Rava idli

I am not a big fan of idli. But this version of idli, I like because it is loaded with veggies and the best thing is it is instant. No soaking, grinding, fermenting.

Rava Idli

Ingredients:

Roasted upma rava	1 cup
Carrots(finely diced)	1/2 cup
Beans(finely diced)	1/2 cup
Green Chillies(finely chopped(	2
Yogurt	1/2 cup
Salt	as required
Cilantro(finely chopped)	2 tsp
Baking soda	2 pinches

Seasoning:

Oil/Ghee	2 tsp
Cashews	6
Mustard seeds	1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds	1/2 tsp
Curry leaves	5

Procedure:

I used roasted upma rava. If using regular sooji, just roast the rava in a pan for few seconds without oil.

Add the chopped carrots,beans and green chillies to the roasted upma rava. Mix with yogurt. Add salt.

Make in to a thick paste. Add water if required. The batter should be thicker than regular idli batter. Now let it soak for 10-15 minutes.

Now, if the batter is too hard, add more water.

For tempering, add oil the pan, add the seasoning ingredients in order and when the seeds start spluttering, add it to the rava-yogurt mix.

Add the chopped cilantro leaves.

With a spoon add the batter to the idli plates and steam cook them in am idli cooker for 10-12 minutes and the idlis are done.

Serve with coconut chutney or sweet allam pachadi.

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Vegetable Fried Rice

This is indian chinese style vegetable fried rice. One of my favorites and an instant food if you have left over rice.    

Could there be a better way to use the left over rice than loading up with tons of fresh vegetables and make it complete sumptuous nutritional meal?  I had some left over rice from the previous day and made this yummy colorful fried rice. I added more vegetables to make it more nutritious.      

I generally cut carrots and beans into small pieces and keep them in my freezer. That makes it even more easy to cook this rice. All you have to do is heat the oil in a pan, toss in the veggies, add rice and spice it up with the sauces. As simple as that. It looks so colorful that its is appealing even for kids.      

Vegetable Fried Rice

Ingredients:

Cooked rice	1 cup
Carrots(finely diced)	1/2 cup
Cabbage(finely chopped)	1/2 cup
Beans(finely diced)	1/2 cup
Green onions/spring onions (very finely chopped)	2 tbsp
Bell Pepper/ Capsicum (finely diced)	1/4 cup
Salt	as required
Oil	2 tsp
Soy sauce	2 tsp
Chilli sauce	1 tsp
Pepper powder	1 tsp

Procedure:
Add oil to the pan.
Add the diced carrots, beans, cabbage and capsicum and stir fry them on high flame.
The vegetables should not be over cooked. When the vegetables are crispy and half-cooked add the rice and mix well.
Add soy sauce, hot sauce. Add pepper and adjust the salt.
Sprinkle the green onions on top and serve.      

Suggestions:      

I use the sriracha chilli sauce. But any kind of chilli sauce can be used.
You can even add scrambled egg to the rice.
1/2 tsp lemon juice can be added to the rice.      

It’s always better to use previous day’s rice. But if you do not have any left over rice, you can chill the fresh cooked rice in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before you prepare the fried rice. If the rice is hot, it becomes mushy when you mix with vegetables.      

I used the Julienne style peeler to cut the carrot into long strips, but I generally dice them into small pieces.

Chinese Fried Rice With Vegetables

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Besan dosa

Besan Dosa

 

Ingredients:

Besan(Chickpea flour)	1/2 cup
Rice flour	1 cup
Green Chilli paste	1 tsp
Ajwain seeds	1 tsp
Curry leaves	5
Water	3.5- 4  cups
Salt	as required
Oil	2 tbsp

Procedure: 

Mix the rice flour and besan in the water and add all the remaining ingredients and mix well. 

Set it aside for 10 – 15 minutes. 

Heat the dosa tava/pan on high flame and when the pan is heated enough pour the dosa batter with ladle on the pan. 

Now reduce the heat and pour oil with a spoon around the dosa and let it cook. 

Turn the dosa to the other side and cook for few more seconds. 

repeat the process with the remaining batter. Serve with coconut chutney. 

Tip: Make sure the dosa pan is on high flame when pouring the batter and then reduce it to medium while the dosa is cooking.

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Yellow Peas Curry

Yellow Peas Curry

 

Ingredients:

Tomatoes	2 medium – sized
Onion	1 Large – sized
Yellow Peas	3/4 cup
Cilantro leaves(finely chopped)	1 tbsp
Ginger Garlic Paste	1 tsp
Lemon Juice	1 tbsp
red chilli powder	1 tsp
Garam masala	1/2 tsp
Dhania-Jheera powder	1 tsp
Oil	3 tsp
Salt	as required

Seasoning:

Mustard seeds	1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds	1/2 tsp
Curry leaves	5
Turmeric	1/4 tsp
Asafetida/hing	1 pinch

Procedure:  

Soak the yellow peas over night.  

Pressure cook the soaked peas and keep them aside.  

Finely chop the onions and tomatoes.  

Add oil to the pan and add the seasoning ingredients in order and when the seeds start spluttering, add ginger garlic paste and onions. Adding little salt to the onions cooks them fast.  

When the onions turn brown and soft, add the tomatoes and cook them together. When the oil starts oozing out, add the garam masala, dhania-jheera powder and red chilli powder and mix well.  

Now add the cooked peas and add water. Let the peas cook in the onion tomato gravy for another 10 minutes. Adjust the salt and add the lemon juice.  

Garnish with chopped cilantro.  

Serve with rice or roti.  

This can be used as ragada with alu tikkis.

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Panakam n Vadapappu for Sree Rama Navami

Panakam, Vadapappu

Panakam in sanskrit means sweet drink. It is made by adding jaggery to water.

Vadapappu is a salad made with moong dal. Panakam and vadapappu are made and served to god on the festival of Sree Rama Navami.

Foodzone wishes you all a very Happy Sree Rama Navami.

Panakam:
Ingredients:

Jaggery	3 medium sized blocks
Sonti(Dry Ginger)	1/4 tbsp
Water	3 cups
Pepper corns	4
Cardamom/Elachi	2
Lemon juice	1 tsp

Procedure:

Add jaggery to the water and let it dissolve completely in the water.

Gently mash cardamom and pepper with pestle and add them to the jaggery water.

Add lemon juice and dried ginger. Serve chilled.

Vadapappu:

Ingredients:

Moong dal	5 tbsp
Carrot	1
Kheera/Cuke	1/2
Grated coconut	1/2 tbsp
Green Chillies	2
Cilantro(finely chopped)	1 tbsp
Salt	as required
Lemon Juice	1 tbsp

Procedure:

Soak moong dal in water for an hour.

Finely chop green chillies, Kheera and grate the carrot.

Drain the water from the moong dal and add the green chillies, grated carrot, cucumber and grated coconut to the moong dal.

Add salt and lemon juice.

Garnish with finely chopped cilantro.

 

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Spicy Eggplant(Karam Vankaya)

Spicy Eggplant

Eggplant is one vegetable that can be cooked in some hundred different ways. This is one simple and easy recipe that can be made when your taste buds crave for something spicy.

Ingredients:

Eggplant	4
Red chillies	3
Cumin seeds	2 tbsp
Cilantro leaves(finely chopped)	2 tsp
Garlic	1 pod
Lemon Juice	1 tbsp
Oil	1 cup
Salt	as required

Procedure:

I used round small eggplants. But any kind of eggplant can be used for this recipe.

Cut the eggplants length wise in to half and deep fry them in oil and keep them aside.

For the filling, fry cumin seeds, garlic and red chillies in a pan without oil.

Then grind them in a spice grinder with sufficient salt and add this powder on the fried eggplant pieces.

Sprinkle lemon juice and garnish with cilantro.

Serve with hot steamed rice.

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Nimmakaya Pappucharu/Lentil lemon soup

Nimmakaya Pappucharu

 Ingredients:

Tomatoes	1 medium – sized
Onion	1/2 Large – sized
Green Chillies	3
Cilantro leaves	10-15
Garlic	1 pod
Lemon Juice	1 tbsp
Toor dal	1/2 cup
Salt	as required
Ghee	1 tbsp

Seasoning:

Urad dal	1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds	1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds	1/2 tsp
Curry leaves	5
Broken red chillies	2
Turmeric	1/4 tsp
Asafetida/hing	1 pinch

Procedure: 

Boil toor dal with water in a pressure cooker adding salt and turmeric powder. 

Mash the boiled dal evenly in to a smooth paste without any lumps. 

Add more water to the dal and keep boiling on a low flame. 

Chop the onions length wise. Cut the tomatoes into medium size pieces. 

Cut the green chillies length wise. 

Now add ghee to a pan and add the seasoning ingredients in order mentioned and when the seeds start spluttering add onions, tomatoes, garlic and green chillies and fry them together. 

When the onions turn soft and brown add them to the boiling dal. Add salt as required. 

Boil dal for another 5-10 minutes and turn off the stove. Add the lemon juice.

Garnish with cilantro. 

Serve with steamed rice.

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Creamy Tomato Soup

Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

Tomatoes	3 medium – sized
Onion	1/2 Large – sized
Mint leaves	5
Garlic	1 pod
Cloves	3
Whole pepper	5
Milk	1/2 cup
All purpose flour/Maida	2 tbs
Bay leaves	2
Heavy whipping cream	2 tsp
Salt	as required
Pepper Powder	1 tsp
Unsalted Butter	1/4 stick
Sugar	1 tbsp
Bread croutons	10

Procedure: 

The process involves preparing the white sauce with all purpose flour and mixing it with the pureed tomato. 

Chop the tomatoes and onions into medium size pieces and pressure cook them with mint leaves, cloves, garlic, pepper corns, salt and bay leaves adding sufficient water. 

Puree the above cooked contents in a blender and strain to remove the seeds and the unwanted pulp. 

Boil the purree adding some water if it is toot thick. 

While the tomato puree  is boiling prepare the white sauce. Do not make this befor eyou have the puree ready. It forms lumps. 

To prepare the white sauce, mix all purpose flour in 1/4 cup of milk. 

Add butter to the pan and when the butter is melted, add the milk and the all purpose flour mixture and keep stirring. 

When it becomes little thick, add it to the tomato puree mixture that is already boiling. 

Add the remaining milk and the sugar to the boiling puree and adjust the salt. Once the soup gets teh required consistency turn off the stove and let it cool. 

Add heaving whipping cream,  pepper powder  and bead croutons just before serving. 

Suggestions: If you do not have the bread croutons, you can cut the bread into sam;l squares and deep fry them in oil or toast them in a toaster oven.

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Egg Fried Rice

Egg Fried Rice

Ingredients:

Eggs	3
Basmati Rice	1 cup
Mint leaves	10-15
Onions	1/2 Large – sized
Cloves	3
Salt	as required.
Oil	2 tbsp
Cinnamon	small piece
Cardamom/Elachi	1
Ginger Garlic Paste	1 tsp
lemon juice	1/2 tbsp
Pepper	1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder	1/2 tsp
Green Chillies	3

Procedure:

Cook the rice with 1.5 cups of water and let it cool.

Cut the onions length wise.

Remove stems from green chillies and cut them length wise.

Finely chop the mint leaves.

Add oil to the pan and saute the onions  until they are golden brown in color. Add little salt while sautéing onions.

Now add ginger garlic paste, green chillies, mint leaves, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon stick and fry for 2 minutes.

Now break the eggs and add them to the onion mixture. Mix the mixture thoroughly and cook until the egg mixture becomes like scrambled egg.

Now add the cooked rice to the egg mixture and mix well adding more salt, garam masala powder and pepper.

Add the lemon juice and mix well.

Serve with raita.

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Black Bean and Corn salad

Black Bean Salad

 Ingredients:

Black Beans:	1 can
Whole kernel corn:	1/2 can
Bell Pepper:	1/2(finely chopped)
Tomatoes:	1 medium – sized (finely chopped)
Onions:	1 medium – sized (finely chopped)
Salt:	as required.
Sugar:	1 tsp.
Extra virgin olive oil:	1 tbsp
Cilantro:	(finely chopped)
White wine venigar:	1/2 tsp
lemon juice:	1 tbsp

Procedure:

Mix all the ingredients, refrigerate for 30 minutes and serve.

This was big hit in my house. My little girl just loved it.

 

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