#30 : Dosa ~ Indian Lentil Crepes

Anybody with a love for Indian Cuisine will like dosas instantly. They are light and crisp and when dipped in Chutney, they make the yummiest breakfast food possible. When I was little, I would grab a chair to climb on the kitchen counter to watch my grand mom make them. The art of spreading the batter into a thin-even-round fascinated me . And really, all it takes is one bite to fall in love with them. 

#24 : Medhu Vada ~ Savory Indain doughnuts

"Vadas" are savory Indian doughnuts. They are usually dipped with spicy chutnety / pachadi and are eaten hot and crispy. It takes a lot of practice to learn to make them right. I have been attempting to learn these for years and have failed multiple times.  I first attempted them when I was new to cooking and the out come was disastrous . The next few times were after I got married to Kalyan . As a new bride, I tried various fun cooking experiments and the Vadas were a part of it and I failed yet again. Finally , last year I succeeded in understanding the right logistics to make a perfect batter that will help aid with the vadas's shape and taste . I stood in the kitchen , took diligent notes from my mom in law and attempted them as she supervised . The most difficult part was learning how to transfer the shaped vadas from the plastic sheet / banana leaf into hot oil for frying . My mom-in-law took a special interest in teaching me a few tricks without which my desire to learn to make these Indian doughnuts would have remained a dream . Vadas also called "garelu" in telugu are a popular street food in rural southern India. You will see stalls set up on the road frying these in big Kadais. ( Indian woks )

Two chutneys that go very well with vadas are :

Red Allam Pachadi ~ Ginger Chutney

Green Allam Pachadi  ~ Ginger Chutney

#23 : Red Allam Pachadi ~ Ginger Chutney

If you are a South Indian , I am sure you have memories of savoring tiffins ( the South Indian term for breakfast ) with Ginger Pickle . The one we usually use at home is a store bought pickle that has a long shelf life . This below recipe of allam pachadi is an instant version of the same pickle . It is easy to make and has a beautiful balance of  spice and sweetness. I especially like this chutney as an accompaniment to upma , but it tastes wonderful with idli , dosa or vada as well. Goodness of ginger is not unknown. It has been used it ayurvedic and chinese medicines for years. It helps to aid digestion and benefits blood circulation. My grand dad and father-in-law drink shots of ginger juice concentrate every week . They both vouch for its goodness. It is one of my favorite spices to cook with . I have been monitoring my grocery shopping list and have found that we use at least 1/2 lb of ginger each week .

 

#16 : Senagapindi Pachadi ~ A chutney made of gram flour

I grew up eating this pachadi as an accompaniment with Idlis and Dosas . My grand dad loved it and so it was made very often . I have warm memories of dunking rava dosas with this pachadi before heading out to play . Having never seen it on the menu of the South Indian breakfast restaurants , I always thought of it as something made only by my grand mom . I dont know of how common this pachadi is with other south Indian households , but my mom-in-law also makes it . I was pleasantly surprised when she made it the last time she was visiting and it re-kindled some old memories .

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Cups Besan/Senagapindi/Chickpea flour
• A small lime size ball of Tamarind
• 3 Cups water ( lukewarm )
• Salt to taste

For Tempering :

• 1 tsp Oil 
• 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp Urad Dhal
• 1/4 tsp Cumin
• 5-6 Green Chilli ( finely chopped )
• 2 Dried Red Chillis
• 5-6 Curry Leaves
• 1/8 tsp Asafoetida
• 1/8 tsp  Fenugreek powder

Method:

1. Dry roast the Besan/Senagapindi/Chickpea flour for about 10 min on medium- low heat. Keep stirring continuously . Remove from flame when the flour is slightly colored 
2. Soak the tamarind in 3 cups of lukewarm water for 10 mins . Extract the juice . Filter the water and juice together and set aside
3. Wisk together the roasted flour and the tamarind juice extract without any lumps . Add water if needed to adjust the consistency . Add salt as required
4. For tempering - Heat the oil , add the mustard seeds , let them splutter . To it add the urad dhal , cumin seeds , green chillies, red chillies, curry leaves and fry until the urad dhal is slightly brown. Remove from flame and add asafoetida and fenugreek powder. Add this tempering to the ground pachadi 
5. Serve with Idli or Dosa 

#12 : Idli

"Idli" - a regular everyday South Indian breakfast at home in India , is an exotic gourmet food for us in US of A . As simple as it is to make these , it has taken me years to learn . When you could microwave some frozen store-bought Idlis , why make it from scratch ? Idlis are steamed ( no oil/fat ) and are high in protein. When you want to indulge in some guilt-free Indian breakfast , Idli tops the list. Let me confess , I have an obsession with banana leaves. Anything served on it is out of the world for me and idli surely is :-) 
I put together a breakfast of these with Allam Pachadi ( ginger chutney ) and hot frothy filter coffee for Kalyan this Valentines day . Thanks to my Sister in law for guiding me through the whole process :-)

• 2 heaped cups Urad Dhal
• 4 cups Idli Rava / Rice Rava
• Salt
• A pinch baking soda

Method:

1. Wash and soak urad dhal in just enough water for 6-7 hours
2. Soak the Idli Rava also at the same time separately
3. Grind the urad dhal in about 3 cups water . The best way is to use a wet grinder and grind it for about an hour until the batter is light and silky smooth . The longer you grind the softer the idlis . Remove and set aside 
4. Drain off the water from the soaked rava and add the rava to the ground urad dhal batter . Mix rigorously . Cover and let it ferment for 8-12 hours . If living in India the batter can be left at room temperature . In cooler climates the batter should be stored in a warm place  to aid fermentation . I leave in it in the oven with the light on
5. After fermentation the batter will double in volume . Add in the salt as needed .This batter can be stored for about a week in the refrigerator 
6.  For making Idlis - Scoop out the needed quantity of batter and add a pinch of baking soda . Mix well . The consistency should be medium . Adjust/add water if necessary. Drop spoon fulls of batter into the Idli plates and steam cook for 10 mins 
7. Serve hot with the choice of your chutney 

#11 : Vegetable Upma

For a lot of people, Upma is a easy to put together breakfast . To me , Upma is a whole different word . I 'adore' it . When I make it , I put a lot of effort into it . I chop up vegetables , boil potato , fry cashews , pound ginger and ....
My husband jokes that I am the only person he knows who could go to a South Indian restaurant and order Upma . Need I say more !

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Semolina / Sooji / Rava
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 4-5 Cashews
• 2-3 Curry leaves
• 1 small Onion (thinly sliced)
• 3 tsp of Green Peas
• 1/2 small Carrot (diced)
• 3 Green Beans (diced)
• 1/2 small Potato ( cut into small cubes and boiled )
• 1 inch piece of Ginger (pounded)
• 2 Green chillies (Slit)
• 1 Tbs oil
• 1 tsp Ghee (optional)
• 1.5 cups water
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Dry roast the Semolina / Sooji / Rava for 7-8 mins on medium heat and set aside
2. In another wide pan , heat oil and fry cashews until golden . To it add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chilles and fry for a minute 
3. Add onions and fry until slightly brown . Add the vegetables ( carrot , peas ,beans and boiled potato ) 
4. Add in the water , salt and bring to a rolling boil 
5. Turn back the heat / flame down to medium , add ghee and salt as required 
6. Start adding the roasted semolina to the vegetable-water mixture in small batches and keep stirring rigorously 
7. Cover and cook for 10 mins on low heat 
8. Serve with a dash of freshly squeezed lime 

#7 : Palli Pachadi ~ Peanut Chutney

"Palli Pachadi " is a mixture if ground peanuts and green chilles topped with a crunchy tempering of mustard seeds and urad dhal . While this chutney can be eaten with all South Indian breakfasts , nothing beats dipping warm spongy iddlis with Palli Pachadi .  When I moved away from home , this was the first chutney recipe I picked up . 

 Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup heaped Peanuts ( blanched , unsalted )
• 6-7 small Green chilies
• 1 tsp Tamarind juice
• Salt

      For Tempering :

• 1 tsp Oil 
• 1/2 tsp - Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp - Urad Dhal
• 1 Dried Red Chillis
• 1/8 tsp - Asafoetida
• 2 Curry Leaves

Method:

1. Dry roast the peanuts on a medium flame for 5-7 min
2. Grind the roasted peanuts , green chillies , tamrind juice and salt into a fine pastes adding water as required 
3. For tempering - Heat the oil , add the mustard seeds and urad dhal . Once the dhal begins to brown add the red chill , curry leaves and asafoetida and fry for a minute. Add this to the ground pachadi 
4. Serve hot with Idlli , Dosa , Upma or Vada 

#6 : The South Indian Filter Coffee

No day in the in the South Indian household begins without brewing  filter coffee. While I prefer drinking Chai ( tea ) over coffee , I sometimes give in to its aroma . A perfectly made coffee reminds me of the taste of " coffee bite " -toffees from childhood . Wired of how we associate food to some happy days in our life . I am new to the art of making coffee. I picked up the traditional steel filter to brew coffee only a year back . I was just married then and my husband loved coffee :) I went through all possible resources on internet to learn to make it right. Now , I have developed my own way around it .

I have a medium-large filter , It can make 7-8 tumblers of strong coffee


Ingredients:

• 5 heaped Tbs of  coarsely ground coffee powder ( I use " Bru Ground and Roast " )
• Water
• Milk 
• Sugar

Method:

1. The traditional steel filter has 2 compartments , a long steel insert and a lid  . Remove the lid and the insert  . Add the coffee powder and replace the long insert back 
2. Bring 2  cups of water to a rolling boil . Add the boiling water to the upper compartment until full . Put back the lid and set aside for 3-4 hours. The decoction will percolate to the lower compartment
3. To make coffee : Heat milk in a sauce pan . Bring to boil . Turn down the stove heat and add decoction to your liking . ( I like mine strong ) 
4. Add sugar ( I add 1/2 Tbs of sugar per tumbler of coffee )
5. Pour the coffee into a steel tumbler . Enjoy !

NOTES :

• Do not over heat the coffee after adding the decoction 
• Using  organic milk enhances the taste
• Pour the coffee into the tumbler from a height to create a foam

#4 : Tomato Pachadi ~ Tomato Chutney

Tomato Pachadi is a tangy , spicy pachadi /chutney made from tomatoes and dry red chillies. Tastes great with rice , iddli and dosa . I was first introduced to it by my husband and have loved it since then . I usually make this pachadi on festive occasions as it is higher on the oil content . Warm rice + Pachadi =Oh ! what joy

 Ingredients:

• 6 Big tomatoes diced into 4 pieces each
• 8 Dry Red Chillies 
• 1 tsp - Mustard seeds
• 1/8 tsp - Asafoetida
• 1/4 tsp - Fenugreek powder
• 3 Tbs + 2tsp - Oil
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat 3 Tbs oil in a pan . Add the diced tomatoes to it and fry for about 2 mins. Cover the pan with a lid and turn the flame down to medium heat
2. Let the tomatoes cook for 20-30 mins until all the water evaporates and oil starts to ooze out . Keep stirring from time to time to avoid burning / charring the tomatoes  
3. Heat 2 tsp oil in a skillet . Add the red chillies and mustard seeds . Once the mustard seeds start to splutter asafoetida and fenugreek powder to it and set aside 
4. Transfer the fried tomatoes and the oil red chilli mixture to a blender . Add Salt and grind to a smooth paste ( Do not use water when grinding ) 
5. Serve with hot rice . My favorite way to savor this Pachadi :-)

#2 : Putnala Podi

'Putnalu' in  Telugu translates to the Indian variety of dry roasted Chickpeas . This spice powder has a subtle flavor and is usually eaten with rice and a drizzling of ghee. We all have our favorites. I love sprinkling in over Upma while my Husband likes to add to Yogurt . Putnala Podi also tastes great with Iddli and Dosa .

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Putnalu 
• 1/2 heaped cup dried coconut powder
• 12 Red Chillies
• 2 tsp Cumin Seeds
• Salt to taste     

Method:

1. Dry grind all the above Ingredients to a  fine powder
2. Can store in an air tight container for 4-6 weeks
3. A perfect accompaniment to add to  Rice , Idli , Dosa or Upma  

#1 : Green Allam Pachadi ~ Ginger Chutney

"Allam" in Telugu Stands for Ginger . The tang/spice of the ginger and the sweetness of the jaggery coupled with hot green chillies gives this dish a very unique flavor . Oh did I say dipping it with fluffy soft idlis can transport you to heaven ? Seriously :-) If I were to choose one accompaniment to Iddli , Dosa or Vada this Allam Pachadi will be it .

 Ingredients:

• 2 3-inch pieces of Ginger peeled and chopped
• 12 small Green chilies
• 2 hand fulls of Cilantro leaves (roots removed )
• 4 tsp-Jaggery grated
• 1 small lime sized ball of Tamrind ( Soaked in hot water)
• Salt

      For Tempering :

• 1 tsp Oil 
• 1/2 tsp - Mustard seeds
• 2 Dried Red Chillis
• 1/8 tsp - Asafoetida
• 1/4 tsp - Fenugreek powder

Method:

1. Dry grind the ginger and green chilies  together  with  some salt 
2. Add in the tamarind juice extract , cilantro , jaggery and 1/4 cup water and grind again to a fine paste
3. For tempering -Heat the oil , add the mustard seeds , let them splutter . To it add the red chillies, asafoetida and  fenugreek powder and fry for a minute . Add this to the ground pachadi 
4. Serve with hot iddlis