Tablespooning

Spicy Cucumber Salad

sowj — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:13:53 +0000

If you’re not afraid of heat in the summertime, this salad is delectable. It perfectly balances light and cool with hearty and spicy. And because of the peanuts and coconut, the salad becomes an excellent source of protein and healthy fat. However, the cucumber itself can’t be ignored for its health benefits. Cucumbers have always seems like an innocuous food. They mostly contain water, they don’t really fill me up, and are fairly bland in and of themselves. When it comes to food research, the cucumber is often passed by. However, recently, researchers have been digging deeper.

Fresh extracts from cucumbers have recently been show to have both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. While research in this area must still be considered preliminary–since it’s only been conducted on animals in a lab setting–the findings are clear and consistent.

Fresh Herb Cous Cous Salad

sowj — Mon, 28 May 2012 16:37:44 +0000

After 2 months of being MIA from Tablespooning and traveling to North Carolina, I’m back in Brooklyn where summer is in full effect. And by that I mean bbq’s in the park, dance parties nearly every night, a festival nearly every weekend, and queer beach parties one metro ride away. It’s all beyond exciting and fills me with a sense of happiness especially since I’ve found such amazing community to share these experiences with. However, heat waves tend to nip at the heels of summer bliss, eventually chomping on its ankles.

My first summer here set record highs in the heat index serving as a constant reminder of the very real effects of global warming. Aside from opting out of the major industries that contribute to global warming (ie. the meat industry), my immediate need is staying cool and hydrated. Typically I drink tons of coconut water and eat cooling, light foods that contain plenty of water. Summer veggies such as fennel, cucumber, lettuces, spinach, zucchini, etc. all are great sources of water and vitamins. Herbs such as coriander (cilantro), mint, and parsley are also great summer herbs that cool while energizing the body.

Today I’m going to share a lovely, cold cous cous salad that I made for my welcome back dinner with friends. It’s light, refreshing, cooling and absolutely delicious. It also lasts for days, welcomes variations, and makes for a great breakfast.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups white Cous Cous
2 3/4 cups of Water
2 Cucumbers
1 small Red Onion
1 bunch of flat leaf Parsley
1 handful of Mint Leaves
1/4 – 1/2 cup Golden Raisins
Fresh squeezed Juice of 2 – 3 Oranges
Lime to taste
Salt to taste
Olive Oil for serving
Raw Cashews, halves and pieces (OPTIONAL)
Zest of oranges (OPTIONAL)

PREPARATION

Bring the water to a boil and add the cous cous. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the cous cous is fluffy. This will take about 10 minutes. Once cooked, spread the cous cous on a platter and let it cool in the fridge.

Grate 1 tbsp of orange zest if you like and set aside.

Chop the onion fine and place into a bowl. Squeeze the juice of 1 orange onto the onions. Squeeze 1/4 of a lime onto the onions. Add a bit of salt and toss the onions until the juices are incorporated nicely. Let the onions sit while you chop the rest of your ingredients. Complete these same steps for the parsley. Soak your chopped parsley with the juice of 1 orange and 1/4 of a lime and a pinch of salt.

Partially peel the cucumbers. Slice them in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds. Slice the halves lengthwise and chop into small pieces.

Chop the mint leaves fine. Peel and chop your last orange into small pieces.

Once the cous cous is room temperature, toss all the ingredients together, except the salt and olive oil. Place the salad in the fridge for a half hour to an hour. The juices will incorporate into the cous cous this way.

When serving, top off with olive oil, salt to taste, and a sprig of mint. Enjoy by itself or with lentils or whatever piques your interest!

Fennel, Grapefruit and Mint Salad

sowj — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 21:36:42 +0000

The weather in Brooklyn is gorgeous right now. Spring is showing off its sunny days, blooming flowers and crisp, fresh air. To herald in this new season, I decided to make this refreshing salad.

All the ingredients I used for this salad are in the Title of this post. I came up with this combination simply because they are some of my favorite spring and summer flavors and they cool my body down after a day of running errands in the sun. On very hot days, when you lose a lot of water from sweating, I like to replenish my body with cooling foods that hydrate and contain lots of vitamins.

Fennel and mint are very cooling to the system and grapefruit is bursting with the powerful anti-oxidant, Vitamin C. Fennel also contains phytonutrients are anti-inflammatory and have anti-cancer properties. It’s rich in antioxidants, fiber and potassium. Mint leaves are high in fiber, magnesium, and help heal many problems that occur in the gastrointestinal tract. I love drinking fresh mint tea when my stomach is upset.

Another great thing about this salad is that it keeps overnight and tastes better the second day. Fennel can be very tough to chew, so I try to slice the bulb as thinly as I can. The grapefruit take away any bitterness in the fennel, and mint leaves enhance the flavors of both. There’s nothing else I add to this salad. It’s absolutely gorgeous as is. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

1 bulb, Fennel
1 Grapefruit
Handful of Mint Leaves

PREPARATION

Cut the stems off the fennel bulb and slice the bulb as thinly as possible. You can get rid of the harder root portion of the fennel bulb. Place the fennel slices in a big bowl. Cut the grapefruit in half and squeeze the juice of one half over the fennel. Peel the other grapefruit half and chop it into pieces. Add the grapefruit pieces to the bowl. Chop the mint leaves and finely as you like. Or you can keep the leaves whole. Mix everything together and allow the salad to sit in the fridge for at least half an hour before serving.

Quinoa Cakes Part Two: Herbs

sowj — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 04:23:34 +0000

After sharing my first quinoa cake recipe that involved lovely Indian flavors such as garam masala, red chili, and garlic, I now offer you a sumptuous (and less spicy) alternative. With Part Two of my quinoa cakes, I decided to add grated golden beets to my base of black beans and baked sweet potatoes. The beets brought out the rich sweetness of the potatoes and also added a textural fluffy lightness to the baked cake.

For seasoning, I decided to go with two of my favorite green herbs: sage and thyme. Both have strong, wonderful aromas along with anti-oxidant powers. Sage is also anti-inflammatory and it boosts memory function in the brain. Thyme is anti-microbial and a great source of manganese, iron and calcium.

I topped off these cakes with fried sage. As an accompaniment, I decided on a simple salad of sunflower sprouts, tomato and avocado, dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. I’m telling you, this meal was devine. I recently discovered sunflower sprouts at a vegan restaurant in NYC’s East Village. I immediately fell in love with the sprouts’ nutty flavor and hearty texture. As a bonus to the deliciousness, sunflower sprouts are also a great source of protein, omega 3 fatty acid, vitamins and minerals.

QUINOA CAKE INGREDIENTS

1 medium sized Sweet Potatoes, baked
1/2 can Black Beans
1/2 cup Red Quinoa, cooked
1 small Golden Beet, grated (or you can use a Red Beet)
Fresh Sage, to taste
Fresh Thyme, to taste
Salt to taste
Brown Rice Flour

PREPARATION

Poke holes in your sweet potato with a fork. Bake your sweet potato on 400F, for 45 minutes to an hour. While this is baking, bring 1 cup of water to a boil and add in the quinoa. Bring the water to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until the quinoa is cooked.

Once the quinoa is cooked, set it aside. Add a tbsp of olive oil to a pan and turn the heat up to medium low. Add in chopped sage, thyme and salt to taste. Allow the spices to cook for a minute before adding in the quinoa. Saute the quinoa until the flavors have combined well. Set aside.

Once the sweet potato is baked and slightly cooled, peel the skin and mash it together with the black beans and a pinch of salt and peppr. You’ll want to mash it until there are no whole beans left. Add in your grated beat and mix. Then add in 2/3 of the quinoa and mix.

Once you have your mash, take some brown rice flour and put about 1/2 a cup onto a plate. Take a handful of the mash and shape it into a patty. Lightly coat the entire patty with brown rice flour by tapping it onto the plate of flour. Then roll the patty into remaining quinoa, creating an outer layer of quinoa on the patty. Place this patty on a baking sheet. Repeat these step with the rest of the mash.

Bake the patties on 400 for about 20 minutes. Check them halfway through to make sure the quinoa isn’t burning. You can always cover the the baking sheet with foil. You’ll know when the cakes are done when they have firmed up and you can lift them easily without their cracking and breaking. Allow the cakes to cool and set for 10 minutes.

SALAD INGREDIENTS

Sunflower Sprouts
Avocado
Tomato
Lemon Juice
Olive Oil
Salt
Black Pepper
Turmeric (Optional)

PREPARATION

For the purposes of the photograph and presentation, I kept the avocado and tomato separate from the salad. However, when I ate the salad, I mixed it all together. I didn’t put measurements on the ingredients, as is typical with my recipes, because I tend to vary the proportions depending on my mood. So use your best judgement or your taste preference to guide your proportion choices! Mix all of these ingredients together and enjoy!

I also served this quinoa cake with a garnish of fried sage. It’s one of the most decadent ways to eat sage and is quite easy to prepare. Simply heat some olive oil on medium low. When the oil is hot, add in your sage. The oil will sizzle. Once the sizzling sound dies down, the sage is ready, or when the leaves just start to turn color. The sage will now be crispy and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Garnish your quinoa cake with this and enjoy!

Quinoa Cakes Part One: Spicy South Indian

sowj — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:20:09 +0000

Recently, a friend told me about these vegan sweet potato burgers she had made for a small dinner party. She used cannellini beans, sweet potatoes, and tahini, among a few other ingredients. She topped off her burgers with marinated tofu, sprouts, and tomatoes. They sounded so delicious, I became inspired to try my own. I realized that I’d never tried to make a vegan “burger” before and I became extremely excited to cook something new.

Of course, I had to create my own spin on the burgers as I have my own particular tastes. As I brainstormed ideas on paper, I realized I was leaning more toward creating a savory cake than a burger. Eventually, I decided on trying two different variations of the cake: one with South Indian spices, and one with Mediterranean herbs. In this post, you’ll learn my South Indian variation served with chopped Mango and Coriander Chutney (Cilantro).

I decided to use sweet potato, black bean and red quinoa as my base. This combination offers fantastic protein, fiber, vitamins, and complex carbohydrates. Also, a little goes a long way. I had quinoa cakes for days after making this recipe, and each time they were absolutely delicious!

QUINOA CAKE INGREDIENTS

1 medium sized Sweet Potatoes, baked
1/2 can Black Beans
1/2 cup Quinoa, cooked
1/2 Vidalia Onion
6-8 cloves of Garlic
2 tsps Garam Masala
Red Chili Powder to taste (OPTIONAL)
Salt to taste
Brown Rice Flour

PREPARATION

Chop the onion into small pieces and crush your garlic. Saute the garlic and onion, with a pinch of salt, in a tbsp of canola oil until caramelized. You’ll want these onions to be a dark golden color. Push the onions to the side of the pan and add in another tsp of canola oil. Add the Garam masala and a pinch of red chili powder to the oil, allowing the oil to cook the masala. Once the masala is bubbling, saute it in with the onions. Cook for another minute or two. Add in the quinoa and saute with a little extra salt, incorporating all the ingredients and flavors together. You might need to add a little extra oil to the pan to saute the quinoa.

Once you have your mash, take some brown rice flour and put about 1/2 a cup onto a plate. Take a handful of the mash and shape it into a patty. Lightly coat the entire patty with brown rice flour by tapping it onto the plate of flour. Then roll the patty into remaining quinoa creating an outer layer of quinoa on the patty. Place this patty on a baking sheet. Repeat these step with the rest of the mash.

Bake the patties on 400 for about 20 minutes. Check them halfway through to make sure the quinoa isn’t burning. You can always cover the the baking sheet with foil. You’ll know when the cakes are done when they have firmed up and you can lift them easily without them cracking and breaking. Allow the cakes to cool and set for 10 minutes.

CORIANDER CHUTNEY INGREDIENTS

1 bunch fresh Coriander (Cilantro)
1/4 Vidalia Onion
2″ piece of Ginger
1/2 Lemon, the juice of
1/4 Mango
1 tbsp Honey (or Agave)
Red Chili Powder to taste (OPTIONAL)
Salt to taste
Water

PREPARATION

Blend all of the ingredients together with enough water to make a smooth, silky sauce.

To serve: chop up some extra mango and place it on the quinoa cakes. Drizzle the coriander chutney over the mango and quinoa cake. You can wrap it all in lettuce leaves to eat it, or eat it as is. Enjoy!

Soaked Methi (Fenugreek)

sowj — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 18:49:23 +0000

Methi, aka Fenugreek, can be a tricky spice. It’s quite bitter and must be used in moderation with complimentary foods. It can enhance the flavor of swiss chard or squash, but can quickly overpower a dish if used egregiously. If you’re not into bitter flavors, methi might seem strange at first, but I encourage you to try it out. The more I cooked with it, and learned the tastiest ratio of methi to food, the more seductive it’s flavor became. If you relish foods like mustard greens, bitter gourd, and raw tahini, then methi is definitely a spice you’ll love, if you don’t love it already!

However, with this post, I want to emphasize methi for its medicinal power. It regulates blood sugar levels which is especially useful for diabetics. It also reduces stomach acidity and can relieve acid reflux and gassy buildup. It’s anti-inflammatory and can help with multiple gastrointestinal issues. It’s also known to stimulate lactation for breast-feeding women. You can read more about it’s medicinal effects here. Methi is also known to stimulate hair growth, and can be used externally as a hair conditioner.

The following recipe, a simple morning drink, is one my mom shared with me. She drinks it every morning. I decided to make this to calm a recent stomach flare up that caused a lot of discomfort from gassiness and bloating. The soaked methi eased my symptoms immediately and I’ll continue to make this drink for the next few days as a preventative measure.

Ingredients

1 tsp Methi (Fenugreek)
1/2 cup luke warm Water

Preparation

Soak the methi in the water overnight, or for at least 8 hours.

In the morning, the methi will have softened and enlarged and might have started to subtly sprout. Drink the water and eat the methi, making sure to chew it well. Soaking methi subdues its bitterness and makes it more digestible. I absolutely love the flavor and texture of soaked methi and I hope you do too. Enjoy!

Parsley Quinoa Salad with Variation

sowj — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 00:37:28 +0000

I can tell I’m getting in the mood for spring when I start craving fresh salads. After I saw some gorgeous parsley at the store, I decided to make a variation on tabbouleh. I substituted the bulgur wheat with red quinoa and added olives and scallions. It turned out so well, that I became a little obsessed and tried a similar dish with cooked and chilled kale. I drizzled the salad with tahini and fell in love. Below are both the recipes.

INGREDIENTS

1 bunch Parsley
1-2 Tomatoes (or you can try roasted tomatoes in herbed oil, which is quite delicious)
3/4 cup dry Quinoa
4-5 Scallions
1/2 Red Onion
10-12 pitted Olives
1-2 Cloves of Garlic (OPTIONAL)
Olive Oil to taste (just don’t drench the salad)
Lime to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste

PREPARATION

Bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil. Add the dry quinoa and bring the water to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Fluff the quinoa occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the pot. Allow the quinoa to cool to room temperature after cooking.

Chop the parsley, tomatoes, and olives. Finely chop the red onion and garlic. Slice your scallions very very thin. Combine all of the ingredients and top off with lime, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Serve with avocado if you like. Hot seasoned rice makes a great accompaniment to this dish.

VARIATION

Replace the parsley with kale. Crush a few cloves of garlic and saute them with a touch of oil on medium heat. Add 1/2 a chopped red onion and saute until caramelized. Add 1 bunch of chopped kale and cook down with a bit of salt. Allow the kale to cool and combine it with the rest of the raw ingredients. I drizzled this salad with a bit of tahini and it was devine. Avocado would also go well with this variation. Enjoy!

Idli Sambar with Jeera Chutney

sowj — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:08:32 +0000

I’ll just go ahead and say it, Idli Sambar is the best South Indian meal of all time. When coupled with Jeera (cumin) chutney, the meal is transcendent. I know I’m a little biased. I’ve grown up with these flavors and each bite pulls me into a powerful a sense memory: the warmth and sun of my uncle’s patio in Bangalore, the deftness of my mom’s hands chopping coriander, the smell of tamarind, cumin, and tomatoes lingering in the air and my clothing for hours after the meal. Each memory comforts me and fills me with a sense of family, love, and belonging.

So with this feeling I share with you my mom’s recipe. It’s an involved recipe and does take time and experience to perfect. However, if you ever have the time, I encourage you to try this meal. It’s not just delicious but it’s quite a healthy meal that will leave your body feeling energized and peaceful.

Idli is a steamed rice and lentil cake made from a fermented batter. Sambar is a spicy lentil and vegetable soup. And jeera chutney is a fantastic accompaniment to the idli.

IDLI INGREDIENTS

Equal measures of White Rice, Par-Boiled White Rice, and Urad Dal (split black gram).
Salt to taste

IDLI PREPARATION

Soak the white rice and par-boiled rice together for 4 hours. Soak the urad dal for 4 hours, separately from the rice. Once the rices and dal are soft, drain the water.

In a blender, grind the urad with a little bit of water until the dal is creamy and very fluffy. Then grind the rices together with a bit of water until you have a batter that’s slightly thinner than pancake batter. The rice batter should be very creamy with little to no grit. Combine the urad and rice batter and whip it well with salt. You can use an emulsion blender to really aerate the batter, or just get a good workout whipping it by hand. The batter will be quite thick. Cover the batter in a deep dish and place it in the oven over night. The batter should double and smell slightly sour after fermenting.

Fold the batter very gently. Ladle the batter into small, pre-oiled, stainless steal containers. To steam the idlis, my mom uses an idli steamer, but if you don’t have one, you’ll just need to use a deep pot that you can cover and make airtight. Fill 1/3 of the pot with water and bring it to a soft boil. Place the stainless steal containers above the water using a steaming stand and cover the pot. Steam the idlis for about 10 minutes. Typically they take between 7-15 minutes. The idlis should look spongy with no wet spots in the center. Use a butter knife to remove the idlis from their containers. Wipe the containers clean with a damp cloth, re-oil the containers, ladle in more batter and repeat the steaming process.

SAMBAR INGREDIENTS

½ cup Toor Dal (split Pigeon Peas) – washed and soaked for 30 minutes
2-3 cups of Water
2-3 cloves Garlic, crushed
1 tbs Canola oil
1 medium-sized Onion, chopped into 1” pieces
1 Green Bell Pepper, cut into 8ths
3 Carrots, cut into ½” discs
2 Tomatoes, cut into 8ths
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tbs Sambar Powder (you can find this at your local Indian grocery store)
1 small lime-sized ball of Tamarind
1 tsp Brown Sugar (or Jaggery or Agave)

SEASONING:

1 tbs Canola oil
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
10-15 Curry leaves
1 Red Chili
¼ tsp Asafetida, powdered

GARNISH:

1 sprig of Cilantro

SAMBAR PREPARATION

Soften the Tamarind in hot water. Squeeze out the pulp and remove any seeds & fiber.

Bring water to boil, add the dhal & garlic and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until dhal is tender.

While the dhal is cooking, heat oil to medium. Add the onions, peppers and carrots and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and sauté for another minute or two. Add turmeric, salt and enough water to cover the vegetables. Cover and cook until tender. Add the tamarind pulp, brown sugar, and cooked dhal with the garlic & water. Stir gently and bring to a gentle boil. Sprinkle in the sambar powder, and stir in gently. Remove immediately from heat.

Seasoning: Heat oil to medium. Add the mustard seeds, cover and cook until they pop. Turn heat down to low. Add the curry leaves and red chili and fry until they crisp. Turn the heat off and add the asafetida. Pour the seasoning over the sambar. Mix in. Garnish with the spring of cilantro.

JEERA CHUTNEY INGREDIENTS

1 tbs Cumin seeds
2 dry red Chilies
1 cup of Coconut
½ marble sized ball of Tamarind
Salt to taste

SEASONING:

2 tbs Canola oil
½ tsp Mustard seeds
½ tsp Urad Dhal (Split dry black gram)
1-2 dry red chilies
10-15 curry leaves

JEERA CHUTNEY PREPARATION

Soak tamarind in warm water. Squeeze out the pulp, removing any seeds & fiber.

Grind this with the coconut, tamarind pulp and salt to taste with enough water to make a pancake batter consisteny.

Seasoning: Heat oil to medium Add the mustard seeds, cover and cook until they pop. Add the urad and fry until golden. Add the red chilies and curry leaves and fry until crisp and aromatic. Pour the seasoning over the jeera chutney.

To serve, ladle sambar into a bowl and put 1 idli into it. The sambar will soak into the idli and make it even softer and absolutely delicious. You can also break apart the idli and dip the pieces into the chutney. Enjoy!

TEDx: Stephen Ritz’s Green Bronx Machine

sowj — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:34:46 +0000

On January 12, 2012, New York City hosted an independently organized TED event called Changing the Way We Eat. Stephen Ritz, a teacher from the South Bronx gave one of the most inspiring talks that concluded in a resounding ovation. He spoke about creating active learning experiences with his students through engaging them in urban farm projects. His students build edible walls, harvested their own food, started earning income from their own farmer’s market and invested in new projects that helped build more gardens in their community. From there, their and Steve’s ambition and accomplishments only grew.

“Stephen Ritz is a South Bronx teacher/administrator. With the help of extended student and community family they have grown over 25,000 pounds of vegetables in the Bronx while generating extraordinary academic performance. His Bronx classroom features the first indoor edible wall in NYC DOE which routinely generates enough produce to feed 450 students healthy meals and trains the youngest nationally certified workforce in America. Stephen has consistently moved attendance from 40% to 93% daily, helped fund/create 2,200 youth jobs, captured the US EPA Award for transforming mindsets and landscapes in NYC, recently won the ABC Above and Beyond Award, helped earn his school the first ever Citywide Award of Excellence from the NYC Strategic Alliance for Health and attributes these results directly to growing vegetables in school. His speech at Columbia University, “From Crack to Cucumbers,” along with the release of a You-Tube Video (Urban Farming NYC) resulted in a national following including an invite to the White House Garden. Dedicated to harvesting hope and cultivating minds, Stephen dreams of opening a nationally replicable Career Technical Education public school in the poorest Congressional District in America rooted in urban agriculture, green and sustainable initiatives. For more information, visit Green Bronx Machine“

Photo Credits: TEDx Manhattan

Dry Peanut Chutney with Ragi Uthappam

sowj — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:11:59 +0000

After making a delicious batch of ragi dosa’s with my mom, we still had quite a bit of batter remaining. With the left-overs, we decided to make Uthappam, which is essentially a dosa with a few added veggies. My mom served the Uthappam with her own variation of dry Hubli chutney from my father’s region in India, Mangalore. She combined dry peanut chutney with the Hubli chutney to create something savory and absolutely tantalizing.

DOSA INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup Urad (Whole Black Gram without skin)
1 1/2 Ragi Flour
2 tbsp of White Rice Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Sugar
Enough water to make a batter slightly thinner than pancake batter
Chopped fresh Cilantro, to taste
Chopped Vidalia Onion, to taste
Chopped Tomatoes, to taste (OPTIONAL)

DOSA PREPARATION

Wash the Urad and then soak it for 2-3 hours. Drain the water. Grind the urad with enough water to allow your blender to spin smoothly. Once the urad is creamy and smooth, combine it with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well creating a batter that is slightly thinner than pancake batter. Cover and place in a warm environment, like an oven, for 24 hours or until the batter has fermented. You’ll know the batter has fermented when it has a lovely sour aroma and the batter is filled with bubbles. Once the batter has fermented, add the chopped veggies and fold into the batter.

To cook the dosas, heat a well-seasoned cast-iron griddle to medium. Pour a ladle-full of batter onto the center of the griddle. Press the ladle bottom lightly to the center of the batter. Spread the batter uniformly in a circular manner from the center to the edges like a coil. It should spread evenly, sticking to the hot griddle to form a 6 inch dosa. (If the batter starts lifting off the griddle while spreading, this means there’s too much oil on the griddle.) Drizzle a tsp of canola oil around the edges of the dosa and on top. Cover and cook until the dosa lifts off easily. Flip the dosa and cook for another 30-45 seconds.

CHUTNEY INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup dry shredded, unsweetened Coconut, lightly roasted
1 cup snack Chana
1/2 cup Peanuts, roasted
4 Red Chilies, roasted
1 tbsp Urad dal (Black Gram), lightly roasted
1 tbsp Chana dal (dry, split Chickpea), lightly roasted
1 tsp Coriander seeds, roasted
1 tsp Paprika, roasted along with Coconut, or if you like spice, you can use Kashmiri Chili to taste
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp-1 tsp powdered Jaggery, to taste

CHUTNEY PREPARATION

Lightly roast all of the ingredients except the jaggery. You’ll want to roast the paprika with the coconut, adding the paprika when the coconut is very very light brown. Grind all of the ingredients together except for the peanuts. Once the dals are finely ground, add the peanuts and grind to your preferred texture. Having some chunks of peanuts can be really satisfying with this dish.

You can keep this dry chutney in the fridge and it should last for a very long time. When you serve the chutney with the dosa, take a tablespoon of the dry chutney powder and add a teaspoon of canola oil to it and mix. You can dip your Uthappam into this chutney and enjoy!