Spicy Mint Meat Vermicelli

 
Egg Vermicelli

Different kind of Lamb Vermicelli

This Semiyah or thin wheat noodles recipe can be made into a totally vegetarian recipe by just skipping the meat or it can be customized to add any kind of meat you like or scramble some eggs on the side and mix them up to make it into Anda Semiyah. But no matter what, try it...it is super delicious

And if you are wondering what Vermicelli or Semiyah is...here is a Link

Spicy Mint meat Vermicelli (Vermicelli with shaved steak and mint )

Spicy Mint Meat Semiyah

Ingredients for Vermicelli Upma:

1. 1 cup roasted semiyah
2. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin , mustard seeds, turmeric
3. 1 teaspoon urad dal
4. 0.5 table spoon oil
5. 1/4 cup onion sliced
6. Handful of mint leaves
7. light pack cup of cilantro
8. 2 green chillies or less depending on how spicy those chillies are (if using Serrano, use only 1)
9. Few curry leaves
10. 1-2 dried red chillies
11. 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
12. 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste + 1/2 teaspoon 

Ingredients shaved steak

1. one medium small or half cup sliced onions
2. 1 lb shaved steak separated 
3. 1 teaspoon each of finely chopped garlic, garlic
4. 1 tablespoon oil
5. 1/2 teaspoon garam masala (optional)
6. 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
7. 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Make the meat first
In a pan heat the oil and add the onions and fry till tender. Add the ginger garlic and fry for a minutes. Now on high flame, add the separated meat and cook for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add salt and pepper and garam masala if using, stir to combine and cook for 5 more minutes or until the meat is cooked through. Set it aside.

Make the upma.

Bring about 4 cups of water to boil in a pot along with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the vermicelli when the water boils and cook for 4-5 minutes. Drain .

Grind the mint+cilantro+green chilli + salt into a smooth paste. About 1 tablespoon water if needed.

In a pan heat the oil and add the mustard seeds and cover and let them cook until they crackle. Add the onions and cook till they become dark brown. Add urad dal and cumin and broken red chillies and curry leaves and fry for 30 more seconds. Add the drained vermicelli to the pan along with the mint cilantro paste. Stir to combine. Drizzle with lemon juice and enjoy

This is your vegetarian option.

If using meat...add the cooked meat to the pan and stir well. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Stir well one more time and enjoy!!!

Masala Oats Dosa

 Growing up my favorite breakfast was Idli. But as I grew up I realized the amount of planning it takes to get Idli on your plate.

But as I grew up a bit more, I found the convenience of the ready made "mix" for idlis. Then I discovered Oats idlis, rava idlis and then the bst of both worlds Rava Oats idli.

And then I finally wanted to make Dosa/Cheela with the batter of Rava Oats idli and they were super delicious. I know my mom would have been proud of me :)

Masala Oats Dosa (Crepes made with oats and samolina with Indian flavors)

Masala Oats Dosa

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup quick cooking oats (pulse once or twice to make the oats a bit small)
2. 1/2 cup sooji/samolina
3. 1 masala packet from the masala oats (or 1 tablespoon chat masala)
4. 1 tablespoon oil + oil for frying the dosa
5. 1 tablespoon chana dal
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of mustard, cumin, urad dal
7. 1/2 cup yogurt
8. Salt if needed
9. handful of finely chopped cilantro
10. 1/4 cup finely grated carrots , cabbage
11. 1 teaspoon baking soda
12. 1 tablespoon lemon juice

In a pan heat one tablespoon oil add the mustard seeds. Cover and cook until they start splattering. Add chana dal and fry for 30 minutes. Add cumin and urad dal. Add the Sooji and fry for a couple of minutes.

In a dish beat the yogurt and add all the ingredients (except baking soda) to it and 1 to 11/2 cup hot water and stir well. Set it aside for 10 minutes.

Add baking soda and stir lightly and set aside for 5 minutes.

Heat a griddle and take a ladle of the batter and add to the center of the griddle. With a light hand spread it into a circle with a light hand. Add some oil to the edges of the dosa and let cook for 2 minutes. Flip and add some oil and cook for 2 more minutes. Enjoy with coconut or peanut chutney

Instant Oats Idli

These days there are shortages of various items in the super markets. And when you can't find the items you have to improvise. I have been looking for masala oats in the Indian stores for quite some time and I haven't been able to find it. SO instead of masala oats, I am using instant oats which are readily available in the grocery stores here. Only difference is, you might have to add more spices like garam masala and chilli powder to it, if you want it really spicy. But I like it not too spicy.

Instant Oats Idli

Instant Oats Idli

Ingredients

1. 1 cup instant oats
2. 1/2 cup ravva or sooji fine samolina
3. 1 tablespoons+ extra oil for basting the idli moulds
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin and mustard seeds
5. 1 teaspoon baking soda or Eno Fruit salt
6. 1 teaspoon Chana dal soaked in water for 10 minutes
7. 1/2 cup plain yogurt
8. 1 teaspoon lemon juice 
   
9. 1 tablespoon each of finely chopped ginger, green chillies and cilantro, cashew, green peas
10. 2 tablespoon each of grated carrot, beetroot

In a pan heat the oil and fry the cumin, mustard seeds, few curry and fry for a minute. Add cashew and fry for a minute. Add Chana Dal and all the veggies and fry for 3 more minutes. Add soji and instant oats and fry/roast for 5-7 minutes.

In a bowl mix the yogurt with lemon juice. Add the oats and sooji to the yogurt and set aside for 10 minutes. Add baking soda or eno fruit salt and add more water to get the consistency of a thick pan cake batter.


Prepare the idli pans by applying oil with a finger. Add a tablespoon of batter. Stream in a cooker for 15-17 minutes. Let the steam escape and cool for a minute before taking the idlis off the pan. Enjoy with your favorite chutney or curry leaf powder

More idli recipes

Classic Plain Idli

Carrot Idli

Ravva Idli

Mint Idli

Corn Meal Idli

Ravva Idli #2

Instant Idli
Masala Oats Ravva Idli
Raagi Idli

 

Sabudana Bonda

 This is a recipe from my never ending hunts for "something new" . 
Its summer...meaning...all three meals have to be cooked. No "left overs" as people are all at home and they finish up everything there is  edible at home. No complaints :) May be!!!

Anyway, this Sabudana bonda recipe, is usually deep fried byt as I tend to avoid deep frying things...I used the Appam pan . And I also made my fam favorite Peanut Chutney to go with it

Sabudana Bonda (Tapioca fritters)

Sabudaana Bonda

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup Sabudaana washed
2. 1 cup plain yogurt beaten
3. 2-3 tablespoon rice flour
4. 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
5. 1 heaped tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
6. 2 Thai or 1 Serrano chilli chopped fine (reduce if you want less heat)
7. 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
8. 3/4 teaspoon salt
9. 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
10. 1 tablespoon grated coconut
11. 1 teaspoon baking soda
12. oil for deep frying to to add to the Appam pan

Beat the yogurt and add the washed tapioca to it and set it aside for 4-8 hrs. Check how much water there is in the Tapioca yogurt mixture and add more water 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix it with all the other ingredients except oil. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Heat the appam pan or oil in a pan. Make 1 to 1.5 inch balls out of the tapioca mixture. Deep fry them or add each ball to the appam pan and cover and cook for 3 minutes. Turn and cover and cook for 2 more minutes. Turn if needed and cook for 1 more minute. Let cool a bit and enjoy with ketchup or with Any Chutney

Another Sabudana Recipe : Sabudana Khichidi

Ancient grains Dosa

 Exactly a year when we were getting into lock down, we went to Costco and my husband was on one of those healthy shopping sprees and got a box of Tasty bites Ancient Grains. Of course after eating it a couple of times, it was forgotten in the pantry. Today I used one of those packets and the dosa was super delicious.

Ancient grains Dosa (Crepes made of Ancient grains and lentil/rice batter)

Ancient grains Dosa

Ancient grains crepe

Ingredients:

1. 1 8.8 oz Tasty Bites Ancient grains pouch
2. 1/2 cup urad dal flour
3. 1/4 cup rice flour
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 2 cups water
6. Oil for cooking the dosa

Grind the ancient grains into a smooth paste with 1/2 cup water. Heat the rest of the water for 1 minutes in the microwave. Mix all the ingredients together except oil and set aside for 20 minutes.

Heat a griddle. Take a ladle of batter and add it to the center of the griddle and with a light hand spread it into a circle with outward motion until it gets to 6 inch circle. Drizzle oil around the dosa and cover and cook on medium low for 2 minutes. Flip and add little oil and cook for 2 more minutes. Serve with your favorite chutney or curry

Coconut Carrot Chutney

 This chutney goes great with Raagi Idly and it is equally delicious with any dosa and other varieties of idli.

Coconut Carrot Chutney (Carrot and coconut accompaniments for Indian breakfasts)

Carrot coconut chutney

Ingredients:

1. 1-1/2 cup carrot peeled and chopped
2. 1/2 cup grated coconut dry/desiccated
3. 1 inch fresh ginger
4. 1/2 tablespoon oil
5. 1 teaspoon each of urad dal, chana dal
6. 1/2 teaspoon salt
7. 2 dried chillies
8. 1/2 cup tamarind juice

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the urad dal and chana dal for a minute. Add dried chillies and fry for 1 more minute. Add the carrot and salt and cover and cook for 5 minutes until carrot get tender. Add ginger and fry for 2 more minutes. Add coconut and mix well and set aside to cool.

Grind with the tamarind juice and adjust salt. 
Temper if you like and enjoy with idli

Raagi Idli

 Its seems like there is a fad going on in my family circle recently...everything Raagi. My extended family has been experimenting with Raagi batter making different foods with it. I made Raagi dosa, my cousin made Raagi idli. So, now it was my turn and here it is.

They were pretty yummy...especially with the Carrot Coconut Chutney I made. If you do not like coconut, here is just Carrot Cutney

Raagi Idli (Steamed cakes made of Millet and Lentils)

Raagi Idli

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup Raagi flour
2. 1/2 cup Urad Dal Flour
3. 1/2 cup Rice flour
4. 1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt
5. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Mix all the ingredients of the batter except Baking soda with 1-2 cups of water. The batter should be thicker than pancake batter. Set it in a warm place over night. (As this is winter in the North American continent...I leave it in the oven with the light on)

In the morning mix the batter and check for consistency. Add the baking soda and mix well. Add the batter to the idli molds and steam for 17 minutes. Let it rest for 10 more minutes. Enjoy with Chutney

Raagi Dosa

I know the lock down has made all of us innovative cooks. What else can we do, if we have to cook meal after meal after meal at home, every single day!!!

There are only so many recipes you can make with wheat flour and the plain all purpose flour. On one of my trips to the Indian store, I picked up different kinds of flours. One of them was Raagi flour. 

First off..what is Raagi or Ragi. It is called Finger Millets in English .Here is a very good resource to know more about Super Millet- Raagi

Raagi Dosa (Crepes made with Finger Millet and Black gram flour)

Ingredients:

1. 11/2 cup Raagi flour
2. 1/2 cup urad dal/ Black gram flour
3. 1 cup plain yogurt beaten
4. 1 cup water
5. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6. 1/2-1 teaspoon salt
7. Oil for frying

To Garnish:

1. Finely chopped onions
2. finely chopped ginger
3. cumin

Sift the raagi and urad dal flour along with the salt and mix the yogurt and water. Set aside for 20-30 minutes. Add the baking soda and mix well.

Heat a griddle. Add a ladle of batter to the center of the griddle and with a light hand spread the batter outward in circular motions. Add oil to the edges of the dosa. Garnish with onions, ginger and cumin and if desired finely chopped green chillies. Fry for 3 minutes and when the edges start to raise a bit, flip the dosa and gently press so that the onions stick to the dosa. Fry for 2-3 more minutes. Flip it and fold it into half and serve with any chutney or ketchup

Anda Bread Bhurji

 I was looking for some inspiration for breakfast and I stumbled upon the Bread Bhurji recipe from Tarla Dalal. Since I am not a vegetarian and I eat eggs, I added eggs to the dish and made it more hardy. 

Super yummy and filling and gets ready quite quickly.

Anda Bread Bhurji (Yogurt soaked bread stir fried with eggs)

Anda Bread Bhurji

Ingredients:

1. 4 eggs lightly beaten with salt and pepper 
2. 6 slices of wheat bread
3. 1 tablespoon oil + 1 teaspoon oil
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, turmeric powder, grated ginger
5. Few curry leaves
6. 2 dried red chillies broken to pieces
7. 1/2 cup plain yogurt
8. 1/3 cup sliced onions

Cut the bread slices into 4 strips and cut them again to 4 pieces.

In a bowl mix the yogurt with the turmeric +a pinch of salt. Add the bread pieces to it, mix  and let them get soaked.

Add 1 teaspoon oil and add the beaten eggs and scramble them. Drain and set aside.

In the same pan pan heat the tablespoon of oil and add the mustard seeds and curry leaves and fry till they start to splatter. Add cumin and red chillies and fry for a minute. Add onions and fry for 3 minutes. Add ginger and fry for 30 seconds. Add the yogurt bread and fry on medium high flame for 3-4 minutes. Add the scrambled egg and mix well. garnish with cilantro and enjoy yummy breakfast

Masala Oats Ravva Idli

There is the recipe for Ravva Idli . And there is the recipe for oats idli. But the idli I made today is with the instant oats and samolina. I got a big pack of 500 gms of the instant masala oats, so it was easy for me to measure 1 cup out of it. But if you have those individual packets, I am not sure how many you would need. But the idlis were soft and delicious.

Masala Oats Ravva Idli

Masala Oats Ravva idli

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup masala oats
2. 1/2 cup ravva or sooji fine samolina
3. 1 tablespoons+ extra oil for basting the idli moulds
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin and mustard seeds
5. 1 teaspoon baking soda or Eno Fruit salt
6. 1 teaspoon Chana dal soaked in water for 10 minutes
7. 1/2 cup plain yogurt
8. 1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
9. 1 tablespoon each of finely chopped ginger, green chillies and cilantro, cashew
10. 2 tablespoons finely chopped onions
11. 1 tablespoon each of grated carrot, beetroot, cabbage

In a pan heat the oil and fry the cumin, mustard seeds, few curry and fry for a minute. Add cashew and fry for a minute. Add Chana Dal and all the veggies and fry for 5 more minutes. Add soji and fry/roast for 5-7 minutes.

In a bowl mix the yogurt with lemon juice. Add the masala oats and sooji to the yogurt and set aside for 15 minutes. Add baking soda or eno fruit salt and add more water to get the consistency of a thick pan cake batter.


Prepare the idli pans by applying oil with a finger. Add a tablespoon of batter. Stream in a cooker for 15-17 minutes. Let the steam escape and cool for a minute before taking the idlis off the pan. Enjoy with your favorite chutney or curry leaf powder

Ravva Idli

Dosa with rice and urad flour

My household is a big fan of Dosa. But making dosa is a long process. You can't just think you want to eat it and make it then and there. It needs "pre thinking". At least planning a day ahead. Sometimes it is not possible and you absolutely want to eat dosa  right then. That's when making it with the flours instead of with the legumes comes in handy.

And this recipe is absolutely great. It turns out to be exactly like the once made with soaked dal and rice. They are crispy and yummy. Do try when in a time crunch or just when you are craving hot crispy dosas

Dosa with Rice and Urad Flour (Indian crepes made with rice and black gram flour)

Instant Dosa

Ingredients:

1. 1/4 cup flattened rice ground to fine powder
2. 1 cup rice flour
3. 1/2 cup urad dal flour
4. 1/2-3/4 teaspoon each of salt, baking soda
5. water as need to make thin batter
6. oil for frying

Mix all the powders together. Add water little by little ( up to 2 cups) and make a thin batter. 

Heat a griddle and test with a drop of water. If it sizzles then the griddle is ready. Add a ladle of batter in the center and spread it into a circle getting bigger and bigger with a light hand. Add oil to the edges. Let fry for 2-3 minutes and when the sides lift up turn the dosa and fry for 1 more minute on the other side. Serve with your favorite chutney or Potato Curry

Beetroot Puri

Whenever I want my kids to eat vegetables, and take a break from meat, then I make something different with it and they eat it without complaining. Today was Red Puri. The red color of the poori is from beet root. I make Beet root Roti but this time it is Poori and I learned the trick to make is nice and puffy and stay that way until broken :) . So everyone was mighty happy.

Red Puri (Fried Indian wheat bread withe beet root dough)

Beet root puri

Ingredients:

1. I can beet root slices, half of the liquid drained and ground to a paste
2. 4 cups whole wheat flour
3. 1 teaspoon salt
4. 1 teaspoon ghee
5. 2 tablespoons sooji

Mix all the ingredients together and add little water if needed and form a dough. Knead it for 5 minutes. 

Divide the dough into 12 parts and roll it on a clean surface into 5-6 inches disk. Heat oil in a pan and add a small piece of dough to it, if it sinks the oil is cold. When it floats nicely, add the puri and fry for 1 minute and flip it, flip it again and flip it again...3 to 4 minutes per poori should be enough. Drain it and enjoy with Mixed veg curry

Aloo palak paneer

Cholay

Also try Green poori

Vegetable Upma

The other day I got a heat and eat package of masala upma from the Indian store and man...that was good. I was no big fan of Upma in my childhood. I would cry every time Upma was made for breakfast in my house. But then...I married a man whose favorite breakfast is Upma. I couldn't believe it. For quite a number of years of my marriage, I would make upma my the man but I would eat something else...enter the kids. The second of the kids who is more like me than the other liked upma...AGHAST I couldn't believe it :(

But year after year, Upma's taste grew on me and now atleast I will eat it 50 % of the time. But I finally found the recipe I would like..love may be...we will see. But the point is, this vegetable upma was super delicious. Everyone should try it

Vegetable Upma (Wheat semolina with vegetables)

Vegetable Upma

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup upma ravva (coarse semolina)
2. 1 tablespoon or more cashew
3.  1/4 cup each of finely sliced potatoes, cabbage, carrots, peas and green beans
4. 1 tablespoon oil
5. 1 teaspoon clarified butter
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, urad dal, chana dal (soaked in water for 10 minutes), mustard seeds, grated ginger, turmeric
7. 1 teaspoon salt 
8. 2 dried red chillies
9. 2 green chillies
10. few curry leaves
11. 1/2 cup juice from a small lime sized tamarind

In a pan dry roast the upma ravva and set aside.

In  a pan heat the oil and ghee and add the cumin, urad dal, chana dal, mustard seeds, dried red chillies and curry leaves and cashew and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the green chillies and ginger with all other vegetables and fry for 5 minutes covered. Add turmeric and stir to combine. Add the tamarind juice and 1.5 cup more water and salt and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat and add the semolina and stir well. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes . Garnish with cilantro and serve

Other Upma Recipes

• Semiyah Upma
• Puffed rice upma
• Kaaju Upma