Dosa

Dosa
Dosa is a South Indian snack/tiffin made with fermented rice and dal (lentil) batter. If you want to eat dosas on a Sunday morning then you need to start the preparation process for the dosa batter on Saturday morning.

Soak 1 cup urad dal(black gram lentil),

2 cups rice

1 tsp methi seeds

(fenugreek) for 5-6 hours. Grind to a fine paste adding water. Let it sit overnight with lid for fermentation. Next day mix the batter well adding salt. The batter(which is similar to pancake batter consistency) is ready for making dosas.

Heat a griddle(you can use a non-stick pan). Grease the griddle with peanut oil or any other oil. Pour one ladle full of batter over the griddle.
Spread the batter from the bottom of the ladle evenly making circles. Drizzle oil or butter around the edges of dosa and let it cook on medium heat. The dosa should turn light brown. The dosa generally takes 4-5 minutes to cook on medium heat. Take care not to burn it.

Erra Kaaram

Erra Kaaram Recipe
Prep & Cooking: 6-8 mts
Cuisine: Andhra

Ingredients:
1 large onion, sliced
3 garlic flakes crushed
1 tsp tamarind paste
4 dry red chillis, de-seeded
1 tsp oil
salt to taste

1 Heat oil in a vessel. Add the onions, red chillis and garlic flakes and saute for 3 mts. Remove and cool.
2 Grind the sauteed mixture along with tamarind paste and salt to a fine paste.

Groundnut Chutney or Peanut Chutney

Groundnut Chutney Recipe
Prep: 15 mts
Serves: 3-4 persons
Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients:
1 cup roasted and peeled peanuts
1 small onion sliced
3 dry red chillis, de-seeded
small lemon sized tamarind (soaked in warm water for 10 mts)
3 garlic flakes, crushed
salt to taste
3/4 cup water
1 tsp oil
For poppu/tadka/seasoning:
1/2 mustard seeds
1/2 split black gram dal
8-10 curry leaves
1/2 tsp oil

1 Heat oil in a vessel, add the garlic and dry red chillis and stir fry for a few seconds. Add the sliced onions and saute further for 2-3 mts on medium heat. Turn of heat and cool.
2 Grind the roasted peanuts, tamarind, sauteed onions and garlic along with salt and half a cup of water.
3 Heat oil in a pan for seasoning. Once hot, add the mustard seeds and once they splutter, add the split gram dal and let it turn golden brown. Add the curry leaves and turn off heat. Pour over chutney and serve with idlis or dosas.

Rava Idli

Rava Idli Recipe
Prep: 10 mts, sitting time: 30 mts, cooking: 10 mts
Makes: approx 12-14 idlis
Cuisine: Tamil Nadu

Ingredients:
1 cup sooji/cream of wheat/semolina/upma ravva
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp channa dal
1″ grated ginger
3 green chilies, finely chopped
5-6 curry leaves (optional)
big pinch soda (optional)
2 carrots, grated
2 tbsps fresh coriander leaves (optional)
2 tbsps grated fresh coconut
salt to taste
1 cup well beaten thick curd
1/4 cup water
2 tbsps roasted cashewnuts (optional)
1 tbsp ghee or oil

1 Heat ghee, add the mustard seeds and once they splutter, add the chana dal and saute till the dal turns golden brown. Add the green chillis, curry leaves and ginger.
2 Immediately add the ravva and on low to medium heat stir fry the rava constantly for 3 mts. Take off heat and cool.
3 Add grated carrot, coriander leaves, grated coconut, curd, water and salt and mix well. Let this sit for atleast half an hour.
4 Grease idli plates. Place a roasted cashewnut on each of the greased idli plates and pour the rava batter over the cashewnut. Don’t let the batter fill till the brim.
5 Steam the ravva idlis on medium flame for around 10 mts. Turn off heat and let it sit for 5 mts. Remove the rava idlis carefully with a spatula and serve hot with chutney of your choice.

Note:
You can add vegetables of your choice like peas, beans and capsicum. Soda bicarb can be replaced with eno salt.

Coconut Chutney

Coconut Chutney Recipe
Prep & Cooking: 15 mts
Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients:
1 cup grated fresh coconut(or cut into 2” pieces)
¼ cup of dalia (split chick pea, putanaala pappu)
3 green chillis
salt
For Tempering/Tadka/Talimpu:
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ urad dal(minapapappu,black gram)
10 curry leaves (optional)
1 whole dry red chilli

1 Grind coconut, putnaala pappu and green chillis adding about 1/2 cup of water to a fine paste.
2 Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the urad dal and slightly brown it. Finally add curry leaves, remove from fire and add to the ground coconut paste.
3 Serve with hot idlis.

Sambar

Sambar Recipe
Prep & Cooking: 45 mts
Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients:
1 cup tur dal (red gram,kandi pappu)
½ cup of peeled and cubed bottle gourd
¼ cup of chopped carrots into 1” pieces
3 slit green chillis
¼ cup of radish sliced into rounds(optional)
5-6 baby onions whole
1 tomato cut into 4 pieces
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
10 curry leaves
1 tbsp thick tamarind paste
2 tsps sambar powder(MTR is a good brand)
4-5 cups water
salt to taste
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp asafoetida(hing,inguva)

1 Soak the dal for 15 minutes and drain. Add 2 cups of water and pressure cook it along with vegetables except baby onions and tomatoes for about 7- 8 minutes after the pressure is reached.
2 Once its cooked add 2 cups water, sambar powder, tamarind paste, baby onions, tomatoes, turmeric pwd, sugar, green chillis, curry leaves, coriander leaves and salt and let it cook for 12-15 minutes on medium heat.
3 Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add 2 whole red chillis and 1/4 tsp asafoetida and remove from fire and add to the boiling sambar. Stir for 2-3 minutes. Remove from fire and serve hot with idlis.

Idli

Idli Recipe
Prep & Cooking: 20 mts Soaking:2 hrs, Fermentation: 8 hrs
Makes approx 24 idlis
Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients:
2 cups idli rava (cream of rice)
1 cup urad dhal (Black gram,minappa gullu)
salt
pinch of cooking soda (soda bi carbonate)

1 Soak urad dal for about 2 hrs. Soak the idli rava in water separately just for an hour before mixing with urad dal batter. After 2 hours drain the water from the urad dal and gring till soft and fluffy and mix with the idli rava. Mix well.

2 Place the mixture in a warm place for 8-10 hours or overnight to let the idli mixture ferment. The fermentation is slow in winter and quick during summer. The key to soft and fluffy idlis is in the fermentation process.

3 After 10 hours you will find that the mixture will rise to at least double the volume. After fermentation, add salt and pinch of soda bi carbonate and mix well. The batter is now ready to make idlis.

4 Grease idli maker plates with some oil and fill with idli batter.

5 Steam covered for about 10-12 minutes and remove each idli carefully with a spatula.
Your soft and fluffy idlis are ready to eat with some hot sambhar and chutney. Left over idlis can be stored in the refrigerator and when required microwave them for a few seconds. I make upma with left over idlis which tastes good and is quick to make.

Note
For those who don’t have a idli maker…you can still make idlis with a flat bottomed wide vessel. Add 2 cups of water to the vessel. Invert a round shaped cake tin on the base of vessel. Take another round shaped cake tin, lightly grease it and fill it with the idli batter leaving about one inch height for the batter to raise. Place this on top of the inverted cake tin. Steam for 8-10 minutes. Remove the tin and cut into square pieces and serve hot.