Recipe Fundas!-Simple,Tasty, Healthy Vegetarian recipes for a Vibrant Living!

Tawa Idli! Feeling bored amid Covid 19 lockdown? Do you have idli batter and idli podi, and some oil? Lets get started. Take a pan, put 4 tbsp of cooking oil or sesame oil. As the oil becomes hot, add a spoon full of  Idli chilli powder (also known as idli podi). Let it fry in the excess oil. Add a ladle of idli batter in the center and close the tawa with a lid. The corners will get crispier. Do not turn. After a while, your crispy tawa idli, that tastes like Idli in the top and crispy dosa on the other side will be ready. This does not need any side dish. Enjoy the below video of Tawa idli cooking by our son, Siddharth!

  1. Moong dhal- 1 cup 2. Channa dhal- 1 cup 3. Toor dhal- 1 cup Soak all three dhal together for 3 hours. Grind coarsely without adding water. Add 1 cup of grated coconut to this mixture. Add 1 tbsp of Cumin seeds, 4 tbsp of grated coriander leaves, 2 finely chopped green chillies and a pinch of ginger. Add 1/2 tbsp of Turmeric powder and a pinch of hing. Add salt and mix well. Make small balls and steam them in the idli cooker for 15 minutes. Nuchinunde will be ready to serve. This is served with 2 tbsp of hot ghee.

The secret for soft idlies is the ingredients. 1.Idli rice - 4 cups 2.Fenugreek seeds - 2 tbsp 3.Urad dhal- 1 cup 4.Rice flakes ( Poha)-  1 cup Procedure: 1.Soak rice and fenugreek (methi/venthayam) together 2.Soak Urad dhal and rice flakes in separate bowls. All these should soak 5 hours. Rinse the ingredients only before grinding. Grind half of the rice and methi first for ten minutes. Then add remaining rice and rice flakes. Use wet grinder to grind. Add around 3/4 cup of water in multiple intervals ,few tbsps each 5.Take out the rice mixture. 6.Add urad dhal and grind it finely. You will need around half cup water added little by little 7.Grind urad dhal longer and that will give the best idlies 8.Mix the two batters. Add salt and mix well with hands multiple times 9.Split the mixture into two and store in two buckets having more than half space for the batter to rise. 10.Idlies can be made after greasing the idli moulds with sesame oil. Add idli batter int...

Ingredients: 1.Besan- 1 cup 2.Rice flour- 1 cup 3.Maida- half cup 4.Curry leaves 5.Cumin seeds- 1 tbsp 6.Salt and water- as needed 7.Onion and tomatoes- finely chopped ( 2 each) optional 8.Green chillies- 2 finely chopped ( optional) Procedure: 1.In a mixing bowl add all the flour and mix well. Use a whisk or handheld mixer to mix without lumps and get the required consistency. 2.Add salt and water 3.Add the chillies,cumin,curry leaves, onion and tomatoes to the mixture 4.Heat up dosa pan and make a dosa with one laddle of batter. 5.Cook both sides and serve.

This is an idli recipe without rice as well. Helpful for controlling diabetes. Ingredients: 1.Saamai or Little Millet - 3 cups 2.Urad dhal - half cup 3.Fenugreek or Methi seeds- 3 tbsp Procedure: 1.Soak all ingredients separately for 5-6 hours. 2.Grind millets and fenugreek first after rinsing them some times 3.Add urad dhal and grind well 4.Add salt and let the batter ferment overnight. 5.Grease idli plates the following morning and fill the batter and steam for ten minutes. 6.Delicious Samai idlies are ready. This batter is good for crispy dosas but the batter tends to become sour after a day.

Soft idlies can be made using moong dhal too. Ingredients: Moong dhal - 2 cups Urad dhal- 1 cup Procedure: 1.Soak both dhals separately for 2-3 hours. 2.Grind to a fine batter 3.Add salt and mix the batter well 4.Let it ferment overnight 5.Grease idli moulds ,add batter and steam for ten minutes Hot idlies are ready. This batter is good for one day only.

Roasted Red rice flour is available in super markets. Measure 1 cup of this flour, add 1 tbsp of sesame oil, salt and add boiling water slowly while stirring with a long ladle. The batter should be to the consistency of chapathi dough. Close it with the lid for 10 minutes. Use Idiappam mould and press the dough. Steam it for 10 minutes. This recipe is suitable for elderly and children.