November 14, 2017

Instant Quinoa Idli Recipe – Quinoa Recipes Indian

Instant Quinoa idli recipe with semolina/rava/sooji and curd. This is my very first post using quinoa. Quinoa is a super natural grain which is gluten-free, high in protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Quinoa is not called as thinai in Tamil. There is no proper Tamil word for quinoa (Keen-wah). But many of us think quinoa is very similar to our Indian Foxtail millet (thinai in Tamil). It is not. There are slight differences between quinoa and thinai mainly in their amino acid profile.

Quinoa has high protein when compared with other millets. Both are gluten free, high in fiber that helps for weight loss and control diabetes. Both takes the same quantity of water for cooking pulao, upma, porridge and soup. Similar in Calories too. But cost wise quinoa is not affordable and its not easily available in all the stores in India like millets.You can find it in very few organic shops in big cities Or you can buy from online stores like Amazon. I bought it from an Organic shop in Gandhi bazaar, Bangalore. Quinoa is most popular in US and other foreign countries.

Many of my abroad readers asked me to share quinoa recipes years ago. At that time, I was not aware of this grain. I did not even know how to pronounce it. Then I came to know from Shalini that it should be pronounced as “keen-wah”. Some people also call it as Kinua. People usually consume this healthy grain for weight loss and to control diabetes.

To begin with quinoa recipes, I felt Idli would be ideal for me. Being a South Indian, Idli is the staple food in my family. I like to consume millets and other super natural foods in the form of idli more than upma, kichdi, pulao or porridge. I can eat it 24x7 if its an idli with some spicy chutney or sambar. So this morning, I prepared instant quinoa idli with semolina/rava/sooji and curd just like our usual rava idli for our breakfast & refrigerated the remaining batter for dinner.

Quinoa idli came out great with soft and spongy texture. I was very happy with the results. Color of the idli was grey otherwise there is no particular difference in taste between this idli and rava idli. Sendhil and myself enjoyed it with spicy coconut chutney and idli podi. Personally I love instant idli recipes with tangy tomato chutney or tomato thokku. You can make the side dish as per your preference.

You can make this instant quinoa idli in the next 15 minutes if you have quinoa, semolina and some curd in hand. Friends, do try this healthy, yummy quinoa idli and share your feedback with me. Ok, lets see how to make quinoa idli without fermentation with step by step pictures and video.

Instant quinoa idli recipe - Quinoa recipes Indian

How to make quinoa idli instantly with semolina and curd for breakfast and dinner

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Breakfast

Serves: 14

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 10 Minutes

Total time: 15 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

To Grind (1 cup - 240ml)

Quinoa - 1 cup

To saute in oil

Cooking oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Chana dal - 2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Green chilli - 1 no ( Finely chopped)
Ginger - 1/2 inch ( Finely chopped)
Curry leaves - Few
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp (Finely chopped)
Semolina / Sooji / Rava – 1/2 cup (Coarse upma rava)
Sour curd - 1 cup
Salt & water - as needed ( I used nearly 3/4 cup water)
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

HOW TO MAKE INSTANT QUINOA IDLI

Take Quinoa and grind to a fine powder.
Heat oil in a kadai. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal.
Saute green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, coriander leaves.
Add semolina and roast for 2 minutes. Then add quinoa powder and roast for 2 more minutes.
Let it cool down. Then add salt, curd and mix well.
Add water to make thick spoon able batter. Add baking soda,mix well.Rest for 5 minutes.
Pour in greased idli plate and steam it for 10 minutes.
Remove after one minute and enjoy Instant quinoa idli with chutney or sambar !

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURE

Grind Quinoa to a fine powder in a big mixie jar. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal and cumin seeds. Saute till dals turn golden. Add finely chopped green chillies, ginger, curry leaves and coriander leaves. Saute for a minute.
Add rava and roast in medium flame for 2 minutes. Add ground quinoa and roast for 2 more minutes till nice aroma arises. Remove the kadai, transfer the roasted items to a bowl and let it cool down.
Add curd, required salt and mix well. Add water gradually and make thick batter. I used 3/4 cup of water approximately. Batter should be thick and spoonable. Add baking soda, mix well and keep the batter aside for 5 minutes.
Grease idli plate with oil and pour the batter till 1/2 of the mould. Steam for 10 minutes.Check with a toothpick or back of spoon. If it comes out clean, idli is done.
Remove the idli plate and rest for 2 minutes. Take the idli using a spoon. Serve hot with coconut chutney or tomato chutney for best taste ! You cannot make dosa with this batter.

Enjoy !

Note

For variations you can add oats too.
Sour curd is better.
Adding soda helps to make the idli soft and spongy. You can also add ENO instead of soda.
Do not add more water to the batter. Idli becomes flat and sticky.
If you wish, you can skip the tempering part and make plain idli.

Try this healthy, instant quinoa idli for breakfast/ dinner and enjoy !

November 11, 2017

Carrot Halwa With Khoya In Pressure Cooker–Gajar Ka Halwa With Khoya

Yesterday I prepared carrot halwa with khoya in pressure cooker (Gajar Ka Halwa With Khoya) without using milk/condensed milk for the first time. I made it for my Thursday Guru Pooja prasad. It came out very well. As I made in pressure cooker, I made it very quickly and easily. Carrot halwa is my favorite dessert in restaurant.

My Lunch buffet in restaurants would be incomplete without tasting hot carrot halwa with a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream. Its a divine combo. Long back I had shared carrot halwa (Gajar halwa in Hindi) recipe without khoya in pressure cooker. In that recipe, I used milk to cook carrot. But here I made it without milk as we are adding khoya in it. I used water instead of milk. So the color of my halwa came out bright in color.It tasted like the one we get in sweet shops and hotels. I was very happy with the results. You too give this recipe a try and share your feedback with me.

I have also shared some tips and variations in the method with step by step pictures section for better understanding. Hope beginners would try this carrot halwa recipe and make it easily. So, lets see how to make Carrot halwa/Gajar ka halwa with khoya in a pressure cooker.

Also check out my easy beetroot halwa in a pressure cooker which is a super hit recipe in this website. If you want make carrot halwa in a kadai instead of cooker, you can looks at THIS RECIPE.

Carrot halwa with khoya in pressure cooker - Gajar Ka Halwa Recipe

How to make carrot halwa with khoya / Gajar halwa with khoya in pressure cooker

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Sweet

Serves: Serves 2

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 10 Minutes

Total time: 20 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml

Grated carrot - 2 cups ( I used 4 medium sized carrots)
Sugar - 1/3 cup (Granulated crystal sugar)
Grated or crumbled khoya - 1/3 cup ( I used milky mist brand)
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Water - 5 tbsp ( You can also use boiled milk)
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Cashews - Few

HOW TO MAKE CARROT HALWA WITH KHOYA

Crumble or grate khoya, set aside.
Wash,peel skin and grate carrot in big holed grater.
Heat ghee in pressure cooker base and roast cashews. Saute carrot till raw smell goes off.
Add water and cook in high flame for 2 whistles. Carrot cook well and becomes soft.
Add sugar and mix till halwa starts to leaves the sides. Add khoya,cardamom powder. Switch off the flame immediately.
Mix well till Khoya combines with carrot. Remove and let it cool down.
Halwa becomes non-sticky when it becomes warm. Serve warm & enjoy with ice cream.

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Grate or crumble khoya. Set aside. Wash and peel the skin of carrot. Grate it using a big holed grater. Keep it aside.
Heat ghee in a pressure cooker base.Roast cashews till golden. Add grated carrot and saute well for 5 to 7 minutes in medium flame till raw smell vanishes completely. Carrot turns pale orange in color. If you don’t saute properly, halwa smells raw.
Add water(If you want dark colored halwa) Or milk and pressure cook in high flame for 2 whistles. Remove the lid after steam is released completely. Carrot becomes soft and cook well. If you find any moisture content or water in the cooked carrot, saute well in high flame till it becomes dry.
Add sugar and mix in medium flame.Sugar melts and halwa becomes watery. Keep mixing in medium flame till halwa starts to become slightly thick and leave the sides of cooker. Do not wait for it to become too thick.
Lower the flame completely. Add cardamom powder, crumbled khoya. Mix well and Switch off the flame immediately. Mix till khoya spreads with carrot in off fire. Heat of the carrot is sufficient to partially melt & mix the khoya. No need to mix till khoya melts completely.
Khoya should be visible here and there just like the ones served in hotels & sweet shops. Halwa may look sticky when its hot. But when it turns warm, it becomes non-sticky and comes to right texture. You can reheat in microwave oven for 1 minute in high power and serve hot if you like OR enjoy it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
This halwa stays good for one day without refrigeration and up to 3 days with refrigeration. If you refrigerate the halwa, you can reheat it at the time of serving.

Enjoy !

Note

If you want carrot to be visible in the halwa,you must use a grater with big sized holes.
Carrot halwa smells raw if you don’t saute it well. By the time you saute, carrot gets half cooked.
Pressure cooking helps carrot to cook quickly. I added little water to cook carrot as I wanted bright colored halwa. Adding milk makes the halwa pale orange in color.
As we are adding khoya,there is no need to add milk for cooking carrot. But cooking in milk makes the halwa more rich.
Do not add more khoya than the mentioned quantity. It makes the halwa sticky.
Do not add less sugar. It makes the halwa smell raw. Do not stir the halwa for long time after adding sugar. Sugar caramelizes and halwa becomes chewy.

Try this easy, yummy Carrot halwa with khoya and enjoy with ice cream!

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November 9, 2017

Kondakadalai Puli Kuzhambu Recipe – Brown Channa Kulambu For Rice

This is an easy Kondakadalai puli kuzhambu recipe without coconut / Brown chana gravy for rice in my MIL’s method. Some people also call this as Sundal kulambu. But we call it as karuppu kondakadalai vatha kuzhambu. This kuzhambu can be prepared easily without grinding any masala or coconut.

So bachelors, working women and even housewives can complete their cooking very quickly during busy morning hours. We make this brown chana kulambu at least once in a month to include pulses in our daily diet. Sometime my MIL adds brinjal/kathirikai or drumstick/murungakai in addition to brown chana.

Recently I made this gravy with little soaked green gram. It came out very well and tasty. I have shared nearly 40+ kuzhambu recipes in my website but I haven’t posted any kuzhambu varieties adding pulses like kondakadalai/ chickpeas, lobia/karamani, green gram/pacha payaru, dried peas/pattani etc.

Recently a reader asked me to share these type of kuzhambu varieties as they get a satisfaction of eating pulses during lunch instead of making them as sundal. Yes, its true. Even I love to consume pulses either for breakfast or lunch as it takes more time to digest and keeps the tummy full for long time. Lets see how to make kondakadalai kuzhambu with step by step pictures !

Check out my poondu kuzhambu, sundakkai vatha kuzhambu and no onion no garlic manathakkali vatha kuzhambu too.

Kondakadalai kuzhambu Recipe - Chana gravy for rice

Kondakadalai kulambu without coconut - Channa gravy for rice

Cuisine: South Indian

Category: Kuzhambu Recipes

Serves: 3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml

Brown chana / Kondakadalai - 1 cup
Tamarind - Small lemon size
Sambar powder - 1.5 to 2 tbsp
Jaggery – 1 tsp
Salt & water - as needed
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Rice flour - 1 tsp (optional)

To Temper

Gingely oil or cooking oil - 2 to 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Toor dal - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Small onion or big onion - 10 nos/ 1 no ( finely chopped)
Garlic cloves - 15 nos (Finely chop 5 nos)
Curry leaves - Few

HOW TO MAKE KONDAKADALAI KUZHAMBU

Wash and soak brown chana/kondakadalai overnight or for 8 hours.
Pressure cook in low flame for 2 whistles.
Heat oil and temper. Saute onion, garlic and curry leaves.
Add the tamarind extract, sambar powder, turmeric powder and salt.
Add cooked channa and boil the gravy till raw smell goes off. Add little jaggery while it boils.
Optionally you can add 1 tsp rice flour diluted in 1/4 cup water. Add to kuzhambu. Boil till thick and then remove.
Serve hot with rice !

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash and soak brown chana overnight or 8 hours in enough water. Drain the water and add to pressure cooker. Cook in very low flame for 2 whistles adding required water and salt. ( I had some soaked green gram.So I added it along with chana). Soak tamarind in 2 cups of water and keep aside.
Wash and chop onion finely. Chop 5 garlic cloves and keep the remaining as whole garlic cloves. Chop curry leaves finely. Keep aside. Heat oil in a kadai. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, toor dal and saute for a minute in medium flame.
Add finely chopped onion, garlic, curry leaves and whole garlic cloves. Saute till onion turns transparent, garlic turns light golden in color and leaves a nice aroma.
Take 2 cups of tamarind extract and add to the kuzhambu.This kuzhambu has to be slightly watery than the usual vatha kuzhambu because chana will absorb all the water and gravy becomes less in quantity. So its advised to make more in quantity. Add sambar powder, turmeric powder, jaggery and salt. Check for taste and add more sambar powder if needed.
Drain cooked brown chana. Mix well and boil for 5 minutes till raw smell goes off. Add more water if needed. Take 1 tsp of rice flour, add 1/4 cup water and dilute it without lumps. Add to the kuzhambu while it boils. Roll boil for few minutes till slightly thick. Switch off the flame.
Serve with rice and kootu / poriyal.

Note

Adjust the quantity of sambar powder as per the taste. You can also use kuzhambu milagai thool.
You should make more gravy else chana will absorb the gravy as time proceeds and you won’t get enough quantity to serve.
For variations, you can add 2 tbsp of ground coconut paste.

Try this yummy brown chana kuzhambu for rice and enjoy with kootu/poriyal and papad !

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November 7, 2017

Bread Idli – Instant Bread Idli Recipe With Curd, Rava

Bread idli recipe – Instant bread idli recipe with curd and rava/sooji/semolina. I have been eyeing on instant bread idli, bread dosa and bread uttapam recipes for long time. As I make bread recipes very rarely at home, I was waiting for the day to come. Last weekend I bought a pack of bread as I needed bread crumbs to make a snack. I had almost half the packet of leftover bread slices. So I made this easy, instant bread idli with curd and rava for our breakfast today.

I saw Tarla Dalal’s recipe and few more using idli rava/rice rava and boiled potato. But I used our normal upma rava just like my instant poha idli and rava idli as I din’t get idli rava in my place. I did not remove the brown crust of bread as I din’t want it to go waste. So the color of my idli was yellow instead of white. You can remove the corners of bread slices to make white colored idli. Also you can replace white bread with brown bread, whole wheat bread or even multigrain bread in this recipe.

The consistency of idli batter is very important to get soft, spongy idli. It should be like our rava idli batter. It shouldn’t be too thick or thin but pourable. You can also temper this idli with mustard, chillies, ginger or add vegetables to make it more flavorful and healthy. You can play around with variations. This idli can be prepared instantly without any resting time or fermentation time.

Basically I am a big fan of idli varieties. When I made this idli with my own combinations, I was very happy with the output and glad I could add this bread idli recipe in my Idli varieties collection. This idli has to be served hot to enjoy its best taste. The best side dish for this idli would be a spicy coconut chutney or tomato chutney Or you can even serve it with easy tomato onion thokku. I am planning to make instant bread dosa and bread uthappam too. I will share them one by one. Ok, now lets see how to make bread idli at home instantly with step by step pictures and video !

Check out my Instant Poha idli, Instant rava idli and 15 Idli varieties collection too.

Instant bread idli recipe

Easy, instant bread idli recipe with curd, rava using leftover bread slices.

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Breakfast

Serves: 12 to 15 nos

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 10 Minutes

Total time: 20 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml

Bread slices - 4 nos ( Milk bread or brown bread)
Roasted Semolina / Sooji / Rava - 1 cup
Sour Curd - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup ( varies from 3/4 to 1 cup)
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Salt - as needed

HOW TO MAKE BREAD IDLI

Take bread slices and tear into pieces.
Grind to fine powder.Collect in a bowl.
Dry roast rava for 3-4 minutes. Let it cool down.
Mix with powdered bread. Add curd, salt and mix well.
Add water gradually and make thick batter. Add baking soda at the end. Mix well and rest for 5 minutes.
Grease idli plate and pour batter till half of the mould. Steam for 10 minutes. Idli becomes big in size and spongy. Remove after 2 minutes.
Serve hot for best taste with coconut chutney or tomato chutney as side dish.

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Take bread slices and trim the sides if you wish. I din’t remove the corners of bread. Tear into small pieces and grind to fine powder. I got 1.5 cups of powdered bread. Collect in a bowl.
Dry roast rava for 3 to 4 minutes. Let it cool down completely. Add to the powdered bread.
Add curd, salt and mix well.
Add water gradually and make a thick but pourable idli batter consistency. Please refer video. The quantity of water may vary if you remove the crust of the bread. Water quantity also varies based on the freshness of bread. If you make the batter too thin, idli becomes flat. If the batter is too thick, idli cracks and looks very big.
Add baking soda, mix well and rest the batter for 5 minutes. In the mean time, take an idli plate and grease molds with oil. Mix & Pour the batter till 1/2 or 3/4th of the mould. This idli becomes bigger in size after its cooked. So its better to fill less batter in the mould.
Roll boil water in an idli pot. Place the idli plate and steam it for 10 minutes. Remove the idli after 2 minutes. Serve hot with coconut chutney or tomato chutney for best taste !

Enjoy !

Note

Roasting the rava is an important step. Do not add unroasted rava.
You can also use idli rava/rice rava in place of semolina but you should rest the batter for 20 minutes for the idli rava to soak well in curd.
Add water gradually while making the batter. Its consistency should be thick and pourable.
If the batter is watery, idli comes out flat. If the batter is too thick, idli becomes very big and crack on the top.
For healthy options, you can add grated carrot and cooked peas in the batter. You can also temper the batter with mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, finely chopped green chillies, ginger, curry leaves and coriander leaves.

Try this easy, instant bread idli for your breakfast or dinner. Enjoy with your favorite chutney or tomato thokku !

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November 5, 2017

20 Side Dish For Poori – Indian Vegetarian Side Dish For Puri Recipes

Side dish for poori recipes / Indian vegetarian side dish for puri.This post is a collection of 20 South Indian and North Indian Side dish recipes for poori with potato, without potato, tomato based side dish recipes and few more with Besan, peas, chana, mixed vegetables, paneer gravies and curry.

Most of them are easy to make as its done in pressure cooker and many gravies can be prepared without any grinding job. So bachelors can also try them. I have also shared some hotel style/restaurant style potato curry recipes too. Poori / Puri is one of the most popular Indian breakfast recipes. It is loved by all irrespective of the age.

The most common side dish for poori is potato masala. Kids love to have it with sugar, ketchup, jam, potato and paneer gravy. Apart from potato curry, many other gravies can also be prepared. Recently I made a list of 10 different types of poori recipes from my website. So I thought of making this list of side dish recipes that my readers would find it helpful.

In this list, you can find Tamil nadu hotel style potato masala, Onion masala without potato, Chana kurma, Potato kurma, Veg kurma, Green Peas kurma, Karnataka style Veg sagu and avarekalu sagu, North Indian restaurant style potato bhaji/ aloo subzi, Chole masala, onion tomato sabzi, dahi aloo, easy chana masala using pressure cooker, Bombay chutney, Paneer butter masala, Paneer korma, Kadai paneer and aamras recipes.

You can also find video recipes for some of the kurma recipes. I am yet to try Andhra and Kerala style potato curry recipes. I will update this list as soon as I post them. Ok, now lets see 20 different types of side dish for poori with links. Please click on the image or the title to view the particular recipe.

Do check out my 10 types of poori recipes !