Avarekaalu Akkitari Uppittu Made Using Borosil’s Digi Kook Rice Cooker- A Product Review

Hi!

Here comes the last and final review of the three products, that I had received from Borosil . The previous two reviews can be read here and here.

I can very happily say that this product has become an innate part of my kitchen. My every day rice gets cooked in the Borosil Digi Kook Rice Cooker and I’m very happy with the outcome.

Not only is the rice cooker very sleek and smart looking, with a great finish but the final product cooked in it has always turned out very well. There are days when I get busy with work and the delay timer on the rice cooker has come to my rescue there.

I put the rice in the rice cooker with the delay timer ‘ON’ and get absorbed in my work. The delay timer helps me get a well cooked rice at a time I want. Once the rice gets cooked, it moves into ‘Keep Warm’ mode, so one always gets a hot rice on the plate. Sounds fuss free right!!

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ज्वारीचा दोसा | Jowar Dosa | Indian Style Sorghum Pancake | Jolladda Dose | Cholai Dosa

Hi!!

Summer has hit now and we are passing through the days of Agninkshatram here. With many guests coming in and going back in these vacations, I’m hardly getting time to try new recipes or click pictures. I’ve many more interesting posts planned for the next month, by which time my life will come to some stability.

I’m always trying to incorporate healthy grains in my diet and the easiest way that I find most of the times is to make a Dosa using them. Married to a South Indian, dosa is heartily welcomed by S and family. I keep changing the proportions of the grains to try new versions.

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Kurdayi Chi Bhaaji :गव्हाच्या कुरडयांची भाजी- A Traditional Recipe Of A Dry Curry Made Using Indian Home Made Wheat Vermicelli like Poppadums | Step Wise

Hi all!!

It’s peak summer time here and while posting this recipe I’m filled with nostalgia. It seems like ages that I would sit patiently with Akka (my granny) and press out the kurdayaa (कुरडया) on plastic sheets under the scorching sun and then leave them to dry. Once in an hour she would make one of the grand children to run to terrace and check whether the birds were not attacking the drying fryums. I do not know what these fryums, made out of wheat are called in other languages, but in Maharashtra they are called कुरडया/Kurdayaa. They are made after soaking the whole wheat in water for 4-5days (water changed every day) and then the wheat is grinded, strained. It is then cooked with equal water, a lot of heeng to add flavour and salt to make a thick shiny mass called the ‘Cheeka’ (चीक​). The चीक​ topped with filtered ground nut oil is a delicacy in itself and my mother and my my maternal aunts relished eating that. My granny ensured that there was enough चीक​ left for the family to eat. I never liked the cheeka but I did love the dried product, kurdaya.

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Kid's Lunch Box Ideas| नवधान्य पूरी | Savoury Deep Fried Indian Bread made using Nine Grains | Dairy Free | Vegan | Winners Of Only Event

Hi!!

Today while I surfed through my old pictures, I landed on these Pooris and realized that I have the recipe lying in my drafts for ages now. I kept wondering how I missed posting this but at the same time was happy too, as it is just the right time for me to post it for my current event ‘Only’ Cooking With Grains running through this month and is guest hosted by Shruti.

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Shahi Dosa, Step By Step Filling & The Winner of March Month’s ‘Only’ Event

 

Hello Friends!!

Firstly apologies for disappearing suddenly, I was just held up with too many things..

Today I’m posting a Dosa recipe very close to my heart. This brings in many childhood memories..Almost once in a month after the Sunday meditation, I and my brother would accompany my parents and visit a vegetarian restaurant called Naivedyam, where I and my dad would religiously order the Shahi dosa and  savor that. While my brother ordered spring rolls and my Mom would order a paav bhaaji or chhole bhature. This happened for several years till the restaurant shut down. My dad also loved their Kashmiri pulao and after the restaurant shut down I tried the preparation

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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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Avalakki Bissi Bele Bhaath..A Quick Fix With Beaten Rice

Hi!

I'm kick starting contributions to my event 'Only' South Indian, hosted here at Foodelicious, with a very tasty preparation from the state of Karnataka, which is S's native state. I have reiterated several times that my MIL is an excellent cook and is my guide and tutor to Karnataka style cooking or in more romantic word's she has guided me clearly on the correct path to my husband's heart who is fond of good food and especially his Mom's food.

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For My MOMS and Posting the 251st, Sambhar Vadai… a fried treat after a long time

 

Hi All!

Days are rolling by and the work pressure is manifesting and at times managing home and work seems a herculean task. There are times when I wake up with the thought of  quitting the job but by the end of the day I am still working and continuing to hate myself for being so tired and unorganised. I know, all the working Moms would empathise with me and so I dedicate this post to all the Moms and Moms to be who work so hard to keep the family running, to make the family feel special and love them endlessly….

WISH YOU A HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!!

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कुटु के आटे और अरवी का दोसा | Buckwheat and Colocasia Dosa | Faraali/Upvaas/Fasting Food | Step Wise

Hi!

Sunday started off in a great way as I made one of my best impromptu preparation till date using the buckwheat. I know quite a few good ways to consume the buckwheat but making a dosa had never came to my mind till yesterday. I  was elated by the end result. To add to my elation S took me out for shopping and I shopped and shopped till I dropped. After returning home watched 3 Idiots again on Sony TV while eating a Cheese Burst Pizza. 

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For My 150th Post, Wrapped Up..Grilled Veggies and Couscous in Aioli Dressing

 

Hi friends! I feel elated typing this post as I cross another landmark. For this, I decided to share a wrap which I am very fond of and is surely very very tasty and healthy too.

Mocha is a favorite hangout place for me and DH and we keep exploring their menu every time we visit it but this wrap has surely become a regular order. It was after reading the description in menu card that I learnt about the aioli dressing and wanted to give this a try. The aioli dressing as I have understood is a French dressing for salads and meat. It is garlicky, creamy and like mayonnaise is an emulsion of oil and oil  soluble compounds in water and water soluble compounds.

To make the wraps my first hurdle was to get hold of Couscous which is not so easily available here, gladly my good old INA market came to my rescue. For a foodie this market is a must to visit. Working with couscous is a child’s play, they are so easy to work with that it does not need any detailed explanation.

The next step was convincing S to by a grill pan (actually it’s a steak pan but grills excellent), to my delight after 2 years of pestering I eventually bought it  a few days back.

Once I had this there was no looking back I had to make this wrap. The original recipe asks for char grilled veggies but I was happy by grilling my veggies on this pan, since it’s a cast iron pan it gave a nice rustic, burnt and smoky flavor to the veggies.

There are many aioli recipes available on the net. I read many and then suiting our taste buds concocted mine. This was my first attempt to make this dressing so with all apprehensions in mind I made this and was extremely happy with the result.

I also made whole wheat tortillas at home, yes, I did work hard for this post but during the entire process I was worried how the end product would be. The tortillas are so easy to make if you are used to making thin rotis regularly at home, for me it was an easy task surely and I was mighty happy looking at my tortillas.

Finally came assembling the wrap, then grilling it and at last dig into it. I was so apprehensive that I served it first to my son and I jumped with joy the minute he showed his thumbs up with the first bite. The taste was as close as I could get to Mocha’s. I patted myself for all the hard work and made a wrap for myself.

So here’s what I did…

Ingredients for Aioli Dressing

1 garlic

2 egg yolks

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup EVOO

1 tsp lime juice

1 tsp cold water

1 tsp crushed whole grain mustard

 

Method

Bring the eggs to rooms temperature and then separate the egg yolks.

Finely chop the garlic and mix it with salt.

Whisk the egg yolks with the garlic.

Add half of EVOO gradually drop by drop while whisking continuously. I used my electric beater for this process. Be careful as the oil needs to get mixed with the water component to form the emulsion. If precaution is not taken then the oil-water components separate.

After adding half the oil add  lime juice, water and beat. After this stage the oil can be added in more quantities and keep whisking.

The end product’s a thick, viscous, garlic flavored emulsion which can be used as a dip or dressing.

Ingredients For Whole Wheat Tortillas

(makes about 13)

1 cup APF

1-3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

5 tbsp oil/shortening

1 cup warm water

Method

Mix both the flours and salt. Add the oil and rub and mix to get a bread crumbs like texture.

Add water gradually and knead a dough which is soft but not as soft as a bread dough.

Cover it with a cloth and let it stand for an hour.

Divide the dough into 12-13 parts and then give each part  a ball shape.

roll each ball on a floured surface into thin 7inch circles.

Heat a griddle and roast the tortilla lightly on each side on  a medium high flame. Turn immediately as light blisters appear.

Do not over roast else they will turn crisp.

Preparing Couscous

Boil 150 ml water with 1/2 tsp salt and 3/4 tsp salt. Add this to 150g of couscous, mix  and let it stand for 2mins so that it can fluff. Add 2 tbsp butter to it and mix again. The couscous is ready to be used.

Grilling the Vegetables

Cube a half of green, yellow and red capsicum, half onion and slice 1/4 zucchini (one can add veggies of their choice). Grill on high flame till they are slightly charred from either side. Then chop them.

Couscous and Grilled  Vegetables Stuffing For The Wrap

Mix in the couscous, 4-5 tbsp aioli dressing, 1 tsp white pepper pwd, a pinch of crushed rosemary and salt if required.

 

Assembling the WRAP

Take the tortilla and place about 4-5 tbsp of the stuffing at one end and then wrap as shown in the pics.

Grill the wrap with a little butter on the griddle on either side.

Serve hot.

These wraps can make a heavy snack, a good dinner item or are even good for brunch.

Would love to hear from my silent readers too, so leave me a note please.

Sending this to Iftar Moments Hajiri 1431 hosted by Taste of Pearl City.

No Oil Chana Masala and Instant Whole Wheat- Bread Bhatura

Hi Friends!

The food from the state of Punjab is extremely popular throughout India and one can find many restaurants catering to this world famous cuisine. I am sure everyone  is fond  of the world famous combo food Chana-Bhatura but as it’s high on oil and calories we eat that once in a while.

Today I share this extremely popular combo food recipe cooked in my style and in a healthy way. I guess all Indian food blogs will surely have the recipe to this, so one might ask, what’s new here?

New is that, I have still not read any one contributing to a NO OIL CHANA, yes this recipe has absolutely ZERO OIL but is high on taste and one surely does not miss out the oil factor.

I had learnt this recipe from my colleague who is a Punjabi Sikh. She would bring this in her lunch box and we all used to love it. She used to call this 'Keechad Chana' or Cheekad Chana, which translates to 'Muddy Chana' in English, probably for the blackish colour of the curry. When I had asked her for the recipe, I was shocked and surprised to hear that it had absolutely no oil, as one can’t make out that difference. I found it a very unusual recipe, very healthy, low on calories and still scrumptious….unbelievable, right?!?!  Do try this and then believe it. As for me, as I finished cooking S entered the kitchen saying, “What are you cooking? It’s smelling good” .

A normal bhatura is made with refined flour and yogurt and the process of fermentation takes 3-4 hrs. This Bhatura recipe is my Mom’s. I have repeatedly mentioned that she is a marvelous cook and I still can’t match the speed with which she cooks. My Mom uses bread which has natural yeast in it so it helps fermenting fast and the bhatura can be rolled in half an hour after the dough is kneaded.

I have always found Bhatura made in this  way is crispy, does not soak the oil  and also  it does not turn chewy on becoming cold unlike the regular bhaturas. One can make this completely with refined flour but being a health conscious Mom I replaced the 'All Purpose Flour' largely and made a whole wheat version.

The Combo made in this fashion becomes a healthier substitute to the normally high fattening version. So next time you are scared on binging chana-bhatura try my method and you will never regret.

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Sprouted Moong and Barley Pesarattu

Hi Friends!

As it’s said “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper”. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I look forward to make easy, filling and healthier options for the same. Body needs a good dose of balanced diet in the morning after staying without food for about 8-10 hours. I surely try to concoct various pancakes or crepes as they are filling, nutritious and less time consuming.

Pesarattu is a crepe quite similar to dosa made from green gram without using the rice, it is quite a popular dish from Andhra Pradesh. It is either made with the husked or dehusked lentil and based on the type of lentil used it has a green or yellow colour.

This time when I made this I modified it to a large extent, instead of using the lentils I used the whole green gram (sabut moong) and  sprouted them to make it a more nutritive option, to increase the protein content added split black gram flour (urad dal), to further it added the whole barley flour and to keep it crisp used rice flour too.

Sprouting the legumes increases the protein content which is very important for the growth and development of cells. Barley is a very good diuretic and aids in healthy functioning of the kidneys. So this pesarattu is full of health benefits.

Ingredients

about 4 cups of sprouted green gram

1 cup rice flour

1/2 cup barley flour

1/2 cup urad dal flour

5-6 green chilies

a handful of cilantro

1 tsp chili pwd

2 tsp cumin pwd

3 tsp coriander pwd

a tsp of cumin seeds

salt to taste

water to make the batter

Method

Make a coarse paste with sprouted moong, cumin, cilantro, ginger and green chilies.

Mix all the flours.

Add salt to taste, cumin pwd, red chili pwd, coriander pwd and add water to make a dosa like batter.

Smear some oil on a non stick pan and spread the batter in concentric circles. This is thicker than the normal dosa.

Cook it from one side till you get a golden hue and then flip and cook on the other side.

Serve it with roasted peanut and coriander chutney.

काकडीचे थालीपीठ | Kakadiche Thalipeeth ..Maharashtrian Style Cucumber Pancakes | Step Wise | Breakfast Recipe | Lunch Combo-2

 

Hi Friends!
It is always challenging to make an interesting and healthy breakfast everyday. The items that frequent my kitchen during breakfast are Indori Kanda Poha, Avarekalu Uppittu, Upma, Shavage Upma, Ukadpendi,  Idli, Dosa…etc. I would love to hear, in which way you make your breakfast interesting, do let me know if you have interesting recipes to share.

Summer invites more cucumbers into our diet as it’s a good hydrating agent and  I do keep a good stock of them in my refrigerator all the times. Mostly I eat them raw with some salt, lime and red chilli powder on it, it’s simply superb. Because of the heat, I have lost the interest of indulging into elaborate cooking.

One of these days when I was trying to fix a decent breakfast and searching for ideas, I realized that I had not made Thalipeeth (pancakes) in  a long time. The name thalipeeth made me go down the memory lane making me realize further, that I had never fed my family Cucumber Thalipeeth, which happened to be my ‘childhood favourite’.  I was left shocked with the self realization and was pushed  deep in thoughts. I was wondering, how could that be possible!!! How could I completely forget making such an amazing preparation for so long especially when they have been my personal favourites… . I gave a deep sigh and did not waste a single minute after that. I collected all the ingredients fast and geared up to make these extremely flavourful, spicy and savoury pancakes which are called Thalipeeth in Maharashtra.

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Wrapped…Tomato Flavoured Mixed Veggies

Hi friends.

I am so grateful to all my blogger friends who took time to drop by and wish me on my 100th post and  I am also happy that my event has  started off..and have started getting entries for my event.

After an elaborate Biryani  I thought of posting something very colourful, tasty, healthy and very quick to make recipe. Honestly speaking I love eating wraps and my craze for them started during our stay in Mumbai. I must say Mumbai offers the best wraps that I have tasted so far and that too at a reasonable rate….

I had a few exotic veggies lying in my fridge and I even had a few chapatis asking me to use them…so I thought of making an interesting filling with the veggies,  wrap them in my chapatis and use my panini grill to grill them. End result was an extremely tasty, externally crisp and internally crunchy wrap. I have used my regular chapatis but one can use the tortillas or any other kind of bread. This stuffing can be used as a side dish or can be used as a filling for sandwich too…

Ingredients for the tomato sauce

2-3 tomatoes pureed

2-3 garlic crushed

2 tsp oil

2 green chilies chopped

1/2 tsp chilli pwd/ paprika

1/4 tsp garam masala

1 tsp chaat masala

salt to taste

Ingredients for the veggie mix

2 tsp butter

1 small broccoli cut into florets

1 onion chopped

quarters of green, yellow and red capsicum cut into thin fingers

6-7 babycorn cut into oblong slices

6-7 mushroom quartered

salt to taste

and freshly ground black pepper as per taste

Other ingredients

some butter for toasting

chaat masala to sprinkle

and an onion sliced

Method

How do we make the tomato sauce?

Heat oil add crushed garlic, once it turns light brown in colour add the green chilies followed by the tomato puree and cook. Add salt, paprika, chaat masala and garam masala. Let the sauce thicken.

What do we do with veggies?

Blanch broccoli, babycorn and mushroom one by one and remove them in  colander so that excess water can be removed.

Take a pan and heat butter and saute the onions. Sprinkle some salt and pepper and then tip in the veggies one by one and toss them for a minute. Now mix them in the tomato sauce. Ensure that the sauce covers the veggie nicely but at the same time also check that it’s not watery..  Filling is ready.

How to make the wrap?

Take the chapati and keep the filling in the centre and spread it vertically  till the edges. Put some onion slices and sprinkle some chaat masala (One can also add cheese at this stage, I avoided that as I wanted the tomato flavour to dominate in my mouth). Fold in the wrap as shown in the pics below and then apply some butter and grill them till crisp. Cut it into halves and serve.

These wraps do not need any dips or chutneys and are quite tasty themselves… So just grab and eat.  It can be an ideal snack for kids and at the same time  a very filling and healthy brunch too.

Soybean and Rice Adai

Hi Friends.

Now that I felt rejuvenated after enjoying a fun filled long weekend with my family, I decided to clean my pantry and to take a stock check of what all I have in there and clean up the mess if any (a part of my resolution for this year..not to let the grocery go waste).

While doing the stock check I found that I have very good quality Soybeans which were completely neglected by me. This packet of beans looked at me very angrily and castigated me to overlook it’s presence, not fair, not fair it said. So in the urge to finish these extremely healthy and nutritious beans I soaked them all overnight without thinking what I will do with them (did I decide that I will plan out things well in advance as a part of my new year resolution?). I just told myself I will make something interesting.

Just before I decided to retire to bed I was attacked by another thought… I have not thought about breakfast. These days I plan and keep my veggies and other ingredients ready for morning as I feel too lazy to come out of the comforter…so cold it is!!!!! Instantly with no second thoughts I decided to soak some rice….Yes, you guessed it right! I surely had Adai in my mind.  I did think wisely, right!!! 

 Adai are Indian pancakes made from rice and legumes. It’s a  kind of Dosa and very popular in Tamilnadu. These pancakes have a crisp outer texture and are soft inside. Served with Chutney or Podi they make a filling breakfast/ lunch/ dinner.

Health facts

Soybeans are extremely nutritious, it contains carbohydrate, fat, protein, vitamins, minerals like calcium, folic acid and iron. The protein in soybean has all the essential amino acids that is adequate for human health. It has high lecithin content and is therefore excellent for mental fatigue and for protection against cholesterol deposits. Lecithin is a brain food, a tonic and energizer.

I found this as a good way to provide a PROTEIN PACKED MEAL for the kids, an ideal way to add soybean to our diet.

As I have mentioned that I soaked things without any measurements so I am providing you with approx quantities.

Ingredients to grind

1 1/2 cups of soaked soybeans (approx)

2 cups soaked rice (approx)

5-6 green chilies

1-tsp cumin seeds

1-1/2 inch piece ginger

 to add to the batter

2 chopped onions

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp pounded fennel seeds

chopped cilantro (optional)

salt to taste and

oil for cooking

Method

Grind together soybeans, ginger, green chilies to a  paste ( keep it a little coarse).

Grind rice separately to a not so fine paste.

Mix the two and add all the other ingredients. I would definitely recommend the addition of fennel seeds which imparts excellent taste to this Adai. Add water to adjust the consistency of a dosa batter.

Heat the girdle and smear it with some oil. Take a ladle full of batter and spread it in concentric circles. These are not made very thin and are slightly thicker than the normal dosa.

With the help of an oil dropper spread some oil in the centre and the sides. When one side is done and is nicely golden brown in colour flip and cook  the other side. The edges of Adai are not as even and smooth as that of a Dosa, so do not panic..

  

When both the sides are done, serve it hot with with coconut or any other tangy, spicy chutney of your choice.

Do I really need to tell you that these are very very tasty and quite filling too….. I am surely ready to make them again!!
Sending this as my entry to EC’s MLLA-19 the brainchild of Susan    , to CFK-creative food for picky/fussy eater’s Hosted by Sara and is the brainchild of Sharmi of Neivedyam and to Srivalli’s Kid’s Delight – Wholesome Breakfast.

Poori and Sagu..a delectable combo preparation from Karnataka

Hi Friends.

I am posting yet another famous preparation from Karnataka, the Sagu. The sagu is normally served with hot pooris. It’s also served as a filling for masala dosa instead of the normal potato subzi (sagu-masala dosa). It is also served with Set Dosa. This preparation is very commonly seen in Kannadigaa weddings. It can be made with or without onions. I make it without onions and is perfect for Jain people too. This recipe again I have learnt  from my dear MIL. It is a simple preparation to make with mixed vegetables. If the vegetables are chopped, this takes no time to prepare. Inspite of the simplicity of the preparation this is very tasty and delectable.

The most important thing which I feel about the preparation of this curry is, it’s very healthy as you eat a mix of vegetables and it can be cooked with very less oil as the poppy and coconut used in the preparation also release oil. It is a beautiful blend of mild flavours and spices. It has a nice creamy texture because of the coconut and poppy seeds. It has spiciness because of green chilies and cloves.

I had cooked this on weekend on S’s demand as it makes a good brunch/lunch item and is quite filling. He liked it a lot and was happy and satiated after this heart filling lunch . So here we go…

Ingredients
a handful of spinach chopped
a potato peeled and cubed
a small carrot peeled and cubed
half cup peas
a Kohlrabi/Knol kohl/ Navalkol peeled and chopped
a Turnip/Shalgam peeled and chopped
4-5 large florets of cauliflower chopped
8-10 french beans chopped
Salt to taste…
To grind together
half freshly scraped coconut
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp poppy seeds
4-5 tbsp roasted chana daal
2 inch cinnamon stick
4 cloves
8-10 green chilies
To temper
oil
mustard seeds
a few curry leaves

Method for making Sagu
Chop all the vegetables and keep them ready.
 
Boil these vegetables in a pressure cooker for one whistle. One must cook the vegetables and not overcook.

Grind together all the items under the heading ‘to grind’ to a fine paste.

Heat a little oil and add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Put the ground paste and mix properly.

Add in the cooked vegetables and the salt.
 
Mix properly, add some water to adjust the consistency to get a thick gravy after having finished cooking.

Cook for about 10 mins so that all flavors are nicely imbibed by the veggies and then serve the curry with hot pooris.

Ingredients for Poori
3 cups of Whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
water to knead
oil for frying

Method to make Pooris
Mix wheat flour and salt and make a tight dough using water.
Make lemon sized balls and flatten them. Put some oil on them.
Roll out pooris about 4 inch in diameter. These should be rolled a little thick unlike the rotis, else they become very hard and chewy.
Deep fry them in oil to a golden colour. These should puff nicely.


 
Sending this to RV and Sunita’s  Think Spice- Think Poppy Seeds .