Instant Urad Dal Flour & Rava Medhu Vadas

These are instant and crispy, but not so spongy  like the freshly ground dal, but  taste delicious . Have these with this Sambar and you will enjoy this.   

The  key to make these light is to beat for at least 15 minutes with a electric hand beater till bubbles are seen and the batter is fluffy.

Makes 12 - 14 depending on the size
Ingredients
1 Cup Urad Dal Flour
4 Tablespoons Heaped Rice Flour
½ Cup Heaped Fine Rava /Semolina
½ Teaspoon Cumin seeds
1 Green Chilly -finely chopped
6 Curry Leaves - finely chopped
1 Tablespoon Finely Chopped Coriander leaves
1/2 Teaspoon Salt 
1½ Cups Water
Oil for deep frying

Method 

Whisk  the urad dal flour with water( adding a little water at a time) till light and fluffy  dough for at least 15 minutes with a electric hand beater. When light, fluffy add rice flour, whisk till thick  and bubbly batter is formed. 

Now add the rava/semolina and beat again for 2 - 3 minutes.  Let it rest for 10 minutes.  Then add chopped green chillies, cumin seeds, coriander and curry leaves. 

Mix well and again keep it aside.

Let this rest  till oil is getting hot in a kadai.

When the oil is hot make small vadas and fry on medium flame till crisp and golden.

Enjoy!!

We had it with Moong Dal Sambar for our Sunday lunch, a change from the routine food.  Enjoyed it thoroughly!!

Labels : South Indian, Instant Mixes, Snacks, Breakfast, Main course, Deep Fried, Vegan

Kalingana Saali Polo /Watermelon Rind Dosa#Improv

Watermelon Dosa / Kalingana Saali Polo is a dosa made using watermelon rind (the white part, which is in between the red part and the outer green skin). It is a traditional dosa recipe from the Konkani cuisine of Karnataka. In Konkani language, Kalingan means Watermelon, Saali means peel and Polo means Dosa. 

I have  posted  so many Watermelon recipes earlier check below. Watermelon is everyone’s favorite summer fruit. Since it's made up of 90 percent water, it provides  refreshment during  summer. 

I always use  the white part/rind in cooking recipes. So after my Watermelon Paratha, its this quick and easy Watermelon Rind Dosa. This dosa is so soft and has a very spongy texture. You won’t even come to know that it has watermelon rind added to it and you will love it. The coconut added to the batter gives  a slight sweetness to the dosa's. Serve it along with any Chutney or Sambar .

Ingredients
11/3 Cup Idli Rava
1 Cup Heaped Chopped Watermelon rind
1/4 Cup Fresh Grated Coconut
1/2 Cup Poha /Flattened Rice
Salt to taste
Olive Oil as required
Method

Wash and soak the idli rice in water just enough to the level of the rava for 2 hours.

Wash and drain the poha in water using a strainer and keep aside.

Now in a mixer grinder, grind the watermelon rind along with grated coconut to a smooth paste. Take it out in a mixing bowl. Add the soaked poha and idli rice, season with salt and make a smooth dosa batter by adding very little water.
The consistency of the batter should be a little thick.

Leave the batter to ferment for 4 -5 hours, before  making the dosas.

Now, heat a dosa pan or a cast iron tawa on a medium heat, brush it with a little oil, pour a ladle full of the dosa batter, pour a teaspoon of oil on the sides. 

Cover it with a lid and let the dosa cook in its own steam till done. 

Then flip it and cook for a minute on that side too.

Remove it on a plate and proceed to make rest of the Kalingana Saali Polo similarly with the remaining batter.

Serve the Karwar Style Kalingana Polo Recipe- Watermelon Rind Dosa along with Peanut Coconut Chutney  or Sambar for the weekend breakfast or a dinner.
You would like other Watermelon recipes
Watermelon Paratha
Watermelon Agua Fresca 

Watermelon Granita
Apple & Watermelon Crush
Sparkling Apple & Watermelon Lemonade Spritzers
Vegan & Gluten Free Watermelon Jelly

Lables : South Indian, Karnataka, Watermelon, Rind, Dosa, Healthy, Coconut, Breakfast, Dinner,  Vegan, Gluten free,Improv Cooking Challenge 

Improv Cooking Challenge; July 2020

Watermelon and Olive Oil

• Watermelon Salad with Feta and Cucumber by Making Miracles
• Andalusian Watermelon Gazpacho by Pandemonium Noshery
• Summery Grilled Haloumi Salad by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Kalingana Saali Polo / Watermelon Rind Dosa by Sneha's Recipe
• Sweet Heat Watermelon Gazpacho by Cookaholic Wife
• Watermelon, Blueberry, and Mint Salad by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Watermelon Chaat Salad By Palatable Pastime

Pressure Cooker Carrot And Drumstick Sambar#MultiCookerMonday

This is quick one pot pressure cooker sambar, so quick an easy to prepare. Just add all the ingredients and take 2 whistles on high flame and your sambar is ready.  

Thanks to Multi Cooker Monday where we can cook and post in all our small appliances, where other wise are hardly used. 

Ingredients
½  Cup Tur Dal
1 Large  Carrot - cut int sticks 
1 Tomato –  cut into four pieces
4 Drumsticks - cleaned and cut into long pieces 
1 Green Chilly
2 Teaspoons  Instant Sambar Masala Powder- Homemade
1 Teaspoon Red Chilly Powder
1 Teaspoon Heaped Coriander Powder
½ Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1 Small Lemon Size Ball Tamarind
Salt to taste
1 Teaspoon Jaggery
A Sprig Curry Leaves 
For the Tadka
2 Tablespoons Oil
1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
1 Teaspoon Urad dal
1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds ¼ Teaspoon  Asafoetida
A Sprig Curry Leaves

Method

Wash and soak the tur dal for atleast an hour.
Soak the tamarind in ½ cup warm water.

In a pressure  pan , add tur dal,  drumsticks, carrot, tomatoes whole green chilly,  all the given spices, jaggery, salt to taste . Add water  to the level of the veggies , give it a good mix .  Place this on high flame bring the water to a boil, when it come to boil cover with the lid and pressure cook for 2 whistles on high flame. Turn off the heat and let the steam settle  by itself. Open the cooker and set aside.

Add the tamarind juice and enough water, to make a gravy consistency and bring this to a boil.  Let this simmer for at least 5  to 7 minutes on low.

In a small takda pan,  heat oil, add mustard, urad dal, cumin seeds , curry leaves and asafoetida and let them sizzle. Add  this tadak to the dal and mix well.

Serve with rice or idli.  

Enjoy!! 
Lables:  Sambar, Pressure Cooker, South Indian, Dal, Carrot, Drumstick, Instant Sambar Masala Powder, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Multicooker Monday,  Vegan, Gluten free,  No Onion No Garlic
Multicooker Monday - March 2020 Recipes
Recipes for Instant Pots, Slow Cookers, Sous Vide and More! 

Pressure Cooker & Instant Pot Recipes:
Instant Pot Carolina-Style Pulled Pork from Karen's Kitchen Stories
Instant Pot Orange Chicken from Making Miracles
Pressure Cooker Carrot And Drumstick Sambar from Sneha's Recipe
Thai Green Curry Mussels (Instant Pot) from Palatable Pastime

Slow Cooker Recipes:
Maple & Honey Butter Crockpot Sweet Potatoes from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Sous Vide Recipes:
Sous Vide Bone-in Leg of Lamb from Food Lust People Love
Sous Vide Chicken from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

Tell your friends about #MulticookerMonday! We post each month on the third Monday with trusted recipes for your favorite small appliances!

Instant Sambar Masala Powder - How to make Instant Sambar Without Adding Dal

This is an instant premix for making sambar.  All you need to do is just boil the veggies along with this mix.  No soaking or cooking of dal or grinding coconut.  If you do have any  vegetables you can still make this and it will taste good.

It is very convenient to have a ready  mix at home rather than relying on store bought premixes. A well know fact is that a  South Indian meal is never complete unless there is Sambar or Rasam. 

Making a delicious sambar takes time. This instant sambar masala mix is a great boon. All you have to do pick up any vegetables you have or love , mix this instant sambar mix with water and boil it with the vegetables, a delicious sambar is ready to enjoy. It taste just as good as normal sambar , its just that there is no hassle and its absolutely quick to make

Now days I use this only to make sambar at home.   If, sometimes  there is any leftover cooked tur dal, just add that too to this mix, it helps in thickening the sambar faster.

I, have prepared this ready sambar mix and sent to may friends abroad.  Write the method of preparation on paper and stick it to the packet so that they can easily make this Sambar. You can even give it to your son or daughter when they leave for  Universities/Colleges away from home , who, need a taste of good home food. 

The ingredients are for a basic South Indian Sambar, adjust the spiciness to get your taste.
Ingredients

6 Tablespoons Heaped Tur Dal / Yellow Split Pigeon Peas
1 Tablespoon Heaped Chana Dal
6 Dried Byadgi Chillies 

4 - 5 Kashmiri Chillies
½ Teaspoon Asafoetida powder or Crystal
4 Tablespoons Heaped Coriander seeds
½ Teaspoon Black pepper corns
½ Teaspoon Fenugreek seeds

1 Tablespoon Roasted Gram / Putane
1 Big Lemon Size Tamarind
2 Tablespoons Raw Rice
1 Teaspoon Turmeric powder

10 to 12 Curry Leaves

For the Tempering

1 Tablespoon Mustard seeds
2 Tablespoons Oil
1 Sprig Curry Leaves 

3 - 4 Red Chillies

Method
Heat a pan / skillet with a teaspoon of oil and roast each ingredient (including the asafoetida powder / crystals, and the tamarind ( after breaking it up into small bits. ))separately till lightly golden, or till it releases an aroma, do not burn ingredients or else it will give an burnt taste to sambar.  Remove each ingredients on to a kitchen towel and let cool completely.   Keep them aside.

Fry the curry leaves till crisp and add to ingredients while powdering .  

Then grind all the ingredients to a fine powder.

For the Tempering

In a tadka pan heat oil, add the mustard seeds, when they  splutter,  add the red chillies and  curry leaves when they are crisp, take off flame. Pour it on to the prepared mix.

 When the mix has cooled completely store in an airtight container.

How to prepare the sambar 

Take a kadai / pot ,  add a cup or 2 of water depending on quantity of sambar you need.

For instance I took around 400 ml of water and added 3 tablespoons heaped  of the prepared mix. 

Mix the powder well in water, add finely cut vegetables like potatoes, carrots, tomatoes (a must), pumpkin or which ever veggies to enjoy eating . Add salt to taste,  as it is not added in the mix and place it on high flame stirring continuously till it comes to a boil.  Reduce the flame and let the veggies cook, stirring at intervals so that it does not burn at the bottom.

When the vegetables are  cooked perfectly, make adjustments to the sambar , taste for salt and sourness, check the gravy consistency,  which would have reduced or thickened, so add  water accordingly and  bring it to rolling boil.

Although there is no need to add any cooked dal as dal is already added in the mix, if preparing at home and cooked dal is readily available, add the dal to thicken.

This  Sambar can also be thickened by gently mashing potatoes with the ladle.  Garnish with coriander leaves, can give a little more tadka too after the Sambar is ready, this is optional. Enjoy with Idli or rice.

Labels:Instant premixes ,Bachelor Recipe, Instant Sambar Without Dal, South Indian, Vegetarian

Idli – Steamed Sourdough Rice and Lentil Buns#BreadBakers

Bake a gluten free yeast, sourdough or quick bread for this month's, event for Bread Bakers our Host is  Stacy Livingston Rushton.

Idlis are naturally fermented buns, yeast free, gluten free, vegan and oil free too. They are soft, spongy and easy to digest.

Making idlis, is not difficult, nor does it need a lot of attention, the sourdough however, does need preparation time for soaking and fermentation. So, just plan it a day in advance before making them since it requires soaking time and depending on weather 8 to 12 hours fermentation time.

While a basic proportion for idli is using 2 parts rice to 1 part lentils, for the texture and softness I, sometimes use 2 and 1/2 cups parboiled rice or idli rawa to 3/4 part lentils / urad dal and 1/2 cup of rice flakes or poha into the batter also, which  makes a huge difference, it gives a fantastic soft texture. To make a good idli it's essential to use a short grain parboiled rice or what it's also know as idli rice or even idli rawa which is readily available , rather than the long grain basmati rice or any other raw / cooking rice.

Ingredients
2 Cups Parboiled Rice / Idli Rice
3/4 cup White lentils / Urad Dal
1/2 Cup Poha /  Beaten Rice Flakes
1/2 Teaspoon Fenugreek seeds
1 Teaspoon Salt or to taste
Water for soaking and grinding
Oil for Greasing the moulds

Method
Soak the rice and the lentils separately  for at least 4 to 5 hours. Soak the fenugreek seeds along with the lentils.
Wash and drain the grains.

Just before you start blending wash and soak the poha in just a little water.

Place the half the  rice in the blender with 1/4 cup  water and  blend in a blender, pausing if needed to ensure a smooth paste with just a hint of  coarseness.  Grind the remaining rice also the same way.  Remove this into a large pot  / vessel, or  a large container with a lid which has  enough space to allow the batter to ferment and expand, much like bread dough. 

In the same  blender  (it is not necessary to wash the blender) add in the soaked lentils / urad dal with 1/4 cup of water and blend the mixture until light and super soft and fluffy.  Remove this into the same pot / vessel of the ground rice.  Now grind soaked  beaten rice and blend for another minute. 

Add this also to the blended lentils and rice mixture,  whisk well until they are mixed to form a smooth batter and light and fluffy.  Keep this batter overnight   or more depending on the weather ( in summer it take 6 to 7 hours ) to let the batter ferment.  A good batter will actually double in size.

 In a idli cooker or  large stock pot, or a pressure cooker.  that fits the idli moulds.  Add about 2 inches of water.    Bring the water to a simmer.  Brush oil  on the idli moulds.

Add salt to the fermented batter and mix it lightly, the batter should have the consistency of thick pancake or waffle batter. 

Pour the batter into the mould till about 3/4 full, allowing a little room to let the buns rise.  Gently lower the filled idli moulds  in the idli cooker and cover it with a lid. Let it steam on high flame for 12 t0 15 minutes or till a knife inserted comes out clean.

Turn off the heat and let the idlies rest for about 10 minutes, before gently un-molding them and serving.

Dunk them in mouthwatering Instant Sambar and enjoy..
Instant Sambar recipe.

Labels :  South Indian, Gluten free, Vegan, Oil free, Lentils,  Parboiled Rice, Breads, Bread Bakers, Steamed, Sourdough, Healthy, Breakfast, Main course

Gluten Free Breads -- check the other recipes

Coconut Flour Pancakes from A Day in the Life on the Farm
Gluten Free Cheddar Garlic Biscuits from What Smells So Good?
Gluten-Free Petite Vanilla Bean Scones from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
Idli – Steamed Sourdough Rice and Lentil Buns from Sneha's Recipe
Japanese Rice Crackers from Karen's Kitchen Stories
Low Carb Garlic Rosemary Bread from Gayathri's Cook Spot
Pan de Yuca from Mayuri’s Jikoni
Pão de Queijo - Brazilian Cheese Bread from Food Lust People Love
Quinoa Chia Multiseed Bread (Vegan ~ Gluten Free ~ Dairy Free) from CookWithRenu
Spicy Besan and Fenugreek Crackers (GF and Vegan) from Sizzling Tastebuds

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Indo Chinese Idli Fry - Leftover Idlis

Have leftover idli's and you are tired of having them with Sambar or chutney then try this quick Indo Chinese fusion recipe. Quick, easy and delicious. We had this for a quick Sunday brunch, can pack this as your kid's  tiffin as they are moist and not dry to eat.

Ingredients
10 Leftover Idli's - cubed.
2 Tablespoons Oil
1 Onion - finely chopped
1 Capsicum - chopped
3 Garlic cloves - finely chopped
3 Tablespoons Tomato ketchup
2 Tablespoons Soya sauce
1 Teaspoon Vinegar
1/2 Teaspoon Red chilly powder or to your taste
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar
Salt
1 Spring Onion - chopped for garnishing

Oil for deep frying
For the batter 
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/4 Cup Rice flour
1 Teaspoon Red Chilly powder
Salt to taste

Method

Cut the idlis into big cubes. 

In small deep frying pan heat oil.

As the oil is heating let's prepare the batter -
Take all the ingredients for the batter in a bowl , add water to make a thick coating consistency. 

Dip the idli pieces in the batter and fry on high flame till golden.

Remove on a absorbent paper to remove any excess, fry all the remaining pieces and keep aside.

In a another pan heat the 2 tablespoons oil and add the onions, garlic , fry till translucent. Then add capsicum and toss,  it should remain crunchy. Add the tomato ketchup, vinegar, soya sauce, chilly powder,  salt, 2 tablespoon water, sugar and stir well,  let it come to a boil. Now add the fried idli's toss them well till coated with the sauce on high flame. Garnish with chopped spring onions and serve hot. 

Enjoy hot idli fry.

Labels : Breakfast, South Indian, Leftover series, Idli, Indo Chinese, Kids delight, Brunch,Vegan