Dibba Roti, Minappa Roti - Andhra Food Series

I am sure many of you out in the real and blogging world have been through these questions with the kids of today.

A horrified - " You mean you did not have computers as a kid? No internet? No computer games?"

A nervous - " At least did you have TV?"

A totally puzzled or stunned - " What did you do for entertainment?"

They don't understand, those were the years when we relied on ourselves to keep us busy. We played, cycled, played good old seven stones, 'gilli danda'( remember those games?). On rainy days, it was Ludo, Monopoly and Chinese checkers.
Above all, we read and read. All of us were such voracious readers. All types of books, comics... in the absence of anything worth reading and in the beginning of the school year, we read our English text books from cover to cover more for fun than for any serious learning.
Every once in a while one yearns for everything familiar. Don't you wish you could go back to your childhood where life was much simpler? No major decisions to take, nothing to take care of and absolutely NO WORRIES. Just gamboling through life only planning for the next hour's entertainment. Childhood is definitely synonymous with carefree summers (and winters!!!). Unlimited reading of story books, never studies....I think everyone goes through this phase now and then.





I have been on this trip for a while now. Then immediately start craving those comfort foods (cos food does play an important role in my life as you can see ;) )

One of the things my mom would make frequently was dibba roti ( literal translation - a fat dosa). It is also known as a minappa roti. Minappa referring to urad dal which is its main ingredient. It is the ultimate comfort food ... fried... full of carbs... and tasty tasty tasty. It looks like an oversized vada and tastes like a cross between idly and dosa. All things rolled into one.






Recipe:

2 cups Raw Rice ( any variety)
2 cups Urad dal( black gram)
1 tablespoon jeera
1 tablespoon whole peppercorn
Salt to taste
Oil to fry.



Soak both the rice and the urad dal for 4 hours separately.


Grind the urad dal very fine with minimal amount of water. Grind the rice with a little water a little coarsely. Mix the two well and add salt, jeera and peppercorns.


Heat a little oil in a kadai or wok (maybe 2 tablespoons or so). Pour in the batter and reduce the flame to sim. Cover and let fry on a very slow flame till golden brown. If required add a little more oil. When the bottom is golden brown, turn over and fry the other side adding a little oil again.


Enjoy with ginger chutney or kandi pachadi (recipe follows).

Carrot Salad

Each family has members who are very picky about what they eat and have very definite dislikes. My husband is one such who will not eat chana/chole, banana, tindora(aka dondakai/kovakai) etc etc. He has such hatred for cooked carrot that never will he eat carrot curry in any form. But on the other hand he loves raw carrot. I guess all things crunchy are welcomed by him.




Now we all love one raw vegetable dish with lunch. So as a compromise we made up this yummy South Indian tasting carrot salad which is simple but extremely healthy and full of goodness.


4 medium Carrots
2 green chillies
1/2 a lime
Oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds.
Salt to taste

Grate the carrots. Heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When they start spluttering, add green chillies and switch off the flame.

Pour over the grated carrot. Add lime juice and salt to taste.

And thats it. Its that simple.

Gooseberry Chutney, Usirikai Pachadi - Andhra Food Series

I have a niece who has a farm where Amlas or Indian gooseberries grow abundantly . On a recent visit, they sent me back with a carton of these sweet and sour beauties (in a size that I have yet to see elsewhere. I guess XXL would fit the bill). Not knowing what to do with them, I asked my mother for a solution. She suggested that we make Usirikai Pachadi, a very traditional Telugu accompaniment to rice or to curd rice - a staple South Indian favorite. My first time at this, it came out well even if I have to say so myself. Very tasty - tart and spicy at the same time. Perfect foil for soothing "perugu annam" or "thaiyir sadam"
Gooseberry is also known as Usirikai in Telugu, Nellikai in Tamil and Amla in Hindi. Widely used and eaten in India, it is powerhouse of nutrition particularly rich in Vitamin C. It is used in a lot of Ayurvedic medicines for obvious reasons. It is supposed to help in reducing cholestrol and in stabilizing blood pressure.

Recipe:

6 large gooseberries
2 tablespoon salt

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

Tadka/Popu:

2 teaspoons Oil

1 teaspoon Mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon methi seeds (fenugreek)

1/2 teaspoon asfoetida powder

2 red chillies

4 green chillies

handful of coriander leaves

Pound the gooseberries till the seed separates. Be careful not to pound the seed. Add salt and turmeric powder and grind in the food processor till fine. Do not add water as this will result in the chutney getting spoilt too fast. Keep aside.

This can be kept aside for almost a year without getting spoilt just as long as you add enough salt. So in season make a large batch of this and keep in a "jaadi" to use in chutneys or pickles whenever you need a bit of tang on your tongue.

Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they pop add methi seeds and red chillies. fry for a couple of minutes till redchillies look fried. Add the asfoetida at this point and switch off the flame.

Grind some of the kept aside mixture along with the coriander leaves and green chillies and the fried popu/tadka.

Enjoy with plain hot rice and ghee or with "perugu annam"!!!

Banana Bread

Tho I learnt how to bake and cook in my catering college, I never really tried it out at home. It was always something associated with studies and college :(.

Once I had my first kid, I got quite domesticated and felt as a mom I had to bake something for my 3 year old. I had lost touch completely with baking as it had been a few years since I traversed that road.Took out a recipe book and said not only tasty, it must be healthy as well. So fished out a recipe for a honey oatmeal cake. With all the enthusiasm of a born again baker I embarked on an exciting task. Sifted, sieved, mixed, creamed did everything with real gusto.... Out of the oven came this "appalam". It looked like a cake, tasted like a cake, but looked absolutely flat like a pita round. To this day I dont know what I did wrong. But my son enjoyed every morsel and kept telling me" Amma, how nice how nice!!. You are the best cook in the world" It was such a pleasure to hear. Kids can really make your day. After that it was a learning curve. Tried many recipes. Different things. Learnt a lot along the way.

When I started baking, one of the first things I wanted to try out was banana bread. My first taste of it was totally different from what I had expected. When you say bread, the image that comes up in your mind is very different - Sliced bread, brown bread.... Banana bread is just a yummy yummy cake. The walnuts give a nice crunch in every bite. And the taste of banana??? Just pure heaven...

Now for the recipe:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup mashed very ripe banana
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour sifted
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream butter sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well. Stir in banana and vanilla. Add sifted dry ingredients.Add walnuts at this stage. Pour into a greased loaf pan ( 4" x 9").

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Cool and cut into pieces.

Kathi Rolls

When I was in college in Bombay ( or Mumbai as it is known now) money was always scarce. " Amma, I have run out of money . I need some urgently" can only be used occasionally. Hating the hostel food ( who doesn't?) and foraging for food outside of the college, Bombay's famous street food always came to our rescue. One day it was dosas on Warden Road for 2 rupees and a big blob of Amul butter for a rupee more, other days bhel puri or sev puri from the chaat guy round the corner. But one thing that I always loved was the very well known Bombay Frankie. It was a nice tasty snack which filled all the empty pockets in my tummy.

Left Bombay, started work, got married, had kids.... Never though did I forget the taste of those yummy frankies..

Suddenly about a year ago found out that they were being marketed in Chennai too... My joy knew no bounds. Went halfway across the city to get my first taste of a frankie in many years. TASTED JUST THE SAME !!!!!!!!.

Many times after that I tried to replicate the taste. But that did not happen.

So I improvised and here is my version of the Frankie - a cross between the Original Bombay Frankie and the local Kathi Rolls ( more kathi rolls and less frankie). Healthy and full of taste.

Heres the recipe...
Ingredients:

Carrots - 2
Beans -100 gms

Potatoes - 2

Onions - 2 sliced finely

Capsicum - 2 sliced finely

Ginger garlic paste - 1 teaspoon

Tomato Puree - 3 Tablesppons

Jeera - 1 tsp

Pav Bhaji Masala - 1 tablespoon

Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 2 tablespoons

Salt to taste

Garnish:

Onions- 2 sliced finely

Vinegar- 2 teaspoons

Salt - a pinch

Rotis:

2 cups wheat flour

Curds - 1 cup

Butter - 50 gms

Salt to taste

Method:

Slice carrots, beans, potatoes into juliennes (matchstick like pieces). Steam or boil till almost done. It should not be over done.Heat oil. When hot, add jeera and fry till golden. Add sliced onion and capsicum. Saute for a few minutes. Add ginger garlic paste. Fry for 5 minutes longer. Add the pav bhaji masala, chilli powder and salt. Fry for about a minute. Add tomato puree. Add the carrot, beans and potato.Cook for a bit till all the tastes come together.

Soak the garnish onions in the vinegar and salt for a few hours.

Make dough for rotis using curd and the butter instead of water. Knead well.

Roll out rotis and cook each with a little oil on a griddle.Place a roti flat and put a tablespoon of the masala on it. Put the garnish onions on top. Roll up the roti.

Serve hot along with green chutney.