Neer dosa

 Neer dosa is a simplest form of soft dosa and tastes so good with coconut chutney.

Ingredients:

Raw rice - 1 cup.

Salt - as required

Water- 2 cups

Method:

1. Soak the raw rice for 5 to 6 hours and grind thoroughly into a paste.
   
   
   
2. While grinding add only the soaked rice into the jar and add little water and grind it into a smooth paste.
3. Now add the rest of the water to make a thin consistency of batter.
4. Do not add the entire water first which wont let you grind the rice into a smooth paste.
5. Add salt and start making dosa as we do it for rava dosa. 
6. Take a ladle full of batter and start pouring from the outside to the middle of the pan.
   
   
   
7. Close it with a lid. Allow it to cook. Do not flip. Wait till the the entire dosa gets cooked and fold it into four folds and keep separately. Do not stack one above the other. It will stick to each other when hot. When cooled it wont stick.
   
   
   
8. Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Method 2: 

1. Neer dosa can be made instantly using rice flour. 
2. Mix rice flour with water to the above consistency and add salt. 
   
   
   
3. Keep it for 10 minutes and start making dosa as mentioned above.
   
   
    
   

   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   
   

   
   
   
   
4. 1 cup of rice flour may yield 4 to 5 dosas.

Mint Rasam recipe

 Mint rasam is a South Indian recipe, had with rice and any vegetable curry/ appalam for lunch. It can be had as a soup too.

Ingredients:

Toor dal -1/4 cup

Tamarind - Berry size

Pepper - 1/2 teaspoon

Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Rasam power - 1 tsp

Mint leaves - 1 handful

Coriander leaves - 1 handful

Tomato - 2 medium size

Hinge - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Salt - 1 tbsp. or as required

Water - 2 1/2 cups

For seasoning

Ghee -1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Jeera - 1/4 tsp

Red chili - 1

Hinge - a pinch

Curry leaves - few

Method:

1. Pressure cook toor dal and keep aside.
2. Soak tamarind in hot water and extract the juice
3. In a vessel add tamarind water, hinge, salt, turmeric powder, half of the coriander leaves and mint leaves. Add 1 chopped tomato and allow it to boil.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Add rasam powder and boil for two seconds. Do not boil too long.
   
   
   
5. Grind half of the tomato, mint and few coriander  leaves.
   
   
   
   
6. In a pan add ghee and add the ground tomato and sauté. Add the tamarind mix  and slightly smashed the toor dal to the pan.  Allow it boil for a few seconds.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Season the above mentioned  ingredients and add the rest of the coriander leaves on the top. Delicious mint rasam is ready. Enjoy with hot rice, ghee and appalam/chips/any vegetable curry. 
   
   
   

Mint rice - Vegan style

 Mint rice in vegan style is very simple and easy to make. One of the best mixed rice.

Servings - 2

Ingredients:

Raw rice - 1 cup

Mint leaves - Handful

Coriander leaves - little

Green chili - 2

Green peas fresh/frozen - 1/4 cup

Grated coconut - 1/4 cup

chana dal 1 tbsp.

Daniya - 1tbsp.

Ground nut - 1 tbsp.

Cashews - few

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cooking oil - 1 tbsp. 

Method:

1. Pressure cook the raw rice and allow it to cool by spreading it on a plate and sprinkle some oil on it.
2. Clean the mint leaves, coriander leaves and green chili. 
3. Chop half of the mint leaves and keep aside.
4. Heat the pan and fry the ground nut and cashews in a little oil and keep aside.
5. Roast chana dal, daniya and green chili in the pan. Roast chana dal till it turns dark brown with a good aroma. Add the whole mint leaves and coriander leaves and sauté for few seconds.
   
   
   
6. Dry grind the grated coconut, green chili, roasted daniya, chana dal, mint leaves and coriander leaves.
7. Heat the remaining oil and add the mustard seeds. Once it splutters add green peas and the chopped mint leaves and sauté for few seconds.
   
   
   
8. Add the ground powder over the rice.
   
   
   
9. Add salt and add roasted ground nut and cashew to the rice.
10. Add this entire mix into the pan and mix thoroughly. Mint rice is ready.
11. Have it with chips/ appalam / vadam.
    
    
    

Pulliyodarai podi and Pulliyodarai.

 Pulliyodarai podi is a substitute for pullikaichal.

This has a shelf life of more than a year. You can add oil as per your requirement. It is simple and easy to make and nothing much to clean after it is made unlike pullikaichal which splatters everywhere. Also it can be used in Aval upma, sepangizhangu fry. 

Below is the picture of poha upma made using Pulliyodarai podi.

Ingredients:

Tamarind (cleaned) - 1 orange size

Daniya - 2 table spoon

Chili - 30

Methi seeds - 1tsp

Sesame seeds - 1tbs

Method :

1. Dry roast sesame seed first after cleaning and removing the stones/ sand if any. Keep aside.
2. Now dry roast daniya and methi seeds. Keep aside.
3. Dry roast red chili.
4. Dry roast cleaned tamarind keeping the stove in sim or very very low flame. Keep stirring, Tamarind will get charred easily. Do not use iron pan for roasting. While cleaning remove the seeds, shell of the tamarind fruit if any and also the coir (nar in Tamil).
   
   
   
5. Dry grind sesame seeds first into fine powder then add roasted red chili to it and grind it into fine powder.
6. Now add roasted daniya and methi seeds and grind.
   
   
   
7. Finally add roasted tamarind and grind it into a fine powder. Add tamarind in two parts. Sometime it may stuck. I added the entire quantity in one go.
   
   
   
8. Dry grind into a fine powder.
9. Store it in a dry glass/plastic container.
10.  Care should be taken while using every time that you use dry spoon with dry hands.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

 Making Pulliyodarai using the Pulliyodarai podi:

Ingredients:

Raw rice - 1cup

Gingely oil - 2tbs

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Urid dal - 1 tbs

Chana dal - 1tbs

Red chili - 4

Hinge - 1tsp

Cashews - 1tsp

Ground nut - 1tbs

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Salt - 1tbs

Pulliyodarai podi - 2tbs

Method:

1. Pressure cook raw rice. Transfer the rice into a plate immediately (without using a ladle) after the cooker sets down.
   
   
   Pour 1 tbsp. of gingely oil over the rice as we do for dosa. Add turmeric powder on it.
   
   
   
2.  Leave it under the fan to get cooled. Rice should be cooled completely. Do not use ladle till it cools.
3. Heat the rest of the oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. 
   
   
   
4. Add broken red chili, urid dal, chana dal after the mustard seeds splutter.
5. Roast till the dal turns golden brown.
6. Add ground nut when the dal is slightly brown and after that add cashew also.
7. Roast till the ground nut gets roasted. Mean while the dal also turns golden brown.
8. Now add hinge and then curry leaves.
   
   
   
9. Add this entire items to the cooled  rice.
10. Add salt and Pulliyodarai podi.
    
    
    
11. Mix thoroughly. Pulliyodarai is ready.
    
    
    You can use it for more than 30 hrs.
12. Serve with vadam/ appalam/chips/curd.
13. You can add turmeric lastly while you are seasoning. Similarly you can add Pulliyodarai podi on the spread rice kept for cooling. 

Breakfast recipe : Rava dosa

 Rava dosa is easy and instant South Indian breakfast dish. Very tasty dish and comes out very crispy than ordinary dosa.

Ingredients:

(for 8 dosas)

Rice flour : 1 cup

Rava : 3/4 cup

Butter milk/ curd : 1/2 cup

Green chili : 1

Coriander leaves - few

Curry leaves - few

Ginger grated - 1/2 tsp

Black pepper - 1tsp

Jeera - 1tsp

Hinge - 1/4 tsp

Onion (small) - 1 (optional)

Salt - as required or 1tsp

Water - 2 and 1/2 cup

Cooking oil for making dosa.

Method:

1. Add rice flour, rava, salt, hinge, grated ginger, water and butter milk in a vessel. 
2. If you are using curd, churn well and then add. Mix the batter thoroughly. 
3. It should be soaked for minimum 20 mins. 
4. Meanwhile cut the onion into very small bits and add to the batter. I didn't use onion.
5. Chop curry leaves, coriander leaves and green chili into very small pieces and add to the batter.
6. Make black pepper and jeera into coarse powder and add to the batter.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Making dosa:

• After soaking 20 mins heat the dosa pan and spread 1/2 a tsp of oil evenly. 
• Mix the batter thoroughly every time before making each dosa.
• Pour the batter on the pan in a circular way and then filling the gaps here and there using a ladle without touching the pan. You will get gaps and holes in between.
•  you should not spread the batter as you do it for normal dosa.
• Slightly pour 1/2 tsp of oil on the edges and gaps. Keep it in medium flame.
• Wait for 2mins. the corners will turn brown and you can see the batter on the top surface is also cooked by the change of color.
  
  
  
• Just remove carefully from the pan. Do not flip the dosa.
• Repeat the process for the rest of the dosa.
• It will take more time to get cooked than the ordinary dosa.
• If the dosa doesn't come out of the pan, simmer the stove add little more oil. Remove slowly.
• If the proportions are as mentioned and butter milk or churned curd is used, definitely it will come out well. But definitely it will take more time to get cooked.
• You can use the sour left over dosa batter around 1 cup instead of curd or butter milk.
• Yummy crispy dosa is ready. Serve hot with coconut chutney or idly milagai podi

Coriander/ Kothamalli thokku

 Coriander thokku is very simple and can be used as a side dish for dosa, idly, upma and curd rice. Also you can mix in hot rice with a spoon of gingely oil.

Ingredients:

Coriander - 1 bunch

Tamarind - a lemon size

Green chili - 15 to 20

Hinge - 1/4 tsp

Methi seeds - 1tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Salt -1tbs or as required

Gingely oil - 2tbs

Method:

1. Dry roast methi seeds and keep aside.
2. Wash coriander leaves thoroughly and  wet grind with green chili, salt and tamarind into a fine past along with methi seeds.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Add hinge and the coriander paste after the mustard seeds splutter.
4. Mix thoroughly and keep in simmer flame. close it with a lid as it splashes while boiling.
5. Keep stirring often. When it thickens and comes without touching the sides switch off the stove and store it in a dry plastic/ glass container.
   
   
   
6. It has a shelf life of around 15 days to 1 month when kept in fridge.

Poha kesari

 Poha kesari is a simple easy sweet.

Ingredients:

Poha/ aval - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Water - 1cup

Ghee - 1/4 cup

Cashews - few

Dry grapes - few

Kesari powder ( saffron coloring powder) - a bit

Method:

1. Add 1tsp of ghee into a pan and fry the cashews and dry grapes and keep aside.
2. Fry poha in the pan stirring continuously till it changes the color slightly. 
   
   
   
3. Grind it into a coarse powder.
   
   
   
4. Boil the water and add coarse poha powder slowly by one hand and keep stirring with the other hand.
5. once it starts boiling add the saffron color, cardamom powder and keep cooking.
6. Add sugar once it starts thickening slightly.
7. Add ghee and keep stirring. 
8. Keep stirring till it thickens and comes out with out sticking to the sides of the pan.
9. Transfer it into a bowl and add roasted cashews and dry grapes.
10. You can add pineapple essence if you like the flavour

Urgai /pickle - Uppu karam pisirina mangai

 This is the simplest urgai/pickle. But it will be tasty only with bengalura/ kili mukku mangai.

Ingredients:

Raw mango - 1

Chili powder - 1tbs

Salt - 1tbs

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Hinge - 1/4 tsp

Gingely oil - 1tbs

Method:

1. Cut the mango into very small pieces.
2. Mix the salt and chili powder.
3. Heat the oil add mustard seeds.
4. Add hinge once the mustard seeds splutter.
5. Add the seasoning to the mango pieces and mix well. 
   
   
   
6. It can be refrigerated and used for a week or more.
7. For longer shelf life you need to sauté for few seconds.

Break fast recipe : Adai

 Adai is a protein rich breakfast. It can be made in different combinations of dal and rice.

You can choose any proportion according to your taste and convenience. 

Ingredients:

Combination: 1

Raw rice: 1cup 

Par boiled rice : 1cup 

Toor dal : 1/2 cup

Chana dal : 1/2 cup

 Moong dal : 1/2 cup

Urid dal  :  1/2 cup

Red chili - 10

curry leaves - few

Hinge - 1/4tsp

Grated coconut - 3/4 cup or 1/2cup (Optional)

Coconut oil/cooking oil for making adai.

Combination :2

Same as above. Raw rice - 2 cups and no par boiled rice.

Combination :3

You can use dals with skin, like whole green/moong dal, whole urid dal and also add  masoor dal 1/2 cup

Combination :4

You can add equal proportions of rice and dal. Rice 1 cup and each dal 1 cup. 

Combination :5 

Same combination as that of the first, and add 1/2 cup of wheat rava after soaking for 1/2 an hour separately.

Method : 

1. Soak urid dal alone separately and soak the rest of all the ingredients together along with red chili. Do not add coconut for grinding.
   
   
   
2. Soak for 3 hours.
3. Grind urid dal separately into fine paste as we do for dosa batter.
4. Grind the rest of the ingredients into a coarse batter. Add few curry leaves while grinding.
5. You need not ferment. Add coconut and mix well.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. Heat dosa pan and add a ladle of batter. Spread it into circular shape as we do for dosa. make a hole at the center and add coconut oil around the adai and at the center hole. 
7. It takes time to get cooked unlike dosa. 
8. Flip the other side and keep it for few seconds and remove from the pan.
9. Serve hot with ghee. You can use idli milagai podi or jaggery as a side dish.
10. Avial also can be a good combination.
    
    
    

Tips:

• You can use even ragi. But ragi should be soaked separately. Grinding ragi also should be separate.
• Coconut can be added after grating or we can cut the coconut into small bits as that of the tooth of the comb.
• You can grind all the ingredients together or urid dal separately. If you grind urid dal separately you can get soft adai or crispy adai as you wish. The taste also will be bit different.
• If you grind all the ingredients together  you can only get crispy adai.
• Using coconut oil for making adai will give a good aroma to the adai and added taste.

Breakfast recipe: Aapam and stew

 Aapam

It is a South Indian break fast. It is very tasty and different.

(For  15 to 16 Aapam)

Ingredients:

Parboiled rice - 1cup

Raw rice - 1 cup

Urid dal - 1/2 cup

Methi seeds - 1tsp

Salt - as required

Coconut - 1 cup(grated)

Method:

1. Soak parboiled rice, raw rice, methi seeds and urid dal together in a vessel for 3 hrs.
   
   
   
2. Grind it to fine paste. 
3. Add salt, mix well and allow it to ferment overnight. (around 7 to 8 hrs.)
4. Next day morning Grind coconut into a fine paste and add to the fermented batter and mix thoroughly. 
5. The consistency should be watery as we do for rava dosa. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. Heat aapam pan and pour two ladles of batter in the center and rotate the pan holding handle in such a way that the batter forms a thin layer on the sides of the pan and thick at the center.
   
   
   
7. Close the lid and allow it to cook for 2 mins keeping in medium flame.
   
   
    
8. You can insert a spoon to check if the batter is cooked in the middle.
   
   
   
9. It comes out in the shape of the pan. you can keep extra time to get the corners crispy.
   

   

   
   
   
   
10. The best side dish is stew. You can also have with tomato chutney.

Tips:

•  If the consistency is thick the shape of the aapam won't be perfect. 
• Soak the rice and dal together and grind it together.
• If kept for some more time, the corners will be crispy and the center will be fluffy and soft.
• Use aapam pan which will be easy to rotate and get the shape well.
• You can add coconut and grind along with the batter if you can finish off the batter. But sometimes if the batter is excess, the next day when we use, it might get an oily smell. So to avoid it I add the coconut the next day.

Stew

Ingredients:

Cauliflower - Small flower or half of the bigger one

Beans - 100 gm 

Fresh green peas - 1/2 cup.

Capsicum - 1

Carrot - 2 (Medium size) 

Coconut milk - 2 cups

Cloves - 4

Cinnamon - 1 inch piece

Pepper powder - 1tsp

Salt - 1tsp

Method:

1. Chop the vegetables into 1/2 inch sized pieces.
   
   
    
2. Dry roast cloves and cinnamon and keep aside.
   
   
   
3. Add all the chopped vegetables and peas. Add 1cup of water, salt and cook the veggies.
   
   
   
4. Add coconut milk and pepper powder and mix well. You can make your own coconut milk or buy it from shop. Bring it to boil and turn off the stove.
   
   
   
5. Your stew is ready. Serve hot with aapam.

Making your own coconut milk: 

Grate one full coconut and add  a cup of water and grind it to a fine paste and filter it using a muslin cloth. Use the remaining coconut and add half more cup of water, grind again and filter again. Repeat the process to get two cups of milk. You can use the residue by dry roasting and powdering in sweets, payasams, kootu and curries.