Proso Idly(Kanchipuram style)

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

South Indian's most favorite and most regular food! And the most healthiest breakfast anyone can have. Even while travelling, it is considered as the safest food as it is steamed. And here there is one more healthy addition to this traditional recipe. I have prepared these idlys using millet. Yes! I always use millet in one or the other way in my food. We call these millet as 'Siri Dhanya' also. Already everyone is talking or already written a lot about these millet and the benefits. So I am directly jumping to the recipe. 

Here I have used Baragu or Proso  with rice. Actually we can use any millet and the taste and texture comes out the same though the health benefit is different for each millet. But please keep in mind not to use millet daily or regularly as we all know too much is too bad, let it be any thing, right?

And what is this Kachipuram style?

I got the recipe from a TV show where Chef Rakesh Shethi was showing. I was surprised to see that curds goes into this idly. So thought of trying it. 

Ingredients :

Raw rice or idly rice - 1 cup

Porso - 1 cup

Urad dal - 3/4 cup

Methi seeds - 1 tsp

thick or medium poha - 1/4 cup

Fresh curd - 1/2 cup

Turmeric powder  - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 2 tbsp, washed and chopped finely

Green chilly - 2, washed and chopped finely

Dash of hing

Ginger - 1 tbsp, cleaned and finely chopped

Fresh coriander - handful, cleaned and finely chopped

Salt to taste

Oil to apply to the idly mould.

Method :

• Take the rice, methi seeds and urad dal  in a bowl and wash it twice. 
• Take Porso in another bowl and wash it twice. 
• Soak both in a separate bowls for 4-6 hours.
• Half an hour before grinding, add poha to the rice bowl and keep it ready.
• Grind both separately. 
• Add very less water to porso before grinding as more water will not allow the millet to turn into paste. 
• Mix both the batter properly  in one steel or glass vessel. 
• Allow it to ferment either over night or till it becomes double. It always depends on the weather also. If the batter doesn't come up or doubles, then the idlys will not be soft. 
• In the morning, or when you are ready to use the batter, 
• Add the curd, green chilli, ginger, curry leaves and fresh coriander.
• Add the salt and mix well. 
• Keep the cooker or idly steamer on a gas stove with one cup of water. 
• while the water becomes hot, grease the mould with oil and pour the batter in the mould. 
• Take the idly stand and keep in a steamer or cooker, close it and steam it without the whistle(if using cooker) on high flame for 5 minutes and 2-3 minutes on low flame. Switch off the gas stove. Allow it to cool. 
• Serve these softest idlys with your favorite chutney and sambhar or just like that with ghee. 
• You can get some more idly, sambhar and chutney recipes Idly,Sambhar and Chutney, Mangalore cucumber sambhar

Please let me know if you try this recipe.

Keep Smiling, 

SANNA ~IDLIS | STEAMED RICE CAKE FROM MANGALORE FOR ICC

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

A recipe prepared with yeast always puts me in tension till it is prepared and its served on the table.

This time, when Valli announced this month's  Indian Cooking Challenge and I checked the ingredients, my first response was NO!! This month also I am not going to participate in the event. I removed it from my mind to make it. But last week, when I saw the active yeast packet in a super market, somehow I felt I should try it. Its better to try and fail than never trying and crying afterwards. I brought the packet and boiled rice. Still I took few more days to make up my mind. 

Valli has chosen the recipe from  Shireen Sequeira's Mom. 

Day before yesterday I tried these Sannas. My first batch was a flop. Sannas were hard and tasteless. May be the reason was the batter was not fully fermented.

Please visit Valli 's PAGE  for the ingredients and the method. 

Lets see how I prepared these Sannas.

I did not take the step by step pictures  but will write down the method I followed.

I took the exact measurement of all the ingredients as in the recipe.

I soaked Urad dal(1/4 cup), Boiled rice(1 1/2cup) and raw rice(1/2 cup) separately at 11.45 AM.

At 3.00PM. I prepared the yeast(1 tsp heaped) solution with sugar(1 tsp) in tepid water(3 tbsp). Kept it for 10 minutes.

Till then, I prepared the urad dal paste first and then both the rice. It took time for the rice to get into fine paste.Mixed all the three nicely and added the yeast solution. Mixed it well. Added the salt to taste and 2 tsp more sugar. Mixed well and kept it closed till 5.30 PM.

Checked the batter, it was not fully up but my daughter was hungry. Thinking that given time in the original recipe was 1 1/2 hour, I tried making first batch.

This is what I got: hard and taste less.

                         First time, my elder daughter had it with sauce.

Then I waited till 7 PM and prepared two more batches. I got them nice puffy and tasty :-)

I prepared a simple sambhar and we had it for our dinner. My both the kids enjoyed it. Hey, one sanna I made in a Thatte idly stand, a big round one. My younger one loved it with ghee and sambhar.

I enjoyed my yeastwala sannas :-)

Keep Smiling, 

SOYA BEANS IDLY

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Idly recipe(Idly, Sambhar and Chutney) is already there in my blog.. but that is a regular method of making.. Here is another way of making your healthy idly healthier or healthiest... Yes, Soya beans are very good for health. We always think how to add these in our diet. I have many ways for it..

Soak the beans for 8-10 hours, drain and deep fry in the oil  or roast in the oven, add salt and chilly powder.

Make the soya beans powder and add it while making chapatis, Thaali peeth.

Or as usual make the curry, masala, salad...

These idly taste very good, same like normal idly. And the batter wont turn sour next day(it happens with the normal batter)

Ingredients:

Urad dal - 1/2 cup or 1/4 cup

Soya beans - 1/2 cup or 3/4 cup

Methi seeds - 1 tsp

Thick poha(puffed rice) - handful

Idly rava - 2 1/2 cup(ready available in the stores)

Salt to taste 

(the proportion is  1/2:1/2: 2 1/2 or 1/4:3/4:2 1/2)

If you are trying for the first time and not sure about the taste of soya beans in idly, go with 1/2:1/2 portion.

Method:

Soak urad dal, soya beans and methi seeds together in a vessel with enough water for 4-6 hours.(both the urad dal and beans get doubled in size in few hours and there is a chance that if you don't see they wont get soaked properly. JUST ONE HOUR BEFORE GRINDING, ADD POHA INTO IT.

Drain the water and grind into fine batter.

Transfer into a big steel vessel. Add the salt and mix nicely with your hands.

Keep it untouched in a warm place for 6 to 8 hours(In winter it takes more time)

Before making idly,

Add the water in a cooker and keep it on slow flame till you fill the idly mould with the batter.

Mix the batter properly, grease the idly plates with oil, Pour the batter to fill the moulds.

Keep it in the cooker and close the lid WITHOUT whistle.

Steam for 6 minutes on high and another 3-4 minutes on low flame.

Remove from the heat, allow it to cool.

Carefully open the lid and take out the idly stand.

Keep it like that only for 5 minutes. Then remove the idlys into a serving bowl.

Enjoy these softest idlys with Onion sambhar and chutney,.

(recipe for the sambhar and chutney is in my previous idly post)

Just add baby onions in oil before adding the masalas, which will make the sambhar into onion sambhar.

I love it....

Keep Smiling,

MINI IDLY TIKKA

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

When it comes to breakfast we all in the family are 100% South Indians. We all love idly, dosa, paddu, uttappam, upma, wada.... the list goes on. We enjoy even the Parathas, Puri, but my both the kids love to have idly and dosa for breakfast on alternative days.

Here one more type of idly which is perfect for all the kids, from 1 year baby till the teenage.

Today morning when I was making idly, it just flashed in my mind to try these.

But after making and taking the photos, now when I came to post this recipe, I thought of searching for the idly tikka on google and I got it :-), so There are many like minded of like thinking people in the world. The idly tikka is not new(as I first thought with so much proud that its my original recipe) but the method and ingredients are different.

Here goes my recipe

Ingredients:

Mini idly -12

Carrot - 1 small cut into circles

Potato - 1 small cut into circles

Tomato Ketchup - 1 tsp for each tikka

or

Sambhar - 1 tbsp for each tikka

or  

Coconut Chutney - 1tbsp for each tikka

Click Idly, Sambhar and Chutney for the recipe.

Ghee or butter to roast the tikkas

Tooth pick - 4 for making 3 tikkas

Method:

Bake the carrot and potatoes in M/W for 3 minutes. Sprinkle some salt on it evenly.Keep it aside.

Take one tooth pick. Arrange the potato, idly, carrot for three times or till the tooth pick is covered.

Repeat for other tikkas.

Heat tawa, spread the butter or ghee. When hot, keep the ready tikka on tawa and roast on all the side till brown.

Transfer the tikkas on serving plate.

Spread one tbsp of  either the chutney or ketchup or sambhar and serve immediately. 

Keep Smiling,

Idli, Soup and Sweet from Veg Inspirations for T&T

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

The blog selected  for this month's Tried & Tasted event is one of those blogs, where you get everything which you can follow blindly and get the good food at home. I am doing the same. Usha of  Veg Inspirations  has huge number of recipes in each category. Most of the times I will be browsing for some recipe and I end up in visiting her blog.

This happened when I got the recipe for making Microwave milk pedha. I got recipe to make it, and that recipe was inspired by Usha's pedhas!!

I have tried many recipes before also, but have not clicked any photos. But, now for the event, I have clicked the photos. 

First one I tried last month is, 

Barley Pinto Bean Soup : I followed the exact recipe except olive oil as It was out of stock and the Celery, which we do not get here. The taste was very good. Its healthy. I loved it, my daughter had it but was not much happy with the taste as she is not used to barley taste.

The second one was 

Quick & Simple Milk Fudge ( Microwave Doodh pedha ...) I followed it except the kesar or saffron and Pista for garnishing. I do not know why the color of pedhas are different from her photo.

The third one was 

Instant Oats Idli : I copied it exactly!! These softest and just melt in mouth idlis are really good breakfast or evening snack for everyone. I have kept full box of prepared oats and semolina powder to make idlis again.

Sending these three to the event Announcing Tried & Tasted for July 2010 by saveur of the taste space – steam, bake, boil, shake! 

and linking it to the original creator  Zlamushka.

Keep Smiling,

Nivedita

Dhavanai Idly (Food Remake)

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi all,

It is so easy to prepare food, when some one is guiding you!! That's why I enjoy very much when ever I follow other blog and cook any dish. And I post it in 'Food Remake' label, as it is very common in Indian film industry to remake the movies from one language to the other. So even my food here is the remake one!!!

As I have mentioned earlier, You will get 14 varieties of idly s  in EC's Simple Indian Food- An Easy Cooking Blog.

This is one of variety from her blog, and she has taken it from Samaikalam Vanga blog. click   here  for the details. 

It is easy to prepare, but when I made it first time, it came out little hard, The second time it was better. 

You try it and let me know about the taste.

Keep smiling,

Idly, Sambhar and Chutney

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi all,

When I started my blog, I thought of starting with basic and simple foods. But some how I went on postponing it. 

Thanks to Mahimaa for organizing a event of basic recipes that made me to post idly, sambhar and chutney.

They say that South Indians never leave their home without having at least one idly for breakfast! But, now a days it has reached all over the world. And most of the people all around the world loves this food because of many reasons. Easy to make with readily available atta in the shops and ready to make products and if you have time you can prepare the batter at home easily. Because of its health benefits as it is steamed food, very good for the stomach. Especially when one is on travelling idly is the best food to eat, taking care not to eat the sambhar or chutney! It is Doctor's delight, best diet  food to advise for patients.

These idly s are kid's favorite. You can add vegetables into it to make it healthier. My younger daughter calls it "adalilil"

I think (failed) introduction to the food is sufficient as it is the most popular breakfast.

Here the measurement is to prepare for 3 to 4 people.

First recipe is for Idly,

Normally the Idly s are prepared with Raw rice, Urad dal and Methi seeds or prepared with Urad dal and Idly rawa.

You will get 14 varieties of idly s  in EC's Simple Indian Food- An Easy Cooking Blog.

Here I am giving the recipe for Idly is prepared with Urad dal and Idly rawa. Idly rawa is available in shops. Its easy to make as there is no need to soak the rice and grind it with Urad dal. 

Urad dal - 1 cup

Idly rawa - 2 1/2 cup

Methi seeds - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Soak the urad dal and methi seeds in water for 4 to 6 hours. The water should be more than double of dal.

(After some time, urad dal increase in size and the water will be less.)

Wash the idly rawa with good water and put it in a vessel in which you want to keep the batter to ferment. 

Grind it into fine paste. Mix it properly with rawa and salt. Keep it to ferment in a warm place for at least 8 hours. During cold weather, the batter takes more time to ferment. Check the batter after 8 hours. If it is not doubled in size, keep it for some more time. (usually I do not keep it more, as no patience to wait for more time. :-) ) 

Mix it properly and keep it ready. 

  

Keep water till one inch height in a cooker or if you have Idly cooker. Keep it on heat. Till it starts boiling, apply oil and pour the batter in to all the plates. Keep it in the cooker without weight on the top. Steam it for 10 minutes on high flame and 5 minutes of low flame. Allow it to cool. Idly s are ready to serve. 

Coming to the next recipe i.e  chutney,

Easy and fast to prepare if you have Mixer or grinder.

Fresh coconut - 1 cup, grated or cut into pieces

Green chilly - 2

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Tamarind paste - 1 tsp

or lime juice - 1 tsp

Ginger - very small piece, chopped

Sugar - 1 tsp

Fresh dalia - 2 tbsp(optional)

Salt to taste

Curry Leaves - few

Water to help in grinding in to fine paste.

Add everything in a grinder and make into fine or coarse paste(as you like). My mom likes the coarse chutney as she loves to feel the coconut in the mouth. But for me, I like it fine paste!! 

For tempering,

Oil - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Hing - pinch

Heat oil in a small kadai, add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Remove it from heat. After a minute add hing. Allow it to cool and add it to the chutney.

The last recipe is  Sambhar,

Preparing sambhar is totally your choice. As there are 1000 ways to cook delicious sambhar. Here I am giving a simple sambhar or you can say instant sambhar! without any vegetables. In future, hope fully I will try to post the veg. sambhar that goes well with Idly.

Toor dal - 1 cup (You can use other dal also, put Toor dal is the best for this type of sambhar)

Hing - pinch

Onion - 1 small, chopped into long slices

Tomato - 2 big, chopped

Curry leaves - few

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Jeera or cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp

Ready sambhar masala - 2 tbsp ( I use MTR SAMBHAR POWDER)

(If not available do not worry, I will give the masala recipe)

Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Red chilly powder - 1 tbsp or 1 1/2 as per your taste

Jaggery - 1 tbsp

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Tamarind paste - 1 tsp

Water to make required consistency

Wash and soak the toor dal for 15 to 30 minutes. Cook it with hing. It should be fully cooked. keep it aside.

To prepare the sambhar :

Heat oil in kadai, add mustard and cumin seeds. when mustard seeds splutter add onion and curry leaves. Cook for a minute. Then goes tomato and tamarind paste, cook it till tomato starts leaving oil. Now add MTR POWDER, red chilly powder, salt, jaggery and turmeric powder. Mix it and allow it to cook for few seconds. Add cooked dal, mix it with the masala, close the lid and cook for 2 minutes. Open the lid add water. Again boil it for 5 minutes. Adjust the seasoning and cook for some more time. Sambhar is ready.

Now, if you do not have ready sambhar masala, 

This is my mother's way :

Fry 

 few pieces of fresh or dry coconut, 

1 tsp jeera, 

1 tbsp dry coriander seeds

1 Dry red chilly 

!/2 tsp methi seeds. 

grind these ingredients into a fine paste.

And the same procedure follows only to add the homemade powder instead of MTR powder.

(Sorry for not taking the separate photo of sambhar!)

I want to send this to  "Cooking Basics Event" held by Mahimaa of  Indian Vegetarian Kitchen.

But not sure about its getting entrance to the event as there is already a post for Idly and chutney. No worry, if it is not accepted.  I will post something else for the event.

Keep Smiling,