Oats Upma

This is a super nutritious and healthy recipe. It can be made very quickly. You can make many variations of it by using fresh coconut, vegetables like carrot, beans, peas etc. I have presented here a very basic recipe. Olive oil has been used for this recipe to make it more healthier which can be replaced by regular cooking oil.

Ingredients:

Oats - 1 cup
Water - 2 1/2 cups
Green Chilles - 2
Channa Dal - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Olive oil - 2 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and when it starts to splutter, add channa, urad dal and turmeric.

Add chopped green chillies and when it is fried, add water to the pan. Add sugar and enough salt to it.

When water starts to boil, add the oats slowly while stirring so that no lumps are formed.

The oats take around three to five minutes to cook. The oats turn soft and this is an indication that they are cooked.

Once they are done, turn off the heat and cover them with lid.

Oats when cooked thicken up after some time. Hence switch of the heat when it is still soupy in texture. This helps in getting the right consistency.

Note:
1. You need not dry roast the oats. Use them directly to retain their nutrition.
2. As specified before you can add your own choice of vegetables to this and make it more tasty.

Enjoy a wholesome breakfast.. Happy Cooking.. :)

Aloo Bonda

Aloo Bonda is an authentic South Indian snack. It is very famous and a favourite road side delicacy. It  tastes best with coconut chutney and tomato ketchup.

Ingredients:

For the stuffing:

Potatoes (medium size) - 3
Green Chillies - 2 to 3
Curry Leaves - 5 to 10
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Channa Dal - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Chopped Coriander - for garnish
Salt to taste

For the batter:

Gram flour- 1/2 bowl
Rice flour - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder -1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Method:

Boil the potatoes and peel the skin. Mash them well and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add channa and urad dal. Also add turmeric, curry leaves and chopped green chillies.

Once the green chillies are fried, add the mashed potato and salt to it and mix well. Keep the stuffing aside and leave it to cool. Garnish it with coriander.

Mix all the ingredients for the batter. Heat two tsp of oil and add it to the batter. Add water and mix well so that no lumps are formed. The batter should be dosa batter consistency so that it forms an even and thick coating.

Heat the oil for frying. Make small balls of the stuffing and dip them in the batter. Fry them till they are golden brown.

Serve hot with coconut chutney and tomato ketchup.

Note:

1. Always add hot oil to the batter instead of cooking soda. The dish will not soak more oil when frying if hot oil is used in batter.

2. Make variations in stuffing like adding onions or you can also add different vegetables to it.