Curry In Kadai ~ An Indian Cooking Blog

A healthy low fat nutritious breakfast commonly found in every south Indian house is the mighty Idly i.e, Steamed cakes made with fermented batter of Lentils and Rice. At our house at least 2-3 days a week Idli would be the breakfast. They were like white, very light and fluffy pillows of nutritional goodness. Oh my grandma makes the best fluffiest and lightest Idlies and they would melt in your mouth right away. I remember she used to steam in copper vessel which was so heavy and thick. She took so much effort by preparing the batter in a bigger mortar and pestle ( Rubbu Rolu ) unlike us using the electric blender or grinder. Love you Grandma.



Coming to this Kanchipuram Idly ( Kanchi Idly ) aka Steamed Vegetable Rice and Lentil Cakes, they are my all time favorite. Onions add crunch, chillies add spice, and cashew nuts add nuttiness and curry leaves add so much flavor to the idlies. Sometimes we used to ask mom to pack these for lunch to school as they taste good even cold unlike the plain Idlies. Vellulli karam( thellagadda karam ) is a garlic, curry laves and cumin flavored red chilli powder which takes minutes to make and goes great with dosa, idly, fried veggies and curries. For us nothing complements these Kanchi idlies better than this vellulli miram.



Ingredients for Kancheepuram Idly:

• 1/2 cup urad dal
• 1 cup idly ravva / uppudu ravva / cream of rice
• 1 carrot grated
• 2 onions chopped
• 4 green chillies
• 10 curry leaves
• 1 inch finely chopped ginger
• chopped cilantro
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp chana dal / bengal gram
• 1 tsp urad dal / Black dal
  

Preparation of

• Soak urad dal and cream of rice separately overnight
• Next morning grind urad dal to a very fine paste adding water, the natter should be ground to very smooth batter
  
• Drain off all the liquid from the ravva / cream of rice
• Mix the ground paste and ravva together along with salt( try to use your hands, it helps in fermentation )
• You can make regular plain idlis with this batter otherwise let it ferment for 5 more hours so that it turns out little sour because masala or vegetable idlis taste better when the batter is sour
  
• In a kadai or saute pan do the tempering aka tadka i.e., heat oil and add chana dal, cumin mustard seeds, cashew nuts, urad dal and chana dal. Once they start to pop add curry leaves and mix with the batter
• In the batter add chopped onions, chopped ginger, green chillies and carrot. Mix everything together and pour some batter in the idli moulds and steam cook for 15 - 20 mins. To check for doneness, wet your finger and touch the steamed idlies, if they don't stick to your hands they are done and ready to be served.
  
• Carefully remove the steamed rice and lentil cakes from the moulds with a flat spoon

• 1 cup red chilli powder
• 1/2 cup salt
• 10 curry leaves
• 3-4 garlic cloves with the peel on
• 1 tbsp jeera / cumin seeds

Preparation of Garlic

• In a blender add red chilli powder, jeera / cumin seeds, salt and grind to fine powder
• Add the remaining ingredients i.e, garlic cloves with the peel and curry leaves and grind well
• Do adjust salt and spice to taste. You can store this garlicky chilli spice powder for up to 2 weeks outside and couple of months in refrigerator

• My Legume Love Affair - Ninth Helping (MLLA9) hosted by Laurie started by Susan
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Dosakaya / budamakaya in telugu and lemon cucumber or lemon cuke in English is from the family of cucumber similar in taste except for being very firm and sour in taste. You can even eat it raw like cucumber ( but we usually peel off the skin ). They look like either small round or oval shaped yellow skin with green scales or viceversa and usually very firm to touch.

I remember how hard it was to find this cutie in the Indian grocery near by. I looked for this veggie at every farmers market, groceries and i could say almost every nook and corner but went in vain. Finally i found a very good local farmer grocery with some common Indian vegetables but couldn't get lemon cuke there, one day i went up to the grocery owner and asked if he would be able to get this vegetable for me, he was so nice and to my surprise from the very next week this veggie has become a regular item in the list.. Finally my quest was over..



This is my favorite vegetable. Mom makes an array of dishes like Dosakaya talimpu, dosakaya pachadi, dosakaya ooragaaya, dosakaya pappu, dosakaya pulusu, dosakaya sambar and dosakya perugu pachadi( yes a lot right!!) I love this talimpu and pulusu a lot!! Here's is one of my favorite recipe from Grandmas kitchen.

You need:

1 dosakaya / lemon cuke

1 onion
10 curry leaves
1-2 tsp red chilli powder
1 garlic pod
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp chana dal / Senaga pappu / bengal gram
salt to taste



Preparation:

• In a coffee grinder or blender grind red chilli powder, salt ,garlic and 5 curry leaves to fine powder. You can store this vellulli karam ( Garlicky and curry leaves chilli powder ) in refrigerator for up to a month or longer and tastes so good with idli or dosa.
  
• Peel the skin off the cucumber( dosakaya / budamakaya ) and chop into pieces as shown in the picture. Chop onions and keep aside.
• In a saute pan / kadai add popu / tadka with oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and chana dal. once they start to crackle add curry leaves followed by cucumber pieces\, turmeric and salt. Mix everything together and cook with the lid in low flame( heat ) stirring occasionally.
• To check for doneness, dosakaya mukkalu / lemon cuke pieces turn into transparent and should still have that crispness. At this time add the prepared garlic chilli powder and mix everything together.
• Adjust salt to taste and finish it off with cilantro.

This Dosakaya talimpu i.e, Sauteed Lemon Cuke With onions tastes great with steaming hot rice or chapathis/tortillas. The tanginess from the curry compliments the plain rice or roti very well. You can even substitute chilli powder with green chillies and coconut for a subtle mild taste.

Note:

• Pick the lemon cucumber that is very firm and has no soft spots, and should be free from any wrinkles
• Check if it is bitter by tasting a little, sometimes only the seeds could be bitter, if so you could discard the seeds and use the rest.
  

My Sauteed lemon cuke / cucumber is on its way to:

• Weekend Herb Blogging Event hosted by Cheryl from Gluten Free Goodness
• Recipes for the rest of us Dinner hosted by Siri
• Food In Colors: Orange hosted by Aparna started by Harini

Black Eyed Peas aka Alasandulu in Telugu are a very good source of Calcium, Protein, Fiber and Folate. Not to mention the Vitamin A found abundant in all lentils and beans.Since folic acid is very essential to pregnant women having a cup of cooked beans at least 3 times a week is a very delicious way to incorporate folate in their diet. Alasandalu / black eyed peas are one of the beans which doesn't require overnight soaking and pre planning. You can either directly pressure cook or soak for couple of hours and then cook. My mom usually makes different kinds of Chundal(Sundal, Usili ) i.e., seasoned beans as they are very good healthy alternative to any fried snacks like chips, pakora etc., These tempered black eyed peas / alasandula guggillu( SUNDAL ) are usually what my dad loves to eat in the evenings. This recipe is directly from moms kitchen!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Black eyed peas / Alasandalu / Bobbarlu
  
• 1 small onion
• 2-3 green chillies
• 1 lemon
  

For seasoning( Tadka / popu ):

• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp minapappu / urad dal
• 2 tbsp oil
• 5-10 curry leaves
  

Preparation:

• Soak black eyed peas/alasandalu for 1-2 hrs and then pressure cook with 2 cups of water( Until the beans are immersed in water )
• Pressure cook for 4 whistles or boil separately until they are cooked and tender( make sure they don't fall apart )
• Drain off the cooked beans ( Preserve the water , ill tell you a sumptuous way of using the liquid )
• In a saute pan heat oil, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and urad dal. Once they start to splutter add chopped onions and green chillies along with salt.
• Once the onions are cooked to translucent add the cooked peas and mix together.
• Switch off the heat, add lemon juice and finish it off with cilantro.
  

This healthy protein and fiber rich low fat snack tastes good when its steaming hot. You can wrap this tempered black eyed peas in a chapathi or wheat tortilla along with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers for a complete sumptuous low fat healthy nutritious meal perfect anytime of the day!

Note:
Don't throw the leftover water from the drained cooked black eyed peas. Mom makes Rasam(Soup) with some tomatoes, tamarind(optional) and any rasam powder with tadka or above tempering. This soup/rasam taste so earthy .. Try it to believe it!!! I'm sure you will love it!!

I love garnishing my food even if its just some cilantro on the top as i believe we taste the food with our eyes first and then palette. The food should not only be delicious but should be like a feast to your eyes. Garnishing with simple ingredients like curry leaves, cilantro, a slice of lemon, green chillies or red chillies adds so much depth to your dish. The main point is to highlight the ingredient you used. Here i used curry leaves ans lemon slice to hint the viewer about the ingredients inside the dish.

This will be my entry for:

• Garnishing tips and techniques for Indian food
• A Healthy Bite hosted by Rachana
• Sunday Snacks - Grab n Go hosted by Pallavi
  
• MY LEGUME LOVE AFFAIR - EIGHTH HELPING hosted by Susan