Little Millet Pongal / Saamai Pongal

After more than an year, I am trying to get hold of my blogs again!! ...to start with, a quick and yummy meal. :)

Ingredients 
Little millet / Saamai - 1/2cup
Yellow Moong dal / Paasi paruppu - Little less than 1/2cup
Crushed cumin seeds -1teaspoon
crushed pepper corns - 1teaspoon
Chopped ginger - 2teaspoons
Ghee - 2 teaspoons
Few curry leaves
Hing/Asafoetida - 1/4teaspoon

Method 
Wash and soak the little millet and moong dal to gather for 30 minutes.
In a pressure cooker, add the soaked millet and dal (without water) and add 2.5 cups of water and half cup of milk.
Add in the crushed cumin-pepper, ginger, curry leaves, ghee, hing along with enough salt.
Close the cooker and cook for 4 to 5 whistles. Let pressure settle down, open the cooker, add ghee roasted cashews (optional, i didn't add) and serve hot with your favorite side dishes like chutney, gothsu or sambar.

Reference : HERE

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Multigrain Poori

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour/ Aatta - 1 cup 

Ragi flour - 1/2 cup

Bajra flour / Kambu maavu- 1/2 cup 

All purpose flour/ Maida maavu -1/2cup

Sugar -1teaspoon

Salt

Water

Oil - to deep fry

Method

Combine all the flours in a bowl. Add salt and sugar. Mix well. 

Add enough water to make a stiff and smooth dough.

Keep it closed for 10 minutes. Make small balls out of the dough.

Roll them into small disks with uniform thickness.

Heat oil to deep fry and fry the poori's.

Healthy and yummy poori's are ready to serve. 

Serve hot with potato kurma or any other kurma of your choice. Coconut chutney and potato masala is the best combination! :) 

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Rava Upma / Uppuma

I have already posted Vegetable rava kichadi, long back. This one is the simple version with out any veggies and tastes good for a quick and simple breakfast or dinner. 

Ingredients

Rava - 1 cup

Water  -21/2 cups

Onion - 1/2 of an onion

Green chilly - 4 (adjust according to ur taste) 

Few curry leaves and cilantro

Desiccated coconut - 2teaspoons

Mustard seeds -1/2teaspoon 

Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Hing/Asafoetida - a very generous pinch 

Sugar - 1/2 teaspoon (optional)

Salt

Oil 

Method 

Dry roast the rava until you get a nice aroma and keep it aside.  

Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds, let it pop up. Then add hing and cumin seeds. [Be careful, don't burn the hing or cumin seeds, if burnt, they give a bitter taste]

Add chopped onions, green chillies and curry leaves. 

Saute the onions for few minutes, until they slightly change in color. Then add 2 and 1/2 cups of water. Add the coconut, salt and sugar. Let it boil nicely. 

Slowly add the rava, and keep mixing vigorously, with out any lumps. You may lower the flame while doing this. 

The upma will become slightly thick, at that point keep the flame low and close the pan with a lid and cook for 2-3 minutes. 

Open the pan, add chopped cilantro mix it well and put off the flame. 

Quick and tasty uppuma is ready to serve. Enjoy it with pickle and sugar or with coconut chutney/sambar. Tastes good as such!! :) 

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Chilli Egg Parotta

Ingredients

Frozen Parotta -2

Onion -1 (small)

Green chilly -1

Capsicum - 1

Tomato -1

Egg- 1

Ginger Garlic paste -1/2 teaspoon

Few curry leaves and cilantro 

Chilly powder -1/2teaspoon 

Coriander powder - 1/2teaspoon

Curry masala powder -1 teaspoon 

Maggi hot and sweet sauce - 3 teaspoons 

Salt

Oil 

Method 

1. Thaw the parotta and cook it as per the instructions on the pack. Let it cool down completely, then cut them into small pieces. I have used my kitchen scissors, you can tear them or cut them according to your convenience.  

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan and toast the parotta pieces. 

2. Toast the parotta on low medium heat until it turns little crispy, keep it aside.

3. Cube the onion, tomato, capsicum ( its missing in the immediate photo below) pieces. Finely chop the green chilly. Heat ( should be high flame)another tablespoon of oil, add the  ginger garlic paste, fry for a minute, then add cubed onion and green chilly pieces.  

Then add the cubed tomato and capsicum pieces..sauté in high flame until the tomato pieces becomes soft, add the chilly powder, coriander powder and curry masala powder. 

4. Give a quick toss, let the masala get coated with all the veggies. Now add the toasted patotta pieces. 

5. Add in the egg. 

5. Mix and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the maggi hot and sweet sauce.

6. Finally add in the chopped cilantro and curry leaves, and put off the flame.

Yummy quick fix dinner is ready..Serve hot with raita.

Note

If you want an egg free version, follow the process up to step - 4 and then add the sauce, curry leaves and cilantro and serve as plain chilly parotta.

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Multigrain Dosai

Ingredients

Wheat flour -1/4cup

Ragi maavu/ Finger millet flour -1/2cup

Kambu maavu/ Bajri flour - 1/2cup

Idli maavu / Idli batter - 1 big ladle

Salt

Water

Oil

Method

Combine wheat flour, ragi flour, bajri flour and salt in a bowl.

 Add a ladle of idli batter..

 Add enough water and mix it like dosa batter without lumps

 Heat a griddle and make dosa. Sprinkle some oil around the dosa, and let it cook.

 Flip the dosa after a few seconds and cook the other side.

Healthy dosa is ready to serve. Serve hot with some tangy, spicy chutney. We had it with tomato chutney. 

Note 
This dosa can be made instantly, just mix  the flours and make dosa right away, how ever you can let it ferment overnight and make dosa too. Personally I prefer the later. :) 

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Thengappoo Rotti / Coconut-Wheat Bread

This dish is a Srilankan dish, which I came to know from my friends. The addition of coconut makes this roti tastier. This can be prepared with all purpose flour/Maida, also. Usually it is served with "Idicha sambal" which is dry coconut chutney, shall post it soon. 

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour -11/2cups

Grated coconut-1/4 cup(can increase more for taste)

Chopped onion-1/2cup(can increase or decrease according to taste)

Green chilly-2(finely chopped)

Few curry leaves

Salt

Water

Method

Combine chopped onion, green chilly, curry leaves(which i haven't used here) in a wide bowl.

Add the whole wheat flour and enough salt.

Mix everything well, sprinkle little water at a time and start kneading.  Knead it into a stiff pliable dough and let it rest for at least one hour. (more time won't hurt)

Make small balls out of the dough. Use dry flour as needed..

Roll them into thin disks as we do for roti's.

Heat a griddle and cook the roti..sprinkle oil and let it cook for a few seconds.

Flip it over, sprinkle more oil and cook on low heat.

When the roti turns golden on both sides

Serve hot with pickle and yogurt.

Note
Add the water carefully as the onions we add in the dough tends to leave water. I have used dry flour to roll the roti's, but traditionally they are patted with hand, with dipping the hands in water often. I will try that method soon and update the recipe here.
Also, be generous with the oil and cook the roti's in low medium heat. Cooking on low heat with lots of oil enhances the taste. 

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Whole Urad Dal Idly/ Karuppu Ulunthu Idli

Ingredients

Boiled rice/Idli rice-2cups

Whole urad dal/Karuppu ulunthu paruppu-1/2cup

Methi seeds-1/2teaspoon

Salt

Method

Wash the rice few times and soak it with methi seeds for 6-8 hours.

Wash the urad dal few times and soak it for 6-8 hours. Keep the urad dal in the fridge for the last one hour.

Grind the urad dal (with skin) to a fine paste by adding little water in frequent time intervals.

Grind the rice and methi seeds and add it to the urad dal batter.

Add enough salt and mix it well with your hands.

Keep it in a warm place over night or 8 to 10 hours to ferment.

Heat  enough water in idli pot/idli cooker and make idli.

I use the idli pot, which takes about 7-10 minutes to cook the idlies.

Soft and healthy, protein packed idles are ready to serve.

Enjoy with your choice of chutney, sambar, and idli podi.

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Wheat Rava Pongal /கோதுமை ரவை பொங்கல்

This is venpongal recipe..instead of rice, I have used wheat rava/ cracked wheat/ godumai ravai.
Ingredients
Wheat Rava-3/4cup
Moong dal -1/4cup
Cashew nuts - few
Few curry leaves
Pepper corns-8(adjust to taste)
Cumin seeds-1teaspoon
Green chilly -1
Ghee-2 tablespoons
Salt
Method
1. Dry roast the moong dal until it emanates a nice aroma.
2. Combine tha roasted dal and wheat rava in a small pressure cooker.
3. Add  3 cups of water and pressure cook it for 3 whistles.

5. Heat a table spoon of ghee in a small pan, add the cashews and fry them golden brown. Then add crushed pepper corns and cumin seeds, slit green chilly.  Fry them for 30 seconds. 

6. Add the tempering to the pongal and mix it well. 

Add another tablespoon of ghee on the pongal and serve hot. 

Enjoy healthy wheat pongal with your choice of chutney - sambar or Gotsu. We had it with brinjal-potato gotsu.

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Cabbage & Wheat flour Adai

Ingredients

Wheat flour-1cup

Chopped onion-1/4cups

Chopped green chillies-3 (adjust to taste)

Chopped cilantro-2tablespoons

Grated coconut-1tablespoon

Salt

Water

Oil 

to saute 

Oil-1teaspoon

Cumin seeds-1/2teaspoon

Chopped cabbage-1/4cup

Method

Heat a teaspoon of oil, add the cumin seeds and let them splutter. 

Add the cabbage and sauté for 2-3minutes.

Let it cool down completely. 

Combine wheat flour-chopped onion-chopped green chillies-chopped cilantro-sauted cabbage-salt-grated coconut in a bowl. 

Add water to make a thick batter. The consistency should be thicker than the regular dosa batter.
Heat a griddle, make thick dosa with the mixed batter.
Drizzle oil and let it cook on one side, flip it and cook the other side as well.
Serve hot with your choice of side dish.

Any kind of pickle,  plain yogurt or coconut chutney will be a perfect side for this adai. Can have as such too..which is what obviously I did! ;) :). As I was in a hurry to make the dinner, I just sautéed the cabbage on the griddle itself! It makes the process faster. 

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