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

Coconut Rice with Black Beans

Coconut rice feels like a delicacy when you eat plain white rice pretty much every day. Coconut rice has that subtle coconut flavor to it, which is awesome. I combined the coconut rice with black beans and increased its nutritional value that much. Its a one pot meal...can't beat that, when you do not want to do the dishes.

 Coconut Rice with Black Beans

Coconut Rice with Black Beans

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups long grain rice
2. 1/2 can coconut milk unsweetened
3. 1 can black beans rinsed and drained
4. 1 tablespoon oil
5. 1/4 cup chopped onions
6. 1 large or 2 medium garlic chopped fine
7. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, fresh ground black pepper
8.  1 tablespoon coconut flakes toasted (optional)

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions till they become translucent. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Add beans 1/8 cup water. 

Add 2 cups of water and the coconut milk and salt and bring to a rolling boil. Add rice and reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is done. Add the black beans to the rice and mix gently. Garnish with toasted coconut flakes and enjoy

Some similar recipes

Black beans and Golden Corn rice

Coconut Rice

Thai Green Egg curry with vegetables

 I usually do not like to add sweet potato to the curries. I always have a feeling that the curry would turn out to be sweet and I will not like it. But today I dared and I added sweet potato to this amazing gravy and it was super delicious. The original recipe is here . Of course I had to modify it. I added boiled eggs top it and made it more hearty.

Thai Green Egg curry with vegetables (Boiled egg curry Thai based coconut gravy with Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans)

Thai Green Egg Curry

Ingredients:

1. 1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons oil
2. 1¾ cups Unsweetened Coconut Milk
3. 4 oz Green Beans, ends trimmed and sliced length wise
4. 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
5. 1 medium Onion sliced into half circles
6. 1 medium small Sweet Potato cubed into 1 cm cubes
7. 2 Tbsps Green Curry Paste
8. 6 hard boiled eggs peeled

In a deep pan heat the oil and add the ginger garlic paste and the green curry paste and fry for a minute stirring. Add the onion slices and the sweet potato cubes and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the coconut milk + 1 cup hot water and bring to a boil. Add the green beans and let it boil for 10 minutes. 

In the mean time, in another pan add the 2 teaspoons oil, give the eggs small slits with the knife. Do not cut the eggs. This is just to create space with the skin of the boiled eggs, so that when you fry it, it will not explode in your face. Fry stirring 2-5 minutes*.

Add the fried eggs to the curry and simmer for 5 more minutes. Give it a taste test, adjust the salt and garnish with cilantro and enjoy with White/Ponni rice

*My Hubby likes the skin crispy and rubbery...so fry till the skin becomes brown. The rest of the family does not, so fry it just for 2 minutes, to get better flavor

More Yummy Curries:

Thai Red Curry Mushroom

Thai Coconut Peanut Wings

Thai Chicken Watercress Soup

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

Pan Fried Salmon and Gnocchi

 It was the "Challenge word" of the day for my family...Gnocchi. This dish is super delicious and very easy to make. And as the weather is getting really cold here, I put a ton of garlic in it so that the family will sleep all nice and cozy. Here is the actual recipe

Pan Fried Salmon and Gnocchi

                                        Gnocchi with Salmon

Ingredients:

1. 3 salmon filets, cut into 1-2 inch cubes
2. 1/2 tsp cumin
3. 1/2 tsp paprika
4. 2 tsp olive oil
5. 2 tables spoons butter
6. 1/3 cup each of chicken stock, plain yogurt, sour cream
7. 3 tbs sherry
8. 2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
9. 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
10. 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
11. 10oz fresh gnocchi

Boil gnocchi in rapidly boiling, salted water just until it floats. Drain.
Heat 2 tsp oil in a medium skillet, large enough to hold the gnocchi in a single layer.  Add gnocchi and brown lightly on both sides, about 10 minutes.
Heat 2 tsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add cumin, paprika and sauté 30 seconds.
Add salmon pieces and brown lightly on both sides, about 5 minutes.
Reduce heat, cover and cook until salmon is done, about 10 minutes longer. It will be opaque and flake easily when done.
Remove salmon to a plate and cover to keep warm.
Add stock, sherry, dill and mustard to skillet, stirring to get up the brown bits.
When simmering, remove from heat and stir in yogurt and sour cream and 1 tbs Parmesan.

In a serving dish add Gnocchi at the bottom, top with salmon pieces and topped with the sauce.

Enjoy with side of Toasted garlic bread and canned sliced beets

Apple Galette

 The original recipe is here . 

Apple Galette

Apple Galette

Ingredients:

1. 1 teaspoon  fennel seeds 
2. 1/2 teaspoon  kosher salt
3. 1/3 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
4. 3-4 mediaum apples (such as Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, or Granny Smith), scrubbed, cored, peeled and thinly sliced
5. 1/4 cup pineapple cubes (optional)
6. 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
7. 1 teaspoon  vanilla extract
8. 1 teaspoon corn starch
9. 1 pie crust store bought or made for scratch

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Toast fennel seeds until golden brown and fragrant. Let cool, and grind to powder. Transfer to a medium bowl and add salt and 1/3 cup sugar.  add apples and toss to coat. Add vinegar and vanilla; toss gently.
2. Arrange apple mixture in the center of chilled dough (still on parchment on baking sheet) and spread out evenly, overlapping slices if desired and leaving a 3" border. Fold edges of dough up and over fruit, pleating as needed and being careful that folded edge of dough doesn’t tear (if it does, patch with dough scraps and pinch to seal). Sprinkle sugar evenly over dough.
3. Place galette in oven and immediately reduce heat to 375°F. Bake, rotating halfway through, until crust is deep golden brown everywhere, apples are softened, and juices are bubbling, 45–50 minutes. Let galette cool 2 hours.
4. Serve galette with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

Chicken Philly Sandwiches

I have been craving Philly cheese steak sandwiches and there is no place close by which has good Phillies. And also by the time you bring them home and eat it, they will become all soggy and BLAH...

I found the best recipe here and I followed it pretty much as is

Chicken Philly Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1. 2 Tbsp butter
2. 1 pound fresh chicken tenders, diced
3. 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4. 1 large garlic minced
5. 2 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning
6. ½ teaspoon each of salt, fresh ground black pepper
7. ½ onion, diced
8. 3 slices provolone cheese +extra for each sandwich
9. 4 Hoagie rolls or big hot dog buns
10. 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
11. 1/2 bell pepper of your choice of color diced

Season the chicken with Worcestershire  sauce and lemon pepper and set it aside for 30 minutes. Heat the butter in a pan and cook the onions on low flame for 10 minutes. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Increase the flame to medium high and add the chicken and fry for 8 minutes. Add the bell pepper and stir to combine 4 more minutes. Give it a taste test and adjust the salt and pepper. Cut the flame and layer with 3 slices of  provolone . Cover.

Head a griddle and toast the buns on the inside. Spread each with 1 tablespoon mayo. Layer the top side with more provolone or Colby-pepper jack cheese slices. Add the chicken mixture to the bun and enjoy