Kichidi is one of the quick one-pot dish recipes. The semolina is cooked with fried lentils and vegetables. It is served with coconut chutney and sambar. Cracked wheat can also be used as a substitute for the semolina. Enjoy the recipe!
Ingredients
Semolina - 1 cup
Onion - 1/2 (finely chopped)
Carrot - 1/2 (finely chopped)
Beans - 4 (finely chopped)
Peas - 2 Tablespoon
Green Chilli - 2 (cut lengthwise)
Ginger - 1 Tablespoon (grated)
Curry Leaves - 10
Tomato - 1 (roughly chopped)
Oil - 1 Tablespoon
Mustard seeds - 1/4 Teaspoon
Channa dal - 1/4 Teaspoon
Urud dahl - 1/4 Teaspoon
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 Teaspoon
Water - 3 1/2 cups
Salt - To taste
Method
1. Heat a pan and dry roast the semolina in a medium heat until it turns slightly brown and keep aside in a plate.
2. Heat oil in the same pan and add mustard seeds, urud dahl and channa dahl and roast them. Then add the green chillies and curry leaves.
3. Now add the onions, ginger and tomato and cook along with salt and turmeric. Later add the rest of the veggies and cook covered for 4 minutes.
4. Add water and bring it to boil. Add the roasted semolina and stir thoroughly else lumps will be formed easily. Keep stirring constantly.
5. Check for salt and remove from fire once the semolina thickens to your required consistency.
Kichidi is ready to be served.
Note
* Kichidi also tastes good with sugar.
* Cracked wheat instead of semolina can also be used.
* Dried nuts can also be added.
Pesarattu is an Andhra recipe which I learnt after my marriage. It is a very simple and healthy dish and I prepare this as a substitute to our usual dosa. It has lot of proteins and the adding of carbohydrates (rice) becomes optional. Pesarattu tastes amazing with cocount chutney and tangy tomato chutney. You need not ferment the dough as we do for our rice crepes but again it is optional. Here is the simple version of the pesarattu that I prepare...Enjoy!
Ingredients
Whole green gram - 1 cup
Rice - 1/4 cup (optional)
Green chilli - 2
Cumin seeds - 1 Teaspoon
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Salt - to taste
Oil - to drizzle
Method
1. Wash and soak green gram and rice overnight or for 4 to 6 hours in water.
2. Drain the water from the soaked green gram and rice. Do not discard the water which can be used for mixing the dough later.
3. Now grind the green gram and rice along with green chilli, cumin seeds, ginger and salt into a fine dough with little or no water.
4. Cover the container of the dough with a lid and allow it to ferment for 6 to 8 hours which is optional.
5. When you are going to use the dough add the water that we drained from the soaked green gram and rice. The dough should be neither thick nor thin. It should have an easy dropping consistency.
6. Now heat a flat pan and when it is super hot, use a big ladle full of dough and put the crepes on the pan. Drizzle some oil and when it is cooked, flip it to the other side and cook.
Serve the crepes hot with chutney.
Note
* You can add onions, curry leaves, carrot, beans, capsicum, etc., cut into small pieces into the dough and put the crepes.
I recently learnt this recipe from Sanjeev Kapoor's cookery show. Just a small twist to our usual pooris. Taste wise it did not make much of a difference but I was happy choosing a healthier option of adding spinach to our deep fried pooris. The colour of the poori was really appealing. Hope you enjoy!
Ingredients
Wheat flour - 1 cup
Spinach - 2 cups
Water - as required
Salt - to taste
Oil - for deep frying
Method
1. Wash and blanch the spinach for 3 minutes in a microwave oven or simply cook it in a pan for 3 minutes and allow it to cool.
2. Grind the spinach into a fine paste.
3. Add the ground spinach to the flour along with salt and 1/4 tablespoon of oil and knead. Then add required amount of water and knead it into a dough as required for pooris and rotis. Keep it aside for 15 minutes.
4. Meantime heat oil in a pan required for deep frying. The oil should be super duper hot, only then the pooris will puff up.
5. Roll thin pooris and deep fry them. Drain excess oil using kitchen towel and serve.
Pooris tastes good with potato masal. I tried it with chicken gravy and it was amazing too!
Note
* Do not add too much of water to the dough, else the pooris will consume lot of oil.
* The oil should be super duper hot, only then the pooris will puff up.
* You can also add a tablespoon of rava/semolina/sooji to get crispy pooris.
