Ragi Idli

I first tried these Idlis using a ready-made pack of Ragi Idli mix. It turned out so good that I wanted to try making it from scratch. It wasnt really difficult the recipe is just like our normal idlis except you subsitute rice with Ragi. The Udad daal-Ragi combo is so healthy and filling, I am thinking of making it more often.

Ingredients:

1 cup udad daal and 1 tsp Methi soaked together in water for 2 hours
2 cups ragi flour
For seasoning:
1 tbs Jeera, 3 Red chilies broken into smaller pieces, 1 tsp channa dal and oil.

Method:

1. Grind daal to a smooth consistency and add water only to help with the grinding process.
2. Add the ragi flour to the ground daal
3. Heat oil in a small pan and roast the seasoning ingredients, pour this on top of the batter
4. Add salt to the batter, mix well and leave it to ferment overnight
5. Once its fermented steam them and serve it with chutney of your choice.

Samosa

Summer is over and its starting to get cloudy/foggy with occasional drizzles. What could be better than watching it rain by the windowsill enjoying fresh hot samosas. That's what set the mood to try it out at home. I picked the recipe from Manjula's kitchen and I am very thankful to her for sharing it with us.

Ingredients for stuffing:
3 boiled potatoes cubed
2 green chilies
1/2 cup green peas
1 tsp cumin
2 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp coriander powder
salt

Ingredients for the shell:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp semolina (rava)
About 1/2 cup water
2 tbsp oil
salt

Method for the outer shell:
Mix all the ingredients for the shell and knead to make a smooth dough(stiff like chapathi dough so you can roll them). The more you knead the crunchier the shell gets, so knead away :) Leave the dough covered with a wet kitchen towel for about 20 mins.

Method for the stuffing:
Heat a little oil in a pan and cumin followed by chilis, all the spices and then the peas. Let the peas cook through and then add potatoes and salt.Mix well and leave covered for 5 mins and turn off the heat.

Assemble the samosa:
Make round balls of the dough and then roll them into a circle, cut the circle into half using a knife. Place the stuffing in one semi circle then fold it into a triangle. Seal all the sides using little water. Deep fry them so that they are golden brown.

Serve with green chutney.