Kothmir-Pudina Zhunka/Pithla, Jowar Bhakri, Chana Dal-Carrot MW Dal, Besan-Semolina Laddoos

Happy Father's day on the 20th to all adorable daddies!

I would like you to watch something fun to make you all smile for dad's day! Have you heard few of Allan Sherman's hilarious songs "One Hippopotami" and a popular Camp song "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" before? He has more like these on YouTube to watch.
Enjoy them while I take a Summer blog break for few weeks! :)

Kothmir-Pudina Zhunka or Pithla/Cilantro-Mint Besan Chutney, my style! :)

Most of you know this recipe for Besan Chutney called "Zhunka (drier chutney) or Pithla (when it has some gravy)", a Maharashtrian delicacy which tastes fabulous with Jowar or Bajri, or mix of flours Bhakris or Pithla even tastes great with Pooris as I have found out. I had surplus of Cilantro leaves and Mint, so I thought I will smother this PithlaZhunka with Cilantro and enjoy it. It was really tasty with strong Cilantro flavor (I love Cilantro!) and hint of Mint, loved with Bhakri. Here is an video of Marathi lady making authentic Pithla and Bhakri.

Here is how I made Kothmir-Pudina Zhunka/Pithla:

1. Roast 1/4 cup Besan/Chickpea flour until it heats thru' or place it on wide plate and Microwave one minute at at time until it heats and cool. Add 1 cup thin Buttemilk or plain water if you don't like to use Buttermilk, 1/2 tsp salt to Besan, beat well until you get a smooth mix without lumps. Keep aside.
2. Heat 1tbsp ghee,1 tsp oil in a non-stick pan, add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds, pinch of Hing. Add 1/2 cup thinly sliced onion, 1-2 green chilli minced, 1-2 garlic minced, saute well until onion is reddish, add 1 tsp grated ginger, 1/4 tsp chilli pd, stir fry for a few seconds.
3. Add 1/2 Turmeric, 1 cup packed chopped Cilantro, 1/4 cup minced Mint leaves, stir for few seconds until wilt.
4. Add Besan and Buttermilk mixture, simmer until it cooks, raw smells disappears and Zhunka thickens. Adjust the salt and heat, take off the heat. It gets thicker as it cools. Add more water and heat if it becomes too thick.
5. If you have used just plain water instead of Buttermilk with Besan, add 1-2 tsp of lemon juice to Pithla/Zhunka and mix well.

Jowar Bhakris:
This delicious Cilantro-Besan chutney can be paired with my Rajgaro flour -Wheat flour Bhakri, or just using Jowar flour like this Jowar Bhakri and this link in Marathi as shown in these video links or as shown below are made with the same method as this Bajra Bhakri I have made and posted before. Look at this roti making video, what a fabulous skill!!

To make Jowar Bhakri:You can also make Bhakri the easy way. Mix a cup or 2 of Jowar flour or Bajri flour or Ragi flour or mix of flours, 1/2 cup Wheat flour (Atta is optional addition for binding since these Bajri or Jowar flour don't have much gluten to bind and roll out easily to make circles. Adding wheat flour makes it easy to roll but not authentic Bhakri recipe which slapped by open palms into shape! :D), enough salt and very hot water to mix and make 6" rounds on a oiled aluminum foil and cook both sides on hot Tava/Griddle.

Microwaved Chana dal-Carrot Dal:
I made this yummy dal following the same recipe from Divya's "Dil Se" blog's "Kadalai Paruppu Kuzhambu" post except added some Carrots and a Tomato to Chana dal and did the whole cooking in the Microwave. This will go to Champa who is hosting "Tried and Tasted-Dilse" event which is the brain child of Zlamushka. Thanks to all of you girls! :)

To Microwave the dal:
1. Add 1/2 cup soaked Chana dal to a big bowl with water with 2 tsp ghee and Microwave first until dal is almost cooked.
2. Then add a cup of sliced Carrots (I had a pack of already sliced) and all the other ingredients as Divya says in her post except seasoning ingredients into dal, mix and microwave until Carrots are soft and cooked well but not mashed. Add salt and Cilantro.
3. Heat another small bowl with 1 tbsp oil, Microwave for 3 mins on high. Add all the other seasoning ingredients as Divya's post lists, keep MWing and mixing until the onions are reddish. Add to the cooked Carrot dal and mix.
Serve dal with plain rice, a raita and with that Besan chutney on the side with a Bhakri. Delicious dinner is ready! :)

I am also sending this Microwaved Chana dal-Carrot dal to this month's host PJ, to an event started by Silpa called "Vegetable Marathon-Carrots" and again sending this to Kamalika who is hosting "MEC-Dals", an event started by Srivalli. Enjoy hosting the events friends.

Besan-Rava Laddoos, a dessert to finish off the meal:
My kids usually love any dessert with Vanilla or Chocolate flavors. Since I don't like sweets generally (except Jamuns and Tiramasu!), I try not to cook too many sweets at home. Whenever kids want any dessert like cakes and cookies, most of the time I just buy it for them at the store. However, Besan Laddoos are one of the few Indian sweets my daughter likes. As soon as she came back home from college after finishing the freshman year, she wanted these so I had made them for her. I made very few laddoos using just 1 cup of Besan and few tbsp of Rava/Semolina.

To make these Besan Laddoos:

1. Heat a non-stick pan, add 4 tbsp ghee. Add 2-3 tbsp fine grained Semolina (Chiroti Rava), roast until slightly reddish but not too much.
2. Turn down the heat. Add 1 cup Besan (Gram flour available in Indian stores, make sure it's fresh. I store it in the fridge in an airtight glass jar) and roast until the raw smell of Besan disappears and Besan roasts to a golden color while constantly stirring the flour.
Note: This process of roasting Besan on medium heat takes about 10-15mins, very imp to get the Besan aromatic and well roasted. If not well roasted, Laddoos taste slightly bitter. So make sure you roast it well. You can also Microwave Besan-Ghee mix on a wide plate, take care not to burn the Besan, keep checking after every 1-2 mins.
3. Add 3/4 cup (or more to your taste) of fine grained light brown sugar to the roasted flour, 3 tbsp finely crushed Almonds, mix well. Mix in 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder.
4. As soon as the sugar melts, flour is thickish, take the pan out of the heat. Mix well, let it cool for 4-5 mins and add 1 tsp of milk to it just to make it wet (add 1 tsp more milk if you find the Besan flour too dry but don't add too much milk) mix well, scoop 2 tbsp of flour and make small balls by squeezing gently with your palm to round shapes.
5. Let them cool, they get firmer. Enjoy.

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Movies I watched:

We watched "The Gods must be crazy II", a second movie of the same name on Sunday night. It was hilarious as well but I prefer the the first movie. These 1-2 movies come in one box as "The Gods must be crazy 1 and II". I am not planning to buy any more of these movie series, these 2 are good enough!

"Invictus", on DVD, a movie based on the politics of South Africa and around Rugby World Cup in 1995, which was hosted by South Africa during and right after their internal national conflict and dissolving Apartheid, which united all South Africans as "one team, one country" for the love of the game with new hope for the country with Nelson Mandela as their president.
This movie is directed by Clint Eastwood and with actor Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela, all are my favorite guys. Usually I don't watch any movie based on sports but this movie had all that I wanted even though a bit long for my liking (134mins), an interesting movie to watch about inside politics of South Africa even if you are not into game of Rugby. South Africa won the Rugby World cup that year, not without a controversy though! Here is a glimpse of that 1995 game on YouTube video and final highlights. "Invictus" means "Unconquered or undefeated" in Latin.

Books I plan to read this Summer:
"Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
This book is quoted as "A masterly, haunting new novel from a writer heralded by The Washington Post Book World as "the 21st-century daughter of Chinua Achebe," Half of a Yellow Sun recreates a seminal moment in modern African history: Biafra's impassioned struggle to establish an independent republic in Nigeria, and the chilling violence that followed" here in this website. This interesting book was recommended to me by sra. Thanks my friend!:)

"The Bathhouse" by Farnoosh Moshiri.A story about how a Iranian teenage girl who was arrested and kept in an old Bathhouse endured the brutal hardship, narrowly escaped death and survived during the Iranian fundamentalist revolution.

Blog Break!!That's all for this month. I am taking a blog break from 18th of June to plan and enjoy a Summer vacation with kids. I will be back to blogging around mid July or later. Have a wonderful time until then, take care and keep cool, see you all as soon as possible. Hugs to all you! :))

Masala Rava Idlis, Potato-Carrot Kurma, Peanut Chutney and Flax seed Chutney powder Paratha

I trust that you are all enjoying relatively better weather for the past few days. We had almost 60F after a month of bitter cold temperature, great to feel the warm Sun on your face. Of course I have already forgotten all about those dog days of last Summer with 98F! :D

Martin Luther King, Jr.:
This is the house where he was born on Jan 15th, 1929 in Atlanta, GA. We were in Atlanta, GA for New Year's weekend, visited the Zoo, GA Aquarium and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Museum, his home, his church etc,. Thought I would post this photo of his pretty house for you.

Last weekend was fun too. We went to Monster Truck Jam at last after missing that event many times before. It was so much fun. There were about 6-7 Monster trucks and was only one lady driver in this Dalmatian Monster Truck with a tail and a pink tongue too, very cute! We screamed the loudest for the lady. She was very good!! But a truck called Grave Digger won in the end. With a name like that, you better believe he would win too! :D

Well..looks like my brain is thawed too just like the weather. Last week, I couldn't think of anything new to post for this week. I guess with my 166+ posts and thousands of dishes here, I have anything left to post every Wednesday! That was what I was thinking but then I realized that I have never posted Rave/Rava idlis as my mother makes them back home. So I made Rava Idlis with some herbs and spices along with a Kurma and Peanut chutney. Makes great combo for dinner and I also used Porcelain or ceramic cereal bowls to steam the Rava idlis instead of using regular Idli stand, so one single idli would be very filling. Give it try if you like, Idlis are my mother's version, Kurma is something I usually cook with different combination of vegetables with the same spice paste, this time with just Carrots and Potatoes and I love the taste of roasted Peanuts in chutney with these Idlis! :)

Masala Rava/Semolina/Cream of Wheat Idlis, Potato-Carrot Kurma with spicy Peanut Chutney:
I steamed these idlis in a wide mouthed ceramic/Porcelain cereal bowls, two at a time in the pressure cooker, stacking the bowls on top of each other. I keep one bowl filled halfway with batter at the bottom of the pressure cooker, use Chinese (flat wooden) chop sticks across the bowl and keep another bowl on top to steam without the use of pressure cooker weight. You can just use the regular Idli stand with this batter. Also adjust the Buttermilk in this recipe to add less or more depending on the quality of Semolina you have at hand, should be like Idli batter somewhat.

Masala Rava Idli:
1 1/2 cups of coarse Semolina/Rava (don't use very fine textured Rava, roast this in a non-stick pan without oil until golden, cool it),
2 cups Buttermilk (mix 1 cup Yogurt and 1 cup water, beat well), add enough salt to taste and 1/4 tsp Baking soda. (You can add chopped cooked or canned Peas, sliced Green beans and grated Carrots to the batter)
For seasoning:
Heat 1 tbsp ghee, add 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds, 1 tsp Cumin seeds, 2 tsp Urad dal and 2 tsp Chana dal, 3 tbsp broken Cashewnuts, let the dals turn little golden. Add 1 tsp finely chopped Green Chillies or 1/4 tsp red chilli flakes, 11/2" finely chopped ginger, few curry leaves, finely chopped and 2 tbsp Cilantro, finely chopped. Stir for a minute until the Cilantro wilts. Take off the heat and cool it.
Mix cooled seasoning into beaten Yogurt, salt and baking soda, mix well. Add the cooled Semolina to Yogurt and mix well until you get a smooth batter. Cover and rest the batter for 10-15mins.
To Steam:

1. Add about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of batter to two cereal bowls, keep them aside. Add 3" of water inside the pressure cooker, place the stand (which comes with pressure cooker) on the bottom, let it boil.
2. Place in a bowl carefully on the stand or grill, place few wooden chopsticks across the bowl and place another bowl on top of first one.
3. Cover with the lid and steam for 15mins on high heat without weight. Turn off the heat, take the bowls out carefully and invert them after few seconds of cooling. Serve hot.

Potato-Carrot Kurma:
You need to:
Cook 1 cup whole Baby Carrots, salt and 2 cups of 2" peeled and cubed Potatoes with some water in the microwave until almost done and keep it aside.(can add more vegs if you like)
Dry roast until reddish and grind these spices with few tbsp of water:
1 tbsp Poppy seeds, 1 tbsp Coriander seeds, 2 tsp Chana dal, 2 tbsp dry coconut, few dry red chillies, 2 cloves and 1" Cinnamon (Indian Cassia Bark/chakke).
For seasoning:
1 tsbp oil, 1 tsp Mustard seeds, pinch of Hing and few curry leaves (optional), 1tbsp ground or grated ginger. 1/4 cup Tomato sauce.
Garnish: with finely chopped Cilantro.

To make Kurma:
1. Heat oil and add mustard seeds, hing, curry leaves, let it splutter. Add ground ginger, stir for a while and then add tomato sauce, fry until oil shows up on top. Add ground wet masala/spices, stir fry for a minute.
2. Add cooked Carrots and Potatoes with it's water, boil, and simmer until they are cooked but not very soft and most water is gone and sauce is thicker.
3. Adjust the salt and chilli pd if needed. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with Rava idlis.

Peanut Chutney:
For chutney:
1. Heat a pan, roast 1/2 cup Peanuts until crisp. Take them out and cool them. Add 1/4 cup grated coconut, roast them until slightly golden. Take it out.
2. Add few dry red chillies, 1 tsp Cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp Coriander seeds, stir fry for few mins. Cool.
3. Add all the above to a mixie bowl along with 1" chopped ginger, 1/2 tsp tamarind paste, few tender Cilantro stems and enough salt.
4. Grind to a smooth paste with minimum of water added. Take out in a bowl.
5. Heat 2 tsp oil, add 1 tsp mustard seeds. When they splutter, take off the heat and cool. Add to chutney and mix.
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Flax seeds Chutney Powder:
I have heard that Flax seeds are one of the super foods and I have seen some Indian bloggers making the chutney powder with Flax seeds. I read that eating whole Flax seeds do not help you because they are hard to digest. You have to powder the Flax seeds to aid digestion and advised not to use more than 1-2 tbsps a day since too much of intake of these seeds in a day causes stomach upset. Like everything in life moderation helps!
I found a big pack of Flax seeds in our usual grocery store last week, so I thought of making some chutney powder in a similar (but not the same, no coconut added to this) way my mother makes Chana dal and Urad dal chutney pudi but added roasted Flax seeds. Turned very well and I use chutney pudi with Chapatis or rice topped with some ghee. Tastes wonderful.

To make flax seed chutney powder:

1. Dry roast 1 cup of Flax seeds until they splutter slightly. Don't roast too much, it will taste bitter. Take them out on a paper, cool.
2. To the same pan, add 2 tbsp Chana dal, 1 tsp Cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp Coriander seeds, few (or as many you like) dry red chillies, few black pepper corns, dry until reddish. Cool.
3. Add all this to a mixie with salt, pinch of Hing, 1 tsp dry Garlic powder, 1 tsp Tamarind powder (if you have it) or roast a piece of lumpy Tamarind until crisp, cool, add it and powder.
4. Spread on a paper towel, cool the chutney powder completely before storing it in a bottle with tight lid. I keep it in the fridge, lasts longer as Seeds get rancid quickly at room temperature.
Make it spicy, tastes wonderful and good for you too.

Flax seed chutney powder in layered Parathas:
I also experimented by adding 1 tbsp of Flax seed chutney pd to make layered Parathas. See the link to see how to roll out triangular Parathas. You sprinkle the chutney pudi in between layer as you fold the layered Parathas and cook them as usual.

Here is how to make layered triangular Parathas.
Roll out the dough to a circle, brush some oil or ghee on top and sprinkle 1 1/2 tsp of chutney pudi, fold the Paratha into half. Brush with ghee or oil again, sprinkle 1 1/2 tsp of Chutney pudi and fold again to a triangle and roll out again. Heat a griddle and cook Parathas on both sides and serve hot.
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Movies I watched last week:

"The Hurt Locker":
A very realistic movie about US Army Bomb sqaud who are detonating or disarming the bombs on the streets of Iraq on a daily basis. It scares you and makes you understand (although it's a fictional movie) what and how these soldiers go thru' everyday there. The fear, insecurity, bravery and heartaches of those soldiers are so palpable, always looking over their shoulders for some enemy attack is unfathomable for most of us. For some of them, even when they go home after they serve their term just can't deal with family life because they are so used to the adrenaline rush of being in the middle of a war. Even I was thinking "Hey, go back to war, you are better off there!". In the end , the main character of this movie walks off of a Army Helicopter smiling to serve another term of war!
War is always a sad thing but it also makes you grateful for these soldiers who put themselves between us and the enemy so that we can stay home safe while they take care of this harsh and dangerous, sometimes necessary business called war.

"The Book of Eli":
Visually stunning movie, a bit religious for me but I liked the movie. It's a story of what happens 30 years after the Apocalypse or "The last war" and few who survived the war were fighting to survive in chaos. One man called Eli has "The book" and walks across the country (USA) to the West trying to protect the sacred book which is supposed to save the humanity. Yes, it's a British guy who welcomes him at the Alcatraz, prints out the book which was retold by Eli's memory and stores it in a shelf along with other holy books but I didn't see the "Gita" among the books, where is it?! And does it always have to be a British guy who saves us all from every situation? ;D
Moreover the reason why I went to see this movie is because I LOVE Denzel Washington, a very handsome (still!) old guy and a great actor. I had to drag my family members to watch this movie but I did it! :P

"Paranormal activity" and "The Final Destination" are the other two movies I watched last week but I wouldn't recommend them particularly unless you are a fan of such genre of movies. I do like horror/scary/thriller movies!

I didn't have much time to read books for the past few days. I am yet to read the Kindle edition of Reader's Digest, will try and do it today.

Have a great rest of the week, see you all next Wednesday. I am planning to bake a bread for next week but don't know it will happen, will see! :)

My Summer Harvest 2009 with Ridge Gourd Masala and Ridge Gourd Chutney

Happy Sankranthi/Shankranthi/Pongal to all of you

Sweet beginning:
I made these with 2 Gits Gulab Jamun mix packs (funny ad) following the instructions. I never tried making Jamuns with scratch (with flour, sugar and milk powder etc) at home so far, may be one day I will try! My kids love these oval shaped Jamuns. I make less syrup with lot less sugar than required as we don't like the syrup too sweet and without any extra garnish. Jamuns soak up all the syrup and plump up. Usually round Jamuns are served in a katori/bowl floating in Syrup, sometimes garnished with Cardamom pd, grated coconut etc but we love it simple. Just pick each one up with a fork, gobble the whole Jamun is the way to go ie if I make them smaller!! :D

Well...
as some of you know, I started posting my Summer veggie patch from my backyard every August/September since 2006 . I take photos of them as I plant, sow the veg. seeds and I take photos of their progress through out the Summer. Usually we pull out all the plants and clean up for the Fall every year around September/October once the temp starts to go south.
Because I didn't blog since last July, here is my belated post of 2009 Summer garden post. I didn't buy any new Indian veg. seeds last year, used whatever I had leftover from the year before. Indian vegetable seeds are available here & here and here (for Curry leaves plants) and here for Asian vegetables to order if you are interested in planting the garden this Summer.

Here is the beginning with prepared veggie patch: (click on the pics to enlarge)
I start planting the little store bought plants at the end of May and sow the seeds only after mid June ie after the ground heats up a little to help the seeds to sprout. Some herb pots survived from last year re grew nicely like Mint, Chives, Balm Lemon and Rosemary. I bought more herbs to plant like Thyme, Thai Basil, Oregano, Garlic Chives etc.

In July and August:
You can see Japanese purple Eggplants, Okra, Cherry Tomatoes, Zucchinis, Broad Beans (sweet peas pods), Plum Tomatoes and of course, my pride and joy, Indian Ridge Gourds grown from seeds. Just 2 healthy ridge gourd plants which occupied half the deck gave me so many Ridge gourds that I went crazy cooking with them every other day which made my kids very mad and they now have a second new "kill that darn vegetable plant" plan right after my beloved Eggplants! Hahaha!!!

Indian Snake gourd (Padavala kayi), Cayenne chillies, Bottle Gourd, Prickly seedless Cucumber (Mullu Soutekayi), Amaranth leaves and more Ridge Gourds!! Unfortunately, I didn't get many Snake gourds until almost August and that too just two puny little things, I will post what I cooked with those later. Don't know why but I am finding it hard to grow Snake Gourds unlike other gourds. Cayenne peppers are beautiful to look at and get aplenty but not much heat or flavor. I prefer to grow Thai chillies or Tabasco chillies like I did last year. Those little ones are fiery and also I don't need too many of those to add to dishes to make it deliciously flavorful. I freeze Thai chillies for Winter to use to make chutneys.

September, time to clean up already!!
At this time of the month, my kids are literally tearing their hair out just looking at my collection of veggies because they know what's coming for dinner for days from now on until they are all gone and I am grinning from from ear to ear! :D
Did you see the identical conjoined twin Cayenne pepper brothers/sisters in the last photo?

Luxuriously grown Curry leaves plant:
Plant grows to up a tree in India and in Florida (because of the hot weather all year round) if planted this in the ground, so such luck for the rest of us in other states. (Here is a good YouTube video to watch)
It was a blazing Summer for us in NC this year. So this former 5" Curry leaf plant I potted last year has grown up to a 5 feet now! As soon as the temp. went up to 70F, we put the pot out on the deck. Now as the Fall temp dropped, it's inside the kitchen, still exposed to Sunlight but with minimum of 68F. I clipped off the top by about 5" to get the plant bushy and I am also using the bottom branches for cooking but very sparingly. We might have to re-pot the plant to a larger container next Spring. You can see the same curry leaves plant as it was last year, here.
Here is some info about how to grow and maintain Curry leaves plant. I read that USDA has banned or restricted all curry leaves plants in US! We used to get these little plants in Indian stores and from the (linked sites above) nurseries where I buy the Indian vegetable seeds.

Ridge Gourd Masala (Heerekayi palya) and spicy Ridge Gourd Chutney with my home grown Ridge Gourds, curry leaves, Tomatoes and cayenne red chilli peppers:

Ridge Gourd masala/Heerekayi palya:
Here is tasty Ridge Gourd dish to go with Dosas, Rice rottis or Chapatis. Palya is a Kannada word used generally for a semi dry masala dish with thick gravy and sometimes for dry dish as in potato masala we make for stuffing the Masala dosa.

You need:
3 or 4 fresh tender Ridge gourds (peel the ridges off with a peeler, wash and chop the veg into 1" cubes), 1/2 tsp Turmeric, enough salt, 1 Tomato chopped (I used 4 cherry tomatoes I grew), 1/4 tsp Tamarind paste, chopped Cilantro for garnish and 1 tsp ghee. Dry roast and powder these masala:
1 tbsp coriander seeds, 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds, 1 tbsp dry coconut, 2 tsp Chana dal (Bengal gram), 2-3 dry red chillies, 2 cloves and 1 tsp raw rice (to thicken the sauce).
Tempering:
2 tsp oil, 1 tsp Mustard seeds, few curry leaves, pinches of Hing (asafoetida), 1 onion, chopped,.

To make the dish:

1. Heat oil in a big kadai and add mustard seeds, curry leaves, hing and add onion, saute until they are soft.
2. Add Turmeric, tomato, little salt, fry for 3 mins. Add all the Ridge gourd pieces, fry for 3 mins.
Add 1/4 cup water, cover the dish, lower the heat and cook for about 5 mins or until vegs are almost cooked.
3. Add tamarind paste and powdered masala, enough salt. Stir and cook for a while. Add more water only if needed since Rodge gourds have lot of water in them if they are fresh.
4. Adjust the spices, add cilantro and ghee, cook until you get thick sauce. Tastes better the next day. Serve hot with any of the bread I mentioned above.

Roasted Ridge Gourd and coconut Chutney:
I love this spicy chutney with rice rottis or you can it with plain rice topped with little ghee as well. It's a simple but tasty chutney I came up with this dish based on regular veg stir fry but made into a chutney. When you have about 7 to 8 Ridge gourds at the same time, you just have to get creative with recipes and cook multiple dishes with the same veggie!! Here is another one.

You need:

1. Peel the Ridges off of the 2-3 gourds, cut into cubes. Slice a few fresh green or ripe red chillies, 1/4 cup cubed fresh coconut.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add 1 tsp Coriander seeds, 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds, 1 tbsp Chana dal, stir for few seconds. Then add few curry leaves, 3 tbsp Cilantro leaves or 1 tbsp tender Cilantro stems, sliced chillies, coconut pieces, saute for 2 more mins until they get some reddish color.
3. Add Ridge gourd pieces, some salt, saute until gourd is soft and cooked dry. Do not cover to cook it but keep stirring until it's soft and all the water evaporates. Take off the heat.
4. Let it cool a little. Add everything to a blender with 1/4 tsp tamarind paste, some salt if needed. Grind these to a smooth paste. Try not to add water if possible. Take out in a bowl.
Season with 2 tsp oil, add 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp Urad dal, 1-2 dry red chillies and more curry leaves if you like it, let it splutter. Add to the chutney and mix to serve.

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Chicken curry with Yogurt;
from "Daily Musings" blog. Thanks for the delicious recipe Indo, loved it!
My kids love any dish with chicken. My daughter went back to college last Sunday for second semester of freshman class. As soon as I saw this recipe in Indo's blog last week, I thought I will make it for them before she left (had to make it with just some paprika for heat for kids without any green chillies in this dish although I know it tastes lot better with fresh green chillies added). We relished it of course with some plain rice and few Naans!

Movies:
I rented a animated movie called "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs" which was really funny and enjoyable. Usually I prefer not to watch kids movies but after watching "Up", I am slowly warming up to the idea! :D
Another movie I watched and forgot to mention last week was "Men who stare at the Goats" which was hilarious. Highly recommend it to watch.

Books:
Btw, I bought a Kindle 2 reader from Amazon, loving it and it's so easy on the eyes to read books now and also kindle edition books are cheaper to buy and instant download too. But some books are collectible like these 2 below, so I still buy a few for my book collection. I downloaded all 4 books of "Twilight" series on Kindle though, even saw first 2 Twilight movies!! Beautiful romantic story, which girl doesn't want to be loved, adored and fought over by a Vampire and a Werewolf?! HeHe!! I can dream, can't I?

I read "Push" by Sapphire few months ago, which is made into a movie "Precious" now (which I love to see). Book is about incest and a young girl's struggle to survive. Book is shockingly disturbing to read but it IS "life" for some girls in this senseless cruel World with no support or choice. Makes you appreciate your own carefree childhood and teenage years!! When we were kids getting spanked on our backsides occasionally by our parents was a "real big tragedy" for some of us. We all should read this book if we really want to know what "real tragedy" is!!

Another book I read from Oprah's book club "Say you're one of them" by Uwem Akpan.
More heart breaking stories about lives of kids in Africa but wonderfully written which includes 5 short stories. I would say read both of them if you can take it but be warned! You don't wanna make yourself sad, get a headache and cry the whole day!

Okay, that's a long post (as usual!) for this week. No idea what I am going post for next week at all. Seems like my brain has frozen too these days along with icy cold weather!! Anyways, Y'all have a great rest of the week and have fun! :))

South Indian Thali: Idli, Madras Erulli Sambhar, Uddina Vade, Hurikadale Chutney and Tuppa!

Phew!! That was one busy week! Weather suddenly improved and is almost like Spring now. That means Allergy season for me too. Not looking forward to itchy eyes, red skin etc but got to deal with it! Hey btw, Anoop Desai aka "Noop dawg" has survived Simon (American Idol) so far, he sings well, outfit is not that geeky anymore! :D

Well..I didn't have anything in particular to post this week. I thought why not post a south Indian favorite; Idli, Sambhar, Vada, chutney, ghee thali instead. What's so special about these, you might ask but take a look at the Urad dal vadas! Reminds you of something? Yeah, don't they look like sweet Doughnuts?
Oh, my 2L wet grinder "Ultra Grind" is coming home today, I will post the photo next week. YAY! Softest idlis, come to momma! HeHe!

I always have hard time making these Urad dal vadas into a thick batter and shaping them like thick doughnuts. You can see my old posts of vadas here and here. I did get lot of advice from other bloggers like chilling the soaked Urad dal, adding chilled water to grind, and chilling the blender bowl before you grind the batter etc. to make the traditional shape of vadas. So, I followed them all and they do work to make batter thick! Any more tips are welcome from you.

These vadas are like savory Doughnuts of India, usually shaped on your wet palm or on a banana leaf, make hole in the middle and deep fried. When I saw the Doughnut maker at the store (also available in Amazon) last month (about $15), something clicked in my head and thought of using this to make Urad dal vadas! I couldn't stop laughing at the sight of these perfectly round thinner rings of Urad dal vadas. They may not be traditional looking vadas as we make in India but they do look cute, don't they? :D

My south Indian thali:
Katori Idli, Udupi or restaurant style Pearl Onion Sambhar, Urad dal vadas shaped by Doughnut maker, Roasted yellow gram dal chutney and homemade ghee.


My whole Idli, sambhar thali goes Rathna of "Asvadha" blog to her "Made for each other" event! These are not the traditional Valentine's day grub but definitely a very well loved, "any time", heart healthy (if you skip the ghee!) south Indian platter. Thanks R, enjoy hosting! :)

Photo of Doughnut/Donut maker and a close up of the spout where all magic happens! :D
Click on the collage to make larger, you can see where the batter comes out forming the shape of a doughnut. Urad dal batter should be a bit thinner than usual thick batter we use for making the regular vadas which helps the batter slide out of doughnut maker easily.
This is how it works; You spray the inside with no-stick oil, pour the thick batter in, hold this straight up on the top of the hot oil, press the red thing down you see on top to drop the batter directly into the oil and release it quickly and deep fry. If the spout were little smaller than it is here, we Indians would have a perfect thicker round Urad dal vadas with smaller holes in the middle!

Plain Urad dal vadas/Uddina vade:
Beautiful Urad dal savory doughnuts are south India's favorite snacks to have. With some of these around, we make a snack called Mosaru Vade/Dahi baras as they call in North India, basically these round dal vadas are soaked in spicy yogurt, served chilled in Summer. I will post that recipe and dish this Summer.

1. Soak 1 cup Urad dal, 1 tbsp rice grains in water overnight in the fridge. Keep the blender jar in the fridge too if you can. This keeps the dal and the jar cooler when grinding it and helps to make the batter thick.
2. Next day, drain the water and grind dal with enough salt, 1-2 pinches of baking soda, 2-3 tbsp water until thick, airy and fluffy. Do not add too much water, batter should be very thick to keep the shape of the vadas.
3. Heat oil to deep fry or at 360F in electric fryer. Spray the inside of the Doughnut maker to make the batter slide easy.
4. Pour the batter 3/4 full, hold it straight on top of the oil, and press the lever and quickly stop the the flow.

You will get a round batter rings and deep fry these until golden and drain on the paper towel. It does take some practice to get the knack of dropping the batter but you will get it eventually like I did!
It costs about $15 in the store or online to buy. If you use it to make sweet Doughnuts as well, it's worth buying. I will make sweet Doughnuts some other time to post here! :)

My doughnut shaped Urad dal vadas go to Ashwini of "Spicy cuisine" blog, who is hosting a new event called "Lentils Mela" this month. What better snack could there be than these Urad dal vadas for lentil mela, right? Thanks Ashwini, enjoy hosting! :))


Katori Idlis:
Katori means cup in Hindi. I poured the ildli batter in cups rather than using the usual Idli stand we use in India to make traditional smaller round Idlis. I use 2 cups any rice, 1/2 cup Urad dal,
1 tsp Methi seeds and salt. You can the Idli and Dhokla stand here.

I made the rice and Urad dal Idli batter in the same way ie chilled before grinding, you do a get soft batter which we need to ferment overnight.

Rest of the method to make idlis are the same as you see here but pour the fermented rice and Urad dal batter halfway upto in Katoris and steam as usual, one layer at a time.

Unmold the Idlis, cool and keep them covered or serve immediately for the best taste. You can reheat the cooled Idlis in the Microwave to serve.


Pearl onion (Madras Erulli) Sambhar:
This is my favorite Sambhar which tastes so good with Idlis and Vadas, almost like restaurant. Sanna Erulli or Madras onions are Pearl onions. I get frozen ones which are so easy to use without the hassle of peeling etc. I just thaw them overnight and saute lightly in oil until almost cooked and golden to use in the Sambhar.

Roast these without oil and pd these first:
1 1/2 tbsp Coriander seeds,
1/2 tsp cumin seeds,
1 tsp mustard seeds,
1/2 tsp Methi seeds,
3 tbsp dry coconut,
1/2" cinnamon(Dalchini),
Grind with 1/2 tsp turmeric pd,
1/2 tsp chilli pd.

To make Sambhar:
1. Pressure cook 1/2 cup Tuar dal, 1/4 cup Green gram dal (Moong dal), 1/4 tsp turmeric with 3 cups of water until soft, mash.
2. Add thawed and sauteed 1 cup Pearl onions to the dal, set aside.
3. Heat 1 tsp oil, 2 tsp butter or ghee, add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds,1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 dry red chillies, few curry leaves and 1/8 tsp Hing. When they splutter, add 1/ 2 cup of water, 1/2 tsp thick Tamarind paste, powdered masala pd, salt, 1/4 cup Tomato sauce, (optional),1 tsp sugar or Jaggary, simmer for 5 mins.
4. Now, add the dal mixture, and 4 tbsp chopped Cilantro, simmer not more than 2 mins and serve hot. Sambhar must not be too thick or too thin. Adjust the water and salt.

Hurikadale Chutney/roasted yellow chana dal chutney:
This is a simple but most delicious low fat chutney because we use lot less coconut and more of the roasted dal (Dalia or chutney dal). I have posted a similar chutney before with different proportions. This chutney is even better tasting and last longer in the fridge than coconut chutney.

1. Lightly toast 3/4 cup roasted yellow chana, 2 tsp Urad dal, 3-4 green chillies, few curry leaves and grind these with 2" chopped fresh ginger, 1/4 cup fresh grated coconut, 1/4 cup or more water, 1/4 tsp thick tamarind paste, few Cilantro stems and salt.
2. Take it out into a bowl, adjust the salt.
3. Season with 2 tsp oil and 2 tsp mustard seeds. Let it splutter. Take off the heat, cool it a bit and add to chutney and mix.
I make this chutney a bit thinner than usual thick chutney. Thinner chutney is great for scooping with vadas.

Home made Tuppa or ghee is here.



To serve, get a traditional stainless steel south Indian style thali or platter, arrange one or two Idlis, vadas, sambhar, chutney and homemade ghee! Slurp!! :D

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My tried and tasted list:

Thanks to all of you:

Potato Onion Rasa Palya, from Rupa Mohan.
Channa masala South Indian style, from Adlak.
Neer Dosa, from Ranji.
Khara bhath, from Nirupama.
Carrots chutney/stir fry, from sra. (I used Broccoli, carrots,red cabbage)
Chettinadu Tomato Rasam, from Dibs.

Book:
"Revolutionary road", made into a movie with Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Got bored after few pages because of same old "going thru' middle age crisis" and how they "find themselves" in the end kind of "soppy" stuff. Well...on to the next one! :D

My big thanks to my blogger friends who sent me all those beautiful awards last week. I have listed you on my sidebar and as always, I appreciate each one of those awards and you too. Hugs to all of you! :))

Have a wonderful weekend and happy Valentine's day. See you all next week with Haryanvi cuisine!

Chettinadu Cuisine: Kara Kozhambu, Pirattal, Adai, Semia Payasam, Coriander chutney

My heartfelt thanks to all of you who wished and blessed Trisha last week. I did convey all of them to her, which kept her smiling the whole week. With those sackful of blessings, I am sure she can achieve anything she wants in life! In fact, she is so excited that she wants to bypass half year of high school and go straight to Chapel Hill right now and she is already listing the dishes she wants me to bring to her when she is in college!! ;D

Now, on to the serious business of "Regional Cuisine of India" event! RCI is conceived by LakshmiK of "Veggie cuisine", where we get to cook and appreciate the the regional cuisine and culture of India. This month Srimathi of "Few minute wonders" blog is guest hosting "RCI" with "Chettinadu vegetarian cuisine". Thanks for taking time to host, Srimathi, enjoy!

About Chettinadu: (Info is from WIKIPEDIA)
"Chettinad cuisine is the cuisine of the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu state in South India. Chettinad is one of the driest regions of south India. The Chettiar community, who are a majority in this region are a very successful trading community. Chettinad cuisine is one of the spiciest and the most aromatic in India. Chettinad cuisine is famous for its use of a variety of spices used in preparing mainly non-vegetarian food. The dishes are hot and pungent with fresh ground masalas, and topped with a boiled egg that is usually considered essential part of a meal. They also use a variety of sun dried meats and salted vegetables, reflecting the dry environment of the region. The meat is restricted to fish, prawn, lobster, crab, chicken and mutton. Chettiars do not eat beef and pork.
Most of the dishes are eaten with rice and rice based accompaniments such as dosais, appams, idiyappams, adais and idlis. The Chettinad people through their mercantile contacts with Burma, learnt to prepare a type of rice pudding made with sticky red rice. Chettinad cuisine offers a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.
In Chettinad food, the most important spices are marathi mokku (dried flower pods), anasipoo (star aniseed) and kalpasi (known as Dagad Phool). In addition, tamarind, whole red chillies and saunf (Fennel seeds) are also used along with cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, peppercorn, cumin seeds and fenugreek".

My Chettinadu Thali;
Murungakkai Kara Kozhambu, Palakkai/Varukkai Pirattal, Mixed dal Adai, Semia Payasam, Turmeric rice, Coriander leaves chutney, Mango Pickle and appalam:


Murungakkai/Murungai Kara Kozhambu:
Drumsticks or Nuggekayi as we call it, is one of my favorite vegetables. I only get frozen ones here, I used those along with some Pearl onions . Loved the Kara Kozhambu, a simple but tasty Sambhar. Here is how I made it.

1. Heat 2 tbsp oil+ghee in a pressure cooker, add 1 cup peeled Pearl onions, fry until reddish and take them out onto a plate.
2. To the same oil, add pinch of hing, 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds, 1 dry red chilli, few curry leaves, 1 tbsp Peanuts, 1 tbsp chana dal, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 small onion, chopped finely. Fry until they soften, add 3 garlic, chopped, stir fry for few seconds.
3. Add 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp red chilli pd, 1/2 tsp tamarind paste, 1/2 cup Tomato sauce, cook for a minute.
4. Add 1 tbsp coriander seeds pd, 1 tsp Sambhar pd (optional), 1/2 tsp Peppercorns crushed( or as much as you want) , 2 cups water, 2 cups of 3" pieces cut Drumsticks, enough salt, mix well.
5. Close the lid and pressure cook on low heat for 20 mins. Open the lid after pressure releases, add Pearl onions, cilantro, adjust the spices to taste. Simmer for 5 mins and serve.

Palakkai/Varukkai Pirattal:
Raw Jackfruit!! YAY!! I made a spicy Pirattal/Perattal with another favorite vegetable of mine but I get only the canned ones. This is a stir fry with typical chettinad spices like Fennel seeds, cloves and peppercorns. It makes a delicious side dish to serve with rice or Adais.

1. Heat 2 tsp oil, add 1 tsp mustard seeds, few curry leaves, 1 red chilli, add 1 small onion, chopped, stir fry until reddish.
2. Add 1 or 2 cans of drained and chopped raw Jackfuit pieces, fry for 2 minutes. Canned raw Jackfruit is already soft, so you don't have to cook too much.
3. Add ground spices, pinch of turmeric, enough salt and stir fry for 2 minutes. Mix 1/4 tsp tamarind mixed with 4 tbsp water, add to Pirattal and stir until it's almost dry. You can add more water if you need it.
4. Serve along with Adai or rice or both.
Spices to grind: Don't have to roast these.
3 tbsp dry dessicated coconut, 1 tbsp yellow roasted Chana (Hurigadale, Daliya, Pottukadali, chutney dal) 1 tsp Fennel seeds, 1/2" Cinnamon sticks (Dalchini), 1 clove, 1/2 tsp peppercorns,1 tsp cumin seeds. Grind these powder to use in Pirattal.

Mixed dal Adai:
Adais are instant dosas without the hassle of fermenting etc. Adding mixed dal and brown rice makes it a healthy and quick meal. Here is my version.

1. Soak 1/4 cup each of Tuar dal, Chana dal, Moong dal, Urad dal, 1/2 cup Brown rice for 2 hrs and drain the water.
2. Grind all of these with enough water and 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 red dry chillies, salt to make a batter until smooth.
3. Heat a dosa Tava or electric griddle, pour a ladleful of batter and spread to a circle. Cook until the bottom is golden, flip and cook other side.

Serve this with Pirattal or Coriander leaves (Cilantro) chutney.

Cilantro chutney: Grind a bunch of cilantro with few green chillies, 1/4 cup fresh coconut, 2 tbsp Daliya/yellow roasted chana, 1/4 tsp tamarind paste, salt, 1/2" ginger, salt and with very little water to a smooth paste. Season with oil, mustard seeds, few curry leaves and mix with chutney.

Semia Payasam:
Of course, every Indian knows this sweet in one way or another. I used Chinese Rice Vermicelli or Rice Semia or akki Shavige in this dessert. Since rice Semia is delicate, you don't need to roast this in ghee before. here is how I made it.

1. In a non-stick pan, add 1 tbsp ghee or butter, add 1 tbsp each of Cashews, raisins, Almond slivers, fry until golden, take them out on to a plate.
2. To the same pan, add 3 cups of 2% milk, 1/2 cup brown sugar or jaggery (how much sugar to add is up to you, I always add less), bring it to boil, cook until it reduces a bit. Turn down the heat and add 1 cup Rice Vermicelli, mix and simmer.
3. Let it simmer gently, until Semia is well cooked and plump, then add 1/2 tsp of Cardamom powder to it and turn off the heat.
4. To serve, top Semia payasam with fried nuts and raisins. You can serve this cold or warm or at room temperature.

Mythreyee of "Paajaka" blog is hosting a "Sweet series: Rice/Wheat sweets/Diabetic friendly" event. My relatively low fat Semia Payasam goes to her event. Thanks for hosting, Myth. Enjoy the sweet! :)


That's the end of my Chettinadu thali, which we thoroughly enjoyed with some tasty Mango pickle and toasted Papad/Appalam! :)

Another look of Chettinad Thali:

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Here is a small list of what I tried from others so far, click to make it large.

Madras Onion Sambhar, from Kalpana.
Spicy Chicken curry, from Srilekha.
Tomatillo Kootu, from Mahimaa.
Udupi Dhania Sambhar, from Paru.
Fluffy Idlis, from DK.
Beets- Chana dal stir fry, from Priya.
Thanks for posting all these, girls! :)

Awards:
Last week, Sandhya gave me a "You have my heart" award, thank you so much, Sandhya.
Vibaas, Malar Gandhi, Lakshmi G, Pavithra, Meera and Ann gave me "Lemonade appreciation" as well. (I have posted the photos in my sidebar).
It always gladdens my heart to think that you all care so much about me even though I disappeared for almost 5 mnts from blogging! Now, I am passing both of these awards to all my blog friends who come here every week since I can't choose a few out of so many. Please go ahead, take them and enjoy. Hugs to all of you! :))

Movie:
I don't know how many of you have watched the movie called "300", about a war between 300 Greek Spartan warriors and Persians. If you have watched "300" , then you must watch the spoof of the same movie called "Meet the Spartans"!!
OMG!! I have never laughed so much in my life!! It's hilarious. All I am going to say is it involves fake Sanjaya, Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears too!! ;D

Book I read:
"The Reader" by the author Bernhard Schlink.
Kate Winslet recently won a Golden Globe award for the movie made based on this book and also nominated for Oscar as well. Interesting book; story about post World War II, long lasting relationship betn a couple with a tragic end. Book is sensual, full of suspense and very readable.

Have a wonderful Super Bowl Sunday, may the best team win! :)

GOT TOOR DAL?! :D

My post overflowing with Toor dal dishes this week goes to Linda of "Out of the Garden" blog who is the hosting JFI event this month. JFI event is originally started by Indira of "Mahanandi". Linda has chosen India's most favorite "Toor dal" as a theme to cook for this November. Thanks for hosting Linda, excellent choice for JFI!:))



About Toor dal:
"The pigeon pea is a member of the family Fabaceae. Other common names for Pigeon peas are arhar, red gram, toovar/toor (Hindi/Gujarati/Marathi/Punjabi), togari bele (Kannada), Kandi pappu (Telugu), gandul, guandul, Congo pea, Gungo pea, Gunga pea, and no-eye pea. The Indian subcontinent, Eastern Africa and Central America, in that order, are the world's three main pigeon pea producing regions.
In India, split pigeon peas or toor dal are one of the most popular pulses, routinely used everyday in dal or Sambhar, specially in South India.
Pigeon peas are nutritionally important, as they contain high levels of protein and the important amino acids methionine, lysine, and tryptophan. In combination with other cereals and vegetables, pigeon peas make a well-balanced food group."
Info from WIKIPEDIA.

Except in non-veg Dhansak and very few others, Toor dal is not usually used in cooking non-vegetarian dishes, so it's all vegetarian dishes here this week here!:))

Toor dal-fresh Dill spiced dumplings cooked in Tomato Gravy:
This is a classic Tamil dish called "Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu", which means Dal dumplings in gravy, somewhat like Matzo balls in soup! The basic recipe idea is adapted from a cookbook called "Dakshin Bhog" and I changed the recipe a lot by adding Dill leaves to the dal and simmering it with spiced Tomato gravy, very nutritious and flavorful. Try it!:))


Toor dal-fresh Dill spiced dumplings:

Make the dal-dill dumplings first:
1. Soak 1/2 cup of Toor dal for 2 hrs in hot water, drain and add to a blender. Add 2 red chillies or 1/2 tsp chilli flakes,salt, 1/8 tsp of hing and grind to coarse paste without adding water.
2. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan, add 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds, 1 finely chopped green chilly,1/4 cup minced onion,fry until soft,add 1/2 cup chopped Dill leaves,stir for minute.
3. Add in dal paste, 1 tbsp grated coconut, 1 tsp rice flour, stir well for 1 minute until dal slightly changes color.Mix well and cool slightly. Make large marble sized balls and keep aside covered.

Sambhar powder: Roast 1 tbsp Coriander seeds, 1 tsp Cumin seeds, 1 tsp Tuar dal, 1 tsp Chana dal, 1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds,2 red dry chillies, 1/4 tsp Pepper corns,1" cinnamon stick, cool and powder.
Now make the gravy: 1. Heat 2 tsp each of oil and ghee in a deep pan, add 1 tsp mustard seeds, pinch of hing and few curry leaves.
2. Add 1 and 1/2 cups of Tomato sauce(canned), 1 cup water, 1/4 tsp turmeric,1 tsp sugar, salt, Sambhar pd, and cilantro and simmer on low heat until it boils for 2 minute and yu get a good aroma of Sambhar.
3. Now drop 3-4 balls of dal in the sauce,wait they come up on top,take them out and keep on a plate.Repeat with all the balls until they are cooked in the sauce.
4. To serve with rice and papad, heat the Sambhar gravy first and then add Dill balls to the gravy.Once they are cooked, they do not break. Delicious, enjoy!:)

Madras(Pearl) Onion Sambhar:
We call Pearl Onions as Madras onions in Karnataka. After Theeyal, this is my favorite Sambhar to cook immediately after I come back home from any vacation, craving for some spicy dal!:D
I like the Pearl onions to be still slightly crunchy in the Sambhar. I fry them separately and then add to cooked dal to prevent them from getting mushy if you cook with Toor dal in pressure cooker.


How to:

Roast these until golden, cool and powder: 1/4 cup dry grated coconut, 1 tbsp Coriander seeds, 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds, 1 tsp Pepper corns, 1 tsp Channa dal, 2-3 dry red chillies,1 tsp Poppy seeds. Add 1/4 tsp hing or asafoetida and powder in a coffee grinder.
Season: Heat 2 tsp oil, add 1 tsp Mustard seeds, 1-2 red chillies, few curry leaves.
To make Sambhar:
1. Peel about 20 Pearl onions, stir fry these in 3 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan until they are golden on the edges and almost cooked. They still should be whole and slightly crunchy. Cool.
2. Pressure cook 1 cup Toor dal with 3 cups of water, and 1/4 tsp Turmeric until soft. Mash slightly.
3. In a deep dish, heat oil and add all the seasoning ingredients, fry. Add cooked dal, Pearl onions, ground Sambhar powder, few chopped cilantro, salt and 1 tbsp Tamarind juice.
4. Simmer for 15 mins and serve with rice , pickle and Pappadoms. Tastes better the next day.

Special Masale Dose!
Quick and crisp (Adai)Toor dal-Rice masala dosa, sprinkled with MTR brand red Chutney powder, stuffed with Potato-Tomato filling, served with Coconut-Garlic Chutney and ghee! Sounds good huh? I thought I will give a special twist to the good old Masala dosa and combination of all these three slightly different than usual dishes makes one very tasty masale dose! Enjoy!:))

To make the batter: Soak 1 cup long grain rice, 1/2 cup Toor dal, 1/4 cup Chana dal, 2 tbsp Moong dal, 2 tbsp Urad dal for 4 hrs.
2. Drain all the water, add as much water as you need to grind the soaked dal in the blender until you get a thickish coarse batter like Semolina/cream of wheat, do not have to grind until very smooth.
3. Add the batter into big bowl, adjust the salt and it's ready to use right away or keep it in the fridge if you don't need it immediately.

Potato-Peas-Tomato filling:

To make this: 1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add 1 tsp mustard seeds,2 tsp Urad dal,few chopped curry leaves, 2 chopped green chillies, 1/2" fresh ginger grated or minced.
2. When they turn slightly golden, add 1 minced onion, 1/8 tsp chilli pd, stir until edges are golden. Add 3 peeled, cubed Potatoes, 1/4 cup water, cover and cook until almost cooked.
3. Add 2 large Tomatoes chopped, salt and cilantro. Mix and cook until all the water has evaporated. Adjust the spices and serve.


Coconut-Garlic Chutney:
This is an easy chutney you can make in a jiffy and you will love it if you like Garlic! Keep the chutney creamish in color!

This is how you make it: 1. Add 1 cup of grated fresh Coconut, 2 fresh green chillies, 1/4 tsp pepper corns, 3 garlic,few Cilantro stems (not leaves), few curry leaves, salt, 1 tbsp yogurt to the blender.
2. Grind all these to a smooth paste without adding water if you can. Sprinkle little bit of red chili pd on top and serve.
I used MTR brand dry red chutney powder to sprinkle on top of the dose. To make your own, you can powder 1/4 cup roasted Chana dal(chutney dal or chana dalia) and powder it with red chilli pd, salt, Hing.



How to make Masala Dosa:




1.Heat a electric griddle to 300F. Take a ladleful of batter, pour and spread into huge oval shaped dosa, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp chutney pd, drizzle with oil or ghee.
2. When the bottom is golden, brush 1 tsp of Garlic chutney, add a 4 tbsp of Potato filling in the center of the dose.
3. Fold in one side of the dose to the center and repeat the other side in the same way and take it out on a plate.
4. Serve the crispy dose with little Ghee,Potato filling and Garlic chutney on the side.







Toor dal-Chana dal Chutney:
This nutritious and quick to make Dal chutney tastes great with some freshly cooked hot rice and ghee or with some plain Yogurt and rice. Keeps well in the firdge for atleast a week!

You Need: 1/2 cup Toor dal, 1/4 cup Chana dal, 1/4 cup dry grated Coconut, 3 dry red chillies or 1/2 tsp red chilli pd, 2 tsp Coriander seeds, 1 tsp Cumin seeds,1 tbsp Peanuts, 1 Garlic, few curry leaves, salt, 2 tsp Tamarind juice.
Seasoning: 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp Mustard seeds, 1 red chilly, broken.
To make it:
1. Heat a pan, roast both dals, coconut, Peanuts, chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, garlic, curry leaves one by one until reddish. Cool.
2. Add salt and tamarind juice to the blender along with roasted dal etc and grind with very little water to a coarse paste.
3. Heat oil to season, add mustard seeds and red chilly. When they splutter, mix with chutney. You can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

More Toor dal dishes I have already posted:
Beets Rasam
TogariBele Saaru, Mysore style
Dal Palak
Okra-Tomato Sambhar
Adai with Beans Palya and Chutney
Toor dal-Dill Sambhar
Toor dal-Beans-Dill Bassaru
Zucchini-Carrots Adai

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Last photos of the Fall:

Turning bright red before all the leaves fall out. Now all these trees are almost bare!!

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