A - Z Idli Series ~ E for Elaneer Idli

I was fixated on a recipe from Karnataka for today's 'E' post until I came across Mallika Badrinath's elaneer idli recipe, in a millet version. Inspired by the idea, I used coconut water in my regular idli recipe here but one can replace rice with any millet to make them more healthier. These idlis are gluten free and vegan if idli moulds are greased with oil. Coconut water and the white flesh from a young coconut are used to grind the idli batter instead of water in this case. It makes a difference in the final outcome and one cannot miss how the idlis turn out light, airy and spongy. 

Elaneer means tender coconut water in Tamil and Kannada and hence the name for the idli. Use a young coconut if accessible and add all the pulp / soft white flesh from it while grinding the batter. I had to manage with canned coconut water which was super sweet and contained about a spoon of tiny coconut pieces but not much pulp. The quantity of coconut water mentioned below in the recipe needs to be adjusted if using the soft flesh as well. The coconut flavor is not much noticeable in idlis if using only coconut water (and no white flesh) to grind the batter though the idlis  come out soft and spongy.

Ingredients: 

1 cup idli rice
1/2 cup skinned black gram / urad dal

1 young coconut / Coconut water with soft coconut flesh as needed 

(I used about 1 and 3/4 cups coconut water with no flesh. With coconut flesh, may be less liquid is needed.)

Salt as needed

Directions:

* Rinse idli rice and black gram and drain. Soak them together in water, in a bowl for about 4 - 5 hours and drain the water used to soak completely.

* Add soaked idli rice, black gram, salt, and coconut flesh to a grinder / blender. Next add coconut water as needed and grind them into a smooth and thick batter with pouring consistency. (I used my Oster 16 speed blender to grind them.)

* Transfer the batter to a container and cover it. Allow it to ferment overnight (if the batter was ground in the evening) or as needed in a warm place or in an oven with the lights on.

* 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 and spoon the batter into idli plates.

* 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 idli on low heat setting for about 20 - 25 minutes or until done. (The idlis should not stick when touched with moist fingers.)

* Wait for about 10 minutes and then demold the idlis by running a spoon around the edges.

* Serve them warm with  chutney / sambhar.

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'Indian Sweets and Snacks' - A Recap

Readers who follow my blog might me aware that I am a part of blogging marathon group where we sign up to post recipes each month. April and September months are meant for month long marathons where we post recipes each day with set themes, barring Sundays. I have been part of these mega marathons since it started excepting a few owing to my India trips. I posted some traditional sweets and snacks from India this September. Before posting round up of those recipes, below are links for my previous mega marathons with the mentioned themes. If interested, click on those links and you will find about 26 to 30 dishes in each category.

Apr 2019 A - Z Indian Biryani / Pulao / Khichdi Series
Apr 2018 A - Z Indian Street Food
Sep 2016 A - Z Indian Rice Dishes
Apr 2016 A - Z Andhra Cuisine
Sep 2015 Buffet on the Table
Apr 2015 Fire up Your Oven (Baking Recipes)
Sep 2014 Around the World in 30 Days (International Recipes)
Apr 2014 Indian Food Odyssey - Recipes from 30 States
Sep 2013 A - Z Event with 4 Set Themes
Apr 2013 Event with 4 Different themes


This September's marathon was based on Indian sweets and snacks, divided between four themes. This marathon was a learning curve with some surprises thrown in, indeed. I would have never thought that I would even try making the tricky khandvi or the tedious khakras from Gujarat, at home. For a person who doesn't even make urad dal vadas to avoid deep frying, Uttar Pradesh's dahi gujiyas were a revelation. I had no idea such a recipe even existed where a batter would act as an outer covering for stuffing a gujiya instead of a flour based dough and more surprising was that I enjoyed it with full gusto. Neither I had an inkling that I get to try and enjoy a delicious treat sitting in my home, that was originally created for the officers of British Raj in Ooty, a hill station in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. There was this snack from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh, a spicy sev that was created to satiate the Mughal emperors and now boasts a GI tag to it's name. What was new and extremely pleasing in the sweets category was a simple yet flavorful kheer made with coconut water, coconut milk and the tender coconut meat which has become now my 'favorite' kheer. The black eyed peas based dumpling, pandoli was an interesting addition to my idli repertoire. Apart from these, if you are interested to see what other delicious Indian snacks I got to try this marathon, check out the below links.


The first week was meant for sweets and I went ahead with simple yet festive treats keeping in mind Navratri and Diwali festivals. What conjures up in my mind when I think about an Indian sweet is a laddu / burfi / kheer / halwa, or a stuffed sweet rather than dairy based sweets. My mind automatically associates the latter category or the deep fried varieties like jalebis / jhangri kind to a sweet shop / bakery somehow. I included a recipe from each of the above categories along with the ever popular jamun recipe, a dry one this time. 

Malaadu / Hurigadale Unde (South India)

Dry Gulab Jamun (North India)

Coconut Burfi / Kobbari Mithai 

Almond Halwa / Badam Halwa

Elaneer Payasam (Tamil Nadu)

Godhuma Sojjappalu (Andhra Pradesh)

The second week's theme was to pick some traditional snacks from one particular state. I did not have to think much and blindly picked Gujarat, a state in the western part of India that happens to be the land of farsans aka snacks. The local cuisine not only has a wide range of deep fried snacks that have become popular among the Indian diaspora but also can boast about guilt free ones. I went ahead with the latter category picking the healthy, traditional snacks that can be enjoyed by everyone, including diabetics. Five of those dishes are steamed snacks and most of them can be enjoyed as a mini meal too. 

Damni Dhokla (Gujarat)

Doodhi Muthia / Lauki Muthia (Gujarat)

Dal Pandoli (Gujarat)

Sev Khamani (Gujarat)

Methi Khakhra (Gujarat)

Pressure Cooker Khandvi (Gujarat)

The third week was a free choice and we could pick whatever we preferred. I went ahead with some more guilt free, regional snacks that were mostly quick fix ones as well. None were deep fried except the kalmi vada chaat, where I used the vadas that were fried as part of the final week theme.

Bafauri (Chattisgarh / Madhya Pradesh)

Soy Beans Guggillu / Sundal (South India)

Jhal Muri (West Bengal)

Roasted Phool Makhana

Kalmi Vada Chaat

Spicy Corn Chaat

The fourth week was meant for eight traditional Indian snacks that were agreed upon beforehand by the participating team. The snacks chosen were from four corners of the country and a few proved to be new and delectable surprises to me.

'Aakukoora' Pappu Chekkalu (Andhra Pradesh)

Baked 'Millet' Handvo (Gujarat)

Ratlami Sev (Madhya Pradesh)

'Jowar' Kothimbir Vadi (Maharasthra)

Kalmi Vada (Rajasthan)

Ooty Varkey (Tamil Nadu)

Dahi Gujiya (Uttar Pradesh)

Vegetable Chop / Bhejetebil Chop (West Bengal)

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#104.

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Elaneer Payasam

So far in the series,
Malaadu / Hurigadale Unde
Dry Gulab Jamun
Coconut Burfi / Kobbari Mithai
Almond Halwa / Badam Halwa

I didn't plan to include a payasam / kheer recipe in this Sweets' series until I tasted elaneer payasam. To be honest, I wanted to try this just because it is a coconut based one but after tasting this, I feel like this is the most delicious payasam I ever tasted, hands down. Even my husband who doesn't like coconut had a sip and said it tasted really good. The payasam basically makes use of coconut in all forms - the water and the coconut meat of a tender coconut and milk obtained from grated coconut aka coconut milk. 

Coconut water is a healthy and nutritious drink that is keeping people hydrated for ages in India during the hot, summer days. No wonder, the western stores are now filling the aisle shelves with the coconut products in colorful, artificial packages. The street vendors selling coconut water on the roadsides / bus stops are a common sight in towns across India. A vendor bores a hole at the top of the coconut using a machete and pops in a straw through it, making it easier to drink the clear coconut water. The sellers also break the shell of the tender, green coconut into two halves if requested, to eat the tender coconut pulp inside. This coconut water is not the same as the white colored coconut milk that is prepared by grinding the grated coconut from a mature, brown shelled coconut. Taste-wise, the coconut water maybe either mildly sweet or even bland which I don't think anyone prefers to sip on. The coconut milk is high calorie one while the coconut water has fewer calories and is a wholesome beverage that comes in a natural package. It is more economical and healthier than modern day milk shakes / ice creams. 
 
The payasam is made in two versions, one requires no cooking and the other one involves cooking like this version. This seems to be a popular sweet dish in some regions of Tamil Nadu and I even read somewhere that it appears in all Chettinad wedding feasts. I basically adapted the recipe from the web sources and made this kheer. In case, tender coconut meat is not available then grind some coconut along with coconut water for some thickness. Also, some extra coconut meat may be added to the kheer at the end, if preferred. The coconut flavor obviously is prominent in this kheer and no other flavorings are needed. The common garnish of ghee toasted raisins and cashews (generally used in a payasam) are also not added in this kheer, I think. However I added and also recommend some minced nuts to add color and contrast. I liked the crunchy nut bits while sipping this superb tasting payasam. 

Ingredients: 
1 and 1/2 cups full-fat milk

2 tbsp. condensed milk
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup thick coconut milk

Ingredients to blend:
3/4 to 1 cup coconut water
1/2 cup tender coconut meat (or as much quantity as in 1 tender coconut)

Directions:
* Heat milk in a non stick pan or a thick bottomed pot. When it comes to a rolling boil, add condensed milk and sugar.
* Lower the heat and simmer the milk until it slightly thickens, stirring frequently. There is no need to reduce the milk quantity to half. Turn off the stove and let the mixture cool.
* Meanwhile, puree coconut water and tender coconut meat in a blender. Add this and the coconut milk to the cold milk mixture from the above step. Mix well.
* Chill the kheer before serving.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#104.
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Detox Berry Shake

 

I picked 'detox diet' as the theme for this marathon more than a month ago but honestly, all I had known at that time was the random stuff I heard now and then on health shows. Diets ranging from juice based ones, apple cider vinegar to weird ones where charcoal is used. I am not an expert on the subject and had to go through several articles and posts online to get the gist of the 'detox diet' idea. I have been a vegetarian all my life and I try to eat balanced meals and stay away from junk food as much as possible. That is the only dietary plan I have been following so far in my life. I did not follow any detox plan this week too but surprisingly I realized that the detox meals can be well balanced ones without compromising on taste or flavors.

Detoxification or detox in short is nothing but a form of body cleansing. This approach is followed to get rid of the supposedly  accumulated 'toxins' from the body which may affect an individual's health in the short or long term. The general idea here being that the food we consume in the modern world is filled with contaminants such as food colors, pesticides, flavor enhancers, preservatives and such which are all nothing but unwanted chemicals. The detox diets which are special dietary plans claim to have detoxifying effects on our body and would aid in getting rid of these toxins. Fasting, dieting, avoiding specific foods and colon cleansing are some of the methods approached in detox diet plans. While the medical experts state that cleansing the body is unnecessary as our bodies are capable of doing the job perfectly. (source:wiki and others)

The recipes I picked for this week's theme rely on the idea of aiming towards the consumption of specific foods that are beneficial to body and avoiding certain ones. I am just giving a list from a vegetarian point of view. The detox plans which follow this idea generally avoid gluten, dairy, eggs, fats like butter & mayonnaise, sweeteners (like sugar, honey, maple syrup),  processed foods, caffeine, chocolate, soy products, alcohol, and such. Much emphasis is given to fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains that are non gluten (like brown rice, quinoa, millets), legumes, healthy nuts and oils. I created recipes based on what foods were allowed in the plan.

My recipe today falls under the liquid cleanse which is the simplest form of cleansing and provides the body with nutrients. Liquid cleanses usually involve consuming water, fresh (organic) fruit / vegetable juices, pureed soups, smoothies, and such. This shake can be included as part of the detox plan or can be enjoyed anytime. The berries are rich in antioxidants while mango and banana are rich in fiber. The fruits I picked were sweeter and I froze them in advance.

Ingredients: (Yield 2 servings)
1 cup strawberries
1/2 cup blackberries
1/2 cup mango cubes
1/4 cup pineapple cubes
1 small banana
2 tbsp. flax seeds
Coconut water or unsweetened almond milk as needed
(Using organic fruits would be better if following detox diet because of the pesticides.)

Method:
Blend everything to desired consistency and serve.



This is going to be a part of Blogging marathon #64 under 'detox recipes' and check here to find out what other marathoners are cooking today.

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