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Adai

Adai is a type of dal dosa and a popular Tamilian breakfast. It’s very nutritious and protein packed since it uses so many dals (lentils). It’s healthy, tasty as well as filling and the best part is, you don’t have to ferment the adai batter. To make it tastier, you can also add finely chopped onion or cabbage or both to the adai batter.

Recipe of adai (dal dosa)

1/2 cup rice

1/4 cup toor dal (arhar dal/ red gram)

1/4 cup dhuli urad dal (split, skinless black gram)

1/4 cup chana dal (Bengal gram)

1/4 cup dhuli moong dal (split, skinless green gram)

2 green chillies

Salt to taste

A pinch of hing (asafoetida)

Few curry leaves

Oil to shallow fry

1. Wash and soak rice and dals for 2-3 hours. Drain.

2. Grind dals and rice in a blender adding little water into a coarse paste. Remember not to add too much water as the batter for adai is usually thick.

3. Add salt, hing and curry leaves to the batter. Beat the batter well.

4. Heat a non-stick tava (griddle). Grease it and wipe off the excess oil. Pour a ladleful of batter in the center of the tava.

5. Spread it in the circular motion to make a round. Drizzle some oil around the edges and on top of the adai.

6. When the underside is cooked, turn over and cook from other side also till brownish. Similarly make other adai from rest of the batter. Serve adai hot with chutney or chutney powder.

Ven pongal (khara pongal)

Today being Sunday, we ate heavy breakfast. By afternoon, we wanted to eat something light and easy on stomach. I made ven pongal or khara pongal for lunch. Usually ven pongal is made for breakfast but it was our lunch today. Ven pongal is a type of moong dal khichdi except that the seasoning is different.

Recipe of ven pongal/ khara pongal

1 cup rice

1/2 cup dhuli moong dal (split, skinless green gram)

1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

1 tsp ginger paste

6-7 black peppercorns (kali mirch) - crushed coarsely

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

3 1/2 cups of water

Lightly fried or toasted cashew nuts for garnish

1. Wash and soak rice and moong dal together for 10 minutes. Drain.

2. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add ginger paste and crushed peppercorns. Fry for 1 minute.

3. Add rice and dal and stir fry for 1 minute.

4. Add water and salt. Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles.

5. Garnish ven pongal with fried cashew nuts and serve hot.

bhindi raita

Bhindi raita or okra raita is a South Indian style raitha where it is also called ‘Vendaikai Thayir Pachadi’. Small sized bhindi is good for this raita. For those of you who have never tried bhindi raita, all I can say is do try it, it’s very delicious. You can also call it okra salad in yogurt.

Recipe of bhindi raita/ okra raita

100 gms bhindi (okra/ lady’s fingers) - cut into small pieces

2 cups dahi (curds/ yogurt) - whisked

4 tbsp + 1 tsp oil

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1 dry red chilli

1. Heat 4 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the okra. Keep aside.

2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and dry red chilli. When they splutter, remove.

3. Add fried bhindi, salt and above tempering of mustard seeds and red chilli to the well beaten yogurt. Serve okra raita chilled.

Medu vada

Medu vada is a delicious South Indian tiffin item. I love most South Indian food and medu vada is no exception. It takes a little time and practice to make perfect medu vada but you won’t regret it, I’m sure.

Recipe of medu vada/ wada

1 cup dhuli urad dal (split, skinless black gram)

1 tsp ginger paste

3 green chillies- finely chopped

1 tsp black pepper powder or freshly ground black pepper

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

1. Wash and soak urad dal for atleast 6 hours or overnight. Drain.

2. Coarsely grind the urad dal in a blender adding as little water as possible otherwise vadas will not hold shape. Grinded dal should not be too smooth but a little coarse.

3. Add salt, green chillies, ginger and black pepper to the dal. Beat well so that air is incorporated in the batter and vada turn out fluffy.

4. Heat oil in a kadhai/ wok or a frying pan. When the oil is hot, turn the heat to medium.

5. Wet your palms and take a small portion from the batter. Shape it into a ball and then poke your thumb in the center so that a hole is formed. The idea of the hole is to increase the surface area where oil reaches so that vada is evenly cooked from all places.

6. Gently invert the vada in the oil. Similarly make other medu wada and place them in oil. Remember not to overcrowd the wok.

7. When the medu vadas are cooked from underneath, turn them over with a slotted spoon (pauni/ chhari). Vadas should be golden brown from both sides. They should be fried on medium heat otherwise they will be golden from outside and doughy from inside.

8. Drain on an absorbent paper and serve medu vada hot with sambhar and chutney.

baby corn pakoda

Baby corn pakoda or bhutte ka pakoda is something exotic to most people. I once had them at a party as a starter. I asked the hostess about the recipe of baby corn pakoda and she was happy to oblige. Here I am sharing her recipe with you with few changes made.

Recipe of baby corn pakoda

10 baby corns (small,slim and tender bhutta)

1 1/2 cup besan (gram flour/ chickpea flour)

1/4 cup makki atta (cornmeal/ maize flour)

1/2 tsp green chilli paste

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

Salt to taste

2 tsp lemon juice

Oil to deep fry

baby corns

1. Clean baby corns of peel and fiber etc. Cut them lengthwise into 2 parts.

2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl except baby corns and oil. Add water little by little, mixing with other hand, to get pakora (fritter) batter like consistency. Beat the batter well so that you get fluffy pakodas.

3. Heat sufficient oil in a kadhai (wok). Dip each baby corn piece in the batter and drop gently in the oil. Fry pakoda till golden brown and crisp. Drain on an absorbent paper by slotted spoon (pauni/ chhari).

4. Serve baby corn pakoda with tomato sauce or chutney.

rava pongal

While casually surfing through net, I came across this wonderful recipe of rava pongal. This is a healthy South Indian breakfast which people from other parts can eat as a nice variation to regular fare. Rava pongal uses 2 main ingredients that is, rava or semolina and moong dal instead of dal and rice used in pongal. It’s healthy and tasty and try it yourself before believing me.

Recipe of rava pongal

1 cup rava (sooji/ semolina)

3/4 cup moong/mung dal (split, skinless green gram)

1 tbsp cashew nuts- broken

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

Salt to taste

1 1/2 + 4 cups water

1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter) or oil

1 tsp ginger- garlic paste

2-3 green chillies- slit

1. Heat a kadhai/ wok and dry roast moong dal till aromatic and light pink. Take out from the wok and wash it thoroughly.

2. Place moong dal, 1 1/2 cups of water and salt in a pressure cooker and cook to 1 whistle. Open the cooker after 3-4 minutes.

3. Place the cooker on stove to evaporate the water in moong dal.

4. In the mean time, dry roast rava till aromatic and some golden grains appear. Take rava out of kadhai.

5. In the same kadhai, heat ghee or oil. Add mustard seeds and when they pop, add cashew nuts. Add ginger-garlic paste and green chillies. Brown them lightly. When the water in moong dal dries, take it off the heat.

6. Returning to kadhai, add 4 cups of water and bring it to boil.

7. Add rava slowly, stirring with other hand. Add moong dal and salt. Mix well. Cook stirring till pongal gets thick. Cook it to desired consistency. Turn off the heat you can add lemon juice at this stage if you want it tangy. Serve rava pongal hot.

My husband insisted on adding vegetables to pongal so I boiled green peas (matar), potato, carrot along with moong dal. I agree it increases the nutritional value of rava pongal. Below is the picture of vegetable rava pongal or healthy upma.

vegetable rava pongal

Masala dosa

Masala dosa or dosai is a popular South Indian breakfast. It’s eaten all over India. Dosa is a low fat, healthy breakfast or snack item. You can also make plain dosa with this recipe that is dosa minus the potato filling. I made masala dosa today and they turned out very crispy and tasy. We enjoyed them with hot sambar.

Recipe of dosa/ dosai

Batter

1 1/2 cup parboiled rice (sela chawal)

2/3 cup dhuli urad dal (split, skinless black gram)

1/2 tsp soda bicarbonate

Salt to taste

Oil for making dosa

Potato filling

4 medium potatoes- boiled, peeled and roughly mashed

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

Salt to taste

2 onions- chopped

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Few curry leaves

2 tbsp oil

Dosa spread on the tava

1. For batter, soak rice, urad dal together for at least 6 hours or overnight.

2. Drain and reserve the soaking water. Grind rice and dal to a paste using some of the soaking water. Add some more water from it to get medium pouring consistency. Batter should be such that it should coat a spoon thickly when dipped in batter.

3. Add salt and soda bicarb to the batter and mix well.

4. Keep the batter, covered in a warm place for fermentation for 3-4 hours. After fermentation batter will rise a little and smell sour.

5. Now make potato masala for the filling. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a kadhai/ wok. Add mustard seeds. When they pop, turn the heat to medium.

6. Add curry leaves and fry for 1 minute.

7. Add onion and sauté till transparent. Add salt and turmeric and red chilli powders.

8. Add the potatoes. Mix well and cook stirring for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Keep aside.

9. To make dosa, beat the batter well. Heat a non-stick tawa (griddle) on medium heat. To season the tawa, for the first dosa, pour little oil on the tawa and wipe with a potato half.

9. Turn the heat to low while spreading the dosa. Pour 2 tablespoons batter in the center of the tawa. Spread the batter gently in an outward circular motion with the back of the tablespoon or ladle (karchhi) just like you would spread a chilla or any pancake. Turn the heat to medium.

10. Wait till dosa gets a little cooked, pour some oil on it. Spread it with a spatula.

11. When brown spots appear from underneath, loosen the dosa from the tawa using a wide, thin spatula.

12. Place some potato masala in the center of the dosa and spread a little. Fold over. Remove from the tawa. Serve hot dosai with sambar.

Rasam

Rasam is known by many names like Saru, Charu, Sar in different parts of Southern India but rasam is the most common name. There are also many varieties of rasam like toor dal rasam, tomato rasam, Mysore rasam etc. Rasam is just like a spicy soup which you can also eat with rice. It’s quite a comforter in cold weather. I have used freshly roasted spices to make rasam powder but you can also use readymade rasam powder available in the market but to be honest, taste won’t be the same.

Recipe of rasam

4 tomatoes- finely diced

3 tbsp toor dal (arhar dal/ split red gram)

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

A pinch of hing (asafoetida)

Salt to taste

Few curry leaves

4-5 cloves garlic (optional) - crushed

1 tsp ghee (clarified butter)

Rasam powder

2 tsp coriander seeds

3 dry, whole red chillies

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp oil

1. Prepare the rasam powder by heating 1 tsp oil and frying the ingredients of rasam powder on a very low heat till it turns aromatic. Fry for about 3-4 minutes. Blend them in a blender to a fine powder.

2. Boil toor dal till soft. Mash it.

3. Boil 3 cups of water and add tomato. Add salt, turmeric powder; curry leaves and garlic to it. Boil it for 10 minutes.

4. Add mashed dal, rasam powder and hing. Simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and add ghee. Serve hot rasam garnished with coriander leaves.

Tomato Rice

Tomato rice is a delicious South Indian variety of rice. It is well loved by rice eaters. Tomato rice is a quick meal which comes as a saviour when you are short of time. Enjoy it with raita and papads.

Recipe of tomato rice

1 cup basmati rice

1 onion- chopped

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

3 tomatoes- pureed

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

Few curry leaves

1 tbsp chana dal (split Bengal gram)

2 cups of water

1. Wash and soak rice for 20 minutes. Drain. Place rice in a pressure cooker with 2 cups of water and cook to 1 whistle. Let the rice cool down by spreading it in a big plate or tray.

2. Heat ghee in a kadhai/ wok. Add mustard seeds and when they pop, add chana dal. Cook on a low heat till dal turns light brown.

3. Add onion and curry leaves. Sauté till onion becomes light brown. Take care not to burn the dal.

4. Add tomato puree. Add salt, turmeric and red chilli powders.

5. Cook on low heat till tomato turns dry and ghee begins to separate.

6. Gently mix tomato to rice stirring carefully because we don’t want the rice to break. Mix till well mixed. Serve hot tomato rice with raita.

murmura upma

Murmura upma can also be called murmura poha. Murmura upma is cooked in more or less the same way as poha. You can also temper it with urad dal and chana dal to make more like a South Indian dish. This is a breakfast as well as any time low calorie snack item which we find quite tasty. Murmura upma is also known as pori upma.

Recipe of murmura upma

2 cups murmura (puffed rice/ moori/ mamra/ pori)

1 onion- chopped

2 green chillies- chopped

1 tomato- chopped

Salt to taste

1 potato- peeled and finely cubed

1 tbsp peanuts- roasted

1 tbsp oil

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

5-7 curry leaves

1. Wash murmura in a strainer (chalni) under running water and set aside so that all water drains out.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and mustard seeds. When they pop, add curry leaves. After few seconds, add onion and green chillies. Fry onion till it becomes pink.

3. Add potato, salt and turmeric powder. Cook covered till potato becomes tender.

4. Uncover and add tomato. Stir fry for 1 minute.

5. Add murmura and mix well. Let it cook covered on a low heat for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and add roasted peanuts and lemon juice and mix. Serve and eat immediately. Keeping it for some time after making will make the murmura soggy.