I have been thinking that I must post the recipes of staples that I make in the kitchen - the ones that I know off the top of my head. One is, of course, sambar. The others are the breakfast dishes - idlis, the different kinds of dosa and uthappam. I make regular dosa, masala dosa and vegetable uthappam with cabbage, carrot and coriander leaves. I also make chana dal dosa, whole moong dosa and adai. These are the regular breakfast dishes at home apart from vegetable upma with spinach and carrot. I am trying to increase my repertoire of standard breakfast items as well as snacks. But I thought that first, I have to write down the ones that I am making now.
3 cups idli rice soaked in 3 cups warm water. Optional: Add a handful of poha to this. My hands are small. If your hands are bigger, reduce accordingly.
1/2 cup whole urad soaked in 1 and 1/2 cups warm water. Add 1 tsp of methi seeds. I sometimes add more up to 2 tbsp depending on my mood. If you do that, it is better to make uthappams. You can make different kinds of uthappams with different vegetables in it.
Soak for 4 to 5 hours.
Grind urad first for about 10 minutes. Empty resulting batter into a big vessel. There in no need to wash the grinder. You have to grind the rice anyway.
Then grind rice for about 8 minutes. Add this batter to the urad batter. Rinse the grinder and pour the water into the batter. You can add up to a cup of water in this way. No more. Then add salt to taste. I add about 1 tsp to 1 and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix the batter very well with your hands. There should be room for the batter to rise in the vessel. If not, pour some of the batter into another vessel and use both vessels to ferment the batter. Keep the vessels in a warm place. I put them in my oven and switch on the oven light. I leave it this way overnight.
The next morning, I steam the idlis in the idli cooker. I apply ghee to the plates first before pouring the batter. I steam them for about 8 minutes. If you forget to switch on the timer, use a knife or skewer to check if the idli is done. It should come clean when you poke it into an idli; there should be no batter sticking to it.
This recipe will make about 50 idlis. But you don't have to make so many. Just make about 15 or 20 idlis i.e. steam 1 or 2 batches and keep the rest of the batter in the fridge. You can make dosas, uthappams or paniyarams the next day or the day after. The batter will keep for a few days in the fridge. It may be a little more sour, that's all.
Tip: If you add more methi seeds, then it is better to make uthappams than dosas. The dosas don't come out as well. You can add vegetables and make different kinds of vegetable uthappams.
3 cups idli rice soaked in 3 cups warm water. Optional: Add a handful of poha to this. My hands are small. If your hands are bigger, reduce accordingly.
1/2 cup whole urad soaked in 1 and 1/2 cups warm water. Add 1 tsp of methi seeds. I sometimes add more up to 2 tbsp depending on my mood. If you do that, it is better to make uthappams. You can make different kinds of uthappams with different vegetables in it.
Soak for 4 to 5 hours.
Grind urad first for about 10 minutes. Empty resulting batter into a big vessel. There in no need to wash the grinder. You have to grind the rice anyway.
Then grind rice for about 8 minutes. Add this batter to the urad batter. Rinse the grinder and pour the water into the batter. You can add up to a cup of water in this way. No more. Then add salt to taste. I add about 1 tsp to 1 and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix the batter very well with your hands. There should be room for the batter to rise in the vessel. If not, pour some of the batter into another vessel and use both vessels to ferment the batter. Keep the vessels in a warm place. I put them in my oven and switch on the oven light. I leave it this way overnight.
The next morning, I steam the idlis in the idli cooker. I apply ghee to the plates first before pouring the batter. I steam them for about 8 minutes. If you forget to switch on the timer, use a knife or skewer to check if the idli is done. It should come clean when you poke it into an idli; there should be no batter sticking to it.
This recipe will make about 50 idlis. But you don't have to make so many. Just make about 15 or 20 idlis i.e. steam 1 or 2 batches and keep the rest of the batter in the fridge. You can make dosas, uthappams or paniyarams the next day or the day after. The batter will keep for a few days in the fridge. It may be a little more sour, that's all.
Tip: If you add more methi seeds, then it is better to make uthappams than dosas. The dosas don't come out as well. You can add vegetables and make different kinds of vegetable uthappams.
