Friday, September 16, 2011

"Fusion Cuisine"- Oatli ( Oat Idlis)

Oatli.....such a cute name isn't it!!!! No.....unfortunately I did not coin that term...someone already did before me:(
I was talking to 'V' the other day and she mentioned about making these 'Oat Idlis' .Couldn't wait to try these.Got the 'Rava' from the Indian store last evening and we had 'Oatlis' for lunch today!!!
There are various recipes out there for the oat idlis..some people use Rice + Oats to make these and the other used Oats + Semolina or rava. I made them pretty similar to the 'Rava Idlis' but more of the rava was substituted by oats....
Ingredients:
2 cups whole grain quick cooking oats
1 and 1/2 cup Rava
3 and 1/2 cups yogurt
1tsp Baking soda
2 tbsp oil
2 tsp grated ginger
2tsp finely chopped  green chilies
1tsp Chana daal
1tsp Urad dal
1tbsp Cashew pieces
6-8 Curry leaves
1tsp mustard seeds
Salt
Water
Cooking spray











 Method: 
1) Dry roast the oats till slightly brownish.Let them cool.Powder coarsely in a blender.
2) Heat 2 tbsp oil , add the mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal, grated ginger,green chilies, curry leaves torn into small pieces, cashew pieces and fry till everything is golden brown.
3) Add the rava and roast till it just starts to change color. Let it cool.Add salt and baking soda
4) Mix together the rava mixture with the coarsely ground oats.
 5) Mix the yogurt with little water to thin it out.
6) Spray the Idli pans with cooking spray. Boil water in large pan/steamer for steaming the idlis.
7) For 1 cup of the oats+ rava mixture add 1 cup of yogurt.Mix. The batter is thicker than the usual idli batter. Mix yogurt only to the mixture that will be used up immediately for steaming.Once yogurt is added you have to steam the idlis. If kept longer with yogurt, the soda will loose its action and the idlis will not be fluffy.

8) Steam for 10-15  mins.

9) Serve hot with Sambar and Coconut Chutney

Enjoy the nutritious but delicious fluffy Oatli and feel good about stuffing yourself  to full!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

"Everyday Cooking"- 4 colored Capsicum Masala Rice

Last week, it was yet another 'bye-bye' to a friend here in Columbus.  'S'(this is the 3rd friend with name starting with 'S'.... I had to say 'good bye' to in the past few months:(  was going to leave Columbus for good. She and her family were busy packing and I wanted to help her out with the dinner that night. I had these colored Peppers(capsicum) ...green, red, yellow and orange...I love those bright colors and how 'fancy' or 'festive' they make the food!

I remembered 'P' making this delicious and spicy 'Capsicum rice' in New York. Gave her a call...got the recipe and fixed dinner for S's family!

'P' mentioned that she got the original recipe from www.vahrevah.com
Here is the recipe from their website:
http://www.vahrehvah.com/indianfood/capsicum-masala-rice/
Basically----
1) Prepare white basmati rice and let it cool.Grains should be separate.
2) Slice the Peppers. Dry roast the 'masala' ingredients given in the recipe. Grind the masala ingredients.

3) Fry the peppers for just couple mins. The peppers should remain 'crisp'. Add the masala powder and fry for few seconds.
4) Add the cooked rice.Toss. Add 2 tsp Ghee.Toss again.
Serve hot along with cool yogurt or curries or your favorite soup. Enjoy!!!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

"Aroma From a Guest Kitchen"- (Guest- Prachi Ranzekar)- Zucchini Patties




Guest: Prachi Ranzekar
Prachi was one of the contestants of the 'Taste of Columbus' Cooking contest. She made these incredible 'Indian style Zucchini Patties" for the 'Spice Fusion ' Category, where you had to make an Indian dish using  ingredient that was not so typical in Indian cooking. What I loved most about the patties was, the texture of the crust! It was so crispy and crunchy and stayed so for a long time!!  Prachi had dipped them in corn starch batter and then coated them with bread crumbs.This was a neat idea!!
The patties looked so tempting and mouth watering and all the spectators were drooling...just looking at them!!!
Ingredients:
3medium zucchinis
1/2tbsp red chili powder
1/2tb cumin powder
1 and 1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp corn starch
salt and black pepper for taste
oil for frying

Tamarind Sauce to go along with the patties

Method:
1) Grate the zucchinis.Mix zucchini, red chili powder, cumin, salt pepper and 1/4 cup of bread crumbs
2) Mix 1/4 cup water and corn starch
3) Form the zucchini mixture into small patties
4) Dip each pattie into the corn starch mixture and then into the remaining 1 cup of bread crumb mixture
5) Fry in hot oil for about 2 mins on each side till golden brown.
6) Serve hot along with tamarind sauce or ketchup!