Gongura Idly Upma

"Gongura Idly Upma" is my own innovative recipe, a different kind of breakfast or evening snack that can be made within 10 minutes time.

Idly Upma is one of the most commonly made recipes with leftover Idlis.

I sometimes hate eating Idlies. I love eating Dosais more than the Idlies. To make myself eat more Idlies (atleast more than 2, haha...), I wanted to do something different with our main ingredient. There was a store bought Gongura Paste in my kitchen. I wanted to try something different and gave it a try. Finally, ended up making this delicious Gongura Idli Upma.

This special breakfast doesn't require any kind of side-dish, as we are using two side-dishes (Idly-Dosai Milagai Karupellai Podi & Gongura Paste) in the main course itself.

Readers, please give it a try and comment on my innovative recipe. Do leave your suggestions on how more innovative this can be made.

Ingredients
Idlies - 7 (cut into small cubes or dices)
Readymade Gongura Paste - 1 tbsp
Milagai Karuvepillai Podi - 1 tsp
(Home-made coarse powder made with Dry Roasted [Red Chillies, Curry Leaves, Split Urad Dhal])
Onion - 1 (finely chopped)
Green Chilli - 1 (finely chopped)
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp

To Season
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Split Urad Dhal - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Milagai Karuvepillai Podi - 1/2 tsp
(Dry Red Chillies & Curry Leaves coarse powder)
Curry Leaves - few

Preparation

Heat Oil in a Pan. To the hot oil, add the items given in "To Season" one-by-one and allow it to splutter.

Add the finely chopped onions, green chillies & salt. Saute for a minute and then add the Gongura paste. Again saute for less than a minute.

Now add the diced idly cubes and saute for 2 minutes.

Add cumin powder, pepper powder and the home-made dry chillies-curry leaves coarse powder, little salt if required. Mix it well and then saute for another 2 minutes.

Turn off the stove and transfer the Gongura Idli Upma to a serving plate and serve it hot.

Kuzhi Paniyaram

Kuzhi Paniyaram is a South Indian dish especially famous in the Chettinad Cuisine(a popular tiffin item).

You can find these cuties & bubblies in almost all occassions of Chettinad houses.

Kuzhi Paniyarams can be made sweet or salty. The salty @ spicy version has onions, green chillies & some more seasonongs mixed with the batter. It is
made by steaming batter — traditionally made fermented rice and lentil batter using a mould. Then it is steamed in special pan which has little golf ball size holes (kuzhi in Tamil).

Many of my friends wanted me to post this here :)

" Yummy Yummy Kuzhipaniyarams made easy!!"

Ingredients
Boiled Rice - 250 gms
Raw Rice - 250 gms
Urad Dhal - 150 gms
Fenugreek Seeds(Vendayam) - 1 tsp
Salt - as required
Oil - as required

Preparation

Take a deep bottomed vessel and add all the items other than salt. Add water to it & keep it aside for 2 hours.

Grind the items nicely to dosa flour consistency. Add required salt to the batter. Allow the grinded flour to ferment for 8 to 10 hours.

Heat a Kuzhipaniyaram Pan and pour 1/4 tsp of oil in each hole. Pour the grinded batter in each hole. Close the pan with its lid & cook for 1.5 minutes. Allow it to cook in medium flame. Turn the Paniyaram upside down with its stick. Now cook the other side as well (without the lid).

Masala Paniyaram
Onions - 2 (finely chopped)
Grated Carrot - 2 tbsp
Green chilies - 3 (finely chopped)
Curry leaves - 1 tbsp (finely chopped)
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
Mustard seed - 1/2 tsp
Urad Dhal - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp

Preparation

Take a deep bottomed vessel and add all the items other than salt. Add water to it & keep it aside for 2 hours.

Grind the items nicely to dosa flour consistency. Add required salt to the batter. Allow the grinded flour to ferment for 8 to 10 hours.

Heat Oil in a pan & add the Mustard Seeds and Urad Dhal. Allow them to crack and then add to the batter. Add the other items to the batter and mix it well.

Heat a Kuzhipaniyaram Pan and pour 1/4 tsp of oil in each hole. Pour the grinded batter in each hole. Close the pan with its lid & cook for 1.5 minutes. Allow it to cook in medium flame. Turn the Paniyaram upside down with its stick. Now cook the other side as well (without the lid).

Pav Bhaji

"Pav Bhaji" is a fast food dish native to Maharashtrians and is popular in most metropolitan areas in India, particularly in the Maharashtrian city of Mumbai & Pune.

"Pav" in marathi means bread or bun. "Bhaji" means dish of vegetables. Pav bhaji consists of the bhaji (a potato-based curry) garnished with freshly chopped onions, capsicum and grated carrot.

Traditional way of preparing this dish is with a Tawa. They take two tawa spatulas and make tak-tak sound and smash the potatoes. That gives the real texture of this dish and the taste as well.

Hotel "Bhats Paradise" in West Tambaram has one of the best Pav Bhaji's in Chennai. Right from my childhood, I used to have Pav Bhaji there. During my college days, we used to have our treat there with our seniors.

I prepared this on my breakfast today. Here goes the recipe which is very simple to prepare and tastes great.

Ingredients
Pav - 4
Butter - 2 tsp
Chopped Garlic - 1
Green chillies - 1 (finely chopped)
Potatoes - 4 (boiled, smashed)
Peas - a small cup
Capsicum - inside light green pulp
Onions - 2 (chopped)
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 1/2 tsp
Tomatoes - 3 (finely chopped)
Pav Bhaji masala - 1 1/2 or 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Lime juice - 1 tsp
Water - as required
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - as required

To Garnish
Onion - 1 (finely chopped)
Capsicum - few pieces (thinly chopped lengthwise)
Carrot - 1 (grated)
Lime slices - 2

Procedure
1. Heat butter & oil in a wide pan
2. Add chopped garlic pieces and green chillies
3. Add the onions, little salt and saute till it turns transparent
4. Now add the ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell is off
5. Add the finely chopped tomatoes and saute till it leaves out oil
6. Pav Bhaji masala and turmeric powder is to be added now
7. Sprinkle little water and add the remaining salt
8. Add smashed potatoes and make a tak-tak sound with your spatula that you use
9. Cook it covered in slow flame and do this tak-tak with your spatula again
9. Once it leaves out enough oil, add capsicum pulp and peas
10.Cook it covered for few minutes in low flame
11.Add little water in between for it to cook
12.Add the lime juice and little butter and switch off the stove
13.Heat butter in a tawa and roast the Pav
14.Garnish Bhaji with finely chopped onion, grated carrot, capsicum and sliced lime

15.Now the Pav is ready to be served with Bhaji