Poha Dosa – Atukula Attlu

My Son Adi is turning 3 this 21^st, so for the next few days. I am going to be little busy, shopping and partying. I thought why not finish up with all the pending posts and then take a break. Then I have a long recipe list coming up for Ugadi and Sri Rama Navami. Hell lot of work to do!!

Starting a blog has not only made me little busy from the usual schedule but my way of cooking has improved a lot than before. Before, I never used to be so dedicated to cooking. It was like any other daily task. Used to finish it fast and go to the next job. Now, I cook systematically, with lot of decoration, garnishing, presentation and most importantly concentration. "Hubby is happy!! Gets to eat something new everyday."

We all love dosas/attlu(a Telugu Word), especially when it comes in a different version than usual. This Dosa is very different from the normal ones and in other words called “sponge or cushion” dosa. My Mother-in-Law taught me this recipe. It is served hot and it simply melts in your mouth.




Ingredients

3 cups Idly rice or raw rice (anything is fine)
1 cup Poha (atukulu/ aval/ rice flakes)
1 tsp Fenugreek seeds (methi)
Sour Buttermilk or yogurt
Salt.

Preparation

Soak rice, poha and fenugreek together in sour buttermilk or yogurt.
Add water and dilute the yogurt. Remember not to add too much water.
But very important point is 'Yogurt / Butter Milk' should be very sour, else the batter will not ferment. Let it soak overnight.
Morning, grind them into batter without adding much water. The batter should be comparatively thicker than the usual dosa batter.
Pour the batter in to a huge vessel, as it will ferment and double it's size.
Now, add salt to the batter and let it ferment for another 12 hours.
The batter should double its size. Now, it's ready to become cushion dosa. The batter should be poured in a non-stick kadai and should not be smeared to make dosas. It should be left as it is only pouring oil in the edges.
Cover it with lid and gas on medium heat. Then when the upper side gets cooked toss it to the other side and cook. The dosa will rise up to half an inch of thickness in the pan, yet soft and spongy. Now serve it hot with chutney or sambar.

Sweet n Sour Okra curry

Okra is very commonly used vegetable in India and is also called as the lady’s finger.
It is either sauteed or added to gravy based preparations.
I am making a sweet n sour curry which is called as the Bendakaya Gojju in telugu or vendakai puli kulambu in tamil.

My grandmother was a great cook. She used to make this curry for us. I could never achieve the taste and zing which she had brought to it. But trying to keep her memories alive.

Ingredients

1.5 cups of medium cut okra
1cup of shallots cut into half
½ cup tomato puree
2.5 cup tarmarind water
½ cup water
1tbsp gramflour (besan)
2tbsp Jaggery
Turmeric
1tsp Chilli powder
1tsp Coriander powder
Salt
1tsp Oil

For Tempering

½ tsp mustard seed
½ tsp cummin seed
½ tsp fenugreek seed
asafoetida
curry leaves
dry chillies
1tbsp oil

Preparation

In a pan add oil and saute both okra and shallots for 5 minutes in a medium heat.
In to the same pan add tarmarind water, water, turmeric and salt. Let it come to a boil.
The okra should become tender. Now add tomato puree, coriander powder, chilli powder, jaggery and let it come to a boil again in medium heat. Mix gram flour in 1tbsp water and add it to the gravy to achive considerable thickness. If you want you can increase the amount of chilli powder for more heat. I prefer less.
Now temper it with the given ingredients and relish it with rice or dosa . It goes great with both.

Lets be Proud!!

International Women's Day

International Women's Day (8 March) is an occasion marked by women's groups around the world. This date is also commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday. When women on all continents, often divided by national boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, come together to celebrate their Day, they can look back to a tradition that represents at least nine decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development.

International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men. In ancient Greece, Lysistrata initiated a sexual strike against men in order to end war; during the French Revolution, Parisian women calling for "liberty, equality, fraternity" marched on Versailles to demand women's suffrage.

Content taken from http://www.un.org/.

So all of you out there, what ever it takes , " Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!

Live the life you have imagined.." Feel proud to be a women!!

Happy Women's Day!