Vegan Instant Semolina crepes enhanced with flax.....

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Phew ! What a lengthy title.... I think this one has to have set the record for being the longest title on this site:-) Rava dosai or semolina crepes are light and lacy crepes made usually for breakfast or as a snack. Unlike other crepes/ dosais these are much more delicate and follow a slightly different technique while being made.

Though traditionally made as a breakfast item, these crepes manage to make their way into our dinner table occasionally, especially when we are in the mood for something light and quick for dinner. As is always the case with me, I could not resist trying to enhance these crepes / dosais and make them more healthier by adding flax when I recently made it.

I was a little nervous about this experiment as I had no other back up plans for dinner and was worried the flax would change the taste of the crepes/ dosai too much, but we all were pleasantly surprised, the flax did not interfere with the taste of the crepes/ dosai at all and in fact it enhanced the taste of the crepes, not to mention the nutrition. I have since made this many many times and have made it for guests as well, everybody loves it and nobody seems to be able to guess that it contains flax.


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Ingredients and Method to make Vegan Rava Dosa with flax

1 1/2 cup medium semolina (rava)
1 1/2 cup rice flour
5 tsps flax seed meal ( powdered flax seed / alsi )
salt to taste ( I used about 1 1 /2 tsp for this quantity)
approximately 4 1/2 cups of water + a little bit more to mix in with flax seed meal

seasoning
2 tsps oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
5 Thai or Indian variety green chillies (cut fine) (or according to taste)
1 sprig of curry leaves cut into little pieces (about 7-8 leaves) (optional)
asafoetida / hing a pinch ( optional)

sesame oil as required to cook the dosais

In a large bowl mix together the rice flour , semolina and salt to taste.

In a small cup mix together the flax seed meal in a few spoons of water and whisk together thoroughly until it blends a bit.

Add approximately 4 cups of water to the mixed flours slowly, mixing thoroughly as you add water .

Add the flax seed meal + water mixture to it too and mix well.
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The batter should be only slightly thicker than milk so adjust the water as required to achieve that consistency.

Heat oil in a small pan, add cumin seeds to it, when the cumin starts to splutter add green chillies and curry leaves to it. ( If using asafoetida add at this time) , when the green chillies and curry leaves splutter add the entire mixture to the batter and mix well.

Heat a griddle/ tawa/ skillet. When hot, pour a ladle of this batter in a large circle, avoiding the center. The batter will kind of spread to the center with some gaps in between, which is fine as this is how this crepe looks like. Add half a spoon of sesame oil around the crepe and let it cook for a minute or so. When the lower side starts to brown, use a spatula to flip it over and cook the other side.

When brown spots appear on the other side, remove and serve hot with chutney or sambar of choice.

Leftover batter can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

Yield will depend on the size of the crepes.

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Spiced Curry Leaves Powder ( Karvapillai Podi )

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Curry leaves are aromatic dark and shiny leaves used in Indian cooking and is an integral part of a lot of curries, hence the apt name, curry leaves, I guess :-) For generations Indian families have used these leaves for their digestive properties as part of home remedies for digestive disorders. These leaves are also said to help in preventing premature gray hair and various sundry health benefits.

When I was younger, I used to carefully remove the leaves that were used as part of seasoning in a curry and keep it aside even though I was told they were good for me, I never really seemed to care for it very much. But now as with many other spices and herbs I avoided earlier, I find myself re-looking these leaves too and they have become a constant part of my kitchen now, in one way or the other they find a presence in a lot of my dishes.

I knew that a spiced curry leaves powder was made in my home when I was younger but I never got around to making it since it requires a large quantity of curry leaves and finding them in such quantities in Indian stores is quite difficult, not to mention pricey. So the other day when I was shopping for groceries at the local Indian store I happened to see dried curry leaves being sold there, reasonably priced and definitely more long lasting then the fresh ones I usually buy. I bought that and have been using it in my cooking for a while now and do not find any discernible difference in taste from the fresh ones.

Spiced curry leaves powder is a dry powder that has a long shelf life. It is versatile enough to be used as a side with some rice dishes like yogurt rice, or it can be mixed up with a little bit of cooked rice, add a few drops of clarified butter/ ghee or sesame oil and voila you have an instantly flavored healthy rice dish. This powder can also be used to spice up yogurt to create an instant dip, or to spice up curries. Simply put, this versatile and healthy powder manages to find its way to the dinner table one way or the other almost each day.




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Ingredients and Method to make Spiced Curry Leaves Powder ( Karvapillai Podi)

2 1/2 cups of Dried or Fresh Curry leaves ( I used dried) ( Also known as karvapillai/ curry patta)
1/4 cup split chick pea ( chana dhal)
1/4 cup split black gram lentil ( udad dhal)
Dry Red Chillies about 30 ( or according to taste)
1/8 tsp Asafoetida / hing (optional)
salt to taste

Dry roast each of the lentils seperately until it turns reddish, keep aside seperately.

Dry roast the curry leaves (yes even the dried ones) until the it turns a little brownish and you can hear them make a crackling type of sound when they are stirred and keep aside

Dry roast the red chillies until they turn color and keep aside.

Cool all the ingredients thoroughly before proceeding to powder them

Powder the split chick pea until slightly coarse, then add split black gram lentil to it and continue to powder until they get the bread crumb type look, keep aside.
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Powder they curry leaves into a fine powder and keep aside.

Powder the dry red chillies with a pinch of salt if required until reasonably fine and keep aside.

Now mix all these powdered ingredients together in a blender, add salt and asafoetida and powder until fine.

Store in an airtight container and use as required to spice up your rice, yogurt or curries

Suggested Variation

Dry roast a small piece of tamarind and powder and add to the spiced powder and mix well.

Alternatively add about 1/4 tsp of amchur powder (dry mango powder)( or according to taste) to the final powder and mix thoroughly, this imparts a slight tartness to the final powder

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Tomato Rice

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I cannot believe the summer is almost over, it seemed like just yesterday that it even began and already the sun seems to be setting sooner, the days are getting shorter, and the temperature is definitely cooler. Before we know it, it will be time to grab the sweaters or jackets. So to make the most of these last few warm days, I find myself occasionally turning towards one dish meals that save time and allow me more time outdoors. One such recipe that I stumbled upon here on jugalbandis site was for a tomato rice that seemed like quite a departure from the one I usually make.

Curious to see how this one tastes, I tried it soon after I first saw it on the site. I adapted this recipe, used brown basmati rice instead of white, used a much smaller quantity of peanuts and ground it with the masala and followed the rest of the recipe pretty much close to how I found it. The verdict...this was a very flavorful and simple rice and I absolutely loved how it tasted,this version of tomato rice is my new favorite and I cannot wait to make this again.

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Ingredients and Method to make Tomato Rice

1 1 /4 cup brown basmati rice soaked in 2 cups of water

1 large onion (cut fine)

2 large tomatoes (yielded approximately 2 cups of cut tomatoes)

salt to taste

For the masala

1 tbsp split chick pea (chana dhal)

2 tbsp raw peanuts

1 tbsp brown sesame seeds

1 tbsp coriander seeds (dhania)

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi)

2 whole dry red chillies (or according to taste)

For seasoning

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp split black gram lentil (udad dhal)

1/2 tsp split chick pea (chana dhal)

2 Thai or Indian variety green chillies (or according to taste)

Wash and drain brown basmati. Then soak brown basmati rice in approximately 2 cups of water for at least 30 minutes.

Cook this rice either in a pressure cooker or a rice cooker until done and keep aside. ( I used a rice cooker)

Dry roast each of the ingredients mentioned in the masala list seperately and keep aside. When cool, powder all of these ingredients together in a spice grinder or coffee grinder until fine.

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan. Add mustard seeds, split black gram lentil, and split chick pea to this and stir a few times until the mustard seeds start to splutter and split black gram lentil and split chick pea start to become reddish. Add green chillies and stir for a few seconds.

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Add cut onions and saute until the onions turn transparent.

Add tomatoes and saute until tomatoes turn soft and mushy.

Then add the cooked rice, salt to taste and the powdered masala and mix well

Serve hot with chips/ papad and raita or curry of choice.

Serves approximately 2 to 3

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Cauliflower Curry ~ Phool Gobi chi Bhaji ~ Maharashtrian style Gobi

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Isn't it amazing how so many of our childhood memories are tied to food? I commonly see this occurrence, when a family gathers together and start reminiscing about the past, inevitably the conversation seems to stray into food territory and some times the conversation becomes about which foods were served when we were younger and how it was served. One such food that brings back memories of my school days is this patal bhaji, a curry made with cauliflower with a combination of other vegetables. 

Usually I have noticed that each home has their own version of preparing particular kind of curries. Surprisingly this is one of the rare curries where I find that both my mother and my mother in laws version of this curry is similar with very slight variations.I remember when my mother used to make this when I was younger, she usually made it to go with phulkas ( a type of Indian bread) and I would be inordinately happy to see this on my plate. I used to play this silly game when I bit into each cauliflower floret, I used to imagine the cauliflower floret to be a tree and say things like " I am biting the tree trunk or biting the tree top" depending on which part of the floret I was biting into...... ah the silly and fun times we had when we were children, can any other phase compare with those carefree days?

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Ingredients and Method to make Cauliflower Medley Gravy Curry

1 large onion (cut fine) (pyaaz/ vengayam)

3 small tomatoes (cut fine)

1 large green bell pepper de seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (capsicum/ simla mirch)

1/2 head of cauliflower (broken into florets)

1 cup green peas (fresh or frozen) If using fresh see notes.

2 medium potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi/ manjal podi)

salt to taste (namak/ Uppu)

1 tsp red chilli powder (or according to taste) (lal mirch)

1/2 tsp sugar (shakkar) 
1/4 tsp cumin powder (jeera powder) (optional)
1/4 tsp Coriander powder (dhania powder) (optional)

2 heaped tsp chick pea flour (besan/ kadalai maavu) mixed with 2-3 tsp of water (see notes)

Seasoning

2 tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds (rai/ kadagu)

1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/ jeeragam)

Garnish

handful cilantro/ coriander leaves/ hara dhania/ kothamalli (cut fine)

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan, add mustard seeds to it, when mustard seeds start to splutter add cumin seeds to it.

When cumin seeds sizzle add cut onions and stir them until the onions turn transparent.

Add tomatoes and saute until the tomatoes turn mushy and soft. Add turmeric powder, stir a couple of times. 

Add all the vegetables, salt, chili powder, cumin and coriander if using and about 2 cups of water and let the vegetables cook until soft but not mushy.

Finally add the chick pea flour + water, add more water if required to achieve desired consistency and let the mixture simmer for a few minutes. Adjust salt and spices if required at this point.

Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with phulkas or plain steamed rice or any other type of roti (Indian flat bread)

Notes

The gravy for this curry is not meant to be very thick and creamy, so only 2 tsp of chick pea flour (besan) has been used for this quantity of curry, if you want yours thicker or creamier you could double the quantity of chick pea flour (or use your judgement) to get a thicker consistency.

If you are using fresh green peas, boil in a separate pan until soft then add to the curry. 

You can also add in 1/4 head of cabbage cut into small pieces and/ or 2 carrots cut into 1/2 inch pieces in addition to or in place of potatoes

If you are looking for cauliflower recipes, here are a few more 

Cauliflower batata nu shaak ~ Gujarati style Cauliflower curry

Punjabi Aloo Gobi ~ Cauliflower and potato curry

Cauliflower cabbage poriyal ~ South Indian style Cauliflower curry

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Kadalai Parappu Sundal ~ Microwave Split Chickpea Sundal

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Sundal is a simple to make, tasty, low fat and filling snack that can be made with a variety of beans or some lentils like split chick pea or even peanuts. This is my go to snack when I want to make something quick and it is a great source of protein and nutrition, no wonder it ranks among my favorite snacks from south Indian cuisine. Traditionally I cook the lentils or beans in the pressure cooker and proceed with the seasoning it on the stove top.

Recently my pressure cooker, which gets a lot of use, especially when cooking different types of lentils, probably decided it has done enough work and just quit on me one day. As is usually the case with these things it chose the worst possible timing to quit, right in the middle of lunch preparation when I was already running late and my stomach was making sure I knew that lunch time was getting very close :-) Luckily for me I figured out the cooker seemed to be malfunctioning on time and managed to salvage both the brown rice and lentils that were cooking inside it.

Since then I have had to improvise and devise new ways to cook lentils, and the solution I have found is....the microwave. The first time I used the microwave for cooking lentils, it surprised me how effective the microwave was in doing this job and pretty quick too. Somehow I assumed that it may not do as good a job as a pressure cooker, but I was wrong. I have since used the microwave to cook lentils for most of my dishes including sambar, rasam and dhal and it does the job correctly each time. So I was not surprised to see that my split chick pea sundal made entirely in the microwave turned out so well, every single lentil was cooked to perfection. So for those of you who have been requesting me for a microwave only recipe, here is a healthy and tasty snack made entirely in the microwave......

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Ingredients and Method to make Split chick pea sundal

1/2 cup split chick peas (chana dhal/ kadalai parappu)

salt to taste

Seasoning

2 tsp coconut oil (or any other oil)

3/4 tsp split black gram lentil (udad dhal)

3/4 tsp mustard seeds

1 Thai or Indian variety green chilli (cut very fine) ( Or according to taste)

pinch of asoafoetida powder (hing)

3 to 4 tsp grated coconut (fresh or frozen)

Place the split chick pea in a microwave safe glass dish or any other microwave safe container. Add water to it sufficient to cover the lentils, swirl it once or twice with your hand and drain the water.

Soak the lentils in fresh water for at least an hour. ( Typically I add water that is at least 1/2 an inch higher than the quantity of lentils, this gives it enough room to expand)

Place the microwave safe dish with lentils in the microwave and cook on high for 2 minutes. Continue to cook the lentils in 2 minute increments. Skim off the froth from the top of the water when it forms. Also stir the lentils regularly and add water if required. The lentils need to be cooked until soft but should not get mushy, each lentil should stand separate.

When cooked, remove lentils from dish and place in a different bowl.

Add coconut oil (or other oil ) to the microwave safe dish and heat on high for 30 seconds or so until the oil heats (will depend on the strength of the microwave)

When the oil is hot, add split black gram lentil to it and heat on high for 30 secs to a minute. The lentil will start to sizzle but will not change color.

At this point remove and add mustard seeds to it and heat on high for about 1 minute.

The lentil would start turning reddish and the mustard seeds would begin to pop. Add green chilli, pinch of asafoetida and heat again for about 30 secs to a minute until the green chillies start to change color.

Add the cooked lentils to this seasoning, add salt to taste, mix well and heat again on high for about a minute for the flavors to mingle.

Finally garnish with grated coconut and serve hot or cold as a snack.

Serves approximately 2.

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