Vegetable Idlis

It is so true ... once you get a break from blogging ... however small, you find it difficult to get back into the grind. Grind? Yup .... right now for me it is.
Even though I do cook ... we all have to :-) .... I don't feel like going through the whole process of making the dish presentable and actually presenting on my blog .... which means ..... waiting for the right natural light, arranging, clicking numerous snaps, uploading, editing ... and finally on to the posting part.

And after my net connectivity problem, connection is extremely slow. So I have sit and stare at the screen ... willing it to be a wee, wee bit faster on its uploading. :-(

I find the writing and publishing the easiest part right now. Anyway, since these snaps were ready when I was having connectivity prob., am posting this very common recipe now.

When making idlis if I happen to have veggies in the fridge ( I make idlis when there is nothing else to make ... usually for weekend brunches) ... I just chop them up and add them to the batter.

This time it there was no time to make a sambar. So had them with my favourite Onion Chutney ... which is nowadays always found in my fridge.

Need : Idli batter ( Urad dal and rice, proportion 1:2, soaked and ground into a thick liquid consistency, preferably left overnight to ferment .... otherwise use a little baking powder to make the idlis fluffy ), finely chopped vegetables ( I just had beans, carrots, onions, green chilles ), a little salt.

How to : Add the chopped veggies and salt to the batter and steam in an idli mould.

Done! :-)

A bite, anyone? :-)

Bori / Wadi / Mungaudi / Sundried Lentil Dumplings

( If you do not get enough sun in your part of the world, you can stll make them.
Check out my post on how to make them in the oven. ) 

Even though we use Bori / Bodi / vadi in a lot of dishes, we usually tend to buy them. Of course I am not talking of the days back home, where winter noons would see an array of boris / bodi being dried out in the sunlight .... by our cooks and other helping hands. These little things have to be dried in the soft sun .... so they dry slowly .... and stay brittle and crispy when fried. . If dried under a strong sun, they tend to turn very hard.
I am proud to say that amongst us cousins in my generation, I am the only one who has treaded this path .... and successfully too. :-)

I am refering them as Mungaudis because the name is familiar to a lot of people. Of course they are usually made from the Moong/Mung dal .... but I used the Urad dal for these.

Need :

Urad / Moong dal, grated ginger, a pinch of salt, a little cooking oil, flat plates .... and of course a place where you get ample sunlight.

How to :

 Wash the dal and soak it overnight. Grind it into a paste with very little water.
Add the grated ginger and salt to it and mix very well.
A variety of spices like cumin / black pepper / fresh coriander leaves etc can also be added to the basic dal mixture. This way you can get a variety of different flavoured Boris / Bodi / vadis.
Apply cooking oil on a flat plate.

Scoop out very small ball of the dal mixture and place it on the plate.

Sun dry the boris / bodi for a few days. Do not try to pick them. They will come out on their own when done.

Here are a couple of photographs of the bodis that I made from Masoor dal / Mushurir dal.

Kichu Khonn's Mushur daler bori

 A close up shot. Don't miss the perfect peaks.
I'm sure Thamma would approve. :-) 

Up close ... the perfect peaks. 

They can be fried in a little oil and had on the side with rice and dal. Or they can be used to make some simple dishes.

Give these a try and enjoy your very own home made boris.
 And if you do not have enough sun in your part of the world, worry not.
Just hop over to my post on How to make Boris in the oven!!


Here are a few recipes where you can enjoy your Bori in : -

Lau Bori

Shukto

Aloo Bori

Aloo Borir jhaal

Laal shaak bhaja

Chilli Prawns with Burnt Garlic Noodles

( Vegetarians can replace the Prawns with Paneer or Cauliflower / Gobhi. Just fry them lightly and then continue with the recipe. )

Had a harrowing 12 days of net disconnectivity. No ... not because I could not access the net ... which spells .... no chatting with friends and relatives, no looking up favourite blogs, no writing/posting or just plain turning to Google when in doubt ..... not to mention work sufferring ..... no ... it is the experience we had to go through just to get our connection back.

It all started when our phone went dead. Numerous phone calls and registration of complaints did not work. The BSNL guys took their own sweet time to get the fault repaired. Relieved I immediately tried to connect net.

Nope ... not working. Next day again registered a complaint. And waited. Nothing.
So called up their help centre. Was told status is "work in progress". Waited more. after two days called up again. Was told "Problem resolved". Huh????

Again registered a fresh complaint. Next day status says "Problem solved". ???!!!!!
What followed the next few days was painful. Given numerous phone numbers ... nobody responds. Given numerous toll free numbers ... do not reach anybody. Looked up numerous mail ids .... not one worked .... every mail had a failed delivery.

So started numerous visits to the exchange main office. Every time we were told we missed the required person just by a few mins. Has left. Yeah .... even at 4 in the afternoon on a working day.

Finally on Sat hubby went and sat at the exchange office till a person finally asked him what the prob is. He explained everything with great cool. They said they will look into the prob ... will take time as they will have to dig out the details of our connection. We had the connection details (things they should have had at the tip of their fingers) .... and finally the job was done. A wrong switch had been made and all it needed was for the person who corrected the dead phone connection to make the correct switch assignment.

Phew .... so much for India bol raha hai. I say ... the common man ro raha hai.

So am starting posting again with this simple dish I made for myself. Of course, for hubby it is Chilli Paneer or some other veggie.

Even though I make prawns often (am very lucky to get fresh water prawns) I usually eat them up as am frying them ... unless am having guests ... and hardly make anything detailed out of them. This time I had some left over boiled noodles. At first thought of frying them up with the noodles ... but did not have any other veggies .... so decided it would turn slightly dry. So made this easy stuff.

Need : Prawns, chopped garlic, chopped green chillies, vinegar, sliced onions, soy sauce, boiled noodles, a little cooking oil, salt and sugar.

How to : Wash the prawns , apply a little vinegar and salt and keep aside.
Heat a little oil and add the onions, garlic and chillies. Fry till soft. Add the prawns and fry some more. Add the soy sauce, salt, sugar.
Keep frying till the prwans are done ( they cook very fast).

Heat a little oil in another pan and add chopped garlic. Fry till they turn deep brown. Add the noodles, salt and a little vinegar. Toss well.


Serve hot.