Idli and Pudina Chutney / ಇಡ್ಲಿ ಪುದಿನ ಚಟ್ನಿ

Ingredients for Idli

1 cup - Idli rava/ಇಡ್ಲಿ ರವೆ
1/2 Cup - Urad Dal /ಉದ್ದಿನ ಬೇಳೆ
Salt to taste /ಉಪ್ಪು

Method for Idli:
Soak urad dal and idli rava in water separately for 5-6 hours. Grind the Urad dal into a smooth batter adding as little water as possible. Drain the water of the soaked idli rava and mix it to this urad dal batter. Mix well,cover and allow the batter to ferment for 8 hours or overnight.Idli batter is usually thicker than dosa batter.It should not be watery/runny.

Once its fermented add salt and stir the batter.Take an idli stand with idli plates, grease it with oil. Pour idli batter into the plates. Put some water in a pressure cooker, keep the idli stand inside it. Turn on the heat to high. Once you see the steam, just leave it on high for around 6-8 minutes. Idli cooks in the steam, no need to put the weight on the pressure cooker. Then turn the heat to low medium and leave it for another 3-5 minutes. Turn off the stove. let the cooker cool for 5 minutes. Then open the pressure cooker and remove idlis from the idli stand. Now you should have soft fluffy idlis ready.Idli is served with chutney, sambhar and a dollop of butter/ghee :)

Ingredients for chutney:
1 handful of Mint leaves / Pudina / ಪುದಿನ ಸೊಪ್ಪು
1/4 cup - Split roasted gram/ Dalia/ kadale /putani / ಹುರಿಗಡಲೆ
1/4 cup - fresh grated coconut/ ಕಾಯಿ ತುರಿ
4-6 Green chillies / ಹಸಿರು ಮೆಣಸಿನಕಾಯಿ
1 tsp - Tamarind paste / ಹುಣಸೆ ಹಣ್ಣು
1/2 tsp - sugar / ಸಕ್ಕರೆ
1 tsp - salt / ಉಪ್ಪು
1/2 tsp - turmeric powder / ಅರಿಶಿನ

small piece ginger / ಶುಂಠಿ
few sprigs coriander leaves/ಕೊತ್ತಂಬರಿ ಸೊಪ್ಪು

Seasoning / ಒಗ್ಗರಣೆ
1 tbsp Oil / ಎಣ್ಣೆ; 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds /ಸಾಸಿವೆ; 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds /ಜೀರಿಗೆ; Asafoetida/ Hing / ಇಂಗು;

Method:

Wash the pudina leaves and pat them dry with a paper towel or cloth. Heat a pan on medium flame, add these leaves into it. Stir them for 1-2 minutes till they wilt. Take off the flame, keep aside. In the same pan add dalia/kadle, then green chillies and dry roast them for 2-3 minutes. Take off the stove now. let it cool a little bit. Then transfer these ingredients into a blender. Add the pudina leaves, grated coconut, salt,sugar,tamarind paste,ginger,coriander leaves and turmeric to it. Add enough water and grind them.Pour it into a bowl.

Heat a small kadai, pour oil, add hing, mustard seeds, cumin seeds. Pour this seasoning over the chutney. Pudina chutney is ready to be served now. It is eaten with idli, dosa,chapathi, rotti. As it is not a cooked dish, keep it in the refrigerator for later use.

As this does not have any onion or garlic, idli chutney is a common breakfast item on festival days.

Gojjavalakki / Poha in a spicy sauce / ಗೊಜ್ಜವಲಕ್ಕಿ

Gojju = a sauce which is sweet, hot and sour
Avalakki = Poha / Flattened rice/Beaten Rice

Gojju avalakki / HuLi avalakki is a recipe where in you mix the poha in the spicy sauce. It is usually made as breakfast or as an evening snack. It is quick and easy to make.




Servings: 1 cup Poha / Avalakki makes 2 full servings.

Ingredients:

1 cup - Poha/Flattened Rice / ಅವಲಕ್ಕಿ
3/4 cup - water /ನೀರು
2 tsp - Rasam / Saaru powder /ಸಾರಿನ ಪುಡಿ ( home made rasam powder OR MTR rasam powder)
1 tbsp - Tamarind paste / ಹುಣಿಸೇಹಣ್ಣು
1 tbsp - sugar / grated jaggery /ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಅಥವಾ ಬೆಲ್ಲ
1 tsp - salt / ಉಪ್ಪು
1/2 tsp - turmeric / ಅರಿಶಿನ
3 tbsp - Oil / ಎಣ್ಣೆ (divided 1+2)
1 tsp - All Spice powder / Jeerige menthya pudi / ಜೀರಿಗೆ ಮೆಂತ್ಯ ಪುಡಿ
1 tsp - sesame seeds /Ellu powder / ಎಳ್ಳು ಪುಡಿ
( dry roast few spoons sesame seeds and powder it. You can also use it in puliyogare and gojju)

Seasoning / ಒಗ್ಗರಣೆ
Oil /ಎಣ್ಣೆ, 1 tsp Mustard seeds /ಸಾಸಿವೆ, Asafoetida/ Hing /ಇಂಗು, 2 tbsp groundnuts /ಕಡೆಲೆಕಾಯಿ ಬೀಜ , 2 Dry red Chillies / ವಣ ಮೆಣಸಿನಕಾಯಿ , few Curry leaves / ಕರಿಬೇವಿನ ಸೊಪ್ಪು


Method:

Take poha/avalakki in a mixer or blender , just run it for 1-2 minutes and make it into a coarse powder.

Take a big pan / kadai. Add 3/4 cup water keep it on stove on medium flame. add tamarind, jaggery, salt, rasam powder, turmeric. Stir it till everything dissolves. allow it to boil and then switch off the stove. This is our spicy sauce.

(One important tip here is the correct Poha to water ratio. It has to be 1:3/4. If you just use water by approximation, the mixture can become very dry, Poha does not get soaked or mixture is too watery)


Now allow the sauce/gojju to cool completely. Once its come to room temperature, add 1 tbsp oil, all spice powder and sesame seeds powder to it .Then add the powdered poha to it. Stir nicely. At first it will all become like a paste, just leave it for 10-15 minutes, the poha will absorb the water and become grainy. (ಅವಲಕ್ಕಿ ನೀರು ಹೀರಿ ಉದುರಾಗುತ್ತೆ ) Check for the taste, u can add some salt if needed, if u feel its too sour u can add some sugar. If you want it little more sour, add some lemon juice.

To make the seasoning, heat a small kadai add 2 tbsp oil, add hing, mustard seeds, then add groundnuts, then some curry leaves and dry red chillies. Pour this over the Poha and mix well. Spicy poha or gojjavalakki is ready. It is hot, sweet and sour. You can adjust the rasam powder,tamarind and sugar to suit your taste.

It can be eaten as it is or with some buttermilk or yogurt. It can be kept at room temperature for up to 1 day without fridge. So u can take it when u are traveling.

Rava Upma / Rave Uppittu / Kesaribath / ಉಪ್ಪಿಟ್ಟು ಕೇಸರಿಭಾತ್

Uppittu and Kesaribath is a very popular combination in Karnataka, commonly made for breakfast. Since both of them use the same basic ingredient namely semolina/rava, it is prepared together. kesaribath is also prepared for naivedya/prasad for many festivals and pooja. These dishes can be made in no time, so often used as quick fix when you have unexpected guests at home :)

Rava/Semolina: the upma/kesaribath rava is made from wheat grains. there are 2 kinds available in the market. one is coarse, another fine. For upma either one will do. kesaribath is always made using the fine semolina. Next is the rava to water ratio. Usually coarse sooji needs more water compared to fine sooji. I generally use rava:water in ratio of 1:3.5 for both types of rava. Adding this much water makes the mixture pretty much like a porridge/ganji but you can just keep it on the stove for a few more minutes till the extra water is evaporated. It may seem like a lot of water for the rava but it ensures that rava is cooked well, there are no lumps of uncooked sooji in the pan!!! Also by using lot more water you can cut down the use of oil/ghee :)

Servings: I cup sooji makes 2 servings of upma and 4 servings of kesaribath.

Ingredients:for upma

1 cup - rava/semolina / sooji/ ರವೆ (coarse or fine rava)
3 1/2 cups - water /ನೀರು
2-3 onions / ಈರುಳ್ಳಿ
5-7 Green chillies / ಹಸಿರುಮೆಣಸಿನಕಾಯಿ (slit them)
few sprigs Coriander leaves / ಕೊತ್ತಂಬರಿ ಸೊಪ್ಪು
few Curry leaves / ಕರಿಬೇವು ಸೊಪ್ಪು
1 fist full Grated Coconut /ಕಾಯಿ ತುರಿ / ಕೊಬ್ಬರಿ(optional)
small piece ginger / ಶುಂಠಿ
1-2 tbsp Ghee / ತುಪ್ಪ
½ tsp Turmeric /ಅರಿಶಿನ
lemon juice / ನಿಂಬೆ ರಸ to taste
1 tsp - salt / ಉಪ್ಪು to taste

Seasoning / ಒಗ್ಗರಣೆ
2 tbsp Oil / ಎಣ್ಣೆ, 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds /ಸಾಸಿವೆ, Asafoetida/ Hing / ಇಂಗು, 1 tsp Chana Dal / ಕಡಲೆಬೇಳೆ, 1 tsp Urad Dal / ಉದ್ದಿನಬೇಳೆ

Method:

Heat a pan on medium flame, add a spoon of oil and add the semolina. Roast it nicely till it is fragrant and turns a light brown shade. take care not to burn the rava.this takes around 8-10 minutes. then remove from stove, put it on a plate/paper and set it aside.

Heat a wide bottom pan/kadai on medium flame. It better to use a pan which has lid. make the seasoning first. add oil, mustard, hing, chanadal and urad dal. once they start spluttering, add green chillies and chopped onion. Stir them till onion is cooked, 3-5 minutes. now add salt, turmeric powder, chopped ginger, curry leaves and cilantro. Add 3 1/2 cups water to this. add 1-2 spoons ghee. mix well and let the water come to a boil.

Once the water boils, maintain a medium flame. Add the roasted rava slowly into the water while stirring it continuously. after adding all the rava, the mixture will be watery/ porridge like consistency. cover with a lid and let is cook for 3-5 minutes. The rava absorbs all the water and gets cooked. after 5 minutes, open the lid and stir the mixture. If its still watery leave it for a few more minutes. Once you get the desired consistency, switch off the stove.Add a dash of lime juice and mix well. Now upma is ready to be served. It is usually served hot along with some chutney powder and a dollop of ghee.
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Ingredients:for kesaribhath

1 cup - rava/semolina / sooji/ ರವೆ (fine rava)
3 1/2 cups - water /ನೀರು
4 tbsp - Ghee / ತುಪ್ಪ
3/4 cup - Sugar / ಸಕ್ಕರೆ
a pinch - Cardamom powder /ಏಲಕ್ಕಿ ಪುಡಿ
few strands - saffron /ಕೇಸರಿ (or any food color)
1/4 cup - grated dessicated coconut / ಕೊಬ್ಬರಿ ತುರಿ (optional)
Raisins, Cashews fried in ghee/ ವಣದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿ , ಗೋಡಂಬಿ - ತುಪ್ಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಕರಿಯಿರಿ

Method:

Heat a pan on medium flame, add a spoon of ghee and add the semolina. Roast it nicely till it is fragrant and turns a light brown shade. take care not to burn the rava.this takes around 8-10 minutes. then remove from stove, put it on a plate/paper and set it aside.

Heat a wide bottom pan/kadai on medium flame.It better to use a pan which has lid.Add 3 1/2 cups water to this. add the remaining ghee to it, saffron strands or the food color of your choice. add the dessicated coconut and fried cashews and raisins too. Now leave it till the water starts to boil.

Once the water boils, maintain a medium flame. Add the roasted rava slowly into the water while stirring it continuously. It is the same process as we made upma. cover with a lid and let is cook for 3-5 minutes. after 5 minutes, open the lid, rava must be cooked by now. Add 3/4 cup sugar now and mix it well. taste it and adjust the sugar accordingly. You can add few more spoons of ghee to give a smooth and shiny texture to the dish. Switch of the stove and Kesaribath is ready to be served.

Set Dosa and Vegetable Saagu / ಸೆಟ್ ದೋಸೆ ಮತ್ತು ಸಾಗು

Dosa is a dish which most people enjoy and relish, I am no different :) Set Dosai and Vegatable Sagu combination is always yummy and irresistible. Set Dose is called so as it is served as a set of 3-4 dosas in any restaurant. The batter is fermented for a longer time and the dosa is slightly thicker than the regular dosa.



Ingredients for Dosa:

2 Cups - Rice / ಅಕ್ಕಿ (I use sona masoori)
1/2 Cup -Urad dal/ಉದ್ದಿನ ಬೆಳೆ
1/2 Cup - Thick Poha / ಗಟ್ಟಿ ಅವಲಕ್ಕಿ
2 tsp - Fenugreek seeds / ಮೆಂತ್ಯ
2 tsp - Yogurt / ಮೊಸರು
1 tsp - Yeast (optional)

Soak Rice, Poha, Urad dal and fenugreek for about 6 hours. Then grind them together in a blender. Add very less water. The batter should be thicker than regular dosa batter. Add yogurt and leave the batter in warm place to ferment (8-10 hours)preferably overnight. The next morning the batter should have increased in volume. add salt to taste, mix well and batter is ready to make set dosa. Additionally you can add some yeast to quicken the fermentation. Heat a griddle on stove, pour a ladle of batter on it, do not spread it too much, set dosa is thicker than regular dosa. drizzle some oil , cook on both sides and dosa is ready to be served.

Servings: This batter makes around 15-20 dosas.





Ingredients for Saagu:

Vegetables - Carrots, Green beans, peas, capsicum, potato, cauliflower.(around 3 cups)

For Masala:
2 tbsp - Chanadal/ಕಡಲೆ ಬೆಳೆ (dry roast)
1 tbsp -urad dal/ಉದ್ದಿನ ಬೆಳೆ (dry roast)
1 tsp - cumin seeds/ ಜೀರಿಗೆ (dry roast)
1 inch piece - cinnamon/ಚಕ್ಕೆ (dry roast)
3-4 cloves/ಲವಂಗ (dry roast)
6-8 peppercorn/ಮೆಣಸು (dry roast)
4-6 green chillies/ಹಸಿರು ಮೆಣಸಿನಕಾಯಿ
2 tomatoes/ಟೊಮಾಟೊ
1 big onion/ಈರುಳ್ಳಿ
few sprigs coriander leaves/ಕೊತ್ತಂಬರಿ ಸೊಪ್ಪು
2-3 tbsp grated coconut/ಕಾಯಿ ತುರಿ


Servings: With this amount of ingredients you can make upto 3 quarts/3 litres of saagu which is sufficient for 15 dosas.

Dry roast the spices adding one by one till you get a nice aroma. Transfer it to a blender. Add green chillies, coriander leaves, cut tomato and onion, grated coconut to the spices. Blend it with little water into a paste. Cut the vegetables to bite sized pieces. Put the vegetables into a big pan/vessel(4 quart/4 litre) , add some water and cook on stove top. Let it cook for 10-15 minutes. Add some salt, turmeric powder and the ground masala to the vegetables. You can add more water to bring it to desired consistency. Stir well and bring it to a boil.If the mixture is too watery,leave it on a low flame for some more minutes till the extra water evaporates. Now remove the pan from the stove.

Take a small pan/kadai to make the seasoning. Add some oil, when its hot add hing, mustard seeds and red chilllies. Pour the seasoning on the vegetable mixture. Vegetable Sagu is ready. Vegetable saagu goes well with dosa, poori, chapathi, even rice.