Free Imagine Things

It is becoming cold and cold here, the temperatures are freezing down, I had planned I will post my other DB challenge recipes, ICC recipes, nothing seem to work out, as I am sick with cold, cough and fever, I had this in my draft from a long time, I made this when this girl was still a budding blogger now she has her own website, and of course a wonderful one too.., check out her blog.., As I was browsing her site one day I found this name very appealing!, I have been to Kumbakonam for just a visit to the temples around, never knew about this dish. when I read the Ingredients I was interested as it had Moong dal in it! who will not get tempted and I would not worry about this being gone in a jiff in my home as everyone of them is crazy of Potatoes.
Coming back to the recipe.....

KUMBAKONAM KADAPPA

Hi friends, Hope you are all doing well, I have been on and off from blogging, as usual,  too many things to do and completely busy with life and health seems to play around too, seeping when ever I am not able to cope up with situations, with all this weather too is changing  now and then as it pleases.
I did not make to the challenge up until yesterday 10 days of Navaratri I just didn't want to use onion or Garlic, not that I am too superstitious, I just try not to cook anything with onion or Garlic Or I will see to it I won't eat it, So, I decided to leave it until after the festival.
I have already missed two of ICC challenges, One because of the sun and the next one because I did not have the right utensil, this was the easiest, simplest, delicious recipe. Tell me who would not like it, the whole family was all for it, I have made Kadi many times with veggies, but not with pakoras, It is something like I sometimes I put the dal vadai's  in Morekozhambu.
Thanks Simran for this delicious recipe and thanks valli for making us to do this, I would not have made this dish at all if not for the challenge, as  Pakoras we would have eaten just like that :) right ?.
Coming back to the recipe..
I made this recipe just noting down the Ingredients and the method.

PUNJABI KADI PAKORAS



















INGREDIENTS:
1 cup Chickpea flour
2 tbsp Rice flour (not in the recipe)
1/4 cup of Roasted Gram flour (not in the recipe)
2 Onions
1 to 1 and 1/2 tbsp of Red chilli powder
1 tsp of Ajwain seeds/carom seeds (not in the recipe)
salt as required
Oil for Frying

FOR THE KADI
3/4th Cup of Besan flour (chickpea flour)
4 Cups of water (extra water if needed)
3 cups of Yogurt
1 and 1/2 tbsp of Chilli powder
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp of Fenugreek seeds
1/2 tbsp of Cumin seeds
1 tsp of Ajwain seeds
1 Medium sized Onion
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Garam Masala powder
1 tsp Amchur powder
salt as required ( say around 1 and 1/2 tbsp)

METHOD:
I changed the recipe a little bit, I wanted the pakoras more crispier and I didn't want them to soften up too much when soaked in the kadi, so I could munch on it :)) wicked isn't it ?, well I thought kids would love it that way.
I usually do not add water to the pakoras as Onions give out water of their own which is usually sufficient to make lovely crispier pakoras.
The White Onions which I get here in UK really gives too much water.
Chop the onions add salt and leave it for few minutes say around 1/2 an hour.
Meanwhile Mix water and Besan flour together without any lumps and yogurt and mix well and start heating in a low flame. Do not forget to keep stirring occasionally, otherwise you might end up having a burnt bottom, as it starts to thicken.
Meanwhile chop the onion, Heat a Kadai/wok with a 1/2 tbsp of oil add Fenugreek seeds, Mustard seeds, (watch out that the fenugreek seeds change colour to golden brown do not allow it to turn black), Cumin seeds,  Turmeric powder when a nice aroma  comes out add the chopped onions and a few Curry leaves and saute until they become transparent, then here I changed the recipe a bit I added Chilli powder, Amchur powder, Garam Masala and powdered Ajwain powder and sauteed it a little bit, then added this to the Kadi.
Mixed well and allowed to cook for a few more minutes in a low flame.
Meanwhile take a wok pour oil for frying the pakoras,
Check out the oil by holding your palm on top of the wok (of course not too close) you can notice that their is a warmness that shows that oil is getting heated up give it one more minute and drop the batter to make pakoras another method to see if the oil is ready to be used put a drop of the batter into the oil after 10 to 15 minutes and when it pops up to the surface immediately then it is the right time to fry.
As we  had already left the onions to marinate with salt, water would have oozed out now add the salt as required, chilli powder and Ajwain powder mix well then add the Chick pea flour, until it becomes a thick batter, then take a spoonful or use your hands and drop it in small portions (say the size of small lime) and fry them until they are golden brown in colour. Drain them out on a kitchen towel.
Put these pakoras into the Kadi which is on the stove in a low flame increase it to a medium flame and now you would have noticed that the kadi is getting thicker and allow it boil for a few more minutes then put off the stove and allow it to soak well.
I made it quite thick because as Simmi  was saying that Punjabi Kadi 's are thicker version and the thinner version are the Gujarati Kadi's.
Well, It was a wonderful dish and we all loved it, I had nothing left in my container that night.

Thanks Srivalli of Spicingyourlife and Simran of Bombay Foodie for this wonderful declicious recipe.

Wow, Lovely colour though, ain't it ?, You must be wondering what is this I have made, Of course my Kids said to me, mom, looks like chicken !, Oh!, but no, I was planning to do something last weekend, my kids wanted potato Bajji, I didn't want to use the same vegetable in a row, I thought  let me do onion pakoras, then again I changed my mind as I  have already done them let me try something new, so I started going through my fridge and I found some 6 to 7 baby corns and  medium sized Beetroots ! and that's it Here is my fiery Red Pakoras.





Ingredients:

• 4 small sized onions
• 2 medium sized beetroot
• 6 baby corns
• 1 sprig curry leaves chopped
• 4 to 5 sprigs of coriander leaves chopped
• 3 to 4 green chillies 
• 1 tbsp chilli powder
• salt as required
• 1/4 cup rice flour
• 1/4 cup roasted dehusked peanut powder
• 1/4 cup roasted gram or dharia or chutney dal powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
• few cashewnuts (optional)

METHOD:

1. First of all I would like to tell you all the above said ingredients were suitable according to my veggies so, just use ingredients according to your taste 
2. Second thing is as I said in my onion pakoras I had equal quantity of  the flour  dal powders mixed and ready and used it only as needed accordingly to the veggies so, just keep the mixed powder ready and use it accordingly and store the left over for another session!
3. First of all chop onions into thin slices just like the pakora style, then grate baby corns and grate Beetroot after peeling the skin, 
4. Then add salt, mix well and leave it for sometime
5. Meanwhile chop curry leaves, coriander leaves, green chillies, a little piece of ginger grated
6. After 15 to 20 minutes if you check the bowl with the veggies it would have given out some water on its own.
7. Now mix all the spices powder and garnishes mix well
8. Now add the 3 powder and mix well, use only required quantity of water to bind the ingredients not too much so the water which is given by the veggies help them to bind with the powders, just like how you make the pakoras
9. Heat oil in a kadai, when the oil is quite hot drop the pakoras and fry them until they are done, I can not say to golden brown in this one !
10. Until the pakoras are well fried and looks quite reddish ( Oh! you would know when to take it out)
11. Now it is ready, serve it with nice green-coconut-mint chutney or just with rasams 0r sambhars or as a tea time snack 

I am not reposting this, but just linking this to Priya of Mharo Rajasthan who is hosting Siri's Healing food event, which this month is Beetroots, I know of course this is not a healthy dish, just a change in everyday cooking.
Back again to link this recipe with Torviewtoronto's Food Palette Red event , I hope she likes it....

This snack you can get in all the road sides of Bangalore, it's absolutely delicious and on a rainy day it is a great snack to munch!! Everybody would be knowing how to make this, It just happened my hubby's friend somy came to my house, he loves cooking and I used to teach him rasams, sambhars etc., and I was telling him about my blog and told him now he can look into the recipes from their, as I post everything I cook!!, He was very happy seeing my blog...., Then he asked me if I have posted Onion Bhaji, I said, no I have not done it yet!! well, he wanted to know how it is made because in his office canteen they wanted to know how to make it....That's it.....Grabbing this chance I decided to show him how to make it then & their.....before he finished drinking his chai I gave him this onion pakoras to go with it!!!, I prepared only so much which is in the plate which I have posted their.!! how zit?

But then I wanted to make a little difference so I thought I will bring Sagari, from sagariiscooking to my kitchen, her onion pakodis was always in my mind, so as I had told earlier in her blog I used CASHEW NUTS in this recipe, Of course my husband loved it, as always he goes nuts over the nuts in dishes......Thanks Sagari we all loved it with cashews in pakoras.
ONION BHAJI


















Ingredients:

• 2 Onions
• 8 to 10 cashew nuts
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• 4 tbsp of Bengal gram flour
• 2 tbsp rice flour
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• salt to taste
• 2 to 3 Green chillies
• a bit of Ginger
• a pinch of baking soda

METHOD:

1. Chop onions length wise, green chillies thinly sliced, ginger into pieces, curry leaves also chopped.
2. Add required quantity of salt, mix it with the above ingredients and leave it for few minutes, The onions with the help of salt gives out water on its own!!
3. Then mix in the cashews and the flours, add water if it is very powdery by sprinkling little by little, do not add too much water, then the pakoras will never turn out crispy.
4. Heat enough oil in a deep frying pan, that is enough to fry the pakoras, just take them in your hand no need to give them any shape, they can be dropped in the oil in irregular shapes and sizes.
5. Deep fry them and serve them with nice Aromatic chai.

NOTE:

I have made the above recipe in sagari's style, but I also make them like this too....

Ingredients: The ingredients and the method mentioned above is all same except I use

• 1 cup rice flour
• 1 cup Chutney dal powder/Hurigadale pudi/Roasted gram flour

I use them in equal quantities sieve them together and mix them up, I keep it ready most of the time, so, when ever i want to make Pakodas I use this flour instead of chick pea flour, but the method is all the same. This comes out very very crispier just like they sell in the shops. You can also try this method too....

Thanks sagari for coming to my kitchen we all loved it. My photo is not so good as yours, Your photos were so tempting & mouth watering.

This is the most famous Tiffin in South India, It is not only healthy but tasty too! As this Idlis are not cooked with oil and are steamed they are good for digestion. Doctors advice to eat idlis if somebody is not feeling well!, as it is not made of oil I suppose!!, Of course not with Sambhar & chutney!!, Idli tastes nice just as it is or with Ghee as the way my daughter loves eating it, I usually prepare idlis every week, as it is my daughter's favourite, The best thing is when ever we take my twins to resturants or hotels and ask them to order my daughter always asks for Idli,vada & sambhar and my son always asks for Masala dosa!! , They say they miss India for that....., well I use two methods to make my Idlis, The one below I have shown is like this.....

IDLI














Ingredients:

• 2 cups Idli Rice (Salem Akki)
• 1 cup Urad dal/Black Gram Dal
• salt to taste

METHOD:

1. Wash throughly & Soak Idli Rice and urad dal saperately for 4 to 5 hours,
2. Grind the rice into smooth batter, Take it out and Grind urad dal
3. Or you can grind them together also.
4. After the batter is ready add salt, mix together & leave it in a warm place to ferment
5. Fermentation process take place very soon in India, In cold countries leave the batter in a warm place such as near a heater, Depending on the weather conditions, within 1 & 1/2 to 2 days it will ferment.
6. Grease the Idli moulds with little oil , pour a ladle full of the batter into each of the mould and cook them in the pressure cooker for about 12 to 15 minutes, without putting the weight on the cooker.
7. Take out the idli moulds and leave it for a second & scrape out the idlies on to the plate & serve it with Sambhar, Chutney or Kadagpuli.

There are some utensils like the one my mom uses which is called the Idli cooker, which blows a whistle and the top of the cooker opens up on its own once the idlis are cooked. The one my Nan had was a big vessel made of brass and had 8 moulds in it we had to pour water underneath and 2 plates were fixed quite up & would cook the idlis really really soft...., My perimma used to cook idlis in plate & was called plate idli, Now a days they cook them in different ways to make them more attractive......They cook in small tumblers in Roti Ghar in Gandhi Bazar, I used to cook for my children button idlis which are also called small idlis, They used to love it...

The Idlis which I have shown above are made from Idli Tari (Akki Tari), Even though they taste the same. These idlis are made from Akki Tari and in super markets or in Indian shops you can ask for Idli Tari, from which you can make these Idlis which are more simpler & easier to make. My Radha Perimma always used to make Idli Tari on her own, It was quite a long process, she always made Thatte(plate) Idlis with coconut chutney or Kadagpuli, They used to be really soft and very nice. She used to soak the Rice, then ordinary Rice was used, their was no salem akki, she used to soak it for about 4 to 5 hours then drain it and dry it in the shade, then she used to roast it in a wok little by little just until they became quite warm and became white, then she used to put it in the Oral Kallu or the Grinding stone, which you find in most of the south Indian homes, before the mixie came we used to grind all the sambhar masalas,vada, dosa, Idli, poli etc.... all the pastes & batters in it......, I still believe that the Recipes taste give a spectacular taste if you use it to grind! She used to pound the rice in it and make a coarse powder using the seive now & then and mix it with the fine paste of urad dal!!!, Still my mom makes Rice Flour like that for making Gokulashtami Thindies!!!!.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Akki Tari or Idli Tari
• 1 & 1/2 cup Urad dal/Black Gram dal
• salt to taste

METHOD

1. Wash & Soak Urad dal for 2 to 3 hours
2. Just one hour before Grinding the dal in warm water soak the Akki Tari or Idli Tari. Do not add too much water, before soaking just wash it once and the water should be just 1/4 of an inch above the Idli Rice.
3. After grinding the dal into a smooth batter mix it with the Idli Tari & salt.
4. Allow it to ferment for 10 to 12 hours
5. Just follow the above said method to cook Idlis after Fermentation, and serve hot with a dollop of ghee, chutney, sambhar or kadagpuli.

SAMBHAR FOR IDLI

Ingredients:

• 100 gms Tuvar dal
• 1 cup of small onions (sambhar eerulli)
• 1 or 2 Tomatoes
• 1/2 lime size Tamarind
• salt to taste
• little bit of jaggery
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• 4 to 5 sprig of coriander leaves

To Grind:

• 2 & 1/2 tbsp Coriander seeds
• 3-3 Red Chillies (Guntur-Badgi)
• 1 tbsp Urad dal
• 1 & 1/2 tbsp Channa dal
• 1/4 tsp Pepper
• 1/4 tsp Jeera
• 1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds
• 1/4' Cinnamon Stick
• 2 cloves
• 1 marati moggu
• pinch of Turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp of Khus Khus
• 4 to 5 tbsp of fresh grated coconut

METHOD:

1. Take a container, wash Tuvar dal with 2 glasses of water add a pinch of turmeric powder & Tomatoes, cook them all together in a pressure cooker.
2. Take a wok, Heat a tbsp of oil , once it is hot add mustard seeds, once they splutter add the peeled & thinly sliced Sambhar onions & fry them until they are soft.
3. Meanwhile the dals would have been cooked, pour them into a vessel, keep aside.
4. Take a pan, put a little bit of oil & except for coconut, put all the ingredients & roast them keep aside to cool down,
5. You can fry one by one which gives you more flavour, Grind them with coconut to a fine paste.
6. Mix the dal, tomatoes, roasted sambhar onions & the ground paste and allow it to boil for some time, or until a nice aroma comes out.
7. In Karnataka style they add gooseberry sized Jaggery in the sambhar when it is boiling, but some people do not like the sweet taste in their sambhars!.
8. It's the way the sambhars are in Bangalore Darshinis, hotels & resturants.
9. Season the sambhar with finely chopped curry leaves, coriander leaves & a tbsp of fresh grated coconut.
10. Serve it with hot with Idlis & Vadas...

KADAG PULI

This is a kind of Sambhar which I learnt from my Radha Periamma, You can do this with vegetables like the Violet Brinjals, Cabbage, Chow-chow. The best result is with Brinjals that is my favourite. Here is the recipe for this.......

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Kg of Brinjals
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• 1 tbsp oil

To Grind:

• 1/2 cup fresh grated coconut
• 2 tbsp Channa dal or Chutney dal
• 1 tbsp of mustard seeds
• 4 to 5 sprigs of coriander leaves
• a pinch of turmeric
• a pinch of asafoetida
• 4 to 5 flakes of Tamarind
• 5 to 6 Green chillies

Seasoning:

• 1 tsp of oil
• 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
• 1 tsp of channa dal
• 1 tsp of urad dal

METHOD:

1. Wash & cut the Brinjals lengthwise 1 & 1/2 inches, put it immediately in the water, as they turn brown in colour other wise!
2. Take a Wok, heat oil, add mustard seeds after they splutter, add the seasonings and curry leaves then add the cut brinjals without the water. Just like u do it for a dry curry.
3. cook it in a middle flame, until they all get cooked evenly.
4. Meanwhile when it is cooking, roast the channa dal with a little oil & grind all the other ingredients raw without frying them.
5. I have used the chillies & tamarind so that they balance, because the chillies of what i have used might be different from you use, so just remember to balance them.
6. Grind them all into a smooth paste and add it to the cooked brinjals add some water to make it like a sambhar consistency or you can make it like a vegetable gravy.
7. serve it hot with hot Idlis, The spiciness, tanginess and the vegetable is a good combo with Idli we all love it in our family. Hope you might like it to give it a try!!

IDLI MOLAGA PUDI (IDLI CHUTNEY POWDER)

In one of the above pictures I have posted is the Idli molaga pudi, This I learnt it from my Mom-in-law's House, My husband loves this, Like vivek's dialogue in Dhool ! Ippovu Rand Idli ki oru litre Idahayam Nallenne Oothi Saapdreengala.....!! that means for two idlis are you still pouring one litre Gingily oil, This is an advert she did for Idayam Nallenne Oh yes! he is just like Jyothika he takes a cup of Idli Molaga Pudi and pours a cup of Nallene mixes them together and soaks Idlis in it and relishes it....!!, First time I thought it was funny well, I think most of the people his relatives who come from Madras also eat it like that, well once no twice I have eaten it like this & it was absolutely fantastic and it was served by Saroja Mami, my sis-in-law's Mom, as I have already told when I did More Kolumbu that she is very good cook, she put this kind of Idlis in Muthugada Yele, packed them so nicely as if we had bought it! and gave Ravi & me when we travelled back from Madras to Bangalore. The second time was when we all went to Tirupati for our childrens first time Motte....!!!, My twins & her first daughter, we had packed it for travelling Lunch.

Ingredients:

• 5-5 (Guntur-Badgi) Red Chillies
• One fist full of Urad dal/Black gram dal
• 1 tbsp of channa dal
• a pinch of asafoetida
• Gooseberry sized Tamarind (optional)
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp Sesame seeds (optional)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds

METHOD:

1. Heat a little oil and fry all the ingredients until Reddish brown in colour except for Sesame Seeds.
2. Dry roast the Sesame seeds that is without using oil, Only thing you need to remember is if you are adding sesame seeds the powder cannot be kept more than 10 to 15 days.
3. Once all the ingredients are roasted, Grind them into a coarse powder.
4. The quantity of chilies & dhals can be increased or decreased according to your taste
5. Now the Idli Molaga Pudi is ready to be served.

VADA

I have made very small Vadas, as you can see in the plate, I always make them like that not with holes in them as you see in the Resturants as it is not allowed in my community because it is usually made only during death ceremonies. Even though it is only made with Black Gram Dal/Urad Dal, I add a tbsp of channa dal.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of Black Gram Dal/Urad dal
• 1 bit coconut
• 2 to 3 Green chillies
• salt to taste
• 6-7 corns of Pepper
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• 1'' Ginger

METHOD:

1. Soak the dhal for two hours. Grind into soft dough adding salt. Cut the coconut into small thin bits.
2. Add the whole pepper, finely cut ginger & curry leaves add all this to the batter.
3. Mix them all together and form into small balls & fry to reddish golden brown colour.
4. Note: Do not add too much water when you are grinding the batter, more water will absorb lot of oil when frying.
5. Now it is ready to serve hot with Chutney & Sambhar.

Hi,
This is a pachadi my mother taught me very very long back, I keep doing it now & then, The other day when I was talking to my sister (who is in India ) , asked me what I had prepared for Lunch & I was telling her I did vendakaayi sambhar, Moolangi kosambari & Ridge Gourd pachadi, she said what is it ? how did I prepare that? I told her it was Mum's Recipe, She was upset because mom never taught her, well, I was the one who always loved cooking so, I always helped her in the kitchen & both of us trying new recipes & methods was great time, those bygone days .... was really fun, I told her how I did it and here I am posting this Recipe, My family do like it & I keep it doing it now & then.
As usual as Raji says no pachadi photo!!, I forgot to take one, next time I make I will take a photo & post it in the blog. Even though there is no interesting you all try & make this recipe which is really very nice.
Here is the Recipe :
RIDGE GOURD PACHADI
















Ingredients:

• 1 medium sized Ridge Gourd

To Grind

• 1/4 cup of fresh grated coconut
• 2 tbsp of Roasted gram (Hurigadale/chutney dal)
• 1 tbsp of Black Til
• 2 to 3 flakes of Tamarind
• little bit of jaggery
• 2 green chillies
• a pinch of asafoetida
• salt to taste

METHOD:

1. First of all scrape the Ridge Gourd skin and keep it aside do not throw them, If the Ridge Gourd are quite tender you can make chutney out of them, I have posted, how to make it, you can try and it really is very tasty.
2. Dice them into pieces & cook them in one or two tumblers of water until they become soft.
3. Meanwhile, Take a pan, dry roast the til seeds, until they start spluttering
4. Grind all the above said ingredients with the cooked Ridge Gourd & its water.
5. Season the pachadi with a tsp of oil & a tsp of mustard seeds.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves & serve with hot rice.
7. If you want, you can add plain thick curds/yogurt to it & serve.

VARIATIONS:

This pachadi can also be made with Mooli/Moolangi/Radish & cucumber, These Vegetables need not be cooked as Ridge Gourd, you can grate them & grind them with all the other ingredients said above & with cucumber chop them into thin slices as you cut them for Kosumbari (salad) and mix with it, season it & serve. Some people call this as Southekaayi Gojju.

When I was writing this I thought we can even try with chow-chow/seemebadanekaayi/Bangalore Katharika, but you have to cook them & not to grind the vegetable but just the ingredients, mix it with the cooked vegetable & cook them for few more minutes on the stove, season & serve!!!.