Pesarrattu

I really love pesarrattu because despite being it is choke full of proteins, it also tastes as good as it is for you. And when you get to eat it with white butter, and jaggery, you can fool yourself into believing you are in heaven.

1 cup green moong dal
1 red chilli
1 tbsp rice flour
1/2 inch piece ginger
Salt to taste
A pinch of hing
Oil for frying

Method:
Soak the moong dal overnight (or at least for 4 hours). Grind with the red chilli and ginger, adding water as required till you get a batter that is consistent, but not totally smooth.
Add salt, hing, rice powder and mix well.
Heat the tawa, bring down the temperature by sprinkling water, and spread the pesarrattu as you would a dosa.
Put oil along the edges, and let it cook in a low flame. When the edges start lifting up, flip over, and let the other side cook.
Serve with white butter and jaggery.

Ragi utappam

I am experimenting with different kinds of grains these days, and ragi is top of the list, since it was always there on my list. Ragi and coconut makes an awesome combination, and this proves it yet again!

1 cup ragi flour
1/3 cup grated coconut
A pinch of salt
Oil for frying

Method:
Mix the coconut and ragi flour well, and add water slowly, with constant stirring to get a firm batter. It should not be to runny, and there should be no lumps. Add salt and mix well. Let it stand for half an hour (or more)
Heat the utappam pan, and pour in the batter. Add a touch of oil around the edges. Let it cook on a low flame, till the edges start to rise up. Flip over and cook the other side.
Serve with white butter.

Savoury canapés with microgreens garnish

Having decided I was going to have microgreens for lunch, the rest of the meal sort of created itself. Savoury crackers, with 

For crackers:

1 cup maida

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste3 tbsp grated cheese

Method:

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees

Sift together the flour, salt and pepper. 

Add oil, and knead well till you get a firm dough

Roll onto a greased baking sheet, and make indentations with a sharp knife

Bake for 12-15 minutes. 

Take out of oven and let it cool on a wire rack. 

For the hung curd:

1 cup yogurt

1 tsp garlic paste

4-6 olives chopped fine

Salt to taste

Method:

Tie the curds in a muslin cloth, and hang it up so the whey escapes. Squeeze out the remaining whey. 

Add garlic paste and salt and mix really well till you get a smooth consistency. 

Add chopped olives and mix well*

For serving:

Scoop/ pipe the hung curd on the crackers, garnish with microgreens and serve. 

*- if you are having the dip without microgreens, you can experiment with the flavours- I kept it simple

Ragi idiyappan

The packers seem to have lost an entire carton of kitchen equipment, so I had to go shopping for things as basic as kadhais, tawas and pressure cookers. Since this is the first time I have gone utensil shopping since I started cooking seriously, I ended up picking up a whole lot of stuff I never possessed, but which I now feel I cannot do without. One of them was the sevai maker (which can double up as a chakli maker), which I had to try out at once. I could have started with the conventional seat, but thought of making a ragi sevai instead. I've adapted the recipe so it tastes like ragi puttu, and we all loved it.

2 cups ragi flour

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups water

Grated coconut to taste

1 or 2 bananas

Oil for greasing

Additional equipment- idli steamer, sevai maker

Method:

Roast the ragi flour till the raw smell goes. Add salt and mix well. 

Gradually add water, mixing and kneading throughout, till you get a consistency thicker than dosa batter but looser than roti dough*. Knead a bit more, till smooth. 

Grease the idli maker and the inside of the sevai maker with a bit of oil. 

Fill the sevai maker with the dough, and pipe it onto the idli moulds.

Cut the banana into slices and place around and above the piped dough. 

Steam for 15 minutes. 

Carefully demould the idyappams, garnish with coconut (you can mix some sugar with it), and steamed bananas and serve. 

You can also enjoy idyappams with butter and sugar. 

*- I am not mentioning quantities, because the recipes I said 2:3, but i required only 1:1

Sprouted moong muffins

I felt like having something different for lunch, so threw together the contents of my fridge, and came up with something that was actually pretty good.

1/2 cup sprouted moong

1/3 cup rice flour

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tsp paprika powder

1 tsp oil

Salt to taste

Method:

Mix the rice flour, paprika powder, salt and sesame seeds. Add the oil, and mix till it is crumbly. 

Add the moong, mix well. Add water gradually, incorporating it thoroughly, so you get a thick batter. 

Grease a muffin tray, pour the batter in, and level the top. 

Bake at 175 degrees for 15 minutes. 

Delicious with hot hibiscus juice. 

Sprouted moong dhokala

Sprouted moong is a perennial favourite of mine. When I was young, I would consume enormous quantities of it, and I still can. But with age, the tongue gets more demanding, and I need to sprinkle salt on it now. I also love experimenting with dishes that have it as a primary ingredient, and this dhokla was particularly good. 

1 cup sprouted moong

1/2 cups spinach

1/4 cups grated carrot

1 tsp ginger- green chilli paste

2 tbsp besan

A pinch of hing

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp haldi powder

1 packet Eno fruit salt

For tempering:

1 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp urad dal

1 tsp mustard seed

1 tsp sesame seeds

Method:

Grind the moong sprouts, spinach and carrot till you get an even but slightly coarse consistency 

Mix in the ginger green chilli paste, salt, hing, besan, haldi powder. 

Grease a flat plate and keep aside

Add Eno fruit salt to the mixture, and while the fizzing is still taking place, spread the mixture on the plate

Steam in a pressure cooker with the whistle removed for 12 minutes. 

Cut after allowing to cool

Heat the oil, add mustard seeds, and after it stops spluttering, add urad dal and sesame seeds. Pour over the dhokla, garnish with grated carrot and serve. 

Ami kozakottai

This is a recipe that is normally made with leftover dough during Ganesh Chaturti. I made it for lunch and loved it.

3/4 cup rice flour

Salt to taste 

1 cup water 

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 sprig curry leaves

A pinch of hing

Cooking oil

Method:

Bring the water to boil. Add salt and let it dissolve. Reduce the flame. 

Carefully add the rice flour, stirring continuously so no lumps are formed. Cook till the mixture comes together and starts leaving the side of the vessel. 

Cool. Knead it for a minute or two. Roll into marble sized balls (I got about 25). 

Grease a steaming plate and place the balls on it. Steam for 7 to 10 minutes. 

Heat about 1 tbsp oil. Add mustard seeds, and when they stop spluttering, add hing and curry leaves. 

Add the steamed balls and toss around for a minute. 

Serve hot. 

Papeta par Eendu

Two monsoons ago, a group of friends and I went to Lonavala for a weekend run. We left at the crack of dawn, and by the time we returned after running through the clouds to Amby Valley and back, we were so ravenous we could have eaten anything. Since the time of our return was uncertain, the cook at the Masonic Lodge where we were staying had prepared a brunch of boiled eggs, toast and something that I was told was a Parsi preparation. It tasted wonderful, but wouldn't anything taste wonderful after you have run more than 20 miles? Busy as I was with gobbling the food, I didn't take the recipe from the cook, and soon forgot all about it.
It was when we started talking about preparing Parsi dishes over the weekend, that I remembered the dish, and asked Jenifer if it was indeed an authentic Parsi dish, or just an urban myth. She assured me that it was an authentic dish, and even gave me the recipe. My kids and I had it with (store bought) ladi pav for dinner, and after licking my plate clean, I was left asking for more.

4 potatoes boiled and cubed
3 tbsp butter
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 green chilli
1/2 tsp jeera powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste


3 eggs

Heat butter. Add ginger garlic paste, green chillis, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, and salt, and fry lightly.
Add the cubed potatoes, mix well, and fry till it starts browing.
Meanwhile, beat the white of an egg till well aerated, add yolk and beat some more. 
Layer the potatoes in the dish, add abou 1/4 cup water, and pour the egg batter. Cover the pan, and let it cook in it's own steam till done.

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.