The Indian Foodie, Author at The Indian Foodie

In Breakfast

Sooji Uppama (Savory Semolina)

Uppama is a breakfast dish typical in Southern India. Mama, being from the South, meant it was part of her recipe repertoire. Uppama is made out of semolina (rava), and is like a thick dry porridge or grits with onions, nuts, and typical South Indian seasonings.

Rainy days or cold mornings are a clarion call for me to fix Uppama. You can make it in various ways—with sooji (semolina), bread, poha (flattened flakes), and oats. I also make it with leftover Idlis.

Uppama is excellent for breakfast and a wonderful tea time or anytime snack.

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Sooji Uppama (Savory Semolina)

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings 4

Uppama is excellent for breakfast and a wonderful tea time or anytime snack.

Ingredients

1 cup fine sooji (semolina)
1 medium chopped onion
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 medium green chili (stem removed and slit in half or chopped, amount of chili is to your taste)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves (approximately 10-12 leaves–available at Indian grocery stores)
1 tsp channa dal (split Bengal gram without skin)
1 tsp urad dhulli dal (split black gram without skin)
½ cup cocktail peanuts (or cashew nuts, or a combination of both (optional))
2½ cups water
1 tsp salt
½ lemon (seeds removed)
2 tbsp desi ghee or butter
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves

Instructions

Roast the sooji (semolina) in a wok (kadai) or a broad pan.
Heat the wok on medium heat and pour the sooji into it. Dry roast by stirring the sooji constantly for two minutes till fragrant and slightly brown.
Remove from heat and pour onto a plate or thali (rimmed steel plate) to cool.
Wipe the wok or pan of any residual roasted sooji.
Pour in 2 tablespoons of oil and heat on medium heat.
When hot( not smoking), add the mustard seed. Let crackle for 30 seconds, then add the curry pata (be careful of it splattering).
Stir for 30 seconds, and then add the lentils. Stir it.
Now add the chopped onions. Stir fry until the onions turn translucent. About 3 minutes.
Add the chopped green chili and stir.
Now add the water and salt. Do a taste test. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring the water to a rolling boil. The water should be slightly salty.
Once boiling, reduce the heat to low. Pour in the peanuts and/or cashew nuts (your choice), and stir them.
Using a spoon or your hand, pour the roasted sooji into the water with one hand while quickly stirring the mixture with the other until you use all the sooji. Stir and mix well.
To make it easier, you can put the roasted sooji into a measuring jug, so it is easy to pour. Do this quickly, as the sooji immediately absorbs the water and forms lumps.
Cover and let the sooji steam on low heat for about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat.
Uncover the lid and squeeze the juice of the half lemon all over the cooked sooji.
Add the desi ghee or butter. (Clumps are fine or you can melt the ghee or butter a bit and then add it).
Stir well, breaking up any sooji lumps. Cover and let rest for another 2 minutes.
Transfer the uppama to a serving dish and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
Uppama can be eaten by itself or with coconut or peanut chutney. I like to top it with extra nuts.

Notes

1. You can buy pre-roasted sooji at the Indian grocery store, which cuts prep time.

2. You can also add peas to the Uppma. Add ½ cup peas when you add the water.

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: semolina, uppama

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In Main Dishes

Channa Dal Curry (Split Chick Pea Curry)

By The Indian Foodie

This dal curry is made out of the split chickpea (Bengal gram) with the husk removed. I sometimes use this lentil to make a simple soup by seasoning it with sauteed onions, bay leaf, turmeric, and cumin powder.

This dal was a must every time Biryani was fixed at home. To make the dal tastier, Mom would have Cook add the bones left over from the large cut of meat that was chopped up for the Biryani. Since I use boneless meat for the Byriani, I add beef broth to give it a meatier taste, but it also tastes perfectly good just by adding water.

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Channa Dal Curry (Split Chick Pea Curry)

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 1 15

Total Time 2

Servings 6

A delicious healthy, nutritious lentil dish that you can serve as a main dish or side dish. It goes perfectly with Biriyani, any kind of pilaf, plain boiled rice, or flat bread.

Ingredients

2 cups dried split chickpea dal (Sort for stones and grit, clean, and rinse. Soak the chickpeas for half an hour)
4 tbsp cooking oil
2 medium onions (chopped fine)
1 medium green Serrano chili (chopped very fine)
2 tbsp tomato paste (or 1 8 oz can tomato sauce)
1 tbsp ginger paste (preferably fresh)
1 tbsp garlic paste (preferably fresh)
salt (to taste)
4 cups water (or more, depending on the amount of gravy you want)
1 tbsp fresh green coriander (finely chopped for garnish)

Whole Spices

1 large black cardamom
2 medium Bay leaves
3 cloves
5 peppercorns

Masalas

2 tsp coriander powder
1 ½ tsp cumin powder
½ tsp tumeric powder
¼ tsp red chili powder (more or less, according to your taste)

Instructions

Preparation

Sort for stones and grit, and clean, and rinse the chickpeas.
Soak for half an hour.

To Cook

Heat oil in a 4-6 quart pot over medium heat.
Add the whole spices and then add the onions. Sauté until the onions are ¾ brown. Approximately 8-10 minutes.
Add the ginger and garlic paste, then add all the masalas and stir a few minutes until fragrant. About 1-2 minutes.
Add the chickpeas, water, and tomato paste. Partially cover and cook until nice and tender. Approximately 45 minutes.
When nearly done, mash some of the lentils against the side of the pot to make a thicker gravy.
Cook for another 10 minutes.
Pour into a serving dish and garnish with about a tablespoon full of fresh chopped cilantro.

Notes

1. You can substitute some of the water with vegetable, beef or chicken broth. Add additional water if necessary to get a thick soupy consistency.

2. You can also serve this dal with Biryani, any kind of pilaf, plain boiled rice, or flat bread.

3. You can boil the dal separately and then add it to the curry masala and let it simmer for 15 minutes to absorb all the flavors.

4. I like to use a pressure cooker to hasten the process.

Course: Main Course, Non-Vegetarian

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: Bengal gram, channa dal, curry

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In Appetizers

Sont (Tamarind Sauce)

By The Indian Foodie

Street food is famous all over India, and tamarind sauce/chutney called sont is served along with samosas, dahi vada, chaat, allu tikkas, and other savories. Sont is a tangy sweet and sour, spicy sauce. You can turn the spice up or down in it, depending on your taste. While it is readily available at the local “halwai,” the owner of a store that cooks and sells Indian halwa (sweets and savories), it is easy to fix at home.

I modified this recipe from the one I learned from a friend, Mimi. Our husbands were doing a year-long course at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, which was located in the Nilgiri hills in Southern India. Mornings were a fun time for the wives while the husbands attended the course and the kids were at school. The morning coffee/tea parties lead to a lot of recipe exchanges! Our cooks were always happy to let us take over the kitchen.

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Sont (Tamarind Sauce)

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings 6

A tangy sweet and sour, spicy sauce served along with samosas, dahi vada, chaat, allu tikkas, and other savories.

Ingredients

2 cups water
1 tsp tamarind paste (available at Indian grocery stores - see notes)
¼ tsp chili powder (or to your taste)
1 tsp cumin powder
3 tbsp brown sugar or jaggery
2 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp chaat masala (available at Indian grocery stores)
2 tbsp black salt
¼ tsp garam masala
¼ tsp black pepper powder

Instructions

All ingredients are to your taste, so feel free to increase or decrease the ingredient accordingly.
Place all ingredients in a saucepan on medium heat. Stir well until nicely blended and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat a bit and let simmer, occasionally stirring, until the sauce thickens. It should have a consistency a little thinner than ketchup.
Turn off the heat and allow it to cool, but be sure to stir it a few times while it is cooling, so it doesn't form a film on top.
Refrigerate when cool.
Serve cold chutney with chaat, samosas, pakoras, allu tikkas. I also enjoy it with boiled channa or boiled potatoes mixed with yogurt.

Notes

If you do not have tamarind paste, you can use ½ cup of tamarind pulp. Add to a pot with 2½ cups of water, and bring it to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.

Strain through a fine sieve. I use my fingers to squeeze out every bit of juice! Discard the pulp and use the strained tamarind liquid.

When I am in a hurry, I add a teaspoon of cornstarch to a quarter cup of water and then add it to the simmering sauce. Stir for about 2-3 minutes until the desired consistency is reached.

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: sauce, tamarind

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In Appetizers

Chivda (All in One Savory Snack)

By The Indian Foodie

Christmas was always a great time for us. Mama and Dad always made it a very special and memorable celebration for us. Two weeks before Christmas, Mama would start preparing the “pakwan” (translated loosely means goodies, sweet and savory), that was prepared for festivals.

Christmas Day was an open house for family, friends, and acquaintances. Members of Dad’s regiment would come in a steady stream to wish us a “Happy Christmas.” Hot tea and coffee (with milk and sugar, please), cold drinks, and pakwan would be served nonstop from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

When we were old enough to handle a heavy-laden tray, several of us older siblings would be called on to help in the serving. In India it does not matter what religion you are, you celebrate with your friends in their festivals. Needless to say, with all the many religious festivals, we were celebrating every month!!

Chivda was a favorite with us. When you look at the ingredients below you can understand why. Mama always fixed it at home, as she did not like to get it from the store.

Today, you can buy store-bought packets but I still enjoy the homemade version as I can temper the chili heat to my palate!

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Chivda (All in One Savory Snack)

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

This savory snack is prepared with rice flakes, raisins, cashew nuts, and peanuts, all tossed in spices to make one sensational snack!

Ingredients

16 oz salted cocktail peanuts
18 oz salted cashew nuts (or add more to your taste)
16 oz salted shoestring potatoes (available in most grocery stores)
1 cup golden raisins
3 cups thick poha (flat beaten rice, available at most Indian grocery stores)
2 green chilies (chopped into small bits)
15-20 curry patta (Indian curry leaves, available at most Indian grocery stores)
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp chili powder (optional, more or less to your taste)
3 tbsp cooking oil (if deep frying, you'll about 2-3 cups of oil)

Instructions

On medium heat, heat a tablespoon of the oil in a deep skillet or wok (at least 12-14" in size).
Add the chopped green chilies and curry patta. Stir for about 30-40 seconds until the curry patta and green chilies darken. Turn off the heat. Remove and place on a paper towel to drain.
Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet. Heat on medium-high and add the raisins. Stir for about 1 minute until the raisins plump out. Do not burn. Turn off the heat, remove the raisins, and drain them on a paper towel.
In the same skillet, on medium heat, put another tablespoon of oil and add the turmeric. Stir 15 seconds, then add the beaten rice. Let sauté, stirring occasionally, for approximately 10 minutes. The flakes will get a little crunchy, but they do not have to be browned.
Once the poha is lightly browned, turn off the heat. Now add all the other ingredients. Salt is not needed since there is enough in the other salted ingredients.
If you want it spicy, you can add some chili powder or chili flakes to suit your taste. Stir carefully so as not to break up the poha. Mix all ingredients well.
Let cool and store in airtight containers.
Great as a tea time snack or if you were getting an attack of the munchies!
These do not last long enough in my house to give you shelf time. If I had to guess, I would say at least a month.

Notes

The Old-fashioned Deep-fried Method

The pace is fast and furious, so have all the ingredients ready and the paper towels all ready for draining.

All the above ingredients should be raw.

You will need about 2-3 cups of oil (peanut or canola are best) to half fill the pan or wok you are using, and you will probably have to fry the ingredients in batches.

Be careful not to dump all ingredients at once, as the oil can bubble over. Add a little in at first and then add the rest carefully.

For the shoestring potatoes, scrub and peel the potatoes, then slice them with a julienne blade in a Mandoline slicer. If you don't have one, you will have to do it the old-fashioned way and cut the potato into julienne strips. Place the sticks in a large bowl of iced water for 15 minutes, drain, add fresh water and soak another 15 minutes. (This helps remove any excess starch and give you the crispy fries you need). Drain and dry them thoroughly with a kitchen or paper towels. Deep-fry in batches until golden and leave to drain while you fry the rest of the ingredients.

Wait for the oil to reheat, when hot, add chopped green chilies and curry patta. Brown a little, strain and drain on paper towel to absorb excess oil, about 15-20 seconds.

In the same oil add the raisin, when they get plump, about 10-15 seconds, strain and drain on another paper towel.

Once again, in the same oil, add the peanuts and fry till golden, then the cashew nuts and fry till golden. Place to drain on paper towels.

Now add the turmeric and beaten rice to the hot oil. Fry until the rice flakes are slightly brown at the edges, approximately 1-2 minutes. You may have to do it in two batches, as the flakes should be deep-fried. Add more oil if necessary. Drain all fried ingredients on paper towels, then mix all the ingredients together with 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

You can add some red chili powder if you like it more spicy, or also increase the amount of green chilies.

You can, of course, go the baking route ,but I find that more time-consuming.

Keep in airtight containers.

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: cashew nuts, peanuts, snacks

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In Main Dishes

Rajma (Kidney Beans Curry)

By The Indian Foodie

I hear the wind rattling the windows. The dark rain clouds hang overhead. I look out of the kitchen window. We are up on the fourth floor of our flat in New Delhi. The monsoons have brought sweet relief from the oppressive summer heat. It seems a good day to fix some Rajma Curry (kidney beans). I love it with white rice and pickle. The cook has the day off. I don’t mind. I love the peace of being in the kitchen by myself. I had soaked the beans the night before. My son is curled up on the couch reading his recently acquired comics. My husband should be home in an hour. I turn my gaze from contemplating the clouds to the kitchen counter and get started.

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Rajma (Kidney Beans Curry)

Prep Time 14

Cook Time 1 20

Total Time 15 30

A rich, delicious, healthy kidney bean curry filled with nutritious proteins and nutrients.

Ingredients

2 cups rajma (pick, clean, and soak overnight in about 4 cups water)
3 tbsp cooking oil
2 medium yellow onions (chopped finely)
1 green Serrano chili (to your taste)
2 tbsp tomato paste (or one 8 oz can of tomato sauce or 3 Roma tomatoes)
1 tbsp heaped ginger paste (preferably fresh)
1 tbsp heaped garlic paste (preferably fresh)
1½ tsp salt (or to your taste)
6-7 cups water

Whole Spices

1 large black cardamom
2 Bay leaves
4-5 cloves (or ¼ tsp clove powder)
4-5 peppercorns (½ tsp cracked pepper)

Masalas

2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp red chili powder (or to your taste)
1-2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro (coriander) leaves

Instructions

Overnight Preparation

Pick, clean, and soak the beans overnight in about 4 cups of water.

To Prepare

Heat the oil in a 4-6 quart cooking pot or deep saucepan on medium heat.
Add whole spices, stir for 30 seconds, and now add the onions.
Sauté until three-quarter brown, about 8 minutes.
Add all the masalas and sauté for 3 minutes or until the oil starts to surface on the sides of the pan.
Add the kidney beans, water, and tomato paste. Cover and bring to a boil.
Boil for 30 minutes, then lower heat and simmer for about another 30 minutes, until nice and tender.
If the beans are drying out, add more hot water to sustain a nice amount of gravy.
When nearly done, mash some of the beans against the side of the pot to make a thicker gravy. Cook for another 5 minutes.
Pour into a serving dish and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.
Serve with plain boiled rice, any pilaf, or roti. I have even eaten it poured over a plate of noodles!

Notes

You can boil the beans separately and then add them to the curry mix or use them after soaking.

If using a pressure cooker, you can do the tempering, then add the raw-soaked beans and bring it to pressure. Using a pressure cooker cuts the cooking time. I follow the time given on the chart for beans, but times will vary depending on the heat source and altitude, so I always cook it for less than the time indicated on the manual chart.

A Simple Variation

Boil the soaked beans with a tablespoon of chopped ginger, garlic, and salt. Cook until done. Then temper the beans.

Tempering/Tadka

1 medium onion chopped

2 medium tomatoes chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp chili powder or to your taste

¼ tsp garam masala, or to your liking

2-3 tablespoons oil

In a sauté pan, heat the oil on medium heat. Add the onions, sauté 4-5 minutes, then add the spice powders and stir for a minute. Add the tomatoes. Cook for 7-8 minutes, and add the cooked beans. Stir and let simmer for 5 minutes to absorb the flavors of the tadka. Mash a few beans against the side of the pot with the back of the ladle. Stir and simmer for another 2 minutes.

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: rajma, red kidney beans

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