Banana Dosa

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas
1 cup fine rava/semolina/chiroti rava
3/4 cup wheat flour
1 1/2 cup fresh yogurt
1/2 cup jaggery
1/4 cup grated fresh coconut
pinch of soda
pinch of salt

Method:


Blend bananas, jaggery and yogurt until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. The batter should be a fairly thick consistency. Heat tava, pour the batter and roast until golden brown on both sides. Serve hot with ghee.

Serves 4

NOTE: You can adjust the amount of jaggery according to your taste. If the batter is too thick, add more yogurt instead of water.

Pasta with mint pesto

"Pesto Sauce" is traditionally prepared using basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic and parmesan cheese. I made a slight variation and used mint leaves and walnuts instead. If you dont have basil leaves on hand, mint leaves is a good substitute.

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked pasta(I used rotini/corkscrew pasta)
1 chopped onion
1 chopped capsicum
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup baby corn, boiled and cut lengthwise

Mint Pesto:

1/2 cup mint/pudina leaves
1 tbsp roasted walnuts
1 small clove garlic
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
3-4 red chillies
1/4 cup olive oil
salt

Blend all the above coarsely into a paste. Boil the pasta according to package directions. Drain and keep aside. Heat oil, add onion and saute until golden brown. Add capsicum, mushrooms and baby corn and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the pesto sauce,cooked pasta and salt. Mix well. Cook for about 2 minutes and turn off the heat. Add a dash of cream(optional) for a rich taste. Garnish with grated mozzarella.

Serves 4

Capsicum Masala

Ingredients:

1 chopped onion
1 chopped capsicum
1 tbsp roasted white til/sesame seeds
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp rasam powder
salt to taste

Make a paste of sesame seeds, milk and coconut . Heat oil, add onion and saute until golden brown. Add capsicum and saute some more. Add the ground paste, rasam powder, salt and sugar. Boil until it becomes a thick gravy. Serve with chapathis.

Serves 4

Shavige Uppittu (Vermicelli Upma)

Shavige is quick and easy to prepare and makes a tasty breakfast entree.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup vermicelli
4 cups water
chopped green chillies
chopped curry leaves
chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp chana dal and urad dal
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
pinch of hing
pinch of turmeric
salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp lemon juice(optional)

Method:

Boil 4 cups of water, add the vermicelli,salt and a tsp of oil and cook until tender. Drain and keep aside. Heat oil, add the mustard seeds. When it sputters, add chana dal, urad dal, hing, green chillies,curry leaves and roasted peanuts. Add salt,coconut and vermicelli and mix well. Turn off the heat and add lemon juice. Garnish with chopped coriander.

Serves 3

Avarekalu Saaru

I am a huge fan of avarekalu (papdi lilva). I always thought that avarekalu season in bangalore was sometime during november/december. I was surprised when I found fresh avarekalu recently and had to buy some.


Ingredients:

1 cup avarekalu/papdi lilva
1 cup toor dal
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 tbsp rasam powder
1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
1 tsp dhaniya/coriander seeds
2-3 red chillies
jaggery to taste
1/2 tamarind paste
curry leaves
pinch of hing
1/2 tsp curry leaves
freshly ground black pepper(optional)
salt
1 tsp ghee


Method:

Dry roast chana dal, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and red chillies separately. Grind the spices with coconut and keep aside. Pressure cook avarekalu along with toor dal and salt. Boil rasam powder with water and tamarind paste. Add the ground mixture, jaggery, toor dal, avarekalu and salt. Boil for a couple of minutes. Heat a small kadai, add ghee. When hot, add the mustard seeds, hing, pepper, curry leaves and turn off the heat. Mix well with the saaru and serve hot with ghee and rice.

Serves 4

Methi Matar Malai

Ingredients:

1 bunch fresh methi leaves chopped
1/2 cup boiled peas
1 onion chopped
1/2 tsp ginger chopped
1/2 tsp garlic chopped
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp amchur powder(mango powder)
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 cup fresh cream/malai
salt to taste
pinch of sugar
1 tbsp oil

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Add the onions and fry till translucent. Add the ginger, garlic and methi leaves. Fry for about 6-7 minutes. Add the peas, salt, sugar and chilli powder. Fry some more. Add the amchur powder and stir well. Switch off the heat. Add the cinnamon powder and garnish with fresh cream. Serve with chapathis.

Serves 4

Maddur Vada

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour/maida
1 cup rice flour
1/4 cup fine sooji/chiroti rava
1 onion chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp grated ginger
4-5 green chillies chopped fine
1/4 cup dry coconut(kobri)
1 tsp hot oil/ghee
pinch of hing
salt to taste

Method:

Combine all the ingredients together. Add water and make a dough. Divide the dough into small balls and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan. Take a ball, flatten it with your hand and deep fry until golden brown. Serve as is, or with ketchup.

Makes around 20 vadas

NOTE: Fry the vadas on medium heat so it turns to a golden brown color gradually. Do not make the vadas too thick, they turn out much crispier if they are thin.