Grit vegetable uppuma kozhakattai(steamed grit vegetable cakes)

Ingredients:

Quick cooking grits                           -  1 cup

Moong dal(cheru paruppu)               -  1/2 to 3/4 cup

Chopped vegetables                         - 1/2 cup ( greens of leeks, green beans, carrot, red potato)

Red onion(chopped)                         - 1/4 cup

Ginger(finely chopped)                     - 1/2 inch piece

Asoefatida                                         - small pinch

Green chillies(finely chopped)          - 1

Water                                                - 2-3 cups

Dry coconut(optional)                        - 1 tbsp

turmeric powder                                - 1/2 tsp

Salt                                                    - as per taste

To saute:

Oil                                                      - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds                                   - 1 tsp

curry leaves                                       - 2-3

Soak the moong dal for half hour, drain the water then cook it on stove top or in the microwave.

Heat a pan and pour the oil once the pan is hot. Add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add the chopped onions, ginger and green chilly. Saute until the onions are translucent and add the rest of the vegetables, turmeric powder and saute for 3 to 4 minutes.
Pour the water and cook in medium heat with closed lid allowing the water to boil. Toast the grits lightly on stovetop( I toasted it in my small toaster oven in light toast).

Once the water has boiled add the salt and the grits. Cook covered until the grit is done. I added a little dry coconut as the grits the water was a little excess.Switch off the stove once done and leave it open the lid for it to cool.

Roll into balls and steam in idli plates for 5 - 10 minutes.

Once steamed serve with green or tomato chutney. It also goes well with mor kuzhambu and sambar.

Tips:
1. You can use slow cooking grits also, but make sure you use more water and the grits are cooked completely.
2. The uppuma can be had even without steaming once cooked if using quick cooking grits.
3. The soaked moong dal can be added along with the grits to cook on the stovetop.
4.You can skip the green chilly and add red chillies to the oil once the mustard seeds splutter.

 

Kerala Matta(red) rice biriyani

We recently bought the Kerala red rice( Matta/Palakkad rice) and like it's texture. It is little healthier than the regular white rice owing to it's high fiber and lower glycemic index.

Ingredients:

Red rice                            - 1 and 1/2 cups

Black eyed peas                - 1/2 cup

Vegetables(chopped fine) - 1 cup (carrot, green beans, bok choy stems)

Garlic(chopped fine)         - 3

Ginger(chopped)               - 1/2 inch piece

Green chilli(chopped)       - 1/2

Leek greens                      - 1/2 cup

Tomato(chopped)             - 1

Pineapple(cubed)             - 1/2 cup

Parsley(chopped)             - 1/4 cup

Oil of choice                     - 2 -3 tsps.

Mustard seeds                 - 1/2 tsp

Salt                                  - as per taste

Masala

Star anise                         - 1

cloves                               - 4

Cinnamon stick                - 1 small

Fennel seeds                    - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds                    - 1 tsp

(Jeera)

Black pepper corns         - 8-10

Cardamom powder         - 1/2 tsp

Dry roast the above spices except cardamom powder and grind to a fine powder. Add the cardamom powder to the ground powder.

Directions:

Soak the black eyed peas in water for about 30-40  minutes. In the meantime cook the rice with water in  covered pot (2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice). Start on medium heat until the water boils and then simmer it down to low heat until rice is cooked.Cook the black eyed peas with adequate water taking care not to overcook it. I cooked it in the pressure cooker for one whistle.

Heat a pan and add the oil. Once the oil is hot add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add the chopped garlic, ginger, green chilly and leek greens and saute.Saute for 2-4 minutes.

garlic/ginger/green chilly/leeks

Then add the chopped vegetables and 1 tsp of the masala and saute for 5 minutes. Cover and cook for another few minutes until the vegetables are cooked. You can add a 1/4 cup of water if required.

 

 

Chopped vegetables

Add the salt and add the cooked black eyed peas. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes on medium heat.

Cooked black eyed peas

Finally add the chopped tomatoes and pineapple and saute until they all blend together on medium heat. 

Finally add the cooked rice to this and mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for another couple of minutes.Switch off the stove and garnish with chopped parsley. 

Biriyani

Serve with raita.

Tips

1. Black pepper corns can be reduced or increased in number depending on the your spice level
2. You can use whole cardamom for the masala, toast them and remove the skin before you powder it.
3. I used the cooked water of the black eyed peas for the vegetables.
4. You can add 1/4 cup of yogurt and after adding the rice for additional flavour. I avoided yogurt as my little one recently has been detected with a dairy allergy so use less dairy.
5. You can pressure cook the rice as an alternative, the red rice does not overcook and remains   
    non-sticky.The excess water can be drained out.
6. You can grind the garlic, ginger, green chilly and tomato into a paste and saute it with the vegetables.
7.  Store the rest of the masala in an airtight container. It can be used for gravies.

Thattai(baked)

Ingredients
Rice flour                          - 2 cups
Urad dal powder               - 1tbsp*
Red chilli powder              - 1 tsp
asoefatida                         - a small pinch
Sesame seeds                   - 2 tsps
dry thyme                         - 1/2 tsp
Gram/Channa dal             - 2 tbsps
Butter                               - 2 tbsps
Salt                                   - as per taste
Oil                                    - 1 tbsp or as required
water as required.

* toast the urad dal and powder it fine.
Soak the gram dal in water for half to one hour.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add the melted butter to the flour.Drain the water from the soaked dal and add it to the flour mixture. Mix them into a soft dough by adding water.

Cover the dough so that it does not get dry and roll them into small balls. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425 F.

Layer each ball on a parchment paper and flatten them into thin circles. Place them on an aluminium foil coated with a thin layer of oil.Brush the top of the dough with some oil.

Bake them for 25 minutes or until light brown. Once done switch off the oven and let it cool on the oven rack for half hour before taking them out.

  

Tips -

1.My first batch was very low on salt, so I brushed oil mixed with salt over the dough to correct this.

2. You can also use a flat bottom vessel to flatten the balls between two sheets of parchment paper or ziploc bags or thick plastic sheets.(as adviced in the link below).

3.After 10-15 minutes of baking you can flip the thattai and brush the other side with oil.

Recipe source - Raks kitchen 

Spaghetti squash/water melon rind mor kuzhambu(yogurt gravy)

Ingredients

Spaghetti Squash(chopped into small cubes)                           - 1 cup

Water melon rind(skin peeled and chopped into small cubes) - 1 cup

salt                                                                                             - as per taste

turmeric powder                                                                        - 1 tsp

Asoefatida                                                                                 - a small pinch

Curd(yogurt)                                                                             - 1/2 cup or more as required

Water as required

To grind

Almonds(toasted)      - 6-7 

Black pepper corns    - 4-5 (number as per spice level)

Urad dal(toasted)       - 1/2 tsp        

 To garnish

Oil                   - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

curry leaves     - 2 - 3 

red chillies       - 2

Cook the watermelon rind and squash in water just enough to immerse them with salt and turmeric powder. Grind the almonds, pepper corns and urad dal. Mix them in thick curd (yogurt).Once the squash/watermelon rinds are cooked, lower the heat and add the yogurt(curd) mixture to it.

Switch off the stove once it start to boil.

Heat the oil and add the mustard seeds, once they splutter add the rest of the garnish ingredients.

Add this to the cooked gravy.

The gravy goes well with rice, dosai, adai and noodles.