Avani Avittam - Upakarma

Today is Avani Avittam celebrated by all Brahmins in South India and also in Orissa as Shravan Poornima. For more info on this from wikipedia click here.Mostly Rakhi and Avani Avittam falls on the same day. Its also called Upakarma. Early morning traditional food is prepared without onion and garlic. All men at home will change the sacred thread and perform rituals. Tomorrow thats next day they will read Gayathri mantra 1008 times.

Back at home remembering my brothers usually will tie Rakhi once they finish this puja. So treating them with these dishes from my kitchen.

My Menu for the day was.

Breakfast with Yummy soft Idlis.

Paal Payasam(Rice Milk Payasam)

Avarakkai Poriyal(Broad Beans Curry)

Paruppu (Seasoned Dal)

Vendakka Sambar (Lady's finger/Okra sambar)

Plain Rice

Rasam

Paruppu Vadai(Dal Vadas)

Ingi Pachadi (Ginger/Adrak Raitha)

Thayar(Plain curds/Yogurt)

Papad

Will be posting these recipes soon...

Leave me comments or vote which recipe you want me to post first.

Thenga Sevai - Coconut Semia Upma

Thenga Sevai is a traditional South Indian Dish. I usually make Thenga Chadam thats Coconut rice which is very tasty to eat. So tried to make Thenga Sevai this time.

This is usually done on many occasions for Tiffin. You can use home made sevai or rice vermicilli.

Ingredients
Home made Sevai or cooked Semia (Rice vermicilli) - 2 cups

Grated coconut - 1 cup
Bengal gram - 1 tspn
Mustard - 1 tspn
Aasafotida - 1 pinch
Curry leaves - few

Coconut Oil - 4 tspns
Green chilli - 2 nos
Coriander leaves - 1 tspn chopped

Cashews - few chopped
Salt

Preparation Method
In a kadai, add oil, mustard, asafotida and wait till it spulters.
Add bengal gram and wait till its brown. Add cashews, curry leaves and green chilli and saute.
Add Grated coconut and saute for sometime.
Now add cooked semia and little salt.
Mix well and cook for few mins and off the stove.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Thenga Sevai is ready to eat. You can enjoy this as it is or with vadams or chutney.

Thenga Sevai is going for Let's Go nuts event hosted by Padmaja of Seduce ur taste buds blog.

Veg. Sandwich

Veg Sandwich is easy and quick to prepare breakfast/snack/starters.

Ingredients

Bread slice - 4 nos
Carrot - 1/2 no Grated
Capsicum - 1/2no chopped finely
Onion - 1no chopped finely
Tomato - 1 no chopped finely
Coriander leaves - 1 tspn chopped
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tspn (As per your taste)
Cooking oil - 1 tspn
Salt

Preparation Method

In a Kadai, put oil onion, and saute till its transperant.
Add tomato and saute.
Add Carrot and cook for few minutes.
Add capsicum and saute for few minutes.
Add salt and garam masala powder and fry till all cooks well.
Finally add chopped coriander and garnish.

Stuff with plain bread or toasted bread and serve. You can give to Kids/children by adding cheese and make it interesting. Yummy Sandwich is very tasty.

Veg. Sandwich is going to Show me your Sandwich event in Divya's Blog.

Chilled Idlis

Idli is one of the famous and popular dish in India and abroad. Many people's favourite and not favourite for some too...

Its different and with little variation to eat Idlis soaked in fresh thick yogurt...

Ingredients

Idlis - 10nos (It can be homemade or ready to eat)
I have used mini idlis which I made for my son and was leftover.
Thick Yogurt(Thair/Curds) - 1 cup

For tempering/seasoning
Cooking oil - 2 tspns
Mustard - 1/4 tspn
Bengal Gram/Urad Dal - 1/2 tspn
Jeera(Cumin seeds)- 1 tspn
Curry leaves - few
Asafotida(Hing) - a pinch
Chopped Green chilli - 1no(optional)
Salt to taste

Preparation Method
Cut Idlis in 2 (mini idlis) or 6 (normal idlis) as desired.
In a kadai, put oil mustard wait till it splutters. Then add asafotida and dals. Wait till its brown. Now add jeera, curry leaves and green chilli. Saute for a minute.
Slowly add yogurt and keep stirring. After a minute add chopped idlis and salt mix well. Remove from the stove.

Allow it to cool and keep in fridge for 1 to 2 hours. If you do not want to refrigerate you can keep for about half n hour so the yogurt is absorbed and serve.

Remove from the fridge stir once, garnish with chopped coriander leaves and Serve.

Chilled Idlis are ready to eat. This can be done with leftover idlis too. Bachelor's you can try this easy and simple recipe.

This recipe is going for Show me your Breakfast by Divya Vikram.

Masala Dosa with Batter recipe!

Dosa (Lenthil and Rice Crepes) is very famous Breakfast/tiffin in South India. Its popular not only among Indians but also liked by many foreigners too... When I was in Panama this was one of the favourite of Panamanians they love to eat Indian food... This is my favourite too and I love making dosas.....

Ingredients

Dosa Rice or Boiled Rice - 3 cups
Urad Dal - 1 cup
Bengal Gram(Channa Dal) - 1/4 cup
Toor dal - 1/4 cup
Rice flakes(Aval/Poha) - 2 tblspns
Fenugreek seeds(Venthayam/Methi seeds) - 1/2 tspn

Preparation Method

Wash and soak the above ingredients for about 5-6 hours in water and then grind to a fine paste.
Dosa Batter (Dosa Maav) has to be fermented for overnite or for about 4-5 hours.
While grinding do not add more water. Consistency should not be very thick and not very thin. It should be medium so its easy to spread on skillet(tawa/dosa kal)
Then Heat a pan either non stick or normal one.
Heat the pan in medium or low flame and spread batter slowly thick and thin. Put one tspn oil and close with a lid.
Check whether its well cooked thats it will be brown and crisp on the thin spread and dull white on think spread.

Masala dosa is always cooked one side (sometimes I slightly cook on the other side) Reduce flame. Place Aloo masala in the centre and close the dosa. (checkout the photos below)
You can even spread onion, garlic and red chilli chutney and put aloo masala.

Masala Dosa is ready to serve. It can be served with Coconut chtney / Sambar.

This Masala Dosa recipe is going for Dosa Corner Event hosted by Padma's Recipes and Show me your Breakfast by Divya Vikram.

Tips -
Heat the pan always in medium or low flame spread batter and then increase flame.

You can rub the pan with sliced onion.

Always make first dosa very small and then later dosas can be made big. Sometimes batter will stick.

When kept in fridge, keep the batter outside about 1/2 hour before making dosas, If the batter is chill then also you cannot spread the batter easily.

If you do not have so much time in grinding batter at home you can also buy ready to make wet dosa batter which is easily available in super markets.

Andhra Pesarattu | Green Gram Crepes

I am reposting this recipe, since my friend in orkut Kris told me more information and correct method in Andhra style. Then later I checked with my neighbour Bharathi Aunty who is from Hyderabad and got the recipe for Alam Chutney.
Thanks to both of them.

Pesarattu is a dosa (Crepes) made with green gram dal. This is a dish of Andhra style. A very tasty and healthy dosa.

Ingredients
Green Gram(Pacha Payru) - 2 cups
Dosa Rice or Raw Rice - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1 no (chopped) - Optional
Curry leaves - few
Cooking oil - 2 tspns
Asafotida (Hing) - 1 pinch
Green chilli - 2 nos
Ginger - 1 small piece
Grated carrot - optionalSalt
Preparation Method

Soak green gram and rice for 1 to 2 hours. Grind in mixie with the skin to fine paste.
In a pan heat oil and asafotida. Then put in batter and mix.
Add salt, curry leaves, chopped green chilli, chopped ginger and mix the batter. Can add chopped onion grated carrots too. (I like to grate onion, ginger and carrots)
Heat a skillet(Dosa kal/tawa) pour the batter like dosa and spread thinly.
Put 1 tspn oil and cook both sides till crisp and brown.

Pesarattu is ready to serve. This can be served with Ginger chutney which is called Alam chutney in Telugu. This is also served with a topping of Upma just before you remove it from pan or with Upma and its called MLA Pesarattu. This is tasty and more filling.

Recipe for Fresh Ginger Chutney(Alam Chutney)
Ginger - 2" piece
Tamarind - small piece
Jaggery - small piece
Dry red chilli - 2nos(as per taste)
Jeeragam(Cumin seeds) - 1 tspn
Salt to taste
Grind all the above things raw in mixie to a fine paste.

Fresh Ginger Chutney(Alam Chutney) is ready.
Notes:
- While making for kids you can grind ginger and green chilli with green gram and ricein the batter.- The batter cant be used more than a single day even you store in fridge over night. Always batter needs to used fully on the 1st day itself since the 2nd day it does not taste good at all.

- Chutney - If you dont like the raw taste of ginger you can slightly fry all ingredients in a pan and then grind to fine paste.
- While making with onion put chopped onion on the tawa and then pour batter and spread. By this onion is nicely mixed with batter.

Tips: While making dosa, heat a pan and while pouring batter keep it in low flame and then increase flame and cook. when removing reduce to low flame. So it is easy to spread the batter and not stick to pan.

Traditional Adai!!!

A long time pending in my drafts finally posting this recipe. Enjoy.....

Adai is one other typical South Indian Breakfast/Tiffin item. It is like dosa but different in taste prepared with paruppu(dal).

Ingredients:
· Boiled Rice /Dosai Rice - 2 cups
· Thoor Dhal (Thuvaram Paruppu) - 1/2 cup
· Channa Dhal/Bengal Gram (Kadala Paruppu) - 1 cup
· Urad Dal - 1/2 cup
· Red Chilli Dry - 3 nos
· Curry Leaves - few
· Asafotida (Hing) - 1/4 tspn
· Salt to taste
For Variations
· Chopped Onion
· Black Pepper powder (preferably as grains)
· Sliced Coconut
· Drumstick leaves (Murungai ilai)

Start with:
· Soak rice and dhal in water over night.
· When soft, grind it coarsely with red chillies.
· Though thin paper roast Dosas can be made with the smooth batter, in general the batter for Adai has ingredients not ground nicely. This still gives the nice brown crispy texture.
· Once ground add asafotida & salt and leave the batter to ferment for a while (duration….depending upon the outside temperature)

Consistency: Should be little thicker than the Dosai Batter (Coarse)

Now if you are wondering why Onion, coconut and Murungai Ilai then here you go with the below options:
· At the time of making Adai, you can use one of these as additional ingredient (I repeat only one of these and not all together) to get different flavors to your Adai.
· Another alternate is that, instead of Red Chlli you can use Black Pepper and in that case again sliced Coconut can be added.
· If you are looking at Murungai Ilai, do not add Pepper or Coconut but you may wish to add onion. Try not to add more leaves as some do not like the weired bitter like taste.

Adai can be prepared without any of these extras but if you want your taste buds to try different, then add these ingredients only when you are making the Adai and not before. This helps the basic flavor of the batter remain the same and that the freshness of the additional ingredients.

Preparation:· Add your desired extra toppings and also the curry leaves.
· Heat the pan a little more than medium, season it with half spoon of your preferred oil.
· If your pan is nonstick type, then no need to season it but you can straight away start making Adai.
· Remember that since the batter is not smooth and the consistency is thicker than that of Dosa, this needs to be cooked a little longer than Dosas.

. To make the corners crispy, add little oil to sides. you can also make a little gap at the middle and add little oil to make it crispy too. Turn the adai and cook reverse side.

Serving Options:

· Adai with Avial is the best. For Avial check for recipe just click Aviyal· Adai with butter cube.
· Some people like my husband eat it with Jaggery and thick fresh Yogurt.

Vegetable Semia Vermicilli Upma !

An easy and quick breakfast/tiffen is semia upma. It is also called rice vermicilli.

Ingredients
Semia (Rice vermicilli) - 2 cups
Water - 5 cups
Carrot - 1no
Beans - 10nos
Potato - 2nos
Bengal gram - 1 tspn
Mustard - 1 tspn
Aasafotida - 1 pinch
Curry leaves - 10nos
Oil - 4 tspns
Green chilli - 2 nos
Coriander leaves - 1 tspn chopped
Salt

Preparation Method
Crush the semia to small pieces.

Wash and chop the vegetables into small pieces.
Boil water in a vessel add 1 tspn oil and 1 tspn salt.
When water boiling add semia and boil for 3mins. If u leave for more time it will become soft.
Then filter it and keep aside so all water is drained.
Now in a kadai, add oil, mustard, asafotida and wait till it spulters.
Add bengal gram and wait till its brown. Add green chilli and saute.
Add the vegetables, curry leaves and cook for sometime.
Now add cooked semia and little salt.

Cook for few mins and off the stove.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Semia Upma is ready.

Variations

1. Add onion and grated coconut

2. Add turmeric and lemon
3. Also just only with chopped capsicum

Poori

Poori (Puri) is one of the famous breakfast/tiffin in India. This is prepared from wheat flour.

Ingredients
Wheat Flour - 2 cups
All purpose flour (Maida) - 1/4 cup
Cooking oil - 4 tspns
Oil for deep fry
Salt
Water as requried
Preparation Method
In a bowl mix both flour, oil and salt with slight water
Make a soft dough like for chapathi
Make small balls and spread smaller to the size of chapathi
Heat oil in a kadai medium-low heat
When its coming to smoking hot slowly drop the dough in kadai and slightly press it with spatula(jara)
Once its fried it will rise then turn on reverse side and fry for few seconds
Remove it on absorbent paper

Poori can be served with Potato masala, Channa masala or
Potato sagu - http://simplysara07.blogspot.com/2008/11/potato-sagu.html

Rice Adai(Dosa)

It is called Verum Arasi Adai in tamil. A different in taste. This is simple, tasty and easy to prepare.

Ingredients
Boiled rice - 2 cups
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Salt

Method
Soak boiled rice in water for 6 - 8 hours
Grind in mixie with grated coconut to smooth paste
Add salt and leave for 3-4 hrs for fermentation
Then pour batter on skillet like dosa
Cook on reverse side also.

Rice Adai is ready to serve. This can be served with coconut chutney or onion chutney.

PS - If batter is leftover can be kept in fridge and used.

SALT APPAM

REQUIRED INGREDIENTS

DOSA BATTER - 4 CUPS
ONION - 1 NO

CARROT - 1 NO
GREEN CHILLIES - 2 NOS
CURRY LEAVES
SALT

PREPARATION METHOD

ADD CHOPPED ONION, CHOPPED GREEN CHILLIES, GRATED CARROT, CURRY LEAVES, SALT TO THE DOSA BATTER.
HEAT THE ROUND APPAM MAKER
WIPE THE SIDES WITH OIL
POUR THE BATTER AND LEAVE TO COOK.
COOK ON BOTH SIDES

SERVE THE HOT N SOFT APPAMS WITH TOMATO-ONION CHUTNEY

SANDWICH

Required Ingredients

Bread - 4 pieces
Carrot – 2 nos
Onions – 1 no
Potatoes – 1 no
Tomato – 1 no
Oil – 1 tsp
Green chillies – 2nos
Coriander leaves

Preparation Method

In a Pan, put little oil add chopped onions fry till brown and then add salt.
Add chopped tomatoes and fry.
Add grated potatoes
Add grated carrot and green chillies.
Fry all together till its fully cooked.
Garnish with coriander leaves.
To serve stuff it in with the plain bread or toasted bread

Akki roti | Rice Flat Bread| Karnataka Style!

Ingredients

Rice flour – 3 cups
Onion – 2nos
Green chillies – 3nos
Curry leaves – 2tsp
Coriander leaves - 2tspns
Jeera - 1/2 tspn
Salt as reqd

Preparation Method

Mix all the above ingredients in hot water and make soft dough.
Leave the dough to rest for half n hour to an hour.
Take a tawa or kadai, apply oil and start spreading by hand.
Heat the same and cook both sides till brown.

Another method
Mix all the above ingredients in hot water and make soft dough.
Leave the dough to rest for half n hour to an hour.

Spread oil on a polythene paper

Heat the pan

Make balls and spread dough like chapati with your hand on the polythene paper and now remove slowly and put on the hot pan

Bake both sides in low flame

When turns slightly brownish, remove and serve with chutney

This will be crispy and can be served with groundnut or coconut chutney or chutney pudi.