Thursday, December 6, 2012

Chola Dosai | Sollam Dosai | Jowar Dosa

Sollam dosai/ Chola dosai(சோள தோசை ),  one of the traditional varieties of dosa made from Jowar seeds/ Sorghum. Nowadays, many people never even heard about this dosa variety. When I started to blog, collecting these kinds of  authentic recipes were my main motto and it still does. I learned this dosa from my mom years back, since then whenever i get a chance to source the sorghum, definitely i would make this dosai. 

Recently got a pack of sollam from the newly opened Indian store here in Canada.When i mentioned the same to my mom, she remembered an incident from her childhood days in Sankarankovil. She said that in those days, people who came to visit a temple in her hometown, often sat in thinnai(veranda in a house ) of her house and would eat their breakfast or lunch that they had packed earlier. She recollects that this solla dosa with ellu(sesame seed) podi was one among the common packed foods of that time. So in order to avoid the dryness, the podi was simmered on the dosa along with sesame oil and stacked together and then covered with cotton cloth and placed in the ola petti(palm leaf basket ). She also said that it would look so soft and smell divinely which would definitely arouse anyone's appetite!

Related : How to make Ragi dosa with whole millet


Ok, enough with the story, now let's check on how to make this healthy dosa!
 

If you don't get a chance to see cholam before, this is how cholam/ jowar seeds look 

Related : How to make Kambu Dosai



Chola Dosai | Jowar Dosa

Preparation Time : 8 hrs | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes : 3 to 4 
Recipe Category: Breakfast | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Chola dosai, Sollam Dosai, Jowar Dosai, Tamilnadu food, Sollam dosai/ Chola dosai(சோள தோசை ),  one of the traditional varieties of dosa made from Jowar seeds/ Sorghum.
Ingredients
Sollam/Jowar seed/Sorghum - 1 cup
Idly Rice - 1 cup
Urad dal - 1/2 cup
Fenugreek seed - 1/2 tbsp
Salt  - to taste

Procedure

Soak sollam, idli rice ,urad dal & fenugreek seed separately for 6- 8 hrs/overnight . Then transfer into mixie jar in batches.
Add enough water and grind into fine paste and transfer into large bowl.
Add add enough salt into the batter,mix it well with you hand and allow to ferment (this batter will ferment quickly compare to normal dosa batter,so keep an eye on the batter after 4 hrs).

Related : How to make Barley idli and dosa

For make the dosa, heat the tawa and take a ladle full of batter and spread it thick(like kal dosa) Once the bottom turns brown ,flip it on other side and cook it.
Serve this nutritious dosa with any of your favorite chutney or with Idly podi. Check out here for the side dish collections for idli and dosai

Related : How to make moongil rice dosai


Notes:
  • Soak long hours help to ferment the dosa batter quickly.
  • Like any millet batter, it stays good for only couple of days. Try to finish the batter within 2 to 3 days.

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Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Rava Ladoo/Laddu


Rava Ladoo is easy to make and also it tastes heavenly.



Ingredients

Rava/Semolina - 1 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Ghee - 4-5 tbsp
Cashews - 10 pieces(adjust to ur taste)
Cardamom - 3nos



Procedure

Dry roast the rava till the aroma comes and allow to cool,then powdered it in mixer.

Powder the sugar along with cardamom as fine powder.

Add the powdered sugar into rava mixture .

Fry the cashews in ghee and add into rava mixture.

Mix it well and make lemon sized balls immediately(if you could not make balls or the mixture is too dry,sprinkle some milk and make balls.Adding milk reduces the self life,so consume it in a day or two).

Store it in air tight container and enjoy the yummy Rava Ladoo.




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Thursday, April 12, 2012

Beetroot Halwa | Easy Halwa Recipe


Beetroot halwa, a delicious and easy to make halwa with just three main ingredients like beetroot , sugar and ghee. Unlike other halwa, this one doesn't need a lot of sugar since the beetroot is already sweet ! 
It's one of our favorite halwa and often make this halwa for a quick treat.It's a perfect sweet to satisfy your sweet cravings without consuming too much sugar. 

If you're wondering how beetroot would tastes in halwa, trust me, it would be delicious and doesn't have the earthy smell of beetroot in the halwa.

The key to make delicious beetroot halwa is to saute the grated beetroot in ghee well. Rest of the recipe is just an icing on the cake.
I have the fond memories of making this halwa for the first time on Tamil New Year when we were newly married and lived in Colorado. It turned out super delicious and i was literally on cloud nine that day, so instantly posted the recipe on the blog with final picture alone(below picture is the one that i posted on that day).

This halwa recipe is a fool proof one and for a decade i'm following the recipe ditto and it gives such a  delicious halwa every SINGLE time. Now let's see how to make this delicious halwa !

Wish you all a very happy tamil new year for all those who celebrate!


Beetroot Halwa

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Beetroot Halwa, Beetroot halwa without milk, Easy Halwa recipe, Indian Sweet Beetroot halwa, a delicious and easy to make halwa with just three main ingredients like beetroot ,sugar and ghee.

Ingredients

Beetroot - 1 cup(grated)
Sugar - 1/4 - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Cashews - 7
Ghee - 2 tbsp


Procedure

First peel the beetroot and grate it.

Heat 1 tbsp of ghee in  a thick bottomed pan and add cashews and roast  till they are golden brown.

Then add the grated beetroot and saute  it in the ghee for a couple of mins.
Next cover the pan with lid and cook the beetroot in low flame. Stir in between to avoid burning at the bottom.If you feel very dry while saute the beetroot add a tbsp of milk and cooke. But if the beetroot is juicy, it doesn't need any milk. Once the beetroot is cooked, the volume is reduced and the raw smell is gone. At this stage add the sugar.

Once the sugar melts and it starts to thicken add the cardamom powder.
And the remaining 1/2 tbsp of ghee. Keep in the low flame for 2-3 mins and stir it in between.
After 2-3 mins, you can see all the beetroot comes together like halwa.Switch off the flame at this stage.

Delicious Beetroot Halwa is ready. Serve Beetroot halwa as warm or as chilled.Either way it tastes great. 

Quick Reel Video for making Beetroot Halwa

Related: How to make Sweet Potato Halwa



Notes:
  • Roast the beetroot in ghee well. That's the key to delicious halwa.
  • Instead of cashews, you can use whatever the nuts you like.
  • Grate the beetroot finely for easy cooking.
  • If you add milk, then i would recommend to store the leftover in refrigerator.




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Friday, March 30, 2012

Banana Walnut Bread | Banana Bread | Bread Recipe

Banana Walnut bread, a mild sweetened, delicious bread that goes well with your coffee/tea. Years ago, I tasted this banana bread along with coffee in Starbucks and immediately I became a big fan of this bread . 

The banana flavor was so great in this bread and later I searched for the recipe for this bread. After a few attempts, the recipe that i tried from joyofbaking really worked well and  it tasted almost similar to the one that i had at Starbucks. 

So now for years, I have been following the same recipe with little change in the recipe and every SINGLE time it turned out super soft, flavorful and delicious. It's a keeper recipe for sure !!! 
Banana Walnut Bread
Over the years, I have made a few changes to the recipe based on our likings. The original recipe has cinnamon powder in it, but i want banana flavor predominately so skip that and also i have tried this bread with walnuts, almonds or sometimes even without any nuts too. 

All turned out really good, with or without any nuts. Recently I bought a mini loaf pan and I was waiting to bake this banana bread in the mini loaf pan, yesterday finally made it and it turned out super cute and of course it was delicious. Banana Walnut Bread
The below image was taken years back when I had first tried it. Seriously, at that time I had no sense of using the correct loaf pan to get that perfect loaf !

If you're a beginner in baking, make sure to use the right size pan which will give proper rise to the bread and also give perfect slices.
Banana Walnut Bread


Before moving on to the recipe, let check out some of the FAQs

What's the substitute for eggs in the recipe ?
For an egg, you can replace 1/4 cup of plain yogurt/curd. But the texture might be a little different ! 

Does this bread have an eggy smell?
Nope, that's the beauty of this bread ! It has a strong banana flavor and it's subtle egg flavor and you won't even notice that it has eggs.

What other nuts are used in this bread?
You can use any of your favorite nuts or without any nuts also, you can make this bread. Check the loaf below where I have used cashews instead of walnuts and it still tastes good ! 

Banana Bread


Banana Walnut bread

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 40 minsMakes : 2 mini loaf 
Recipe Category: Bread | Recipe Cuisine: American
Banana Walnut Bread, Mini Banana Bread Loaf, Banana Bread Banana Walnut bread, a mild sweetened, delicious bread that goes well with your coffee/tea.
Ingredients
Banana(well riped) - 2 (mashed well)
All purpose flour - 1 1/4 cup
Sugar -1/2 cup
Baking powder - 3/4 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
Butter - 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp( melted)
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Egg - 1 
Walnut(roughly chopped) - 1/2 cup approx.



Banana Walnut Bread
Procedure
Preheated the oven to 350 F  First mix the wet ingredients.In a bowl, add the peeled and roughly chopped banana and mashed it with fork well & keep aside . In an another  large bowl, crack open an egg.
Beat the egg slightly and then add sugar & vanilla extract. 
Next add the butter and mashed banana into the egg mixture & mix it well with whisk.
Then sieve the flour with baking powder ,baking soda & salt into wet ingredients and mix it well.
Grease the loaf pan with butter/cooking spray well and dusted with all purpose flour. Finally add the walnuts into the batter, mix it gently and transfer into the loaf pan.
Place the baking pan in the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake it  for 40-45 mins or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
Remove it from the oven and place it on wire rack and cool it completely.Slice it and enjoy the delicious banana bread. 

Related: How to make Banana Chocolate Bread 

Banana Bread Slices


Notes:
  • Use well ripen banana for great taste & flavor.
  • The given ingredients will make 2 - 4.75 * 2 * 1.75 loaf bread. 
  • Here in the recipe i have use 2 big bananas. 
    Banana Walnut Bread




  

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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Adai Dosai | Lentil crepes | Breakfast recipe

Adai Dosai , a healthy and delicious crepe from Tamilnadu made from the mix of four varieties of lentils. It's very fulfilling and usually served as breakfast and occasionally as earlier dinner. Adai with Aviyal is a famous combo in many restaurants nowadays. When i was chennai, first time, i came to know that adai is served with aviyal in many hotels there. But so far I haven't tried that combo at home or in a restaurant.
Even though Adai is the common breakfast in our home, we never made aviyal as accompaniment for adai so far, we like to have this with coconut chutney or  plain sugar. For me, adai with sugar is the best combination till date. ST doesn't like to have adai (even puttu & upma) with sugar (just like appa),so for his sake i started to make coconut chutney, but nowadays i too like that combo. 

Now let's check out on how to make this delicious Adai ! 


PS: I don't want to remove some old photos,so keep as it is :-) .


Adai Dosai

Preparation Time : 2 hrs for soaking | Cooking Time : 20 minsMakes : 12 dosa 
Recipe Category: Dosa | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Adai Dosai, Adai, Indian Breakfast, Lentil Crepes, Tamilnadu Breakfast Adai Dosai , a healthy and delicious crepe from Tamilnadu made from the mix of four varieties of lentils.
Ingredients
Idly Rice - 1 cup
Moong Dal - 1/4 cup
Toor Dal - 1/4 cup
Channa Dal - 1/4 cup
Urad Dal - 1/4 cup
Red chili - 2 nos
Cumin seed - 1 tsp
Fennel seed - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1 inch pieces
Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves - few
Onion -1/2 cup(finely chopped)
Curry leaves - few
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Salt -  to taste
Procedure 
Put all the dal in one bowl & rice in another bowl.Soak both of them for 2 hrs.
After that first grind the rice  in the wet grinder/mixie into fine paste and put it in the bowl.Then grind dal along with red chili,cumin seed,ginger & fennel seed into paste(No need to grind the dal for long time like we did for idly/dosa batter.
Once it become fine paste, add it into rice batter. Add salt & asafoetida powder.
In a laddle add the turmeric powder with little water and add into adai batter and mix everything well.
Heat oil in a kadai add curry leaves& onions,saute it  until onions becomes translucent.
Add this onion into batter along with coriander leaves  and mix well.
Heat the tava ,pour the ladle full of batter and spread like dosa(keep it in low flame,so that you can able to spread,after spreading the batter increase the flame)and cook it for 2-3 mins,then flip it and  cook on other sides.Once it becomes golden brown on both sides,remove it.
Serve this Adai Dosai with coconut chutney or sugar. For more breakfast recipe, check out my collections here 

Notes:
  • If you dont like fennel smell, you can skip that.
  • As per your liking, you can make thin or thick adai.
  • To make thin adai, keep the batter as pouring consistency.




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