Urad Pongal - Make it grainy – it is matchless! Rice - 1 cup Urad dal (whole & white) - ½ cup Mix & cook with 2 ½ cups of water, hing & salt in a pressure cooker. Keep the water amount in such a way that the grains do not stick to eachother. This pongal should not be mushy. Oil +ghee - 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp Pepper-jeera coarsely powdered - 2 tsp Cashewnuts - 3 tsp Salt, curry leaves Heat oil+ghee. Temper with pepper & jeera, chopped cashew & curry leaves. Add the pongal & toss to mix. Serve hot. This goes with any gotsu or chutney.
Oats Pongal - very delicious & creamy ! Oats - 1 cup Moong dhal - 2 heaped tbsp Coaresely podered pepper + jeera - 2 tsp Chopped ginger - 2 tsp Chopped curry leaves - few Salt, hing Ghee + oil - 2 bsp Cook moong dhal til soft & drain the water. Heat ghee+oil, temper, pepper + jeera & ginger +curry leaves. Add oats & fry till colour changes. Add 1 – 1 ¼ cups of hot water ( this depends on the grainy or soft texture, you want). Add cooked moong dhal, salt & hing. Cook till soft & done. Serve hot with chutney or gotsu.
Sago (sabudhana) Pongal - delightful is the only word ! Buy good quality sago for best results. Sago - 1 cup Yellow moong dhal - 3 tbsp Coaresely powdered pepper + jeera - 2 tap Finey chopped ginger - 2 tsp Curry leaves - few Chopped cashews - 1 tbsp Hing - ½ tsp Oil + ghee - 2 tbsp First fry sago lightly in 2 tsp oil & cool. Soak in just 1 cup of water for 3-4 hrs. To make this for breakfast, I soak the previous night itself. Cook moong dhal till just soft. Remove if there is excess water – this need to be minimum. In a kadai, heat remaing oil & ghee. Temper all ingredients & finally add sago. Fry lightly & transfer the contents to the vessel in which moong is cooking. Add salt & stir briskly for 2-3 mts. Switch off & rest for a few mts before serving. Serve with coconut chutney.
Poha (aval) Pongal - the last of the pongal series ! Buy thick variety of poha. If thin variety only is available, do not grind but rinse in water & strain well, squeezing gently to remove water completely. Poha - 1 cup (powder coarsely) Moong dhal - 1/3 cup Salt, hing Coarsely powdered pepper-jeera - 2 tsp Chopped ginger - 2 tsp Chopped cashews - 2 tbsp Curry leaves - few Ghee + oil - 2-3 tbsp Boil moong dhal till soft & drain. Keep 1 cup of hot water ready. In a kadai, heat oil + ghee. Temper pepper-jeera powder, ginger, curry leaves, cashewnuts & hing. Add crushed poha & roast on a low flame. Add hot water, boiled moong dhal & salt. Simmer & cook for a few mts till the entire water is absorbed. The amount of water varies with the quality of poha. Serve with chutney or gotsu.
Curry Leaf Idlis - rustle up quickly ! Curry leaf Powder: Curry leaves - 1 cup Red chillies - 3 Pepper - 1 tsp Tur dhal - 4 tsp Urad dhal - 3 tsp Jeera - 1 tsp Hing - ½ tsp Salt Spread curry leaves in a plate & MW for 3 mts (roughly) – this is to preserve the green colour. Roast all other ingredients in a kadai, adding just 2-3 drops of oil, adding salt also last. Powder along with curry leaves in a mixi, as fine as possible. Old rice - 1 cup Steam the rice for 2-3 mts. In a kadai, heat 1 tbsp oil & temper 1 tsp mustard seeds & 1 red chilli. Add the rice, 1 tbsp powder & switch off. Toss everything together thoroughly, till uniformly mixed. Serve with chips or papad, for a jiffy. If idlis are left over, proceed as follows: If the idlis are cold, just steam for 2 mtes, to freshen them up. Heat oil & temper mustard seeds & red chilli. Add idlis & sprinkle curry leaf powder uniformly all over.
Lapsi Kozukkattai - serve with gotsu or gojju ! Lapsi (Wheat rava) - ¾ cup Grind together coarsely in the small mixi: Gram dhal - 4 tsp Tur dhal - 4 tsp To temper: Oil - 1 tbsp Red chillies - 2, 3 Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Urad dhal - 2 tsp Curry leaves - few Hing - ½ tsp Salt. Freshly grated coconut - 3 tbsp Heat a pressure pan & temper as given. Add the mixture of lapsi _ dhals & fry on a low fire. Add 2 ¾ cups f boiling water & salt. When vigorous boiling starts,cover the cooker, keep the weight & simmer. Cook for 10 mts. Cool, open & add coconut. Make balls & steam for 7-8 mts. Serve with any gotsu or onion gojju.
Sweet Potato Puri - Let us sin occasionally ! Boil a small piece of sweet potato & mash it. Wheat flour & maida - ½ cup, each Mashed sweet potato - ¼ cup, heaped Ghee - 4 tsp Powdered sugar - 4 tsp Cardamom powder - ½ tsp Soda bicarb - 1/8 tsp White til seeds - 1 tsp Milk - to mix. Mix all ingredients to a stiff dough using minimum milk. Rest for 30 mts-1 hr. Make about 15-16 balls. Roll each to 3-4” diameter & deep fry in hot oil. It puffs up well. Serve with any spicy sabji or chutney.
Lapsi-Oats-Vegetable Kichdi - Served with pickle & curds, makes a meal. Lapsi - 1 cup Oats - ½ cup Mixed vegetable cubes - 2 cups (carrot, beans, peas, cauliflower, babycorn etc) Minced green chillies & ginger - 1 tsp Chilli powder - 2 tsp (or to taste) Salt, haldi To temper: Oil + Ghee - 2 tbsp Jeera - 1 tsp Cloves - 3,4 Cinnamon - 1” Hing - ½ tsp Garnish: Ghee - 1 tbsp Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp In a pressurepan, temper as given. Add lapsi & oats & sauté for a few mts. Add vegetables & fry for sometime. Add 4 cups of water, greenchilli-ginger paste, red chilli powder, salt & haldi When the mixture starts boiling, close the cooker & keep the weight. Simmer for 10 mts. Cool, open & serve garnished with ghee & coriander leaves.
Varupayaru - also called porikollu or varakarisi This is a zero-oil dish. It is time consuming as well as laborious. But I can assure you, it is worth all the time and labour. It preserves well for a month. Whole lentils are used to make it protein-packed. Big black channa - 200 gms White peas - 100gms White black-eyed beans - 100 gms Small mochai payaru - 100 gms Whole green moong - 100 gms Horsegram - 100 gms Moth (called kallupayaru) - 100 gms Roasted & deskinned peanuts - 100-200 gms To grind to a thick paste: Red chillies - to taste (not much) Salt, haldi & hing For seedai: Processed rice flour - ¾ cup (roasted lightly) Roasted urad dhal flour - 1 tbsp Salt, butter, hing Knead, adding little water to tiny balls & deep fry in oil. Wash & soak individually all pulses with a pinch of cooking soda for 24 hrs. Drain well & spead on a cloth for 2-3 hrs, to dry thoroughly. Roast each individually on a dry kadai first on medium heat and then on low flame till crisp. When cool, smear the post over this completely. Keep it in the sun to dry or in a very low oven. Add the seedais & store airtight. I bought a sample of what is sold in shops, now famous in Suswaad particularly. The pulses are deep fried in oil for easy frying ! The choice is yours!! In the following photograph, whole green moong could not be "accomodated" !
Kara Boondhi - an easy snack, a permanent favourite! Fresh besan gives best results. Oil - to deep fry Cashews - a handful Curry leaves - few Beat together till fluffy, Besan - 1 cup Rice flour - 2 tsp Cooking soda - half of 1/8 tsp (definitey not more) Salt - very little With enough water, to get thick dosa batter consistency. Whisk very well with a fork or small whisk. Heat oil in a flat (not deeply curved ) kadai.Keep a little large amount of oil to get good shape for boondhis.If you keep very little oil, the shape of boondhis will not be round.Keep boondhi ladle (flat & round with holes ) above the oil at a distance.Pour one big spoonful of batter on it , so that tiny drops start falling in the oil .Tap the ladle very gently, with a spoon.Round boondhis will fall into the oil & get fried.. Quickly remove to a kitchen tissue. Finish in batches. Deep fry curry leaves till crisp & cashews till golden. When all batches are fried, tranfer to a bowl & add red chilli powder, hing & little more salt.