T for Thatte Idli / Bidadi Thatte Idli

For the uninitiated, idli happens to be a traditional and popular breakfast item from south India. Idlis are basically steamed dumplings prepared using a fermented batter that uses rice and black gram. The batter is poured into special molds meant for the purpose called an idli stand, that can hold up to 2 dozen idlis. The commercial versions at eateries and restaurants across the region of course are meant to handle on a larger scale. The traditional, eco- friendly versions in some parts of the state of Karnataka have been leaves of banana, jack fruit, teak, or turmeric trees that are fashioned into pockets to hold the batter. 

Today's version thatte idli comes from the south Indian state of Karnataka, thatte referring to the plates that are used to steam the idlis. This locally popular idli variety has it's origins in Bidadi, an industrial suburb outside of Bangalore enroute Mysore. The route which is also famous for Maddur vade has eateries through out to dish out these thatte idli for the hungry travelers and the locals. The plates yield bigger size idlis than the standard concave shaped ones and almost equal to three of the regular idlis. Eating one idli would almost make you full and so these plate idlis in a way save your time in terms of cooking and cleaning. 

The plates used at eateries are similar to the one shown above though usually larger. It is hard to stack if using these kind of plates at home and I use the plate idli stand shown in the pictures.We add flattened rice to our regular idli recipe to make these thatte idli which come out super soft and easily breakable kind. Some use sago / sabbakki instead. I have seen videos where Bidadi eatery owners mentioning that they use only kusubalakki (parboiled rice) and uddina bele (skinned black gram) in 4:1 ratio, which hasn't worked for me and I stick to our recipe for these idlis. These idlis are vegan, gluten free and guilt free and make a wholesome, filling breakfast / brunch. They are usually served with a dollop of butter, along with chutney and sambhar. The butter can be skipped if vegan.

So far in this series -

A for Avarekayi Idli

B for Bajra Flour idli

C for Cornmeal Idli

D for Dal Idli

E for Elaneer Idli

F for Foxtail Millet Idli

G for Green Gram Idli

H for Halasina Hannina Idli

I for Idli (using idli rice)

J for Jowar Idli

K for Kumbalakaayi Idli

L for Lauki Idli

M for Mallige Idli

N for Navadhanya idli

O for Oats Idli

P for Poha Idli

Q for Quinoa Idli

R for Ragi Rave Idli

S for Sabbakki Idli

Ingredients: (Yield - 8 idlis)
2 cups idli rice / Selam akki
1/2 cup / skinned black gram / urad dal / uddina bele
3/4 cup flattened rice / poha / avalakki
Water to grind (I used about 1 & 1/4 cups.)
2 tsp. salt or to taste

Directions:

1. Rinse idli rice, skinned black gram, and flattened rice together and drain. Repeat the step one more time. Soak them together in water in a bowl for about 3 to 4 hours and drain the water used to soak completely.

2. Grind them together adding salt and water as needed to grind them into a smooth and thick batter. (The salt can be added just before making idlis if living in a warm climate. I add it while grinding since I live in a cold climate and the batter takes longer to ferment.)

3. Transfer the batter to a container that is big enough to allow the batter to raise during fermentation. (Compare the pictures 3 and 4 to see the volume of the batter increasing after fermentation). Cover the container and allow it to ferment overnight (if the batter was ground in the evening) or for about 10 - 12 hours in a warm place. If living in a cold climate, leaving the batter in an oven with the lights on (without turning on the oven) helps. Or use yogurt setting in an instant pot.

4. The fermented batter should rise well and be fluffy but not turn sour.

* The fermented batter looks like above in the picture - thicker than when grounded, airy, and slightly sour smelling. 

* Heat about 2 cups of water in a idli cooker base or a idli cooker or a steamer on medium heat. 

* Grease the idli moulds with ghee / oil. 

* Gently stir the batter a couple of times with a ladle. 

5 & 6. Ladle the batter into the idli plates carefully without spilling.

 Place the idli stand in the prepared cooker / steamer and close the lid. Don't use the valve for the lid if using a pressure cooker.

7. Steam the idlis on medium heat setting for about 15 - 20 minutes or until done. (The idlis should not stick when touched with moist fingers.) Check the water level in the steamer base and add extra if needed.

8. Wait for about 10 minutes and then remove the idlis from idli stand. Remove the idlis by running a spoon around the edges.

Serving the idlis:

Drizzle butter over the idlis and serve them with a chutney, and sambhar if preferred. Mine were served with roasted gram chutney and sambhar.

What to do with leftover idlis:

1. Refrigerate the left over idlis and use in a day or two. 

2. Or they can be cooled down immediately after preparation and frozen to use later. Nuke them in a microwave, covered and enjoy hot, piping idlis when needed. 

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A - Z Idli Series ~ N for Navadhanya Idli

 

I had planned another traditional idli recipe from Karnataka for today but could not source an ingredient needed for it and had to discard the idea. I then went ahead and as an experiment, prepared these idlis using navadhanya. To be honest, the idea would never have occurred to me if not for this series and these protein rich idlis turned out soft and fluffy. Navadhanya refers to the nine grains used in Hindu religious rituals - Bengal gram, black gram, black sesame seeds, chickpeas, green gram, horse gram, rice, wheat, and white colored beans (I used black eyed peas for it). 

These idlis are simple to make though advanced planning is needed as the ingredients need to be soaked, ground and fermented before steaming the batter in the idli moulds. Though the process sounds tedious, the steps are quite simple and doesn't need much of one's energy. The idlis can be made in advance and can be refrigerated or even frozen to have a healthy breakfast ready in the morning rush hours with a simple step of reheating them in a microwave.

Navadhanya idli turned out fluffy with a subtle flavor to them, because of the wheat used in the recipe. These navdhanya idlis served with chutney and / or sambhar  make a filling breakfast or dinner option as they are super healthy, nutritious and vegan. Ours were served with peanut chutney and erra karam, Andhra style onion chutney.

I used navadhanya as I mentioned above but some ingredients may be substituted or omitted from the recipe as per preference. Brown rice can also be replaced with idli rice. Wheat can be completely omitted from the recipe as well if it's flavor in the idli is not to your taste. Whole black gram can be replaced with skinned variety as it needs only a couple of hours of soaking and also doesn't need thorough rinsing to get rid off the skins. Omitting one or two beans that are not on hand works too.

Some of the beans used here like chickpeas, black gram and horse gram need to be soaked overnight or for at least 8 hours. It is hard to sort out and soak the ingredients individually according to their soaking periods and therefore I soaked rice, wheat, Bengal gram, green gram, black eyed peas, chickpeas and horse gram in water in one container and black gram in another bowl. The black gram needs some thorough rinsing to get rid off the skins as much as possible and so they were soaked separately.

I soaked the ingredients overnight and ground the batter in the morning. The batter fermented quickly, in about 7 hours which never happens with my regular idli batter. It maybe partly because of the quantity of the beans used in the recipe and partly because of the weather the day I made these idlis, at 80 deg F / 27 deg C. I would recommend to grind the batter in the morning to keep an eye on the fermentation process. I am not sure but guessing that too much fermentation may cause the batter to start smelling foul because of the beans used here.

Ingredients: (Yield - 28 idlis)

1 cup idli rice 

1/2 cup brown rice

1/4 cup wheat kernels

1/2 cup + a handful of black gram *

6 tbsp. each - Bengal gram, green gram, black eyed peas, chickpeas, and horse gram **
Toasted black sesame seeds as needed
Salt to taste (I used about 2.5 tsp. salt.)

Water to grind the ingredients

Notes:

* I used whole black gram but it can be substituted with skinned black gram which takes only about 2 hours of soaking. 

** Some of the ingredients used here like black gram, chickpeas, horse gram need overnight or about 8 hours of soaking.

Directions:

1. Add idli rice, brown rice, wheat, Bengal gram, green gram, black eyed peas, chickpeas and horse gram to a container. Rinse them with water twice and drain. Add enough water and soak them overnight or for at least 8 - 10 hours.  

* Add black gram to another bowl and rinse. Drain and add water to the bowl and soak it also overnight or for at least 8 hours. (Or skinned black gram can be substituted which needs soaking for only a couple of hours.)

* After the soaking, drain the water from the rice - lentil container and rinse again twice with water and keep aside. However the black gram needs some thorough rinsing to get rid off the skins as much as possible. I used whole black gram since it is used in navdhanya but skinned black gram can be substituted to skip the rinsing part.

2. Add all the soaked and drained ingredients to a grinder. Grind them adding salt and enough water into a smooth and thick batter. If using a mixer then grind them in 2 batches. (The salt can be added just before making idlis if living in a warm climate. I add it while grinding since I live in a cold climate and the batter takes longer to ferment.)

* Transfer the batter to a container large enough to allow the batter to raise during fermentation. Cover the container and allow it to ferment for about 7 - 8 hours. (It took me about 7 hours to ferment the batter when the temperature was about 80 deg F / 27 deg C and it may take longer in  cold climate. Leaving the batter out after fermentation may turn smelly.)

3. The fermented batter looks like above in the picture 3. Refrigerate the batter if not using immediately and use within a couple of days. Leave the refrigerated batter on the counter for a couple of hours before using.

* Heat about 2 cups of water in a idli cooker base or a idli cooker or a steamer on medium heat. 

4. Grease the idli moulds with ghee / oil and sprinkle black sesame seeds over them.

5. Gently stir the batter a couple of times with a ladle. Pour the batter into the idli moulds carefully without spilling.

6. Place the idli stand in the prepared cooker / steamer and close the lid. Don't use the valve for the lid if using a pressure cooker.

* Steam the idlis on low heat setting for about 20 - 25 minutes or until done. (The idlis should not stick when touched with moist fingers.) Check the water level in the steamer base and add extra if needed.

7. Wait for about 10 minutes and then remove the idlis from idli stand. Remove the idlis by running a spoon around the edges.

Serving the idlis: 

* Drizzle melted ghee over the idlis and serve them with a chutney, and sambhar if preferred. Mine were served with peanut chutney and erra karam / Andhra style onion chutney.

What to do with leftover idlis:

1. Refrigerate the left over idlis and use in a day or two. 

2. Or they can be cooled down immediately after preparation and frozen to use later. Nuke them in a microwave, covered and enjoy hot, piping idlis when needed.

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A Simple, Vegetarian Assamese Thaali ~ Mati Mahor Dali

My regional thaali today comes from the North East Indian state of Assam, whose cuisine is supposedly close to East Asian and South East Asian countries like Thailand, according to Wiki. I knew a few things about Assam before I planned to create this thaali like it's world famous tea, Assam silk, the Bihu festival and the signature white and red sarees women adorn during the occasion, a couple of dishes I had tried in my kitchen, and a few details about their cuisine picked up now and then through blogging. Not much from the culinary point of view to be able to create a thaali on my own. People well versed with the local cuisine have been generous enough to share their culinary skills with others in the virtual world and have aided me in this regard indirectly providing me the details needed. And so there is no one source from which I was able to create this spread. 

Assamese cuisine mainly differs from the other regional Indian cuisines because of it's usage of less spices and simple style of cooking that rarely involves any elaborate preparations. The concept of 'bhun-na', the frying before the main ingredients are added is absent in Assamese cuisine. The cooking is a blend of indigenous styles and vary regionally. The cooking styles is influenced both by those in the hills who ferment and dry to preserve food and those who live in the plains with access to abundant sea food, meat and fresh vegetables. 
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Rice is an integral part of cooking in Assam just as in south India. It is eaten in one form or another at all meals and wiki has a lot of info on their rice cooking styles.Their breakfast and snacks are called 'Jolpaan' and are mainly rice based. Poita bhaath is leftover rice which is soaked overnight to be eaten as breakfast or lunch the next day with mustard oil, salt, green chilli and pitika. Odisha has also a similar dish called pakhala. The meal revolves around rice aka bhaat and they prefer plain rice over the pulao / briyani kinds. They prefer to use joha rice which is short and aromatic and no breads are served with the meal. The preferred cooking medium is mustard oil just as the other East Indian states since it can also be consumed raw.

A tidbit:
Did you know the Assamese ferment milk in bamboo tubes? They cover the bamboo tubes with banana leaves and leave it at room temperature for about two days to make yogurt.

I served the following with rice along some lemon slices and green chillies which are a must in an Assamese thaali. Salted cucumber slices were included as a salad. 

Amita Khar / Omita Khar - A side dish prepared with raw papaya and khar
Aloo Pitika - Potato mash

Dali - A simple lentil and potato side dish
Mati Mahor Dali - A black gram based lentil dish
Bilahir Tok - Tomato Chutney
Xaak - A spinach saute
Bhaja - I made fritters with spinach as I had seen them in a Assamese thaali video.
Papad - Microwaved lentil wafers
Payokh - Rice kheer
Doi - Yogurt

A traditional Assamese meal or thaali is served in bell metal utensils with various courses and eaten with one's right hand. I could not stop from noticing the similarities with the Bengali cuisine in the style the courses that are served. While Bengalis start their meal with a bitter vegetable to cleanse their system, Assamese go with khar, an alkali dish first for the same reason. I have given below the list of dishes that go in a typical Assamese thaali though not in an order. They are all served with rice with some lemon wedges and red and green jolokia chillies on the side. Truly a  mildly flavored, simple meal compared to the regional cuisines I am acquainted with.   

1. Khar
The meal starts with a khar. Khar is an indigenous preparation where banana peels and / or trunk of the banana plant are dried, burnt and the resulting ashes are mixed with water and kept overnight. The filtrate of the mixture which is going to be stored for the future use is called khar and Assamese cannot do without it. Some of the vegetarian options to prepare khar are raw papaya, bottle gourd, jasmine flower, ash gourd, pumpkin, ridge gourd and local greens. Baking soda is the closest substitute for khar. I made this with raw papaya and chana dal / split chickpeas and found the dish is an acquired taste.

2. Pitika

Pitika, a ball of mashed vegetable is also an essential part of a thaali. There are several vegetables used to make pitika but the most popular one is that made with potatoes called aloo pitika. Sometimes onion, either raw or fried can be added as well. Fried chilies could be a flavorful addition as well.The preparation is found in the neighboring states as well. Biharis call it chokha while it is called kangmet in Manipur.

3. Bhaja / Bora - Fritters 
Fried fritters were not a part of traditional Assamese cooking but are prepared now because of external influence. Bhaja are fried vegetable fritters made with a coating of chickpea flour / besan and rice flour mixture. Bora are lentil fritters and what are called vada in other parts of India. They both are made with a wide variety of local vegetables, flowers, and shoots which sure sound exotic to non locals. Fritters for example are made with pumpkin, the tender leaves and flowers of the pumpkin plant, night blooming jasmine, agathi flower, tender leaves of bottle gourd, eggplant, cauliflower and others while boras are made with lentils adding either greens / vegetable / fish eggs and such. I made spinach fritters for this course.

4. Dali - A lentil / legume preparation
The indigenous people did not eat dal as well traditionally just like the above course of fritters. It was slowly introduced into the cuisine again with outer influence. Black gram is the preferred dal in Assamese cuisine and a dal prepared with it called mati mahor dali is a must if serving an Assamese thaali. It can be cooked with or without the addition of khar. If not black gram, the dali can be prepared using other dals like masoor dal adding vegetables such as raw jack fruit, kohlrabi, papaya, pumpkin, potato and others. Below is potato - masoor dal. 

5. Xaak and Vegetable preparations
Xaak, a simple greens stir fry with the addition of lentils / fish / meat / eggs is a must. They are just simply cooked in water and salt and then lightly sauteed.

Whereas a vegetable preparation is spiced with panch phoran and salt. Ginger, garlic and turmeric are all optional ingredients in a vegetable preparation. I have noticed that a dry saute of a locally available potato is also a must in an Assamese thaali. They are small marble sized and they are cooked / fried whole without peeling. I made a spinach and peanut subzi.

6. Tok and Achaar
A tok is a sweet sour dish aka chutney while achaar is the pickle. 
Panitenga or kahudi and karoli, the tangy fermented black mustard chutneys are signature Assamese accompaniments. There is Bilahir tok aka tomato chutney which is included in my thaali. The chutneys are made with a wide variety of greens unique to the region. A chutney made with dried fish is a most popular one among the tribes. Apart from the usual Indian pickle variety, pickles are also made with olives, hog plums, star fruit, magosteen, elephant apple, jujube, ghost peppers, etc.

7. Tenga
My understanding is that it is a non vegetarian course and is a sour one. Tenga would be the last side dish to be served while khaar is the first one in an Assamese meal. Sour fish curries are a must for non veg thaalis while duck is also the most popular meat choice.

8. Doi 
The meal ends with a serving of yogurt. Dessert is not a part of thaali but a simple payokh - a kheer made with joha rice or barnyard millet can be served. 

9. A Tamul Paan  
Betel nuts and leaves are served after the meal. 

I am posting the recipe for mati mahor dali today which is always included in an Assamese thaali. Dal preparations in Assam lean towards simplicity and this one is no exception. The basic version needs just a tempering of panch phoran and chilies though there are onion and ginger here, We loved this dal, including my husband who hates to see black gram as a side dish. One can go with split black gram but I used the whole black gram / sabut urad dal here.

Ingredients:
1 cup of black gram
2 pinches of turmeric powder
2 tbsp. mustard oil (or any preferred oil)
1/2 tsp. panchphoran
1 bay leaf
2 dried red chilies, broken into bits
1 inch piece of grated ginger
1 onion, chopped
2 green chilies, slit (Mine were hotter.)

Directions:
* Soak black gram in water for about 3 to 4 hours. Pressure cook the dal adding about two cups of water. Don't make it mushy.
* Heat mustard oil in a pan. When it's smoking hot, add the panch phoran, bay leaf and the red chilies. Add the chopped onion when they start to splutter. (Don't bring it to a smoking point if using any other oil.) Fry until onion starts to turn light brown in color. 
* Add ginger, green chilies and turmeric. Saute for a minute and add the cooked dal. Add salt as needed and adjust the water consistency if needed. The dal should be not too thick or too thin, somewhere in the middle. Bring it to a boil if water was added.
* Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with rice.

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Himachali Mah Ki Dal

This mah ki dal or mash dal comes from a Himachali dham. A dham in a nutshell would be a traditional midday meal that is specifically reserved for religious and other special occasions in the state of Himachal pradesh. Each region in the state have their own set of specific dham recipes. This mash dal or the black gram gravy is a mandatory part of the dham served in the Mandi region. There are six dishes served with rice in a Mandyali dham and none of the preparations contain onion or garlic. This mah ki dal is the fifth item to be served with rice and is a simple 'satvik' preparation  unlike the Punjabi version.

Ingredients:
1 cup black gram / Sabut urad
1 tbsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 inch cinnamon piece
2 green cardamom
2 black cardamom
12 peppercorns
1 tbsp. ghee / oil
2 bay leaves
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Directions:
1. Soak black gram overnight in plenty of water and drain.
2. Coarsely grind coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cinnamon, cardamom and peppercorns. 
3. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add bay leaves, the crushed spice powder and saute for few seconds. Add dal, turmeric powder, salt and about 2 cups of water and close the lid. Pressure cook the dal until soft. 
4. Remove the lid when the valve pressure is gone and mix well. Mash the dal with the back of the ladle lightly if preferred. 
(I separately pressure cooked the dal in advance. I prepared the tadka from step 3 in a pan and added the dal along with 3/4 cup water. I cooked for about 10 minutes and lightly mashed the dal.)

 

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Temple Prasadams ~ Azhagar Kovil Dosai / Black Gram Dosa

I was stuck in the rut while planning for the theme of 'Traditional Temple Recipes' this week. As a south Indian, the popular rice based ones kept floating in front of my eyes whenever I thought about it and in fact I even cooked a rice dish. Then to break the monotony, I decided to explore the food cooked / offered in other states' temples than trying the ones I already know about. In the process, I got lucky and came across these Azhagar kovil dosai. Honestly I had never heard about dosas being distributed as a prasad anywhere and this one seemed interesting.
These flavorful dosas are served as prasadam in Azhagar kovil, a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, Azhagar refers to the Lord and kovil meaning temple in Tamil. This temple is situated a few kilometers away from Madurai, Tamilnadu. Going by the posts online, I don't think this is a well known dish among the non-locals. I read somewhere that devotees from surrounding areas offer rice and pulses to the temple which in turn are made into these delicious and filling dosas. 

The dosa batter is made with rice and whole black gram and it is flavored with spices before just making dosas. I am not new to the whole urad dal dosas but I was surprised to see how the ordinary dosas were elevated in the taste and flavor departments by the addition of a few spices. They were tasting like a soft version of temple vadas because of the urad dal and the spices. We loved it so much that I have already made it twice in the past two weeks.  
Traditionally these are made into thick, crisp dosas, generously toasting with ghee. One can of course add oil to cut calories but I would highly recommend trying these dosas with ghee. It adds a huge flavor factor, making these dosas stand out. I made some dosas thinner for my husband, who likes dosas that way and for me I made thicker ones. These are spicy and flavorful enough on their own that they do not need a side dish to go with. I noticed that a chutney masks the flavors of the dosa. However if you wish to serve the dosas with chutney, you can go ahead.


Ingredients to make a dozen dosas:
1 cup rice (I used extra long grain.)
1/2 cup whole black gram / Urad dal with husk
Salt to taste
1 tsp. ginger powder / dry ginger
2 tsp. black pepper corns
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 stalk of curry leaves
Ghee / oil to toast dosas (I recommend ghee.)

Method:
* Wash and soak urad dal for about 8 hours in water, such that it is immersed well in water, through out the soaking period. Similarly wash and soak rice for about 4 hours. Or you can soak both rice and urad dal together for about 8 hours.
* Gently rub the urad dal with fingers and discard the husk if you prefer. I decided not to do so. Grind rice and urad dal together to a consistency, thicker than regular dosas. It is ok if the batter is ground slightly coarser. 
* Transfer the batter to a large container. Add salt to the batter and mix well.
* Allow it to ferment overnight or about 6 - 8 hours depending upon the weather.
 
* Grind ginger, black pepper, cumin seeds and curry leaves coarsely.
 
* Add the ground spice powder to the fermented batter and mix well.
* Heat an iron griddle or a shallow nonstick pan. Pour a ladle-ful of batter at the center of the griddle and spread lightly.
* Keep the dosa thicker than the regular version. Drizzle ghee and cook until both sides turn golden.
* Serve them hot.

Check the blogging marathon page to see what my fellow marathoners are cooking for BM#52.

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