Ven Pongal

This mouth watering dish would be an ideal breakfast especially in rainy days or winter.It`s a simple and easy to make breakfast.It can be given to even to infants and toddlers as it can easily digests.
Ingredients:
Rice - 2 cups

Moong dhal / payatham paruppu - 1 cup
Milagu- 1/2 tsp
jeera  - 1/2 tsp
Cashewnuts - 6 nos (broken)
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Salt - to taste

Method:
Mix and clean the dhal and rice.Add sufficient water to it (For pongal you need to add more water than we usually need to cook  plain rice).Pressure cook rice and moong dhal together for 5 whistles.When the pressure is fully released,check whether the rice and dhal are well cooked (to smashing consistency).Blend the milagu and jeera to a dry coarse powder.You can even prepare this milagu-jeera  powder ahead and store it in any dry storage container for later use.Meantime heat a small pan,add a tbsp of ghee,milagu-jeera powder and broken cashewnuts.When the cashews turn golden brown,turn off the stove.Add this miture along with salt and asafoetida to the pongal.Mix well all the ingredients and add a tbsp of ghee.Serve hot with coconut chutney.

karachamavu dosai

This dosai can be prepared instantly without soaking, grinding,etc
Ingredients:
Arisimavu / Rice flour - 1 cup
Maida / All purpose flour - 1 cup
Atta / Wheat - 1 cup
Milagu-Jeera (powder) -1 tbsp
Perungayam / Asafoetida - a pinch
Green chilly - 1 (finely  chopped)
Salt - to taste

Method:
Mix all the flours, salt, asafoetida, chopped green chillies and milagu-jeera powder.Add little water and bring it to a batter consistency.Now grease  the dosai tava or griddle with oil.When the tava is hot,pour a laddle of the batter starting from the outer circle and ending in the middle.(Don`t spread hard with the laddle,as the dosai may tear.)You can even add chopped onions in your dosai like onion uthappam.

Adai

  I would call it as a different version of dosai.It tastes yummy when served along with aviyal.

 Ingredients:
Pachaiarisi / raw rice        -         4 cups
Ulutham paruppu / Urad dhal       -    1/2 cup
Thuvaram paruppu / Thuvar dhal  - 1 cup
Kadalai paruppu / Gram dhal        - 1 cup
Red chilly - 4 nos
Grated coconut  - 2 tbsp
Perungayam / hing - a pinch
Salt - to taste
Method :
Soak the rice,dhals and red chilly together for 2 hours.Drain the water and grind the rice-dhal mixture along with hing,salt into a coarse paste.Add grated coconut to this batter.Now grease  the dosai tava or griddle with oil.When the tava is hot,pour a laddle of the batter in the middle and spread it out evenly with the base of the laddle to form a circle (it should be thick than dosai ). When it comes to golden colour,flip it to the other side and add a tsp of oil around it.Instead of coconut or plain adai,you can make adai with keerai / vazhaipoo / onion.

 

Rava idli

This is a spicy version of idli.You don`t need to soak the ingredients overnight..This batter can be easily prepared with some easy ingredients and in less time.
Ingredients  For Batter  :-
Rava / sooji / semolina  - 2 cups
Ginger -1 small (finely chopped)
Eno fruit salt / baking powder - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - finely chopped
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Yogurt / curd - 4 cups
Salt - to taste
Ingredients For Tempering :
Kadalai paruppu / gram dhal - 1 tsp
Urad dhal / ulutham paruppu - 1 tsp
Milagu-jeera powder - 1 tsp
Ginger -1 small (finely chopped)
Cashewnuts ( broken) - few 
Red chilly - 1 (spilt)
Method:

Heat a little ghee,add rava and saute for a minute (don`t burn it) or till the rava gives nice aroma.Set it aside and let it cool to room temperature.In the same kadai add a little oil and  fry milagu-jeera powder, red chilly, gram dhal,urad dhal,cashewnuts till golden colour.Add the roasted dhals,  rava, chopped ginger, chopped curry leaves,salt and eno fruit salt or baking salt to the yogurt.Mix all the ingredients well and set aside for 20 to 30 minutes for the batter to ferment.
                        Place the Tupperware Multi Idli cooker with some water in the microwave for a minute.Then pour the rava idli batter into the oil-greased idli trays and place them in the idli cooker and microwave it for 3 minutes.Using a fork,check whether the idlis have been cooked.If the batter sticks to the fork,cook the idli again in the microwave for another 2 to 3 mintues.Serve hot these idli with Coconut chutney / Kara chutney / kothamalli chutney / Sambar or Idlimilagai podi.

Thayir vadai

This is usually prepared during festivals and other special occasions.It is served almost in all the south indian marriages.It tastes so yummy.It`s so easy to prepare and delicious to taste.
Ingredients:

Urad dhal - 3 cups
Green chillies- 2 nos
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Curd / yogurt - 3 cups
Salt - to taste
Method:

Soak urad dhal for 2 hours.Now drain the water and grind it to a fine paste with little or no water,along with green chillies and salt.Now take a little portion of this batter and press it to the shape of  vadai. Meantime season the yogurt with mustard seeds and add a little salt.Heat oil in a deep bottom kadai and drop this vadai one by one slowly.Fry till golden brown and drop them in the yougurt.Garnish with coriander leaves, karaboondhi and a pinch of Red chilly powder.

arisinoi upma / arisi upma

It takes 15 to 20 minutes to prepare this upma.The ingredients are so simple and readily available at home.
Ingredients:
Raw rice - 1 cup
Milagu /pepper - 1/2 tsp
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Kadalai paruppu / gram dhal -1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Salt - to taste
Method:

Grind raw rice,milagu and jeera into a coarse mix.You can prepare & store this arisinoi in advance.Now heat a heavy bottom kadai and add a little oil,mustard seeds,kadalai paruppu and curry leaves.When the mustard seeds splutter,add a glass of water and let it boil.Now add salt and the arisinoi while stirring it continuously ( in order to avoid lumps ).when it is semi cooked,turn off the stove.Transfer the contents to another vessel and pressure cook it for 2 to 3 whistles.Serve Hot with kathirikkai gothsu.

Idli upma

When i wanted to make some snack simple yet spicy, i thought of this delicious upma.It is prepared by crumbling the idli into coarse powder.It needs simple ingredients and it`s very easy to prepare.
Ingredients:

Idli (grated or finely mashed) - 5 nos
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Cashewnuts - few
Urad dhal / ulutham paruppu - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida / perungayam -  1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Red chilli - 1 or 2 nos
Curry leaves - a few
Salt -to taste
Method:

             Heat 2 tbsp of oil.Add mustard seeds,
 urad dhal,Red chillies,curry leaves,asafoetida, cashewnuts, turmeric powder and chilli powder and mix well.Now add grated idli and salt.Saute for 3 to 5 minutes.Turn off the stove when its fully cooked.(You can also use kadalai paruppu or gram dhal instead of urad dhal.This can even be prepared from the leftover idlis.)

Dosai

Ingredients:
Par-boiled rice / puzhungal arisi - 3 cups
Raw rice / Pachai arisi - 3 cups
Urad dhal / ulutham paruppu - 1 1/2 cups
Salt- to taste

 








 Method :
Now soak the rices together and urad dhal separately for 3 to 4 hours.First blend both the rice into a coarse paste and then blend the urad dhal into a fine paste.Transfer them into a big bowl and add salt.Let it to ferment overnight. Next day morning you can see that the batter is well fermented and it has raised a little.Now grease  the dosai tava or griddle with oil or ghee.When the tava is hot,pour a laddle of the batter in the middle and spread it out evenly with the base of the laddle to form a circle.When it comes to golden colour,flip it to the other side and add a tsp of oil around it.Remove the dosai from the tava,when the crust becomes dry.Serve hot with sambar or coconut chutney or thogaiyal or  idli podi.

Semiya Upma

This upma is very simple and easy to make yet delicious too.
Ingredients:
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dhal / ulutham paruppu - 1/2 tsp
Red chilly - 1 small( spilt)  / green chilly - 1 small (chopped)
Cashewnuts / mundiriparuppu - 4 or 5 nos (optional)
Ginger = 1 small (finely chopped)
Curry leaves - few
Semiya / vermicelli -1 cup
Salt - to taste
Method:
Heat a little oil in a pan.Add mustard seeds and when it splutters,add urad dhal,red chilly / green chilly,curry leaves,chopped ginger,cashewnuts and saute for 2 minutes..Now add 2 to 3 cups of water & salt.When the water begins to boil,slowly add the Semiya / Vermicelli while whisking continuously in order to avoid lumps. Turn off the stove when the vermicelli are cooked.You can even add chopped onions( along with red chillies) or even squeeze half-a-lemon( before serving),if you like.

         

Chapati / Indian flat bread

Chapatis are Indian flat breads made in many households for breakfast or dinner.It is usually made of whole wheat flour or atta.
Ingredients:
Whole wheat flour - 2 cups
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Oil / ghee - 1 tbsp
Water - a glass
  
Method:
Take 2 cups of wheat flour in a mixing bowl and add salt. Now make a soft dough by adding little water.Add oil and knead the dough well.Proper kneading results in soft chapatis.Divide the dough into equal portions and make small balls of them.

Roll the balls and apply  wheat on both the sides so that the dough won`t stick in the board.Start to make round chapatis with the help of rolling pin.Place chapati over pre-heated tawa and cook on both the sides.Take care not to burn them.Serve hot with dhal or curry.

Puli-Aval upma / Poha Upma

This is a very simple yet tasty recipe.I like aval upma very much, especially puli-aval upma.
Ingredients:
Poha /Aval - 2 cups
Tamarind - a lemon size
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dhal / uluthamparuppu - 1/4 tsp
Red chilly - 2 nos
Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Curry leaves - few
Salt - to taste

Method:
        Soak the Poha / Aval in tamarind extract for 20 minutes.Heat oil in a kadai and  add  mustard seeds.

when it splutters,add red chillies, urad dhal, asafoetida,curry leaves,soaked  aval and salt.Saute it well for 3 minutes and serve hot.{If you like,you can add chopped onions,chopped and boiled potatoes to your upma before adding the soaked aval.}

Idli

Idli is a savory cake served as a breakfast in almost every South Indian`s households in India even abroad.It is easy to prepare and also to digest.It can be served even to young childrens and sick people as its easy to digest.
Ingredients:
Urad dhal or ulutham paruppu - 1 cup
Parboiled rice or Puzhungal arisi - 3 cups
Salt - 1 tsp

Method:

Soak the ulutham paruppu and puzhungal arisi separately for 3 to 4 hours (or even overnight). Drain the water completely and grind the rice or arisi into a coarse paste with very little water.Then grind the paruppu into a fine paste and add this to the rice batter with little salt.Leave the batter to ferment overnight.The fermentation process breaks down the starches so that they are more readily metabolized by the body.Next day keep 3 to 4 cups of water in the pressure cooker.Take 1 tbsp of oil and apply it to the idli trays.Take a laddle of idli batter and pour it in the idli trays one by one and place it inside the pressure cooker.Place the lid and cook (without the whistle) these idli for 15 to 20 minutes in the pressure cooker and turn off the stove.

While cooking in the microwave place the Tupperware Multi Idli cooker with some water in the microwave for a minute.Then pour the batter into the oil-greased idli trays and place them in the idli cooker and microwave it for 3 minutes.Using a fork,check whether the idlis have been cooked.If the batter sticks to the fork,cook the idli again in the microwave for another 2 to 3 mintues.Serve hot these idli with Coconut chutney / Kara chutney / kothamalli chutney / Sambar or Idlimilagai podi.