Instant Oats Uthappam, Savory Pancakes

          Today, I had to make lunch just for me, of course, my daughter would have some too, after she came from school. I wanted to make something that was simple and at the same time a little healthy too and after thinking about so many things, I finally made this Oats Uthappam. Though the name has only oats in it, I have added so many other ingredients to it, starting with poha/rice flakes, rice flour, carrots, paneer and other spices. I just made a batter with all of them and made the uthappam, they turned out perfect and they would taste good with any kind of chutney/thokku or gravy..

Keerai Pongal, Spinach Pongal

          Today's post is going to be a simple and delicious pongal, Keerai Pongal or Spinach Pongal. I used to make this Spinach Pongal a lot when we were in the US. I always had frozen chopped spinach in the freezer and so this dish could be put together in minutes, here in India, I don't get frozen spinach, so I use fresh spinach. It's a very easy dish, serve it with some Onion And Tomato Gothsu for a complete and delicious meal..

Choliya Kofta Curry, Fresh Green Chickpeas Dumplings In Tomato Gravy

          Couple of weeks back, I had bought some choliya ( fresh green chickpeas/kondakadalai ) and I had made 3 different dishes with it. I have already posted the first one, Choliya Paneer Curry, today's the second one, Choliya Kofta Curry. Like all kofta curries, there are 2 steps to this one too, making the koftas and the gravy and then putting them together, but still it's an easy dish. The koftas turned out soft with a crumbly texture and tasted very good, this curry would go very well with rotis, naans and pilafs..

Motichoor Ladoo Parathas

          I had some leftover motichoor ladoos ( store bought ones ), and I wanted to make something with it,other than eating it as such. I have already tried a pudding with ladoo and bread, it tasted really good, this time I saw a couple of other dishes that we can make with them and I decided to make these Motichoor Ladoo Parathas. The parathas turned out so flavorful and very delicious, you can have it as such, or dust it with some powdered sugar and enjoy..

Mint Almond Pesto

          I had brought this huge bunch of mint leaves, I made a chutney with some of it, added some while making a rice dish, but still was left with more leaves and then I remembered this pesto. I usually make the classic Basil Pesto and I have also tried the pesto with Sun Dried Tomatoes, this is the first time I tried this Mint Almond Pesto. I have used almonds in the place of pine nuts and have added some garlic and lemon zest for flavor. The pesto came out perfectly and had a nice mint flavor and we can have this mixed with pasta or spread it on a piece of bread. top it with some cheese and tomatoes, grill and enjoy..

Jowar Aloo Paratha, Jowar Potato Paratha

       
          After a weekend of rich festival food, I am going to start of this week with a healthy paratha, Jowar Aloo Paratha. There's already an Aloo Paratha using wheat flour on the blog, but today's paratha is gluten free since we are using jowar/sorghum flavor for making them. Jowar flour dough is difficult to roll out, so stuffing them with the potato mixture and rolling out would become messy, so I have mixed in the potatoes with the dough and then made the parathas. The parathas turned out soft and delicious, serve them with some curd/raitha and pickle for a filling and healthy meal..

Fresh Green Chana & Paneer Curry, Choliya Paneer

          Winter is when we get fresh green peas, avarekalu, fresh green chana/choliya, red carrots in India and I love all of these vegetables. Fresh chana/chickpeas is not available as easily as the other ones, so when I see some, I buy them immediately. Last week I bought some and instead of doing the regular curry with it, I browsed and noted down a few recipes to try out with it and first in line is this Choliya Paneer, a simple and delicious curry with green chana and paneer. The curry turned out super good and tasted excellent with rotis and I am sure that it would go well as a side with pilafs and other rice dishes, do try this curry when you find some fresh green chana in the market..

Akkaravadisal (Akkara Adisal), Sweet Milk Pongal

          Akkaravadisal, I have come across this name so many times, but never got to taste it and when going through the recipe for it, I found it to be similar to Sakkarai Pongal, but with a slight variation. It's a Tamil Iyengar recipe and it's made as a 'naivedyam' especially on Koodaravalli which is an auspicious day observed on the 27th day of the Tamil month Margazhi . This year it happens to fall on today and also, Pongal being just around the corner, I thought of making and posting it today. Taste wise, it is more like Sakkarai Pongal, but with a milky flavor, since we cook the rice in lots of milk and ghee. Since it's a rich dish with lots of milk and ghee, have a small serving and enjoy..

Lauki Akki Roti, Bottle Gourd (Sorakkai) Roti

          Bottle Gourd/Lauki/Sorakkai is such a versatile vegetable, we can make so many dishes with this vegetable, starting from curries, koftas, idli, dosa, roti and halwa and I buy it almost every week. Today's dish, Lauki Akki Roti is such an easy dish and the main ingredients are rice flour and bottle gourd. I have given an easy method of making this roti, and they come out really soft, serve them with a spicy chutney for a filling and delicious meal..

Vazhaipoo Vadai, Banana Flower Fritters

          Vazhaipoo Vadai, fritters made with a mixture of ground lentils and banana flower, I have made this a couple of times, but until now, couldn't post it due to some reason or other. Usually I make it the same way as Chana Dal Vadai and I just add some chopped banana flower to the vada batter. But this time I have followed another recipe, I have used tuvar dal in the place of the usual chana dal and have also added some garlic, the vadas turned out really good, serve them as a snack or as a side with some rice and moru kuzhambu..

Avarekalu Poli (Holige, Obattu)

          This is my first post in the New Year, so let me first wish everyone a very Happy And Healthy New Year and then go to today's post. Also, let's start the year on a sweet note, so today's dish is going to be Avarekalu Poli. Last year during the Avarekalu season, I got to taste many dishes made with these beans and Avarekalu Poli/Holige/Obattu was one of them. As usual, I wanted to make it at home, I made it the same way as regular Poli and I used avarekalu/field beans in the filling. Usually I flatten the Poli after closing it with the filling on a banana leaf or plastic sheet, but this time, after watching the guys ( at VV Puram street food ) patting the Poli between parchment paper ( we get Obattu paper here ), I followed the same technique at home. The polis came out super thin and super soft too and the taste was simply too good, do try out this method the next time you make polis..