Paneer masala dosa

Several years back, my parents and I went to a roof top restaurant which had advertised a "Dosa Mela" that featured more than a 100 varieties of dosa. The thought of the humble batter which we only turned into a ghee roast or uttappam or masala dosa, being churned out in a 100 variants was intriguing. Only when we went in did we realist that more than 50 varieties were non vegetarian and the ones that were vegetarian didn't look or sound very appetizing. Needless to say, we stuck to our regular masala dosa and ghee roast.
Today, on the last day of the blogging marathon, I decided to get out of my routine and whip up a different masala as the stuffing for the dosa.

What you need:
For the masala:
Onion - 1, chopped fine
Carrot - 1, grated
Paneer - 1 cup, grated
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Ajwain seeds/omam - 1 tsp
Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Kasuri methi - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

Heat oil in a pan. Add the jeera and ajwain. After a few seconds, add the onions and saute until translucent. Add in the grated carrots, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala, and salt. Stir well. Sprinkle a little water over it and cook over a low flame until done. Add the grated paneer and kasuri methi. Stir well and heat for a few minutes. Switch off heat and set aside.

To make paneer masala dosa:

Pour a ladleful of dosa batter on to a hot dosa pan. Spread into a thin circle. Drizzle some oil over it.

When the under side starts to brown, flip over and cook for a few seconds. Flip over again and spread some masala over half of the dosa.

Fold the other half over this.

Serve hot with chutney and sambar.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#14

Kothamalli sevai (Corriander rice noodles)

Sevai is a dish that always brings up memories of Sunday evenings while growing up. My mother would make this as a special weekend treat. The process was not a simple one.....she would cook rice flour in a large kadai, roll them into balls while they were still warm and then, using an iron press, press them out into thin, long strings. That done, the rice noodles would then be flavoured with either a simple tadka of mustard and urad dal, or be turned into coconut or lemon sevai.
Things are much easier these days with ready made sevai available in stores. All that you have to do is immerse it in hot water for a few minutes and then proceed to flavour it. Today's recipe is a little different from the usual because it uses corrainder as the major ingredient.

What you need:
Sevai/Rice noodles - 1 packet, prepared according to instructions on the package and cooled.
Corriander/Cilantro/kothamalli - 1 bunch
Green chilli - 3 (adjust to taste)
Ginger - a 1 inch piece
Garlic - 4 or 5 cloves
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tbps
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp

Grind the corriander, ginger, garlic and green chilli to a smooth paste adding as little water as possible.
Heat oil in a kadai. Add the mustard seeds and urad dal. When the seeds pop, add the ground paste and saute on a low flame until the raw smell is gone and it changes to a dark green colour. Add the cooked sevai and salt. Mix well.
Serve with coconut chutney.

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Apple semiya payasam

My little girl would be content if I fed her only fruits all day - no rice, no rotis, no spicy curries. That, I think, would be an ideal day for her. However, I am the proverbial monster-mother who forces her to eat rice, sambar, veggies and rotis every single day. It is amazing to see how the nose that wrinkles up in disgust at the sight of rice will excitedly sniff out a perfectly ripe chikoo or papaya.
Today's dish incorporates fruit into payasam - a dessert that is usually made during festivals.

What you need:
Vermicelli/Semiya - 3/4 cup
Apple - 3/4 cup, peeled and cut into tiny pieces
Water - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup (adjust to taste)
Milk - 1.5 cups
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Cashews, raisins - a few, fried in ghee till golden brown

Take the chopped apple and water in a pan. Stew on low heat for 10-12 minutes until the apples are soft. Add the vermicelli and milk. Continue to cook on low heat until the vermicelli turns soft. Add sugar and stir till it dissolves completely. Remove from heat and add the fried cashews and raisins.

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Baked bread cups

Bangalore is hot these days......and not in a good way. I find myself trying to avoid spending too much time in the kitchen, my appetite is less, and most of the time I find comfort in a bowl of curd rice. To meet the fruit and veggie quotient, I also make quick salads which don't require standing by the stove for very long. Today I made a chick pea salad, some of which I filled into baked bread cups for an evening snack. The idea of making bread cups is from Tarla Dalal, but the filling is something that I came up with.

What you need:
Bread - 6 slices (or how many ever you intend to serve)
Chickpeas/kabuli channa - 1/2 cup, soaked overnight and cooked
Tomato - 1, chopped fine
Onion - 1, chopped fine
Carrot - 1, grated
Corriander - a little, chopped fine
Salt - to taste
Chaat masala - to taste

Preheat oven to 200 degree centigrade. Cut off the crust of the bread slices and steam them in a microwave steamer for 1:30 minutes. Remove and place each slice on a muffin pan. Press down to form a cup shape. Brush some ghee over the bread and bake for 10-12 minutes until brown and crisp. Baking time will vary from oven to oven.
Once baked, remove the cups and keep aside until ready to use.
To make the filling, mix all the ingredients together and spoon some into each bread cup.
Enjoy!!!

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Crispy rice balls

Don't we all at some time or the other, cook a little too much, and then wonder what to do with the leftovers? It happens to me more often than I care to admit, and I am always on the look out for ideas to turn these leftovers into new dishes that can be made with minimum fuss. Sometimes I have these brainwaves which help me turn an ordinary upma into something unique, or to jazz up rotis into a breakfast dish. This time, though, inspiration came in the form of Tarla Dalal's cookbook - Healthy Snacks for Kids.
Today's dish is a snack that can be made in a jiffy. What's unusual about that? Well, not only is this something that you can whip up quickly, but it is also a great way to use up leftovers. Some left over rice, and chopped/grated veggies of your choice is all that you need to make a really crunchy and crisp tea time snack.

Recipe source : Tarla Dalal's Healthy Snacks for Kids
What you need:
Cooked rice - 1 cup
Carrot - 1, gratedhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Onion - 1, chopped fine
Green chilli - 2 or 3, minced (adjust to taste)
Corriander leaves - a handful, chopped fine
Rice flour - 1/4 cup
Water - roughly 1/4 cup
Salt - to taste
Oil - for deep frying

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Make small balls of this and deep fry in medium hot oil until well browned and crisp. Drain on to absorbent paper.
Enjoy with a cup of hot chai.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#14

Tomato baath

These days I find myself clicking pics and letting them stay in the drafts for a very long time. Work has been busy and even on days when it isn't, I find that I don't have the drive to sit down and type out a post. The blogging marathon seems thttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifo be just the thing that brings me out of this phase every other month.
This week, you will find me blogging about traditional dishes with a twist. I took this topic up, because I find it challenging.....and a challenge is just what I need to start blogging again.
Today's recipe is tomato baath.....a very simple, colourful and flavourful dish. Now, you may wonder, what's the twist in this dish? Well, there's no rice in it. Ever since I made Bisi Bele Baath with broken wheat, I have been amazed by how well this grain lends itself to flavours that are traditionally used with rice. I intend to try out different rice dishes, substituting the rice with wheat rava.

What you need:
Wheat rava/samba godambu rava - 1 cup
Tomato - 4 juicy ripe medium sized, chopped
Onion - 1 large, chopped into large pieces
Green chilli - 2 or 3 (adjust to taste)
Ginger - a small piece, julienned
Garlic - 3 or 4 cloves, minced
Cinnamon - a 1 inch piece
Cardamom - 4 cloves
Clove - 4 or 5
Black peppercorns - 3 or 4
Kashmiri chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (optional) - This chilli powder gives the dish a nice colour.
Salt - to taste
Oil/ghee - 2 tbsphttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Corriander - to garnish

Grind the cardamom, clove, cinnamon, pepper, chillies, ginger, garlic, onion and tomato to a smooth paste. Heat the oil/ghee in a pressure cooker. Add a tsp of mustard seeds and some urad dal to the oil. When the seeds pop, add the ground paste and saute it in the oil for a few minutes until the raw smell is gone. Add the turmeric powder and chilli powder. Mix well. Now stir in the wheat rava. Add salt and four cups of water. Close the pressure cooker and cook until one whistle. Then reduce the heat to low and cook for another five minutes. When the steam settles down, open the lid, stir well and garnish with finely chopped corriander.
Serve hot with raita/pickle.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#14

Urban Shots:Crossroads - Book Review

A collection of 30 urban stories by 26 authors, this, like the Mumbai DNA says, has the right ingredients for a breezy read. The stories, though written by different people, have a common thread - they are all set against an urban backdrop, and they are about common folks - people that you and I might run into while walking across the road, boarding a bus, waiting for a train or while in the grocery store. In fact, the book is all about stories in which the common man plays the hero. The title of the first story in the collection - 'Everyone Has a Story' says it all.
The characters, ranging from the ordinary and mundane to the fantastic, are all described in great detail, making it very easy to visualize them. Minu Bai who always ties her hair in a neat bun to ensure that no loose strand escape the discipline she enforces on it with bob-pins, Hako- the quiet boy who had the funniest laugh you would have ever heard, the mob in the Virar fast, Maharajji who loved to eat, the mother who is struggling with her single mom status, Chanda - a sex worker in Kamatipura, the red light area of Mumbai, a star couple who are adored and hailed as national heroes, the temptations that a man living away from his wife and kids struggles to keep at bay, a manager who has the unenviable task of handing out pink slips, and a father who is divorced from his wife, but yearns to build a stronger bond with his son are some of the characters and themes that grace the pages of this book in endearing and sometimes heart rending tales.
The language used throughout the book is very simple. The characters are people that can be related to and easily visualized, and this makes the book that much more enjoyable.
The stories that I liked the best are :
The Gap which talks about the relationship between a single mom and her daughter, and a series of crank calls that makes their bond stronger.
Wrong Strokes - a story that shows the difference in the amount of adulation that a cricketer gets in our country and that which a defense personnel gets. The ugly truth is that we don't admire or respect our jawans enough. We hardly see people queuing around jawans, waiting for their autographs. This story, to me, is one of the most touching in the entire collection.
Baba Premanand's Yoga Class - a light hearted story that still carries a powerful message. It tells us how we must think not once or twice, but many times, before we accuse someone of doing something. It also takes a dig at TV channels that will telecast anything if it will increase their viewership. They are not concerned with how it might affect the lives of the people concerned.
I also liked Rajasthan Summer for the twist at the end, which though predictable, proved to be enjoyable.
Overall, this book is a good read. Time will fly once you start reading this book, and it will be hard not to read it all at one go.
This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

Watermelon rind koottu

I have taken quite a bit of time to "reveal the star ingredient in my previous post where I'd asked you, my readers, to take a guess.
I had chopped up a watermelon and remembered reading about how the rind could be used to make dosa. The rind of the watermelon is the white part between the red flesh and the green skin. I chopped the rind intending to use it for dosa, but as I was chopping, I popped a piece into my mind and felt that it would taste really good in a koottu curry. And that is just what I made.

What you need:
Watermelon rind - 2 cups, chopped
Chana dal - 1/2 cup
Grated Coconut - 3/4 cup + 1/4 cup
Red chilli - 3
Cumin seeds - 1 heaped tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Curry leaves - a few

Cook chana dal and the melon rind separately in the pressure cooker until two whistles. The dal should be cooked, but not mushy.
Grind 3/4 cups of grated coconut, red chilli and cumin seeds to a fine paste.
Take the cooked rind in a kadai. Add the ground paste, turmeric powder, salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the flame and let it boil until the raw smell is gone. Add the cooked dal and mix well. Heat till most of the moisture evaporates. Remove from heat and set aside.
Heat a tsp of coconut oil in a kadai. Add a tsp of urad dal and a tsp of mustard seeds. When the seeds pop, add the curry leaves and the 1/4 cup of grated coconut. Saute on low heat till the coconut turns reddish brown. Add this to the cooked koottu. Stir well.
Enjoy with rice or roti.

Guess.....

Can you guess the star ingredient in this kootu curry?

It is a rather unusual ingredient.....well, unusual to me, as I have never seen it being used before. If I say anything more, it will make guessing that much easier.
So, until I reveal the answer, keep guessing.
Once I do, I am sure there will be someone who will tell me that they make this exactly the same way but until then.....I'll enjoy my bubble and bask in the glory of having come up with something original.

Sev Usal

This is a wonderfully hearty and lip smackingly good dish - the recipe of which I learned from my SIL in Gujarat. It is very simple to make and at the same time, will keep people coming back for more. A hot bowl of this sev usal is a great way to warm yourself up on a cold, winter night.

What you need:
Soaked peas - 2 cups (I used sprouted peas as I had them on hand. )
Salt - to taste
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Sev, finely chopped onions and corriander - for topping
Grind together:
Cardamom - 5 pods
Clove - 5
Onion - 1
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Tomato - 2

Add 3 cups of water to the peas and cook in a pressure cooker. Once the steam has settled, open the lid and add the ground masala to the cooked peas. Add salt, garam masala and two cups of water. Let it boil for 20-25 minutes on a low flame until the raw smell goes away. The final product should be quite watery. So use your judgement and add water as required.
While serving:
This is usually eaten with bread/pav. Ladle out a bowl-ful of the hot usal. Top with generous helpings of finely chopped onion, corriander and sev. The usal will thicken up a bit once you add all the toppings. Scoop up the usal with bread/pav or alternately eat spoonfuls of the usal and bread. Either way, you are bound to enjoy your meal.

This is my entry to Spicy Treat's First event - Show me your hits and to Srav's Dish for loved ones.

Onion chutney with a twist

I hate mixing up flavours that are best enjoyed separately. I know there are umpteen people who go gaga over hot gulab jamuns served with a scoop of vanilla ichttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gife cream. I am not one of them. I enjoy both, but give them to me in different bowls, please. The same goes for gajar ka halwa and ice cream. I cannot stomach the two together, though my stomach has ample space to accommodate the two separately.
By now I am sure you are wondering where on earth I am going with this argument. Well, it so happens that Kalyani sent me a mail about a month back asking if I would be interested in participating in Magic Mingle - a challenge where we have to use two given ingredients to create a dish. The combo chosen for the first mingle is Cinnamon and Chillies. Ever since she revealed the first two magic ingredients, I've been racking my brain - trying to think of a way in which I can use these two together. I had to get out of my comfort zone to even think of using cinnamon in a spicy dish. I definitely knew that I did not want to make a pulao/biriyani as this is the one dish which I like and usually make where this combo rules the roost. It definitely had to be something new.
I came up with this recipe as I was peeling some sambar onions with the intention of using it for a chutney to go with rotis. The thought of adding cinnamon to it is something that only a fellow blogger wanting to create something new for an event will understand.
What you need:
Shallots/pearl onion/sambar onion - 1 cup, peeled
Red chilli - 3 (adjust to taste
Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Jaggery - a small piece
Oil - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Grind the onions and red chilli to a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. When they pop, reduce the heat and add the ground paste, salt, cinnamon and jaggery. Stir well. Cook until the raw smell of the mixture goes away, stirring every now and then.
Enjoy!!!
Note : None of the photos that I have of this chutney look very appetising. Hence, they are not shared here.

Beginning the year with a book review

The new year has brought in its wake a resolve in me to eat healthy. No.....no, I am not dieting. I don't think I can ever do that......but I have included(it's the same as saying resolved to include, right?) more fruits, greens, sprouts and veggies in my diet. A few days into the New Year, I received a mail from blogadda asking if I would be interested in reviewing Bhanu Hajratwala's Gujarati Kitchen. Not one to miss out on a chance like that, I immediately clicked Reply and said Yes.

The book arrived neatly packed, and promptly delivered. At first look, it looks like a simple, no-frills, no-nonsense cook book. It begins with a......hold your breath......20 page introduction of the author, including 2 pages filled with photographs. Though long, I found the introduction well written and quite interesting to read. I don't think I've ever read so much about the life of any other cook book author.
The section after the intro contains General tips for the budding cook - ranging from cooking times, preparing and washing ingredients, and deep frying to sprouting. The basic pantry ingredients, and utensils used in Gujarati cooking are also explained briefly.
The magic of Gujarati cooking lies int he blending of spices.....and the author gives us the recipes of some basic spice blends. What I really liked is how she has, after the recipe, told us what quantities of ingredients can be used to make just enough for a single use.
The recipe in the book are categorized into Veg & non-veg starters, veg and non-veg main dishes, breads, rice, accompaniments with rice, sweets, chutneys, pickles, tea time snacks and mukhwas (mouth fresheners).
All the recipes are written in an easy-to-follow manner. The one thing that could be improved on is the pictures in the book. All the pictures are grouped together just before the start of the relevant section. For eg, just before the recipes of main dishes, there are two pages containing photos of different main dishes. I feel that it would have been better if the photo had been on the same page as the recipe.
To me, a cook book review can never be complete without cooking something from its pages. The dish I chose to cook from this book is called Bhaji ne vatananu shaak(Spinach and green peas curry).

What you need:
Spinach - 2 bunches, cleaned and chopped coarsely (roughly 6 cups)
Fresh green peas - 1/2 cup
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - a few generous sprinklings
Oil - 2 tsp
Onion - 1, chopped
Salt - to taste
Grind together:
Ginger - 2 inch piece
Fresh turmeric - 1 inch piece (I grew my own....YAY!!!)
Garlic - 6 cloves
Green chilli - 3 (adjust to taste)
Amchur powder - 1 tsp

Heat oil in a pan. Add fenugreek seeds and heat until they start to brown. Sprinkle asafoetida and stir for a few seconds. Add the chopped onion and saute until translucent. Now add the ground masala. Stir well for 2 minutes. Add the chopped spinach, peas, and salt. Mix well. Add about 1/4 cups of water, cover and cook until the peas soften. If you find that the curry still has water left in it, remove the lid and heat until all the moisture evaporates
Serve with roti/rice.
This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

Aloo bhaji

The last day of blogging marathon#11 has me cooking a very simple, quick and easy to make dish from Bihar. The recipe is from USMasala.

What you need:
Potato - 1 large, peeled and cut into 1 inch thick fingers
Oil - 2 tbsp
Asafoetida/Hing - a generous sprinkling
Dry red chilli - 1, broken into pieces
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Saunf/Fennel - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek/methi seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Nigella seeds/kalonji - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste

Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin,fennel,fenugreek,mustard and nigella seeds. Together, equal quantities of these five spices make for a heady and aromatic combination and the mix is called panchphoran in both Bengali and Bihari cuisine. When the seeds start to pop, sprinkle hing, add the red chilli and stir. Now add in the potatoes, salt and turmeric powder. If necessary, sprinkle some water, cover and cook till done.
Serve hot with roti/puri/rice.
Verdict : Quick and easy to put together, this is just my kind of recipe. The shape and the slight crunch when you bite into it makes me think of this as an Indian version of French Fries.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#11

Aloo tamatar ki subzi

A very simple, yet hearty sabzi, a bowl of this with some hot, puffed up puris is sure to warm you up on a cold, winter night.

What you need:
Potato - 4 large, boiled, peeled and chopped
Tomato - 3, medium, cut into large chunks
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Amchur - 1/2 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Hing/asafoetida - a generous sprinkling
Salt - to taste

Take the chopped tomatoes in a microwave safe bowl. Add just enough water to cover the tomato pieces and microwave for 3-4 minutes or until cooked.
Take some oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds to it. When the seeds start to pop, add in a generous sprinkling of asafoetida. Stir in the potatoes. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala, amchur and salt. Mix well. Now add in the cooked tomatoes with the water in which it was cooked. Add in an extra cup of water and let it boil for 10-15 minutes until the sabzi thickens.
Serve hot with puri/roti.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#11

Pittha

Pittha is similar to the South Indian kozhakattai/modak and to the Tibetan momos. It has an outer cover made of rice flour/maida/wheat flour and an inner stuffing made of ground dal and spices. This is cooked in boiling water to make a soft on the outside and bursting with flavour inside snack.

What you need:
For the outer cover - Atta kneaded as you would for rotis (Maida/ rice flour is more commonly used. However, I chose to use atta)

For the filling:
Chana dal - 1 cup, soaked for 3 hours in plenty of water
Onion - 1 large
Green chillies - 2 or 3
Garlic - 4 cloves
Ginger - a small piece
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Amchur powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

Drain water from the chana dal. Add green chillies, garlic, ginger, onion and turmeric powder to it. Grind to a coarse paste without adding any water. To this, add the garam masala, amchur and salt. Mix well.

Pinch out a small ball of atta. Roll it into a circle. Place some filling inside the cirlce.

Fold one side over the other to make a semi circle. Press down with a fork on the edges to make a beautiful pattern.

Bring 7-8 cups of water to a rolling boil in a large kadai. I used my pressure cooker. Drop 3 or four of the stuffed pitthas into the boiling water. It will sink down when dropped in, but will soon rise to the top. Once it rises to the top, reduce the flame to medium and let it cook for 5-7 minutes. You will know it is done when a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let it cool. Cut each pittha into two pieces. Heat some oil in a pan. Add some mustard seeds to it When the seeds pop, pour this season over the prepared pitthas. Mix well. Serve with green chutney and tamarind chutney.


Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#11

Litti

Litti chokha is synonymous with Bihar. In fact, it is the only Bihari food that I had heard of before this blogging marathon. My Bihari friends painted a beautiful picture with words for me when they described the making of littis. They said that the whole family would gather around a charcoal fire. The women would deftly shape the atta into thick, deep cups and fill them with sattu flour. They would then roll them into balls, press them between the palms and pass it on to the men folk who would then cook them over charcoal. Cooked littis were then served with a generous helping of ghee and chokha.
The recipe is the same as that of sattu paratha. The difference lies in the making.

What you need:
For the filling:
Sattu flour - 1 cup
Onion - 2 medium, chopped fine
Ginger - 1 inch piece, julienned
Garlic - 8-10 cloves, chopped coarsely
Corriander - a handful, chopped fine
Ajwain - 1 tbsp
Lemon juice - to taste
Green chillies - 5-6, minced
Salt - to taste
Mustard oil - 3-4 tbsp

Mix all the ingredients well.

For the outer covering:
Atta - kneaded with water and salt, as you would for rotis

Pinch out a large, tennis ball sized amount of atta. Using your fingers, shape it into a cup. Place some of the filling inside.

Bring the sides together and close the cup. Flatten between your palms.

These are usually cooked, like I said in the beginning, over a charcoal fire. Since I didn't have that at my disposal, my litti has been cooked in the oven. The taste, though it does not match that of a fire cooked one, is still good enough. Cook in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until well browned on both sides.

Serve hot topped with ghee and a generous helping of chokha.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#11

Sattu paratha

Sattu is a flour that is commonly used in Bihar. From what I have gathered from the internet and from talking to my friends, it is made from black chana which is slow roasted over a low flame and then powdered. It is used as a filling for parathas, it is mixed with water to make a nutritious, breakfast drink or it is mixed with rice and eaten with a dollop of butter/ghee.
In Bangalore, sattu powder is available at MK Retail outlets and also at the Total Mall in Sarjapur. This is not to be confused with the sathu mavu that is used in South India to make kanji/a health drink.
Sattu paratha is made by stuffing this powder into atta dough, then rolling out and cooking. It is very, very filling and tasty too.

What you need:
For the filling:
Sattu flour - 750 gms
Onions - 5, finely chopped
Ginger - a large piece, julienned
Garlic - 8-10 cloves, chopped
Green chillies - 8-10, minced
Ajwain/omam/carom seeds - 2 tbsp
Salt
Juice of 1 lemon (can be substituted with amchur powder)
Mustard oil - 1/4 cup

Dry roast sattu flour over a low flame until thoroughly warmed(5-8 minutes).
Add in all the other ingredients and mix well.

This tastes great in itself and I am told that this can be mixed with rice and eaten as is.
Knead atta as you would for regular rotis.
Pinch out a large ball of atta. Roll out into a thick, small roti. Place some filling in the middle and seal all the sides to make a ball.
Roll this out into a thick paratha.

Cook on a hot tawa with plenty of ghee on both sides.

Serve with chokha or pickle and raita.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#11

Baingan tamtar aur aloo ka chokha

One of the things that I love about blogging is that it helps me learn a lot about food from other parts of the country and the world. A few days back, I would not have know what sattu is or what a thekua is. But today, thanks to the blogging marathon theme of Bihari cuisine, I am actually able to write a post on a very typical, rustic dish that is commonly made in Bihari households.
Let me give you a little background on how I came upon this recipe. Having decided that I was going to cook Bihari food for a week, I spoke to my colleagues about it. One of them is from Bihar and the other 2 had friends in Bihar and so, were familiar with the food. So, we got talking and kept talking for well over an hour and to say that our stomach were all growling by the end of the hour, would be an understatement. So, we decided to cook a typical Bihari meal together for lunch that day. The next few hours were nothing short of absolute, pure fun and a really, really unforgettable lunch.

Today, I will be sharing with you the recipe of one of the dishes we cooked called a chokha. A chokha is basically a side dish which is made up of fire roasted and mashed vegetables. Commonly used vegetables are potato, tomato and brinjal. These can be used separately or in combination. In this recipe, all three have been used together.
What you need:
Eggplant/brinjal - The large, Japanese variety - 3
Tomato - 6 large
Potato - 8 or 9, medium sized
Onion - 3, finely chopped
Ginger - a large piece, julienned
Garlic - 15-20 cloves, chopped fine + a few more
Green chillies - 8-10 (adjust to taste)
Hing - a few pieces
Corriander - a handful, chopped fine
Mustard oil - 1/4 cup
Salt
Juice of 1 lemon
Make 5-6 small slits in the eggplant. Insert a clove of garlic and a small piece of hing into each slit.
Roast the eggplant over a low flame turning from side to side frequently to make sure that all the sides get evenly cooked.

This will take a good 15 minutes. You will know the eggplant is done when the skin starts peeling off as your are turning it and when a knife can be easily inserted into the eggplant. Remove and set aside to cool.

Once cool, mash the brinjals and keep aside in a bowl.
Similarly, roast the tomato over the flame. Use tongs to turn the tomato from side to side to ensure even cooking and to avoid burning.

Once the skin turns black and starts peeling off as you turn the tomato, remove from the flame and allow to cool.

Remove the charred skin, mash well and keep aside.
Potatoes, my friends tell me, are also usually cooked over coal, but we chose to wrap them individually in foil and then bake them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes.

They were beautifully cooked by then and were mashed and set aside.

Now mix together all the three mashed veggies in a large mixing bowl. Add in chopped onions, ginger, garlic, green chillies, corriander, salt, lemon juice and mustard oil. Mix well.

Serve with parathas. (Recipe for sattu paratha coming up next)
Note : This recipe makes a huge quantity of chokha - enough to feed 12-15 people. The recipe can be easily modified to make smaller quantities.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#11

Restaurant Review - The Fat Chef

What???
Italian, American, Mexican, sandwiches, burgers
Where???
5/2 Jagriti, Ramagondahalli, Varthur Road, Whitefield, India 560066
Contact :(080) 41119768/(080) 40992981/(080) 40992982/9844932817

Having read excellent reviews of the restaurant, we decided to go to The Fat Chef for dinner tonight. The restaurant is situated right next to the entrance to Renaissance Jagriti, on Varthur Road, Whitefield.
Now, let's talk about what I liked about the restaurant.
The ambiance is fantastic. Spacious, with plenty of out door and indoor seating, this is one restaurant that anybody will like at first sight. Having called ahead to make a reservation, we were able to avoid waiting outside, and were shown to our table almost immediately on arrival. The restaurant has no printed menu......the day's menu is put up on boards at the entrance and we have to go, look at it and then place our order.
We ordered Baby corn fingers for starters, pasta alfredo for the main course, and french fries for the LG. We also ordered Pepsi and fresh watermelon juice. The water melon juice was served promptly, but the Pepsi never came, despite reminding a waiter once. After that, we just told the waiter to cancel the order for the Pepsi. The baby corn fingers and the dip served with it had a strange sour taste. We didn't like it much.
The spaghetti in alfredo sauce was excellent. It had just the right blend of flavours, and was perfectly seasoned. The garlic bread was really good too.
What I didn't like:
The waiter put a bowl of steaming pasta and a basket of bread in front of us, but forgot to give us plates. We waited for a while, but there was still no sign of plates. We finally had to call another waiter and ask him to get us plates.
Our water glasses were never refilled. Despite several waiters walking around from table to table, not one of them came around with a jug of water to refill our empty glasses.
We had to wait for an inordinately long time to get our bill. Again, we had to ask for the bill twice......I don't know why the first person we asked never got around to getting us the bill.
Will I go there again???
Even though the starter was nothing to write home about, I really enjoyed the rest of our meal. The service, however, was terrible. I might go back another time for the food, but if the service isn't better next time, I am sure I will never go back again.

A tribute to Jayasree

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post. To say that I was shocked when I read about Jayasree's passing away, would be an understatement. Even though we have never met face to face, she and I have talked over the phone and kept in touch with each other through mail. Every time my blog was silent,she would send me a mail or a facebook message asking me if I was alright. She is one blogger I always wanted to meet, not only because we share the same name, but also because we cook and blog about the same kind of cuisine. For this post, and in fond remembrance of Jayasree, I have recreated her ragi idiyappam - a dish that I often make following her recipe.