Ragi Kali/Ragi Mudde

 

I was actually craving for ragi kali or ragi mudde and i really miss my late maternal's grandma's ragi kali. She make the best kali the kind of, the moment you put it in your mouth it melts. All those childhold memories are here to stay. My late grandma passed away last year and i miss her & countless memories we shared and among many are food memories i learnt from her. God bless her soul 😥.

My cravings satisfied when i decided to make them for our Saturday lunch. My Dandelions never tried ragi kali before and both are hesitant to try..well you know the new generation. I persuade them to give it a try and as obedient they are both finished 1 ball each by commenting never thought it would taste good..yay!!! Amma won ☺.

The original recepi comes without rice but, my grandma always add rice to her kali recepi to enhance the taste & texture thus, i followed the same. You can omit the rice it's just optional. I served the kali with a dollop of melted ghee,spicy overnight salted fish curry,buttermilk,fresh green chilly and onion. This is what i call a perfect combo for a perfect meal on a perfect day 😍.

Ingredients

1/2 cup ragi flour

2 tbsp cooked rice

1 1/2 cups water

Salt to taste

Methods

In a bowl add 1 tbsp ragi flour from the 1/2 cup of the flour. Mix well without lumps with 1/2 cup of water. Keep aside.

Heat a large pan/kadai and boil the 1 cup water. Add the diluted ragi mixture and stir.

Reduce flame to low and add cooked rice and sprinkle the remaining ragi flour to the pan. Using a wooden spoon, stir well till no lumps. 

Stir continiously till the mixture thickened and form a ball . Switch off heat and cover with lid for the mixture to rest for 8-10 minutes.

Wet your hand with water, while the mixture still warm start rolling into a large lemon sized ball. Repeat with the remaining mixture.

Serve warm with a dollop of ghee,buttermilk and curry.

Unlike any other masala idli recepis which are stir fry idli with masala powder, this particular idlis are coated with special wet sauce. The highlight of the recepi is the kollu podi in the masala. You may substitute kollu podi with store bought or homemade idli podi, which works well too. The podi adds extra kick to the masala. One look might end up looking like idli coated with what we known as sambal locally or chilly paste but, you got it wrong 😁. 

I used rava idli which gives the dish additional flavor of urad dhal tempering but please feel free to try with plain idli as well. I like the crunch of urad dhal whenever you bite into one. Day old idli works fine with the recepi especially if you're cracking your head what to make with leftover idli this is the recepi for you. If you're using freshly steamed idli, do cool it completely before adding to the masala.

This recepi is perfect for breakfast or dinner. I made it for our dinner and had it on its own without any sides of sambar or chutney. Yes, its that good. The masala might scared you with the fiery colur but trust me it's not too spicy. The beautiful colur are derived from tomato and idli podi. We truly enjoyed this delicious masala idli and been making it since.

For Rava Idli

Ingredients

1 cup roasted semolina/rava

2 1/2 tbsp ghee

1 1/4 cups plain yogurt,room temperature

1/3 cup water

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp channa dhal

1 tsp urad dhal

2 sprigs curry leaves

1 green chilly, chopped

Pinch of hing/asafoetida

Salt to taste

1 1/2 tsp fruit salt/eno

Methods

In a bowl add semolima and keep aside.

In a pan, heat ghee and fry mustard seeds. Once mustard seeds splutters, add cumin seeds,chana dhal and urad dhal. Saute till urad dhal turns golden.

Add curry leaves and hing. Saute for 20 seconds and add into the semolina.

Add salt,yogurt and water. Mix well. Add fruit salt and stir to combine. 

Cover and rest the batter for 15-20 minutes.

Boil water in idli pan and grease idli mould.

Stir the prepared batter, add water if needed. The batter shouldn't be too thick or too thin.

Pour the batter into greased idli mould and steam for 10 minutes.

Remove from steamer and unmould. Keep aside.

For Kollu Podi

Ingredients

1 cup horsegram/kollu
15 curry leaves
1/4 cup urad dhal
1/4 cup channa dhal
12 dried chillies
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp asafoetida
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp gingely oil
Salt to taste


Methods

In a pan, heat gingely oil add horsegram and fry for 3 minutes or till the grains splutters. Transfer on a plate.

Add urad dhal,channa dhal to the same pan and fry till golden. Transfer on a plate.

In the same pan, add dry chillies,methi seeds,cumin seeds,asafoetida and curry leaves. Saute for 2 minutes Transfer on a plate.

Combine all fried ingredients and salt in a coffee grinder/spice grinder or dry grinder jar and grind for 2-3 minutes. Keep aside.

For Making Masala Idli

6 pcs rava idli

2 tbsp kollu podi

2 medium onion,chopped

2 tomatoes,chopped

1 tbsp garlic paste

1 green chilly,chopped

2 tbsp butter

Water as needed

1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Methods

In a pan over medium heat, melt butter and sautee the onion till soft.

Add garlic paste and green chilly, sautee for another 1 minute.

Add tomatoes and season with salt. Cook till tomatoes turns soft and mushy.

Add the kollu podi,coriander leaves and water. Mix well.

Gently add the rava idli and coat it well with the masala. Cook for 1 more minute. Remove from heat and garnish with more freshly chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with chutney of your preference or as on its own.

Brinji Rice

 

Flavoured rice is my family's favourite rice. Be it Briyani,puloa,pilaf flavoured rice is always a hit in my household. Weekends are usually flavoured rice day for us. Since, the rice itself are flavoured, a simple sides of raita or kurma will do for a satisfying meal.

I cooked this delicious brinji rice for our Sunday lunch. Use basmathi rice for the finest long grain and what make this rice recipe special is the ghee fried bread cubes. It adds texture to the rice and the coconut milk enhance the flavour of the rice. Do use any vegetables of your preference..cauliflower is another great choice. A perfect one pot meal i shall say.

Ingredients

1 cup basmathi rice

1 cup water

1 cup coconut milk

1 bay leaf

1/2"inch cinnamon stick

1 tsp fennel seeds

3 cardamom pods

1 star anise

4 cloves

4 slices bread

3 + 1 tbsp ghee

Salt to taste

3/4 tsp ginger garlic paste

2 medium sized onion,sliced

1 green chilly,chopped

1/4 cup chopped carrot

1/4 cup chopped beans

1/4 cup green peas

1 medium sized tomato

1 medium sized potato

3/4 tsp garam masala

3/4 tsp chilly powder

10-12 cashews,broken

2 tbsp chopped mint leaves

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Methods

Wash and soak Basmathi rice for 30 minutes.

In a pan over a low flame add ghee and sautee bay leaf,cardamom pods,cloves,fennel seeds,star anise and cinnamon.  

Add onion and green chilly. Sautee till golden brown. Add ginger garlic paste and cook till fragrant.

Add the carrot,beans,peas and potato. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the garam masala and chilly powder. Cook till the raw smell leaves.

Transfer the cooked vegetable mixture to rice cooker. Add the rice,coconut milk and water. 

Add the chopped mint and coriander leaves as well. Season with salt and give a stir.

Cook till the rice are done. Meanwhile fry cashew nuts in ghee.  Fry the bread cubes in the remaining ghee.

Serve with fried bread cubes and sprinkle with ghee fried cashew nuts.

Vazhakai Bhaji

The very first time i had vazhakai bhaji ia on the street of Thekaddy, Kerala during our vacation. There's a one humble small stall with friendly vendor selling all sort of deep fried stuff namely from samosas,bhajis,vadai & etc. While waiting for the Kathakali show to start, we indulged ourselves with piping hot chai & freshly fried bhajis. Other than plaintain, we tried purple yam,aubergine and bread fruit bhajis as well. Definitely a treat for the cool Thekadady weather.

I have some plaintain given by a friend from his homegrown harvest and i decided to make some vazhakai bhaji with it. A very easy and simple recepi which is a perfect tea time snack. Crispy,crunchy,soft inside and with a little kick from the chilly powder, it has become everyone's favourite. Serve with hot chaya and chutney.

Ingredients

2 pcs raw plaintains

1 1/2 cups besan flour

1/2 cup rice flour

Pinch of asafoetida

1 1/4 tsp chilly powder

Pinch of cooking soda

Salt as needed

Water as needed

Vegetable oil for deep frying

Methods

In a big bowl, combine besan flour,rice flour,cooking soda,salt,asafoetida and chilly powder. Stir well.

Gradually add water to form semi thick batter. Cover and let the batter rest for 10 minutes.

Wash & peel the plaintain. Slice them thin  and coat with the batter.

Heat oil in a pan and deep fry on both sides till golden. Draim excess oil with kitchen towel.

Serve hot with tea and chutney.