Cooking

Since I’ve been on a bit of a health streak lately, I’ve been introduced to millets. It’s not like I didn’t know what they were earlier, but it’s only now that I’m discovering how easy it is to use and adapt to them.

What are millets?

Millets are essentially small grains from the grass family. Coarse millet grains have been eaten around the world for thousands of years.

There are a range of millets available today, many known by their local names. Examples include finger millet (ragi or nachni), little millet (sama), foxtail millet (kangni), sorghum millet (jowar), proso millet and kodo millet. Just because they are all called millets doesn’t mean they are all the same. They differ in nutrient profile and texture.

For instance, I found proso millet more brown rice-like than little millet which made it easier for me to adapt to it and have with my daily dal. On the other hand, a friend loves little millet.

Either way, it’s good to try different millets to see what works best for you, and also to get your body a range of nutrients.

Cooking millets

I usually cook millets like I cook my brown rice- in my Mealthy Multipot. I use the same proportion of water like I do for brown rice and as of now, I prefer cooking it in the pot-in-pot method since I generally cook less quantities and because it makes washing up easier (yes I know, lazy me!).

Millets expand a lot on cooking, almost doubling in volume. So I generally cook only 1/3 cup at a time. Sometimes when I go extra, I wonder what to do with the leftover millet. Here is an idea: millet poha!

a bowl of homemade millet poha — My homemade millet poha

RECIPE: Millet poha

Leftover cooked millet 1 cup

Mustard seeds ½ tsp

Cumin seeds 1 tsp

4-5 curry leaves

1 onion, finely chopped

1 green chilli, finely chopped

½ cup of mixed veggies finely chopped (carrots, French beans, capsicum, cauliflower, peas)

½ tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Half a lemon

A few coriander leaves

1 tbsp oil of your choice

Method:

In a pan, heat oil.

When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and let them sizzle for a few seconds.

Then add cumin seeds, followed by curry leaves and onions. Saute the onions for a minute or two. (we don’t need to brown them).

Add chopped vegetables and very little turmeric powder, and mix well.

Then add ¼ cup of water, cover the pan and let the veggies cook.

Once they are done, uncover the pan and add the cooked millets, along with salt and rest of the turmeric powder. Mix well.

Cook again for a minute or two, ensuring that the millet is evenly mixed with the vegetables.

Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Add lemon juice and sprinkle coriander leaves.

Serve hot with green coriander chutney or coconut chutney.

In Cooking, Cooking for newbies, Uncategorized

Mealthy MultiPot Review

Speaking ChicJune 12, 2020June 12, 2020Leave a comment

I’m certain I’m not the only one who’s had a tough time with household chores since the lockdown began in March. Despite the tremendous support from the husband, my very active infant leaves me with not enough time or energy for tasks like cooking, cleaning and simply managing my life.

And so, I was on the hunt for appliances to make my life easier, now and in the long run. (Has anyone checked if dishwasher and vacuum cleaner sales spiked during or after the lockdown?). I especially wanted something that would make cooking easier, given the amount of time it consumes every day and the sweltering heat.

Some friends who have lived abroad had mentioned the Mealthy pot a couple months ago, just before the lockdown began, so as soon as I heard Mumbai was allowing delivery of “non-essentials”, I quickly logged on to their website, explored it features, and I was SOLD. A few clicks later, and Amazon confirmed that my 6 litres Mealthy MultiPot was on its way.

There was much excitement when it arrived, therefore sadly no unboxing video. But now that I’ve been using this appliance every day since it arrived, it’s time to post my Mealthy MultiPot review.

Mealthy MultiPot with silicon mitts — The Mealthy MultiPot comes with silicon mitts like these red ones.

What the Mealthy MultiPot does

Dubbed the “9-in-1 Programmable Smart Electric Pressure Cooker”, think of the Mealthy as a pressure cooker on genius pills. Basically, you put your ingredients in it (vegetables, grains, meat, seasonings), add sufficient liquid (such as water or stock), select a cooking programme with a specific time, and voila! Your dish is ready.

What you can cook

I’ve tried regular Indian dishes in my Mealthy MultiPot so far, such as:

Brown rice
Khichdi
Several types of dal
Sambhar
Dhansak
Boiled eggs
Dry subzis such as capsicum and aloo gobi

And they have all turned out well. The final dish is the same result as it would be after cooking in a kadhai, wok or a pot or standard pressure cooker on my stovetop burner.

You can also prepare oats, curries and cakes, steam vegetables, dhokla or idlis, and stir fry dishes. Lots of food ideas are out there. Some of the standard programmes include eggs (for soft or hard boiled), multigrain (for brown rice, oats, quinoa and the like), poultry (for chicken), and slow cooker (for those ultra special dishes).

My Mealthy MultiPot already has its first battle scars!

Some cool features of the Mealthy MultiPot

Cooking timer: You decide how long to cook each dish, depending on your preferences. So if you like your rice a tad al dente, you can cook for a shorter duration. So each dish is completely customised to your taste.

Sealed lid: The Mealthy lid won’t open while there’s still pressure inside, which makes the pot a very safe appliance to have in your kitchen.

Cooking indicator: An LCD screen tells you what stage of cooking is going on (pre-heating, cooking, or complete), so you’re not confused if you lose track of time writing your blog post (ahem).

Keep warm: Cooking done? The Mealthy will switch to Keep Warm mode so the food doesn’t get cold, and you don’t need to reheat.

Delayed start: For me, the most exciting feature is the delay start button, which lets you set the timer for the cooking start time. So you can set the cooker for, say, six hours from now, fill in the cooker settings, add your ingredients, seal the pot, and then let the magic happen on its own, while you are away. Which means, that you can technically wake up to a cooked breakfast or come home to a ready dinner.

What I’m liking about the Mealthy MultiPot

The Mealthy’s features are easy to use and fairly intuitive once you get the hang of the appliance (it doesn’t take that long, really).

I love that I can set a cooking timer and forget about it. The other day I was in a rush to run errands, so I did a quick tempering (tadka), added soaked chana dal and sufficient water, sealed the pot, set the timer, and rushed out. When I came home, the dal was ready!

Making standard Indian subzis or dals is easy peasy. You need just two modes: sauté (for the seasoning/ tadka) and pressure cooking (for cooking). Nothing complicated!

The MultiPot comes with a booklet of Indian recipes that you can try. I’ve been trying out a few recipes to see how they work with respect to timings and settings, so next time around I can adjust the timings and water proportion to get the texture I like.

What you need to know before you buy

Of course like any other appliance, the Mealthy has its limitations. For instance, I wouldn’t recommend deep frying in this pot. Nor can you prepare “instant” things, like noodles etc.

This appliance also has a bit of a learning curve as you learn to adapt recipes to suit your own favourites. You’ll need to do some experimentation and read up recipes on the Mealthy website or app to figure out how to adapt your recipe to Mealthy settings and proportions.

Having said that, once you’ve got the hang of it, there’s no looking back!

Verdict

Should you buy the Mealthy MultiPot? A resounding yes.

Where to buy

The Mealthy MultiPot is available on their official India website as well as on Amazon India.

Price

The six litres Melathy MultiPot is priced at Rs 9,990, while the three litres version is for Rs 7,750 (on the official Mealthy India website).

In Cooking, Cooking for newbies, Food

The ultimate list of kitchen essentials: Part 2 (cookware)

Speaking ChicApril 5, 2020April 5, 2020Leave a comment

A while ago, I shared the first part of my ultimate list of The ultimate list of kitchen essentials: Part 2 (cookware) your kitchen and keep it running smoothly.

But then you also need tools to turn those ingredients into edible, delicious, satisfying food.

So, what do you need for your kitchen to cook?

Cookware.

With just a few cookware pieces, you can cook a whole variety of foods and dishes. Most of the utensils are versatile and multi-purpose, ideal for small kitchens and compact homes.

Luckily, most utensils are available in a variety of sizes, so if you’re cooking for just one or two people, you can go for the smallest sizes or just a size above the smallest. It’s always good to have a larger cooking utensil or two for when you want to cook in bulk for the next few days or next couple of meals, or have guests coming over.

It’s tempting to go for the smallest utensil size when you’re cooking for just one, but if you plan to cook for at least a couple of meals together, you will need a larger vessel.

Pressure cooker

Every Indian kitchen needs at least one pressure cooker. Why? Because a pressure cooker can be used for many, many things. Need to boil potatoes in a jiffy? Pressure cooker. Want to cook brown rice quickly? Pressure cooker. Prepare dal? The pressure cooker, of course.

Of course, you need a bit of umm… “special skills” to use a pressure cooker, because they need to be opened and closed in a very specific way. But once you get the hang of it, it will be super easy. (The first time I used a big pressure cooker, I had to Google “how to open pressure cooker from X brand” and I was lucky enough that they had posted a YouTube video demonstrating this).

The most popular brands in India for pressure cookers are Vinod Steel, Prestige and Hawkins, though there are many more that are also very good.

Small frying pan or skillet

Again, a versatile piece of cookware for the Indian kitchen.

A small-sized frying pan is useful for cooking for eggs and omelettes, making a quick tadka (tempering) for your dal, pan-frying something, and even making pancakes and small uttapams. Another great use- spread some butter, use it to toast your favourite grilled cheese sandwich on medium flame to get the right bit of melted cheese. Yum!!!

I use the skillet to sauté something quickly (in very small amounts) , for roasting makhana (fox nuts) and whole spices, and for cooking something lightly like pieces of paneer.

Kadhai or wok

You need at least two kadhais or woks in your kitchen, even if you’re a small household. After all, Indian subzis are best made in kadhais.

Saucepan or pateela

You will need the humble pateela every morning to make chai. These are available with a single long handle or with two or none, and both serve your purpose. I also use a medium-sized saucepan to make instant noodles, to boil some sprouts or small quantities of pasta, and even to toss up a salad (off the flame).

Large pot for dals and curries aka tope

Most Indian kitchens have large steel pots they use for a variety of reasons, for cooking rice or curries. You can invest in one such pot if you are going to cook in larger quantities. It is most helpful to have such pots with handles so they are easier to move about. But many of the larger steel pots come without handles.

Other cookware (optional, but useful):

Griddle with “lines”: This is like a stove-top grill on which you can toast your sandwiches, grill chicken, fish or even veggies and paneer.

Flat tawa with handle for dosa: This can be a non-stick tawa, because they’re generally easier to handle.

Tawa for chapatis and parathas

Other cookware essentials

Sometimes the most useful things are overlooked, because they are small, and you realise how important they are only when they are missing, like a button on your shirt.

These cooking tools are as useful as the pots and pans and griddles, and you definitely need to budget for them when you go shopping.

Wooden spoons and spatulas: For cooking, stirring, stir-frying

Ladles or karchhis: For cooking, stirring, serving dals and curries

Spatula for frying (this is the one with holes): They are also called skimmers, but not many people use that word!

Flat steel spatula for eggs, pancakes and dosas

Colander: This is a large steel strainer with a mesh for washing vegetables and draining cooked spaghetti.

Tongs aka chimta: For chapattis and parathas

Kitchen pincers aka pakkad: For lifting pots and pans that don’t have handles

Rolling board and rolling pin aka chakla and belan: For chapattis and parathas

Large steel plate aka paraat: For making dough for chapattis and parathas

Small strainer: For tea and milk

Chopping board: If you cook meat, best to have a separate board to use only for meat.

Knives: Knives are of different shapes and sizes, and each knife serves a different purpose. The small ones are inexpensive and easy to manage. The fancier ones that are similar to chef’s knives may need regular sharpening.

Peeler: For potatoes, carrots and other vegetables

A word on kitchen storage

If you love cooking, especially different cuisines, you will have a gazillion ingredients and you will need containers for them all. Your counter will fill up and your kitchen cabinets will be overflowing. Even your fridge will always be full.

Sigh.

Yet, we all need to make the best of what we have. Look for ways to optimize your storage space, and don’t go all crazy buying too many ingredients. You will also need to be very organized and keep everything back in its place, if you don’t want things to get lost!

Kitchen storage essentials

Steel containers for storage: Keep several containers in several sizes, to store everything from atta to biscuits.

Plastic or glass containers for storage: If you are saying NO to plastic (good thing!), opt for neat-looking glass containers with airlocked lids. This ensures your snacks stays fresh.

Oil pot: These are usually of steel, and make it easy to pour oil when you cooking.

Ghee pot: Again, made of steel and they have an easy open lid to get out the ghee quickly.

Masala box: The focal point of an Indian kitchen, my steel masala box has travelled with me from India to Myanmar and back. Six years plus, and still going strong. With the right quality steel, you will quickly get attached to your spice box.

Useful tips on buying cookware

Sizes: If you are a small household, then buy the smallest or the medium sized utensil. You don’t need big ones, unless you are cooking for a larger family.

Maintenance: Ask the retailer about the correct way to wash and use the utensils. This is especially true for pressure cookers. Each brand has its own special technique, so if you’re not used to it, you could be struggling for hours!

Comfort: Try to buy kadhais and other cooking utensils with heat-resistant lids and handles.

Non-stick or not: There is a general belief that non-stick cookware is harmful and can make your food toxic. But they are easy to wash and you can cook with less oil or butter. So should you use them or not? While most experts say non-stick is safe as long as you don’t cook it in very high temperatures, choosing to use non-stick (or not) is a very personal choice. Read this article by Nutrition Diva and another one by Good Housekeeping to get a better understanding on the subject.

In Cooking, Cooking for newbies, Food

The ultimate list of kitchen essentials (Part 1)

Speaking ChicNovember 26, 2018March 19, 2020Leave a comment

I’ve had to set up kitchen for myself not once, not twice, but THRICE in a span of three years.

Which probably means that I’ve become a champ at setting up kitchens (no, not really), and that I live a nomadic life (not anymore, I believe).

Let’s face it, setting up a kitchen is a HUGE task. You need to have cookware, you need basic cutlery, you need so many handy little things, and of course, you need ingredients to cook your food.

If you aren’t used to cooking (like I wasn’t) or you’re a cooking/ kitchen newbie, the mere idea of getting a kitchen up and running can be incredibly exciting and super confusing, frustrating and overwhelming.

When I was teaching myself how to cook very basic Indian food, I would go through recipes online and ask myself, “Why don’t I have this ingredient in my kitchen? Am I missing out on something essential?” And that would lead to serious self-doubting of my cooking abilities, second guessing what I was already cooking, and lamenting on why there wasn’t any help available on kitchens for newbies.

Moms, aunts, grandmas can all get quite cagey on kitchen-related questions, so asking them can be stepping into a minefield. Sure, there’s lots of gyaan on things like how to use ingredients, and there are gazillions of recipes, but how is a girl (or guy) supposed to even get to recipes without knowing what to stock in their kitchen?

Like once I spotted a recipe that called for onion seeds. The recipe seemed simple, but what on earth were onion seeds? I didn’t know onions even had seeds? Turns out they are also called kalonji in Hindi and are quite commonly used in Indian pickles. I did buy some onion seeds, and I used those in my kitchen, guess how many times in over a year? Twice. Yup, twice.

#Facepalm.

Deep down I always knew I would write about my nasty kitchen experiences some day (I have a book outline saved in one of my fancy journals), but first, it’s time to help someone with their kitchen.

What should you start with? What do you really, truly need? What’s nice to have, but not necessary? What’s nice to buy for later?

Too many questions, but not enough (clear) answers.

So here I’ve put together a list of essential ingredients and foods that you need in your starter kitchen. This is only scratching the surface. Indian cooking is complex and vast, so maybe you read this and go tut-tut-tut. But trust me, I’ve lived with only this much for a while and I’ve survived.

Good luck to you!

Indian spices or masalas- essentials

Food needs flavour and in most Indian dishes, the flavours come from these masalas.

Salt
Black pepper powder*
Red chilli powder
Turmeric powder
Cumin seeds aka jeera
Powdered cumin aka jeera powder*
Coriander power*
Black mustard seeds aka rai
Asafoetida aka hing (remember the scene in the film Queen?)

*How to ground spices (black pepper, cumin seeds, coriander seeds)

You can buy these spices in the powdered form (easier) or you can buy them whole and ground them at home (for which you need a dry grinder).

How to grind whole masalas:

Heat a small pan or kadhai. Do not add oil or ghee. Keep it on low flame and add a small handful of the whole spice (black pepper, cumin or coriander seeds). Stir the spices with a dry wooden spoon or spatula. After a while, the aroma and colour of the spices will begin to change. That’s when you take it off the heat, let it cool a bit, and then run it through a dry grinder. Voila! Your powdered masala is ready.

Storage tips for Indian spices or masalas

Since I have a small household, I usually buy masalas in packets of 250 grams. Some brands offer smaller packs of spices. I have a steel masala box (a common sight in Indian kitchens, and super useful), in which I empty out all the masalas. Then the remaining contents of the larger packs go into separate steel or reusable plastic containers and into a corner of the fridge.

Indian spices and ingredients- optional

Aamchoor or dried mango powder (used in north Indian cooking)
Kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves
Ajwain or carom seeds

Ingredients for Indian cooking- essentials

Every kitchen needs a strong foundation, and I don’t mean the flooring here. The items in this short list are the building blocks of most Indian cuisines.

Cooking oil: The right oil to use for cooking is a hotly debated topic, and I’m not going anywhere near that debate! Pick an oil that you are used to, and that suits your taste buds.
Ghee: You can’t make dal or khichdi without a tadka made in hot ghee. Ghee adds another dimension to anything.
Chaat masala: This innocuous masala mix adds flavour to everything, from omelettes to subzis (because, why not?). You can also have variations of these like sandwich masala, kitchen king masala and even pav bhaji masala!
Ginger garlic paste: Brings flavour to dals and subzis in less than a teaspoon
Atta: For those who want to make chapatis, rotis or phulkas
Rice: White, brown, red, organic, basmati- stock whatever you like.
At least 2-3 types of dals: Everyone has different favourites when it comes to dal, but yellow moong dal and toor dal are easy and quick to cook.

Storage tips for Indian ingredients

Rice and dal can be stored in steel or plastic containers in your kitchen cupboard. If you buy them in bulk, it’s best to tuck them away in the fridge so they last longer.

Rice stays good for a long, long time though some types of dal can go bad in a few weeks, especially in hot Indian weather.

Refrigerator essentials

There’s nothing for comforting than a neat, well-stocked fridge after a long day at work. With your essentials, you know you won’t go hungry.

Bread: Refined flour, whole grain, multi-grain, gluten-free, baguette, sliced loaf etc, take your pick
Butter: Amul is a classic but new unsalted butter varieties are also available
Jam: For sweet breakfasts, yay!
Cheese as cubes, slices or both: Great for sandwiches and garnishes
Eggs: Can be cooked for breakfast, lunch, dinner, brunch, supper or any other meal you can think of.
Milk: Fresh cow’s milk, packaged milk, almond milk, grass-fed cows’ milk, soy milk, your choice!

Storage tips for refrigerator essentials

Bread is good for 3-4 days, maybe a bit longer if you’ve bought it fresh and stored it in the fridge immediately.

Butter, jam and cheese: Refer to expiry date labels. They easily stay for a few months from date of packaging.

Eggs: This is a tricky one. You can keep them for a few days to a couple of weeks in the fridge, and even longer. They do lose their freshness, and you will feel it in the texture of your fried egg or omelette. But I use this egg freshness test to check if they are still “good”. My simple rule: If they smell funny after cracking, throw them away.

Vegetables- essentials

Subzis or cooked vegetable dishes are the backbone of Indian cooking. So it is difficult to define the “essential” vegetables, but these are the top three:

Onions
Tomatoes
Potatoes

Vegetables- some more essentials

Some people love karela (bitter gourd), some like cabbage. So the “essentials” vary by household. Make a list of subzis you want to eat soon, and that becomes your “essentials list” for the next few days. Some recommendations:

Green capsicum aka bell pepper, carrots, french beans, cauliflower, brinjal, lauki (doodhi) or any other of your choice.
Green peas (can freeze after shelling or buy a frozen pack)
Cucumber (because I love cucumber-and-butter sandwiches)

Fresh produce for Indian cooking- essentials

Always have these at hand for flavouring subzis, dal, khichdi etc. They are all available at your neighbourhood vegetable vendor or subziwala.

Whole green chillies
Curry leaves
Ginger
Garlic
Lemon
Coriander leaves
Fruits of your choice

Storage tips for vegetables and other fresh produce:

Onions and potatoes don’t generally go in the fridge but I keep them in the vegetable drawer anyway.

Tomatoes in refrigerator? The jury is divided on this one, but I prefer to refrigerate them so they last longer.

Green chillies, curry leaves, coriander leaves and ginger are best stored in the refrigerator in separate containers. They can easily last up to a week.

Coriander leaves should be stored separately, in steel boxes with tiny holes. They dry out quickly.

Most veggies last at least 3-4 days in the fridge, even longer if you bought them super fresh.

It’s best to store fruits at room temperature.

Basic non-Indian ingredients- essentials

Indian cooking can be tiring some times, and we all need a change too. Pastas and noodles are easy to put together with just a few ingredients.

Pasta of your choice (macaroni, spaghetti, penne etc)
Chinese noodles
Oats (plain)

Storage tips for basic non-Indian ingredients

Pasta, noodles and oats can be stored at room temperature and should be consumed by expiry date mentioned on their packets.

Cooking shortcuts- essentials

Just what you need on lazy days.

Packaged instant noodles like Maggi, Top Ramen or Wai Wai (ummm yeah, not ideal, but why not?)
Ready made pasta sauces (a pre-made spicy red tomato sauce saved my life once!)
Ready made dosa or idli batter (if you like making these)
Instant soups
Instant oats in various flavours

Add-ons for non-Indian cooking- essentials

Use these seasonings to create delicious woks, salad dressings and more.

Soy sauce
Vinegar
Assorted Chinese sauces of your choice, like Schezwan (from Ching’s Secret or similar)
Mayonnaise and other “dressings” (I don’t have this, but many people find it useful), useful for sandwiches and salads
Dried oregano, red chilli flakes, basil etc. General stores also stock seasonings like “Mexican seasoning mix” and “Italian seasoning” which can be very handy when you’re quickly tossing something together. These are quick albeit tasty shortcuts to the “real” thing.

Storage tips for add-ons

Refrigerate the mayo, dressings and sauces, especially once you open it.

Follow the expiry dates for all the seasonings, sauces etc.

Other essentials

Your favourite brands of tea and/ or coffee
Favourite snacks like wafers or biscuits

How it all comes together

With just this list of kitchen essentials, you can make at least a dozen dishes that will keep you nourished, satisfied and happy. 🙂

Chilli cheese toast
Omelettes, fried eggs, sunny side up
Stir fries and woks
Several types of pastas
Several subzis
At least 5-6 variations of dal, depending on the tadka (or tempering)
Many types of sandwiches
Chapatis, rotis, phulkas
Khichdi

What are your absolutest must-have can’t-do-without-them kitchen essentials?

PS- Everyone has different food requirements, so maybe my list won’t match yours. But I will keep adding to this list, if something new occurs to me. 🙂

In Cooking, Food

Breakfast: Totally Rad Leftover Idlis

Speaking ChicApril 1, 2016Leave a comment

Ever since I introduced a set of idli molds in my Yangon kitchen last November, rice idlis and homemade slow-cooked sambhar have become an important weekend ritual. By important, only these two dishes can be served at Sunday lunch.

Our ritual is something like this: on Saturday evening S and I head to our friendly and familiar neighbourhood market. (Despite being very “Burmese”, Indian ingredients are not so difficult to find here.) We know the couple who stocks curry leaves in their stall and the trio of sisters who have drumstick (really!). We buy the ingredients for sambhar: curry leaves, a few ladyfingers, a carrot, some french beans, a couple tomatoes, a quartered pumpkin and S’s favourite, a drumstick. While watching TV that night, or just before we go off to bed, we divide the prep activities and chop the vegetables. I wake up a bit early on Sunday and soak the toor dal for couple of hours. After a light breakfast and quick shower, I begin preparing the sambhar, first pressure cooking the dal, then cooking it with the vegetables and spices. Finally, I add the tadka.

The idlis, though, are mostly S’s job. While I step out for couple hours for a Spanish lesson to the outskirts of Yangon, S prepares the batter, double boiler pot and molds. He often makes a few extra idlis for next day’s breakfast as well.

This week we had a few more idlis leftover than usual. Three, to be precise. Not wanting to throw them away, I vaguely remembered eating mini masala idlis at a South Indian buffet in Mumbai several years ago. The mini idlis had been cooked with spices and were bright red, quite spicy and delicious.

With this vivid food memory playing on my mind, I thought I’d create my own version of masala idlis. Using standard Indian breakfasts like poha and upma as inspiration, I began to play with some simple ideas and conjured up a dish.

I prepared the ingredients Sunday night, knowing I would feel super lazy next morning. And so I did. Luckily, this breakfast dish took just a few minutes to cook and I was relishing it soon enough.

Generously spiced, delightfully colourful, crumbly and crunchy at the same time, I’m happy to say that the leftover idli experiment was a success. I’ve dubbed this dish Totally Rad Leftover Idlis.

In this recipe, sweet onions and sour-ish tomatoes provide an easy base for the dish, while capsicum (green bell peppers) add the crunch that I like, a perfect contrast with the soft idlis. The secret spice blend (okay, it’s not really a secret, see recipe below) will wake up your taste buds (as they did mine). I was very tempted to top the dish off with grated cheese, but I’m glad I didn’t. It would have messed up the uniquely Indian flavours of my Totally Rad Leftover Idlis. Instead I had it with a glass of orange juice.

Of course, I don’t think this is an authentic way of eating idlis, but like a good homemaker (how I hate that word!), I don’t like throwing away perfectly edible home-cooked food. And this recipe turned out to be a quick, fuss-free way of using up idlis in the fridge.

I tweeted a photo to S, who was away for work. I’m sure he’s going to want Totally Rad Leftover Idlis for breakfast next Monday.

PS- I’ve used stevia in this recipe because sugar is banned in my home (yep, we’re crazy health nuts). Feel free to add a bit of regular sugar instead.

Recipe: Totally Rad Leftover Idlis

Prep time: 7 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 teaspoon oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

A pinch of asafoetida (aka hing)

1 dry red chilli (whole)

3/4 teaspoon urad dal

3-4 curry leaves

1 small green chilli chopped

1small onion chopped

1small tomato chopped

1 small or half a large green capsicum chopped

A pinch of stevia/ sugar (optional, only if tomato is too tart)

1 teaspoon sambhar powder

Red chilli powder to taste (optional)

4 leftover idlis- chopped or broken with hand into bite-sized pieces

Small handful coriander leaves to garnish

Serves 1-2 people

Method

Heat oil in a small frying pan or wok.

Add mustard seeds. When they begin to splutter, add asafoetida, curry leaves, urad dal and dry whole red chilli.

Fry for couple of minutes, then add green chillies and onions, and cook till the onions begin to soften (we don’t need to brown them). This should take around five minutes.

Add tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes lose their tartness. If they seem too sour (from aroma and taste), add a pinch of stevia (or sugar).

Add the sambhar powder and red chilli powder (I skipped the latter because the green chillies in Myanmar are VERY HOT), along with salt.

Add capsicum and mix well. If you’d like to leave the capsicum crunchy, stir for just a couple of minutes. For softer texture, cook a bit longer.

Add the chopped idlis and mix till coated with the spices.

Switch off the flame, serve in a bowl or plate, and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Enjoy!

Showing all posts in Cooking

Millets made easy: Recipe for millet poha

Mealthy MultiPot Review

The ultimate list of kitchen essentials: Part 2 (cookware)

The ultimate list of kitchen essentials (Part 1)

Breakfast: Totally Rad Leftover Idlis