Thalipettu

This is one of the best breakfast I can ever think of. Extremely nutritious and filling. My grandmother used to make it a lot.She mentioned a bhajnee (typically roasted mixture made specially for thalipeet, as it is known in Maharashtra).Guess the literal meaning would be patting on a plate!!! I could really use with some help with the meaning. When I started cooking I forgot about this and made a lot of the akki rotti...(just of rice flour).Recently remembered this Thalipettu ,It was an instant hit in my house. This easy to digest, nutritious stuff makes a great snack in the evenings as well.I have prepared with the flours I had at home. Adding some soya flour and Ragi flour should add to its nutritional value.This is great on its own. But JHUNKA would be excellent to go with it.

TASTY THALIPETTU /THALIPEET

Ingredients:
1 cup of wheat flour
1 cup of Jowar flour ( Sorghum)
1 cup of rice flour
4 tbsp of Besan (gram flour)
3 Green chillies chopped
1Grated cucumber grated
1 Carrot Grated
1 Turnip Grated
Finely chopped radish leaves or palak/spinach (optional)
Cumin seeds
2 tbsp of chopped coriander leaves
a pinch of hing/asafoetida
salt to taste and
2 spoons of oil
Onion or freshly grated coconut are optional.
Method:
Mix all the grated vegetables with cumin seeds, hing and salt with little bit of oil. On this add the above mentioned flours, mix well to a pliable dough .The grated vegetables will have enough water to make the dough, but if necessary add water to make the dough.Take an Orange sized ball and spread slowly on the tawa or pan. Pat them with fingers to spread them evenly. Make a hole in the centre and add a drop of oil to help the cooking faster and even.cover it with a lid and allow to roast on slow fire for about 10 minutes... then turn over and cook for 2 more minutes.
Serve with chutney pudi and dahi..

Ciao... I enjoyed hope you will too..

DOZZA AND NUMBER DOSA, kids menu

Today it was again a Dosa breakfast day at my place. As usual I had to do something for the girls to keep their interest in the food .Their Lunch box favourite is always NUMBER DOSAS with different numbers to keep their tummy full. Though dosas are not ideal lunch box stuff as they get a bit sticky in the lunch box. I found in these two types of the smaller dosas I make.. they don't stick much and kids are happy too.


The basic ingredient in both the below recipe is dosa batter which is easy to make and store.
Ingredients:
3 cups of Rice
1 cup of urad dal ( uddina bele,split black gram)
1 spoon Methi ( mentye , fenugreek seeds)
4 spoons of Tuvar dal ( togari bele, yellow lentils)
1 spoon of riceflakes ( avalakki)
Method:
Soak the rice separately and the rest of the ingredients with the urad dal for about 6 to 8 hours..Grind them separately and mix them with salt to taste and leave it to ferment in a warm place about 10 to 12 hours.The batter is ready to be used after it is fermented well.


NUMBER DOSA:

This is normal dosa batter just forming different numbers and shapes. My girls always enjoyed these as toddlers while learning numbers and did addition on it as well... which added up to their ages...

I hope your kids will enjoy this too...

To make Number dosa:
Just take the batter and pour on the tawa in the desired shape . Make them smaller in size to fit the lunch box. These can be served with honey or onion chutney/coconut chutney.

DOSA OR PIZZA? They call this DOZZA:
This version of Dosa is a real favourite these days. They love this DOZZA ,which is a dosa looking like a pizza,, dont you think so too?Ingredients:
Dosabatter
Few pieces of chopped capsicum
1 grated carrot
few pieces of chopped tomato
few pieces of spring onions.
two spoons of oil.
METHOD:
Pour the batter on the tawa in small rounds (about 6 on one medium tawa).Arrange the vegetable pieces as per your liking. Sprinkle oil and close the dosa for a minute or two.
Then let it cook a bit before packing off in the lunch box with some tomato sauce.
I am sending these recipes to Srivalli s MM - kids lunch event. This is the first ever I am participating. Thanks to Meeta for the lovely monthly mingle. Helping poeple like me to participate.

Tomato Bhath

There is a lot of confusion if this is a fruit or a vegetable. These Red Juicy Tomatoes have all the characteristics of Fruit but used as vegetable.
Solanum lycopersicum as it is known.. our lovely tomato is a real life saver.the close cousins of this cute little fruit are harmless potato , brinjal and has a few unusual cousins like tobacco and the poisonous Belladona....This tomato which is often taken for granted has a lot to offer.they are rich in Vitamin C and A along with folate,fibre, potassium and proteins. They are important source of antioxidants which play role in preventing diseases.
Flavonoids present in tomatoes have antioxidant , anti-viral and anti - inflammatory properties...Drinking tomato juice regularly can keep the bacterias and viruses away from the body... more vitamin c means protection against cold and flu.
They have cosmetic value as well.. they have a nourish effect on skin and act as natural sunscreen.
Tomatoes also have cardio vascular benefits... and wonderful anti-aging qualities... Lycopene and beta carotene present in the ma re anti aging components.Goodness of tomato can be understood by the above link. But then everything has to be in a limit isn't it?
Tomatoes consumed in excess can develop gall stones and Kidney stones (Oxalate Stones) I have read.But these are usually dissolved by drinking a lot of water. So eat healthy... of course be in limits and stay happy.
We can include tomato in various ways in our diet.Tomatoes are high in the antioxidant vitamins beta-carotene, vitamin C and vitamin E, as well as the carotenoid lycopene. This means that tomatoes are helpful in preventing heart disease and cancers. Tomatoes are also high in potassium but very low in sodium which means they help combat high blood pressure and fluid retention.
Unlike some other canned foods, canned tomatoes retain most of their nutrients. In fact, cooked or canned tomatoes contain more lycopene than raw tomatoes. If buying canned tomatoes choose varieties without added sodium.
Calories in Tomatoes:4 oz/100g = 17 calories

Salads,Rice, Sandwich ,Tomato soups ,chutneys ,and our usual Saaru (Rasam) .Today I made Tomato Bhath, a pretty tasty and filling rice dish. This takes hardly 15 minutes to prepare.

TOMATO BHATH

INGREDIENTS:

3 ripe tomatoes (chopped fine)

2 onions (chopped longitudinally)

1 green chilli (split long)

2 cups of rice

2 spoons of MTR Vangi bhath powder

2 spoons of cumin seeds/jeera

1 pinch of turmeric powder1pinch of asafoetida

salt to taste

two spoons of oil curry leaves and coriander leaves for decoration .

Method of Preparation:

In a pressure cooker pour two spoons of oil.Add jeera and turmeric powder. When the jeera starts turning brown add chopped onions and green chillies (add more if you like spicy taste) and saute them.When they get tender add asafoetida, salt and vangi bhath powder. You can add some tamarind juice if you feel the tomatoes aren't sour enough. Then add rice and saute for a few minutes. Add two cups of water (ratio of rice is 1 rice : 2 Water). Close the cooker and let the cooker blow the whistle twice . Turn the heat off and let the cooker cool down before you open.

Serve hot with Onion rings or Raita or Papad.

Bye for now.