Atta dosa with stewed apples, and some apple raita too

Coming up with lunch ideas for the kids is just not easy. I guess I could train them to have dal-chawal every single day, but that somehow doesn't seem fair to me. So, the quest continues.....
This is one of the easy ones that worked well for the kids.

For dosas:
1 measure atta
2 tbsp grated/ dessicated coconut
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
Sufficient water to make batter
Ghee

For stewed apple:
1 apple
2 tsp sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 cup water

Method:
Mix the atta with the other ingredients,adding sufficient water to make batter of the same consistency as dosa batter. Let it stand for 10-15 minutes.
Heat the dosa pan, pour the batter, making a circular shape. Edge with ghee, and let it cook on a low flame till the edges start to rise up. Turn the dosa over, and let the other side cook.
Serve with stewed apples.

Dissolve the sugar in water, and heat it till boiling.
Once it starts boiling, add the apple pieces and the cinnamon stick. Bring to boil, then reduce flame and let it cook for about 5 minutes

If you have some stewed apple left over, you can mix the syrup well with curds, and add the apple pieces to make an apple raita.

Sabudana khichdi

Sabudana khichdi was one of my childhood favourites. Not made too often in our house, I nonetheless looked forward to the times when it would be made. Not always, though- sometimes, what would emerge would be a gelatinous mass, that was difficult to stuff down your throat!
When I moved to Bombay after marriage, I discovered sabudana vada, which had all the taste of the sabudana khichdi, with the convenience of being available at practically every joint. But I still missed the khichdi, though I never had the guts to try it out for myself.
Then, I got a Maharashtrian maid, who taught me exactly how it should be done- wash the sabudana till the water runs clear, then keep it aside for a couple of hours before using. No soaking, no nothing- just washing and keeping wet. It works, and I can proudly say that this is one of the few things I make that comes out well consistently.

Ingredients:

1 cup sabudana or tapioca pearls
2 small to medium size potatoes, boiled
½ cup roasted peanuts
8-10 curry leaves (optional)

1/2 inch piece of ginger, cut fine
1 green chili

1 tsp cumin
¼ cup grated fresh coconut (optional)
½ to 1 tsp sugar or as required
2 tbsp oil
rock salt as required

Method:
Wash the sabudana well, then keep in wet condition (covered with a wet towel for 1 or 2 hours)
Boil, peel and chop the potatoes

Dry roast the peanuts. 

Put peanuts and green chili in a mixer and give it a single whiz, so it is coarsely powdered.

Mix the coarsely powdered peanuts, salt and sugar with the drained sabudana.
Heat oil, add jeera and wait for it to crackle. Add ginger, and stir till the raw smell of the ginger goes away.
Add potato and saute for 1-2 minutes.
Add the sabudana, and keep stirring the mixture till the sabudana becomes translucent. 

Turn off the fire, add grated coconut and mix well.

Serve hot, with curds mixed with sugar.

Masala anda

I first heard about the Mexican "huevos rancheros" ten years back (yes, I had to look up the name, because I had forgotten it), and made an Indianised version for myself several times when I was expecting my first child. For some strange reason, though I thought of it often, I never got down to making it after I became a mother. Then Tarina posted a lovely photograph of "masala anda" on IFF, and when she insisted that it tasted better without the garlic, I just had to try it, if only to prove her wrong. Whether I have become a better cook, or if it is really true that eggs and garlic don't go together, I don't know, but this definitely tasted divine when I had it for lunch.

two eggs

1 onion

1 tomato

1/2 inch piece of ginger

red chill powder

parsley, basil and oregano to taste

salt to taste

cooking oil

Method

Cut the onions, tomatoes and ginger lengthwise.

Fry the onions till transparent. Toss in the ginger and tomatoes and swirl around on a very low flame till the tomatoes start getting mushy.

Add the spices, mix well, and spread it across the bottom of the pan.

Break the eggs carefully over the mixture, sprinkle salt on the eggs, and cover with a lid, so the eggs cook in their own steam.

When the eggs are done to your satisfaction, slide it out onto a plate, and enjoy with hot, buttered toast.

Cucumber dosa

Since the kids were going to have a holiday today, I'd planned a nice, lazy meal for them, but late last night, they informed me that they would not be having a holiday today. Even the best laid plans go awry, and with no dosa batter to fall back on, I had to improvise.

A couple of weeks back, I had found this recipe for a cucumber-wheat-coconut dosa, and I thought this was the best time to try it out. It turned out better than I expected- crispy, yet soft, and with a harmonious blend of flavours.

Wheat flour - 2 cups Grated cucumber - 1 cup Grated coconut - 1/2 cup crushed/powdered pepper - 1 tsp jeera powder - 1 tsp salt to taste water - as required. Make a smooth batter mixing all the ingredients. Keep it aside for 15 mts. Make dosas. You get good soft doasas.Any type of chutney goes with it.

Beet rotis- experimens of the pink kind

After making Red Velvet Cupcakes, I had quite a bit of beet puree left over, and had no clue what to do with it. For awhile, I contemplated making my (now) famous Barbie Pachidi, but decided to be adventurous instead.
These beautiful rotis is what resulted.

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup beet puree (beetroot steamed for about 10 minutes, then pureed till soft)
Garam masala and salt to taste

Knead the flour and the beetroot puree into a dough, adding water if necessary. Keep aside for about 15 minutes.
Roll  into rotis, and cook them on a tawa.
Add a dollop of ghee before serving.
You don't need to serve it WITH anything- it stands on it's own!

Banana roti

Just a way to use up those bananas that have reached the "consume by" date, but which you don't have the heart to throw away.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 soggy banana
a pinch of salt
Water, if required
2 tbsp sesame seeds

Mash the bananas well. Add whole wheat flour and salt and knead well to get a thick dough. If the banana is not soggy enough, you might have to add a bit of water/ milk to make it easier to knead.
Divide the dough into balls, and roll them out after dusting with flour. When slightly flat, sprinkle sesame seeds on one side, and continue rolling.
Place on a pan, and cook till both sides are well done.

Mix the remaining sesame seeds with honey, for a great accompaniment.

Stuffed omelette

This and variations of this are my favourite post-workout meal. I really don't know what I would do without these really quick and utterly filling meals.

Capsicum
Tomatoes
Onions
Spinach
Olives
Leftover rice
Seasonings as per taste
Two eggs
Butter/ olive oil
 
Method
Saute capsicum, tomatoes, onions in olive oil or butter (depending on how virtuous you want to feel- I don't even try].
Add left over rice, salt, chillie flakes and oregano (or assorted seasonings as per taste), and stir a few times. Keep aside.
Beat two eggs with salt (careful with this, because there is salt in the stuffing too), and make an omelette.
After flipping it over twice, place the fried rice on it, fold over, and let it cook for a minute or two.

You can add chopped spinach, olives, boiled chicken, or anything else. Let your imagination be your guide

French toast

This might well be the first thing I learnt to cook, and is still one of my favourite things to eat. I have a savoury version which I often make for lunch, but on the Monday after a weekend with two sick kids, it is this that I crave for.



2 eggs

2 tbsp milk
vanilla essencce
1 tsp sugar
1 tulsi leaf slightly crushed
2 slices of bread
Butter 

Method
Beat the eggs with about 2 tablespoons of milk till nice and froathy. Add a few drops vanilla essence, 1 teaspoon sugar and one tulsi leaf and beat till the sugar partially dissolves (make sure the sugar doesn't disappear completely, because you want some of it to caramelize).
Remove the tulsi leaf and discard. Cut two slices of bread into triangles, dip in the mix, and shallow fry on a frying pan (I use butter, obviously). When both sides are done, pour the left-over egg mix, making sure to spread the sugar evenly, turn over and let it cook for about 30 seconds.

French toast and a glass of warm milk! Enough to fortify you to take on the world.

Egg bhurji (with a twist)

I sent out a frantic SOS, "I have a solitary egg, onions, garlic, potatos at home. Can I throw something together with that?" There was really no reason for me not to make myself one of my staple lunches of French toast, or omelets, but I wanted something different. 

Moushumi obliged with an easy peasy recipe that is low on labour and high on taste. This, apparently, is an invention of her husband from his bachelor days. And it is quite delicious.

1 hard boiled egg- chopped
half medium onion- chopped
3 pods of garlic- peeled and smashed (yes, I always go wild with the garlic)
1 packet chilli flakes (came with the pizza the kids ordered on Saturday)
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
1/2 tsp butter
salt to taste

Lightly fry the smashed garlic and onions in butter. Add chopped eggs when the onions start to turn translucent- stir on low heat for about 2 minutes. Add tomato ketchup, salt and chilli flakes, and stir for a couple of seconds.
Enjoy.

Bajra khichadi

For the longest time, I used to either eat the dinner leftovers for lunch, or buy something greasy. And then I discovered this delicious bajra khichadi, and realized that making it is less trouble than walking to the mithaiwala to buy lunch. Since then, I have been making this at least once a week. Naturally, I end up customising it each time, depending on what is available at home, so the recipe will be a bit of an approximation.

1 measure bajra soaked overnight
1 tsp jeera
1 onion chopped
1 green chilli
Assorted veggies
Salt to taste
1 tsp cooking oil
 
Soak whole bajra overnight, and cook it for a single whistle in the pressure cooker. Heat some oil in a pan, add jeera/ cumin. After it finishes spluttering, add chopped onion and chillies, and fry till it turns translucent. Add peas and any other veggies you might want to experiment with. Add cooked bajra and salt to taste. Cover and let it cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes.
You can have it as it is, or with curds or a pachidi/ raita.