Cooking tips

Some of the tips i had been following, learnt from my mistakes, from my grandmother, mother, mother-in-law, husband (yes, you heard it right), and online friends.

Click on the link to follow most useful tips for everyday cooking.

Cooking tips Part 1
Cooking tips Part 2
Cooking tips Part 3
Cooking tips Part 4
Cooking tips Part 5
Cooking tips Part 6
Cooking tips Part 7
Cooking tips Part 8
Cooking tips Part 9

Rava idly in microwave

Ingredients:

Chiroti Rava / Semolina - 1 cup
Chana dal - 1 tbsp
Cashew nuts - 1/2 cup (Broken)
Mustard - 1 tbsp
Green chillies - 4 medium (finely Chopped)
Ginger - 1 inch
Salt - as required
Curd / Yogurt - 1 1/2 cup
Hing / Asofoetida - 1/4 tbsp
Ghee / Clarified butter - 2 tbsp
Coriander leaves / Cilantro - 1/4 cup
Baking soda - 1 tbsp

Method:

1) In a pan,  add 1 tbsp of ghee and add chiroti rava and fry until golden brown
2) Follow the simillar process to fry chana dal, cashew, Mustard, green chillies, ginger. Add this to the roasted rava
3) To this add hing, salt, chopped coriander leaves, baking soda and mix well.
4) Mix well and add the amount of curd mentioned. Keep the batter aside for 5 mins.
5) Take the bottom part / base of the microwave idli maker, add 3/4 water to it and microwave it for 1 min.
6) Smear the idli tray with ghee / oil.
7) After 5 mins, add the batter to the idli tray and stack them in the bottom part of the stand which we microwaved with water for over a min.
8) Close the lid and microwave it for 5 mins.
9) Once done, leave it for 2 mins and then yummy idlis are ready to be served.

Rava idli taste good with potato sagu, chutney.

Note:

1) Ghee can be substituted with oil.
2) Refer my post on how to make Restaurant style potato sagu.
3) Semiya idly can also be made
Refer - http://princessncooking.blogspot.ca/2015/03/semiya-idli-in-microwave.html
4) Add water if necessary, but make sure its as less as possible and yogurt is more.

Khara bath - Spicy Upma using Cracked wheat

Ingredients:

Cracked wheat - 1 cup
Green chilies - 3
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tbsp 
Jeera - 1/4 tbsp 
Chana dal - 1/4 tbsp 
Urad dal - 1/4 tbsp 
Hing / Asafoetida - 1/4 tbsp 
Curry leaves - few
Oil - 2 tbsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tbsp
Salt - As required
Onion - 1 medium
Water - 2 cups
Vangi bath powder - 1 tbsp
Vegetables of choice - 1 cup
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
Finely chopped cilantro / coriander - 2 tbsp

Method:

1)  Heat the oil in a pan and add the urad dal and mustard seeds.
2) When the seeds crackle, add jeera, asafoetida, curry leaves, green chilies and onions and sauté on a medium flame until soft.
3) Meanwhile, in another pan, add the  Cracked wheat and saute on a medium flame till light brown in color.
4) Add chopped vegetables one by one separately and fry until done.
5) Add all powders, salt, and mix for a min.
6) Add water and let it boil. Once the water starts boiling, add roasted Cracked wheat slowly and stir well when adding.
7) Cook until all the water evaporates and Cracked wheat is cooked.
8) Add coriander leaves, coconut and mix well.
9) Add lemon juice and mix well. Turn off heat.

Khara bath is ready to be served with pickle or coconut chutney.

Paneer peas rice

Ingredients:

Shredded paneer - 1 cup chopped

Peas - 1 cup
Onion - 1 medium (Optional)

Cumin / Jeera - 1 tbsp

Mustard - 1 tbsp

Chana dal - 1 tbsp

Urad dal - 1 tbsp

Hing  / Asafoetida - 1/4 tbsp

Vangi bath powder - 2 tbsp

Salt - as required

Red chilly powder - 1/4 tbsp (Optional)

Lemon juice - 2 tbsp

Ginger - 1/2 inch

Garlic - 2 cloves

Green chillies - 4

Turmeric - 1/4 tbsp

Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup

Rice - 1 cup

Water - 2 cups

Ghee / Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

1) Wash rice and make rice with sufficient water. Keep this aside.

2) In a pan, add oil, mustard, jeera, chana dal, urad dal, hing until it turns golden brown.

3) Add green chillies, ginger, garlic, onion and fry until golden brown. 

4) Now add  peas and fry until done.

5) Now add shreded paneer and fry for some time.

7) Now add turmeric, red chilly powder, vangi bath powder, salt and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Turn off the heat.

8) Once the rice is cooked, add lemon juice, masala and mix well.

Garnish with coriander leaves.

Yummy Paneer peas rice is ready to be served.

Note: 

1) Peas is optional.
2) Tomato / tomato paste can also be added for extra flavour.
3) Paneer can be replaced with Tofu .

Hasi kadale kaalu saaru

Ingredients:

Fresh chana / Hasi kadale kaalu - 1cup
Potato - 2 Medium
Sambhar powder - 2 tbsp
Coconut - 1/4 cup (Grated) 
Tamarind Pulp - 1/4 cup
Salt - As required
Turmeric - 1/4 tbsp
Mustard - 1/4 tbsp
Jeera - 1/4 tbsp
Channa Dal - 1/4 tbsp
Urad dal - 1/4 tbsp
Hing - 1/4 tbsp
Curry leaves - 1/4 tbsp
Oil - 1/2 tbsp
Toor dal - 2 tbsp
Coriander / Cilantro - 1 tbsp (Finely chopped)

Method:

1) Cook Toor dal, sprouted Kadale kaalu and Potato pieces with turmeric and water in a cooker for 2 whistles.
2) Add Tamarind pulp to the cooked vegetable and sprouts.
3) Mix sambhar powder, salt to this mixture. Adjust consistency by adding water.Huli mixture is ready.
4) Place the huli on stove and boil well / for 5 mins in medium flame.
5) Meanwhile, in a pan, add oil and when it heats up. Add Mustard, jeera, channa dal, urad dal, hing, curry leaves.
6) Top this seasoning on huli. Boil huli for another 2 mins.
7) Turn off the flame and add grated coconut and chopped coriander / cilantro.

Hasi kadale kaalu saaru is ready to be served.

Note:

1) Eggplant can also be added with potato.
2) Any lentils can be replaced with chana.

Story behind Congress Kadalekayi

There are many stories around this tasty, spicy snack. I was able to reserach few and make a list.

1) 

While the Congress split story is true, there is another interesting story about the origin of the name . This comes from on of the bakeries that has popularised the term “congress kadlekai” .

“In the pre-Independence era,” he says, ” the Congress party workers would write important party information on small chits of paper that would be hidden in boxes and sacks of peanuts being transported from one place to another, so that, hidden from the British, they could get the information from one place to another. This is how the name Congress came to be associated with the peanuts.”

Srinivasa Brahmin Bakery, located in bustling Gandhi Bazar, claim to be one of the early pioneers in popularising Congress kadlekai.

“My father HR Ramaswamy started this bakery almost 50 years ago,” says Ramprasad, “and that time we were largely selling bread, buns and rusks. Then the maida quota system came into place, and because the supply of maida was rationed, my father thought of introducing the Congress kadlekai to boost sales.”'


2) 

The split in the Congress Party, in 1969, is said to have inspired the name of this popular snack

It is the quintessential Bengaluru snack. Peanuts – split, de-skinned, roasted, slathered with a tangy spice mix, which can be eaten any time of the day. Yes, we are talking about the Congress kadlekai (peanuts), that came into being in the small condiment stores and Iyengar bakeries that were an integral part of the city’s fabric.

But politics and peanuts – how did the twain ever meet? There are quite a few urban legends surrounding just why politics played a key role in the naming one of Karnataka’s most popular snacks. Look carefully at the split peanut – does it remind you of something? Legend has it that since the split peanut resembled the famous Gandhi cap, the name ‘Congress’ was bequeathed upon it. Another story states that following the split of the Congress Party in 1969, the peanuts came to be called Congress, in a parody of the split, as the peanuts were always split to make this snack.

HR Ramprasad, owner of Srinivasa Brahmin Bakery, one of the city’s oldest and met popular Iyengar bakeries,  has an another twist to add to this mix. “In the pre-Independence era,” he says, ” the Congress party workers would write important party information on small chits of paper that would be hidden in boxes and sacks of peanuts being transported from one place to another, so that, hidden from the British, they could get the information from one place to another. This is how the name Congress came to be associated with the peanuts.”

Srinivasa Brahmin Bakery, located in bustling Gandhi Bazar, claim to be one of the early pioneers in popularising Congress kadlekai. “My father HR Ramaswamy started this bakery almost 50 years ago,” says Ramprasad, “and that time we were largely selling bread, buns and rusks. Then the maida quota system came into place, and because the supply of maida was rationed, my father thought of introducing the Congress kadlekai to boost sales.”



There are a couple of different versions of the Congress kadlekai. One of them is the Khara Bun Congress, a soft masala bun, that is sliced in half, slathered with butter and stuffed with Congress, making it a spicy, wholesome snack, and there is also the Congress masala, in which the peanuts are mixed with onions, chillies, carrot, lime and salt.

Mushroom masala cheese pesarattu

Ingredients:

Dosa batter - 4 cups

Mozarella cheese - 1/4 cup (Grated)

Chutney pudi - 1/4 cup

Oil - 2 tbsp

Button mushrooms - 10

Salt - As required

Red chilly powder - 1/4 tbsp

Lemon juice - 1/4 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tbsp

Mustard - 1/4 tbsp

Jeera - 1/4 tbsp

Method:

1) Wipe out button mushroom or wash them in running water, chop them and keep it aside.

2) In a pan, add oil, mustard, jeera. Add Mushroom and fry until soft.

3) Add turmeric powder, red chilly powder, and salt and mix well.

4) Add lemon juice and turn off the flame. Mix well. Keep this aside.

5) Spread the dosa batter on a pan.

6) Sprinkle some pudi on top of it immediately.

7) When dosa's are almost done, Spread masala and sprinkle grated cheese.

Yummy mushroom masala cheese pesarattu's are ready to be served.

Note:

1) Chopped Tomatoes and onion can also be added.

Mushroom masala pesarattu

Ingredients:

Dosa batter - 4 cups

Chutney pudi - 1/4 cup

Oil - 2 tbsp

Button mushrooms - 10

Salt - As required

Red chilly powder - 1/4 tbsp

Lemon juice - 1/4 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tbsp

Mustard - 1/4 tbsp

Jeera - 1/4 tbsp

Method:

1) Wipe out button mushroom or wash them in running water, chop them and keep it aside.

2) In a pan, add oil, mustard, jeera. Add Mushroom and fry until soft.

3) Add turmeric powder, red chilly powder, and salt and mix well.

4) Add lemon juice and turn off the flame. Mix well. Keep this aside.

5) Spread the dosa batter on a pan.

6) Sprinkle some pudi on top of it immediately.

7) When dosa's are almost done, Spread masala and fold it as desired or serve it open.

Yummy mushroom masala pesarattu's are ready to be served.

Note:

1) Chopped Tomatoes and onion can also be added.

Rajma south indian style saaru

Ingredients:

Rajma - 1cup
Potato - 2 Medium
Sambhar powder - 2 tbsp
Coconut - 1/4 cup (Grated) 
Tamarind Pulp - 1/4 cup
Salt - As required
Turmeric - 1/4 tbsp
Mustard - 1/4 tbsp
Jeera - 1/4 tbsp
Channa Dal - 1/4 tbsp
Urad dal - 1/4 tbsp
Hing - 1/4 tbsp
Curry leaves - 1/4 tbsp
Oil - 1/2 tbsp
Toor dal - 2 tbsp
Coriander / Cilantro - 1 tbsp (Finely chopped)

Method:

1) Cook Toor dal, Rajma and Potato pieces with turmeric and water in a cooker for 2 whistles or until cooked.
2) Add Tamarind pulp to the cooked vegetable and Rajma.
3) Mix sambhar powder, salt to this mixture. Adjust consistency by adding water.Huli mixture is ready.
4) Place the huli on stove and boil well / for 5 mins in medium flame.
5) Meanwhile, in a pan, add oil and when it heats up. Add Mustard, jeera, channa dal, urad dal, hing, curry leaves.
6) Top this seasoning on huli. Boil huli for another 2 mins.
7) Turn off the flame and add grated coconut and chopped coriander / cilantro.

Rajma Huli south indian style is ready to be served.

Note:

1) Eggplant can also be added with potato.
2) Any sprouted lentils or soaked lentils or farm fresh lentils can be replaced with Rajma.

Masala murmura / Spicy puffed rice

Ingredients:

Murmura or Puffed Rice - 5 cups
Oil - 3 tbsp
Garlic cloves - 4-5 
Curry leaves - around 5-6 
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tbsp
Raw peanuts - 1/4 cup
Roasted chana - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/4 tbsp (optional)
Dry coconut flakes - 1/4 cup
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tbsp 
Asafoetida / Hing - 1/4 tbsp
Salt - As required

Method:

1) Heat oil in a pan. Add raw peanuts and chopped / mashed garlic. Stir well for 2-3 minutes. Make sure you do not burn the peanuts or garlic.
2) Add mustard seeds,and jeera. As soon as it starts popping, add asafoetida. Stir everything. Add curry leaves,red chilli powder, turmeric powder.
3) Stir continuously for 2 minutes on a low flame. Make sure it is not burning.
4) Add sugar and salt. 
5) Add puffed rice or murmura and mix well. Let them roast for 10-15 minutes on low flame. 6) Stir in between to avoid burning. The puffed rice should become crisp, but not burnt.
7) Allow it to cool down completely. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy this easy and tasty snack with hot masala chai.

Note:

1) If you do not have kanda lasun masala, just add regular red chilli powder.
2) You can always adjust the measurement of red chilli powder according to your spice level.
3) Instead of red chilly powder, you can also add Metkut or kanda lasun masala or 1 teaspoon 'Kolhapuri kanda lasun masala'.