Sanna Polo ( Spicy Yam Dosa)

This dosa is an authentic South Cannara recipe. Its a spicy dosa and hence doesn't need any chutney to enhance the taste. Its a blend of toor dal , rice and spices. This is commonly made with cabbage , bamboo shoots (my personal favorite) or just eaten plain (without vegetables). The best way to serve this is as a side dish for lunch or dinner (just like palya).

This dish at my home was usually prepared when a coconut would start to spoil and gives away a spoilt smell. A pinch of hing is added to compensate the smell from the coconut. Trust me the dosa as the end result doesn't carry the smell. My mum always served this straight from the skillet with a dollop of butter . As I would take a bite , I would wish for more spoilt coconuts ......

Ingredients

200g chopped raw yam

1 cup toor dal / yellow lentil

1/2 cup rice

3 tbsp grated coconut (fresh ones also taste the same , so don't bother to find for a spoilt coconut)

3 -4 dry red chillies / 1 tsp red chilli powder ( I used 1 tsp hot red chilli powder )

1 tbsp tamarind pulp

1 tsp salt

(For this dosa no hing/ asafoetida is required)

Method

Soak dal and rice separately for 1 hour . Grind together yam , coconut , red chillies , salt , tamarind into a smooth paste. Then add dal and rice , grind into a semi coarse paste. Add 1/2 cup of water to aid the grinding process. This mixture is the dosa batter , so more water can be added for a dosa batter consistency. Heat a non stick skillet and pour a ladle full of batter. Do not spread thin , just spread very lightly. Cook both the sides on a medium flame. Serve dosa with yogurt or with a dollop of butter.

I am posting this recipe for Padma's Dosa Corner Event , Sia's and Lakshmi's RCI Udipi and Mangalorean Cuisine and Padmajha Suresh's Let's Go Nuts event.

Spicy Mango / Mango palya

This recipe is from www.aayis.com with a slight variation. For the original recipe visit Pineapple Palya . Thank you for this awesome recipe. I am posting this recipe for the

Mango Mela competition hosted by Cooking for all seasons.

My variation includes ripe mango instead of pineapple and adding ingredients straight from cupboard instead of grinding into a powder (this was a cheat I used without compromising the taste). Believe me this dish will be a hit. This was the second time I made this within a week. Apparently I have ran out of mangoes else I wouldn't hesitate to make it tomorrow again.

Ingredients

1 ripe big mango diced with skin. (I have not used canned ones ever )

1 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

3-4 curry leaves

1 tsp urad dal/ beaten black gram

a pinch of asafoetida / hing

1 tbsp grated coconut

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

1/4 tsp black pepper powder

1/2 tsp sweetener/ sugar/ jaggery (I used sweetener for I am a health freak)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp water

Method

Heat oil , add mustard seeds . After they stop spluttering add urad dal, curry leaves , hing , red chilli powder , black pepper powder and coconut. Roast this for a minute or two till you get the aroma of the masala. Now add the diced mangoes , salt , sugar and water. Cook till the mangoes are tender , this would take about 10 mins. Serve this with steaming hot rice.

Simple Noodle

This is the basic type of noodles. Its easy and simple to make . Its ready within 20 mins. Noodles is such a versatile and complete dish. Noodles can be made dry or wet with gravy or can be very tasteful in chinese noodle soups. Any type of veggies can be added.

Ingredients

Any quantity and any type of vegetables can be added but I have added

200g noodles (any fresh or dried) I used wholewheat noodles.

1 julienne carrot

1/4 cabbage shredded

6-7 babycorn sliced lengthwise

1 large onion chopped

1 tbsp ginger - garlic- chilli paste

4 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp rapseed oil

handful cilantro chopped for garnishing (optional)

Method

Heat rapseed oil in a wok . Stir fry onions ,giner - garlic - chilli paste , babycorn, carrot and cabbage. Then add soy sauce and noodles. Put off the flame and add toasted sesame oil and garnish with chopped cilantro. If you feel the noodles are bland , you can add more soy sauce.

Spicy Vermicelli / Shavige Bath

Ingredients

200g vermicelli / mung beans noodles

1 onion chopped

2 tomatoes chopped

6 baby corn sliced

1/2 carrot grated

2 tsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp urad dal / beaten black gram

1/2 tsp channa dal / beaten bengal gram

4 mild green chillies slit

1 sprig curry leaves

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp salt

handful of chopped cilantro to garnish

Method

Soak vermicelli in hot water for 15 mins. Heat oil in a wok , to this add mustard seeds . After they stop spluttering add cumin seeds , urad dal , channa dal , curry leaves , green chillies. Saute for a minute. Add chopped onion and saute till they soften and start turning brown. Add tomatoes and cook till they are tender and then add turmeric powder , salt , all the veggies. Cook till the veggies are cooked and tender. Now finally add the vermicelli and stir for 5 mins. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Variations

Any type of veggies (like green beans , peas, sweetcorn , peppers ) and any amount can be added to this.

Aubergine and green beans curry

I always bring home free food magazines from superstores. They have lots of good recipes . I even browse non veg recipes as well and substitute meat with soya chunks or tofu or just exclude meat from the recipe. I even substitute all non veg stocks with veg stock. This recipe was in January 2008 ASDA magazine. I had tried this earlier and was very delicious. You can make it dry and eat as a side dish or make curry with lots of gravy.

Ingredients
2 aubergines cubed
1 onion sliced
1 tomato chpped
handful of frozen beans (if using fresh ones then topped and tailed)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
handful of fresh coriander leaves chopped
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp oil

Method
Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and cook till they pop. Add onions and saute for a minute till they start turning brown. Add aubergine , salt and cook for 3 minutes. Add turmeric , corainder powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder. Mix and stir well. Add 250 ml water (you could add more water for gravy or little water for dry side dish). Add tomato and green beans. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the veggies are tender. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Vegan Celery Red Pepper Risotto

Ingredients
1 cup arborio rice
1 litre vegetable stock (I used just 1 stock cube)
1/2 onion finely chopped
2 large pods garlic finely chopped
1/2 red pepper finely chopped
1 celery stick finely chopped
1/4 cup soya milk
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soya margarine / spread
a pinch of salt
a pinch of black pepper powder
few saffron strand to garnish (optional)

Method
Heat oil and melt butter together in a saucepan . Add onion and garlic . Saute till it starts turning brown . Now add celery and red pepper and stir for a minute or 2. Add rice and stir for a minute more . Now start adding stock little by little and keep stirring till the stock is absorbed and then again add more stock and stir . Repeat till all the stock is added . Add milk , salt and black pepper . Cover and simmer for 5 - 10 mins or till the rice is tender . Occasionally give a stir. The whole process of cooking risotto would take about 30 mins. Ladddle hot steaming risotto in a bowl and garnish with saffron strands.

Vegan Thai Curry

This recipe is for the "Its a Vegan World - Thai"




Ingredients

For curry paste
1 inch ginger piece
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 onion
1 mild green chilly
1 tsp tomato puree
1/2 tsp soya sauce (optional)
2 lime juices

For curry
1 carrot chunked
1/2 red pepper chunked
1/2 green pepper chunked
3 asparagus chunked
5 -6 mange-touts
349 gms firm tofu (this can be replaced with soya chunks also)
1/2 onion sliced
50 gms coconut cream
1 cup of hot water
handful of coriander chopped
1 kaffir lime leaf (optional)
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp salt

Method

For Paste
Add all the ingredients in a blender and blend it into a smooth paste , add little water if necessary.

For Curry
Heat oil , sauté onions till they start to brown. Now add the curry paste , saute for a minute . Add vegetables , creamed coconut, salt and hot water. Bring to boil , add kaffir lime leaf and simmer it for 20 -2 5 mins or till all the veggies are tender and cooked. Garnish with corainder leaves. Serve with hot steamed white rice.

Note : While making this curry you can use as many vegetables as you like and the quantity of each vegetable can be as much as you like.