Khaman Dhokla /Nylon Dhokla

        Being a very big fan of Gujarati cuisine,dhokla is my all time favourite snack . It can be an easy  breakfast or a quick evening snack for kids in the evening.It is a steamed besan cake and so health conscious and diet conscious people can have it without any guilt.As the name suggest (nylon means soft),this comes out so spongy that it will melt in your mouth This recipe shows the pressure cooker method.I have tried the microwave version of this too.It is faster and comes as perfect as pressucooked dhoklas.Now lets see the recipe :

  

Ingredients:

Besan	1 cup
Sooji	2 Tbsp
Thick whipped curd	½ cup
Salt	To taste
Green Chillies	1 tsp (Finely chopped)
Ginger(Optional)	Few juliennes
Eno Fruit Salt(Unflavored)	1 ½ Tbsp
Sugar	1 Tbsp
Oil	1 Tbsp
Mustard	1tsp
Long slit Green chillis	Few
Curry Leaves	Few Strands
Finely chopped coriander	For garnish
Sugar	2 tsp
Lemon  Juice	1 tsp
Water	¼ cup

Seasoning:

Mustard	1tsp
Long slit Green chillis	Few
Curry Leaves	Few Strands
Finely chopped coriander	For garnish
Sugar	2 tsp
Lemon  Juice	1 tsp
Water	¼ cup

Method :

1)Mix all the dry  ingredients first.Then add 1/2 of the curd we have taken and mix it with a whisk to a thick paste.Make sure there are no lumps formed during this process.
2) Now add the remaining curd and little water, lemon juice and mix.It should be like dosa batter consistency and not very thick.*
3) Now add 1 tbsp of oil and mix .Keep the batter aside for 10 -15 min.
4)Keep water in the pressure cooker to steam.
5)Once the resting time is over,check for the consistency.Add little water if necessary and bring it to flowing consistency.
6)Add a tsp of ENO salt now.Just add a drop of water on the ENO salt .Mix well.You can see the batter rising and frothing.
7)Immediately transfer the batter in a greased container and place it in the cooker.
8)Let it steam(Do not use whistle) for  10 to 12 mins till the tooth pick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

For Seasoning :

1)Heat the kadai with 1 tsp of oil.
2)To this add the mustard seeds.When the mustard seeds splutter add the curry leaves and green chillis and saute for a few seconds,
3)To this add 1 /4 cup of water and 2 tsps of sugar.Bring this to boil
4)When this mixture boils,just squeeze half a lemon and switch of the flame.
5)Pour this tadka , little by little on the dhokla. Let it rest for 5 min till the moisture is absorbed by the dhokla.
6)Then invert the dhokla to a plate.
7)Garnish it with chopped coriander,cut into pieces  and serve it with mint chutney and sweet chutney.

Notes:

1)You can skip the lemon juice while mixing the ingredients if the curd used is sour.
2)The curd should be thick and not watery.
3)The batter consistency is important.It should be flowy like dosa batter and not thick as idli batter.
4) Eno fruit salt the secret behind spongy dhoklas.So do not skip this ingredient.

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Vermicelli Sooji Vegetable Idli

                      Idlis generally are big saviour in many households because it is very easy to prepare.And recently I read somewhere that it has been rated as the most nutritious breakfast recipe in the world.Surprising rite?Idly is nothing but steamed pancakes(At least that is how they call here in US :P) But plain idlis can sometimes get boring.The same idlis with some variations can make it a really interesting breakfast. Here is one such variation of normal idli-Semolina Sooji vegetable idli.Don't get scared by this long name.It is a very simple recipe.Hope you will enjoy this.

Ingredients:

1) Roasted Semiya/Vermicelli     - 1/2 cup
2) Rava                                          - 1/2 cup
3) Vegetables                                - 1 cup (Carrot,beans,peas,corn)
4) Cashews                                   - Few
5) Curry Leaves                            -2 Strings
6) Coriander  Leaves                     -Few
7) Thick curd                                - 1 3/4 cup
8) Butter milk                               - 1/4 cup
9) Green Chillies                          - 3 nos
10) Salt                                           -To taste
11) Eno fruit Salt                          - 1 tsp
12) Ghee/Oil                                 - 1 tsp

Method:

1) Add a tsp of ghee/oil in the kadai.When hot add mustard seeds to splutter.
2) Once the mustard splutters,add curry leaves, green chillies  and cashews .
3) Once the cashews turn golden brown ,add rava and saute till rava slightly changes its colour.
4) Then add Vermicelli  and the vegetables and give a quick toss.Since the vermicelli is already roasted ,we don't have to roast them again.To this mixture,give a lavish sprinkle of  finely chopped coriander leaves.
5) Now switch of the flame and take the mixture in a container.Add the butter milk  and curd little  by little till it forms a thick paste.Leave it aside for 10 min.
6) After 10min you can see that the sooji has absorbed the curd and  buttermilk and the mixture is thick.Now adjust the consistency by adding very little water and bring it to thick paste consistency.
7) Now add the eno fruit salt(plain)to this and give a quick stir.You can see that the mixture becomes fluffy.
8) Immediately transfer the mixture to the greased idli moulds.


  

9) Steam it for 12 to 15 min till knife inserted in the centre of the idli comes out clean.
10) Serve the hot hot vermicelli idli with chutney or sambhar.I am sure you will enjoy eating these delicious idlis.

Notes

1) Don't skip the Eno fruit salt .It is an important ingredient to make your idlis fluffy and soft.

2) If you are using ordinary vermicelli(non roasted )make sure you roast it before you add.
3) After you add eno fruit salt, immediately transfer it to the idli mould for best results.
4) Do not make the batter watery, otherwise your idlis will turn out flat.

5) The curd should be really thick to get fluffy idlis.

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Rava Laddu / Sooji Laddu

Hi Friends!!!

I am very excited to start blogging again after a short break.I know each one of you is waiting for the next recipe eagerly and here comes a very simple sweet recipe which can be made in a jiffy.
         
          Rava Laddu is a very simple sweet recipe. You can make it whenever you have a sweet craving as the recipe takes only 10 minutes to prepare. It is my dad's favorite sweet and luckily my husband also likes it very much. In fact this is the first sweet I made at home after marriage. Sorry for not posting step by step photos,but I have compensated for that by explaining in detail .There is no chance of you going wrong if you exactly follow the steps.

Ingredients:

Rava/Sooji         - 1 Cup

Sugar        - 1 Cup

Ghee       - 1/4 Cup

Cashews    - 8 to 10

Elaichi Powder  - a pinch  

Method:

1)  Put  2 tbsp of ghee in the kadai .Once hot,fry the cashews till golden brown and keep it aside.

2)  In the same pan,roast the sooji till it is slightly red in color.

3)  Powder the sugar and rava in the mixie and make it a fine powder.

4)  Sieve this Mixture. Grind the remaining coarse powder in the siever to a fine powder. Repeat this        step  until very little residue is left in the siever.
5) To this sieved mixture,add elaichi powder,fried cashews and 1/4 cup of melted ghee*(See notes).

6)  Hold the Mixture tight and you should be able to make a ball. If it crumbles down then add some more ghee and try again. Delicious rava laddu is ready in no time.Very easy rite? :P 

Notes.

1) 1/4 cup of ghee is only an approximate measurement.Actually after you add the ghee,if you hold the mixture tight,you should be able to make balls out of it.That is the correct consistency.If the mixture is crumbling,it means it is dry and you need to add little more ghee.Ghee is the only binding agent here.Do not add water .

2) Some reduce the amount of ghee and add warm mix to bind the mixture.I have not tried this method.I prefer to use ghee only.

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