Barley Adai

You must be wondering why I don’t post breakfast/tiffin recipes regularly on my space. It is not that I don’t prepare tiffin, just that they are prepared mostly at dinner time and not for breakfast, which makes it really difficult to click pictures. Moreover, I’m really not good at clicking pictures of these Dosai/Adai varieties. So even if I make them at some time when there’s enough light to click, I keep postponing the task of taking pictures of these items.

The other day, I tried these Barley adais for dinner and they tasted really good not to forget the goodness of barley. Also they were not as heavy as the ones made with the combination of rice and lentils. So couldn't resist clicking. I had some batter leftover, so prepared them the following day morning and took pics. As expected, pics were not up to my expectation, but still I decided to post. Do try these healthy barley adais some time; I am sure you will not miss the rice adais. 

What you’ll need

1. Barley Flour – 3 Cup
2. Raw Rice – ½ cup
3. Tuar Dal – ½ cup
4. Bengal Gram Dal – ½ cup
5. Urad Dal – 2 tbsp
6. Horsegram – ¼ cup (optional)
7. Dried Red Chillies – 3 to 4
8. Asafoetida – a generous pinch
9. Curry Leaves – few sprigs
10. Salt to taste
11. Oil – as required

Method

1. Soak the rice, dals and red chillies for 3 to 4 hours.
2. Grind to a coarse paste adding water. Add the barley flour to the ground paste and mix well.
3. Add the salt, asafetida and curry leaves and mix well.
4. Add water as required to make the batter of pouring consistency.
5. Heat a tava. Now pour a ladle of batter on the tava and spread in a circular motion from center to outside. Just like making a regular dosa.
6. Drizzle oil on all sides and cook on medium flame. Flip and cook the other side too until brown spots appear and adai is crisp.
7. Remove from heat and serve immediately with chutney of your choice.

We had it with Maanga Kootan.

Note:

1. The adai batter does not require fermentation and can be prepared immediately after grinding. But I like to rest my batter for a couple of hours.
2. You can replace the barley flour with barley pearls. Soak the barley pearls for a minimum of 5 to 6 hours.
3. You can add Moong dal/pasi paruppu instead of horse gram.
4. You can add finely chopped onions to the batter.
5. You can replace dried red chilies with cumin and black pepper, that gives a unique flavor.

Mango Coconut Milk Smoothie

I am here with another mango post today. Mangoes are the most versatile of all fruits and hence are rightly called the King of fruits. Apart from eating the ripe juicy mangoes as such, they can be had a variety of forms. You could make anything from a Pulissery, Cheesecake, Kulfi, Milkshake or this Smoothie. You could even use it in muffins and Kheers. 

Here is a wonderful combination of mango and coconut milk. So if you are tired of making the regular milkshake try this, I'm sure you will love it. The amount of coconut milk mentioned in the recipe below, makes a really thick smoothie. If you would like a runnier consistency then feel free to add more coconut milk.

What you'll need

1. Ripe Mango – 1 Big, peeled, diced and frozen
2. Thick Coconut Milk – 1 Cup* (See notes)
3. Sugar – 2 Tbsp

Method

1. Add all the ingredients and blend until smooth.
2. Serve Chilled.

That's how quickly the smoothie disappeared, even before I could clear the set up, so thought of clicking the empty glass.

Note:

1. The smoothie was really thick, you can dilute it with a little more coconut milk if you want. I will be adding a cup more the next time.

Mango Kulfi

Today is one of those days, where I have been sitting in front of the computer, writing sentences after sentences and deleting them all. Just not my day to write a post I guess. But I did not want to postpone posting this delicious kulfi. So, go ahead and make these delicious kulfis at home and treat your family.

What you'll need

1. Milk – 2.5 cup (500 ml)
2. Condensed Milk – ¾ cup
3. Mango Pulp – 2 cup (I used the pulp of 2 mangoes)
4. Sugar – 3 tbsp
5. Cardamom – 3 to 4
6. Saffron – few strands
7. Cashewnut/Almond/Pistachio Powder – 2 to 3 tbsp
8. Cornflour – 2 tbsp
9. Pistachio – few sliced for garnishing (optional)

Method

1. Heat milk, condensed milk together until it starts boiling.
2. Add saffron strands and powdered cardamom
3. Also add the sugar and mix until the sugar is dissolved.
4. Make a paste of corn flour with 3 tbsp of cold milk.
5. Add this paste to the milk mixture and keep stirring on medium flame until it starts thickening.
6. Remove from flame and cool completely.
7. Once cool add the mango mixture and the nut powder and mix well until homogenous.
8. Pour into Kulfi moulds or paper cups close lid or cover with aluminum foil and freeze until set.
9. If you want to insert a stick, then, once the kulfi is half set insert the stick cover with aluminum foil and set to freeze again for about 5 to 6 hours.
10. To serve, run the outside of the kulfi moulds under tap water for a minute, this enables the kulfi to come out of the mould easily. Serve as is or cut and serve garnished with few saffron strands and pista slices. The garnishing is optional.

Cucumber Mint Cooler

A glass of fresh lemonade is always a welcome relief on a hot sunny day. I remember I started making lemon juice on my own when I was around 10 years old, but my daughter who’s just 7 surprised me the other day, by preparing this refreshing juice. And she even presented it with a straw and a slice of lemon. Now our family has totally stopped tea in the evenings and look forward to a chilled glass of lemon juice prepared by my daughter.

Now, if you are a person who likes experimenting with your cold drinks, then here is a refreshing way to do so. This summer, try this cucumber lemonade, with the freshness of cucumber, mint and lemon. There are many variations to this drink you can try, apart from the one mentioned below like use honey to sweeten the drink instead of sugar. Why think of only sweet juices, you could completely skip the sugar and spice up the drink with some black pepper powder and chaat masala.

What you'll need

1. Cucumber – 2 cups, peeled and chopped
2. Mint – 8 to 10 Leaves
3. Lemon Juice – 1 tbsp *
4. Sugar – 2 tbsp*
5. Salt – ½ tsp
6. Water – 1.5 cup
7. Ice Cubes

Method

1. In a blender, add the cucumber pieces, mint leaves, sugar and salt and grind.
2. Strain using a fine strainer, add the water while straining.
3. Add the ice cubes in serving glasses and pour the drink over it. Serve chilled, garnished with a cucumber slice and sprig of fresh mint.

Note:

1. Adjust lemon juice and sugar according to taste.
2. For a variation, skip the sugar and spice it up with some black pepper and chat masala.

New York Style Pizza with Homemade Pizza Sauce

Making a pizza from scratch has been on my to-do list, ever since I bought the oven. But, you can say my laziness, it never materialized.  When the Baking Partners announced the challenge for this month I was really happy. It was a great experience making the Pizza at home. My first attempt at making the pizza itself was a success. The pizza’s turned out super delicious and needless to say, kids and elders loved it. My in – laws preferred it to the store bought ones. Any day, homemade is homemade; it is better liked with its small flaws isn't it?

Recipe source: http://www.pizzamaking.com/newyorkstyle.php

Yield – 3, 8” pizzas

What you'll need for the Pizza Crust

1. All Purpose Flour – 3 ½ cup
2. Active Dry Yeast – 1 tsp
3. Salt – ¾ tsp
4. Sugar – 1 tsp
5. Olive Oil – 2 tbsp
6. Water – 270 ml

Method

1. Heat about ¼ cup of water, from the mentioned amount (270 ml), the water should be just warm.
2. Add the yeast and a pinch of sugar.
3. Set this aside for 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Once the mixture starts bubbling, you can be sure your yeast is working else start afresh.
5. In a wide mouthed bowl, add the all purpose flour, salt, sugar and mix well with hands.
6. Now add the yeast mix and give a good mix.
7. I used my Philips Mixer, add the required amount of water and mix until the mixture comes together.
8. Next add the oil and mix for 15 at medium speed or until the dough passes the window pane test.
9. Grease a bowl with oil and place this dough in it.
10. Cover tightly with a cling wrap and refrigerate ideally for 72 hours. I refrigerated for 24 hours.
11. Take out the dough and keep it outside atleast an hour or 2 before preparing the pizza.

What you'll need for the Pizza Sauce

1. Tomatoes – 400gm
2. Onion – ½ of a small, sliced
3. Garlic – 2 cloves
4. Dried Basil – 1 tsp
5. Oregano - 1/2 tsp
6. Red Chilly Flakes – ½ tsp
7. Sugar – 1 tsp
8. Butter – 1 tbsp
9. Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
10. Salt to taste

Method

1. Grind the tomatoes. It can be a little chunky.
2. Heat a non stick kadai, with butter and olive oil.
3. Add the crushed garlic, basil, oregano and chilly flakes. Sauté for about 2 mins.
4. Next add the sliced onions, tomato puree.
5. Cook covered on low heat till the mixture reduces to ½ its volume or has reached a saucy texture. Keep stirring once in awhile to avoid burning.

For the toppings

I used

1. Bell Peppers – ½ each of Red, Yellow and Green, cut into strips
2. Onion – sliced
3. Babycorn – sliced
4. Cheese – I used Mozzarella – as required

To assemble the pizza

1. Preheat the oven to 200C
2. Flour a pizza pan or a baking tray, (I used the bottom of my spring form pan), divide the dough into 3 equal parts.
3. Place the dough in the middle of the dusted plate, and start patting the dough and also keep moving the plate in circular motion.
4. Press in such a way that you have a thick edges and the remaining area is thin and flat.
5. Brush some melted butter or olive oil.
6. With a fork, lightly prick the insides of the pizza, so that it doesn’t puff up.
7. Now, apply a tbsp or 2 of the prepared pizza sauce and spread it all over, leaving the thick edges.
8. Now, spread the toppings and top with the grated cheese.
9. Place this plate in the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or till the underside turns light brown and crisp.

Note:

1. The dough should be ideally rested for 72 hours, but due to some time constraints, I rested only for 24 hours, but the results were good.
2. Use toppings of your choice.