Poha Dosa Recipe - Atukula Dosa recipe

The Poha Dosa or Atukula Dosa is a Andhra Special Dosa.  This dosa is very soft, spongy, porous and stays even after some hours.  This is excellent for Tiffins boxes with some dry chutney or sambhar.

Here is a method to prepare Atukula Dosa  or Poha Dosa which is a special variety Dosa of Andhra Pradesh.

Ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml)

• Regular rice =  2 cups 
• Poha-flattened rice / parched rice =  1 cup
• Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
• Curd - 1 cup whisked with 2 cups of water
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• Salt - 1 table spoon
• OIl for frying the dosa

Method of preparation of Atukula Dosa

• First wash the rice, poha and the urad dal
• Soak the rice, poha and urad dal in butter milk mixture for 2 to 3 hours in a bowl
• Drain and reserve the liquid
• Now grind it to a smooth batter and add 1 to 2 cups of reserved liquid
• Add soda and salt and mix well
• Ferment for 4 to 5 hours
• Heat the Tava and take a ladle of batter and make a 1/4 inch thick dosa
• Drizzle oil around the edges of the dosa
• Cover the dosa with a lid and cook for 1 or 2 minutes till the base is cooked and is crisp and the top is spongy.
• Serve the Atukula Dosa hot with coconut chutney.

How to make Amti Dal recipe - Maharashtrian Amti Dal

The Maharashtrian Amti Dal  recipe is one of the comfortable food for any one.  The amti dal can be taken along with rice.  Fresh coconut can also be added to Amti, but it is not compulsory.  But a fresh coconut brings a lot of flavour and taste to any dish.   The amti dal can be served with rice or roti.. The amti dal is a slightly spicy, sweet and sour maharashtrian dal made from pigeon pea lentils.


Please read the following article about how to make Maharashtrian Amti dal ...  Here the article explains about making Amti without using coconut.  

Ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml)

for cooking the dal:

• 1 cup toor/tuvar/arhar dal/pigeon pea lentils
• a pinch of turmeric powder/haldi
• 2.5 cups water for pressure cooking

other ingredients:

• 1 tsp seedless tamarind tightly packed + 2 tbsp hot water
• 1.5 to 2 tsp goda masala/kala masala
• ½ tbsp powdered jaggery/gur or as required
• ½ tbsp chopped coriander leaves/dhania
• 1 to 1.5 tbsp grated coconut (optional)
• salt as required

for tempering:

• ½ tsp mustard seeds/rai
• 7 to 9 curry leaves/kadi patta
• 1 to 2 green chilies or ¼ to ½ tsp red chili powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
• a pinch of asafoetida/hing
• 1 to 1.5 tbsp oil or ghee

for garnish:

• few chopped coriander leaves/dhania

Method of preparation of Amti Dal....

• Rince the dal very well in water.
• Now add the dal in the pressure cooker along with 2 to 3 cups of water and small pinch of turmeric powder.
• Pressure cook the dal on high flame for 7 to 8 whistles or till it is cooked completely.
• Meanwhile, just heat 2 table spoons of water and add tamarind to it.
• Soak the tamarind for 20 minutes
• Squeeze the tamarind pulp from the soaked tamarind and keep aside
• When the pressure is settled down on its own, open the lid of the pressure cooker and mash the dal with a spoon or a masher and keep it aside. 
• Heat oil in another pan.  First crackle the mustard seeds in the oil
• Then add turmeric powder and asafoetida
• Stir and then add curry leaves, green chillies or red chilli powder
• Stir for few seconds
• Add the dal and stir
• You can add 1 cup of water to get a medium consistency in the dal
• Season with goda masala, jaggery, tamarind pulp, coriander leaves, grated coconut and salt
• Put on a low flame  for 10 to 12 minutes with frequent stirring till desired consistency is reached
• Check the taste and more salt if required..
•  You can garnish with coriander leaves if you prefer while serving
• This amti dal can be served with steamed rice with a little ghee..

How to make Andhra style Spinach Dal - Palakoora Pappu

"Pappu" means cooked lentils in telugu.  The Pappu has a special place in the south Indian food culture especially in Andhra Pradesh.  The lentils play a special role as the main source of proteins for vegetarians in South India.

A homely Andhra style meal is never complete without having "Pappu" as a part of the meal. One of the Pappu which is made with spinach is called as "Pala koora pappu" which is a delicious dal using spinach greens.   It is full of proteins and is nutritious.  Let us see how to prepare Palakoora pappu...

Ingredients:

• 1 small cup tur dal/red gram dal/kandi pappu
• 2 cups chopped and tightly packed palakura/palak/spinach leaves
• 1 chopped onion
• big pinch turmeric powder
• 2-3 green chillis, slit lengthwise
• 1/2 tsp chopped ginger
• salt to taste
• 1 1/2 cups water, approx

For seasoning:

• 1/2 table spoon  mustard seeds
• 1/2  table spoon  cumin seeds
• 1/2 table spoon  urad dal/minappa pappu/split gram dal (optional)
• 3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 dry red chillis, de-seed and tear
• 10-12 fresh curry leaves
• 2-3  table spoons of  oil

Method of preparation of Palakoora pappu

• Place dal, palak leaves, onions, green chillis, ginger and turmeric powder in a pressure cooker.  Add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of water and pressure cook up to 3 whistles. 
• Now heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel, add mustards seeds and as they jump around, add cumin seeds, urad dal, garlic, red chillis and curry leaves and stir fry for half a minute.
• Add this to the pressure cooked dal along with salt and combine. Cook on slow to medium flame for 5-7 mts without lid or till you get the consistency of your choice.
• Serve with white rice.

How to make Bis bela bath - Karnataka rice recipe

Bis bela bath is a traditional spicy rice dish from Karnataka state.  Bis bela bath is one of the most popular rice lentil recipe from Karnataka.  The Bis bela bath is very much popular that it is available in almost all of the South Indian restaurants in Bangalore or any other restaurant in South India.  It is very long process to make Bis bela bath.  The vegetables that are added to Bisi bela bath are carrots, turnips, green peas, french beans, etc..

The bis bela bath is a meal with protein, carbo hydrates and essential vitamins and minerals which are derived from the vegetables which are used in the preparation of bis bela bath.  Let us see how to prepare Bis Bela Bath recipe in this article.....

It is a very long process to prepare bis bela bath.  You have to cook rice, the lentils and the vegetables separately and them mix everything.  It is not only mixing every thing but the flavours and the taste that makes the difference.   The flavours comes from the bis bela bath masala which is a special spice blend which gives a lot of depth and flavour to the dish.

Ingredients required (1 cup = 250 ml)

for the rice:

• 1 cup regular rice 
• ¼ cup raw peanuts
• ¼ tsp rock salt
• 2.5 cups water for cooking the rice.

For the Dal:

• ¾ cup arhar dal/tuvar dal/pigeon pea lentils
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 2 cups of water

For the vegetables:

• 1 medium carrot, 100 to 120 gms
• 18 to 20 french beans, 80 to 100 gms
• ½ cup peas, 60 to 70 gms
• 3 to 4 gms small brinjals, 80 to 100 gms
• 1 medium onion or 3 to 4 shallots, 80 to 100 gms
• 1 medium tomato, 80 to 100 gms
• 1 tbsp tightly packed seedless tamarind soaked in ½ or ⅔ cup water
• 2 to 2.5 cups water for cooking the vegetables
• 1 cup water added later
• 3 tbsp bisi bele bath masala dissolved in 1 cup water
• ¼ tsp rock salt for cooking the vegetables
• 1 tsp rock salt added later or add as required
• 2 tbsp unsweetened desiccated coconut

for tempering:

• 3 to 4 tbsp ghee or oil
• 1 or 2 marathi moggu (optional)
• 1 tsp mustard (rai or sarson)
• 2 to 3 dry byadagi/bedgi chilies or dry red chilies
• 12 to 15 curry leaves (kadi patta)
• ¼ tsp asafoetida (hing)
• 18 to 20 cashews (kaju)

Method of preparation of Bis Bela Bath 

Coking the rice:

• First rinse the rice and peanuts and  add 2.5 cups water.
• Now soak both rice and peanuts for 20 to 25 mins. add salt.
• Cook the rice by keeping it on the stove. Some more water can be added if required while cooking the rice.
• Bring to a boil and then lower the flame. simmer till the rice grains are cooked well. the peanuts would also cook well. cover and keep aside.

Preparing the lentils and veggies:

• Soak 1 tbsp tightly packed tamarind in ½ or ⅔ cup warm water for 25 to 30 mins.
• After some time sqeeze and extract the tamarind pulp.
• Add rinsed tuvar dal / pigeon pea lentils, turmeric powder and 2 to 2.5 cups of water in a pressure cooker.  Pressure cook for 8 to 9 whistles or till the dal is soft.
• Mash the dal and keep it aside once the pressure settles down in the cooker
• Take chopped veggies in another pan, and take ¼ tsp salt. pour 2 cups water and stir.
• cover and allow the veggies to cook till they are cooked and still retain their shape.

Mixing:

• Now in the cooker with the mashed dal, add the cooked rice and peanuts.
• Now add the cooked vegetables along with its stock. stir lightly.
• Add 1 cup water. add tamarind pulp. mix everthing well taking care the rice grains do not break.
• Now in another pan or bowl, take the 3 tbsp bisi bele bath masala and 1 cup water.
• Stir very well. the masala tend to stick to the back of the spoon while stirring, so scrape it off and add to the mixture.
• now add this bisi bele bath + water mixture in the cooker.
• add desiccated coconut. add 1 tsp salt or as required. stir well.
• keep the cooker without the lid on the stove top and simmer on a low flame for about 20 to 25 mins. add more water if required. keep on stirring often. the raw aroma of the tamarind has to go away and all the flavors should be blended well. cover and keep aside once done.

Tempering:

• In another pan or the tadka/tempering pan, heat ghee or oil first. crackle the mustard seeds and then temper the curry leaves, marathi moggu, dry red chilies, cashews and asafoetida till the dry red chilies change color and the cashews turn a light golden. don't burn the spices.
• pour this tempering in the prepared bisi bele bath. stir and cover the cooker with its lid for about 5 mins, so that the tempering flavors infuse in the bisi bele bath.
• later serve the bisi bele bath with potato or banana chips/wafers or fried papads. while serving bisi bele bath you can top with some ghee if you prefer.

Coconut Burfi recipe

The Coconut burfi recipe is an easy recipe of coconut made with condensed milk for Raksha Bandhan festival normally made in Maharashtra.  Normally we make rice kheer or semiya kheer for Raksha bandhan festival.  But some people in Maharashtra make the coconur burfi. Let us see how to make coconut burfi recipe...

Ingredients (american measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

• 1 heaped cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
• ¾ cup whole milk
• ¾ cup sweetened condensed milk (i used nestle milkmaid)
• 3 to 4 cardamoms, crushed to powder in a mortar-pestle
• ½ tsp rose water (optional)
• 1 tbsp sugar (optional)
• 2 to 3 tsp ghee
• 1 pinch of saffron, crushed or 2 to 3 pinch of saffron powder (optional)
• 8 to 10 cashews, halved or chopped (optional)

Instructions

1. First warm the milk in the microwave or stove top.
2. Take the desiccated coconut in a bowl and mix warm milk with it.
3. stir well. cover and keep aside for 1 hour. if using fresh coconut, then no need to soak in warm milk.
4. heat ghee in a pan. add the milk soaked coconut. saute on a low flame for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. now add the condensed milk and stir. cook on a low flame stirring often.
6. add sugar if you want. then add cardamom powder.
7. continue to cook and stir. the coconut barfi mixture will thicken slowly.
8. keep on stirring so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
9. ghee should start releasing from the sides of the mixture. you will see tiny drops of ghee. takes about 22 to 25 mins on a low flame.
10. add rose water if using. stir.
11. then pour the coconut barfi mixture in a greased tray or thali. let it cool completely.
12. sprinkle saffron powder or press some cashews on the top.
13. slice the coconut barfi and then serve.
14. coconut barfi can also be refrigerated. it stay good for 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator.

Andhra style Tomato Dal - Tomato Pappu

The Tomato Pappu or Tomato dal mixed with ghee and rice with mango pickle is a very nice combination and is an integral part of every day vegetarian food culture in Andhra Pradesh.  


"Pappu" in telugu means dal.  So Tomato pappu is the dal made using tomatoes.  Tur dal or kandi pappu is used.  Read the following paragraphs to know how to prepare Andhra style tomato dal...

Ingredients:

1 cup tur dal (kandi pappu) pressure cook until soft and mash lightly
1 onion finely chopped
2 large tomatoes, finely chopped
3-4 green chillis slit length wise
1″ ginger, finely chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric pwd
For tempering/poppu/tadka:
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3-4 dried red chillis (tear into pieces)
5-6 garlic flakes crushed OR 1/4 tsp asafoetida/hing/inguva
10-12 curry leaves

Method of preparation of Andhra style Tomato pappu

• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel, add mustard seeds, let them pop, add the cumin seeds, garlic, red chillis, and curry leaves and saute for few secs. Add the chopped onions, green chilies and ginger and sauté till onions turn slightly pink.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and stir fry for 4-5 mts. Add the turmeric powder and salt and combine.
• Add the cooked and mashed dal to the onion-tomato mixture. Add 1 cup water and cook for another 10 mts on low-medium heat. Garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve with white rice or hot rotis.

Note:

Alternately, you can separately pressure cook onions, ginger and green chillis with tur dal and follow rest of the procedure.

Bengali style Chana dal recipe - Cholar Dal recipe

Cholar Dal recipe -   Cholar dal is a festive recipe which is often made during festival celebrations in Bengal which include times during durga pooja etc...  The cholar dal is made for special occassions like marriages, festivals or if a special guests come to home. 

The Bengali style cholar dal is a very delicious lentil dish with Bengal gram or channa dal made by adding coconut, ghee and an assorted spices.  This curry is very nutritious.  The channa dal can be served along with Pooris or phulkas.  Here is a method to prepare cholar dal .

Ingredients

1 cup Bengal gram / channa dal 

1/2 cup of coconut, cut into small bits

1 tablespoon ghee

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon sugar

For the seasoning

1 tablespoon ghee

2 to 3 dry red chillies

2 cloves

1 inch cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds

2 green chillies, slit finely

2 teaspoons of ginger, grated finely

Method of preparation of Bengal style cholar dal

Begin by soaking the channa dal in 2 1/2 cups of water for about an hour to soften it.  Cook this dal in the same water until soft.

Next, heat a tablespoon of ghee in a shallow pan, and fry the coconut bits in it until they turn golden brown. Once done, keep them aside.

Now pour the cooked dal into a heavy bottomed sauce pan and add in the turmeric powder, salt and sugar and simmer on low heat for 3-5 minutes, till most of water is absorbed. Only the thick channa dal should remain. 

While the lentils are being simmered, heat a tablespoon of ghee in a small pan and add in all the seasoning ingredients, roasting them till they emit a good aroma, for approximately 2 to 3 minutes.

Pour this seasoning and the roasted coconut into the dal in the pan and simmer everything together for another 3 to 4 minutes.

Your hot Bengali Style Cholar Dal is now ready to be served hot Puris or phulkas...

How to make Bengali Dum Aloo recipe

The meaning of  "Aloo"  in most of the Indian languages is potatoes.  "Dum" means slow cooked.  Because the potatoes are already boiled, the "dum" part takes very little time.  In this article we will learn how to prepare the famous Bengali Dum Aloo...

There are two varieties of Bengali Dum Aloo.  One is onion-tomato version and the other one is a variation made with yogurt.  In this article, we will see how to make the onion-tomato version of Bengali Dum Aloo.  The Bengali dum aloo can be taken as a combination with poories.  It can also be taken with chapattis.   The potatoes are boiled and then fried in mustard oil.  

Ingredients (american measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

main ingredients:

• 5-6 medium potatoes or 12-15 baby potatoes
• 3 to 4 tbsp mustard oil/sarson ka tel
• 1 bay leaf/tej patta
• ½ tsp kashmiri red chili powder or degi mirch (adjust as required if using a hotter variety of chili powder)
• ½ tsp coriander powder/dhania powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
• 1 tsp cumin powder/jeera powder
• 1 cup water
• ½ tsp sugar or as required
• salt as required

grind to a semi fine paste:

• 2 medium onions
• ½ inch ginger
• 2-3 garlic cloves

make a semi coarse puree of:

• 1 large tomato - approx 1 cup tomato puree

powder or grind:

• 1.5 to 2 inch cinnamon
• 3-4 cloves

topping:

• 1 tsp ghee (optional)

Instructions

1. rinse the potatoes very well. if using baby potatoes, then remove the mud lodged in the peels with a soft brush.
2. then parboil the potatoes in a steamer or pressure cooker.
3. when the potatoes are cooking, you do the following.
4. grind the onion, ginger and garlic in a grinder or blender. no need to any water while grinding. make a semi fine paste and not a smooth paste.
5. chop the tomatoes and pulse them in a blender till you get a puree which is not smooth but semi coarse. you can also finely chop the tomatoes.
6. grind the clove and cinnamon in a dry grinder or coffee grinder to a fine powder.
7. once the potatoes are parboiled/half cooked, let them cool. then remove the peels and dice them. for baby potatoes you can keep the peels and prick the potatoes with a fork. an optional step.
8. sprinkle ¼ tsp turmeric powder on the potatoes and mix well.
9. heat the mustard oil in a pan. fry the potatoes till light golden. drain and keep aside.
10. in the same oil, fry the bay leaf till fragrant for a few seconds.
11. add the onion-ginger-garlic paste. saute till oil starts to leaves the mixture and till the paste becomes a light brown.
12. add the tomato puree, the remaining ¼ tsp turmeric powder, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander power, salt and sugar. saute till oil begins to leave the onion-tomato masala paste.
13. then add the potatoes and stir till the masala coats the potatoes well.
14. add 1 cup water along with the ground cinnamon and cloves powder.
15. you can also add about ¼ tsp of garam masala powder instead of the cinnamon and cloves powder.if adding garam masala, then add it towards the end once the dish is cooked.
16. simmer the dum aloo on a low flame till the water almost dries up and the gravy has coated the potatoes well.
17. when serving add a teaspoon of ghee on the dum aloo. serve bengali dum aloo hot with luchis or pooris.

How to make Medu Vada

Medu vada is one of the easiest snack to make.  If you have left over sambar and don’t know what to do… just make the medu vadas… dip into the sambar and enjoy…

if there is no sambar, then too you can have the medu vadas with coconut chutney or even with mint coriander chutney or tomato sauce. you could use any dip of your choice… may be even a tahini dip or any cheesy dip will be great…

Medu Vada or simply Vada are crispy fritters made with urad daal and enjoyed with sambar or chutney. They are usually served along side idli as part of a perfect South Indian breakfast, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying these vadas for lunch or dinner.  Let us now see how to make Medu Vadas..

Ingredients:

• Split Black Gram (Urad daal) – 1 cup
• Water – little over 1/2 cup for grinding
• Salt to taste
• Ginger – 1 tsp, finely chopped
• Green Chilies – to taste, finely chopped
• Black Pepper – to taste, coarsely ground
• Asafoetida – pinch
• Oil – for deep frying

Method of preparation Medu Vadas:

1. Soak Urad Daal for minimum of 4-6 hrs.
2. Drain off all of the water and grind daal in a blender using very little water.
3. Remove batter into a bowl and add Salt, Ginger, Green Chilies, Black Pepper and Asafoetida.
4. Whip the batter with a spoon to make it light and fluffy.
5. Heat Oil on medium heat.
6. To make the vadas, wet you hand and scoop up a small portion of batter in your hand.
7. Using your thumb, make a small hole in the center of the batter.
8. Gently flip the batter into the hot oil. Repeat process for all the batter.
9. Allow vada to get medium golden brown on one side before flipping over to the other side.
10. Allow other side to get medium golden brown before removing vada onto a plate lined with paper towels.
11. Serve hot with chutney or sambar.

How to make Tomato Dosa

Are you bored of the routine Dosa varieties..?   If you want to have a different taste in the Dosa then you can try this tomato dosa..  Tomato Dosa is also called as Thakkali Dosa in Tamilnadu. The tomato dosa is so delicious that you will start liking this dosa compared to normal dosa. The tomato dosa is very healthy because it has less calories than the normal dosa.  Here is the method of preparing Tomato Dosa.

Ingredients required for Tomato Dosa

• Raw rice -  1 cup ( 250 ml)
• Tomatoes - 4 Nos.
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tea spoon
• Red chilli powder - 1/2 tea spoon
• Salt to taste
• Chopped coriander leaves - 1/2 table spoon
• Oil - 1 table spoon

Method of preparation of Tomato Dosa

1. Rinse the raw rice in water and soak it in water for 3 hours. After 3 hours, drain the water and add the rice to the mixer along with roughly chopped tomatoes
2. Grind the rice and tomatoes to a nice and smooth batter. Take the ground batter to a vessel and add cumin powder, red chilli powder and salt and mix well
3. In a pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds starts to sputter, add cumin seeds, split urid dal and saute till the dal turns to golden brown color. Add few curry leaves and remove from flame. Add the seasoned ingredients to the batter and finally add chopped coriander leaves
4. Heat a tawa, and when the tawa is hot, add a ladle of tomato dosa batter and spread it to a thin dosa. Add very little oil and keep the flame in low and allow the dosa to cook on one side. Then flip it to other side and allow to cook. When the dosa is cooked and becomes little crispy, remove from tawa. Repeat this step for the rest of the batter
5. The Tasty  Tomato Dosa (Thakkali Dosai) is now ready to serve with chutney or sambar 

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