Spicy buttermilk

Recently we went to a restaurant called Mirchi near our house. The specialty in that restaurant is its buffet with various briyanies and a wide selection of Andhra food. After enjoying the splendid buffet, I could see a crowd near the dessert buffet corner and went near it. There I saw many guests filling their tall glasses with a buttermilk. At first I thought it was simply some buttermilk and didn't bother to take some (as I make it often at home). But hubby dear took that and told me to taste it, as it is something beyond our regular buttermilk:) I tasted it and loved it very much. I could imagine all the ingredients. So after that day, I am preparing this buttermilk in the same proportion and serving it as chill as possible. It tastes exactly the same and we both like it very much.

Spicy buttermilk after an yummy lunch makes our day more special:)

Prepare this buttermilk early morning during summer and enjoy this whole day

Ingredients: 
Indian curd (desi yogurt) -  1.5  cups
sea salt - to taste
ginger - 1 inch
green chilly - 1
cilantro - few
cumin - 1 tsp
curry leaves - few
ice cold water - 4 cups

Method:
Peel ginger. Grind ginger, green chilly, cumin to a fine paste.
Beat the yogurt creamy with salt.
Add the prepared ginger paste.
Finely chop cilantro and curry leaves.
Mix well. Add enough cool water and few ice cubes.
Spicy buttermilk is ready !

Serving suggestion:
We can serve this buttermilk after a simple chapthi meal or with any grand lunch.
Makes a good drink during summer.

Keerai paniyaram

Keerai paniyaram / spinach paniyaram. Paniyaram (appey / puff panakes) are very native South Indian dishes. We can make n number of varieties using the same batter. Sometimes I prepare the paniyaram batter itself from scratch (which is a successful method always). But using leftover dosa batter is a handy method too. Try this with any kind of greens we get and I am sure you are all going to love this.

Keerai paniyaram with kara chutney.

Ingredients:

thick dosa batter - 1 cup
besan flour - 1 tbsp
baking soda - 1/2 tsp
ghee /butter/  sesame oil - as per need

To temper:

spinach - handful
mustard seed - 1/2 tsp
urad dhal - 1 tsp
sesame oil - 1 tsp
onion - 1/4 (small)
green chilly - 2
asafoetida (hing) - a pinch

Method:

For spinach: In a wok, heat oil and add  mustard seeds, urid dal. As the mustard starts splutter, add finely chopped onion, green chilly and saute till it gets soft. Then add finely chopped spinach and cook covered for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Add besan flour to dosa batter. Besan flour helps in flipping the paniyaram easily. The dosa batter should be thick.
10 minutes before starting to prepare the paniyaram, add the baking soda and mix well.
In the mean time prepare the spinach fry. Pour this spinach to the dosa batter and mix well.

Now heat a paniyaram pan and brush some oil in all the holes. Then add 1 tsp sesame oil / butter in each hole. Reduce the flame to minimum and pour the batter to halfway in each hole. Click to see the picture. Cook covered or in open. (I prefer putting a lid to ensure uniform cooking). We can notice some red color in the edges and then flip using a skewer or fork. No need to cover after flipping. Take out once done.

Serving suggestion:
Serve as breakfast or snack with coconut chutney. or kara chutney.

Note:

Do everything in low heat. It may take a little while but that is the only way to get whole fluffy paniyaram.
Non stick pans work the best. But I have used a pan similar to traditional thick paniyaram pan.
For the first batch it may require more oil to fry, but it will take very lesser in the following.