Button Idli Sambar aka Mini idli dipped in sambar

Ingredients:

For Button idlis:
Idli rice - 1 cup
Urad dal - 1 cup

Preparation:
Soak the rice and urad dal in separate bowls for 6-8 hours. Grind them in a mixie or stone grinder with little water, The batter should be slightly thicker than dosa batter. Mix and keep them in warm place to ferment for a minimum of 8 hours. Add salt once fermented. Spoon them into idli moulds that is greased with oil. Steam them for 10 mins or till done. Spoon them out once little cold. Or you can dip spoon in cold water and take hot idles out :).

For Sambar:
Toor dal - 1.5 cup
Shallots/sambar onions - 10 nos sliced thinly
Tomato - 1large chopped finely
Tamarind -a small lemon size soaked in 1/4 cup water
Potato - 1 medium cut into small cubes
Carrot - 1medium cut  into small cubes
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Sambar powder - 2 tsp ( I used eastern)
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves - half handful
Salt to taste
Oil

To roast & grind:
Coconut grated - 2.25 tbsp
Chana dal - 2 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1.25 tsp
Red chilly - 3 nos
Curry leaves - 7 leaves
Asafoetida - a pinch

Preparation:

Roast all the ingredients on low flame (under the grind ingredients). Then grind them in grinder when cooled.

Meanwhile pressure toor dal in almost 3 cups water till done. Then mash them nicely with back of the spoon. Keeping the dal to further boil, add in the vegetables.

Meanwhile, in a pan add a tsp of oil and to this add mustard seeds. Once seeds splutter, add in the onions and sauté. Once light, add in tomato and add a bit salt for faster cooking. Cook till tomato gets smashed. Then add in the turmeric powder, sambar powder. Sauté till oil starts leaving sides.

Crush the tamarind in soaked water with fingers to remove the pulp from seeds. Then add the pulp paste to the dal mix. Now add the onion mix sautéd to the dal mixture. Stir. Finally add in the roasted powdered masala and stir nicely. Add salt per taste. The consistency of sambar should not be too thick. A little thin will be right. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serving:
Serve in a bowl with mini idlis soaked in hot sambar.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

INJI PULLI (INJI CURRY) - ONAM SPECIAL

Inji Pulli

Onam is one harvest festival which defines love and prosperity through out the malyalam year and brings in lots of happiness and unity. Its usually a 10 day festival and for each day there is each recipes and celeberations done. Unfortunately, these days people get too busy and basically all are in nuclear family, no one really have time for all these traditions. Yest, we all malayalees make sure we cleberate the main day 'Thiruvonam' we dishes. It usally comprises of 11 -13 dishes from banana fries to achars to varies colorful dishes to kheer/payasam. They say its a 9 course meal!!!..yes its something that eacha nd everyone of you should try it out :)....Since tomorrow is Onam and its my little princesses first onam I m plannign to make a 'Sadya'. Yes first time in my life i m doing this. I know its a late to post all the recipes in one. But will try my best to do so. One of the dish is Inji pulli which is surely a lipsmacking sweet and sour dish :)

Ingredients (all are in approx) :

Part 1
Coconut Oil - 1/3 cup

Red Chilli - 2 nos
Ginger - 1 whole piece chopped finely
Green Chilli - 4 nos chopped finely
Curry leaves - 1 spring chopped finely

Part 2
Water - 2 cups
Tamarind - 1 lemon size ball
Jaggery/Gud/Sharkkara - 3/4 piece (in strip)
Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt

Preparation:
Ina pan add in part 2 ingredients and boil. Then simmer on low flame and cook till it reduces to half.
The jaggery will melt in the hot water. For the tamarind, if you have paste use it or else soak the tamarind in water for 15 mins and then squeeze the water out and use the water.

Meanwhile, in another pan add in the coconut oil and once hot, add in the mustard seeds. Once the seeds splutters then add in the red chilli and finely chopped, ginger, green chilli and curry leaves. Saute till ginger is light brown in color. Add these(including oil) to the tamarind water and cook for about 5 mins on low flame.
Cook till you need the desired thickens and cserve :)..
You can store this for a week in refrigerator as the oil acts the preservative.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

P.S - The color usually is almost black in color. The Jaggery which we get here is little different the one we get in India. SO the difference of color :).

Arachivitta Sambhar and Idli

Arachivitta Sambhar and Idli

I am being a bit too lazy nowdays in coming up with new new recipes and updating on blog. Too busy these days that sometimes end of the day I feel like i will do tomorrow.. sigh..it goes on like that then finally i think its not fair when many can do it i tooc an :D.... i am crazy about this tamilian sambar. they have this unique taste i always thought how to make it when one of my tamilian friend said to me how to make it..its easy and believe me you will keep slurping again and again once you have tasted it :)...idli is the best combination i could think of and luckily i had the batter ready with me.As the anme says, this sambar comprises of spices thats grounded which makes this special and finger licking taste.


SAMBHAR


Ingredients:
Toor Dal - 1 cup
Moong Dal - 1/4 cup
Shallots - 15-18 nos
Tamarind - lime size soaked in warm water
Tomato - 1 med (1/2+1/2)
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt


Pressure the dal with salt and turmeric for about 4-5 whistles and once cooled down mash them and keep aside.


To grind:
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Channa dal - 1 tsp
Raw Rice - 1 tsp
Jeera/Cumin - 1/2 tsp
Fenugrrek seeds - 1/4 tsp
Dry red Chilli - 3 nos
Grated coconut - 1 tbsp


Grind the above ingredients with 3-4 shallots and half of tomato to a paste.


For Tadka:
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Dry red chilli - 4 nos
Curry leaves - 2 strings
oil


In a pan, heat oil and add mustard and urad dal..once spluttered add in rest of the ingredients. Then add in the remaning shallots and saute till shallots are semicooked and then add in the half of chopped tomato and grinded paste and saute till raw smell of the masala goes. Once sauted well add in the dal and mix. Cook for about 2-3 minutes and add in the tamarind water. add an extra 1 cup water and cook for about 2 minutes. garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with idli.

IDLI
Raw rice - 2 cups
Urad dal - 3/4 cup
Salt


Soak rice and urad dal overnight and wash properly and then grind them to a paste. The batter should be thick enough to cover a spoon once dipped and taken out. Keep in a warm place for fermenting. I usually keep for overnight till the batter turns slightly sour. Once fermented, add salt and mix. Then pour batter (about approx of 3 tbsp) into idli platter (rub oil into the platter before pouring the batter)and steam cook in pressure cooker for about 15-20 mins. cool, and with knife or spoon carefully remove the idli from side.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)