Make it a Meal with Barnyard Millets

Everyone, the world over, are waking to the power of millets. To me, there are two benefits of eating with the 'small' grains. They are not only good for us, but they can in a small way help the climate change. They do not need a lot of water or fertile land to grow. Very hardy and can grow in different and difficult climatic conditions. As a bonus, they are power houses of nutrition too.

Here is a meal with millets, dal, rasam and a curry. The traditional rice meal replaced with barnyard millets. Just cooked it similar to rice with 1 millets to two water in a rice cooker. Let us do our bit to the environment by slowly incorporating millets into our diet.

Sauteed Paneer, Peas Pulao and Boondi Raita - Balance of Nutrition

The boondi, paneer and curd for the protein, peas and cucumber pitching in with the vegetables and the brown basmati rice adds the carbs and a bit of fiber. Delicious and healthy with a right balance of flavors.

Chilli curry with sesame powder

Sesame seeds are powerhouses of nutrition. It is the oldest known condiment to the mankind. Blogosphere is full of information on the beneficial effects of using this seed. Toast them lightly, cool and powder and use it to spike up the nutrition and the taste factor in any vegetable saute.

Soaked rice proves the adage "Old is Gold"

In Telugu, my mother tongue, there is a saying, Peddalamata chaddi annamu muta. Here left over cooked rice is compared to the wisdom of the elders. It is not glamorous but is full of life's wisdom distilled, that we take for granted.
Before the dosa,idli and the cereals of today took over the breakfast scene, it was a bowl of this rice soaked in water overnight, that filled the tummies of the farming community. Today it is proven that rice soaked and eaten like this has a lot of health benefits.

Instant Tomato Pickle

When you need something to perk up your lunch or dinner with a spicy pickle without laboring too much, I make this instant pickle which comes together in 15 minutes

Cabbage jowar roti with spring onions and left over rice

A cup of left over rice, a cup of jowar flour and add a lot of cabbage and spring onions with some ajwain. There is a lot going on in terms of ingredients, but the taste is excellent and is the best way to incorporate more millets like jowar into the dinner. This is not rolled like the normal roti's or chapathi's but must be patted on a banana leaf. Kannadigas are very proficient at making this kind of rotti.

Menu Plan - Dal, Instant Tomato Pickle, Cauliflower Pepper Fry and Stuffed Chillies

Easy menu - gets done in half hour for 3 people. Linking the recipes here.

Stuffed Chillies
Cauliflower pepper fry

Sabudana Vangi Bath

Vangi Bath is a very popular rice dish in Karnata. There are special green long brinjals which are specifically used for this dish. I had some soaked sabudana and a few purple brinjals when I tried out this dish. With the addition of peanut powder, it is an excellent one pot dish with vegetables and proteins. Served with a bowl of curd or a raitha it is a tasty variation of the traditional vangi bath.

Lacy Millet Coconut Neer Dosa

Neer Dosa is quite popular in coastal Karnataka. Rice and coconut are the main ingredients for this lacy and tasty dosa. We were first introduced to this on a trip to Sringeri at Coffee Shop Bhadra Stop. White lacy dosa was served with peanut onion chutney on the banks of river Bhadra in a coffee plantation. What is there not to like in it. Came back and searched for the recipe and tried it out. It took some turns to get the recipe right. 

With my quest to have more of millets, I tried to replace the rice with Little Millets and followed the same process resulting in quite tasty but brown dosa. Served with a dollop of butter for a tasty meal.

Pepper Roasted Cauliflower

How can a simple dish be so tasty? That was the question I had when I put the cauliflower in my mouth. All it needs is some time  and an absolutely hands off one at that. This is one of those dishes that are best forgotten once on the stove. Constant intervention only spoils it. My cauliflower is golden brown only because I added some turmeric like in everything else I cook.

Green Pea(ce) rice and a greener plate

An easy recipe for a tasty and a healthy rice. The tender green peas are cooked along with some diced fresh jack fruit seeds in a simple mixture of corriander leaves, ginger and green chillies. Tastes awesome even when cool and makes an ideal picnic lunch to be packed and eaten under green trees with plates made from beetle nut leaves. Jack fruit seeds are rich in protein and add a nice nutty taste to the dish.

Serve with pickle and curd for an all rounded meal.

Dosa Makeover: Foxtail Millet (korralu) dosa

Foxtail millet aka korralu in telugu were widely used couple of generations back. I am glad that they are making a comeback into the main stream. For this generation that has grown up on rice and wheat (polished ones at that), it will take some time to get used to the complex nuances of the hardy millets. Each of them have their own flavor and taste unlike the white rice which blends in with any dish without any personality of its own. 

Millets in addition to being good for us are good for the planet too. They are not resource intensive crops and can grow easily on marginal soils too.

Dosa and idli batter when made with millets was the best way to introduce them into our diet. Here I have used a combination of brown rice and korralu and the resulting dosa was quite tasty. The batter and the dosa are slightly brown and are not pristine white unlike the one made with polished rice. Taste wise, the millet dosa has a personality of its own with some complex flavor but it is hard to pin point the differences.

Dosa MakeOver : Brinjal Dosa with Basil Tomato Chutney

Dosa topped with thinly sliced brinjal and roasted on both sides is a favorite of my son. Occasionally I also top it with some tomato sauce and shredded cheese for a tasty and finger licking experience. It is a complete meal with dosa providing the carbs and protein and the brinjal adding the v factor. Serve this with a tomato chutney flavored with few basil leaves instead of corriander for a completely different flavor. This is a dosa makeover with the purple brinjal and the green chutney adding the oomph factor.

Dosa's should be slightly thicker to hold on the brinjal. Second thing to remember is to roast the dosa after flipping for the brinjal to cook. If the brinjal's are fresh and organic they cook very fast. This is my son's most loved breakfast/dinner/any time snack.

Dosa Makeover: Cheesy Broccoli Dosa

1. Spread the dosa batter on the pan.
2. Spread the grated broccoli.You need not cook it ahead. Grated broccoli cooks really fast, in the time it takes the dosa to roast - around a minute.

Easy Dinner With Rice, Simple Moong Dal and Brocoli stir fry

Count down begins

0-1 minute : Wash 2 cups of rice. Add double the water and put the pressure cooker on fire.

2-4 minutes: Follow the recipe for the easy moong dal recipe.

5-7 minutes: Follow the recipe for the broccoli stir fry.

10th minute : Switch off the pressure cookers.

7-15 minutes: Freshen up, set the table, stretch your legs, yadda yadda yadda.

15-30 minutes: Chomp, lick your fingers or the spoon.

31st minute : Burrp.

Easy moong dal recipe, Under 15 minutes

Dal is a must in many homes for the protein quotient especially on the vegetarian plate. It can be made plan with minimal garnishing an elaborate preparation which can take some time and effort. Some days we want to have it easy and have a dish that can go from stove to the plate in the least possible time. This moong dal is one such recipe. 

Split moong dal cooks very quickly as is and if it is done in a pressure cooker, the cooking time is reduced by one third. I had the seasoning done and then added the washed moong dal to be pressure cooked. So it was really ready in 10 minutes. 

Zuchini, Peas and Tomato Rice

A lone Zuchini, half a cup of peas and couple of tomatoes are all it took to dish out this wonderful rice. Flavorful and tasty even when cool, the minty tomato rice can be packed as is or with a side dish for a yummy lunch box option. If rice is already cooked, then the whole dish comes together in matter of minutes.

Savory Dunkin Doughnuts aka Rasam Vada

Urad dal vada soaked in piping hot rasam, garnished with bundi can give the real doughnut a run for its sweet. Of course there is no comparisons other than that both are round and that both the vada and the donut are fried.

Uddi Vada, Medu Vada, Urad Dal Vada or whatever you want to call it, is a very tasty preparation, primarily served for break fast. I had made simple rasam to go with it instead of the usual sambar or chutney. The vada soaked up the rasam and was very delicious. Perfect for the monsoon mornings.

Recipe for the rasam and the urad dal vada will be posted and linked later.

Ridgegourd peel chutney, When nothing goes waste

An absolutely delightful chutney with peels of Ridgegourd or Beerakaya as we call in Telugu, with onion and of course green chilli. It is a very rustic chutney where the peel leftover from making the curry transforms itself into a side dish. Grounded with green chillies and onion and then sauteed in oil for couple of minutes, this is one dish that will not be found in any restaurant menu. The sweetness of the barely cooked onions complement the spicy chilli and the peel itself gives a nice bite when mixed in rice.

Dosa Makeover: Coin Uthappam/Dosa with Sprouts, Easy Peasy Lunch Box

Dosa batter topped with moong and masoor sprouts, easy healthy and tasty. They are an ideal breakfast, finger food, any time snack. Packet with a peanut chutney powder, they make a very good lunch box option for the kids. Carbs, vitamins and proteins and non fussy to eat. What more do we want. I have used moong sprouts and masoor sprouts. One tea spoon of sprouts sprinkled on one table spoon of dosa batter and cooked on medium heat for 1/2 minute on each side, that is the recipe.