Bread Dosa

I love dosas, so I try to eat them in different ways. I recently tried a delicious dosa with bread slices and it turned out so delicious and perfect. Try it and find it out yourself!

Ingredients: 4 Bread Slices 2 cups Rice Flour 1 tsp red Chili Powder 1 tsp Cumin Seeds A handful of Cilantro leaves, chopped fine 4 cups Water or as needed Salt to taste Oil Preparation: Make bread slices into small pieces by ripping by hand. Place them in a mixing bowl. Add rice flour + chili powder + cumin seeds + cilantro + salt and pour water to mix. Mix the batter well until a thin consistency. Adjust salt and leave covered for 30 minutes. Heat a non-stick pan and pour a ladleful of batter in the center and quickly spread into a circle. This dosa won’t be so thin, but still be little crunchy when eaten hot. Pour some oil around the dosa and allow it to cook for some time. Then flip it over and pour some more oil and again allow cooking on the other side. When done, remove from the pan and transfer to a serving plate. Repeat the same process with rest of the batter. Enjoy hot, crunchy dosas with desired chutney. We ate ours with Cilantro Chutney.

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Roasted Eggplant Pickle (Vankaya Bajji)

Yum! The name itself makes my mouth-water. This is my most favorite kind of pickle with eggplant which is so aromatic and delicious. I have blogged about another kind of Eggplant Chutney before, in which we dice the eggplant to make chutney. In this recipe we use whole eggplant without its skin that was roasted to perfection.

Ingredients:

• 1 big, plump Eggplant, washed well
• 4 or 5 dry Red Chilies or Green Chilies
• 1 Tomato, chopped
• Handful of Cilantro Leaves, chopped
• Some Curry Leaves
• ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
• ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
• ½ tsp Bengal Gram (Pachi Senagapappu, Chana Dal)
• ½ tsp Black Gram (Minappappu, Urad Dal)
• ¼ tsp Asafetida (Inguva, Hing)
• A pinch of Turmeric Powder
• 1 tsp Tamarind Pulp
• 2 tsp Oil
• Salt to taste
  

Preparation:

First we need to roast the eggplant until it becomes soft. Here are some methods to do it:

1. Place the eggplant on top of a stove with medium flame and roast till the skin becomes soft and mushy. Turn the eggplant to all sides to roast it equally on all sides.
2. Pierce the eggplant with a fork or knife at different places, as it helps the air from the eggplant to escape without exploding in the MW. Then place it on a MW-safe plate and microwave for 4 minutes on high and then flip it over and run the MW for another 2 minutes or until the eggplant feels soft and mushy when squeezed gently.
3. Place the eggplant (again after piercing it with a fork or knife) on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until eggplant appears to be soft and mushy.

I used stove-top method, because I like the burnt flavor. When it’s done, place the eggplant on a plate to cool it down for some time. If you’re in a hurry and want to handle the eggplant when still hot, best method is to place the eggplant in a bowl of water and peel the skin so that your hand won’t burn.

When the eggplant becomes cold, peel off the skin with hands (it’s so easy!). Take the pulp into a
different bowl and mash it well with a fork or a potato masher. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds + Bengal Gram + Black Gram + red chili or green chili+ curry leaves and fry for some time until the dals turn golden brown in color.

Then add the tomato pieces and fry well until tomato becomes soft. To this, add the mashed eggplant + turmeric powder + tamarind pulp + cilantro and mix well. Leave it on low flame for 5 minutes. Then remove it from the stove and leave aside to cool.

When the mixture becomes cold, add it to a blender jar and grind until soft. No need to add extra water as eggplant already contains some water in it. Adjust salt and transfer the pickle to a serving bowl.

Enjoy this yummy, aromatic chutney with steaming hot rice and ghee.

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Cilantro Dosa (Kottimeera Dosa)

I mostly make instant dosas that need little preparation. But that doesn’t mean I never go for traditional cooking. I do cook traditionally sometimes, but mostly the easy way! This is also an instant dosa infused with cilantro (coriander leaves) and green chilies. 

Ingredients : 3 cups Rice Flour 1 cup Urad Flour (Flour made out of Black Gram Dal available in Indian stores) 1 bunch of Cilantro, washed 5 or 6 Green Chilies, stems removed Salt as required Oil Some Buttermilk or water to make the batter Preparation: Grind together cilantro + green chilies into a fine paste by adding little water. In a big bowl mix rice flour and urad flour together. Add the ground cilantro + chili paste to the flours and mix well. Pour buttermilk or water to make thin batter. Keep the batter aside for 30 minutes. Heat a non-stick pan and pour a ladleful of batter first around the edges of the pan into a circular shape and then fill in the circle fast. Due to the addition of buttermilk, we can’t spread the batter into a thin circle with a spatula. So we just need to pour the batter the way suggested above. Pour some oil around the dosa and let the dosa cook. When it’s cooked on one side, flip it over to cook on the other side. Then transfer the dosa to a serving plate. Repeat the same process with rest of the batter. Enjoy these yummy dosas with desired chutney. We ate ours with Onion Chutney.

Sending these dosas to Sowmya’s SWC:Greens, an event originated by Lakshmi.

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Guar (Cluster) Beans Chutney (Goru Chikkudu Pachadi)

I don’t really know why I am so passionate about chutneys/pickles. I made this chutney with leftover cluster beans curry from the previous day. We usually eat the leftover curry as such the next day too, but sometimes I feel like turning it into a completely new thing (mostly chutneys).

Here is how I make a simple curry with cluster beans: (Sorry, I don’t have the picture of the curry).

I Use:

• 2 or 3 cups of cluster beans, cut into small pieces with strings removed
• 1 tsp desiccated Coconut Powder
• ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
• ½ tsp dry red Chili Powder (adjust according to taste)
• 1 tsp Oil
• Some Curry Leaves
• ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
• ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
• ¼ tsp Bengal Gram (Pachi Senagapappu, Chana Dal)
• ¼ tsp Black Gram (Minappappu, Urad Dal)
• 1 or 2 dry red Chilis
• Salt

Preparation:

Pressure-cook the chopped beans until done.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds + Bengal Gram + Black Gram + red chili + curry leaves and fry for some time until the dals turn golden brown in color.

Add the beans to the pan and fry well. After 5 minutes, add turmeric powder + chili powder and stir well.

After 10 min add coconut powder and stir well until it turns brown. Then add salt to taste and keep the pan in low heat for little more time with lid on. This will remove the little raw taste of the beans that exists even after boiling them.

Switch off the stove and keep the pan without any lid. After 5 min the curry is ready to eat with a bowl of rice.

Here is how I turn this curry into chutney:

I add some extra ingredients to the curry (but no frying) to make it more spicy and yummy.

• 2 or 3 tsp red Chili Powder
• ½ tsp Asafetida (Inguva)
• ½ tsp Tamarind Pulp

That’s all! Just add all these to the curry and grind into a fine paste by adding little water. Enjoy with rice and dollop of ghee!!

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Cabbage in Yogurt (Cabbage Perugu Pachadi)

This is the first time I tried this combination and it turned out so delicious. I usually add yogurt to certain vegetables like Snake Gourd and Eggplant to make perugu pachadi. I wanted to see how it will taste with cabbage, but came out so good. We enjoyed the taste to the full.

Ingredients:

• 2 or 3 cups of grated/chopped Cabbage
• 1 cup of Yogurt/Curd
• 1 small Onion, chopped fine
• ¼ cup of Green Peas, frozen or fresh (If using fresh peas, make sure to soak them for some time)
• 1 medium Tomato, chopped
• 3 or 4 Green Chilies, chopped fine
• A handful of Cilantro Leaves, chopped
• ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
• Salt

For Seasoning/Tempering:

• ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
• ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
• ¼ tsp Bengal Gram (Pachi Senagapappu, Chana Dal)
• ¼ tsp Black Gram (Minappappu, Urad Dal)
• 1 broken dry red Chili
• 1 tsp Oil
  

Preparation:

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds + Bengal Gram + Black Gram + red chili and fry for some time until the dals turn golden brown in color.

To this, add onion + tomato + green chilies + cabbage + green peas + turmeric and stir well. Pour little water (approx. ¼ cup) into the pan, cover and let all the veggies cook for some time.

When all the water gets absorbed and cabbage becomes tender and lost its raw smell, remove the cover and add yogurt and mix well. Keep the flame on low at this time and leave the pan for some time until the vegetables absorb the yogurt well. Add salt to taste.

Finally add cilantro, stir well and turn off the flame. Transfer the gravy to a serving bowl and enjoy with rice or chapathis.

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Instant Bread (Sticks) Snack - Low Fat

Instant Bread Sticks

This is a very quick snack which is delicious and low-fat with minimal ingredients. This is a perfect and easy snack for the lazy evenings.

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Spiced Dalia (Roasted Bengal Gram) Powder (Putnaala Podi)

Hope all of you (mothers) had a wonderful Mother’s Day! I also had a nice one just like last year.

Now coming to the recipe, this is a delicious and aromatic Andhra delicacy. This is so simple to prepare too! Here is my version of this yummy powder. At our home we call these dalia as "Thinae Senagapappu" in Telugu. But these are well known as "Putnaala Pappu" in most of Andhra Pradesh.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Roasted Bengal Gram (Putnaala Pappu, Dalia)
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 2 or 3 flakes of Garlic, skin removed
• 2 tsp dry red Chili Powder (adjust according to taste)
• Salt

Preparation:

Add all the ingredients in a blender jar and grind into fine powder. That’s it, a very delicious spicy powder is ready for you to enjoy.

Here are some ways to enjoy this yummy powder:

1. Mix with steaming hot rice with a dollop of ghee and eat. After you eat one bite of this, you can’t control yourself from having a second serving.
2. If some desiccated coconut is added to the powder while grinding, it can be mixed it with some yogurt or water to make instant chutney for dosas/chapathis.
3. Sprinkle some dalia powder while making curries to make them taste more delicious and aromatic.
4. Sprinkle on top of dosas while making Errakaram Dosas (I’ll post this some time). The taste will be heavenly!
   

This is my contribution to Mahimaa’s “15 minute cooking” event.

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Spicy Mint Pesarattu (Mung Dal Dosa infused with Mint)

Pesarattu is the famous Andhra delicacy. I have already blogged about the regular pesarattu. This time I added mint to give it a different taste and flavor. It came out so delicious and the dosa has got a pretty color. Mint leaves are rich in Vitamins C and A. 

Ingredients: 2 cups Yellow Mung or Green Mung (పెసరపప్పు) 1 bunch of Mint Leaves 1 tsp Cumin Seeds 5 or 6 Green Chilies (or according to individual taste) A small piece of Ginger, peeled and chopped (optional) Salt Oil Preparation: Wash and soak mung daal for at least 6 hours. Wash and remove leaves from mint twigs. Discard hard stems. Grind soaked mung daal into a fine paste along with mint leaves + cumin seeds + green chilies + ginger (if using) and salt.  Make the batter into medium consistency (not too thin or not too thick). Heat a non-stick pan. When it is hot, pour a ladleful of the batter and spread evenly into a round shape. Sprinkle some oil around the pesarattu and cover.  After some time, remove the cover and flip the pesarattu over. Again cover and leave it for some time.  When the pesarttu appears to be cooked, remove it from the pan and transfer to a serving plate. Repeat the same process with remaining batter. This pesarattu can be eaten just like that as it already spicy or can be eaten with any chutney, if more spiciness is needed.  Enjoy hot and yummy pesarattus.

This is my contribution to the following events:

1. RCI-Pondicherry Cuisine, hosted by Lavi. RCI is originally started by Lakshmi. I am sending this as Andhra special dish.
2. SWC – Cooking with Greens, hosted by Sowmya, originally started by Lakshmi.
3. JFI: Mint, hosted by Ashwini. JFI is originally created by Indira of Mahanandi.

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Bisibele Bath

This is a Karnataka special, made with nice blend of flavors is always a hit. It tastes like sambhar bath but uses slightly different ingredients. One of my readers requested me to blog about this Bisibele Bath, I think 2 months ago (I know! I know!). I realized I didn’t blog about it, so decided to make Bisibele Bath this weekend at any cost, and I did.

I didn’t actually follow the traditional method (I mean making BBB powder) (I always want to escape from making something from scratch), so invented my own easy method. But trust me; it tasted just like the traditional BBB.

For your convenience, I will give both traditional and my easy methods. Of course, except for the powder part I mostly follow the traditional method.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Rice
• 1 cup Toor Dal (Kandi Pappu) (can be replaced with Masoor Dal)
• 6 cups Water
• 1 big Onion, chopped
• 4 or 5 small pearl Onions
• 1 Tomato, chopped
• A small piece of Carrot, peeled and cut into pieces
• 4 or 5 green Chilies, chopped
• A handful of Mixed Vegetables (any of your choice)
• 1 tsp Tamarind Extract
• ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
• ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
• ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
• ¼ tsp Bengal Gram (Pachi Senagapappu, Chana Dal)
• ¼ tsp Black Gram (Minapapappu, Urad Dal)
• A few Cashews
• A few Curry Leaves
• A few Cilantro Leaves(Kottimeera)
• Salt
• 1 tsp Oil
• 1 tsp Ghee (Neyyi, Clarified Butter)

To Grind into Powder: (Traditional)	My Masala (No Frying and No Grinding)
Coriander Seeds – 1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds – ½ tsp Desiccated Coconut – ¼ cup Khus Khus – 1 tsp Cloves – 4 Cardamom – 4 Cinnamon – A small piece 2 or 3 dry Red Chilies	1 tsp Sambar Powder (I always make sambar powder at home that already contains red chilies and coconut, but you can use store-bought Sambar Powder too!) 4 Whole Cloves 1 tsp Cinnamon Powder ¼ tsp Cardamom Seeds

Preparation:

If you wish to follow the traditional method, roast all the ingredients under “To Grind” using little oil and grind into a fine powder.

Wash and pressure cook toor daal until 3 whistles. Go, read a book or watch your favorite TV program until all the pressure is gone.

In a pressure pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds + Bengal Gram + Black Gram + cashews and fry until the dals turn golden brown in color.

Then add curry leaves + cilantro and stir well. Later add all the vegetables and mix well (no need to fry them for a long time).

Later add turmeric + tamarind extract and mix very well. Finally add the ground powders (or add the ingredients listed under “I Used”, if you are following my method) and stir well.

Now it’s time to add rice and dal. Wash rice well and add along with the cooked dal and mix well. Pour water and add salt. Mix well and put the lid on the pressure pan along with the weight on top. Wait for 3 whistles and switch off the flame.

After all the pressure is gone, slowly remove the lid and add ghee and mix BBB well. You can experience the wonderful aroma filling your house while this BBB is getting cooked.

Enjoy steaming hot BBB with some chips/papads/yogurt on side or just like that.

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Vanilla Cupcakes

Simple but delicious cupcakes

As I previously wrote, I recently joined in Sweet & Simple Bakes, where we will be given a simple baking challenge each month. This yummy challenge is started by Rosie and Maria, who whip up many mouth-watering bakes. This month the challenge was Vanilla Cupcakes. We had fun making them. As always, my daughter wanted to decorate the cupcakes and she did a very nice job, don’t you think?

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