RAGI DOSAI

RAGI
Ragi is a wonder grain. It is also known as finger millet. Nutrition content of ragi is very high. It is consumed by the people who do heavy physical work as it has high energy value, good amount of calcium, fiber, protein and other minerals.
Ragi porridge that is made with ragi flour is highly recommended food for infants of age above 6 months in South India.
We can make porridge, dosai, roti etc.. with ragi flour. Always buy freshly ground ragi flour.

RAGI DOSAI

It is very easy to prepare ragi dosai. We can make 6-8 dosas per 100g of flour .

Ingredients:

• 100 g ragi flour
• 4 tbsp rice flour
• ½ cup boiled and cool milk
• 3-4 green chillies
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 4 tbsp grated coconut
• 4-6 cloves of garlic
• ¼ tsp hing (asafoetida )
• Few curry leaves
• Few green coriander leaves
• Salt to taste
• Oil to make dosai
• Enough water to make the dosa mix

Method:
In a bowl take 100g ragi flour, 4 tbsp of rice flour. Now grind green chillies, black pepper, grated coconut, garlic, hing, curry leaves, and coriander leaves coarsely. Add this ground masala, ½ cup of boiled cool milk and salt to the ragi flour. Add water and mix it thoroughly. The consistency of this batter should be like normal dosa mix.
Heat a non stick tawa. Spread little oil evenly. Now pour one ladle of batter and spread it evenly to a round shape. Spread a tsp of oil around it. After 2 minutes turn the dosa upside down and cook it for another minute. Now the ragi dosa is ready.

Serve it along with tomato chutney.

SUBJI

Onion-Imli-Cabbage gravy

Vegetables need:

• 3-4 medium size onion
• 2 tomatoes
• 150 gm cabbage

Ingredients:

• 6 cloves of garlic
• 4 green chillies
• ½ - inch ginger
• 1 tsp Imli paste (tamarind paste)
• ¼ tsp hing
• ¼ tsp haldi (turmeric powder)
• ½ tsp red chilly powder
• ½ tsp rai (mustard seeds)
• ½ tsp jeera
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• Handful of chopped coriander leaves
• Salt to taste
• 4 tbsp of cooking oil
• A glass of water

Method

Wash and chop onions, tomatoes and cabbage. Grind green chillies, garlic and ginger. Heat oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds and jeera. While they splutter add hing, haldi powder, red chilly powder, curry leaves, ground paste and garam masala powder. Saute them for a minute. Now add all the chopped vegetables. Saute them for 2 minutes. Add salt, Imli paste and water. Stir them thoroughly. Let the whole thing boil for 5 more minutes. Transfer it in a bowl and garnish it with coriander leaves.

Serve it hot with hot chapatti or parotas.

Thuvayal

1. Parupu thuvayal

Parupu thuvayal is prepared with tur dal, and coconut. The below ingredients serve 2-3 persons. Increase the ingredients according to the number of people you prepare for.

Ingredients:

• 50g or 1 cup tur dal
• 1 cup grated coconut
• 4 - 5 red chillies (dried)
• ¼ tsp hing ( asefoetida)
• Salt to taste
  
  Oil to fry the ingredients.

Method:
Heat 4 -5 tsp of oil in a kadai. First add tur dal then red chillies and sauté them till the dal turn into light brown. Now add hing and coconut. Saute them for one minute.
Now grind all the above masala with salt by adding water little by little into fine paste. Parupu Thuvayal is ready.
Now take 2 spatula of cooked rice in a plate. Mix 3-4 tbsp of parupu thuvayal with ½ tsp butter oil with rice and have it along with side dish keerai kootu and vattakuzhambu.

Coconut Rice

Coconut is one of the main ingredients in South Indian recipe. Recipe prepared with coconut cannot be refrigerated for a long time. So prepare accordingly.
Coconut rice is another Chitrannam. It is prepared with fresh grated coconut. Coconut oil is used in this recipe which increases the taste.

Cook 200 g of rice with 1:2 ratio of water. Transfer this cooked rice in a big plate. Add 2-3 teaspoons of coconut oil and spread it gently with a spoon. Let it cool.
Grate a coconut.

Ingredients:

• ½ teaspoon rai
• 2 teaspoon udar dal
• 2 teaspoon channa dal
• ¼ teaspoon hing (asefodida)
• 3-4 red chillies (dried)
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• Few cashew nuts
• Few raisins
  
  2 cups grated coconut (fresh)
  4-5 tablespoons of coconut oil
  Salt to taste

Method:
Heat 4-5 tablespoons of coconut oil in a kadai and fry all the above ingredients till they turn into golden brown. Now add the grated coconut and sauté it for 2 minutes. Add salt to your taste and mix them thoroughly with the cooked rice.
Serve it with fried or roasted papad or chips.
Serves two.

Lemon Rice

Chitrannangal (Assorted Rice preparations)
Chitrannam means cooked rice mixed in different variety of ingredients. It is easy to prepare and tasty to eat. There are about 8-10 variety of chitrannangal. These are mostly prepared during festivals, in marriage feast, and are offered as prasadam at temples in south India.
Lemon rice is one of the chitrannam. It is very easy to prepare. Increase the quantity of rice and ingredients according to the number of persons you prepare for.

1. Lemon rice
Cook 200g of rice with (1:2 ratio) water. Transfer this in a big plate. Add 3-4 teaspoons of sesame oil and spread it gently with a spoon. Let it cool.
Squeeze 2 lemons (remove the seeds) in a cup and add ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi).

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon rai
• 1 teaspoon udar dal
• 1 teaspoon channa dal
• ½ teaspoon tur dal
• ¼ teaspoon hing ( asefodida)
• 2 red chilies (dried)
• 1 sprig curry leaves chopped
• Few cashew nuts
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5-6 teaspoons sesame oil or which ever oil you use
  
  For grinding masala
• 3-4 tablespoons grated coconut
• 3-4 green chilies
• ½ inch ginger
• Few coriander leaves
  
  Grind the above masala into paste by adding little water
  

Method
Heat the oil in a nonstick kadai and fry all the above ingredients till it turns into golden brown. Now add the masala paste and salt. Stir it well. Let it boil for 1 minute.
Switch off the flame. Pour the lemon juice with haldi and stir it well.
Now slowly mix this lemon mixture to the cooked rice. Serve this after ½ an hour because it takes little time for the lemon masala to get absorbed in the rice. Serve it with fried papad.

Serves two.

Chutney

Chutney is one of the side dishes for Idlis, Dosas. Medu vadas, Upma, Venpongal , Bondas, Bajiyas, etc .There are few variety of chutneys. Its easy to prepare. Chutneys cannot be stored for long time. It should be consumed with in 2-3 hrs. Increase the quantity of ingredients according to the number of people you prepare for.

1. Tomato Chutney.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 medium size tomatoes (chopped)
• 1 medium size onion (chopped)
• 5-6 cloves of garlic
• ½ inch ginger
• 2 green chillies
• 1-2 red chillies
• 1 pinch hing (asafoetida)
• ½ cup grated coconut
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 3 tbsp channa dal
• Few chopped coriander leaves
  
  Salt to taste
  3-4 tbsps of oil to fry the ingredients.

For tempering
½ tsp rai (mustard seeds)
1 tsp oil

Method:

Heat the oil in a kadai, add channa dal and red chilies . Saute them till the dal turns into light brown. Then add chopped onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies, hing, and curry leaves. Saute them for one minute. Now add chopped tomato and grated coconut. Saute the whole mixture for two more minutes. Transfer this masala in a plate. Let it cool down. Now grind them with chopped coriander leaves and salt by adding little water into a fine paste. Transfer it in a bowl. Temper it with mustard seeds. The tomato chutney is ready to serve.

Kootu

1. Poricha kootu:

Poricha kootu is usually prepared with the Pudalangai (snake gourd). We rarely get this vegetable in the place where I live. So whenever I find this vegetable in the market I buy it to make Poricha kootu.

Ingredients:

• 500g Pudalangai (snake gourd)
• 50g moog dal (pasi paruppu)
• 1 cup grated coconut
• ¼ tsp hing (asafoetida)
• 1tsp black pepper powder
• 1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
• 1-2 red chilies (dried)
• Salt to taste
• 2 tsp rice flour (for thickening)

For tempering:

• 2-3 tsp oil
• ½ tsp rai (mustard seeds)
• 2tsp udar dal
• 1 sprig curry leave

Method:
Wash and cut the Pudalangai (snake gourd) vertically and slice it.
Cook moog dal and keep it aside. In a copper bottom vessel or in a non stick vessel cook pudalangai with salt and hing.Add enough water to cook the vegetable. Now grind the grated coconut, jeera, and red chillies with little water. Transfer this ground masala paste into the cooked dal. Pour this mixture into the boiling vegetable. Add 1 tsp black pepper powder to the boiling kootu. Stir it now and then. Make thin paste of rice flour with little water and pour it into the boiling kootu. Let it boil for one more minute, and then remove it from the flame. Temper it with rai, udar dal and curry leaves. Now the Poricha kootu is ready.

If you cannot grind the masala just heat the oil in a kadai and add rai, udar dal, jeera, red chillies. When the rai splutters add grated coconut and curry leaves. Sauté it for one minute. Then temper it into the kootu.

Kuzhambu (Sambar) variety

Kuzhambu (Sambar) which we Iyengars call it as Negizhcurryamudu, because it is a gravy preparation. It is prepared with tamarind (imli), lentils (dal), masalas, and vegetables like brinjal, lady’sfinger (okra), raddish, drumstick, white pumkin, yellow pumkin, capsicum, carrot, onion, sweet potato, spinach etc. There is slight difference between kuzhambu and sambar. Kuzhambu is prepared either with kuzhambu podi (sambar powder) or by tempering the ingredients. Sambar is prepared with freshly ground masala with coconut.

1. Pulikeerai: (Spinach with tamarind and dal)
Pulikeerai is prepared by tempering the below given ingredients. Sock tamarind (imli) in water for ½ an hour and extract the juice. Keep it aside. Cook tur dal about 100 g with ¼ tsp haldi. Wash and chop 250g of spinach. Wash and cut 50g of okra (lady’s finger) and 4 medium size brinjal into small cubes.

Ingredients:

• ½ tsp rai (mustard seeds)
• 2 tsp udar dal
• ½ tsp hing (asafoetida)
• 4-6 green chillies (chopped)
• ½ tsp fenugreek (methi)
• 4-6 tsp oil

Salt to taste.
2 tsp rice flour.
Method:
Heat the oil in a kadai. Add rai, udar dal, hing, methi and chopped green chillies. Let the rai splutter. Then add okra and brinjal and sauté them for 1 minute. Add spinach . Pour imli extract into the spinach mixture. Add salt to taste. Let it boil for sometime. Add cooked tur dal and let the whole thing boil for few more minutes. Stir it now and then. Take 2 tsp of rice flour in a cup .Make it a paste by adding little water and pour it into the boiling spinach. Stir it thoroughly and let it boil for 1 more minute. Now the pulikeerai is ready.
Take a spatula full of cooked rice in a plate and add 2-3 ladles full of pulikeerai, mix them with ½ tsp ghee (butter oil). Have it along with side dish Poricha kootu

Pakode

Green peas-corn-chickpea pakode
Winter is the time when we get fresh green peas, sweet corn, green chickpea, tender onion and tender garlic. So one evening I thought of making pakode with these. To my surprise it tasted Yummy. So why don’t you try this and have it along with a cup of coffee.

Ingredients:

• 2-cups sweet corn (sheared from cob)
• 1-cup green peas
• 1-cup green chickpeas
• 3 tender onion
• 2 tender garlic
• 4 green chilies
• ½ inch ginger
• 1-teaspoon black pepper
• 2 sprig curry leaves
• Few green coriander leaves

Oil to fry
Salt to taste.

Now grind all the above ingredients into thick paste by adding little water. Transfer this dough into a bowl. Add salt to taste. Now add channa flour (besan) little by little to the dough and whisk it thoroughly till the water in it is completely absorbed.

Method:
Heat the oil in a kadai. Keep the flame in medium. Make small balls of this dough and deep fry them till they turn into light brown in color. Serve them hot with tomato sauce.

Beetroot Kurma

BEETROOT KURMA
Being a sweet vegetable beetroot can be eaten both raw and cooked. As per nutritionist the cooked beetroot has more nutrient value than raw. We make salads and soup with beetroot. My family likes beetroot kurma along with chapattis. Try this recipe and enjoy your lunch or dinner.

Ingredients:

• 2-beetroots (medium size)
• 2-potatoes
• 1-cup green peas
• Salt to taste (1-2 teaspoons)
• Hand full of green coriander leaves.
• 5-6 tablespoons of oil to cook the masala
  

For grinding masala

• 2-onions
• 2-tomatoes
• 7-8-cloves of garlic
• ½ inch ginger
• 4-green chillies
• ½ cup grated coconut
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon dania
• 1-teaspoon saunf (aniseed)
• ½ inch cinnamom
• 2 cloves of loung
• ½ teaspoon poppy seed (kuskus)
• 2-cardamoms (elaichi)
  

For tempering

• ½ teaspoon rai (mustard seed)
• Few curry leaves.
• 1-teaspoon oil

Method:
Peel potatoes and beet root. Cut them into small cubes. Cook with peas by adding enough water in a cooker.
Grind all the masala into thick paste.In a non-stick kadai pour 5-6 tablespoons of oil and cook the masala paste for few minutes. Add salt. Mesh the cooked vegetables and pour it into the boiling masala. Stir it thoroughly. Lower the flame. Cook for few more minutes. Temper the kurma with rai and curry leaves. Garnish it with green coriander leaves. Serve with hot chapattis or parotas.

Chocolate Aval (Poha) Payasam.

Iyengar means Tamil vaishnav Brahmin

Cooking food is an art. Most recipes contain the same vegetables, dals, spices, etc. But the taste differs the way one cooks food. At my home my boys tell me that if I cook food in a hurry it tastes yummy.... but it would not be the same if I cook the same recipe in a lazy and leisurely mood. As the tradition is at Indian households, I learned to cook from my mother and my mother-in-law. Eventually I picked up some interesting recipes from other relatives and friends.But I have tried new recipes of my own too. Here I would like to share with you, some of my own methods of preparing food .


CHOCOLATE AVAL(POHA) PAYASAM.

Ingredients.

• 1-cup aval(poha)(rice flakes)
• 3-cups milk.
• 1-cup sugar.
• 7-8 teaspoons chocolate powder--(drinking chocolate powder or milo or any that you use at home for your children)
• 4-tablespoons ghee (butteroil)
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom and joifal (jadikai/nutmeg) powder.
• Roasted cashewnuts,raisins,badam.
• 1-small apple
• 1/2-banana - sliced

Method

First rinse the aval(poha) and soak it in water for half an hour., In a non-stick kadai roast cashewnuts,raisins,badam in (butter-oil) ghee and keep them aside. Now in the same kadai pour 3-cups of milk and boil it till it is reduced to half the original quantity. Then add 1-cup of sugar and let it boil for 3-4 mins. Now add 7-8 teaspoons of chocolate powder and stir the mixture throughly. Add ghee to it and let it boil for 1 min. Next add the soaked aval(poha) into the boiling mixture. Stir the mixture constantly till it becomes thick. Now add cardamom and joifal powder. you can now switch off the flame.
Garnish with sliced apples, bananas , roasted cashewnuts, raisins and badam.



Serve hot.