Moong Curry and Cucumber Idli (Mooga Ghashi & Taushe Idli )

Time and tide waits for none says a 14^th century adage and I am sure most of us could not agree with it more. Days fly by at the blink of the eye and even before we realize it months and years have passed by and all that is left behind are memories. Some of them good and warm ones that we like to cherish and some not-so-good ones that we like to forget.

There are so many ways of evoking those memories like food, people, places, special days etc but I personally feel that food is the strong catalyst of all. Food is a part and parcel of our daily lives and it takes the centre-stage when there are festivals, get togethers, parties etc. So it goes without saying that there will be memories associated with it. I instantly go down the memory lane especially while making special festival meals, traditional meals etc and cannot help but recall the experience of joy, family, food, excitement felt during festivals.

“Mooga Ghashi” along with “Khotte” (idli steamed in jackfruit leaves) is a quintessential part of Konkani traditional cooking. For this curry, boiled moong is cooked in a coconut-tamarind-redchillies paste. No celebration is complete without these two dishes and it is a time-honored tradition followed by many generations.
However making the “Khotte” is a very tedious and time consuming process involving lots of steps. First appropriate Jack fruit leaves are hand picked from the tree, washed and then carefully dried. Next step is the time consuming process, where in which  5-6 leaves are taken and shaped in the form of “hands together, palms touching” by “sewing” it with small sticks.  Care should be taken so that there are no holes or loose ends while making the “moulds” as the batter might run out while steaming. These are then made in number of batches. Regular idli batter is then prepared and left overnight to ferment. The next day “Khotte” (idli) is then made by pouring the batter into the leaves “mould” and then steaming it. Never the less, after all the painful process it goes without saying that the taste is simply out of this world. The aroma that fills the house when fresh “khotte” are out of the steamer is simply out of this world. 
However for obvious reasons, we cannot prepare those idlis here. Instead we prepare another delicacy called “Cucumber Idli” the regular way. Cucumber Idli are instant idlies and requires no grinding and also no fermentation. There is no compromise in taste and the aroma is heavenly.I learnt this from my MIL who is an expert in making these.
Here is another option of making Cucumber Dosa using the same mixture.
This is my contribution for the event Monthly Mingle  hosted by wonderful and talented Meeta of What’s For Lunch, Honey? 

• Ingredients for the curry 1 cup green whole moong 
  

Masala to grind: 

• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 3-4 red chillies
• Juice of lemon sized tamarind
• Salt to taste 

For tadka: 

• 4-5 curry leaves
• Mustard
• Asafetida
• Oil (preferable coconut oil)

Preparation:

• Soak the Moong in water for about 8-10 hours.  Drain the water completely and keep it covered and let the moong sprout.
• After the moong is sprouted, pressure cook it with sufficient water. Make sure that the moong is not turned into a paste, but is still separate.
• Make a fine paste of coconut, red chillies, tamarind and salt adding little water and keep aside.

Method:

• Take a heavy bottom pan, add the cooked moong along with water and add the ground masala paste stirring in between. Let it come to a boil.
• Make a tadka of mustard and let it splutter; add curry leaves, hind and red chillies. Cehck for salt and other seasonings.
• Add this tadka to the boiled moong, masala mixture and cover it immediately.

 Ingredients for Cucumber Idli

• 1 big cucmber
• 1 cup of idli rava (more or less depending on the cucumber gratings)
• Handful of coriander leaves
• 4-5 green chillies
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• salt 

Preparation:

• Peel the cucumber and grate it. Retain the seeds of the cucumber but drain the cucumber water completely. Squeeze the cucumber to drain out additional water.
•  Chop up the green chilies and coriander leaves very finely.
•  Add the idli rava, coconut, green chilies, coriander leaves to grated cucumber and mix well. Add salt as required. Keep aside for 30 minutes. (Note: Try not to drain water at this time, try to retain as far as possible. But if it is too liquidy then drain the water)
•  Note that the mixture in this case will be coarse and not “gooey” or watery like a idli batter.

Procedure:

• Grease the idli stand and pour the cucumber mixture in each groove. 
• Steam this in a pressure cooker without whistle for 15 minutes.

 The idli can be eaten as is.  There is even no need to prepare any chutney or curry or powder. The idli has the right seasoning, but tastes awesome with some ghee.

     

NOTE: The moisture content in the cucumber itself is enough to steam the idlis. There is no need to add extra water or even retain water from the grated cucumber. Otherwise they turn soggy if water content is higher. There is no need to add baking soda as well.

Soft Idli and Chutney- South Indian breakfast

  

The idli or”idly” or “iddly” is a savory cake popular in South India. The cakes are usually two to three inches in diameter and are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils (de-husked) and rice. Most often eaten at breakfast or as a snack, idlis are usually served in pairs with chutney, sambar, or other accompaniments. In addition, idlis are considered one of the top ten healthiest foods in the world. (Source:Wiki) 

 Idli along with Coconut Mustard chutney makes a flavorful combination and can be served as breakfast/brunch. I learnt making this mustard chutney from my MIL. In this chutney, roasted mustard seeds are added to the coconut chutney while grinding. Mustard not only adds pungent taste to the usual coconut chutney; but also enhances the flavor and goes well with the bland idli. Ever since I learnt to make this, I have been hooked onto to this and make it even to go along with dosas. 
Ingredients for chutney

·         3/4 cups of shredded coconut

·         2 tsp mustard

·         3-4 green chillies

·         Tamarind extract of lemon sized ball

·         Jeera, mustard, redchillies, oil

·        Asafetida /hing

Preparation:

• Heat a small heavy bottom pan, add little oil and put 2 tsps of mustard 
• The mustard will splutter, but continue to mix it a bit with a spoon and then add the green chillies. 
• Once the green chillies get a bit of white coloring, switch of the gas and let it cool. 
• Meanwhile extract the juice from lemon sized tamarind. 

Method:

• Grind the coconut, salt, tamarind juice along with the cooled mustard to chutney consistency.
•  Season with mustard, jeera, hing, red chillies. (Make sure the hing is authentic has a strong aroma)

Ingredients for Idli

• 1 cup urad daal (split and de-husked)
• 1 ¼ cup idli rava
• Tablespoon of cooked rice/ handful of soaked poha (beaten rice)
• 1 tsp methi

Preparation:

Notes for soft Idlis: In my experience, the key to making soft idli is first by using handful of rice/poha while making the urad daal batter and second is making sure that the batter(before fermentation) does not have too much water.

• Soak the urad daal along with methi overnight in enough water. 
• Next day after the urad daal and methi have soaked up, drain the water completely.  
• Proceed to grind the urad daal, methi with cooked rice/poha and required amount of water and make a paste. 
• Do not add too much water; the water should be sufficient just so that the mixer/grinder motor runs smoothly.
• When I notice some small fine bubbles (maybe about 4-5 of them) on the top I stop the grinding. (This is optional and may not be the case all the time).
• In the meanwhile, when the urad daal is grinding, wash the idli rava with water about 2-3 times and drain it completely. Soak the idli rava for about 10 minutes and then drain the water. Make sure no water remains after draining the water.
• Mix this urad daal paste thoroughly with washed idli rava. This should be as thick as possible. Let it stay to ferment for at least 8 hours (24 hours in winter).

Method:

• Take the batter out and after the batter is fermented, add salt and water and mix the idli batter well. The batter should not be very thick. (it needs to be of puring consistency)
•  Grease the idli stand and pour batter in each container.
• Steam this in a pressure cooker without whistle/weight for 15 minutes.

Yummy idli and chutney is ready to be served.

Multi-Lentil Crepes/ Lentil Dosa/ Adai

The first time I had these Adai/Lentil Dosa was at my friend Upsi’s place. Her mother had prepared it for evening snack along with Peanut Chutney and I remember tasting them and being floored. Of course, I did get the recipe from her, but not before being extolled the virtues of these special Dosas.

• The batter comprises of multiple lentils and hence nutritious.
• Different types of dried beans can be added while making the batter.
• After the grinding process is done there is no need to ferment the batter.

Gasp, gasp, gasp (the loudest).  Really? How come I have never had these before? Have I been living is some parallel world? These facts might not be surprising for many, but for people like me, accustomed to eating only the regular Urad Dosa (which only has urad daal and which requires 8-10 hours of fermenting), this was indeed amazing; not just the nutrition, protein, but taste as well.
Anyway coming back to this recipe of Adai, the trick for making good dosas depends a lot on the batter and I learnt this the hard way after multiple trials. I even dragged Upsi once to our house while making the batter and had her show me the right procedure for making these. It was only after that did I get a hang for making these. Thanks dear Upsi and her mom for sharing these wonder Dosas with us, we will cherish this for years to come.
I do not claim these to be traditional Adai’s, but the recipe here is my take on these healthy and nutritious Dosas. These taste good when they are soft and not so crispy.
Tips to keep the dosa from sticking to the pan:
1) Make sure the tava/dosa pan is not very hot(keep it on medium high).
2) Make sure the tava is lightly greased (not heavily).
3) Sprinkle some water on the tava, wait for 2 seconds and then pour a ladle of batter.
4) If water does not work, try to rub a small onion on the tava and pour a ladle of batter.
5) Try using a non-stick pan.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Chana Daal/ Bengal gram dal
• 1/4 cup moong daal
• ¼ cup urad daal
• ¼ cup toor daal
• 1/3 cup whole green moong
• 1/3 cup masoor daal /red daal(optional)
• ¼ cup rice (I use Sona masuri)
• 1 medium onion
• 2 green chillies
• 1 inch ginger piece
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp Jeera/ cumin seeds
• Salt to taste
• oil

Soaking and Grinding:

• Soak the chana daal, moong daal, urad daal, toor daal and rice in enough water for about 6-8 hours.
• When ready to grind, chop the onion into chunks and keep aside.
• First grind Jeera (cumin seeds) along with green chillies, raw onion pieces, ginger and salt.  Do not add any water.
• Now drain the water completely from the soaked daal and add this to the ground mixture on step 1 and grind it again. Add water, salt (if required) and turmeric.
• The batter should be little coarse and not fine like a regular urad dosa. The trick for this is not grinding for a long time, zip through the different levels in quick succession.
• Pour the batter in a container, add water and keep aside for 10 minutes. The batter is ready! (there is no need to ferment the batter) 

Making Dosas:

• When ready to make the dosas, check for the consistency of the batter. It should not be too thick or thin. Add water if necessary and mix well.
• Heat the iron griddle/flat pan or non-stick tava on high heat. Sprinkle some water on it to make sure it is hot.
•  Pour a ladle full of batter in the centre, spread with the back of the ladle from the centre, spreading the batter to form a circle.
• Pour a tsp. of oil over and around it and after a minute or so, check to see if the back of the Adai/Dosa is cooked.
•  Turn with a spatula when crisp and flip onto the other side. Let this side cook for about 20-30 seconds.
• Note: This is not a crispy dosa, so do not cook on the griddle for a long time.
• Proceed to make adai/dosas similar way with the remaining batter.
• Serve with chutney or subzi or podi-oil or with ketchup. The last option is simply yummy!

Instant Dosa

In our family we are totally biased towards the regular Urad Dosa. Hands down, we would prefer it any day, any time over the Instant Dosas, Rava Dosas etc. Even though making the urad dosa is not hard, preparing the batter is time consuming which requires prep work of grinding and time for fermentation. But when prepared it is worth every bit of time. But when time is the constraint then these easy instant Dosas that require no fermentation or grinding fill the void.

Knowing that I am hard pressed for time during the weekdays; my parents usually send me quick and easy recipe ideas whenever they find one. My mother collects these from friends, TV shows or concocts something on her own. So this Dosa recipe was sent by them. The recipe that she had sent called for tomatoes and wheat flour. I changed it a little bit to suit the taste and requirement of DS.

Some days I prepare this dosa for my son after coming back form work.  After coming back, I check his lunch box and there are days when he has hardly finished his lunch.  Those are the days when he is super cranky and stubborn; that is when he requires some ‘fuel’ to calm him up.  Instead of giving chips, crackers, cookies etc I quickly whip this up and feed the little one. I sometimes also make it during weekends as quick snack or as breakfast. I refer to this as “Jiffy Dosa” while serving my 3 year old. He thinks of it as some fancy Dosa and so far seems to have taken a liking towards it.

Notes: For this Dosa, spreading the onion, sesame, coriander leaves mixture is optional. But at home we like the cooked onion taste as it adds crunch and also sweetness to the Dosa. You can go little extra and also add carrots, spinach, tomatoes etc. This dosa requires little bit more oil that the regular urad daal dosa. Finally this Dosa is not a crispy Dosa.

 

Ingredients:

• Gram Flour(Besan) – 1/2 cup
• Rice flour – 1/2 cup
• Fine Rava (Sooji/Semolina) -1/2 cup
• turmeric powder
• salt to taste
• Cumin seeds  - 1 tsp 
• green chillies + ginger in paste form 
• Finely chopped onion  ½ cup
• Sesame seeds and (or) poppy seeds
• Handful Chopped coriander leaves
• Oil

Yields:

4-5 medium dosas

Method:

• Please see the Notes above. Mix all the flour together, along with salt, cumin seeds and turmeric. Add water to a dosa batter consistency (thicker version like for onion dosa).
• Make a paste of ginger and green chilli. Add this to the batter.
• Mix the chopped onions, sesame seeds, chopped coriander and keep aside.
• Heat tawa. Spread the batter on the tawa like utthappa. Spread around handful of the onion mixture over the top of the dosa.
• Do not touch it for a while; add oil/ghee and shallow fry like Uthappa. (Note: The oil to be added to this dosa should be little more compared to the urad dosa otherwise it will turn out dry)
• Serve hot with Tomato Ketchup.

Urad Raagi Dosa

Raagi Dosa served with Potato Curry

I was happy when Madhuram announced the ingredient selection for JFI as Raagi. It had been a while since I cooked anything with this wonderful whole grain and this was an opportunity for me.
Raagi (Finger Millet in English) a whole grain rich in iron content. Finger Millet is a mildly sweet, nut-like flavor and contains a myriad of beneficial nutrients. It is nearly 15% protein, contains high amounts of fiber, B-complex vitamins including niacin, thiamin, and riboflavin, the essential amino acid methionine, lecithin, and some vitamin E. It is particularly high in the minerals iron, magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium. The seeds are also rich in phytochemicals, including Phytic acid, which is believed to lower cholesterol, and Phytate, which is associated with reduced cancer risk. (Source)
Back home in India, my MIL makes wonderful things with Raagi like Raagi Rotti, this Raagi Dose and also the best Raagi Mudde.
Note: The texture of this dosa is pretty much like a regular urad dosa, mainly because of the addition of Urad flour and flattened rice. However the dosa has a nutty and fibrous flavor of the Raagi along with mild flavor of Urad. This is a very healthy, nutritious and a filling dosa. I think this is a good one to try especially if you are new to eating Raagi.
This is my contribution to JFI-Raagi an event hosted by Madhuram at EgglessCooking. This event is a brain child of Indira @ Mahanandi.

Raagi Dosa served with Potato Curry

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Raagi flour
•  1 cup rice flour
•  1 cup urad flour
•  Small handful of flattened rice/poha/aval (soaked for 20 minutes)
•  Salt,oil

Method:
Dosa Batter:

•  Mix the flours together, add water in intervals and stir well. Add water until it has blended and become a thick mixture. [Note: because of the urad flour it could stick and form blobs/lumps].
•  Take this thick mixture, grind to a smooth batter along with soaked poha/aval, using some more water. (Grind just like you would for a regular Urad Dosa)
•  Pour the batter in a vessel. Let the batter ferment for at least 6-7 hours in summer and about 24 hours in winter.

Making Dosas:

• When ready to make the dosas, check for the consistency of the batter. It should not be too thick or thin. Add water if necessary. Add salt and mix well.
•  Heat the iron griddle/flat pan or non-stick tava on high heat. Sprinkle some water on it to make sure it is hot.
•  Pour a ladle full of batter in the centre, spread with the back of the ladle from the centre, spreading the batter to form a circle.
• Pour a tsp. of ghee or oil over and around it and cover this with a plate.
• After a minute or so, check to see if the back of the Dosa is cooked. 
• Turn with a spatula when crisp and flip onto the other side. Let this side cook for about 20-30 seconds.
• Proceed making dosas similar way with the remaining batter.  Serve with chutney, subzi or with podi-oil.

Nutrition packed healthy Urad Dosa (Barley Urad Dosa)

Dosa is a weekly ritual in our house and I take every opportunity to make it healthy and nutritious. Over the years I have learnt to sneak in different ingredients while making the Dosa batter without compromising on the original taste.

First it was Chana Daal, then Soya Beans and now it is Barley. The ingredient for retaining the taste is the lowly poha (Flattened Rice), this not only makes the dosa crisper, but also aids in the fermentation process and also masks the flavors of Soya bean, Barley.

Ingredients

• ½ cup urad daal
• ½ cup barley
• 1 cup rice
• 1/3 cup chana daal
• 1/3 cup soya bean
• 1 tsp methi
• Handful of poha (Flattened Rice)

Preparation

• Soak all the daals, soyabean,rice, barley in sufficient water overnight.(Except poha)

• The next day when ready to make the batter, soak the poha in water for about 20 minutes in advance. Poha softens with in that time. Now use this softened Poha and grind it with the rest of the soaked ingredients along with water.

• Let this prepard batter ferment for atleast 8-10 hours in summer and about 24 hours in winter.

Method:

• The consistency of the batter should not be too thick or thin. Add water if necessary.
• Heat the iron griddle or non-stick tava on high heat.
• Pour a ladle of batter in the centre, spread with the back of the ladle to form a circle.
• Pour a tsp. of ghee or oil over and around it.
• Turn with a spatula when crisp and flip onto the other side and cook.

Yummy Dosa is ready, serve hot with chutney and / or sambar.

Soybean Dosa and Potato Bhaji (Curry)

Change is the only thing that is constant in this world. However, I am the type of person who does not like change very much in my everyday life. I would rather tread the familiar grounds rather than venturing something new. I feel complacent knowing the known, I can do the same things day in and day out without feeling bored.

But then when it comes to cooking, I am just the opposite. I love to try out new things, experiment, create new ideas etc. I like incorporating healthy things into our everyday cooking without sacrificing taste and flavor. Knowing that soya bean is such a healthy legume, I try to use it where ever possible. I add about ½ cup of soybean while making the regular urad dosa batter and this makes a wonderful and nutritious Soya Bean Dosa Recipe (Indian Pancake). There is no difference in taste at all, it is as if one is eating the regular Dosa. The Potato Patal Bhaji ( Liquid Curry) forms a great addition to this Dosa.

This goes to JFI-Soya an event hosted by Sia and also to Latha who is hosting the WBB-Combi Breakfasts event.

Ingredients for Potato Curry

• 1 large potato

• 1/2 cup onion chopped

• 1 ripe medium tomato

• Turmeric

• 2-3 green chillies

• Mustard seeds

• Curry leaves

• asafetida

• Oil

• Salt to taste

Preparation:

• Peel the potato and dice it into small cubes.
• Chop the onions and tomatoes into small pieces and keep aside.

Method:

• Boil the potato separately in sufficient amount of water. Make sure that the potato is not completely cooked.
• Take a heavy bottom pan; add about 2 Tbsps of oil. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter.
• Add the curry leaves and asafetida and mix well.
• Add the diced onions and sauté until it turns transparent.
• After the chopped tomatoes, salt, turmeric, and green chillies and mix well.
• After the tomato is slightly cooked, add the cooked potato to this and mix well.
• Add more turmeric, salt and oil if necessary. Cover this and allow it to cook for a while.

.

Ingredients for Dosa

• 1.5 cups rice
• 1 cup urad daal
• ½ cup soybean
• Handful of cooked rice

Preparation:

• Soak the rice, urad daal and soybean in enough water for about 6-7 hours.
• Grind this to a smooth paste along with cooked rice, sufficient water and keep aside. Let the batter ferment for at least 6-7 hours in summer and about 24 hours in winter.

Method:

• When ready to make the dosas, check for the consistency of the batter. It should not be too thick or thin. Add water if necessary. Add salt and mix well.
• Heat the iron griddle or non-stick tava on high heat. Sprinkle some water on it to make sure it is hot.
• Pour a ladle full of batter in the centre, spread with the back of the ladle to form a round.
• Pour a tsp. of ghee or oil over and around it and cover this with a plate.
• After a minute or so, check to see if the back of the Dosa is cooked.
• Turn with a spatula when crisp and flip onto the other side.

Kids Dosas / Mini Dosas

Food is such a sore subject while dealing with our 2.4 year old. First of all nothing seems to appeal him and then trying new foods is out of question. Two things happen when I take food to him one is the utterance of “Nooooooo” and then making a face and tilting of his head away from the food. I know, I know all you Moms out there are experiencing the same predicament and cannot wait for the kids to grow up. **Sigh**

Moving on to some cheery and brighter topic, here are some of our toddler’s anecdotes:

• He would point in some direction and scream “Amma Daastoov”. We scratched our heads to understand what he was saying, Dear Husband even poured on to Russian Dictionary just to check, but no avail. Until one fine day a light bulb exploded in our heads and we figured that he was saying “Amma Let’s Go”!

• Anytime he stumbles across his toy trucks while playing he says “Sorry, it’s OK”.

• When he sneezes it is “Shimme (Excuse me), Bless You, Thank You , Welcome”.

• He hates taking bath and cries every single day.

• He is the self-proclaimed “Bub boy” (good boy). Any task or antic he does, he pats himself with a “Bub Boy”.

This is my contribution to the Kid’s Food Event hosted by the wonderful Vanamala of NalaPaka.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup rice flour
• 1/2 cup fine sooji/semolina
• 1/4 cup wheat flour
• Salt
• ajwain seeds/ jeera (cumin seeds)
• Coriander leaves/ Dill leaves (chopped finely)
• Oil

Preparation:

• Mix all the above ingredients except oil thoroughly.
• Add water a make a batter. The batter should neither be thick nor runny.
• Keep aside for 5-10 minutes. The batter would have become thick by now.
• Add little more water at this time. Check for taste, add salt if necessary.
• Making Dosas: Heat a Dosa pan.
• Make mini-dosas instead of a big one by pouring spoonful of batter each time. Spread oil around it and cook on both sides.
• This way the toddlers can eat individual pieces by themselves and also enjoy looking at the shapes.

Urad Oats Dosa

Friday night’s dinner is usually Idli or Dosa at our house and we enjoy it. For one it’s the beginning of the weekend and second nobody has complaints about the taste. This works well for me as I do not have to toil in the kitchen for a long time and the only thing to prepare is the chutney. I think it is a good way to relax with the family, chat, and unwind while looking forward for the weekend.

The only caveat here is that I have to remember to soak the Daal and rice Thursday morning itself before I go to work, that way I can grind the batter after I get back home. I know, I know, I let the batter rest for 24 hours at least especially during winters so that it ferments well. Blame it on the rush hour mornings I forget to do it many a times. So I resort to using the rice and urad flours to make the Dosa batter. and urad flours to make the Dosa batter.

This is my contribution to Srivalli’s Dosa Mela event at Cooking4allseasons.

Ingredients

• 1 cup urad flour
• 2 cups rice fllour

• ¼ cup oats/poha/cooked rice

Preparation:

• Soak the oats in about ½ cup of water.
• Mix the flour along with sufficient water and run it through the blender once as the urad flour tends to form lumps.
• Let it ferment for atleast 8-10 hours in summer and about 24 hours in winter.

Method:

• The consistency of the batter should not be too thick or thin. Add water if necessary.
• Heat the iron griddle or non-stick tava on high heat.
• Pour a ladle full of batter in the centre, spread with the back of the ladle to form a round.
• Pour a tsp. of ghee or oil over and around it and cover this with a plate.
• After a minute or so, check to see if the back of the dosa is cooked.
• Turn with a spatula when crisp and flip onto the other side.

Pan Pole/ Neer Dosa and Batata Song (Spicy Potato in Tamarind Curry)

When Sia announced the RCI event as Udupi Mangalore, I was delighted. Being a Konkani and with family associations to South Kanara I can relate to that cuisine and the style of cooking. I did not want to miss the opportunity to cook and contribute to the event.

After thinking of so many different options I finally decided to make our family favorite “Pan Pole” and “Batata Song”. Also when I saw this on Arch’s blog, the craving for this became even stronger. If you are hearing the words for the first time, it may appear strange, but in essence these are just Dosas served along with Dry Potato Curry.

“Pan Pole” in Konkani is referred to as “Neer Dosa” in Kannada. These are soft, leafy thin Dosas made with just rice and coconut. Coconuts are used in plenty in Konkani style of cooking. It is not an Instant Dosa per se, as grinding is required for the batter; however no fermentation is required for this Dosa. This is served during breakfast along with chutney, coconut jaggery mixture or even Potato Curry that I made.

Ingredients: up1/1.1.5

• 1.5 cups – Raw rice soaked overnight( I used Sona Masoori rice)
• 1 cup – Freshly grated coconut
• Salt to taste
• Oil – as required to grease

Method:

• Soak the raw rice overnight in enough water after few changes.
• Next day drain out the water and grind the rice along with coconut to a fine paste with just enough water. Add salt to taste.
• Once it is ground add more water and make a thin and watery batter.
• Heat a flat griddle or tawa on moderate heat. ( I used my regular cast iron Tawa for this).
• When the Tawa is hot, sprinkle some water over it. When the water has evaporated pour a ladle of batter and spread around the tawa to make a thin dosa. (This minimizes the sticking to the Tawa).
• This batter cannot be spread out like a regular Dosa. Add small amount of batter where there is spaces. In fact, more holes the better.
• Add oil around the dosa and cover with a lid. This Dosa is cooked only on one side.
• After the Dosa is cooked, take it off the tawa and fold it on shape of triangle while serving.

Batata Song/Saung (Spicy Potato in Tamarind Curry)

Batata Song is a Konkani dish made of Potatoes and cooked along with tamarind and red chillies. It is both spicy as well as sour and goes well with the Pan Pole. I still am not sure why it is called a ‘Song’ or the origination of that word because Konkani as such does not have a word called ‘Song’. This curry can also be used as a side dish for Rice, Rotis/Chapatis.

I use the recipe for this from here but I do not use the coriander seeds for this.

Ingredients: up1/1.1.5

• 1 medium Onion chopped finely.
• 3 medium Potato boiled and chopped into bite size pieces.
• 3-4 whole Byadgi Red Chillies
• 1 Tbsp Tamarind Paste
• Oil,
• Salt

Method:

• Roast Red Chillies in a little bit of oil. After it is cooled grind together with tamarind paste and little bit of water.
• Take a heavy bottom pan, and add oil on medium heat.
• Add the chopped onions and cook until it is sautéed.
• Now add the ground paste, salt and mix well. Finally add the cooked potatoes.
• Add some water to bring it the consistency of a semi-dry curry.

Cucumber Dosa/Taushe Polo

After getting married, I was introduced to many new, delicious and interesting dishes hitherto unknown to me. Even though both of us are Konkanis, vegetarians, share the same background and culture yet each of our families have different style and combination of cooking. My MIL has over the years graciously taught me their style of cooking.

One such new, easy and tasty dish is the Cucumber dosa. This has only 2 major ingredients cucumber, idli rava but the end product is truly amazing! It is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and unlike a regular urad dosa tears easily and simply melts in the mouth.

Please note that even though this is caleld Dosa, the prepared batter is patted on the stove directly like a Thalipeeth.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium size cucmbers
• 1.5 cups of idli rava
• 4-5 green chillies
• oil, salt
• coriander leaves chopped (optional)
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut(optional)

Preparation:

• Peel the cucumbers and grate them. Retain the seeds of the cucumber but drain the cucumber water as much as possible.
• Chop up the green chilies very finely.
• Add the idli rava, green chilies, shredded coconut, coriander leaves to grated cucumber and mix well. Add salt as required
• Let this whole thing rest for about 30 minutes. Note that the mixture in this case will be coarse and not “gooey” or watery like a dosa batter.
• Note: Even if it becomes watery, do not discard the water but retain it and mix it well.

Procedure:

• Heat a tava and grease it a little bit. When the tava is hot, take a handful of the cucumber mixture and place at the center.
• Pat the mixture using finger tips and spread it around starting from the center to form a circle.
• Use little water to spread this out if it becomes hot to handle.
• This spreading should not be either too thick or thin, make it as even as possible.
• Make about 4-5 small holes around the periphery and center of the circle using a spatula.
• Put about 1 tsp of oil around the dosa and also 1 tsp into the small holes.
• Cover this with a lid and let it stay for a minute or so on high heat.
• After a minute take a peek and check to see if the backside of the dosa has a brown color.
• If it has not, then let it stay for a while or the dosa will break when trying to turn it around.
• If it has browned then, turn the dosa around, put some more oil around it and let it cook for a while.

This can be eaten as is or with little ghee or coconut oil.

Eggless Chocolate Chip Banana Pancake for kids

This time around (yet again) over the weekend we had some overripe bananas lurking on our countertops. I usually do not throw them, but come up with means of using them.

I have tried making Eggless Whole Wheat Banana Muffins, Eggless Banana Oats Chocolate Chip Muffins, Banana Halwa (Burfi), Eggless Banana Bread etc before all with good results. This time I did not have the energy to bake, yet wanted to make use of those bananas and try something which DS would enjoy.

Somewhere along I got the idea of making pancakes and decided to try these Chocolate banana pancakes. I had tried these Banana Dosa /Vegan Indian Banana Pancake and DS used to like them earlier, but not anymore. So I decided to add some chocolate chips to make it kid appealing. This is pretty easy and the batter gets done in no time.

I have used flax seed meal as a substitute for an egg. If you prefer eggs then skip the flax seed meal and add an egg. This is a good treat for the kids, mainly because of the addition of chocolate chips. The next time around I will try to substitute the AP flour with wheat flour to make it healthier.

This must have been the quickest of the food pictures that I have taken. With a hungry 4.5 year old at tow, shouting “I am hungry” every 30 seconds, I barley took about 5 pictures (usually I take anywhere between 15-25 pictures).

Ingredients:

• 1 cup AP flour /maida
• 1.5 cup milk
• 1 medium over ripe banana
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• ½ Tbsp flax meal
• 1.5 Tbsp warm water

Directions

• Note: This step is to substitute for egg. If you prefer you can add an egg and skip this step. In a small bowl combine the flax meal and the warm water, stirring in between. I did this 30 minutes before making the pancake batter. As a result this mixture was thick and gooey.
• Now combine the dry ingredients flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and cinnamon in a large bowl.
• Blend together the banana and milk and transfer to a bowl. Add the essence, oil and flax meal liquid to it and mix well.
• Add this liquid to the dry ingredients and mix well. The pancake batter is ready.
• Heat a griddle/tava, pour a ladle of batter onto griddle spread it around into rounds.
• Sprinkle some chocolate chips on the spread pancake. ( I chopped the chips coarsely and sprinkled them)
• Cook for a minute or two or until the top is bubbly. Flip pancake and cook for 20 secs else the chocolate will get burnt.

Serve hot as is or with some pancake syrup/maple syrup.