THIS IS ONE OF OUR FAVOURITE NORTH INDIAN ITEM......

Dhokla

Dhokla - A delicious Gujarati snack

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Makes: 10 - 12 medium size pieces

You will need

1 cup ( 200 g ) gram flour / besan
1 cup sour ( 200 g ) curd
2 teaspoon Eno fruit salt
1/4 teaspoon salt ( or salt to taste )
1/4 cup water for mixing
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
½ teaspoon ginger paste
1/2 teaspoon extra oil to grease the pan

For Seasoning:

2 teaspoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds ( jeera )
2 green chillies , slit lengthwise
1 spring curry leaves
3 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon hing ( asafoetida )
2 teaspoon coriander leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon desiccated coconut ( optional )

Method

Mix gram flour, curd, Eno fruit salt , salt , ginger paste and turmeric powder.

Add 1/4 cup water to make the batter thicker than that used for making pakodas.

Immediately pour the mixture in a greased pan / thali / bowl . Pour a glass of water in the pressure cooker. Keep the pan in the pressure cooker over a stand. Close the lid and do not put weight. Steam for 15 minutes or till done ( reduce the steam to low and steam for 15 minutes ).

Keep aside for cool and cut into desired shapes.

For seasoning :

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. When they start sputter add jeera, curry leaves, green chillies, lemon juice and hing . Stir, keep on low heat till fragrant. Pour this seasoning over dhokla.

Sprinkle with desiccated coconut and chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot / cool.

Fried Modak

Fried Modak

Fried Modak

Makes: 16 - 18

You will need

150 g rice flour
50 g sugar
3 well ripe bananas ( mash well )
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
150 ml oil for frying

Method

In a bowl, mix rice flour, mashed bananas, salt, sugar and cardamom powder. Add water and make a thick batter. Keep aside for 15 minutes.

Another option - Wash and soak 1 cup ( 200 g ) raw rice in water for 1 hour. Drain out water and make a thick batter in a mixer. Add very little water during grinding. Then mix with other ingredients.

Heat oil in a kadai / frying pan. Reduce heat to medium. Take teaspoonful batter and deep fry directly in hot oil in batches ( 7 - 8 modaks ) till golden brown color. Approximate frying time 8 - 10 minutes for each side. Drain out oil and serve.

Appam & Egg Roast ( Appavum Mutta Roastum )

Appam & Egg Roast ( Appavum Mutta Roastum )

Appam is a popular dish of Kerala. Some consider making appam is a difficult task, but in reality it is not so. With a little bit care fluffy and tasty appams can be made easily at home. Many brands of instant appam mix is available in markets. But I would recommend to follow this recipe instead of instant appam mix.

Makes- 10

Ingredients for Appam

Raw Rice- 2 cups ( 400 g )

Grated coconut – 1 cup

Cooked rice- 2 tablespoon

Water - 1/4 cup or coconut water

Yeast solution

To prepare yeast solution

2 teaspoon dry yeast
Warm water -1/4 cup
Sugar – 2 teaspoon

Mix sugar and warm water. Add yeast and keep aside for 10-15 minutes or until a froth appears on the surface / yeast granules are dissolved and well risen. Always use fresh yeast. Yeast solution will be double in size after 20 minutes.

To prepare Appam batter:

Grind raw rice, grated coconut and cooked rice together. Batter should not be too watery. You can add 1/4 water /coconut water while grinding. Add yeast solution and mix it well. Keep aside for fermenting for 6 - 8 hours or overnight. Appam batter will be double in size after fermenting. Do not refrigerate appam batter during fermenting. Appachatti is used to make Appam.

1, Heat non stick appachatty.

2, Grease the appachatty with little oil.

3, Pour one ladleful of appam batter to the appachatty.

4, Lift the pan ( from the stove ) and slightly twist around to spread the batter in the pan to make circular shape .

5, Close appachatty with a lid and cook on low heat till the edges are golden brown. When the Appam is ready the edges resemble crisp lace and centre soft . Traditionally this is eaten with Stew/ chicken curry / egg roast/ coconut milk/ sugar .

Egg Roast ( Mutta Roast )

The mutta roast prepared and served in hotels are loaded with overdose of oil and chillies which may enhance the taste but is not good for health. Here I’ve tried to minimize both. While boiling the egg care should be taken not to over boiled the egg which will leave a black / unpleasant coating on the yolk. Some people prefer duck eggs. Another option is to add half cup of thick coconut milk in the final stage, which will give a completely different taste. Those who like vegetarian option along with appam can use soy chunks instead of egg. Other combination for appam is stew ( vegetable / mutton / chicken ) ...

Serves: 3

You will need

3 boiled eggs
2 tablespoon oil
6 onions, finely sliced
2 spring curry leaves
2 green chillies, slit lengthwise
1 - inch piece ginger, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup ( 100 ml ) water
1 teaspoon salt ( or to taste )

Spice powder:

1 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoon water

Mix spice powders with water and keep aside.

Method

In a pan or kadai, heat oil. Add sliced onions and fry till golden brown on a medium heat ( approximately 15 - 20 minutes ).

Add chopped ginger, crushed garlic, curry leaves and slit green chillies. Mix well and saute for 5 - 8 minutes.

Add diluted spice powders and saute for 5 - 8 minutes or till the raw smell goes.

Add 1 cup water ( 100 ml ) and salt. Cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for 20 minutes or until done ( the gravy thickens / fragrant / golden brown in color ).

Gently add boiled eggs and mix well with onion gravy ( eggs are well coated with onion gravy ) and cook for 5 minutes on a low heat.

Serve with Appam.