How to make Andhra Pesarattu

The combination of Upma and Pesarattu is one of the best breakfast dish in Andhra Pradesh.  A Pesarattu made with a filling of Upma along with tomato or coconut chutney or ginger chutney is a special breakfast in Andhra.  

Pesarattu is something similar to Dosa but it is not Dosa.  Pesarattu is made with a batter of green grams ( moong dal ) but it does not contain Urad Dal like in a Dosa.  One special form of Pesarattu served with Upma is called as Upma Pesarattu is a favorite food in Coastal Andhra Region.  Let us now see how to make Andhra Pesarattu.

 

Rice and Moong Dal are the main ingredients required for making Pesarattu.  The green moong dal is a good source of protein and fiber.  No other dal has so much fiber content as moong dal.  

Ingredients required to make Andhra Pesarattu

•  Rice -  75 to 100 grams
• Moong Dal  - 250 grams
• Ginger -  20 grams
•  Green chillies -  5 to 8 in number
• Salt to taste
• Oil for cooking

Method of preparation of Andhra Pesarattu

 Soak the rice and moong dal together for 3 hours.  If you are using whole moong dal, soak for at least 5 to 6 hours because it takes more time for whole moong to soak completely.  After soaking, add chopped ginger and green chillies to the mixture and grind into a thick paste.  Please do not make the batter thin.. The thicker the batter is, the tasty the pesarattu is.  Add little salt for taste.

• Heat the Tawa now.
• Once it is hot enough, smear oil on it and spread the oil evenly on the Tawa.  
• Now take a round bottom ladle and spread the pesarattu mix evenly on the tawa starting from the center.
• Apply a teaspoonful of oil around the pesarattu and wait till the edges turn to golden color
• Now flip the attu to the other side and let it cook for some time ( not more than 40 to 50 seconds).  Apply a teaspoonful of oil around the attu and wait till edges turn goldenyllow color
•  Now transfer the Pesarattu to a plate and serve it along with upma or coconut chutney.  You can also take it with ginger chutney.
• Follow the same procedure for the remaining batter.

How to make Bread Uthappam

How to make Bread Uthappam

Bread Uthappam is some thing new kind of breakfast item.   Whenever you have some amount of bread slices left over in your house,  you can make use of them to prepare Bread Uthappam.  Bread Uthappam is a simple south indian recipe which can be made easily. 

Ingredients required to prepare Bread Uthappam

• Bread Slices  -  6  or 7 Nos.
• Finenely chopped Onions - 1/2 cup
• Finely chopped Spinach - 1/2 cup
• Grated carrot - 1/4 cup
• Curd - 2 cups
• Jeera / Cumin -  1/2 tsp
• Mirchi Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
• Salt as per taste

 How to prepare Bread Uthappam

It is very easy to prepare Bread Uthappam.  Here is a simple and step by step method of making Bread Uthappam with above ingredients.

• First chop the bread slices into small bits of 1 inch and soak them in 2 cups of curd.
• Wait for 3 minutes and then mash bread slices into a paste.
• Now add the rest of ingredients and mix well.
• Now head a tawa and pour ladle full of batter and spread it in circular fashion as we do for preparing Dosa.
• Now spray oil and cook on both sides.
• Repeat the same procedure for the rest of batter

  Serve these bread uthappams with  any chutney.

How to make Poha Upma

How to make Poha Upma

Poha Upma is a very common breakfast item in Karnataka and Maharashtra.  It is also taken during after noon as light tiffin.   Poha Upma is  very simple tiffin item which can be made within 10 minutes. 

Ingrdients required to prepare Poha Upma

• Poha  – 2 cups
• Peanuts - about 10 
• Green Chillies - 4 nos.
• Medium size onion - 1 no.
• Curry leaves
•  Coriander leaves
• Lemon juice and salt

How to prepare Poha Upma

It is very easy to prepare Poha Upma..  Here is a step by step method to prepare Poha Upma.

• Add a tablespoon of oil in a skillet followed by mustard seeds.  When mustard seeds start dancing, add pea nuts, half teaspoon each of chana dal and urad dal.  Once they become brown add green chillies and curry leaves.   
• Now add onions, a small quantity of salt, turmeric powder and cook onions till they become soft.
• While the onions are being cooked,  take poha in cold water and rinse it twice.   Drain the excess water.  Add the poha once the onions are soft followed by salt.
• Reduce the heat to low and cook the poha for 5 to 10 minutes.   Once it is done, add lemon juice and chopped corriander

How to prepare Instant Rava Dosa

Making tasty Instant Rava Dosa

 Weekend breakfasts are always special to us.  Most of us plan for the week ends and decide in advance what to have for breakfast and so Dosa or Idli is prepared for weekend.  But some times we do not plan anything and suddenly want to prepare some thing for breakfast.. then what to do?  Here is an easy way to prepare Instant Rava Dosa which requires hardly 15 minutes to prepare the batter.   Here is an easy and quick way to make delicious Rava Dosa without compromising on the taste.


You can also call Instant Rava Dosa as Semolina Crepes is a perfect for a quick and easy breakfast.  Here is a quick way on how to prepare Instant Rava Dosa.

Ingredients required for Instant Rava Dosa

• 2 cups Rava (Semolina)
• 1/4 cup rice flour
• 2 tblsp Maida (Plain flour)
• 1 cup curd (better if it sour)
• 2 tsp Jeera (Cumin seeds)
• 2 Green chillies, finely chopped
• Salt

Method of preparation of Rava Dosa

•  First of all mix all the ingredients except green chillies and Jeera and prepare the batter by adding water as required.  Keep it covered for 10 minutes.  
• Now crush the jeera and then add it to the batter  along with the green chillies.  You can also add finely chopped onions to make Instant onion rava dosa.
• Next head the Tawa preferably a non stick one.  Take a ladle full of the batter and spread it on the tawa.  Drizzle some oil on the sides and let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the Rava Dosa and again cook it for a minute or two. 
• That is all...   the Rava Dosa is ready.. 

 The Rava Dosa can be served with coconut chutney or any other chutney powder mixed with ghee or oil.    The maids makes it easier for the batter to spread on the Tawa and the rice flour makes the dosa crispy.

Here is a video on how to prepare Instant Rava Dosa.
 

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..