Carrot n Barley Soup

Soups feature on our dinner table off and on, so much that I collect soup bowls :)

When I came across the announcement for No Croutons Required July event announcement, I was hoping to use barley in my soup. The very same day, I read Usha's (Veg Inspirations) Aval-Tomato Dosa in which she had included barley. Emboldened by that I dished this soup out.

The recipe is by itself quite filling, if required you may serve with dinner rolls or pav or such.

Ingredients:

1 cup Carrots chopped

1/2 cup Barley cooked (reserve the barley water)

10 numbers Shallots

2 teaspoons Ghee

Fresh Mint leaves few

Salt and Pepper to taste

For garnish:

Fresh cream.

Peel shallots and saute them in 1 teaspoon ghee. Add these to the carrots and pressure cook. Cool and add a portion of cooked barley and blend in a mixer until smooth using barley water.

Add one more cup of water.

Place a pan on stove. Add the remaining ghee. When hot add the cooked barley and saute for few minutes before adding the pureed carrot blend.

Add salt and bring to boil, and simmer until soup thickens. Drop few fresh mint leaves and pepper.

Remove from fire and garnish with fresh cream.

Serve hot.

This is my entry for No Croutons Required - July event.

Golle Bajji

Years ago, when we lived in Mangalore, the Madhuvan restaurant was our regular eat out. Intially, we were put up in a hotel and everyday, were eating either at Srinivas, Woodlands or Madhuvan. My husband's regular order was the Golle bajji at Madhuvan. Even today, our standard itinerary, for our annual trip to Udipi is Coimbatore to Mangalore via Kerala. We plan our trip in such a way we are in Mangalore by tea time and have golle bajjis and tea before proceeding to Udipi. On the return trip we make it via Hassan and Bangalore, and buy coffee for the family at Saklespur. My husband loves driving and the estate coffee, so never complains!

So, I had to learn this much sought after soft and delicious tea-time snack. A colleague, Nandhana gave me the recipe. I was using the recipe for long and the results were good. Recently, one of my friend's sister was married and her in-laws are from South Canara. Her mother-in-law is a great cook who has taught her their cooking and what goes well with what dish etc. All of us now ask this girl for recipes, which were so fondly handed down to her by her mother -in -law. That was an improvement on my original recipe of golle bajji, and it goes thus,

Ingredients:

1 cup All purpose flour

1 tablespoon Rice flour

1/3 cup of Yoghurt

1 pinch of Soda-bi-carb

1 teaspoon Red Chilly powder

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Cumin seeds, Curry leaves and Coriander leaves are all optional.

Combine all purpose flour, rice flour, soda -bi -carb, chillypowder, salt, cumin seeds, chopped curry leaves and coriander leaves with the yoghurt and mix them all in a whisking motion. Add a little more yoghurt or some water if the batter is thick. The batter should resemble idli batter.

Set aside for few minutes. Heat oil in a pan until hot, but not smoking hot. Bring the fire to medium high and drop handful of batter in the oil. The bajjis will fluff soon after you drop them in oil. Repeat for three or four more not crowding them in the oil. Fry them until golden brown. Remove and place on absorbent tissues. Repeat until all batter is used.

Serve these spongy soft dumplings with coconut chutney.

I would love to send them to RCI Udupi and Mangalorean cuisine originally started by Lakshmi.

This recipe also goes to WYF: Fried Snack event.

Aariyum-Thakkali Uththappam

Aariyum, kezhvaragu, ragi are all names in different South Indian languages for finger millet.

Ironically, millet is associated with bird feed despite the amazing nutrients it has.

Back home, this is the first cereal food to be introduced to infants. My mother, with ideas given by her maids or neighbours uses, ragi, maize and millet (cumbu) in lot of dishes, mostly in dosais.

They are all worth the pain of cleaning and curing the cereals. Amma is never tired of all that as we all bring back with us the cured grains or the flour. This is one such dosai which will tickle your tastebuds. I used store bought milletflour.

These can be had as uththappams or as normal thin dosais with usual chutney, sambhar etc. etc.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup finger millet flour (or cured ragi, same quantity)

1/2 cup idli rice

1/2 cup raw rice

2 tablespoons urad dhal

1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds

2 red chillies (or more if desired)

2 green chillies

4 medium tomatoes

2 tablespoons buttermilk ( optional; it just helps fermentation process.)

oil as required.

For garnish:

1 large onion -chopped and sauteed in oil with some salt

coriander leaves -chopped -fistfull

curry leaves -chopped -few

tomato rings

Wash and soak together idli rice, raw rice, urad dhal and fenugreek seeds for few hours.

Cut tomatoes in fours or eights. Put the tomatoes and chillies in the mixie jar first and blend well.

Add the soaked rice-lentil combination and grind to a smooth batter.

In the last stages, add the ragi flour and buttermilk to blend well in the batter.If using whole grain millet, that has to be soaked and ground along the rice.

Add the salt and set to ferment for atleast 12 hours.

Pour ladlefuls on hot tawa and adding little oil make the dosais until well done on both sides.

For uththappams pour larger quantity of batter, spreading it thick.Wait for a few seconds and on the top side spread sauteed onions, curry leaves, coriander leaves and tomato rings. Press these gently to sink into the batter.

Cover with a lid. When the bottom is cooked the top would have been steamed and ready.

Flip quickly on its back if you want that side done also.

Serve with any accompaniment.

This is yet another dosai to feature in Padma's Dosa Corner.

Baked Cutlets

I had some sweet potatoes and had already made a dum style dry curry the other day. So had to think of something new to tempt my husband. I set out to make these cutlets and as usual wanted to try a baked recipe. The sweetpotato, according to this article ranks #1 in nutrition. It is all good carbohydrates and very low fat, moderate protein etc. That was new to me. Nonetheless, I baked these cutlets. They were quite delicious, just a bit dry as there was not one drop of oil.So I sprinked few drops of oil when they were warm enough to absorb. ( About 2 drops on eah side of the cutlet, was enough.)
I served them with tomato sauce and with the usual onions and tomatoes. The number of pieces may depend on the size of the sweet potato. I had three medium ones.






Here goes the recipe, that my husband insisted goes on the blog immediately.


Ingredients:
Sweet potatoes (cooked in skin and peeled and mashed) - about 3/4 ths of a cup
Carrots and French beans (Cut in tiny pieces and cooked) ,Green peas (cooked) -1/4th of a cup
(all of these put together)
Red Chilli powder - 2 teaspoons
Amchoor powder - 1 teaspoon
Bread Crumbs or coarsely powdered corn flakes -to coat the cutlets.
Corn flour and plain flour -2 tablespoons mixed in water to make a paste.
(This paste should have the consistency of paint. To brush on the cutlets)
Salt -to taste
Oil few drops ( if you don't mind the cutlets dry, no oil is required)


For garnish:
2 tomatoes cut in circles
1 onion cut in circles






Preheat oven to 250 deg. C/ 475 deg.F/ gasmark 9/ Super hot.
Mix all the vegetables, salt, chillipowder and amchoor and mix thoroughly.
Put a pan on low fire and toss the above mix until no moisture is left. ( The cutlets will break if there is moisture.)
Allow to cool. Shape the cutlets to desired shape.
With a pastry brush, coat the cutlets with the corn flour- plain flour paste.
Toss them in the breadcrumbs to cover completely.
Place the cutlets on an ovensafe tray and bake for 18 -20 minutes.
Take out and while still warm rub just few drops of oil on each culet.
Serve hot with tomato ketchup, onions and tomato rings or with green chutney.

An Award and Two entries

Thank you JYOTI for presenting me with the award. Words are inadequate to express my joy upon this recognition.





I would love to share this with All Bloggers out there :)

Just to name a few....

Laavanya, who introduced me to blogging and never tires finding fundoo recipes,


Anu Sriram, who has a fascinating theme and not to mention lovely recipes,


Pavithra , the creativity queen,


Anupama whose recipes are so everyday - like , that I mail them to my dorm-living teen,

Ann who holds me bound with her Saatvic recipes,

and

to my lovely daughter, Niki , who has an interesting spot of her own, for just being there for me always.


I am today forwarding two of my earlier posts to Padma's Dosa Corner Event.


Aapam with Kurma.





Godhumai Rawa Adai.

Soraikkai Dosai - Bottle Gourd Dosai

Dosais are my all time favourites. I had read this recipe for soraikkai uththappam in one Mangaiyar Malar issue. But had not noted it down. Later upon a big guesswork I got it to perfection. And now I wish to share them with you.







Ingredients:
1/2 cup Idli rice
1/2 cup Raw rice
1/2 cup Grated Bottlegourd
2 teaspoons Urad dhal
2 teaspoons Fenugreek seeds
2 Green chillies
2 Red chillies
Salt to taste
Oil few spoons



Wash and soak both idli rice and the raw rice separately for few hours. Wash and soak together the urad dhal and the fenugreek seeds also for few hours.
Grind in the mixie or grinder, initially the dhal fenugreek combination until smooth and add the idli rice. Grind until very smooth. Remove from the blender and keep aside.
Grind to a smooth batter the chillies and the raw rice, adding the grated bottle gourd just few minutes before removing.
Blend well and combine the earlier batter to this and mix well. Add salt .
Let the batter stand to ferment well, preferably overnight.
Pour ladlefulls on hot tawa, add few drops of oil and cook dosais until done on both sides.
Serve with chutney, sambhar or milagaipodi.

Alternatively you may cut onions and add to the batter and pour uththappams.

I am sending this recipe to Padma's Dosa corner event.

Two dry curries -microwave wonders!!!

The dry subzis I am posting today are virtually oil free, ready in minutes, done in just one microwave safe dish and taste yumm...I think this will kindle Niki and co.'s interest. Both are listed in the LG microwave cookbook by Mrs. Geetha Narang. I have modified to make it even easier.


Dry Gobi Subzi:





Ingredients:
1 Big cauliflower (250 grams)
1 tablespoon Tomato paste
1 teaspoon Ginger paste
1 teaspoon Green chilly paste ( you may use red chilly powder 1/2 teaspoon)
1 medium Onion grated
1/2 teaspoon Garam masala powder
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder
Salt and Black pepper powder to taste
1 teaspoon oil
Green coriander leaves for garnish






Wash and cut cauliflower into florets. Put them in warm water for 2 minutes.
In a microwave bowl, microwave oil at 100% power for 30 seconds. Add all the masalas and cook on 100% power for 5 minutes, opening twice in between to stir. The raw taste of the masalas should subside.
Take the bowl out and drop the cauliflower florets in the bowl and using your hand mix the masala well to coat the florets.
Return the bowl to the oven and cook covered on 100% power for 5 minutes and again on 60% power for 4 minutes.
Allow to stand for a further 5 minutes.
Take out and serve garnished with fresh coriander leaves with rice, rotis paranthas.


Stuffed Bindi:




Ingredients:
500 grams Ladies finger
2 medium Onions grated
2 tablespoons Tomato paste
1 tablespoon Red chilly powder
1 tablespoon Yoghurt or 2 teaspoons Tamarind paste
2 teaspoons Oil
Salt to taste




Wash ladies fingers and wipe them dry. Chop the head and bottom off. Make a long and deep slit in all the bindis lengthwise. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a microwave safe dish and add the masalas and cook on 100% power for 4 minutes, stirring twice in between.
Take out and let it cool.
Using your fingers prod the slits in the ladies fingers to open and drop the masala in it filling as much as possible. Take care not to break them.
Place in a layer in the same microwave dish and sprinkle yoghurt or tamarind paste on top.
Cover the dish and cook on 100% micropower for 5 minutes.
Stand for another 3 minutes.
Remove lid and toss once. ( Some of the yoghurt may not have mixed.) Cook open on 60% power for two more minutes.
Serve with rotis and paranthas.