An entry for Click: AU NATUREL

My contribution to Bee & Jai's April theme for Click -- Au Naturel.

A bowl of grapes.

Sweetened Idlis

There are so many different versions of Idli, but this version is my favorite. It brings back fond memories of Mangalore, my grandmother’s home and those long childhood summer vacations. It’s a sweet twist that jazzes up the regular idli with jaggery and a dash of fresh ground cardamom. Raisins and cashew nuts further augment the flavor of this “fruit and nut” idli. Though there are many recipes available, I follow my grandmother’s adaptation of the authentic recipe.

Ingredients

1 ½ cup idli rawa, washed, cleaned and soaked for 1 hour

½ cup grated coconut

½ cup jaggery

1 cup beaten rice, washed and cleaned

2 teaspoons fresh ground cardamom

8-10 cashew nuts, blanched

¼ cup raisins, soaked for 30 mins

1 ½ cup buttermilk

¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds

Salt to taste

Method

Soak beaten rice for 10 -15 mins in cold water. Squeeze out water and set aside.

Grind together beaten rice, jaggery, buttermilk, fenugreek seeds into a thick batter.

To the above mixture add idli rawa, grind for 5-9 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Mix in blanched cashew nuts, raisins and fresh ground cardamom. Mix well. Set aside for 2-3 hours.

Pour batter into idli moulds and steam like regular idlis till done.

Serve warm with ghee (clarified butter) (optional).

Horse Gram –Coconut stir fry

...a.k.a Kulitha Upkari (in Konkani ).

Horse gram is one of our favorite legumes and so is this stir fry. It pairs well with rice and sambhar or just by itself as an evening snack. Though it takes longer than the other beans/legumes to cook, it’s worth the effort.

I soak a cup of Horse gram overnight and pressure cook till it softens. Then either churn out a stir-fry or toss it with salt, fresh squeezed lime, cilantro and make some sort of a what I term "salad" .

The authentic version varies from this one in the secondary ingredients, while the primary ingredients remain horse gram and coconut. Since we like having it as a snack, I just added in a personal touch.

Ingredients

1 cup Horse gram, washed, pre-soaked (overnight)
¼ teaspoon Mustard seeds
1 tablespoon coconut, grated or powdered
1 teaspoon chopped curry leaves
½ teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon oil
¼ cup Mango, raw, unripe, grated (optional)
½ teaspoon Ginger, fresh, grated
Salt

It’s essential to clean horse gram before cooking to clean out any occasional gravel that may be present. Adding grated Mango gives it an additional tang and enhances the flavors. I use it when raw/unripe Mangoes are in season.



Method

1) Pressure cook horse gram in 2-3 cups of water, till soft. Once done, add salt to the horse gram –water mixture. Cook uncovered on medium flame for 8-9 minutes. Strain but retain ¼ the amount of water and set aside.

2) Heat oil in a pan; add mustard seeds, previously prepared horse gram mixture and cook uncovered till all the water evaporates. This may take about 8-10 minutes, depending upon the amount of water added in Step (1).

3) Add in mango (optional), ginger, lemon juice and curry leaves. Mix well and cook covered for 6-7 minutes.

4) Add coconut, mix well. Turn off heat. Allow to sit for 3-4 mins. Serve warm.

I try not to cook the coconut in this recipe as I prefer it raw and without the flavor of the cocnut oil. I also like using sesame oil for this recipe as it gives a slight bitterness.