Cabbage Pancakes

Everyone would love to start their day with a nice and tasty breakfast and if it's healthy too then all the more welcome. I am always on the lookout for something new to try and what better way to do this is by watching food channels on TV. I got this recipe from the Indian Food Channel and did not hesitate to try it out as I had all the ingredients at hand and moreover, the procedure was also not cumbersome. Besides, it looked very appealing too.

Well, to cut a long story short, it turned out extremely well and the taste was fantastic too. Try it out and see it for yourself.

Ingredients:

Cabbage	150-200 gms
Onion	1 medium
Green chillies	2 or as desired
Ginger	1 inch piece
Coriander leaves	A small bunch
Gram flour	1 cup
Water	3/4 cup or as required
Turmeric powder	1/2 tsp
Chilly powder  (optional)	As required
Salt	As per taste
Baking soda /Eno	3/4 level tsp
Oil	For shallow frying

Method:

1. Put all the first five ingredients (cabbage, onion, green chilies, ginger and coriander leaves) in the food processor and run it for 1-2 mins or till all the ingredients are minced well. ( Alternatively, you can chop them all finely and place them in a bowl.)
2. Transfer the contents from the food-processor into a bowl.
3. To this mixture add gram flour, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well.
4. Now add water little at a time and mix again taking care to see that no lumps are formed. The batter should be thick and not watery. At this stage, add soda/eno to the batter and gently mix it and keep aside covered for a few minutes.
5. In the meantime, heat a skillet/griddle/frying pan on a medium flame. Add a little oil and spread it.
6. Take a spoonful of the batter and prepare pancakes (like dosas but do not spread it thinly) and fry it on both sides with oil.
7. In this way prepare pancakes using the remaining batter.
8. Serve hot with ketchup or any chutney of your choice.

 

 

 

 

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time : 15 mins

Makes : 9 pancakes (roughly 4-5 inches each in diameter)

Note:

• These pancakes are soft and hence allow them to cook properly on one side before flipping.
• The green chilies that I used were quite pungent and hence I omitted the red chilly powder. You can use it and adjust according to your preference.
• These pancakes taste fine even without any chutney/ketchup.
• Ideal for breakfast.

Elaneer Payasam

“Elaneer” means tender coconut in the kannada language.
I tasted this payasam a few months ago at a well-known restaurant in Bangalore. It tasted absolutely divine. The taste still lingers in my mouth! Eversince I tasted this, I wanted to prepare this at home but somehow it never materialized. They say that there is time for everything and when the time comes it just happens !

Well, the time finally came and after going through a lot of recipes, I prepared this with some variations – I did not have condensed milk and I was not very keen on buying one. Instead, I boiled half a cup of milk with 3tsps of sugar and reduced it to half the quantity and used this. The payasam tasted just the way I wanted it to be – heavenly ! And, you will have to take my word for it. Try it out and see it for yourself.

While buying tender coconut, ask the vendor to select one with water and some pulp i.e. “ganji” (in kannada), and “malai” (in hindi). The pulp should not be very thick.

Ingredients:

Tender coconut water	About 1 cup
Tender coconut pulp	1/4th cup
Condensed milk	1-2 tbsps or as per taste
Thick coconut milk	1/4th cup
Cardamom powder	About 1 tsp
Cashew nuts (coarsely powdered)	For garnish (optional)

Method:

1. Pour out the tender coconut water into a glass.
2. Remove the pulp and keep aside a small quantity and the rest grind to a paste.
3. Now chop the small quantity of the pulp that is kept aside. This is to be added later to the payasam.
4. Mix the ground paste and the coconut water into a bowl.
5. Add the condensed milk, coconut milk and the cardamom powder. Mix well and keep it in the refrigerator for an hour or so. The payasam is now ready to be served.
   Serving Suggestion:
6. While serving, first place some pieces of the chopped pulp in the bowls.
7. Then pour the payasam in the bowls and garnish it with coarsely powdered cashews.
8. Serve chilled.

                                   

                               

                           

                               

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins . No cooking required if using condensed milk

Serves: 3-4 persons

Note:

• You can omit garnishing altogether Or use a combination of cashews, almonds and pistachios Or any one of these nuts. The choice is yours. I have used only cashews.
• The payasam should be slightly watery and not thick.
• Grind the pulp for just a few seconds.