Wheat Flour Dosa (Ghava Pita Polo)

Wheat flour Dosa is a healthy and quick-fix breakfast recipe. Only two ingredients are required to prepare the batter and the batter doesn't need to be fermented. Hence this is an instant dosa which is a Savior when pressed for time.

Ingredients:

Wheat flour - 1 cup
Semolina - 1/2 tsp (Optional)
Rice flour  - 2 tbsp (Optional)
Salt to taste

Procedure:

Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl . Add water and mix well to form dosa batter. Make sure there are no lump in the batter. Add required amount of salt to taste.  Adding semolina and rice is optional. During fast we usually skip adding rice flour.

Heat a dosa tawa and spread little oil over it. Pour a ladle full of batter moving outward to inside. Don't spread the batter using the back of the ladle like we do for other dosas. When it is cooked well on one side flip it and cook on the other side.

Serve it hot with any dip of your choice!

Chicken Curry

Chicken curry can be prepared in numerous ways. This is traditional chicken curry prepared by my Mom, and it is one of my all time favorite. We usually relish this with dosa, idli or rice.

Ingredients:

Chicken - Around 600 gms
1/2 portion of large onion  finely chopped
1/2 portion of small tomato finely chopped
Cashew nuts - 12
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil / Ghee - 1 tbsp

For Green Masala:

Coriander leaves - 12  ( along with stem)
Green chillies - 3
Garlic cloves - 2
Ginger - A small piece
Cinnamon - small piece
Clove - 2
Cardamom  - 1
Cumin seeds - 0.5 tsp
Saunf - 0.25 tsp
Poppy seeds - 0.5 tsp
White sesame seeds - 0.5 tsp

For Coconut Masala:

Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup
Red Chillies - 2
Tamarind - A small piece
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
1/2 portion of large onion  finely chopped

Procedure:

1. Clean and wash the chicken thoroughly and marinate it with little turmeric and salt for 15 minutes.

2. Soak the cashew nuts in warm water for 1 hr. Then grind it to a smooth paste and keep aside.

3. Grind all the ingredients mentioned under green masala to a smooth paste.

4. For preparing coconut masala paste heat oil in a pan and add coriander seeds. Fry it for few seconds and then add dry red chillies. Now add chopped onion and fry till it become slightly brown. Then add grated coconut and fry it well till it turns slightly brown ( I have used desiccated coconut as i didn't have stock of grated coconut ). Make sure not to burn the spices. Switch off the flame and let the mixture cool.

Now grind all these fried ingredients and tamarind to a smooth paste by adding little water.

5. Now heat oil/ghee in a pressure cooker and fry the finely chopped onion till it turns golden brown. Now add the tomato and saute for few more minutes. Add little salt to fasten the process of cooking onions.

6. Add the green masala to fried onion-tomato mixture. Saute for few minutes till the raw smell of green masala goes off. Now add the marinated chicken and required amount of salt to this and mix well.Cook the chicken up to 2 whistles in the pressure cooker or till the chicken is completely cooked. If required add little water before pressure cooking the chicken.

7. Now add the ground coconut paste to the cooked chicken and bring the mixture to boil. Let the curry boil for few minutes till the raw smell of the coconut paste goes off.

8. Finally add the cashew paste to the curry and simmer for few minutes. Adjust the salt and consistency of the gravy as required.

Chicken curry is now ready to serve. Happy eating :)

Basic Tomato Saaru

Tomato saaru can be prepared in many ways. This is the simplest and the first version of tomato saaru which i learnt, and it is meant for beginners. This can be prepared quickly with minimum ingredients.

Ingredients:

Tomato - 2 medium sized (Cut into large pieces)
Green chillies - 1 (Cut lengthwise)
Coriander leaves - 1 tsp (Finely chopped)
Salt to taste
Sugar/ Jaggery - as required
Rasam powder - 1 tsp ( Optional if tempering will be done)

For tempering:

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - Few
Asafoetida - A pinch

Procedure:

Heat enough water in a vessel and cubed tomatoes, green chillies and salt. Bring it to boil. Let it boil for few minutes on medium flame till the tomatoes cook and become soft. Now add powdered jaggery or sugar as required. Adjust the amount of salt as required. Add rasam powder to it and let it boil for few minutes( Adding rasam powder is optional if your are planning to temper the saaru at the end. I have used rasam powder as i had skipped tempering). Finally add freshly chopped coriander leaves.

For tempering heat oil in a tempering pan. Add mustard seeds and when mustard splutters, add curry leaves and asafoetida/hing. Add this tempering to the saaru and keep the vessel covered for sometime to allow the flavors to blend well.

This simple tomato saaru goes well with hot rice.

Spicy Potato-French Beans Masala Fry

This is a simple stir fry enriched with the flavours of cumin and coriander. I have prepared this using potatoes and french beans. This can be prepared with other veggies as well.

Ingredients:

Baby potatoes - 5
French beans
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Dry red chilly - 1
Cumin powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Chilly powder - as required
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp

Procedure:

Finely chop the potatoes and french beans. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and when the mustard splutters add curry leaves and dry red chilly. Now add chilly powder, cumin powder and coriander powder and keep stirring for a minute. Make sure the spices aren't burnt. Now add the chopped potatoes and fry for a minute. Add the beans, salt and little turmeric powder. Cook them on medium heat and sprinkle very little water to avoid the veggies from burning. Keep stirring frequently. Cook till the potatoes become soft.