Instant Oat Bran Dosai ~ Savory Indian Oat Crepes ~ With Stepwise pictures

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Oat bran as I mentioned in this post is the outermost  edible layer of the oat grain. Just like oatmeal, oat bran too has a lot of health benefits.  Check out this post for more information about the health benefits of oat bran.  I have begun to use oat bran a bit more these days in my kitchen. The last two oat bran recipes that  I  posted in this space were this oat bran muffin and this carrot muffins. I have also begun to use oat bran in more savory recipes like rotis (Indian flat bread) and dosas.

This instant dosa is one of the dosa types that I make with oat bran. This is a super quick and easy version that hardly takes any time to put together. These kinds of instant dosas are my favorite for weekend breakfasts, it is one of the easiest ways to make something quick, tasty, healthy and guilt free:) It works just as well for a quick dinner or just as a snack as well.

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Instant Oat Bran Dosai
1 cup oat bran
1 cup whole wheat flour (atta/ godumai maavu)
3/4 cup rice flour (chawal ka atta/ arisi maavu)
salt to taste (namak/uppu)
1/2 tsp red chili powder (lal mirch/ molaga podi) (or to taste)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi/ manjal podi) (optional)
pinch of asafoetida powder (hing/ perungayam)
approx 2 and 3/4 cup of water

little sesame oil (til ka tel/nalla ennai) to shallow fry the dosa

In a large bowl, add oat bran, rice flour and whole wheat flour and mix well. Add all the spices and salt to taste and mix again.

Add water as needed to make a batter, this should not be too thin and runny nor too thick. The batter should be of pouring consistency. I needed about 2 and 3/4 cups of water for this quantity of flour. Keep the batter closed and allow it to "sit" for about 30 minutes at least.

Heat a heavy pan/ griddle/ tawa and pour a little batter in the center and quickly make a thin circle. Pour a few drops of oil around the circumference of the dosai. When the lower side becomes golden flip over and cook the other side until it gets small brownish spots. Remove from heat.

Serve hot with chutney of choice/ sambar of choice and some molaga powder (spice powder).

Refrigerate the balance of the batter if any and use within 2 to 3 days.

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Cabbage Carrot Curry ~ Poriyal ~ With Stepwise pictures

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Recently I came across this article on cabbage that really amazed me. I mean, I always knew that cabbage is a very healthy vegetable and that it is a vegetable that has one of the lowest calories when compared to other vegetables. I have even mentioned its cancer fighting properties and other health benefits in this earlier post. But the article I came across was even more detailed than a lot of other articles I have read about this vegetable. It explains that cabbage prevents blood pressure from getting high, it has anti inflammatory properties and that it also regulates blood sugar. Not only is it so good internally, apparently it is also said to be very good for healthy hair, nails and skin. Amazing isn't it? I think I need to use cabbage much more frequently in my kitchen than I do now :)

And if you think the same thing, than here is a super easy curry that I make often when I plan a south Indian menu. This curry is a perfect side dish for plain steamed rice and either sambar, rasam or mor kozhambu (south Indian kadhi) on the side. But it is not necessary that it should be paired with rice only, it  tastes just as well with a phulka/ chapathi (Indian flat bread) if you do not want to fuss with rice. 

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Cabbage Carrot Curry
Half a head of cabbage (band gobi/muttaikos) cut fine (yielded about 3 and 1/2 cups of cabbage)
4 large carrots (gajar) cut into small pieces (yielded 3 cups of cut pieces of carrots)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi/ manjal podi)
salt to taste (namak/ uppu)

Seasoning
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp mustard seeds (rai/ sarson/ kadagu)
1 tsp split black gram lentil (udad dhal/ ulatham parappu)
pinch of asafoetida powder (hing/ perungayam)
1 sprig of curry leaves (kadi patha/ karvapillai ) (about 8 to 10 leaves)
2 dry red chilies (lal mirch/molaga vathal)

Garnish with
4 Tbsp freshly grated coconut (or frozen thawed to room temperature)

Prep the vegetables and place in a heavy bottomed pan. Add turmeric powder, salt to taste and about 1/4 cup of water. Place on medium heat, cover with a lid and allow the vegetables to cook until soft. Stir a few times in between to ensure even cooking.

In another small pan, heat oil on medium heat. Add mustard seeds, when the seeds begin to pop, add split black gram lentil and stir a few times. When the lentils begin to redden slightly, add asafoetida powder, curry leaves and red chilies and stir a few times. Remove from heat and pour the entire seasoning on the cooked vegetables.

Adjust salt to taste if required, mix well and allow the curry to heat through. Garnish with coconut, remove from heat and serve hot with plain steamed rice and sambar/ rasam/ or any other kozhambu. This time I served it with this Thakkali mor kozhambu/south Indian style kadhi/ Tomato buttermilk curry and plain steamed rice.

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Mixed Vegetable Pulao ~ Subz Pulao ~ With Stepwise pictures

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During my last two visits to India, I bought a lot of cookbooks with the hope that I would get a chance to try  something or the other from these books at some point. But routine day to day cooking does not provide me much time to browse through books to figure out what to make from them. Occasionally over the weekend when I am watching something on tv, I do end up glancing through some recipes and vowing to try some of the recipes "one day". Sometimes one of the recipes will capture my interest enough to make me want to try it out immediately.  

One such recipe that caught my attention was a subz pulao or mixed vegetable pulao in a Nita Mehta book that looked interesting. Specifically the spice paste used in the pulao intrigued me. Usually the pulao I make has whole spices, this one had a paste that I thought would definitely add more flavor to the rice. Curious to know how it worked out, I gave it a try that very weekend. And I loved it, it was a very easy, yet flavorful pulao that was very different from my usual pulao. I have made this recipe a few times now, and have been tweaking the recipe a bit each time. This final version is the one I like the most and this rice is perfect for a quick meal or for a hearty weekend lunch.

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Mixed Vegetable Pulao
1 cup basmati rice (chawal/arisi)soaked in water for 30 minutes
2 small carrots (gajar) cut into small pieces = 1/2 heaped cups of cut pieces of carrots
20 to 25 beans ends snipped off and cut into small pieces = 1/2 heaped cups of cut beans
1/2 cup green peas (matar) (frozen)
1/2 cup cauliflower florets (gobi)
1 large red onion cut into small pieces (pyaaz/vengayam)
2 small bay leaves or 1 large bay leaf (tej patta)
2 tbsp clarified butter/ghee/nei or oil (use oil for a vegan version)
1/2 Tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
1/2 tsp lemon juice (limbu)

For the masala paste
3 cloves of garlic (lehsun/poondu)
1 tsp chopped ginger (adrak/inji)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/jeeragam)
1/2 tsp coriander seeds (dhania)
1/2 tsp fennel seeds (saunf/sombu)
1 clove (laung/lavang)
1/2 inch stick of cinnamon (dalchini/pattai)
seeds of 2 green cardamom (elaichi/ellakai)
1 dry red chili (optional)

Soak rice in sufficient water for at least 30 minutes. Prep the vegetables and keep aside.

Place all the ingredients of the masala paste in a small jar of a blender/mixer, add a little water as required and grind to a smooth paste. Keep this masala aside.

Heat ghee/oil in a large heavy bottomed pan, then add bay leaves and onion and stir until onions are translucent.
 

Add masala paste and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, then add vegetables, kasuri methi and stir for 3 to 4 minutes.

Add 2 cups of water, salt to taste, 1/2 tsp lemon juice, drained rice and bring to a boil.

Cover with a lid, lower heat and cook for approximately 12 to 17 minutes on very low heat until the rice is cooked. Remove from heat and keep covered for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve hot with raita and papad/chips or with a curry of choice for a more hearty meal.

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Besan Ladoo ~ Indian sweet made with chick pea flour ~ With Stepwise Pictures

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Last year when I visited India, my sister in laws mother who knows our family's weakness for sweets,  very kindly made a nice amount of assorted sweets for all of us. Among this treasure of sweets she made, I found a few long forgotten treats that I haven't had in a long, long while. One of them was besan ladoo. Besan ladoo is an Indian sweet made with chick pea flour and semolina. It has this delicious melt in your mouth quality to it that makes it quite irresistible.  As I was biting into a delicious ladoo the thought that kept running in my head was why......why is it that I haven't made this yummy treat  in such a long time?

Deciding to remedy that as soon as possible,at the first opportunity after we returned back home, I made this sweet. The first time I made this I made it with only chickpea flour, but besan ladoo without semolina doesn't taste quite right. Don't get me wrong, it isn't awful or anything like that, but I personally like the crunch and texture that semolina gives this sweet. So I made it a few more times to  perfect the recipe. This version of this ladoo is the one we love the best, it has the perfect texture and sweetness for us and this one has become one of my favorites. It's easy and fail proof and is perfect for sharing with friends or for a special occasion or Indian festivals :) 

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Besan Ladoo
1 and 1/2 cups of chickpea flour (besan/ kadalai maavu)
1/4 cup semolina (medium rava/sooji)
1 and 3/4 cup sugar (shakkar/sakkarai) to be powdered fine
1/2 tsp cardamom seed powder (elaichi/ elakkai)
1/2 cup + 1/4 cup warm clarified butter (ghee/nei)

Optional(see notes)
1 tsp clarified butter/ghee/nei + 2 tbsp broken pieces of cashew

In a heavy bottomed pan roast semolina in about 2 Tbsp of clarified butter/ghee/nei  until it is aromatic. Remove from heat and place in a large bowl.

In the same pan, in low to medium heat,  roast besan/ chickpea flour in 1/4 cup of ghee/ clarified butter stirring continuously to make sure the besan does not burn. Roast until the besan is aromatic. It takes about 15 to 17 minutes for the besan to get to this stage on low to medium low heat. If you take the besan out too early and it tastes raw, it will spoil the taste of this sweet so take your time with this step to ensure the besan is properly cooked. Remove from heat and add to the large bowl along with semolina.

Allow the mixture to cool a little.You can even cool this all the way to room temperature if you wish. Add cardamom seed powder to this mixture and mix well.

Powder the sugar to a fine powder and add to the above mixture and mix well.

When you are ready to make the sweet, add warm clarified butter/ghee/ nei to it and mix well.  When you take a little mixture and make a fist, the mixture should hold. Roll into gooseberry sized ladoos. Place in another container. Proceed with the rest of the mixture in the same manner.

Yielded approx 28 to 30 medium sized ladoos. Yield will depend on the size of each ladoo.

Notes:
If you wish to add cashews to the ladoos, roast cashews in 1 tsp clarified butter until it turns golden brown. Add it to the mixture along with the cardamom powder, mix well and proceed with the rest of the recipe.

 If you are looking for Indian sweet recipes, here are a few more

Moong dhal ladoo ~ Indian sweet made with mung bean lentil

Coconut Burfi ~ Nariyal burfi ~ Indian coconut fudge

Easy Rava Ladoo without sugar syrup ~ Indian sweet made with semolina and coconut

Oats Poha Kheer ~ Oats Aval payasam ~ Beaten rice flakes pudding

Gajar kaju kheer ~ Carrot cashew payasam

Badam Kheer ~ Payasam ~ Indian almond pudding

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