Multigrain flour and Moongdal Murukku - Multigrain savory crackers

Anytime I come across multigrain anything I tend to buy it and give it a try. This time it was multigrain flour gluten free. I bought it for the purposes of making rotis. But using gluten free flour to make rotis requires lots of patience. No gluten means there is nothing to hold it together to make a shape out of it by rolling. You might be far more successful patting them into round shapes. On the other hand, the rotis made with this flour is very tasty.

So we had to find other ways of using it. They make excellent dosai by themselves or mixed with a tiny bit of regular dosai batter. I make roits by using half multigrain flour and the other half regular chapathi flour. They are easy to roll this way. When it came time to make some Deepavali snack I wanted to give this multigrain murukku a try. They did not disappoint. I also added some roasted moongdal flour along with the multigrain flour.

Combine together rice, multigrain and moongdal flour and whisk them together. Add chili powder, salt, asfoetida.
Add cumin seeds and sesame seeds and mix them in. Start sprinkling water and making the dough.
Continue sprinkling just enough water to bring together to form a stiff dough.
In a wide mouthed pan or kadai heat the oil for deep frying. Use the murukku maker to make the murukku shape on the back of a laddle or on a small plate.
Drop the presses murukku into the oil. Initially there will be a lot of bubbles which will slowly start to subside when the murukku is cooked completely. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Multigrain flour and Moongdal Murukku
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 1/2 hours
Ingredients

1. 2 cups rice flour
2. 1 cup multigrain flour
3. 1 cup moongdal flour
4. 1/2 tbsp chili powder (or to taste)
5. 1/4 tsp asfoetida
6. salt to taste
7. 1 tsp sesame seeds
8. 1 tsp cumin seeds
9. 1 tbsp butter melted
10. Oil for deep frying

Method

1. Whisk together the rice flour, multigrain flour and moongdal flour. Add in the butter, chili powder, asfoetida and salt and mix together with sesame seeds and cumin seeds.
2. Sprinkle water a little at a time and bring the dough together till it smooth. Do not add too much water.
3. In a wide mouthed pan or kadai heat oil.
4. Take the dough in the murukku press and press out the shapes.
5. Keep the heat in medium once the oil has reached the required temperature. To check if the oil has reached the desired temperature add a tiny bit of dough and see if it comes to the top and bubbling.
6. Keep the dough covered by a wet towel so it does not dry out.
7. Once the oil is hot add in the pressed murukku and let it cook. Initially there will be a lot of bubbles which will slowly die down and the murukku will change color to golden brown.
8. Remove the cooked murukku with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
9. Repeat the process till all the dough is done.
10. Note:If the dough is too wet it will absorb too much oil. If there is too little it will be hard to press and the murukku won't hold its shape. I had the dough slightly stiff so it was not easy to make shapes but worked for our us.

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Saamai Ven Pongal - Little Millet with Lentils - One Pot Meal

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. We have been hit by a heat wave the last couple of weeks and staying indoors seems to be the most prudent thing to do. While staying indoors we are naturally attracted to the TV but switching on the TV brings with it its own set of problems.

If you look at it, there are ways to beat the heat and in a way it is bearable, what is unbearable is the bad news that each day seems to bring that is intolerable. Anyway we all have to eat and cooking is something that can take your mind off of the events going on around of which we have no control any way.

Every now and then I sit back and think about the amount of rice we consume and wonder how I can change that trend. Millets provide one easy alternative. Tasty and pretty easy to cook as long as you have a good recipe that millets work well in. Little Millet or Saamai as it is called in Tamil is conducive to making this recipe with moong dal. Saamai savory pongal is a one pot meal with lentils and spiced with ginger, pepper and green chilies and seasoned with nuts.

One good thing about this pongal is that you do not have to worry about the amount of water, the more the water the better the texture seems to get.

Saamai Ven Pongal - Little Millet with Lentils
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time:30 minutes
Ingredients

1. 2 cups of saamai or little millet
2. 1 cup of moong dal (no need to roast)
3. 3-4 green chilies (chop or mince fine)
4. 1 tbsp grated ginger (preferably freshly ground)
5. 2 tsp pepper powder
1/2 tsp of cumin powder
6. 2 tbsp roasted cashews
7. salt to taste
8. 2-3 tsp ghee (use any oil for Vegan)
9. seasonings: mustard seeds and curry leaves

Method

1. Wash the millet till the water runs clear.
2. In a pressure heat the oil or the ghee and add the seasonings mustard seeds followed by the curry leaves.
3. Add in the green chilies and grated ginger and saute for a few minutes. Add in the pepper and cumin powders.
4. Add the washed millet and moong dal. For one cup of millet add 3 1/2 cups of water and 1 cup of water for every cup of dal.
5. Check for salt. When the water comes to boil close the lid and cook for 4 whistles.
6. Roast the cashews in ghee or oil.
7. Once the cooker cools naturally, open the lid mix the rice gently and add the roasted cashews.

Serve with coconut or any spicy chutney.

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Brown Rice with Green beans and Peanuts - One Pot Meal in a Pressure Cooker

I bet all of you are following the Republican Primaries with either trepidation, elation or disgust. At least those are the reactions which people have when describing how they feel. I was speaking to one who said he is embarrassed by what people in other countries will think of America. Another was elated that Trump will show how strong America can be without bending over backwards and heard this comment from a young lady in the row behind me in the airplane. She was annoyed at the Republican candidates behaving like petulant children. That is perfect description for these candidates.

I on the other hand am ready to watch the fun. We don't have cable TV which helps but I can't stand any of them running for office and don't care about any of them in either party anyway. If Bush made Obama possible, Obama made Trump possible. It is a swift race to the bottom of the civility track. The losers most definitely are we the people.

That is that and we will move on to some other interesting stuff for now. Like this amazingly simply one pot meal with brown rice. Peanuts is one of those things that is very popular around our house and we all prefer boiled peanuts to roasted peanuts. While it is not that easy finding fresh peanuts, dried raw peanuts are available anytime. Combined with green beans this one pot meal is just the thing for a busy weekday dinner.



If you are not fond of peanuts you can use any beans or peas or corn. You can cook this meal on the stove top but I prefer using the pressure cooker. It is a quick weak night meal after all. If pressure cooker is not your thing, saute the spices and vegetables and mix with the rice and transfer to a electric cooker and then go about your business.

Brown Rice with Green beans and Peanuts
Preparation Time:15 minutes
Cooking Time:25 minutes
Ingredients

1. 2 cups of brown wash and soak for about 20 minutes (I used Sona Masuri brown rice)
2. 2 cups of chopped onions (the more the better)
3. 1 tbsp of grated ginger
4. 2-3 chopped or grated garlic (optional)
5. 2-3 cups of cut green beans
6. 1 cup of raw peanuts
7. 2 tsp turmeric powder
8. 1/2 tbsp red chili powder or about 6 slit green chilies
9. 1/2 tsp cumin powder + 1 tsp pepper powder
10. salt to taste
11. 3 tsp of oil
12. seasonings: stat anise, cloves and bay leaves

Method

1. In a pressure cooker add oil and when hot add the seasonings and let them be in the hot oil for a minute.
2. Add in the onions and saute till they are nice and brown. Add the ginger and garlic and saute for a minute more.
3. Add in the turmeric powder, chili powder, cumin and pepper powders and mix it in.
4. Add in the green beans and give a good mix, followed by the rice and mix it in.
5. Add in the peanuts and mix. Add the required amount of water (for brown rice 1 : 1.5 cups of water).
6. Add salt and let the water come to a boil. Place the lid and weight and cook for 3 whistles.

Serve with some raita and applam (pappad).

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Cheese Grits (using Electric Cooker)

What exactly is Grits? Grits is made by cooking coarsely ground corn (maize) with water or milk. The coarsely ground corn itself is also called grits. What if I tell you that grits has become a big time favorite around our house? You should not be surprised.

Grits is not the same thing as corn meal. Grits has a much coarser texture than corn meal and both are not interchangeable and grits is not polenta either. Look for stone ground grits for the best taste.

Corn Grits and Corn Meal

Take the corn grits and water in a electric cooker and let it cook for about 25-30 minutes.
When the grits have cooked and the water is almost all absorbed add butter, pepper followed by the cheese.
Mix in the butter,pepper and cheese so it is uniform. Switch off the cooker.
Plate the grits with the spicy meat or vegetables on top.

I have been thinking about making grits for a long time now. DH who went to school in the South has mentioned it a bunch of times. Trying something new does not come easily. Anyway a friend gave me a bag of stone ground grits and it was sitting in the pantry for a couple of months and then one fine day I decided to give it a try. I have no idea why we hadn't tried it for this long. We had it for lunch with some roasted chicken and it was fantastic. Grits make for a perfect breakfast as well. We kind of prefer to eat grits with some spicy meat or vegetables on the side.

Once you have cooked plain grits, cheese grits cannot be far behind. Cooking grits is very easy. You can either do it on the stove top or in an electric cooker. Even when cooking in the electric cooker you need to stir it now and then so the cooked grits does not settle in the bottom.

The Cheese grits can be had for breakfast with a few jalapenos ;) on the side or just by themselves. Or plain grits cooked with milk drizzled with honey and sprinkled with dried fruits on top. Fresh fruits and some Greek yogurt would work great as well.

But the recipe we are going to talk about today is cheese grits. Extremely tasty. While grits with shrimp is the popular southern delicacy, I made some spicy minced turkey which was paired with the grits and Burrito style black beans. For vegetarians a side of black beans like this Burrito Black and Kidney Beans works great.

I looked up this recipe from Alton Brown but I did not use corn meal and did not cook it in milk. While it might be ok for corn meal to be cooked with milk I would recommend using water for cooking grits and then adding milk later in the cooking process if wanted.

Cheese Grits
Preparation Time:5 minutes
Roasting Time:25-30 minutes
Ingredients

1. 3 cups of stone ground grits
2. 12 cups of water
3. 1/2 tbsp butter
4. 1 cup of Parmesan cheese (or any cheese you prefer)
5. 2 tsp black pepper
6. 2-3 tbsp chopped jalapeno pickled pepper (optional)
7. 1/2 tsp salt

Method

1. In an electric cooker add the grits and water and let it cook for 25-30 minutes till the water is absorbed and grits are nice and creamy.
2. Every 5 minutes or so open the lid and stir the grits so that they do not settle on the bottom.
3. When most of the water is absorbed add the butter, pepper, jalapeno pepper if using and cheese, give a good stir and turn off the cooker.
4. Note: If serving the cheese grits all by themselves be sure to add the jalapeno peppers and more cheese on top while serving.

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Hand pounded Sona Masuri Rice

Back in my grandparents' house the rice that was cooked regularly was always hand pounded rice. The color was not pearly white like the polished rice but slightly off-white in color but not exactly brown.

So what is the difference between brown rice and hand pounded rice? Brown rice retains all of the bran and germ while only the husk is removed from either the raw or par boiled rice. Hand pounded rice on the other hand uses a stone pounder in a mortar to remove the husk and some of the bran to give a minimally polished rice. White rice is processed to remove all of the husk, and bran depleting the rice of fiber making it full of starch.

I chanced upon hand pounded raw sona masuri rice in my local Indian grocery rice. I bought it to give it a try and have been buying it ever since. Purely for nutrition purposes brown rice might be better compared to hand pounded rice. Finding brown sona masuri rice or ponni rice is not easy. I actually prefer the hand pounded rice over brown rice.

Cook it the same way you would rice. It does not turn to mush that easily and can be used for whatever recipe you would use white rice.

Cooking hand pounded rice

1. Wash the rice in several changes of water till it runs clear.
2. Soak the rice for about 20-30 minutes.
3. In a pressure cooker, add the rice along with the required amount of rice and cook for 2-3 whistles.
4. I use 2 - 2 1/2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice. The longer you soak the rice, the lesser water you should for cooking.
5. You can cook the rice on stove top as well.
   

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