QUICKFIRE RAVA IDLI

Hi all, this recipe is perfect when you want to make something quick when some guests show up or you are too tired to make something. This one comes out really well when you make it right. My relative Santhy gave me this recipe and I have followed it since and make it often now. All credit to her for this one, here it goes

QUICKFIRE RAVA IDLI

INGREDIENTS

Rava (Sooji coarse): 3 1/2 cups

Buttermilk (storebought 2%): 3 1/2 cups

Salt as required

Baking Soda and Baking powder: 1/8th tsp and 1/4 tsp respectively

Oil: 2-3 Tsp for greasing the idli plates and tadka

Jeera: 1-2 Tsp

Red Chilli: 1

Green chili: 1

Coriander and Curry leaves: 1 Tbsp chopped

Hing (Asafoetida): 1/4th Tsp

                                

                                    

Quickfire Rava Idli

MAKING

In a bowl, put in the Rava, salt, baking powder, and baking soda mix well. Add in the buttermilk. Mix the batter thoroughly and set it aside for at least 20-30 minutes. 

After 20-30 minutes, add in the chopped coriander-curry leaves. Now for tadka, in a tadka pan, add 1 Tsp oil, add some jeera, red chili, green chilies, Hing. Once the jeera turns aromatic, add the tadka to the batter. 

Finally, grease the idli plates with oil. Take a ladle, pour the batter into the idli plate and place it inside the pressure-cooker, and steam for about 6-8 minutes. Remove from gas, and voila, soft fluffy Rava Idli's are ready to eat. Serve them hot with molagapodi, sambhar, or any chutney.

TIPS/VARIATIONS

The key to getting this Rava Idli soft and fluffy is the buttermilk, it has to be store-bought. I use the Harris teeter 2% or the Aldis low fat one. 

You could add ginger (1Tsp chopped) when doing the tadka, to add to the taste.

INSTANT CILANTRO-CURRY LEAVES THOGAYAL

Hi all, it's been a while but here I am. This recipe comes from my Mother's kitchen. If I have some creative genes, it's only because of her, she is amazingly creative. I was talking to her the other day and she told me about this quick recipe and how delicious it was. I decided to try it and with her permission posting it here so others can try it out and enjoy the same.

Its called 

INSTANT CILANTRO-CURRY LEAVES THOGAYAL

INGREDIENTS

Coriander leaves (Kothamalli) : 1/2 cup

Curry leaves: 1/4th cup

Ginger: 1 medium piece about 2 tbsp if chopped

Green Chilli: 1

Jaggery : 1 tbsp

Coconut: 1 Tbsp

Tamarind: 1 tsp or small penny sized

Salt as required

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

Red Chilli: 1 medium

Hing a pinch

Oil : 1 Tsp

                                    

Cilantro-Curry leaves Thogayal/Chutney

MAKING

Grind the Ginger, Coriander leaves, curry leaves, tamarind, coconut, jaggery, Green chilli and salt into a thick coarse thogayal consistency. You could add a bit of water to grind.

For tadka, add oil, once heated, add mustard seeds, Hing, Red chilli, once the mustard splutters, add it to the chutney/thogayal.

Simple, easy chutney.thogayal is ready to eat. if you made thogayal ( thicker variety, you could mix it to rice with sesame oil and eat it. If you made the chutney variety, you could serve it as a side to dosa/idli and even as a side to Molagutal

TIPS/VARIATIONS

I made the chutney style, so I added more coconut (1 cup) than mentioned above and more water, however if you want to make the thogayal style, then follow the above measurements. 

Tadka is optional, you could make it without the tadka too.

Instant Milk Peda

Hi all, So for the festive season of Diwali, decided to make Peda which is a very popular Indian sweet, made with Milk solids (Mawa). However, did not want to spend too much time on it so browsed and came across this recipe. It was easy with very less ingredients however was not easy to make as it required a lot of effort to get the right consistency and texture. But overall, the dish came out very well so wanted to share my experience on it, here it goes

INSTANT MILK PEDA

INGREDIENTS

Condensed Milk: 1 tin or 1 cup

Milk Solids ( Mawa): 1 and a 1/2 cup

Cardamom powder: 1 TSP powdered

NUTS for Garnish

Saffron for color (Optional)

Ghee or Clarified Butter: 1 Tbsp

Milk: 1 Tbsp

                                          

Instant Milk Peda

MAKING

Take a deep bottomed pan and keep the gas in low, add 2 Tsp Ghee, then add in the condensed milk. Also, add the Milk solids, mix it thoroughly, and keep stirring. You will notice the condensed milk becoming thinner and the milk solids melting into it making it a semi-liquid mixture. 

Keep stirring, you will start noticing that the semi-liquid mixture is slowly turning thicker leaving the sides of the pan. At this time, add some more ghee and 1 Tbsp milk with the cardamom powder. Mix it well and again stir until it thickens.

If you are using saffron strands, first dissolve it in the milk and then add the saffron-colored milk to the peda mixture above.

You will see the mixture, almost like a soft dough consistency leaving the sides and not attached to the bottom either. Switch off the gas, allow it to cool. Make flat cylindrical balls placing them in your palm and your fingers. Insert a nut in the center as a garnish.

The peda consistency has to appear hard but soft on touch. Most importantly it should melt in your mouth.

Delicious peda is ready, serve it at room temperature.

TIPS/VARIATIONS

You could add other flavors to it if needed.

The most tedious part for me was stirring to get the right consistency. So having a heavy spatula helped a lot.

I used a fork to make designs on the peda and it came out really well.

I did not have saffron strands hence had to do without it. The color was a beautiful shade of cream. 

I added pumpkin seed as a garnish to get a contrast in color.

Green Tomato Pitla

Hi All, it has been a while but here I am with another recipe. So, this time I had a bumper harvest of tomatoes and lots of it green and I had no idea what to do with them. Of curse, some of them turned red after a while but I just had too many and couldn't wait for so long. So my mother-in-law suggested to me about this one and shared the recipe, it's a south Indian gravy-like Sambhar called Pitla. Traditionally its made with Bitter Gourd (Parikkai/Pavakkai) but here it's using green tomatoes.

INGREDIENTS

Green Tomatoes: 5-6 medium chopped into cubes

Tamarind juice: 1 cup

Toor Dal: 1 cup cooked in the pressure cooker

Pitla powder: Red Chilli (2), Urad dal (2 Tsp), Black Pepper (2 Tsp)

Curry leaves: 6-7

Salt as required

Oil for Tadka

Turmeric powder: 1/4th Tsp

Mustard seeds: 1/2 Tsp

Green Tomatoes

                               

Green Tomato Pitla

MAKING

Pressure cook the toor dal and keep aside. In a bowl, boil 1 cup Tamarind juice and chopped Green tomatoes with required salt and turmeric powder.

Fry the pitla curry ingredients until light brown, you could double the quantity of each ingredient if you want to add more spice. You can dry fry it or fry it in 1/4th Tsp oil.

Allow it to cool and grind it into a nice smooth powder. 

Add it to the boiling green tomatoes and cook again for a few minutes. Finally, add the cooked Toor dal and mix it well. Boil for a couple of minutes. Switch off the gas.

For Tadka, in a pan, pour 1 Tsp oil, in it add mustard seeds and once it splutters, add it to the pitla and garnish with fresh curry leaves.

Delicious, Green tomato Pitla is ready to eat. Serve it with cooked rice and a veggie side. 

TIPS/VARIATIONS

As I said, it's traditionally made with Bitter-Gourd, but the Pitla curry powder is the same. You could make a lot of Pitla powder and store it in an airtight container. Do not over boil or overcook the tomatoes as doing so would make it mushy.