This week was a bit of work and lot of learning. Aunt L taught me lots which I will share here every week. We made lots of Instant mixes to help save time in the kitchen and great for single people who are finding it touch to cook elaborate meals .
First in the series comes the Uppittu or humble UPMA.. which can be used as Rava Idly mix too with a little variation. Uppitu is a quick yummy breakfast says my husband. I am not a great fan of uppittu /upma but agree that it is the quickest after cornflakes and milk.
This instant mix is a real saver.It turns out exactly like the store bought instant mixes. Here is the recipe for you
Ingredients:
Bombay rava/ Upma rava - 1/2 kg
Ghee - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
Cashew nuts - broken in half 2 tbsp
Urad dal - 1tbsp
Chana dal - 1 tbsp
Green chillies - sliced ( sliced into 4 or 6 pieces)
Curry leaves - two sprigs
Coriander - two tbsp
hing/asafoetida - a pinch
Salt to taste.
Method :
Dry Roast the rava or medium coarse semolina till it gives a delicious aroma and turns brownish. Keep aside
In a deep bottom pan pour the ghee... add mustard /rai seeds and let it it splutter. Then add cashew nuts, let it turn golden brown then add the urad and chana daals. When these are crisp add green chilies , curry leaves and grander and let them dehydrate in the ghee. Add a pinch of asafoetida/ hing and salt to taste.
Mix the roasted Rava to this seasoning and let it cool . Your Uppitu/Upma mix is ready to use.
This can be stored in the refrigerator for 6 months or more and in the open/ room temperature for about 20 days.
How to use:
Uppittu/Upma
In a pan add two cups of water . when the water comes to a boil add one cup of the mixture. Let it cook for about five minutes.Delicious Uppitu or Upma is ready..
Rava Idli
In a vessel mix one measure of sour curds to one measure of the above mixture with a pinch of soda. let the rawa soak the sour curds.. If the batter gets too hard add a little more curds to it. Let it rest for about 20 minutes and steam in a Idli stand to get soft fluffy Rava Idli. Serve hot with coconut chutney.
I will post pictures of the dishes soon .
Ciao for now.. hoping this post was useful. Do let me know.
Dheeli Khichdi is a very tasty, healthy and wholesome one pot meal . The fresh khichdi with a spoon of ghee provides right amounts of macro nutrients... Moong dal ( split mung bean ) is easy to digest and so khichdi is given as a diet for many digestive problems.In Karnataka khicdhi is made as huggi and in Tamil Cuisine it is known as pongal. The major ingredients are same but the process and consistency are a bit different. I made Gujarathi Dheeli khichdi , a favourite one pot meal at my place for any meal.
Dheeli Khichdi
Gujarathi Dheeli Khichdi:
An unusally simple and super tasty dish is very easy to make. You can just make it out of few basic ingredients. I have made the simplest version you can try variations by adding vegetables and green chillies to spice it up. Here is the recipe.
INGREDIENTS:
2 small cups moong dal
2 small cups rice
3 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
7-8 whole black pepper-corns
2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp cumin seeds (jeera)
a pinch of Asafoetida (Hing)
salt - to taste (about 1 1/2-2 tbsp)
METHOD
Soak the Rice and Moong dal for about half hour. In a pressure pan add 3 tbsp of Ghee/Oil.
When the Ghee/oil heats up add cumin seed, pepper corns , turmeric powder and Asafoetida. Wait till the cumin seeds go reddish and then add the Rice and Moongdal mixture with salt to taste.
Pour in about 10 to 12 small cups of water ( to get the watery consistency, lesser if you want it a bit dry)and pressure cook for about 10 minutes or 3 whistles. Let the pressure go down.
Serve with a spoon of ghee.Enjoy the watery Dheeli Khichdi with pickle or bhujiya.
I have always wanted to get Hakka noodles right and Tarla Dalal's recipe came just to my aid this time. I did make a few changes like adding pepper powder instead of red chillies. It turned out a great dish. Here is the recipe for you.
STIR FRIED HAKKA NOODLES
Ingredients
2 tbsp oil
3 tsp chopped garlic pods
2 carrot finely chopped
1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup finely sliced capsicum
1/2 cup chopped spring onions whites
1/2 cup peas and corn kernels
3 cups boiled Hakka noodles
2 tsp soy sauce
Pepper powder to taste
salt to taste
To Garnish
1/4 cup shredded cabbage or
1/4 cup chopped spring onion greens
Method
Boil 6 cups of water with a dash of oil and salt .When the water is boiling add a pack of Hakka noodles , turn the heat off after a minute or so.. close the pan and let the noodles cook .Then drain the water and keep the boiled noodles aside.
Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan over a high flame.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for a few seconds.
Add the cabbage, capsicum ,carrot and spring onion whites and stir-fry over a high flame for a few minutes.
Add peas and corn kernels, add salt and let the vegetables cook.
Add the noodles, soy sauce ,pepper and salt. Mix well and stir-fry for 2 minute.
Serve hot , garnished with spring onion greens.
