Carrot Thogayal/Carrot Chutney

An Easy to Make Thogayal/Chutney with Not so Favorite Vegetable of Kids. No Fancy Ingredients required, Can be had with Idly/Dosa/Upma, As a spread on Bread/Chapathi or Simply with Steaming Hot Rice and a Dollop of Ghee and Potato Fry. 

Ingredients

2 Medium Carrots, Peeled and Shredded

1 tbsp Urad Dal

4-5 Red Chilies, Long Variety

 Marble-sized Tamarind,

Salt to taste

1 tsp of oil

a Sprig of Curry leaf

1/4 tsp of Mustard seeds

hing and turmeric, a pinch

Method

• Heat a Non-Stick Pan, Add oil, When it is hot, add Mustard seeds, when it splutters add hing and turmeric.
• Next add Urad Dal and the Red Chilies.
• When the Urad dal changes color, add the shredded Carrots and Saute for a minute or two.
• Switch off the flame, Let it Cool.
• Take the sauteed ingredients in a Mixer along with Tamarind and salt and grind to a paste. Do not Add Water, the carrots will provide the needed moisture to the chutney.

• Transfer the Chutney to another bowl. Serve with Rice or an Accompaniment to Idly/Dosa.

Sending this to Favorite Recipes Event - Vegetarian Recipes, happening @ Zesty South-Indian Kitchen

Ada Dosai / Adai Dosai / Rice and Lentil Crepes

I woke up early that day. Waking up early on a rainy weekend is something unusual for me. But that day I didn't feel going to bed again. After waking up, I stood by the window watching the street next to my home sipping a hot cup of milk. Having milk instead of coffee in the morning. Sounds strange rite??? Well that's me. Ok now coming back, as I stood gazing, my mind was craving to have ada dosa in that rainy weather.



As this dosa doesn't require fermentation, I thought of preparing it for breakfast. I soaked all the ingredients. After 3 hours of soaking, I grind the ingredients and prepared a crispy thin dosa with assortments (tomato kara chutney and coconut chutney) to go with. It is most often served with avial with a dollop of butter. If nothing worked out, a simple jaggery will give good pair with this dosa.



Ada Dosa can be prepared either in a thick or thin way but I like my adai dosa to be medium thin and crispy with chutneys only. For that reason, I simply grind onion and ginger to a paste and add it to the batter to make thinner version. If you like the thicker version, add sauteed finely chopped onions and ginger to the batter. You can also add finely chopped coconut slices to it.



Basic Information:

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Soaking Time: 3-4 hours or soak overnight

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 7-8 people

Ingredients:



For Batter:

Raw rice - 1 cup

Idly rice - 1 cup

Toor dal - 1/2 cup

Urid dal - 1/4 cup

Channa dal - 1/2 cup

Moong Dal - 3/4 cup

Dry red Chilli - 5 nos



To Mix with Batter:

Shallots - 10-15 nos

Ginger - 2 inch length piece

Drumstick leaves - 1/2 cup, optimum packing

Curry leaves - 3-4 strings

Coriander leaves - 3-4 strings

Salt - to taste

Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon

Fresh coconut - 1/4 cup, finely chopped

Oil - as required



Method:

1) Soak all the ingredients given under batter separately for 3-4 hours or overnight.

2) Grind both the raw and idly rice together to a thick pouring batter consistency. Add dry red chillies while grinding.

3) Grind the different dals together to a slightly coarse batter.

4) Mix both the batters together.

5) Grind onion and ginger together and add the batter.

6) Clean and wash the drumstick leaves. Pluck the leaves from stem and add to the batter. Add curry leaves and coriander leaves if you are using. (I didn't add them as I added more drumstick leaves)

7) Add asafoetida and salt as per your family taste.

8) Mix well.

9) Heat the dosa pan/tawa and spread some oil on the surface of it. (Oil is not required in case of non-stick pan). When you sprinkle water on the pan it raises a typical sound and the water disappears immediately. Its the right time to, pour a ladle of dosa batter. While spreading out the batter, gently spread the batter from the center towards the end of the pan in an uniform motion.

10) Apply less than half a teaspoon of oil on to the corners of the dosa.

11) When one side of the dosa is cooked, turn/flip to other side and allow it to cook.

12) When both the sides are cooked, transfer the dosa to the serving plate and serve with any chutney.

13) We enjoyed it with Tomato kara chutney, Coconut Chutney and Jaggery.

Note:

1) Increase or decrease the red chillies quantity as per your taste.

2) Skip drumstick leaves if you didn't get it. Instead increase the quantity of coriander leaves and curry leaves quantity.

Q & A on Painted and Glazed Cabinets

Q.

Hi Peggy

I'm hoping you can give me your advice.

We are building a new home and our cabinet company told me they do not recommend white antique glazed cabinets - due to the fact that they may crack over time - because it is a painted cabinet vs a stained cabinet ("and the wood needs to breathe").  

I cannot find any supporting evidence/opinions on this.  I have picked my color scheme and really want these cabinets - they will help me incorporate antique mahogany furniture into an open kitchen/ living room floor plan - with no formal dining room.  

We do live in south LA, but will have a foam insulated home and do not anticipate any moisture problems.

I really appreciate your advice - thanks

Hope your recuperation from knee surgery is going smooth!

Lisann

A.
 

Well Lisann, I can certainly see why you would hesitate about your decision if your chosen cabinet supplier is so dead-set against your choice! Needless to say they have had one, or more, very bad experiences with such a finish and a client who said the result was unacceptable (maybe a lawyer).

First, you need to determine whether their finishing department or separate sub-contractor is capable of achieving the finish you want. Ask them to produce a sample door in the style and wood you have chosen. Note where the seams in the door are. Then have them finish it exactly as you want.

Take the finished door home and expose it to a steamy bathroom for a few days (the door will swell imperceptibly). Then dry it out (The door will shrink). If it hasn't cracked at the seams, do this again until it does. The cracking at the seams is inevitable because the wood moves in different directions, expanding more with the grain direction than it does across the grain. Also, some woods expand and contract more than others. Specifically maple, which is often used for painted cabinets because of it's smooth, tight grain.

Assess the cracked door to see if you can live with it without being angry at yourself for wanting it and the cabinetmaker for allowing you to have it. After you finish with the door, give it back to the cabinetmaker so he can show future customers what it looks like.

If you decide not to proceed with the painted and glazed finish of your dreams, you are of the camp that prefers cabinet doors that look like they are made of plastic and not real wood. If you decide to go ahead, you are of the camp that realizes that wood, by its very nature, expands and contracts with seasonal conditions.

I am of the second camp myself. I have a feeling you may be as well. 

There is a second possibility here as well: That your chosen cabinetmaker is not capable of producing the fine finish you long for. If that's the case, you will find that out by having them produce the sample door as above. Then you can proceed to find another cabinetmaker or finisher to give you what you want.

Good luck with your project!

My knee has healed just fine.

Thank you for your concern Lisann.
 

At 69, going on 70 in January, I have retired from designing and am devoting most of my time to Deras family genealogy.
 

I still maintain my blogs and answer questions though.

I'm glad to see the Industry coming back from a five-year very difficult time.

Peggy