AKKI ROTTI AND RAGI ROTTI with Coconut chutney and Paneer peas gravy

Akki rotti or rice flour rotti and Ragi rotti are very popular and heatlhy breakfast dishes in Karnataka. The preparation method is the same for both. Very time consuming so prepare on a Sunday morning till you perfect it.  I prepared these for breakfast today.

I have served with coconut chutney and peas paneer gravy to a get a balanced meal.

Ingredients:

1. Rice flour/ Ragi flour – 2 cups
2. Water – 3 cups
3. Coconut oil – 1 teaspoon
4. Chopped onion   – 3 table spoon (optional)
5. Grated coconut   – 3 tablespoon (optional)
6. Green chili  – 2 finely chopped
7. Coriander leaves – 2 teaspoons finely chopped
8. Curry leaves – 2 teaspoons finely chopped
9. Ginger – 1 teaspoon finely chopped
10. Salt        – 1 teaspoon
11. Perungayam   – ½ teaspoon
12. Banana leaf –  4 to 5 (10 inch square pieces)

Method:

• In a heavy bottomed pan bring 3 cups water to boil. Lower the flame. Add salt and ½ teaspoon oil and slowly fold in the flour. Mix well to a smooth ball and take off the stove. Cover and leave to cool.
• Once the dough is cool add chopped onion, grated coconut, chopped coriander, curry leaves, ginger, green chili and Perungayam. Mix well and divide into orange sized balls.
• Wash and wipe the banana leaf and grease with a little coconut oil and spread the dough into 3 mm thin rounds.
• Heat tawa on high flame and invert the prepared roti along with the banana leaf. Remove the leaf carefully.

Cook the rotti on a medium flame on both sides till brown dots appear. Serve hot with coconut chutney and any gravy of your choice.

 

Coconut chutney:

Ingredients:

1. Grated coconut – 1 cup
2. Green chili – 2
3. Curry leaves       – 5 leaves
4. Goose berry – 1 (seeded)
5. Channa dal – 1 table spoon
6. Perungayam – a small piece
7. Red chili – 2
8. Til oil – 1 teaspoon
9. Salt – ½ teaspoon

For seasoning:

1. Til oil – 1 teaspoon
2. Mustards seeds  – 1 teaspoon
3. Urad dal             – 1 teaspoon

Method:

• Heat 1 teaspoon oil and fry channa dal perungayam and red chili  till golden brown.
• Add all other ingredients and grind to a paste adding till water.
• Season with mustard and urad dal fried in 1 teaspoon oil.

Paneer and peas in Tomato gravy.

Ingredients:

1. Tomato – 3 cut into chunks and pureed
2. Peas – 1 cup
3. Paneer – ½ cup (cubed)
4. Ghee – 2 teaspoons
5. Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon
6. Cumin powder – ½ teaspoon
7. Kasuri methi – 1 table spoon
8. Garam masala powder – ½ teaspoon
9. Thick curd (beaten) – 1 tablespoon
10. Turmeric powder -1/2 teaspoon
11. Perungayam                – ¼ teaspoon
12. Salt – ¾ teaspoon

Method:

• Cut tomatoes into big chunks sauté for a few minutes and grind to a puree. You can also leave the tomatoes in hot water and remove skin and grind to a puree.
• Heat ghee in a kadai add peas and paneer and sauté on low flame. Add turmeric powder and perungayam.
• Add the tomato puree, salt and ½ cup water cover and cook for 5 minutes on a low flame.
• Add all other ingredients and mix well. Cover and cook for 5 more minutes on low flame.

This gravy is a low  fat version of Paneer mutter. Can be served with Chapathis and ghee rice as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Thavalai Adai

Thavalai Adai is a variation of adai. It is steamed in a vengala paanai or handi instead of tawa.

This dish must be prepared leisurely and served hot.

 

Ingredients

• Boiled Rice : 3 cups
• Toordal       : 1 cup
• Channa dal : 1 cup
• Urad dal      : 1 cup
• Coconut      : 1/2 cup ( grated)
• Red chillies : 4 nos
• Curry leaves : 2 twigs
• Oil                 : 2 table spoons
• Salt to taste

 

Method

1. Wash and soak boiled rice for 1 hour. Wash and soak the dals separately.
2. Coarsely grind boiled rice, add the dals, red chillies and grind to a coarse and thick batter.
3. Add salt, coconut and roughly chopped curry leaves and mix well.
4. Heat a vengala paanai ( Bronze pot) on medium flame and spread 2 teaspoons oil.
5. Spread two table spoons of batter into thick adai and make a hole in center.
6. Cover the paanai with a shallow bowl filled with one glass of water.
7. Cook over low flame for 3 to 4 minutes. Once vapour rises from the bowl the adai will be cooked well.
8. Remove carefully with a spoon. Prepare all the adais in the same way.
9. Serve hot with Avial, Pulikaichal or vethal kuzhambu.

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Urulaikizhangu Podimaas (Potato Podimaas)

Potato podimas is usually prepared on festival days. It can be prepared quickly with just a teaspoon of oil.

Ingredients

• Potatoes – 1/2 kg
• Oil – 1 tsp
• Coconut – 2 tbs grated
• Curry leaves – 1 twig
• Coriander leaves – 1 tbs chopped
• Green chili – 1no
• Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
• Urad dal – 1 tsp
• Cashew – 4 to 5 chopped ( Optional)
• Lemon juice – 1 tbs ( optional)
• Salt – to taste

Method

1. Wash and pressure cook the potatoes. Peel the cooked potatoes and mash well.
2. Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds. When it crackles add urad dal and cashew.
3. Saute till golden. Add chopped curry leaves and green chili.
4. Saute for a minute and add the mashed potatoes. Mix well.
5. Add salt and coconut and mix well.Take off the heat.
6. Add lemon juice and mix well.( Optional)
7. Decorate with chopped coriander leaves.

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Raw Tomato Kootu ( Thakkali Kai Koottu)

Harvesting tomatoes that were never sown!

Around five years back, I suddenly planned a  face lift for our small garden area. After cleaning up the garden I bought a nice pot to be used as compost pit. We collected the vegetable and fruit waste in this pot and used it as manure. I used to throw the rotten tomatoes as well.

In our new duplex home we made planters on the compound wall and the parapet wall. My hubby mixed soil with the compost we had collected over the years  and planted some rose cuttings. After around two weeks the planters were filled with tomato plants. We re potted them and have harvested over 100 tomatoes till now. Another hundred can be plucked in a week:).

Thakkali Koottu (Tomato koottu )

Cooking with home grown vegetables is very satisfying and you know there are no artificial fertilizers or pesticides. The aroma of freshly plucked vegetables is heavenly.

Ingredients

• Raw tomatoes – 6 to 8
• Moong dal – 1/4 cup
• Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – to taste

For the paste

• Grated coconut – 1 tbs
• Coriander seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Urad dal – 1 tsp
• Channa dal – 1 tsp
• Hing – a small piece
• Red-chili –  1 no
• Oil – 1 tsp

For  the seasoning

• Ghee – 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves – 5 nos
• Red chilli – 1 no

Method

1. Slice the tomatoes into long pieces.Place in a MW safe bowl and mix with 1/4 tsp turmeric powder. MW high for 5 minutes
2. Pressure cook the moong dal with 1/4 tsp turmeric powder.
3. Roast the ingredients for the paste except coconut in 1 tsp oil, add coconut and grind to a smooth paste.
4. Add cooked moong dal, ground paste and salt to the tomatoes and mix well.Add a little water to get Koottu consistency.
5. Mw high for 2 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl.
6. Cut the red chili into small pieces.
7. Heat 1 tsp ghee and add the mustard seeds and red chili; when the mustard crackles add the curry leaves. Add  the seasoning to the koottu.

Serve as a side dish for rotis,phulkas or rice.

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Home Sweet Home Series – 1/Badam (almonds)/Cashew Halwa

After the article in The Hindu hits for the blog has increased considerably :). The sad part is that my pictures and recipes are shamelessly copied and used by other websites. Follow this link http://www.chennai.com/more_kuzambu.html I know  many other bloggers are upset just like me. But now I will write something that no one can copy, about the homes I have lived till date!

We moved into our new duplex house in February 2012. This is my 25th home.

I was born at no:3  1st street kallukuzhi Trichy. I was born at home before my mother could be hospitalized. Being a girl after three boys, the whole family was elated. I was affectionately called Ponnu (girl).A funny incident happened about which no one was aware for long. At home I was named Latha. My uncle registered my  name as Rukmani (my granny’s name). This confusion was solved by naming me as latha rukmani at school! A few months later we left for Calcutta, but we came back to the same house after 4 years.

Badam/Cashew Halwa

Cashew burfi was one of first sweets my amma prepared. My granny used to travel a lot to assist her long list of relatives for one occasion or the other. My amma and aunt would carry on with their experimental cooking, with expert advice from my grandpa :). Once as per his recipe they fried cashew in ghee and dropped them into hot, thick  sugar syrup! The cashews turned black and could not be separated from the syrup. Only thing they could do was to clean up the kitchen before my granny returned! This was one of first experiments of two great cooks :)!

Traditionally  badam is skinned for halwa. I have retained the skin as per dietitians’ advice.

Ingredients

• Badam(almonds) /Cashew – 1 cup
• Sugar – 1 cup
• Cardamom – 4 nos
• Nutmeg – a small piece
• Saffron leaves – a few
• Ghee – 2 tbs

Almond halwa will be cream in colour. Mine is wheatish as I have retained the skin.

Method

1. Soak the almonds in hot water for one hour.* Peel the skin if you wish.
2. Grind the almonds with cardamom and nutmeg to a smooth paste, adding a little water.
3. In a heavy bottomed pan mix the ground paste, sugar and ghee. Cook on a low to medium flame, stirring continuously.
4. Cook till the halwa leaves the sides and forms into a ball when stirred.
5. Transfer the halwa to a serving dish and decorate with saffron leaves.

Note:* The skin can be peeled easily after soaking for around 5 minutes.

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Paneer Tikkas (Paneer Vegetable Barbeque)

Friends, I am back! I hope I will keep posting new recipes regularly.Why I stopped for almost two years does’nt really matter. Many of you kept sending me sweet letters, trying to get me back to posting new recipes. It is this love and support that made me  come back again. Thanks to one and all!

A few days back  I prepared this simple Paneer tikka for a TV show. I always wanted to use decorative skewers. I have searched many shops in Chennai and Bangalore in vain. Only simple barbeque sticks are easily available. The first time I made these using stalks from coconut leaves.

Paneer sticks. The table cloth is   hand stitched patch work made from leftover  material of  lakshmi’s frocks.

Ingredients

1. Paneer – 200gms (cut into even cubes)
2. Bell peppers – 1 each of green, yellow and red.
3. Tomato – 2
4. Onion – 2
5. Carrot – 1
6. Baby corn – 2
7. Potato – 1
8. Thick Curd – 2 tbs
9. Salt – 1/2 tsp
10. Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
11. Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
12. Any mixed spice of your choice – 1 tsp
13. Oil – 1 tbs

Method

• Cut the bellpeppers, onions and tomatoes into 1 inch cubes.
• Peel and cut the potatoes into one inch cubes.
• Peel and cut the carrots into rounds.
• Cut the baby corn into one inch pieces.
• MW the carrots, potatoes and baby corn for 2 minutes.
• Mix salt, Turmeric, chilli powder and 1 tsp oil in a bowl.
• Arrange the vegetables and paneer one after the other into the barbeque sticks.
• Spread the curd mixture on all sides and leave for 5 minutes.
• Grease a non stick tawa with 1 tsp oil and place the sticks.
• Close with a lid and cook in low flame for 5 minutes turning after every minute.
• Once the vegetables are soft and paneer turns brown take off the flame.
• Sprinkle your favourite spice powder and serve hot.

Note

You can also make these with tooth picks. Just cut the vegetables and paneer into smaller cubes.

You can use any other vegetables of  your choice.

Watch me on Srisankara TV on saturday June 26th at 1 pm IST. You can also view in the web at srisankaratv.net (timings are same)

For my friends in other countries I have requested the channel to retelecast at a time convenient for them. Will let you know timings soon.

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