Kanchipuram Idli/Steamed Rice Cake

Kanchipuram Idli -  oooooh....those yum yum cakes....I have been making Idlis, but somehow K-Idli slipped off my mind all these time...Don't know why! I still remember my mom used to make the K-Idli, when we(me, my sis & bro) were young and it was a feast for us as its mess free and yummy. 

My Idli batter was little sour, so didn't fit for Dosa. Myself and my Mom decided to make Kanchipuram Idli. Thanks to my mother who reminded me the steps to make this healthy, and heavy filling recipe. 

I would like to tell you the whole process of the batter too. You could add 2 tsp of curd when you are preparing this Idli. This is a delightful Idli for kids too, as this is a steamed one and in the shape of cake. We had our toddler boy cut this cake and first he was surprised and gave a look at me why the cake is not sweet. But later when I told him this is Idli cake, donno what he understood. He sat down and had 2 pieces of cakes.

Ingredients:

Idli rice  - 2 cups

Urad dal - 1/2 cup

Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp

Cooking soda - a pinch (optional)

Curd  - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

For Tempering:

Cumin Seeds/Jeera - 2 tsp

Hing - a pinch

Grated ginger  - 1 tsp

Cut Green Chillies  - 2 (optional) - I didn't add this

Pepper - 2 tsp

Cashews - 8 - 10 chopped

Curry leaves - Roughly chopped - 6 -8 

Oil - 2 tsp

Method:

Soak rice, urad dal and fenugreek seeds for 4 - 5 hours.

Grind Urad dal/fenugreek seeds and rice separately into fine paste, then mix them together.

Add 2 tsp of salt into the batter and give a nice stir, ferment it overnight. (I put the batter container just inside the oven to have it fermented as its cold mostly here).

Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan, add all the ingredients given under tempering.

The batter would have raised few inches after fermenting.

Now add salt, curd, a pinch of b. soda and give it a stir.

Mix the tempered ingredients into the batter, again mix.

Grease a steel bowl with Oil(I used gingely oil). Pour the batter into the bowl.

Pressure cook(no weights necessary-just steaming) for 20 minutes.

Cool it off for 10 minutes.

Use knife to loosen the sides of the steamed mould, then turn upside down on a plate.

Cut them and serve hot with chutneys or Idli Podi or Ketchup.

Note: If you have Idli batter thats sour, you could just add the tempered ingredients and steam it in a greased bowl. You could also add urad dal, mustard seeds  for tempering. Its all your wish!!

Sending this to  A.W.E.D. Indian event by DK, guest hosted by Ayisha,

Walking through the memory Lane event by Gayathri &  My Legume Love Affair #33 event by Dee of Ammalu's Kitchen

Masala Idly

Happy Holi to all my blogger friends!!
Potato is everyone's favorite at my home. Yesterday, I thought I would make Masala Dosa for dinner, but when went into the kitchen, slight change in the menu..he he...I made 'Masala Idly' - potato stuffed Idly. 
It was so good, you have to believe and easy to make, especially loved by my family.
Ingredients:
Idly Batter 
Potato - 4 nos
Turmeric - a pinch
Salt to taste
For tempering:
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Curry leaves - 5 -6 chopped
Method:
Boil the potatoes, Peel off the skin, mash them and keep it aside.
Heat oil in a pan, when hot, add mustard. 
Once splutters, add hing, curry leaves and turmeric.
Add potato, salt to taste.
Quick mix it and close with lid.
If you have Idly Cooker, Pour 2 tsp of Batter in the Idly plate, then put 1 tsp of  potato mixture on it and cover it with 2 tsp of the idly batter. Arrange this stuff in all the racks.
You can use small bowls if you dont have these plates to make them too. Pour out the batter in each of the plates in the same way as explained above.

Place it in a pressure cooker (no weights reqd.) with little water underneath ( take care since lots of water will make the idlis in the last plate soggy and too little water will burn the bottom of the cooker!) or use a steamer. Cook for 10 minutes in high flame and then lower it for the last 5 min.

They are done when a little stick/fork pricked in the middle comes out clean.

Cool them for 1-2 minutes and then serve warm with any chutney/tomato ketchup/sambar. We had it with Mango Chutney.

Masala Idly is not spicy and this recipe is great for kid's breakfast.

Note:
I made this unspicy Masala Idly especially for my kid. If you want it spicy, add cut green chillies in tempering. You could add Onion also. If you want cheesy, sprinkle cheese over the potato when stuffing into batter.


Sending this to a wonderful event Toddler's Breakfast Ideas hosted by Sowmya

Fettuccine with Spinach & Mint

My son loves Pasta/Noodles...Cheesy, Full of Cream...mmmm....I too love them..like to eat anytime...
:-)
We recently had Fettuccine Alfredo at Olive Garden which my son loved a lot and thought I will give it a try with Spinach, Mint & some almonds too....
It was a rich recipe...I loved the way my son had it messing up his face with all green cream....here I go with the recipe.
Ingredients:
Fettucini - half a packet
Garlic - 2 cloves (crushed)
Onion - 1 (cut into small pieces)
Ginger - 1/2 tsp grated
Spinach - 1/2 cup
Mint - 1/4 cup
Almonds - 5 (ground)
Whipped cream - 1/2 cup
Parmesan Cheese - lots..jus' kidding ..1/2 cup
Pepper  - 1/2 tsp
Butter  -  1 tsp
Olive oil -  1 tsp
Salt to taste
Method:
Add Fettucini to a pan of boiling water that has salt and 1 tsp of olive oil and cook till tender. Drain it and keep aside.

Melt butter in hot pan, add onion, garlic, ginger. When turned brown, stir it with cut spinach & mint. 
When the spinach and mint are cooked, add ground almond, whipped cream. Stir constantly till the mixture thickens.

Season with salt to taste.
Remove the pan from the stove and add cheese.
Serve over hot pasta and sprinkle on pepper.
The yummy Fettucini is ready to be served!!!

Sending to Kid's delight hosted by Srivalli & Champa, also to  Presto Pasta Nights, Only Original hosted by Nivedita & Pari and Dish name starts with F hosted by Akila