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For most of the Indians, especially to those well versed with the south Indian food, the above platter is self explanatory. It contains the most popular breakfast dishes the region boasts of, though there are plenty of other regional recipes that don't enjoy the same fame but nonetheless savored with same enthusiasm across millions of homes in that part of the country.
Idlis and dosas are probably the well known breakfast dishes through out India. The first one is a steamed rice cake which is healthier and the latter is a pancake which uses no eggs, sugar or any raising agents. The standard versions are made with a naturally fermented batter of rice and skinned black gram / urad dal though they are used in different proportions, especially in the southern states of Karnataka and Andhra. However idlis / dosas are made in Tamil Nadu with the same batter. Apart from the standard versions which involve some prep work, there are plenty of variations among the two dishes. There are idlis made with fermented batters and instant versions. Dosas vary depending upon whether they are made with ground or instant batters, fermented or unfermented batters and the various grains / lentil and / or vegetable combinations used. Check my recipe index for breakfasts here, I have over 60 recipes for doasa and idlis combined. That's just like just scratching the surface.
I made idlis along with mini vadas and pongal which form a delicious combo and served them with chutney and sambhar which are the standard side dishes served in restaurants across Bangalore. Honestly, the first time I ever saw the red tomato chutney being served with breakfast recipes was in local restaurants in US though I know now through blogging community that it is a commonly served side dish in Tamil Nadu. I made potato curry for the mini masala dosas. I added another popular combo from Bangalore, khara bhath and kesari bhath collectively known as chow chow bhath meaning a mixture of bhaths. No rice is used in the preparation though they are called bhaths, bhath being rice in Hindi. Kharabhtath is spicy version of upma while kesari bhath is the semolina halwa cooked adding orange food color. The word kesar here refers to the color orange and no saffron is added. I could have added some pooris as well but I refrained since I had made three different versions of poori by that time. End the yummy breakfast with a piping hot glass of filter coffee.
And for those wondering, why I have a pink colored halwa instead of orange colored one in the platter, the credit goes to my food color. I usually don't use any food color in the preparation or use the orange color in powder form that I buy in Indian store while making kesari bhath if needed. I had run out of that and used the liquid food color which needed a combo of food color drops to get that orange color. I am pretty sure that I followed the directions but still ended up with a pink hued halwa. My family wanted to know whether I made halwa with roses or something and my mother who saw the image wanted the recipe for that pink halwa. 😀
My South Indian breakfast menu
Mini masala dosas - South Indian pancakes served with a spicy potato filling
Idlis - steamed rice cakes
Pongal - A spicy rice and lentil khichdi
Vadas - Skinned black gram / urad dal fritters
Khara bhath - A spicy semolina pudding
Kesari bhath - A sweet semolina pudding
Sambhar - A lentil gravy, side dish for dosa, idli, pongal and upma dishes
Chutney - A coconut / fried gram chutney, side dish for dosa, idli, pongal and upma dishes
Filter Coffee
Continuing with the breakfast theme of the week, here is a simple platter of dishes I picked from the western and central parts of India. I should say this is a simple platter that I could make though I had extra dishes originally on mind. I had made dhoklas for Gujarat state when the 'Thaalis and Platters' themed marathon was planned for the month of April. This was a platter I cooked about a couple of weeks ago picking a simple dish from each of the states in the region mentioned above.
My menu
Gujarat - Green Peas Dhoklas and Green chutney
Goa - Kailoreo and Tonak
Maharasthra - Thalipeeth and Simple Raita
Madhya Pradesh - Indori poha and Jalebi
Chattisgarh - Angarkar Roti (served with green chutney and a tomato chutney)
I did not cook all these dishes in one day. Dhoklas and poha were made in advance and were frozen. Tonak was made the previous day. I wanted to do bajra rotis, fafda and jalebi for Gujarat. I could make jalebis using an instant pack and thanks to my husband, who made those perfect swirls and fried them though he kept complaining that they looked more like chaklis rather than jalebis. I had no energy to stand and fry fafdas. I paired the jalebis instead with the Indori poha which also happens to be a classic combo. Kailoreo, the quick and easy rice and coconut pancakes happened instead of pav in the case of Goa but I loved them anyway. Thalipeeth is a regular feature in our home and it was our lunch that day. The surprise among the lot was angarkar roti from Chattisgarh, which every one absolutely loved. They are not rotis but thick, crisp pancakes and that recipe is going to get posted soon.
Hop onto this page to check out the recipe for green peas dhokla from the platter.
My posts so far, in this 'Thaalis and Platters' marathon
Week 1 - Every day thaalis
Tamil Nadu thaali
Vellarikka kootu / Cucumber kootu
Goan vegetarian meal ~ Mangane
North Indian mini thaali ~ Lucknowi Dal
Bengali niramish thaali ~ Uchche Bhaja
Week 2 - Breakfast Platters
Banarasi kachori aur subzi
East Indian Breakfast Platter ~ Veg momos
Dal Pakwan
West and Central Indian Breakfast Platter
Green Peas Dhokla
Comments
I am not able to stand even for about an hour at a time for more than a month now because of a condition I have developed in my knee area called bursitis. It is making it harder to even move around and the intense pain I develop when I do is an added bonus. Still I doled out three breakfast platters a couple of weeks ago to my husband's dismay. And the crazy thing is that I had already finished cooking combo breakfast dishes in March.
This one from the eastern parts of India was one of those platters and would have been a simple one under normal circumstances but proved to be an exhausting one now.
Originally I wanted to do two individual platters from east and north eastern parts and even spent a considerable amount of time exploring the recipes. I had to combine both when the actual cooking happened. Koroishutir kochuri, the green peas kachori from Bengal was originally planned but I ended up with luchis and a plain aloo curry to go with it. The luchi are called tan in Manipur and are served with a potato dish called aloo kangmet. I had prepared it for another state in another platter and so dropped it. Poha / flattened rice is one of the common breakfasts eaten among the region with / without cooking and I have included three different varieties from three states. I would have loved to go with tekeli pitha, the Assamese steamed rice cakes recipe today if I could have remembered to picture it. I had crumbled the pitha to eat before picturing it and that's why there is crumbled portion in the platter. There are pancakes from Jharkhand and Chattisgarh and sattu sharbath from Bihar along with chai.
My breakfast platter menu from the East and North east Indian regions -
Luchi and Sada Aloo Chochori - Fried puffed bread made with flour and a simple potato curry from West Bengal
Momos and Chutney - Steamed dumplings with a vegetable filling, common in North East India
Chilka Roti - Pancakes from Jharkhand made with a batter of rice and split chickpeas
Chila - Rice flour pancakes from Chattisgarh
Chira Doi Gur - A simple no cook breakfast from Assam using flattened and puffed rice
Chuda Santhula - A breakfast poha from Odisha
Chire Doi Aam - A simple no cook dish of flattened rice, yogurt, mango, banana and rosgolla, made in West Bengal and in some other eastern states
Tekeli Pitha - Steamed rice cakes from Assam
Saatu ka Sharbath - A coolant drink from Bihar
Chai - Tea
And vegetable momo is going to be the recipe of the day. Momos are steamed dumplings with a filling and are common in the north eastern parts of India and the Himalayan regions of south Asia. The Himalayan momos are believed to have spread from Tibet to India through traders. The Tibetan filling is typically a meat one such as yak but the versions in north Indian plains turned vegetarian to cater the local vegetarians. In the recent years, the filings have become elaborate and momos are prepared with a combination of meats, veggies, local cheeses, tofu and even paneer. Sweetened khoa filled momos are popular as desserts in Nepal.
Momo preparation involves the steps of preparing an outer covering and the filling, assembling the dumplings and steaming those filled dumplings. A simple flour and water dough is prepared for the outer cover and rolled into small circular pieces. I had made a few momos with wheat flour (the dark shade ones) and few with all purpose flour ones (the middle three diagonally in the above picture.) The filling is then enclosed in the circular dough cover either in round pockets or crescent shapes. (I am not an expert in shaping the momos but they can be done in 3 or 4 ways.) The dumplings are then either steamed or they either pan fried or deep fried as well. They are usually served with a dipping sauce/ chutney made with a tomato base. Mine were served with a tomato - sesame chutney and the recipe is here.
Ingredients for dough:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oil
Water s needed
Ingredients for filling:
1 tbsp. oil
3 or 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tsp. finely minced ginger
1 small onion, minced
About 1.5 cup or more of finely minced vegetables *
1/3 cup thinly minced scallions, white and green parts
1 tsp. soy sauce or to taste
Salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
* I used about 1/2 cup of shredded green cabbage, 1/2 cup shredded carrot, 1/3 cup finely minced french beans and 1/3 cup minced green capsicum
Directions:
* Prepare the momo dough. Whisk together flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add oil and water as needed and knead into a smooth, soft dough. Add extra flour if needed while kneading. Cover the bowl and leave it aside for about 30 minutes while the filling is being prepared.
* Now time for the filling. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and saute garlic and ginger for few seconds. Next add onions and saute for about 20 seconds.
* Add all the vegetables except the scallion greens and stir fry them on high for a couple of minutes. Add salt, pepper and soy sauce. Continue to stir fry for 3 to 4 more minutes. Do the taste test and add any seasonings if required.
* Switch off the stove and add the green onion bits to the pan and give it a mix.
* Knead the rested dough once and divide the dough into lemon sized balls. Roll each ball into a thin circle of about 2.5 to 3 inches in diameter.
* Let the edges be thinner than the center portion. Brush with water along the circumference. This is optional and done so that the edges don't open up.
* Place about a tbsp. of vegetable filling at the center.
* Lift one side and start doing the fold and pinch motion or the pleating.
* Towards the end join the folds at the center to seal the center or can be left open.
* Set aside the finished dumplings on a greased plate and continue with the next batch. Place them on a greased steamer pan or a plate / wide bowl with some space between them.
* Heat water in a steamer or in a pressure cooker until it starts boiling. Place the greased pan with the dumplings in the steamer and steam for about 7 - 8 minutes.
(The steaming time may vary depending upon the thickness of the outer layer but outer covering becomes denser if steamed longer. When momos are done, the dough doesn't feel sticky when touched.)
* Garnish with green onions if desired and serve with a spicy sauce / chutney.
