Thalipeeth is a type of a savory pancake which is a popular Maharashtrian breakfast/brunch item. In Maharashtra, these thalipeeths are normally made using a flour which is called bhajani. This bhajani is made with various grains and spices roasted and ground together in a flour.
In North Karnataka, however, the thalipeeths are also made with Jowar (Sorghum) flour. Jowar is extremely nutritious and yet very light to digest. Thalipeeth is an easier way to incorporate Jowar in your diet as compared to making rotis (bhakris) which require some practice. Jwari cha thalipeeth is a childhood favorite and was always a great item to be packed for a picnic or long journey. Paired with a some pickles and dahi (yogurt), or even just some homemade tup (ghee), this humble dish has the power to satisfy any hungry soul. The recipe can be accessorized as per your likings and it makes a delicious breakfast, quick lunch or a light dinner. It is one of our preferred lunch items to carry to work. This time I also added a little nachani (finger millet) flour and the result was even more nutritious and flavorful.
This recipe is going to Suganya of Tasty Palettes, who is hosting JFI : Whole Grains. I had been planning to write this post for a long time and send it on time, but as usual work piled up and deadlines had to be met. I am thankful to Suganya for letting me send in a late entry. So before I get caught in any other deadline, lets get straight to the recipe.
Ingredients : (serves 2-3)
2 cups Jwari cha peeth (flour)
4 tbsp Nachani che peeth (finger millet flour)
1/2 an onion chopped finely (can be adjusted as per liking)
2 tsp Red chilli powder (adjust to your liking)
salt to taste
water to knead
Oil to cook
Pan/Griddle
Method :
Mix the jowar flour and nachani flour together in a bowl. Usually I make only jowar thalipeeth and this is the first time I added nachani (Finger millet) to it. Hence there is no fixed ratio for this. You can change the ratio as per your liking or even completely skip the Nachani.
Next, add the chopped onions to the mixture and then add the salt and red chilli powder. You can even add a little chopped cilantro for additional flavor and color. Knead the mixture into a pliable dough using water. Divide the dough into four equal portions. The size of the thalipeeth can be modified. So this much dough might yield more thalipeeths if smaller in size.
Now on a tawa/pan (griddle), take about a tablespoon of oil. Take a portion of the dough, smooth it into a round ball and then start pressing the dough on the tawa with your fingers to make a medium thin roti. Once done, punch in 5 holes into the thalipeeth with you finger, like so....
Now drizzle just a little more oil on top of the thalipeeth and make sure it is spread all over. Cover the tawa with a plate and cook. Check after 3-4 minutes to see if done. Once done on one side, flip and let it cook for a few more minutes. Make sure that it is cooked thoroughly otherwise it will end up tasting raw. When it is cooked on both sides, serve with a dollop of fresh homemade tup (ghee) or some dahi (yogurt) and loncha (pickles) like I did here and enjoy!
I cannot believe this...more than 10 days since my last post! Time sure flies. There were so many things to attend to, the last few days, that I just could not manage to write anything new. My family had started wondering whether I had lost interest in blogging ;) What a scary thought ! :))
Anyhoo, coming back to today's post...the recipe that I am sharing today is really simple and fast to make. We call it 'Dahi- Bhakri' which is nothing but crumbled Jowar roti mixed with plain yogurt and some tadka. Whenever there is leftover Bhakri, the breakfast for next morning is always 'Dahi Bhakri'. When I was in school, a lot of times, my mom used to make this for me as an after-school snack and I used to love it! I even remember, that once, my mom was not at home and my dad offered to make this snack for me. I was so skeptical at this idea, as I had rarely seen my dad in the kitchen. But he, very lovingly made it the way he used to have it as a kid, and boy, was I impressed! To this day, I cherish that afternoon and the taste of his 'dahi bhakri' still lingers on my tongue.
This can also be served for lunch or dinner as a side dish. This is my entry for WBB#15 : Leftovers, hosted by Nandita of Saffron Trail.
Ingredients: (serves 2)
2-3 Leftover Bhakris (Jowar)
4-5 tbsp Plain Yogurt
1/4 cup Milk
2 tbsp Daanyacha koot (Roasted peanut powder)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
Salt
For the phodni (tadka):
1 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp Mohri (mustard seeds)
1/4 tsp Jeera (cumin seeds)
1/4 tsp Hing (Asafoetida)
2 Dried red chillies
1 Big clove of garlic chopped
Method:
Tear the bhakris and then crumble them until you have tiny pieces of the bhakri. This can be easily done in the food processor too. To the crumbled bhakris, add salt, peanut powder and cayenne pepper if using. Now, in a small kadhai, heat the oil. Then add the mustard seeds and once they start popping, add the cumin seeds. Next add the hing and then the red chillies. Fry for a minute and then add the chopped garlic cloves. Fry till they turn golden. Make sure that you don't fry them too much, or else the garlic will become bitter. Pour this phodni (tadka) over the Bhakri mixture. Mix in the yogurt and milk. Mix well. You can adjust the quantity of milk and yogurt to your liking. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Enjoy!
My Dad's Version:
Instead of adding roasted peanut powder, add daanyachi chutney (peanut chutney), which is a dry chutney. I will post the recipe for this chutney in my next post.
I finally did it! 'Two birds in one stone'...:) Ok, before you guys think I have gone crazy, let me explain. Last week I decided to make dosas for the weekend as it was a really long time since I made them at home; the sole reason being, that everytime I used to forget to soak the rice and dal. But not this time...I was determined to have dosas over the weekend. But, instead of the regular dosas, I decided to make Set Dosey. At that time, I had no plan for posting this recipe for a particular event, but I had taken some pictures, just so that I would be able to post it sometime later. Then, on Monday morning, I was generally going through the link that Asha had provided for RCI Karnataka, and while reading through the information, I realized that 'Set Dosey' comes from Karnataka and that this would be a perfect entry for RCI ! And before I could pat myself on the back for such a brilliant discovery, it struck me that this was also a great entry for JFI -- Rice, hosted by Sharmi. This was really a proud moment for me...such brilliance is rare ! ;)) And so I achieved the impossible and 'Two Birds in one Stone'. :))) (How I wish blogger had some smileys....would have made a better impact!)
Karnataka is a state with a lot of diversity in culture and food. The cuisine of North Karnataka is a lot different than that found in south Karnataka. More about this beautiful state here. What comes to my mind when I think of Karnataka?--- First of all its my dad's birth place. He was born in Bijapur, which is famous for the 'Gol Gumbaz', and the only place where I saw brown colored ice being sold on hand carts! :) How shocked was I to see this and imagine the quality of the water...but this was a long time back, when I was still in school... haven't been there since then. Apart from the water experience, its a beautiful place to visit. Foodwise, I associate Karnataka with Dharwadi pedhe (yum!), Kardantu, Mandige, Kunda, Mysore Pak, Mysore Masala Dosa, Chitranna...well, the list is quite long but I just love their cuisine :).
Coming to the recipe, I was first introduced to Set Dosey in Mysore, where I was vacationing with my family and they were the best that I have eaten till date. I also found some really good Set Dosey in one of Pune's popular Udupi Restaurant, 'Wadeshwar'. Set Dosey, are different from the regular dosey, due to their small size and their thickness. Also, in addition to the usual Rice and Urad dal, the batter also has Thick Pohe (Flattened Rice). These dosas are generally served as a pair, hence the name. I have also seen some restaurants serving them in stacks of 3 or 5 just like Pancakes. I am not sure but I vaguely remember these dosas being served with a vegetable curry, but I just paired mine off with Sambhar and green coconut chutney, called 'Kaayi Chutney (green)'. On researching further, I found that there are numerous versions of the recipe. The recipe that I have, was taken from a neighbor back in India, who got this from another friend. This time I used Brown rice for the batter and did not use any oil while making the dosas (thanks to my Non-Stick Tawa), which made these dosas even more healthy ! Enjoy! :)
As mentioned earlier, this recipe is going to both Asha & Sharmi for the RCI event and JFI event respectively.
Ingredients: (makes about 15 dosey)
3 katoris Brown Rice or Regular White Rice
1 katori Thick Pohe
1/4 katori Urad Dal
1 tsp Methi dana (Fenugreek seeds)
Salt
A pinch of sugar (not in the original recipe but I add it because I like it)
Method:
Soak the rice, dal, pohe and methi seeds in water, separately, for at least 6-7 hours. The methi seeds can be soaked along with the urad dal. Once soaked, grind each of them separately and then mix together. The batter should be ground finely. Season with salt and leave it to ferment (preferably overnight). Normally, this takes about 12- 16 hours here in the US. To help the fermentation, preheat the oven a little and then switch it off. Then keep the batter in the oven, covered and with a big plate below to take care of any spills that might occur once the batter has fermented.
Once the batter is ready, heat a non-stick tawa (griddle) and then pour a ladle full of batter on it. Do not spread it as you would while making regular dosa. This dosa is supposed to be thick and small in size. If not using a non stick tawa, coat the tawa with a little oil before you pour the batter and then sprinkle a little oil on the sides of the dosa. Cover it with a plate and let cook for a few minutes. Make sure that the tawa is not too hot otherwise you will end up with dosas that are brown but not cooked through. Once cooked through, flip it and cook a little on the other side (I have read that these are generally cooked only on one side, so its optional to flip and cook them). Once the dosa is nice and golden brown, remove from the tawa and serve hot with chutney and sambhar.
For the Kaayi chutney:
Grind together some grated coconut (I use frozen), cilantro, 1-2 green chillies, and dalia split. I also add some cumin seeds to this.Heat some oil and then add 1/4 tsp urad dal to it. Once it starts turning reddish, add some mustard seeds. When the mustard seed start crackling adda little hing. To this, add a few curry leaves (kadhi patta) and fry for a minute. Pour this over the ground chutney and add some salt to it. Also add a little yogurt to it. Mix well and serve.
(I will post the recipe for Sambhar along with the recipe for sambhar masala in another post later)
A few days ago, I had mentioned in my MeMe, that my blog was a secret and that my family did not know about it. Well, I finally spilled the beans...yay!! :)
Actually, it was a pretty funny incident...my sister who is an avid blog reader, somehow stumbled upon my blog one day. She called me up immediately and asked me if I had seen this particular blog. Now, I was smiling to myself and trying hard to act innocent...she was so amazed by the fact, that a lot of the recipes were exactly the same as mom's recipes and that the blogger had the same background as me :)) Finally, I could not contain myself any longer and I finally confessed to her. She was so happy and proud and couldn't believe how she did not realize it was me ;) She immediately showed my blog to my mom and dad and they were both very happy and proud. Well, thats that...a very memorable incident for me. :) Now on to the recipe...
Ukadpendi is yet another childhood favorite. Now, this was always a special treat for me as my dad did not like it and so, whenever he was out of town, touring, my mom, sister and me would have at least one meal of Ukadpendi. This one dish meal goes perfectly as breakfast, lunch or dinner, and made with wheat flour makes it pretty healthy too. This is also a good meal when you are alone for lunch/dinner. So here goes...
Ingredients: (serves 2)
1 cup Kanik (Wheat Flour/Atta)
1/2 an onion chopped
3/4 cup beaten yoghurt/buttermilk
About 2 cups of hot water (you may not need to use all the water)
A little more than 1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp Mohri (Mustard seeds)
1/2 tsp Jeere (Cumin seeds)
1/4 tsp Hinga (Asafoetida)
1/2 tsp Halad (Turmeric)
2-3 Dried red chillies
1 tsp Cayenne pepper (or to taste)
Salt
Cilantro to garnish
Method:
First, dry roast the wheat flour in a pan till it turns reddish brown. Keep stirring otherwise you will end up with burnt flour. Your nose will tell you when its ready. Keep aside. While you are doing this, start heating some water in another vessel.
Next, heat the oil in a kadhai. Add the Mohri, Jeere, Hinga and Halad to make a phodni (tadka). Next throw in the dried red chillies. Fry for a minute and then add the chopped onions. Sautee till they turn translucent. Now add the roasted wheat flour to the kadhai. Mix and then add the beaten yoghurt/buttermilk. Mix well and then add about 1 cup of the hot water (just as you would while making upma). Mix it. The wheat flour will start cooking and get fluffy. If required add more water. Add salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Cover and cook for a few minutes. Uncover and garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve hot.
Rice -- the mere mention of it comforts me. When I was in India, I used to have rice twice a day and would not mind if there were no chapatis. But after coming here, I realized that eating so much rice did not quite agree with my body (read figure :)), and so with a lot of efforts, I reduced my intake of rice, especially White Rice. And yet, I still feel that hot rice with a dollop of homemade Tup (ghee) and salt is the ultimate comfort food! Try it if you have never tried it before, you will not regret it even one bit :). Luckily, these days, we are getting Ambemohar rice in our grocery store, which is a very aromatic and flavorful rice. Generally, this variety is also best suited for Varan- Bhaat (Plain dal with rice) and the combination is simply out of this world!!!
Having said that, sometimes I end up with leftover rice and am at a loss of ideas to finish it and not let it go waste. I also don't want to go with the usual options of curd-rice, fried rice, pulav, dal-rice (I know I am picky ;))...so what do I do? Well, I turn to this simple and quick Maharashtrian recipe of jazzing up the rice which can be served as breakfast/brunch, lunch or dinner. With some yogurt and pickle on the side, you have a delicious lip-smacking one dish meal within minutes.
This is my entry for JFI - Rice which is hosted by Sharmi of 'Neivedyam'.
Ingredients:(serves 2)
1 cup cooked rice (I have used Basmati, but you can use any variety)
1/2 an onion chopped lengthwise
2-3 Dried red Chillies
2 tsp Roasted peanuts (optional)
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp Mohri (Mustard seeds)
1/2 tsp Jeere (Cumin seeds)
1/4 tsp Hing (Asafoetida)
1/2 tsp Halad (Turmeric)
1 tbsp Oil
Chopped Cilantro to garnish
Method:
In a kadhai, heat the oil. Add the mohri and once it begins to pop, add the jeere. Once the jeera starts sizzling, add hing and halad. Next add the onions and fry till they turn translucent. Then add the dried red chillies and fry for a minute. At this point, throw in the peanuts if using. Finally add the rice, cayenne pepper and salt and mix well. Cover and let cook for a minute or so. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.
Here is a closer look,
This is the first time that I am participating in the Weekend Breakfast Blogging event started by Nandita of Saffron Trail fame. This month's WBB is hosted by Trupti of The Spice Who Loved Me and her theme is: Spice It Up!
Weekend breakfast is a festive event. Normally, during the week, my husband and me survive on cereal for breakfast, but weekends I like to have something different. Then again, how many times can one make the traditional 'Upma' and 'Pohe'. I know, I know, I can be really difficult at times...and I am sure my husband will agree on this ;) So 'moong dal chile' is one recipe that takes no time at all to make, is healthy because it does not involve even a drop of oil, and tasty at the same time; as everyone is aware, moong dal itself is easy to digest, so you don't have to feel guilty of having one extra... You can easily increase the quantity of the batter depending on the number of people. I have picked up this recipe from my mom, who I think got it from one of her North Indian friends. Enjoy!
Ingredients:(makes about 8-10 Chile)
Moong dal (split yellow or whole green) 1 cup
Water about 1/2 cup
Grated ginger or paste 1 tsp
Green chilli paste 1 tsp (adjust according to how hot the chillies are)
Chopped Cilantro
Salt
Method:
Soak the moong dal in water for 30 minutes. You can use either the split yellow dal or the whole green ones for this. I have used the yellow dal this time. While the dal is soaking, make the ginger-chilli paste, have some tea, check your mails or just laze around...:) Once the dal has been soaked in water, grind it into a fine batter along with some water. Add the ginger-chilli paste, chopped cilantro and salt. Taste the batter and adjust for seasoning. The consistency of the batter should be like that as of a dosa.
Now heat a nonstick tawa. Once the tawa is hot, spread the batter just as you would when
making a dosa. There is no need to put any oil on this. Once done the moong dal chile will start coming off from the side. Flip it and cook on the other side. Serve hot with a dollop of plain unsalted butter. For those who do not want to ruin this healthy, non-greasy breakfast, just enjoy the chile with some ketchup or chutney of your choice (green chutney or regular idly chutney would also go well with this). This can easily be served as brunch or a snack when you have unexpected guests.
Weekends at our place are so lazy...by the time we wake up and make our weekly calls back home, we have missed breakfast time and close to lunch. On top of that, many a times we have run out of veggies but have leftover polis (chapatis). So this is the perfect occasion for another of our childhood favourites---'Phodnichi Poli' or 'Policha Kuskara' as some people call it. This is a very good way to use leftover, stale polis and a great option for breakfast or for a quick snack in between. As a kid I used to plead my mom to make this dish whenever there were some extra chapatis. Of course, my wish was not always granted, but whenever my mom did make this dish, it was a real treat for me. You will not find any Maharashtrian kid who has not heard of this dish and hence this recipe is going for the RCI-Maharashtrian Cuisine event, hosted by Nupur of 'One Hot Stove'.
Ingredients: (serves 2)
Leftover poli 4
Chopped onion 1 medium or 1/2 big
Kadhipatta (Curry) leaves 2-3
Daane (Peanuts) optional 1tsp
Sugar 1/2 tsp
Cayenne pepper 1 tsp
Salt
Mohri (mustard seeds) 1/4 tsp
Jeera (Cumin seeds) 1/4 tsp
Hing (Asafoetida) 1/4 tsp
Halad (Turmeric) 1/2 tsp
Oil for phodni (tadka) 1 tbsp
Method:
Tear the poli (chapati) very fine and crumble it (we call it 'kuskara karne'). This can be done in two ways. Either tear the poli into big pieces, and run them in the food processor till you get really tiny pieces of poli; or just keep rubbing the pieces of poli between your palms to crumble it into tiny pieces. The tinier the pieces the better. Once done, sprinkle sugar, cayenne pepper and salt on this. It will look like this...
Now heat the oil in a kadhai. Once heated add the mohri, jeere, hing and halad to make the phodni (tadka). To this add the kadhipatta leaves. Fry for a minute and then add the chopped onions. Fry till they turn translucent. Next, add the peanuts if using. Fry a little and then add the poli mixture. Mix together, check for taste. Cook covered for a minute or so. Do not cook for a long time otherwise it will turn tough. Garnish with some cilantro and serve with a dollop of dahi (plain yogurt).
'Ratala' which is the Marathi name for 'Sweet Potato' is a starchy root vegetable. It is relatively low in calories and has no fat or cholesterol. It is rich in beta-carotene, and has five times the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A. It is also loaded with potassium. More on the Sweet Potato here.
When I first came to the US, I had great confusion regarding this vegetable. I am sure you are curious as to why...well, I knew this vegetable as 'Ratala' in my native language and as 'Sweet Potato' in English. So whats the problem, right? The problem was that the Sweet Potato is called 'Yam' in the US of A and the 'Yam' as Sweet Potato! So much confusion! Finally, I turned to a source which I knew would not let me down...Google, and as was expected got all the answers I needed. What a happy ending! :)
Moving on...'Ratala' for Maharashtrians is always associated with fasting (Upaas). It is one of the few vegetables that is allowed to be consumed during a fast.Some of the few days when a majority of Maharashtrians observe a fast are Ekadashi, Mahashivratri, Sankashti chaturthi, etc...
When I was growing up, I used to love it when my mom & dad were fasting. There were two good reasons for this; one, I would not have to eat poli- bhaaji (chapati -vegetable), and two, the spread that was laid out on the table during a fast was much more delicious...there used to be 'ratalyacha kees', sabudana (sago) khichadi, 'kakdichi koshimbir' (cucumber salad), 'daanyacha ladoo' (peanut laddoo-- I will post this recipe soon), 'upaasachi batata bhaaji' (stir- fried potato)...I think you get the picture. All the dishes were generally cooked in homemade ghee and the minimal of spices were used, mainly, green chillies cumin seeds and salt! It was a feast in itself!!! And I am sure you are wondering as to why is this called a 'Fast'? ;) But we have a saying to justify our behaviour, 'Ekadashi ani duppat khaashi' , which simply means that during a fast, people eat double of what they normally would eat. I must warn you though, that eating huge quantities of these dishes on a single day might give you a little bit of acidity due to the generous use of crushed peanuts.
My husband and me both enjoy these recipes frequently even if we are not fasting. They sometimes make for a quick breakfast or brunch and are always delicious. So today, as part of Nupur's 'R' of Indian Vegetables, I am going to share my recipe for 'Ratalyacha Kees' which is nothing but stir-fried grated Sweet Potato. This recipe is also going for 'RCI- Maharashtrian Cuisine'.
Ingredients:
Ratali (Sweet Potatoes) 2
Jeera (Cumin seeds) 1 tsp
Hirvi Mirchi (Green chillies) 2-3 chopped
Crushed peanut powder 1 -2 tbsp
Oil / Saajuk Tup (ghee) 1 tbsp
Salt as per taste
Kothimbir (Cilantro) to garnish
Method:
Wash the sweet potatoes thoroughly, wipe them dry with a cloth and then grate them. You can either peel the skin off or leave it. I generally do not peel off the skin. Make sure that if you are not going to cook the grated sweet potatoes immediately, cover them with water like this...
In a pan/kadhai, heat the oil/ghee. Add the jeera and then the green chillies. Fry for a minute
or so, and then add the grated sweet potatoes (make sure to squeeze out the water from the potatoes before adding to the pan). Mix well, cover with a lid and cook for about 3-4 minutes till white steam escapes from the pan. Once cooked, add the crushed peanut powder (make sure the peanuts are roasted), and salt to taste. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot. To enjoy it even more, serve a little plain yogurt on the side.
Now drizzle just a little more oil on top of the thalipeeth and make sure it is spread all over. Cover the tawa with a plate and cook. Check after 3-4 minutes to see if done. Once done on one side, flip and let it cook for a few more minutes. Make sure that it is cooked thoroughly otherwise it will end up tasting raw. When it is cooked on both sides, serve with a dollop of fresh homemade tup (ghee) or some dahi (yogurt) and loncha (pickles) like I did here and enjoy!
