No Ferment Dosa

Even though Idli, Dosa, Uttappam are popular breakfast items, A and I can have them at any meal. I love these foods and make them at least three to four times a month. Of the meals that we eat on weekends, usually one comprises of idlis or dosas. I SO love these foods that even the thought of it makes me hungry sometimes. The only problem is that it takes a whole day just to get the batter ready. But thanks to cousin M, now I can at least make dosas in very little time.

The reasons I love this quick dosa recipe are - it is very simple, and the dosas are very close to regular dosas in taste (especially when dunked in sambar). The recipe calls for soaking the rice and lentils for a few hours and grinding them to a smooth paste, just like any other dosa recipe. But batter can be prepared with as little as 4 hours of soaking the ingredients and dosas can be made as soon as the batter is ready.

Rice and Mixed Lentils Dosa

Ingredients:

1/8 cup whole urad dal/split urad dal

1/8 cup toor dal

1/8 cup masoor dal

1/8 cup chana dal

1/8 cup moong dal

1/4 cup white rice

1/4 + 1/8 cup brown rice

1/2 tsp methi (fenugreek seeds)

Salt to taste

1. To make the batter, soak rice and lentils separately for 4 hours or more. You can use all types of dals (lentils) that you have on hand. The amount of rice used in this recipe is same as the total amount of all the lentils together. So if you have a cup of mixed lentils, use a cup of rice. I generally use whatever lentils I have on hand.

2. Once soaked, grind the rice and lentils (together or separately as you prefer) to a smooth paste. Add salt to taste. I have seen that many people add little bit of baking soda or ENO to the instant batters/mixes as it gives the batter some lightness. I normally don't add these to the batter, but you can use it if you want.

3. Now that the batter is ready, heat a griddle and pour a ladleful of batter in the center. Spread the batter from the center of the pan towards its edge in a circular motion.

4. Drizzle a few drops of oil along the side as dosa cooks. Once the batter on top starts looking dry, flip the dosa and let the other side cook. Add little more oil if required.

Serve hot with sambar and potato masala.

No cook event: Chutney Sandwiches

There are a lot of different events hosted by food bloggers. There are some food bloggers who are extremely creative and come up with some fabulous ideas. Until now, I did not follow any particular food blog, but came across some posts that were entries to different blogging events. I am still very new to the world of blogging (read food blogs) and have never participated in any event before. Some time back I stumbled upon a blog called " One Hot Stove" by very talented and super-creative Nupur. She hosted a 7 day recipe marathon from December 25 to December 31 counting down to new year - One dish every day. Of course I came to know about it after it was over.

Last month I learnt about a recipe repost event by Jaya of "Desi Soccer Mom", but I was late again :( She told me about the "No Cook Event" this month hosted by "PJ". I thought it would be interesting to see what different dishes people come up with where there is zero cooking involved. I just went through my previous posts and was surprised to find quite a few dishes with no cooking at all. The dishes that could qualify for this event are -Swiss Rolls, Bhel, Mango Chutney and Shrikhand. But, I decided to post a new one for this event. Considering the little time that I have on hand, I thought Chutney Sandwiches would be a perfect dish for this event. So here is my very first entry to any food blog event.

Chutney Sandwiches:

I decided to go with chutney sandwiches as they can be ideal for breakfast or even brunch. Chutney can be made ahead of time and sandwiches can be assembled in absolutely no time. Apart from being very tasty, it is a healthy meal option.


Ingredients for chutney:
1 cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen)
3/4 green chillies (or as per taste)
Handful of cilantro
Juice of half lime/lemon
1.5 tsp sugar
Salt to taste

Grind together green chillies, coconut and cilantro into a fine paste. Take out in a bowl and add lime juice, sugar and salt. Chutney is ready. You can also add some mint leaves while grinding. Sometimes I also use spinach and grind it with other ingredients. Spinach gives chutney a nice green color. All you people who hate spinach, trust me - you wouldn't even taste it in the chutney.

To assemble the sandwiches, butter the bread and slather chutney onto it. Top it off with the veggies of your choice. I used only the tomato and cucumber this time.


I often make a multilayer sandwich with different veggies in different layers. You can also have one layer of chutney and another with a slice of cheese and veggies. It makes a great lunch too. It is also a very good option to take along for picnics.

And now off it goes to PJ's No cook Event!

Dadpe Pohe

Pohe is pressed rice. It is probably the most popular Maharashtrian dish often served for breakfast or as an evening snack. There are different methods Pohe can be made. Dadpe-pohe are made using thin pohe. As a kid I remember eating them numerous times since my brother and I both loved these rather than regular Pohe which were often eaten for breakfast. It was the most demanded evening snack in my house.

From what I gathered from my mom, this dish is from Konkan region of Maharashtra. It was made using thick pohe. Coconut water was added to raw pohe to make them soft and they were firmly pressed. Then, some weight was put on to them. The act of pressing and putting weight is called 'dadapne' in Marathi and so the name 'Dadpe-pohe'. Today most of the people use thin pohe to make this dish. The dish tastes delicious and is really simple to make without any cooking involved.

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)
2 cups thin pohe
1 medium onion (chopped)
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut (can use frozen)
1 tsp grated ginger root
1 tbsp sugar
Handful of roasted unsalted peanuts
Handful of cilantro (finely chopped)
Juice of 1 lemon/lime
salt to taste
For tempering:
2 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp asafoetida
4-5 green chillies (more or less as per taste)

Before you start, make tempering and keep it aside to cool. To make pohe start by taking pohe in a large bowl. This makes mixing easier. To pohe add onion, coconut, peanuts, cilantro, sugar, salt and lemon juice. Mix very well, occasionally squishing the pohe. Add tempering and mix well again. Dadpe-pohe are ready. You can top it off with some more coconut and cilantro. Tomatoes can also be used in this recipe along with the onions.

Aloo-Methi Paratha

I am kind of a picky eater when it comes to some greens. If not eating greens was an option, I wonder how many people would actually eat them. But if you can use greens to make something so delicious and tasty, you would definitely eat them :) I simply love aloo- methi(potato-fenugreek) parathas for this reason. You can eat them for breakfast, lunch, brunch, and even dinner. The stuffing can be made ahead of time. You can also make a little extra stuffing and may be use it again within 3/4 days for a hearty and healthy breakfast. So here is the recipe.

For the stuffing you need-
4 medium potatoes - boiled, peeled and mashed/ grated
1 bunch of methi (fenugreek leaves) coarsely chopped or 1 cup frozen methi(you can also use kasuri methi which is dried fenugreek leaves)
5/6 green chillies paste or finely chopped(more or less as per your taste)
Juice of one fresh lemon or less depending upon your taste
1 Tsp sugar
1/4 Tsp Ginger-garlic paste
Salt to taste
For tempering-
1/2 Tsp oil
1/4 Tsp mustard seeds
A pinch of asafoetida
A pinch of turmeric

In a pan add some oil and make tempering. Add chopped methi and saute it for a minute or two. Take the pan off heat and add mashed/grated potatoes, green chillies, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice, sugar and salt. Mix it well. The stuffing will look like this -


For making the dough take some whole wheat flour and add to it a pinch of salt and a couple of pinches of turmeric. Add water and mix well until a soft ball is formed. Add some oil and kneed the dough properly. To make parathas, take a small ball of dough and roll it with the help of a rolling pin. Put the stuffing at the center and close all sides like you would do with a dumpling. Take some flour and roll out the paratha. It will look like this-


Now place it on a tawa and cook both sides until they are done. Paratha will become golden brown when done. When you flip it, add some oil on paratha. Your paratha is ready to eat.


Serve it with yogurt, ketchup or sour cream, or simply eat it without any condiment. It tastes even better when served hot.