Gundapangala (Phaddu/Appe)

Infinite possibilities of Indian cooking! Gundapangala as it is known in North Karnataka is made from Dosa batter. My Husband happens to be the biggest fan of Gundapangala. Whenever I prepare dosa, the next day we always have Gundapangala!

Ingredients:

2 cups Dosa Batter

2 tbsps oil or Oil spray

Method:

1. Heat Appe tawa. Add one drop of oil in each hollow (use spary). With a ladle add 3/4 full of batter in each hollow.
2. Cook for 2 minutes on medium high flame till golden brown. Turn the appes and bake on the other side for another minute.
3. Remove from tawa. Serve hot with Coconut Chutney and Sambar.
   

Variation:

Masala Gundapangala :

1/2 cup finely chopped onions

6 finely chopped green chillies

5 tbsps finely chopped cilantro

1 tbsp grated ginger (optional)

1 tbsp cumin seeds

Mix all the ingredients with dosa batter. Bake as you bake regular gundapangala. Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Paper Dosa

Paper Dosa happens to be my husband's favorite. Everytime I prepare Paper Dosa, he relives his childhood. And he also knows the next day, its going to be his another favorite Gundapangala.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups Idli (Parboiled) rice or Basmati Rice

1 1/2 cups Urad Dal

1/4 cup each - chana dal, saboodana, toor dal, yellow moong

2 tbsps methi seeds

1 cup poha

2 tbsps salt

Method:

1. Soak rice, methi, poha and all the dals (except urad dal) in a vessel. Soak Urad dal seperately for at least 18 hours.
   
2. Drain, wash and grind urad dal till it becomes soft paste. Pour the batter aside, and grind the rice and other soaked dals. Add water sparingly.
   
3. Mix both the batters well. Mix salt. Let it ferment for eight hours or overnight.
4. Mix the fermented batter well. Add water if needed to the consistency of free flowing batter.
5. Heat the Tawa, spread the batter around with the ladle, forming a thin layer. Spray some oil or pour with a spoon spreading it around the dosa. Bake till brown.
6. Serve hot with Potato bhaji, Coconut chutney and Sambar.

Bread Dahi Chat

Chats are one of my very guilty pleasure. Most of them calorie loaded, yet tasty! I try to make them as healthy as possible. One day I was wondering what would I do with so much leftover bread and I thought of making patties out of it. Well, here is how I discovered this recipe - Light, healthy, tasty and filling.

Ingredients:

8 slices of whole wheat bread (crusts removed)

1/2 cup milk

salt to taste

Oil for greasing

2 cups of beaten plain curd (dahi)

1/2 cup Sweet Chutney

1/2 cup Cilantro Chutney

1/2 cup sev

1/4 cup finely chopped onions

4 tbsps finely chopped cilantro

Method:

1. Mix bread, salt and milk very well. Make sure there are no lumps. The dough should not neither be very hard nor very soggy.
2. Make small balls and pat them flat. Bake them on a hot greased skillet (I use Pam spray instead of oil). Bake on both sides till crispy. Let cool.
3. Put 2  patties in a plate and pour a ladle full of beaten yogurt on top of patties. Put two tbsps of sweet and green chutney on the top of patties.
4. Garnish with Sev, onions and cilantro. Serve immediately.

Award

Thanks to Sailaja for passing me this award :)

Phulka (Oil free Indian bread)

Phulkas are very healthy since they are made of very little oil and whole wheat flour.  I would eat hot phulkas with vegetable any time. I generally prepare phulkas for dinner since they are very light to digest and can be served hot from tawa.

Ingredients:

4 cups of whole wheat flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour for dusting

1 1/2 cups of water

1 tsp oil

Method:

 

1. Mix whole wheat flour and water (add little water if the dough feels very hard). Make soft dough. Add oil and knead. Keep it aside for 30 minutes.
2. Knead well. Make fist sized small balls. Dust the balls with whole wheat flour and roll them evenly with rolling pin on a flat surface.
3. Bake on hot tawa (skillet) on medium high flame for 30 seconds and flip it. Bake the other side for another 30 seconds. 
4. Put the phulka on the high flame for 5 seconds or till it puffs (but make sure the other side does not burn).
5. Serve hot with butter and vegetable.

Potato Subzi (Vegetable) (Dry)

This is an excellent combination with Dosa, also used as stuffing for 'Masala Dosa'.

Ingredients:

4 medium potatoes
3 green chillies
1 tsp grated ginger
1/4 cup peas (optional)
1 medium onion cut vertically
salt to taste
1/2 tsp urad dal and chana dal
3 tbsps chopped cilantro
Vaggarane

Method:

1. Pressure cook or boil the potatoes. Peel and cut into cubes.
2. Chop the green chillies. Chop the onion vertically.
3. Prepare vaggarane, add urad dal and chana dal. Saute till the raw smell of dals is gone.
4. Add peas (if using fresh peas)and onion and saute till completely cooked, add green chillies and ginger.
5. Add cubed potatoes, sprinkle salt and mix well.
6. Garnish with Chopped Cilantro and serve hot with Dosa and Rotis.

Batata Poha

Batata pohe is one of my favorite snack. Batata Pohe is a spaciality of Maharashtra, which is is easy and simple to prepare.

 

 Ingredients:

3 cups medium raw poha

1/8 cup diced raw potatoes

1/8 cup chopped onions 

1/8 cup  chopped tomatoes

1/8 cup finely chopped cucumbers

1 gated medium carrot

4 green chillies finely chopped

salt to taste

3 tbsps lemon juice

3 tbsps finely chopped cilantro

Vaggarane

Sev (optional)

Method:

1. Wash Pohe well and drain thoroughly. Keep it aside.
2. Heat a pan and prepare vaggarane. Add potatoes. Fry till the potatoes are half baked. Add onions, cucumbers, grated carrot, green chillies and tomatoes. Cook till all the vegetables are done.
3. Add wet poha, sprinkle salt and mix well. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat, stirring occassionally,  till poha is soft.
4. Add lemon juice and cilantro. Mix well. 
5. Garnish with sev and serve hot.

Mooli-Gajar (Radish & Carrot) Paratha

Making kids eat their vegetables is a hassle. Luckily, my son eats anything that looks like Paratha! So, its a big hit in our house. This afternoon, he wanted to eat Spinach Paratha, but I said I would make a different kind of Paratha. He was skeptical about the taste! But he loved the hot mooli-gajar parathas.

Ingredients:

1 cup grated white mooli (radish)

2 cups grated gajar (carrots)

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tsp chili powder (optional)

3 tbsps finely chopped cilantro

1 tsp amchur

salt to taste

3 cups of whole wheat flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour for dusting

Plain curd as needed

oil for greasing

Method:

1. Mix grated radish, carrot, cumin seeds, chili powder, cilantro, amchur and sprinkle salt. Mix well and keep it aside for 30 minutes. Mix whole wheat flour in the vegetable mixture. If the mixture is very hard, mix curd to make it loose. Do not use water to loosen dough as Parathas will become chewy.
2. Keep the dough aside for 20 minutes. Make fistful of dough balls, dust them with whole wheat flour and roll them with rolling pin on a flat surface.
3. Sprinkle oil on the top side and put the oiled side facing down on the hot tawa (skillet). Bake till done on both sides. Repeat for remaining balls of dough.
   
4. Serve hot with butter, curd and chutney.

Hacchida Churamuri (Mamra/Kurmure)

This is all time favorite at home. Since its low fat option, I dont think twice to give it my son as a snack. You find this snack mostly in trains. Aah, the smell of raw onions, tomatoes and mamra!!! Makes my mouth water any time and reminds me of all the childhood train journeys with my family.

Ingredients:

6 cups white Kolhapuri mamra
1/4 cup raw peanuts
1/4 cup puthani (dalia)
5-6 dried chilies
salt to taste
1/8 cup oil for vaggarane (tadka)

Method:

1. In a large pan, heat oil and prepare vaggarane.
2. Add red chilies, raw peanuts and dalia. Fry till the raw smell is gone.
3. Add mamra, salt and mix well.
4. Let cool before storing. Serve as snack with tea/coffee.

Variation:

1/4 cup each - finely chopped tomato, onion and cilantro
2 tbsps of lemon juice.
1 tbsp finely chopped green chilies
3 cups of prepared mamra

Mix all the ingredients and serve immediately with tea or coffee.

Hacchida Avalakki (Chivada/Poha)

Avalakki (Poha) is a speciality of North Karnataka which is also allowed during ekadashi (fasting on 11th day of Lunar calendar) or any upavas. Its the easiest and tastiest snack anyone could prepare. At home, its the favorite snack of DH and DS. DH likes it with tomatoes and cucumber; and DS with plain curd.

The poha should be crisp. Back in India when my mom or grandmother made avalakki, we used to spread the poha on a large piece of cloth in the sun for about 2 hours and it would poha crispy. Staying here in AZ, getting enough sunlight to make poha crispy has never been a problem for me. But you can also make it crispy by spreading poha on cookie sheets and heating them for 10 minutes in the oven at 375 deg. Or I follow the easiest way, that is to put the poha on low heat for nearly 20 minutes while you keep mixing it.

Ingredients:

6 cups of raw thin Poha
1/4 cup raw peanuts
1/4 cup puthani (dalia)
5-6 dried chilies
salt to taste
1/8 cup oil for vaggarane (tadka)
1/8 cup thinly sliced dry coconut (optional)

Method:

1. In a large pan, heat oil and prepare vaggarane.
2. Add red chilies, raw peanuts, dalia and dry coconut pieces. Fry till the raw smell is gone.
3. Add poha, salt and mix well.
4. Let cool before storing. Serve as snack with tea/coffee.

Variations:

1. This variation can be used as breakfast in the morning or in the evening. Make sure you dont add onions if serving it in the morning.

1/4 cup each finely chopped tomatoes, onions and cucumbers
3 tbsps finely chopped cilantro
5 tbsps grated coconut
3 tbsps lime juice
2 finely chopped green chillies (optional)
Sev to garnish (optional)

Mix all the above with 3 cups of Poha. Garnish with thin sev. Serve immediately.

2. Mix 1 cup of poha with 1/4 cup plain curd. Serve immediately.