Welcome aboard!

Indian cuisine is a riot of colours, flavours, and spices. Every state has its own unique culture- ingrained taste bud. And, to many of us staying within familiar tastes is a sacrosanct act. Of course an occasional trip to a speciality restaurant that serves another fare is ok. But, as a matter of routine ...at home...NO!

One of the benefits of being born to parents who dared an interstate marriage (am talking about India of the 70's) was being able to widen a regional taste bud to accept, experiment and, relish eclectic cuisines :-)

I love food! Be it traditional or fusion, cooking is all about turning out fare that is tasty and healthy.I welcome all lovers of good food to come on aboard and share your kitchen adventures.

If you like what you see, do leave a comment. If you don't, please leave a suggestion to help me make this better.

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Happy cooking!

Dershana

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Rava and oats idli with puthina (mint) chutney

The daily quest for healthier food options continues...Unlike some of my friends and acquaintances, pregnancy has not given me a raving appetite! One says, 'eat sweets, it's good for the baby's brain growth'; another one says, 'remember to eat something every one hour'; yet another recounts, 'I used to ensure I had one apple, one pomegranate, 250 gms spinach, and 1 rasgulla apart from the regular meals and milk, you too eat'....whew! the volley of well meaning advisors (eating champions??) make me feel I am starving my poor baby! The result is that my gynae bears the brunt! I keep pestering her with doubts :-)

However, I try my best to include wholesome ingredients into what I do eat. This time, the humble rava idli undergoes a tiny face lift in the form of oats and roasted peanuts.



Rava (Semolina/sooji/cream of wheat) - 1 1/4 cups
Quick cooking oats - 3/4 cup
Low-fat Curds (yoghurt) - 2 cups
Roasted and skinned peanuts - a handful
Soda bi carb - a pinch
Salt to taste

For tempering

Ginger - 1" piece (peeled and grated)
Green chillies - 3 Nos (finely chopped)
Bengal gram (channa dhal/kadalai paruppu)- 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds (Kaduku/Rai)- 1/2 teaspoon
Indian curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Warm a thick bottomed pan and add in the rava and oats. Dry roast on small flame stirring frequently to ensure even roasting. Brown speckles and an aroma from the rava denote the grains are roasted enough. Spread out on a plate and cool. Transfer to a bowl. Whip the curds with a fork and add to the roasted grains along with the cooking soda to for a thick batter. Let stay for half and hour.

Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan and add the bengal gram. When it starts to turn a light brown , add the mustard and let crackle. Add in the finely grated ginger and chillies. Add the curry leaves. Saute for a minute. Add into the batter along with the roasted peanuts and salt. If the batter has turned too thick because of the rava having swollen up add in a little water. But remember that this batter should be considerably thicker than the ordinary rice idly batter. Pour into into idli moulds and steam for 15-20 minutes. Serve with puthina chutney.


Puthina - coconut chutney (Tamil Nadu style)
This version of mint chutney is made Tamilian style and goes well with south indian breakfast items like idlis and dosas.



Puthina (mint) - 1 big bunch
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Tamarind extract - 1/2 teaspoon
Green chillies - 5 nos
Ginger - 1 short piece (about 5 gms)
Salt to taste

For tempering
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Cury leaves - a few


Destalk and clean the mint leaves. Place all ingredients , except salt in a skillet and simmer for 2 minutes with the lid on. Cool and grind to smooth paste in a mixer bowl. Add salt to taste. Check for tanginess, if less add a teaspoon of lemon juice.

Heat a teaspoon of oil and crackle mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add in.

Excellant with hot dosas and idlis.

18 comments:

Indian Khana said...

I just love pudina chutney and yours looks perfect...very nice colour...great combo dear

lubnakarim06 said...

Wow healthy and yummy.. Never tried this combo. Looks gr8.

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

lol... for the advices part!!! :D I have a close friend whoz in her 3rd trimester now.. She is tired of all the advices she gets from people,too!! But don't you worry... It will all stop once you pass the first few months, I suppose!!! :D

Love the green color of the chutney!! I can almost smell the mint... Thanx for the wonderful entry!!! :)
And Good luck w/ your lil one!!

Vidhya said...

I love rava idly and pudina chutney.. Mint smell and flavor... OMG.. looks really yummy. Congratulations and take care of your health..

Jaishree Iyer said...

This adding oats is new to me... Never tried this combo.healthy and yummy.. Looks gr8.

Anonymous said...

Hi Dershana,

Your blog is so lovely and the pictures so very colorful. Thansk for stopping by my blog.

Vibaas said...

I came here from my blog and there you are with a yummy oats recipe. Fantastic. Looks yummy. Chutney looks so yum too.

Vibaas said...

I got carried away by the oats recipe and forgot to congratulate you. Congrats and lol about the advice piece. It'll never stop now...once you have the baby you will start getting parenting advice :)Wish you and happy and healthy 9 months (probably only 5,6 months left, eh?)

Usha said...

Looks delicious, I posted a different version of oats idli just a while back, will try your version the next time...the pudina chutney looks very inviting :-)

anudivya said...

Totally healthy. Remember seeing it on other blogs too, and this just reassures me... I need to try this soon.

Raks said...

Sounds good and should have tasted great with mint chutney!!

SMN said...

Nice twist to regular rava idli. first time here . Congrats and wish you best time and health through ur pregnency. eat well:) my advice..

Vaishali said...

Love the color of that chutney. And the idlis sound delicious, Dershana.

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

thanks for visiting my blog! you have a nice collection of recipes here. oats idli looks great.. i have also made many times. i love it.

Preety said...

wow must try this one..

Dori said...

I love the oats added in the idli's, they are so healthy! The chutney looks perfect, too! I have bookmarked this recipe!

Beyond Curries said...

I also tried this oats rava idli recently from another blog. It's definitely nice. You can also use finely cracked wheat and corn grits instead of regular rava. I tried both and they taste good and healthier than rava.

Chutneytales said...

Hi..first time on your blog..Your blog is lovely..You have posted simple and different recipes :)

 
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