Vegatable Rava Upma(Semolina upma)

Rava upma is a very popular dish in south India.This recipe is light and easy to make and is ideal for breakfast.You can also serve it for dinner.Adding vegetables like cauliflower,carrots and green peas make it nutritious.

Ingredients
Semolina(Rava)-2 cups
Green peas-1/4 cups,boiled
Onion-1 small size,finely chopped
Green chillies-2,finely chopped
Cauliflower-2-3 small florets
Carrot-1/2 piece,grated
Ginger-a small piece,finely chopped
Tomato-1 small size,diced
Mustard seeds-1/2 teaspoon
Chana dal-2 teaspoons
Urad dal-2 teaspoons
Asafoetida -a  generous pinch
Curry leaves-4-5
Green coriander leaves-2 teaspoons,finely chopped
Salt to taste
Oil/Ghee-3 teaspoons
Water-4.5 cups

Method:
-Dry roast the rava for 3-4 minutes on low flame.If you are using roasted rava then skip this step.
-Cut the cauliflower florets into small pieces.
-Heat a pan and add 3 teaspoons of oil and add mustard seeds,curry leaves,asafoetida,chana dal,urad dal and saute for 2 minutes.
-Quickly add the chopped vegetables and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
-Now add the rava and mix well.Add salt and 4.5 cups of water and mix and cover the pan with a lid.
-Cook the rava on low flame and keep stirring in between.
-Cook for atleast 4-5 minutes and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Sabudana Upma(Navratri Special)

PEARL SAGO KHICHDI (Photo credit: rashmi1979)

Today is the second day of Navratri(Nine nights) and people in most part of India observe fast.Dishes made of sabudana and potatoes are usually comsumed by people during the fasting period.
Today's recipe is sabudana upma which is another easy to make recipe.I've used sandha namak(Rock salt) instead of the common salt.

Ingredients
Sabudana-1 cup
Potatoes-2 medium,boiled
Green chillies-2,finely chopped
Peanuts-1/4 cup,roasted
Cumin seeds-1r/4 teaspoon
Asafoetida- a gesnerous pinch
Lime juice-2 teaspoon
Rock salt to taste
Turmeric powder-1/4 teaspoon
Oil- 2 tablespoon
Curry leaves-3-4
Green coriander leaves-1 teaspoon,finely chopped

Method
-Soak 1 cup of sabudana in 1 cup of water for 4-5 hours.
-Boil the potatoes and dice them into small cubes.
-Coarsely crush the roasted peanuts.
-Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and allow it to splutter.
-Now add the finely chopped green chillies,curry leaves and asafoetida and stir for a minute.
-Add the diced potato cubes and mix well.
-Now add the rock salt and turmeric powder and stir again.
-Put the soaked sabudana and cook for 3-4 minutes by constantly stirring.
-Add the crushed peanuts on top and mix gently and add lime juice and sprinkle some finely chopped coriander leaves on top.
-Serve hot.

Sabudana Vadas(Tapioca cutlets)-Navratri Special

sabudana vada (Photo credit: sumeet basak)

Sabudana vada is a famous snack from Maharashtra,a state in western India.This is also a recipe popular during fasts.
You can soak the sabudana  overnight till they become fluffy and soft.If you do not have enough time to soak then you can pressure cook the sabudana .
These vadas are crunchy from outside and soft from inside.Serve them with fresh green chutney along with a cup of hot masala tea!

Ingredients
Sabudana(Tapioca)-2 cups
Green chillies-2,finely chopped
Potatoes-2,Boiled
Peanuts-1/2 cup,Roasted and coarsely crushed
Salt to taste
Vegetable/Olive Oil-2 cups,for frying

Method
How to Pressure cook Sabudana
-Take 2 cups of sabudana and put it in a pressure cooker with 3 cups of water.
-Pressure cook for 2-3 whistles.

For the Vadas
- Mash the boiled potatoes and keep aside.
-Take the soaked/cooked sabudana in a big bowl and add the mashed potatoes and all the above ingredients except oil.
-Mash all the ingredients with hand.
-Heat a fry pan and add 2 cups of oil to it.
-Take small portion of the mixture and make vadas of desired shape.You can make flat rounds or small round balls with your hand.
-Fry the vadas in oil.Make sure you regulate the temperature or the vadas will burn from outside and remain uncooked from inside.
-Serve hot with Fresh green chutney and a cup of spiced tea.

Sambar Powder

  (Photo credit: Jennifer Kumar)

When it comes to making sambar,I always prefer making home-made sambar powder.Everyone has their own version of making sambar powder.Though you can always find ready-made sambar powders in your local stores but there is definitely a difference in the taste and aroma of both types of sambar powders.
You can make this sambar powder and store in in air-tight containers so that it stays fresh for weeks.

Ingredients:
Coriander seeds-1.5 cups
Dried red chillies-1/2 Cup
Chana dal-1/4 cups
Toor dal-1/4 cups
Cumin seeds-100 grams
Black peppercorns-100 grams
Fenugreek seeds- 150 grams
Asafoetida -2 tablespoons
Curry leaves-10-15
Salt-2 teaspoons

Method:
-Take a pan and dry roast each ingredient except asafoetida and salt seperately on low flame till you get a nice aroma from each ingredient.
-Let it cool completely.
-Put all the roasted  ingredients along with asafoetida and salt in a mixer jar and grind to make a nice powder.
-Take out and immediately store in a dry and air tight container.

Tomato- Dates Chutney

Now that the festivals are around the corner most of us observe vrats and prefer eating food cooked without using garlic or onions or satvik ahaar as we call it.I usually make this chutney during festivals when there is a vrat and we prepare food without garlic and onions.
This sweet and sour chutney is rich in iron that comes from the dates and antioxidants from tomatoes.This is a quick to make chutney and tastes great with plain steamed rice or with chapati and parathas.

Ingredients
Tomatoes-3 medium sized,ripe
Dates-4-5,seedless
Roasted Cumin powder-2 teaspoon
Refined vegetable oil/ghee-2 teaspoons

Dry red chilli-2 

Panchphoran (Saunf, jeera, methi,kalonji seeds) -1teaspoon
Salt -a generous pinch
Sugar or Jaggery powder -2.5 tablespoons
Water-2 tablespoons 

Method

-Wash the tomatoes and dice them into small pieces
-Soak the dates in water for 10-15 minutes.Wash well and cut them into small pieces.
- Take a pan and dry roast the cumin seeds for 3-4 minutes in low flame till they are light brown and a nice aroma comes out.Cool it and crush it roughly using and rolling pin.
-Take a pan and heat oil in it.Add the Panchphoran and the dry red chilli in oil.
-Now add the diced tomatoes and cook them on medium flame.Keep stirring.
-Add the chopped dates and cook for another 2-3 minutes and add water and a generous pinch of salt and sugar or Jaggery powder as per your taste.
-Cook till the tomatoes are done.Do not let the water dry completely.
-Keep mixing and finally add the roasted cumin powder.
-Serve hot with rice,chutney,chapati or puri.

 

store it in a clean glass jar and keep it in the fridge. It stays fresh for 15 days.

Egg Patties

This is yet another egg recipe which is simple and tastes yummy.This makes a good breakfast for a busy morning.Boil the eggs the night before and store them in the fridge and use them to make patties.This saves a lot of time.
You can eat the patties as burger along with some finely shredded fresh and crunchy vegetables or have it as a wrap.To make a wrap spread some healthy hummus on a whole wheat chapati and add some tomatoes,cabbage and the egg patties.

Ingredients
Boiled Eggs-2,hard boiled
Gram flour(Besan)-1.2 cups
Baking Powder-1/4 teaspoon
Spring onions-5 tablespoons
Green chillies-1, finely chopped
Garam masala-1/4 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Water-5-6 tablespoon ,for the batter
Carom seeds-1.5 teaspoons
Oil-2 cups,for frying the pattise

Method
-Hard boil the eggs and take the shells out.Let them cool.
-Take a big vessel and grate the boiled eggs and add all the above ingredients except oil and water.
-Now slowly add water to the mixture and stir well with a spoon.
-Heat a pan and add 2 cups of oil to it.
-Take a small portion of the batter and make medium sized flat rounds on your palm and fry them in batches.

-Take a plate and put a tissue paper and carefully place the fried patties on the plate.

Pizza Dosa

Pizza Dosa is a Uttapam which is very much a dish like dosa with twist.It's healthy as it is made from the fresh batter made at home.You can also use the store brought batter for idli/dosa.I have added all the colorful veggies to make it even more nutritious.Try giving pizza dosa in your kids' lunch box,I'm sure they'll love this recipe.

Ingredients
Batter for Dosa- 2 cups
Onions-1/4,finely chopped
Red bell pepper-2 teaspoons
Yellow bell pepper-2 teaspoons
Green bell pepper-2 teaspoons
Sweet corn-2 teaspoons,boiled
Tomato-1/2 medium size,diced
Processed cheese-3 tablespoon,grated
Salt to taste
Oil/Ghee-2 teaspoon

Method
 -Take 2 cups of the dosa batter and add salt according to our taste and beat the batter well with a spoon.
-Add the chopped onions and diced tomatoes to the batter and mix well again.Set aside for 10 minutes.
-In the mean time,finely chop the bell peppers.
-Heat a flat pan.You can also use a non-stick pan for this purpose.
-Add 1/2 teaspoon of oil to the pan and immediately add the 2 tablespoons of the dosa batter on the pan and spread to make a small pan-cake.Add another 1/2 teaspoon of oil to the edges of the dosa.Cook for 3-4 minutes till one side is done.
-Turn the dosa with a spatula and cook the other side.Take a fork and prick the cooked side of the dosa.
Make sure you do not cook the second side for more than a minute.Turn after a minute and add the chopped bell peppers,boiled corn and sprinkle the grated cheese and immediately turn the dosa again and cook for another 1 minute.Turn again and serve hot with green chutney.