Search Chitra's Food Book

January 25, 2012

Instant Stuffed Idli Recipe - Idli Stuffed With Vegetables

I am making this stuffed idli recipe for the third time. Whenever I get bored of usual idli sambar , I make this dish. This is one of the best ways to incorporate vegetables into idli. My daughter never eats the vegetables I add in idli sambar. But she likes this stuufed idli a lot. U can just play around with different combinations of stuffing in it. I’ve given my method of making the filling. Do try this and leave your feedback.
STUFFED IDLY
INGREDIENTS 
1 cup :250ml
For stuffing
  • Carrot – 2 nos
  • Beans – 6 nos
  • Potato – 1 no
  • Green peas – 1/4 cup
  • Big onion – 1 no
  • Cooking oil – 1 tbsp
  • Turmeric powder – a pinch
  • Salt – As needed
  • Red chilly powder – 3/4 tsp
  • Garam masala powder – 1/4 tsp
To grind
  • Cinnamon – 1 inch piecee
  • Cloves – 1 no
  • Fennel seeds – 1/2 tsp
  • Grated coconut – 1 tbsp
  • Dalia / Fried gram dal – 1 tsp
  • Ginger – small piece & garlic – 6 cloves or GG paste – 1/2 tsp
To garnish
  • Coriander leaves – a few
  • Lime juice -  As needed.
METHOD
  • Heat a kadai with a tbsp of oil and add the onion pieces.
  • Saute till it turns transparent. Now add the ground masala paste.
  • Saute till the raw smell disappears.Then add the cooked vegetables and the powders.Mix well for few mins.
  • Add the required water and boil well till the  stuffing thickens.
  • Finally  add the lime juice and garnish with coriander leaves.
  • In an idly pot, pour a tbsp of batter and keep a tsp of filling in the center.
  • Then pour another tbsp of batter to cover the filling.Steam for 15 mins.
  • Insert a fork, if it comes out clean, the idly is done.
Serve hot with sambhar ,coconut chutney  or tomato chutney !!

stuffed idly collage
Here is a picture of stuffed idiyappam which I made the next day with the left over stuffing.

Stuffed idiyaapam
Note:
  • U can make the above version in chinese style by adding cabbage , little soya sauce , ajinomotto and white pepper powder. But avoid using garam masala pwd, red chilly powder and ground masala paste. Hope you all know this. Sometimes I make like this too.
  • If you dont want to stuff the idly, just mix the above stuffing in the batter directly and make idlies.It tastes good in that way too..
  • While making for kids , add a tsp of ghee over the stuffing in each idly. That gives an additional flavor..
Continue Reading...


January 21, 2012

Sprouts Pulao And Mixed Vegetable Raita

 SPROUTS PULAO
I made this for my hubby’s lunch box today . I got these recipes from Tarla dalal’s website.Both the recipes were given under Protein rich , low calorie , healthy food category. So I chose these recipes for our lunch.I made some slight changes in the actual recipe according to our tastebuds.It was nice & filling too.. Thanks to tarla dalal…About the raita , I should have named this as beetroot raita because the color of beetroot is predominant here. I’ve added carrots and cucumber to the raita. But its not visible Winking smile.So adding beetroot is purely optional. If u want a nice color , please omit it or add less beetroot pieces.Please find the raita recipe below.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml
  • Sprouted green gram / Sprouted moong – 1/2 cup
  • Carrot – 1 no
  • Rice – 1/2 cup
  • Water – 1.5 cups (adjust if u use basmati )
  • Salt – As needed.
To temper
  • Cooking oil – 1 tbsp
  • Cinnamon – 1 small stick
  • Cloves – 2 nos
  • Bayleaf – 1 no
  • Ginger- Garlic paste – 1/2 tsp
  • Green chilly – 1 no (chopped finely)
  • Big onion – 1 no (-do-)
  • Coriander powder – 3/4 tsp
  • Chilli powder – 1/2tsp
  • Turmeric powder – a pinch
  • Garam masala powder – 1/4 tsp
Lime juice – few drops
Coriander leaves – to garnish
METHOD
  • Heat the pressure cooker base with a tbsp of oil and add all the items given under “to temper” one by one in the same order.
  • When the onion becomes translucent , add the carrot pieces and sprouts. Saute well for a minute. Then add all the powders.
  • Mix well for a few minutes and add the rice.
  • Toss it well. Finally add the water & reqd salt.
  • Pressure cook upto 1 or 2 whistle.
  • Add a zing of lime juice and garnish with coriander leaves.
ENJOY EATING HOT WITH RAITA !!

MIXED VEGETABLE RAITA
RAITA

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml
  • Cooked carrot and beetroot cubes – 1/2 cup
  • Cucumber pieces - few
  • Fresh curd – 1/2 cup
  • Green chilly – 1/2 no (Chopped finely)
  • Roasted jeera powder – to sprinkle
  • Water – as needed to dilute the curd
  • Salt – as reqd
METHOD
  • Cube cut carrot and beetroot into small pieces.Cook them for 1 whistle adding little water.
  • Mix the fresh cucumber pieces with the cooked vegetables.
  • Add the thick curd , reqd water and salt.( sometimes water may not be needed as the water in the cooked vegetables may be enough)
  • Finally sprinkle the roasted jeera powder..
Serve with parathas and pulao !!

Continue Reading...


January 16, 2012

Masala Chapathi | Khara Chapathi Recipe

Apart from chapati , I usually make Wheat flour adai for dinner.But my husband is not a big fan of it. So i was looking for some other alternative . I got this recipe from Mrs.Mallika badrinath’s cookbook. Its a simple , easy to make chapathi which is ideal for lunch box and dinner. Onion raita or pickle would be the best combination...Bachelors can give this a try..
KHARA CHAPATHI

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml
  • Atta / Wheat flour – 1 cup
  • Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
  • Red chilly powder or sambar powder –3/4 - 1 tsp
  • Garam masala powder – 1/2 tsp
  • Dry mango powder/Amchoor powder – 1/2 tsp (optional, i dint add)
  • Salt – As needed.
  • Curd & Milk – Equal quantity as needed
  • Oil – As needed.
METHOD
  • Take a wide bowl and mix all the ingredients given above to make a soft , pliable dough.Dont add water. Just use milk & curd in equal ratio..
  • Cover & leave it for 30 mins
  • Make flat , thin , round chapathis .Brush with ghee or oil..
Enjoy with onion raita or pickle !!

Continue Reading...


January 9, 2012

Easy Brinjal Curry/ Kathirikai Poriyal Recipe

I learnt this recipe from my neighbor. I am a big fan of brinjal but my hubby is just opposite to me. So i rarely buy this veggie and cook only for me specially. I love my mom’s brinjal stuffed poriyal very much. Next to that , this is the second best. It can be made in jiffy. It tastes the best with dal , sambar and morkuzhambu rice. I relished with keerai kuzhambu ..!!

brinjal curry

INGREDIENTS
  • Brinjal – 5 nos (medium size)
  • Sambar powder – 1 – 1.5 tsp
  • Tamarind – small gooseberry size
  • Jaggery – Small piece (Add more if want sweetish)
  • Salt & water – As needed
To temper & saute
  • Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
  • Urad dal – 1/2 tsp
  • Jeera – 1/2 tsp
  • Channa dal – 1/2 tsp
  • Curry leaves – few
  • Big onion – 1 no (slice cut)
  • Oil – As needed.
METHOD
  • Slit cut each brinjal into 8 pieces .Make thin slices so that it cooks quickly.Immerse in water till use. Soak tamarind in little water.
  • Heat oil in a kadai and temper all the items given above in the same order.
  • Saute onions till it turns transparent.Add the brinjal slices and saute for a minute.
  • Add the sambhar powder ,saute for sometime.Then add the tamarind extract , jaggery ,required water & salt.
  • Cover and cook for sometime.Switch off the flame once the brinjal is cooked.
****If u want in semi gravy consistency , switch off the flame when little water remains.It can be mixed in plain rice topped with ghee !!
Yummy brinjal curry is ready is to serve with dal rice , sambhar & morkuzhambu rice!!
BRINJAL CURRY 1
NOTE
  1. Use long green brinjal variety. But i used the normal purple ones.
  2. When i made this curry , i had cut the brinjal into 4 pieces so it was big to eat. Then my neighbour told me cut into very small , thin slices the next time. I found the taste was blended well when brinjal is small.
Continue Reading...


January 3, 2012

Idli Sambar Recipe - Tamilnadu Hotel Style

Tamilnadu hotel style idli sambar
I learnt this Sāmbar from my neighbor. Its very simple. Usually for hotel style sambar recipe,we used to add freshly roasted & ground spices.For this sambar, just besan flour is enough.I had tasted this kind of sambar in some hotels especially in Tirunelveli and Madurai.Do try this and let me know how it turned out.Lets see how to make this easy, South Indian Idli Sambar recipe.
hotel idli sambar

Tamilnadu Hotel style Idli sambar recipe


Tamilnadu Hotel style Idli sambar recipe Idli sambar recipe - Tamil nadu hotel style
Cuisine: South Indian
Category: Sambar recipes
Serves: Serves 2-3
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 20 Minutes
Total time: 30 Minutes


INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 250ml
  • Toor dal – 1/3 cup
  • Carrot –1 no
  • Potato – 1 no
  • Tamarind –Small berry size(Sundakkai alavu)
  • Tomato – 2 nos
  • Small onions / shallot – 10 nos
  • Curry leaves – few
  • Sambar powder – 1.5 tsp
  • Turmeric powder – a pinch
  • Asafetida – 1/4 tsp
  • Besan flour – 1 tbsp
To temper
  • Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
  • Methi seeds – 1/4 tsp
  • Urad dal – 1/2 tsp
  • Red chilli – 1 no
  • Green chilli - 1 no (slit)
  • Coriander leaves – few ( to garnish)
METHOD

  • In a pressure cooker, take the toor dal, chopped vegetables, turmeric powder, hing and a drop of oil. Add the required water and cook for one whistle in low flame. Mash the dal and keep it apart.Dilute besan flour in 1/4 cup of water without lumps and set aside.
  • Heat a kadai with oil and temper the ingredients given under “To temper”. Sauté the onions, slitted chillies,curry leaves, hing & tomatoes. Saute till tomato turns mushy. Now add the tamarind extract and sambar powder.

  • Add more water if necessary.Add the cooked vegetables , little asafetida and fresh curry leaves. Allow it to boil for few minutes. Then add the cooked and mashed toor dal.
  • Add besan water to the sambar. Boil well for few minutes without lumps .The sambar starts to thicken. Add more water if necessary.
  • Finally switch off the stove and garnish with coriander leaves.
  • **For relatives, add a tsp of ghee at the end and close the bowl. Yummy , aromatic sambar is ready to enjoy with piping hot idlis , vada or pongal !!

Note
  • For idli sambar, dal should be dominant and hence less tamarind is added.  If u want the sambar to be more tangy add lime juice at the end after switching off the flame.
  • For more spiciness, add more green chillies while sautéing onions and tomatoes.
  • If u feel the sambar is too thick, add more water, little tamarind extract, salt and sambar powder. Boil for sometime. Similarly if u think the sambar is more spicy or tangy, add little besan flour and water, allow it to boil. Adjust salt.
  • I find the above step as very useful to get the correct taste. That too for beginners these points would be very useful , thanks to my neighbor for sharing these tips with me/>

I enjoyed this yummy sambar with my oats barley idli and onion thokku !

Idli sambar recipe

Continue Reading...