I have fond memories of my college days. Living in the hostel had its own advantages. We friends would chat/ study late into the night and end up running late for the morning classes. We'd rush to college without breakfast.
My staple brunch after the morning classes would be a couple of idlis with sambhar at our college canteen. It is healthy, fills you up and does not leave you with a feeling of guilt even when you over eat.
Idly with sambhar is usually my Sunday/Saturday brunch now. It is my all time favorite recipe ...A slightly modified version of our 'good old Standard South Indian Breakfast '.
IDLY
Ingredients
Brown rice 4 cups( standard short grain or long grain)
I use this instead of the usual White Idly rice to make richer in nutrients.
Urad Dal/Black lentils ( shelled is white) 1 cup
Methi/Fenugreek seeds 2 tsps
Salt to taste
METHOD
Soak rice and lentils separately in water for about 3-4 hours . Wash them well before soaking. Soak the fenugreek seed along with the lentils.
Though a stone grinder is ideal for this, a blender would work as well. Heads up , If you are using a blender you may want to reduce the rice to 3 cups. the proportion can be played with to get the right consistency of idly.
Grind the lentils and fenugreek seeds in the blender till smooth, it should be light and fluffy. Keep aside.
Grind the rice with a little water till smooth batter is obtained. Some people like to keep it a little coarse. It is entirely upto you. Add salt and mix together both the batter with hand. Note, It has to be by hand.
Leave the container in a warm place to ferment. In warm weather it usually takes around 3-4 hours.
Fermented batter is light and airy. Mix the batter a couple of time to get an even mix.
Pour into greased idly molds to steam. A saucer used instead to steam, will make a bigger idly .
Steam for about 10 mins in medium heat. Idly's come out puffed and beautifully soft.
I can eat it just like that, but Sambhar makes it a complete meal.
Especially being a vegetarian,Sambhar satisfies the need for veggies and proteins. Its traditional to make Onion Sambhar with Idly...I like to make with all veggies. It needs to be a complete meal :)
INGREDIENTS
Toor dal( split pigeon peas) 2 cup
Tamarind size of a lemon ...if using paste use 2 tsps
Veggies -about a cup sliced ( carrots, peppers,pearl onions )
Tomatoes diced -half a cup
Sambhar powder-Store brought or home made- 2tsps
Recipe- Dry roast equal quantities of Channa dal, Coriander seeds and red chillis. Powder and store in airtight container. Use a couple of tsps when necessary.
Curry leaves and mustard seeds for tempering .
METHOD
Traditional method is the cook the veggies in the tamarind water and sambhar powder before adding the cooked dal. Just to make my life easier, I put all the ingredients Dal, tamarind, veggies,sambhar powder in a pressure cooker. Add double the amount of water ...that is 4 cups, cook on low heat for about 20 mins .Once the Dal is cooked down and mushy, add tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves. Yummy sambhar is ready.
There are never any leftovers of this meal. If any left over ...Crisped up on a hot pan with a little oil, my kids devour it :-)
.
My staple brunch after the morning classes would be a couple of idlis with sambhar at our college canteen. It is healthy, fills you up and does not leave you with a feeling of guilt even when you over eat.
Idly with sambhar is usually my Sunday/Saturday brunch now. It is my all time favorite recipe ...A slightly modified version of our 'good old Standard South Indian Breakfast '.
IDLY
Ingredients
Brown rice 4 cups( standard short grain or long grain)
I use this instead of the usual White Idly rice to make richer in nutrients.
Urad Dal/Black lentils ( shelled is white) 1 cup
Methi/Fenugreek seeds 2 tsps
Salt to taste
METHOD
Soak rice and lentils separately in water for about 3-4 hours . Wash them well before soaking. Soak the fenugreek seed along with the lentils.
Though a stone grinder is ideal for this, a blender would work as well. Heads up , If you are using a blender you may want to reduce the rice to 3 cups. the proportion can be played with to get the right consistency of idly.
Grind the lentils and fenugreek seeds in the blender till smooth, it should be light and fluffy. Keep aside.
Grind the rice with a little water till smooth batter is obtained. Some people like to keep it a little coarse. It is entirely upto you. Add salt and mix together both the batter with hand. Note, It has to be by hand.
Leave the container in a warm place to ferment. In warm weather it usually takes around 3-4 hours.
Fermented batter is light and airy. Mix the batter a couple of time to get an even mix.
Pour into greased idly molds to steam. A saucer used instead to steam, will make a bigger idly .
Steam for about 10 mins in medium heat. Idly's come out puffed and beautifully soft.
I can eat it just like that, but Sambhar makes it a complete meal.
Especially being a vegetarian,Sambhar satisfies the need for veggies and proteins. Its traditional to make Onion Sambhar with Idly...I like to make with all veggies. It needs to be a complete meal :)
INGREDIENTS
Toor dal( split pigeon peas) 2 cup
Tamarind size of a lemon ...if using paste use 2 tsps
Veggies -about a cup sliced ( carrots, peppers,pearl onions )
Tomatoes diced -half a cup
Sambhar powder-Store brought or home made- 2tsps
Recipe- Dry roast equal quantities of Channa dal, Coriander seeds and red chillis. Powder and store in airtight container. Use a couple of tsps when necessary.
Curry leaves and mustard seeds for tempering .
METHOD
Traditional method is the cook the veggies in the tamarind water and sambhar powder before adding the cooked dal. Just to make my life easier, I put all the ingredients Dal, tamarind, veggies,sambhar powder in a pressure cooker. Add double the amount of water ...that is 4 cups, cook on low heat for about 20 mins .Once the Dal is cooked down and mushy, add tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves. Yummy sambhar is ready.
There are never any leftovers of this meal. If any left over ...Crisped up on a hot pan with a little oil, my kids devour it :-)
.
Your brown rice idlys look good. I am in the transition process..from white to brown. My last batch of batter had 1/2 and 1/2 white and brown rices.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I am trying to make and eat healthier versions of our usual diet. Because I feel to lose weight you need a lifestyle change...Short term diets dont work. At least they are short lived because they are not satisfying;-)
ReplyDelete