Arachuvitta sambhar with sambhar cheera (waterleaf greens/Talinum fruticosum)

Sambhar Cheera (Waterleaf/Talinum fruticosum) is found growing with wild abundance in the backyards of my native town. The succulent plant is a nutritional treasure trove - Vit A, Vit C, iron, and calcium.

I've used a variation of the archuvitta sambhar (where fresh coconut and whole spices are light roasted and ground to make sambhar masala) to add the fresh bunch of waterleaves I chanced upon in the market. Having a little girl who is allergic to diary fat I'm constantly looking at different vegetarian sources of calcium to be included into her diet. Traditional cuisine that emphasises on the need to cook from whole and fresh ingredients, I've found, is the best guide.

Sambhar cheera (waterleaf) - a large bunch
Tomatoes - 3-4 meium sized, ripe ones
Small onions (shallots) - 6-8 Nos
Garlic - 6-8 cloves
Ginger - 1/4 inch piece
Green chillies - 2 Nos
Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
Sambhar parippu (Toor dhal/yellow pigeon peas) - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups

Rinse out the toor dhal well and pressure cook it with everything except the waterleaves added. About 5 whistles on medium flame is what I do.


For the masala

Fresh, grated coconut - 2 dessertspoons
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Pepper corns - a few
Cumin (jeera) - 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander powder - 1 dessertspoon
Asafoetida - a small piece (I use teh block variety). else, substitute with 1/4 teaspoon of powder.

Dry roast everything, except teh coriander powder, till the coconut begins to turn lightly golden, add teh coriander powder and saute till an aroma arises. Switch off flame and grind to very fine paste adding little water.

Rinse and chop the waterleaf bunch. Throw into a thick bottomed pan and add 1/2 a cup of water. Add in teh ground masala and simmer for a couple of minutes. Remove the cooked toor dhal mix from teh pressure cooker and using a ladle blend the dhal and tomatoes well. Add into teh simmering masala. Add more water if the gravy is too thick. Add salt to taste.

For tempering

Warm a pan and add a couple of teaspoons of sesame oil. Add a teaspoon of mustard seeds and allow them to crackle. Add a couple of dry red chillies and curry leaves. When roasted, top teh sambhar with this.

PS: I add additional vegetables to this sambhar, at times. This time I added a couple of carrots. I pressure cooked them along with the lentils.

Sambhar Sadam - wholesome, one pot meal

Sambhar sadam, as it is called in Tamil Nadu, and the Bisi Bele Bhaath of Karnataka are close if not identical kins. At least, that's how I've felt. My paati (maternal grandmother) was a stupendous cook and her Sambhar Sadam was something to die for. My version of it is created from what I remember of her's with some minor tweaks to include the mild masala taste of the Karnataka version.I make this quite often but missed posting it here. Yesterday, my food blogger friend, Lubna, started a discussion on favourite 'one pot meals' and I ended up promising to post my favourite one pot delight,sambhar sadam,recipe for her. So, here goes...

Raw rice - 1/2 cup
Toor dhal (sambhar parippu)- 1/2 cup
Small onions - 7-8 Nos
Assorted veggies - 1 cup (I used potato,carrot,and small violet brinjals)
Tomato - 1 medium
Garlic - 2 cloves
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Curry leaves - 3-4 sprigs
Coriander leaves/cilantro - a small bunch
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Coriander powder - 2 teaspoons
Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
Cloves - 2 Nos
Cardamom - 2 Nos
Fennel (saunf) - 1/4 teaspoon
Asafoetida - a few pinches
Tamarind extract - 1 tablespoon (or 1 large lemon sized tamarind ball soaked in warm water and juice extracted)
Water - 3 1/2 cups
Salt to taste

For tempering

Peanuts (with skin) - a liberal handful
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Cumin (Jeera) - 1/2 teaspoon
Dry red chillies - 1-2 Nos
Cooking oil - 1 tablespoon ( I use gingelly/sesame oil)



Put all ingredients, apart from the tamarind extract, cilantro and salt, into a pressure cooker and cook for 6 whistles (two on high flame and three on low). Once the pressure settles, add the tamarind extract, chopped cilantro, and salt. Mix well and simmer for a couple of minutes. Heat a pan and add oil. Roast the peanuts till golden, remove and add to rice. Place the rest of the ingredients for tempering into the same oil and saute till jeera crackles. Add to rice. Serve piping hot with papadoms, bujia, om podi, or appalams.

Pavakka Mezhukkuvaratti (Bittergourd stir fry)

This quick recipe is a family favourite. A lot of people I've served this to, who generally aren't bittergourd lovers or prefer only the deep fried version, seem to like this version of pavakka mezhukkuvaratti (bitter gourd stir fry). To the recipe then, without much ado:

Pavakka (bitter gourd) - 2 medium sized ( I prefer the dark green ones)
Onion - 1 medium sized
Green chillies - 5-6 Nos (as per your spice tolerance)
Ginger - 2 " piece (julienned)
Coconut oil - 3 teaspoons
Salt to taste
Sliced fresh coconut pieces (optional)

Soak the bittergourds in water with a teaspoon of salt or vinegar thrown in for atleast 10 minutes. This is to dislodge the dirt, the pesticide residue etc that can hide in between the grooves. Then wash thoroughly under running water.

Slit the bittergourds vertically. If the seeds are tender enough let them be or else dislodge them. Now, slice into thin semi circles. Slice the onions thin and slit the chillies. Add all ingredients (including salt and oil) together in a bowl and using your fingers rub everything together till well mixed. Cover and let marinade for 1/2 hour to 1 hour.

Warm a skillet and spread the mixture in. Cover and cook for a couple of minutes on very low flame. Open lid and stir. Allow to simmer cook tossing once in a while till the bittergourd is well done.



Serve as aside to plain rice and south indian curry of choice.




This platter of pavakka mezhukkuvaratti is going to participate at the Vegetable Marathon - Bittergourd event at Nithu's Kitchen. The event is part of the Vegetable Marathon series launched by Anita's Kitchen

Fenugreek potion for PMS and Fenugreek (Vendhaya) Idli for a healthy meal

Fenugreek (vendhiyam/uluva/methi) is as bitter and as healthy as it gets. Back home in India, fenugreek is often a recommended household remedy for alleviating menstrual cramps (Post Menstrual Syndrome), curing indigestion, promoting lactation , and preventing diabetes.

It's efficacy in lessening severe menstrual discomfort is something I have first hand experience in. In fact I got this little secret from my friend Bhooma who worked with me at my very first workplace, Indian Express.


First, the PMS remedy:

Fenugreek seeds - 1 teaspoon (5 gms)
Milk - 1/2 cup

Rinse seeds and place them in a cup.Boil milk and pour over the fenugreek seeds.Cover and let stand for an hour or so. Warm the milk again, chew the swollen seeds, and drink the warm milk. Alternatively blend it and gulp down. Add sugar if you absolutely must. Do this everymonth commencing 2-3 days prior to the date of menstruation and continue till second or third day.

Alternatively soak the seeds overnight in water. Next morning blend them with warm milk and drink.

Now, for a fenugreek based breakfast recipe:




I learnt this from my mom's aunt, Valli paatti with whom I shared an apartment during my work stint at Chennai.

Idli rice (Raw rice or par boiled rice works as well) - 2 cups
Fenugreek seeds - 1 small fistfull
Sesame oil (gingelly oil/ellenna/nallennai)- 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste

Soak rice and fenugreek seperately for about 3 hours.Grind fenugreek into a smooth, fluffy paste as you would grind black gram (urad/uzhunnu) for ordinary idli batter. Grind rice too into a smooth batter. Whisk both batters together along with the sesame oil and salt. Let ferment overnight or a minimum of 8 hours (depending on the climate). Pour into idli moulds and steam till done.

The PMS fenugreek remedy is off to the Home Remedies 1 event on at A2Z Vegetarian Cuisine





The fenugreek idli is off to my friend, Yasmeen's Health Nut Challenge 4 - Bitter Better Health on at Health Nut

Ragi kool (finger millet porridge)

You see that big brown, crispy dosa (crepe) that forms the background to my blog's title? It's made of ragi (finger millet/nachani/kelvaragu/panjapullu). Apart from dosas, ragi makes wonderful adai, puttu, sevai,idli,and 'kool'(porridge).

In rural Tamil Nadu (in South India) ragi is most commonly used to make 'kool' a porridge kinda dish. When summer rages at its worst then ragi kool with buttermilk and a dash of salt is liberally consumed by villagers involved in hard, physical labour. This is said to neutralise the energy draining effects of the sun and the hard work at hand.

The sweet version of this 'kool' uses jaggery (indian unrefined sugar) and milk. Jaggery adds in essential iron to this fortifying, comfort food. When had slightly warm, this tastes like manna and used to be my instant whip up option when I was pregnant and midnight hunger pangs struck!

Ragi , a nutritional treasure trove is a great source of the essential amino acid, methionine. Methionine is essential for vitality. Ragi, especially if sprouted, goes a long way in supplementing the nutritional deficiencies caused by a diet of highly refined cereals like white rice.

Today, we had to take Abhi for inoculation early in the morning.A nice, warm bowl of ragi porridge with a few cubes of sliced pappaya made for a wonderfully nourshing, easy breezy breakfast.



For 1 serving

Ragi flour (you can buy it ready made, look for sprouted and ground varieties) - 20 gms (4 heaped teaspoonful)

Water - 2 cups

Jaggery syrup - 2 teaspoons

Milk - 1/4 cup

Mix in the ragi flour into luke warm water and set on stove top at medium heat. Keep stirring till the mixture thickens and gets a glazy appearance (about 5 minutes). Add the jaggery and milk, and stir for a couple more minutes. Take off flame and enjoy while warm.


To make Jaggery syrup

Jaggery is usually available as lumps, either golden brown or dark brown.The dark brown version is denser in minerals but the golden brown version is cleaner.Since jaggery is unrefined it can contain sediments. Boil about 250 ml water for 100 gms of jaggery. Place the lumps in and simmer to dissolve jaggery. Simmer on for an extra few minutes to allow the syrup to thicken. Filter to remove scum. Once cool, transfer into airtight containers, and refridgerate. Stays good for a month or more.

Ragi kool is off to the JFI - Ragi event on at Madhuram's Eggless cooking

Aval dosai (Rice flakes dosa)

When I mentioned that my trip home to India for delivery was due soon, so many of you blogger friends turned up with good wishes. It felt so good to have met and made friends with so many like minded souls through blogging! Thank you all, my dear friends, for all your good wishes. Now to get to today's recipe, Aval dosai, a Tamil Nadu special.

Aval dosai has been one of my favourite tiffin items right from childhood. Growing up at my maternal grandmother's house at Salem, my childhood food preferences were greatly influenced by Tamilian cuisine. Amma, having relocated to dad's place at Kerala, has more or less given up on Tamilian fare except for when I turn up at home and ask her to make me something from grandma's kitchen. Aval dosai is one thing I make perfectly well at my kitchen but still ask amma to make for me whenever I visit her. Love it with pottu kadalai chutney (roasted gram). Here is my paatti (grandma) and amma's recipe for the yummilicious aval dosai...

Raw rice - 2 cups
Aval (Rice flakes/beaten rice/poha)- 1 cup
Fenugreek seeds (uluva/methi/vendayam) - 1 teaspoon
Sour curds (plain yoghurt)- 1 cup
For seasoning
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Green chillies - 2 Nos
Onion - 1 medium sized
Ginger - 1" piece
For tempering
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Dry red chillies - 2 Nos
Curry leaves - 3-4 sprigs
Bengal gram (Channa dal/ kadala paruppu)- 1 teaspoon

Wash and soak the rice and fenugreek seeds together for about 4 hours. Whisk the yoghurt with a little water to make it a little thin. Add the rice flakes to it and soak for about an hour. Add sufficient water and blend the rice and fenugreek in a mixie/food processor/wet grinder into a smooth batter. Do the same with the soaked rice flakes. Mix the two together and add salt to taste. The consistency should be like that of ordinary dosa batter (see picture). Allow to ferment overnight or for about 8 hours.

Chop the onions, ginger, and green chillies fine. Heat a teaspoon of oil and saute the bengal gram and red chillies. Add the mustard seeds and allow them to crackle. Throw in the curry leaves, chopped onions, ginger, green chillies, and coconut. Whisk in to the batter.

Heat an appa chatti (see picture) and pour out a ladleful of the batter. Cover with a lid and simmer cook till done (approx 3 minutes). The bottom should have formed a golden crust and the top should be cooked well. You need not turn this over but if you like both sides golden, you can flip and brown the other side too like I've done.



PS : An appa chatti is a shallow pan traditionally used to cook palappams (vellayappams) in. If you do not have this you can use an ordinary dosa gridle (flat pan) to make aval dosai. For more detailed pictures of the 'appa chatti' check out the Vellayappam recipe link http://thefootloosechef.blogspot.com/2008/05/vellayappam.html

Sending this over to EC's WYF : Cuisine event. The event is on at http://simpleindianfood.blogspot.com/2009/03/wyfcuisine-event-announcement.html till March 31st.

Carrot chutney with adai dosai

Made 'adai dosais' for breakfast today. Adai dosai, for those who aren't familiar, is dosa (crepe) made with a variety of lentils and a portion of raw rice. I don't like the traditional combination of 'avial' with adai and so make different veggie chutneys to go with it. Saw this colourful recipe in Mallika Badrinath's Vegetarian Curries recipe book and decided to make a go at it. It came out really good and was excellant when paired with adai.
Feeling extra good about the perfect carb-protien combo with that liberal dash of Vitamin A and beta- carotenes for accompaniment

Grated carrot - 1 1/2 cups
Roasted peanuts - 1/4 cup
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Dry red chillies - 4 Nos
Coriander powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Garlic - 1 clove
Salt to taste

For tempering
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Dry roast the red chillies and garlic. Add a teaspoon of oil and add the grated carrot and coriander powder. Saute till carrots are slightly done. Add in the rest of the ingredients and saute for a minute. Cool and grind to a smooth paste adding a little water. Transfer to serving bowl.

Heat a teaspoon of oil and crackle the mustard seeds and fry the curry leaves. Pour it over the chutney.

I had posted the 'adai dosa' recipe long back, for the recipe click on http://thefootloosechef.blogspot.com/2008/05/ada-dosa.html

Carrot chutney makes its way to FIC - February event. The colour this month is Orange and is hosted at My Diverse Kitchen. The event details can be had at http://mydiversekitchen.blogspot.com/2009/02/lets-paint-it-orange-this-month.html

The FIC event was launched by TongueTicklers. The original event details can be had at http://tumyumtreats.blogspot.com/2008/07/event-announcement.html

Also, sending this to Mane Adige's Chutney/Dip mania event. The event is on at http://maneadige.blogspot.com/2009/01/inviting-entries-for-mania-event-here.html

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.

Vinayaka Chathurthi Kozhukkattai, money purse modkam, and easy sukhiyan

Vinayaka Chathurthi celebrates the benevolent elephant faced god, Vinayaka (Ganesha). I've always enjoyed collecting Vinayaka idols and figurines. While staying at Chennai, vinayaka chathurthi used to give me the perfect opportunity to collect beautiful and unique Ganesh figurines. Though it's customary to immerse the idol into a water source after the festival, I've never been able to do so. I love the happy god with his very humane ways. Symbolically, it is said, Ganesha represents the concept of perfection in imperfection. With his elephant head and overfilled tummy tied around with a snake to prevent it from bursting, he seems full of physical imperfections. Yet it is Ganesha who is believed, by all Hindus, to be the harbinger of all things good. Any religious or social, if it is to be successful, is begun by an invocation of Ganesha.
Here is my foodie offering to the lovable Ganesha...

Kozhukattai/ Modak/Stuffed Rice dumpling

This steam cooked dish is considered a favourite of Ganesha. The white, round dish in the middle of the picture is Kozhukattai.
For the dough
Raw rice flour - 200 gms
Cumin seeds (jeera) - 1 teaspoon
Hot water - sufficient for kneading
Salt - 1/4 teaspoon
Place the rice flour, cumin and salt in a vessal and add in the water bit by bit. Use a sturdy ladle to mix in the water. Finally when the dough is a little cool , use your hands to knead mixture into a soft but firm dough. This is a slightly flaccid version of the chappathi dough.

For the filling (pooranam)
Freshly grated coconut - 2 cups
Jaggery (indian cane sugar) - 100 gms
Cardamom - 5 Nos
Water - 1 cup
Boil water and dissolve jaggery in it. Filter out scum. Pour back into a thick bottomed vessel and simmer cook. When it reaches syrupy consistency, add in the coconut and crushed cardamom seeds. Keep stirring till coconut absorbs all water. Cool.

Procedure
Take a golf ball sized portion of the dough, shape it into a round, and placing it on your palm flatten it in the middle to cause a depression. Now place a teaspoon of the filling in the middle and reshape into a ball. Repeat procedure with the rest of the dough. In an Idli steamer or any other steamer, place the balls and steam cook for about 10 minutes. If you do not have a steamer, you could line a large, steel colander with muslin/cotton cloth and place over a vessel of boiling water. Cook covered.
Money purse modak

The tiny, cream coloured items on the right side of the picture are money purse modaks. These resemble the shape of string pouches (purses) used by our grandmothers and hence the name.

The dough and filling is the same as kozhukattai. Here you take small goosberry sized balls of the dough and place a teeny amount of the filling in it. Dampen your fingers and shape the ball to resemble a string purse. Deep fry and leave on a kitchen tissue to drain excess oil.

Easy Sukhiyan

Sukhiyan is a Kerala deep fried sweet dish made out of green gram (moong) , jaggery, and maida (all purpose flour). Decided to adapt this to suit my Vinayaka chathurthi fare. The brown item on the left of the picture is sukhiyan.

Whole green gram (moong) - 100 gms
Jaggery (Indian cane sugar) - 50 gms
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Cardamom - 3 Nos
Rice flour - 1 cup

Pressure cook moong for about 3 whistles on low flame. Crudely crush with a fork. Dissolve jaggery in half a cup of water and filter scum. Powder cardamom. Mix with the moong. Stir fry in a skillet for a few minutes. Cool and knead in the rice flour. The consistency should be soft and you should be able to drop tiny knobs of the mixture into hot oil using your fingers.

Heat oil and gently and carefully drop dollops of the mixture into it. Fry till all sides are browned well.
This is my entry to Purva's festive food series - Krishna and Ganesh Chathurthi. The event is on at http://purvasdaawat.blogspot.com/2008/08/announcing-krishna-and-ganesh-chaturthi.html

This is also making its way to Paajaka Recipe's Sweet series - Deep fried or steam cooked sweets event. The event is on at http://www.paajaka.com/2008/09/announcing-sweet-series-deep-fried-or.html

My blogger buddy EC of simpleindianfood has passed me the Good Job award. Thanks a bunch EC.

I, in turn, would be delighted to pass this on to Vidhya of My Recipes (iyercooks); and Usha of veginspirations. I will be passing this on to 4 more deserving blogs in a couple of days.

Molaga bajji

Molaga bajjis (batter fried chilli crispies) are the first to greet you on your evening out on the beaches of Marina at Chennai. Numerous make shift stalls adorned with garlands of molaga (chillies) burst with the yummy smells of frying bajjis. The chillies used for making molaga bajjis are big and light green in colour with not so much of the heat of their smaller counterparts. If you don't get these bajji chillies, jalapenos work as well.
For the batter
Roasted gram flour (kadala maavu/besan/chickpea flour) - 100 gms
Rice flour - 50 gms
Corn flour - 10 gms
Red chilli powder (cayenne pepper) - 5 gms Turmeric powder - a pinch
Cumin (jeera) - 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida (perumkayam) - a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying
Mix all the ingredients with sufficient water to create a thick batter. The batter should be thick enough to form a stable coating on the chillies.

For the bajjis
Bajji molaga (jalapenos) - 5-6 Nos

Slit the jalapenos ensuring taking care that they remain intact at the stems. If the chilli is very large then you can opt to completely slit it up into two. Heat oil in a thick skillet. Drop a small dollop of the batter in, if it rises up with a sizzle then you know the temperature is right. Dip the slit chillies in the batter. Ensure that it is coated all over and in between the slits.
Drop into the oil gently and fry ensuring all sides are an even crusty brown.

Serve hot with tomato ketchup! Nothing to beat a rainy or wintery day like a piping hot molaga bajji with tea!

Green brinjal stir fry

Out here in Muscat, people seem to love Brinjals. The stalls are full of brinjals in different hues, shapes, and sizes! And, at 200 - 300 baizas (Rs.20-30 approx) per kilo, it's the cheapest veggie around too :-) . Here's a simple dish made of long, green brinjals.
Long, green brinjals - 250 gms
Onions - 2 medium sized
Garlic - 2-3 cloves
Green chillies - 5 Nos
Cumin (jeera) - 5 gms
Black gram (uzhunnu/urad) - 10 gms
Mustard (kaduku) - 5 gms
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Curry leaves - 4-5 sprigs
Salt to taste

Clean and cut brinjal into roundels. Slit green chillies. Chop onions and garlic.
Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a skillet and add the black gram and saute till light brown. Add and crackle mustard. Put the garlic and onions and stir fry. Follow with the green chillies and turmeric powder. Add the brinjal roundels and stir fry in medium heat. Add he curry leaves and salt to taste.
Enjoy with plain steamed rice or chappathis.

Ragi dosa (finger millet crepes)

Ragi (finger millet/nachani/kelvaragu/panjapullu), a nutritional treasure trove is a great source of the essential amino acid, methionine. Methionine is essential for vitality. Ragi, especially if sprouted, goes a long way in supplementing the nutritional deficiencies caused by a diet of highly refined cereals like white rice. My ragi dosa recipe owes its origin to my mom's aunt with whom I shared an apartment at Chennai, during my journalist days :-)


Ragi flour (you can buy it ready made, look for sprouted and ground varieties) - 2 cups (200 gms)
Black gram (urad dhal/uzhunnu) - 1/2 cup
Fenugreek seeds (methi/uluva/vendayam) - 5 gms
Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Soak the black gram for an hour and grind to a fluffy batter (as you would for idli/dosa). Mix in the ragi flour with sufficient water to make a thick batter. Ensure there are no lumps. Let ferment overnight. Next morning add the cumin seeds and salt to taste. Add a little more water if the batter is too thick. This should be thinner than the ordinary rice dosa batter.
Heat a dosa pan (flat girdle) and rub a little sesame oil on using a kitchen tissue or muslin cloth. Pour out a ladleful of batter and make a thin dosa. Simmer cook till the side is crispy, turn over and repeat other side. Use a little more sesame oil, if you like the taste.

PS: Serve hot. If you make the entire lot and let it cool, the dosa loses its magic. The picture shows ragi dosa served with spicy puthina (mint) chutney.

Ragi kool is off to the JFI - Ragi event on at Madhuram's Eggless cooking

Horsegram chutney

In Tamil there's a saying 'Muthirai thinral kuthirai pole shakthi'. Translated, if you eat horsegram, you become as strong as a horse (remember, horsegram is fed to horses too :-).
However, it's a fact that horsegram is a great source of fibre, protein, and calcium. Here's a simple recipe popular in rural Tamil Nadu.

Horsegram - 1/2 cup (100gms approx)
Dry red chillies - 5-6 Nos
Garlic - 3 cloves
Curry leaves - as much as you wish
Salt to taste
Tamarind extract - 5 gms

Heat a thick bottomed skillet and dry roast the horsegram and garlic. Keep stirring to ensure even roasting. Add the dry red chillies and curry leaves . Roast till the chillies start turning colour and an aroma emanates. Cool.
Add tamarind and salt. Grind in a mixer or processor adding sufficient water.
Great accompaniment to idlis, dosas, or even plain steamed rice.

Venpongal

Venpongal is close to the tamilian heart. An integral part of Pongal, the harvest festival, venpongal is a wholesome mix of carbohydrates and proteins. The traditional way of preparing pongal calls for liberal quantities of ghee; the reason why most people who eat pongal for breakfast complain it makes them sleepy. In restaurants , ghee is supplemented by it's cheaper look alike, hydrogeonated vegetable oil. A greater health hazard!

I find that wonderful tasting pongal can be made sans the grease. Just add a little bit of milk to cook it.


Raw rice - 1 cup
Split green gram lentils (cherupayaru paruppu/moong dhal) - 1/2 cup
Ginger - 1" piece
Pepper corns - 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin (jeera) - 1/2 teaspoon
Low fat milk - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 teaspoons
Water - 3 cups

Wash rice and lentils and drain. Chop ginger and add to rice and lentils. Add the milk and water to the rice mixture and pressure cook for 6 whistles. Once the pressure cooker is opened, add salt and mash the mixture well.
Crush the pepper corns lightly (so that they don't burst when frying). Heat oil and crackle the cumin and pepper corns.Add to the rice and mix well.
Serve piping hot with pottukadalai and malli chutney (roasted gram and cilantro dip). Watch this page for the chutney recipe tommorrow.

PS: Roasted cashewnuts can be added as an optional garnish

Poondu mulaka podi

Garlic (poondu) - 5-6 cloves
Dry Red chillies (cayenne pepper) - 6Nos
Roasted gram (pottu kadalai/pori kadala/chutney dhal) - 1 cup
Curry leaves - a few (optional)
Salt to taste

Dry roast the garlic cloves till they are golden brown and most of the moisture is gone. Dry roast the red chillies and warm the roasted gram seperately. If you are adding curry leaves, dry roast them till crisp too. Pound everything into a fine powder using a chutney mixie bowl or coffee grinder. Add salt to taste.

Poondu mulaka podi can be used as an accompaniment to Idlis and Dosas. To use , take the required quantity and a little gingelly (sesame oil/ellennai/nallenna) oil to mix into a dip like consistency.