How to make Rava Upma

Rava Upma is one of the popular breakfast item for South Indians.  The Rava Upma is made with cream of wheat and is very easy and simple recipe to prepare.   The only tricky part in preparing Rava Upma is to prevent lumps to form and you need to stir while adding the Rava to the boiling water so that lumps will not form.    Let us see how easy it is to prepare Delicious Rava Upma within 10 minutes.

Ingredients needed to prepare Rava Upma

• 2 cups coarse rava (cream of wheat, semolina, sooji)
• Finely chopped onion of medium size -  1 No.
• Finely chopped green chillies -  5  to 6 Nos.
• A small piece of Ginger, chopped
• 7-8 curry leaves
• 4 cups of water
• 7-8 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tsp chana dal (split bengal gram) or urad dal (black gram)
• 1/2 tsp mustard

How to prepare Rava Upma

 It is not difficult to prepare Rava Upma.  The method is very easy and Rava Upma can be cooked within 10 to 15 minutes.   Here is the step by step method to prepare Rava Upma.

• First roast the Rava for a couple of minutes.  You can even skip this step if you like... but roasting the Rava prevents Upma from becoming sticky.
• Chop the onions and green chillies into small pieces.  Cut the ginger also into small pieces.
• Now heat the oil in a shallow pan and add mustard seeds.  When the seeds start to splutter, you have to add the green chillies, onions, ginger and curry leaves.
• Cover the items and cook for just 3 to 4 minutes on a low flame. Do this step until onions become translucent.  
• Now add water and cover the pan.
• When the water starts to boil, add the Rava slowly, stirring while adding the rava.  You need to stir continuously while adding rava to avoid lumps to form.
• Now cover and cook on low flame for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Delicious Rava Upma is now ready to serve hot.  
• Serve Rava Upma hot with some nice chutney powder or any pickle like mango pickle, chilly pickle etc..

You can even add potatoes, or tomatoes, peas or carrots to Upma for a different taste.

How to prepare Mirchi Bajjis

Mirchi Bajji is one of the popular street food found almost every where in South India especially in Andhra Mirchi Bajjis.  Andhra Mirchi Bajjis are very famous snack items. 

Mirchi Bajjis are very easy to prepare at home and is an excellent way to begin almost any special meal or they can be served as a light snack in the afternoons or during busy days.  Because we remove the middle thick white vein that carries the chilli seeds, these mirchi bajjis are very mild and not that hot at all.  Here is a simple method to prepare mirchi bajjis.

Ingredients to preparing the filling to stuff mirchi

1. Sesame seeds - 3 table spoons
2. DriedCoconut powder - 3 table spoons
3. Coriander seeds ( Dhania) - 1 tea spoon 
4. Salt - 1/4 tea spoon
5. Tamarind juice - 1 table spoon

 Take all these items in a blender and make a smooth paste without adding water.  Remove the paste and keep it in a cup.

Preparing the Mirchis

Now take some 15 to 20 straight healthy looking chillis.  Wash them and dry them with a towel.  Now make a vertical slit with a knife in the middle of the chilli on one side.  Insert the knife tip and pluck out the thick white vein which has the chilli seeds.  Normally it comes out easily with a sharp knife.  Prepare all the chillis in this way.  Now start stuffing. Fill the gap with sesame filling nicely and evenly one by one and keep all these chillis in a separate plate.

Prepare the batter to dip stuffed mirchis

You need the following items to prepare the batter.

• Besan ( Gram Flour) - 2 cups, sieved
• Rice flour - 1/4 cup, sieved
• Salt, cumin and ajwan ( Vaamu) - 1/2 tea spoon each

Take above items in a vessel and mix them.  Add water to prepare medium thick batter.

Making the Chilli Bajjis

Now take about 3 to 4 cups of peanut oil in a dep bottomed kadai.  Heat the oil on medium flame.  Dip the stuffed chillis one by one in the batter and gently drop them from sides of kadai into the hot oil and deep fry them till they turn golder color.  After that remove the fried mirchi bajjis and let them cool for a minute or two.  Serve these hot bajjis with some lime juice sprinkled and finely sliced onions and tomatoes on the side.

How to make tasty Andhra Coconut Rice

Coconut water is very healthy and is suitable for any climate.  This is known to every one of us.  Indians treat coconut as holy symbol and is also used in prayers to God.  Coconut is also used for making many kind of food items.  Let us see how to make coconut rice which is very popularly known as Kobbari Annam in Andhra Pradesh.  The coconut rice is very popular in Andhra Pradesh.

Coconut Rice is a very famous Indian recipe which is normally made on the festive days after the Puja most of the times.   As, we break the Coconut in the end of the Puja, we get a fresh Coconut. So, instead of taking the coconut directly, this a yummy way of taking it. There are two varieties of Coconut rice. One is made with the Coconut milk/Cream, and the other with the shredded Coconut.  Here you will see how to make coconut rice with the coconut milk.

Ingredients required for coconut rice

• Basmati  Rice : 3 cups (1/2 kg)
• Fresh Coconut Big : 1/2 portion
• Big Onion :  1 No. ( or two small onions)
• Ginger Garlic paste :  2 tsps
• Green cardamoms :  3 nos.
• Cinnamon Piece : 1 inch
• Star Anise :  1 no.
• Javitri :  1
• Bay leaf :  4 
• Cloves :  8
• Green chillies :  6 to 8
• Roasted Coriander powder :  1 tsp
•  Mint leaves, coriander leaves etc..
• Ghee :  1 tsp
• salt  for taste
• Oil for frying

Method of preparation of Coconut Rice - Kobbari Annam

• Add one cup of water to coconut slices and grind it in mixer and filter it.  
• Now add one more cup of water to the same pulp and grind it and filter it again.
• Finally add 1/2 cup of water and do the same process...  
• Now your coconut milk is ready.

Now let us see how to make the coconut rice with this coconut milk.

• Now take a thick bottomed vessel.  Heat oil on medium heat.   When it is heated add all the spices like Cinnamon,Cloves,Cardamoms, Star anise,Javitri and, Bay leaf and  fry a little to release flavors.
•  Now add cashews and green chillies , now add onion slices and stir it till it gets soft add ginger garlic paste,Coriander powder  and stir.
• Add 4 cups of coconut milk and 2 cups of water let it come to boil ,then add salt and rice, add  mint leaves and coriander leaves.
• Now you can shift all this to a Electric rice cooker and boil or  in same vessel boil it  10 minutes on medium flame and 15 minutes on low flame till the rice is done.
• Finally add one tea spoonful of Ghee and you can serve the coconut rice with Gutti vankaya kura or anything. 
•  That is all..

How to make Rava Upma

Rava Upma is one of the popular breakfast item for South Indians.  The Rava Upma is made with cream of wheat and is very easy and simple recipe to prepare.   The only tricky part in preparing Rava Upma is to prevent lumps to form and you need to stir while adding the Rava to the boiling water so that lumps will not form.    Let us see how easy it is to prepare Delicious Rava Upma within 10 minutes.

Ingredients needed to prepare Rava Upma

• 2 cups coarse rava (cream of wheat, semolina, sooji)
• Finely chopped onion of medium size -  1 No.
• Finely chopped green chillies -  5  to 6 Nos.
• A small piece of Ginger, chopped
• 7-8 curry leaves
• 4 cups of water
• 7-8 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tsp chana dal (split bengal gram) or urad dal (black gram)
• 1/2 tsp mustard

How to prepare Rava Upma

 It is not difficult to prepare Rava Upma.  The method is very easy and Rava Upma can be cooked within 10 to 15 minutes.   Here is the step by step method to prepare Rava Upma.

• First roast the Rava for a couple of minutes.  You can even skip this step if you like... but roasting the Rava prevents Upma from becoming sticky.
• Chop the onions and green chillies into small pieces.  Cut the ginger also into small pieces.
• Now heat the oil in a shallow pan and add mustard seeds.  When the seeds start to splutter, you have to add the green chillies, onions, ginger and curry leaves.
• Cover the items and cook for just 3 to 4 minutes on a low flame. Do this step until onions become translucent.  
• Now add water and cover the pan.
• When the water starts to boil, add the Rava slowly, stirring while adding the rava.  You need to stir continuously while adding rava to avoid lumps to form.
• Now cover and cook on low flame for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Delicious Rava Upma is now ready to serve hot.  
• Serve Rava Upma hot with some nice chutney powder or any pickle like mango pickle, chilly pickle etc..

You can even add potatoes, or tomatoes, peas or carrots to Upma for a different taste.

How to make Bread Upma

Bread Upma is very nice as evening snack.  Bread Upma is also very nice for breakfast.  Here is a step by step procedure to prepare Bread Upma.  Normally Bread Upma is prepared in South India especially in Andhra Pradesh.

Ingredients required for Bread Upma:

• Bread   slices -   6 slices
• Chilli Powder -  Half Table spoon
• Chopped Onions - 1 or 2 medium size onions
• Coriander powder - Half Table spoon
•  Asafoetida - A small pinch
• Salt for taste
• Turmeric powder - a small pinch
• Oil - 3 table spoons
• Mustard Seeds - half table spoon
• Curry leaves - a few leaves
• urad Dal - half table spoon
• Green peas - 1/4th cup
• Chopped carrot - half cup
• Coriander leaves - 1 table spoon

Here is a step by step procedure to prepare Bread Upma.

Procedure to make Bread Upma

• First remove the crust of the bread slices and tear into pieces
• Now heat 2 table spoonfuls of oil in a pan and fry the bread pieces for 2 minutes.  It is not necessary to deep fry them.  After frying them, keep them aside.
• Now heat 1 table spoon of oil and add mustard seeds.  Once the seeds starts spluttering add Urad dal and curry leaves.
• Now add onions and fry them until it is translucent.  Now add green peas and carrot pieces and fry them until it is cooked. 
• Now add salt, chilly powder, coriander powder, asafoetida and turmeric powder and fry for few minutes.
• Now add the fried bread pieces and mix well to make Bread Upma.  Garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve this hot bread upma which will be very delicious.

How to make Poha Upma

Poha Upma  or Atukulu Upma as it is popularly called in Andhra Pradesh is a good item for breakfast.   This item is normally prepared as breakfast item in Andhra Pradesh and also in Maharashtra.  The Atukulu Upma is a healthy substitute for lunch or even dinner some times.  Atukulu also called as beaten rice.  Here is a method to prepare Atukulu Upma.

Ingredients to make Atukulu Upma

 

• Poha /atukulu – 2 cups
• Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Ground nuts – 1/2 a handful
• Onions – 1 medium
• Tomato -1 medium
• Green chillies – 2
• Salt as per taste
• Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
• Urad dal – 1 tsp
• Red chillies -1
• Bengal gram -2 tsp
• Mustard seeds –  1/2 tsp
• Green chillies – 5
• Curry leaves –  1o
• Coriander leaves

 How to prepare Atukulu Upma

It is very easy to prepare Atukulu Upma.  Here is the method to prepare Atukulu Upma.

• Soak atukulu/poha in big vessel for 5 minutes,  squeeze and drain .
• Heat pan and add oil , add the Seasoning Ingredients one by one …
• Mustard seeds, urad dal, bengal gram, ground nuts, red chilly and let them change the color.
• Then add green chillies and onions  saute for 2 minutes, add curry leaves and tomatoes .
• After tomato is well cooked add 1/4 tspn turmeric and  salt , coriander leaves and mix well.
• Finally add Poha /atukulu and mix well and close the lid for 2 minutes(off the flame).
• Mix well and serve with Tomato chutney.

How to make Idli?

How to make  Idlis

Idli is one of the famous South Indian breakfast item.  What ever hotel you go in South India, Idli will be always available for break fast.  Idlis are the traditional breakfast items in all parts of South India.

Idli is very easy to make and also Idli  is extremely healthy and can be easily digested.  In fact when you are struck on a highway with nothing to eat,  people will never hesitate to walk into a road side hotel and buy few idlis to eat.   I will give a list of ingredients required for making a  Idli.

Ingredients to make  Idli :   

• 1 cup of Urad Dal ( Split black lentils)
• 3 cups of par boiled rice (Ukda Chawal)
• 1/2 tea spoon ful of fenugreek ( Methi) leaves seeds
• Salt to taste
• Coconut oil or any other oil for greasing
• Coconut chutney or sambhar for serving
  

How to make Idlis :   

• Soak Urad dal and the fenugreek seeds together in water for 3 hours and then drain them.
• Now soak rice in water for 3 hours and drain.
• Blend the urad dal and fenugreek seeds together in a mixie till smooth and frothy.  Add water little by little if required and then remove it and keep aside.
• Now blend the rice in a mixer till it becomes smooth and then remove and keep aside.
• Then you have to combine the urad dal paste and rice paste together in a bowl and keep it aside to ferment overnight.
• Once the batter is fermented, add salt to the batter and mix well.
• Now take Idli moulds, grease them with oil or even ghee.  See a picture of idli moulds below.

• Mix the batter well so that it should look like a cake batter to fall freely and it should be thick. add little water to it if required.
• Fill the moulds with idli batter.
• Now carefully keep the moulds in cooker; close with lid and do not place cooker weight.
• Steam cook in low flame for 10 to 12 minutes.
•  Now remove the moulds from cooker and allow them to cool.
• Now remove the idlis with spoon gently.
• Repeat the above procedure for remaining batter to make more idlis.  
• Serve the idlis hot with fried coconut chutney and sambhar.

Here is a video of preparing Idli.

How to make Tamarind Rice

How to prepare Tamarind Rice

Tamarind Rice is one of the important dish of Andhra Pradesh of South India.  Tamarind Rice is also called as Chintapandu Pulohora i Andhra Pradesh.  Tamarind Rice is a very delicious South Indian Andhra recipe. Let us see how to  make Tamarind Rice.

Ingredients required to prepare Tamarind Rice: 3 cups of Rice 1 cup ( 100 gms) of Tamarind 1/4 cup soaked Chana Dal  1 tea spoonful of Urad Dal (soaked) 1/4 cup of pea nuts Turmeric powder 2 tea spoonful of Mustard seeds 1 tea spoon Jeera 1 tea spoon of Hing curry leaves Red chillies Green chillies 1/2 cup of oil Salt for taste

How to make Tamarind Rice: Soak tamarind in water and extract juice out of it Now cook the rice, add salt and a little bit of oil and mix it well. keep it separately. Now take a frying pan, take tamarind extract, add salt, turmeric powder in it and cook until it becomes thick.  Add this cooked tamarind extract into the rice and mix well. Now heat oil in  a pan, add chana dal, green chillies, urad dal, pea nuts, red chillies, curry leaves, mustard, jeera and hing and fry them properly., Once they turn brown and mustard starts to splutter, mix all these things to the above mentioned prepared rice. That  is all.  Tamarind Rice is ready to serve. Serve this Tamarind Rice with   papads...

How to prepare Coconut Rice

Coconut is one of the widely used cooking item in India especially South India.  Coconut is used as main ingredient in most of the South Indian dishes.  Coconut is used in South India as Coconut Rice, Coconut chatni, or used in Upma etc...  even sweets are prepared with Coconut.  Now let us see how to prepare coconut rice which is widely used dish in South India.  

How to prepare coconut rice

Coconut Rice is one of the important South Indian food.   Here is the recipe for coconut rice.  Here is a method to prepare coconut rice.

Ingredients used for preparing Coconut Rice.

• 400 gms of Biryani Rice
• 120 gms of Coconut
• 40 ml Ghee
• 6 gms of dry chillies
• 2 gms of curry leaves
• 25 gms of black gram dhal
• 25 gms of broken pices of nuts
• 2.5 gms of asafoetida powder
• 20 gms of coriander leaves
• some salt to taste

Method of preparing coconut rice:

• You need to boil the rice first and keep it aside.
• Then fry the coconut evenly until a golder color comes on a slow fire
• Now heat 3 spoons of ghee.  Fry the cashew nuts in the ghee and remove them.
• Then fry the broken pieces of dry chillies, black gram dal, and curry leaves.
• Now mix the already prepared rice, coconut, nuts, 1 tea spoon of ghee and salt.

 That is all...  Coconut is ready to serve.  Serve hot garnished coconut rice with coriander leaves.

How to prepare Masala Dosa

Masala Dosa is one of the important south indian snack usually served in the breakfast.  Here is a way to prepare Masala Dosa.

South Indian Recipe : Masala Dosa

Ingredients :

 
For Dosa :
1 cup raw rice
1 cup urad dal
2 tbsp cooked rice
2 tbsp poha
5 to 7 methi
salt to taste
oil for cooking

Method of potato Bhaji

• Mash the potatoes and keep aside.
• Heat the oil in a pan and put the mustard seeds to it.
• When they crackle, put the curry leaves, green chillies and onions and stir till the onions turn golden brown.
• Put the mashed potatoes, turmeric, coconut, lemon juice coriander and salt and mix well.
• Take out from the heat and keep aside.

Method of preparing Dosa :

• Wash the raw rice, urad dal and meth neatly.
• Now Soak in a little water along with the poha and cooked rice for 2 hours.
• Now you have to grind to make a smooth paste with a little water.  Cover it and keep aside for at least 4 hours.   Put salt and mix well.
• Now heat  a non-stick tava and put a little oil on it.
• When the tava gets hot,  pour a lidful  of the batter spread using a circular motion to make a thin dosa and cook on one side.
• Pour a little oil along the edges of the dosa while cooking. When crispy, fold over and serve hot.
• Repeat the same procedure for the remaining batter.
• When the dosa is cooked, put some potato bhaji on it. roll to form a cylindrical shape.

Now your Masala Dosa is ready to serve hot...