Atukula Upma/Avalakki/Poha

This upma comes under the category of my comfort breakfast.It is so easy to prepare which hardly takes 15 mins for the over all process to be done.I prepare this atleast once a week and especially when no breakfast is planned in advance or i get up late this is very handy for me.We prepare different variations of this upma like gojju avalakki(made up of tamarind), coconut avalakki which i will try to blog later.Now comes to the recipe of this simple and easy recipe of poha.

I am sending this entry for Single Serving Recipes @ spicy rasam hosted by sahaja.



Ingredients:
2 cups flattened rice/atukulu/poha
2 onions thinly sliced
6-8 green chillies slitted
3 tbsp of groundnuts
1 tbsp chana dal
1 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
8-10 curry leaves
2 tbsp chopped coriander
1 lemon squeezed(use fresh for better taste)
a pinch of sugar
2 tbsp oil
salt

Method:
Wash and soak poha in enough water(just add up to the level of poha) for 5 mins.squeeze out extra water.I generally wash it thoroughly and leave it aside.
Heat oil,crackle mustard seeds and add groundnuts and fry until its skin starts coming out(approx one min),then add chana dal,urad dal and fry until light red in color.
Now add cut green chillies,curry leaves and fry for a minute,add sliced onions and a pinch of sugar and fry until they are crisp and pink.Add turmeric powder,salt and soaked poha and give a good stir until everything is mixed properly.
Add lemon juice and coriander just before removing from stove.

Serve it hot with chips/sev.

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Babycorn-Capsicum Curry | Babycorn Masala

Babycorn is my favorite vegetable. Don't ask me why !! lots of times there are no reasons for liking or disliking specific vegetables. On a different note, quite sadly this vegetable was not available at our place during my childhood.I used to relish this vegetable especially during my trips to Bangalore during schooldays. This continued later as well when I was working at Bangalore and I used to land up in food world on Friday evenings for my shopping. Babycorn,strawberries and different types of bread used to be the typical fare on my shopping menu. My cousins used to tease me a lot for this as anyone visiting our house would have at least once tasted "baby-corn sabzi" that I used to prepare. Babycorn manchurian is probably the best picks for me amongst the other variations of babycorn that i have tried. It is easy and quick to make and invariably comes out quite well.

I love this curry a lot,the crispier baby corn complements the silky softness of the gravy very nicely.I added green capsicum to go along with baby corn,you can add various bell peppers in the recipe.This gravy is quite versatile and works best as the base for many gravies,the options are endless.Check out my notes for few ideas.

I am sending this to "WYF-side dish" event hosted by EasyCrafts.
Babycorn Capsicum Curry Recipe:
(Serves 3-4)

Ingredients:
12-15 sliced Babycorn
1 Big green capsicum diced
2 Onions sliced
3 Tomatoes chopped
7-8 cashewnuts(or 2-3 tbsp Watermelon seeds)
2 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
1 tsp Red chilli powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Kasuri methi
1/2 tsp Garam masala
1/2 tsp Cumin powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Amchur powder
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
a pinch of Sugar
2-3 tbsp Cream(or 1/4 cup Milk)
2 tbsp chopped Coriander
Salt to taste
2-3 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp Butter
Method:

• Cut baby corn into 1" pieces and cut them into halves and boil them in water for 4-5 mins or microwave on HIGH for 3 mins.They should be crisp and not completely cooked.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan add babycorn and fry for 2-3 mins and then add sliced capsicum and fry for another 2-3 mins.Add a fat pinch of salt while frying the vegetables.The vegetables should be really crisp and slightly soft.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai,fry the sliced onions till pink,add ginger-garlic paste and chopped tomatoes and fry until it forms a pulpy mixture.Add cashewnuts(or water melon seeds), red chilli powder,coriander powder,jeera powder,turmeric powder,a pinch of sugar,amchur powder and salt and fry until the masalas are cooked.
• Cool the mixture and grind all these ingredients to a smooth paste.Add enough water while grinding but make it into a real fine paste.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp butter in the same kadai and crackle cumin seeds.Add the ground paste and fry until the oil leaves the edges.
• Add the roasted babycorn and capsicum and kasuri methi to it and cover it and cook for 3-4 mins.Switch off the flame.
• Add the cream(or milk) and chopped corriander to the curry and mix well.

Serve it hot with Roti/Phulka/Chapati/Naan or Pulao/Jeera rice.Serve Onion juliennes(soaked in lemon juice),Aam ka achar and few lemon wedges along with it to have a nice meal.A sprinkle of lemon juice on top of curry will definitely take it to another level.

Notes:

1. The recipe is very versatile.You can make various combinations of vegetables like Babycorn Peas,Mixed vegetables,colored peppers with babycorn or paneer with the same gravy.
2. One can use either cream or milk in the recipe.Cream makes the gravy richer and the addition of milk makes it bit low fat but still tastier.
3. I add watermelon seeds in the gravy in place of cashews most of the time and love both the ways thoroughly.
4. Do not add more than 1 tsp of kasuri methi in the gravy,it will make it bitter.
5. Serve the gravy with lemon wedges.A dash of lemon would definitely make it more tastier.

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Onion Pakoda/Onion fritters

I don't think that this simple and yummy pakoda needs any introduction.This is a very simple snack which can be prepared with readily available ingredients without much prior preparation.My husband is a big fan of all these deep fried pakodas even though he is a big health freak.He makes me use olive oil even for regular dosa/paratha but he claims we do need some exceptions to eat all these sinful deep fried stuff sometimes.This is a perfect snack for weekend evenings especially with a cup of tea.

I am sending this to Recipes for the Rest of Us - Starters hosted by Sunshinemom, started by ramki.


Ingredients:
1 Cup Besan (chick pea flour)
1 tbsp Rice flour
1 Cup Onions sliced thin lengthwise(julienne cut)
15-20 curry leaves
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp ajwain
salt

Method:
Mix everything with very little water( I avoid adding water. Water that oozes out of onions is itself enough to mix the dough) and drop it in bunches into hot oil on medium heat.Fry those pakodas in batches.

Note:
Do not make balls out of the batter,else it will form like bonda with lots of besan mixture in it.If the pakodas are dropped in bunches,they will just form a coat of besan and will result in crispier pakodas and gives the yummy taste of onion in each bite.

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Sabudhana Upma/ Sago Upma/Saggubiyyam upma

I never liked sabudhana as a kid.But later when my mom used nylon sabudhana for preparing the upma,i started liking the upma just for the pearl texture of nylon sabudhana.Dealing with nylon sabudhana is not at all a messy work when compared to the regular sabudhana.Soaking is easy and preparation is still easier.My MIL likes some special varieties of mine,and this sabudhana upma is one of the MUST DO dishes when she visits us.She claims that she has loved my version of sabudhana upma than any other so far she has tasted.I think that is because of the magic texture of nylon sago and even the groundnuts which adds the nutty flavour to the dish.This infact is a light one and is good during fasting(you can just avoid adding onions).

I generally get this Sago either from Andhra or Karnataka when i visit my parents and in-laws.As my inlaws were coming down i asked them to get this sago for me.Nylon sago looks very tiny when compared to the regular one and this is how it looks:I am sending this entry for Single Serving Recipes @ spicy rasam hosted by sahaja


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup Nylon Sabudhana/Nylon Sago
3/4 cup Moong dal
1 big onion thinly sliced
1/4 cup ground nuts(roasted and deskinned)
7-8 green chillies
8-10 curry leaves
2 tbsp chopped coriander
2 tbsp fresh grated coconut
1 tbsp chana dal
1 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp jeera
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of sugar
1 lemon squeezed
oil
salt




Method:
Soak Sabudhana for 3-4 hrs or overnight,drain water in a colander and keep it aside.
Slightly crush the roasted peanuts in a mortar and pestle(or in a whipper mode in mixie).
Cook moong dal on stove top until it is soft,do not over cook it(dal should retain the shape).Drain the dal and cool it completely.
Heat oil in a big kadai,crackle mustard seeds and jeera,fry chana dal,urad dal,green chillies for a minute.Add curry leaves,sliced onions ,a pinch of sugar and fry until the onions turn pink.Now add the drained sabudhana and cooked dal and stir continuously on a medium heat.(You can see the sago pearls forming out of the soaked sago).
Add salt,lemon juice,coriander,grated coconut,crushed peanuts to it and give it a good mix.
Serve it hot with some chips.

Note: I have not added peanuts and coconut in the above picture as they were not available with me at that time.

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Ugadi Wishes to all...and my Ugadi Feast

UGADI is considered as NEW YEAR in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and is celebrated with great zeal in our family. While I tend to celebrate all festivals :) with the same intent and interest , I remember that during my childhood days I used to eagerly wait for this day more for great festival food and more importantly for "UGADI PACCHADI". This UGADI PACCHADI is made of six different types of tastes which resembles the various aspects of life. I used to like it so much that my mom used to prepare a big bowl of this which is specially kept aside for me for my unlimited servings :)

This year was a bit of a double event for me as my birthday ended up being on the same day as Ugadi. My inlaws who came down to visit us stayed back for my birthday cum ugadi celebrations.

My Breakfast and Naivedyam for pooja:

Ugadi Pacchadi, sabudhana kheer, Hollige, Maavinkaay chitranna.(left to right clockwise)

Most would be wondering why I am posting this days after ugadi ...well I was extremely busy that day with the celebrations and therafter spent time showing around some places in Mumbai. A day later the great sun god impacted my health and the impact of the sunstroke lasted for a few days. Now I am relatively better so thought I would update my happy and sad experiences over the weekend.

Inspired by Asha's Thali's of Foodie's Hope, I thought of arranging a thali for my pic. Hollige/obbattu is a must on this festival. As I am still learning to prepare this heavy-duty sweet, I did not dare to make it at home this time. (Bought it from a sweet shop nearby :-) My thali comprises of Maavinkaaya chitranna(Raw Mango rice), Ugadi pacchadi, Sabudhana kheer,Cabbage stir-fry,Moong dal(pesara kattu), Hollige, Masala vada,plain rice and sabudhana fryums.

My festive Thali:

Hollige,sabudhana fryum,Masala Vada,Maavinkaay Chitranna,cabbage stir fry,Ugadi Pacchadi,Moong dal,Sabudhana Kheer(from left to right clockwise) and the white rice in the center

Ugadi Pacchadi
Ingredients:
1/4 cup tamarind pulp(extracted using hot water)
1/4 cup tiny mango pieces
2-3 tbsp grated jaggery
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
12-15 neem flowers

Method:
Mix everything adding enough water to get the required consistency.

Sabudhana Kheer/saggubiyyam paayasam:
Ingredients:
1 cup nylon Sabudhana
2 cups milk
1/2 cup condensed milk
3/4 cup sugar(approximately)
8-10 cashewnuts
1/4 cup raisins
1 tbsp ghee

Method:
Pressure cook sabudhana with water for three whistles and cool it completely.
Heat milk separately and add the cooked sabudhana to it and cook for 3-4 mins. Now keep it on low flame add sugar,condensed milk and stir the mixture and switch off the flame(after adding sugar do not keep on the flame for long time otherwise the milk will curdle).
In a small pan heat ghee ,fry cashews and raisins and add this to the kheer.
Serve hot or cold.

And you can take a peep at the rest of the recipes from my old posts.(links below)

• Maavinkaay chitranna
• Cabbage stir-fry
• Moong dal(pesara kattu)
• Masala vada

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Maavinkaay Chitranna/Raw mango rice/ Maamidikaaya Chitrannam

This is a very common breakfast at my place during festivals as it is easy to prepare and saves time to prepare the other special time consuming dishes. I absolutely love this simple rice because of the tanginess of mango.In any case mango in any form,is liked by everyone.

I am sending this entry for Single Serving Recipes @ spicy rasam hosted by sahaja.


Ingredients:
2 Cups Cooked rice
1 cup grated raw mango(thotapuri/Bengaloora)
7-8 slit green chillies
3-4 tbsp chopped coriander
1/4 cup groundnuts
6-8 curry leaves
1 tbsp chana dal
1 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp haldi(turmeric)
salt
oil


Method:
Heat oil in a big kadai, crackle mustard seeds, add groundnuts and fry until skin comes out. Now add urad dal,chana dal,green chillies,curry leaves and fry till the chillies are crisp.Add grated mango(save 1/4 cup for the finishing touch) and turmeric and fry for 2-3 minutes.Cool the mixture completely.Now add rice,salt,grated mango(kept aside),chopped coriander and mix everything well(hand or a long ladle does the job here).

Note: Rice should not be hot while mixing,otherwise it becomes mishy-mashy.

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Sun-dried Tomato Pickle

As I grew up in Andhra, the "land of Pickles", I started having a special liking for PICKLES. I am sure there might be very few who may not be aware of Andhra Aavakaaya and Gongura...hmmm..I absolutely love these pickles especially with hot rice,gun powder and ghee and is absolutely a great combination to try when someone visits any Andhra restaurant.Still there are so many varieties of pickles like "Maagaya", "Usiri Aavakaaya", "sun-dried tomato Pickle" etc(will try to post all those soon). Even my husband is a big fan of pickles,both Andhra and North-Indian style pickles which are made by my MIL.
Every year, we get a huge supply of all these pickles from my Mother-in-Law. Since she has come down to stay with us for a few weeks, I thought this might be a good opportunity to learn from her. This is the season for Tomatoes so we thought of making Tomato pickle which can be had with several dishes. One can serve this with hot steaming rice, Idly, Dosa, Akki roti or any other type of roti. While the process of making this pickle is quite time consuming the advantage is that this can be stored for more than a year....some advantage ..eh.

I am sending this pickle for sanghi's FALL in LOVE(FIL)-Tomato Event


and Lakshmi's SWC-Meals-on-Wheels Event



Ingredients:
1 Cup Red Chilli powder
200 gms Tamarind

To dry in Sun:
1 kg Good Ripen Tomatoes
1 cup levelled Salt
1 tsp haldi

To grind:
1 cup Mustard seeds
5 tsp Methi seeds

For Tadka:
2 tbsp Mustard seeds
8-10 broken red chillies
1 tsp Hing
250 ml Sesame Oil




Method:

1) Wash the tomatoes and then wipe it and pat dry for some time. Chop the tomatoes into eight pieces, mix it with salt and cover the vessel with clinge wrap and keep it for two days continuously(atleast for one day).

2) Squeeze the water from the Tomato pieces completely.Soak tamarind in the water that would have come out from the tomatoes. Keep the tamarind mixture and Tomato pieces under sunlight for two days until it dries completely.

3) On the second day grind tomato pieces with the tamarind mixture(the one kept in sun) to a coarse mixture. (Use the whipper mode in the mixie)

4) Slightly roast methi seeds and cool the seeds.Grind Mustard seeds(raw) and Methi seeds to a smooth powder.

5) Mix the ground tomato mixture with the ground methi-mustard powder,red chilli powder.Taste the mixture at this point and adjust salt according to taste.

6) Heat oil,crackle mustard seeds,add broken red chillies and hing and fry for a minute.Cool the oil completely and mix in the tomato mixture and store it in Air-tight containers/Glass jars.

Serve the Tomato pickle with rice/Akki roti/dosa/idly/chapathy or you can even use it as a bread spread ! A very versatile dish ..isnt it ..

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Paper Roast Dosa with Bombai(Bombay) Chutney

Paper Roast Dosa:
Dosa's and Idli's form the comfort breakfast menu for south indians.Earlier I used to prepare idli and dosa batter in the wet grinder one after the other to avoid the extra effort of cleaning the grinder again but this ends up cluttering the fridge. I am sure , a common problem for most.

My mom once advised me to try a batter recipe which i now call as MAGIC BATTER as it is very versatile and enables me to prepare almost 5-6 different varieties. (Crispy paper Dosa's,Masala dosa,Utappam,Ponganalu(dumplings),Khara Idli).The dosa's come out really crispy and I find it difficult to even fold it into half at times. Thats the impact of the Mom's magic recipe!!!


Ingredients:
4 cups Idli rice(salem rice)
1 Cup Whole Round Urad
1 cup(levelled) Poha
2 tbsp Curd
1/2 tsp methi seeds
handful of cooked rice
salt


Method:
Soak rice and urad+ poha + methi separately for 5-6 hrs or overnight.
Grind the urad,poha,methi mixture until very smooth adding less water,now add cooked rice,salt,dahi and soaked rice and grind it again to a very fine mixture(the result will depends on how smoother the batter is ground).Ferment it for 9-10 hrs.Prepare Dosa's.

Serve hot with Coconut Chutney/Groundnut Chutney/sambar/Tomato Chutney/Bombai Chutney.

Note:
1.Add more water to make it into the required consistency dosa batter(than require for Idli's)
2.while cooking,Cover the dosa with a lid so that it cooks evenly.
3.Keep on medium flame first and then turn it to high flame for crispier dosa's(you need not to add much oil by following this tip,just half a tsp of oil which is more than enough).
4.Try folding the dosa in different shapes to make it more interesting and appealing...like try to fold into half(usual way),trianglular form(like in restaurants),fold from both sides to the center(like for masala dosa),or fold like a cap.

Bombai Chutney:
Bombai chutney is a heavenly combination with Atukula dosa (Poha dosa) or normal dosa as well. Dont ask me why its called Bombai chutney or why even I spell it that way.I learnt this from my mom and it has been passed from generations.


Ingredients:
2 tbsp Besan(chickpea flour)
1 onions sliced thin
2 medium tomatoes chopped
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
4-5 green chillies
8-10 curry leaves finely chopped
2 tbsp corriander leaves chopped
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp Garam masala (optional)
1 lemon juice or 2 tbsp curds(dahi)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp chana dal
salt


Method:
Mix the besan with 1/4 cup of water properly to form a nic paste without any lumps.
Heat oil in a kadai,crackle mustard seeds,fry urad dal,chana dal,green chillies.Add sliced onions,curry leaves,ginger-garlic paste and fry till the onions turn pink,add chopped tomatoes and fry until pulpy,add red chilli powder,garam masala and 3 cups of water,cover it cook for 8-10 mins(the water should bubble).
Remove the lid,add salt and add the besan mixture slowly by stirring the entire mixture continuously (as we do for upma),cover and cook for 2-3 mins until thick.
Add lemon juice or dahi,coriander leaves and mix well.

Serve hot with Dosa or chapathy/Roti.

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Gongura Pulusu Koora(sour greens/katta pattha)

Gongura is a very famous tangy green leaf in Andhra; the leaf itself is sour in taste.It is available in two forms, one with the green stems and the other one with red stems which is used in gongura pickle. Gongura is mainly used for pickles which tastes good with hot rice and sliced onions(will try to post it soon).This is a simple side dish made with gongura with the green colored stems that goes well with hot rice.

Ingredients:
3 cups chopped Gongura
1/2 cup chana dal(soaked for half an hour)
1 onion chopped
10-12 garlic pods
6 green chillies
3-4 tbsp tamarind pulp
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
a pinch of turmeric
a pinch of hing
salt
Method:

• Heat oil in a small cooker and crackle mustard seeds and add hing and fry green chillies,garlic and onion and fry until soft.
• Add soaked chana dal and cook for 3-4 mins and add gongura and then stir well until the leaves wilt.
• Add tamarind pulp,salt,turmeric,red chilli powder and stir for 3-4 mins and pressure cook for 3 whistles.
  

Serve it hot with rice and papad.

Note:
This can be done even in a pan,but takes long time to cook.If you are using the pan,cover the pan with a deep plate and pour water over it and simmer it until done.

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Upma Tikki....Left Over Wonders

What to do with leftover food?? This is a common problem for everyone and the dilemma is whether to throw it away or warm it up and have it later in the day. I normally hate to throw food and during my school days I used to see my mom making innovative creations with leftover food and sometimes it tastes better than the original!
My inlaws had come down to meet us last week , hence I had started preparing southIndian food in the mornings compared to the usual bread only fare. Yesterday I made upma for breakfast and only a portion of it was left over. As usual , I thought I would have it later in the day but somehow did not feel like eating it as upma , in my view, becomes hard if kept out for a long time. In the evening while preparing tea I again noticed the cup lying in the corner looking at me with a sad note , probably was angry at us for ignoring it the entire day :). I then recollected an item prepared in a cookery show that I had seen recently. I added the ingredients according to my taste and prepared tikki out of this upma. Surprisingly, this did not absorb much oil and tasted quite good. I saved a portion for my hubby and to my surprise he couldnt figure out what he was having. Given the good feedback I am tempted to try out more such dishes and ofcourse thought it was worth enough to share it with all of you !


Ingredients:
1 Big Cup Upma(left over or fresh)
1 medium size onion chopped
2 Alu boiled, peeled and mashed
1/2 tsp finely chopped green chillies
1 tbsp Maida
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
a pinch of turmeric
1/2 tsp Chat masala
1 tbsp chopped coriander
salt

Method:
Mix well Upma removing any lumps,add the mashed Alu,maida,chopped onions,green chillies,red chilli powder,chat masala,salt,turmeric and coriander to it and mix everything properly.slightly grease your hands and make tikki's of it and fry it on tawa on both sides with little oil.
Serve hot with ketchup and green chutney.

I am sending this to "Sunday Snacks -Chaats/Indian Street Food" event at pallavi's blog.

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