Sago (Sabudana) Idli

 

On this year Onam (15-9-2024) I welcomed Mahabali with a new breakfast item, so soft and with a nice mild aroma. There is no grinding involved here, as we do for normal idlis.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups idli rava/ rice rava for 12 idlis

¾ cup sago

2 cups curd

1 ½ cups water

Salt to taste

¼ tsp baking soda

Instruction

-          Take the idli rava and sago in a vessel and wash in water once. Beat the curd and mix in with this.

-          Slowly add the water to make a thick batter, cover and leave for fermentation overnight, or for 6- 8 hours

-          Just before steaming, add the salt and baking soda, add some more water if needed to get the correct consistency of idli batter. Mix gently.

-          Grease the idli mould and add the batter. Steam for 12 minutes.

-          Allow it to cool a little before removing for the mould.

-          Serve with sambar/chutney.

-          I had some left over batter, which I made into appe/phad on the next day for evening tea, after adding cut onions and green chilli. They tasted awesome!

Hanchina dosa/ Kappa rotti/ Vodu dosa/Odu dosa

 

My daughter had this dosa at Aloor and she was bowled over. She managed to get the recipe and shared with me. And I prepared this for breakfast. Traditionally it is served with sweetened coconut milk. I had some green tomato chutney and that was also a great combination. And what an item this hanchina dosa is!! It has an amazing texture. You should definitely include this in breakfast items.

Ingredients

2 cups dosa rice – for 8 dosas

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 cup cooked rice OR poha (beaten rice)

1 cup grated coconut

Salt to taste

Instruction

-          Wash the dosa rice, fenugreek seeds, and beaten rice. Soak for about 5 hours

-          Grind this with coconut and leave overnight for fermentation. It can be prepared immediately, without fermentation too. The batter should be thinner than that for set dosa, but thicker than neer dosa.

-          Add salt to the fermented batter and mix well.

-          Apply oil on a hot thava and pour the batter. Don’t spread it too thin. Cover and cook on low flame. It is cooked only from one side.

-          Enjoy with sweetened coconut milk or any chutney.

Tapioca Flour Dosa

My husband was having only fruits for breakfast, so it was time for me to experiment. Made tapioca flour dosa and I just loved its mild flavour and the chewy texture!

Ingredients

¾ ladle Coconut milk for 2 dosas

½ ladle Tapioca flour

1 ladle Wheat flour

A pinch of salt

A small pinch of baking powder

½ ladle water

1 tblsp ghee

Instruction

-          Extract the coconut milk by adding hot water to scraped coconut, and squeezing the milk out.  Add tapioca flour,  wheat flour, salt and baking soda and mix well

-          Slowly add water and mix to make a dosa batter consistency.

-          Heat a nonstick thava, pour some ghee and pour a ladleful of batter. Rotate the thava to spread  the batter.

-          When the upper side is done, pour some ghee over it and turn it upside down.

-          Remove from the thava when cooked, serve with coconut chutney or tomato ketchup.

Mysore Puris

 

I learned the recipe of Mysore Puris in Manipal way back in 1985, and prepare this at least once a year . Usually it is served with potato tomato curry and raita.

Ingredients

2 cups refined flour (for 12 puris)

3 small potatoes boiled peeled and mashed

4 bread slices

2 tsps ghee

½ tsp salt

1 ½ tbsps water

Oil for frying

Instruction

-          Dip bread slices in water, gently squeeze and keep aside for 15 minutes.

-          Knead together the bread slices, mashed potatoes, ghee, salt and water into a smooth dough

-          Divide into 12 balls, roll each ball between palms smeared with ghee, applying some pressure

-          Heat oil, keep on medium flame, spread each ball into round and fry on both sides

Mysore puris served with pumpkin sabzi and potato tomato curry

Matar Chivda (Beaten rice with green peas)

 

Quite often I prepare poha for breakfast, it is easy to make and is delicious. I got an urge to try matar chivda and was surprised at the flavour and taste that resulted.

Ingredients

1 cup medium thickness beaten rice

2 tbsps milk

3 tbsps water

Salt to taste

1 /2 tsps sugar

1 tbsp oil

1/8 tsp mustard seeds

 ¼ tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

A few curry leaves

2 tbspa roasted peanuts

½ cup cooked green peas (cook in salted boiling water for 5 minutes and drain)

1 tsp lemon juice

2 tbsps grated coconut to garnish

Instruction

-          Wash the beaten rice in water, drain the water, add the milk and water, salt and sugar, cover and set aside for about 20 minutes.

-          Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds, curry leaves, and ginger garlic paste. Keep stirring till the ginger garlic paste turns light brown.

-         Now add the roasted peanuts and cooked green peas. Stir well and mix in the soaked beaten rice. Check for salt and add more if needed.

-          Remove from fire after two minutes and mix in the lemon juice. Garnish with grated coconut while serving.

Instant Semolina Phad or Appe

A new addition came in my kitchen this year. I got a cast iron phad vessel (appe pan). Phad or paddu as it is called in Karnataka, or paniyaram, or kuzhi paniyaram in Tamilnadu is a South Indian breakfast which is prepared with leftover idli batter or dosa batter. Here I am giving an instant batter version.

Ingredients

1 cup semolina (sooji) for 7 phads

½ cup beaten curds

Salt to taste

2 tbsps finely cut onion

 2 tbsps grated carrot

½ tsp grated ginger

1 tsp finely cut coriander leaves

A pinch of baking soda

¾ to 1 cup water

4 tbsps oil

Instruction

-          Mix in the salt and beaten curd to the semolina slowly.

-          Now add all other ingredients except baking soda. It should be of slightly thick, pouring consistency.

-          Cover and leave for 15 minutes.

-          Now add the baking soda and mix well.

-          Heat the appe pan, reduce the flame and pour ½ tsp oil into each well and smear the walls with the spoon.

-          Pour 1 tablespoon of batter into each well. Cover with a lid and cook for 4 minutes.

-          Open the lid and you’ll see that the upper layer is somewhat cooked and you don’t see raw batter.

-          Turn the appes upside down with a spoon. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.

-          Remove the appes and serve hot with chutney.

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I experimented cooking egg in the appe pan, and I liked the taste.

Sweet Potato Oratti

 

I had some mashed sweet potatoes, was planning to make sweetpotato parathas when I saw the grated coconut. An idea clicked and decided to make oratti instead. It tasted awesome. My husband enjoyed it and said it was similar to puran poli, which is our favourite.

Ingredients

1 cup wheat flour ( for 3 orattis)

¾ cup boiled, skinned, mashed sweet potatoes

½ cup grated coconut

A pinch of salt

½ tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp white sesame seeds

2 tbsp ghee

Water to make the dough

Instruction

-          Take all the ingredients ( add only ½ tbsp ghee, remaining is for applying on the oratti) except water, mix well. Keep adding water slowly and knead into smooth dough

-          Heat a thava on medium heat, apply ghee. Remove the thava from the flame, take one third of the dough, spread lightly between the palms, put on thava and spread into a round with wet fingers. Put the thava back on the medium flame.

-          When the lower side is cooked, pour some ghee over the top surface, flip it upside down and let the other side also cook.

-          Remove and serve with butter or tomato sauce.

Karkidaka Kanji

 In Kerala parboiled rice is the staple food. It is also known as matta rice, Rose matta rice, Kerala red rice, Red parboiled rice and Palakkadan matta rice, as locally it is sourced from the Palakkad region of Kerala. It takes longer time to cook as compared to polished white rice. What I usually do is, soak rice in water overnight, pressure cook with four times water for 5 to 6 minutes, cool and drain.

Karkidaka Kanji is made during the Malayalam month of Karkidakam when it rains heavily, which can cause ill health. It has been part of the traditional monsoon food regimen in Kerala for long as it gives our system the immunity boost it needs at the time. It also helps in detoxification, aids digestion, reduces cholesterol, and improves bowel movement.

Ingredients

1 cup or 100 gms of Red rice (for two people)

1 tsp Fenugreek seeds

4 cups water

½ tsp Dried ginger powder

½ tsp Crushed pepper

½ tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp Turmeric powder

3 flakes of Garlic peeled and chopped

Salt to taste

Coconut milk – 1/2 cup

Instruction

-          Wash the rice, fenugreek seeds  and soak  them together overnight or at least for 3-4 hours

-          Pressure cook all the ingredients together, except coconut milk for 8 minues.

-          Cool, open the pressure cooker, add the coconut milk and simmer for two minutes.

-          Serve with boiled and seasoned green gram or coconut chammanthi (chutney).

Dosa with sago

 This has an awesome flavour and texture that I just love.

Ingredients

2 cups rice ( for 10 dosas)

1/3  cup beaten rice

2 tbsps sago

2 tsps fenugreek seeds

Salt to taste

Instruction

-          Wash and soak all the ingredients except salt, for about 6 hours. Grind to a thick batter and allow it to ferment overnight

-          Add salt, mix well and make dosas. If the batter has not risen well after fermentation, add a pinch of baking soda to the batter.

-          Serve with coconut chutney.

Banana Bread

 This bread is easy to make; it is soft, with nice aroma, heavy and quite filling. You can have it with fresh cream, butter, or jam.

Ingredients

1 cup refined flour

1 tsp baking powder

¼ cup oil

1 egg

1 banana mashed

¼ cup milk

2 tbsps jaggery

1 tbsp melon seeds (optional)

1 tbsp pumpkin seeds (optional)

Instruction

-          Sieve the refined flour with baking powder and keep aside.

-          Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

-          Beat the egg, add the mashed banana and oil, beat again.

-          Add the jaggery, milk, and mix well. Finally add the refined flour with baking powder, the melon seeds and mix.

-          Pour into a baking box lined with baking sheet, spread pumpkin seeds on the surface.

-          Put inside the pre heated oven and bake for about 40 minutes, till a tooth pick when inserted, comes out clean.

Ragi Dosa with fermented batter

This is a dosa loaded with nutrients of ragi flour and tastes almost like ordinary dosa.

                                       Ragi dosa, sambar, dosa podi with ghee, and fresh papaya

Ingredients

1 cup udad dal ( for 9 dosas)

½ cup rice

½ tsp fenugreek seeds

1 cup ragi flour

Salt to taste

Oil or ghee

Instruction

-          Wash and soak together the udad dal, rice and fenugreek seeds for 6-8 hours and grind to a smooth paste.

-          Mix in the ragi flour, make into a thick batter, adding water if needed. Leave it overnight to ferment and rise.

-          Add salt and make dosas, smearing oil or ghee on the thava and cook from both sides. The fire should be medium.

-          Serve hot with sambar and chutney. 

Rice Flour Pancake (Sweet version)

After having succeeded in making eggless pancakes, I ventured to make rice flour pancakes, which is a boon for gluten sensitive individuals. And they turned out awesome!

Ingredients

1 ¾  cups rice flour (for 5 pancakes)

2 ripe bananas

1/3 cup grated coconut

2 tbsps grated jaggery OR liquid jaggery (adjust as per your taste)

A pinch of baking soda

A pinch of cardamom powder

½ cup water

2 tbsps Ghee or oil

Instruction

-          If you are using grated jaggery, add ¼ cup water and put on medium flame. When it liquefies, sieve and keep aside.

-          Mash the bananas nicely with a fork. Add the rice flour, jaggery, coconut, cardamom powder and baking soda.

-          Mix well and add water slowly to make a thick batter.

-          Heat an oiled thava on low flame, spread a ladleful of batter, taking care not to spread it too thin.

-          When the underside is cooked, pour some ghee on the top, turn upside down and cook the other side.

-          Serve hot with ghee, honey or jam. 

Chila with Dried Lobia

 Ingredients:

-          1 ½  cups dried lobia ( for 7 chilas) soaked for about 6 hours

-          A pinch of asafoetida

-          ½ tsp red chilli powder

-          ¼ garam masala powder

 - Salt to taste

- 1 tsp cumin seeds

- 2 tbsps of finely cut leaves ( moringa leaves, amaranth leaves, basale etc.,)

- 2 tbsps finely cut onion

- 2 tbsps grated coconut

Instruction:

-          Grind all the first four items to somewhat smooth batter and add the other items

-          Make a thick batter, adding water if needed

-          Apply oil on a heated thava and spread the batter. Cover and cook.

-          Flip it over and let the bottom side develop a crust.

-          Serve hot with fresh coconut chutney.

 

French Toast

I first encountered French toast way back in 1979 while visiting PGI, Chandigarh. Our friend took us to the canteen and ordered French toast. It was the sweet version I had there. I used to make this (just beat the eggs with sugar) and the savoury version quite often when kids were home. It is very easy and fast to make and can serve as a snack as well as for breakfast.

Ingredients

2 eggs

3 bread slices

Salt to taste

1/3 tsp red chilli powder

A pinch of pepper powder

1 tbsp ghee or oil

Instruction

-          Break the eggs and pour into a bowl. Add the salt, pepper powder, red chilli powder and beat well till frothy.

-          Heat a pan and pour a little oil.

-          Dip the bread slices one by one into the beaten egg, both sides and put on the pan.

-          Once the underside is cooked, pour some oil on the top and turn upside down.

-          Remove when the underside is also cooked and serve hot with tomato ketchup.