Rava Idli

Rava Idli is a variation of South Indian breakfast, Idli. Rava Idli is quick and simple to make without the process of grinding and fermenting. It is prepared with rava/ semolina which is wheat rava or cream of wheat. This is one of the simple and healthy recipe which combines the goodness of dals and spices with healthy carrot. You can use fresh/ sour curd and Eno Fruit Salt/ Baking Soda.

For serving 2 person approx. 8 idlis

Ingredients :

• Rava / Suji / Semolina - 1 cup
• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Chana Dal - 1 tbsp
• Urad Dal - 1 tsp
• Cashewnuts broken - 1/8 cup
• Curry Leaves chopped - 1 sprig 
• Thick Curd / Yoghurt - 1/3 cup
• Grated Carrot - 1/3 cup
• Grated ginger - 2 tsp
• Chopped Coriander Leaves - 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Eno Salt - 1 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp oil + for greasing
• Water as required

Method :

• In a heavy based pan heat oil on medium flame. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add chana dal, urad dal, cashewnuts, curry leaves and fry till they are crispy.

• Add rava. Mix well and roast on medium flame till it changes color by stirring continously with out letting it get burnt. Switch off the flame and let it cool.

• In a bowl take rava mix, curd, grated ginger and carrot, chopped coriander leaves, salt and mix well by adding water as required. (Batter should not be very thin, slightly thicker than the normal idli batter). Keep the batter aside to rest for 15 minutes.

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• Pour water to steamer and put it on medium flame and let it come to a boil.

• Meanwhile, if the batter is very thick, add lil water as rava would absorb the water. Mix well and add Eno Salt. (If you don't have Eno salt, you can still make spongy idli's with baking soda). Stir well for a minute. You will notice bubbles on the surface of batter.

• Pour batter into greased idli moulds and place it in the steamer when water is boiling.

• Steam it on medium flame for 10 minutes or till a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

• Turn off the flame and let it stand for 10 minutes. Remove moulds from the steamer and scrape out the ready idli's with a wet spoon.
• Serve it hot with coconut chutney, Bombay Potato Sagu, Mixed vegetable Sagu, Potato Carrot Curry.

Kadabu

Kadabu are sweet dumplings prepared all over India especially during Ganesh Chaturthi. Outer covering is prepared with rice flour and stuffing with sesame, jaggery, roasted chana dal, coconut and cardamom powder. Here is the easy and yummy recipe of Kadabu with step by step pictures.

Rice Powder used for making kadabu is different than one available in stores. To prepare rice powder for kadabu follow the method below.
Method to prepare Homemade Rice Powder : Wash and soak raw rice in water for 2 hours. Drain the water completely and dry it on a clean thin cloth for 30-45 minutes. Once dry grind it to a fine powder. You can get it ground in the rice mill for large quantity or powder it in mixer. Let it cool. Sieve to remove any lumps and store it in air tight container and use when required. Home made rice powder for kadabu is ready. So lets get into making kadabu.

Ingredients :

For the rice flour dough :

• Homemade Rice Powder - 1 cup
• Water as needed approx. 1 to 1/4 cup
• Salt 1/4 tsp
• Sesame oil / Cooking oil - 1 tsp

For the stuffing :

• Roasted Chana Dal - 1/2 cup
• Sesame seeds - 1/2 cup
• Jaggery powdered - 1/2 cup
• Grated Fresh Coconut - 1/4 cup
• Eliachi Powder - 1/2 tsp

Method :

To prepare the dough :

• In a vessel bring water to boil with a tsp of sesame oil/ cooking oil. In a bowl take homemade rice powder with salt. Mix well. (It requires less or more water depending on the quality of the rice powder. So make sure you boil enough water)

• Add boiling water to the rice powder and mix with a spatula. Once it is cooled enough to handle, grease your hands with oil and knead to a smooth dough. (Divide the dough into half and gather if it cannot be handled)

• Cover and keep aside while you prepare the stuffing.

To prepare the stuffing :

• In mixer jar take roasted chana dal and grind it to a fine powder. Sieve to remove any residue. Grind the residue and sieve. 

• Clean and wash sesame seeds. Dry them on a clean cloth. Dry roast sesame seeds till aromatic and pops out. Let it cool and grind them coarsely. (You can use either white or black sesame seeds or both)
• In a bowl take roasted chana dal powder, coarse sesame powder, powdered jaggery and cardamoom powder. Mix well.

• Add grated coconut to the filling and mix. Filling is ready.(Add coconut to the required amount of mix. You can store the mix for few days. But if you add coconut, it would get spoiled)

To prepare kadabu :

• Grease your hands with oil and make small lemon sized balls out of the dough.

• Take a ball and flatten it using a roti press/ papad press using wax paper/ plastic sheet greased with oil. (It should not be very thin/ thick. If it is very thin there is chances of breaking and if it is too thick there will be more of dough and less stuffing in a bite)

• Hold the flattened dough along with sheet and fill it with prepared filling in the center. Fold it and seal the edges by pressing lightly.

• Place it on a plate and prepare more kadabu. Meanwhile add water to the steamer and switch on the flame. 

• Arrange the prepared kadabu on a greased idli plate/ steamer plate and place it in the steamer with boiling water. Cover and let it steam for 5-7 minutes. (Water should be boiling before you place the kadabu inside the steamer)

• Allow it to rest for 5 minutes before taking them out. Steamed kadabu is ready. (There is a glossy look on kadabu if it is steamed well)

• Serve it warm.

Broccoli Bajji

In this recipe the chickpea flour (Besan) lightly coats the broccoli florets which provides great flavor and texture. Its a perfect way to get kids to enjoy the health benefits of broccoli.

Ingredients :

• Broccoli  - 250gms
• Oil for deep frying

     For Bajji Batter:

• Besan /chickpea flour - 1/2 cup
• Rice powder - 2tbsp
• Chilli powder - 1tsp
• Turmeric - a pinch
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Salt to taste

Method :

• In a bowl take all the ingredients for bajji batter as mentioned above. Mix it well with water.
• Make the batter without any lumps (the batter should not be too thick)    

• Now heat oil in a pan. Once it is heated reduce it to medium flame
• Now Dip the broccoli florets in the batter (light Dip) & drop into the oil pan 

 

• Fry till they are crispy  (approx. 2-3mins)
• Tasty & crispy broccoli bajji is ready to serve.

Paper Avalakki Mixture/ Thin Poha Mixture

Paper Avalakki is thin version of avalakki/ Flattened rice/poha. This can be sun dried or roasted on low flame to make it crispy. Use of it in the mixture makes it low calorie as there is no need of frying it in oil.
Avalakki mixture/ Poha mixture is a popular crunchy snack in India. It is prepared during Krishna Janmashtami and Diwali. This low fat snack is quick and very easy to prepare at home and prefect to munch on with your evening tea/ coffee. Paper avalakki/ thin poha is dry roasted till crispy and mixed with fried nuts and spices. It has a great shelf life, so you can store them in airtight container and enjoy them.
For variation you can add any combination of finely chopped onions, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots with chaat masala, black salt and chili powder to the prepared mixture, give a stir and serve.
Quantity of ingredients mentioned below is just for the reference. You can increase/decrease/omit the ingredients according to your preference.

Ingredients :

• Paper Avalakki/ Thin Poha - 4 cups
• Groundnuts - 1/4 cup
• Fried Gram -  4 tbsp
• Cashewnuts - 15 split into halves
• Raisins - 4 tbsp
• Dry Coconut slices - 1/4 cup
• Red Chili - 3-4 halved
• Green Chili - 2 slit
• Curry Leaves - 2 sprigs
• Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Fennel Seeds/ Saunf - 1 tsp
• White Sesame/ Till - 1 tbsp
• Tumeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Chili Powder - 2 tsp
• Salt to taste
• sugar - 1/2 tbsp
• Oil - 3 tbsp

Method :

• In a large kadai take paper avalakki/ thin poha and dry roast on low flame till they are crispy. Transfer to a wide bowl and allow it to cool down. Alternatively you can keep them in sun for 2 to 3 hours or until crispy.

• Keep all the ingredients ready as you will have to add them one after the other while seasoning or chances of ingredients getting burnt.

• In the same kadai heat oil on medium flame. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Then add jeera and saunf, fry for few seconds.
• Add groundnuts, curry leaves, slit green chilies, red chilies and fry for few seconds and add cashewnuts, coconut slices and fry till they are crispy. 
• Then add roasted gram, raisins, sesame seeds and fry till raisins get bulged.
• To the tempering add turmeric powder, chili powder, salt and give a quick stir.

• Reduce the flame to low, add crispy poha and gently mix them so that poha is coated well with the spices and becomes crispy. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Switch off the flame. Let it cool for 2 minutes, then add sugar and give a quick stir.

• Let them cool completely and store them in airtight container and enjoy.
• Crunchy poha mixture is ready to be served.

Bread Bonda

Bread Bondas are crispy dumplings in which spicy potato and green peas mixture is stuffed in bread slices, shaped into balls and deep fried. Learn how to make this easy, crispy n yummy snack for evening with step wise pictures.

Ingredients :

• Bread Slices - 12
• Potato - 3
• Frozen Peas - 1/2 cup
• Onion - 1 medium sized
• Jeera - 1 tsp
• turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Chili Powder - 1 tsp
• Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander Leaves(chopped ) - 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste 
• Oil - 2 tsp + for frying

Method :

• Pressure cook potato and green peas with little water and salt for 3-4 whistles. Once pressure comes down, drain and let them to cool down.
• Peel the skin of potato and smash both potato and green peas.
• In a kadai heat 2 tsp oil. Splutter jeera and add finely chopped onion. Fry till onions are translucent and add potato peas mixture.

• Mix and add turmeric powder, chili powder, garam masala and salt. Add a tbsp of water and mix well. Fry on medium flame for 2-3 mins and sprinkle chopped coriander leaves.

• Mix well. Switch off flame and let it cool down. Make lemon sized balls out of it and arrange them on a plate. (approx. 12 balls)

• Trim the sides of the bread with the help of a knife. In a wide bowl take enough water to dip the bread slices.
• Take one bread slice, dip one side quickly and take it out. Hold the wet bread slice in your hand with wet side facing down. Place a ball of potato peas mixture. (Dip the bread only for less than 2 seconds, else the bread slice will become gooey.)

• Cover it as you squeeze out the water and shape them into balls/bondas. Follow the steps to prepare more bondas and place it on a plate.  (If you are preparing for guests, prepare the balls and keep ready. Just before serving, fry them and serve warm)

• In a kadai heat oil on medium flame. While sliding the bondas oil should be hot but not fuming hot. Slide few bondas at a time and keep turning them gently for even frying. Fry them on medium flame to get crispy crust. (If oil is not enough it will absorb more oil and if its very hot it will brown soon without being fried properly.)
• Drain them on a paper towel. Fry other bondas and serve them warm with tomato ketchup.