IDLI-DOSA CHUTNEY POWDER

 IDLI-DOSA CHUTNEY POWDER

With idli and dosa being perennial favorites in South Indian homes, there is always the need to have freshly made chutney and or chutney powder as accompaniments for them. 

There are many methods of making chutney powder at home. The ingredients vary from recipe to recipe.  Today's recipe is for an easy-to-make Chutney Powder using Urad Dal and Chana Dal. I normally use the less spiced Byadgi Red Chillies in all my cooking. I mention this because the number of red chillies we use for this Chutney Powder will depend on the type of chillies used, apart from your taste, of course. 

This Chutney Powder goes great with both idlis and dosas..

Please do try it out and I am sure you will like it as much as we do. 

Ingredients:-

• Urad Dal ( Black Gram Dal) , 3/4 cup
• Chana Dal ( Bengal Gram), 1/4 cup
• Byadgi Red Chillies, 12
• White Sesame Seeds , (Til) 2 tbsp
• Hing ( Asafoetida), pea-sized ball or Hing Powder, 1/4 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, 1 tsp

Method:-

 In a thick bottomed kadhai, heat 1 tsp of oil and on medium heat add the asafoetida and sauté till it becomes fragrant. Keep aside

In the same kadhai, roast the Byadgi Red Chillies till they become crisp. Keep aside.

Next roast the white sesame seeds till they change colour. Keep aside. 

Now roast the Urad Dal and Chana Dal separately till they turn slightly golden

Allow the roasted ingredients to cool

In a mixer jar, grind together the roasted red chillies, asafoetida, white sesame seeds and the roasted dals along with salt to taste to a coarse powder

Once the Chutney Powder cools completely transfer it to an airtight jar/container

Serve with idl-dosa with a dash of ghee or oil of your choice. I usually serve this with coconut oil.

DAL DOSA

DAL DOSA

The dosa is one of the most common breakfast items, especially in the South of India. It comes in many variations depending on the ingredients that go into making these crisp crepes, normally made from a batter of rice and lentils. Apart from the conventional Dosa, you will find recipes in this blog for other types of dosas such as Moong Dal Dosa, Paper Dosa, and Masoor Dal Dosa.

This recipe for Dal Dosa is adapted from one shared by my friend, Priya R. Shenoy in a cookery group in which we are members. The advantage of this dosa is that it is made without rice and one saves time as no fermentation is required. It is therefore helpful to those with diabetes and others who wish to avoid/minimise the use of rice.

Ingredients:

• Urad Dal, (Black Gram Dal), 1 cup
• Chana Dal, ( Bengal Gram Dal), 1/2 cup
• Peppercorns, 1 tsp
• Ginger, 1 " piece
• Green Chillies, 2-3, or as per taste
• Haldi (Turmeric ) Powder, 1/2 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, as required to prepare dosas

Method:

Wash and soak the urad dal and chana dal together for 4-5 hours
Crush the green chillies, ginger, and peppercorns together
In a mixer, grind the soaked dals along with the crushed green chillies, ginger, peppercorns, and turmeric powder to a semi-thick batter adding the required amount of water

Add salt to taste and mix well
This batter does not require any fermentation and you can make dosas immediately 

Process for making dosas is already given in the linked post for Dosas
As per your choice, you can make thick dosas or thin and crisp ones
Serve hot with chutney of your choice

DOCE DE GRÃO: GUEST POST BY FREDA DIAS

DOCE DE GRAO: GUEST POST BY FREDA DIAS

Let me start by wishing my friend and fellow blogger, Freda Dias a Very Happy Birthday. May all her dreams come true! This talented young lady readily accepted my request to contribute a Guest Post. She has an interesting blog called, "Aromatic Essence" in which you will find a nice collection of  recipes for some yummy dishes supplemented with attractive pictures.

Freda says this dish gets its name from the Portuguese words, Doce for "Sweet" and Grao for "Grain/Bean. She adds, "This is almost like a fudge made of chana dal (split Bengal gram), freshly grated coconut, sugar and flavoured with cardamom. It is quite a tedious and time consuming dessert, but the results are so worth it."

Thanks so much, Freda for your recipe and pictures. Have a great birthday and year ahead. 

Ingredients:

• 250 grams Chana Dal ( split Bengal gram)
• 200 grams Desiccated Coconut * see notes
• 450 grams Granulated Sugar * see notes
• 1/2 tsp Green Cardamom Powder
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp Ghee
• 1 tsp Salt

Preparation:

1. Rinse and soak the chana dal in sufficient water for about 3-4 hours. Discard the water. Pressure cook the dal with about 2 cups of water and salt until tender (or you can also boil the dal with enough water until it is cooked through). Once the pressure settles down, open the lid, discard any excess water if present. Let it come to room temperature. Grind the dal to a smooth paste without adding any water.

2. Next grind the desiccated coconut fine.

3. In a heavy bottomed dry pot, add the chana dal paste, ground coconut and sugar.

4. Keep stirring continuously (or else the bottom might get burnt) for about 15 minutes on medium heat. Now add the ghee and cardamom powder, reduce the heat to low, continue stirring (back and forth rather than clockwise or anti-clockwise direction, because the mixture gets pretty tough to mix) until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and almost comes together like a soft dough.

5. Line a wooden board with parchment paper, grease it with little ghee. Now transfer the prepared dough mixture to the parchment paper. Place another parchment paper over it, roll it gently to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Let it cool. Cut into diagonals or any other shape. (You can skip the whole parchment paper, and put it directly on the board or any other flat surface, I like using parchment paper for easier clean up). You can also spread this dough in a greased thali (stainless steel shallow dish)

Notes: 

1. Traditionally freshly grated coconuts are used, but when making this at home all the stirring gets quite overwhelming, desiccated coconut makes it easier as most of the moisture is removed, which means lesser stirring time.The taste was as good as using fresh coconut. You can use either!

2. The quantity of sugar is double to that of the chana dal, 450 grams of sugar gives enough sweetness which is okay with us. If you want it more sweeter please feel free to add another 50 grams.

3. I use a cook top with electric coils so the timings may vary a little, if you use a gas cook top. Either ways remember to keep the heat on medium. 

STEAMED MASALA VADA ( TADKA PAKODA)

STEAMED MASALA VADA ( TADKA PAKODA)

 This healthier version of masala vada is made by steaming the dumplings. Thanks to my friend, Jayashri Shenoy who pointed this dish to me. It was delicious and I shall make this from time to time as a snack for the health conscious.

I used Saffola cooking oil instead of ghee and reduced the amount of coconut gratings for the seasoning. I have adapted this dish from the Vah Chef website of Chef Sanjay Thumma mainly because I like masala vada and this particular recipe did not call for deep frying.

Ingredients:

• Chana Dal,  ( Split Chickpeas), 2 cups
• Onions, finely chopped, 1
• Ginger, finely chopped, 1 small piece
• Red Chillies, 3-4, or to taste
• Curry leaves, a few
• Peppercorns, 1 tsp
• Cooking Soda, 1/2 tsp
• Ghee/Oil, 1 tsp
• Lime Juice, 1 tbsp
• Salt, to taste

For Seasoning:

• Cooking Oil, 1 tbsp 
• Mustard Seeds, 1 tsp
• Curry leaves, a few
• Turmeric ( Haldi), 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida (Hing), a pinch
• Coconut Gratings, 1 and 1/2 tbsp
• Salt, a little
• Sugar, 1 tsp
• Lime Juice, 1 tbsp

Method:

Firstly, wash the chana dal and soak it for 3-4 hours. Drain all the water and keep the dal aside.
In a mixer, add red chillies, onions, ginger, curry leaves, peppercorns, salt, chana dal, and cooking soda and grind to a coarse paste, without adding any water.
Transfer the ground paste to a bowl
Add a little ghee/oil and lime juice, and mix well. The addition of the lime juice helps the vadas come out soft.
From the ground paste, make small bite-size dumplings.
In a steamer or pressure cooker (without putting the weight), steam cook the dumplings for 10 minutes. Remove and allow them to cool.
In a pan, heat ghee/oil for tempering. When the ghee/oil is hot, add mustard seeds.
When they crackle, add red chillies, pinch of hing, haldi powder, curry leaves, freshly grated coconut, very little salt, sugar, lime juice, and mix well.
Add the steam cooked dumplings to the tempering and saute them gently for a few minutes
Remove and serve hot

MADGANE : TRADITIONAL KONKANI SWEET DISH

MADGANE : TRADITIONAL KONKANI SWEET DISH

"Madgane" (actually pronounced "mud-ga-ne.") is a well-known Konkani sweet dish made of chana dal (Bengal gram dal) and jaggery with the richness of coconut milk.

This is traditionally cooked during our festive occasions and can best be described as a "payasa" of sorts. This reminds me of the elaborate meal served on the banana leaf on such occasions where the last item to be served is the madgane, which is then quickly slurped off the leaf !!

 Ingredients:

• Chana Dal (Bengal Gram dal ), 1/2 cup
• Rice Flour, 2 tbsp
• Coconut Gratings, 2 cups
• Jaggery, grated, 1 cup, or as per taste
• Tender Cashew Nuts, 10-15
• Raisins, 1 tbsp
• Cardamom Powder, 1/2 tsp
• Ghee, a little for roasting raisins

 Method:

Soak tender cashew nuts for a couple of hours. Peel and break into halves. Cook them and keep aside.
In a kadai, dry roast the chana dal over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until it gives off a good aroma.
Wash the roasted chana dal, add 2 cups of water and cook it in a pressure cooker for 3 whistles or till it is soft, but not mushy. Allow the cooker to cool, remove the cooked dal and keep aside.
In a mixer, grind the coconut gratings and extract the thick milk. Keep aside.
Grind the coconut gratings once again, adding a little water, to extract the thin milk.
Next, add the rice flour to the thin coconut milk and mix it evenly
Add grated jaggery to the cooked chana dal and cashew nuts
Combine this with the mixture of rice flour and thin coconut milk
Boil this stirring continuously
Finally, add the thick coconut milk, and boil for a minute more
Now add the cardamom powder and garnish with raisins roasted in ghee
Serve hot or cold, as per your preference.