Full Scoops

15 Jul 2017

Idli Dosa Batter | How to make Soft Idli

Breakfast Recipes, Dosa variety, How to's, idli, Kitchen Basics 2 comments

The most famous South Indian breakfast is the Idli! It is so simple in 'nature' but so good for health and tasty with a nice side dish. It is also one of the safest Indian dishes. My kids had idli's as one of their first solid food and I always turn to idli when someone is not well at home.

Although it is such a simple food, this simple idli is the most fussiest food ever!! My biggest headache for a very long time, was to make soft idlis! I have tried many different recipes, proportions, tips and finally this is what worked for me and I settled on it. I got this recipe from here and here.
Most recipes suggest to grind the rice and urad dal separately but I grind them together and it works well for me.
Even if you come across a 'perfect' recipe for soft idli, you can master it only by trial and error. There are lots of factors that goes into making a soft idli and as you keep making it, week after week, you will perfect it and end up making soft idlis easily!!

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Paneer Baby Corn Masala

Baby Corn Recipes, Gravy, North Indian Dishes, Paneer Recipes, peas, Veg Side Dish for Roti and Paratha 1 comment

I usually make a paneer baby corn kurma as a side for pulao which tastes really good so this time I wanted to make a masala as a side dish for roti. Once again this simple dish did not disappoint and tasted really yum! I was going to make the curry with only paneer and baby corn but then added the peas since I had some left over.

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Chocolate Banana Marble Cake/Loaf

banana, Cakes, Marble Cake No comments

I love to bake marble cakes, not only does it taste good but the blend of chocolate with some other flavor is just awesome, I never get tired of it! Whenever I have ripe bananas, I always go with baking any one of my favorite banana bakes but this time I decided to bake this beautiful banana chocolate marble cake and it was so good!!

This cake is so very soft and moist that it wasn't even easy to cut a perfect slice! As soon as I baked this cake, it almost got over! I had 2 slices remaining and I served it to my prayer group buddies the next day and I was asked where I bought it! It was truly delicious!!

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Moong Dal Khichidi

Khichidi Recipes, One Pot Meals No comments

I was introduced to this khichidi by my perima when she came to Chennai. She lives in Delhi and they make this often in her house. We had gone shopping and came home late and when we were thinking about ordering food from a restaurant when she made this khichidi so quickly and we enjoyed a simple home cooked meal.

I loved the taste of this khichidi so much that I made a note to try this out later. But I completely forgot about it until I came across this recipe and I made it for my family and we all loved it. Now I make this recipe quite often at home except I make it with millets. Check out this varagu arisi moong dal khichidi.

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Masala Idli

Breakfast Recipes, Left Over Idli Recipes, Snacks 2 comments

One of the frequent tea time dish in our house is either idli upma or this masala idli recipe. In most homes, there is always some idli left over everyday and this is a wonderful way to finish up the left over idlis. Very quick and simple to make and everybody loves it too. Also if there are days when your idli just doesn't come out well, you can very well make this dish.

Check out the crispy baked idli which is also made with left over idli.

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Homemade Fennel Powder

How to's, Kitchen Basics, Podi | Masalas No comments

I use a lot fennel powder in my dishes. While making non veg dishes, fennel powder is a must and I use this powder in some of my veg dishes as well. It definitely enhances the flavor and taste of the dish.
Fennel seeds are rich in anti oxidants and are a rich source of dietary fiber. It also helps reduce LDL levels.
I used to buy fennel powder from the store but it's so easy and simple to make that I started making it at home.

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Kara Paniyaram | Masala Paniyaram

Breakfast Recipes, Snacks, Tiffin Variety 1 comment

Kuzhi Paniyaram can be made two ways - sweet and karam. Growing up I remember my mom used to make lots of sweet paniyaram and we loved it! But now, my husband and my daughter does not prefer eating anything sweet so I always end up making this kara paniyaram.

This dish is a great way to finish up the dosa batter and it brings a variety in our daily breakfast menu. I make uthapam on the 3rd or 4th day of the dosa batter and then on the 5th day of the batter, I make this paniyaram.
You can also pack this in kids snack boxes and you can make this for evening snacks as well.

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Varagu Arisi Moong Dal Khichidi

Khichidi Recipes, Millet Recipes, One Pot Meals, Varagu Arisi Recipes 2 comments

My periamma taught me to make moong dal khichidi with rice and I thought it would be a great idea to make the same with millets. I gave it a try and it came out very well. Now I make this quite often at home. Whenever I feel lazy to cook, then I make this with a simple side dish and it works very well!

We just love this khichidi, the taste is so heavenly and yet so simple! I do not like to add more masala to this dish other than the turmeric powder, as I feel it takes away from the 'delishiousness' of this dish so I use only turmeric powder and add more green chillies for the spice. You can add some red chilli powder or even garam masala to it.

Millets are considered to be a super food! They are so much more healthy and nutritious than rice and so we try to include it atleast 3 meals in a week. I made this with Varagu Arisi (kodo millet), you can do the same with kuthiraivali, thinai or samai also.

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Dairy Free Coconut Panna Cotta

Coconut, Desserts, Make-Ahead Desserts, Panna Cotta 1 comment

I love making panna cotta! It's simple, easy and tastes really delicious! My daughter had developed some mouth ulcers and so I was looking to give her some coconut milk since coconut and coconut milk is excellent to heal mouth ulcers.

But she was not liking the coconut milk so I made some desserts for her. I made the coconut milk panna cotta which has some dairy cream in it and then I made her this coconut milk panna cotta without dairy. It's so delicious and every kid will definitely love it!

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Sweet Potato Roast

Potato Recipes, Stir fry, Sweet potato No comments

Since sweet potatoes are sweet in nature we normally we don't make a roast with it, we just pressure cook them and eat it and it tastes really good. But since sweet potatoes are very healthy, I was looking to include it in my kids diet and decided to make a roast out of it as they normally love potato roast.

To mask or cut down the sweetness of this veggie, you will have to add a bit more masala to it and even then some sweet potatoes are too sweet and you cannot mask it's sweetness. Some sweet potatoes are mildly sweet and this roast tastes really good when made with those ones. My husband refused to eat it as he felt the roast was still sweet!! But my kids and me enjoyed it!!