Flavour Diary: March 2018

Today's Recipe is Coconut Rice. Coconut Rice is famous south Indian Rice variety. There are two ways of doing it.... one is cooking rice in coconut milk with some nuts in it and the other way is cooking the rice separately and then adding the coconut mixture. Coconut mixture is made of out of some nuts and spicy chillies. Today's version is second variation.
This is easy to make use of left over rice or freshly cooked and best for lunch boxes, party side rice recipe, for travelling .
If you love watching how this is made...click on the video below.

Level: Easy
Cook time: 10 mins
Serves: 2-3

1 cup:250 ml
1 tablespoon: 15ml
1 teaspoon:5ml

Ingredients

Cooked Rice: 2 cups
Fresh Coconut: 1 cup(finely grated)
Mustard Seeds:1/2 teaspoon
Green Chillies: 2 (finely cut)
Dry Red Chillies: 1
Split Chickpea/Chana Dal: 1 tablespoon
Split Blackgram/Urad Dal: 1 tablespoon
Curry Leaves:Few
Cashews/Kaju: 10-12(broken)
Hing: 1/8 teaspoon
Oil: 2 tablespoons
Coconut Oil: 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste

Directions

In a pan add Oil and coconut Oil, when its hot add mustard seeds . Once mustard seeds pop add chana dal,cashews,stir for 10-20 seconds.
Now add Urad dal, green chillies,dry red chilli, curry leaves and Hing stir for 10-20 secs until cashews changes to light brown.
Now add grated coconut and cook for 2 -3 mins and then add cooked rice and stir for 2-3 mins until rice becomes hot and mixed.
Serve hot with pickle,chutney or sambar.

You may also like:

Caramel Custard

Tindora Coconut Fry

Gobi Manchuria

Chocolate Breakfast Smoothie Bowl

Gunta Ponganalu Appam with Capsicum Sambar Recipe

Today's recipe is one of the famous breakfast/snack recipe from South India. This is know with different names in different parts like Appam,Gunta Ponganalu, paniyaram and so on. These usually made from leftover Idli Dosa batter. These are crispy on outside and soft fluffy inside.These are easy to make and made in no time. To make these We use a special pan called appam pan.
You can serve Appam along with Red Capsicum Chutney,Capsicum Til Chutney, peanut,Coconut Chutney,Sambar.I served with Capsicum Sambar.
I made Gunta Ponganalu with Capsicum sambar for #MFBC challenge under #breakfast category
You may also like other BreakFast recipes :

Lobia Alasanda vada

Semiya Upma

Pesarattu Upma

Cornmeal Idli

Level: Medium

Total Time: 1hr
Serves: 4

1 cup: 250ml
1 tablespoon: 15ml
1 teaspoon: 5 ml

Gunta Ponganalu

Ingredients

Dosa Batter: 3cups
Onion chopped: 1 cup
Carrot: 2 medium
Spinach: 1 cup(finely chopped)
Chillies: 2 (finely chopped)
Coriander: 1/4cup (finely chopped)
Salt to taste
Oil as required.

Directions

Mix all the ingredients except oil and keep a side for 5mins.
Now take appam pan and pour 1/2 teaspoon of oil in each hole and then pour the batter in each hole. cover the pan and cook on both sides on medium flame. It takes 1-2 minutes on each side.
Repeat the process for rest of the batter.

Gunta Ponganalu(Appam) Note:
Add more veggies as desired.
Adjust salt to taste.
You can serve Appam along with Peanut Chutney,Coconut Chutney,Sambar.

Capsicum Sambar
Ingredients

Toor Dal: 1/2 cup
Onion: 1 large
Tomato: 2 medium
Capsicum: 1 large
Tamarind: 1 walnut sized
Sambar Powder: 1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Red Chilli Powder: 1 teaspoon(to taste)
Oil: 3tablespoon
Ginger Garlic Paste: 1 tablespoon
Mustard Seeds: 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin Seeds: 1/2 teaspoon
Curry Leaves : 1 spring
Salt to taste.

Directions

Soak tamarind in 1/2 cup of hot water and keep a side for 15 mins and then squeeze the pulp and throw away the husk. Keep the pulp aside.
Wash the dal and pressure cook dal with 1 cup of water for 3 whistles. Once pressure is released mash the dal to smooth paste.
In a pan add oil. once oil is hot add mustard seeds and once seeds pop add cumin seeds,curry leaves, onion and fry until onion turns transparent.
Add ginger garlic paste,turmeric and fry until raw smell from ginger garlic is gone. Now add Tomatoes,salt,chillipowder and cook until tomatoes turn mushy.
Then add Capsicum and fry for a minute.Now add Mashed Dal, Tamarind Pulp, Sambar Powder, and water(750ml to 1 ltr) and let the mixture cook for 10-15 mins until capsicum is cooked, add chopped coriander and serve hot.

Capsicum Sambar Note:
Adjust water,salt,chillipowder,sambar powder according to the taste and consisitency.
You can serve sambar along with rice,appam,dosa ,idli,upma as a side.