Poha Dosa & roasted gram dal chutni with minimum coconut.

My mom told me about this poha dosa which her brother had made for my parents when they visited him. I googled & came across the poha dosa recipe. Yet ,the googled recipes had urad dal in the ingredients whereas my mom said that the dosa prepared by my maternal uncle was ,sans urad dal. I made the poha dosa sans urad dal.

Ingredients : 1 cup thick poha(  preferably) , 2 cups rice, 1/4 tsp methi seeds , buttermilk for soaking the poha rice mix, salt to taste , oil for greasing tawas for dosa.

Method : Wash poha & rice two three times .Keep aside. Add buttermilk to the washed poha rice mix to soak them.Add 1/4 tsp methi seeds to this mix so that fenugreek seeds are soaked as well.  I soaked them for nearly five hours .

After five hours of soaking , I ground them nicely in the mixer. Even wet grinder can be used for grinding. I thought that I had ground the batter fine .I was wrong as I had added water after 2 hours of soaking as poha had soaked up lots of buttermilk. And this water became excess .I did seperate this excess water from the soaked mix. And did the grinding with the retained buttermilk in the poha rice mix. Yet the poha had not ground properly...this I realised when I spread the batter on tawa .

After making the batter, I kept it over nite to ferment with sourness of buttermilk. Next morning, I made dosas after adding salt to the batter.

The first dosa refused to spread & when I tried, it would tear off. Next dosa onwards , it was good going as tawa had got heated up & I was able to spread dosa batter nicely.

Spread batter on heated tawa. And let it cook .After the edges of the dosa rise up a little indicating that the downside has cooked, spread a tsp of oilon the dosa. Then, flip it over & cook on the other side. Cook more dosas this way. These dosas cannot be made thinner, I believe. You can try & even I will ask my mom on her return & update this blog post.The dosas are tasty & filling.

Serve poha dosas with chutni of your choice.

I made this chutni which I read about on Chitra's food book.

Chutni Ingredients : 1/2 cup roasted gram dal, 2 tbsp fresh coconut, 2-3 green chillies, 1 tsp grated ginger, 1/2 tsp sugar ( optional ), 1 tsp lemon juice, salt taste, 1/2 tbsp oil, 1/4 tsp hing powder, few curry leaves, 1 byadgi mirchi broken into pieces, 1 /2 tsp urad dal, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds.

Method : Add coconut, roasted gram dal, roughly chopped green chillies , grated ginger, lemon juice, salt, sugar & water to the chutni jar attachment of mixer & grind to a fine paste. Keep aside.

 In a kadahi , heat oil. Add mustard seeds.After they pop up, add urad dal .After urad dal turn golden brown, add curry leaves & byadgi mirchi pieces. Put off gas. Fry the mirchi & curry leaves. Add hing powder to kadahi & mix nicely.Pour this seasoning over the chutni made & kept aside. Mix the seasoning into the chutni nicely & serve with dosas.

I did not add extra water to the chutni as suggested in Chitra's food book. I made it thick. I added lemon juice instead of tamarind & ginger in place of garlic. And this dosa chutni combo was relished by my family as also my maid to whom I served 1 dosa as a sample.

Oats dhokla.

There were some left over Quaker brand of oats. I needed to use them as  I hate wasting anything. I had tried oats dosas & they were not so great .So , I decided to try oats dhokla.

I googled & came across this oats dhokla recipe .I liked this version. I wanted to add some leftover besan or chana dal atta which was lying since a month in the referegerator.I googled again & got this quaker oats dhokla recipe which uses besan.

My version of oats dhokla uses besan, sooji or rava  & oats.

Ingredients : 1/2 cup curd, 1 cup oats powder, 1/2 cup rava, 1/4 cup besan, 1 green chilli finely chopped, 1 tsp grated ginger, a few curry leaves, 1 packet Eno fruit salt, 2tbsp + 1 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard,1/4 tsp turmeric,  1/4 tsp  hing powder, 1/2 tsp unpolished white til or sesame,salt to taste.

Method : Dry roast the oats for 1-2 minutes. After they cool down, powder them.

In a bowl, add rava, besan & powdered oats, salt, 1 tbsp oil, 1 finely chopped green chilli, grated ginger & dahi. Mix all nicely. Add water to get a thick batter. It must have drop down consistency like idli batter.Keep aside for at least 1 hour. I kept it for nearly two hours as in the quaker oats dhokla , the soaking time for batter is written as 1 hour. In the other oats dhokla recipe , soaking time is less than half an hour. I wanted to be sure that the rava , besan & oats have soaked up really well & so soaked for a longer time.

After two hours, put on the steamer or cooker with water to steam. Grease a plate with oil. Keep aside. Mix Eno salt of a packet with 1-2  tbsp water . It will start bubbling up. Mix this bubbling Eno water mixture to the dhokla batter & pour it immediately into the greased plate. Keep the greased plate on atsnd in the midst of steaming water in cooker. Close the cooker lid ( without whistle ) & steam for 10-15 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

For the tadka, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add mustard seeds. When they pop up, add sesame seeds,  curry leaves. Put off gas. Add hing powder & haldi to the tadka. Mix tadka nicely. Pour it over the dhokla cake & spread the tadka all over the dhokla  cake.

Cut the dhokla cake into desired shapes & serve with chutni or as it is.

I was too hasty in cutting the dhokla & so the edges cut out roughly as can be seen from the snap. Yet, it was fluffy & tasty !!!!

I have added haldi to tadka. Haldi is optional. If you like more chillies or more ginger, that can be adjusted as per taste or choice. It goes without saying that any brand of oats can be used.

OPOS recipe : Cabbage beans pulao

I tried this pilaf recipe , the OPOS way.Amember had shared this recipe in the OPOS support group on facebook. I changed it a little as I did not have peas & replaced peas with beans. I added cumin or jeera instead of fennel or saunf .Used green chillies & ginger instead of red chillies.

Ingredients : 2 cups shredded cabbage ( in original recipe, this  was 1.5 cups ), 1/3 cup chopped & stringed beans ( in original recipe , this was 0.5 cup peas ) , 1-2 green chillies roughly chopped, 1/2 tsp garam masala powder, 1/4 inch cinnamon, 1 bay leaf, 1 badi elaichi, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1 tbsp oil, 1.5 tsp salt ( in original recipe , Himalayan salt used ), 1/4 cup fresh dhania or mint ( optional ) .

Method : Wash & soak raice for 30-45 minutes. Drain after 30-45 minutes.Keep aside.

Mix cabbage, beans, green chillies  & the garam  masala powder , turmeric & salt together .Keep aside.

In a 2 litre pressure cooker, add 1 tbsp oil.This is the first layer.

 Add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, badi elaichi & jeera. This is the second layer.

Add soaked & drained rice on top of the spices. This rice forms the third layer.

On the top of rice , add the cabbage- beans green chillies masala salt mix kept aside. This is the fourth layer. .

Add 1 cup water from sides...meaning pour one cup water from the sides of the cooker inside. Pressure cook for 3 whistles. Put off gas. Allow pressure to settle. Remove lid of cooker. Add mint or dhania .Mix dhania or mint with pulao. Put on lid again. Let it settle for 10 minutes more. Serve with raita or papad.

This rice tasted superb ! My husband kept on having it again & again !!!! Each grain was separate. 

OPOS recipe : Puffed rice upma

I have made hashi mandakki many times &  the recipe is same .Yet ,the process or method is different. It is OPOS recipe .OPOS stands for one pot one shot .

All recipes in this OPOS method are made in a two litre cooker, preferably steel.I have joined this OPOS Support grp on facebook.I was drooling over pictures of items prepared the OPOS way .Finally, my parents gifted me a 2 litre steel cooker & I tried gavar ki sabzi yesterday. I messed up.

Today, I thought , why not make this vagarne murmura , the OPOS way,.....I googled & came across this poha recipe to be made the OPOS way.Substituted poha with  murmura & made this !

Ingredients : 3 cups murmura washed & drained ( 3 cups dry murmura when washed & drained will shrink to two cups murmura )    , 1 tsp grated ginger,1/2 peeled , washed & grated carrot,1 small capsicum washed & roughly chopped, 1-2 green chillies roughly chopped, 1/4 tsp haldi, 1/4 tsp hing, 1 tsp jeera, 1-2 tsp  lemon juice, a few curry leaves,salt to taste, 1 tbsp daaliya powder or puttani chutni pudi ( optional ).

Method : In a 2 litre pressure cooker, add 1 tbsp oil.& 1 tbsp water .Add 1 tsp jeera & chopped green chillies as a layer. Spread the vegetable mix of grated carrot & chopped capsicum on this green chilli -jeeera layer. Sprinkle haldi, hing, salt, grated ginger , curry leaves.

Close the pressure cooker lid. Put the whistle on. Cook for two whsitles. Put off gas. Release pressure. Open lid. Mix the washed murmura into the cooker & give all ingredients a good stir. Put back the lid on the cooker with the whisrtle. Keep it like this with lid & whistle for ten minutes. Open the lid, add the puttani chutni pudi ( optional ) . Mix all the ingredients so that puttani chutni powder gets coated on each murmura. Sprinkle lemon juice on murmura & mix .

Breakfast is ready in jiffy !!!!

I noticed that I had added very little haldi & salt was not mixed properly. And remember, murmura has its own salt as also puttani chutni pudi or powder has salt...so go easy on salt.

Sabudana Khichdi

I have tried sabudana khichdi before & it had turned out lumpy .I ate it as I can't waste it . Of course, I did not post it.

I had decided that on Ashadhi ekadashi, I will make sabudana khichdi. I asked my friend who is quite an expert in making this khichdi .She told me that the sabudana or sago pearly must be just about immersed in water level for overnight soaking .And she is right ! My friend told me that peanuts must be used in moderation .I followed her advice & it tuned out too good !

I did tweak the recipe. I did not add potatoes as I was in hurry. I added flax seed  powder & til or sesame powder as per Sangeeta Khanna's sabudana khichdi recipe in HealthFoodDesiVideshi  

Ingredients : 1 cup sabudana washed & soaked overnight with water just enough to immerse the sabudana, 1/2 cup roasted peanuts , 1tsp roasted til, 1/2-1  tsp flaxseed powder, 1-2 green chillies finely chopped, 1tsp grated ginger, 1 sprig of curry leaves, 1 tsp cumin seeds or jeera, 1.5-2 tbsp oil or 1 tbsp ghee, juice of half a lemon, salt to taste.

Method : Powder the roasted peanuts & seasame seeds in mixer. The powder must be grainy & not fine powder. Keep aside.

Mix the powdered groundnut powder, flaxseed powder, til powder with the ( overnight )  soaked sago pearls so that the sago pearls are coated with the powders. Add salt & grated ginger to this powder sago mix. Keep aside.

Take oil or ghee in a kadhai. I used oil. Heat it. Add jeera to it. When they crackle, add the green chillies  & curry leaves. Fry for a minute .Add the sago powder-ginger salt mix to the kadhai & mix all ingredients nicely. Keep cooking for four -five minutes.Mix again. Sprinkle some water over the mix in kadhai. Mix all ingredients in kadhai again. Cover the kadhai & cook for five minutes. The sago pearls will have become brownish or transluscent. Put off gas. Cover the kadhai with lid. After 5 minutes, uncover the kadhai. Squeeze lemon juice on the khichdi. Give the khicdi a good stir so that the lemon juice gets nicely distributed in the sabudana khichdi. Serve sabudana khichdi hot, in bowls or plates !

This khichdi was so moist and soft that I  was simply swallowing it ! Even my parents loved it !

Palak Puri & potato tomato veggie

My mom had made palak puris once for my daughter & she had liked them. So, I decided to make palak puris once in  that day instead of palak paratha.

Ingredients : 1/2 bunch of palak leaves  ( cleaned by soaking in water for 10-15 minutes & patting them dry ), 1.5 cup atta, 1-2 tsps oil  oil for adding to dough , 1 cup oil to fry the puris,  1/4 tsp til seeds ( optional ) , 1/4 tsp ajwain ( optional ), 1/4 tsp haldi, salt to taste.

Method : Pressure cook the palak upto two whsitles. Let the cooker cool. Take out the plak. Let it cool to room teemptraure. Puree the pressure cooked palak to a pate in the mixer. Keep aside.

Take atta, add haldi & salt to atta.Mix nicely. Add til 7 ajwain & again mix nicely in the atta mix. Now add the palak puree & make a dough. If palak puree is insufficient to make it into a dough, add water drop by drop. Make it into dough. Smear palms with oil & knead dough till it becomes one oft round ball. Keep aside.

Take oil in a kadahi & start heating on slow flame.

Again knead the dough & divide it into 12-15 equal sized pedas. Roll out each peda into a flat round circle or  puri of  4-5 inches.

Fry the puris in oil on both the sides till, they get get crisp & golden.Serve palak puris with aloo matar or tangy vegetable of choice.

I made a simple potato tomato watery veggie to serve with palak puris.

Pressure cook 2-3 potatoes. Microwave 2 tomatoes for 1-2 minutes by slitting them on 2-3 sides incompletely. After the tomatoes have cooled to room temperature, skin them. Mash the skinned tomatoes with pav bhaji masher .Keep aside. Peel the potatoes & break them with hands into 5-6 pieces. Keep aside. Take a kadhai. Heat 2-3 tsp oil,Add 1/4 tsp jeera to it. When they splutter, add grated ginger followed by finely chopped 1 green chilly. Let it fry for a minute or two..Add haldi & hing ( 1/4 tsp each ) . Now add the broken potato pieces. Fry for a minute. Add the mashed tomatoes. Add 1 cup water. Bring to a boil.If the veggie is too watery, add 1/4 tsp flax seed meal.Its omega fatty acids & fibre rich. Put off gas.

Serve palak puris with this tangy veggie. 

Kadipatta tambli

Curry leaves or kadipatta are rich in iron .Consuming curry leaves helps in increasing the hemoglobin content of blood.

I was told about this tambli or yoghurt based dish by my mom I googled it & came across this recipe.It is a coolant recipe for the hot summers.

I tried it & it came out well.I mean, no one can go wrong with this dish.Its so simply easy !

Ingredients : 1/3 cup yoghurt, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, 1  byadgi mirchi de stemmed & broken into 3/4 pieces, 1 green chilli roughly chopped, 1/4 cup fresh dessicated coconut, 3-4 peppercorns,2 tsp oil, 8-10 sprigs of curry leaves, 1/2 tsp urad dal,salt to taste.

Method : Heat a wok or kadhai with 1 tsp oil.Add cumin seeds .When they splutter, add the peppercorns,Roast them for a minute .Add 8 sprigs of curry leaves by plucking out the leaves & discarding the stem.Put off the gas.Roast the curry leaves in the kadhai. Keep aside.Let this cool.

Take the yoghurt & add salt.Whisk the yoghurt with salt into a nice creamy buttermilk.Keep aside.

Take a blender. Add dessicated coconut, chopped green chilly, & the roasted cumin, peppercorns curry leaves mix.Blend into a paste by adding little water. Stop the blender. Scoop out the paste & add to the whisked salted buttermilk.Mix nicely. Keep aside.

Make a seasoning by heating oil in a kadhai.Add mustard seeds.After they splutter, add urad dal.They will turn golden brown.Add curry leaves & broken pieces of byadgi mirchi. Put off the gas.

Pour this seasoning ovr the whisked buttermilk to which the paste has been added.

The tambli is ready.Add to rice. Mix & enjoy.

Tips : My ground paste was grainy as I ground the ingredients   in the dry grinder.I added some water & yet, the result was that the paste was grainy. I did this as the wet grinder attachment of my mixie is too big & the quantity of paste needed was too small.The dry grinder attachment of my mixie is comparatively smaller.

This is another recipe for #livoenironchef entry for the Iron Chef contest on IndiBlogger.

Red pumpkin - red lobhia curry

I have got some red lobhia or red beans at home. I have made the usual usal with that .I wanted to try something different. I had read about a pumpkin- beans curry on Saffron Trail.I googled more & came across this Kerela Erissery recipe using red beans & pumpkin. I decided to give it a try.

Ingredients : 1/2 cup peeled & diced pumpkin, 1/4 cup red lobhia beans ( soaked overnight ) , 1/4 tsp haldi, 1/4 cup fresh dessicated coconut, 1-2 green chillies, 1 tsp jeera, 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, 1 red byadgi mirchi broken into 2-3 pieces, a few curry leaves,1 tbsp oil, salt to taste.

Method : Pressure cook the lobhia & red pumpkin by adding salt & turmeric up to 1 whistle. Keep gas on slow flame for 10 minutes. Put off gas. Keep aside.

Meanwhile, grind half the fresh desiccated coconut with green chillies & cumin seeds into a paste.

Take out the pressure cooked pumpkin -red lobhia mix into a kadhai & add this ground paste to it. Mix nicely. Bring this  mix to a boil.Put off gas.

In a non stick pan or another kadhai, heat oil.Add mustard seeds, when they crackle, add the curry leaves & byadgi mirchi pieces.Add the remaining fresh desiccated coconut & roast all ingredients in kadhai till it gets aromatic & slightly browned. Put off gas. Transfer this roasted coconut mix to the kadhai containing the pumpkin red lobhia ground paste mix. Serve this erissery with rice and or rotis.

Kairi Rajma

I have made rajma earlier with recipe from here. It is the season of raw mangoes called kairis.And tomatoes are flying towards the sky....their prices ,I mean. I thought, why not use kairi, instead  of tomatoes while making rajma ?

Ingredients : 1/2 cup rajma beans soaked overnight, 2-3 cubes ( 1/2 inch cubes ) of   kairi washed , cut & skinned, the kairi peels so skinned, 1 tbsp oil, 1/2 tsp jeera, 1 bay leaf, 1-2 green chillies, 1/2 inch ginger cleaned , salt to taste.

Method : Discard the water in which rajma has been soaked.This is to prevent flatulence.Pressure cook rajma with  1 cup water up to  two to three whistles.Then lower flame & cook for 12-15 minutes. he rajma beans must have cracked .If not pressure cook for more time. They must mash up if we press the beans with our fingers.I had not added salt as I felt , that rajma may not split if salt is used. Though ,Sangeeta Khanna pressure cooks rajma with salt always.Keep aside.

Finely chop ginger & green chillies. I run them in the dry grinder attachment. Green chillies & ginger get nicely minced. Take them out into a plate.Mince the raw mango peels in the dry grinder attachment. Keep aside in a plate .The raw mango pieces can be pressure cooked & then the pulp can be used. I pressure cooked & made use of the pulp.Kaii can be grated after peeling or even without peeling & added to the kadhai.

Take oil in a kadhai.Heat up the oil.Add jeera. After they splutter, add the ginger mirchi mince mixture. Then add the bay leaf. Mix nicely so that oil coats all the ingredients. Add the mango peels mince & the raw mango pulp or the grated unpeeled raw mango .Mix nicely.Add salt. Mix nicely.Add the cooked rajma.I pressure cooked this rajma for 3 whistles as my rice was to be pressure cooked .So kept this rajma at  bottom & rice on top & pressure cooked for 3-4 whistles.  Then put off gas. Let it cool Serve with rotis or rice.The rajma was good ...it had not become like pulp considering that it was pressure cooked again.The pictures say that !


Alternatively, add the pressure cooked rajma to the kairi-green chillies-ginger-jeera bay leaf -salt mix. .Bring all to a boil.Let it simmer for five minutes.Put off gas.Serve with rotis and or rice.


I loved the khatta taste of the rajma. And my daughter ate it without complaining ...which says a lot !

If kairi is very sour, then add lesser pieces.Maybe even 1 piece would do. The kairi, I used had become semi ripe.So used 3-4 cubes. And it also depends on your individual taste.

Lapsi upma

Lapsi is being increasingly used nowadays as it is more healthy than Bombay rava or semolina .I make upma from lapsi rava of finer variety.I buy lapsi rava & lightly dry roast till it changes colour slightly.Then I let it cool & put it away in air tight box.Whenever I have to make upma,I use this roasted lapsi so that I need not dry roast it at that time.It saves my time.

Ingredients :1 cup lapsi rava,3 cups  water , 1/4 -1/3 cup finely chopped cabbage ,1 capsicum- diced,1 carrot finely diced,2 tbsp peas,1-2 hari mirchi diced,1tsp grated ginger,1 red chilly,1 sprig kadi patta leaves,1 tsp urad dal,1tsp mustard seeds,1/4 tsp hing,2 tbsp oil,salt to taste.Fresh corainder & fresh dessicated coconut for garnish.

Method :Keep water for boiling, on gas in a container.On another gas burner ,take a kadhai with  oil & as it warms up ,put mustard seeds.When they splutter, add urad dal.They will turn golden brown.Add red chill & then all the veggies including hari mirchi & grated ginger .Roast in oil for 2-3 minutes.Then add lapsi rava.Roast it for 2 minutes along with veggies.Add the boiling water to this lapsi veggie mix .Add salt & mix everything.Cover with lid & cook .After 5 minutes,check, to see if all water has been absorbed.Mix with ladle .If the water has been fully absorbed,please put off gas.If not, keep cooking, covered with lid, till water is absorbed.

Garnish with fresh coriander & coconut when you serve.

Tips : Upma is my hubby's favorite breakfast & as he is off onions,I use only capsicums,carrots, cabbage  & peas in season.Only 2 vegetables or even 1 vegetable can be used as per ease, convenience or availability.One can add potatoes also.

Peas can be seperately boiled in water so that they are nicely cooked before adding to upma.One can also use diluted chaas to upma to give tanginess.Accordingly ,reduce the amount of water to be added.Alternatively, a piece of lemon, can be squeezed just before serving.

Khaman Dhokla

This recipe is by my friend,Medha Sarathy.I am just putting it on to my blog.

Ingredients : 5 tbsp dosa or idli batter,5 tbsp rava,5 tbsp besan,5 tbsp dahi or yoghurt,1/2 tsp hing,1/2 tsp haldi,1-2 green chillies finely cut,1/2 inch grated ginger,2 tbsp oil,a pinch of baking soda,one sachet of eno fruit salt,a few curry leaves,1 tsp mustard seeds, salt to taste.

Method : Mix dosa or idli batter with rava & besan by adding dahi.Add 1 tbsp oil.Mix again.The consistency should be like dosa batter.For getting this consistency ,dahi amount can be altered - & in no case water needs to be added.Add 1/4 tsp turmeric & 1/4 tsp haldi & salt to taste.Again mix.Keep overnight.

Next day ,in the morning, add finely cut green chilly & grated ginger to the batter & mix.

Keep cooker on gas & let water start boiling in the cooker .Keep a stand in the cooker.Let the water boil.

Take  eno fruit salt & add 1 tbsp water..Add this eno water mix to batter. Batter will start bubbling up.Now gently the batter & immediately pour the batter into a greased plate ..Keep this plate on the stand in the cooker. Close the lid of the cooker.Do not put the whistle.

Steam will keep escaping from the cooker.Let it continue for 15-16  minutes after the dhokla batter plate has been kept in the cooker.

Now put off the gas.Open the cooker lid.Put a knife or fork in the centre of the dhokla batter plate.If it comes out clean,the dhokla is done.

Now ,take 1 tbsp of oil .Put it in a kadhai.Put on the gas.Put mustard seeds into it.When they splutter,add finely cut chilly & kadipattas.Put off the gas Also add 1/4 tsp hing & 1/4 tsp haldi.Now add 2 tbsp of water.Add 1-2 tsp sugar to the mustard seasoning.Boil this water mixture till it gets thicker.Now put off the gas.Pour this sugar-water-seasoning mixture on the dhoklas.The seasoning mixture can be poured on the dhoklas either before or after the dhoklas have been cut.

Take a knife & make squares on the dhokla plate.Now remove the squares.Serve with chutney or fried green chillies.

Option :The dhokla pieces can be garnished with finely cut dhania ( coriander ) & fresh dessicated coconut.