Friday, October 12

Kanjeepuram Idly

The other day, Priya my neighbor had given this recipe of a traditional dish called 'Kanjeepuram idly', a soft white mildly spiced idly which I really liked. Thank you Priya for sharing your paati's recipe. Later, I learnt from my mother in law that, in her mother's place they have a practice of making a special type of idli on diwali called 'Maraka idly' which shares the batter recipe with the kanjeepuram idli. The interesting part about maraka idlis is that these giant idlis are prepared in large bronze pot shaped vessels, with the help of big muslin cloth in which the batter is poured and steamed. ' However, the seasoning for kanjeepuram idly is so aromatic while maraka idli has a usual tadka. For me, practically kanjeepuram idli is what I prefer.
Ingredients:

1.       Raw rice – 1 cup
2.       Boiled rice – 1 cup (preferably idly rice)
3.       Urad dal – 1 cup
4.       Gheel – 2 tbsp
5.       Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
6.       Crushed pepper – 1 tsp
7.       Dry ginger powder – 1 tsp
8.       Curry leaves – 1 sprig
9.       Salt as per taste
10.   Baking soda – ½ tsp

Method:
Step 1: Wash and soak rice (both the rice together) and dal separately for 2 hours. Grind the dal with enough water first and then the rice. Mix thoroughly both the batter together with salt to in pouring consistency. Leave this overnight for fermenting.









Step 2: Grease dhokla plates or large circular plates with oil to make short cylindrical idlis. Heat water in the steamer or idli pot.
Step 3: Now, heat ghee in a tadka pan, splutter cumin seeds, add crushed pepper & dry ginger powder and throw in curry leaves. Be careful not to burn the tadka.


Step 4: Put the tadka over the batter and mix well. Add the baking soda and mix well again.


Step 5: Pour the batter in the greased plates and steam them immediately. It takes 5-15 minutes depending on the thickness of the plates.



Beetroot Jam

We always choose to buy processed jams for their texture and shelf life. Beetroot jam is something i would persuade you to make at home for three reasons; you'll hardly find beet root jams in stores, they are natural as in no preservatives or pectin or artificial colors, above all it is damn simple. This is the recipe with minimum number of ingredients at least as far as I know so far. 


Ingredients:

1.       Beetroot – 2 large
2.       Sugar – ½ cup
3.       Lemon - 1

Method:
·         Peel and chop the beetroots into cubes; pressure cook or steam cook them until soft say for 3 whistles.
·         After it gets to room temperature, puree them in a mixer jar very finely.
·         In a non-stick pan, pour the puree and mix the sugar and stir it on medium heat.


·         Stir it occasionally in low heat or stir continuously in medium-high heat; this would take at least 15 minutes.


·         When the jam starts to leave the sides of the pan switch of the stove and squeeze juice of a lemon. Stir well and let it cool.
·         Store in an airtight container to use for longer time.




Samba Wheat Halwa

I won't call this an extraordinary dessert but it definitely caters another interesting and healthy number to sweet-toothed persons like my husband. The suitability of samba wheat for halwa is ironical, it is stiff and chewy even after cooking while we are used to eating gooey halwas; the beauty is, because of these very tendencies they absorb less ghee and sugar and still keep the halwa sweet .

Ingredients:

1.       Samba rava – 1 cup
2.       Milk – 1 cup
3.       Sugar – ¼ cup
4.       Cardamom powder – ½ tsp
5.       Almonds – 2 tbsp chopped
6.       Raisins – 2 tbsp
7.       Ghee – 2 tbsp

Method:

Step 1: Roast the samba wheat rava in a non-stick pan with a spoon of ghee until the aroma starts coming out.


Step 2: Add milk and cover and cook until the rava is cooked by stirring occasionally.


Step 3: Add sugar, cardamom powder and stir until the mass leaves the sides of the pan
Step 4: Garnish with chopped almonds, raisins and serve hot drizzling another spoon of ghee.