Medhu vada (Uddin Vada)

Medhu Vada/ Uddin Vada is one of the south Indian traditional snack. It is protein rich & heavy snack served with main course such as Dosa, Idli & Pongal.This vada is shaped like a doughnut, with a hole in the middle. My mother used banana leaf/ beetle leaf/ polythin sheet to give proper shape, we can give the shape from single hand also. It is fun to prepare this vada while grinding & giving shape. In our child hood we used to put it on fingers & play with it as rings. It is offered to God as Prasad also in garland form.

Time:

Prep Time: 2 Hours soak time   

Cook time: 20 minutes    

Serving: 8 to 10 medium sized vada

Ingredients:

Urad Dal/ Black gram        - 2 Cups

Ginger                               - ½ inch

Green Chilly                      - 2 Chopped

Onion                                - 1 finely chopped - Medium sized (Optional)

Black pepper corns           - ¼ teaspoon (Crushed)

Coriander Leaves              - 2-3 stems (Chopped)

Curry leaves                      - 8-10 leaves (Chopped)               

Coconut pieces                 - 2 spoon

Asafetida                          - 2-3 pinch

Salt                                   - As per taste

Water                                - As needed

Oil                                     - For deep fry

Preparation Method:

1. Soak urad dal for 2 hours at least. (Use whole urad dal without skin (Black Gram) for better result).

2. Grind urad dal with only little water till fluffy. Please note the following points:
   a) Add urad dal little by little (no water), while the grinder is running.
   b) Sprinkle few drops of water now to avoid jamming of the grinder.
   c)Stand near till you finish grinding for sprinkling water now and then and wipe the urad dal that sticks to the wall of the grinder container.
   d) This whole process takes around 12-15 minutes, you will get a fluffy white batter.

1. Now add chopped onions ,ginger, green chillies, coriander crushed black pepper, coconut pieces and curry leaves to the batter along with salt and asafetida.(You can add ginger and green chillies while you are grinding the batter itself, If you don’t want pungent taste of ginger. If you decide so, first add ginger and chilles, then urad dal)
2. Now mix well, keep aside and heat enough oil in kadai (be generous or else vadas may stick to the bottom and get burnt).
3. Now wet your right hand well and make a small ball, use your thumb to make hole in the middle and drop it in oil,(just invert the vadas over the oil and slightly shake ur fingers)

4. Fry on medium flame, turn the vadas and fry till both the sides turn crisp and golden brown.

COOKING TIPS:

• If your vada drinks too much oil then it means you have added more water, reduce next time. Try adding any one of the following only one tsp to reduce vada drinking oil-Rice flour or gram flour or Maida/all purpose flour.
• Don’t grind for too long, it will make your batter sticky and you may not be able to give proper shape to the vadas. Keep in refrigerator and try after an hour.
• A good variety/quality of urad dal also matters.
• If you grind everything correctly, you will get a crispy vada, no need to add rice flour or anything.

Best Serving Method:

You can serve vada’s plain or with hot sambar /coconut/Tomato chutney.

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Phaddu/Guntha pongal/Gullidli

This is one of the all-time hit recipe for lunch box.

Type: Breakfast/ Snack

Serving: As desired

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Rice – 2 cups

Blackgram – 3/4^th cup

Pressed Rice – ¼ cup

Oil – 4 spoons

Onion (finely chopped) – 2 medium size

Green Chilies (finely chopped) -8

Curry leaves (finely chopped) – 1tablespoon

Coriander leaves (finely chopped) – 2 tablespoon

Ginger (finely chopped/crushed) -1 inch

Bengal gram – 1tablespoon

Mustard seeds – 1teaspoon

Grated coconut – ½ cup

Salt to taste

Preparation Method:

Wash & soak rice, blackgram, pressed rice separately for 8hrs in the day time, evening grind it to a smooth paste using water (prepare idli batter) keep it over night.

If chopping is boring then coarsely grind green chilies, curry leaves, ginger, coconut in a grinder without water. Heat a pan put 1 spoon of oil, add mustard seeds let it crackle, put bengal gram fry till red, then turn off the flame. Mix all the ingredients except oil. Grease the phaddu mould with oil put ¾ batter, cover & cook in medium flame with one teaspoon oil for each phaddu turn it cook till golden color before removing from the moulds, prick each phaddu with tooth pick, if it comes out clear then it is ready to serve.

Best served with ghee, butter, green coconut chutney, saagu, tomato sauce.  

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Tomato rice

Type: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Serving: As desired

Preparation time:45 minutes

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice/ Jeera sambar rice/ Sona masuri rice – 2 cups

Tomato (apple tomato) – 4 medium size (finely chopped)

Onion – 2 medium size (finely chopped)

Green peas (optional) – 1 small cup

Green Chili (optional) – 2 to 3 slit

Chili powder (medium spiced) - 1 teaspoon

Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon

Ginger & Garlic paste – 1to 2 teaspoon

Oil – 2 tablespoon

Bay leaves – 1 to 2

Cloves – 2 to 3

Cinnamon – 1inch

Coriander leaves –4 to 5 sticks (chopped)

Mint leaves (optional) – A handful (chopped)

Preparation Method:

Wash the rice & soak it for atleast 30minutes. Turn on the stove & place a vessel (kadai) on it. Now put oil in it after it is hot add bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, fry it lightly, now put chopped onion, green chili fry it till light brown, put ginger & garlic paste fry it till the raw smell rids, put chopped tomato, green peas fry it till the oil is seen in sides of the dish, now add turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder, salt to taste, fry it for couple of seconds, now add rice fry with the masala for a minute & add water. Close the lid & cook it on medium flame. Stir it occasionally when the water is evaporated minimize the flame cook it for 5 minutes, lastly add chopped coriander leaves mix it. Now tomato rice is ready to serve.

You can prepare the tomato rice in pressure cooker also for about 2 whistles.

Best served with curd, onion & cucumber raita.       

               

   

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Dill Rice

Type: Break fast

Serving: Your desire

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Rice – 2 cups

Dill – 2 cups

Oil – ½ cup

Cumin seed – ½ teaspoon

Cloves -4

Cinnamon – 1 piece

Green chilies – 4 to 5 slit

Onion – 1 chopped

Vegetables – 1 to 2 cups (Chopped carrot, sweet corn, potato, green peas)

Garlic cloves -8 to 10

Salt to taste                                                    

Preparation Method:

Wash & soak rice for 30 minutes.

Take a pressure cooker heat it put oil, add cumin seed, cloves, cinnamon, onion, green chilies fry till light brown, put vegetables, garlic cloves fry for 2 minutes, put chopped dill fry it add drained rice, salt, water & close the lid. Pressure cook for whistles turn off the flame.

Now dill rice is ready to serve

Note: It does not need any side dish.

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Bisibelebath

Type: Breakfast

Serving: 5 to 6

Preparation time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

Dry red chilies(Byadagi)/Kashmiri chilly – 15-20nos

Coriander seeds – 4 tablespoons

Cumin seeds – 3 teaspoons

Pepper – 1teaspoon

Bengalgram – 2 teaspoons

Blackgram – 2 teaspoons

Fenugreek seeds – 1 teaspoon

Poppy seed – 1 teaspoon

Mustard seed – 1 teaspoon

Cloves – 4-5

Cinnamon – 1-2 pieces

Copra – ½ cup

Powder: Roast all the above ingredients separately in 1-2 spoons of oil powder it finely. Powder fried copra keep it aside.

Ingredients for cooking:

2 cups - Mixed Vegetables (Beans, Carrot, Knolkohl, Green Peas-Boiled)

Chopped Tomatoes-3

Chopped Onions-2

Chopped Capsicum-1

Curry leaves-15

Chopped Coriander leaves-4 sticks

Oil & Ghee-1/2 cup each

Cashew nut -8-10

Mustard seeds-1 teaspoon

Asafoetida- ¼ teaspoon

Tamarind pulp- 2 teaspoon

Jaggary- 1 teaspoon

Arhar Dal-1 cup

Rice – 1 cup

Salt to taste

Preparation method:

Soak dal & rice for 30minutes.

Pressure cook rice & dal with 5 cups of water, turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon of oil/ghee for 3 whistles.

When the pressure comes down add boiled vegetables,tamarind pulp, jaggery, copra.

Take Bisibelebath powder of 4 to 5 spoons mix it in a small bowl of water make sure there is no lumps & mix it in the cooker.

Add salt to taste & water to get the semiliquid/required consistency.

Now heat a pan put oil & ghee,add mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves, chopped onions let it fry till translucent, add tomatoes fry for 1 minute, add chopped capsicum fry for a minute mix it with above rice mixture boil it till you get couple of boils of it & turn off the fire.

Make sure that it is not burnt in the bottom of cooker.

Fry cashewnut in ghee add to the rice/garnish it.

Add coriander leaves on the top for garnishing.

Best Served with: Ghee, Chips, Papad, Oion & tomato Raita, Khara Boondi.

  

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Vermicelli (Idiyappam)

This is a simple & refreshing dessert.

Type: Sweet Dish

Serving: 3-4 people

Preparation time: 15min

Ingredients:

Rice vermicelli – 250grams

Water

Coconut - 1

Milk -100ml

Sugar – 4-5 spoons

Cardamom powder

Salt- A pinch

Preparation method:

Boil 500ml of water in a pan. Add salt to it, add unbroken vermicelli in hot water, don’t stir it, let it immerse for 6-7 minutes.

Drain water carefully so that vermicelli will not get loosen.

Preparation of Coconut Milk:

Grate 1 coconut, grind it with 10ml of water & sugar, and separate the coconut milk from a juice filter, milk & 2 pinch of cardamom powder to it.

Serving Method:

Take a bowl put the cooked vermicelli in it, add some coconut milk on it and eat it.

Best Served: Cold.

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Lemon Rice

Type: Break fast

Serving: 4-5 people

Preparation time: 20min

Ingredients:

Plain Rice – 2 cups

Lemon Juice – 2 spoons

Mustard seed – 1 teaspoon

Urad dal (Black gram) – 1 tablespoon

Bengal gram – 1 tablespoon

Groundnut – 2 tablespoon

Curry Leaves – 8 to 10

Onions – 2 (finely chopped)

Green Chilies – 6-8 slit

Red Chilies – 2 broken

Grated Coconut – ½ cup

Oil – 3 tablespoon

Ghee (Optional)

Fresh Coriander Leaves – 2 tablespoon

Cashew nuts – ¼ cup (Optional)

Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Sugar – ¼ teaspoon

Preparation method:

Preparation of plain rice : Soak 1 cup of rice for 30 minutes in water and drain it. Place the rice in the Pressure cooker, add 2 cups of water, pinch of salt, Pressure cook for 3 whistles.

Or you can put the rice in rice cooker, add pinch of salt,2 cups of water, if rice is too old add 2 1/2cup of water cook the rice.

Take a pan heat oil/ghee, add mustard seeds let it crackle, add black gram, Bengal gram, ground nuts, cashew nuts fry till they are crisp for couple of minutes.

Add green chilies, curry leaves, onion .Fry onion till it turns into light pink color then add turmeric powder, salt, sugar turn off the flame .

Add lemon juice, grated coconut, coriander leaves, rice & mix it well.

Best Serving with coconut chutney, mango pickle or chips.

Note: 1.You can avoid onion

 2. Add a tomato.

         3. Add mango of 1/4 cup in place of lemon juice.

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Khichadi (Pongal)

Type: breakfast

Serving: 4 to 5

Preparation time: 20min

                                                             

Ingredients:

Moong dal (with or without skin) – 1 cup, Rice – 1 cup, Onion – 1 small size, Green chillies – 3 to 4, Pepper – 1 tea spoon, Cumin seeds (jeera) – 1 spoon, Asafoetida – ½ tea spoon, Curry leaves – 8 to 10, Coriander leaves – 2 stick, Oil & Ghee – 2 spoons each, Salt – 1 tea spoon, Turmeric – 1 tea spoon.

Preparation Method:

Soak rice for 10 min. Put moong dal, soaked rice, pinch of turmeric, pinch of salt, 1 spoon of oil & 6 cups water in pressure cooker. Cook till you get 1 whistle.

Heat oil & ghee in a pan then add pepper, cumin seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves let it crackle. Then add chopped onions, green chillies & fry it. Add tempering to the pressure cooker, add salt to taste & if water is required add it. Bring to a couple of boil with open lid. Add chopped coriander leaves.

Best served with: Serve with ghee on the top and green chutney. 

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