494: Elai Vadam/ How to Make Elai Vadam

Most of the Indian housewife makes large quantities of vadam and dry it properly and store it and use it even for 1 year.  Such traditions are dying a slow death now in a fast-paced world. Now a days, Supermarkets are stocking vadam and Vathals.

Elai Vadam is a delicious papad/ rice cracker that is very traditional to the south Indian homes. A simple recipe using raw rice,jeera  and salt. “Elai” in Tamil means leaf and since the batter of these vadam gets cooked in a banana leaf it gets its name. But these days, Elai Vadam stand is readily available and the Vadam can be made using that.

Taking full advantage of the bright summer sunshine, getting ready for the preparation of vadam making in full swing the last couple of weeks.

Today I am going to share my favorite recipe from my Amma’s kitchen. I love them and prefer eating them when just steamed. Most of the times, my Mom make only the steamed vadam to eat them just like that. 

Have fun in making this vadam and you will also enjoy making as much as I did.

Recipe Cuisine:       South Indian

Recipe Category:     Snacks/ Vadams

Preparation time:    12 hours (including soaking and fermentation time)

Cooking time:         1 hour

Makes:                   30

Ingredients

Raw Rice                 2 cups

Javvarisi/ Sago        2 Tablespoons (Optional)

Cumin seeds           1 Tablespoons

Salt                        To Taste

Green chilies -         2-3 Nos.

Special equipment needed are:

Banana Leaves/ Elai vadam stand

Pressure cooker/idli cooker/any steamer

A plastic sheet/ Cotton cloth ( to dry the vadam )

Method:

• Wash and soak the rice for 4 hours.
• Wash and clean the rice and Grind to a fine paste along with salt and green chili. Add water gradually while grinding.

• Allow  the batter to ferment for overnight.  In the morning, you will get a nice fermented aroma from it. After fermentation, you will notice that there is a small layer of water on top of the batter. Remove this water and set aside.
• Soak the Javvarisi for 2 hours.   Cook the Javvarisi in the hot water. Keep aside.

• Now add the cooked Javvarisi and cumin seeds into the batter. if needed you can add more water to adjust consistency.

• Cut the banana leaves and keep ready.
• Grease the banana leaves with a drop of oil and add a ladle of batter on this. Spread it in a circular motion like a dosa.

• Add water in a idli pan and keep a small cup filled with water inside. Keep a banana leaf on a plate, which should fit into the pan.

• 
  
• Steam this for a minute. The color will change as shown in the picture.

• Take out the stand and remove the plates. When it is warm slowly peel it off, it will come out easily. Repeat the process until you finish all the batter.

• You can eat them fresh as a evening tiffin. I love it.

• To Store:
• Peel the vadam slowly. you can arrange in a clean white cloth/ Plastic sheet for drying. Let it air dry/ sun dry  for a day or two.

• After drying it, you can store it in an airtight box for up to a year. Whenever needed, fry it like the normal papad.

• Heat oil in a deep-frying pan; fry a vadam at a time, they will fluff up and become bigger than they are.
• Fry in enough oil and drain in paper towel. Serve the Elai Vadam as it is or along with your meal.

• You can also roast it in open flame or microwave it.

Notes:

• You can use Idli rice also.
• Consistency of the batter should not be too thin. If it is too thin, it will run out from the leaf.
• Now a days, Elai vadam stands are available. If you are using the stands, slightly grease the plate with little oil spread the batter and steam it.
• The vadam will stick to the plate if they have not steamed enough or if the plates have not been greased well.
• If you are too tired to make all the vadam in one day, you can store the batter in the fridge and use it the next day.
• Thank you Amma for the tips.

Have a look at the other South Indian recipes here

Puiyodharai

Tomato Rice

Killu Vadam

489:Vegetable Idli

This is one of the healthiest breakfast delights,  which is commonly served in all Southindian states.Last night, I made this dinner platter-vegetable idly, tomato chutney and milagai podi (gun powder). Vegetable idli is quite filling; calorie rich food which is good for growing kids and also keeps us full for long time. Here is the recipe for Vegetable Idli

Ingredients:

Idli Batter                                        2 cups

Grated Carrot                                  ¼ Cup

Finely chopped green chilies             1 tsp.

Finely chopped Curry leaves             1 Tbsp.

Ground Black Pepper                        ½ Tsp.

Salt                                                   a pinch.

Ghee                                                  ½ Tsp.

Oil                                                      1 Tsp.

Method:

• In a bowl, add  all above ingredients expect oil, and whisk it  and make a thick batter and keep it aside for 10 minutes.
• Grease the idli mould with oil and pour idli batter into each mould.
• Repeat these processes till all the idli mould are filled.
• Meanwhile , add about 2 cups of water to the idli cooker and heat it.
• Now place the idli stand with moulds inside the cooker.
• Cover and let it steam for 10 minutes till the idlis are cooked.
• Take out the idli stand and leave for 5 minutes
• .After it cools down, take the idlis out with the help of a knife.
• Serve hot with sambhar and chutney.

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464 : Pav Bhaji Masala Dosa

Food is what binds people and communities. Every region in India has a delicacy that is native to their area and therefore special. However, sometimes that delicacy is adapted by people across the country to be devoured in their local flavor by adding ingredients according to their convenience, availability and preference. Pav Bhaji Masala Dosa is a classic example.

Pav Bhaji Masala Dosa is a famous street food of Mumbai. Pav-Bhaji Dosa of Annand Dosa in Vile Parle is very famous one. Their Dosa is lavishly smeared with butter .Ever since I make this regularly. I don’t have the heart to be lavish with butter…somehow the low Cal stuff suits the health better. Basically, if you have left over Pav bhaji  and left over idli-dosa batter then you can make this dosa recipe and you will get to taste Pav bhaji as well as dosa. If you have not tasted this dosa before, please do not bother just believe me and try the recipe immediately. I am sure you will be very happy with the unique taste of it and enjoy it like I do.

Ingredients:

Dosa Batter                                    1 cup (See the link)

Left over Pav BhajiMixture               1 cup ( see the link)

Ghee mixed with oil                        2 Tbsp.

Chopped Coriander                         2 Tbsp.

Method:

• Make the tawa ready for making dosa, keep the stove on medium flame and pour a ladle full of batter in the middle of the pan and spread in a circular motion to form a 9 " dosa. Sprinkle some oil on the sides and on the top and cover it with the lid.

• Add the Pav Bhaji in the center of the dosa. Spread the Pav bhaji evenly on the dosa. Sprinkle a little water over the dosa so that it does not stick to the pan. Sprinkle  few coriander leaves over the dosa.

• Now fold the dosa and serve it hot.

 Note:

• Serve the Pav bhaji dosa hot or else it will become soggy if you keep it for long.

Mysore Masala Dosa

Mysore is a southern city in the state of Karnataka, India. Closely located to the state capital Bangalore, it is the second largest city of the state.  Mysore has also lent its name to popular dishes like Mysore Masala Dosa, Mysore Rasam,Mysore Bonda and Mysore Pak. The difference between regular masala dosa and Mysore Masala Dosa   is the Red chutney which is spread thinly over the dosa before the potato curry is laid over it .The inner part of this dosa is liberally smeared with ghee or butter, over which a layer of red chutney is spread and then masala is filled. So, here is the recipe for Mysore masala dosa

For  Dosa Batter

Raw Rice                  1 cup

Idli Rice                   1 cup 

Urad Dal                   ¾ cup

Channa Dal               3 Tbsp.

Toor Dal                    2 Tbsp.

Fenugreek Seeds-       ½  tsp.

Poha (Beaten Rice)      2 Tbsp.

Sugar                         1 tsp

Salt                          - To taste

 Method

• Soak ingredients for at least 5 hrs.
• Wash phova and grind along with soaked ingredients to a thick dosa batter, slightly thinner than Idli batter.
• Allow to ferment at room temperature for overnight.
• Add sugar and salt to taste. Mix well and keep aside.

For Potato Masala:

Potatoes                             10 no

Green chilies                        4 no

Jalapeno                             1 no (optional)

Curry leaves                        1 stem

Turmeric powder                 ¼ tsp.

Grated ginger                     1 tsp.

Chopped cilantro                   2 tbsp

Salt                                   to taste

Seasonings:

Oil                                   1 tsp.

Cumin seeds                     ¼ tsp.

Method of Potato masala

• Pressure cooks the potatoes. Drain and remove skin and mash it. Set aside.
• Heat a sauce pan over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the cumin seed, when it sputtering, lower the heat add the turmeric, ginger, curry leaves and sauté for one minute.
• Add the potatoes, salt mix well and simmer on low for 2 minutes.
• Mix in the chopped cilantro. 

For Red Chutney

Oil                                   1 Tsp.

Long red chilies –             6 no.

Tamarind                       - cherry size ball

Roasted Channa Dal        - A Fistful

Salt                                  To Taste.

Method:

• Roast dry long chilies on a hot tawa/griddle with little oil.
• Grind the chillies along with other ingredients to a smooth thick paste using little water.

For Coconut Chutney

Grind 6 tbsp. of coconut with chutney dhal, ginger, and salt.  Keep aside. Season with mustard seeds

 

Masala Dosa Ingredients:

Dosa Batter

Potato Bhaji

Red Chutney

Fresh unsalted Butter

Ghee mixed with vegetable oil

Method:

• Heat the dosa griddle/ tawa. Simmer the stove. Pour 2 ladle of  batter in the middle of the griddle and spread it in circular way(Spread the batter as thin as possible) Consistency is important.
• Spread 1 tsp of ghee  mixed oil around the dosa and cook till reddish at the bottom.
• Smear the dosa with 1 Tsp of red chili chutney& Coconut chutney
• Now put the potato filling in the middle. 

• Spread oil with a spoon on all the sides and slowly fold the dosa from one side.
• Once done, remove from flame and transfer it to a plate.
• Follow the same steps to make more dosas. Dribble ½ tsp of butter on top of the dosa .
• Mysore masala dosa is ready to be served.
•  Enjoy with coconut chutney and sambhar.

See My other Recipes:

Mysore Rasam

Mysore Rasam Powder

Mysore Bonda

Mysore Pak

Kothimbir Vadi

Kothmbir Vadi

Kothimbir Vadi is a starter / snack that are extremely popular among maharashtrians. When I was in Thane , I ate this many times at my maharashtrian friend’s home. It’s my favorite one. Simple and tasty. 

Ingredients

Coriander Leaves                               1 big bunch

Chick peas flour/besan                        1 cup

Peanut coarsely crushed                     2 tbsp.

Rice flour                                           1 Tbsp.

Ginger Paste                                       1 Tbsp.

Turmeric powder                                1/4 Tsp.

Green Chilies  paste                             1 tbsp

Asafetida                                           - A pinch

Sugar                                                     1Tsp.

Salt                                                     to taste
Baking soda (optional)                         1/8 Tsp.

Oil                                                     for Shallow fry 

For Seasonings:
Oil                                                     1 Tsp.
White Sesame seeds                          1 Tbsp.
Dry coconut                                       2 Tbsp.
Curry leaves                                      few 

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl with water except oil to get a thick batter without any lumps.
• For Steaming I have used steamer trays. You can also use Idli moulds.
• Grease the idli moulds/ Steamer trays with oil. Add batter to it and steam for 20 minutes.
• Let it cool then unmold .If you are using steamer trays then after unmolding cut into slices.
• Heat oil in a pan.  Now, shallow fry the Vadis till they turn golden brown and crispy.
• Heat oil, fry all seasonings and add to the wadis.
• Serve hot with any spicy chutney or sauce.

Note:

• Shallow fry or deep fry the Kothimbir Wadis as per your choice. 
• You can freeze these vadis and its stays up to 2 months.

Oats and green gram dal Dosa (Without Rice)

Starting out your day with a blood sugar stabilizing food such as oats may make it easier to keep blood sugar levels under control the rest of the day, especially when the rest of your day is also supported with nourishing fiber-rich foods.  You want to know more about Eating Oats benefits see here http://www.eatmoreoats.com/health.html

	Steel cut oats	Old-fashioned oats	Quick oats
Description	Also called Irish or Scotch oats, these are cut, not rolled. They look like chopped up rice, take the longest to cook, and have a slightly chewy consistency.	Sometimes called rolled oats, these look like flat little ovals. When processing these oats, the kernels are steamed first, and then rolled to flatten them. They take longer to cook than quick oats, but are quicker than steel cut oats.	Also called instant oats, these oats are pre-cooked, dried, and then rolled. They cook in a few minutes when added to hot water, and have a mushy texture.

Moong beans (Green gram) have numerous nutritional benefits as other beans such as lime beans, and pinto beans.

Health Benefits are:

Helps weight loss, Lowers cholesterol levels, Promote heart health, Contain anti-cancer properties, . Prevent age related muscular diseases and Provides resistance against infectious diseases.

Oats &Green gram dal Dosa is a great healthy, high fiber option to regular Dosa .Oats dosa is nutritious and is highly beneficial to those with high sugar levels. This is diabetic friendly recipe.

Ingredients:

Moong dal/ split green gram             1 cup

Old Fashioned oats/Rolled Oats       1 cup

Green chili                                    4 no.

 Grated Ginger                              2 tbsp.

Chopped curry leaves                     few.

Asafetida                                    ½ tsp.

Salt                                           to taste.

Oil                                            as required.

                                                                                                             

Method:

• Wash and soak the green gram dhal in hot water for 5 hours. Drain excess water. Keep aside.
• Wash and soak the oats for  30 minutes.
• Grind it to a smooth paste along with green gram, green chilies, asafetida, ginger, curry leaves and salt.
• The consistency of a batter should be neither thick nor very thin; it should be like a idli batter.
• Heat the dosa pan, pour the batter and spread it from the center. Pour a tsp. of oil over the edges.
• When one side is cooked well, flip over to the other side. If necessary, add little oil over the edges, and remove when it is fully cooked.
• Serve with coconut chutney and Sāmbhar.

Tips:

• If you like spicier dosa, add   more Green chilies.
• For more flavor, cut some carrot, coriander, mint leaves and mix with batter. Then make dosa as said above. It will give a different taste.

Dosa Batter

Ingredients:

Idli Rice (Boiled Rice)                   4 cups

Urud Dal                                     1 cup

Fenugreek seeds                          3/4 tsp

Tuvar dhal                                   2 tbsp

Salt                                            to taste

Method to prepare Batter

• Wash and clean the rice and dhal and soak separately for 6 hours.
• Grind the dhals with fenugreek seeds and rice for 45 to 60 minutes.
• Mix the dough with hand only. Do not use Spatulas. This is good for fermentation.
• Leave it for fermentation (In winter, Pre heat the oven 275F and switch off and place the batter and leave it for overnight).
• Next day takeout the dough and add salt and mix it with hand.
• Batter is ready.

Idli Batter

Idli is one of the most popular south Indian recipes all over the country. Idli is an ideal breakfast item. Making Idli is not difficult at all; however its preparation takes a little time as the batter for Idli requires fermentation.

In my experience, the key to making soft idli is:

• Using handful of rice/Poha while making the Urdu Daal batter.
• Let the dal soak in water overnight inside a fridge.
•  When grinding dhal and rice use only cold water.
•  Not running the blender continuously, but in short bursts
•  Making sure that the batter (before fermentation) does not have too much     water.
• When you grind the idly batter, the rice should be ground to a fine sooji rava consistency and not to a fine paste.
• To aid fermentation in cold countries, preheat your oven to 200F and put it off. Place the vessel containing the batter on a plate (to collect the overflown batter in case it pours out) and keep oven closed overnight.
• You can use idli rava instead of grinding rice. Just grind the urad batter and mix with idli rava! However, the idlis will be like the udupi style ones, not like the smooth chettinadu style idlis.

Ingredients

Idli Rice – 4 cups

Urdh dhal – 1 cup

Aval (beaten Rice) - 1 cup

Salt to taste

Oil (for greasing the pans)

Method

• Wash and soak the Daal, Poha and rice overnight or for 8 hours.
•  Wash and drain the rice. Grind it coarsely in a grinder.
• Proceed to grind the Urdh Daal, with Poha and required amount of water and make a fine frothy paste.
• Do not add too much water; the water should be sufficient just so that the mixer/grinder motor runs smoothly.
• Now mix the ground rice and Daal together into a batter.
• Mix salt and set aside in a warm place for 8-9 hours or overnight for fermenting.
• Idlis are ready to be cooked when the batter is well fermented.

Oats & Rava Idli

 


Make delicious Oats Rava Idli using this simple recipe from Madappalli.   This oats & Rava Idli is a healthy food that you can have it for your breakfast/dinner. This is very good for diabetic and cholesterol patients.

Ingredients

 Instant Oats                          1 cup

ENO Salt

Rava                                     ¾ cup

Thick curd                              ½ cup                

Grated carrot                           3 tbsp.

Chopped green chilies               4 no

Grated ginger                          1 tbsp.

Chopped curry leaves               1 tbsp

Chopped coriander leaves          2 tbsp.

Chopped cashew nuts                1 tbsp.

Melted ghee                             1 tbsp.

Eno Fruit salt                           1/4 tsp.

Salt                                        To taste

Method:

• Dry roast the instant oats in a pan for 3 minutes.  Keep aside.
• In the same pan, dry roast the rava until you gets a nice aroma from it. Keep it for cool.
• Grind coarsely the oats & rava together in the mixture.
• Take a mixing bowl add oats and rava powder and all above ingredients together.
• Mix everything together with the help of spatula to prepare the oats idli batter.
• If batter becomes too thick, add water and prepare like normal idli or dosa batter.
• Grease the idli plate with oil/ghee and pour the batter in the mould and place the stand only when the water comes to a boil.
• Steam for 10 to 12 mins on a medium high flame.
• Serve hot with Chutney / Podi or Sambhar.

Note

•  Eno is a fruit salt which is composed of basically 60% baking soda and 40% citric acid.
• You can use cracked wheat be used instead of regular rava
  

Kanchipuram Idli

 The humble South Indian breakfast staple - the idli- has an interesting avatar, the Kanchipuram idli. Kanchipuram Idli is a special traditional type of Idli made at Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. This is slightly different from the usual plain Idli. This has a distinct taste of cumin seeds, ginger and pepper. I love the Kanchipuram Idli that my Amma makes.  It is very delicious and easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

Parboiled rice                                 ½ cup 

Raw rice                                           ½ cup

Black gram dhal (Urdh)                   ½ cup

Crushed pepper                               1 tsp.

Grated ginger                                   1tbsp

Cumin seed                                       ½ tsp.

Dry ginger powder                           2 pinches

Asafetida                                         1 pinch

Chopped curry leaves                       1 tbsp.

 Melted Ghee                                      2tbsp.

Gingili oil                                         2 tbsp. 

Method:

• Soak both rice and dhal together for 3 hours. Wash and drain.
• Grind coarsely without adding much water.
• Add salt and mix it well and keep it overnight.
• Next day add crushed pepper, grated ginger, cumin seeds, dry ginger powder, asafetida, curry leaves, melted ghee and oil to the batter and mix well. Add a little water, if batter is too thick.
• Grease the idle holder or pan well and fill each of them with 3/4th full of batter.
• Steam cook idlis on medium flame for about 10 minutes or until done.
• Use a butter knife to remove the idlis.
• It combines with authentic sambar replete with the distinct flavor of asafetida, and a set of mind blowing Coconut Chutney & Coriander Chutney.