Adai

I was inspired by Sindhu's lunch last week and ended up making adai over the weekend. I used Sindhu's base recipes and added tweaks that my mom-in-law uses. The result was very nutritious and yummy. Btw I know this is a really bad picture but its better than nothing:) ...Here is the recipe -

Ingredients:

1. Rice - 1 cup
2. Toor dal - 3/4th cup
3. Chana dal - 3/4th cup
4. Urad dal - 1 cup
5. Red chillies - 8-10
6. Hing - 1 tsp
7. Ginger - 1inch piece
8. Curry Leaves - 10
9. Coarsely crushed black pepper - 1 tsp
10. Grated carrot - 1 cup
11. Chopped cabbage - 1.5 cup
12. Salt
    

Directions:

1. Soak the 4 dals for 2-3 hours. Grind them to a fine paste along with 8 red chillies, hing, ginger and salt.
2. Add the cabbage, carrot, chopped curry leaves, black pepper, chopped red chillies (remaining 2).
3. Spread on a flat pan like dosas and cook on either side. Add a little oil if required. This adai tastes good by itself or with any of the usual dosa chutneys. We at it with ginger pickle and it was awesome.

These days I have acquired a new hobby of making jewelery. I have a friend who shares my passion for jewelery and its great fun to shop for beads and make stuff to match the clothes we have:). Here are some samples of what I have made so far -

Tomato Pappu

I had made this dish last night and my friend really liked it. It is a very simple Andhra dal that can be eaten hot with white rice or rotis. I didn't take a pic but will update this post with a pic next time I make it.

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups toor dal
   
2. Methi seeds - 1 tsp
3. Haldi - 1 tsp
4. Tomatoes - 3 or 4 chopped
   
5. Garlic - 3 pods chopped
   
6. Jeera dhania powder - 1/2 tsp
7. Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
8. Green chillies - 1 chopped finely
9. Dried red chillies - 2
10. Corriander leaves - a handful, finely chopped
11. Lemon juice - 1 tsp
12. Salt
13. Oil - 1 tbsp
14. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
15. Curry leaves - 8-10
16. Asafoetida - 2 pinches
    

Directions:

1. Pressure cook the toor dal with 1/2 tsp of methi seeds and 1/2 tsp of haldi until it is soft. Mash it until it is of an even consistency
2. Heat the oil and add the mustard seeds and let them sputter. Then add the garlic, curry leaves, green chillies, red chillies, remaining methi seeds and hing (in this order) and let the ingrediets fry until you can smell all the aromas.
3. Add chopped tomatoes and sautee until they are mushy and fully cooked.
4. Add the jeera dhania powder, red chilly powder, salt and dal and cook until well mixed. Add a little water if you want the dal to be runnier.
5. Top off with lemon juice and corriander before serving. The smells in the kitchen will draw everyone to it once it is done:)
   

Masala Vada

I have very fond memories of my dad bringing masala vadas from the streed vendors in Hyderabad along with the hot spicy mirchi bhajjis. I have always meant to try making them at home but only got around to it now. The outcome was authentic especially after sprinkling a little bit of chaat powder on top. I only wish I had a nice coconut or peanut chutney to go with it but I was too lazy to make it after frying these vadas. I searched online for the recipe and also asked my friend Sindhu and arrived at this one. Here goes -

Ingredients:

1. Chana dal - 2 cups (soaked overnight)
2. Ginger - 2 inch piece
3. Corriander leaves- handful
4. Red chillies - 3/4
5. Whole black pepper - 1 tsp
6. Curry leaves - 10/12 chopped
   
7. Hing - 1/2 tsp
8. Garlic - 2 pods (optional)
   
9. Onion - 1 medium sized, finely chopped
   
10. Salt
11. Vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

1. Set aside a few spoons of the chana dal and grind the rest with, ginger, corriander, red chillies, black pepper, hing, garlic (optional) and salt with very little water until coarsely ground.
2. Mix the chopped onions and curry leaves with the ground mixture.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan
4. Now take about 2 tsps of batter on a wet palm and use wet hands to flatten it. SLide it into the oil and fry until golden brown. If you are not able to get it off your palms, you can also use cling wrap for the same. Enjoy hot with chutney or as is!
   

Homemade Pizza Base

I used this recipe from my friend Vinitha's blog to make the pizza base and was delighted with how easy it was:) . One half of the pizza I topped with onions, capsicum, mozzarella cheese and mariana sauce and the other half was pesto, cherry tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheeses and I obviously liked the pesto half better. I am definitely going to make more of the homemade base going forward and do away with the frozen crust I use.

Gudi Padwa

I made the usual gudi padwa spread this year except for the gulab jamuns that I usually make. I posted the recipes before on my Gudi Padwa Recipes post. Happy new year to all of you:)

Baked Broccoli

This picture may not look as appealing but it sure tasted good. I read some recipe online a while back but cannot remember where. So I may fail to link to the right blog/website but the credit certainly goes to whoever blogged about this first. It is very simple and the result is very flavorful. I did make some changes like adding crushed red pepper which made it yummier and I will take the credit for that;)

Ingredients:

1. Small Broccoli florets (about 2 inches each) - 15/20
2. Salt
3. Freshly crushed black pepper - 1 tsp
   
4. Olive oil - 3 tsps
5. Crushed red pepper - 1 tsp
6. Lemon zest - 1 tsp
7. Dried oregano - 1/4th tsp
8. Italian bread crumbs - 1/2 cup
9. Parsesan cheese (I use regiano) - 1/2 cup
   

Directions:

1. Add 2 tsps of olive oil, salt, pepper, oragano and crushed red pepper to the broccoli florets and mix well. Lay it out on a baking sheet and bake for 15 mins at 350 degrees.
2. Once you see the broccoli crisping on the outside but still having the crunch remove it from the oven.
3. Mix in lemon zest with the baked broccoli and top with mizture of bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and olive oil.
4. Broil for 2 minutes until the cheese melts and bred crumbs become brown.

Enjoy this as a side dish or just by itself. It is really tasty :)