Uttapam Recipe

Uttapam (aka Uttappa or Oothapam) is yet another healthy breakfast recipe from South Indian cuisine prepared with a common rice and urad dal batter used for preparing Idli and dosa. However, unlike Dosa, Uttapam is little thicker and is topped with different types of veggies like onion, tomato, capsicum, carrot, green chilli, sweet corn etc. which makes it even more healthier and tastier. Similar to idli and dosa recipes, you can prepare Rice and Urad Dal batter in advance and use it over multiple days to make delicious Uttapam in just 20 minutes for the breakfast.


This Uttapam Recipe explains entire process with step by step photos and provides tips to give it a personal touch by choosing your favorite vegetables or make it like a pizza by garnishing it with grated mozzarella cheese.

ingredients:
2 cups Idli Batter or Dosa Batter (homemade or readymade)
1 medium Onion, finely chopped (approx. 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup finely chopped Capsicum, optional
1/3 cup finely chopped Tomato
2-3 green chillies, finely chopped
Oil for shallow frying
Salt to taste


Directions:

(1)Prepare the batter at home by following this recipe or buy the readymade batter from the grocery store. Add salt (if not added before fermenting the batter) and water (if needed) in batter; mix well. Batter should be slightly thicker than dosa batter and slightly thinner than idli batter.

(2)Heat cast iron tava (dosa tawa) or non-stick tawa over medium flame. (for nice golden color, we recommend to use cast iron tawa.) Add few drops of oil on hot tawa and spread it using a halved potato or a halved small onion. This process helps spreading of batter and also prevents it from sticking. Repeat this process before making each uttapam.

 (3)When tawa is ready, pour one laddle batter and spread it in round shape by gently rotating the ladle in clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. make sure that batter spread is slightly thicker than a batter spread for Dosa.

(4)Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons finely chopped onion and 1-2 tablespoons finely chopped capsicum over it.

(5)Sprinkle 1 tablespoon finely chopped tomato and finely chopped green chillies over it. Gently press the veggies with a spatula.

 (6)Drizzle 1-teaspoon oil around the edge.

(7)Cook for approx.2-3 minutes until bottom surface turns light golden brown. If you are making very thick uttapam, cover it with a lid to speed up the cooking process.

(8)Flip it gently and cook another side for a minute or until the bottom surface looks cooked.

(9)Transfer it to a plate. Repeat the process from step-2 to step-8 for remaining batter.

(10)Serve it hot with coconut chutney or tomato onion chutney.


Taste: Crispy from outside and soft from inside
Serving Ideas: Serve it hot with green coconut chutney and vegetable sambar for breakfast or as a light evening dinner.

Veg Momos Recipe 

Jalebi

Jalebi, a spiral shaped crunchy sweet dipped in saffron laced sugar syrup, is the traditional Indian sweet. It is generally prepared on the festivals like Diwali and Ramadan and enjoyed with milk or other Indian snacks. There are two ways to prepare it; Traditional method and Instant method. In traditional method, batter prepared from maida and yogurt is fermented for 24 hours whereas In instant method, the batter is prepared using instant yeast and doesn’t require fermentation. You can make jalebis at home by following any method you desire but Jalebi prepared by traditional method tastes better.

There are 3-main steps to make this yummy sweet at home; in first step, a batter is prepared from maida and yogurt either using fermentation method (traditional method) or using instant yeast (instant method), in second step, a sugar syrup is prepared, and in last step, round spirals are made from the batter directly into hot oil and deep fried until crispy and then soaked in warm sugar syrup. This step by step recipe of Jalebi uses the traditional method.

Ingredients For Batter:

1/2 cup Maida/All Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon Corn Flour (white corn starch) or Aararoot Powder
1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
A pinch of Turmeric Powder (to get yellow color)
1/4 cup Curd (yogurt)
1/4 cup Water
Ingredients For Syrup:
1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Water
1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
A pinch of Cardamom Powder (eayachi)
5-7 strands of Saffron (kesar), optional


Directions for making Jalebi Batter:

(1)Sieve 1/2 cup maida in a medium bowl. Add 1-tablespoon corn flour (white corn starch), 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, a pinch of turmeric powder and 1/4 cup yogurt.

(2)Add water as needed (approx. 1/4 cup) and make a thick batter having consistency similar to vada batter (or little thicker than idli batter). Make sure that there are no lumps in batter.

(3)Cover the batter with a lid and keep it at room temperature for 24 hours to ferment. After 24 hours, remove the lid. The batter will have tiny bubbles on the surface and mild sour smell. Unlike Idli batter, its volume will not increase.

(4)Stir the batter well with a spoon.

(5)It should have sticky and dropping consistency. If the batter is too thin, jalebi will turn crispy but flat and if the batter is too thick, jalebi will turn soft and thick.

(6)Pour the batter into an empty ketchup bottle or jalebi maker bottle or in a thick ziplock bag.
Directions for making Sugar Syrup for Jalebi:

(7)Add sugar, saffron strands, cardamom powder and water in a deep container and heat it over medium flame.

(8)Cook until the syrup reaches to 1-string consistency.

(9)When it reaches to 1-string consistency, add lemon juice. Mix well. Turn off the flame. Syrup is ready. [When you start making jalebis, heat the sugar syrup over low flame to keep it warm when the jalebis are dipped in it in next step.]

 How to make Jalebis:

(10)Heat ghee/oil in a wide mouthed flat pan over medium flame to deep fry the jalebis. In this recipe, oil + 2 tablespoons ghee is used for deep frying. To check whether oil is ready for deep frying or not, add a drop of batter into hot oil and if it comes immediately on the surface without changing the color, oil is ready. When oil is ready, make round jalebis by squeezing the bottle (or ziplock bag) and moving it in a circular direction starting from the center towards the outside (or start from outside and move towards the center). Make 2-3 spirals of batter (or more or less depending on the size of a pan). If the jalebi doesn’t have perfect shape, don’t worry, as it requires some practice to make the perfect round shape. Its shape doesn’t affect its taste and texture.

(11)Flip 2-3 times (or as needed) using a tong to deep fry them evenly.

(12)Deep fry them until light golden and crispy.

(13)Remove it from the oil using a tong and immediately put it into the warm sugar syrup. Syrup should we warm or little hot, it shouldn’t be cold. Keep it in syrup for approx. 2-minutes; flip it once after a minute.

(14)Remove it from the syrup using a fork and transfer it to a plate. Jalebi is now ready for serving.


Taste:  Sweet and Crispy
Serving Ideas:Enjoy jalebi on its own or with namkeens/snacks like chivda, crispy methi puri, namak pare, chakli, gathiya etc. It can also be served with rabdi as a dessert after dinner.

Bajri Methi Dhebra Recipe

Diabetic Food, Gujarati, Snacks

It is a delicious and healthy Gujarati dish suitable for diabetic patients generally prepared during cold winter season for evening snack or dinner and served with curd. This bajri dhebra recipe is more or less similar to any Indian flat bread – the cutlets or vadas made from dough of millet flour (bajri flour), methi leaves and spices are deep-fried or shallow fried. This recipe explains both deep-fry and shallow-fry methods.

  
Ingredients:
1½ cups Millet Flour (bajri flour)
1 cup chopped Fresh Fenugreek Leaves (methi leaves)
2-3 Green Chillies, finely chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
3/4 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1/4 cup Curd (yogurt)
1/2 tablespoon Sesame Seeds (optional)
Salt to taste
Oil, for deep frying

Directions-1 (Deep Fry Method):


(1)  Mix millet flour, chopped fenugreek leaves, coriander powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, curd, sesame seeds and salt in a large bowl.

(2)  Add water in small quantities and knead a little stiff and smooth dough like paratha dough.

(3)  Grease your palms with oil. Pinch a lemon sized portion from dough and give it a ball like shape. Prepare balls (approx. 15-balls) from remaining dough.

(4)  Flatten each ball into 3-inch diameter circle (approx 2/3rd cm thick) by pressing between palms or against any hard surface and transfer to a plate. Alternatively, you can also roll it over plastic sheet on rolling board.

(5)  Heat oil in a frying pan over medium flame. When it is medium hot, slide 3-4 flattened circles into it and fry until they turn light golden brown on both sides.
   
(6)  Transfer them to plate and preferably put them on oil absorbent paper to soak excess oil. Deep-fry remaining dhebra.
  
(7)  Methi na dhebra (vada) are ready for serving. Serve them hot with curd and pickle in dinner or with tea as healthy evening snack.

Directions-2 (Shallow Fry Method):

(8)  Add additional 1/2 cup wheat flour with other dough ingredients while preparing dough (refer step-1 above). Divide dough into 10 equal portions and give them a round shape. Take one dough portion and place it on rolling board.
   
(9)  Roll it out into 6-7 inch diameter circle (like paratha) after sprinkling some dry flour over it. (Dry flour will prevent dough from sticking to rolling board and pin)
  
(10) Heat non-stick tava or griddle over medium flame and place rolled circle on it. Flip and spread 1/2-teaspoon oil on each side and shallow fry it until light brown spots appear on both sides (like plain paratha).

(11) Bajri na Dhebra are ready to serve with tea.

Taste: Mild spicy with crisp outside soft inside texture.
Serving Ideas: It is a best and healthy food for diabetic person to serve in dinner.

Corn Cheese Balls Recipe

Kids Friendly, Snacks, Starters

This corn cheese balls recipe is for restaurant type cheese balls which have melted cheesy texture, delicious taste and not only that they are quick and easy to prepare compared to these stuffed cheese balls. As these yummy cheese balls can be prepared in advance, they are perfect to serve as a party starter or as an afternoon snack to kids. You just need boiled sweet corn, potatoes, cheese and a few basic spices to make them at home. And not only that, you can cook them in 3 different ways, either by – 1.baking, 2.shallow frying or 3.deep frying.



Ingredients:
2 medium Potatoes, boiled (1 cup, mashed)
1/2 cup boiled Sweet Corn
3/4 cup grated Cheese (mozzarella or processed)
4 tablespoons finely chopped Coriander Leaves
1/2 teaspoon grated Ginger
1 Green Chilli, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon Chaat Masala Powder
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper Powder
2 tablespoons Breadcrumbs
Salt, to taste
For Coating
2 tablespoons Maida (all purpose flour)
2 tablespoons Cornstarch (cornflour)
1/4 cup Water (or as needed)
1/2 cup Breadcrumbs
Salt to taste
Oil, for deep frying

Directions:

   (1)    Boil 2 medium potatoes and 1/2 cup sweet corn until soft. Peel the boiled potatoes and grate them or mash them and transfer to a large bowl.

   (2)    Add boiled sweet corns.

(3)    Add 3/4 cup grated Cheese (mozzarella or processed).
  
(4)    Add 4 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves, 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger, 1 finely chopped green chilli, 1/2 teaspoon chaat masala powder, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper powder, 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs (or more as needed) and salt.
   
(5)    Mix well. If the mixture is sticky and not easy to handle then add more breadcrumbs. Check the mixture for salt and add more if required.
   
(6)    Make 10-12 small lemon sized balls from the mixture.
  
(7)    Take a medium bowl and add 2 tablespoons cornstarch (white corn flour) and 2 tablespoons maida (all purpose flour) to it. Add water(approx. 1/4 cup) little by little as needed and mix well to make a medium thick paste. Take 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs in a plate or a bowl.
   
(8)   Take each ball one by one and roll it in the breadcrumbs.

(9)    Transfer them to a plate.
   
(10)    Take one ball and dip it into the cornstarch-maida paste. Make sure that the ball is coated evenly from all the sides.
  
(11)    Remove the ball carefully (either using a spoon or your fingers) and roll it in bread crumbs.
  
(12)    Make sure that the ball is evenly coated with breadcrumbs.
   
(13)    Do the same process for remaining balls. Raw cheese balls are ready. Either deep fry them by following the next step or store them in a ziplock bag for future use (they stay good for up to 1 month in the freezer.) If you are not in jiffy then freeze the raw balls for 30 minutes before deep frying to prevent the cheese from oozing out.

(14)    Heat the oil in a deep frying pan over medium flame. When the oil is medium hot (check by dropping a small portion of mixture into the hot oil and if it comes upward without changing its color then oil is ready), first slide only one cheese ball into the oil and deep fry until it turns golden from all the sides. If it’s perfect then slide 4-5 cheese balls at a time into the hot oil.
   
(15)    Flip them once or twice and deep fry until they turn golden from all the sides.
  
(16)    Remove them using a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate over paper towel. Corn Potato Cheese balls are ready for serving. Serve them hot with tomato ketchup.

Taste: Crispy and Cheesy
Serving Ideas: Serve cheese balls as a starter in the party or get together or as an after school snack to kids.

Veg Seekh Kabab Recipe

Snacks, Starters

Veg Seekh Kabab is a delicious snack cum starter made using mixed vegetables like carrot, beans, cabbage, peas, capsicum, potatoes and spices.





Traditionally seekh kababs are made from minced meat and grilled in tandoor or a clay oven. But in this recipe, we are going to make a vegetarian version of this kabab. First, the mixture is prepared using mixed veggies, gram flour and spices, and it is shaped on a skewer to make kabab, and then it is grilled in a tandoor or shallow fried on a tava. Finally, kababs are served with green mint chutney, lemon wedges and onion rings. These kababs can also be used as a stuffing to make veg frankie or paratha roll.

  
Ingredients:
2 medium Potatoes, boiled (approx. 1½ cups mashed potatoes)
1/2 cup Green Peas (boiled or blanched)
2½ tablespoons Gram Flour(Besan/Chickpea Flour)
1/4 cup finely chopped Onion
1 Green Chili, finely chopped, optional
1/2 cup finely chopped Cabbage
1/2 cup finely chopped Carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped Green Beans
1/4 cup finely chopped Capsicum
2 tablespoons finely chopped Coriander Leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped Mint Leaves
1 teaspoon Red Chili Powder
1 teaspoon Cumin-Coriander Powder
1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
1 teaspoon Chaat Masala Powder
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
Salt, to taste
3 tablespoon Breadcrumbs (or as needed)
1 tablespoon Oil + Shallow frying


Directions:


  (1)  Add 2½ tablespoons gram flour(besan/chickpea flour) in a pan or a kadai and dry roast it over a low flame until nice aroma releases and it turns light golden. (No need to add the oil while roasting the flour.) Transfer the roasted flour to a bowl.
   
  (2) Wipe the pan with a cloth. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the same pan over medium flame. Add 1/4 cup finely chopped onion and 1 finely chopped green chilli. Sauté until onion turns translucent or light pink.

  (3)  Add 1/2 cup finely chopped cabbage, 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot, 1/2 cup finely chopped green beans, 1/4 cup finely chopped capsicum and salt.

  (4)  Mix well and cook all the vegetables until soft but not mushy. (or Cook until most of the moisture is evaporated).
   
  (5)  Let them cool to room temperature. Transfer them to the small jar of a mixer grinder or a chopper. Add 2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves and 1 tablespoon finely chopped mint leaves.
  
  (6)  Pulse them for a few times as you can see in the picture (don’t blend them very fine or don’t make a paste). Don’t add any water while blending the mixture.
  
  (7)  Boil 2 medium potatoes and 1/2 cup green peas in salted water until soft. Transfer them to a colander to remove excess water.
   
  (8)  Peel the potatoes and transfer to a large bowl. Either mash them or grate them. Add boiled green peas. Add veggie mixture.
   
  (9) Add 1 teaspoon red chilli powder, 1 teaspoon cumin-coriander powder, 1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder, 1 teaspoon chaat masala powder, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and salt to taste.Mix well. Add 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs.

  (10)Mix well. If the mixture has too much moisture, add more breadcrumbs (as needed).
    Grease your palms with oil. Take a ball size portion of the mixture and give it a cylindrical shape. Then take a wooden skewer/metal skewer and insert into the center.
   
  (11)  Press the mixture evenly and give it a kabab shape/cylindrical shape. Place it in a plate.

  (12)  Make the remaining kababs in a similar way.
  
  (13)  Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a non-stick tava/pan or an iron tava. Place 2-3 kababs over hot tava. Roast/shallow fry them until golden brown from all the sides. Rotate them in between to roast them evenly from all the sides. If required, add more oil to roast the kababs.
   

  (14)  Transfer them to a plate and serve with green coriander chutney or tomato ketchup and sliced onion and lemon wedges.



Taste:  Crispy from outside and cheesy from insideServing Ideas : Serve them as a starter or snack to the guests with mint chutney, onion rings, shredded cabbage and lemon wedges.