Carrot Thosai

On my previous post for carrot thosai recipe, I added the carrot mixture to the batter the next morning before fying it on the pan. This time, I added the blended carrot mixture to the batter and leave it to ferment over night. Also, this time round I used 4 big carrots to be added to the batter. The thosai turned out fluffy, sweetie-carroty taste, and wholesome.

Idli with Tomato Chutney

This is my favorite breakfast dish - idli with tomato chutney and vegetarian sambal - a perfect delicious combo. I can really gorge on this. Whenever I go back to Melaka, this is the dish I'd be looking forward the most. Now I've learnt to make idli, I am elated - I get to eat my favorite dish whenever I want :) And the idli turned out soft and fluffy - just the way I love it.

Extremely scrumptious, light and nutritious, idli is an ideal breakfast item. Making idli is not difficult at all, however its preparation takes a little time as the batter for idli requires fermentation. As it is a steamed food with minimum oil and no spices, it is pretty much healthy.

Herewith is the recipe for idli (it's the same recipe as the thosai batter):
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1/2 cup Ulunthu (black gram dhal)
- 2 tbsp avval (rice flakes)
- 1 tbsp cooked brown rice
- Salt to taste

Steps:

1. Soak the brown rice and black gram dhal together for 4-5 hours.
2. Soak rice flakes for 10 minutes, separately.

3. After soaking, wash the soaked brown rice and black gram dhal a few times and drain the water.
4. Place all the 3 ingredients in the blender with 1 tbsp of cooked brown rice. Add water until it is about 1-inch above the ingredients.

5. Add salt to taste.
6. Blend until the batter is fine and smooth.

7. Leave the batter overnight to ferment.

8. Grease the idli holder or pan well and fill each of them with 3/4th full of batter.
9. Steam cook the idlis on medium flame for about 10 minutes or until done.
10. Use a butter knife to remove the idlis.
11. Serve with tomato chutney or curry.

Tangy Smoothie

Today's smoothie: Orange, Tomatoes & Banana Smoothie - it's refreshing, tangy and a booster early in the morning.

Breakfast this morning: Oatmeal with milk, almond, dates, and flaxseed - the crunchy almonds and the sweet dates are perfect complements to the otherwise bland oatmeal.

Tomato Thosai (Dosa)

Breakfast for today: Tomato thosai. Recipe as follows:

The ingredients for the batter is the same as the thosai batter - the addition is the tomatoes.

A. Ingredients for the original batter:

- 1 cup brown rice
- 1/2 cup Ulunthu (black gram dhal)
- 2 tbsp avval (rice flakes)
- 1 tbsp cooked brown rice
- Salt to taste

B. Ingredients to be added to the batter:
- 4 medium-sized tomatoes (chopped)
- 2 pip garlic
- 1 red chili
(Blend the tomatoes, garlic and chili to form a paste).

Steps:
1. Soak the brown rice and black gram dhal together for 4-5 hours.
2. Soak rice flakes for 10 minutes, separately.

3. After soaking, wash the soaked brown rice and black gram dhal a few times and drain the water.

4. After blending the tomatoes, garlic and chili into a paste, place all the soaked brown rice, black gram and rice flakes in the blender with 1 tbsp of cooked brown rice. (You don't have too add too much water to blend because the tomatoes, garlic and chili paste will provide the liquid base. Just add enough water to blend).

5. Add salt to taste.
6. Blend until the batter is fine and smooth.
7. Leave the batter overnight to ferment. (Note: Don't keep the batter too long at room temperature - pureed tomatoes can go bad if left too long at room temperature).

8. Fry the thosai on a flat pan.

The thosai turned out soft and supple - with perfect texture. And the pureed tomatoes in it enhances the taste - plus it's nutritious as well.

Carrot Thosai (Dosa)

Carrot Thosai/Dosa with fish curry

The batter

A healthy wholesome breakfast - a great way to start the day!

Herewith is the recipe:

A. Ingredients for the original batter:
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1/2 cup Ulunthu (black gram dhal)
- 2 tbsp avval (rice flakes)
- 1 tbsp cooked brown rice
- Salt to taste

B. Ingredients to be added to the batter the next morning:
- 2 carrots (finely grated or blended)
- 2 pip garlic
- 1 red chili
(Blend the garlic and chili to form a paste and add to the finely grated/blended carrot mixture).

Steps:

1. Soak the brown rice and black gram dhal together for 4-5 hours.
2. Soak rice flakes for 10 minutes, separately.

3. After soaking, wash the soaked brown rice and black gram dhal a few times and drain the water.
4. Place all the 3 ingredients in the blender with 1 tbsp of cooked brown rice. Add water until it is about 1-inch above the ingredients.

5. Add salt to taste.
6. Blend until the batter is fine and smooth.
7. Leave the batter overnight to ferment.
8. Next morning, add the carrot mixture in Step B to the fermented batter and mix well.
9. Fry the thosai on a flat pan.
10. Savor it to the last bit!

Today's Breakfast: English Breakfast

For today's breakfast, I made English breakfast (the healthy version): Sauteed quarter-chopped tomatoes; fried eggs with cheese-topping; and baked beans sauteed with shallots.

Kanchipuram Idli: Today's breakfast

I used the remaining of the batter I made for kanchipuram thosai on Sunday to steam idli for today's breakfast. After leaving the batter for a day, the taste of the ingredients was more intense - delicious. As an accompaniment to the idli is tomato chutney - our favorite.

Kanchipuram Thosai - Sunday breakfast

My mom tried out this new recipe - Kanchipuram idli (recipe given by my grandfather - yes, he is into recipes, especially new recipes which uses healthy ingredients) - and it was superb. I was excited in trying out this new recipe - and it turned out well on my first attempt. I didn't have the idli tray so I used the batter to make thosai instead. This is my first time making thosai batter from scratch - and I enjoyed the process :)

Herewith is the recipe:
A. Ingredients for the original batter:
- 1 cup Ulunthu (black gram dhal)
- 1 cup kadalai paruppu (Australian dhal)
- 2 tbsp avval (rice flakes)
- 1 tbsp cooked rice
- Salt to taste

B. Ingredients to be sauteed & added to the batter the next morning:
- biji sawi (black mustard seeds)
- paruppu (dhal)
- ulunthu (black gram)
- dried chilli
- green chilli
- garlic & onion
- curry leaves
- ground black pepper
- serbuk jintan manis (cumin seeds powder)
- a pinch of Asafoetida powder

Steps:

1. Soak the black gram dhal and the Australian dhal together for 4-5 hours.
2. Soak rice flakes for 10 minutes, separately.
3. After soaking, wash the soaked dhals a few times and drain the water.
4. Place all the 3 ingredients in the blender with 1 tbsp of cooked rice. Add water until it is about 1-inch above the ingredients.
5. Add salt to taste.
6. Blend until the batter is fine and smooth.
7. Leave the batter overnight to ferment.

The batter

8. The next morning, saute all the ingredients in Part B above and add it to the fermented batter.

9. Mix well.
10. Fry the thosai on a flat pan.

Ingredients for the tomato chutney:
- dried chili / fresh red chilli
- fresh tomatoes
- garlic
- onion
- coriander
- salt and pepper to taste

Step: Saute all the ingredients first before blending it.

Enjoy the tomato chutney as an accompaniment to the thosai - delicious!
Bon-appetit!

Breakfast for Today - Chapati with sauteed tomatoes

This morning's breakfast menu - made chapati with tomatoes sauteed with onions. Chapati is a flat unleavened Indian bread made from whole wheat flour (made from hard wheat), also called "atta flour." (Hard wheats have a high protein content, so doughs made out of atta flour are strong and can be rolled out very thin. Breads made from atta include chapati, roti, naan, and puri. Atta is obtained from grinding complete wheat grains. It is creamy brown in colour and relatively coarse compared to other types of flour. Since nothing is removed from atta, all the constituents of the wheat grain are preserved. High bran content of atta makes it a fiber-rich food).

The chapati's recipe is from my mom - and she is known for her soft chapatis. It's a healthy and wholesome meal - a great way to start the morning - and it's delicious too - soft warm chapati served with any side dishes you prefer. Herewith is the recipe for chapati:

Makes 5 medium-sized chapatis

Ingredients:
- 1 cup of atta flour
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup of warm water (the amount of water required depends on the consistency of the flour once you mix it)
- a pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp of olive oil

Steps:
1. Place atta flour into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Gradually pour in water and add in olive oil. Draw in the flour and mix into a crumbly dough.
2. If dough is too dry, add a little more water and mix until the dough binds well together. Knead the dough for 10–15 minutes until it is pliable.
3. Leave the dough in the bowl and cover with a piece of damp tea towel. Leave aside to rest for at least an hour.
4. Knead the dough again by hand for 3–4 minutes then pluck out a small piece of dough, the size of a golf ball.
5. Place it on a lightly floured tabletop. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a circle (of whatever size you prefer). Dust lightly with extra flour.
6. Place a non-stick flat pan over a medium fire. Once the pan is warm, place the rolled-out dough on it.
7. When small bubbles of air pockets are seen on the surface of the dough, turn it over and cook the other side. Pat down the edges of the dough with a dry tea towel. This helps to puff the chapati up.
8. When the chapati is cooked, serve immediately with any side dishes you prefer - potatoes, or dhal curry, or tomatoes sauteed with onions, or even cheese!