Coconut Rice

It was exam week. I know, I know. My older one is still in the 2nd grade. Not that these exams are important for his promotion to the third grade - this school has year long assessments which are counted for the promotion. But exams are exams. And as a parent, my tension literally hit the roof. I was never so tensed for my own exams. Be it board or competitive. I dread to think what the future holds when he has to give his boards.

We consciously didn't opt for the schools where there are no exams till 4th or 5th grade. The kids need to understand the concept of exams from an early age; though that is not the sole criteria for promotion. This is our personal opinion.

Enough of my opinions now. This recipe was printed in Hyderabad Times during Sankranti time. I had cut this and kept it in my folder. We hardly use coconut in our cuisine. So this was a completely new recipe for me to try. Its extremely easy, quick-to-make and use up that left over rice. We had this on its own, but I think it's best served with a spicy non-veg curry.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked rice - ensure the grains are separate
1 cup Fresh Grated Coconut

For seasoning:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 TBSP Chana Dal
2 tsp Urad Dal
2 Dry Red Chillies 1 Green Chilli - Split in half
15 Curry Leaves
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1 Pinch Asafoetida
8 to 10 Cashew Nuts
1 TBSP Oil / Ghee
Salt to taste

Method

1. Heat oil in a pan and add Mustard Seeds and let them splutter.
2. Now add Cumin Seeds and let them crackle.
3. Add the Chana Dal, Urad Dal and Dry Red Chillies and wait till the Dals start to change colour.
4. Add the Ginger Paste, Asafoetida, Green Chilli, Curry Leaves and Cashew Nuts.
5. Saute till the Cashew Nuts turn brown.
6. Now add the Grated Coconut and fry for a few minutes.
7. Add salt and mix well.
8. Now add rice and mix well.
9. Serve hot on its own or with some spicy curry.

This goes to March - Week 4 of Cooking from Cookbook Challenge Group.

Dal aur Gajar ka shorba / Lentil and carrot soup

Warm, hearty soups. Who doesn't love them in winter? Accompanied by dinner rolls. Hmmm... Though we hardly had winter in Hyderabad this year, me and my family enjoyed this healthy soup regularly.

I saw this soup on Sanjeev Kapoor's How to Cook show. It was something totally different and I knew I had to try it out. This was a hit and I was making this regularly. Its been very hot recently, so I haven't been making this much. But I am sure I'll make it again in the recent future.

Ingredients
1 cup Toor Dal - Washed, Soaked and Drained
1/4 cup Mung Dal(with husk) - Washed, Soaked and Drained
3 Carrots - Roughly Chopped
10 Garlic Cloves
Juice of half of a lemon
2 cups Water
2 tbsp Oil
Salt to Taste
Chopped Coriander for Garnish

Dry Roast and Grind to a coarse powder.
1 tsp Coriander Seeds
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
6 - 8 Peppercorns
2 - 3 Dry Red Chillies

Method

1. In a pressure cooker, heat oil.
2. Add the carrots, Toor Dal, Mung Dal,Garlic Cloves and water and pressure cook till done (about 4 whistles).
3. Once the pressure is released, add the ground masala powder and salt and mix well.
4. Add water as needed and puree to a smooth paste.
5. Add lemon juice and garnish with chopped coriander and serve.

Note: I garnish with a pinch of the ground masala instead of coriander leaves.

This goes to Week 4 of Cooking from Cookbook Challenge Group.

Oats Uttappam

Wherever I see, everyone is trying to move away from the traditional dosa & idli. They are getting more health conscious and want to incorporate millets into their daily routine. Given the health benefits of the various millets, its the right way to go as well. But I am sure a few still want their rice now and then (if not daily).

I for one, don't miss rice too much. I can go without rice for 1 or 2 weeks. I guess I like rice with my pachadi (chutney), my mother's Gutti Vankaya Koora (Stuffed brinjal curry) and a few curries. Other than that, I am OK with eating Godhuma Rava(Dalia), Foxtail Millet (Korralu in Telugu and Theenai in Tamil) or oats instead of rice everyday. And when I eat rice, its not the brown rice. That's something I still need to get used to. We have shifted to semi polished rice from polished rice. So even we are moving towards the healthy band wagon.

The recipe today is an ideal breakfast recipe. You can prepare and soak everything overnight. Just grate the carrots and mix in other vegetables of your choice in the morning and make the Uttappams. A healthy, tasty and filling breakfast is ready. Since oats are full of fiber, your stomach feels full for a longer time, thus making you snack less.

I actually made this as an after school snack for my sons. I used left over batter to make Uttappams for me and my husband the next morning.

Ingredients:

1 cup Quick Cooking Oats
1/2 Cup Semolina / Suji
1 cup Curd
1 Carrot - grated
Water as needed
Salt to taste
Oil / Ghee as needed

Method

1. Mix the Oats, Semolina and Curd and grind it to a smooth paste. Add a little water if needed.
2. Keep this aside for atleast 1/2 an hour. If possible, for more. I kept this for almost 5 hours.
3. Just before making the Uttappams, mix the grated carrot and water to get it to a thick consistency. Something like cake batter.
4. Heat a non stick pan. I took a 6 inch diameter pan.
5. Add a tiny bit of oil / ghee. Add 1 to 1.5 ladles of the batter and spread it. The Uttappam should be about 1/2 an inch thick.
6. Cover the pan and let it cook for about 3 to 5 minutes on each side.
7. Serve hot with chutney of choice or as is. We ate it without chutney and it was tasty.

Note: You can add more vegetables like Onions, Tomatoes, Green Chillies etc. This is dependent on your taste.

This goes to Valli's Come, join us for Breakfast - February

Paneer Tyres for CCC

Well... I've just been extremely busy with my daily chores to get back to blogging. You know, sometimes the time just flies and you don't know where its gone. That's what's happening with me now.

My second grader is a very poor eater. I wouldn't call him picky as he'll eat anything and everything if he feels like eating. Now the problem is, he doesn't feel like eating most of the time. So his after school snacks were only fruits. 1/2 an apple, 1 orange, 1/2 of a big banana and a mug of milk.

Recently, I started giving him a freshly prepared snack after school. He actually started eating it along with fruits. He's enjoying the snacks as well. Recently, I made these Paneer Tyres from Nita Mehta's "Healthy Snacks for School going children" and he liked them. Its healthy, quick to make and tasty.

Ingredients:
2 Brown Bread Slices
1 tsp melted butter
For Filling:
50gms Paneer - grated
3 tbsp Grated Carrot
Salt, Pepper, Cumin Powder to taste

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients under the heading "For Filling".
2. Roll out the bread slices flat with a rolling pin
3. Place a bit of filling on one side of the bread and carefully roll it.
4. You can cut each bread slice into 2 pieces. That's what I did.
5. Repeat and make the other roll as well.
6. Cover the rolls with a wet cloth for atleast 15 minutes.
7. Preheat the grill for 5 minutes.
8. Brush the melted butter on the rolls and grill them till needed. I didn't let my rolls turn too crispy as my 2 year old doesn't like it.
9. Serve with ketchup.

Note 1: The original recipe had finely chopped capsicum and tomato ketchup also for filling. I avoided these.

Note 2: The fillings can be different as long as they are dry. I am thinking of kheema filling next time.

Note 3: These can be cut into 4 pieces instead of 2 and used as appetizers for parties.

This goes to Week 3 of Cooking from Cookbook Challenge Group.