Bhajile Idli (Fried Idlis)

I have fond memories of my childhood associated with fried Idlis. My mother used to make them as a snack when I came home from school.Even today, fried idlis are one of my favorite evening snacks with a cup of tea. I also like it for breakfast. It is a easy-breezy breakfast item as the idlis are already made. All you have to do is slice them and fry them. There are many variations of fried idlis. One of my aunts(Pushpa Mahve)  fries them with chutney powder.

I mostly do mine the way Amma makes it, using asofoetida powder/solution. I am partial to the smell of asofoetida.

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Idlis: 6 nos
Oil: 1 tbsp ( I use coconut oil, any vegetable oil can be used)
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Asofoetida powder: 1/8 tsp

Method:

Slice idlis horizontally into 2 equal pieces and keep aside.

Heat skillet/ griddle on medium heat. Smear oil. When the skillet is hot, place the sliced idlis in concentric circles. Sprinkle little salt and asofoetida. Let it fry for 3-4 mins on low flame.

Add some oil to the skillet and turn the idlis over and repeat the same process until they are golden brown.

Serve hot right off the skillet with some wet chutney or by itself!

Enjoy!

Cooking made easy:

Like I mentioned earlier, there are other ways of making fried idlis. My aunt sprinkles dry chutney powder over the idli slices and lets them roast. I guess any dry chutney powder would work.She also makes another variation by  slicing the idlis into small cubes instead of slicing them horizontally. That too tastes good.

 When your idlis don't turn out soft and fluffy, don't be disheartened. Fried idlis are a great way to make use of idlis that didn't turn out that great. This is what I call " best out of waste".

Tip for healthy living :

Frequent small meals is better way to eat than large infrequent meals. When you eat frequent small meals, you keep the blood sugar level, thereby preventing spikes and dips. This in turn translates into better energy throughout the day and greater productivity. Another benefit of frequent small meals is that it boosts the metabolism thereby burning calories throughout the day and hence preventing weight gain.

Food for thought:

Hope keeps the world going.( unknown).

Idli ( Steamed Rice-Lentil Cake)

Idlis are ubiquitous in South Indian homes, restaurants, cafes. There are even roadside vendors selling steaming hot idlis for pittance.  Idlis can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

There are several ways of making idlis. The Tamilians ( people from Tamilnadu) make it soft, light and fluffy. Their batter is ground lentil and rice with/without methi seeds and beaten rice/ poha in it. Then there are the idlis that Manglorean Catholics make called sannas which are idlis with bread like texture, puffiness & lightness. This batter is made with parboiled rice and toddy is used for fermentation. Then there are idlis in between with different textures.

My mother likes soft idlis , but I never liked the idlis she made. The idlis taste like a lump of steamed batter of urad dal for me. It is one of the very few things that she makes that I don't like :(

I like my idlis soft but not mushy. I like them to crumble nicely with some texture. Not a lump of steamed batter! The way I make my idlis is  easy with less work( grinding).

Here is my version of idli that my household absolutely loves!

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Urad dal: 1/2 cup
Idli rava ( rice rava): 1 cup
Water: 1 to 1 1/2 cups to grind urad dal
Salt to taste ( approximately 3/4 tsp)

Method:

Soak Urad dal for 5-6 hours.

Wash idli rava/ rice rava thoroughly and keep aside.

Blend urad dal in a blender adding water little at a time until it rises to 3 times the volume you started with. Make sure you give the motor of the blender some rest in between. The consistency of the ground urad dal should be fluffy  and light ,not runny.
Pour the blended urad dal in a big bowl/ container.

Now mix the washed idli rava with the  urad dal , cover and let it sit overnight to ferment. If living in cold region, you can keep it in the cold oven/ microwave overnight.

Next  morning add  salt to the batter and mix well.

Ensure that the batter has fermented well. You can know this when the batter has risen a little in the container. Inadequte fermentation leads to poor quality idlis.

If the batter is too thick, add a little water. The consistency of the batter should be slightly thick ( thicker than dosa batter).

Grease the idli mold with ghee/ butter, fill it with batter until 2/3 full and steam in the idli steamer / pressure cooker ( without using the weight) for 10 minutes on medium- high flame.Turn off the heat and let it cool down in the steamer for another 10 minutes before taking them out of the mold.

Serve hot with sambar/ chutney or both.

Cooking made easy:

The urad dal to rice ratio is 1:2 for raw rice rava and 1:2.5 for parboiled rice rava. This is the ratio that had worked for me .

The urad dal when ground in a stone grinder is fluffier and lighter. The fluffier the urad dal, the lighter the idli.

You know the idli is done( well cooked) by testing it with a toothpick. Insert a toothpick into the center of the idli. If it comes out clean, the idli is cooked well.

Once you remove the idlis, place them in a airtight container/ hot box as idlis left uncovered tend to develop a dry hard crust  on the top.

I generally make double the amount of batter than stated above as I make idli Upma or fried idlis the next day for breakfast or evening snack.

Tip for healthy living:

Idlis are inexpensive but a complete food with a perfect combination of carbohydrate and protein complementing each other. When served with chutney and sambar, it is a balanced meal providing you with all the essential dietary nutrients while being low in calories;unless of course one tops it with a dollop of butter or ghee(clarified butter).

Food for thought:

Speech is silver, but silence is Golden. ( unknown).

Meatless Monday Moolangi ( Radish) Sambar

I am the kind who drools over vegetables! Today, I am proud to be part of Meatless Monday.Meatless Monday is a organization whose goal is to reduce global meat consumption.For more information about Meatless Monday go here.I am thankful to Mrs Sonal Gupta for introducing me to this movement.She has a great blog http://simplyvegetarian777.wordpress.com.

As a child, I never ate moolangi/ radish. This is because my mother never bought or cooked moolangi. Why???because she does not like the smell that it imparts while cooking. I always wanted to find out how it tasted. When I started living on my own, I started using radish. I like it, especially when I make this sambar out of it. The smell of it when it cooks is a little unpleasant , but that's only temporary. The taste is great.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Moolangi /White radish: 2 medium length ones.
Onion: 1 medium chopped
Tur dal: 1/4 cup
Sambar powder: 1 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder:1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp
Jaggery/ brown sugar: 1/2 tsp
Tamarind: marble sized if dry,( 1/4 tsp if pulp)
Water: 1 cup+ 1 cup
Mustard seeds  : 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves: 1 sprig
Asofoetida: pinch
Cilantro ( coriander leaves): 1/4 cup chopped.

Method:

Cook tur dal  thoroughly with 1 cup water in the pressure cooker and keep aside. When cooled, whip it lightly so that it becomes homogenous.

With a knife/ peeler scrape the peel of the radish. Wash it and slice it into 0.5 cms thickness slices.

Add one cup water, salt and cook it on the stove-top. When half cooked, add the chopped onions. Should take about 10-15 mins max for the radish to cook.

In the mean time take 1/2 cup warm water and make a tamarind solution. Add sambar powder, chilli powder, turmeric powder, jaggery and mix well.

To the cooked radish, add the tur dal. Mix well.

Now add the tamarind & sambar powder mixture and let it come to a boil. Turn off the flame.

In a small frying pan, heat oil, add mustard. Once the mustard splutters, add curry leaves and asofoetida powder. Add it to the sambar.

Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro/ coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rice/ idlis.

Enjoy!

Cooking made easy:

I tend to clean as I cook. This makes sure that I do not have a whole pile of dishes and a messy kitchen waiting to be cleaned when I am already tired of cooking. 

Tip for healthy living:

Radish has a whole lot of health benefits. They are potent detoxifiers and therefore purify the liver. It provides much needed dietary fiber and roughage hence preventing constipation.It also is filling and helps us get satiated quickly.They also are supposed to have anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties.

References:
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-502-RADISH.aspx?activeIngredientId=502&activeIngredientName=RADISH
http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/vegetable/health-benefits-of-radish.html

Food for thought: 

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. ( Lao Tzu).

Gluten-free Banana-Walnut Cranberry Bread

I always have a surplus of bananas in my house. My little ones and I eat one banana every morning for breakfast. As long as my kids eat one whole banana and drink one glass of milk, I don't stress about them eating or not eating anything else for breakfast. Bananas here in the US are big and filling. Coming back to the ones in my home, sometimes they become overripe and mushy:( Thrifty that I am, I hate to throw them. Previously, I used to make halwa out of them, but now I automatically say " Banana Bread". This is thanks to my very dear friend Phani. She is efficiency personified! She is also a marvelous cook. She passed on this recipe to me and it is absolutely foolproof. Her version is with whole wheat flour. I have substituted it with Oat flour and added some cranberries. Oats is gluten-free as long as it is specified on the box. This is because quite often it is processed at the same factory/plant where wheat and wheat products are processed and therefore can be contaminated with wheat. This could be a issue if one is gluten-intolerant.

Everyone needs a little dessert now and  this is one of my few indulgences. I hardly eat more than a slice once-in-a-while. My husband relishes it more with his evening tea.

Servings:8

Ingredients:

Oat flour: 2 cups( for regular kind you can use wheat flour)
Baking soda: 1 tsp
Salt:1/4 tsp
Ground cinnamon: 1/2 tsp
Ground nutmeg: 1/4 tsp
Vanilla extract:1 tsp
Butter:1/2 cup
Brown sugar:3/4 cup
Eggs: 3 beaten
Overripe bananas: 2 1/3 cups(6 bananas),mashed
Walnuts:1/2 cup,chopped(optional) 
Dried cranberries: 1/4 cup ( optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and keep aside.

Beat together the butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg  in a medium bowl until fluffy. 

Add the mashed bananas, and eggs, beating until the mixture is homogenous. 

Add the flour and nuts, stirring until it is mixed well. 

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and let it rest uncovered for 10 minutes at room temperature.

Bake the bread for 50 minutes. 

Lay a piece of foil gently across the top and bake until a cake tester (like a toothpick) inserted into the center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes more. 

Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before turning it out of the pan onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Serve warm with tea.

For those who are not calorie conscious, you can spread some butter on it and eat.Absolutely divine! If you are even more enterprising, eat it warm with a scoop of your favorite ice-cream!

Enjoy!

Cooking made easy:

Before you start cooking make sure you have all the required ingredients in front of you. This way you don't have to run looking for something when you are halfway through the recipe.

Tip for healthy living:

Bananas are considered a complete food by itself. It is such a rich source of essential nutrients. My mother says that eating a banana first thing in the morning boosts your metabolism. Banana is rich in potassium helps keep the heart healthy.It is known to be a prebiotic and helps the good bacteria in the gut to flourish. It is also beneficial in the treatment of diarrhea.It also apparently has a beneficial role in people with diabetes, blood pressure & asthma .It supposedly also helps prevent cancer.

References:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/505406-top-ten-health-benefits-of-bananas/
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=7
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/271157.php

Food for thought:

Never give up.( unknown)




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Ghosale Sheera Chutney ( Ridge Gourd Peel Chutney)

Whenever I make Ghosale upkari ( ridge gourd stir-fry), I save the peel and make this absolutely delicious and healthy chutney out of it.  The ridge gourd peel is fibrous and hence this chutney is rich in fiber, thereby contributing towards my daily dietary fiber intake.Even though this chutney is ubiquitous in Konkani households, I learnt this recipe from my mother-in-law. Her's I think comes out better than mine :)

Ingredients:

Ghosale sheera (ridge gourd peel): from 2 ridge-gourd.
Coconut Oil/ghee: 1 tsp
Mustard: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 1 sprig
Jeera ( cumin): 1 tsp
Black pepper corns: 1 tsp
Green chillies : 2
Tamarind : marble size ( if using pulp, use 1/4 tsp)
Asofoetida: pinch 
Jaggery/ Palm sugar:1/2 tsp
Freshly grated coconut: 1/2 cup ( you could put upto one cup if you wish)
Salt: 1tsp ( adjust according to your taste)
Water: 1/2+1/2 cup

Method:

With your fingers, break the ridge gourd peel and check for thread like fibers. Remove and discard them. Wash and Clean the tender peel and keep aside.

\\

In a saut� pan, heat oil/ghee, splutter  mustard seeds. Then add curry leaves,jeera, pepper corns and green chillies. Saut� for a minute.

Now add the cleaned and washed ridge gourd peel and fry it for 4-5 mins on low flame.Add 1/2 cup water and let it cook for 5-8 mins.

Turn the flame off and let it cool down.Now add freshly grated coconut, asofoetida, tamarind, jaggery, salt and grind in a blender to a smooth paste. Add the other 1/2 cup water while grinding as needed.

Serve with rice/ dosa/idlis or even in a sandwich.

Can be stored in an airtight container for upto 1 week.

Cooking made easy:

While making the above chutney, I sometimes add the green chillies and coconut while saut�ing the ridge gourd peel . Then I let it cool down and grind it with other ingredients. This increases the shelf-life of the chutney.

Keeping a chutney  handy makes breakfast and dinner easy.

Tip for healthy living:

Both Jeera ( Cumin) and black pepper aid in digestion.
Cumin is helpful in counteracting nausea and morning sickness.It is also purported to have anti-diabetic, anti-epileptic, anti-tumor, anti-microbial and immunologic activities in the human body. Cumin is also a source of magnesium & iron.

References:
http://www.namahjournal.com/doc/Actual/Jeeraka-or-cumin-and-caraway-%28-cuminum-cyminum-and-carum-carvi-%29-Vol-18-iss-3.html
http://phcogj.com/105530pj2011251
http://www.livestrong.com/article/415653-ground-cumin-health-benefits/#page=4


Food for thought:

Never say NEVER. ( Unknown)

Ghosale Upkari ( Ridge Gourd Stir-Fry).

Ghosale ( Ridge Gourd) is another one of my father-in-law's favorite vegetables. My mother-in-law teases my father-in-law with a small poem that she has made connecting the days of the week and his favorite vegetable to be cooked that day!

Ghosale aka Ridge gourd is also known as Luffa or Chinese okra. It has different names in different parts of India. It is known as Herekayi in Kannada, Adavi Beera in Telugu, Peechinga in Malyalam, Dodka in Marathi and Turai in Northern India and so on. You can find more herehttp://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luffa
This is another one of the vegetables that is gentle on the digestive system and can be safely eaten when one is sick or is on any kind of elimination diet. It also is known to have several medicinal values.

The stir fry is easy and quick to make and requires very few ingredients. This too is one of my favorites for weeknight dinners.

Servings: 4 

Ingredients:

Ghosale ( Ridge gourd) :2 medium sized.
Mustard: 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds ( jeera): 1/4 tsp
Green chillies: 1-2 (as per your spice level) ( I use one when I am making it for my little ones.)
Coconut oil: 1 tsp. ( you can use any cooking oil of your preference, I use coconut oil in mine).
Jaggery(molasses)/ sugar:1 tsp
Salt to taste.
Freshly grated coconut: 1 tbsp ( optional).

Method:

With a paring knife/ peeler,peel the ridges off the Ridge gourd.

Cut the ridge gourd (poddale) lengthwise twice.Then slice thinly horizontally so that you have 2 cms long thin slices and keep aside.

Slit the green chillies and keep aside.

Heat a saut� pan/ wok on medium heat,add 1 tsp coconut oil. Now add the mustard seeds. 

Once the mustard seeds splutter, add the cumin seeds, then the slit green chillies.

Now add the sliced ghosale( ridge gourd) and saut�.Add a little bit of salt and 1tsp sugar. 

Reduce the flame to low, cover the pan and cook until the vegetable is soft enough to eat. Generally takes about 15 minutes.

Garnish with freshly grated coconut. Serve with rice / bread.

Cooking made easy:

Make sure you cook on low flame as you want the vegetable to cook in it's own juices. Increasing the flame, makes the fluid evaporate quickly thereby increasing the chances of burning your vegetable.

Vegetables in the US tend to have higher water content and hence do not require additional water to be added while cooking. But if you find the pan getting too hot or you are in danger of burning the vegetable
then you can sprinkle some water and let it cook to your desired level of softness. It should not be mushy.

In India, for the above recipe, you can add 1/2 to 1 cup of water as needed. You can also cook it in a pressure pan. If you are doing so, add 3/4 cup of water, cover and let it cook on medium flame with the pressure cooker weight on, until you hear 2 whistles from the cooker. Turn the flame off and weight for the cooker to cook down completely before opening the lid. This is the pressure cooker method for most vegetables to be cooked in India.

Cooking the vegetable in it's own juices also has the advantage that we don't lose much nutrients.

Tip for healthy living:

"Activity, activity, activity ", this is the mantra for healthy living. When you are physically active, you automatically burn calories. This is especially true for the elderly and retired people. When you work you automatically move, walk and get out of the house. Whereas after retirement, most people don't find the necessity to get out of the house. This significantly limits the amount of physical activity. You have to find reasons to get out of the house atleast once a day. Find stuff to do around the house.This will get your joints moving. The more active you are, the better you will be.

Food for thought:

To err is human; to forgive is divine.( Alexander Pope).

One month of blogging!

Yay! Today makes a month since I started this blog. 

First and foremost let me express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you, especially my family and friends who have encouraged and supported me with this blog. Secondly, I would like to express my admiration of all those wonderful bloggers out there who dedicate all their time to blogging!Cooking is the easy part. It takes a lot of time and effort  to write down the recipes, take pictures, edit and post them. So many of the bloggers do such a great job of presenting their material; eloquently written text, eye catching pictures, step-by-step recipes; hats off to you all! Keep up the good work! For me, so far writing this blog has been a learning process. I, who didn't even know what a blog was, had a lot of learning to do. From  selecting a name, selecting a platform, the pros & cons of each one of them; getting a "this name is unavailable" message for 3 days straight... Ugh! It was frustrating! Then came the template selection, font, having to deal with widgets and gadgets, getting familiar with design.. It is still a work in progress..... especially since I know absolutely nothing about computers, software, web design etc. Next came the pictures.. I can cook, but I have no clue about photography . I don't have a single artistic bone in my entire body ! I also had to figure out how to watermark my pictures! I didn't know A,B,C of watermarking. Not only did I have to learn that , I had to find and figure out a software that worked for me (free of course since blogs don't bring you money)!

All that being said,I am still here. Let's see how far I can go. I do need your constant feedback and encouragement.

 If you have tried something and like it, do leave a comment and let me know. You can also email me pictures of what you tried and I will put it up here. If you have any suggestions for improvement or any requests, do tell me and I will do my best to apply it. My sister suggested that I should elaborate on the "Tip for healthy living" section. I will try my best to do that and provide references that are more reliable and valid.

Once again, thanks for visiting my blog. Have fun cooking, eating and  living healthy ! 

Cheers,

Suchitra