దిబ్బ రొట్టె: Dibba Rotte- Black gram pancake

INGREDIENTS:
Black gram/minapappu-----1 cup
Idly rava/cream of rice------2 cups(if grinded in mixer or in wet grinder add 3 cups)
Salt to taste

METHOD:

1. Soak dal in water for about 2 hours.
2. Grind dal by adding water to make smooth batter.(like idly batter)
3. Wash rava and squeeze and add it to the batter.
4. Add salt and mix well.
5. Take a deep pan add oil and heat it.
6. Pour batter of two to three big serving spoons in pan and cover with lid and cook on low flame.
7. Poke with fork and check if it is done
8. When it is done eat with any chutney.
9. On one side it will be brown and crispy and on another side it tastes like idly.

Note: No need to ferment and thickness of the roti is about 2".

ఆవిరి కుడుము: Aaviri Kudumu- Steamed black gram pancake

INGREDIENTS;

Split black gram dal/minapappu-- 1 cup
Salt to taste
water to grind------1/2 cup


Method: 1


1.Soak dal for two hours.
2. Grind it in to smooth batter by adding water.
3. Take idly moulds grease it and pour batter and cook.
4. Steam them for 10 minutes.
5. Eat them hot with ghee.

Method : 2 (Traditional Procedure- Used in olden days)

1. Take 1 cup of water in a vessel.
2. Tie a clean cloth on the mouth of the vessel and close the mouth tightly.
(as shown in the picture)
3. Pour some batter in cloth.
4. Steam them for 10 minutes
5. When it is done eat with ghee.

You can make these Kudumulu immediately after grinding the blackgram dal. No need to ferment the batter.


Aaviri kudumu(steamed pancake) are easily digestible and also easy to prepare.This food is given to gain strength.

డాంగరు పచ్చడి: Dongaru pacchadi: Split black gram with yogurt

Serving for -2 persons

INGREDIENTS:

Minapappu/ black gram dal ----1/2 cup
Kaaram/ Red chilly powder------11/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Perugu/yogurt ------------------3/4 cup
Cilantro--------some
Curry leaves-----some
Lemon juice------1 to 11/2 tsp

SEASONING:

Aavaalu/mustard seeds---1/2 tsp
Cumin seeda/ Jeelakarra--1/2 tsp
Split black gram dal/minapappu--1tbsp
Asafitodia/heeng/inguva-------1/2 tsp


METHOD:

1.Lightly roast dal and let it cool.
2.Grind very nice powder.
3.Take yogurt add salt and chilly powder and mix well.
4.Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds
5. When it splitters add cumin seeds, dal and fry till brown, then add heeng and curry leaves.
6.Add lemon juice and mix well.
7.Garnish with cilantro and serve.


This item is goes well with hot rice and roti.

Fried Idli with vegetables

Serves: Two persons. Preparation time: 15 minutes. 

Ingredients:
18 small Idlis (refer to Idli recipe)
Ghee/oil to roast the Idlis
Cilantro
1 Tsp Salt

For tempering:
1 Tbp Oil
1 Tsp Mustard seeds
1 Tsp Jheera Seeds
1 Tsp Red chilli powder
1/2 Tsp Turmeric
1 pinch Asafoetida
1 pinch Fenugreek powder
5 curry leaves

Chopped vegetables:

Green bell pepper/Capsicum
Carrot

Green chilli

Onion

 Potato
Soft ripe Tomato

Fistful  of green peas

Method:

1. Quarter the idlis and set aside. 

2. Place the oil on medium heat in a saucepan. When it is hot, add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add all the tempering ingredients and the vegetables (but not the tomatoes). 

Mix well, cover and let it cook until the vegetables are done. It takes around 10 minutes, you can further roast them uncovered for longer if you like them crisp. You can add the salt right at the beginning, since salt draws moisture out of the vegetables & makes them crisp. However, if you want your vegetables steamed soft, add salt later. When the vegetables are almost done, add the chopped tomatoes and cook until the mixture looks slightly soupy. You may add some water/tomato juice if the tomatoes aren't juicy enough.

Meanwhile,

3. In a skillet, pour a few drops of oil/ghee, arrange the quartered idlis on the surface of the skillet and let them roast until you see the bottoms turning brown. Pour ghee generously if you like a fried effect. The idlis can be turned over to roast the other side too, however, I like one side done crisp, and the other side left undone. Transfer the browned quarters onto blotting paper and set aside. Fry/roast the next batch. 

When the vegetables are ready and the idlis are done, 

4. Add the idli quarters into the vegetables and mix in thoroughly. The soft side of the idlis absorbs the oil/soup of the vegetables while the roasted side stays crisp. Some of the idli quarters crumble during the mixing process. Cover & cook for a few minutes so the idlis soak up the soup/spice . Garnish with cilantro.

Serve hot. Goes well on its own and also with yogurt. 

Suggestions/Variations:

1. Fried Idli: Some people like to deep fry the idli quarters and serve them with chat masala. 

2. Idli Upma: Idli quarters/mashed Idlis are used instead of upma rava, and the item is prepared as per Rava upma recipe. 

3. You can follow your heart for this recipe, add whatever spice you like, add/omit vegetables as you wish, experiment with sweet corn, carrots, beans, include peanuts, bengal gram, etc.

Culture & Health:

This is a very mix & match dish usually prepared with leftover idlis. If you have very few leftover idlis, the addition of vegetables adds volume to the dish along with a varied taste. It can also be prepared with freshly prepared cooled idlis (hot idlis get mashed easily when handled).

Idli is a good source of protein & carbohydrate, the addition of vegetable makes it a complete balanced diet.

Trivia:

Whenever I have lots of Idli batter and I am bored of plain idli, I find this a very easy quick fix which is simply awesome to taste, with the added health benefits!!

కారపు అప్పడాలు :Karapu appadalu- Red chilli & black gram flour crackers

Makes approximately 20 appadalu
INGREDIENTS:

Dehusked split black gram (Minapappu/ Dhuli urad dal)...........1 cup nicely powdered
Red chilly powder............1 tsp
Salt.........................to taste
Oil..........................1 tbsp
Rice flour for dusting
water for making dough
Hing........................1/4 tsp

METHOD:
1.Mix urad dal powder, chilly powder, hing and salt in a bowl.
2.Add enough water to make tough dough.
3.Now add oil and knead well for half an hour.The dough should be very soft.
4.Keep dough covered for 2 hours
5.Now take marble size dough and roll round with rolling pin
6.Roll like transparent paper
7.Dry them on a cloth in shade.
8.After drying keep it in air tight container

You can heat them in Microwave or on stove top and eat.

Variations: Instead of urad dal you can make moong dal for same.

సున్నుండలు/ Sunnundalu/ Black gram sweet balls

Ingredients

Urad dal – 2 cups
Jaggery – 1 1/2 cup (Grated)
Ghee – 1/2 cup
Cardamom -2 (optional)

Preparation
Roast the urad dal in a low heat till golden brown. Stir continuously, it takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Let it cool.
Now, take the roasted urad dal and grind it to a smooth powder using a mixer or a food processor. Add the grated jaggery and grind it again. If you want to add cardamom powder, you can add it now.
Melt the ghee and keep it aside.
Take the ground mixture in a bowl, add ghee until you get a consistency where you can mould them in the form of laddoo.


Variations : We can use Sugar instead of jaggery. It tastes good either ways, but I like it with jaggery.

This is a very simple sweet and doesn't take much time to prepare.

ఇడ్లి పిండి: Idli Pindi- (South Indian rice cake batter)

THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO MAKING IDLI BATTER

History:

All my life, my very busy parents made us eat idlis every morning. A very easy recipe, the batter can be stored in the refrigerator, it just cooks without needing to be watched over, a balanced diet of carbohydrate-protein. Westerners are obsessed about 'live cultures' and 'probiotics'. Well, Idli is full of that magic ingredient!

I always took Idli for granted, it was the Yatra-Tatra-Sarvatra in our home. 
But I never bothered to closely watch my dad as he prepared the batter, and hence, I was unable to replicate it in my own kitchen. Every lady seems to have her own recipe & her own armour of tricks to "get-it-right", I was confused with the variety of advice pouring in, but my batter never turned out perfect. I made all kind of errors that I can write a book on! I had the simplest doubt which nobody was able to solve on phone, "How much water to add?". How much water equals "some water"? How much water equals "enough water"? And Idli pindi seems to be the benchmark in all batter based cooking. When my sister explained the "very easy Malpova" recipe, she said, "the batter should be thinner than Idli but thicker than dosa. I was at a loss, how can I progress in cooking if I don't master the benchmark? Unfortunately for me, phone conversations and textual explanations couldn't help, I needed a live demonstration, but I had no experienced person near me to help. 
I thought I was the only confused soul, but I noticed other cousins too were confused (though nobody turned out as pathetic as me). 
Then Manju pinni came to our rescue, she took up the mammoth task of answering my "water" question. She said they too had such doubts when they were new to the kitchen, but they could watch & learn. Whereas our generation is dispersed here & there, we live alone without parental guidance. So she decided to make life easier for cooks like me. So here I am, compiling the "Complete Idiot's guide to making Idli batter". I own up to being an Idli Idiot, I couldn't master the "easiest" recipe of Andhra cuisine in one year of marriage. 
Thanks to Manju pinni for transforming this idiot into somebody who can dare to cook idlis!!! 
I was amazed at how much Manju pinni knows about Idlis, she is a perfect trouble-shooting guide, full of tips & suggestions, warnings, tricks, variations. Wow, no wonder they say that our Indian culture is preserved in our family traditions, in our kitchens. The mother of the house is a repository of knowledge, things she learnt from her own experimentation, things that were passed down to her from her mother & mother-in-law, she carries the gastronomical history of our ancestors.
I will keep updating this blog entry as and when we learn more from Manju pinni on the mysteries of "Idli". I request readers to pass on any valuable comments, I will include them into the revised version. 
I do not take ownership for this blog entry, I am merely the compiler, the idea & research behind this belongs entirely to the senior contributors of this blog. 




I: BATTER


Methods:
I say "methods" instead of method, because there are several variations in the basic idli recipe. The minappappu is standard. But the other component (Idli rava, ordinary rice, parboiled rice) changes, and so does the grinding equipment (grinder or mixer).  They are listed as follows:



1. With Idli rava
a. using electric wet grinder with stone base
b. using ordinary standard food processor (mixer/blender)


2. With ordinary rice
a. using electric wet grinder with stone base

b. using ordinary standard food processor (mixer/blender)

3. With parboiled rice "Uppudu beeyam"

a. using electric wet grinder with stone base

b. using ordinary standard food processor (mixer/blender)

1. Idli Rava 

a. Using wet grinder
Serves: Makes upto 24 idlis; Preparation time: Upto half an hour of work, but pulses/batter take almost a day to soak+grind+ferment.


Ingredients:
1 rice cooker cup- Minappappu (Dhuli urad daal, Dehusked whole black gram, you can also used split gram)
2 rice cooker cups- Idli Rava
2 rice cooker cups- water
1 tsp Salt (or to taste)
  

Method:
1. Clean, wash & soak the Minappappu for 3 hours. (Put enough water so that the pulse is submerged in an inch of water.) 
2. Drain any excess water from the soaked Minappappu. (This drained water can be used later during the grinding process.) 
3. Add the soaked Minappappu gradually into the wet grinder jar along with some water and grind to a smooth fine paste. "Some water" here translates to 2 rice cooker cups of water. You can use the water that we drained in step 2, or fresh water. It may take upto 15 minutes to grind to a smooth fine paste. If you feel the pindi between your fingers, there should be no granules. 
4. Transfer this smooth fine pindi into a container. The pindi shouldn't occupy more than half of the container. We need to leave space for the pindi to rise during fermentation. 
5. Wash the Idli rava thoroughly in hot water to clean & soften it, drain away the water. (If the rava granules are large, you may consider soaking it in hot water for 15 minutes while the Minappappu is being ground.) 
6. Mix the washed Rava into the Minappappu pindi container along with salt. 
6. Cover this container and let it stand for 6 to 7 hours for fermentation. If you're living in severe winter conditions, you should keep it in the oven with the oven light on or the control set at "Keep Warm". Alternatively, place it in the boiler cupboard if you have one. The fermentation time may vary according to the "climate" the container is kept in. The pindi starts forming bubbles and rises, thereby increasing in volume. 
7. This pindi can be refrigerated for upto a week.



b. Using mixer


Ingredients:

(under construction, on a break until Manju pinni gets back, unless Kalyani didi has the recipes)

Tips & Tricks To-Get-It-Right:
1. Ramya: Soak a teaspoon of fenugreek seeds mixed into Minappappu and grind together, it quickens fermentation of the batter. 


II: COOKING


Equipment:
Idli mould plates with stand. 
Pressure cooker (into which Idli stand fits)
Fermented Idli batter

Cooking:
1. Stir the batter to make sure that it has uniform consistency, pour into Idli mould plates with a ladle.  
2. Stack the plates one on another using the stand. 

Position the plates in such a way that every individual idli mould has air vents below and above it (as shown in the photo). 
3. Pour water into the pressure cooker, around an inch in depth. 
4. Carefully lower the Idli stand into the pressure cooker and put on high heat. 
5. When the water comes to a rapid boil, cover the pressure cooker with its lid. However, do not put the pressure weight, let the steam escape continuously. 
6. Let it stay for 10 to 13 minutes. 
7. Turn off the heat. Open the pressure cooker when the safety valve drops. Take out the Idli stand and scoop out the Idlis. 

Serve with a generous topping of Ghee. Pair it with any Pacchadis, Podis, Sambar, Rasam. Idli is traditionally paired with Coconut chutney or Idli Chutney. This photo shows Idli Chutney. 

మినుముల చింతపండు పచ్చడి: Minumula chintapandu pachadi- Black gram & Tamarind Chutney

(Nellore special)

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup whole Black gram seeds (sabut urad dal/Minumulu)
1 Tsp Mustard seeds/Avalu
10 Dry Red chillys/yendumirapakayalu (as per taste)
1/2 Tsp fenugreek seeds or powder (Methi/Menthulu)
1/2 Tsp Asafoetida (Hing/inguva)
1 large lemon sized tamarind pulp (tastes good with only freshly made paste)
11/2 tbs oil
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp jaggery (Gud/bellam)
(You may use brown sugar instead of jaggery.)

Thayarucheyatam/Method:
Soak tamarind in warm water for about half an hour.
Roast urad dal with few drops oil until it turns red and set aside to cool.
Heat oil in a small pan: add mustard seeds, fenugeek seeds, red chillys, turn off heat when done, add hing and leave to cool. Grind along with jaggery/sugar and salt.
To the above mixture add tamarind and grind again.
Take half of urad dal, above ground mixture and grind coarsely.
Make sure urad dal is not completely mashed.
Add remaining urad dal and grind just by pressing the wipping button.

Accompaniments:
This chutney is very tasty.
Serve it with hot rice and ghee.
Tastes great with the combination of kandi pachadi and kandi podi.
This pachadi tastes better day by day.