Kanchipuram Idli

Idlis are a staple in South India. Not surprisingly, there are several variations of Idli around the state. One of them is the popular Kanchipuram Idli. The same basic ingredients are used to prepare the batter, but the measurements are slightly different. The batter is also spiced with ginger, chillies, nuts, and other spices to give an extra layer of texture, crunch, and flavor.

Thanks again to my in-laws for preparing this awesome idli!

 

Ingredients (serves 6):

1. 2 cups raw white rice
2. ¾ cup whole, de-husked, urad dhal / black gram dhal / ullundhu
3. 2 teaspoons salt (or as needed)
4. 1 tablespoon sesame oil (and a little more for greasing the idli plates)
5. 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
6. 1 teaspoon split urad dhal / ulutham paruppu
7. 1.5 teaspoons minced ginger
8. 1-2 green chillies, minced
9. 1 teaspoon bengal gram dhal / kadala paruppu
10. 1 teaspoon ghee / clarified butter
11. 1 teaspoon jeera / cumin seeds
12. a few broken cashew nuts
13. a few sprigs of washed and cut coriander leaves / cilantro (optional)

Preparation:

1. Soak the urad dhal / black gram dhal in water for 1-2 hours. When soaked, drain the water and grind it in a blender with about ½ cup water (more or less) till it grinds to a smooth, fluffy batter, similar to its consistency while making plain old idli batter. . The consistency of urad dhal batter should not be too thick nor too runny. If you lift the batter with a spatula and point it down, the batter shouldn’t run or plop down instantly. It should be a fluffy lump that stays on the spatula and very slowly crawls down.
2. Onto the rice now. Grind the rice (with no water) in a blender till it is ground to the consistency of regular sand (not soft beach sand) with small, slightly coarse granules. It should be of the consistency of rava (semolina) that is not coarse, yet not as fine as flour.
3. Mix the ground rice with the urad dhal batter and add about 1 cup of water (more or less) to create an even batter that runs down in ribbons when poured into a deep and wide vessel. Add salt and mix the batter well with your clean hand (preferably).



Consistency of the fermented batter

4. Loosely close the batter and let it sit on the kitchen counter for about 20-24 hours (if living in a cold place), or about 8-12 hours if living in a hot, humid place. You are allowing the batter to rise and ferment a bit. The batter doesn’t ferment as much as regular idli batter, but it does ferment a bit and turns slightly brown in color. The consistency of the batter is shown below. It is slightly thicker than regular fermented idli batter. When poured, the batter should plop down creating wide, rough ribbons. If you feel the batter is too thick, dilute with a little water.
5. Before preparing the idli, add the spices. Heat a tablespoon of sesame oil. When hot, splutter mustard seeds. Then add ginger, green chillies, split urad dhal and bengal gram dhal and fry on medium heat until the dhals begin to change color. Add to the batter.
6. In a teaspoon of ghee, fry cumin seeds and cashew nuts until the nuts turn golden. Add to the batter and mix gently. If you’re adding coriander leaves, add them now and mix gently.
7. Using sesame oil, grease idli plates (specialty plates with specific spherical depressions to shape and cook the batter). Ladle the batter onto the plate/depressions leaving some room for the batter to rise and puff. Place the plates in a boiling pot of water such that the water is well below the bottom-most idli plate (else your bottom idlis will reduce to soup). Steam on high-heat for 10-12 minutes until the idlis are cooked and puffed.
8. Allow the cooked idlis to rest for 5-10 minutes. Then gently scoop out the idlis.

Serve with a side of chutney, or any spicy gravy or powder.

The coarse texture of the rice gives the idli its unique softness. All the nuts and spices make this treat an aromatic feast.

Onion Pakoda

Pakodas are crispy Indian fritters that are great tea-time snacks and munchies to indulge in during cold, damp evenings. They are also a great party favorite.

My in-laws prepared this awesome snack for a recent party. Here is the recipe for it.

Ingredients:

1. 2 medium sized onions, chopped
2. 2 cups besan / bengal gram flour
3. 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (or 1/2 cup) rice flour
4. 1-2 green chillies, finely chopped
5. 1 inch block of ginger, chopped
6. 1 teaspoon ghee / clarified butter
7. 1.5 teaspoons salt (or as needed)
8. 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
9. a few curry leaves
10. 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves / cilantro
11. 3-4 cups of vegetable oil for deep frying

Preparation:

1. Usually, the chopped onions and salt are mixed together and are left to marinate for 1-2 hours. The salt will draw out the water from the onions. The onions (along with the water that transpires from them) are mixed with the flours and other ingredients to form a mixture that is crumbly and slightly moist in texture - a few steps less of being a dough (as shown in the picture). If you don't have time to marinate the onions, follow the below steps.

   

   The consistency of the pakoda mixture



Forming the pakodas into chunks

2. Mix the onions with the besan flour and rice flour. Add the spices - salt, chilli powder, green chillies, ginger, ghee, curry leaves, and cilantro and knead/mix well. Sprinkle some water if the mixture is too crumbly. You should be able to form small chunks out of the mixture (to deep fry). The picture shows the consistency.
3. Heat oil in a heavy bottom vessel on medium-high heat. Test if the oil is hot by dropping a small piece of the prepared pakoda-mixture. If it begins to sizzle and fry immediately, the oil is hot. Reduce the heat to medium, and form small chunks of the mixture (as shown) and drop them into the oil. Turn them around to ensure even cooking. Remove the pakodas when they are golden brown. 

 Drain the pakodas on paper towels and serve with sauce or ketchup. If serving later, keep the pakodas in an oven safe dish and place in a warm oven (170 F).

Rava Dosa

Rava Dosa is a crispy crepe made with rava (semolina) and rice flour. The batter is easy to prepare because it doesn't require much prep work. The dosa is best had when it is taken fresh off the skillet. 

Thanks to my in-laws, we've been regularly having such yummy dishes! Here is the recipe from them. 

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup rice flour
2. 1/2 cup fine rava (sooji or semolina). If the rava is coarse, grind it a bit in the blender. 
3. 1/4 cup all-purpose-flour / maida
4. 3.5 cups water (approximately)
5. 1/4 teaspoon hing / asafoetida
6. 2 teaspoons salt (or as needed)
7. 1/2 teaspoon whole black pepper corns
8. 1 teaspoon jeera / cumin seeds
9. 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
10. 1.5 teaspoons minced ginger
11. 2 green chillies, finely chopped
12. a few curry leaves
13. a few tablespoons sesame oil

Preparation:

The consistency of the batter

1. Mix together the rice flour, rava, all purpose flour, salt, pepper corns and cumin seeds with as much water as required (add slowly) till you get a runny consistency, as shown below
2. This batter can either be used immediately or it can sit for 2-4 hours. 
3. When the batter is ready to be used, heat a tablespoon of sesame oil. Splutter mustard seeds in the oil. Then add hing, ginger, chillies, and curry leaves and fry for a minute or less. Add the seasoning to the batter and mix well. 
4. Heat a cast iron skillet or any skillet on medium heat. When hot, drizzle a ladle of batter in concentric circles, moving from the outside to in. The batter cannot be spread, so don't attempt to do so. The dosa is supposed to look like the picture below - riddled with holes. 
5. Drizzle a little bit of oil around the sides of the dosa. Let the dosa cook undistributed for 2 minutes or so (on medium heat). Gently flip the dosa onto the other side. Let it cook for another minute or cook until slightly brown. Remove the dosa and serve immediately if possible.

Rava dosa

This dosa gets rubbery and chewy if had a few hours after preparation. It goes well with any spicy side-dish!

A variation to this - add finely chopped onions (or other such vegetables) to the batter to prepare flavored dosas. 

Neapolitan Cake

Neapolitan cake reminds me of cassata ice-cream. It has three layers of flavors - vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry to create a delicious combination. I thought I would try this cake for a friend's birthday. And since I'm recently addicted to trying out every possible cake from Piece of Cake, I picked out the recipe from the book. 

Two layers of basic yellow cake (flavored with vanilla extract) are baked with chocolate chips. The cakes are then frosted with yummy strawberry-buttercream.

I was quite excited about this cake, but this recipe isn't really the best out there. The cake was decent - you can't go wrong with chocolate chip cake with buttercream frosting, but the yellow cake wasn't that great, despite the batter being moist. And my other disappointment - all the chocolate chips sunk to the bottom of the cakes! I did toss the chips in some flour before adding to the batter. I also used the mini chocolate chips, but they still sunk. However, after stacking the cakes, the chocolate chips formed a nice mid-layer making the cake assembly look like it was layered with chocolate in the middle.

But I had fun baking and decorating the cake, and hopefully my friend and others enjoyed it too!

Eggless Banana Chocolate Brownies

I always let a couple of bananas over-ripen every few months weeks. My solution is to put away the banana/s in the freezer and take them out for baking emergencies and inspirations. So, this was one such an attempt.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2. 2/3 cup sugar
3. 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4. 1 teaspoon baking soda
5. 1 1/4 cup finely mashed ripe (over-ripened) bananas (about 2-3)
6. 1/2 cup milk
7. 1/4 cup vegetable oil
8. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
9. 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder (to bring out the chocolate flavor)
10. 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
11. 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. In a bowl, beat the oil, sugar, milk, and mashed bananas. 
3. In a separate bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda
4. Add the dry ingredients in small batches to the wet ingredients and mix gently with a spatula. 
5. When the batter comes together, add the coffee granules and vanilla extract and mix gently with a spatula. Do not over mix. 
6. Combine the walnuts and chocolate chips together. Toss them with 2 tablespoons of flour so that when they are added to the batter they don't sink to the bottom. 
7. Add the mixed walnuts and chocolate chips to the batter and stir it gently. 
8. Pour into a buttered 9"x 4" baking dish and bake for 35 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

Cool to room temperature and cut the brownies. Unlike traditional brownies, the texture of this one is slightly different due to the addition of bananas. Besides, the ratio of banana to chocolate is higher.  But this is intensely moist, slightly chewy and yummy!