Zucchini Paratha

 

INGREDIENTS:

Whole Wheat flour - 2.5 cups

Grated Zucchini - 1 cup

Salt- as required

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Cumin Powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Garam masala - 1/4 teaspoon

Oil - To make dough and cook paratha

METHOD:

1. Take zucchini and peel the skin off. Then grate them . Squeeze the grated zucchini and remove the excess water from it and keep it aside . This is very important because, zucchini is a water vegetable and will let out lot of water. You no need to throw the zucchini water . I added it , when cooking the veg kurma. Or you can use it when making the paratha dough.

2. In a large bowl, add whole wheat flour. Add the grated zucchini, salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder and garam masala powder. Mix all well. Then add a tablespoon of oil. Mix well. Do not add water now. Keep it aside for 15 minutes.  Setting it aside without adding water, will help to let out any more water from zucchini to be mixed with the wheat flour. 

3.  After 15 minutes, add very little water ( or squeezed out zucchini water which you got from step 1) , and start making firm dough. 

4. Take lemon sized dough , and flatten them using the rolling pin and cook in pan, by adding sufficient oil on both sides.

5.  Serve Zucchinin paratha with veg kurma or any curry of your choice.

Zucchini Paratha,veg kurma and Tofu.

Instant Benne Dosa

 

INGREDIENTS:

Rice flour - 1 cup

Gram  flour - 1/4 cup

Raw potato - 1 medium sized

Garlic - 1 clove

Dry red Chilli - 2 no.s

Kasmiri chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Yogurt or Curd - 1/2 cup

Salt- as required

Butter - For making dosa

Baking Soda - a pinch(Optional)

METHOD:

1. In a bowl, soak dry red chilli in hot water for 20 minutes.

2. Wash and peel Potatoes and cut into cubes.

3. In a mixer , first add soaked red chilli , garlic clove, raw potato cubes and grind without adding any water for few seconds.

4. Later to that , add rice flour gram flour, kashmiri chilli powder, salt  and yogurt and grind again. Use less water for grinding. The batter should be dosa batter consistency.

5.  Just before making dosa, add a pinch of baking soda and a teaspoon of water and mix well , until we get a frothy consistency. Baking soda is optional, If you dont prefer that, you can use Eno fruit salt. Now, in a iron tawa, add a ladle full of batter and spread evenly. Spread some butter evenly on  the top. Cover and cook for some time and flip over the other side and cook. 

6.  Serve Dosa with sambar or chutney of your choice !

Foxtail Millet Ladoo

 3 ingredients sweet - Foxtail millet / Thinai Ladoo

INGREDIENTS:

Foxtail millet flour - 1 cup

Brown Sugar - 1/2 cup

Ghee - 1/4 cup

Cardamom powder- a pinch ( optional)

METHOD:

1. In a pan, dry roast foxtail millet flour for 5 to 7 minutes in medium to low flame, until nice aroma comes and also the flour slightly changes colour. This step is very important, as this will be the only way of cooking the flour. Then switch off the stove. 

2. Now add  1/2 cup of brown sugar and mix well. Also add  cardamom powder and mix well.

3. Now add 1/4 cup warm ghee and mix well. The mixture gets sticky and  wait for sometime for the mixture is warm enough to touch. Now take some mixture and try to hold them to shape. If difficult, add some more ghee and make ladoos. Follow the video below , for more detailed description.

Tomato Moru Curry

 This  dish is popular in kerala . It is a very simple gravy made just with tomato, yogurt and spices. It goes well with rotti or rice. 

INGREDIENTS:

Tomato - 1 medium sized

Yogurt  - 1 cup

Green chilli -  1 chopped

Tumeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Salt - As required

SEASONING:

Oil - 1 table spoon

Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Cumin seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds- 1/4 teaspoon

Dry red chilli - 1 to 2 no

Curry leaves - as required

METHOD:

1. In a pan, take 1 cup yogurt . Beat the yogurt well with spoon. This is important to prevent the yogurt from curdling when added to hot water.

2.  In a tawa, add 1 cup water . Add chopped tomatoes, green chilli, salt, turmeric powder , red chilli powder. 

3. Keep covered and allow the contents to boil for 4 to 5 minutes in medium to low flame, till the raw smell of  spices is gone and also the tomatoes should turn soft and mushy.

4.  Now switch off the pan. Let the tomato and spices water gets cooled down. Now add the beaten yogurt to the water. No need to heat the mixture after adding yogurt. 

5. Now , in a seasoning pan, add a tablespoon of oil . Add the items mentioned in the "seasoning" section and pour it over the tomato yogurt mixture.

6. Tomato moru curry is ready !. Serve it with rice or rotti. 

Finger Millet Dosa

  Finger millet/ Ragi  is a very healthy millet which is rich in protein, dietery fiber  and helps in weight loss.  This dosa is made with finger millet, urad dal and without adding any rice. You can have this dosa as breakfast or dinner. People who are in diet and wants to avoid rice  can try this recipe . 

INGREDIENTS:

Finger millet/ Whole Ragi - 2 cups

Whole white urad dal - 1 cup

Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Salt- 1 teaspoon

METHOD:

1. Soak finger millet over night  and urad dal two hours before grinding. In the urad dal, also add 1/2 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds for soaking.

 2. First drain the finger millet and add it to mixer and grind them to a smooth paste . Then keep it aside and drain urad dal and grind to fine paste . Mix both the paste and add salt and keep it for fermentation .

3. It takes 6 hours for the batter to ferment and rise,

4.  Now mix little water to the batter. The batter should be little thick like dosa batter. Pour batter in the centre of dosa tawa and spread it. If you like, you can add chopped onions on the top. Serve with any chutney of your choice. 

Carrot Halwa

 Easy Indian sweet - Carrot Halwa with limited ingredients available at home .

INGREDIENTS:

Carrot - 250 gms

Milk - 290 ml 

Sugar - 1/4 cup

Cardamom Powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Saffron stands (optional) - few

Cashews - 4 to 5 no.s

Ghee - 3 teaspoon

METHOD:

1.Grate 250 gms carrots and keep aside. In a pan , add 1 teaspoon ghee  and fry cashews golden brown and keep aside. 

2. In a pan, boil 290 ml of thick milk.

3. When the milk starts to boil, add the grated carrots. Keep stirring constantly in medium flame to avoid the milk getting burnt in the bottom of the pan . slowly, the milk gets thicker and get absorbed and mixture thickens. It takes about 10 - 13 minutes. 

4. Once the mixture thickens well, also when the carrots are cooked well , add sugar and saffron strands  .

5. Once the sugar is added, it lets out moisutre and carrot halwa gets gooey and starts letting out water. Keep stirring constantly for 2 to 3 minutes . Do not stir for more time, then the halwa will turn out very dry. when it is still with moisuture and looks gooey , switch off the stove . 

6.  Now add 2 teaspoon of ghee, roasted cashews and 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder and mix well. Serve warm .

Instant Jowar/Sorghum/Chola maavu Dosai

 This is an instant dosai made with jowar atta ( sorghum/ chola maavu) and rice flour . Very easy and quick to make. This dosai requires no fermentation or soak. 

Jowar Dosai

Serves : 10 to 12 dosas

INGREDIENTS:

Jowar atta / chola maavu - 1 cup

Rice flour - 1/3 cup

Salt - as required

Water - 3 cups

TO SAUTE AND MIX IN THE BATTER:

Oil - 1 teaspoon

mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Green chilli - 1 no. finely chopped

Finely chopped onion - 1/2 cup

METHOD:

1. In a pan, add a teaspoon of oil. Then add mustard, cumin seeds. Then add green chilli and chopped onion and fry till they turn translucent. 

2. In a bowl take jowar atta, rice flour  and  salt. Mix the contents well. roughly add 3 cups of water. The batter should be in flowing consistency as like you make for rava/sooji dosa. 

3. In the batter,  add fried onions prepard in step 1 .  Please follow the below video to make dosa. 

Madurai Kaara Chutney( Spicy Chutney)

 This is a famous chutney from "madurai" city in Tamil nadu. It is a spicy chutney made with shallots, garlic, tomato and peanuts and it is usually served with idli , dosa . It has a unique taste and texture and is famous among the roadside food stalls and restaurants  in madurai.

INGREDIENTS:

Channa dal - 1 tablespoon

Small onions - 4 to 5 no.s

Big Onion - 1/2 cup chopped fine

Tomato - 1 medium sized

Garlic- 9 to 10 pods

Ginger - 1 inch sized

Green chilli - 1 no

Dry red chilli - 4 nos  or Red chilli powder - 1 or 2 teaspoon

Curry leaves - 1 strand

Coriander leaves - a bunch

Roasted peanuts - 1 tablespoon

Oil - 1 tablespoon

Salt - as required 

SEASONING:

Oil - 1 teaspoon

Mustard - 1/2 teaspoon

Curry leaves - as required

METHOD:

1. In a pan, add oil and  add channa dal and fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Then add Garlic pods and fry for some time. Then add chopped green chilli, small onion and big onions and fry till they turn translucent. 

2.  Then add ginger, curry leaves,coriander leaves and tomato. Also add red chilli powder. If you are using dry red chilli, you have to add it in the above step along with green chilli. Stir fry the contents for 2 to 3 minutes, till the tomatoes are cooked well. Then add roasted peanuts and salt . Switch off the stove and allow the contents to cool.

3. Grind them slightly coarse. Then do the seasoning with items as mentioned in the "seasoning" section.

4. Serve with Idly/Dosa.

Ragi Dosa with chutney

Brinjal Fry in Iron Kadai

 In this recipe, Brinjal is cooked in iron kadai with spices and very less oil. For less oil, iron kadai(pan) is the best.  I got a preseasoned cast iron kadai ( Kraft brand) from amazon. This is an very easy recipe with minimal ingredients that are available at home.  The spices and sauteing in iron kadai gives a special taste to this brinjal curry. Please do try at home.

INGREDIENTS:

Brinjal - 1 medium sized ( 150 gms)

Onion - 1/3 cup finely chopped

Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Red chilli powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Corinder powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Sambar powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Salt - as required

Asafoetida powder - as required

SEASONING:

Oil -  5 teaspoon

Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Cumin seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Urad dal - 1/2 teaspoon

METHOD:

1. Wash and cut brinjal in bigger sizes. If brinjal is finely chopped it turns mushy. So each piece should be the size of your finger or 3/4 th of your finger . 

2. In the iron kadai, add oil. Then add the items mentioned in the "Seasoning" section . 

3. Then add finely chopped onions and fry for sometime.

4. Then add brinjal, salt and also add the spices- turmeric, red chilli , coriander and sambar powders.

5. Mix the contents well. Do not add any water . Cover and keep in low flame. every three minutes once open and gently stir the contents to avoid getting burnt. It takes about 10-12 minutes for the brinjal to get cooked completely and also doesnt turn mushy.  Turn off the stove and sprinkle some asafoetida powder. Brinjal curry is ready!

Kadai Paneer

 

INGREDIENTS:

Paneer -250 grams

Yellow bell pepper - 1 medium sized

Red bell pepper -1 medium sized

Onion - 3/4 cup chopped

Tomatoes - 2 medium sozed finely chopped

Tomato ketchup - 2 tablespoon

Garam masala - 1/4 teaspoon

Kashmiri red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon

Ginger - 1 inch juliened

Ginger garlic paste - 2 teaspoon

Salt - as required

Sugar - 1/2 teaspoon

Kasuri methi - 2teaspoon

Butter - 1 tablespoon

Oil - 1 tablespoon

FOR KADAI MASALA:

Coriander seeds -1 tablespoon

Dry red chilli - 2 no.s

Cardamom - 2 no.s

Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon

Cloves - 2 no.s

METHOD:

1. In a pan, dry roast the items mentioned in the "FOR KADAI MASALA" and grind them in to a powder.

2.  In a pan, add butter and oil. Now add chopped 3/4 cup onion and fry till they turn translucent. Then add ginger garlic paste and fry for 2 to 3 minutes till the raw smell is gone.

3.  Now add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes turn soft.  Now add the powdered kadai masala, kashmiri chilli powder, garam masala . Also add the juliened ginger  and mix well and cook the spices for 30 seconds.

4.  Add 1 cup water ,salt,  1/2 teaspoon sugar . Also  add paneer cubes, chopped red and yellow peppers. Keep the flame in sim and cover and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Then add 2 teaspoon of kasuri methi ( dry fenugreek leaves). Switch off the stove and add 2 tablespoon tomato ketchup and mix well. 

5. Kadai Paneer is ready. Serve with rice or rotti.