Murugal dosai

I didn't realize the need for this post, until one of our friends asked . Dosa is the staple food for any South Indian family .  Just like many of you , the very sight of the dosa batter-container in my refrigerator always gives me a feeling of relief. It is the best friend at supper time, if I can't think much. So I always make a big batch of batter on Fridays, so that the weekends go smoothly :)

The paper roast dosai we get in restaurants is the yummiest version of all dosais. Mom used to call it as 'murugal dosai' (Murugal - crispy) and I like that name very much. Amma's kaipakkuvam (mom's touch) and the 'kalchekku' nallennai (Extra virgin sesame / gingelly oil) along with that perfectly fermented batter would make the house smell heavenly. Even now the same kind of flavor floating from some unknown chimney lifts up my spirit.

How to choose a dosa tawa and maintain it?

Many people add a teaspoon of channa dhal to get the golden brown colored dosa. Below ratio is the one we use. No harm in using whatever works out the best for you. But the real secret lies in the selection of the dosa tawa (dosa girdle).
Indian grocery stores or Indian vessel stores are the best places to get one. Buy an iron dosa girdle of at least 10 mm thickness and as large as 1 feet diameter. The thickness helps in uniform heating, which results in very thin crispy dosas. I am not good at non stick dosa tawas. But the non sticks are great for making soft doas (like pancakes).
Ok, as soon as we buy that thick dosa tawa, immerse it in a solution of rice washed water or water strained out while cooking for 24 hours. After that wash it and heat once uniformly apply a coating of sesame oil over it and put a lid on it. Switch off flame and  let it remain over night. The next morning, gently wipe off the oil and start making dosas.
The rule number one is never use that precious dosa tawa for making chapathi / roti or any other purpose like dhum biryani making etc:) This will spoil fine layers (at molecular level) of the dosa tawa and it will take a lot of time to get rectified.
Keep your dosa-turning spatula clean and sharp. Try to use an ever-silver spatula to turn the dosa, as they are always sharp.  Wipe off the excess batter after every use.

Dosa batter uniformly spread on the conventional dosa tawa.

Golden brown dosa after flipping.

Crispy Murugal dosai served with Coconut chutney.

Ingredients:

Idly rice - 3 cups
black gram dhal - 1 cup
(In India the urad dhal is very fresh so 1:4 ratio is enough. Other than that 1:3 works the best while using an aged dhal or Indian mixie. If using an Indian grinder the ratio can be 1: 3 1/2)
fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
salt - 3 1/2 tsp (1 tsp for each cup of rice and 1/2 tsp for a cup of black gram)
Sesame oil - 50 ml

Batter preparation:

Soak rice separately for 5 hours. Dhal and fenugreek seeds need to be soaked together for about 3 hours. After that grind dhal till it becomes very smooth and fluffy. The batter should be thick like softened butter. Transfer it to a big bowl. Then grind the rice to a very smooth texture.Do not add lot of water. Add salt and by giving several strokes.
Store this in a large vessel so that there is enough space for batter to rise. Grinding and storing of batter should be done the previous day, preferably in the night so that the batter would be ready the next day. The batter should be allowed to ferment for about 15 – 18 hours.
(If the outside temperature is below 85 deg C, then keep it inside a mildly warmed oven to get warmth). The next day, mix the batter well and it can be used to make idly or dosa.
Generally people prepare Idly with the first day batter and the remaining batter can be used to make dosa. Moreover dosa comes out very well if the batter is more fermented. we can add a dash of yeast to the freshly ground batter to enhance fermentation of the batter.The remaining batter can be preserved in tight containers in refrigerator.
A well prepared batter can remain good for almost a week.

Dosa preparation:

Heat a dosa tawa. Check the heat by sprinkling a drop of water. It should be sizzling hot. For the first dosa, Spread the sesame oil uniformly using the special wooden tool we use for spreading oil or a piece of fresh cloth. Wipe off excess oil. There should be almost no oil now.

Take a ladle of batter and pour it gently over the tawa and spread it to get crepe.
Keep the heat in maximum. Drizzle a tsp of sesame oil over the dosa. After it starts turning red, flip and take out immediately.

From the next dosa, start pouring the batter directly. No need to brush oil at first. But feed the dosa with generous quantity of sesame oil. Serve immediately, as it becomes soggy with time.

Murugal dosai is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve hot with sambar, chutney.
Makes 40 dosa.

Approximate calories:

(Click to see source)
1 large home made murugal dosai (10 inch dia)
From batter - 80 to 100 Kcal
from sesame oil (1 tsp) - 40 Kcal
Total 140 Kcal.

Strawberry Ice cream

This is an eggless version of ice cream. There are many methods to prepare an ice cream , such as by boiling milk with custard powder, using eggs, using flourn etc. The packaged ice creams we buy in the stores are made by any one of the methods above.
But the No-cooking ice cream or an ice cream made with condensed milk is more famous among American households. This recipe is known for its lesser number of ingredients and the simplicity. The interesting facts are the lesser calories involved and the health benefits we get from a real fruit.

Here is a strawberry Ice cream I made for hubby and his friends. Inspired by cooks.com website.

Ingredients:

sweetened Condensed milk - 1 can (14 oz) (400 gm)
whipped topping - 8 oz container (250 gm)
strawberry - 20 number (see measurement *)
strawberry (finely chopped) - 2 tbsp

The whipped cream, condensed milk and strawberries.

Method:

All the ingredients mixed before freezing.

Wash and clean the strawberries. Remove the bracts / leaves.
Grind the fruits to get a smooth puree. Reserve 2 fruits for garnishing.

In a mixing bowl add the condensed milk and fold in the strawberry puree.
*(After pouring the condensed milk, measure the fruit puree in the same can. It should be almost 1.5 to 1.75 times that of that can).

Add the whipped topping and mix gently. Add the chopped strawberries. The fruits should be chopped finely, otherwise they taste like ice crystals.

Transfer to a container, close and keep frozen for nearly 4 hours.

Strawberry ice cream served with sliced strawberries and blue berries.

Strawberry ice cream is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Makes nearly 15 big scoops.
Place the ice cream outside for 5 minutes for easy handling.
An ice cream scoop dipped in water makes the job easy.

Approximate calorie calculation:

From fat-free condensed milk - 1300 Kcal
Whipped topping - 100 Kcal
Strawberry (8 fruits = 45) - 120 Kcal

Total calories in the whole batch = 1520 Kcal (approx)
1/15 of the above said will yield 100 Kcal. So it can be had as a safe and satisfying dessert.

Pani Poori

In Madras, we belong to an area famous for its Gulfi ice,  paani poori manufacturers with the walk ways surrounded by 'chaat item' (a kind of Indian salad mixed with crispies) vendors. You may need a strong willpower to pass these shops without buying one plate of some snack:) Recently we enjoyed this delicacy once again in one of the parties held by hubby's colleague A. After that our trips to Indian grocery stores won't be complete without getting a chaat item.

What is Paani poori?

Paani poori : Small cute fluffy pooris stuffed with lentil, mashed potatoes, salads and filled with hot chutneys as well as sweet tangy tamarind water.

Paani poori is a great fun food when we have some family get-together or friends coming over unexpectedly. It is a very filling snack / starter / a complete meal without much preparation time or skills. There are 'n' number of variations for the stuffing and chutneys. I prepared it by remembering that Madras paani poori stalls' version and their clay-pots filled with those paanis and chutneys.

All we need is just to poke the poori with our thumb, fill the stuffing, pour the chutneys and munch ....munch...munch:) I love the way it is gobbled in one gulp with lots of laughter:) Nothing can beat the different tastes.... spicy to sweet and tangy mixing up in our mouth while our hands uncontrollably stretching for the next poori....unexplainable joy. Isn't it!

Paani poori along with the various stuffings and filling chutneys arranged.

Paani poori stuffed.

Ready to use paani pooris.

Ingredients:

Pani poori - 1 pack
I used the ready to use paani poori available in Indian grocery stores. Preparing the poori needs a lot of patience and skill. The end product should be a very stiff and hole-less pooris. Still I assure you, the home made ones are the best, if we can make them perfectly. You can see the procedure for making them in

Stuffing:

(The following are the popular stuffing, but we can vary them according to availability)
1.Potato - 3
2.Freshly chopped onion - 1 cup
3.channa dhal / whole green gram (cooked)- 2 cup
4.oma podi (Indian mixture snack) - 1/2 cup (optional)
*Cook the potato and remove the skin. Mash it gently along with some salt, cumin powder (1/4 tsp). Place it in a serving bowl.
*chop the onions finely and keep them for serving.
* cook the dhal and keep it in a bowl.

green chutney:

cilantro - 10 stems
mint leaf - 1/2 cup
green chilly - 2
salt - to taste
lemon - 1/8
wash and clean the leaves. Grind them finely together along with green chilly, salt and some water to get a cup of chutney. Squeeze the lemon to get a balanced chutney taste. Keep it in a serving bowl with a spoon.

Tamarind water:

tamarind - a small lemon size
Water - 2 cup
jaggery / sugar - 1 tsp
salt - 1/4 tsp
dry ginger powder - 1/2 tsp
chaat masala - 1/4 tsp
cilantro - a few leaves
dates / raisin - 1/2 cup
Soak the tamarind and extract the juice. Puree the dates / raisin and mix all the above to get a sweetish tangy water. Transfer it to a serving bowl with a spoon.

How to devour it ?

Take a poori. Hold it in your left hand, in the same time make a small opening at the top (by using your thumb), just like we shell the hard boiled eggs.

Put a small scoop of mashed potatoes, cooked dhal, chopped onion one over the other.Sprinkle the oma podi.
Top it with 1/2 a tsp of spicy green chutney. Fill the remaining space with the tamarind sweet chutney.

Immediately gulp it and enjoy:)

Serving suggestions:

The above said quantity is enough to fill almost 40 paani pooris. Increase the tamarind water quantity if necessary. Create your own stuffing to suit your palettes.
This makes a great starter or an early supper.

Hi !

Hello friends,
Hope you are doing great. Due to some unavoidable circumstances I was not blogging or visiting you all for a month. Now I am doing great. Thanks for all your mails, well wishes and comments. Missed a lot of fun in the blogosphere, trying to visit each and every one of your posts now:)

I will resume shortly with your favorite recipes.

Happy blogging!
Love,
Viki.

Baklava

Baklava is a sweet pastry made using phyllo dough or puff pastry sheets.

Hubby and myself tasted this crunchy dessert for the first time in an Afghan restaurant in Long Island, NY. At that time I couldn't remember the name or believe if I could do it myself in some point of time. But slowly Baklava started getting much closer to us after he joined this new office and I started trying several ways to get his favorite. The only thing I knew was the taste and invented some recipes of my own. First I tried from scratch, i.e., using All purpose flour, that was a good one. (If you can't find the pastry sheets and want a recipe from scratch, just ask for one through the comment and I will be more than happy to publish that too). But the process was enormous and I couldn't prepare many. So searched the web and got some ideas. Faiza Ali has the best using phyllo.  Then I tried using the phyllo dough , which is claimed to be the most authentic way. But the process of separating the phyllo layers was much difficult and I ended up with a scrambled baklava :) .

Again I bought some puff pastry shells and it was super easy as well as perfect for a beginner like me. It was just removing the pastry top, fill the cavity with the sweet nut mix, close, bake and soak it in honey:) That gave me enough confidence to try it again. So if you want a very quick rich dessert, then buy some 'puff pastry shells' instead of 'sheets'.

While googling I got a perfect recipe from Baking bites and many others.Then prepared it using puff pastry sheets and all of our also friends like that.Nowadays if there comes a long weekend hubby never forgets to fill up the freezer with these pastry sheets:)

This recipe comes handy if we wish to prepare two or more desserts for a party , as this can be made in advance and stored. Here goes the recipe for the Baklava using puff pastry sheets.

Ingredients:

Puff pastry sheets - one box (16 oz)
Walnut (finely chopped) - 1 cup
cinnamon powder - 1/4 tsp
brown sugar - 1/2 + 1/4 cup
honey - 1/4 cup
butter - 1 tsp

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 deg F.

Bring the puff pastry sheet to room temperature as per direction.


Generally there will be two sheets. Take an aluminum foil and coat it with oil.
Place one sheet. Using a pizza cutter or knife divide it into 9 or more pieces. Similarly do the same for the other sheet also and keep aside.

Arrange them with a spacing of 1.5 inch in between.


Mix the finely chopped walnut with cinnamon powder, butter and 1/2 cup sugar.
Spread this mix over one set of squares.



Cover each square with an piece of pastry sheet and make a diagonal slit to facilitate baking.


Bake this in 375 deg F for 10 minutes and check if it is puffed up. Otherwise increase the timing by 5 minutes. (See instructions in the pack).
In the mean time bring to boil a 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup water. Let it achieve a syrup like consistency. Then add a pinch of cinnamon + vanilla essence to it. Let it cool.


Take the baked baklava out.


Pour the prepared syrup in a pan and place the baklava over it. Drizzle some honey over the baklava and we are all set now.



Serve the Baklava immediately or cool. Baklava is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Makes 9 Baklava.
Serve as dessert.

Green Peas pulao

A very simple and mildly spiced pulao made as an alternative to the usual plain rice.

I make this green peas pulav as a quick dish for hubby's lunch pack. It won't consume much time or demand a great skill during the peak hour.

Ingredients:

Green peas (frozen or fresh) - 3/4 cup
(Don't use dry ones for this recipe)
Basmathi rice / raw rice (pacharise) - 1 cup
ghee - 1 tbsp
ginger - 1 inch
garlic - 2 pearls
green chillies - 2
onion (sliced thinly lengthwise) - 1/2 cup
lemon juice - 2 tbsp
cilantro + mint leaf (chopped) - 1/4 cup
bay leaf - 1
cloves (lavangam) - 2
cinnamon (pattai) - 1 inch
cashews - 10
salt - to taste

Method:

Wash and clean the rice. Soak it for 30 minutes.
Defreeze the peas by putting them in some water.
Grind the chillies, ginger, garlic together to a fine paste.

In the mean time, heat ghee in a wok. Fry the cashews to golden color and keep aside.
In the same wok add the bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon and fry for a few seconds.
Immediately add the sliced onion . Saute it till the onion wilts.
Now put the masala paste and fry till oil separates. Put the green peas and saute a little. Add salt to taste.

Add the soaked rice (remove the excess water by a colander) and fry for a minute. Pour water just enough to immerse the rice. Add the lemon juice (lemon and ghee keeps rice grains separate). Cover and cook in very low flame till done.(We can cook the rice separately and add at the end also). Remove from heat while the rice is almost cooked (but stiff) and serve hot.

Garnish with fried cashews and minced cilantro + mint leaf.

Green peas pulav is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serves 2 people.
Pair this flavorful peas pulav with any spicy curry like Gobi manchurian or simply a mint chutney + raitha and enjoy!

Plain Vanilla cake

Nearly a month ago I wanted to make a plain vanilla cake. Though very long back I tried some method (before the blogging era) , I was not pleased with the outcome.So after a lot of googling and blog hopping, I got a solid idea and some confidence to make it from scratch. There were many recipes and I chose to try Cham's infallible Plain vanilla cake recipe and the result was amazing.

Thank you Cham!

The below recipe is from Cham of Spice club. I have halved the quantity to make one 8x8 inch cake. Click to see the original version.

Plain vanilla cake baked and allowed to cool before slicing.

Plain vanilla cake sliced and arranged.


Ingredients:  (To make one 8x8 square cake)
All purpose flour (maida) -  1 cup
sugar- 3/4 cup
egg - 3 (medium size eggs)
butter (unsalted) - 1 stick (8 tbsp / 113 gms)
Salt - 1/8 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Method:

Bring the eggs and butter to room temperature , by keeping them outside the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Grease the baking pan with 1/4 tsp butter.

Mix the dry ingredients like maida, baking soda, baking powder by sieving twice.
(This makes the cake spongy).

Add the egg, butter, sugar, vanilla essence , salt to a blender / mixie and beat till it turns fluffy.

Add the dry ingredients and beat well. we can mix the dry ingredients by using a fork / spatula also.

Pour the cake batter in to the greased pan and shake / tap it to release the air.

Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
(Test the quality of baking by inserting a skewer and see if it comes out clear).

Plain vanilla cake is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as dessert or tea time snack. Icing is optional.

Calorie calculation: (from main ingredients)
AP flour 1 cup = 400 kcal.
Sugar 3/4 cup = (1 tbsp = 45) = 45 x 12 = 540 Kcal
butter 1 stick = 100 x 8 tbsp = 800 Kcal
egg 3 = 70 x 3 = 210 Kcal

Total calories (approx) in this plain vanilla cake = 1950 kcal

(data courtesy : Livestrong.com)

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Small 6 inch cake recipe

For a 6 x2 inch round cake: 

unsalted butter 5 tbsp, softened

sugar 1/2 cup

large egg 

vanilla extract 1 tbsp

all-purpose flour 3/4 cup +2tbsp

corn starch 2 tbsp

salt 1/8 tsp

baking powder 3/4 tsp

curd (plain yogurt) or milk - 4 tbsp

Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

Sift together flour, corn starch, salt, baking powder. Keep aside.

In a mixing bowl put butter, sugar - beat for 2 min using an electric beater.

Add milk, egg, vanilla, beat together for 2 mins.

Add the flour. Beat for 1 minute.

Prepare a baking pan by applying butter a coating and coat with 1 tsp four.

Bake for 30-35 mins.