Fried masala idli's with a coconut chutney

I am not sure i have mentioned this before, but i have never ever made my own dosa/ idli batter. Even when i was in Chennai and in spite of having an awesome maid i still used to buy the ready mix and i was very happy with it. Enter Nottingham and we had to pay close to 6 quid for a dosa whenever we craved it..which was actually not too often. We didn't miss dosa/ idli an awful lot to actually grind and make the batter. So the occasional visits to the mallu restaurant just around the corner was a lot enough to quench our requirement.

London was different. East Ham, the hub of South Indian restaurants and grocery stores, was like culture shock. Even though it was a bit far away from where we stayed, a once in two months visit there gave us the pleasure of acquiring all things mallu. We also discovered that idli/ dosa batter was available in packets..freshly made and was glad we didn't have to pay a humongous amount of money to satisfy our dosa cravings. So now we pick up 2 on each of our visits to East Ham and that lasts us for ever. When we get sick of the dosa and idli, we buy an uppma mix (yes, i have never made my own and don't intend to either...the MTR ones are so awesome) and gobble on that . Honestly, Indian food is no longer a preference in our household now. We are so happy with the pastas and the bakes and the stir fries. Initially we had to have rice at least once a week..now we don't even miss it and so don't have to whip up a million other curries and veggies to go with it.

So last weekend we headed to East Ham and picked up a packet of dosa batter, but completely forgot to buy the sambar powder. So i had to make do with a coconut chutney and some fish curry (again the instant ones). Had a wee bit of batter left over from the dosa and so tried out fried idli's which my grand mom used to make as a tea-time snack. Now, as much as i like the idea of a tea-time snack, its horrible to have to slog it out and make something on your own and then enjoy it. By the time I'm done making it and cleaning up, I am in no mood to enjoy what i made. Same story for almost everything i make btw!

The recipe for fried idli and chutney was adapted from a blog i stumbled upon. They have named it Masala Paniyaram, a name I'm familiar with but I've always referred to it as fried masala idli. Now i didn't have the particular vessel to fry them in, so i used a mini egg pan and made cookie-size idli's which were so cute and came out just as i wanted.

Fried Idli

Idli batter- 1 cup

English Shallots- 2, roughly chopped

Green chilli- 3, chopped

Ginger- 1 inch piece, roughly chopped

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Pepper pwd- 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves- a handful, chopped

Coriander leaves- a handful, chopped

Salt- to taste

Asafoetida- a pinch

Oil- enough to fry

Mix all the above ingredients together, except the batter, and lightly crush with a pestle or the back of a spoon...just to get the flavours out. Add the batter to this and mix well. Check for salt, spice etc. and add more if required.

Heat oil in the pan and pour a spoon full. Flip and fry the other side after a few minutes.

Drain on paper towels and serve with chutney.

Notes: I added quite a bit of curry leaves and coriander leaves because i love the taste. You can reduce it if you want.

I added a wee bit of ghee to the oil just to get a nice flavour...its not advisable to do so on a regular basis, for obvious health reasons.

I am not typing out the chutney recipe as I followed the exact measurements and procedure as mentioned here. I personally would have liked it a bit more spicy. Maybe next time.

Ah, so thats how a thoran is made!

As you might have already guessed from the title, yesterday i learned how exactly to make an authentic mallu speciality- the thoran (vegetables of your choice with coconut). Till now i was making a mezhukupuratti (something entirely different), throwing in some coconut and calling it a thoran and wondered why it never turned out the sadya (feast) way. Ro used to shout at me asking why i am so stingy when it comes to putting coconut in my thoran and i used to retaliate saying, too much was not healthy. This time i went home, i saw my mom, mom-in-law using coconut oil lavishly and when questioned they said according to recent developments coconut oil was the healthiest..it apparently maintains cholesterol levels. Now that's news. So anyways, yesterday i decided to go veg. (basically i was lazy to go out and shop) and made a carrot and beans thoran and boy did it taste good. And its easy too. I followed Maria's recipe to the dot and it was perfect. Thanks Maria, i now know how different a thoran is from the mezhukupuratti. Ro thought it tasted different. 'Dude that's cos its the real thing.' He is so used to eating the shit i make, that if you give him the real thing he would say its horrible. Now i would say that's good training :)

Easiest Beef Fry ever..Mallu style

The last few times i tried making beef fry, it just didn't turn out well. My mom in law makes the yummiest beef fry and when we were in Chennai she used to send down a packet if someone came to Chennai. Now that we are in UK, we dont have such advantages and have to make do with what i prepare. I used to make it in large quantities and freeze, and as and when required, sautee it in oil and onions and have it. But it never used to taste like hers. First of all, washing and cleaning it kinda puts me off the whole thing and even after its cooked thoroughly I keep thinking it tastes/smells raw. Yeah i know i know, I'm just making a fuss. But whatever it is, my dear husband wholeheartedly eats it and even compliments me...so no worries:)

But just the other day i had some friends over and made a small batch for starters and it actually was not that bad. Kerala style beef fry and a glass of red wine was perfect to kick start the evening.

Here is the recipe:

Beef- 500 gms cut into cubes

Onions- 1 large

Green Chillies- 2 split lengthwise

Ginger Garlic paste (gg paste)- 2tsp

Coconut slices- a handful

Powders:

Coriander pwd- 1tsp

Pepper pwd- 2 tsp

Turmeric pwd-1/4 tsp

Chilli pwd- 1tsp

Garam masala- 1tsp

Curry leaves- 2 sprigs

Coconut oil- 2 tbs

Salt to taste

Heat oil in a pressure cooker and sautee the onions, green chillies and one sprig of curry leaves till done (till the raw smell dies). To this add the gg paste, mix well for a minute or so. Then goes in the powders. Sautee well till the raw smell goes. Add the washed beef cubes and the coconut slices to this mix. Make sure the beef cubes are coated well with the masala. Close the lid and cook on high fire. Once the steam comes out, place the nozzle and reduce fire to medium. After the first whistle (or approx 8 to 10mins.), turn off fire and take the cooker off the burner. Wait for the pressure to release on its own and then open the lid. It would be in a semi gravy state. If there is too much water, put it back on the fire and cook it open, till the water evaporates and the cubes absorb the masala completely. At this stage if you want, you can cool it down, zip lock and freeze it. And as and when required, you can do the next stage:

In a frying pan, heat the rest of the coconut oil, throw in the curry leaves and the cooked beef. Sautee it till the beef becomes nice and brown. If you need it dry, you can keep it on for a longer time. I like mine a bit moist.

Note: The beef we get here cooks really fast, so i keep it on for only about 8mins. I guess it depends.

This time i used coconut oil and it made a world of a difference, at least to me. We don't really like/use that much coconut oil in our cooking, so this was a delightful change and i liked it. You can use any other vegetable oil if you prefer.

The coconut slices are available here...obviously frozen..I'm sure the fresh ones taste much better.

I didn't have tomatoes so i skipped that bit. You can put it in just before you add the powders.

If you are not that big a fan of curry leaves, you just need to use one sprig and put it only in the last stage...the final frying stage or choose not to put them at all. I love the flavour it gives and so get a little carried away at times