Pesarattu with ragi

I have started adding millets to my regular cooking. Ragi is an easily available millet in Karnataka. Yesterday I have soaked ragi and other lentils to make pesarattu, instead of rice I have added a quarter cup of whole ragi to the lentils and grind it to a coarse batter.

Pesarattu with ragi

1/4 cup ragi
A handful of broken urad dal
and moong dal with skin.
2 green chillies
1 inch ginger chopped
A small bunch of coriander leaves
1/2 tsp Salt
A pinch of hing

Method

*Wash and soak ragi and lentils for 3 hours, I left it overnight as morning can be hectic when you want to make breakfast.

* Before making breakfast grind soaked ragi and lentils by adding green chillies, ginger and coriander leaves, salt and hing to a coarse paste.

*Place dosa tawa and thoroughly clean it, apply a little ghee or peanut oil, use a ladle, I prefer a little curved ones so that I can evenly spread the batter.

*Cook both sides till golden crispy brown.

*Serve with chutney, pickle, curd, jaggery, jackfruit jam. It tastes yum and I am sure you will enjoy making it as much as I enjoyed making.

Tomato dhaniya shorba

I was going through some of the best recipes for authentic tomato dhaniya shorba. Finally found a good recipe, and I did a few changes according to my family's taste and preferences. Here is what I tried and it tasted very good. 

Ingredients

Tomato dhaniya shorba

500 grams desi tomatoes

4 green cardamom

1 black cardamom

1 inch grated ginger

1/2 inch cinnamon stick

2 red chillies

1 tsp coriander stems

2 tsp coriander leaves chopped

1/2 tsp rock salt

A pinch of hing

1tbsp desi ghee

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 jeera

1/2 tsp Black pepper

Method

* Wash, cut and puree tomatoes by adding 5 cups of water.

* Pour ghee and give a quick tadka of red chillies, green, black cardamom, cinnamon stick, fennel seeds, black pepper and jeera.

*Pour the tomatoes into a large pan with lid, add salt, grated ginger and pour tadka,coriander stems, bring to boil, reduce flame cook for about 10 minutes.

*Once done use a sieve, strain into another serving bowl, add chopped coriander leaves, serve into transparent small glasses. Serve hot.

Tips

*You can make the shorba in pressure cooker, but I feel doing separate tadka and boiling in a pan had a different flavour and it was a quick shorba.

*Use ripe red desi tomatoes for tangy taste.

Tinda aur aloo ka gravy

One of my favourite vegetable is tinda, I like the soft crunchy vegetable, you get good variety of small tindas nowadays. 

I have made a gravy with tinda, aloo, long bean, tomato, onion, malabar spinach and a few spices. Served with phulkas. 

Ingredients

10 small tindas
3 medium sized potatoes
2 tomatoes
1 onion
A few garlic pods
5 to 6 long beans(fresh payar)
1 inch long ginger
2 red chillies for colour
1 dry red chilli for spice
10 malabar spinach leaves
1 tbsp coriander leaves
1 green capsicum

1/2 tsp turmeric 

Salt as required 


For dry roast

1/2 tsp jeera
1/2 tsp Fennel seeds
A few fenugreek seeds
1/2 inch cinnamon stick
2 clove

Method

*Wash and chop all vegetables into large cubes.

*Wash and peel potatoes. Cut into cubes.

*Dry roast jeera, red chillies, fenugreek, fennel seeds and once done add chopped onions, tomatoes and garlic cook it until onions are translucent. Grind it using little water. Keep aside.

*Wash and roughly chop malabar spinach.

*Pour peanut oil in preheated pressure cooker pan pour tomato, onion gravy, cook for a few minutes in medium flame.

*Add chopped potatoes, payar, green capsicum, tinda and coat all vegetables with the gravy, cook for a few minutes.

*Add roughly chopped malabar spinach. Add salt and turmeric powder, two cups of water and pressure cook for two whistles.

*Once done, open lid garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with phulkas.

Ragi puttu

Substitute for rice and roti. I have started developing a liking for millets. Like today I made ragi dosa and ragi puttu. Both tasted good.

Here is the recipe for ragi puttu.

Ingredients

1 cup ragi flour
2 green chillies
2 tbsp grated coconut
A little salt
Water to make puttu mavu(flour)


Method



* In a bowl add One cup ragi flour, a little salt, quickly make a coarse powder of coconut and two green chillies.

*Mix everything together, use hands to make puttu flour by adding a little water at a time. Keep aside.

*Fill half  the bottom vessel with water allow the water to boil.

*The top vessel the long pipe shaped part, slowly fill puttu mavu(flour), steam it for about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove using a long ladle and serve  with payar gravy(I have made gravy with sprouts, masoor dal and lobia)

Tips

You can make puttu with whole wheat flour or roasted rice flour.

Curry leaves powder

Curry leaves powder. I have plucked few Curry leaves stalk and removed the leaves, during rainy season it's best to break the branches thus allowing the plant to produce fresh leaves.

Karuvepallai podi or curry leaves powder is side dish which is served with hot rice and homemade ghee. There are numerous health benefits of this simple dish, I have added horse gram and black urad dal for this as both have very delicate flavours when dry roasted.

Recipe:

Ingredients

A handful of horse gram(kollu)(50 grams)
A handful of black urad dal(50 grams)
4 dry red chillies for colour
2 dry red chillies for spice
2 handfuls of curry leaves
1 inch piece ginger
1 green chilli
A small gooseberry sized tamarind
A small piece of hing cake (10 grams)
Salt as required

Method

"In a heated kadai dry roast horse gram and black urad dal. Once it emits aroma add dry tamarind, hing piece, broken red chillies both for colour and spice.

* you can tap and hear the crunchy and crackle from chillies, add sliced ginger and green chilli.

*Off stove add curry leaves and mix in, allow it to finally blend with other spices. Cool down and make a coarse powder in mixer. Add salt and adjust taste.

# Store in air tight containers. It hardly last for 3 to 4 days in room temperature. Enjoy curry leaves powder with hot rice and ghee. Its yum!

Potato subzi

An easy and quick subzi just before guests arrive. Potatoes are such saviour on a busy day. A simple subzi made in a jiffy.

Ingredients

500 grams potatoes (medium sized 6 nos)
1tbsp ground nut oil
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp jeera
A pinch of hing
1/2 tsp salt

Method

* Wash, peel and cut potatoes into cubes.

*In a wok/kadai pour oil add jeera, let it release aroma, add cubed potatoes. Give a toss.

*Close lid allow the potatoes to cook for about 5 minutes. Toss it in between.

* Add turmeric, red chilli powder, hing and coriander powder.

*Cook till potatoes are golden brown and well cooked.

*Adjust salt and serve hot with rice or phulkas.

Baby brinjal subzi

Baby brinjals freshly plucked from roof top garden. Its from a very few plants we have now, rest most of grow bags have red amaranth, radish, bitter gourd and ridge gourd.

I have made a very simple subzi with brinjals.

Ingredients

7 to 10 small brinjals(cut into 8 pieces)
1 tbsp groundnut oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Salt as required
1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Method

* Wash and slit brinjals into 8 pieces, keep aside

*In a heated kadai pour oil, add mustard and urad dal, let mustard splutter.

*Add chopped brinjals and saute. Add turmeric and salt, in medium flame let it cook for about 5 minutes, I have placed the lid for uniform cooking.

*Once it's soft and tender add red chilli powder and let it coat in the subzi.

* Off the stove and serve as a side dish with rice or phulkas.

Kathrikay rasavangi

A lost recipe from our households. A delicious side dish served with rice is slowly disappearing from our traditional cuisine. Its a very close cousin of arachuvitta sambar, a few ingredients here and there makes it a favourite in our iyer cuisine. 

Kathrikay rasavangi

Ingredients

4 green stripped brinjals(cut into four pieces)
10 pieces of drumsticks cut into 2 inches
20 grams tamarind(a small gooseberry size)
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp salt

For dry roast and grind

2 tbsp Black broken urad dal/chana dal(Kadala paruppu) 

1 tsp dhaniya seeds
2 dry red chillies
A small piece hing cake
A few curry leaves

2tbsp grated coconut 

Make a fine powder of the roasted ingredients.

1 cup cooked tuvar dal

For tadka

1 tsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
A few curry leaves

Method

*In an earthen pot pour water, when it's hot add drumsticks and chopped brinjals. Add turmeric and salt. Cook till tender, add tamarind extract, bring to boil.

*Add roasted dal powder, add a cup of boiled water, mix in.

*In a small pan pour in coconut oil and mustard seeds, let it splutter, add a few curry leaves. Keep aside.

*Add cooked tuvar dal, finally pour mustard tadka and off the stove.

Tips 

I have used black urad dal for a different taste to the dish and added curry leaves for dry roast, both give a very earthy flavour to the rasawangi.