Instant Rava Dhokla

This one I wanted to make for a really long time. Loooooooooooong back I have had rava dhokla made by my mother's friend back in India.That was like 4-5  years back. I liked it very much then, and decided to make on my own, but somehow it took me 5 years to make one. 

I still can't believe I waited soooooooooooo looooooooong for such a simple and healthy dish. It was just a matter of 30 minutes, with just 3 main ingredients. It was that simple.....:)Dhokla is one of the favourite item when it comes to Indian snacking, especially Maharashtrian, and Gujrathi. I am not a huge fan of traditional dhokla which is made up of gram flour/ basan/chickpea flour.  This one is a nice little twist making it milder and much more appreciable. Made up of rava (Sooji), which is a healthier option to gram flour, with very little oil, and steamed to perfection.

It starts with 3 basic ingredients-:

1. 1/2 cup of fine rava (sooji)
2. 1/4 cup of yogurt
3. 1/2  cup of water

With other secondary ingredients like:-

1. 1/2 teaspoon oil
2. 1 teaspoon eno (or you can use soda)
3. salt as per taste
4. pinch of chilly powder
5. pinch of black pepper powder.

For garnishing:-

1. Coriander chopped (Cilantro)
2. Tadka ( heat Some oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, when they splutter, add a pinch of turmeric powder and a pinch of asafoetida, add kadipatta if you want)

Mix basic ingredients in a bowl, keep it aside for about 15 minutes.

Grease an 1/2 inch  steel pan and keep ready to pour the mixture in to it. Boil water in a steamer or  a deep pan.

After 15 minutes, add oil, eno and salt in to the mixture of basic ingredients. stir well. Pour the mixture in to the greased pan and sprinkle chilly powder and black pepper powder on to the

 batter.

Keep the pan in to the steamer/ the deep pot. Cover the pot with the lid. If you are using deep pot and don't have a tight lid, just take a small towel cover the pot with it and then cover with

 the lid. Keep it on a medium for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes take the lid off and insert the fork or a knife in to the pan and check if it comes out without sticking anything to it, then that's an indication of a perfect dhokla. If not, keep it for another 2-3 minutes and it should be done. But as per my experience it should be done in 15 minutes.

Take out the pan and let it cool for about 1/2 an hour.  Garnish with tadka, and chopped coriander. After that you can take out of the pan and cut in to squares. Enjoy with chutney, or just as it is.

I still can't believe I took 5 long years to make such a simple dish. I am sure I will be the one making this again and again at least for next 50 years....:) 

Dumplings in the hot tub!!

Winter is here in California!! Although it never snows in California, (at least around my area) it's chilly enough to enjoy a hot tub of tomato soup with couple of dumplings....:))

Today is the thanksgiving night, everybody must be enjoying with their families and friends. I decided to enjoy a nice hearty bowl of soup with my hubby. I wanted to make it a little fancy. That's when an idea of dumplings came to my mind. I used Nasoya's round wheat wraps I bought from pavilions last week. 

Also I had a can of Campbell's tomato soup. I was lazy enough to use canned soup to make my dinner in just 20 minutes. I love Campbell's, especially their healthy request series with less sodium and less fat....:)) and good part of it is you don't have to sacrifice the test...:))  I love it...:)

I guess no need to write the recipe for soup here, so here goes the dumplings....

For filling:-

You can throw anything in to the wrap as long as the filling doesn't become soggy or watery. The wrap should hold the mixture after boiling or frying. 

Here is the filling I made today-:

1 scallion chopped

5-6 baby carrots shredded

pinto beans (I used canned) slightly mashed with spoon.

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp hot sauce

salt to taste.

You can boil, the veggies before placing the filling in to the wrap, if you want. I used, baby carrots, canned beans which are not very raw. I like kind of a crunch to my dumplings. But if you feel, you can certainly go ahead and boil those in a water for a couple of minutes, drain the water and then add them.

Toss all the ingredients together in a bowl. Add a spoonful of filling in the middle of the wrap. Brush the ends with a drop of water so that, they will stick to each other. Fold the sides by keeping the filling in the center of the wrap. Make sure that the ends get sealed nicely. To give them a nice shape, you can pinch the ends with your fingers. 

Boil the dumplings in the water for about 5 minutes or until they float in the water. Other option is you can fry those. I haven't tried that yet. 

Here is how they look after they come out-:

Let the dumplings float in the hot tub . Garnish them with chopped scallions, and shredded Parmesan. 

 Enjoy your dinner on a chilly night in winter.

Some pictures of Indian treats!!

I have been trying to write recipes of all the goodies I enjoyed back home. Making these tasty treats is not a beginners job....:) SO obviously I wasn't the one who made those. I would definitely like to take credit for those but I won't especially because I know that it requires a lot of efforts.

For now..just enjoy some pictures of the healthy?????  well................treats..!!!

The background of the picture are kadboli ( made up of flour of different grounded pulses, deep fried )

In the left frame are Shankapali (made from the mixture of Maida , milk, sugar and ghee)

In the right frame are Karanjis (The cover is a mixture of maida, ghee, milk and water and the filling is fresh coconut, sugar, dry fruit powder, khoya/mawa, cardmom powder, and saffron.)

The karanjis are fried in ghee.

I am back.......:))

It's been over a week, since I am back from India.
Lots of stories to tell,...and lots and lots of indian faral( Sweets and savory snacks Indians make specially for Diwali holidays) recipes to share ....I am very excited.

I am just being lazy after having loads of fun in India. But I will be back to my routine of blogging as soon as I can.

So stay TUNED.......................