Idlis in Jackfruit Leaves-Stepwise; Khotte/Khotte Kadubu; Light Meal On Monday - Post 3

Hello!  I couldn’t post anything last Monday as my head was too occupied with Chennai floods disaster and during that week I was feeling to low to cook or post anything elaborate when so many out there in Chennai had lost their homes.

I have a sentimental attachment with the city where I have spent 5 good years of my life, during two stints and have lived their till 8 months back. Many of my blogger friends spent days without power and proper food, I went sleepless during those days, feeling helpless and miserable.

All the while I prayed, that God shows mercy, the rain stops and people could get back to their normal lives. Now that things have normalised in the city, my head and heart can focus back on the blog

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Couscous and Corn Idli

Hi All!

For this month’s  Blog Hop Wednesday’s started by Radhika of Tickling Palates, I was paired with Priya of Now Serving. I had an opportunity of meeting this multi talented lady recently. She is not only a great cook but a Bharatnatyam dancer too. She teaches Bharatnatyam  in US. I was definitely in a fix on what to attempt from her space. I was bowled over by her post on the different versions of Hummus recently and I wanted to try that but since the theme of this month’s event is ‘Only’ South Indian, I decided to make an instant version of Idli.

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Instant Broken Wheat & Oats Idli with Oats and Coconut Chutney and Winner of ‘Only’ Sprouts

Hi Friends!

I have posted my 300th post and the excitement of announcing the giveaways is finally sinking in. It was a small celebration time for my ‘blog baby’. The way we take care of our blog and spend so much time feeding it with our work, I guess all bloggers would agree calling it  our ‘baby’.

Like the blog needs nourishment of good work to grow and flourish our body needs healthy food. Breakfast is an important meal of the day and take it very seriously. I might skip my dinner but never the breakfast. I try to provide my family a healthy and wholesome breakfast which gives them a feeling of properly filled and not over fed. I use sprouts, Oats, daliya (broken wheat), Red Poha, Ragi and various flours to make a healthy and tasty breakfast.

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Sorghum Idlis….Health all the way!!!

Hi!

Idli or rice pancakes are a common item in all South Indian homes. Idli is considered a very healthy breakfast, light to eat and easy to digest. The only problem that I believe is that since it uses rice in it’s preparation it has high glycemic index.

Sorghum is a grain with low glycemic index and is perfect for diabetics and everyone who is conscious about their health. This particular Idli recipe was shared by S’s aunt Leela, who is an excellent physics teacher and still tutors at the age of 70. She makes this Idli regularly at her place and recommends this highly. She was so sweet to provide me with a batch of sorghum meal to try this preparation.

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Idli – Sambhar with Onion & Tomato Chutney

This is an ideal breakfast for any day but I had made it especially for my SIL and brother whom I met after almost 2 years. This is an all time favorite of S and  even he was  demanding it for quite some time. Finally I made  and it turned out really good.  Idli with sambhar and chutney is a very healthy meal as the Idli is steam cooked so has no oil and it’s easy to digest. It makes a good meal for ill people for the same reason.

After tasting it, my brother commented also, that we have Idli in all the best restaurant’s in London( he mentioned Sarvana Bhavan too) but they can’t make what you have made . I do not want to sound that I am boasting about myself but it’s true that today I make them better than my MIL, who is an extremely talented cook, from whom I started learning the South Indian cooking. Over the years I have experimented with the proportions of the ingredients and have come up with various proportions which make soft textured Idlis. And surely I will share them gradually with every one.

Idlis remind me of my favorite Idli joint in Chennai – The Murugan. When we used to live there, almost 2-3 times a month we would visit this place and hog on those gorgeous Idlis. They serve Idli with four diffent kind of Chutneys and Sambhar. Of all the chutneys, I loved a cooked version of the tomato chutney they served, and I am still hunting for it’s recipe. If anyone reading this blog knows how to make it, please share it with me.

I had made another cooked version of tomato chutney, but with the onions. We all love this chutney a lot and this is a versatile chutney as it can be spread on bread to make a Sandwich or can be eaten with Chapati as a side dish. It’s tangy and spicy and breaks the monotony of eating Idli only with the  traditional coconut chutney. It can be cooked really quick and asks for very few ingredients, but the end result is guaranteed. My brother liked it too.

The Sambhar I make is a Kannadiga version and has a delicate flavor of cinnamon. For the recipe of my version of Sambhar Masala click here. This is my MIL’s version of the masala and is really good.

Ingredients for Tomato-Onion Chutney
1 medium onion roughly chopped
1 large tomato roughly chopped
2 small lines of curry leaves
1 small spoon  of fenugreek seeds
2 large garlic pods
6-7 bedagi chilies
salt to taste
2-3 tsp thick tamarind pulp
3 tsp oil to cook
1 tsp oil for tempering
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of heeng (asafoetida)

Method

Heat oil and add fenugreek seeds, followed by red chilies, curry leaves and garlic. Immediately add onions and cook till translucent. Add salt and tomatoes. Cook till tomatoes are done. Cool and grind it with the tamarind paste.

Now heat oil for tempering and mustard and asafoetida. Pour it over the chutney.

I am sending this chutney to Think Spice- Think Red Chilies hosted by Laxmi Venkatesh of Kitchen Chronicles and is the brain child of Sunita Bhuyan of Sunita’s World


Ingredients for Idli-
Serves 4
2 1/2  cups Idli Rice
1 cup Urad dal (split black lentil)
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 cup cooked rice (I used sona masoori)
Method

Soak the rice and soak the lentil along with the fenugreek seeds separately for 3-4 hrs.

Grind the rice coarsely to a fine semolina like state using water.

Grind the lentil finely to a smooth paste also grind the cooked rice to a smooth paste.

Combine the three and adjust the consistency by adding water. It should be of a pouring consistency.

Leave it covered to ferment overnight.

Add salt to the fermented mix and mix properly.

Grease the idli  mould and pour the batter in it.

Steam cook the Idlis without putting weight  in a covered utensil or pressure cooker  for 10-12 mins.

Let the idlis cool  a little and then remove then run a knife or a spoon along the edges of the idli and remove them.

Ingredients For Sambhar

1 cup Toor dal (split pigeon peas)
2 onions sliced
2 strings curry leaves
3-4 tbsp sambhar masala
oil to cook
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric
tamarind paste to taste
salt to taste
1/2 tsp asafoetida
Method

Cook the lentil in a pressure cooker till it’s soft. (4-5 whistles)

Heat oil and add the mustard seeds and let them splutter then add fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. Add asafoetida and onions. Cook till translucent. Now add the turmeric, sambhar masala, salt and tamarind pulp. Now add the mashed lentils and cook for 2 –3 mins so that the masala gets mixed properly in the dal. Now add water gradually and keep mixing. Bring the sambhar to a boil then simmer and cook for another 5-7 mins. Add chopped cilantro.

I am sending this to  It’s Vegan world- Indian hosted by Erbe in Cucina and is the brainchild of Vaishali .