Kanda Poha (Aval Upma)( Beaten Rice Flakes)

3 cups Poha (thick)(Beaten Rice Flakes or Aval)
1 large onion
4 green chilles
4 curry leaves
1 small potato cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 tsp turmeric
salt to taste
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp cilantro finely chopped
2 tbsp or more fresh lemon juice

Tadka-
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp udad dal
1/2 tsp hing

Method-

Wash poha,  rinse a couple of times, and leave to drain, while you get the rest of the ingredients ready.
Cook the potaoes with a lilltle water in a microwave for 4 minutes and keep aside.
Slice onion lengthwise, green chillies.
Heat oil add, mustard seeds, urad dal, once they pop add the hing, the onions, green chillies, curry leaves.
Saute till golden add the potatoes, turmeric and a little salt.
Stir for a few more minutes, add the poha, ssome more salt, sugar and stir well till blended.
Cover, leave on medium heat, till the flavors marry.
Add lemon juice and cilantro, stir well, take off heat.
Cover and keep for a couple of minutes and serve.

 

Kadala Curry without coconut

Kadala curry, a quintessential dish from Kerala, served usually with rice, appams or puttu. There are two versions to this dish, one with coconut, which is usally made it when there are a lot people to be served and the quick and easy one without the coconut. 

1 cup black chana soaked overnight
Cook in the pressure cooker with enough water until done.

1 onion finely chopped
1 tbsp each ginger/garlic/green chilles minced
3 tomatoes chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp coriander pwd
1 tsp chilli pwd
salt
1/2 tsp fenugreek pwd
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida
curry leaves
2 tbsp oil

Heat oil, add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and hing.
Once the mustard seeds pop, add onions and curry leaves.
Add ginger, garlic and green chilles.
Once sauted, add tomatoes and all the dry spices.
After the tomatoes are cooked down add the kadala with the water that it was cooked in.
Add salt and cover and simmer till a nice gravy is formed.
Serve with any kind of Kerala bread or rice.

Easy Peasy huh!!!!

Egg and Veggie Kothu Paratha

Kothu means minced and paratha as you all know is Indian flaky bread, Kothu Paratha is a street food available in the southern parts of India and is usually made with chicken and lamb. I have tried making it here with eggs and vegetables, but you could make it ony with vegetables too. I usually use leftover chapatis or parathas to make this dish, I think flour tortillas would also work. I also used cooked asparagus in this again any leftover vegetables can be use in this dish. This is such a balanced dish as it has all the food groups and can be served for breakfast, packed for lunch or even eaten for dinner.

Eggs - 2 beaten
Parathas/Leftover Chapatis/ Kerala Parottas broken into small pieces - 3 or 4 cooked
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - a few
Onion- 1/2 chopped
Green Chilli- 1 minced
Ginger and garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Cabbage 1/2 cup chopped
Carrot 1 chopped
Green Pepper 1/2
Asparagus 1/4 cup cooked
Salt to taste
Chilli pwd 1/4 tsp
Soy Sauce 2 tsp
Oil 2 tbsp


Heat 1 tsp oil, add the beaten eggs and scramble the eggs.
Remove the eggs, add the rest of the oil.
Add mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves.
Add onion and green chillies, once the mustard seeds splutters.
Add the ginger /garlic paste, cabbage, carrot and capsicum.
Add salt and a little chilli pwd, once cooked add the asparagus.
Add soy sauce, and the parathas.
Stir well, add salt only if needed. Once everything is well combined, remove from heat.
Add lime juice and cilantro leaves and serve.

If it is too dry add a little water, I like mine a little dry, traditionally some curry or veg kurma is added to make it less dry.

Nadan Egg Curry

This is a great dish to serve at dinner and goes well with a variety of breads. I used ground coconut in this dish but the traditionally coconut milk is used. In Kerala this might be even served for breakfast.
Hardboiled eggs - 4
Coconut Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves 3 or 4
Onion - 1 chopped fine
Green chillies - 1 chopped fine
Ginger and garlic paste- 1 tbsp
Tomato -1 medium sized chopped fine
chilli pwd - 1/2 tsp
coriander pwd - 1 tbsp
turmeric- 1/4 tsp
pepper a pinch
garam masala - 1/4 tsp
coconut about 2 tbsp ground to a paste or 1/2 cup coconut milk
salt to taste

Heat oil, add mustard seeds and curry leaves.
Once it splutters add onion, saute well.
Add ginger garlic paste and tomato.
Add the chilli pwd, coriander pwd, turmeric pwd, pepper, garam masala and salt and 2 tbsp water, fry well
Adding water keeps the masala from burning.
Once everything is well cooked add the coconut milk or ground coconut(this is what I used)and eggs, cook on low heat.
Serve with rice, appams or parathas.

Aloo Rasedar

Aloo Rasedar is a different kind of side dish to eat with puris, especially if you get tired of eating it with the usual Aloo Sabji. This is a popular dish usually served for breakfast, in places like the Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Actually good to serve for brunch, lunch or even dinner.

1 Potato boiled and broken into big chunks

1 large tomato chopped fine

1/2 inch ginger minced

2 green chillies minced

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

a pinch of hing

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp chilli pwd

1/2 tsp coriander pwd

1/4 tsp mango pwd

1/4 tsp garam masala

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

salt to taste

1 tbsp oil

Method:

Heat oil add cumin seeds and hing, let it splutter.

Add tomatoes, grated ginger, green chillies, saute for a minute.

Add turmeric, chilli pwd, coriander pwd, and mango pwd.

Keep stirring the tomatoes, add a little water if it starts sticking to the bottom or gets too dry.

Once the tomatoes are soft and the mixture looks like it's blended well add potatoes, salt and 1 cup of water, if you want a really watery gravy add more water.

I usually put this whole thing in the pressure cooker and cook for 1 whistle, but you can just cover it up and cook on low to medium heat and let it come together.

Once done add garam masala and coriander leaves, remove from heat.

Serve with puris, this will easily serve 2 to 3 people.

Broken Wheat and Rava Idlis

I'm in Mumbai right now and enjoying the monsoons and the food. We wanted a quick breakfast this morning and came across rava idlis with potatoes, they looked really soft and delicious and so tried them with some variations. I used dalia or lapsi or fine broken wheat and semolina and just a tinge of baking soda to help them rise a bit. Rava idlis are ideal when you don't want to grind or ferment the batter, or when you are stumped about what to make for breakfast. Rava Idlis are steamed rounds of semolina, almost like a quick bread but steamed instead of baked and a very popular breakfast item in South India.

1 cup broken wheat(fine variety)

1/2 cup rava/semolina

3 tsps oil

1and1/2 cup yogurt

1 cup water

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 raw potato chopped fine

2 green chillies

1/2 inch ginger grated

2 tbsps coriander leaves

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

In a bowl mix the wheat and semolina add the oil mix and keep aside for a few minutes.

Add the yogurt, water, chopped potato, green chilli, ginger, cilantro and cumin seeds.

Add the baking soda and salt.

Keep aside for a few minutes.

Steam the idlis for 10 to 12 minutes, serve with chutney.

Pongal

Yellow Moong dal - 1/2 cup

Rice - 1 cup

Ginger grated - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 3

Cumin seeds - 2 tbsps

Peppercorns- 1 tbsp

Hing - 1/4 tsp

Ghee - 2 tbsps

Salt - 2 tsps or to taste

Dry roast moong dal in a pressure pan till a nice aroma comes off.

Add the rice and wash and rinse both.

Add 5 cups of water and cook for 1 whistle on pressure.

Meanwhile dry roast the cumin seeds and peppercorns and powder.

Heat 1 tbsp of ghee, add ginger and curry leaves stir.

Add hing, cumin seeds and pepper powder, stir.

Add one and a half cups of water to this mixture.

Let it boil add to the rice and dal mixture

Add salt mix well.

Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Dal Paratha/Lentil Flatbread

I had eaten this Paratha way back in Bangalore , must have been in 1997 or 1998, in a West Indian restaurant, I think it was called Sue's. I wonder if it's still there, this was a small joint near Indiranagar, and one would have to wait during weekends to get in. I still remember the taste of those Dal Parathas. It was kind of strange eating an Indian staple in a Caribbean restaurant. I was thinking of a breakfast dish to contribute for the WBB event and came up with my version of Dal Paratha.

These by the way taste delicious even cold the next day. So a great travel food for us Indians especially while we are on the road, I get tired of eating from all the fast food joints, and start craving for some nice Indian Spicy food. Maybe somebody needs to write a series of foods that travel well.

This breakfast/brunch dish is my contribution to Trupti's Weekend Breakfast Blogging event WBB#12

Dal Paratha (Makes about 8 to 10)

Filling

1 cup yellow spilt moong dal

3 cups water

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp hing

1 tbsp ginger grated/paste

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp chili pwd

1 tsp coriander pwd

2 tsp amchur(mango powder)

1 tsp garam masala pwd

salt to taste

1 tbsp minced coriander leaves

Dough

3 cups wheat flour

1 tbsp oil

salt to taste

Soak the dal for 2 hours.

Heat oil add cumin seeds, and hing.

Then add ginger, turmeric pwd, chilli pwd and coriander pwd.

Add dal and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil.

Cook covered on low heat for 20 to 25 minutes until dal is soft but not mushy. Don't forget to keep stirring while the dal is cooking.

There should be absolutely no water. Add the amchur pwd, garam masala pwd, salt and coriander leaves and leave it to cool. I usually grind the filling in the food processor so it looks like puran poli filling and can be made into a ball. The grinding is optional. I like the texture better and you can put more filling this way.

Meanwhile make the dough, by mixing wheat flour, oil, salt and add water as needed, to make a paratha dough. Keep the dough for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Then divide and roll into balls. Add the filling and roll into about 5 to 6 inches in diameter.

Cook on a tawa or skillet by adding oil on both sides and cook till brown.

Serve hot or cold with pickles and yogurt, hot or cold. I had mine with mango thokku(recipe to follow). This paratha is very filling I couldn't eat more than one. A great idea for brunch as they can be made in advance. I make my filling and dough the previous night, and leave it in the fridge, and make the parathas fresh in the morning or for brunch as the case might be.