Rava Idli Batter/Rava Dosa maavu

       Making iddly and dosa in India is easy as pie. Wet grind the grains, leave it over night and the next morning the batter will be brimming and ready to make dosa or iddly. We'll burn our self out making iddly and dosa in US. Temperature plays a big role in the fermentation of the batter. I googled and tried the tips: I kept the batter in the oven with lights on and even tied my daughter's woolen scarf around the container following one suggestion.

Fool proof method for a good batter in cold weather: One day i made the batter in the morning ( kept it in an airtight plastic container) and placed it near the stove and cooked for the day. The next day i was so surprised to see the brimming batter with that familiar soft sour smell :) Now i'm doing the same routine: make the batter, keep it near my cooking space before i start to cook, enjoy a nice breakfast the next morning.

iddly batter

Ingredients:
2 cups              rava            
2 cups              rice               
1 cup               urud dal      
1/2 tsp             fenugreek/ methi seed 
Method:
1. Soak rava in water for 4 hrs.
2. Wash the rice and soak it in water for 4 hrs.
3. Wash the urud dal and soak in water along with *fenugreek seeds for 4 hrs.
4. Put the soaked rava with little water in the grinder and grind till in becomes smooth-10 mins. Take out the batter.
5. Wash the rice one more time, add some water with rice and grind till it's smooth-take the rice batter in between the fingers: it's texture should be between nice rava paste and cake batter. 

6. Take the rice batter out. Wash the urud dal with methi seeds,add some water and grind it to a fine paste-should be smooth like cake batter.

7. Mix all the three batter, Add 2 tsp of salt with little water and mix it with hand.

8. Pour the batter in an airtight container and keep it near the stove during the cooking.

9. The next day mix the raised batter well and check for salt, add water if needed.

*fenugreek should be added only with the urud dal.

 This batter is very versatile, we can make a variety of food with this batter: sweet and spicy rava iddly, rava dosa, kuzi paniyaram.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. If you try this recipe, please comment on it. I like to hear how it came out.
          
                                          ENJOY:)
Some recipes for rava batter:

1. Sweet Rava Iddly-Inipu Iddly 

2. Sweet Rava Dosai-Inipu dosai 

3. Spicy Paniyaram- Kara Paniyaram

....... keep it near stove. 

Rava iddly batter

                    

Watermelon Rind Chutney(tarbuj ka chutney)

       One of summer's gift to the world is watermelon. We all know it as a thirst quencher loaded with antioxidants, but most of us dispose the rind (the white part between the the green outer husk and the red inner fruit) without knowing it has nutritional value too. We can use it in our cooking as salads, chutney/ dip/ spread and in moru kuzambu/ spiced buttermilk. Slice only the white part from the green rind.

awesome chutney

Ingredients:
2 cups  rind - cubed                   
2 tsp    red chili                               
2 tsp    urud dal or 10 cooked/ canned garbanzo beans 
1          tomato-medium                         
1 tsp     lemon juice/tamarind paste                        
10        cilantro (coriander leaves)                                       
1clove  garlic (optional)                                         
Salt      to taste                                
1 tbs     oil  
                                        
Method:
1. Dry the garbanzo beans in a towel.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add red chili and garlic, fry it till it's crispy. 
3. Add garbanzo beans/urud dal, stir it well.
4. Now add the watermelon rind and fry for few mins.
5. Add the chopped cilantro and stir, till it becomes wilted.       
6. Add the chopped tomato and cook until it's well blended.
7. Add lemon juice/tamarind paste and cook till it becomes dry, add salt.
8. Grind the mixture in a blender/mixer.
9. Transfer it into a bowl.

watermelon rind

Tips for taste:
*We can get Urud dal(black lentil) and tamarind paste in any Indian grocery store. 
*This pairs well with iddly, dosa, chappathi/flat bread or as a dip for pita chips. This is a vegan dish. Garbanzo bean is chickpea in India.

Thanks for visiting this page. If you try any of my recipe, feel free to comment. I love your feedback. Enjoy ur cooking! Hav a blessed day :)


         
   

   

    

Berry Compote With Goat Cheese Cream

         I love to browse the food section, of our local newspaper. It's a weekly treat  for me to look, at the nice food pictures and  recipes with seasonal fruits and veggies in it. This time of the year it's loaded with recipes with berries and cherries. This one has blueberry and goat cheese cream.

berry compote with goat cheese cream

For cream cheese:
2 cups      milk                      
3               egg yolks              
1/2 cup     granulated sugar  
2 tbs         cornstarch            
1/2 cup     fresh goat cheese 
1/2 tsp      vanilla extract       
1/2 tsp      salt  
                      
Berry compote:
2 cups      fresh blueberry     
1/2 cup    lemon juice           
2 tbs        granulated sugar    
fresh mint or basil leaves for serving  
    
To make goat cheese cream:
1. Pour the milk into a large saucepan and heat over high/med setting.
2. Whisk together the yolks, sugar, salt and cornstarch in a separate bowl until evenly mixed.
3. When the mix is hot, gradually pour the yolk mixture whisking constantly, until its smooth.
4. Pour the mixture back into the pan and cook whisking constantly, until it boils and thickens.
5. Turn off the heat and crumble in goat cheese.
6. Let sit for a minute to soften the cheese, then whisk well until it's smooth.
7. Whisk in the vanilla and set aside.

To make compote:
1. In a saucepan in medium/high heat add the berries,lemon juice and sugar.
2. Cook until berries start to pop and juice thickens(about 5 mins).
3. Ladle the goat cheese cream into serving dishes then top a spoonful of compote.
4. Chill and serve cold.garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. If you try this recipe, please comment on it. I like to hear how it came out.
                                               ENJOY :)
                                         

Spicy chicken grilled in foil

           It's officially summer now. Who needs an  alarm clock when we have: the (v.sneaky) sun light pouring through the closed curtains or shades and the chirping of the lil birds trying to wake up the neighborhood...lovely sight of honeybees and butterflies flying around the roses, the hum of the lawn mowers competing with kids laughter...precisely manicured lawns, the colorful china wares on display in stores, cool shades and flip flops, RVs and ice cream trucks.....the lists goes on and on. yet my most favorite sight, smell and taste of summer is: the GRILL. 

Chicken grilled in foil

          I tried this recipe this weekend it came out really good.I'm planning to make a few packs of this moist flavorful chicken whenever we grill and keep it in the freezer.

This recipe is for 2 people.
Prep time: 15 mins.
Cooking time: 45 Mins

Ingredients:
Chicken drummettes *                 -6 
Red onion   (medium, sliced)       -1
Red bell pepper         (sliced)      -1/2
Tomato        (medium,sliced)       -1
Cilantro/coriander leaves             -10 sprig
Yogurt/curd                                -1tbs
Ginger-garlic paste                     -2tsp
Chili powder                               -2tsp or to taste
Any chicken seasoning(optional) -1tsp
Cooking oil                                 -1 tbs
Salt                                             -to taste

*Fleshy part of a chicken wing.

Method:
1. Combine chicken with yogurt, chili powder, ginger-garlic paste, chicken seasoning and salt and keep it aside.
2. Line a sheet of foil paper: with half the onions, tomatoes, bell pepper and cilantro.
3. Place the chicken over it and Pour the oil all over the chicken.
4. Cover it with the remaining onion, bell pepper, tomatoes and cilantro.
5. Wrap the foil loosely to form a packet. 
6. Grill it  for 45 mins turning it once.

Tips for taste:
It's very easy to make. We can make the parcel, put it on grill and forget about it.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. If you try this recipe, please comment on it. I like to hear how it came out.

chicken ready to be gtrlled

Chicken pack in the grill

foil packed chicken

Tasty chicken

                                            ENJOY :)
               






     

                                        

  

Pudina Chutney/Mint Chutney

   This mint chutney pairs well with south indian dishes like iddly, dosa and vada. This version has coconut in it and it will go with roti too. The mint i used in this dish is from my garden.

Pudina leaves

Ingredients:
2 handful    mint leaves
1 med         tomato            
3                 green chili        
1/4 tsp        turmeric pwdr 
2 tbs           onion-chopped               
2 tbs           coconut            
1/2 tsp        urud dal           
1/4 tsp        tamarind pste
1clove        garlic         
1tbs            oil                   
salt             to taste.
chili pwdr  to taste (optional)

Chop the mint leaves.

Mint chutney

Method:
1. Heat the oil in the pan and add urud dal and fry till it gets a golden shade.
2. Add the chopped green chili and onion and fry till the onion becomes soft, add garlic.
3. Reduce the heat then add turmeric powder and chili pwdr add the diced tomato, and fry till it's well blended, add the coconut.

4. Add the mint leaves and toss it around until they are incorporated into the mixture.

5. Now add the tamarind paste(or 1/4 tsp of lemon juice) and salt.

6. Stir it well until the mint leaves starts to welt and the raw smell no longer remain.

7. Remove from pan and grind it in a blender/mixture till it becomes a fine smooth paste.

Mint chutney

             Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. If you try this recipe, please comment on it. I like to hear how it came out.
                                            Enjoy :)

Cabbage porial (kose poriyal/ Patta gobhi mattar subzi)

    This dish is very easy to make. It's very mild and will go well with any spicy main dish.

cabbage and peas poriyal

Ingredients:
cabbage       3cups
onion           1/2 (small)          
green chili    1
green Peas    1/2 cup
coconut         2 tbs 
Asafoetida     1 pinch 

Tempering: 
urud dhal        1/2 tsp
mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
red chillies     2(small)
curry leaves    4 to 5
salt                  to taste
oil                   1/2 tbs

Shred the cabbage and slice the onion thinly.                                                            

Method:      
1. Heat the oil in a pan and add urud dal and fry till it becomes light brown in color.
2. Add the mustard seeds (it should splutter).
3. Add the red chili and curry leaves.
4. Add the onion and fry it till it turns 
   golden brown.
5. Now add the cabbage, peas, coconut and asafoetida.
6. Lower the heat and cover the pan (can add a tsp of water if needed) and cook till the cabbage is soft and crisp.
7. Add salt to taste.

Tips to taste:
1. Add salt in the end to retain the color of cabbage.
2. Masala lovers can grind the coconut and green chili and add it to the cabbage.

urud dal and mustard seeds

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. If you try this recipe, please comment on it. I like to hear how it came out.                                          
 ENJOY :)

                                                                                                                          

Sour Cream Pound Cake

March 4th is National Pound Cake Day in the US

Pound cake

Traditionally pound cake contains a pound of flour, egg, butter and sugar (Hannah Glasse in her Art of Cookery book-published in 1747) After the invention of rising agents like baking soda, the cake become more lighter. For moist and tangy flavor we can substitute veg.oil and sour cream for some of the butter.

ingredients for pound cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup   butter

1    cup   sugar

1.5 cup   all purpose flr

3            eggs

1/2 cup   sour cream

1/8 tsp    baking soda

1/8 tsp    baking powder

1/2 tsp    vanilla essence

1 pinch   salt     

Method:

1.  Grease and flour the loaf pan. Heat  the oven to 300dgrs.

2.  With an electrical mixer cream the butter and sugar until light.

3. Add eggs, one at a time beating well in every addition.

4. Sift all the dry ingredients with a sieve.

5. Add the dry ingredients.

6. Add sour cream and vanilla essence and beat until smooth and well blended.

7. Spread the batter in the loaf pan and bake for 1 hr.

8. Increase the oven temperature to 325dgrs and bake 10-15 min's longer or until a tooth pick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

sift all the dry ingredients

Tips for taste:  
1. Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature. 
2. Sift together all the dry ingredients. It make sure all the lumps are broken up and the ingredients  mixed evenly (unevenly mixed ingredients will create tunnel in the cake).
3. Beat the softened butter in medium speed until fluffy and light in colour.
4. After beating the egg add all the other ingredients as gently and as quickly as possible to avoid deflating the air you've so carefully beaten into the mix.
5. Sour cream will give a moist texture to the cake.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. If you try this recipe, please comment on it. I like to hear how it came out.

                                                              ENJOY:)

                                                                                         

Poori/fried flat bread.

           
Memory lane:
       Whenever i make the dough for poori, my daughter will come and help me. Then she will start her own mini version. Kneading the dough, rolling it and making mini odd shaped poories. She'll make sure we eat her poories too. Love you chellam :)
       Before marriage my mom used to make poories during holidays, our birthdays and on new year's day (starting the year with poor, kesari, and chicken kuruma...yum!

Fluffy poori

Ingredients:
Whole wheat flour/atta -2 cups.
Salt to taste.
Water.
Oil-2tsp

Method:
1. Take 2 cups of flour and add salt make a small depression in the flour. 
2. Add water and knead till it becomes a firm dough.                               
3. Add oil and knead some more.                                                    

4. Cover the dough with a wet kitchen towel and leave it for 15- 20 mins.

5. Divide the dough into lemon size balls.

6. Flatten the balls with a rolling pin into 5-6 diameter discs.
7. If it's sticky sprinkle a little flour on the board.
8. Heat oil in the pan. when the oil is hot deep fry the poories.
9. To make puffed poori, place the poori in hot oil press a puffed side of the poori gently with slotted spoon. 

press a puffed side of the poori 

10. Remove the poories with a slotted spoon and keep it on a paper towel.                                

Tips for taste:
  1. Add water little by little and knead the dough. First the dough will be crumbly, add some more water till it becomes a hard dough (dough should not be v.soft)
2. Too much flour dusting will make a burned flour coating on the 
poories.      
3. To make poori kizangu make the potato masala and sandwich it between two poories. 
 Suggested side dish: Thakkali-kootu/Tomato Chutney , Potato Masala / urulai kizangu masala

fluffy poori

 poori kizangu

cover the dough with a wet towel