cook till onions turn deep golden brown in colour.
4. Add coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt.
5. Next, add pureed tomatoes and cook till oil seperates from the masala.
6. Add water gradually a cup of water at a time into the gravy.
7. Adjust the amount of water according to your liking (thick or thin consistency).
8. Cook for 15-20 min. till the gravy thickens.
9. Add fried koftas and sprinkle green cardamom powder.
10. Garnish with chopped coriander.
11. Serve hot with roti, naan or rice.

Note:

• Making bottle gourd koftas can be little tricky at times because of the water content present in it. To avoid any hassle, squeeze it well before adding other ingrediens.
• Squeezed out bottle gourd juice can be later added into the gravy.

Arbi ke patte ke patode /Colocassia leaf rolls

 Monsoon arrives and so is the desire to have something crispy and healthy to snack on during evenings enjoying with a hot cup of tea. Colocassia leaves are available during this season only and these are rich in iron. Today i got some leaves from the market and luckily it started pouring outside... ofcourse i had a big reason to make them immediately. These rolls are known by various names in different places.. patra in gujarat.. alu wadi in maharashtra.. arbi ke patte ke patode in north india which is my native place.. hence the title remains the same.

Preparation time: 10 min.
Cooking time: 20 min.
Type: Tea-time snack
Cuisine: North-indian
Serves: 5-6

INGREDIENTS:

• 10-12 colocassia leaves
• oil for frying

For batter:

• 2 cups gram flour
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• Water as required

METHOD:

1. Wash colocassia leaves thoroughly under running water and pat them dry.
2. To make batter, in a bowl add gram flour, turmeric powder. red chilli powder, coriander powder, salt and lemon juice.
3. Mix them well and make sure the batter is of dropping consistency neither too thick nor thin.
4. Place bigger leaf on a flat surface keeping the darker side down.
5. Spread the batter on the leaf generously using a spoon or hands.
6. Place another leaf on top of it and spread the batter again.
7. Repeat this process with 5-6 leaves depending upon their size keeping the smaller inside.
8. Now start rolling the leaves from one end and make a roll.
9. Repeat the process with other leaves to make another roll.
10. Steam the rolls for 15 min. on high heat till a knife inserted comes out clean.
11. Let the rolls cool down completely and then cut 1/2" thick slices.
12. Deep fry the slices in hot oil for 1-2 min. till golden on both sides.
13. Serve hot with coriander chutney or tomato ketchup.

Note:

• Once steamed, the rolls can be stored in the refrigerator for later use.
• Number of leaves to make a roll can be increased or decreased depending upon the thickness of roll you like.

Punjabi Raw Mango Pickle

Making mango pickle is a homely ritual in most of the households during summer. Mango pickle  is a tangy and spicy condiment which adds an extra zing to your meals. The best thing about mango pickle is that it goes along very well with any meal of the day whether its paranthas in breakfast or chhole puri in lunch or biryani in dinner. There are many childhood memories associated with making mango pickle when i used to help my mother in spreading raw mango pieces for drying in sun light and grinding spices for it. I am very fond of all kinds of mango pickles but this one is my all-time favourite. I hate buying pickles from market which are more acidic and are prepared with added preservatives. Home-made pickles are best as they are hygenically prepared and are preserved using salt and mustard oil.
Today i am sharing my mom's recipe of mango pickle which can be stored for upto a year.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 kg raw mangoes
• 3 cups salt
• 6 tbsp red chilli powder
• 3 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 cup fennel seeds (saunf)
• 100 gms fenugreek seeds(methi)
• 100 gms yellow mustard seeds(sarson)
• 3 tbsp onion seeds (kalonji)
• 1 tsp asafoetida (heeng)
• 500 ml mustard oil
  

Method:

1. Wash the raw mangoes thoroughly and pat dry using a kitchen cloth.
2. Cut each mango into 8 pieces of 1" size each.
3. Dry the pieces in sunlight for few hours.
   
4. Coarsely ground fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds and mustard seeds.
5. Mix together all the spices with salt.
   
6. Put all the spice mixture over the dried mango pieces.
   
7. Pour mustard oil over them and use your hands to mix them thoroughly over all the mango pieces.
   
8. Put all the marinated raw mango pieces into sterilized container.
   
9. Keep in sunlight for few days until the mango pieces get pickled and become soft and juicy.
10. Enjoy with roti, parantha or rice.

Note:

• Always sterilize the container with hot water and then dry in sunlight to remove all the moisture before storing mango pickle into it.
• Mix the pickle every day using a dry spoon and press them tightly to remove any air pockets for few days.
• Always insure to keep the pickle immersed in mustard oil at all times.
• Never use a wet spoon to take out the pickle.
• Keep in sunlight once a month after it is fully prepared.

Eggless Chocolate Cupcakes

The other day my daughter who has a serious sweet tooth and wants something sweet now and then...asked me to make chocolate cupcakes at night.. as i generally avoid stocking up on eggs in summer, i looked for this recipe for chocolate cupcakes without eggs in an old magazine and made her happy in no time.
After eating this you will not complain about missing eggs because these are super moist and spongy and addition of coffee enhances the flavor and richness of chocolate to a new standard. Do try these quick and easy cupcakes or follow the same recipe to bake a cake.


Preparation time: 10 min.
Baking time: 20 min.
Makes: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour (maida)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 1 cup sugar (granulated)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup warm water
• 1.5 tsp instant coffee powder
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 6 tbsp oil

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degree celcius for 10-15 min. 
2. Place liners in the muffin/cupcake pan or lightly grease with oil.
3. Sift together all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Add sugar in the dry ingredients and mix well using a whisk.
5. Add coffee powder to warm water and mix well.
6. Add vinegar, vanilla essence and oil in the brewed coffee.
7. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and make a lump-free batter.
8. Fill the lined cupcake pan till 2/3rd full and bake for 20 min. till a tooth-pick inserted comes out clean.
9. Let these cool on a wire rack and enjoy with a drizzle of chocolate sauce.