One Day At A Time!

For me, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. As you all know, we love South Indian Idli and Dosa. But, these days I am a Mommy, who has less time for cooking. So, for all busy people, here are some quick Indian breakfast ideas and recipes from a busy Mom. Feel free to share your tips through the comment section. Let me start with Instant Idli. Instant Oats Vegetables Idli Instant Rava (Sooji) Idli with Veggies Two more Konkani recipes of Idlis with vegetables. Tavshe (Cucumber) Idli Dudhe (Pumpkin) Idli Well, some delicacies for Gujarati food lovers. Instant Khaman Dhokla Instant Rava/Sooji Dhokla Khandvi/Suralichya Vadya Now is the time for everyone's favorite South Indian dosa. Instant Masala Dosa Instant Oats Rava Dosa Instant Rava Maida Dosa Instant Ragi / Nachni Dosa Some Marathi style Thaalipeeth. Instant Cabbage Dosa Jwari (Jowar) Thaalipeeth A Vegan Besan Vegetable Omlette Vegan Egg Free Omlette How about some Poha ...

Rice delicacies are probably the most convenient for me to cook. South Indian traditional recipes like Chitranna, Bisibele Bhaath, Puliyogare are always a hit at my place. How about the Karnataka special Mavinkayi (Raw Green Mango) Chitranna? This fruity rice with crunchy peanuts and cashews is one of my go to meals on a busy weekday. Hope you all like it.

Preparing a traditional dosa  batter is a time consuming and elaborate process of soaking, grinding and fermenting. Some foodies don't like fermenting the batter. I prefer Instant recipes too at times.  Let me tell you my quick way of making everyone's favorite  Masala Dosa . Ingredients: Rice Flour - 1 cup Urad Dal Flour/Split Black Gram Flour - 1/3 cup Besan/Chickpea Flour/Gram Flour - 1/4 cup Thin Poha/Flattened Rice - 1/3 cup Water - 2 1/2 cups Oil or Unsalted Butter Salt How to make Instant Masala Dosa: In a blender/grinder add rice flour, urad dal flour, besan, thin poha, little salt and 2 cups water. Blend/grind until all the ingredients are mixed well. Stir with a spoon or spatula and pulse the batter again for about a minute. This will aerate the batter a little. Set the batter aside for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, you'll notice the batter has thickened. Now add the remaining 1/2 cup water and beat the batter well. The batter consisten...

Some days I plan a whole week's meals ahead and shop accordingly. Well.. plans don't always work. Other days, I keep staring at the pantry and refrigerator to come up with some delicious menu. Turns out, South Indian Puliyogare is my plan of action for today. Puliyogare is a simple, yet tasty rice with a tangy tamarind flavor. Ingredients: Basmati Rice - 1 cup Raw Peanuts/Shenga - 1/4 cup Whole Cashews/Kaju - 2 tbsp (optional) Desiccated (dry) Coconut/Kopra - 1 1/2 tbsp Coriander Seeds/Dhane - 2 tsp Chana Dal/Split Chickpeas - 2 tsp Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 1/2 tsp Urad Dal/Split Black Gram - 1 tsp Methi/Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 tsp Dry Red Chilies - 5 Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp Asafetida/Hing - 1 tsp Curry Leaves/Kadhipata - a sprig Jaggery/Gur - 1 tbsp Tamarind/Imli - a big lemon sized ball Oil - 2 1/2 tbsp Salt How to cook South Indian Puliyogare Rice: In a small bowl, add about 1 cup water. Add tamarind to the bowl and microwave it for 20 - 25 seconds. Let the ...

When it comes to South Indian crepes, most of us like the crisp Masala Dosa . My folks like the healthy variations too - Oats Masala Dosa and  Ragi Masala Dosa . But, its such a lengthy process. Instant dosa with no baking soda and no overnight fermentation is the most nutritious breakfast I can think of. Try these quick, gluten free finger millet savory crepes to kick start your day. Ingredients: Ragi/Nachni/Finger Millet Flour - 1/2 cup Rice Flour - 1/4 cup Urad Dal Flour - 1/4 cup Water - about 1 1/2 cups Oil or Butter or Ghee Salt How to make Instant Ragi Dosa: In a mixing bowl, add ragi flour, rice flour, urad dal flour and salt. Mix well. Now add water, little at a time and make a thin batter. I added about 1.5 cups water. Batter must not be too thick nor too runny. Heat a flat cast iron or non stick pan. Lightly grease the pan with cooking spray or ghee or butter. Do not add too much oil. Too much oil makes it difficult to spread the batter evenly...

Instant Rava Idli with Veggies Mornings are the busiest in every household. Our home is no different. A bowl of whole grain cereal is the easiest option for me. But on weekends, I don't mind cooking something traditional. This Karnataka style Rava Idli with carrots and peas is one of them. Unlike other South Indian breakfasts which require an elaborate process of soaking, grinding, fermenting, this Sooji Idli is a quick one. Plus, healthy! Ingredients: Semolina/Rava/Sooji - 1 cup Yogurt/Curds/Dahi - 1 cup Grated Carrots/Gajar - 1/2 cup Green Peas (frozen) - 1/2 cup Grated Coconut (fresh or frozen) - 1/4 cup Cashews/Kaju - 3 tbsp Cumin/Jeera Seeds - 1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp Curry Leaves/Kadipata - 6 Oil or Ghee - 3 tsp Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp Salt How to make Instant Rava Idli with veggies: Heat a pan and dry roast semolina at low heat for 3 - 4 minutes. Roast until semolina color changes slightly and turns aromatic. Do not let...

Hey everyone!  Thanks for all the emails and the sweet messages. I missed you guys too.  Hope you all had a great start in 2014. We are in the middle of severe winter weather and as the news readers say "Winter Wonderland". As far as new year resolutions, mine are still the same as last year... eat healthy, eat high calorie food in moderation and stay fit. Talking of healthy, let me tell you about a quick 20 minutes Oats dosa I made this weekend.

Cold weather has arrived with the beautiful fall colors in my part of the world. Every season demands special delicacies. For this winter, I made Dry Fruits Ladoo with edible gum.  Call it Antina Unde or Kardantu  (in Kannada) or Dinkache Laadu  (in Marathi) or Gond ke Ladoo (in Hindi), this sweet is like a homemade nutrition bar made of a healthy sweetener - jaggery. Ingredients: Jaggery / Gul / Gud (grated) - 1 1/2 cups Desiccated (Dry) Coconut (grated) - 3/4 cup Edible Gum / Antu / Dink / Gond - 1/4 cup Whole Almonds / Badam - 1/4 cup Whole Cashews / Kaju - 1/4 cup Dry Dates / Khajur / Kharik - 1/4 cup Dry Cranberries - 1/4 cup Poppy Seeds / Khuskhus - 1 1/2 tbsp Ghee / Clarified Butter - 5 tbsp Green Cardamom / Elaichi - 4 pods Nutmeg / Jaiphal (grated) - 1/8 tsp How to make Dinkache Ladoo or Kardantu: Crush cardamom seeds in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Finely chop almonds, cashews, dates and cranberries, using a knife or a food processor...

Since I brought a mini pancake pan, Appe has joined our list of breakfast menu. So far, I have posted savory recipes. You guys might have read about Udid Methi Appe   and also an instant version of Gluten free Appe .  Today I made God Appe for breakfast. Sweet appe or paddu or paniyaram are made either with rice or wheat. Wheat flour is the instant one as compared to the rice paddu. Hope you all like these sweet pancakes with bananas. Ingredients: Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup Flattened Rice/Thin Poha - 1/2 cup Grated Jaggery/Gud/Gul - 1/2 cup Shredded Coconut (fresh or frozen) - 1/4 cup Ripe Bananas - 2 big Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 2 pods Oil or Ghee/Clarified Butter How to make Instant God Appo: Blend flattened rice, grated jaggery, coconut and bananas to a slightly coarse paste in a food processor or a blender. If jaggery is not available, brown sugar is a good substitute. Based on the sweetness you like, add more or less jaggery. Crush cardamom seeds...

Lately, for some unknown reason, I haven't been able to blog about new recipes. But today, I managed to shrug off my laziness and cook something different. So, here I am with gluten free  Indian Rice Noodles or Vermicelli . In Konkani, we call this as Shevai and it is served with both sweet and savory accompaniments. Many of you might know this as Idiyappam or Shavige . Traditionally, Shevai is made by a lengthy process of soaking rice, grinding and stuff. As you know me, I look for the easier way. But, its equally delicious. Ingredients: Rice Flour - 1 cup Water - 1 cup Salt Oil How to make Rice Shevai / Idiyappam: In a mixing bowl, add rice flour and salt. Mix well. Heat 1 cup water in a small sauce pan. Turn off the heat when water starts boiling. Pour the hot water to the bowl and mix with a spoon. When it turns cold enough to handle, knead it well to make a soft dough. Divide the dough into 2 balls. Grease the idli plates with cooking spray or oil. ...

Anyone experiencing the Monday blues? I am feeling too lazy to cook anything.  But at the same time, I don't want any takeout either. South Indian lemony rice, well known as Chitranna, seemed like a nice easy lunch to cook. The crunchy peanuts and aromatic dals make this tangy rice a true delight as a meal or as a snack. Ingredients: Basmati Rice - 1 cup Raw Peanuts/Groundnuts/Shenga - 1/3 cup Chana Dal/Split Bengal Gram/Split Chickpeas - 2 tsp Urad Dal/Split Black Gram - 1 tsp Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/2 tsp Curry Leaves/Kadipata - a sprig Coriander/Cilantro/Dhania Leaves - few sprigs Green Chilies - 3 Onion - 1 medium Oil - 3 tbsp Lime/Lemon - 1 Salt How to make South Indian Chitranna: Wash rice well with water. Drain all the water. Cook washed rice with 1 1/2 cups water, little salt and 1/2 tbsp oil.  Oil is optional, but the cooked rice does not turn sticky because of oil. Fluff t...

Finally, the weather has changed in my part of the world and its bright and sunny. I love my morning walks during spring. A fresh start for a day.  Anyways, today I made this simple chutney for our morning breakfast. Both cilantro and a hint of garlic with peanuts make this a perfect accompaniment for South Indian Idlis and Dosas. Ingredients Peanuts/Groundnuts/Shenga - 1 cup Onion (Chopped) - about 1/2 cup Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - about 6 sprigs Garlic - 1 big clove Green Chilies - 4 Tamarind/Imli/Chinch paste - about 1/2 tsp Salt Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp Curry Leaves/Kadipata - 5 Red Chilies - 2 Oil - about 3 tsp How to make Peanut Cilantro Chutney for Idli Dosa: Dry roast the peanuts in a pan until they get small brown spots. Let the peanuts cool. You can discard the peanut skin. I prefer peanuts with the skin, as the skin is nutritious. Keep the peanuts aside. Julienne slice the onions and garlic. Medium chop green chilies. In the same pan, add about 2 tsp ...

Some days, I forget to soak rice and dal for our regular breakfast - Idlis and Dosas. At times, cereal works just fine. Other days, I rely on such instant versions of South Indian breakfast items. We love such quick gluten free delicacies for lunch as well. Prep work involves chopping vegetables, but still its far more convenient. Ingredients: Idli Rava - 3/4 cup Urad Dal Flour/Split Black Gram Flour - 1/2 cup Yogurt/Dahi/Curds - 3/4 cup Carrots (finely chopped) - 1/2 cup Bell Pepper (finely chopped) - 1/2 cup Green Onions/Scallions - 1/4 cup Cilantro/Coriander/Kothimbir Leaves - few sprigs Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp Salt Oil How to cook Instant Appe / Paniyaram with vegetables: In a mixing bowl, add carrots, bell peppers, green onions, cilantro, salt and yogurt (preferably slightly sour). Make sure the veggies are very finely chopped, especially carrots. Or you can grate carrots as well. I have used full fat / whole milk yogurt....

When it comes to buying cookware, I am like a kid in a candy store. I love shopping for new kitchenware. But, my minimalistic nature sometimes stops me from picking unnecessary items. I don't like clutter in my kitchen. Anyways, this week I ordered a Danish pan online and here you are reading about a popular South Indian gluten free breakfast - savory mini pancakes called as Paddu or Paniyaram . In Konkani, these soft lentil and rice goodies are known as Appo or Appe . There are many ways of making Appe, both sweet and savory.  For today, lets eat Udid Methi Appe.

February is here and hope everyone had a great first month. My resolution for 2013 was to blog more about whole grain recipes, include more vegetables in our diet. One day at a time and everything in moderation. That takes me to our today's breakfast - healthy Oats twist to a South Indian Idli, with colorful carrots and bell peppers. Ingredients: Quick Oats - 1 cup Semolina/Rava/Sooji - 1/2 cup Yogurt/Curd/Dahi - 1 cup Carrots (finely chopped) - 1/2 cup Capsicum/Bell Pepper (finely chopped) - 1/2 cup Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs Cumin/Jeera Seeds - 1/2 tsp Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp Salt How to cook Instant Oats Idli with vegetables: Heat a pan and roast oats at low heat for 4 - 5 minutes. Set it aside on a plate to cool. After cooling, grind the roasted oats to a fine powder. Now roast semolina at low heat for 4 - 5 minutes or until it slightly changes color and turns aromatic. Let it cool. In a big mixing bowl, add finely chopped carrots, capsicum, ci...

Coconut Chutney is a staple in every South Indian home. You guys might have read about the variety of Konkani  Coconut Chutneys  my Mom makes for us. Let me add one more South Indian condiment today, where onions and tomatoes are the highlights and not coconut. Quite different from the regular coconut chutney, with a hint of sweet and sour flavors. Ingredients: Onion - 1 medium Tomatoes - 2 medium Ginger - 1/2 inch piece Green Chili - 1 Shredded Coconut (fresh or frozen) - 3 tbsp Chana Dal/Split Bengal Gram - 1 tbsp Urad Dal/Split Black Gram - 1 tbsp Dry Red Chilies - 3 Jaggery/Gud/Gul - 1 tsp Tamarind/Imli/Chinch - 1 tsp Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - few sprigs Oil - 1 tbsp and 1 tsp Salt Tempering/Tadka: Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp Cumin/Jeera Seeds - 1/4 tsp Curry Leaves/Kadipata - a sprig Asafetida/Hing - 1/4 tsp Dry Red Chilies - 2 Oil - 1 tsp How to make South Indian Onion Tomato Chutney: Heat about 1 tsp oil in a pan. Add c...

As I have mentioned earlier, Dosas are quite regular at our home. We love them both for breakfast and lunch. I keep looking for new ways to introduce more protein rich beans in our diet. Today's dosa is made of 15 Beans which are easily available as dry 15 Beans or 16 Beans or 21 Beans Soup packet. And Oats made it more nutritious. Let me tell you the different varieties of dry beans I used - Northern, Pinto, Large Lima, Yelloweye Bean, Garbanzo, Baby Lima, Green Split Pea, Kidney Bean, Cranberry Bean, Small White, Pink Bean, Small Red, Yellow Split Pea, Lentil, Navy, White Kidney Bean, Black Bean.

Our morning breakfasts are commonly idlis and dosas - Cucumber Dosa , Oats Masala Dosa , Paan Pole , Dudhe (Pumpkin) Idli and so on. A nutritious breakfast including various types of grains and vegetables, is a good way to start your day. Today's Ragi and Urad Dal dosa is also one of those. My Mother-in-law's South Kanara Dosa Recipe. These gluten free crisp crepes with a curry are perfect for lunch or dinner as well.  Our family favorite is Ragi Masala Dosa , with a simple Coconut Chutney and Potato Bhaji . Ingredients: Ragi/Nachni/Finger Millet Flour - 1/2 cup Urad Dal/Split Black Gram - 1/4 cup Salt Oil How to prepare Ragi Dosa: Soak urad dal in water for 2 - 3 hours. Drain the water and wash the soaked dal well.  Grind urad dal to a fine, smooth paste adding water. In a bowl, add ground urad dal and add ragi flour little at a time. Stir well until ragi flour is mixed well. Add little water if required. Batter consistency is same as any crepe ...

South Indian Dosa or Crepes made of whole mung beans, rice and oats. Mung Bean with its skin on is highly nutritious and provides more fiber. Ingredients: Oats - 1/2 cup Idli Rice or Medium Grain Rice - 1/2 cup Mung Bean/Mung/Moog - 1/4 cup Toor Dal/Split Pigeon Peas - 1 tbsp Fenugreek/Methi Seeds - 1 tsp Salt Oil How to prepare Oats and Mung Dosa: Soak rice, mung beans, toor dal and methi seeds in water for 5 - 6 hours. Aromatic methi seeds impart a nice golden brown color to the dosas. Wash the soaked rice and lentils well. Grind soaked rice, lentils and oats to a smooth paste. I used Quick Oats. No need to soak oats. Cover and let the batter ferment overnight. You can also add 1/8 tsp baking soda if you like. Add salt to the batter and mix when you are ready to make dosas. Heat a pan and grease the pan with few drops of oil or cooking spray. Do not add too much oil or else the dosas wont be thin. Spread a ladle full of batter evenly as thin as possible. Roast both sides ...

Chutney is the most popular Indian condiment served as a side dish with meals or as a dip with snacks. Today's recipe is a dry chutney made of phutane/dalia and coconut.   This dry chutney is also sprinkled on Masala Dosa . Ingredients: Phutane/Dalia/Roasted Chana Dal - 1 cup Dessicated (Dry) Coconut - 1/2 cup White Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 tsp Asafoetida/Hing - 1/4 tsp Dry Red Chillies - 5 Sugar - 1/4 tsp Salt How to prepare Dry Phutane Chutney: Wipe the blender/grinder jar completely dry. Blend all the ingredients in a blender/grinder to a fine or slightly coarse powder. Serve dry Chutney with Idli or Dosa with coconut oil.