Zucchini Dosa

Last night I wanted to try something new and easy to make, so I tried Zucchini dosa.
This dosa can be served with curd,podi or any pickle will be fine too.
Ingredients:
1 Cup Zucchini (shredded)
11/2 Cup Gram flour (besan)
1/4 Cup Dry Coconut
5 Nos Green chillies (chopped)
1 Tbsp Cumin powder
1 Tbsp Red chilly Powder (add to taste)
salt to taste
Method:
Shred the zucchini and squeeze the water from it.
Mix the squeezed zucchini, besan,coconut,green chillies,red chilly powder,cumin powder, salt and mix with water.
The batter should be of a pouring consistency.
Heat the dosa tawa and pour in a spoon full and spread it around.
After a minute turn the dosa to the other side.
Serve hot.

Note: You can add rice flour to the batter , this will give crispness to the dosa.

Barley Dosa

In an effort to make health food more tasty and enjoyable i wanted to incorporate whole grains in my regular menu, so i tried making Barley dosa from dailytoy.
This is my version.
Ingredients:
1 Cup Brown rice
1 Cup Barley
3/4 Cup Urad dal
1 Tbsp Fenugrek seeds
salt.
Method:
Soak the rice and barley for 6-8 hrs.
Soak the urad dal and fenugrek seeds for 3-5 hrs.
Grind all the ingredients together .
The batter will be a little coarse.
Ferment the batter overnight.
The dosa is great with most chutneys .

Health Benefits of Barley

Of late I have been trying to approach a healthy diet : The kind of diet which does not involve starving or eating food that does not satisfy your pallet.
My solution came in the form of whole grains:
Substituting Brown rice for white rice,Buying multi-grain or whole wheat pasta, roti etc...
When I read the list of whole grains and benefits, I was amazed.

Health Benefits of Barley:
Barley is a good source of vitamins, minerals and fiber and selenium, and a good source of phosphorus, copper and manganese.

Intake of barley can be beneficial for our overall health. In particular it is known to help alleviate diabetes, high cholesterol, and obesity. Some evidence suggests that barley seed products in the diet may improve blood sugar levels in individuals with diabetes, possibly because the fiber in barley seeds delays stomach emptying and slows down the absorption of carbohydrates from foods.
Additionally, barley may assist in weight loss because it acts as an appetite suppressant making people feel like they have eaten more than they really have. Barley seeds may also protect against colon cancer.

To increase intake of barley, try the following:

• Mix with rice to make dosa batter
• Mix barley flour with wheat flour to make breads and roti
• Add barley to stews and soups or other dishes such as risotto to enhance texture
• Use cracked barley or barley flakes to make hot cereal
• Toss chilled cooked hulled barley into salads.

Buying Barley:
When I looked for barley in the supermarket I found hulled barley and pearled barley.

In hulled barley the kernels are minimally processed to remove only the tough inedible outer hull. Most of the bran and endosperm is left intact and the germ is present, making it a whole grain.
pearled barley undergoes more processing, some insoluble fiber, trace minerals and micro nutrients may be lost. Hence it is not considered as a wholegrain.


Source:www.whfoods.com,www.nutrasanus.com/barley.html,www.healthcastle.com.

Milagai Kulambu

I am posting this curry for the Curry Mela hosted by cooking 4 all seasons.
Milagai kulambu is one of my favorite curry.This is a very tangy curry, despite it having a lot of chillies it is not hot. Whenever we went home, me and my brother bugged my mom to make it for us.This curry is very simple to make and is great with rice and also goes great with dosa.
Ingredients:
6 Nos Green chillies(slit)
15 Nos Small onions
3 Tbsp Coconut (grated)
1 Tbsp tamarind paste
2 Tbsp Urad dal
1 sprig curry leaves
1 Tsp mustard seeds
2 Tbsp oil
Asafoetida
Salt to taste.
Method:
Heat 1/2 table spoon of oil in a kadai and roast the urad dal till it becomes a deep golden brown.
Now grid the coconut, urad dal and 2 green chillies.
Heat the remaining oil and add mustard seeds and curry leaves.
When the mustard seeds pop add the onions , green chillies and saute.
Add the ground paste , tamarind , salt ,water and let it simmer till the raw floavor leaves.
Add asafoetida at the last stage and let it simmer for a minute or two.
Serve hot with white rice.

Pudalankaai Poriyal (Snake Gourd Poriyal)

Snake gourd is one of the vegetables i associate with my childhood.My Grandpa used to plant snake gourds (along with other greens & stuff) in our back yard.He used to tie small stones to the ends of the snake gourd to make it grow longer.Back then i used to hate its smell when it was on the vine, but when cooked it attains a wonder full aroma!!
Ingredients:
1 Snake gourd
4 Dry red chillies
1 Large Onion (chopped)
2 Tbsp Coconut (grated)
2 Tbsp oil
1 Sprig Curry leaves
1 Tsp Mustard seeds & urad dal
Salt to taste.
Method:
Slit the snake gourd vertically and remove the seeds .
Slice the gourds into thin slices(semi circles)
Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds and urad dal and let it splutter.
Add curry leaves,red chillies and onion and saute.
Now add the snake gourd and saute.
Add salt, cover and cook till tender.(add water as required)
When the snake gourd is almost done add the grated coconut.
Serve with rice.

Mirchi ka Salan

I like to use different kind of peppers in my cooking, The variation of colors, textures, and flavors add depth to the dish.For this curry i used Hungarian wax peppers.These peppers are just moderately hot so you can bite into it while you enjoy the curry.
Ingredients:
2 Nos Hungarian was peppers
1/4 Tsp Turmeric Powder
1 Large onion (chopped fine)
2 Tbsp Coconut (grated)
2 Tbsp Peanut
2 Tbsp Sesame seeds
1 No Clove
4 Nos Dry Red chillies
2 Tbsp Coriander seeds
2 Tbsp Cumin seeds
1 Tbsp G/G Paste
1 Tsp Tamarind paste
Asafoetida
2 Tbsp oil
Salt to taste
Method:
Dry roast the sesame seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds,red chillies, cloves and set aside.
Dry roast the peanuts separately.
Grind the coconut and all the dry roasted ingredient into a fine paste.
Heat Oil in a kadai and add the peppers and saute till it is nicely done.
Now add the chopped onion and saute.
Add tamarind paste, turmeric powder and G/G paste.(add water)
Add the Ground paste, salt and let it simmer.
When the curry is cooked add asafoetida before removing from heat.
Serve hot with rice or roti.

Pavakkai Fry (Bitter Gourd Fry)

My DH is very fond of Deep fried food, At least Pavakkai fry is a bit healthy!
The slight bitter taste along with the crispness makes it yum!

Ingredients:
2 Nos Bitter gourd (slices - thin rounds)
1 Tbsp Red chilly powder
1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder
1 Tbsp corn flour
1 Tbsp rice flour
salt to taste
oil for frying.
Method:
Wash the bitter gourd and cut into thin rounds.
Remove the seeds.
Marinate with salt and let it stand for ten minutes.
Now squeeze the bitter gourd and drain the water.
Add red chilly powder, turmeric powder,corn flour and rice flour to the bitter gourd and mix , till it is nicely coated.(do not add salt)
Heat oil in a kadai and fry the bitter gourd.
Serve immediately.
Note:
You can also avoid using corn flour .