Ragi Dosa

Ragi is a very good source of fiber. It can be cooked in wide varieties and variations on its own or with other ingredients. In India,especially the South it is used mainly for its medicinal value as it helps reduce diabetes. My mom used to make Porridge (konji) with ragi when I fall sick. The grain can also be malted ( allowed to germinate and quickly dried before the plant develops) and taken as a nutritional drink,best especially for kids who have an aversion to the original ragi flavor.

I once made porridge for my kid when he fell sick....but just like any other kid he started doing all tricks to stay away from it. But,I know he likes dosa. So I tried making Dosa from Ragi flour and to my surprise he liked it better than the porridge and so is my hubby.And now, Ragi dosa has become a regular dinner at our home. Let me share the recipe with you.

INGREDIENTS :

1 cup Ragi flour
1/2 cup white urad dhal (whole ) - soaked in water for 2 hrs
4 tbsp rice flour
1 onion (chopped finely)
2-3 green chillies (finely chopped-optional)
salt to taste

PREPARATION :

1. Drain the water from the urad dhal and wash it 3-4 times in cold water and grind to a smooth batter by adding more cold water.
2. Mix the ragi flour with water until its a thick batter.
3. Add the urad dhal batter to the Ragi flour to get a dosa batter consistency (add more water,if required.The batter must not be too thick or too thin) , add the salt and mix well.
4.Heat the dosa pan and scrub it with a little oil.
5.Now pour a spatula full of batter on the pan and gently make a round out of it.
6.Add some chopped onions,green chilles and sprinkle a little oil on the dosa.
7.When this side is done (small holes will appear on the dosa and let stand for 1 min) turn it over.
8.let stand for 1 more min and transfer to the plate.
9.Serve hot with chutney,sambar or podi.

MAKES - 10-12 Dosas apprx.

Mint Chutney

Mint - Pudina in Tamil,not only has a pleasant flavoring but contains healing properties as well. Apart from being a mouth freshner it helps eliminate heartburns.You can make tea by adding a few mint leaves and give it a zest. But somehow I'm more inclined to make chutney by cooking the leaves a little than use it fresh in tea, as it has a very strong aroma.Lets take a look at the preparation of the chutney.

INGREDIENTS :

1 bunch of mint leaves ( 15 stalks roughly )
1 med onion (sliced to 4)
2 med tomatoes (chopped)
3 green chillies
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

PREPARATION :

1.Heat the oil in a pan, add the mint leaves and fry till nice aroma (1 min).
2.Add the sliced onions and fry till soft and done (2 min).
3.Add the toamtoes and saute another 3-4 min till cooked.
4.Add the green chillies and garlic flakes and saute for 2 more min and switch off.
5.Leave it on the stove top till it cools down.
6.Grind all these together with the salt and a little water.

SERVES - 4

Note : This goes good with all the tiffin varieties and not rice. The Mint chutney for rice is prepared in a different method,which I'll be blogging in later.

Sambar for Idlys

Sambar is an authentic recipe from the South. Made out of dhal, it gets its flavor mainly from the ingredients used and the way its cooked. Both thuvar dhal and split moong can be used for making Idly sambar. Today am gonna blog the sambar that I made with Thuvar dhal.

INGREDIENTS :

1 cup thuvar dhal (cooked well)
1 big onion (sliced to 4)
2 med tomatoes
2 tbsp channa dhal
1 tbsp urad split
3 tbsp dhaniya seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
3-4 red chillies (can be kept less or substituted with green chillies)
3-4 tbsp coconut (optional,if weight conscious)
2-4 tbsp skinned bengal gram (pottu kadalai in tamil)
2 tbsp oil
2 tsp mustard seeds
2-3 sambar chillies (the round red ones,optional)
salt to taste
cilantro leaves to garnish

PREPARATION :

1.Wash the thuvar dhal, add 2 cups of water and pressure cook till 3-4 whistles.
2.In a small pan heat 1 tbsp oil and when its hot enough add chana and urad dhal and fry till golden brown.
3.Add the dhaniya seeds,red chillies,cumin seeds and fry till a nice aroma (2 min max).Immediately transfer to a cup as we dont wanna burn the ingredients.
4.Add 1 tbsp oil and when hot add the sliced onions and fry till soft and done
5.Add the chopped tomatoes and fry till done (if the skin starts peeling off a little it indicates its done)
6.Add this to the roasted dhal and grind with the coconut and skinned bengal gram to a smooth paste,adding water.
7.Mix this paste with the cooked dhal ,add salt to taste and let it come to a boil on a low flame.
8.In 1 tsp of oil add the mustard seeds when hot,until it splutters.Then add the sambar chillies and curry leaves and mix with the dhal
9.Ganish with cilantro leaves and serve hot.

SERVES - 4