Udidu- Moogadali Idli (Mixed Lentil Idli)

Udidu- Moogadali Idli is a very simple and healthy breakfast. I got this recipe from a FB friend- Uma. 

The speciality of this idli recipe is- it doesn't have rice!! yes, you read it right. The same thing happened to me when I first read the recipe. I thought she missed to mention rice. I never thought that idlis can be made only with lentils (dals). I was very excited to try this new variation, as its very healthy. The idlis turned out very good. The texture is different from the normal idlis as it contains only dal. But sure a keeper for those who are trying to reduce weight, diabetic people etc. It goes very well with sambhar. 

Ingredients:

• Urad Dal/ Split Black gram- 2/3 cup
• Moong dal/ Split Mung beans- 2/3 cup
• Salt- To taste
• Oil- For greasing the moulds

Use any cup to measure the dal. The amount of both the dals added should be equal.

Procedure:

Wash and soak urad dal and moong dal together, for 4-5 hours. Now grind the strained urad dal- moong dal mixture to a smooth paste. Add water while grinding, just enough to aid the grinding process. Once finely ground, transfer it to a bowl. 

Keep the batter in a warm place and allow it to ferment for 8-10 hours (the batter should rise well after fermentation to get spongy idlis. If not they will turn hard. If it has not risen properly then keep it for few more hours. I kept it for nearly a day). 
The final consistency of the batter should be thick but of pouring consistency (thicker than the dosa batter).

Now grease the idli mould using oil and add the batter half way through in each mould.

Steam them in a steamer or pressure cooker (without whistle) for 15-16 minutes. 

Allow it to cool for five minutes and then unmould the idlis using back of the spoon. 
Udidu- Moogadali Idli is ready!!

Serve it hot with Sambhar or any chutney of your choice. Above measurement makes 26 small sized idlis.

Note: You can also add little bit of grated ginger, chopped green chillies and curry leaves to the batter to make it more flavorful.

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Kanahindri (Sweetened Rice Flakes Balls)

Kanahindri is a traditional jaggery based Konkani sweet. It is a very old sweet and rarely prepared now. I didn't know about this until recently. My SIL mentioned me about it. Hence thought of giving it a try. The sweet turned out very well. This recipe doesn't demand ghee/butter. A simple yet delicious sweet! Do give it a try.

Ingredients:

• Flattened rice/ Poha- 2 cups
• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen- 1 cup
• Grated jaggery- 1 1/2 cups
• Water- 3/4 cup
• Cardamom pods- 4-5

Procedure:

Grate the jaggery.

Then start dry roasting the flattened rice (rice flakes) in a small pan, on medium heat. The rice flaked starts to wilt after few minutes. Then turn off the heat.

Allow it to cool on a plate.

Then grind the roasted rice flakes, to get a fine powder. Crush the cardamom seeds as well.

Now in the same pan, heat water and jaggery on a medium heat.

Keep stirring the mixture occasionally. When it comes to a boil, add the grated coconut.

Let the grated coconut simmer in the jaggery for 4-5 minutes. By now, the mixture starts to thicken. Turn off the heat and add cardamom powder. Mix well. Then add the rice flakes powder, little at a time and mix to get a soft dough (the powder completely absorbs the moisture resulting in a non- sticky dough).

Then form small balls (of desired size), of the resulting mixture and flatten them a bit. You can give any shape to the mixture.

Kanahindri is ready!!

Serve it immediately or store it in a refrigerator for few days. Above measurement serves 3-4 people.

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Dudhi Idli (Pumpkin Idli)

Dudhi Idli is a simple Konkani breakfast. In Konkani, dudhi means pumpkin. I got this recipe from my mother.

I have seen many people who are not a fan of pumpkin. Even I belong to this group. I hardly get this veggie. My mother used to make this idli once in a while and I never even dared to taste it, as I had assumed it won't taste great. But now I am in the mode of experimenting. Hence got a small piece of pumpkin and tried it. To my surprise it tasted great with ghee. Do try making this simple idli. The pumpkin induces a different flavor as well as a eye pleasing color.

Ingredients:

• Raw rice - 1 cup
• Grated Pumpkin- 1 cup
• Grated coconut, fresh/frozen - 1/4 cup
• Jaggery- To taste (optional, add according to how sweet you want )
• Salt- 1/4 tsp

Procedure:

Wash and soak the rice for two hours. Then drain the water completely and then grind it into a semi coarse paste ( give 4-5 pulses). Transfer this semi coarse paste to a large mixing bowl.

Now remove the skin of the pumpkin.

Then grate it.

Add the grated pumpkin along with grated coconut, jaggery (if using. I added 2-3 Tbsp) and salt to the bowl containing rice paste.

Mix it well.

Grease the idli moulds with oil.  Then pour the rice- pumpkin mixture half way through, in each mould.

Steam it for 15 minutes.

Once done, allow it to cool for 3-4 minutes. Then remove it by loosening the edges with the back of a spoon.

Dudhi idlis are ready!!

Serve hot with ghee. Above measurement makes seven big sized idlis.

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Banana Sheera ( Banana- Semolina Pudding)

Banana Sheera is a very popular sweet dish in South India. It is commonly offered to the god during Satyanarayana Pooja. We call it as Sapath. I got this recipe from my mother.

I love this sheera very much. The good thing about it is- its very simple and can be made within 15-20 minutes. Its really very hard to go wrong. Do try making this whenever you are in search of a recipe to finish off the ripe banana :-)

Ingredients:

• Semolina/Sooji/ Rava- 1/2 cup
• Milk - 1 cup
• Sugar- 1/4 cup
• Ripe Banana, big sized - 1
• Cardamom pods- 4
• Ghee* (clarified butter)- 1/4 to 1/2 cup

*More the ghee, better it tastes. Adjust according to how rich you want it.

Procedure:

Heat the milk on a medium heat.

While the milk is getting heated, peel and chop the banana into bite size pieces.

Now prepare the semolina mixture. Heat ghee in a pan and add the semolina. Fry until you get a nice aroma (don't turn it brown).

Once you get the aroma, pour the hot milk little at a time and mix vigorously (Care should be taken while pouring the milk. Otherwise you will get lot of lumps).

Then add the banana pieces.

Mix well and allow the semolina- banana mixture to cook in the milk. Once the milk evaporates completely, add the sugar.

Mix well and continue heating the mixture until all the sugar is absorbed. Then turn off the heat. Finally add the cardamom powder and mix well. Banana Sheera is ready!

Serve it hot/warm. Above measurement serves 2-3 people.

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Avale Kadi (Pickled Gooseberry Soup)

Avale Kadi is a very old Konkani dish. In Konkani, avalo means gooseberry. Gooseberry is seasonal and hence people store them in salt water, so that it can be used throughout the year. I got this recipe from my mother.

This is one of my favorite dish and had been ages since I had it. So I brought some frozen gooseberries and kept them in salt water. The spiciness of the kadi is well balanced by the sourness of the gooseberries. The garlic seasoning makes it even more tastier. Try making this unique dish and enjoy :-)
You can as well try making Avale Chutney, which I posted few months back.

Ingredients:

• Brined Amla (Gooseberry), large sized*- 4-5
• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen- 2/3 cup
• Roasted Red chillies- 3-4
• Salt- To taste
• Oil- 1-2 tsp
• Garlic pods- 5-6

*The amount of brined amla depends on the the sourness of the amla as well as how much sour you want. So adjust it accordingly.

Procedure:

How to Brine: Wash the amla (fresh and frozen both works) and then place them in a glass jar. Add couple of spoon of salt. Then add water till the top. Close it with its lid and let it sit for more than a month. This is how mine looked-

Then remove the brined amla from the jar and wash them. This is how they look.

Break them open and discard the seeds (you can as well leave them in cold water, to remove the excess salt)

Now grind the brined amla pieces along with grated coconut, roasted red chillies along with little water to get a fine paste. 

At this point, check for the salt, sourness as well as spiciness (I like it more on the sour side). If everything is good then transfer it to a pan. 

Adjust the consistency, by adding water. I kept the consistency not too thick/ thin. Start heating it and bring it to a boil. Once it starts boiling, continue heating for a minute and turn off the heat.

For Seasoning- Heat oil and add crushed garlic. Fry it until it turns golden brown. Add this to the mixture and mix well. Avale Kadi is ready!!

Serve it hot as a side dish to rice. Above measurement serves 2-3 people.

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Oats- Rava Idli With Veggies

Oats - Rava Idli With Veggies is a recently learnt recipe. I found the recipe in a FB food group (posted by Aparna). I made slight variations to suit our taste buds. 

This idli is a simple, healthy and 'easy to make'. The idlis turned out super soft and I was totally in love with its texture. This is a good way to sneak oats in our diet. Trust me the idlis were so tasty that we finished them at one go, though we were full. Now you know how it might have tasted :-)
You can as well try making the plain version, which I had posted few months back.

Ingredients:

• Quick cooking Oats- 3/4 cup
• Rava/ Semolina- 3/4 cup
• Yogurt/ Curd- 3/4 cup
• Carrot, small sized- 1
• Cilantro/ Coriander leaves- 5-6 sprigs
• Frozen Peas- Handful
• Grated Ginger- 1/4 tsp
• Cashew nut pieces- As desired
• Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
• Green Chilli- 1-2
• Eno- 1 tsp
• Salt- To taste
• Oil- For greasing idli mould

Procedure:

Dry roast the oats and rava separately, for 2-3 minutes or until you get a nice aroma. Then transfer them into a bowl. Mix well. 

Then add in the yogurt, chopped green chillies, turmeric powder and salt. Then add little water at a time to this mixture and mix well, to get a thick (of dropping consistency) batter. I used little more than 3/4 cup of water. Allow the batter to set for 10- 15 minutes.

Meanwhile grate the carrot, ginger and chop the cilantro.

Now add the grated carrot, ginger, Cashew pieces, chopped cilantro and peas to the prepared batter. Mix well. Now the batter is ready.

Now grease the idli moulds using oil. Finally add eno to the batter and mix well. You will see that the batter starts to rise. Pour the batter in each mould idli mould, half way through.

Then steam them in a steamer or pressure cooker (without whistle) for 15 minutes. 

Then allow it to cool for 2-3 minutes. Look how fluffy it is :-)

Oats- Rava Idli With Veggies is ready!!

Serve it hot with coconut chutney, sambhar or any other side dish of your choice. I served it with Pudina Chutney. Above measurement makes 12 large sized idlis.

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