Wheat Pancakes - Doddak

My best friend is from Mangalore and I have literally lived in that house while in college and then my post grad studies. I have not met more warm and welcoming people and everytime I go back to Mumbai, its in their house I feel like I have come home.

Konkani food differs a from region to region as well as between the various communities ; but I love the coconut based, mild flavours of "amchi" food. Aunty S is a wonderful cook and I have some great memories of her randayi, dali, taak, ambat, sukke preparations. Batata song is one of my favourites and I make it at home quite often. I tried this version of saasam and it was good too.

Raaga from the Singing Chef is part Amchi and part Tamil so its great to read her blog with the mix of both cuisines. She lives in Gurgaon (where I work) so we have managed to connect on mail and phone, though we are still working on actually meeting in person! She has some great cupcake recipes and meal in a jiffy ideas - perfect for working women!

Singing Chef was the blog of the month for the Tried and Tasted event hosted by Divya of Dil Se but by the time I finally got around to making the wheat flour dosai I have been planning for a long time, the deadline was over...ah, well. The one at S pachhi's house, my friend told me when I was speaking to her today, is made of semolina and grated coconut. This one is made of wheat flour, coconut and a little semolina and is called Gave Pitye Doddak. Took just minutes to make and was a really filling breakfast, served with green chutney.

Gave Pitye Doddak

Araichu Vitta Kozhambu (Gravy made with freshly ground spices)

Most of you must have figured out now that I love kozhambu (South Indian curries), the spicier and tangier the better! There is this one with okra, another one with pumpkin and yet another one with sun dried berries

A week of dals, roti, subzi or even pasta, pizza and tortillas and there will be this gnawing feeling at the back of my mind (or is tongue) and eventually I figure out I can't wait to shake up my palate with a lip smacking kozhambu. It took some time for me to get the proportions right, but when I did, making this seemed even more easier than sambar - atleast one didn't have to wait for the dal to cook.

This Sunday morning was one such day. I woke up feeling quite in the mood for something different than the usual tomato or onion chutney or sambar we have with dosai. It helps if you have a stock of tamarind extract or if you are using tamarind paste.

But even if you don't, pour some warm water over a small ball of tamarind. By the time, you cut the veggies and boil then, roast the masala and grind it, it would have soaked for about 20 minutes - long enough to extract the juice. Boil with the freshly ground masala, add the cooked vegetable half way through and in a bit you have some great tasting kozhambu ready to go with dosai, idli or rice.

This dish goes to Srivalli's Curry Mela which she is hosting on her blog Cooking 4 all Seasons.

Araichu vitta kozhambu

Half a cup chopped pumpkin (drumstick, brinjal or okra can be used; brinjal and okra need to be fried a bit before adding to the gravy and not cooked in water)
Small lime size ball of tamarind soaked in 3 cups of water

Masala:
Red chillies - 5
Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Fenugreek - 1/4 tsp
Chana dal - 2 tsp
1/4 cup grated coconut

Tempering:
Oil - 1/2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
asafoetida - pinch
curry leaves - 5-6

1. Extract juice of tamarind and keep aside
2. Cook the pumpkin pieces in about 2-3 cups of water till just done.
3. Roast the spices in half a tsp of oil and then grind to a paste with the coconut.
4. Heat oil in a kadai, add the mustard seeds; when they splutter, add the asafoetida, curry leaves and saute for half a minute.
5. Add the masala paste and fry for a minute
6. Pour the tamarind extract, add salt and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes
7. Add the cooked vegetables and simmer for another 5-10 minutes till the gravy is a bit thick and the flavours have blended well.
8. Serve with idli, dosai or rice.

Roasted Pepper and Tomato sandwich - with Bread and Dosai!

I have loved sandwiches ever since I can remember. As a child I was known to ask for a "bread and butter" sandwich when we ate out. I got to taste the amazingly delicious chutney sandwiches made by Subhash sitting on the "katta' outside our college in Mumbai - those squares of bread slathered with Amul butter and green chutney and stuffed with onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, beet and potatoes - what a filling meal for just 5 bucks! Club sandwiches in Gazebo were next, followed by Subway which arrived in India much later. And have you tasted cheese sandwiches made in a "Club" - well they really know how to make one - thick slices of cheddar cheese between soft white bread - none of that wimpy stuff you get on airplanes and in theatres with wafer thin shavings of cheese on dry bread!

Sometimes there is just nothing to beat the taste of a freshly made sandwich for breakfast - it really is a power breakfast! And of course, you can pretty much put whatever you want to into it - which is what really entices me.

This morning I had a loaf of multi grain bread and though it would be perfect for a sandwich for everyone. Boiled two eggs, roasted a capsicum , sliced a tomato and some olives and shredded some cheese and I was all set to go.
The bread sandwiches were moist and juicy and dripping with the flavour of the roasted peppers and mustard. The eggs made for a good protein boost in the morning.

But after making the sandwiches for my husband and my daughter, I decided that so much of fibre wouldn't go down well with my stomach (I don't digest fibre easily). So I mixed up some instant rava dosa batter for myself and stuffed it with the same fillings! Yummy!
I am sending this dosa to Srivalli's Dosa Mela - glad I could make something unique for this Srivalli - your list for your target of 101 dosa varieties is quite inspiring!

You can pretty much use whatever you want - if you don't want the egg replace them with cucumber or sliced boiled potatoes. Put in some green chutney or pesto instead of the mustard and onions if you are upto eating them in the morning.

Roasted Pepper and Tomato Sandwich

Ingredients:

Multigrain Bread - 1 loaf
Filling:
Tomato - 1 big sliced
Eggs - 2 hard boiled, yolks and white sliced separately
Capsicum/Green Pepper - 1 (Roast the pepper on a low flame or under the grill till the skin blackens all over, wrap tightly in a foil paper and leave aside to cool for 10 minutes, unwrap, peel skin, deseed and slice)
Black olives - sliced 5-6
Mustard - 4-5 tbsp
Butter - 1-2 tbsp
Hung Curd - 2 tbsp
Pepper powder - to taste


Low Fat Multi -Grain Bread Sandwich:

1. Cut a 6 " piece of the bread and slice horizontally, leaving the back still attached so that it opens like a book.
2. Spread the hung curd on both sides and fill with 3-4 tomato slices, olive slices, roasted capsicum slices and boiled egg white slices.
3. Drizzle mustard on top and sprinkle pepper powder to taste.
4. Grill for 2 minutes or serve just like that.

Multi Grain Bread Sandwich for kids:

Cut sandwich as above, spread butter or cheese spread on both sides. Fill with tomato slices, roasted capsicum slices and whole egg slices. Shred cheddar cheese all over and drizzle tomato sauce on top. Grill or serve soft.

Instant Rava Dosa Sandwich

Dosa Batter:
1/3 cup - Semolina (sooji/ rava)
1/3 cup - Refined flour (Maida)
1/3 cup - Rice flour
Yoghurt - 1/2 cup whipped with 1 1/2 cups water
Green chillies - 2 chopped fine
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp chopped
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

1. Mix all ingredients of the dosa batter and keep aside for 5 minutes.
2. Heat a tava and pour the dosa batter (should be thinner than usual dosa batter) from a small cup and let it spread outwards. Do not spread with the back of a ladle as far as possible instead tilting the tava a bit if needed.
3. Drizzle a tsp of oil all around and cook on a medium flame till the edges are brown and lift on their own. Quickly flip with a spatula and cook the other side for a minute on a low flame.
4. Remove onto a plate, browned side down. Fill a strip of the dosa a little away from the edge with tomato slices chopped fine, olive slices, capsicum slices and egg slices and drizzle mustard or green chutney over it.
5. Start rolling the dosa from the filled side to the other side and press together. Slice into rolls with a sharp knife and serve warm.

Vegetable Kurma (Mixed vegetables in Coconut gravy)

This is one of my favourite recipes – loved it when my mother used to make it, loved MIL’s version and now I have mine too. I hate the ones served in fast food joints in Chennai, they are an apology to what this creamy spicy dish should taste like; watered down sweetish versions with sad looking vegetables in an oily gravy! Not to mention that they serve miniscule portions (which may be a good thing in a way) barely enough to mop up about half an idiyappam or a piece of appam.

What this dish should taste like is a nice mix of spicy flavours tempered by the coconut added to the masala, the thick gravy a combination of the coconut paste as well as the boiled potatoes adding their own starchiness to it. The other vegetables (I don’t add more than 2 or 3) like beans, carrot, cauliflower or peas bring out the the rest.

Why am I going on about some dish which is not even something gourmet or unusual? Well, just because I guess; just because I can never have enough of it, love trying out other versions of this and maybe because you hardly ever get to eat it outside of home.

I also love the traditional combination of Idiyappam-Kurma ; Idiyappam is steamed rice noodles and another favourite of mine. Because it is a bit time consuming to make, it used to make a rare appearance while growing up which made it all the more attractive. Now of course, you get the instant versions, just soak the dried noodles in hot water for 5 minutes and they are ready! We usually have this combo for breakfast.

For the real thing, take a look at Viji's post on Vcuisine for step by step instructions to soft fluffy idiyappam. This particular recipe is posted on May 14th, 2007.

One evening though, we wanted a light dinner so opted for dosais (rice flour pancakes) instead of the usual rice. And I thought the kurma would be a good accompaniment. I guess I just needed an excuse! So dosai kurma it was – and it was so delicious we dumped the resolve of a light dinner and went on and on with the dosais till the batter ran out!

Some versions of kurma have whole spices like clove and cardamom ground into the masala paste, I don’t prefer doing that because of the strong flavor it imparts, which then seems to mask everything else. But try that route if you hate biting into a clove by mistake.



Also, some versions add coconut milk at the end, this one doesn’t.

Recipe for dosai batter here

Vegetable Kurma

Dosai and Kurma

Ingredients:

Potatoes – 4 boiled, peeled and cubed
Mixed vegetables (choose 2 from cauliflower, carrot, beans, peas) – 1 cup chopped
Onions – 1 large sliced
Tomatoes – 1 large chopped roughly
Clove – 2
Cinnamon stick – 1 “
Masala paste:
Coconut – grated ½ cup
Green chillies – 3-4
Cumin – 1 tbsp
Ginger – 1 “piece
Garlic – 3 cloves

Method:
1. Grind the ingredients of the masala paste till smooth adding just as much water as is needed.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the cloves and cinnamon to it, when they change colour, add the onions and sauté till translucent.
3. Add the masala paste to the oil and fry for about 3-4 minutes, add a splash of water if required so that it doesn’t stick to the pan.
4. Meanwhile cook the chopped mixed vegetables in very little water till just done. They will cook further in the kurma so don’t overcook.
5. Add about 300-350ml of water to the pan and bring the mixture to a boil, add salt, cover and let it simmer on medium flame for 3-4 minutes.
6. Uncover, add boiled potatoes, tomatoes and cooked vegetables to the curry and cook for another 5-7 minutes on low till all the ingredients blend together and the curry thickens.
7. Check the salt and spice and if you need a bit more spice, you can add a pinch of garam masala powder before taking it off the flame.
8. Serve with idiyappams,dosais,idlis or chapatis.

Masala Uttapam (Savoury stuffed rice flour pancakes)

When I was in the first year of degree college in Mumbai, there opened this Udipi restaurant in Matunga called Shri Sundars. Matunga and King’s Circle in Central Mumbai is filled with Udipi joints, some of them which have been there for decades, so a new one opening in that area was just another addition to the clutter. But as we discovered during the three years we frequented it (and I use this term loosely, “lived there” would be more like it!), the restaurant came up with dishes which were quite unusual in terms of Udipi restaurants then which were almost identical in terms of their menu and appearance. Except for Ananda Bhavan idlis…mmm….but that’s another story.

Spring Roll dosa, Chowmein Dosa and some other really wacky sounding dishes filled the menu card of Sundars (we dropped the Shri almost instantly!). Of course there was the usual idli, sambar, medu wada, mysore masala dosa which were really good, but what attracted us at first were these unusual items. Soon we were regulars there - the place was clean, the waiters soon knew us by sight (and hardly got any tips) and the prices didn’t hurt our bare pockets and purses.

And what one of our gang of 8 would definitely end up ordering, was the Masala Uttapam – something I loved and had never tasted till then. I still remember that dish – uttapams stuffed with a delicious potato masala and always, always topped with a juicy slice of tomato embedded right in the centre. I recreated this dish from memory, not sure if this is what they do since it wasn’t as brown and the masala wasn’t exactly stuffed, but it tasted just right to me.

I guess nostalgia wears rose coloured glasses but this place, with all its memories of the fun times I had with my friends, holds a special place in my heart. P & G, I will always remember you guys, ordering one paper roast dosa since that’s all the pocket money you had (or maybe because you were just plain cheapskates!) and then each would begin eating from one end, so whoever ate faster would get more of the dosa! This recipe is for you and the rest of our gang.


Masala Uttapam
Ingredients:

Dosa batter – 400ml (preferably a day old or a little sour)
1 cup rice, 1/3rd cup urad dal –soak rice and dal together in water with a tsp of fenugreek seeds for about 5-6 hours. Drain the water and keep aside, grind in a mixie or grinder till you get a smooth batter. Add the drained water little by little and as much as is needed. The batter finally should be smooth and neither too thick and nor too thin. Transfer to a large vessel with space for it to double after fermentation, add1/2 tsp salt and mix well. Keep overnight and by morning it should have risen to the top.

Potato masala
Boiled potatoes – 4, peeled and mashed
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Onions – 2 chopped fine
Green chillies – 3 chopped
Mustard – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – 6-8 leaves
Chana dal – 1 tbsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Oil – 2 tsp for the potato masala and more for making the uttapams
Coriander – 1/2 cup chopped

Method:

1. Heat 2 tsp oil in a kadai and add mustard, when it splutters add the chana dal and urad dal and stir for 2 minutes till golden. Add the curry leaves and green chillies and sauté for 2 minutes, then add onions and fry till transparent.
2. Add the turmeric powder, salt and mashed potatoes and fry for another 4-5 minutes, add chopped coriander and take off flame. Cool.
3. Keep the dosa batter ready , heat a non stick tava till just warm, smear some oil on it and then pour a ladleful of dosa batter on it; spread the batter from inside to outside but not too thinly. It should be thicker than what one would do for a dosa.
4. Immediately take a big spoon of the potato masala and carefully spoon it onto the still uncooked uttapam in a smaller circle, taking care not to disturb the batter. Press down with a spatula till well embedded in the batter. All this should be done on a low flame.




5. Increase the flame to medium high and circle the uttapam with about a ½ a tsp of oil. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes till the underside is golden brown and then flip over with a spatula and press down. Cook for another minute and then remove from tava.
6. Serve hot with coconut chutney and sambar.