My Mom's Delicacy: Red Rice Paniyaram

Heard of Vellai Paniyaram - a Chettinad Delicacy?
Yes, Vellaipaniyaram is made of white rice. My mom makes it a little more healthy by using Red Rice to make Paniyaram.
Believe me Vellai Paniyaram is really easy to make and I am sure you will love it!

Ingredients:

Red rice-1 cup

Urud dhal-1/8 cup

Salt-to taste

Oil-to fry

Procedure

Soak rice and dal for 1 hr. Grind with salt - Grind it until it is very fine when you feel it. Refridgerate it for not more than 15 mins.

Bring the batter to normal temperature. Heat oil in a pan,add a table spoon of batter and fry it on both sides. Serve it hot with tomato chutney.

Ragi Roti - Not really boring

I am pretty sure most of you would have stopped reading this the moment they had seen the title. But I am sure if you continue to read - there is something really delicious awaiting you!

Ingredients:

Ragi Flour - 1 cup
Onion - 1 [chopped]
Green Chilli - 1 [finely chopped]
Ginger - 1/2 tsp [finely chopped]
Garlic - 7-8 [finely chopped]
Curry leaves & coriander - little [chopped]
Aesafotida - 1/2 tsp
Til powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

This is all you need to do.
Make a dough with all the ingredients. Make big balls of the dough. Heat Tava, place the balls on the tava and start pressing it flat on the tava itself. Make the rotis as thin as possible and leave it to cook in low flame for at least 8-10 minutes on both sides. Delicious Ragi Roti is ready to eat :)

This Ragi Roti can be had with Curd, Garlic Pickle, Jam or with vegetable curries.

Mushroom Pepper Fry

Do you love Mushrooms? You will love this and for sure thank me for giving this recipe :) I bet you will not take more than 5-7 mins to do this!

Ingredients:

Servings - 2
Mushroom - 1 pack [washed and cut into pieces of equal size]
Onion - 1 [Cut into big cubes]
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Lemon Juice - 1/2 tsp

This all you need to do:

Heat Oil in a pan, fry onion [Caution: do not over fry/do not let it turn into golden brown]. When the onions are transparent, Add Mushrooms and let it cook for a few minutes [not more than 2-3 minutes]. Add salt and pepper and let all the water from mushrooms evaporate. Garnish with lemon juice and serve :)

If at all any Oregano seasoning is left after your previous purchase at Dominos, Just cut open 1 pack and add the seasoning to this Mushroom, it will be yummmy!

 

Cabbage Parupu Usuli

Today, its altogether a different try - Authentic Paruppu Usuli :) I loved it and even got certified from my colleagues that it was nice :)

Ingredients:

Servings - 2
Toor Dhal - 1/2 cup
Channa Dhal - 1/2 cup
Red Chilli - 2 nos
Asafoetida - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Cabbage - 1/4 cup [Finely chopped]
Onion - 1 nos [Finely chopped]
Jeera - 1 tsp
Oil - 6 tsp

This is what you need to do:
Soak Toor dhal and channa dhal in water for 30 mins. Grind dhal, red chilli, asafoetida, salt and jeera into a dough [Caution: Please do not add water!]
Heat Oil in a pan. Fry Onion until it turns golden brown. Fry Cabbage until it is cooked. Add the dhal dough directly and keep breaking the clumps consistently. 
Fry and keep breaking the clumps of dhal until it becomes powdery and crisp. It will take atleast 15mins for ground dhal to become powdery.

And here you go, Authentic Cabbage Paruppu usuli is ready :)

Variants: Parupu usuli can be made with Cabbage, Carrot, beans and beetroot.

Mushroom Fried Rice

Ingredients:

Servings - 2
Mushroom - 1 cup [chopped or cut into 4 pieces]
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
Onion - 1 [finely chopped]
Basmati Rice - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Lemon Juice - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 4 tsp

This is all what you have to do:

Heat Oil in a cooker and fry onion for less than 2 mins. Add Mushrooms and cook until mushrooms start oozing out water. Add Ginger garlic paste, Salt to taste and Basmati Rice and fry for 2 mins. Add 1 cup of water and close the cooker and leave it for 2 whistles in low flame.

Turn off the cooker and Add pepper powder and lemon juice. Mix it well and garnish it with mint leaves :)

Delicious Mushroom Fried Rice is ready :) The image just looks shiny, I promise you I did not add more than 4 tsps of oil :P

Vegetable Vadai

Here you go, the most exotic vegetable vadai

Ingredients:

Any of the following vegetables - 1 cup [grated or chopped finely]
{Carrot, cabbage, beetroot, Vazhai poo, Vazhai thandu, Greens (any keerai), snake gourd)
Onion (Small onion/sambar onion preferably) - 1/4 cup [chopped finely]
Coriander - a few leaves
Toor Dhal - 1 cup
Channa Dhal - 1 cup
Red Chilli - 4
Jeera - 1 tsp
Aesafodita - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

This is what you need to do:
Soak Toor Dhal and Channa Dhal for at least 2 hours so that it becomes soft. Grind dhal, red chilli, Jeera, Aesafodita, salt to make a thick dough (Caution: do not make it into a fine paste).
Add the grated vegetables, onion and coriander to it and mix the dough well.

Heat oil in a pan. Shape vadas in your palm and deep fry them until it turns golden brown.

Crispy and crunchy vegetable vadai is ready!

Small Tip: the more watery the dough is, the more oil the vada consumes. If you want it to consume less of oil, make the dough without adding water to the extent possible. 

Tip 2: soak it in luke warm water if you are planning to soak it for a lesser time [Please soak it at least for 1-1.5 hours if you are using luke warm water]

Simple Cholestrol free Kootu

Here is another quick recipe :) without even a drop of oil :)

Ingredients:
Moong Dal (Green gram Dhal) - 4 tsp
Mochchai Kai / Bottle guard/ snake guard - 1 cup, cleaned and cut
Garlic - 2 pieces (unpeeled, smashed with the outer cover)
Cumin seeds (Jeeragam) - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 2-3 leaves (washed and chopped)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:
Boil Moong Dhal with salt and turmeric powder in a cooker for 10 mins and mash it. Add the vegetable that you choose and leave it for another 2-3 whistles in the cooker.

Open the cooker and add garlic, cumin seeds, curry leaves and leave it to boil for another 2-3 mins. Here you go! Your kootu without coconut and oil is done :)