Goduma Dosa -- quick, easy, wheat dosa

I love Dosa, no not all kinds, but Masala Dosa and paper Masala Dosa and oh yes, Mysore Masala Dosa. Growing up we ate a fair amount of Masala Dosa, not at home, but on our ritual Sunday outings. It might sound strange because it is not something a typical Bong family would do. The hubby insists they ate, Dhakai Parota & Kasha Mangsho, Moghlai and such on their weekend outings. I guess because those days we lived in Bihar where these delicacies were not available, we settled for Masala Dosa on most days we ate out, no one is complaining though because we loved it.

Dosa at home was a rarity though. My Ma couldn’t whip up the perfect thin crispy Dosa like the restaurants, I liked my Dosa to be paper thin and my Ma’s would be thick and I did not like that. So many a times she would make utthapam instead.

However during the summer months, when we would have morning school and eventually long leisurely summer holidays we would have Masala dosas as a treat on weekdays too, courtesy the Dosawala. The Dosawala with his mobile cart, the huge black iron griddle and glistening steel containers of Dosa batter, sambhar, coconut chutney and potato stuffing would do rounds of our neighborhood every Tuesday evening. Come dusk, the far cry of his metallic spatula hitting the iron griddle would reverberate in the neighborhood. I don’t remember if he shouted out his wares like other peddlers but that “tong-tong” sound of the spatula was enough to make us scurry to the gates with a steel tiffin-carrier and boxes for the hot crisp Masala Dosa and chutney.

My Dosa making skills are zero or maybe even sub-zero. I lack the paraphernalia to grind the batter, or the finesse to flip one and anyway it has been always easier to pop into the nearest Dosa place when I am craving for one.

When I saw the Goduma Dosa at Nupur’s, I felt my confidence soar. This is something I can easily do, I told myself and tweaked this recipe to my taste. I added onions and chillies to the batter, substituted part water with yogurt. I also took cue from Sra and added some pickle to some of them while other I had with potato masala stuffing. It was wonderful, nothing like the Crisp thin Masala Dosas but good to eat none the less.

The Goduma Dosa goes to Dosa Mela at Srivalli's

Goduma or Wheat Dosa

What You Need

Whole Wheat Flour ~ ½ cup
Rice Flour ~ ½ cup
Jeera powder ~ 1 tsp
Red Chilli powder ~ depending on your spice level
Red onion ~ ½ of a medium finely chopped
Green Chillies ~ 3-4 finely chopped
Curry leaves ~ 5-6 finely chopped
Yogurt ~ about 1 cup diluted with water
Water ~ almost 2 cup
Salt ~ according to taste

How I Did It

I simply made the batter with all of the above ingredients and let it sit for half an hour.
Then heated the griddle and followed Nupur’s instructions. Mine was not lacy as hers though, maybe I just need more practice or my batter needs to be more thin
Tasted really good with potato masala.

Remember last date for RCI-Bengal is April 15th midnight

Trivia: The eminent food scientist Dr. K.T. Achaya. points out authoritatively that while Dosai and Vadai have a hoary two-thousand-year history in Tamil country, Idli is a foreign import. Huh, really ? Check this

Uchche Posto Jhuri or Bitter Gourd and...

The little girl has learned to read…yehhhhhhhh. So next time I am hibernating, I shall ask her to blog hop.
She has been reading small words and such for a while now but now she is onto books and she can read one on her own now. Ok, now don’t get me wrong, by “a book” I strictly mean simple books meant to be read by 4 year olds and not the Wodehouse out of my shelf.

I never gave her reading achievement much attention because I was sure that kids in India probably read and write critical appreciation by 4, until the other day at the library this Indian lady comes up to me and says
“She reads? How old is she?”
“Four”, I said “but she reads the easy ones like Dr.Seuss and Level 1 readers and store signs and…”
She goes on, “My daughter is 4 too and she is not reading yet. My husband says I have to get her to read soon. How do I do that?”
Huh your husband says that, why can’t he spend some time reading with the little one then, strange people.

Now, I have never really pushed S to read just for reaching a milestone, what I actually wanted her to have is a love for reading rather than just reading. Kids learn to read by a certain age anyhow, maybe a few months early or late, but eventually they do. Many of them do not develop a love towards reading though, and then again many who do slowly loose it when other things in life demand more time.

For me books have been great friends always, though it’s mostly fiction that I am attracted to. A perfectly bad day could have a happy ending for me, if I had a good book to go back to.

Lately however with life taking over, I rarely got time to read for pleasure. There aren’t many people around with whom I could discuss books either, because there was no one who spent time reading fiction. On my trips to the library I am not sure what to pick up, I want to read more fiction from other countries and culture and I do not know what other recent international authors I could read.

I am reading “The House of Sand and Fog” right now and I am loving it. What are some of your favorite books that could go on my reading list? Pray Share.

The Uchche Posto Jhuri is a simple bitter gourd recipe that I picked out from this almost famous Bengali Magazine Sananda. Sananda is to Bengal what Femina is to India. Within the slim covers of this mag you can get a good dose of advise on how to handle your MIL on your honeymoon, the best gift to give your boss on vacation, what-to-tell your maid when she wants go on a vacation and hundreds of tips on keeping your underarms sweat free and hair glistening. Armed with such knowledge, do you need anything more to confront life?

Other than this there are some good recipes and a whiff of Bengal in this far off land. Thanks to my lovely friends who gifted me a subscription of this mag on my last birthday, I am totally updated on glitzy happenings around Kolkata, even if my Ma has no clue about them.

Uchche or BitterGourd is a favorite among Bengalis and as I had mentioned earlier they like to eat it bitter, they will do absolutely nothing to mask the bitterness, even if you grovel and beg. This dish has a smattering of posto (poppy seed paste) and that makes it pretty good, though bitter it still is.
This goes to ever enthu Pooja at My Creative Ideas for her Vegetable of the Week -- Bitter Gourd


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Uchche Posto Jhuri

What You Need
The original recipe used about 10 uchche (the smaller variety that I don’t see here) and 3 tbsp of poppy seed paste. I took liberty and did this

Bitter Gourd ~ 1 medium sized
Poppy Seed ~ 1 tbsp heaped. Dry grind this in a coffee grinder or a spice grinder

For Tempering
Mustard seeds ~ ½ tsp loosely packed
Dry Red Chillies ~ 2-3

Oil
Salt

How I Did It
Chop the bitter gourd in small pieces

Dry grind the poppy seeds. If you want to wet grind, do so but do not make the paste watery

Heat Oil in a Kadhai/Frying Pan

Temper with mustard seeds and Dry Red Chilli

When the spices crackle add the bitter gourd pieces, add salt and cover & sauté over medium flame.

Add a sprinkle of turmeric powder for the color.

When the bitter gourd appears cooked, add the ground poppy seeds. If you are using the dry powder, sprinkle a little water. If you have made a wet paste you are fine

Stir till done. The end result should be dry with the poppy seed paste dry coating the bitter gourd.


Updated on Jan, 2018 with a mix of steps from BitterGourd Kismur

Ucche Posto Jhuri -- Version 2.0

Wash 2 medium sized ucche aka bitter gourd. Chop into thin slices or small pieces.

Next step is to roast the bitter gourd. You could do that on the stove top but I prefer microwave or oven.

Microwave: Take a microwave safe glass plate and add the chopped bitter gourd pieces. Sprinkle some salt and oil and microwave for 2 minutes. Take the plate out, add some more oil and toss it around. Microwave for another 2-3 minutes. After it is done, it should be evenly browned and not burnt. Microwave suggestion is from blog Red Chilies.

Oven: Preheat Oven to 350F. Toss the bittergourd with olive oil, red chili powder. Now put them in an oven safe tray in single layer and bake for 20-25 minutes until you see they are crisp. I use this version mostly.

Heat Mustard Oil in a Kadhai/Frying Pan

Temper with 1/4th tsp of Kalonji or Kalo Jeera (Nigella seeds)

Add 1/2 of a red onion very finely chopped
2-3 green chili finely chopped
Saute until onion is soft

Add the roasted bitter gourd, that you have already cooked.

Dry grind 3 tbsp of Poppy Seeds in a coffee grinder or a spice grinder

Saute for a couple of minutes and add the ground poppy seeds. If you are using the dry powder, sprinkle a little water. If you have made a wet paste you are fine

Stir till done. The end result should be dry with the poppy seed paste dry coating the bitter gourd.

One the poppy seed paste is cooked take it out in a serving bowl.

Before serving add
some red onion very finely chopped
1 green chili finely chopped
Lime juice
a little shredded coconut
salt to taste
Mix thoroughly

Adjust lime juice and salt.

Serve immediately to retain the crispiness.



Trivia: Bitter gourd is revered in ayurveda as a cleansing and purifying vegetable. It helps purify blood tissue, enhances digestion, and stimulates the liver.

Green Moong in the Microwave

Mommy is tired, it is late Thursday evening, there are no fresh fruits for the next day afternoon snack at school, so Mommy retrieves the lone chocolate pudding cup from the pantry and packs it for snack next day.

“That is not a healthy snack”, pipes in the 4 year old whose snack is being packed
“Mmmmmm…” goes Mommy, “not very but it is ok to have once in a while”. Mommy reassures both the kiddo and herself. After all a chocolate pudding once in two weeks can do no big harm given bigger scheme of things like global warming or even tumbling economy, she thinks.

“Does it have sugar? More or less?”, the kid is relentless

“The sugar is high no doubt but it has some calcium too”, Mom tries to reach for the last straw frantically reading the nutrition content at the back of the pack. She has no other snack option left for Friday and it is either this or goldfish & pretzels at school

“Is calcium good?”

“Yeah calcium builds your bone and teeth and there is plenty in milk. But you are right about this pudding not really being healthy, maybe I will find you something else for tomorrows snack”, finally says Mom who is now guilty of her own doing

Am I glad or what? I like the 4 year olds awareness but I don’t want her or us to overdo it and then go on a junkfood binge in her teens. I feel a balance is necessary and if I deprive her of some things for too long, it will only be more coveted

I try to make her eat healthy but I am not paranoid about it. Edibles like chips, soda and candy were strictly prohibited till age of three. After that she was allowed some in moderation but since she does not like any kind of soda and chips are not stocked at home she gets to eat them only occasionally.

Given that she was a pretty picky eater initially and would not munch on her veggies, I see a great change in her however. For a long time the best way to get veggies into her were making her favorite chicken stew and rice. She liked eggs and also developed a strong love for fish by the time she was 3, and also became more experimental about eating around at that time. Though she wouldn’t still munch on a raw carrot she was more open to trying out new vegetables and even new dishes.

These days she eats a balanced Indian meal at home, ok maybe not everything that I cook but she tries out most of them. She is also more aware of the food she eats and even munches on baby carrots with a dip, piping in a question every now and then about the health benefit of the meal offered. Though aware of the golden arch, she is not really interested in them or their toys and happy to share a sandwich with us at Panera breads instead.

I think her school and her teacher also has an important role to play in her food and I am really thankful for that. ***Knock on Wood***.But for all moms who despair about their little ones meal habits, I can only assure it gets better so don't break your head over it.

This Whole Green Moong in the microwave is a quick and delicious way to get the goodness of the grain if you haven’t had the time to sprout them. You can soak them for a couple of hours or overnight. Since I did it for breakfast, I soaked them overnight.

This is usually eaten by itself and you can serve it for breakfast, lunch or snack whatever you prefer. Since my friend R~ taught me this we make it pretty often at home and you have infinite possibilities to jazz it up the way you wish.

I just realized I could send this for WBB#20 -- Balanced Breakfast at Mansi's Fun and Food. It has Whole Grains and also cucumber & onions, so it meets her requirement I guess, so there it goes.


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Green Moong in Microwave

What You Need

Whole Green Moong ~ 2 & ½ cups of the soaked moong

Whole Cumin/Jeera ~ 1tsp
Asafoetida/Hing ~ ¼ tsp
Green Chillies ~ 5-6 chopped fine

Fresh Ginger ~ an inch of ginger chopped in juliennes
Corriander Powder ~ 1 tsp
Amchur Powder ~ 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder (optional) ~ according to taste

Salt
Olive Oil ~ ½ tbsp

For Garnish

Finely chopped cucumber & red onions
Lime Juice ~ 2-3 tsp

How I did It

In a microwaveable bowl add olive oil, asafoetida, cumin seeds and chopped green chillies
Microwave for 2 minutes

To it add the green moong which had been previously soaked.
Add about 2 cups of water
Add fresh ginger, coriander powder, amchur powder and red chilli powder and salt
Microwave for about 10-12 minutes

Depending on the time you have soaked the moong, the amount of water and time to microwave may vary. This is the reason I do it in chunks of time.
After 10-12 minutes check the water and the moong. If it is not done and the water has dried up add some more water and microwave for 3-4 more minutes

Continue this till the moong turns soft and moist with no extra water

Garnish with lime juice, chopped cucumber and chopped red onions.

Have a healthy bowl


BTW, if you are a Mom and are on the verge of deciding on schools for your kid, you might find good information on Desi Momz Club this month. Most of them are about school admissions in India and you can send your input if you like.

Trivia: Mung bean starch, which is obtained from ground mung beans, is used to make transparent cellophane noodles