Blueberry Kesari (Dessert)

Cyclists & Vegetarians need something sweet, once in a while too, right? :)

I was in the mood for some dessert last evening and didn't feel like eating any commercially produced dessert. So, I made my own somewhat healthy dessert.

Kesari is a dessert from South India, which is made with semolina / cream of wheat. I have seen it served with breakfast in Bangalore, but not necessarily as a dessert.

Here is my recipe:

Ingredients:

1. Semolina - 2 cups
2. Sugar - 1.5 cups (optional)
3. Ghee (clarified butter) - 1 cup
4. Cashews - 1/2 cup
5. Raisins - 1/4 cup
6. Pineapple chunks - 1 can
7. Blueberries - 1 cup

Preparation:

1. In a large pan, roast the semolina, until it turns golden brown. Remove from heat and transfer to a different bowl.
2. Wipe the pan clean (of semolina dust, pieces of semolina), add the ghee and turn the heat to medium.
3. When the ghee is warm, add the cashews and raisins and fry them until the cashews are golden brown. Remove from heat and allow the ghee to cool. Add the raisin as the ghee starts to cool off, but is still somewhat warm.
4. When the contents of step # 3 are relatively cool, add 3 cups of water to the pan with the ghee and cashews, and turn up the heat. Bring the contents to a rolling boil.
5. Add the sugar (sugar is optional) and stir.
6. Next, in small quantities, add the roasted semolina and stir frequently so that no lumps are not formed.
7. Add the pineapple chunks and the blueberries and stir frequently. Turn down the heat to a notch below medium. Cover and cook on lower heat for a few minutes. Stir frequently so that the contents do not stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.
8. Turn off the heat and let cool a bit.

Serve hot or cold! I prefer serving it hot!!


Bon appetit' :)

PS. While the sugar is optional, it definitely enhances the sweetness of the Kesari. I try to minimize sugar, hoping that it would be a healthier dessert.

Potato Masala

For dinner tonight, I prepared Masala Dosai, which is a crepe made with rice and lentil batter, stuffed with Potato Masala.

Dosai is also called Dosa in certain regions of India.

In order to make Masala Dosai, one needs to prepare the Potato Masala and also prepare the Dosai. While it is not hard to prepare the batter for Dosai, today I took the easy way out and bought the batter. We have a great outfit in DFW that supplies all sorts of batter to the Indian Supermarkets.

If I were to prepare the Dosai batter, this would be my recipe:

Dosai Batter Recipe
Soak 3 cups of rice, 1 tsp of fenugreek, 1 cup of white lentils (urad dal) in water overnight (at least 6 hours). Drain the water and grind/blend into a thick batter in a blender/food processor. Add a pinch of salt to taste.

Potato Masala Recipe

Ingredients:

1. 3 large potatoes - boiled, skin peeled-off
2. Sesame seed oil - 4 Tbsp
3. Finely chopped Ginger root - 2 Tbsp
4. Finely chopped Curry leaves - 1 Tbsp
5. Finely chopped Green Chilies - 1 Tbsp
6. Lime juice - 2 Tbsp
7. Cashes - 1/4 cup
8. Onions - 2 Large - diced
9. Turmeric powder - 1 Tsp
10. Asafoetida - a pinch
11. Finely chopped cilantro - 1/4 cup

Preparation:

1. Heat-up the oil in a large pan. When the oil is hot, add the curry leaves, asafoetida, ginger, onions and the potatoes. Cook for about 3 minutes. Turn down the heat to medium. 
2. Add the cashews, turmeric and cook for another 3 minutes on low heat.
3. Add the lime juice. 
4. Garnish with cilantro. Add salt to taste.

Preparation of Dosai

1. Heat-up a large skillet/griddle. Coat the griddle with butter or ghee or sesame oil.
2. Pour 1/2 to 1 cup of batter on the hot skillet and spread the batter evenly over the skillet. Some people prefer spreading the batter thinly. Restaurants do; I don't sweat it too much.
3. Pour a tsp of ghee/sesame oil around the edges of the batter.
4. Once the edges of the batter start to turn brownish/crisp, carefully turn over the Dosai and cook the other side for a minute or so.
5. Once the other side is cooked, the Dosai is ready to be served.

Please note: Making Dosai takes a little bit of patience. If you don't get it right the first time, don't fret; you will get it right sooner or later :)

I served the Dosai with Potato Masala tonight. Dosai can be served without Potato Masala as well. In the picture below, you will see that one of the Dosai was stuffed with the Potato Masala and the other two were not!

Pictured below is tonight's dinner: Masala Dosai with Coconut Chutney and Onion Sambar


Bon appetit' :)

Coconut Chutney

Coconut chutney can be made with Pottukadalai (Fried Gram or Roasted Channa Dal) or without it. Each preparation has its own uniquely exciting taste. For dinner today, I prepared Coconut Chutney with Pottukadalai.

Here is my recipe for this incredibly easy to prepare chutney!

Ingredients:

1. Shredded coconut - 2 cups
2. Roasted Channa Dal - 1 cup
3. Green Chilies - 3
4. Tamarind paste - 1 Tsp
5. Mustard seeds - 1 Tsp
6. White lentils - 1 Tsp
7. Cashews - 1/3 cup
8. Finely chopped Curry leaves - 1 Tbsp
9. Finely chopped Cilantro - 1 Tbsp
10. Finely chopped Ginger Root - 1 Tbsp
11. Ghee (clarified butter) - 1 Tbsp

Preparation:

1. Grind ingredients 1-4 in a blender/food processor. Remove from the blender jar and put in a bowl.
2. In a small sauce pan, heat-up the ghee.
3. When the ghee is hot, add the mustard seeds, asafoetida. Cover immediately, as the mustard seeds will splutter. Turn down/off the heat.
4. When the mustard seeds are done poppin', add the cashews, white lentils, ginger root. These ingredients should turn golden brown and not be charred.
5. Add the contents from step # 4 to the coconut chutney in the bowl, from step # 1.
6. Garnish with Cilantro and add salt to taste!

Bon appetit' :)