Macaroni upma is an easy, interesting, Indian style macaroni recipe prepared by adding vegetables and garam masala. I never thought it tastes so good. Actually this recipe was suggested by one of my friends. When she told me to make this easy macaroni recipe for Raksha’s lunch box, I was hesitant to try it because Raksha is very fussy when it comes for her lunch box recipes. So I tried it for our Sunday breakfast as the first trial. Raksha loved it very much and told me to pack it for her school this week. Even myself and Sendhil liked it too. So this recipe is a hit in my home✌. No side dish is required for this upma. You can eat it as such. Macaroni tastes so soft, juicy and flavorful. Friends, do try this yummy macroni recipe for your family and share the feedback with me. Lets see how to make Indian style macaroni upma recipe with step by step pictures.
Boil 3 cups of water in a bowl. Add macaroni. Cook till soft.
Drain the excess water and run the macaroni under tap water to retain its shape. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a kadai. Splutter cumin seeds. Saute onion, gg paste till raw smell goes off.
Add capsicum, carrot and green peas. Add salt and saute till half cooked.
Add tomato and cook till mushy. Lastly add turmeric, red chilli powder, garam masala powder.
Add some water and cover cook till vegetables are done. Lastly add tomato ketchup. Mix well.
Now add cooked macaroni, mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot and enjoy !
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
In a wide bowl, boil 3 to 4 cups of water. Add a tsp of cooking oil and some salt. After the water comes to roll boil, add macaroni and mix well.
Cook in medium flame for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir it every now and then to avoid macaroni sticking to the bottom of bowl. Water spills if you cover cook. So you should cook in an open pan till its 3/4th cooked.
Last 5 minutes, you can cover and cook the macaroni in low flame to make it soft. Switch off the flame and drain the macaroni in a sieve. Remove the excess cooked water. Show the macaroni under the tap water to make it retain its shape. Set aside.
In a kadai, heat oil. Splutter cumin seeds. Saute onion, curry leaves and ginger garlic paste. Saute till raw smell goes off.
Add capsicum, carrot and fresh or frozen green peas. Add salt and saute in medium flame till the vegetables are half cooked.
Add chopped tomato and saute till mushy. Lastly add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and garam masala powder. Saute well.
Add 1/2 cup of water. Cover the kadai with a lid. Cook till vegetables are soft. After all the water is drained, add tomato ketchup and mix well. Then add cooked macaroni. Mix and coat well in medium flame. Switch off the flame. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Enjoy eating hot for best taste !
Note
Adjust the quantity of chilli powder and garam masala powder as per your taste.
You can replace macaroni with cooked pasta.
Addition of tomato sauce helps to give a creamy base to the paste. So do not skip it.
Try this yummy Indian style macaroni upma with vegetables for your breakfast or dinner. Enjoy !
This is my second post under Quinoa recipes. I had already shared Instant quinoa idli without rice. Today I have posted how to make Indian style, soft idli and crispy dosa batter with quinoa by fermentation method. As I always say, quinoa is not thinai in Tamil. Quinoa and foxtail millet/ Thinai are completely different. Quinoa should be pronounced as Keen-wah. This millet is widely available in US and abroad.
In India, you can find it in organic stores in all major metropolitan cities and is available online in Amazon. But It is costly. In this quinoa idli dosa batter recipe, I have used a combination of quinoa, idli rice (Salem rice) and urad dal in the ratio of 2:1:3/4. You can try this recipe without idli rice but idli may be sticky to taste.
Addition of rice helps to keep the idli non-sticky and gives a proper shape. Even though its my first attempt, I am completely happy with the output. Idli came out very well, soft and spongy with a mild nutty flavor. Idli looks pale white in color like quinoa and not pure white. I tried making dosa too. It was crispy in the sides and soft in the center. You can make thin dosa or thick uthappam adding onion, chilli as you wish.
One thing you should remember about this batter is , it becomes sour quickly. After fermentation, you should refrigerate the batter till use. Also It is better to finish the batter in 2 days by making idli, dosa, uttapam or paniyaram. This idli tastes slightly sticky when hot. But it tastes perfect when eaten warm. You can serve this idli with any chutney or sambar. I had it with coconut chutney and idli podi. It was yumm !
After trying this quinoa idli successfully, I am confident of exploring more quinoa recipes. I will post it whenever I make any. Ok, now lets see how to make quinoa idli dosa batter with rice with step by step pictures.
Wash and soak quinoa, idli rice, urad dal together for 7 to 8 hours.
Grind to a smooth paste in mixie or grinder adding required water.
Transfer the batter to a big vessel and ferment it over night.
Next morning batter would have doubled in quantity.
Add salt and mix well with a ladle. Grease idli plate and fill the batter.
Steam in an idli pot for 10 minutes. Check if its cooked well by inserting a wet finger.
Remove the idli plate once its done. Let it rest for 2 to 3 minutes. Then remove the idli and serve with chutney or sambar.
You can also make thin or thick dosa with this batter.
QUINOA IDLI DOSA RECIPE - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Wash the quinoa twice or thrice. Along with it add idli rice, urad dal. Wash it well. Soak them together for 7 to 8 hours.
Grind the batter in a wet grinder or mixie ( in batches) to a smooth paste adding required water. Do not add salt.
Transfer the batter to a vessel. Ferment it over night or minimum 10 hours. The next morning, batter would have doubled in quantity based on the weather. Add salt and mix the batter well with a ladle. Add little water if the batter is too thick.
Grease an idli plate with oil. Pour the batter till 3/4th of each hole. Boil water in an idli pot. Place the idli plate when the water comes to a roll boil. Steam it for 10 minutes or till cooked.
Check the idli by inserting your wet finger. If it comes out clean idli is cooked else cook for more time. Remove the idli plate from the pot and rest it for 3 minutes.
Remove the idli using a spoon and serve it with your desired chutney or sambar. You can also make thin or thick dosa by adjusting the consistency of batter. But cook in low flame because this dosa turns brown quickly.
Enjoy !
Note
If you have quinoa flour, you can use it and mix with rice, urad dal batter.
This batter stays good upto 3 days under refrigeration.
As I told, this idli tastes slightly sticky when very hot but it becomes perfect when warm. It stays good for few hours. So you can pack for lunch box too.
Try this easy, healthy quinoa idli dosa recipe and enjoy !
Recently I went to avarekalu mela 2019 , food festival in V V puram, food street. I tasted avarekalu dosa / avarebele dosa for the first time. In fact, I went to the mela just to taste this dosa recipe. In Karnataka, Avarekai / Avarekalu (Hyacinth beans in English, Mochai in Tamil, Surti papdi lilva in Hindi), a variety of broad beans is available during winter season in local markets. It is used in varieties of breakfast, dinner recipes, traditional sweets and snacks as a healthy addition. Variety of avarekalu recipes like ragi roti, avarekai idli, avarekalu dosa, usli, kodubele, uppittu, masala vada, rice bath, shavige, ragi mudde and much more are served as main dishes in the festival with hitikida bele saru (pressed field beans gravy/ hyacinth beans) as side dish. Avarebele dosa was so good. I loved it very much👍 .
This dosa recipe and avarekalu akki roti was attracting the crowd in the festival. Avarebele dosa is nothing but our traditional sponge dosa topped with a mix of cooked hitikida avarebele, onions, coriander and dill leaves. Its prepared with an easy, no cook avarekalu masala. I bought a kg of hitikida avarekalu to try this dosa, akki roti, uppittu and saaru at home.
Recently I posted avarekalu uppittu and avarekalu usli recipe in my blog. In continuation, here is the avarekalu dosa recipe based on the one I tasted in the food festival. For variations, you can sprinkle spicy idli podi / chutney pudi over the dosa and then top it with avarekalu masala. Drizzle lots of oil or ghee for best taste. Ok, Lets see how to make avarekalu dosa with step by step pictures.
Hitikida avarekalu / Pressed hyacinth beans - 1 cup
Big onion - 2 (finley chopped)
Green chilli - 1 (finely chopped)
Coriander leaves - a handful (-do-)
Dill leaves / sabsige soppu - a handful (-do-)
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Salt - as per taste
Dosa batter - 2 cups
Cooking oil - to drizzle over the dosa
HOW TO MAKE AVAREKALU DOSA
Wash and pressure cook hitikida avarekalu in high flame for one whistle.
Do not over cook. Drain the excess water and take the cooked avarekalu in a plate.
Add cumin seeds, finely chopped onion, green chilli, dill leaves, coriander leaves and salt.
Mix well and set aside. Topping for avarebele dosa is ready.
Heat dosa pan. Pour a ladleful of dosa batter. Spread it slightly.
Keep the flame low. Spread the avarekalu mixture all over the dosa.
Drizzle oil all over the dosa. Flip and cook in low to medium flame till onion turns golden brown.
Remove the dosa and serve with coconut chutney, tomato chutney or hitikidabele saru.
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
To make hitikida avarekalu, wash and soak whole avarekalu (field beans) in water for 3 to 4 hours. Take one soaked avarekalu and press it between your forefinger and thumb finger. Squeeze it to remove the outer skin. You will get hitkida avarekalu (squeezed field beans). Repeat and get it done. If you have store bought hitikida avarekalu, you can proceed to next step directly.
Wash and take 1 cup of hitkavare in a pressure cooker. Add some water to cover it. Just pressure cook it in high flame for just one whistle. Do not over cook it. Open the cooker after the steam is released. Drain the excess water. Set aside.
In a bowl, take the cooked avarekalu, finely chopped onion, green chilli, coriander leaves, dill leaves, salt and cumin seeds. Mix gently. Dosa topping masala is ready.
Heat a dosa pan. Sprinkle some water to check the heat of pan. Lower the flame. Wipe the dosa pan with a cloth. Pour a ladleful of batter, spread it slightly.
Let the flame be low to medium. You can see bubbles forming all over the dosa. When the dosa is 3/4 th cooked, spread few tsp of avarekalu masala over the dosa.
Pour few tsp of oil all over the dosa and sides. Press the masala with the dosa flipper for the topping to stud in the dosa. Now flip the dosa carefully. Keep the flame medium high. Pour some oil in the corners if you like. Let the bottom of dosa becomes golden brown. Do not cook in high flame. Masala may get burnt.
Now remove the dosa in a plate. Serve it hot with chutney or sambar/ saaru. You will love it. For variations, you can drizzle some ghee or keep a small block of butter for kids while serving.
In some shops, they sprinkle spicy chutney podi over the dosa and then they top it with masala. You can try that way too. You can use idli podi or peanut podi for that. Tastes awesome !
Enjoy !
Note
Pressing avarekalu is the only time consuming job here else you can make this masala quickly as this is a no cook recipe.
You can use the same masala and make avarekalu stuffed idli too.
Adjust the quantity of green chilli as per your need.
I made it less spicy. As mentioned above, you can sprinkle some idli podi or chutney podi before topping with masala.
Drizzle some ghee along with oil for better taste.
Try this healthy avarekalu dosa at home and enjoy !
Avarekalu uppittu is the Kannada name for rava upma prepared with hyacinth beans (Field beans / hyacinth beans in English, Mochai in Tamil ). Its a healthy breakfast and dinner recipe of Karnataka. Avarekalu, a kind of bean is available all over Karnataka during winter season from December to February. We call it as mocha kottai in Tamil. As it is healthy and a good source of protein, people try to consume more avarekalu by adding them in upma / uppittu, akki roti, sambar/ saaru , palya/ poriyal etc.
Every year during this time, I try varieties of avarekalu recipes learning from my school moms friends. Recently I went to the most popular avarekalu mela (food festival) in VV puram. It was so good to see varieties of sweets, snacks, breakfast, dinner and lunch recipes with avarekalu. After eating there, I was tempted to try some of them at home.
As a first step, I tried this easy and quick avarekalu uppittu recipe prepared with rava / semolina, field beans and onion. It came out so soft and yummy just like the hotel ones. I must thank my friends Tara and Megha for sharing some important points like roasting rava in oil, rava water ratio and tips to make the best avarekalu uppittu. I am very happy with the results. This recipe will be helpful for beginners too. I used coarse Bombay rava. For healthy option, you can use bansi rava or rice rawa (akki tari) too. Ok, lets see how to make avarekalu uppittu recipe with step by step pictures.
Wash and pressure cook avarekalu in high flame for two whistles adding required water.
Drain the excess water and keep the cooked avarekalu ready.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai. Roast the rava in medium flame for 4 to 5 minutes patiently.
Transfer to a plate. Again heat the kadai with 2 tbsp oil.
Splutter mustard, urad, chana dal and cumin seeds. Add cashews and roast till slightly golden.
Add finely chopped onion, green chilli, ginger and curry leaves. Saute till transparent.
Then add the cooked avarekalu without any water. Mix well.
Lastly add the roasted rava and mix well. Add the required salt, mix it. Switch off the flame.
In a bowl, take the required water and boil till it roll boils.
Add this water carefully to the rava mixture. Mix gently without making any lumps.
After the rava is mixed well with water, switch on the flame. Add grated coconut, coriander leaves and mix well.
Cover cook in low flame till its done. Lastly add 1 tbsp ghee and switch off the flame.
Mix and serve hot with coconut chutney. Enjoy !
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Wash and pressure cook avarekalu in high flame for 2 whistles. Do not over cook it. Remove and drain the excess water. Set aside. Chop onion, green chilli, ginger, coriander leaves and keep it ready.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai. Roast rava in medium flame for 4 to 5 minutes without changing its color. Transfer to a plate.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in the same kadai. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, cashews and cumin seeds. Saute onion, green chilli, curry leaves. Saute till onion becomes transparent.
Now add the cooked avarekalu and saute for a minute. Add the required salt and roasted rava. Mix well.
Boil 3.5 cups water in a bowl and add the water to the rava carefully. It splashes. Keep the flame low and mix without any lumps. Rava absorbs all the water and becomes thick. ( My friends suggested me to make this upma mushy and soft . So we are adding more water. If you want it fluffy and separate, add 2.5 cups of water).
Now add the finely chopped coriander leaves, grated coconut and mix well. Cover and cook in low to medium flame for 5 minutes. Open the lid and mix well once in the middle.
Switch off the flame and add 1 tbsp ghee at the end. If you like, you can add few drops of lemon juice too. It looks mushy when hot. But it becomes fluffy and separate as it cools down.
Enjoy hot serving with coconut chutney !
Note
You can skip onion and make it for no onion no garlic version.
Adjust the quantity of green chillies based on your taste.
You can use bansi rava instead of Bombay rava. Some people also make it with chiroti rava / fine rava.
Addition of coriander leaves and grated coconut gives a nice flavor and taste to upma. You can add it in the water instead of adding at the end.
Try this yummy, healthy avarekalu uppittu and enjoy !
Recently I started making Instant plain rava idli (suji ki idli) without any seasoning for the sake of Raksha. This instant suji idli is a simple and quick version of our usual rava idli (semolina idli). It takes very less preparation time. All you have to do is to just mix a cup of Bombay rava, curd, ENO fruit salt, salt and water. You can also use chiroti rava / fine rava. Make idli batter and steam for 10 minutes. Your instant breakfast or dinner would be ready in no time. This recipe of plain rava idli is ideal for bachelors and working women to make your food quickly on a tiring day. You can use roasted or unroasted rava. Both gives great results. This idli stays soft for few hours. So you can even pack it for your lunch box if you like.
A mixed vegetable kurma or tomato chutney would be a great side dish for this rava idli recipe and makes it a wholesome, tummy filling breakfast or dinner. Most of my readers have asked me to post rava idli without curd and ENO. But I am not sure how it works. As this idli is an instant version without fermentation curd, ENO or cooking soda is necessary to make it soft and spongy. Even in hotels, cooking soda is used to make it fluffy and spongy. If you want to make rava idli without curd, you should increase the quantity of ENO. Similarly if you want to skip cooking soda or ENO, you must add more curd to retain the softness.
Ok friends, lets check out how to make instant, plain rava idli recipe with curd and Eno. Do watch the video and refer the step by step pictures for better understanding. Don't forget to try this instant, plain rava idli recipe and share your feedback with me.
Heat a kadai and dry roast the Bombay rava(Semolina/ Suji) for few minutes without changing the color.
Let it cool down completely. Roasting is completely optional.
Add curd, water and salt. Make smooth batter without lumps.
Lastly add fresh Eno fruit salt and mix well. It will bubble and make the batter light and frothy.
Add some water and adjust the consistency of batter if its too thick.
Take an oil greased idli mould. Fill the batter till 3/4 th of the mould.
Boil water in an idli pot. Keep the idli plate and steam for 10 minutes till rava idli is cooked well.
Remove the idli and serve hot with coconut chutney, tomato chutney, sambar or kurma.
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
To make instant, plain rava idli you can either dry roast the rava/suji for 5 minutes in medium flame without changing the color OR you can skip roasting and make idli directly. Both works well.
If you roast the rava, allow it cool down completely. Do not add curd if the rava is hot. If you are using unroasted rava, you can add curd immediately.
In this recipe, I roasted the rava and used it. Add curd, salt and 1/2 cup of water to the rava. Mix without lumps. No need to rest the batter.
Add ENO fruit salt and mix well. If the Eno is active, it should bubble up as soon as you add it to the rava, curd mixture. Mix gently till the batter is light.
Check the consistency of batter and add some water (say 1/4 cup) to make it slightly thick and pourable. Grease idli plate with little oil. Pour the batter till 3/4th of the mould.
Boil water in an idli pot. Place the idli plate and steam for 10 to 15 minutes till idli is cooked well. Remove the idli plate and rest for 2 minutes. Then remove the idli with a spoon. Serve hot with coconut chutney or tomato chutney, Sambar or kurma as you like. Enjoy !
Note
You can use baking soda / cooking soda instead of Eno fruit salt.
If you want to skip curd, add 1 tsp of Eno instead of 1/2 tsp.
Do not make the batter too thick or too thin. It should be semi thick and pourable.
The size of this idli increases after cooking. So fill the mould till 3/4th or 1/2 as per the size you need.
Try this easy, instant plain rava idli recipe. You will love it. I served it with boiled tomato chutney and coconut chutney.
I always pack dosa varieties for Raksha’s lunch box and travel as it is her most favorite food. Usually I add poha / pressed rice or leftover cooked rice to make soft dosa that stays good for long time. Recently I came across this soft dosa batter recipe using raw rice (pacharisi in Tamil) and urad dal in Mallika Badrinath’s cook book. This recipe is without poha/aval, sabudana/javvarisi/sago or curd.
Though it looks similar to set dosa, ingredients of this soft dosa recipe is different from sponge dosa and set dosa. Its a very simple dosa recipe without using idli rice. You can also call it as raw rice dosa or pacharisi dosai. It can be prepared during Navratri and other fasting days to offer God. You can grind the batter in mixie or grinder as you wish.
When I was young, my mom used to pack dosa and podi for school and college lunch box. She doesn’t even smear idli podi over the dosa to keep it soft. My mom just adds a tsp of sesame oil over the dosa. Still dosa stays soft and good till lunch time. When I tried this recipe, I reminded my mom’s dosa. Friends, if you want to pack this dosa for travel or lunch box, just follow the tips I have shared in this post. I am sure it will stay soft for hours.
For variations, you can make it small in size, top this dosa with finely chopped onion, mixed vegetables or even add cheese if making for kids. If you like you can stuff it with potato masala as well. Ok, lets see how to make soft dosa batter at home with step by step pictures.
Soft dosa recipe for lunch box and travel - Soft dosa batter recipe
How to make soft dosa batter recipe at home. This dosa is prepared with raw rice and urad dal. It stays soft for hours. You can pack it for lunch box and travel.
Wash and soak raw rice, urad dal and fenugreek seeds in a bowl for 3 to 4 hours.
Grind to a smooth batter in a mixie or grinder. Transfer to a bowl.
Let it ferment overnight. Batter will rise. The next morning, add salt and mix well.
Adjust batter consistency adding water. Make small, thick dosa.
Drizzle oil over the dosa and cook one side.
Flip it and cook the other side. Sprinkle few drops of water over the dosa to make it soft. Remove and keep it in a plate.
Make the second dosa in the same way and stack it. Cover with a plate.
Pack in a lunch box or for travel after dosa becomes warm.
Serve with idli podi or any chutney.
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Wash and soak raw rice/ Pacharisi, Urad dal, Fenugreek seeds together for 4 hours. Grind to a smooth batter using grinder or mixie in batches. (Use ice cold water for grinding if using mixie). No need to add salt. Collect the batter in a bowl.
Let it ferment over night or for 12 hours (timings vary during winter season). Batter will rise. The next morning, add the required salt, mix well. If the batter is too thick, add little water to bring dosa batter consistency.
Heat a dosa pan and sprinkle some water. It should sound ssshh. Then lower the flame completely and wipe the dosa pan with a cloth. Now pour a ladleful of batter. Spread it slightly and make thick or medium thick dosa as you like.
Now increase the flame to medium. Bubbles will appear all over the dosa. Then drizzle a tsp of oil around the dosa and cook for a minute.
Flip the dosa and cook the other side. Before removing the dosa from the pan, sprinkle few drops of water all over the dosa. It helps to keep the dosa for long time.
Remove the dosa from the pan and keep it on a plate or banana leaf. Make the other dosa in the same way. Stack all the dosa one over the other if you are packing for travel or lunch box. Cover with a plate to prevent drying.
Enjoy eating hot immediately OR You can pack the dosa and idli podi/chutney in separate boxes. You can also smear idli podi mixed with oil all over the dosa and pack in a box. I tried making crispy, thin dosa too. It came out well.
Enjoy !
Note
Methi seeds is optional. But I used it for nice flavor.
You can soak rice and dal separately. Grind them separately and mix both the batter.
Cooking soda is not needed.
If you are consuming the dosa immediately, you don’t have to sprinkle water over the dosa while cooking.
Try this super soft dosa recipe and enjoy with your favorite chutney or idli podi !
