Bombay Rava Upma (Semolina)

Ingredients:
2 cups Bombay rava (Semolina)
4 cups water
1 dry red chille broken to halves
3-4 fresh green chillies chopped
1 large onion chopped
10-12 curry leaves
3-tblspns of oil
½ tsp turmeric
1 tblspn of split gram (chana dal)
1 tblspn of split black gram (urad dal)
1 tspn of cumin seeds
1 tspn of mustard seeds (optional)
½ cup of peanuts/cashew nuts
Salt to taste

Method:
Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal. When mustard seeds start to splutter add nuts, red chillies, green chilles, onions, when onions turn golden add water close lid and cook until the water starts to boil
Remove lid and slowly add Rava while mixing it with a spatula.
Allow to cook for 10-12 min. or until all the rava has cooked and all the water has evaporated on low flame while mixing occasionally.
Serve hot

Servings : 4

Variations and tips:
Serve hot with chutney or pickle of choice.

Chapathi

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil of choice
3/4 cup luke warm water or as needed

Method:
Mix flour and salt slowly adding water till it forms a ball of dough. Knead on a floured surface into soft dough. Let the dough stand for about 15 to 20 min. in a closed container.
Divide the dough into 8-10 pieces. Make them into small balls and roll out each ball at a time on a floured surface using a rolling pin to make thin layer like tortillas.
Heat over a preheated skillet on both sides one after another until you see brown spots. Add little oil if desired while heating.
Serve hot with any curry
Makes 8-10 chapathis

Tips:
Can be made without oil for a fat free recipe.

Atukula Upma (Poha/Parched rice)

Ingredients:3 cups atukulu
1½ cup water
1 Red chille broken to halves
3-4 fresh green chillies chopped
10-12 of curry leaves
3-tblspns of oil
½ tsp turmeric
1 tblspn of split gram (chana dal)
1 tblspn of split black gram (urad dal)
1 tspn of cumin seeds
1 tspn of mustard seeds
½ cup of peanuts (optional)
4 tblspns of fresh lemon juice or 2 tblspoons juice concentrate
Salt to taste

Method:Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal. When mustard seeds start to splutter add red chillie and peanuts. When the nuts start to turn golden brown add green chilles.
Add Atukulu mix and add water.
Allow to cook for 8-10 min. on low flame while mixing occasionally.
Serve hot

Serves : 4

Variations and tips:Serve hot with tomato chutney or pickle.

Semiya Upma/Vermicelli/Bambino

Ingredients:
2 cups Bambino vermicelli
3 cups water
1 Onion- sliced
4 Green Chillies sliced
1 Tomato – diced (optional)
1 sq inch grated ginger
3 tbs oil
1 tbs Chana dal
1 tbs Urad dal
1/2 tbs Cumin seeds
1 tbs Mustard seeds
1 tbs Cashew nuts
8-10 curry leaves
few corriander leaves

Method:
Roast bambino in a pan till lightly golden and keep aside.Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, chana daal, urad dal. When mustard seeds start to

splutter add cashew nuts, curry leaves and ginger. Add onions and green chilli.Sautee till onions turn golden and then add tomatoes
Add Bambino and mix for a min
Add water and place a lid on the pan.Let cook for 5-8 mins on low flame while mixing occasionally.Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Serves: 4

Tips:
Serve with tomato or coriander (cilantro) chutney

Easy Dosa Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cups Urad flour
2 cups Rice flour
1 tbs salt or per your taste
3 cups luke warm water
Optional:
Methi powder (a pinch)
Sugar (pinch)

Method:
Mix the flours and salt in water into a smooth batter. Add methi powder and sugar and mix (these help make dosas puffy). Let the flour sit at least overnight to 24 hr to ferment.
Preheat a skillet to medium heat.
Sprinkle ice cold water on the skillet, soon as the water evaporated (will happen in seconds) grease the skillet with a little oil using a spatula.
Now mix the fermented batter with a laddle and gently pour a laddle full of batter onto the skillet quickly spreading it in circular motion using the bottom of laddle into 6-8 inch diameter circle.
If desired add a little oil around the edges of dosa while it is cooking. When Dosa starts to rise from the sides (in abt 2 min) using a flat spatula, flip to the other side and cook. Each side should approximately cook 1-2 min. until the side turns golden brown. Fold the Dosa into half and remove from skillet
Repeat the same process to make rest of the dosas.
Tips:
Use a half cut potato dipped in oil to spread it on the skillet, this minimizes oil usage and helps spread more evenly and prevents dosa from sticking to the skillet. Also makes dosas more crispy.
Serve hot with Stuffed potato curry in the middle of dosa.
Serve with karappodi, coconut chutney or sambhar

Godhuma ravva upma (cracked wheat upma)

Ingredients:
2 cups Godhuma ravva (cracked wheat)
4 cups water
1 dry red chille broken to halves
3-4 fresh green chillies chopped
½ cup snow peas or garden peas
½ cup cut carrots into small cubes
½ cup diced tomatoes
10-12 curry leaves
3-tblspns of oil
½ tsp turmeric
1 tblspn of split gram (chana dal),1 tblspn of split black gram (urad dal),1 tspn of cumin seeds1 tspn of mustard seeds (optional)
½ cup of peanuts
Salt to taste

Method:
Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal. When mustard seeds start to splutter add red chillies, green chilles, peas, carrots, and tomatoes and cook for 3 min. Add water close lid and cook until the water starts to boil
Remove lid and slowly add Rava while mixing it with a spatula.
Allow to cook for 10-12 min. or until all the the rava has cooked and all water evaporated on low flame while mixing occasionally.
Serve hot

Serves : 4

Variations and tips:
Serve hot with tomato chutney or pickle.

Idli

Ingredients:
2 Cups Urad flour
4 Cups Idli rava
3 tbs salt or to taste
6 cups luke warm water


Method:
Mix all ingredients in water to make a smooth batter. Let it ferment in a warm place overnight. The batter turns puffy when well fermented.
Fill the idli holder plates upto 3/4th full with the batter. Steam cook idlis under medium heat for 12-15 mins.
Remove cooked idlis using a spoon and serve hot

Tips:
Serve with coconut chutney, sambhar or karappodi

Mendu Vada

Ingredients

1 cup of black gram (urad daal without the coat)

Salt to taste

8-10 curry leaves

1 tsp of cumin seeds

1 tsp of crushed black pepper

Method:
Soak urad daal for six hours to overnight. Grind to a fine paste. Add salt, curry leaves, cumin seeds and crushed black pepper to the batter and mix well.Preheat oil in a pan. Wet your palms and take batter into the palms. Shape into balls and press onto palm or onto a plastic sheet, make a hole with the thumb in the centre to shape like a doughnut. Deep-fry in medium hot oil until they turn golden brown.Serve hot with coconut chutney or sambhar.

Variations:
Replace the black pepper with cut onions or mint leaves for a different taste

Saggubiyyam Upma (Sagoodana)

Ingrdients:
2 cups saggubiyyam (Sagudana)
4 cups water
1 cup peanuts- roasted – powdered
2 green peppers sliced
Salt to taste
Seasoning
10-12 curry leaves
3-tblspns of oil
½ tsp turmeric
1 tblspn of split gram (chana dal)1 tblspn of split black gram (urad dal)
1 tblspn chana daal1 tspn of cumin seeds1 tspn of mustard seeds (optional)


Method:
Soak saggubiyyam in enough water for 30-60 min.
Drain off water.
Preheat oil in a pan and add seasoning ingredients. When seeds start to splutter add the green peppers followed by saggubiyyam. Add the water and salt to taste and cook while mixing well. Let it cook till saggubiyyam becomes transparent while folding occasionally.
Turn off flame. Garnish with powdered roasted peanuts.
Serve hot or cold with pickle of choice