Zucchini pancakes

Zucchini is a form of summer squash. It is a low calorie vegetable but a very filling one. Zucchini pancakes is a popular dish in Turkish cuisine. One medium sized zucchini contains just 25 calories. It has a high water content .

Typically, this recipe requires eggs, so I have made a few changes to this recipe so that it can be made without eggs. I have substituted pancake mix for eggs and all purpose flour.

Makes - 8 - 10

You need :

• 1 medium sized zucchini
• 1 medium sized onion
• 2 green chillies (adjust to taste)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup pancake mix
• 3-4 tablespoons of vegetable oil /olive oil

Method :

• In a large bowl shred the zucchini (don't peel the skin).
• Finely chop the onion and green chillies and add them in the bowl.
• To this mixture add salt, pepper and the pancake mix.

• In a pan add 2 tablespoons of oil and allow it to heat.
• Now add 2 spoonfuls of the mixture and flatten them with the back of the spoon.
• Cook the pancakes until both the sides are brown.

• Repeat the last 2 steps for the rest of the mixture.
• Serve them hot with tomato ketchup or marinara sauce or hot sauce.

Notes :

1. If you are planning on making this pancake with eggs then this recipe requires two of them and replace the pancake mix with equal amounts all purpose flour.
2. You can also make a batter and bake them like the regular pancakes.

This recipe is one of the entries for Priya's pancakes event.

Oats Upma

Oats is a common breakfast item in every household now a days. It is an excellent source of iron, dietary fiber and thiamine. Though it is good for everyone, it is highly recommended for people with diabetics, heart problems and high cholesterol levels. Usually, oats is made into porridge which is sweet.

In India, our breakfast items are rarely sweet so I could not enjoy consuming oats in porridge form This prompted me to make a spicy dish using oats.

Serves : 1

You need :

• 3/4 cup of quick 1-minute oats
• 1/6 cup of water
• 1/3 cup of chopped carrots
• 1/3 cup of chopped potatoes
• 1/3 cup of peas
• 1/3 cup of chopped tomatoes
• 1 small sized onion
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 3 green chillies
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 3/4 teaspoon of salt
• pinch of asefoetida
• coriander leaves/cilantro for garnishing

Method :

• Dry roast the oats until it turns slightly brown. Set them aside.
• Cook all the vegetables (expect tomatoes and onion) seperately.
• In a pan, add oil. When the oil is heated, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
• When the mustard seeds pop, add the chopped onion and fry them until they turn brown.
• Add the tomatoes, turmeric, salt, green chillies,asefoetida and fry for a minute.
• Now add all the cooked vegetables and fry them for a minute.
• Add water and bring it to boil.

• Now add the roasted oats and cook them in medium flame for about 5 minutes with occasional stirring. (do not cover the pan with the lid).
• Add the cilantro and turn the heat off.

It tastes best when served hot.

Pesrattu

Pesrattu is an Andhra style dosa. Green gram is the main ingredient in this recipe. It is rich in fiber and protein and contains less fat and cholesterol, making this dish a healthy one. This is usually served with allam chutney (Spicy Andhra style ginger chutney) and coconut chutney.

Makes : 12 dosas

You need :

For Batter:

• 1 cup whole moong dhal/green gram
• 1/2 cup raw rice
• Small piece of ginger (about an inch)
• 4 green chillies
• 1 teaspoon salt

For Garnishing :

• 2-3 green chillies
• 1 medium sized onion
• A small piece of ginger

Chop all the ingredients finely.Mix them all together and set aside.

Preparation :

• Soak the moong dhal and rice overnight in 4 cups of water.
• Grind the dhal, rice, ginger, green chillies and salt to make a fine paste.

• Heat the griddle in medium heat.
• Pour one ladle full of batter on the griddle and spread outward to make a thin dosa.
• Sprinkle the garnishing mixture on the dosa and cover it with a lid.

• Cook until both sides are cooked.
• Serve hot with sambhar, allam chutney and coconut chutney. (I served it with sambhar and coconut chutney).

Stuffed Idli / Vegetable Idli

Idli is a staple food of South India. Idli, sambhar and coconut chutney make a perfect combination. They contain less fat and are packed with nutrition and taste. The key to soft and fluffy idli is the right proportion of boiled rice and urad dhal and the consistency of the batter.

Stuffed idli or vegetable idli is a variation to the regular idli.

For the batter :

You need :

• 4 cups boiled rice
• 1 cup urad dhal

1. Soak the boiled rice for atleast 4 hours. Preferably use unbroken urad dhal for the batter.
2. This little secret (as I call it) I got from my mother-in-law : Don't soak the dhal for a very long time, otherwise, it won't be airy and light after grinding. Soak it just for an hour.
3. Grind the dhal separately until it forms a fine paste and starts foaming. Pour this in a container.
4. Grind the soaked boiled rice until it forms a fine paste. Pour this on top of the urad dhal paste.
5. Add 3 teaspoons of salt and mix them well.
6. Allow the mixture to ferment for atleast 16 hours.

For Stuffing :

You need :

• 1 cup finely chopped string beans
• 1 cup finely chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green capsicum
• 1 cup finely chopped potatoes.
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder(according to taste)
• pinch of asefoetida
• salt according to taste
• 1/2 tsp Mustards seeds for seasoning
• 1 tbsp oil

Method :

• Steam cook the vegetables.
• In a pan, add 1 tablespoon of oil. When the oil is heated, add the mustard seeds.
• When the mustard seeds pop, add the cooked vegetables, turmeric, salt, red chilli powder, asefoetida and mix them well.
• Let it simmer for 5 min. Turn off the heat and transfer the curry to a bowl.

• Grease all the plates of the idli stand.
• Add 3 tablespoons of batter in each idli cup holder.
• Add 1 tablespoon of the prepared curry (or as desired) over the batter.

• Pour more batter to cover the curry.

• Repeat the same for as many plates as you need.
• In a pressure cooker, add 2 cups of water and bring it to boil.
• Place the idli stand and close the pressure cooker lid and cook for 15-20 minutes.
• Take the stand out of the cooker and let the plates cool down for 10 min.
• Scoop the idlis out of the idli cup holder using a spoon or spatula.
• Serve hot with sambhar and chutney.

Wheat Nippattu (Wheat crackers)

Nippattu is a spicy snack famous in Karnataka. This can be made in many different ways depending on individual preferences. This recipe that I made is from my mother. It is a little time consuming than other snacks but the yummy taste is worth all the effort. This is made during festivals, specially Krishna Janmaastami among the other variety of snacks.

Like any other snack it can be stored for a couple of weeks in an air tight container. Nippattu and rava ladoo make a great combo for an evening snack with coffee or tea.

Wheat is the main ingredient for this snack. Fried dhal, coconut and peanuts give it the crunchy taste.

Makes : 35

Preparation time : 1 hour and 30 min

You need :

• 2 cups wheat flour
• 1 cup rice flour
• 1/4 cup fried dhal/ pottukadalai
• 1/4 cup ground nuts
• 1/2 cup oil
• 5 dry red chillies
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 3/4 cup of shredded coconut
• 1/4 teaspoon asefoetida / hing / perungaayam
• 1 cup water (or as required) to knead dough

Preparation :

• In a large bowl, add the wheat flour, rice flour, salt and asefoetida and mix them well.
• Using a blender, powder the fried dhal and red chillies individually and add them to the flour mix.
• Using a blender again, crack the ground nuts into 1 or 2 pieces and add to the mixture.
• Heat the oil in a pan and pour this hot oil over the flour mix.
• Mix them well using a spatula.

The mixture looks like this after adding oil.

• Add small amounts of water and knead them to make a firm dough.
• Take small portions of this dough and roll them into balls. Flatten each ball into small round discs using a plastic sheet or a leaf smeared with oil. You can also use a poori press to make the job easier.
• Using a fork, prick each one of these discs several times to prevent it from puffing while deep frying.

• Heat oil in a pan.(just enough for deep frying)
• When the oil is hot, bring the heat to medium low flame and fry them until they turn golden brown.