Leftover Chapati with Tadka

Leftovers is one thing that troubles all  housewives. A dish that was really appreciated when served for a meal will not be relished if served again at the next meal. Forget the family, even we don't like eating the same dish repeatedly. The only recourse then left is to change its taste and look and feel to make a completely different dish. So, dal is cooked till dry and transformed into filling for parathas, sabzi is re-seasoned with spices and made into koftas and so on. Today, I bring a transformation of the humble chapati or roti into an upma suitable for breakfast. It is difficult to predict how many rotis the family will eat at a meal and this is one food stuff that is many a times in excess.

 

This is a commonly made dish in Maharashtrian households and is called phodnichi poli / chapati translated to seasoned chapati or tadkewali roti. Previous night's chapati can easily be transformed into a breakfast dish in this way, rather than serving it reheated.  

Ingredients
Chapati - 5 to 6
Onion - 1, medium
Tomato - 1
Green chilli - 3 to 4
Red chilli pwd - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Dry red chillies - 1 to 2
Asafoetida pwd - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric pwd - 1tsp
Coriander sprigs - 2 to 3
Oil - 1.5 tbsp
Optional garnish
Crushed roasted peanuts - 2 tbsp
Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Tear the chapati into 1 inch pieces and keep in a bowl. Sprinkle some water and a little salt, mix well and keep covered till ready to cook. Chop onion, tomato, green chillies and coriander sprigs and keep aside.

Heat a kadai or pan and add the oil in. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and let the mustard seeds splutter. Tear the dry red chilli into 3 pieces and add along with the asafoetida powder into the oil and stir. Add the chopped onions and saute till light golden in color. Then add in the turmeric and red chilli powders and stir and follow it with the chopped tomato and green chilli and continue sauteeing till the tomato turns soft. To this mixture, add the chapati pieces and saute on medium heat. Check for seasoning and add salt if necessary and stir. Stir till the moisture evaporates from the chapati pieces. Garnish with coriander leaves and stir for a minute or two. Take it off the heat and serve with a wedge of lemon.

 

 

My Leftover Chapati with Tadka goes to - North East West Indian Cooking hosted by Anu.

 

Rice Sevai with Coconut Chutney

Rice Sevai is the Indian noodles of South India. Traditionally, making rice sevai was a long process - first rice dough was made, then it was pressed through a mould into noodles which was then streamed. Then these rice noodles / sevai were tempered and served with chutney. Today, making sevai is easy, cut open a pack and immerse it in boiling water for a couple of minutes and then drain the water out and temper it. And it is ready to serve with chutney. The chutney that is served with the Rice Sevai is a simple one, given in an earlier post here. It may be cheating but trust me, this rice sevai and coconut chutney combination is so simply tasty, especially when it is so easy to make.

I use the brand,  Concord rice seva and one packet is just enough for the two of us. The seva is in small pieces unlike noodles and takes just a few minutes to be cooked. All you have to do is put the sevai in a bowl and immerse it in salted boiling water and let it be for 3 to 4 minutes. Don't wait for the sevai to be completely cooked, drain it when there is still a bite to it because it will continue to cook when draining and tempering. Drain the water out with the help of a colander and fluff it a bit to keep it from sticking.

for the tempering

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Udad dal - 1/2 tsp

Dry red chilli - 2

Green chilli - 2

Break the dry red chilli into 1 inch pieces and slit the green chillies. Heat oil in a pan add the mustard seeds and udad dal and let the mustard seeds splutter. Immediately add the dry red chilli and green chilli pieces and saute for a minute. Keep the heat low and add the drained sevai and toss it well with the tempering so both are mixed well. Spread it out in the pan and let any leftover moisture evaporate. The rice sevai is served with Coconut Chutney - it's recipe is given in an earlier post here.

Rice sevai and chutney is mostly served for breakfast and occasionally for a light dinner.

 

Daliya Upma / Savory Bulgar with vegetables

Bulgar / broken wheat or daliya eaten in any form makes for a wholesome meal. It is a good source of fiber, iron and Vitamin B-6 and is believed to help in regulating sugar levels. At home, my mother makes daliya just like an upma. It is very easy to over cook or under cook daliya leaving a disgruntled eater behind. I wasn't fond of this upma also and hence did not try it out too often but the few times I attempted turned out to be an overcooked mass. But recently after making this a few times I did manage to make a good upma. I do think the Bulgar / Daliya upma tastes good with a few vegetables in it. Of course, it does give me the additional satisfaction that we increased our day's intake of vegetables.

Ingredients
Daliya - 1 cup
Onion - 1, large
Tomato - 1
Carrot, diced - 1/4 cup
Green Beans, chopped - 1/4 cup
Green Peas - 1/4 cup
Mustard seeds
Curry leaves - 5 to 6
Coriander leaves, chopped - 1 tbsp
Green chilli - 3
Coconut, grated - 2 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt as per taste

Chop the onions and green chillies and keep aside.
Heat a kadhai and add the oil. When the oil is hot add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Once spluttered add the chopped onions, chillies and curry leaves. Saute till the onions are light golden in color and then add the chopped tomato and saute again. After a minute add the chopped vegetables and stir on low heat. Season with salt and mix well. Add half a cup of water and cook till the vegetables are done and the water absorbed. Add 3 cups of water and give it one boil on high heat. Check for salt and adjust as required. Keep the heat on low and add the daliya in a steady stream stirring all the while. Cover the daliya with a lid for 5 minutes and let cook. Parallely keep an extra cup of water to warm, in case the daliya upma dries up and more water needs to be added. Take the lid off the kadhai and stir it occasionally so it does not catch the bottom. If the water is drying up then add the warm water little by little to cook the daliya. When done, stir in the grated coconut and chopped coriander leaves. Bring it all together in the center, and take off the heat. Cover with a lid for at least 5 minutes, after that take the lid off and fluff the upma before serving.

When serving add some more grated coconut and chopped coriander on the upma. Serve hot.

An Indian take on Pajeon, a Korean Spring Onion Pancake

I was searching for ideas to make vegetable pancakes and came across this Korean Spring Onion Pancake featured on maangchi.com. This Spring Onion pancake is similar to the Indian paratha where a vegetable and flour are the main ingredients. My pancake is a little of the Pajeon and a little of the Paratha recipe. The Pajeon uses all purpose flour and soybean paste and since I try and avoid all purpose flour and did not have soybean paste, I substituted these with whole wheat flour and a little salt. I am sure the pancake lost on the soybean paste flavor which I will try some time if I lay my hands on it here.

 

Any recipe including green vegetables is apt for this time of the year since the markets are currently flush with fresh greens. The green onions that are currently available are the tender with small bulbs and are just apt for this pancake. Do try this recipe, it is very healthy due to the amount of greens that go into each pancake.

Ingredients

Spring / Green Onions / Scallion - a handful

Whole wheat flour - 1/2 cup

Water as required

Salt as per taste

Oil to apply on pan

Use only the tender greens stalk and the small thin bulbs for this recipe. I had selected a mix of small and medium sized bulbs from the vendor and realized that not all the stalks are the tender green kinds that this pancake needs. So I sifted through them and got the ones I wanted.

 

Wash the stalks and bulbs thoroughly in water and peel off any wilting layer from the bulb. Line these up on the cutting board and cut them evenly into 2 inch long pieces. If the bulb are a little thick slice them lengthwise. Mix the whole wheat flour with salt and as much water as needed to make a flowing batter.

Now heat a pan and spoon a few drops of oil and spread with a spatula. Keep the heat on low and Lay the spring onions and the bulbs on the pan lengthwise so you have veggies arranged in a column forming a rectangle shape. Then slowly pour the batter little by little all over the veggies and with the spatula help to spread the batter all over the veggies and push and tuck the batter around the veggies to maintain the rectangle shape. When it firms up and the bottom is golden brown, flip it over and let it cook. Keep the heat on low initially so the pancake cooks through and then raise it to medium heat to brown and crisp both sides.

 

Serve steaming hot Spring Onion Pancakes with the hot and tangy dip.

 

My Spring Onion Pancake goes to -

- Eat seasonal food, fresh, originally hosted by Jagruthi

 



Poha - Kaande Pohe & Batate Pohe

Pohe is one of my favorites for breakfast. This is one dish that has a bit of all tastes (except bitter and umami)in it - a li'l bit of salt, bit of sugar, bit of chilli, bit of lemon juice. When all of this comes together to enliven the simple unassuming poha what you have is a comforting and tasty breakfast.

Ingredients for Batate / Potato Pohe

Thick Poha / Aval / Beaten Rice - 1 cup

Onion - 1, medium

Potato - 1, small

Peanuts - 1 tbsp

Green chilli - 3

Mustard / Rai seeds - 1 tsp 

Cumin / Jeera seeds - 1 tsp

Asafoetida / Hing pwd - a generous pinch

Turmeric pwd - 1 tsp

Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp

Curry leaves - 4 to 5

Coconut, grated - 1 tbsp

Lime juice - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1.5 to 2 tsp

Salt as per taste

Oil - 2 tbsp

Wash the poha well and drain it and keep aside. Let the poha be well moistened because as it sits the poha will swell and soften absorbing all the water. Add some salt, sugar and a little turmeric powder  and fluff with a fork and keep covered. Slice the onion, chop the coriander leaves and green chillies and also the potato finely and keep aside.

 

Heat a spoon of oil in a pan and sauté the potato pieces. Scoop the potato out and drain on paper towels. Add the rest of the oil into the pan and when it is hot, add the mustard and cumin seeds and let it splutter. Then add the asafoetida powder and wait for a couple of seconds then add green chillies, peanuts, sliced onion and curry leaves and sauté. When the onion turns translucent add the turmeric powder and sauté for a couple of seconds. Add the moist poha and fried potato pieces and mix well. If the poha is dry sprinkle some water in and mix. The poha should be soft and moist without being wet and sticky. Taste the poha and check if the salt and sugar is in proportion. Then add the lemon juice, mix then the coriander leaves, mix. then sprinkle the grated coconut on top. Cover with a lid and take off the heat.

 

Serve poha in a bowl / plate with a wedge of lemon and a sprinkling of coriander leaves and grated coconut.

 

Variation - Kaande Pohe

Pohe can be made by omitting the potato completely, with only onion for Kaande Pohe, in which case increase the quantity of onion a little.

Notes:

1. Peanuts can be omitted completely in case of nut allergy.

2. The potato can be boiled and cut in pieces and tossed with the fried onions before adding the poha for a different taste.

Poha Upma / Aval Upma

At our home, my husband and I love poha for breakfast but made in completely different ways. My husband likes his poha made the upma way and I love my poha done the kaande pohe or the Maharashtrian way. So each of us gets his way in turns, with me at an advantage because I make it! Or like I did today, I make the poha the upma way just for my husband and then unable to hold back, made some, my favorite way for breakfast.

Ingredients

Thick Poha / Aval / Beaten Rice - 1 cup

Onion - 1, medium

Green chillies - 3

Curry leaves - 5 to 6

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1/4 tsp

Salt as per taste

Oil - 1 tbsp

Wash the poha well and drain. Put it into a bowl sprinkle a little water, salt and sugar and using a fork mix and fluff it up. Keep it covered. The poha has to be well moistened but not stick wet.

In a pan, heat oil and when it is hot add the mustard seeds. Let it splutter and add the curry leaves, green chillies and the chopped onion. Sauté till the onion turns translucent. Add the poha and sauté for about 5 to 7 minutes. Take off the heat.

 

The poha upma or aval upma is ready to be served for breakfast with tea.

 

Radish and Onion in Lentil Pancake

This is a lovely pancake to have on a cool winter morning. Use seasonal vegetables or greens to make different pancakes.

Ingredients (makes 2)
Moong dal / split Mung bean - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1, small
Radish - 1, small
Green chilli - 2
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Salt as per taster
Oil to make the pancakes

Slice the onions into medium thick pieces and cut the radish into 1.5inch slightly thick sticks.  

Soak the moong dal for an hour in plenty of water. Wash and drain the dal and grind it to a fine paste along with the green chilli, asafoetida and salt. The batter should be medium thick and easily pourable.

Grease a pan lightly then pour a little batter and spread it into a square shape. Quickly lay the onion slices and radish sticks on the whole pancake. Add liberal quantities of the veges, this is a vegetable heavy pancake. Pour some more batter in a zigzag manner on top of the onion and radish and spread to cover the vegetables completely. Spoon some oil around the pancake and let it set. Lift the edges of the pancake to check if set and if golden. Flip over and cook the other side. Flip over to crisp both sides. This pancake should be crisp on the outside, the inside remains slightly soft because its a lentil batter.

 

Serve it hot.

Dal Dosa / Lentil Pancake

Markets have always fascinated me. Of course, I prefer the markets to be clean, at least the pathways but typically in India the markets are dusty and most often the ground is strewn with rotting produce. Open air markets are better in the sense, the air is fresh. We have a weekly market close by, that has vegetables, fruits, food stuffs, clothes, plastic and steel ware, etc. This market is relatively cleaner because it is put up on a less used street with strict instructions to the vendors to keep the place clean. This market is known for its wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. On my visit to the market this week , I saw the start of the winter greens like - fenugreek / methi, tender white radish / mooli, spinach / palak, mustard greens / sarson. I got some tender radish and plan on a sambhar one of these days and will also think of some other dish to put it into. For today, I used the tender greens in this recipe.

Ingredients
Moong dal - 1/4 cup
Udad dal - 1/4 cup
Cooked Rice - 1/2 cup
Asafoetida - 2 pinches
Dry red chillies - 3
Curry leaves - 3 to 4
Salt as per taste
Oil to apply on dosa

Soak the moong dal and udad dal for 2 hours. Drain and add both the dals to the blender along with the cooked rice and asafoetida, dry red chillies, curry leaves and salt. Add 1/4 cup water and grind to a smooth paste. The batter should be thick and should drop onto the griddle with a little coaxing. Add water if needed spoon by spoon till you get the required consistency.

Heat a griddle and pour a ladle of batter and spread it to about 3 to 4 inch diameter circle. Apply some oil to the edges  and on top of the dosa and let it set. When the dosa becomes firm turn it over and let it cook on that side too. Since this dosa has cooked rice the dosa needs to be set well to turn over. When both sides are done, slide it onto a plate.

This is the recipe for a simple dal dosa, you can add grated vegetables to the batter and make this a healthy breakfast. Below are two different vegetable toppings I used.

 

Topping 1
Grated carrots and finely chopped tender radish leaves.

Topping 2
Grated carrots and finely chopped capsicum or bell pepper.

Vegetable combinations are endless, take inspiration from what is available in the market and of course your refrigerator.

 

Healthy Sweet Poha / Aval Nanachathu

"Aval nanachathu", literally translated is "soaked poha", a quick fix snack from Kerala. I do wonder if it is made that often nowadays, after all not many wants a simplistic and rustic snack and prefer to rely on the ready to eat and frozen snacks. That, though not healthy does make an impression on children and moms. Earlier, if there were unannounced guests the lady of the house served sweet poha or aval nanachathu with tea when nothing else is available on hand. It was also an answer to the mid-meal snacks that was served to children.

 

Aval nanachathu is basically poha or beaten rice soaked in milk with some grated coconut and jaggery added in. The quantity of milk depended on whether the aim was to get some milk down the child's throat or not. Most times just enough milk was added to soften the poha. And the fun was in the surprise for us children when we bit into a piece of jaggery. My recipe of the poha or aval nanachathu includes more than just the milk and jaggery. I made it for breakfast and hence added some fruit, some nuts and some dates to make it really healthy! If it possible try and get the unpolished rice poha. Ingredients or recipe wise there's nothing much to it just throw in all together in a bowl, mix it and your breakfast is good to eat.

Ingredients

Poha / Beaten rice / Aval - 1 cup

Milk - 1/4 cup

Jaggery - 1 tbsp

Banana, elaichi/small - 2

Almond - 6 to 8

Date - 4 to 5

Use the thick poha for this dish. Wash the poha well then drain it completely. Add the milk and poha into a bowl, mix and let it rest till you get the other additions ready.

Slice the bananas and then quarter each slice, grate or shred the jaggery and chop the dates and almonds. Add them in and your breakfast is ready to be served!

 

Keep the jaggery to the minimum so that it is not overly sweet since the banana and dates are also in there. What I liked in my version of aval nanachathu is that all the additions that go in this dish are healthy and good to have for breakfast.

Methi Thepla, pack for an outstation trip or train journey

Visiting places and traveling by train have been a part of my husband and my life for long now. In fact, we enjoy traveling by train and being the foodies we are, we look forward to eating food we carry from home and from different stations. If you have travelled a few times by the Rajdhani, Duronto or Shatabdi trains, you are sure to tire of the food and then you look forward to carrying your own food. It doesn't matter whether the food's packed from a restaurant near the station or from home, you still enjoy it with child like pleasure on a picnic. Our menu now includes methi thepla, sandwiches (we carry the makings not prepared ones), masala rice, paratha, fruits and snacks. When we stayed in Mumbai we frequented this store that stocked fresh methi theplas and puran polis. So any journey meant asking him to keep a couple of packs of methi thepla and puran poli aside for us. On a trip to a hill station recently, we carried methi theplas that I made after checking recipes online and narrowed on this one. I wasn't sure if the theplas would last the 3 days of our trip so I held off posting the recipe till we returned. We are back from our trip and I am glad to say the methi theplas did last us through the 3 days although it did turn a little dry on the third day.

Theplas are an integral part of the Gujarati cuisine and is normally had with achar or chhunda. It can be had for breakfast or as a snack but is known more as a food that remains unspoiled for a few days and hence apt for a train journey or on a trip. Theplas are commonly made with either methi or dudhi/lauki or bajra and sometimes with just masala. The best thing about thepla is the convenience in handling it when traveling. Roll a couple of thepla in aluminum foil for each person and hand it over with individual mini tubs of ready yogurt or pickles and you save the effort of carrying and serving in plates. It is also good to take along when on the move, like on a hiking trip or when in a theme park, pack achar applied thepla and keep packs of chhaas to sip and you can hit the road with least down time :)

Here I have given the recipe of the methi thepla I made last week.
Ingredients
Wheat flour - 2 cups
Gram flour - 2 tbsp
Dry fenugreek leaves / dry Kasuri Methi - 3 tbsp
Turmeric pwd - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli pwd - 1 tsp
Garlic - 4 cloves
Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida pwd - a couple of pinches
Cumin pwd - 1 tsp
Coriander pwd - 1 tsp
Oil - 4 tbsp
Salt as per taste
Soak the dry kasuri methi in water. Finely chop the garlic and keep aside. Sift the wheat flour and gram flour together and then add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, sesame seeds, asafoetida powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and mix. Drain the soaked kasuri methi and add it to the flours along with the garlic. Add water little by little and knead it into a ball of dough. Add 2 tbsp oil and knead again into a ball. Take a spoon of oil and apply all over the ball of dough and keep covered.

When ready to roll out the theplas knead once again and divide into small balls of dough and keep aside. Roll each ball into a thin chapati. I rolled out each thepla into circles of about 4 inch diameter size. Heat a tawa and roast the thepla on it. Turn the thepla over every few seconds and then apply oil on both sides and cook till done.

The methi thepla has to be cooled completely before packing, only then will it last for a few days. If packed when hot the steam will make the thepla soggy and it will spoil. Once cooled, pack it in aluminum foil, along with some achar or chhunda and put it in your bag for your journey.
Bon Voyage! Bon Appétit! 

Moong Dal Chilla with a vegetable topping

Moong dal chilla is a mildly seasoned crepe made with a batter of ground mung lentils. Chopped vegetables are added to the crepe to add variety. Moong dal chilla is a protein rich option for breakfast and with added vegetable it provides vitamins as well. Whole moong beans is healthier than the moong lentils because of the added fibre content. But making chillas with whole moong requires some planning since the moong has to be soaked for a few hours to be able to grind it.

Here, I have suggested an onion, bell pepper, carrot and tomato topping.

Ingredients

Moong dal - 2/3 cup

Poha - 1/3 cup

Green chillies - 2

Curry leaves - 5 to 6

Turmeric - a couple of pinches

Asafoetida / hing - a generous pinch

Salt to taste

Oil to apply on chilla

topping (for 4 crepes)

Onion - 1, medium

Carrot - 1/2

Bell Pepper / Capsicum - 1/2

Tomato - 1/4

Salt - a generous pinch

Soak the moong dal for a couple of hours, then drain the water and keep aside. Wash the poha and grind it along with moong dal, green chillies, curry leaves, turmeric, asafoetida and salt to a fine paste. Add water to get a thick batter.

 

Finely chop the onion and bell pepper, shred the carrot and keep aside. Deseed the tomato and chop finely. Mix the veges and salt and use as is on the chilla. This vegetable mix can be sautéed lightly and then added on the chilla. Personally, I prefer the vegetables to be sautéed.

 

Heat a griddle and pour a ladleful of the batter and spread it to a round shape. Spread some of the prepared topping on the chilla immediately. Sprinkle some oil around the chilla and along the edge. Flip the chilla over when it sets and cook both sides on medium heat.

Serve hot with some coconut and coriander chutney.

Peanut Butter Jelly in a Crepe

This is a slightly different take on the peanut butter jelly sandwich. Instead of adding this combination in a sandwich try this in a crepe. To make the peanut butter and jelly spreadable add a little hot water to dilute it. Add some fruit to make it a complete meal. Check this recipe for simple crepes and make them before hand and then make the filling.

Ingredients (for 4 crepes)

Peanut Butter - 4 tbsp

Grape Jelly - 2 tbsp

Banana - 2

Boiling hot Water - 2 tbsp (approx.)

Caster Sugar for dusting over

In a bowl add the hot water, the grape jelly and the peanut butter and mix well to get a spreadable consistency. The crepe is likely to tear if the butter and jelly is spread without the diluting.

Place a crepe on a plate and spread the butter and jelly mix and then place the banana slices. Fold over and put drops of the peanut butter on the folded crepe. Do the same with the rest of the crepes. Dust the caster sugar over the crepes and serve.

Breakfast Crepe with Banana slices and Cherry jam sauce

Crepes can be made with so many fillings, imagination is all it takes. Here I combined two ingredients that are easily available and are normally available at hand in any home - banana and cherry jam sauce. The cherry jam sauce is very easy to make and any fruit jam sauce can be made in the same way. Substitute with another fruit sauce for a completely different tasting filling. In fact it can be made into a DIY crepe breakfast right on the table. Keep chopped fruits and a couple of fruit sauces, syrup or honey and make different combinations for a fun and filling breakfast.

The recipe for a basic crepe is given here in an earlier post.
Ingredients (filling for 4 crepes)

Banana - 2

for the jam sauce

Cherry Jam - 2 tbsp

Water - approx. 1 tbsp

Caster Sugar to sprinkle

Thinly slice the banana and keep aside.

For the jam sauce - heat the water and add it to the jam in a bowl and mix well. With the back of the spoon break the jam solids. If the jam has whole fruits do not mash, keep it aside to top the crepe.

 

Place the crepe on a plate. Arrange a few banana slices in the middle of the crepe in a straight line. Fold one side over the banana slices then fold the other side over it.

Top with some jam sauce. Sift some caster sugar over it. Our breakfast crepe with banana slices and cherry jam sauce is ready to serve. Top with some jam sauce. Dust some caster sugar over it. Our breakfast crepe with banana slices and cherry jam sauce is ready to serve.

And yes, the caster sugar gets absorbed by the syrup real quick, speaking from experience! 

 

My only reservation to the crepe is the use of white flour and the next time I will definitely substitute it with whole wheat flour. This recipe may work with whole wheat flour as well because both flours have a glutinous character which is needed for making a crepe.

Vegetable Frittata

Eggs make an excellent breakfast and if made into an omelette it makes a sumptuous meal in itself. Add a few vegetables to the omelette and you can give the bread a miss making it a healthy meal. For a long time, I wanted to make a frittata, which is an Italian omelette with vegetables or meat or cheese added to it. The vegetables or meats are lightly sautéed to start the cooking process and is then baked in the oven till the eggs set. Most vegetables can be added to a frittata, even spinach like in a lasagna. In fact, a frittata is made in Italy to use up whatever vegetables and meats left in the frig along with leftovers sometimes even pasta.

In India, we have a similar dish from the Parsi / Zoroastrian community where eggs are cooked over a bed of either vegetable, meat or seafood. In this dish, the eggs are dropped on a base of lightly sautéed vegetable or meat or seafood of choice and is slow cooked on the stove top or baked in an oven. And it is called "whatever ingredient on eggs", so we have  papeta (potato) per eeda or tamatar (tomato) per eeda or ingredients like salli (fried potato sticks), kootu (shrimps), kheema (mince meat) and some unique ones like lady finger, fenugreek leaves, drumstick flowers, bananas, etc. on eggs.

To make today's vegetable frittata, I used potato, onions and green peppers. I would have loved to add red bell pepper for the color but it wasn't available in the local store and I made do with the veges in stock.

Ingredients
Eggs - 3
Milk - 1 tbsp

Potatoes - 2
Onion - 1 medium
Capsicum  Green bell pepper - 3tbsp chopped
Cheese - 2 tbsp grated
Oregano / Parsley / Coriander leaves
Salt as per taste
Black pepper pwd as per taste
Oil

Slice the onions and potatoes into 1/4 inch thickness. Heat a flat pan and brush with some oil, layer potato slices and cook both sides till just  light gold and keep aside. Sauté the onion slices till translucent and keep aside. Lightly sauté the capsicum / bell pepper also.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Grease a baking pan and then layer the pan with potatoes, onions and bell pepper.

Break the eggs into a bowl, add the milk, a little salt and pepper and beat with a hand mixer. Add half the grated cheese, the herb of choice and beat again. Pour the egg mix into the pan and top with the rest of the grated cheese. Bake in oven for about 15 to 20 minutes till the top sets and it leaves the sides of the pan after turning brown. I baked mine for 17 minutes and after switching the oven off, I let it rest in the oven for a couple of minutes before taking the pan out. Run a knife round the edge before cutting out a wedge.

My frittata did break a little maybe because I used a deep casserole and then tried to invert onto a plate. Instead try cutting into wedges and slip the spatula under the frittata and scoop it out.

Maybe cutting into wedges when the oven is switched off and letting it be in the oven to firm the wedges may help.

Whole Wheat Pancakes with apple compote

I have been impatient to make pancakes from the day I put that apple and pear compote (recipe here) in the refrigerator. This pancake recipe had very good reviews and I decided to try it out. The only thing I changed was to substitute the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour. Try this recipe for whole wheat pancakes once and you will never go back to the white flour recipe. The pancakes were nice and fluffy and the flavor of the wheat flour came through beautifully. A good thing about this recipe is, it is made without buttermilk, yes, a no buttermilk pancake using readily available ingredients.

Cooking the pancakes is easy, there is no need to spread it and worry about getting a circular shape. Pour a ladle of pancake batter in the center of the griddle and let it spread on its own. The batter spreads on it own into a nice round shape.

This method reminds me of the dosa that you get in old Kerala chayakkada (tea house) during breakfast time. It is not spread thin like in the restaurants nowadays. A large ladleful of the dosa batter is poured on an iron griddle and the ladle is used to spread the batter very cursorily and the dosa is almost half an inch thick! But they are amazingly soft with the texture more like the middle of an appam. And when the chutney is poured on these dosas they soak it up like a sponge. I remember as a child when we visited Kerala, I would absolutely refuse to eat these thick dosas there.

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour - 3/4 cup

Milk - 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp

Egg - 1/2

Sugar - 1.5 tsp

Butter - 1.5 tbsp

Baking powder - 1 3/4 tsp

Vanilla essence - a couple of drops (optional)

Salt - a pinch (if using unsalted butter)

Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature.

Take a bowl and mix the whole wheat flour, sugar, salt (if using) and baking powder and sift them together two times.

In another bowl, beat the egg and keep only half the quantity of the beaten egg and discard the rest. Then add the butter into it and beat it again only till it is blended together. Add the milk and the vanilla essence (if using) and beat. I did not add vanilla essence to my batter and it was good without any of that eggy smell. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients and mix together.

Heat a griddle, I used the iron griddle that I use for making my dosa and uttapam. Typically, an iron griddle is used to make pancakes in American homes. Pour a ladleful of the batter right in the center and leave it. The batter spreads a little on its own into a clean circle. The top starts breaking out in bubbles and slowly turns opaque as it cooks. When the base firms up, flip the pancake over and cook the other side. Take it out when done.

I served these pancakes with a blob of butter, a little honey and my sweet and spicy apple compote. Try getting your hands on some maple syrup and drizzle some syrup over buttered pancakes. Or go the sinful way, stack a couple of pancakes top with a blob of butter and syrup then add some chopped fruit and cover with whipped cream! Then slice through the stack to get a bit of everything and just pop it into your mouth and enjoy this sweet mouthful!

Apple Date Smoothie

Continuing with my smoothie / shake series.... this is a new one. The other day when we were in the market and saw our fruit vendor had some good wet dates. They were cleaned ( though I do still rinse them before using) and packaged in neat 500gm packets. I took a liking to dates from my mother-in-law; she would buy it from the local market and would give us about 4-5 cleaned ones most days. Then later when I started baking I loved the idea of adding dates in cakes not restricting myself to only the date and walnut cake. So, unexpectedly, we bit into a sweet as ever piece of date when eating my pound cake as well :)

 

And now to get back to my smoothie, this is a great smoothie to have for breakfast or even as that mid morning or evening pick me up. Instead of giving into the temptation of a snack or chocolate or even coffee try this smoothie, it will assuage the hunger pangs and sweet cravings. The apple, dates and almonds (how could I leave it out!) blend really well making this a tasty smoothie. As for the benefits, it's numerous, find the benefits for the apple and almonds here. And the dates, it is rich in fiber, iron, calcium, fluorine, potassium, copper, manganese, magnesium, Vitamin K  and Vitamin B6. It contains simple sugars like fructose and dextrose which replenish the energy and revitalize the body instantly being one of the reasons that it is used to break fasts. Dates promote digestive health and relieves constipation thereby promoting colon health. It is also believed to boost heart health and reduce the risk of stroke due to the presence of magnesium in it. Magnesium is also believed to help in controlling blood pressure and dates have a high content of it. Vitamin B6 is shown to boost brain performance increasing test scores. Dates also contain antioxidants known as Tannins, known to possess anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, and anti-hemorrhagic properties. But yes, be warned of the high sugar content, it has an unbelievable 66.5gms of sugar per 100gm serving. So watch the amount of intake.

 

Ingredients

Almonds - 8 to 10

Apple - 1

Dates - 4 to 5

Milk - 3/4 cup

Soak the almonds for about 4 to 6 hours. Deseed and chop the dates and soak it in the milk for a couple of hours in the frig. Refrigerate the apple.

Discard the water in which the almonds were soaked and grind it to a fine paste. Then add the dates soaked in milk and again grind it finely. Next chop the apples and add it to the blender. Once finely blended pour it into a glass and it is ready to serve.

For a vegan version, increase the amount of almonds and grind it finely with water to make almond milk. Substitute the milk with the almond milk and a vegan version of the same smoothie is ready.

Blend the apples last just before serving to avoid browning due to oxidization.

P.S. And I forgot to take pics!

 

(Information on benefits sourced from: http://naturalsociety.com/health-benefits-of-dates-7-reasons-eat-date-fruit/ & http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/dates.html)

Urllakizhangu / Kizhangu Ishtew / Kerala Ishtu / Potato Stew

This stew is normally made to go with Appam for breakfast in many Malayali homes. Appam ishtew is a typical breakfast item from Kerala. Although nowadays this breakfast is mostly limited to weekends since weekday mornings mean rushed breakfasts. Appams can be paired off with chutney or potato stew or vegetable stew or egg roast or a varutharache curry (egg or vegetables). We mostly make urllakizhangu or kizhangu ishtu / ishtew (that's potato stew in Malayalam) at home, a practice that my mother-in-law follows. And a combination I have fallen in love with.

My mother makes an orange colored coconut chutney to go with appams at home. And after marriage, I have mostly made potato ishtew to go with the appam. This ishtew is different from the one prepared for a sadya (feast served on a banana leaf) in the sense that this has onions and is watery. The best thing about making potato stew is that you pile everything into the pan and leave it to cook without having to add ingredients (except coconut milk) in stages. So here goes the recipe:

Ingredients
Potato - 2
Green chillies - 2
Ginger - 1 inch
Coconut milk (thick) - 1/2cup
Curry leaves - 8-10
Coconut oil - 1tsp
Salt as per taste

Peel the potatoes, wash it and slice it into pieces, slit the green chillies, cut the ginger into juliennes and keep aside. Heat a pan add about a cup of water and add the potatoes, ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, a little salt and cook on medium heat. Check after about 10 minutes if the potatoes are almost done. Make sure the pan still has water and add 1 tablespoon of coconut milk and cook on low heat till the potatoes are completely done. Then add the rest of the coconut milk, adjust with more water if needed and let it come close to a boil. Drizzle coconut oil and a few curry leaves on top, close the lid and take off the heat.

Get the appams ready and serve the ishtew with it.

Tips:

If using full coconut milk from a can or tetrapack, water it down (3 coconut : 1 water).

The lite coconut milk can be poured straight to the cooked potatoes.

 

Vella Appam / Hoppers

... and ishtew for breakfast on a lovely relaxed weekend morning. Vella appam or hoppers is a favorite Kerala breakfast item. The extensive use of coconut in Kerala cuisine continues to be seen in the vella appam recipe as  well. Grated coconut is added when grinding the batter giving the appam a coconutty and slightly sweet taste to it. In Kerala, many families use toddy to ferment the batter; although it is a delicacy the taste takes getting used to. Our family has always added coconut water when grinding and later added soda to the batter in the morning before making the appam. One reason for that could be that my grandfather was a teetotaler and hence I guess toddy being brought home was ruled out.

Appam is paired off with quite a few accompaniments - chutney, potato stew, vegetable stew, mutton stew, motta / egg curry. And if you check the recipe of these dishes you will find more coconut! The Appam recipe that I follow was given to me by my mother after I shifted post my marriage. I follow it to the T and this recipe has always worked for me. This vella appam recipe requires coconut water which I collect from the coconuts I use at home. This can be stored in an airtight container in the frig for about a week. So every time you crack a coconut carefully collect the water and store it. In case you do not use coconuts and/or don't have coconut water, use plain water to grind.
Recipe Ingredients
Rice, uncooked  - 1 cup
Rice, Cooked  - 1/4 cup
Coconut, grated - 1/2 cup
Coconut water
Sugar - 1 tsp heaped
Salt as per taste
Water (optional)
Baking Soda - 1 pinch
Wash the rice and then soak it for 4 to 6 hours. Add the sugar and 1tsp salt to the coconut water, mix well and keep aside. Grate the coconut just before grinding the batter and keep aside.
Use a blender that can grind finely when doing this batter. Drain the uncooked rice and add it to the blending jar along with the cooked rice, grated coconut and coconut water and grind it. In case you do not have enough coconut water add some plain water to get a thickish batter. Adjust the salt and pour it into a container to be kept in room temperature overnight.
In the morning about an hour before you start making the appam, add a pinch of soda to the batter and mix well and keep aside.

the batter after adding the baking soda in the morning

When ready to make the appams, take a appam chatti - a vessel  like a medium sized kadai with a lid and heat it. Apply oil on the complete surface and spread it using half an onion. Then pour a ladle full of batter in the center of the chatti and slowly swirl it around spreading the batter in a circle. Sprinkle some oil on the sides of the appam and close the chatti with a lid. After about 30 seconds open to see if done. You should have a shiny, cooked, spongy looking top at the center and that is when it is ready to be served on a plate.

Spoon some potato ishtew on to a plate, add an appam and you have your yummy breakfast.

Notes:
- Add the sugar and salt to the coconut water to aid fermentation. In case using plain water to grind, add the salt and sugar when grinding.
- I prefer using a steel container and keeping it in the kitchen which is the warmest place in my house (room temperature is usually between 28 to 35degrees Celsius).
During winter keep this batter in the oven with the small bulb light on.
- An aunt of mine said when scooping the batter to pour onto the pan, take only the top layer that is the bubbly layer. Supposedly it gives the appam than fluffed sponginess. I have not tried this but maybe it helps.

P.S. I had to make my appam early today and I did not have time to prep my appam chatti and instead used my dosa kal, hence the dosa like appams!