Horsegram Dosa

For quite sometime I had been looking into the nutritive values in Horsegram(we call it Kulith in Marathi and Hurali in Kannada) and been trying out new recipes.The Horsegram dosa was a good try and it did turn out good so thought to share it.Horsegram has an excellent source of iron,calcium and is used in kidney disorders and Jaundice.You can make Usal,pithale,sprouts.
For more information on Horsegram visit the link below

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_gram

Ingredients-
1 cup rice
1 cup udad dal
1 cup sprouted horsegram
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
salt to taste

Procedure:

Soak rice,udad dal with fenugreek seeds separately overnight.

Grind dal and fenugreek seeds and keep it aside.

Now grind rice and mix it with dal paste.

Once the sprouts are ready grind it to smooth paste and add it to the batter.

Add salt to taste and keep it for fermentation for 10 to 12hrs.

Heat a flat non-stick girdle, drizzle oil and pour the batter. Spread with the back of a spoon in a circular motion and leave to fry crisp.When done flip to the other side, fry lightly and turn over.

Stuff with potato sabzi and serve it with either coconut or peanut chutney. Kids too enjoy this different taste of dosa.

Tomatillo Chutney

Back home I always loved the green tomato chutney. Here we hardly get green tomatoes so the Tomatillos are good substitute for making green tomato chutney.To know more about Tomatillos visit the link below
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomatillo


Try this tangy sweet and sour chutney and believe me your gonna love it.It goes good with Chapati,Roti,Bread and also with the Nacho chips instead of Salsa.


Ingredients:
6-8 Tomatillos
4-5 Green chilles
2-3 cloves of Garlic
6-7 twigs of Cilantro
Salt to taste
Brown sugar/ Sugar
Oil
¼ Tsp cumin seeds

Procedure:
1.Cut the tomatillos into small pieces.Cut the green chillies. Chop cilantro.
2.Keep the pan on medium heat.Add oil, add cumin seeds
3.After the cumin seeds splutter add the chopped tomatillos,Chillies,Garlic and sauté for sometime.
4.Add salt and brown sugar to taste,chopped cilantro and close the pan with lid and cook in for sometime till it becomes soft.
5.Once it is cooked and ready turn off the heat and keep it aside to cool. Blend it to make a coarse paste and fill it in airtight container.
6.Enjoy the tangy sweet taste as bread spread,with rotis,dosas or as salsa with nacho chips.

Methi Gajjar

When it comes to cuisines from the North of India, everyone is more than familiar with Paneer Butter Masala, Bhindi Masala, Baingan ka Bharta & a few others . . Is North Indian cuisine just limited to just these?? Hell NO !! There are so many dishes out there that are yet to be explored. These lesser known curries are just as tasty & quite simple to make. And ofcourse, it lends a homely touch too.

One such lesser known Haryanvi curry is Methi Gajjar. I had quite a few carrots at hand, & not knowing what to do with these, I googled for a simple healthy dish & I found this. I was more than delighted because, I am not that innovative when it comes to carrots, I only know how to make a salad or a Halwa with them or add them along with other veggies to make a healthy dish.
For those of you, who like carrots, this curry is simple & does bring in welcome change into our menu. Adding fresh fenugreek leaves gives it a leafy green angle as well ..

You Will Need:

3 large sized carrots - cut into thin strips
1 cup fresh Methi/Fenugreek leaves - finely chopped
A handful of green peas - fresh/frozen (optional)
1 onion - chopped finely
1 tomato - chopped
2 green chillies - slit lengthwise
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp kasuri methi/dry fenugreek leaves (optional)
2 tsp oil
Salt as per taste

Method:
Par boil chopped carrots in the microwave or on stove-top
Meanwhile, heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan & add cumin seeds, once the seeds pop & splutter, add grated ginger, green chillies & saute for a few seconds
Add chopped onions & saute till they turn pink,
Add chopped tomatoes, red chilli powder & saute till oil separates & tomatoes become pulpy.
Add fresh fenugreek leaves & green peas & saute for a minute.
Add parboiled carrots & cook on low flame until completely cooked
Add Kasuri methi/dry fenugreek leaves
Adjust salt according to taste & mix well

Serve HOT with Rotis .. Enjoi !!!

We really did enjoy this for lunch with some warm rotis & yogurt. The otherwise sweet carrots blend well with the slighlty bitter taste of fenugreek leaves & red chilli powder gives it the much needed heat.
Give your regular curries a break & try this one !!!

The measuring cups

Recently married, moved to US and no glorious history of cooking - that’s my introduction!

With initial days spend on getting used to the American ‘weather’ my hidden talent of experimenting with spices and edibles started coming out. I explored ways to make delicious dishes and dreamt of bringing them to reality in my own kitchen. Thanks to the growing expanse of cyberspace, I got to read a lot about a particular preparation from number of experts giving a base for comparison and experimentation.

Though my history of cooking is not ‘glorious’ I still have some. This history include preparation of selected dishes done with utmost care and sincerity followed by special marketing during lunch time in office, in the days when I was working. The history also include a couple of cakes, baked successfully of course J .

Now, the best part about reading from recipes and following them in the kitchen is that they tell you how much of what. 1 cup of flour, ½ cup of sugar and so on. Although my mother advised me to get habitual to use measured quantities, I always did it with an estimation. Not that it did not work well, but I was never confident that I can make the dish again with the same taste!

When we came in the corporate apartment here in Atlanta, among the other items provided for kitchen, they gave a set of measuring cups. 1 cup, 2/3 cup, ½ cup, ¼ cup, 1tsp and so on. I found this very interesting. All the more, when I started reading the recipes and knew how much of what, I felt a little more powerful!

The measuring cups now give me confidence that I can bring the same taste to a dish anytime I want!

****Did you know: 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon****

SHRIKHAND

Ingredients
1 kg. thick curd
15 gms SugaRite or 3/4 cup powdered sugar
a few strands saffron
1 tablespoon warm milk
2 teaspoons cardamom powder (elaichi)
For the garnish
slivers of pistachios and almonds
Method
1.
Hang the curds in a muslin cloth in a cool place for approximately 3 hours until all the liquid (whey) has drained off.
2.
Rub the saffron into the warm milk until it dissolves.
3.
Mix together the hung curds, SugaRite or sugar, saffron mixture and cardamom in a bowl and churn using a hand blender.
4.
Place in the refrigerator.
5.
Serve cold garnished with slivers of pistachios and almonds.