Tomato Chutney with Rava uttapam

This Rava uttapam recipe is from my bestie Harshali. I had these yummy breakfast at her place once and became a fan of this platter. Tried following her recipe. 

Ingredients for  Tomato Chutney

👉Cheery tomatoes

👉Garlic cloves

👉Dry tamarind

👉Kashmiri dry red chilli 

👉Salt

👉Coconut slices

In a pan, add oil, garlic cloves, Kashmiri dry red chilli , salt as per taste and cherry tomatoes. Sauté for few minutes. Now add dry tamarind (socked in water for 10 minutes) and coconut slices. Cook in low flame for 3- 4 minutes. Tomato chutney is ready. 

Ingredients for tempering the chutney
👉Oil - 1 tsp
👉Hing - 1/2 spoon
👉Dry red chillies - 1
👉Cumin and Mustard seeds - 1/2 spoon
👉Curry leaves - 5-6

Heat oil to a pan, once warm add hing, cumin and mustard seeds; once they crackle add red chillies and curry leaves. Serve tomato chutney in a bowl and top with this tempering while serving.

Ingredients for Uttapam

👉Rava / Suji - 2 cups

👉Salt as per taste

👉Yogurt - one cup

👉Water - as required

👉Chopped onions (optional)

1. In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients and mix properly. Let it rest for 20 minutes. 

2. Grease tawa with oil and pour the uttapam batter. Fry both the sides until little crispy. 

Serve hot with Tomato chutney. 

P.S. The recipe reel is up on my Instagram page. Check it out @romisrecipe

BEETROOT Appe with Sambar

Paniyaram or Appe are ball shaped dumplings made with fermented rice and urad dal batter. These are one of the everyday breakfast foods from South Indian Cuisine. To make these, a special pan is used, known as Paniyaram pan or Aebleskiver Pan. Paniyaram is very easy to make if you already have leftover idli or dosa batter at home. I had leftover Dosa batter at home and I just added a few spices in the batter and made these. Also, there are versions where the spices are tempered and then added to the batter. I have used grated beetroot to make it more healthy along with of a different color. Though the color did not came out so dark, but it was yummy.

Ingredients

1. Dosa batter - 2 cup
2. Onion - 1 finely chopped
3. Beetroot - 1 cup grated
4. Green chillies - 1-2 finely chopped
5. Ginger - 1 inch finely chopped
6. Asafetida (hing) 1 pinch
7. Black pepper (crushed) - 1/2 tea spoon
8. Salt to taste
9. Red chilli powder - 1/3 tea spoon
10. Curry leaves - 2 tsp - chopped
11. Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
12. Oil - as required

Process

1. For making the batter, take the dosa batter in a bowl. Add chopped onions, chillies, coconut and other spices and mix well. Add salt if required. Add the grated beetroot. If the batter looks thick you can add some water. Combine well.

2. Heat the appe pan, add few drops of oil on each mould. Pour spoonful of batter occupying 3/4 of the mould. Allow the batter to cook for 2-3 minutes on low medium heat. Then turn each appe with the help of wooden skewer or spoon and allow the other side to get cooked and crisp.

3. Repeat the same process with the remaining batter.

4. Serve hot with hot Sambar. 

PANIYARAM or PADDU

Paniyaram are ball shaped dumplings made with fermented rice and urad dal batter. These are one of the everyday breakfast foods from South Indian Cuisine. To make these, a special pan is used, known as Paniyaram pan or Aebleskiver Pan. Paniyaram is very easy to make if you already have leftover idli or dosa batter at home. I had leftover Dosa batter at home and I just added a few spices in the batter and made these. Also, there are versions where the spices are tempered and then added to the batter. 

Ingredients

1. Dosa batter - 2 cup
2. Onion - 1 finely chopped
3. Green chillies - 1-2 finely chopped
4. Ginger - 1 inch finely chopped
5. Asafetida (hing) 1 pinch
6. Black pepper (crushed) - 1/2 tea spoon
7. Salt to taste
8. Red chilli powder - 1/3 tea spoon
9. Curry leaves - 2 tsp - chopped
10. Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
11. Oil - as required

Process

1. For making the batter, take the dosa batter in a bowl. Add chopped onions, chillies, coconut and other spices and mix well. Add salt if required. If the batter looks thick you can add some water. Combine well.

2. Heat the paniyaram pan, add few drops of oil on each mould. Pour spoonful of batter occupying 3/4 of the mould. Allow the batter to cook for 2-3 minutes on low medium heat. Then turn each paniyaram with the help of wooden skewer or spoon and allow the other side to get cooked and crisp.

3. Repeat the same process with the remaining batter.

4. Serve hot with coconut chutney. 

DAHI VADA || DAHI BHALLA

Dahi Vada is the most loved street snack of India, particularly North India. Can be served as a chilled snack or a starter during festival season like Diwali or Navratri. I have seen people eating a lot during Navratri. This quintessential street food from the by lanes of Delhi will get you hooked. I love Dahi vada so much and hence here is my experimental recipe for the same. Try your hands on making these delicious and fluffy vada's drizzled with sweetened curd, tangy tamarind chutneys and chat masala.

Ingredients:

For Dahi Vada:

1. Urad dal - 200 gram (soaked over night or 3-4 hours)

2. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

3. Salt to taste

4. OIl (for frying)

For Dahi Mix:

1. Dahi - 2 cup

2. Chat masala - 1 tsp

3. Sugar -2 tsp (powdered)

4. Salt - a pinch

For chutneys

1. Tamarind chutney (sweet and tangy) - Check the recipe in my blog 

2. Green chutney - (spicy and tangy) - Check the recipe in my blog 

For Garnishing

1. Sev - 1 tsp (Optional)

2. Pomegranate - 1 tsp (Optional) 

Process:

1. For preparing the vada's, put the soaked urad daal with a pinch of salt in the grinder and grind well. Whisk the batter till it becomes light and fluffy. Add cumin seeds and your batter is ready. You can also add finely chopped curry leaves and green chilies, this is totally optional.

2. With wet palms add small portions of batter into hot oil and deep fry till golden brown.

3. Now soak the vada's in lukewarm water as soon as they are fried. Soak for about 10 minutes. The vada's will soak up the water, double in size and become super soft. Take each vada and gently press in between of your palms to remove excess water. Do this for all the vada's that you plan to add to dahi mix right away. 

3. Whisk dahi with some powdered sugar and a pinch of salt and keep it in the fridge to cool.

4. Place the soft vada's in a bowl, pour the dahi over them so that all the vada's are covered. Spread both tamarind and green chutney over them and sprinkle some chat masala. You can garnish the plate with Sev and pomegranate (if available). 

Try this awesome and super tasty Dahi Vada's at home and share your feedback.

SABUDANA VADA

Sabudana vada is a popular crisp fried snack made with tapioca pearls (sago). It's a popular Maharashtrian snack that is eaten not only as a tea time snack but also as a fasting.  It is served with sweet yogurt. I keep on seeing people in my office used to have this as "a whole day meal" when they are fasting, and was always wondering "Fast me log khana kyun khate hai". Being a bong, I have always observed this in my family, we do not eat anything while fasting. Different people follow different cultures.

But these Sabudana vada are not too shabby, nothing too fancy and super easy to make, all you need to do is soak the sabudana overnight in water. Here is my recipe after my first experiment with these yummy vada's.  

Ingredients:

1. Sabudana (Tapioca pearls or sagu)- 1/2 cup (soaked over night)

2. Potato - 2 (boiled & mashed)

3. Salt to taste

4. Peanuts 1/4 cup (you can also skip this if not available)

5. Green chilli - 1 (finely chopped)

6. Fresh coriander leaves - 1 tsp (finely chopped)

7. Lemon juice - 1 tsp (optional)

8. Flour - 1 tsp (optional)

9. Cumin or Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp

Process:

1. To start with, if you are using peanuts, roast them until golden and aromatic in a frying pan and let them cool completely. Then grind to a coarse powder. Keep aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, mix together soaked sabudana, boiled and mashed potatoes, peanuts, green chillies, salt, cumin or fennel seeds (whichever you are using) and coriander leaves. Add lemon juice (optional) and mix them well.

2. Make small balls and then slightly flatten to make the vada. Do not make them too thin as they may break.

3. Heat oil in a pan and start frying them on medium flame, once they are golden and crisp, remove the flame.

4. Serve hot with sweet curd or any chutney of your choice.