Oats Rava Cheela / Oats Semolina Pancake

Cheela is like a cross between south indian dosa and maharastrian thalipeeth. I like this version of dosa just as much as i love traditional dosa. I learned a tasty rava cheela here from a friend. I added oats , whole wheat to her recipe and result was good served with pickle.I am sending this to wholesome breakfast event at spice your life.since this is a event for kids meal i thought of sneaking in some vegetables too so i used cucumber , carrot and spinach.

Steel Cut Oats - 1/2 cup

Rava - 1/2 cup

Wheat Flour - 1/8 cup

Carrot - 1/4 cup ,chopped

Cucumber - 1 cup , chopped

Spinach - 1/4 cup chopped

Chilli - 2, chopped fine

Onion - 1/2 cup , chopped fine

Coriander Leaves - 1/4 cup, chopped

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil - 1/4 cup

1. Take a blender jar and add cucumber,carrot,spinach and oats blend well.

2. Add little curd at a time if needed to blend.

3. Beat the remaining curd with a whisk and mix in the blended mix.

4. Add rava , wheat flour , onion ,chilli, coriander leaves,cumin seeds.

5. Heat a non stick gridle or pan and add a little oil.

6. Spread a ladleful of mix on the hot griddle like dosa .

7. Drop some oil in the center and around the dosa .

8. Cook on both sides and serve with picke.

Coconut PottuKadla Chutney : 3 styles / Coconut Roasted Split Chickpea Dips : 3 styles

Happy Republic Day

I was making dosa for breakfast and it was republic day and i was thinking about India and then suddenly felt like preparing something symbolic. And prepared a savory and sweet item in three colors : chutney and kakakand . I still remember the school days , coming running back after school's republic day celebration to watch the live telecast of parade from Delhi on doordarshan :). Beautiful floats in the parade used to be my favorite.

White Coconut Chutney :

Coconut - 1/2 cup chopped small or grated

PottuKadla/Roasted Channa Dal - 1/4 cup

Hot Green Chili - 2

Salt to taste

Curd to taste (depending on how sour you like)

For Tempering

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves a few

Dry red chili - 2

1. Grind coconut ,dal,chili,salt and 1/2 cup water.

2. Add a few table spoons of curd and mix well.

3. Heat oil add mustard seed.

4. When mustard starts popping add dry chili and curry leaves.

5. Pour everything over the coconut mix and mix well.

Saffron Coconut Chutney :

Coconut - 1/2 cup chopped small or grated

PottuKadla/Roasted Channa Dal - 1/4 cup

Dry Red Chili - 3-4

Curry leaves - a few

Salt to taste

Tomato - 1/2 cup chopped into cubes

For Tempering

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves a few

Dry red chili - 2

1. Heat a tsp oil and tomato , cover and cook.

2. Grind coconut ,dal,chili,salt ,tomato and 1/2 cup water.

3. Heat oil and add mustard seed.

4. When mustard starts popping add dry chili and curry leaves.

5. Pour everything over the coconut mix and mix well.

Green Coconut Chutney :

Coconut - 1/2 cup chopped small or grated

PottuKadla/Roasted Channa Dal - 1/4 cup

Hot Green Chili - 2

Cilantro Leaves - 1/4 cup chopped

Salt to taste

Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp or less to taste (depending on how sour you like)

For Tempering

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves a few

Dry red chili - 2

1. Grind coconut ,dal,chili,salt,cilantro and 1/2 cup water.

2. Add lemon juice and mix well.

3. Heat oil and add mustard seed.

4. When mustard starts popping add dry chili and curry leaves.

5. Pour everything over the coconut mix and mix well.

PS :

1.While grinding coconut mix if 1/2 cup water is not enough add more but a tbsp at a time.

2.While adding curd or lemon juice start with few tsp and taste and add more to your taste.

I'm sending this to MLLA-19 at simpleindianfood started by susan.

Award :)

Thank You Sarah for my first ever blog award .

Cucumber Radish salad with curd

This my MIL's go to salad. I think in Maharashtra it is called koshmbair. It specially goes well with spicy North Indian curries . The radish in the mix gives it a very unique earthy peppery taste which i love but if you find white indian diakon radish a little over powering use small red radish for a milder taste or if you totally hate radish :) it works with cucumber alone too. I usually will put a tempering over it just before serving but tastes good without too.. I'm sending this to Divya's Salad event.And ha this makes a good dip for chips too.

Grated Cucumber - 1/4 cup

Grated Radish - 1/4 cup

Hot green chili - 1 tsp

Hung Curd - 1/4 tsp

Oil - 1/2 tsp

Mustard seed - 1/4 tsp

Cumin seed - 1/4 tsp (used urad dal instead)

Salt to taste

Cilantro for garnish

1. Cucumber , radish , green chili , curd ,salt .

2. Heat oil add mustard ,when it pops add urad dal or cumin .

3. Cook for a minute and pour over the mix.

4. Add cilantro and mix everything well.

5. And the salad is ready to serve.

I have used small red radish here as i didn't had white diakon on hand but i personally prefer white diakon in this recipe.

Khada Masala Egg Curry/ Egg Curry in whole spice gravy

Sometime back my friend asked me to post some recipe as she is new to cooking eggs. Ever since i have been thinking of posting something for her to try. Then few days back a friend came over at a weekend evening and i cooked up this egg curry. i remember a very simple version of my moms egg curry and used it as an inspiration for this slightly fancy version. I have used some whole spices in the recipe but this curry can be prepared without them too and i'm sure will be equally tasty.

Egg - 5 hard boiled

Whole Spices - 1'' cinnamon , a bay leaf, a green cardamon, 2 cloves, a pinch of mace, a petal of star anise

Onion - 1/4 cup , ground to paste

Tomato - 1/2 cup , ground to paste

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Chilli Pw - 1 tsp

Coriander Pw - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Coriander Leaves for garnish

1. Heat oil and add whole spices and cook for 2 minutes.

2. Add ginger garlic paste and cook for a minute.

3. Add onion paste and cook till golden.

4. Add turmeric, chili,coriander pw and cook for a minute.

5. Add tomato paste and cook till oil separates.

6. Prick few times all over peeled egg with a knife .

7. Drop them into the gravy and add 1/2 cup of water.

8. Add salt to the gravy and cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

9. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Fried Rice with peas and potato

We all fry let over rice and lemon rice is my favorite recipe to make with them. But this time i thought of frying rice like maharastian aloo pohe. Sometime when rice is not enough i mix it with soaked pohe and prepare. Not everyone in my family is happy when i prepare left over rice for breakfast but i will give them funda about not throwing away food and make them eat :).

Cooked rice - 2 cup

Onion - 1/2 cup

Potato - 1/2 cup ( cut into 1/4'' thick and 1 1/2'' long pieces )

Matar - 1/2 cup

Hot green chili - to taste

Oil - 2 tbsp

Jeera - 1/4 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

salt to taste

Coriander leaves for garnish

1. Heat a skillet with oil and add mustard seeds.

2. When they pop add cumin and cook for a minute.

3. Add onion , chili and potato cook till potato is almost done.

5. Add matar ,turmeric,salt and cook for 2-3 minutes.

6. Add rice and mix well. Add a tsp of lemon juice(optional).

7. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with pickle.

Sending this to APS -Rice event at Anita's Kitchen.

Chole Aloo Tikki Chaat

Chole Aloo Tikki Chaat is a very popular street food . Here the name chaat itself will make every Indian drool.  I too love preparing and eating chaats. Whenever i have leftover Chole(Chickpea Curry) i usually make some aloo tikki and then a quick chaat. Eating tikki with chole  makes it feel more healthy and i feel less guilty of eating all that potato.Top it with some fresh vegetables and curd and all the guilt  vanishes immediately.

Check out other chaats that i have posted in the past
Papdi Chaat

Sabudana Tikki Chaat

For Tikki /Potato Patties:

Potato /Aloo - 1 cup, boiled & mashed

Green Chili - 1 tbsp , chopped fine

Salt to taste
Oil

1. Mix mashed potato,green chilli,corriander leaves and salt to taste.
2. Take 2 tbsp of mixture in hand and form patties.
3. Shallow fry the patties on both sides to golden brown.

For Chaat :

Chole(Chickpea Curry) - 2 cup 

Tamarind Chutney - 1/4 cup 

Curd - 1 cup

Sugar - 1 tsp

Roasted Cumin Powder -1 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves -3 tbsp

Grated Carrot - 1/4 cup

Onion - 1/4 chopped fine

How to Serve:

1. Mix curd, sugar, salt, water(optional),chilli pw,cumin pw.
2. Place 4 hot patties in a plate and cover it with the warm chole.

3. Add some curd mixture over it.
4. Sprikle few tbsp onion,carrot,coriander leaves over it.

5. Top it with some sweet tamarind chutney and serve.

Moong Dal Halwa

For Pongal as usual i prepared pongal ,vada ,til ladoo and this year a halwa too as moong dal halwa is the recipe for this months ICC. This is my first post for ICC ,when i saw all the traditional recipes the ladies at ICC were cooking up i was inspired to try and learn those authentic traditional preparations. Moong Dal Halwa is a perfect winter preparation. I remember it being served during North Indian winter wedding receptions ummm ....yummy :).

Split (Yellow) Moong dal - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Clarified Butter / Ghee - 1/2 cup
Khoya - 1/2 cup( i used 1 cup of evaporated milk)

Cardamom Pw - 1/2 tsp (not in original recipe)
Cashew and rasins for garnish( i used almonds for garnish as that is what i had on hand)

1. Lightly roast the moong dal, wash, soak overnight

2. Ground to a fine paste in food processor with no water.
3. Take a thick bottom pan, heat butter.

4. Fry the moong dal paste till it turns brownish and releases the ghee.

5. Add sugar mix well till sugar gets well absorbed.

6. Add milk and cardamom powder.

7. Keep mixing till the milk is well absorbed by the dal mixture.

8.Turn of heat and add almonds for garnish.

Happy Pongal

Wish you all a very Happy Pongal and Makarsankranti

Kerala Style Rasam

I don't know if i should call this Kerala style rasam or just my moms rasam . All my aunts prepare rasam in this way too.I love all kinds of rasam but specially this one because it is quite different in taste from all the others and sometime a very welcome change.Goes very well with rice but i like it on upma too very weird ha. And this is what my mom used to make for us when we were kids as pani puri pani as she didn't want us to eat pani puri outside at street vendors but know i know this is not authentic pani puri pani :) but still love it with pani puri.

I recently downloaded picasa and this is my first try at collage.Anyways now lets move to the recipe .

Onion - 1/4 cup ,chopped fine

Ginger - 1 tbsp, chopped fine

Garlic - 2 tbsp, chopped fine

Green Chilli - 1 tsp , chopped fine

Tamarind - a small lime size, soaked in warm water

Chilli Pw - 1/2 tsp

Coriander Pw - 3/4 tsp

Black Pepper Pw - 1/2 tsp

Jaggery/Sugar - 1 -2 tsp

Turmeric Pw - 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Hing - 1/4 tsp

Curry Leaves - a few

1. Heat oil and add hing and mustard seeds.

2. When mustard pops add curry leaves and onion.

3. When onion turn transparent add ginger and garlic.

4. When everything turn light golden add turmeric,chilli,coriander .

5. Cook for a minute and add 2 cups of water.

6. Add black pepper and salt and let it boil.

7. Mash the soaked tamarind and add 1/4 cup water and pass through a sieve.

8. Add the 3/4 of the tamarind extract to the boiling mixture .

9. Add jaggery to the mix and let everything simmer for few minutes.

10. Taste and adjust the sourness by adding more tamarind extract .

11. And let it simmer for at least ten minutes.

11. Serve with warm rice and papad.

Cabbage Capsicum Thoran / Cabbage Capsicum sauteed with coconut

Thoran is one of the staples of Kerala Cuisine. My favorite combination is cabbage and carrot.I love beetroot thoran too .This time i had come tops and bottoms of a few capsicum in refrigerator leftover from previous days chowmien recipe so i have used it with cabbage.

Cabbage - 1 cup , chopped fine

Capsicum(red, yellow & green) - 1/2 cup ,chopped fine

Onion - 1/4 cup , chopped fine

Hot green chilli - 2 chopped fine

Fresh Coconut - 1/8 cup , grated

Oil - 1 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - a few

Turmeric Pw - 1/8 tsp

1. Coarsely grind coconut,chilli,cumin,turmeric together and keep aside.

2. Heat oil and add mustard .

3. When it starts to pop add urad dal and then onion.

4. Cook till onion turns golden and add curry leaves and coconut mixture.

5. Mix well and cook for a minute.

6.Add cabbage , capsicum and salt and mix thoroughly.

7. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.

8. Uncover mix and cook for 1-2 minutes.

9. Serve with rice

Sem Ki Phali ki Sabzi

I don't know whats it called in English probably hyacinth beans or broad beans. I missed to take a picture of the beans before chopping it up.The young tender beans taste the best and simple mezhukvarrati(fry) with just onion and green chili tastes heavenly but what we get here in Indian shops fresh or frozen is always a little tough so i usually cook them in pressure cooker and make a curry with little gravy. Aloo added to the mix also tastes good. I think curry will go well with roti or paratha better than with rice.

Sem Ki Phali - 1 1/2 cup , chopped to 1/4 inch pieces

Onion - 1/2 cup, Chopped fine

Tomato - 1/2 cup , chopped fine

Ginger Garlic Paste - 11/2 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Chilli Pw - 1 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Pw - 1/4 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Water - 1 cup

1. Heat oil add cumin seeds , ginger garlic paste and cook for 2-3 minutes.

2. Add onion and cook till light brown .

3. Add chili powder and cook for 4-5 seconds.

4. Add tomato , salt and turmeric .Mix well and cover.

5. Cook till oil starts to separate and tomato is throughly cooked.

6. Add chopped and washed sem ki phali and water.

7. Mix well and cover and cook till sem is well done.

EveryDay Moong Ki Dal

Growing up i think every kid hates dal :) and in south Indian homes plain dal is cooked only once in a while unlike north Indian homes where its only cooked everyday.Even then we will be upset whenever my mother made "parupp curry" but i know understand the nutritional value of dal. These days i try to cook some kind of protein in the form of pulses or legumes everyday. This is one of my go to recipe for moong dal.

Moong Dal - 1/4 cup

Tomato - 1 /4 cup , chopped

Onion - 1/8 cup ,chopped

Hot Green Chili - 2 ,chopped fine

Garlic Cloves - 2 , peeled

Water - 1 cup

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

For Tempering :

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Whole Red Chilli - 3

Hing - 1/8 tsp

Coriander Leaves - 1 tbsp chopped fine

Oil - 1/2 tsp

Ghee - 1/2 tsp

1. Wash dal and add water , tomato, onion , garlic, chili and turmeric.

2.Pressure cook until till two whistle or till dal is very tender.

3. Just before serving mix up the dal well and heat it.

4. Heat up oil and ghee together and add hing and mustard.

5. When mustards starts to pop add cumin and whole chilli.

6. Cook for a minute and coriander leaves and pour over dal.

7. Serve with rice or roti.

Aloo Tendli - Kerala Style( Mezhukvaratti)

Kovakaya also know as tendli , kunduru is a vegetable rich in beta carotene . Kovakaya mezhukvarati goes very well with sambar or mor curry and rice. I had only a quater pound of kovakaya in refrigerator so added equal quantity of aloo too . I found that the fry taste good with fresh kovakaya only, though frozen works well for maharastrian besan wali kunduru ki sabzi and even in masala baath so i always keep them on hand.

Kovakaya /Tendeli - 1/4 pound

Aloo /Potato - 1/4 pound

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Red Chilli - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil - 1 tbsp

1. Slit each kovakya into half and divide each half into two or three pieces length wise.

2. Chop aloo into thin pieces about 3 inches in length

3. Heat oil in a big skillet add potato and koyakaya.

4. Add salt and turmeric and mix well.

5. Cover and cook on medium flame for 3-4 minutes.

6. Uncover and cook by mixing now and then light handedly.

7. Cook till potato and koyakaya tender tender too.

6. Sprinkle the chili powder and mix well.

7. Cook for another minutes or so and fry is ready to serve.

Tomato Rasam

After all eating out , get togethers and potlucks during all of last week i was craving for something simple. I absolutely loved all the food i ate out and learned many recipes from friends.But needed my rasam ,rice and papadam after all the rich foods. I call this south indian soup and whenever i have served this as soup everybody loved it.

This tomato rasam is usual recipe except that i used water from canned tomato. During summer i canned tomatoes and has been using it all through out the fall and winter. After using up tomatoes in curries i use the leftover water in jar to make this yummy rasam. As tomatoes are home canned , this water has nothing but water ,salt and lemon juice.

Canned Tomato Water - 3/4 cup

Water - 1 to 1 1/2 cup

Garlic cloves - 5 crushed well

Turmeric Pw - 1/4 tsp

Hing - 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Rasam Powder :

Toor Dal - 1/2 tsp

Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp

Black Pepper - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Tempering :

Oil - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Whole red chili - a few

Curry Leaves - a few

Coriander Leaves - 1 tbsp chopped.

Hing - 1/4 tsp

1. Roast toor dal, urad dal , pepper and cumin separately until aromatic.

2. Cool everything , powder it and keep aside.

3. Add one cup of plain water and 1/2 tsp of salt to tomato water and mix well .

4. Taste for sourness and add more water to adjust the sourness and salt too if needed.

5. Add the crushed garlic , turmeric , hing , rasam powder to the mixture.

6. Let everything simmer for 15 - 20 minutes .

7. Add coriander leaves to simmering mixture and switch of the flame.

8. Heat oil and add mustard seeds .

9. When it starts popping add cumin.

10. Add curry leaves , whole red chilli and cook for a minute or so.

11. Pour everything into the water mixture ,cover it .

12. Enjoy with rice and papadam

Vegetable Kabab

Whenever i get opportunity to use many different vegetables in one preparation i just love it.So root vegetable puzhuka, avial, pav bhaji, cutlet , kababs are some of my favorite to cook,serve and eat. In this kabab too we can use whatever vegetables we have on hand. I have used whatever i had in my refrigerator.

Potato - 2 cups , cooked and mashed

Peas - 1/4 cup , blanched

Spinach - 1/4 cup , chopped fine

Paneer - 1/4 cup , grated fine

Mint Leaves - 3 tbsp , chopped fine

Bread Crumbs - 1/4 cup

Onion - 1/4 cup , chopped fine

Chilli - 1 tbsp , chopped fine

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp

Turmeric Pw - 1 tsp

Chilli Pw - 1 tsp

Coriander Pw - 1 tsp

Garam Masala Pw - 1/2 tsp

Chat Masala Pw - 1 1/2 tsp

Nutmeg Pw - 1/8 tsp

Lemon Juice - 1 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Coriander Leaves - 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

1. Heat oil and add ginger garlic paste .

2. Cook for 2-3 minutes and add onion and cook till translucent.

3. Add everything else together to it and mix well.

4. Take small portions of the mixture and make patties and keep aside.

5. Heat a cast iron griddle or heavy bottom skillet and add about 2 tbsp oil.

6. Place patties on griddle and cook on both sides till golden brown.

7. Serve it hot but if cooked a head, reheat in oven just before serving.

8.Goes very well with mint chutney.