Moong and Urad dal dosa

This batter with moong dal, green moong and Urad dal can be used to makes dosas or idlis. Serve with chutney of choice (coconut/tomato/mango/ridge gourd) and/or milaga podi.

Ingredients

1 cup moong dal

1 cup green moong

1 cup urad dal

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

1/4 cup beaten rice (poha/avalakki/atukulu)

Salt, to taste

Below are optional ingredients

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 green chillies

1 inch ginger

Instructions

1. Rinse the dals and soak them along with the fenugreek seeds for 6-8 hours.

2. Soak the beaten rice for 15-20 minutes before grinding the dals.

3. Grind the dals and beaten rice to a smooth batter of thick pouring consistency. You can add the optional ingredients during this time along with salt.

Add water sparingly to ensure the batter does not get to thin/runny.

4. Let it ferment for 6-8 hours. The time for fermentation depends on the weather and sunshine. Hotter areas require less time for fermentation as compared to cooler climates. In Bangalore, I leave it to ferment overnight so it’s perfect for breakfast time.

Using the batter for idlis:

1. Grease the idli moulds with ghee. Add batter in each mould and steam for about 20 minutes.

Using the batter for dosas:

1. Grease the tawa if required; best way to do this is to rub half an onion dipped in oil acoss the tawa.

2. Pour a ladleful of batter in the middle, and use the back of the ladle to spread the batter in a circle. Pour a tsp of oil around the edges and in the center. Let it cook on low-medium flame. Flip when the under side starts to turn golden and cook the other side for a minute. Flip, fold and transfer to a serving plate.

You can also add lightly sauteed chopped onions and green chillies just before folding and serving. They can be added raw as well when the batter is spread on the tawa or directly added to the batter.

Munaga akulu dosa|Moringa (drumstick) leaves dosa

Munaga akulu or Moringa/drumstick leaves are quite a powerhouse of nutrients. They are a rich source of vitamin C and potassium. They also contain protein, calcium, iron and amino acids.

The leaves can be shade dried and stored for use. I also have friends whose gardens have an abundance of Moringa and they share generously.

A delicious way to incorporate these leaves is the dosa…crisp, tasty and no fermentation required making it an instant fix.

Ingredients

2 cups bombay rava/sooji/semolina

1/2 cup maida

1/2 cup rice flour

1 cup sour curd

1/2 cup Moringa leaves, chopped

1 green chilli, finely chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

6-8 curry leaves, coarsely chopped

Salt, to taste

Water, to make the batter
(~4-5 cups water)

Oil, to make dosas

Instructions

1. Mix together the rava, maida and rice flour. Add curd and let it rest for about 30 minutes.

2. Add 2 cups of water and mix making sure there are no lumps.

3. Add the remaining ingredients (except oil) and slowly add more water to make a batter that has a thin pouring consistency.

4. Heat the tawa and when hot, carefully pour a ladle of the batter on it. Pour a tsp oil around the edges. Lower the flame and cook until the dosa is crisp and golden brown. There is no need to flip over because the dosa is thin.

5. Serve hot with coconut chutney/tomato chutney/ginger chutney.

To make another dosa, increase the flame of the stove. This dosa requires the tawa to be hot when the batter is poured on it. Then lower the flame to cook the dosa evenly.

Refrigerate leftover batter and let it come to room temperature before using another time.

Instant rava idli

Rava idli is a popular breakfast dish in Karnataka. Made with semolina/Bombay rava, curd and spices, the batter does not require fermentation and is a quick fix. The mix can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container, making it easy for a busy morning.

Ingredients

2 cups Bombay rava, roasted until aromatic

2-3 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp chana dal

A pinch hing/asafoetida

A pinch turmeric powder

2-3 green chillies, chopped

10-12 curry leaves, chopped

2-3 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

2 inch ginger, finely chopped or grated

8-10 cashewnuts, broken into halves or quarters

1 cup curd

1/2 cup water

Salt, to taste (~ 1 tsp)

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard and once it splutters, add cumin, chana dal, cashewnuts, curry leaves and hing.

2. Add chillies, ginger and turmeric powder. Saute for a couple of minutes and take off heat.

3. Add rava into a mixing bowl. Add the above tempering, curd, coriander and salt. Rest for 15 minutes.

4. Add water to make a smooth, thick batter.

5. Pour into idli moulds and steam for about 15-18 minutes on medium flame.

Serve with coconut chutney. Potato sagu is another lovely option to serve it with.

Undarallu upma

The undarallu or steamed rice rava dumplings made for the Ganesha festival (recipe in separate blog post) usually make for a light dinner. After a heavy festive lunch, we usually go easy with dinner. Sometimes, we keep them for breakfast the next morning. They keep well at room temperature and can be quickly converted to a yummy dish.

While they can be eaten as is with ghee and pickle, I enjoy making a sort of upma with them.

Ingredients

8-10 undarallu

3 green chillies, finely chopped

1 inch ginger, finely chopped

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

8-10 curry leaves, roughly chopped

2 tbsp ghee

Instructions

1. Heat ghee. Add mustard and once they splutter, add the cumin.

2. Add curry leaves, green chillies, ginger and turmeric.

3. Add the undarallu, roughly chopped. Mix and done! Top with a little ghee and serve. No need to add salt because the undarallu already have salt in them.

You can also add dry red chillies, and a tsp each of urad dal & chana dal.

Rice sevai upma

Fine rice sevai

While I would have loved to try making this at home, I am quite happy with this new find at a store of a fine rice sevai. It’s finer than the regular sevai that is sold and is super quick to make. It took me about 10-15 minutes to put together the upma and that’s a blessing on busy days.

Ingredients

150g rice sevai

1 small sized carrot, peeled & finely chopped

6 french beans, finely chopped

2 tbsp green peas

1 small sized onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves

6-8 curry leaves

2-3 green chillies, slit lengthwise

1 inch ginger, finely chopped

1 tbsp oil

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp urad dal

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Add the finely chopped vegetables to a broad pan with about 2 cups water. Cover and cook until tender.

2. Once the veggies are tender, switch off heat. Add the rice sevai to the pan, cover and let it sit for about 5 minutes. The sevai will soften, give it a gentle mix to break it up a bit. Drain and keep aside.

3. Dry the same pan. Heat oil in it and crackle mustard. Then add cumin and urad dal. Add curry leaves, ginger and green chillies.

4. Add onion and fry until they start turning golden. Then add turmeric and the sevai & vegetable mix. Add salt and coriander leaves. Gently mix, keeping it on low heat. Once well combined, transfer to a serving bowl.

This can be served with a coconut chutney.

Notes

You can also add 6-8 fried cashewnuts and grated fresh coconut. If using coconut in the upma, serve the dish with a tomato chutney.

Bombay rava upma | Upma with Rava Medium or Sooji

A staple breakfast item at home is upma…quick, easy and filling. It was also one of those dishes that my mind ther would rustle up if we returned home late from a trip or needed a light dinner. Especially the upma made with Bombay rava. I love this version that is not dry and is loaded with ghee!

Ingredients

1 cup Bombay rava

2 cups water

10-12 curry leaves

4-5 green chillies, finely chopped

1.5 inch ginger, finely chopped

1/2 tomato, finely chopped

1 dry red chilli

3/4 tsp urad dal

3/4 tsp chana dal

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

8-10 cashewnuts

1 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped

3 tbsp oil (or liquid ghee)

2 tbsp ghee (solid)

Salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Heat the oil + ghee in a large heavy bottomed pan. Fry the cashewnuts until golden, remove and set aside.

2. Add urad dal, chana dal and mustard to the pan. When the dals start turning golden, add the dry red chilli, ginger and green chillies.

3. Then add the tomato, curry leaves, half the coriander leaves.

4. After a couple of minutes, add the water and let it come to a boil. Add the remaining coriander leaves and salt. Then add the rava, stirring constantly to mix it in evenly.

5. Cover and cook until the water is absorbed, but hasn’t become dry. This will take approximately 3-5 minutes.

6. Switch off heat and transfer to a serving bowl. Upma can be paired with chutney of choice (coconut, tomato, onion, ginger…). At home, we usually have this with an Andhra mango (finely chopped/grated) pickle.

Note

1. If not serving the upma immediately or you anticipate a reheat, add 2.25 cups water.

2. Green peas or other finely chopped vegetables (potatoes, carrots, beans) can be added. The water quantity would have to increase proportionately.

3. Roasting the rava will not yield a thick gooey consistency of upma. Hence, the rava is not roasted.

Mixed dal dosa

Lentils are a rich source of protein and low in calories. This is a simple recipe for dosa batter using mixed lentils. Fermentation is required.

Mixed dal dosa

Ingredients

1/2 cup toor dal

1/2 cup moong dal

1/2 cup masoor dal

1/2 cup urad dal

1/2 cup whole moong

1 tsp fenugreek seeds/methi seeds

4-5 green chillies

2 inches ginger

2 tbsp chopped curry leaves or coriander

1 tsp cumin seeds

Salt, to taste

Oil, to make dosas

Instructions

1. Soak the dals for atleast 6 hours along with a tsp fenugreek seeds (best in would be to soak in the morning and grind at night).

2. Grind the dals along with ginger, chillies and salt. Add water only as necessary during grinding; batter should have a thick pouring consistency.

3. Set aside to ferment for about 8 hours or overnight. Ensure the vessel that holds the batter is only half full, so there is enough space for the batter to rise on fermentation.

4. The dosa tawa has to be slightly warm. Pour a ladle of the batter in the center and spread in a circular motion evenly. Add a tsp oil/ghee across the edges of the dosa and a little at the center. Let it cook on low flame until golden. Flip over and cook the other side for a few seconds. Transfer to a serving platter.

5. To make a second dosa, first sprinkle water on the tawa to cool down. Then follow the same manner as above to make the dosa.

The dosa can be paired with any chutney or podi of choice.

Note

The recipe is tweaked from what Roopa Badrinath, an absolute stranger to me but connected on a food group, had shared. She added onions while grinding the batter and coriander leaves to the batter post fermentation. She also used pink rock salt instead of normal salt. I found this simple and healthy to make, hence sharing with measures that worke

Gunta ponganalu|Paniyarams

Idli batter

There was a time when we would be loaded with dosa and idli batter what with my in-laws and parents, both, contributing to our kitchen! A delicate situation where we can’t say no to either and heaven forbid if I had made any batter myself. So they took different forms to ensure we didn’t get bored while we finished up the stock.

Dosa and idli batter is easy to make at home. Both recipes are available on the blog. Of course, store bought ones also work for the recipe.

Gunta ponganalu or paniyarams are one such. Numerous varieties can be made and paired with different chutneys to keep it interesting. Here is one.

Gunta ponganalu

Ingredients

3 cups of dosa or idli batter

1 medium sized onion, finely chopped

3-4 green chillies, finely chopped

Spinach, finely chopped (can use any greens you may have at home)

1 tsp cumin seeds

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients together.

2. Add 3-4 drop of oil/ghee in the paniyaram pan. Fill with batter in the mould to half the level (use a spoon) Cover and cook until the underside is golden. Then flip over with a spoon, cook uncovered for a couple of minutes and remove into a serving bowl.

The pan…this is a lovely old cast iron one.

3. Pair this with chutney of choice – onion/tomato/groundnut/coconut/coriander.

Variations in ingredients that can go into the batter

1. Crushed pepper, cumin with or without onion

2. Finely chopped coriander and grated carrot or beetroot

3. Grated coconut, cumin and green chillies. Can also add coriander.

Set dosa

The set dosa is a light, spongy dosa that is served in a set of three. It is a popular breakfast in Karnataka. Usually paired with a sagu, coconut chutney and a spoon of butter! I like mine also with the Andhra allam pachchadi/ginger chutney, chutney podi or a pappu pulusu (veg stew).

There are a few variations to this batter and I am sharing one of the recipes here. The key is the fermentation like with other dosa batters.

How to make set dosa

Ingredients

2 cups short grain rice (I use sona masuri)

1 cup urad dal

1 cup flattened rice/atukulu/poha

1/4 cup saggubiyyam/sago/sabbakki

1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds

Instructions

1. Soak all ingredients in water separately. The fenugreek seeds can be added to the rice. Soaking time should be atleast 5-6 hours.

2. Drain the water and grind the ingredients to a smooth batter in batches. Water can be added as you grind. The batter should be of thick pouring consistency and therefore water should be added with care.

You can grind the ingredients separately or make a combination (rice, urad dal and sago, poha). Add the batter to a common bowl as you grind. Remember that the bowl should have space on top (after filling with batter) to allow for a rise upon fermentation.

3. Add salt, mix the batter well. Cover and let it ferment overnight. The rate of fermentation depends on the weather. If fermenting during the day and the weather is hot, you may need only 4 hours for fermentation. One fermented, refrigerate the batter (to stop he fermentation process) if not using immediately.

How to prepare the dosa

1. Heat a tawa. When slightly warm, pour a ladleful of batter in the centre. You can add a 1/4 tsp oil around the edges.

2. Cover and cook on low flame until the underside is golden and the top is cooked through.

3. Transfer to a serving platter.

Note: At step 1, you can sprinkle finely grated carrot/beetroot or finely chopped coriander or onion or grated coconut or chutney podi on the top of the dosa. As you can see, the options can be endless:)

Idli Recipe | How to make idli batter

Idli is a traditional breakfast in any South Indian household. They are vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and there are many varieties that are made. Here I am sharing the recipe to make the basic plain idli batter and soft fluffy idlis.

A traditional brass idli maker that has been at home for over 50 years.

Water is added at the base and the mould is layered with soft muslin/cotton cloth on which the batter is poured.

Covered and then steamed until done (about 20minutes). The idlis will easily come off the cloth.

How to make idli batter

Ingredients

The proportion used is 1:2 i.e. urad dal:idli rava. The below quantity will yield around 35 medium sized idlis and can be changed to suit your requirement. The batter can also be made with rice instead of idli rava and I will make a separate post for that.

200g urad dal
400g idli rava

Salt

Water (as required for batter)

Instructions

The idli rava and urad dal are soaked in separate vessels with enough water to cover them. Soaking time is 4-5 hours.

The urad dal is then ground to a soft batter with a thick pouring consistency. Any water added must be done bit by bit as required during the grinding process.

Mix the ground batter with the idli rava, add salt and mix well. Cover and leave it to ferment overnight. Fermentation is key and the method can be altered based on the weather. In hotter climates, leaving overnight or even 4-5 hours during the day works well. In winters or cooler climates, one can opt to keep the covered batter in the sun for 4-5 hours. Alternatively, the oven can be preheated and used to store the batter. A third method is to use another vessel, layer it with hot water and place the batter vessel in it. Cover with a cloth and keep in a warm place. Fermentation will result in small bubbles on the surface of the batter.

How to make idli

The first requirement to make the idli is an idli stand (easily available in stores and online) and a pressure cooker in which to keep the stand. Or you can buy a steamer that can function on its own. At home, we use the brass one sometimes, but also have a smaller steel idli stand that I use in the pressure cooker.

The mould is greased with a little ghee, batter is poured in. The idlis should be steamed for about 15-20 minutes. Over-steaming can cause idlis to be dry and dense, so do take care to keep track of time.

Scoop the idlis out of the mould, drizzle some ghee and serve with coconut chutney. In Andhra, we usually serve this with the allam pachchadi / ginger chutney (recipe is on the blog). Other pairings include tomato chutney, karvepaku podi/curry leaf powder, molaga podi, and sambar. If using molaga podi or karvepaku podi, remember to add a few drops of sesame oil to it on the plate. Taste goes up a notch!