Rava dosa

Rava dosa is a quick breakfast or dinner that you can make. Dosa is a savory crepe. Traditional dosa usually takes many hours to prepare ( from soaking the ingredients overnight to grinding them, fermenting them etc.), however rava dosa can be made in under

30 minutes . One of the websites my sister often refers to has a good recipe for it (

the chutney life)

Ingredients 

Sooji ( rava / cream of wheat)- 1/2 cup

Rice flour - 1/2 cup 

Maida ( all purpose flour)- 1/4 cup

Plain yogurt - 1/4 cup

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Black peppercorns - 1 tsp 

Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp 

Curry leaves - 10

1/2 Onion cut into small pieces 

Green chilly - 1 deseeded and cut into pieces 

Water -3 cups 

Salt to taste 

Instructions :

1. Mix the sooji, rice flour, maida, yogurt, onion, cumin , black peppercorn, asafoetida, curry leaves together and pour a cup of the water and mix it.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Keep adding water until the batter is watery - the consistency of milk. Add salt to taste.
3. Let the batter sit for atleast 20 minutes 
4. Place a griddle/ flat pan/ tawa on the stove on medium heat and let it heat up. Splash the batter on the hot pan in a circle so that there are holes in the dosa. Add oil on the sides so the dosa doesn’t stick to the pan. 
5. Let it cook until the bottom is golden brown 
6. Then use a turner to flip it over and let the other side cook 
7. Now the rava dosa is ready to serve with coconut chutney or sambar 
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9. Here is a video that shows how to splash the dosa and make the rava dosa on tawa

Coconut chutney

Coconut chutney is a great accompaniment to many foods. Chutney is defined a sauce/relish of Indian origin. In the US chutneys are usually associated with sweet/spicy sauces made of fruit and spices like a mango chutney which comes in a bottle like a jelly/jam. South Indian chutneys are usually savory and made from fresh ingredients. It can be served with idli, dosa, pongal, upma, bajji, vada, etc. It really is a versatile side dish and it is very tasty. There are many variations of this chutney and I am going to give you the basic recipe for coconut chutney made with green chillies.

Ingredients:

coconut ( grated)- 1 cup

green chillies ( small indian/thai green chillies) – 2 (de-seeded if you want it less spicy)

Roasted skinned split chickpeas ( pottukadalai/ Channa dal/bengal gram)- 1 to 2 tbsp

Salt – 1/2 tsp (to taste)

Water – as needed

Optional:

Tamarind paste – a pea size glob ( or a pea size of real tamarind fruit)- you can add this to the chutney so it keeps for a few days to prevent it from spoiling

Garlic – 1 to 2 cloves — you can add this to the chutney if you love garlic

Ginger – 1 inch piece – you can add this to the chutney if you want a little zing

In the place of green chillies

dried red chillies- 1 large or 2 small to get a red chutney

Black peppercorns- 1 tsp – to get a peppery chutney

There are numerous other variations to chutney .

To garnish:

Black mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Urad dal ( split skinned black gram)- 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida – 1 pinch

Curry leaves – 5 to 10

Oil – 1 tbsp

Instructions:

1. Grind the coconut , roasted split chickpeas, green chillies, salt ( and tamarind) together in a blender. Add a little water to start with and add more water as you go depending on if you want the chutney coarse/thick or thin/ watery.
   

   

   
   
   
   
2. Place this chutney in a bowl and taste it and add additional salt and mix well

 3. Now in a separate small pan add oil and heat it up. Add the mustard seeds, urad dal, asafoetida, and curry leaves to the oil until they sizzle / sputter ( just a few seconds) without burning them and add this mixture to the chutney and mix well.

4. Coconut Chutney is ready to serve as an accompaniment with your dish !

Upma ( savory cream of wheat breakfast)

 Upma is savory cream of wheat meal that is usually eaten for breakfast but really can make a great meal or snack anytime. It is one of my favorite dishes of all time and is a comfort food as well. Though I am calling rava (tamil)/sooji ( hindi) "cream of wheat" for easy translation, what is typically used is a semolina ( coarse ground up durum wheat ( not flour) , however cream of wheat can be used if you are in a pinch.

Ingredients:

Rava (sooji/ semolina) - 1 cup

Water - 3 cups ( use the 1:3 ratio of rava to water)

Onion - 1 medium onion cut into small pieces

Ginger (remove peel) - 1 inch cut into small strips

Green chillies - 2 mostly de-seeded and cut into small pieces

Curry leaf - 4 to 5

Cilantro - a few leaves ( taken off the stem)

Black mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad dal ( split skinned black gram) - 1 tsp

Oil ( vegetable/canola)- 3 to 4 tbsp

Salt - 1 tsp

Optional: ( these extra ingredients can be added to make Rava Kichadi - Rava upma with vegetables and has a slight tanginess/sour taste to it)

cashews roasted slightly in oil/butter and set aside.

green peans and carrot ( small cubes) - you can buy this frozen and thaw in the microwave

tomato - large chopped into cubes

turmeric powder -1/2 tsp

Instructions:

1. In a saucepan roast the rava on medium heat for a couple of minutes until the rava is hot to the touch a slightly golden brown in color (you do not want it to be burned). Set this aside.
2. In the same saucepan add the oil and heat it up. Add the urad dal , and mustard seeds so they sputter. Once oil is heated turn down the heat to medium. Add the onion, ginger, green chillies, (tomatoes, turmeric) curry leaves and sauté it as well. Sautés onions until they are translucent and slightly golden brown. Add the cilantro at this juncture ( it wilts quickly)
   

   

   
   
   
   

3. Once this is done add the three cups of water to this mixture and salt ( taste the water being sure to cool it off to prevent burns). Increase the temperature on the stove to high heat and let the water come to a boil.

4. (Vegetables, cashews can be added at this time as well).

5.Add in the roasted rava slowly a little at a time and stir it in really well (you can use a whisk if you want) so that there are no lumps.

6.Turn down the heat to medium and let the rava cook well. This takes about 5 to 7 minutes.

7.Now upma is ready to eat and you can serve it with coconut chutney (coconut chutney). I have also eaten the upma with plain yogurt/sour cream or some sugar as a side.

8. Optional: you can add a little pat of butter to your upma to enhance the taste.

Medhu Vadai (savory fried snack)

Growing up I enjoyed medhu Vadai as a treat during festivals. Later in life we made it whenever we had a hankering for a savory fried snack or when we saved some of the urad dal batter used in making idli batter.

Ingredients:

Whole Urad dal ( skinned black gram)- 1 cup

Salt - 1/2 tsp ( to taste)

Onion - 1 medium cut into small pieces

Ginger - 1 inch cut into small pieces

Green chillies - 2 to 3 de-seeded and cut into small pieces

Curry leaf - 4 to 5 leaves

Cilantro - a few leaves ( without the stem)

Rice flour ( optional) - 1 to 2 tbsp

Baking soda - 1 pinch

Water

Oil - 2 to 3 cups for frying

Ziploc bag, or plastic wrap ( in India we use a banana leaf)- used to form the vadas

Instructions:

1. Wash the urad dal and then soak it in water until completely submerged. Soak for at least 3 to 4 hours
2. Drain the water out
3. Grind the urad dal without adding too much water - add a few tablespoons to begin with and grind ( you can use a blender or a Indian wet grinder).
4. Grind until it is a smooth fluffy paste.
5. Pour into a bowl and mix it with your hands or a spoon for a few minutes to make it airy
6. Add the cut onion, ginger, chillies, curry leaf, cilantro, baking soda to the batter. Optional : You can add a few tablespoons of rice flour, this makes the vada crispy 
7. Heat oil to 375 F ( in fryer) , if using a saucepan heat up oil- and test the temperature - it is at the correct temperature when you add a little glob of batter to the oil and it turns golden brown and rises up slowly. ( note : oil is too hot if the the batter gets black and rises up too fast , too cold if the batter sticks to the bottom). Turn down the heat to medium.
8. Add a little oil to the ziploc bag and spread it around in a thin film. Take the batter and place it on there and flatten it. Make a small hole in the middle to resemble a donut.
   
   
   
9. Slide the vada slowly into oil. Fry until golden brown and turn it over to make sure both sides are cooked until golden brown.
10. Take the vada out with a skimmer ( app on with holes) to drain the oil and place in a plate lines with paper towels to drain the oil.
11. Vada is ready to serve with coconut chutney (coconut chutney)