Uttappam

Here is a variant of the much adored dosa in South India - the uttappam. I have eaten various other versions of dosa - masala, butter, rava and set - and uttappam is one of them. Given that weekends are when I get to flex my breakfast muscles in the kitchen, I decided to try out this dosa variant today. It came out pretty well, as is evident in the photo below, and did not need much for the sides as well since I had Maggi's hot & sweet tomato sauce to go with it. Yum-mee!



The ingredients for the dosa batter is the same as that of the regular dosa which I posted earlier. However, what differs is the thickness. Uttappam is much thicker than a regular dosa and when the batter is poured on the pan, chopped coriander, tomato, chillies and onions are sprinkled on it. You then turn it around to let the other side cook. That is pretty much it.


Enjoy!

..ShaKri..

Carrot Halwa

Here is something new! Quite possibly the most amazing dessert I have come across. Easily my #1 sweet dish - Carrot Halwa. Now, for many years I have had several people - many Godmothers and other angels - make this wonderful dish for me. Now that I am in a place in life where I can attempt, albeit with extreme care, some new stuff on my own, I decided to try my hand at making this dish. Although I am quite sure comparing my version with that of the other professionals like my mother would be nothing less than a sin, I still make the humble effort to share what I did here. I hope you find it appealing.



Ingredients
1 and a 1/2 cup grated carrots
2 tbsp cashew
2 tbsp raisins (or kishmish)
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp cinnamon powder
a few strands of saffron (or kesar)
sugar to taste
ghee as required (or melted unsalted butter)


Method
1. Roast the cashew and raisins in 1 spoon ghee and keep it aside.
2. Now boil the milk on medium heat so that it is half of its original quantity with strands of saffron. Keep this aside too.
3. Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a nonstick pan and add the grated carrots to it. Stir fry this for about 10-15 minutes until the raw smell of carrots has disappeared. Make sure you stir this often so as to avoid carrots from being burnt.
4. Once well done, add the evaporated milk slowly. Let this simmer until the milk has disappeared.
5. Now add the cinnamon powder and mix well. Let this simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
6. Next add the roasted cashew and raisins with sugar. Mix well and switch off the heat.

That's it! Try this with a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream! It is the best indeed! :-)

Enjoy!

..ShaKri..

Plain dosa with coconut chutney

Alrighty then! Something from the hardcore roots of my existence. I have always liked dosas with nice mint or coconut chutney. In fact if I am not having idli (and the optional vada) with chutney and sambar for breakfast while traveling in India then most likely I am having dosa. I also like the variations dosa has - onion, set, masala, butter...oh the list goes to eternity. Hence, given the fact that we have a blessed long weekend here, I decided to dish out some good old plain dosa. I still have batter left so I might try a few variations too. For now - here it is! It came out great actually. Crispy, golden brown and absolutely yummy with slightly spicy coconut chutney. I am giving below the recipe for each of these. Enjoy!




Plain rice dosa

Ingredients
3 cups rice (or 1 1/2 cup of rice flour)
1 cup of udal daal
1 table spoon methi seeds
salt to taste

Method

Soak the rice + udal daal + methi seeds in water for about 4-5 hours. Overnight is also fine. Then grind to make a smooth batter and let it ferment overnight for about 7-8 hours in some warm place. You need it to be slightly frothy and bitter smelling to know its ready. You can add salt to this batter once you are ready to roll.

Heat a little oil in a non-stick pan and pour one large spoonful of batter on the center. Let it spread to make a circular shape. Add a little oil to the edges and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes. Once the edges turn slightly brown turn the dosa over and let the other side cook for about 2-3 minutes. That's it! Plain dosa is good to go!



Coconut chutney

Base ingredients
4 tablespoons coconut milk (or 1 shredded coconut)
3 green chillies chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
small piece of tamarind (seedless)
2-3 pieces of fresh ginger
2 tablespoon roasted chana daal (kadale poppu)
salt to taste
coriander leaves - finely chopped


For tempering
1 teaspoon urad daal
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2-3 whole red chillies
1 tablespoon cut curry leaves
1 tsp heeng powder
1 tbsp oil

Method
1) Combine all the items for the base chutney and blend them with little water. It should not be too watery.
2) Now do the tempering with a little oil and add it to the blended chutney.

That's it! Your yummy chutney is ready for consumption.


..ShaKri..

Aloo Methi

I have been trying out different dishes with methi (seeds and leaves) and so here is one more attempt. I have always liked potato in them so I decided to make aloo methi by combining the methi leaves and potato. Here is the result!

Ingredients

Potatoes - 3 (cut in cubes)

Onion - 1

Ginger-Garlic paste (optional) - 1 tsp

Green chillies - 2-3 chopped fine

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Red Chilly powder - 1tsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt - to taste



Method

1) Chop the methi leaves (Fenugreek leaves) fine and remove the stalks. I like mine with the bitterness in them but if you wish to remove it then mix it with 1 tsp of salt and keep it sitting for 10 minutes. You can then squeeze out the water from them and use them.

2) Heat oil in a deep dish pan and add the onions, green chillies and ginger-garlic paste when ready.

3) Once the onions turn translucent add the potato cubes and salt. Mix well.

4) Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are well done.

5) Now add the methi leaves along with the masala powders - coriander powder, red chilly powder and turmeric - and mix very well.

6) Cover and cook for 5 more minutes.



That's it! Some also add tomatoes at the end of it so that is also something you can try. Now have this with either rotis (like I did) or with just plain rice. Quick and tasty!


Cheers!


..ShaKri..

Matar Paneer

I am a big paneer fan. Anything vegetarian that has this wonderful ingredient in it has my vote any day. Of course, in moderation too given the fatty effect it comes with. That said, I wanted to make a simple little paneer dish for lunch today along with a couple of rotis. Hence decided to dish out the spicy and popular dish matar paneer which is a delightful concoction of peas and paneer. So here goes!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of green peas

1 cup of paneer cubed and dry roasted

2 medium onions chopped

1 tomato chopped

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste (optional)

1 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

pinch of asafoetida

1 tsp garam masala

salt per taste

3 tbsp oil

Coriander leaves (for garnishing if needed)



Method

1. Boil the green peas and keep aside.

2. Heat the oil in a pan.Put the onions , asafoetida , ginger garlic paste and fry till the onions are slightly browned.

3. Put the tomatoes, turmeric powder and fry for another 5 minutes on low flame.

4. Add red chilli powder , garam masala and saute for few minutes.

5. Add the peas with little amount of water and bring it to a boil.

6. Finally add the paneer cubes.Cook for a minute and remove from fire.

7. Garnish with coriander leaves (if preferred) and serve.







..ShaKri..