Rava Idli is normally prepared once in a while at home as a change from the usual Idli we make.  Its preparation is relatively simple since it does not involve grinding and long term fermentation.  Sambar and any hot spicy chutney will be a suitable accompaniment for this item and it should be consumed hot.

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

1. Semolina ( Rava fine quality) :  1 cup or 150 grams
2. Curd ( preferably sour) : 1 cup or 100 ml
3. Water : 175 ml
4. Salt :  0.5  Teaspoon
5.Ghee ( Clarified butter) : 2 Tablespoon
6. Mustard : 0.5 Teaspoon
7. Urad (Black gram) dhal : 1 Teaspoon
8. Bengal gram dhal : 1 Teaspoon
9. Ginger : 1″ piece
10. G. Chili : 2
11. Curry leaves : 1 sprig
12. Cashew nuts : 8
13. Soda bi-carb ( cooking soda) : a pinch

Method:
Chop the g. chili, ginger and curry leaves finely. In a frying pan heat a  table spoon of ghee and fry the cashew nuts first. Remove the cashew nuts and in the same ghee fry the Rava well for 5 mts till it changes color.  Cool the rava and keep aside.
Add a tablespoon of  ghee to the pan and saute the mustard, dhals and curry leaves along with chopped ginger and g.chili. Churn the curd with water.
Now mix the fried rava with curd, water and the other fried ingredients like ginger etc,  salt and soda – bi-carb and allow it to ferment for 45 mts. Use a Idli mould and Idli cooker to steam rava idli like it is done for usual idlis. (See idli recipe).

Tips: You will get 7 Rava idlis for the above quantity.

Related posts:

1. RAVA (SEMOLINA) DOSA / DOSAI
2. Rava (Semolina) Uppuma (Upma)
3. Idly (Idli) – Rice Cakes

Rava Dosa is a delicacy for kids and you can relish it for it is crisp and crunchy with a distinct flavour and taste and different from the normal  dosa (rice)  we regularly make at home.

Cooking Time: 45  mts

Servings: 3

Ingredients:

1. Rava ( Semolina ) : 1 Cup or 150 Grams
2. Refined flour ( maida ) 1 Cup or 100 Grams
3. Rice flour : 0.5 Cup or 50 Grams
4. Curd (preferably sour) : 0.25 Cup or 50 Ml
5. Water : 2.5 Cup or 500 Ml
6. Salt : 0.5  Teaspoon
7. Oil : 0.5 Cup
8. Mustard : 1  Teaspoon
9. Pepper : 1 Teaspoon
10. Cumin (Jeera ) : 1 Teaspoon
11. Ginger : 1″ piece
12. G. Chili : 1
13. Coriander and Curry leaves: 1 sprig each

Method:  Chop g. chili, ginger and coriander, curry leaves

Take a teaspoon of oil in a skillet and saute the mustard, ginger, g. chili, pepper, cumin and curry leaves.
Now mix all the ingredients; Rava, maida and rice flour with curd, water, salt and fried items to ferment for 30 mins. The batter should be thinner than the normal dosa batter. Heat the non stick dosa pan or tava and pour a big ladle full of  batter in the middle and spead it to all sides to make it a round dosa.  Use the oil generously over the dosa and it should be well cooked on both sides to become crisp and thin to a golden color.

Tips:  Try to use a non stick dosa pan for making this. There is no need to fry the rava or maida.

Related posts:

1. RAVA (SEMOLINA) IDLI / IDLY
2. Rava (Semolina) Uppuma (Upma)

“Paal Kozhukattai” is a sweet made out of milk, as the name suggests and it is called ” Modak” in Hindi.
It is prepared on special occasions at home during festival days mainly in Chettinad areas.  It takes some time to prepare this sweet but it is worth all the trouble and time we spend in the preparation.

 Cooking Time: 1  1/2 hours

Servings: 3

Ingredients:

1.  Rice Flour :  1.5 Cups or 200 Grams
2.  Sugar : 1 Cup or 175 Grams
3.  Coconut : 1 medium size
4.   Water : 1.5 Cups
5.   Milk : 0.5 Cup
6.   Salt : 0.25 Teaspoon
7.   Cardamom : 4

Method:

Boil 1/2 Cup  water and remove from fire.   Add the salt along with the rice flour to the hot water and knead it well without any lumps to a smooth dough. Take  small  portions out of the dough and form  small ” kozhukattais” of  any shape of your choice like smooth round balls or spindle or cylindrical. keep them aside.

Grate Coconut and keep a tablespoon of grated coconut separately. Now put the remaining Coconut gratings in to a blender and extract thick Coconut milk.

The first Coconut milk extract is thick. Add one cup of water to the Coconut and take the second extract. This milk will be thinner in quality.

Powder the Cardamom.

In a broad skillet boil the milk along with the Coconut milk extracted the second time (as Second quality which is thinner) over high flame.
When the milk is boiling, drop the “kozhukattais”  gently into it.  Allow them to cook for 5 mins over medium flame and they start floating.

Now add the sugar with the cardamom powder and wait for a couple of mts till the sugar dissolves.  Finally add the thick Coconut milk extracted first time to the preparation and wait for a few seconds. This sweet can be consumed either hot or cold.

Tips:

1. If you are making rice flour at home, raw rice should be soaked in water for half an hour.  Grind it to a fine powder ( after completely draining water from the rice).  Then the wet rice flour should be fried lightly in a vessel (without adding oil ) for a few mins.

2.  Sugar Can be replaced with Jaggery ( unrefined sugar or brown sugar)  for this sweet.

3. To get a thick consistency,  You can add one tea spoon of rice flour to the boiling milk.

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If one wants to have a simple meal any day doing away way with elaborate cooking of vegetables etc,  “Paruppu Thuvaiyal” is prepared quickly to be mixed with plain rice and eaten.  Also  it can be consumed along with packed lunch like lime rice, tamarind rice etc or as a side dish with rice and ‘rasam” or “pulikuzhambu”. In this recipe “tur” ( Red gram) dhal is the main ingredient.

SERVINGS: 3

COOKING TIME: 15 mins

INGREDIENTS:

1. Red Gram Dhal ( Tur Dhal) :  1/2 Cup or 75 grams
2. Dry red chili: 3
3. Garlic: 2 cloves
4. Grated Coconut : 2 Tablespoons
5. Tamarind : one small piece 
6. Oil: 1 Tablespoon
7. Salt: 0.25 Teaspoon

METHOD:

Heat the oil in a skillet and fry all the above items except salt and tamarind.  Fry till the dhal  turns to a golden brown color. Remove and cool the contents. Put all the ingredients along with salt and tamarind in a blender and grind to a coarse consistency adding 1/4 cup water.

TIP:   You can replace Tur dhal with any other dhal like Bengal Gram,  Black Gram, Green Gram or Cow Pea and make it.

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Chicken Chettinad was originally popular in the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu, but now it is a favourite food item in most  homes and restaurants  of Tamil Nadu.

This dish is prepared using a combination of spices and it has its unique flavor and taste.
We can have it for all rice based meals as side dish and it can be consumed along with Chappathi, Parotta etc also.

Cooking Time: 30 mts.

Servings:  4

INGREDIENTS:
1.  Chicken : 500 Grams
2. Shallots :  100 grams
3. Onion: 1
4. Tomato: 2 ( 50 Grams approximate)
5. Ginger Garlic Paste: 1 Teaspoon
6. Curry leaves: 2 sprigs
7. Turmeric Powder: 0.5 Teaspoon
8. Salt: 0.75 Teaspoon
9. Water: 1 Cup
10. Oil: 0.25 Cup

Dry roast the following spices (without Oil) in a vessel :

1. Cinnamon: 1″ piece
2. Cardamom: 1
3. Cloves: 3
4. “Kalpasi” (an Indian Chettinad spice called “phool pathar” in Hindi also called Black stone flowers ) :  a few pieces
5. Cumin :  1 Teaspoon
6. Pepper: 0.75 Teaspoon
7. Aniseed: 0.25 Teaspoon
8. Red Chili: 6
9. Coriander Seeds: 1 tablespoon
10. Coconut Gratings: 1 Cup

In a skillet dry fry the spices without oil and grind them in a blender to a smooth powder and keep.
Take a teaspoon of oil in the same vessel and fry the shallots and grind them in the blender and keep the shallots paste aside.
Chop the Onion and tomatoes.
Cut, clean and keep the Chicken pieces.Take a skillet and heat oil in it.  Fry the chopped onion first and then add the tomato pieces with ginger and garlic paste.
Then add the chicken pieces along with Turmeric powder, Curry leaves and salt and saute for 5 minutes.  You can add water and cook for another 5 minutes over medium flame.  Keep the vessel covered.
Now  the ground spices can be added along with the ground Shallots paste to the chicken and let it simmer for another 10 minutestill the gravy thickens to the desired  consistency.

Related posts:

1. Chicken Dry Fry
2. Chicken (Kozhi) Kuzhambu