Dosai / Dosa

This is as well an excellent breakfast / Tiffin menu that goes well with Chutney, Sambhar and Chilly powder

Ingredients:

1.       Idly Dosai Batter with added salt

2.       Water

3.       Cooking oil or ghee (depending on whether you want to make normal dosai or ghee dosai)

Preparation Procedure:

Dosai tastes best when the batter is fresh as immediate as possible and up to 4 days. When the batter becomes little sour, make it as Uthappam.

Using a traditional Dosai Kal in Irumbu (Heavy bottomed traditional dosai pan – not non stick)

1.       Heat the dosai kal till it is hot and add a tsp of cooking oil and smudge it evenly.

2.       Sprinkle little drops of water and clean the dosai kal again

3.       Now using a ladle, add the batter at the centre of the dosai kal and make it in the form of a circle from inner to outer by expanding the batter in circlic form. Make sure the centre is also even with no bulging.

4.       Add a tsp of cooking oil evenly on the sides and at the centre. (Ghee in case of ghee roast/dosai)

5.       Once the dosai is cooked – which you can note it, turn it upside down and allow the other side to be cooked.

6.       After taking the dosai out, using the spatula, clean the dosai kal by sprinkling little drops of water.

7.       Whenever you think that the kal is very dry/sticky add a drop of oil and smooth it out.

Soft dosais ready J

Using a Non Stick Dosai Pan

1.       Heat the non stick dosai pan till hot

2.       Don’t add oil like the traditional method

3.       Sprinkle little drops of water and clean the dosai kal

4.       Now using a ladle, add the batter at the centre of the dosai kal and make it in the form of a circle from inner to outer by expanding the batter in circlic form. Make sure the centre is also even with no bulging.

5.       Add a tsp of cooking oil evenly on the sides and at the centre. (ghee in case of ghee dosai)

6.       Once the dosai is cooked – which you can note it, turn it upside down and allow the other side to be cooked.

7.       No adding oil to the dosai pan like the traditional method. If the pan gets overheated, make the stove in sim and prepare the dosais.

Note:

If you make this dosai on the same day of making the batter, you will have the dosas appearing in the colour of light dull white – golden yellow due to the presence of fenugreek in the batter. This will taste excellent.

Sambar Idly

1. Referring to the below procedure on idly, make idlys in a small size idly pan so that the idlys are little smaller than the usual.

2. Make Tiffin Sambhar referring to the recipe in this blog.

3. Soak the small idlys in a bowl of idly sambhar and add a tsp of ghee, small coriander leaves and serve hot J

Idly

Typical southindian breakfast menu.. this is a healthy one since it is just steamed with no oil, frying, etc.

This is steamed rice pan cake. Goes excellent with Coconut Chutney and Sambhar.

Ingredients:

1.       Idly dosai batter with added salt

2.       Water

3.       Gingeley oil: few drops

Preparation Procedure:

1.       The Idly dosai batter flour should neither be too thick nor very watery. Take only the required quantity of the batter from the fridge and atleast put it out for an hour before making the idlys to obtain soft idlys.

2.       The batter grinded fresh immediately should not be used for making idly’s. Put the batter required for idlys atleast 5 hours in outside temperature without cooling. If the batter is grinded 2 or 3 days before, put it out from the fridge for an hour and use it for idlys.

3.       Take the idly pan / pressure cooker and apply small quantity of gingeley oil on all the idly plates using your hands so that the idlys wont stick to the plate after steaming.

4.       Using a ladle, pour the idly batter evenly on all plates and allow it to steam for 10 to 15 minutes.

5.       After switching off the stove, allow it to cool for 5 minutes and transfer the idlys to the hot pack.

6.       Serve it hot using Chutney, Sambhar and Molagai Podi (Chilly Powder)

Idly Dosai Batter

The first and basic thing in the preparation of Idly and Dosai is the batter.

Nowadays Idly Dosai batter / maavu is available in departmental stores as well to ease the time for office goers... in case you are buying one of that, make sure it is hygienic enough..

Else, choose to grind the maavu and store it in air tight containers in the refrigerator and use as required only...it will generally last for a week’s time… The first three to four days of the batter are very good for idly and dosai and when the maavu turns little sour, can be used for uthappams.

Ingredients:

1.       Idly Rice (Idly Arisi) : Orid dal (Ulunthu) in the ratio of 3.5 : 1 (The ratio can vary from 3 : 1 to 4 : 1) depending on the quality of ulunthu.

2.       Water

3.       Salt

4.       Vendhayam / Fenugreek (optional)  : 1 tsp

Preparation Procedure:

1. Soak Idly rice for about  7 hours in water along with fenugreek
2. Soak Orid dal for about  1.5 hours in water
3. In a grinder, first grind the orid dal separately till it is very soft adding water as and when required. The well grinded orid batter should be of the consistency such that it should not be too watery or too very thick.
4. After grinding the orid dal, take this batter using hand to a vessel and keep it aside.
5. Now grind the rice with fenugreek separately after taking the grinded orid dal out of the grinder. No need to wash the grinder before grinding the rice.
6. After the rice has been very well grinded with no crisps, transfer it to the same container containing orid batter and mix them well using hand. Add Salt as required and mix them well.
7. The batter should neither be too waterty nor be too solid.

You can store this in the refrigerator for 5 days to a week.  Whenever required, take the required quantity alone out of the airtight container and use it.

Some Tiffin Varieties

After posting some meal recipes on types of Kuzhambu, Rasam, curry, kootu, pachadi, payasam, thogayal, etc... I thought it is time for some tiffin varieties too and started this thread..

Some easy to make tiffin varieties for office goers like:

1.       Idly

2.       Sambhar Idly

3.       Dosai

4.       Uthappam

5.       Pongal

6.       Rava Upma

7.       Arisi Upma

8.       Upma Kozhukkattai

9.       Rava Idly

10.   Semiya Upma

11.   Bread Upma

12.   Bread Toast Sandwich

13.   Adai

14.   Rava Dosai

15.   Masal Dosai

Some more tiffin varieties like:

1.  Poori

2.  Chappathi / Phulka

Some light snacks like:

1.   Bonda
2.   Vegetable Bonda
3.   Bajji
4.   Samosa
5.   Spicy Panneer Starters, etc..

I will also try to post some recipes on the tiffin side dishes too that goes well with the tiffin items.

Lemon Rasam

Ingredients:

1.       Lemon: 1

2.       Toor Dal: 2 tbsp

3.       Salt

4.       Rasam Powder: 1 tbsp

5.       Asafoedita: a pinch

6.       Ghee: 1 tsp

7.       Green Chilly: Vertically slit -1 medium sized

8.       Curry leaves and coriander leaves

9.       Mustard: 1 tsp

10.   A pinch of turmeric powder

Preparation Procedure:

1.       Pressure cook the toor dal with turmeric powder pinch and water as required.

2.       Boil 200 ml water along with Rasam powder and salt and 2 or 3 curry leaves and a pinch of asafoedita and turmeric powder for 15 minutes until the raw smell of the powder vanishes.

3.       Mash the cooked toor dal and make it as a paste and add this to the rasam along with 200 ml more water.

4.       Allow it to boil till yellow layer is fully formed over.

5.       With ghee, season mustard, asafoedita and the vertically slit green chilly and add this to the rasam.

6.       Allow the rasam to cool and become warm for an hour and then add the lemon essence by squeezing the lemon filtering out the seeds. Care should be taken that the lemon should not be squeezed totally till the end , the rasam may taste sour then.

7.       Add little coriander and curry leaves and serve warm.

Chow Chow Thogayal

Ingredients:

1.       Chow Chow: 2

2.       Salt

3.       Asafoedita

4.       Orid dal: 2 tbsp

5.       Dry Red Chilly: 5

6.       Tamarind: size of a small gems / marble

7.       Oil: 2 tsp

8.       Water

Preparation Procedure:

1.       In a kadai, add oil, roast the orid dal, red chilly till orid dal turns light golden yellow colour. Keep this aside

2.       Now, light sauté the chow chow cut pieces with the remaining oil in the kadai separately.

3.       In a mixie, grind the roasted orid dal, red chilly along with tamarind, a pinch of asafoedita and salt.

4.       When the mixer ingredients turn as hoarse powder, add the chowchow pieces also and grind it as a thick mass by adding very little water.

Chow Chow thogayal is ready to serve

Paruppu Thogayal

This is very easy and simple to make. This thogayal goes well excellently with Jeera Milagu Rasam.

Ingredients:

1.       Toor Dal: 1 Cup (200 gms)

2.       Gram dal: 1 tsp

3.       Dry Red Chillies: 3

4.       Pepper: 1 tsp

5.       Salt

6.       Asafoedita

7.       Water

8.       Ghee: 1 tsp

Preparation Procedure:

1.       In a kadai, add a tsp of ghee and roast the toor dal, pepper and red chillies till the toor dal turns golden colour.

2.       Switch off the stove and allow the ingredients to cool for some time.

3.       Add the above ingredients to a mixie jar along with salt, a pinch of asafoedita.

4.       Grind it in the form of a thick mass by adding water very little by little.

Paruppu Thogayal is all ready.. J

Thiruvadhirai Kali

Wishing all the readers and their families a very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2012!!

Let me start the New Year 2012 with a sweet dish for Lord Shiva.

Thiruvadhirai Kali is a speciality dish made by the Iyers on the day of Thiruvadhirai (Arudhra Darisanam) as Neivedhyam along with Ezhu curry kootu / Ezhu curry Kuzhambu to Lord Shiva.

Ingredients:

1.       Rice, Moong dal Flour : 1 cup

2.       Jaggery: 3/4^th cup to 1 cup depending on the sweetness of jaggery

3.       Grated Coconut: 4 tbsps

4.       Ghee: 3 to 4 tbsps

5.       Cashew nuts: 15

6.       Water: 2 cups

7.       Cardamom Powder: A pinch

Preparation Procedure:

Rice – Moong Dal flour:

1.       The rice moong dal ratio should be 90%:10%.

2.       In a dry heavy bottom kadai, dry roast the rice-moong dal mix in sim to light golden yellow colour and allow it to cool for some time.

3.       Then, grind this mix in a mixie in the form of a rava.

Kali preparation:

1.       In a dry kadai, take 2 cups of water and allow it to boil.

2.       Once the water starts boiling, add the rava like flour to water slowly with one hand while stirring the kadai on the other hand.

3.       Allow this to boil and become like a state of half cooked rice (it may take 10 mins approximately)

4.       Powder the jaggery

5.       In a separate vessel, add little water – say ¼ cup, boil it and add the powdered jaggery and when it dissolves, filter out the dirt from this jaggery paste and add the jaggery paste to the rice flour kadai and keep stirring.

6.       Add a tbsp of ghee in a small kadai and roast the cashews and before switching off the stove, add the grated coconut and fry a little for 1 minute and switch off.

7.       Add the roasted cashews – coconut to the jaggery-rice flour kadai and keep stirring at low flame for few mins and switch off the stove.

8.       Add 3 tbsps of ghee and a pinch of cardamom powder.

Delicious Thiruvathirai Kali is all ready for Neivedhyam

Pudina Thogayal

Ingredients:

1.       Fresh Pudina leaves: 1 cup full

2.       Dry Red Chillies: 6 (Medium sized) – I use Gundu vathal milagai

3.       Urad dal / orid dal: 2 tbsps

4.       Asafoedita: A pinch

5.       Tamarind: very small sized – say of the size of a Cadbury gems

6.       Salt

7.       Water: little

8.       Oil: 2 tsps

Preparation Procedure:

1.       In a small kadai, add 1 tsp oil and roast the orid dal, red chillies till the dal turns light golden colour. Keep this aside out of the kadai.

2.       In the same kadai, add 1 tsp oil again, heat it on sim and add the mint leaves and fry till it shrinks and reduces size. Immediately switch off the stove and transfer the contents to a mixie and allow it to cool for few minutes.

3.       Now grind the mint leaves alone first till it becomes tiny pieces for one or two whips.

4.       Now add the roasted dal, red chillies along with salt, asafoedita and tamarind bit and grind again adding water very little by little

5.       Note that the mixer ingredients should be like a thick ball. You should grind it like a firm mass by adding water very little by little. If the water goes little more also, it will become like a paste.

6.       Remove the contents out of the mixie and using your hand, make it like a shape of a dough / ball like and store it in a vessel and serve.

This can even be refrigerated and consumed for the next few days if you make it thick.

Serving Tip:

1.       Make rice in cooker allowing 3 or 4 whistles.

2.       Once the rice sets, take the required quantity of rice in a big mouth bowl.

3.       Add 2 tsps of Gingely oil and ½ tsp of ghee to the hot rice in the bowl.

4.       Allow the rice to cool for 2 to 3 mins.

5.       Now with a flat ladle, spread the rice and add the pudina thogayal and mix it..note that the rice and thogayal needs to be mixed and not mashed..