Wheat Dosa

I was bored with the usual breakfast routine yet needed something different so was looking for instant item which I can prepare without any prior preparations and thus came across wheat dosa from one of my friend. Its simple, easy, less time consuming and a healthy item. We know to prepare chapatis out of wheat flour, dosa!! sounds different and in taste as well! It is similar to the Rava Dosa recipe that I posted earlier we can omit onions. I tried both the ways adding little onions at the end to the batter and it tasted well as well. We need not soak the batter for long time, its direct procedure, mix well and make dosas.We will see below the steps on how it can be prepared.

Methi Bhaji

Methi / fenugreek leaves are rich in vitamins and minerals so they are very healthy and included in various ways in Indian cuisine like in salad, sabzi, rice and parathas. In spite of its bitterness if roasted well it tastes very good and is liked by most of the kids in the form of methi paratha. It is consumed raw as salad along with Bhakri (Jowar roti) in Maharashtra. We can prepare a very simple side dish with methi leaves that can be included in our weekly menu. Here we will see the simplest way of preparing methi sabzi that can be served as a side dish for roti/rice.

Sankranti Bhogi Meal

Since I came to my native for Sankranti festival I got a chance to have a variety of food “a complete Sankranthi Bhogi meal” prepared by my mum! Which was so delicious and awesome that I can't resist from posting it here. A traditional food which which is a combination of Bajra roti/Black millet roti/sajji rotti, mix bhaji, spring onion bhaji, rice, sambar, shenga chutney, kharda, korti chutney (gurolle chutney) and pickle. I just love it! Sankranti is the 1st festival in a year celebrated by Hindu’s in India and January is the month where we get all the fresh vegetables. So during this festival the previous day of Sankranthi which is called as “Bhogi” in Maharashtra and North Karnataka we prepare mix vegetable sabzi and offer to savaasni (married woman) in the form of “Bhogi”. So this time my mom had got lots of veggies to prepare Bhogi meal. We will see below the various traditional dishes prepared during Sankranti Bhogi festival.

Puran Poli/Holige

When its Sankranthi festival how can you forget about “Puran Poli” its sweet paratha and is generally prepared in Maharashtra. This is a classical Marathi dish which is served as dessert / sweet item during the festival season. The stuffing is known as ‘Puran’ and outer cover is known as poli. In Karnataka it is called as “Huranada Holige”. It is made from Bengal gram and Jaggery. Preparing holige needs lots of patience and concentration. My mom prepares it with much care and sees that it does not break and it becomes very soft. Even I still haven’t learn the way of preparing poli perfectly. We will see below the step by step procedure to prepare this. The measurement I am sharing here is for 1 kg Bengal gram which from which we can prepare upto 20 -22 poli.

Peas Upma

Upma / uppittu (also known as Khara bath in bangalore) is at least one time breakfast menu in a week, it is also the most common breakfast item. This does not require much time for preparation nor needs any side dish to be served with along. upma is prepared from Semolina, it can also be prepared with more veggies which can be more nutritious.We will learn below the simple steps to prepare upma.

Idli

Idli is the compulsory breakfast item served in all the south Indian restaurants. When I was in my boarding school I used to hate Idlis, I used to hide them in sambar katoras when the house leader would come for checking if we have left anything in our plates. But I love the idlis that my mom prepares. I used to wonder how can my mom make such soft idlis while the school idlis were so hard. After my school I never made guts to have idli anywhere.
    After my marriage I used to get the ready made idli batter from the stores and prepare idlis, it would come nicely and I liked them. Then my mom suggested me to why shouldn't I go for preparing the batter myself at home instead of buying it every time and hence she gave me some packets of home made rice flour. It was like passing a test for me to prepare soft idlis, finally I passed it :) Its not so difficult to prepare idlis we should know the consistency of batter that is needed for idli. It should not be very thin nor very thick. We will see below the steps to prepare Idlis at home.

Dhapata Recipe

This is a spicy puri which is made from jowar, wheat and gram flour. This is one of my most favorite Maharashtrian recipe which goes very well with curd. Every time I go to my native during my holidays my mom definitely prepares this, My job is to spread the dough and make small puri sized dhapata and my mom does deep frying Hence I learned this recipe from my mom :)

                  The usual Thalipeeth which is done on Tava as explained earlier in my previous posts is most common and authentic kind. This is little bit different, we do deep fry in this. The procedure of kneading the dough is almost same, but the size of dhapata is smaller similar to puri. We can also prepare this with multi grain flour. We will see below the steps to prepare Dhapata.

Simple Upma

After my kid started growing my pediatrician suggested me to introduce him with the solid food, generally it is after your baby is 6 months old. I was excited and was listing down the things that I can probably start giving to my son, meanwhile mom suggested this recipe to me.This is a very simple form of upma made from rava/Semolina that can be included in kid's diet as semolina is easily digestible, low in fat  and high in fiber. I started giving this to my son after he was 10 months old. I do not add much ingredients. We can add boiled vegetables to this and make it more nutritious and healthier. I haven't tried yet, will definitely post after I prepare. Lets see the procedure to prepare this simple Upma for kids.

Aloo Methi Paratha

Aloo - Potato, Methi -Fenugreek leaves, we have already learned a way of preparing methi paratha, here we will learn to prepare a partha which is a combination of aloo and methi. I first had this when I was in Mangalore, it was a place called 'Paratha Platter' famous for all types of parathas, they serve all kinds of parathas.

Here aloo acts like a binding agent as we already know that methi alone cannot be used as filling when you try to prepare a stuffed paratha. Aloo helps in increasing the volume, taste and acts as a binding agent. I will explain you the ways that I use in preparing this mixed paratha.

Dal Sabzi

This recipe I tried on my own, I had some extra boiled dal left over when I was preparing Toor Dal Usal, thought why shouldn't I go for a sabzi instead of using it for sambar. This is an easy recipe requires less time if you already have boiled toor dal.

This recipe is similar to dal fry that we get in the restaurants, but I have used green chillies instead of red dried chillies and I haven't given the tadka. We will learn below the steps for this recipe.

Mugachi Usal / Green Moong dal sabzi

Green grams is said to be a repository of protein and is well know for its nutritional value. It is can be soaked overnight and by covering it in a cloth keeping it for few hours can make it converted to sprouts. Sprouts are the excellent source of vitamins and help to build up the immunity power.
        

Green gram can be used in our daily food as a side dish for Roti / rice. Mugachi usal is the one simple dish that is prepared at least once / twice in a week in our house, it requires very less number of ingredients and also less time. We will learn the steps below for this recipes.

Dal Khichdi

There are many ways of preparing Moong dal Khichdi, this is the simple Dal Khichdi recipe which I prepare for my kid. I introduced Dal Khichadi to my son when he was 10 months old. It is very healthy since its made of Rice and Moong dal (split and dehusked green gram) and toor dal (pigeon peas split). Moong dal is easy to digest, a good source of protein and a dietary fiber hence it is also given for the patients. This recipe I learned from my sister. She has 2 kids and used to prepare dal khichdi for them when they were small.

If you are bored of the usual dal rice routine you can try this I am sure will like this. We will learn below the steps for preparing this recipe.

Dodkyachi Bhaji / Ridge-Gourd Gravy

Ridge Gourd is one of my favorite vegetable, I prepare this sabzi in 2 ways gravy and the other mixed with toor dal. I like in both the ways. This vegetable is also rich in fiber and low in saturated fat. All most all the side dish in Maharashtra are prepared using the shengadanaycha koot (peanut powder.) We will see below the way how ridge guard gravy can be prepared using ground nuts and coconut.

Milk Poha / Hal Avalakki

I usually used to prepare simple poha with pinch of turmeric powder, salt and chopped coriander leaves for my kid, I learned this from one of my maid who is from Bangalore and believe me my kid just loves it. This dish can also be served as a sweet dish whenever guests arrive surprisingly to your house and you do not have enough time to prepare payasa / any kind of sweet.

Ragi Malt

Ragi / finger millet is the most healthiest and richest in protein and minerals in comparison to rest of the cereals.Karnataka is the largest producer of Ragi in India. In Bangalore and certain parts of southern Karnataka Ragi flour is used to preapare ragi mudde which is considered as staple food like chanpati / roti and is served along with soppina saru or any thin sambar. In north karnataka Ragi is used to prepare 'Amli' which is taken as a cold drink along with buttermilk during the summer season.

 

Bhendi Fry / Fried Okra

Bhendi/Lady finger/Okra is the vegetable which is known for its rich fiber content. It improves digestion and and helps in weight loss :) There are many ways of preparing Bhendi like bhendi fry, stuffed bhendi, dahi bhendi, crispy fried bhendi and many more. I will explain here the simple fried Bhendi recipe that we prepare in our day to day life for chapati as a side dish.

Togari Bele Usal / Toor Dal Usal

This is the most common bhaji prepared in North karnataka and maharashtra. You can find this dish at least once in a week in most of the vegetarians house in Maharshtra! This dish does not require more ingredients, if you just have onion, toor dal, red chilly powder and salt you can prepare this bhaji.

Tomato Chutney / Gojju

If you have more tomatoes in your refrigerator and thinking how to finish them, then I would suggest you to go for Tomato chutney / gojju. This is called as tomato gojju in south Karnataka and usually served with rice. This can be served as a side dish with any of the parathas, roti, or rice. It has got all the tastes like sweet, spicy and tangy.