Soft Puri

Soft and Fluffy Puri

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cooking Time: 20 mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

2 cups of whole wheat flour

1 tbsp maida (optional)

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp oil

Luke warm water

Oil for deep fry

Method:

1. Take flour and maida in a bowl and add salt and oil and mix well. Now slowly add warm water and start kneading the dough till its soft and not sticking to your hands.
2. Let the dough rest for 20 mins.
3. Heat oil in a pan; make small balls from the dough and roll them into round puri with uniform thickness and fry them in oil pressing it gently till it puffs up. Once puffed up turn it to other side and remove.
4. Fry all the puris and serve with your favourite curry.

Co-zy Tips:

Use oil while rolling instead of flour. Using flour leaves a residue in the oil.

Oats Upma

Oats Upma

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 10 mins

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

1 cup soaked soya granules (use 1/3 cup of dry soya to make 1 cop of soaked soya)

1 onion finely chopped

2-3 green chillies chopped

2 tbsp green peas – boiled

1 carrot chopped and blanched

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp sugar

Chopped coriander for garnish

Salt to taste

Tempering:

2-3 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard

1 tsp cumin

8-10 curry leaves

Pinch of asafoetida

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan; add the tempering and let it splutter.
2. Now add onion and green chillies and sauté for 1 min and add green peas and carrots and sauté for 1 min.
3. Add salt, turmeric and sugar and mix well.
4. Wash and add oats to the pan and mix well and cover and let it cook for 1 min. Sprinkle some water if needed.
5. Remove and garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot.

Co-zy Tips:

1. You may add finely chopped potatoes and tomatoes for extra flavour and texture.
2. You may dry roast the oats for 1 min prior to cooking.

Soya Upma

Soya Upma

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 10 mins

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

1 cup soaked soya granules (use 1/3 cup of dry soya to make 1 cop of soaked soya)

1 onion finely chopped

2-3 green chillies chopped

2 tbsp green peas - boiled

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp sugar

2 tsp lime juice

Chopped coriander for garnish

Salt to taste

Tempering:

2-3 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard

1 tsp cumin

8-10 curry leaves

Pinch of asafoetida

Method:

1. Wash and soak the soya granules leave it aside. (read the Co-zy Tip below)
2. Heat oil in a pan; add the tempering and let it splutter.
3. Now add onion and green chillies and sauté for 1 min and add green peas and sauté for 1 min.
4. Add salt, turmeric and sugar and mix well.
5. Add the soaked soya granules to the pan and mix well and cover and let it cook for 1 min and finally add lime juice.
6. Remove and garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot.

Co-zy Tips:

1. You may add finely chopped potatoes and tomatoes for extra flavour and texture.
2. To make 1 cup of soaked soya granules soak 1/3 cup of dry soya granules in warm water for 10-12 mins and then drain the water and use.

Kanda (Onion) Poha

Kanda (Onion) Poha

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cooking Time: 10 mins

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

1 cup flattened/beaten rice or Poha

1 onion finely chopped

2-3 green chillies chopped

2 tbsp peanuts or green peas

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp sugar

2 tsp lime juice

Chopped coriander for garnish

Salt to taste

Tempering:

2-3 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard

1 tsp cumin

8-10 curry leaves

pinch of asafoetida

Method:

1. Wash the poha and strain it in a colander and leave it aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan; add the tempering and let it splutter. Now add the peanuts and fry till crisp.
3. Now add onion and green chillies and sauté for 1 min. (If using green peas add now and sauté for 1 min)
4. Add salt, turmeric and sugar and mix well.
5. Add the washed poha to the pan and mix well and cover and let it cook for 1 min and finally add lime juice.
6. Remove and garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot.

Co-zy Tips:

1. You may add finely chopped potatoes and tomatoes for extra flavour and texture.
2. Also some bhujia or sev can be added before serving to give some crunch.

Gun Powder for Idli/Dosa

Gun Powder for Idli/Dosa

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 0

Servings: Till it lasts

Ingredients:

2 tbsp urad dal

2 tbsp channa dal

1 tbsp peanuts

5-6 dry red chillies

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Dry roast urad dal, channa dal and peanuts till they turn light red and start leaving aroma. Then add red chillies and roast till done.
2. Remove and allow it to cool. Add it to the blender add salt and blend to a slight coarse powder.
3. Serve with idli or dosa.

Co-zy Tips:

1. Add some ghee to the gun powder and then have it with idli or dosa, it tastes too good and kids also love it.
2. You may sprinkle it over dosa while cooking and serve too. If you cook the dosa with ghee it will become ghee kharam dosa/nayi kharam dosa.

6-in-1 Breakfast Batter (Idli/Steam Dosa/Dosa/Ponganalu/Uttapam/Punugulu)

6-in-1 Breakfast Batter (Idli/Steam Dosa/Dosa/Ponganalu/Uttapam//Punugulu)

 6-in1 Batter is one common batter that can be used to make 5 different breakfast dishes. This will help you plan your entire weeks Menu (Mon-Sat). Try it!!

Ingredients:

1 cup whole Urad dal

2 cups of idli rice

1 cup of raw rice

1 cup of flat rice

2 tsp of fenugreek seeds

Salt to taste

Method:

Wash and soak urad dal, flat rice and fenugreek seeds in a bowl and rice and idli rice in a separate bowl (this is only for convenience of grinding in a blender) for 7-8 hours.

First blend the urad dal, flat rice and fenugreek seed mixture then both the rice.

Add salt, mix the batter well and leave it overnight to rise.

Day 1 Idli: As the batter is thick today you can make Idli using this batter. Refrigerate the remaining batter immediately.

Day 2 Steam Dosa: Take a portion of batter and add very little water to the batter and make steam dosa. For making steam dosa just pour the batter on the hot griddle and do not rotate. Just add few drops of oil and cover it with a lid and allow it to cook. Do not flip the dosa and just take it off when it is done.

Day 3 Dosa: Today we can take desired quantity of batter and enough water to make dosa.

Day 4 Ponganalu: For making Ponganalu we need to keep the batter moderately thick and also we need the special pan to make them.

Day 5 Uttapam: By now the batter would have become bit sour, its right time to make uttapams.

Day 6 Punugulu: With the leftover batter we can make punugulu either for breakfast or evening snack.

Co-zy Tips:

1. If you do not have 7-8 hours of soaking time you can soak in hot water for just 2-3 hours and complete the process.
2. Add some cooking soda in the batter to aid in rising.
3. You may also add a slice of bread soaked in water to have a perfect fermentation in winters.
4. If there is no cooking soda and no bread then just leave in a warm corner of the kitchen or inside the oven.
5. You can prepare the chutney and store in refrigerator and use it for all days.

Uttapam

Uttapam

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 15-20 mins

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

1 bowl of leftover dosa batter

1 large onion finely chopped

1 tomato finely chopped

1 green chilli finely chopped

2 tsp of fresh coriander chopped

1 tsp cumin

Salt to taste

Method: 

1. To the batter add all the ingredients. Be careful while adding salt as the batter already has some salt.
2. Heat a griddle or tawa and add some oil and pour the batter and do not rotate. Cover the uttapam.
3. After 1-2 mins flip it and cook without cover for another 1 min.
4. Serve hot with chutney of your choice.

Co-zy Tip:

You may add vegetables of your choice like grated carrots, finely chopped capsicum to give extra colour and taste to you uttapam.

Tomato Bath

Tomato Bath

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cooking Time: 10 mins

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

1 cup Sooji/Semolina

1 onion sliced or chopped

2 tomatoes chopped

5-6 cashew nuts

2 green chillies chopped

2 sprigs of curry leaves

1 tbsp oil

½ tsp turmeric

3 cups of water

2 tsp ghee for garnish

Salt to taste

Tempering:

1 dry red chilli halved

1 tsp mustard seeds

2 tsp channa dal

2 tsp urad dal

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan; add channa dal and urad dal and fry till they turn light red, then add red chilli, mustard, jeera and let it splutter.
2. Add onion, green chilli and curry leaves along with salt and turmeric powder and fry till the onion turn pink.
3. Then add tomatoes and cook for 1 min.
4. Add water and bring it to a boil.
5. Add sooji slowly and stir along with it to avoid lump formation.
6. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 4-5 mins.
7. Add ghee and serve hot with any chutney or pickle.

Co-zy Tips:

To make it quicker; first place the water in a pot and allow it to boil. While the water is heating chop the onion and proceed to step 1 and 2. By the time the onions and tomato is cooked the water is boiling already. Just add the boiling water and you are ready to add the sooji. This will save atleast 5 mins of your cooking time. Check it out.

Upma

Upma

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cooking Time: 10 mins

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

1 cup Sooji/Semolina

1 onion sliced or chopped

2 green chillies chopped

2 sprigs of curry leaves

1 tbsp oil

3 cups of water

2 tsp ghee for garnish

Salt to taste

Tempering:

1 dry red chilli halved

1 tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp jeera

2 tsp channa dal

2 tsp urad dal

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan; add channa dal and urad dal and fry till they turn light red, then add red chilli, mustard, jeera and let it splutter.
2. Add onion, green chilli and curry leaves along with salt and fry till the onion turn pink.
3. Add water and bring it to a boil.
4. Add sooji slowly and stir along with it to avoid lump formation.
5. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 4-5 mins.
6. Add ghee and serve hot with any chutney or pickle.

 Co-zy Tips:

To make it quicker; first place the water in a pot and allow it to boil. While the water is heating chop the onion and proceed to step 1 and 2. By the time the onions are pink the water is boiling already. Just add the boiling water and you are ready to add the sooji. This will save atleast 5 mins of your cooking time. Check it out.

Sambar for Idli/Dosa/Vada/Rice

Sambar

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 20 mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 cup Toor/Arhar Dal (pigeon Pea)

Assorted vegetables cut into 1” pcs (Onions, Drumsticks, brinjal, red pumpkin, bottle gourd, lady’s finger, carrots and tomatoes)

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp Sambar Powder (MTR brand preferred)

1 tsp chilli powder

2 tsp coriander powder

½ tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp dry coconut powder

1 small cup of tamarind extract (diluted)

2 green chillies slit

Salt to taste

2 sprigs of curry leaves

1 tbsp of fresh chopped coriander

Tempering:

2 tsp oil

2 tsp ghee/clarified butter

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp jeera/cumin

¼ tsp roasted fenugreek powder (you may use 8-10 fenugreek seeds as well)

¼ tsp asafoetida

2 dry whole red chillies

Method:

1. Take a deep pot and add 1 tbsp oil and add hard vegetables first (lady’s finger, red pumpkin and tomatoes to be added later).
2. Add the dry powders (sambar powder, chilli powder, coconut powder, coriander powder, turmeric and salt) and let it coat the vegetables along with the oil for 1 min.
3. Add water to cover the vegetables, cover and let it cook.
4. While the vegetables are cooking; pressure cook the dal and soak tamarind for the extract.
5. After the hard vegetables are 80% cooked add the soft vegetables along with green chillies, curry leaves and half of coriander, cover again let them cook.
6. When all the vegetables are done add the cooked dal, tamarind extract and cover and cook for another 5 mins.
7. For tempering the sambar, heat oil and ghee together and add all the ingredients. After they splutter add it to the sambar and cover it immediately so that all the flavours are absorbed well.
8. Let is cook for 1 min and then garnish with the remaining fresh coriander and serve with Idli, Dosa, Vada and even with steamed rice and papad.

Co-zy Tips:

1. Use the coriander stalks also as it gives very good flavour.
2. If you are using red pumpkin do not peel the skin else it will get mashed.
3. If you do not have different vegetables you can make it with just onion and tomatoes alone.
4. This recipe can be with just one vegetable as well to give it that significant flavour like Drumstick Sambar, Bottle gourd Sambar, Onion Sambar, etc.
5. But more the vegetables better the taste and more nutritious.
6. This is my own version of Sambar and trust me it tastes so good as all the vegetables cook together adding lots of flavours to the sambar.
7. DO NOT COOK THE VEGETABLES IN COOKER OR MICROWAVE.

Potato Masala for Dosa

Potato Masala for Dosa

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cooking Time: 10 mins

Serving: 6-8 Dosas

Ingredients:

500 gms Potatoes (Boiled and roughly crushed into big chunks)

2 Onion sliced

3 tsp Oil

½ tsp Mustard Seeds

½ tsp jeera

1 tsp Urad Dal

1 tsp channa dal

2-3 Green chilli chopped

¼ tsp turmeric powder

2 sprigs of Curry Leaves

2 tsp chopped fresh coriander

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil, add channa dal and urad dal and let it turn light red then add mustard seeds and jeera.
2. Add onions, green chillies curry leaves, salt and turmeric and cook till onions turn pink.
3. Add potato and mix well. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of water. Cook for 2-3 mins. Garnish with coriander.

 Co-zy Tip:

1. You may add blanched green peas and grated carrot for colour and rich taste.
2. This Masala can be had with Poori, Chapathi, Phulka and as a stuffing for Sandwich and aloo bonda/batata vada.

Garlic Chutney (for Idli/Dosa/Wada)

Garlic Chutney (for Idli/Dosa/Wada)

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 10 mins

Serving: 6 servings (1/2 cup)

Ingredients:

8-10 cloves of Garlic

2-3 dry red chillies

½ cup of fresh grated coconut

1 tsp tamarind pulp

¼ cup water

2 tsp oil

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan, sauté chopped garlic over low flame for 30 seconds then add red chillies and sauté for another 30 seconds. Allow it to cool.
2. Transfer the mixture into a blender along with remaining ingredients and grind into a not so smooth paste. Serve with Idli/Dosa/Vada/etc.

Co-zy Tips:

1. You may use lime juice instead of tamarind for a different tangy taste.
2. Using dry Kashmiri chillies or powder gives a bright red colour to the chutney.

Veg-Chinese Grill Sandwich

Veg-Chinese Grill Sandwich

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 15-20 mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

8 slices of bread

1 cup shredded cabbage

I capsicum thinly sliced

1 big carrot grated

1 onion thinly sliced

3 tsp Dark Soya sauce

2 tsp of tomato sauce

½ tsp pepper powder

¼ tsp of Ajinomoto (optional)

¼ tsp sugar

Butter

2 tsp oil

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat a pan and add oil. First add onions and sauté till transparent then add cabbage, capsicum and carrot. After a minute of stirring add soya sauce, tomato sauce, salt, pepper, sugar and Ajinomoto. Cook till the moisture is gone. Allow it to cool.
2. Apply butter on the slices inside and outside and place desired quantity of the mixture between the 2 slices and grill them.
3. Serve hot with your choice of sauce.

Co-zy Tips:

1. The butter on the outer side of the slice helps to give nice brown grill marks.
2. If you do not have a grill you can make it on a skillet/tawa as well, the grill marks will be missing though.
3. Enjoy this for breakfast or as an evening tea-time snack.
4. It tastes good even without any sauce.

     P.S. This recipe is my invention and not copied J

Pancake (eggless)

Pancakes (eggless)

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 15 mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 ½ Cup of Maida (all purpose flour)

1 cup milk

½ cup yoghurt

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of cooking soda

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp oil

Pinch of salt

Toppings:

Slices of banana/apple/strwberries

Choice of Sauce – Honey/Strawberry Crush/Chocolate Sause

Whipped cream (optional)

Method:

1. Take a deep bowl and add all the dry ingredients first and mix well, then add all the wet ingredients and whip it well to aerate it well without any lumps (add some water if the batter is too thick).
2. Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat, grease it with little butter and pour a ladle of batter (DO NOT SHAPE THE BATTER) and allow it to settle down. After it leaves the edges flip it and cook.
3. Remove the Pancake and serve with your choice of fruit, sauce and a dollop of whipped cream.

Co-zy Tip:

1. To make it healthier you may use 1 cup of whole wheat flour and ½ cup of maida.
2. The batter should be moderately thick else the pancakes will be thin and lack fluffiness.
3. You can even eat with Nutella though high on calories.
4. If you do not have any of the toppings then just simple honey works wonders, try it!!

Onion & Tomato Chutney (for Idli/Dosa/Wada/Snacks)

Onion & Tomato Chutney (for Idli/Dosa/Wada/Snacks)

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 10 mins

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

4 ripe tomatoes chopped

2 onions chopped

2-3 green chillies

6-8 peppercorns

1 tsp jeera/cumin

3-4 cloves of garlic

½ tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Salt to taste

3 tsp oil

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan, add jeera and allow it to splutter. Then add peppercorns and sauté for 30 seconds and add green chillies and garlic and allow it to fry a bit. Add onions, salt and turmeric and fry till transparent. Finally add tomatoes and cook till they are tender.
2. After the above mixture is cooled grind it along with fresh coriander coarsely. Serve it with your favourite breakfast or snack.

Co-zy Tips:

1. If you wish you may temper it with mustard seeds and curry leaves.
2. You may also grind it to a smooth paste based on your preference.

Ginger Chutney (Allam Pachadi)

Ginger Chutney

Ingredients:

100 gms Ginger

1 tbsp Urad Dal

10-15 Whole dry red chilies

Small ball of Tamarind / 1 tsp tamarind pulp

1 tsp grated Jaggery

Salt to taste

Tempering:

2 tsp oil

1 tsp Mustard seeds

6-8 curry leaves

Pinch of asafoetida

Method:

1.       Clean the ginger well and peel the skin and roughly chop them.

2.       Heat a pan with 2 tsp oil. Add urad dal and sauté for 30 to 45 seconds over low flame. Add whole dry red chilies and once again keep sautéing over low flame till the urad dal becomes golden red in colour and the red chilies get roasted well.

3.       Add the thinly sliced ginger and keep cooking over low flame till the slices slightly shrink in size. You can add 1 to 2 tsp more oil while sautéing ginger if needed. This should take another 4 to 5 minutes.

4.       Take the pan off fire and add the tamarind piece and mix well.

5.       Transfer the ingredients to a blender, add salt, jaggery and grind it to a smooth paste using little water.

6.       Temper the chutney and serve with Idli/Dosa/Wada/any south indian snack.

Co-zy Tips:

1.       Use red ginger as it does not have strings and soak ginger well to get rid of the mud on it.

2.       Take care while adding water to keep the consistency right.

3.       Roast the urad dal and red chilies over low flame and take care not to burn them or let it darken as the colour of the chutney will also end up being dark.

4.       Use light coloured jaggery to get good red colour.

5.       This chutney can be stored in an air-tight container kept in fridge for 10-15 days.

Idli (with Idli Rava)

Idli (with Idli Rava)

Prep Time: 14-16 hrs

Cooking Time: 15-20 mins

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

1 cup whole Urad dal

2 ½ cups of Idli Rava

½ cup of beaten/flat rice

1 tbsp of cooked rice (normal rice)

Salt to taste

Water as required

Little oil or ghee for greasing the plates

Method:

1.       Rinse and soak Urad dal along with flat rice in a bowl and soak idli rava in a separate bowl for atleast 6 hrs.

2.       Blend the urad dal, flat rice and cooked rice into a thick batter.

3.       Squeeze out water from the idli rava and add half of the portion to the urad dal batter and remaining half whip in the blender with very little water couple of times to make it bit softer and then mix it with the batter.

4.       Add salt to the batter and leave it overnight or 8 hrs in a warm place.

5.       Grease the idli plates with little oil or ghee and add batter.

6.       Steam the idlis and serve piping hot with your favourite chutney and sambar.

Co-zy Tips:

1.       To make colourful and healthier idlis you may add boiled spinach puree (green), carrot puree (orange) and beetroot puree (purple) to the batter.

2.       You may also add thinly shredded cabbage to the batter, to add some texture and nutrition.

Idli (with Idli Rice)

Idli (with Idli Rice)

Prep Time: 14-16 hrs

Cooking Time: 15-20 mins

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

1 cup whole Urad dal

2 ½ cups of Idli Rice

½ cup of beaten/flat rice

1 tbsp of cooked rice (normal rice)

Salt to taste

Water as required

Little oil or ghee for greasing the plates

Method:

1.       Rinse and soak Urad dal along with flat rice in a bowl and soak idli rice in a separate bowl for atleast 6 hrs.

2.       Blend the above ingredients separately in a blender with minimum water to get a thick batter.

3.       Add salt to the batter and leave it overnight or 8 hrs in a warm place.

4.       Grease the idli plates with little oil or ghee and add batter.

5.       Steam the idlis and serve piping hot with your favourite chutney and sambar.

Co-zy Tips:

1.       To make colourful and healthier idlis you may add boiled spinach puree (green), carrot puree (orange) and beetroot puree (purple) to the batter.

2.       You may also add thinly shredded cabbage to the batter, to add some texture and nutrition.

3.     This is how idli rice looks 

Perfect Punugulu

Punugulu

Prep Time: 6-8 hrs

Cooking Time: 15-20 mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 cup of Dosa/Idli Batter

1 cup of maida (all-purpose flour)

Pinch of Cooking Soda

Salt to taste

Water as required

1 tsp jeera

1 cup Oil

Method:

1.       Take an air tight container and add all the ingredients to make a thick batter.

2.       Allow it to rise in a warm place for 6-8 hrs.

3.       Add jeera to the batter before frying them.

4.       Heat oil and drop small portions of the batter and fry till golden.

5.     Serve it with your favourite chutney.

Co-zy Tips:

1.       Add finely chpped onion, green chillies, curry leaves and coriander leaves to enhance the taste.

2.       If you do not have leftover idli/dosa batter use sour curd and warm water instead and add 1 tbsp of rice flour.

Coconut Chutney for Idli/Dosa/Wada

Coconut Chutney

Prep Time: 10-15 mins

Cooking Time: 5 mins

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

1 cup of fresh coconut (grated or chopped)

2-3 green chillies

2 tbsp of roasted channa dal

1 tsp tamarind pulp or little tamarind

Coconut water (from the coconut) optional

¼ tsp sugar

Salt to taste

Tempering:

1 tsp oil

½ tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp of urad dal 

½ tsp of channa dal

6-8 Curry leaves

1 red chilli (optional)

Pinch of Hing (Asafoetida) 

Method:

1.       Add coconut, channa dal, green chillies, tamarind, sugar and salt to a blender and make a smooth paste using the coconut water (even plain water can be used).

2.      Temper the chutney with the above ingredients.

     Co-zy Tips:

1.       Variation 1: You may add some roasted peanuts to the chutney.

2.       Variation 2: You may add few coriander leaves or mint leaves for a new flavour.

3.       Variation 3: Garlic may be added to give a new twist.

4.       Sometimes ‘Simple is Sweet’ to enjoy it as it is.