Idli Sambar

                                      Initially,my idea was to post my recipes and recollections in the same blog.Several titles linking both, occurred in my mind, only to be rejected.READ AND COOK was the title with which I started.The blog address readrelaxrejoice seemed to be long.KARS KITCHEN,the name,being a part of our community,with the intention of helping our Saiva Pillai youth replaced the first title.Finally an " enlightenment" made me honour my efforts and name. This is the history of my blog name and address, PONNI'S KITCHEN
                                     The recipe of this hotel idli sambar, a hit always with idlies and all dosais,I came to know from a neighbour and relative,Tmt.Velammal in Madurai.She is no more and I dedicate this recipe to her.The great secret of this delicious sambar is to cook the onion along with the dhal,she observed from a cook during a marriage.

Idli Sambhar

Ingredients:

Toor Dhal : 1 cup.
Sambar onions : 2 cups
Carrot : 1
Potato :1
Beans : 6
Drumstick : 1
Tomatoes : 2
Tamarind : goosebury size
Green chillies : 8
Salt : 1 1/2 tsp
Turmeric : 1/4 tsp.
Asafoetida : 1 pinch
Sambar powder : 1tsp
Cooking oil : 2 tsp.
For seasoning:
Mustard : 1/2 tsp
Urad dhal : 1/4 tsp
Red chillies : 3
Curry leaves and coriader leaves

Method
1.Cut the onions,carrot,beans ,drumstick,tomatoes and potato.Slit the chillies.Soak the tamarind in warm water.

2.Cook the dhal with the onion,chillies,tomatoes and potato in a pressure cooker.if you are very particular about sauting the onions in oil,do so and cook with dhal and the other veg.,tomatoes and chillies.Only cooking the onion with the dhal gives the good taste,something very spl. about idli sambar.

3.If the drumsticks are cooked in the pressure along with the toor dhal,they may split and get over cooked.They can be cooked separately with a little salt and a little water in a pressure cooker.Even before the hissing starts,switch off the flame.Open the cooker with in a few mins. and keep the cooked drumsticks aside.Then cook the dhal and the other things.Orelse,when the dhal is getting cooked in the cooker,the drumsticks can be cooked in a vessel with a little salt and water, in the other stove.

4.Add the water extracted from tamarind,salt ,turmeric powder,asafoetida ,cooked drumsticks and sambar powder to the pressure cooked dhal.Stir well ,adding some water to make it to the required sambar consistency and allow to boil on medium flame.Close with the lid,leaving a small gap.Stir in between and let it boil for 10 mins.

5.Season with the mustard,urad dhal,broken red chillies and curry leaves.Add coriander leaves.A little sugar or jaggery can be mixed for the unique taste.
Note:
Time: 20 mins.
To serve : 4 to 5 persons.
With such tasty idli sambar,the idlies will disappear in no time.
Big onions can also be used if small sambar onions are not available
Roasted and powdered coriander seeds,channa dhal and fenugreek can be added in the end apart from the sambar powder for enhanced flavour.The ingredients and the measurements will be posted later under " Masala Powder"
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　

Idli, the king of tiffin items

                               My daughter chuckled,"Amma,,the recipe for idlies,a very common dish.Yes, they are common but the best,easy to prepare,nutritious,free from oil and spices.Above all,the great comfort food for all ages,right from 8 months to 80 years,quick and easy for digestion.The day starts for us with a cup of coffee.We can't imagine ,even a single day without it.It is at once a common and a popular drink.So are the  idlies.Iyyengars are synonymous with puliodarai and akkaravadisel,the chettinad people for their paniyaram and so many other dishes, the Hydrabadis,the briyani,the Bengalies and the Rasagula.The same with the Saiva Pillai ,esp. of T'veli and idlies,vatha kulambu,vegetable koottus,pacchadies,kicchadies,kootanchoru,sodhi etc.                                         
                           Today it seems to be a refrain with most of the youth and some of the adults,"Idlies,O boring"Half a dozen of our soft ,malligaipoo like idlies offered to one such person, would disappear in no time.So no marriage or feast in TN is complete sans,idlies,one of the items during breakfast or dinner.This recipe is going to be invaluable only to the tiny tots of cooking.The procedure seems long,due to the small tips for the making of the soft idlies.Idli batter can be the most precious item in any fridge,esp. for the South Indians.Immediately,you can start preparing idlies,dosais,onion roast,podi roast etc.

Ingredients:

Idli rice(pulungal arisi/parboiled rice/vellai karam)       4 cups
Whole,white urad dhal(vellai muzhu uzhundhu)            1 cup
Fenugreek(vendhayam)                                             1 tsp
Salt                                                                        2 tbsp/according to taste

Method:

1. Soak rice atleast for 4 hrs. and the urad dhal should be soaked for only one hour,if kept outside.Inside the fridge,it can be soaked for more time .The people who feel it,a drudgery and like to complete the work early in the morning ,can soak the dhal at night and keep it inside the fridge.Rice can be soaked and kept outside.If you want to grind in the evening after coming from work,soak both the rice and the dhal in the morning.Keep the dhal in the fridge and the soaked rice can be kept outside.Wash well before soaking.


2.It is better to grind the urad dhal first.Put the dhal in the grinder with 3/4 cup of water and switch on .After 5 mins.,clear the dhal sticking to the bottom and the sides of the drum and sprinkle 3/4 cup of water.Repeat this again after 5 mins. and for every 5 mins.At the end of 20 or 25 mins., depending on the quality of the dhal,if the batter is fluffy, it can be transferred to the vessel.


3.Then put the soaked rice in the grinder.In a conventional model grinder,first add 3/4 cup of water.For every 5 mins. add water,clearing the rice,sticking to the bottom and the sides.If it is a table top grinder,more water has to be added in the beginning .Otherwise,the grinder may get stuck up.If required,a little water can be added later.When the dough is fine( one stage before very fine),transfer it to the vessel with the dhal.Rinse the drum with 1/2 cup of water and keep aside.Add salt and mix the rice and the dhal batter together well.The consistency of the mixed dhal should be little loose,light and fluffy.If it is hard,the rinsed water can be added,which would make the idlies and dosas soft.Allow it to ferment atleast for 8 to 10 hours.Then store it in the fridge.It can be stored in one or two containers separately,easy for handling.


Note :
         The quality of the ingredients,the technique of grinding,the consistency of the batter and the preparation of the idlies or dosais are equally important .In the grocery shop,it is sold as idli rice,either vellai karam or Ponni.We use the same batter for dosais and idlies.Always,take the required quantity of batter in a small vessel and use.For dosais add a little more water and make the batter,a little loose, before preparing the dosais.The whole urad dhal available in Chennai or Coimbatore is extremely good that we use rice and dhal only in the ratio of 5: 1 .Yet with good grinding,the idlies turn out to be very soft.I'll post the recipes of the gravies for the idlies in the next post.
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　

SHREWSBURY BISCUITS

                                Let me thank Loga,my daughter's friend who introduced me to this world of blogs.The history of my baking dates back to 1970s,when an aunty(the mother of one of the well known orthopaedic surgeons of Coimbatore)from Coimbatore who was our neighbour and friend in Tirunelveli taught us how to make cakes and biscuits at home.The uncle was holding a high position in the education department.She even got the cake oven,made of iron,costing Rs.5 ,from Cbe. and it had to be used on the kerosene stove.Then entered in the market,the ANANDA CAKE OVEN,costing Rs.50, and the cakes were baked in the aluminium oven,placed on an iron plate of sand,heated by a gas stove.There was the pamphlet, SPONGE CAKE by Chandrani Wiliams,an add on product. 


                               This Choosebury Biscuit,that is how we colloquially call it, is very popular till date in the local bakeries of Tamil Nadu.The recipe,I came to know from my neighbour in Madurai in the early 80s.At that time,Vanaspathi was used for biscuits and we used butter for cakes.

                             Dalda,as Vanaspathi ,called by the brand name in those days, was supposed to be an "elite element" in the preparation of Sweets,Pongal and the all time favourite of TN, the Mysore Pak.Ghee was only used for the "final touch up".The preface may be long,the process of baking is simple.

Biscuits ready for baking

Biscuits after baking

Ingredients:

Butter 150 grams.
Sugar 150 grams. ( 3/4 cup)
All purpose flour(Maida) 250 gms.( 2cups)
Baking powder 1 tsp.

Method:

1. Powder the sugar.Sieve the flour with the baking powder.Grease the cookies plate with ghee.

2.Mix the powdered sugar well with the butter using a blender or a wooden ladle.

3.Add the maida little by little and knead as done for chappathies.

4.The final dough should not be hard.It has to be a little loose and flexible,as it has to be made into small balls and flattened.If the dough is hard,cracks may develop along the sides of the biscuit.At times,even a little maida may be left after the right consistency of the dough is reached.Do not worry.

5.Take a little dough,roll it into a ball and flatten it, approximately one inch diameter.It may expand after baking .Do like this with  the whole dough.Arrange them in the cookies tray, with space in between for expanding and may be 2 trays are needed for the biscuits,roughly 60 in number.

6.Preheat the oven to 350 degree F . Keep the two trays in the oven .After 15 mins,open the door,gently lift a biscuit ,inserting a knife at the bottom.Wear hand gloves.If the biscuit is even a little brown at the bottom,remove the trays from the oven .The top of the biscuit may be a little soft.It becomes alright on cooling.Leave the 2 trays with the biscuits aside.After 30 mins.,store them in airtight containers.



Note:
Final products. 500 gms. 
Total time taken : 40mins.

If you are using an electric oven like Bajaj or something similar,set the temp., a little less than high , preheat for 10 mins. and bake the biscuits.I use only stainless steel plates of the max. size, that can fit into the oven.Arrange them in the plate and bake them.While they ere getting baked,arrange the rest of the biscuits in another plate of the same size.When the first  plate with biscuits are ready,remove and allow them to cool.keep the second plate inside for baking.