Coconut Roti

Hi  Friends, its almost a month since I last posted in my blog. After our return from our trip to Dwarka and Mumbai, I was kept busy with visitors at home and some social commitments. But all said and done, we had a wonderful time and now slowly getting back to my normal routine.

Here, the mercury is dipping day-by-day and to combat this cold weather, I thought this coconut roti would be a nice welcome. All the ingredients required, are readily available in most homes. Moreover, a little extra ghee would help us to keep our body warm! And besides, these rotis need no rolling pin, no water for kneading and no oil for frying and they taste good too. Curious? Try it out and see for yourself.

Ingredients:

Wheat flour	2 cups
Ghee	4-5 tsps
Onion	1 small
Green chilies	2
Curry leaves	1-2 sprigs
Freshly grated coconut	1/2 cup
Salt	To taste

Method:

1. Chop onion, green chilies and curry leaves finely and place it in a bowl.
2. In the same bowl add wheat flour, ghee, salt and coconut gratings and knead it well without adding any water to form a soft pliable dough. A food processor will do the job in a jiffy.
3. Divide the dough into medium sized balls.
4. Smear a little ghee on the chopping board (or any plate will also do) with your fingers. Place a ball of the dough on it and spread it with your fingers to a desired size and then remove it gently and place it on the “tawa” or a frying pan (which is preheated) and fry on both sides on a medium flame without using oil or ghee till light brown spots appear.
5. Prepare the remaining rotis in similar manner.
6. Serve hot.

Ingredients

Ingredients kneaded into a dough

Dough divided to form balls

Dough divided into 9 balls

Dough flattened with fingers to form a roti

Roti being fried without oil/ghee

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time : 20-25 mins

Makes : 9 rotis

Note:

• These rotis taste good when served with a little ghee smeared on it when hot or can also be served with any chutney of your choice.
• I served it with mint chutney.

Cheela wrap with veggies

Cheela is a sort of thin dosa or crepe and is prepared from gram flour (besan). However, in this recipe, I made slight variation by adding wheat flour for texture and a wee bit of rice flour for crispiness.  For the stuffing, any curry with vegetable or paneer will be fine. It tastes really wonderful. My spouse loved it so much, that we not only ate it as a snack during tea time, but also had them for dinner as well ! Its a meal by itself. Try it out and see for yourself.

Just for your info, I am taking a break from blogging and will be back again next month. See you all then.

Ingredients:

For Cheela

Besan	1/2 cup
Wheat flour	1/2 cup
Rice flour (optional)	1 tbsp
Red chilly powder	1 tsp
Asafetida (optional)	1/2 tsp
Salt	As per taste
Water	Approx. 1 cup

For the stuffing:

Mixed vegetables (chopped)	About 1/2 cup ea. vegetable
Onion (chopped)	1 medium
Green chillies (chopped)	1 or 2
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Tomato Puree	2 tbsps
Oil	2 tsps
Salt	As per taste
Chopped coriander leaves	1 tbsp

Method:

For Cheela Batter

1. Place all the ingredients (besan, wheat flour, rice flour, asafetida, chily powder and salt) except water in a bowl and mix.
2. Then add water and mix well (taking care to see that no lumps are formed) to get dosa batter consistency ( not very thick or very thin). Keep it aside.

          For Stuffing:

1. Heat a pan. Add oil in it. When the oil is heated, add mustard seeds. And as soon as mustard seeds starts popping, add chopped onions, green chilies and curry leaves.
2. Saute it till the onions become translucent. Now, add all the vegetables (those that take longer to cook, add them first) with a little water and allow it to cook.
3. Once the vegetables are almost cooked, add salt and tomato puree and let it cook for a few more minutes and then remove it from the flame.
4. Garnish with coriander leaves.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   How to prepare the cheela wrap:

1. Place a non-stick skillet/griddle/dosa pan on medium heat.
2. Take a ladle full of the prepared cheela batter and with swift circular motion, spread the batter evenly and thinly as possible. Dribble a little oil on the sides.
3. When the cheela is cooked on one side, gently remove it with a spatula and flip it over and allow it to cook on the other side too or until some brown spots appear. Remove it and place it on a plate.
4. Prepare all the cheelas in the same manner.
5. Next, take a cheela and place it on a chopping board and with a sharp knife make a slit from the centre of the cheela to the edge.
6. Then place a tablespoon or two of the prepared stuffing on the cheela close to the slit just made (see picture) and gently fold it and wrap the cheela round the stuffing to get the triangular shape.
7. Prepare all the cheela wraps in this way.
8. Just before serving, place all the stuffed cheela wraps on the griddle and warm it for a few minutes on both sides.
9. Serve hot with tomato sauce or chutney or both.
   
   
   

Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time : 20 mins

Makes : about 6 wraps ( depending upon the size)

Note:

• For the vegetables, I used fresh potato, capsicum, carrot, frozen green peas and frozen corn. You can use any vegetable of your choice or even paneer.
• Fresh chopped tomatoes can be substituted for tomato puree.
• The stuffing should be dry or else the cheelas will get soggy quickly. 

Quick Peanut Laddus

Diwali is round the corner and as usual its time for preparing sweets. I am sure you will all agree with me when I say that we all try and look out for those recipes which not only take less time to prepare but also tastes good, is healthy and also easy on the pocket.

In my opinion, this peanut laddu fits the the description perfectly.

Wishing you all a A very Joyous and a Prosperous Deepavali.

Ingredients:

Peanuts	1 cup /100 gms
Powdered Jaggery	2 cups / approx.230 gms
Powdered cardamom	1 tsp
Ghee (clarified butter)	1 tsp

Method:

1. Roast peanuts on a low flame for about 10-15 mins. Then allow it to cool.
2. When cooled, remove the skin of the peanuts. This can be done easily by taking a few in the palm and rubbing it vigorously.
3. Then remove the skin from the peanuts and discard the skin.
4. Next grind the peanuts coarsely in a mixer or a food processor.
5. Remove the coarsely ground peanuts in a bowl and add the powdered jaggery to it and mix it well.
6. Lastly add the powdered cardamom and mix well.
7. Now take a small portion of this mixture in the palm of your hand and prepare laddus (balls) as shown in the picture.
8. If necessary, you may grease your palm with a few drops of ghee (clarified butter) and then prepare laddus. It is not necessary; but helps in binding.
9. All the laddus can be prepared in this manner.

Peanuts

Peanuts being roasted

Skin being separated from the roasted peanuts

Roasted peanuts - skin discarded

Roasted peanuts being coarsely ground in a food processor

Powdered jaggery being mixed

Powdered cardamom being added

Laddus in the making

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

Makes: 21 laddus (depending upon the size)

Note:

• If you are using food processor, then powdered jaggery can be added to the the ground peanuts (after changing the blade) and then run it for a few seconds for mixing.
• In this recipe, I have used organic dark jaggery. It is said that the dark jaggery is healthier than the regular golden colour one. Appearance wise however, the golden one scores over the dark one. 
• Powdered jaggery can be adjusted as per one's taste.

Broken Wheat (Daliya) Dosa

I got this recipe from a friend of mine who is also a health freak. A change from the normal dosa. A change is good; but a change for the better is always welcome especially if it concerns health and as we all know, the first wealth is health.

So start your day with this broken wheat dosa. It is especially good for people with diabetics. It is easy to prepare and requires no fermentation. Besides, it is tasty too.

You can also try out broken-wheat khichdi and broken wheat pulav from my earlier posts.

Broken Wheat Dosa served with ginger chutney and home-made butter

Ingredients:

Broken wheat (daliya)	1 cup
Rice	1 tbsp
Udad dal (split black gram)	1 tbsp
Salt	As per taste
Oil	For shallow frying

Method:

1. Wash broken wheat, rice and udad dal and soak them together in water for about 2 hours.
2. After 2 hours, drain the water and grind them to a smooth paste adding little water while grinding. The batter should not be very watery nor very thick.
3. Add salt and mix well.
4. Heat a griddle or a dosa pan on medium heat.
5. Take a ladleful of the above prepared batter and pour it onto the dosa pan and with swift circular motion, spread the batter as thinly as you want.
6. Dribble oil all around the dosa and allow it to cook for a minute or two. Then flip it on the other side and let it cook till done or till slightly browned.
7. Remove and serve it with any chutney of your choice

Ingredients

After 2 hours of soaking the above ingredients

Ingredients ground to a paste - Dosa Batter ready

Dosa batter spread thinly and being fried on one side

Dosa being fried on the other side 

Soaking time: 2 hours

Preparation time : 10 mins

Cooking time : 2-3 mins per dosa

Makes: About 14 dosas (depending upon the size)

Note:

• No fermentation of the batter is required. 
• You can add chopped green chilies and coriander leaves in the batter to enhance its taste especially if you are not in a mood to prepare the chutney.
  

  • If desired, you may also add about tsps of methi (fenugreek) seeds to the ingredients while soaking.
• A dollop of white (home made) butter on top of the dosa (while it is still hot) takes it to a next level.

ABC Halwa

“A” for apple, “B” for banana, “C” for carrot - No, I am not teaching you the English alphabets. In fact, these are the three main ingredients for this “halwa” and hence the name ABC Halwa.

Though I got this recipe some months back from a cookery show on one of the TV channels, I decided to try this out now as a celebration – for your info, “Ladle Brush and Spade” completes four years this September. It was four glorious years of blogging.  I enjoyed every bit of it and I owe it to you all for making it possible and in the process, I made a lot of new friends. I thank each one of you for your continued support and encouragement.

By the way, the halwa turned out very delicious. This is not just my opinion but also that of my family members and neighbour. Besides, it disappeared from the plate within minutes of serving!

Ingredients:

Apple (peeled and cubed)	1/2 cup
Carrot (peeled and grated)	1/2 cup
Banana (peeled)	1 small
Milk	1-2 tbsps
Sugar	1/2 cup
Ghee	1 tbsp
Cashews (chopped)	6-8
Cardamom powder	1 tsp

Method:

1. Grind together cubed apple and grated carrot alongwith a tablespoon of milk.
2. Then add banana and grind again to a smooth paste.
3. Heat a non-stick kadai or pan and pour the ground mixture into it. Add sugar and stir well keeping the flame low.
4. Then add ghee and stir it. Keep on stirring time and again so as to avoid the mixture from sticking at the bottom of the vessel.
5. When the mixture starts leaving the sides of the vessel, add chopped cashews and continue stirring till all the moisture has been evaporated and the whole mixture turns into one solid mass.
6. Finally add the cardamom powder and mix well and remove from flame.
7. Slide the entire mixture onto a greased plate and spread it evenly with the back of a greased spoon/spatula.
8. Allow it to cool and when completely cooled, cut it into squares and store it in an air-tight container.

Ingredients

Apple- peeled and cubed, banana peeled, and  carrot grated

All the fruits with milk ground to a paste

Sugar added to the fruit mixture

The mixture turned into a solid mass after 35-40 mins

The halwa spread on a greased plate and left to cool

Preparation time : 20 mins

Cooking time : 35-40 mins

Makes : 16 pieces

Note:

• The banana variety used here is the small one which is called "Yelakki" in Karnataka and "Elaichi" in Maharashtra.
• In the original recipe, the halwa was served hot with ice-cream and was not cut into pieces.

Morkolombu

Hello friends ! It's almost a month since my last blog post. I have been quite busy this festive season. Celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi as usual in our ancestral home in Katapady, Udupi district. After our return, it really took awhile for me to get back to my normal routine.

I thought I shall cook up something easy and a healthy dish. I had a large piece of ash-gourd in my fridge. I cut it into half and decided to try this recipe “Morkolombu” from my collection. Unfortunately, this vegetable is not everybody's cup of tea. I too was never fond of this vegetable. But I guess as we mature with age, our tastes differ.  By the way, this humble vegetable is loaded with nutrients. And this dish really tasted delicious.
 

Just for info this vegetable is also called as “Winter Melon”. In konkani, it is called “Kuvaalen” and in kannada it is known as “Boodhi-Kumbllakai” and in Hindi, I think it is known as “Lauki”. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Ingredients:

Ash gourd	About 500 gms
Coconut gratings	1 cup
Green chilies (slit)	2 or 3
Buttermilk	1 cup
Turmeric	1/2
Salt	As per taste
Seasoning ingredients:
Oil	2 tsps
Mustard	1 tsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Jeera (cumin)	1 tsp
Pepper corns (crushed)	3 or 4

Method:

1. Wash, peel the skin and de-seed the ash-gourd. Then cut it into big chunks and keep aside.
2. Grind coconut gratings with little water to a smooth paste and set aside.
3. Heat a pot/pan with little water and add the cut pieces of ash-gourd, green chilies, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well and allow it to cook.
4. Next add the ground coconut paste into the cooked ash-gourd bits. Bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Finally add the buttermilk, mix well and allow it to simmer for awhile again and then remove from flame.
6. Morkolambu is ready.
7. For seasoning:
   Heat a seasoning pan and in it add oil and mustard seeds and jeera. When the mustard seeds stars spluttering, add curry leaves and finally add the freshly crushed pepper corns. Remove from flame and pour the entire contents onto the prepared Morkolombu.
8. Serve hot.
   
   

Ingredients

Coconut gratings ground into a paste

ash-gourd bits being boiled with green chilies, turmeric and salt

ground coconut paste added to the boiled ash-gourd

Buttermilk added to the mixture

Seasoning under process

Seasoning added to morkolombu

Preparation time : 20 mins

Cooking time : 20 mins

Serves: 4

Note:

• This tastes good with rice. Similar preparation can also be made with bottle gourd.
• The final dish should not be watery.

Beetroot Soup

Currently the weather here in Bangalore is very pleasant and at times quite chilly too especially towards the evening. Its during times like these, just the thought of sipping a hot bowl of soup while sitting in the balcony, makes one feel good. I decided to change visualization to reality and headed straight towards my fridge. I had a few vegetables but only one beetroot. So decided to use this. I then rummaged through my recipe collections and found three beetroot recipes. But could not follow any one recipe as I did not have all the ingredients needed. Thus a new Soup was born with bits of inputs from all the three recipes. And the result was very satisfying.

My spouse just loved it. So that made my day!

Ingredients:

Beetroot (boiled)	1 medium
Tomato (blanched)	1 medium
Spring Onions	2
Ginger (minced)	1inch piece
Green chilly (sliced)	1
Coconut Milk	3-4 tbsps
Oil	3tsps
Salt	As per taste

Method:

1. Peel the skins from the blanched tomato and boiled beetroot and roughly chop them and keep aside.
2. Slice the spring onions and separate the onions from the greens and keep aside.
3. Heat a pan with oil in it. Add the greens (only) of the spring onion and lightly fry it for a few minutes and remove. This is then used for garnishing.
4. In the same pan, now add the sliced onions, green chilies and minced ginger. Saute it for a while.
5. Next add the beetroot and tomato pieces, salt, coconut milk and the stock left over after boiling beetroot and tomato.
6. Allow this mixture to boil for about 10-12 mins and remove from flame.
7. When slightly cooled, blend the whole mixture to a puree.
8. Serve hot. Garnish with prepared greens of the spring onion.
   
   

Ingredients

Ingredients - chopped and kept ready

Onion, ginger and chilly being stir-fried in oil

Added beetroot, tomato, salt and coconut milk and kept for boiilng

Mixture blended into puree

Beetroot Soup garnished and ready to be served

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking : 25 mins

Serves: 2

Note:

• I used packaged coconut milk in this recipe.
• If you like it more spicy, you can either add pepper powder or include one more chilly. The choice is yours.
• I used spring onions instead of regular onions as the prices of these are sky-rocketing!