Couscous and Corn Idli

Hi All!

For this month’s  Blog Hop Wednesday’s started by Radhika of Tickling Palates, I was paired with Priya of Now Serving. I had an opportunity of meeting this multi talented lady recently. She is not only a great cook but a Bharatnatyam dancer too. She teaches Bharatnatyam  in US. I was definitely in a fix on what to attempt from her space. I was bowled over by her post on the different versions of Hummus recently and I wanted to try that but since the theme of this month’s event is ‘Only’ South Indian, I decided to make an instant version of Idli.

I’m in love with the instant versions, whether it’s instant dosa, dhokla or Idli, I’m on for it. In the last few days this is the second instant Idli that I’m posting using wheat, the previous one was using Oats and Broken Wheat and my family loved it and this time, I picked an Instant Couscous and Corn Idli from Priya’s, Now Serving. Couscous is a durum wheat product. Couscous, as we all know is very light to eat and cooks fast. It has the same texture as our Indian Daliya/ broken wheat, but it’s easy to digest as compared to the Daliya. Keeping the lightness and the coarseness of the product in mind, it’s an apt choice for making Idli which is a breakfast item.

I made it for our breakfast along with an unusual Sāmbhar(which I’ll post soon) and the chutney. I tweaked the recipe slightly to suit our palate. The idli turned out light and spongy, the kid loved it and ate heartily.

Couscous  and Corn Idli
Makes:18
Serves:3
Preparation Time:15mins
Cooking Time:12-15mins
Ingredients
1/2cup Couscous
1/2cup Semolina
2cups curds
3/4-1tsp fruit salt/ baking soda
half carrot finely chopped
3-4 French beans finely chopped
1/2cup fresh corn
2tbsp coriander finely chopped
salt to taste
For Tempering
3tsp oil
1tsp mustard seeds
2tbsp urad-chana dal mix
1” grated ginger piece
3-4 green chillies finely chopped
10-15 curry leaves finely chopped
Method

Mix Couscous and Semolina.  Prepare the tempering and add all the chopped veggies, corn and sauté lightly.Mix it in the Couscous, add the chopped coriander.

Mix the curds and let the idli mix stand for 10mins. After 10mins check the consistency of batter, if it’s too thick add some water.

Grease the idli mould.

In the idli mix, add the salt and eno fruit salt, mix quickly and put a ladle full in each dimple of the idli plate.

Keep the steamer ready and steam the idli for 12-15mins, till done.

Cool and unmould.

Serve hot with chutney and Sāmbhar.

Also sending the idli to my event ‘Only’ South Indian and Monthly Mingle#3.

Sending it to Julie's EP Series- Herbs and Spices, Cilantro and Cumin , Rasi's I'm Star Event 
 
and Cooking For Myself at Vegetarian Surprises.  

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Instant Broken Wheat & Oats Idli with Oats and Coconut Chutney and Winner of ‘Only’ Sprouts

 

 

Hi Friends!

I have posted my 300th post and the excitement of announcing the giveaways is finally sinking in. It was a small celebration time for my ‘blog baby’. The way we take care of our blog and spend so much time feeding it with our work, I guess all bloggers would agree calling it  our ‘baby’.

Like the blog needs nourishment of good work to grow and flourish our body needs healthy food. Breakfast is an important meal of the day and take it very seriously. I might skip my dinner but never the breakfast. I try to provide my family a healthy and wholesome breakfast which gives them a feeling of properly filled and not over fed. I use sprouts, Oats, daliya (broken wheat), Red Poha, Ragi and various flours to make a healthy and tasty breakfast.

 

This is my first time at Blog Hop Wednesdays, the brainchild of Radhika of Tickling Palates and I was paired with Vidya of Kurryleaves. Her blog has a good collection of bakes, Chinese dishes, Kerala Preparations with beautiful clicks making all preparations look drool worthy. Out of so many options available I decided to pick a healthy combination to make an instant Idli. The word ‘instant’ has always managed to catch my attention, as I find such preparations very handy in the rush hours.

I made this instant Idli using daliya (broken wheat), Oats and Ragi flour. All the three ingredients are extremely nutritious. The Idli was a super hit preparation and S has already asked me to make again. The best part with this preparation is that, one can make the dry mix for Idli in advance and then use it when required. It’s an excellent preparation for growing kids and I’m going to make this more frequently. Thanks Vidya and Usha for the recipe.

I have followed the recipe completely and only added a few more ingredients to increase the flavour as all the basic ingredients are very bland. The recipe asks for making it instantly but I gave it a standing time of fifteen minutes and realised that it cooks faster and tastes better. In fact, the second batch tasted better than the first and cooked faster too. I made an Oats- Coconut chutney to with the Idlis and to my surprise no body could make out that there were Oats in it. I have provided step by step pictures for both the preparations.

 

Instant Broken Wheat & Oats Idli Preparation Time: 10mins                                                                 Cooking Time: 15-20mins Makes:24-26 Serves:4 Special Cookware/ Vessel Required- Steamer and Idli Mould Ingredients For The Mix 3/4cupBroken wheat/Samba wheat rava(coarsely powdered, I used the fine Samba) 3/4cup Oats (coarsely powdered)  1/2cupRagi (Finger millet)powder  1tsp Baking soda/ Eno fruit salt  Salt  as per taste 2cupsYogurt 4tbsp Grated coconut (optional) 3 to 4tbsp Grated carrot (optional) 3-4tbsp Frozen green peas (optional) 2tbsp finely chopped cilantro/ coriander For Tempering 2-3tbsp oil 1tsp mustard seeds 1tbsp chana dal 1tbsp urad dal 1tbsp grated ginger 3 green chillies finely chopped 1sprig curry leaves chopped 2-3tbsp Cashew nuts chopped Method Mix all the ingredients except curds, under the heading ‘for the mix’. Heat oil and add mustard seeds, once they splutter add both the lentils and cashew nuts and fry. Add the green chillies, ginger and curry leaves. Fry till crisp. Cool and pour this on the  Idli mix and combine everything. Pour water in the steamer and grease the Idli mould. Mix the curds in the Idli Mix and if required add a little water. Let it stand for 10-15mins. Pour it in the Idli mould and steam for 10-15mins or till done. One can notice a glaze on the Idli once it is done. Cool for 5mins and unmould. Serve with Chutney and Sambhar or a Potato Curry.

 

Oats –Coconut Chutney Preparation Time:15mins Cooking Time:5mins Makes:1-1/2cups Serves-4 Ingredients To Grind 1/2 coconut scraped 3tbsp Rolled Oats 3-4green chillies a few stands of coriander a sprig of curry leaves salt to taste For Tempering 2tsp oil 1/2tsp Mustard seeds 1tbsp mix of urad-chana dal Method Grind together all ingredients under the heading ‘to grind’ using a little water. Heat oil and mustard seeds, followed by the lentil mix. Fry till golden in colour. Pour the tempering over the chutney.

 

Sending both the Idli and Chutney to my event ‘Only’ Oats and  to Show me your HITS by Sangee Vijay of Spicy Treats.

 

Coming to the winner of ‘Only’ Sprouts, it is Kalpana Sareesh with her Mixed Sprouts Paratha. Congrats Kalpana, please send me a mail mentioning your detailed address with a landmark and your phone/cell number to cookingoodfood@gmail.com

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Sorghum Idlis….Health all the way!!!

Hi!

Idli or rice pancakes are a common item in all South Indian homes. Idli is considered a very healthy breakfast, light to eat and easy to digest. The only problem that I believe is that since it uses rice in it’s preparation it has high glycemic index.

Sorghum is a grain with low glycemic index and is perfect for diabetics and everyone who is conscious about their health. This particular Idli recipe was shared by S’s aunt Leela, who is an excellent physics teacher and still tutors at the age of 70. She makes this Idli regularly at her place and recommends this highly. She was so sweet to provide me with a batch of sorghum meal to try this preparation.

I was curious and at the same time a little apprehensive to try this out. My all apprehensions vanished after the first batch was ready. This preparation is surely a keeper and tastes perfect with a spicy chutney. The Idlis are soft when eaten immediately and do harden a little on cooling, so if you are not planning to eat it immediately then before eating, sprinkle some water on them and microwave for  a minute and they are soft again.

Ingredients

3 katori sorghum/ jowar meal

1 katori  white lentil/ urad dal

1 tsp. fenugreek/ methi seeds

Method

Soak white lentil and fenugreek seeds in water for about 2-3 hours. Also, sprinkle water on the sorghum meal to make it a little damp.

Grind the dal and seeds to a fine paste and also run the meal once in the grinder. Mix both and let it ferment overnight or for 7-8 hrs.

To the fermented dough add salt to taste and a little water to make the Idli batter. One can read more about the Idli batter procedure here.

Make Idli’s in the usual fashion and serve the Idli with a spicy onion-tomato chutney.

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Idli – Sambhar with Onion & Tomato Chutney

This is an ideal breakfast for any day but I had made it especially for my SIL and brother whom I met after almost 2 years. This is an all time favorite of S and  even he was  demanding it for quite some time. Finally I made  and it turned out really good.  Idli with sambhar and chutney is a very healthy meal as the Idli is steam cooked so has no oil and it’s easy to digest. It makes a good meal for ill people for the same reason.

After tasting it, my brother commented also, that we have Idli in all the best restaurant’s in London( he mentioned Sarvana Bhavan too) but they can’t make what you have made . I do not want to sound that I am boasting about myself but it’s true that today I make them better than my MIL, who is an extremely talented cook, from whom I started learning the South Indian cooking. Over the years I have experimented with the proportions of the ingredients and have come up with various proportions which make soft textured Idlis. And surely I will share them gradually with every one.

Idlis remind me of my favorite Idli joint in Chennai – The Murugan. When we used to live there, almost 2-3 times a month we would visit this place and hog on those gorgeous Idlis. They serve Idli with four diffent kind of Chutneys and Sambhar. Of all the chutneys, I loved a cooked version of the tomato chutney they served, and I am still hunting for it’s recipe. If anyone reading this blog knows how to make it, please share it with me.

I had made another cooked version of tomato chutney, but with the onions. We all love this chutney a lot and this is a versatile chutney as it can be spread on bread to make a Sandwich or can be eaten with Chapati as a side dish. It’s tangy and spicy and breaks the monotony of eating Idli only with the  traditional coconut chutney. It can be cooked really quick and asks for very few ingredients, but the end result is guaranteed. My brother liked it too.

The Sambhar I make is a Kannadiga version and has a delicate flavor of cinnamon. For the recipe of my version of Sambhar Masala click here. This is my MIL’s version of the masala and is really good.

Ingredients for Tomato-Onion Chutney
1 medium onion roughly chopped
1 large tomato roughly chopped
2 small lines of curry leaves
1 small spoon  of fenugreek seeds
2 large garlic pods
6-7 bedagi chilies
salt to taste
2-3 tsp thick tamarind pulp
3 tsp oil to cook
1 tsp oil for tempering
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of heeng (asafoetida)

Method

Heat oil and add fenugreek seeds, followed by red chilies, curry leaves and garlic. Immediately add onions and cook till translucent. Add salt and tomatoes. Cook till tomatoes are done. Cool and grind it with the tamarind paste.

Now heat oil for tempering and mustard and asafoetida. Pour it over the chutney.

I am sending this chutney to Think Spice- Think Red Chilies hosted by Laxmi Venkatesh of Kitchen Chronicles and is the brain child of Sunita Bhuyan of Sunita’s World


Ingredients for Idli-
Serves 4
2 1/2  cups Idli Rice
1 cup Urad dal (split black lentil)
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 cup cooked rice (I used sona masoori)
Method

Soak the rice and soak the lentil along with the fenugreek seeds separately for 3-4 hrs.

Grind the rice coarsely to a fine semolina like state using water.

Grind the lentil finely to a smooth paste also grind the cooked rice to a smooth paste.

Combine the three and adjust the consistency by adding water. It should be of a pouring consistency.

Leave it covered to ferment overnight.

Add salt to the fermented mix and mix properly.

Grease the idli  mould and pour the batter in it.

Steam cook the Idlis without putting weight  in a covered utensil or pressure cooker  for 10-12 mins.

Let the idlis cool  a little and then remove then run a knife or a spoon along the edges of the idli and remove them.

Ingredients For Sambhar

1 cup Toor dal (split pigeon peas)
2 onions sliced
2 strings curry leaves
3-4 tbsp sambhar masala
oil to cook
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric
tamarind paste to taste
salt to taste
1/2 tsp asafoetida
Method

Cook the lentil in a pressure cooker till it’s soft. (4-5 whistles)

Heat oil and add the mustard seeds and let them splutter then add fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. Add asafoetida and onions. Cook till translucent. Now add the turmeric, sambhar masala, salt and tamarind pulp. Now add the mashed lentils and cook for 2 –3 mins so that the masala gets mixed properly in the dal. Now add water gradually and keep mixing. Bring the sambhar to a boil then simmer and cook for another 5-7 mins. Add chopped cilantro.

I am sending this to  It’s Vegan world- Indian hosted by Erbe in Cucina and is the brainchild of Vaishali .

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