Sponge Dosa

Day#5 Blogging Marathon
Blog hopping sure has its own advantages. Learning new recipes from varied cuisines being one. This sponge dosa was discovered on one such journey from Rak's Kitchen. Raks Kitchen is a beautiful blog with an amazing collection of recipes and captivating pictures. I just couldn't resist trying out this dosa recipe and have many more bookmarked too. A healthy (steamed) dosa made of ingredients that were readily available in my pantry I went ahead and made it for dinner the same day. It goes well with a spicy chutney or curry. I stuck to the recipe completely except for the raw rice used instead of the idly rice or parboiled rice used in the original recipe.

Ingredients for the sponge dosa:
Raw rice - 2 cups
Aval (poha or rice flakes - 1/4 cup
Butter milk - 3 cups
Cooking soda - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - as required

Method for the Sponge Dosa:http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
1- Soak the raw rice and aval(poha) in the buttermilk for 6 to 8 hours. Grind to a fine paste. Add salt as required. Add in the cooking soda and mix well. You batter is now ready for making the sponge dosa.
2- Take a flat non-stick pan or the dosa tava and smear it with a few drops of oil. Spread well so that the pan is well coated and the dosas do not stick to it.
3- Pour a ladle of the sponge dosa batter on to the pan. Do not spread the batter(it will spread a little on its own). Drizzle with a few drops of oil(you may omit the oil completely). Cover and let cook for a minute or two.
Serve with as chutney or spicy curry.
Sending this to the Deceptively Delicious Event.
Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#10

Uttapam- the healthy tasty Indian Pizza

Day#2 Blogging Marathon
The Blogging Marathon is getting more enjoyable by the day. From the Chinese chicken fried rice on day one, I have travelled a great distance to present today the Indian pizza - the uttapam. A South Indian delicacy that has now crossed physical boundaries and moved on to be included in the fast food menus across the country. Walk into any of the Sukh Sagar or Shiv Sagar restaurants and you would be amazed at the variations they can come up with for the simple uttapam.

The Uttapam, a south Indian delicacy is essentially a pancake made out of a batter made of rice and lentils. Topped with vegetables of your choice, it is a hearty meal that satiates your hunger and also leaves a linger flavour and taste that would bring you back again to the world of dosas and pancakes. Unlike the regular dosa that is a thin crisp pancake, the uttapam is much thicker and allows you to have toppings of your choice. I love to have a simple mix of vegetables and sometimes a little cheese. Serve it with a chutney of your choice and sambar and you can be sure of receiving a huge number of compliments that make you feel proud of your magic fingers.
I have used my dosa batter(after fermenting) for the pancake.

Ingredients for Uttapam:
Dosa batter - 10 ladle full
Onions - 1 big(finely chopped)
Tomato - 1 big(finely chopped)
Capsicum - 1 big(finely chopped)
Green chillies -2 (finely chopped) (optional especially when you are cooking for kids)
Salt to taste
Oil for making the pancakes

Method for making Uttapams:
1- Take a bowl and mix together the onion,tomato and capsicum (also greenhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif chilli if using) alongwith 1/4 tsp of salt. Keep aside.
Take a dosa tava(any flat non-stick pan will do) and rub the surface withttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifh a few drops of oil. When the tava is heated, pour the batter to form a thick round pancake. Do not spread the batter too much.
2- Put a tbsp of the mixture on the uttapam and spread evenly. Drizzle 1/2 a tsp of oil on the pancake. Turn it over to let the other side too cook well. Cook for a minute and take out. Serve with chutney and sambar.
Note: You may even use coriander leaves or cheese for the topping alongwith the other vegetables mentioned here.

I am sending in the event to the Kids Delight event of Srivalli which is being hosted by Pavani this month.

Pesarattu – the protein packed dosa recipe from Andhra Pradesh

Pesarattu, the greenish protein packed dosa recipe from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh brings back beautiful memories of days spent in the City of Destiny, Visakhapatnam(Vizag). I have been fortunate enough to spend several years of my life in this beautiful city located on the coast of the state of Andhra Pradesh. A city that beautifully combines the traditional with the modern. A typical day in Vizag promises you a tour of both rural and urban India. Ladies with fresh jasmine flowers in their hair, pujas at the temples, prayers at the churches, kollams in front of the houses, bullock carts, farmers markets to the Inox (Vizag now has two of them), Satyam, HSBC, pubs, night clubs, huge malls and not to forget the large number of restaurants and hotels that can cater to any and every pallete. Vizag is the place to pamper your tastebuds if you are a foodie and love experimenting. From the five star restaurant "Park" located at one end of the Beach road, Palm Beach, The Taj Gateway, Grand Bay to the Daspalla group of hotels (located in prominent locations in the city) and the contemporary burger and pizza joint "Hotbreads"; Vizag sure can serve food from around the world in style.

If you are looking for an authentic South Indian meal, be it the Kozhi Kuzhambu, the Chettinad chicken, Meen Varatada or an array of dosa recipe and idlis then you have arrived at just the right place. The Daspalla Group of Hotels and the Dakshin restaurant at Grandbay are a personal favourite when it comes to authentic South Indian cuisine.

Step into the aromatic ambience of any of the Daspalla group of hotels (that has become synonymous with South Indian food in the city) and you are welcomed by the scent of fresh jasmine flowers that add a fresh nice feel. The unmistakable aroma of spices intermingling with one another is sure to tickle those taste buds and make you want to rush in to ordering at the earliest. On a busy morning (breakfast time) or the tiffin time in the evening one would find several crispy dosa varieties (of different sizes and composition sizzling away and on to your plate straight out of the griddle), soft fluffy idlis, pesarattu and vadas making their way to the different tables, making sure to tease your tastebuds each time they go by. For a hungry foodie like me who loves Indian breakfast recipes as a choice to start the day, I want a bite of it all is what the voice inside me says.

The pesarattu recipe is one that I happened to get introduced to during one of these trips. It was unexplored territory for me and I definitely wanted to try one. It was indeed a beautiful experience with this green coloured pancake or lentil dosa recipe that was made from green gram and rice. It is rich in protein and carbohydrates are kept to the minimum for the health conscious who prefer a low carb diet. Topped with freshly chopped onions, green chillies and curry leaves and a dash of ghee it is just perfect all the way.

There is yet another version of the pesarattu that promises to arouse your curiosity and that is the "MLA Pesarattu". I am yet to find out as to where the dish got its name (wiki states that it is popular in restaurants around the MLA quarters in Hyderabad and probably that is where it gets its name from) however, can surely vouch for the taste of this dosa or pancake that is served with a generous serving of upma inside.

For all those who have already worked up an appetite here’s the recipe to the pesarattu as I make it. I am sending this across to Sameena's Dosa Recipes Event and Radhika's Let's Cook- Scrumptious Breakfasts

Ingredients for Pesarattu recipe:
Green Gram(whole moong dal) – 2 cups
Rice – ½ cup
Asafoetida – a pinch
Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
Onions – 1 big (chopped finely)
Green chillies – 2 (chopped finely)
Curry leaves – 3 to 4 (chopped finely)
Oil – for making the pancakes
Salt to taste

Method for making pesarattu:
1- Soak Rice and Green Gram for 5-6 hours. Wash, clean and grind to a smooth batter in the mixer (the pesarattu batter need not be fermented).
2- Place the Tawa on the stove and rub with a little oil. Take a ladle of the pesarattu batter and pour out like you would for a dosa. Sprinkle with chopped onions, green chillies and curry leaves. Pour a little oil on the dosa and let cook on medium flame. Turn it over and let cook on the other side for half a minute. A delicious and healthy addition to your list of Indian breakfast recipe. Serve hot with coconut/ginger chutney and sambar.