Pesarapappu idly ( yellow moong dal idly)

Here I am with another healthy idly. Idly is consider very healthy breakfast. Since I am not eating rice,I am trying to make dosa and idly without rice. This idly I made with pesara Pappu aka yellow moong dal and it is super tasty and healthy.

What are the ingredients?

Pesara pappu or yellow moong dal 1 cup soaked for 2 hours And grounded to a thick batter. Add salt as per taste.

For seasoning

Oil 1 tbsp

Curry leaves few chopped

Udat dal 1/2 tsp

Chana dal 1/2 tsp

Green chillies finely chopped 2

Take a small pan, heat oil.add all the above ingredients. Once fried add it to the batter.Mix well

1 tsp cooking Soda, add it to the batter once you are ready to pour the batter in the idly mold.

Grease the idly molds with ghee or oil. Pour the batter into the molds and steam it for 12 minutes.

Ragi dosa

 My mom is very fond of ragi, she makes ragi Java (porridge) regularly and now after her cancer treatment ragi has became her staple food. She is on liquid diet since last four months. She takes this porridge which my sister prepares it in very liquid form as my mom can’t chew any food. This ragi apart from milk is giving all nutrients my mom needs in a day. Touchwood my mom is recovering well.

Now coming to this post, since I stopped eating any white other than milk and yogurt. I stopped eating rice instead I am substituting rice with millets. I will be posting millets dosa and idles. Today it is ragi dosa. This dosa is done in same way as our regular dosa,it’s just the replacement to rice. Same as regular dosa this dosa too needs to fermented.

How I made this dosa ?

Ragi 2 cups

Udat dal 1 cup

Fenugreek (menthi) 1/2 tsp

Oil to drizzle on dosa

Soak all three in the morning. Grind it into smooth batter. Let the batter rest over night.

Next day morning add salt as per your taste and mix well.

For ragi dosa filing.

One onion finely chopped

One green chilly chopped

Small size tomato chopped

Sesame seeds 1 tbsp

Lemon juice 1/2 tsp

Fresh coconut shredded 1 tbsp

How to make dosa ?

Place a castor iron pan on the stove. Let it get a bit hot. Dip a brush in oil and rub oil on the pan.

Now take a ladle full of batter and make dosa. Drizzle oil on the sides. Let it cook for a minute and flip the dosa.

Let this side too cook for a minute. Turn the dosa. Add the onion mixture and fold the dosa to half.

This dosa doesn’t need any chutney. My husband added nalakaram to the dosa. What he did was before I added the onion mixture,he sprinkled this nalakaram powder and added the onion mixture. It was yummy.

Nalakaram recipe https://mykitchenaroma.blogspot.com/search?q=Nalla

 Check the pictures below which shows comparison of rice dosa with ragi dosa. 

New beginning

 It’s almost three years that I updated my blog. Every time I think of starting, I take pictures (bought dslr only for food blogging) and then I don’t do it. Every month I buy memory for my iPad to store my food pictures. In spite of all this I don’t blog.

I have been diagnosed with pre-diabetic it’s not new, but for me it’s a wake Up call. I am quite active by going to gym and counting my steps. Almost everyday I used to take 8000 to 9000 steps. Even during the lockdown I used to walk in the house for alteast 90 minutes. But why I am getting closer to be a diabetic ??

It’s the food. Since working from home and kids at home have been cooking a lot of dishes with white flour or maida and eating deserts. I was so dumb in thinking that jaggery is way better than sugar and no control in eating jaggery. Now the reality has hit me hard and I HAVE to make changes to my eating habits to avoid diabetic medication.  

First thing I did was downloaded a heath app which shows how much I should eat and how much each food items has calories,carbs,fat and fiber.

I stopped eating anything white other than panner,yogurt and milk.

I completely stopped taking tea,replaced it with green tea.

Yoga for one hour 5 to 6 times a week.

Replaced rice with millets. Will be doing posts on that.

And planning to document here what I eat everyday. I have given myself 3 months. It’s been one and a half month and with all these changes I am feeling light. I have reduced a bit but not disclosing here as I want to keep this as suspense until I achieve My ideal weight. For me the most important is reducing my sugar levels and with that I may loose some fat too. 

Bye for now.

Kakarakaya Karam

I love Kakarakaya (bitter gourd) in a form. Be it fry, pulusu or this karam.  I like to eat this karam with hot rice and ghee.

Ingredients:-

Kakarikaya 7-8. Chopped into small rounds

Udad dal 1 tbsp

Channa dal 1tbsp

Coriander seeds 1/2 tbsp

Tamarind small pc

Garlic 2-3 pcs

Dry red chillies 6-8

Dry roast all the ingredients except kakarikaya and tamarind.

In a pan take 7-8 tbsp of oil. Fry kakarikaya in hot oil till kakarikaya turns crispy. Now take out kakarikaya from oil and along with dry ingredients,tamarind and salt, grind into coarse powder.

Red chillies and tamarind can be adjusted according to once taste buds. First grind dry ingredients and add kakarikaya to get the kakarikaya crumbs.

Masala buns

I have been  making this big bun since a while. And every time I make I change few ingredients. Sometimes it's just plain buns and sometime it's a desi twist or  Italian twist. Today I am posting desi and Italian buns. The adds on like the oregano,jalapeños etc can be added according to once taste. Readers can play around with the ingredients. Here is the receipe.

Ingredients

Butter 4 tbsp
Egg 1
Milk 2 tbsp
1.5 cup water
All purpose flour 5 cups
Instant yeast 3/4 tsp
Salt 1 tbsp
Sugar 3 tbsp

Additional ingredients:-
Jalapeños few
Chilly flakes 1 tbsp
Oregano 1 tbsp
Thyme 1 tbsp
Basil 1 tbsp
Cumin 1 tbsp

How to make the buns ?

Mix water with butter,egg and milk.

Mix dry ingredients, flour, yeast, salt and sugar. And also add additional ingredients.

Now mix the wet and dry ingredients. Knead the dough well and let it rest for one hour.

Wrap a wet towel on the bowl and keep in a warm place in the kitchen.

After one hour again knead the dough. Make small balls and arrange them on a creased baking tray

with gap of 2 inches between each balls.

Now again cover it with a wet cloth for another one hour.

After one hour, apply melted butter and bake in preheat oven for 12 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Yummy buns are ready. I love to eat my buns with hot cup of tea and my kids like to apply little butter.

 

Khatti Dal

Khatti dal is the most common side dish in hyderabad and it is made with lentils. This is made with toor dal or masoor dal, mostly it is in running consistency. Khatti dal means tangy lentils. I prefer eating khatti dal with roti or fulkas. Recipe is simple and quick to make. Many prefer this khatti dal with rice and with any non-veg fry. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

Toor dal/Masoor dal 1 cup
Onion 1 chopped
Tomato chopped
Green chillies 4
Turmeric powder a pinch
Tamarind a small piece

Pressure cook all the above ingredients. The dal has to be soft and mash the dal.

For seasoning :-
Rai/mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
Zeera/cumin seeds 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves few

Season the dal with the above ingredients and garnish with coriander.

Dates Ladoo / khajoor laddu

Year is going to end and I was not much active here. I revived by other blog with 30 days posting without a break.

These dates laddu I made it for Diwali. I thought of making something healthy without extra carbos. So these laddus are sugar free as dates itself are sweet.

Dates 2 cups shredded

walnuts 1/2 cup

cashews 1/2 cup

Almonds 1/2 cup

Pista unsalted 1/2 cup

Dry coconut powder 3 tbsp

Ghee 3 tbsp

How to make them ?

Take all the nut in a grinder and crush them. Here we are not making fine powder but coarsley grinding them.

Take a pan. Add ghee.

when ghee melts add dates.

Saute for a while, dates starts sticking to each other.

Turn off the flame. Add nuts.

Take little ghee on palms and make round balls.

In a plate take dry coconut powder and roll the ladoos in it.

Isn't it very simple. The time taken to eat is less than time taken to make them.😜😜😜

Tomato chutney

This is simple chutney which can be made in bulk and can refrigerate it. Can be eaten with dosa, idly and any with South Indian dishes.I prefer eating with hot rice and ghee...yummyyyyy.

Ingredients:

Tomatoes 3
Salt to taste
Oil 3 tbsp
White vinegar 6-7 tbsp

Method:

In a pan take oil, when hot add chopped tomatoes and sprinkle salt  . Cook until oil oozes around.

Then add salt and mix well.

Let it cool down and add vinegar.

Mix well and store in a air tight container.

Achari Capsicum Rice

Many times when i am in no mood of cooking i prefer a quick fix. In my house i hardly have left over rice. So i make different types of rice dishes with fresh cooked rice not the left over rice. Achari capsicum rice..sounds interesting. This rice is a mixture of our desi pickle and rice. Every Indian likes pickle that too South India is quite famous for its pickles. There are hell lot of varieties of pickle. This capsicum rice can be made with any kind pickles. It taste awesome with any pickle of your choice. I tried tomato pickle,lemon pickle and mango pickle. These recipe calls for very ingredients. 

Ingredients:-

Capsicum 2 (any colour)
Rice 2 cups
Lemon pickle 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds 1/4 tsp
Bay leaf 1
Pepper powder 1/4 tsp
Oil 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:- Heat oil in a kadai, add cumin seeds and bay leaf. Saute for 1/2 a minute. Now add lemon pickle and pepper powder, saute. Add capsicum and salt. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes. Capsicum should not be cooked fully. Now add rice and mix well. Serve it with papad.

Chilly Paneer

I never get tried of eating paneer. This curry is a mixture of Indian and Chinese cuisine. Here is the recipe. .

Ingredients

Paneer 20 cubes
Onions 1
Curry leaves few
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Capsicum 2
Garlic 3 pods chopped
Ginger garlic sauce 1 tsp
Soya sauce 1 tbsp
Chilly garlic sauce 3 tbsp
Oil 3 tbsp
Coriander powder 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Salt to taste

method:

Take oil in a kadai, heat oil. Once hot add cumin and curry leaves. Then add Onions. Saute until onion changes colour. Here we are not completely frying the onions. Add garlic and ginger and garlic paste.

Include coriander powder,turmeric powder,chilly garlic sauce and salt. Saute all for a while.

Add Capsicum and soya sauce. Saute for 5-7 minutes until capsicum are half cooked. Add paneer pieces and coriander leaves. Mix well let it cook for another 5 minutes.

Once done serve hot with naan.

Tamatar Ka Salan

  

One more delicacy of Hyderabad which goes very well with Hyderabadi bagara chawal or hyderabadi vegetable dum biryani. I am always found of eating the cooked whole tomato. My m-law uses whole tomato in fish pulusu and i just love to eat the whole tomato.

Ate tamatar ka salan for the first time at a wedding of my husband's friend. Then I totally forgot about this curry. Recently i read someone mentioning about tamatar ka salan in a fb page which I follow. Last Friday I wanted to make a elaborate dinner for us and opted to prepare tamatar ka salan and vegetable dum biryani. It's a lengthy process to make this curry but it's worth making it. The gravy is rich and tangy. Here is the recipe:-

For gravy:-

Peanuts 5 tbsp
Sesame 5 tbsp
fresh coconut powder 5 tbsp

Dry roast the above ingredients and make a fine paste.

Other ingredients:-

Oil
Mustard seeds/rai 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds 7-8 seeds
Curry leaves few
Red chilly whole 2
Onions 2 chopped
Ginger garlic paste 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder 1tsp
Red chilly powder 2 tbsp
Coriander powder 1 tbsp
Cumin powder 1 tsp
Green chillies 3
Tamarind juice extracted from a lemon size ball of tamarind.
Coriander leaves chopped
Mint leaves chopped
Salt

Whole tomatoes 6-7

Heat oil. Add mustard seeds,fenugreek seeds. Then add onions. Saute until golden brown colour.

Add curry leaves and green chillies. Then add ginger garlic paste,coriander powder,turmeric powder and cumin powder. Sauté for two minutes.

Then add peanut and sesame seeds paste. Mix well and add 2 cups of water.

Cover and cook on low flame for 30 minutes.

Then add tamarind juice, coriander leaves and mint leaves. Let it cook for 5 minutes. Add salt.

Slice the top and bottom of the tomatoes, just a inch of it. Drop each tomato into the gravy.

Cook for 5 minutes. No need of cooking tomatoes well.

Note:-Recipe from vah chef.

No flour oats muffin

These baked muffin are guilt free, no flour muffins. Healthy and can be eaten as breakfast.

Ingredients:-

Eggs 2
Brown sugar 1 cup
Maple or apple sauce 3/4 cup
Milk 1.5 cup
Vanilla essence 1 tsp
Salt 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder 1 tsp
Baking powder 1 tbsp
Rolled oats 3 cups
Toppings of your choice.

Method:-

Pre-heat oven. Beat egg . Add all the ingredients and mix well. Let the mixture rest for 30 minutes.

Grease muffin tin with butter and pour the mixture into each cup cake mould. Place your favourite toppings on each muffin.

Bake for 30 minutes in 350 degrees Celsius.

Bendakaya pulusu

The name of the dish itself will get water in my mouth. Its ladyfingers in tamarind sauce.Can be eaten with hot rice or dosa. Yes pulusu is a good combination with dosa, be it fish pulusu or bendakaya pulusu.

 How to make bendakaya pulusu?

•  Heat oil in a kadai, when hot add four dry red chillies and 1tsp rai. 
• Then add 1/4 tsp fenugreek (menthi) seeds, curry leaves few,4 garlic pods. Saute for a while, add 2 sliced onions and green chillies. Saute for one more minute. 
•  Now add 1 lb of bendakaya, a inch pieces.Add salt,turmeric powder,red chilly powder 1 tbsp, coriander powder 1 tbsp and cummin powder 1/2 tsp. 
• Mix well add tamarind juice (soak lemon size tamarind in hot water, squeeze the juice). Add one cup of water. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. 

 Quick reminder of the ingredients--

Bendakya (ladysfinger) 1 lb,Red chillies 4,Rai 1/4 tsp, Menthi 1/4 tsp ,Curry leaves few Onions 2 slices, Garlic pods 4, Turmeric powder a pinch, Salt to taste, Coriander powder 1 tbsp, Cummin powder 1/2 tsp, Red chill powder 1 tbsp, Tamarind a lemon size Oil 3 tbsp.

Curry Leaf Pepper Chicken

Ingredients:-

Chicken 1 1b
Oil 4 tbsp
Curry leaves 10-15 leaves
Saunf/fennel seeds 1 tbsp
Pepper powder 2 tbsp

Onion paste

Onions 2
Coconut powder fresh 5 tbsp
Chilly powder 1 tbsp
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Tomatoes 2
Ginger garlic paste 2 tbsp
Oil 2 tbsp

Take oil in a pan. When hot add onions, sauté for a minutes and add ginger garlic paste.

Sauté for another minute and add coconut powder,coriander powder,tomatoes and salt.    

Fry until tomatoes are just cooked. Make a fine paste. 

In a another pan take oil in a pan.Add saunf (fennel seeds) and curry leaves. Add chicken pcs. Add salt. Add crushed pepper.Add onion paste.

Mix well. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Once oil starts oozing, add crushed pepper and mix well.

Serve hot with paratha or with plain rice.

Sour Cream Cookies

 

Ingredients:-

All purpose flour 1 1/2 cup
Sour cream 1/3 cup
Sugar 1 cup
Baking powder 1 tsp
Baking soda 1/4 tsp
Salt a pinch
Butter 1/3 cup
Vanilla essence 1/4 tsp
Egg 1

Method:-

Beat sugar and butter until smooth.

Mix flour, salt,baking powder and baking soda.

Add egg and vanilla essence. Mix thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients.

Mix thoroughly. Pre-heat oven for 375 degrees Celsius.

Butter  the baking tray.

Take a small scope of the batter and place them on the tray with space between each cookie.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Beans fry with sesame seeds

It's summer time here and kids at home. They get bored sitting at home for the full week and i have to entertain them during weekends, i am not getting time to blog or do my crochet. More two week for the school and they can't wait for it. Last week done some back to school shopping and this week will be doing more shopping. Have been cooking a lot but no time to post the recipes here. This beans fry was done by husband and it tasted awesome. This fry is similar to what we used in eat in a veg thali at Amaravati in dubai/sharjah... Here is the recipe :-

Ingredients:-

Beans 1 lb
Ria/mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
Dry red chillies 4
Curry leaves few
Turmeric powder a pinch
Salt to taste
Coriander powder 1 tbsp
Oil 2/3 tbsp

Sesame powder

Cumin 1 tbsp
Sesame 4 tbsp
Coconut powder 2 tbsp
Garlic 1
Salt as per  taste
Red chilly powder 1 tbsp

Dry roast all the above and make coarse powder.

Method:-

Take oil in a pan. When hot add mustard seeds, dry red chillies

and curry leaves.

Add beans,turmeric powder and salt.

Cover and cook until beans are tender and soft.

Sprinkle the sesame powder. Mix well and add coriander powder.

Mushroom Mint Pulao

Ingredients:-

Rice 1 cups
Mushroom 1/2 lb
Mint 1/2 cup
Ghee 1 tbsp
Bay leaf
Cinnamon 1/2 inch
Clove 3
Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds 1/2 tsp
Onions 1 sliced
Salt to taste
Green chillies 2

Method:-

Heat ghee. When hot add all the masala and onions.

Saute for a while. Now add green chillies and mushroom.

Fry for another 2-3 minutes. Then add chopped mint.

Saute for another 2 minutes. Add 2 cups of water.

Add salt, when water reaches boiling point add rice.

Cover and cook on a slow flame until rice is cooked and no water left.

Mix gently and serve with curry of your choice.

Isn't the recipe very easy to make :)

Hyderabadi Dum Ka Chicken

This is one more  delicacy of hyderabadi cusine which is must for any functions in hyderabad. Chicken is cooked in a slow flame for 45 minutes. The vessel is sealed with dough similar to dum biryani preparation so that steam doesn't escape and chicken is cooked slowly. Here is the recipe:-

Ingredients:-

Chicken 1 lb
Oil 4 tbsp
Chopped mint 1/4 cup
Chopper Coriander 1/4 cup
Fried onions 2
Green chilly paste (paste of 4 chillies)
Ginger garlic paste 2 tbsp
Curd 1/4 cup
Cinnamon stick 1 inch pc (2)
Cardamom 2
Cloves 4
Shahi zeera 1 tbsp
Cumin powder 1 tsp
Coriander powder 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
Chilly powder 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Chirongi and cashew paste (take 2 tbsp of chirongi and 10-12 cashews and make a fine paste)
Lemon juice 2 tbsp

Mix all the ingredients and add 1 cup of water. Keep in the fridge for 3-4 hours.

Method:-

Take a heavy bottom vessel. Place the chicken marination in it.

Place the vessel on the flame. Seal the lid with dough such a way that the steam should not escape.

Let it be on high for 3 minutes and put it on a medium heat for half an hour.

Then place a pan under the vessel and cook for another 15 minutes.

Serve hot with rice of your choice or rotis.

Ajwain Paratha

 

Ingredients:-

Wheat flour 2 cups
Water to make dough
Salt to taste
Ajwain 2 tbsp
Oil for frying paratha

Make a soft dough with flour,salt and water. Let it rest for 1 hr.

Sprinkle dry flour on a board. Take medium size ball and roll into a round disc. Spread oil and sprinkle ajwain. Fold the round disc, first vertically both sides and horizontally both sides. It should look like a square.

Again sprinkle dry flour and roll the square into a 1/2 inch thick roti.

Place a tawa on fire. Spread a tsp oil and place roti on the oil.

Both on the both side flipping the roti couple of times.

Serve hot with any curry of your choice or just plain curd/yogurt and mixed pickle.

Fried Phool Makhana / desi popcorn

Phool Makhana is new to me. I had makhana curry in a punjabi restaurant  and loved the taste. Brought this makhana from a indian grocery store. And while browsing Vah chef videos came across this quick, easy and tasty snack. It just took 5-10 minutes to make this desi popcorn and calls for very few ingredients.

Ingredients:-

Phool Makhana 1 cup
Ghee 3 tbsp
Salt as per taste
Red chilly powder 1/2 tsp

Method:-

Mix Ghee with salt and red chilly powder.

Take a pan. When hot add makhana. Saute for 5 minutes and to check if makhana is fried, take one into your mouth and when you bite it you should hear the sound.

Add ghee mixture and mix well. Take out immediately from the stove and serve warm.