Semiya Pongal

Summer is almost here! While driving back from work to home, I noticed the changes around me. Bright and blue sky, chirping birds, fresh green leaves and blooming flowers.. I realized its time to take my summer dresses and strappy sandals out! Its exciting! I can't wait to wear my cute & frilly summer skirts, the fun-filled BBQ parties with friends, bike rides, our adventurous camping trips and the beach days! But I'll surely miss my cozy evenings curled on the couch, sipping a hot bowl of soup right next to the fireplace, my long boots & coats and the beautiful snow. Well, I guess transition is inevitable and I feel "Change" is what makes life more interesting!

One of my favorite things to do in a beautiful spring evening like this, is to have an early dinner and finish it with a warm and mild dessert. Preparing the dessert wil boost up my senses and will keep my enthusiasm going, and ofcourse will satisfy my sugar craving too!

Semiya pongal is another quick and easy sweet-dish, that can be cooked with very few ingredients and can taste utterly delicious. Semiya is an indian type thin noodles but not long and stretchy. They are usually in 1 - 2 inch pieces. In South India, Semiya is commonly used in Payasam and Upma. Though I have tasted Semiya pongal in a few occassions outside, it is not that popular. I recently learnt the recipe for Semiya Pongal through a cookbook and I do make it quite often if I am in a mood for a simple dessert. I love the texture of the soft nooodles combined with jaggery and nuts and I can't help licking my bowl clean everytime. It totally gives me a feeling of a completely satisfying meal.

Ingredients

• Semiya (Vermicelli) - 1 cup
• Water - 2.5 cups
• Milk - 1/2 cup
• Jaggery (crushed) - 1 cup (you can add more sugar if required)
• Cardamom pods - 2
• Ghee - 3 tbsps (You can also use ghee/oil in 50:50 ratio)
• Cashews - 15
• Raisins - 8

Procedure:

• Heat a few drops of ghee in a pan and roast the semiya until golden brown. Set aside.
• To the same pan, add the remaining ghee/oil and fry the cashews and raisins until the cashews turn brown and the raisins puff up.
• Add the water, milk, jaggery and sugar (if required) and mix well.
• Add crushed cardamom pods, Cover and bring to a boil.
• When it starts boiling (jaggery should be completely dissolved), add the semiya and cover in medium heat for 10 mins or until the semiya is soft and fully cooked.
• Increase the heat and keep stirring gently (otherwise the semiya might lose shape and become mushy) until the water is completely evaporated.
• Remove from heat and top it with another tea spoon of ghee.

Serve warm.

Kari Dosai (Mutton Kheema Dosa)

Weekend breakfasts are becoming so hard to pick nowadays.. Every weekend I become apprehensive in deciding what to cook for breakfast.. Since the weekday mornings are spent on cereals and bread, my daughter demands a better breakfast in the weekend and so does my husband. I now realize how much dependent we were on Idlis and Dosas back in India. Once the batter is ready, its very easy and simple. We eat that everyday but never get tired of it.

I do love dosas, but I don't need that everyday. On the other hand, my husband is a dosa fanatic. He can live on dosas 3 times a day, 7 days a week.. I know he is going to be happy even if I prepare just plain dosas on weekends. However just to make my cooking more interesting, I keep trying varieties of dosas. Based on my experience, anything and everything on dosa will come out great! Vegetables, eggs, cheese, chicken, mutton - all these are good toppings for dosas. I remember the dosa melas that used to happen in restaurants back in India every year with hundreds of dosa varieties on the menu, some of them I've never even heard of.. like pavakkai dosai, curd dosai (?) etc.. Just out of curiosity, we would go and try a couple of new varieties every year.

Kheema dosa is a popular dosa thats served in all non-veg restaurants in Tamilnadu. I love to eat this dosa in a home-style restaurant pretty close to our house in India. Just the thought of that dosa is mouth watering! Awesome taste and so flavorful! Everytime I visit India, I make sure to have a blast at that restaurant with my sisters and parents. Everyone in our family loves the dishes there and we all have a good time when we go in groups.

Ingredients:

• Dosa batter (3 cups of idli rice & 1 cup of Urad dal soaked, ground and fermented overnight)
• Mutton Kheema (minced) - 1 cup
• Grean peas - 1/2 cup
• G.chillies - 1 sliced
• Turmeric powder - 3/4 tsp
• Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
• Pepper powder - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - a few
• Cinnamon - 1 inch
• Cloves - 2

Procedure:

• Heat oil in a pan. Add the cinnamon and cloves. Once they pop-up add sliced g.chillies and curry leaves and saute for few mins.
• Add the minced mutton, all other spice powders and salt and fry until they are well mixed..
• Cover in lowheat until the mutton gets cooked well.
• Increase the heat, add 2 tsp of oil and roast the mutton until it turns into brown color.
• Add steamed green peas at the end and fry for a few more mins.
• Heat the dosa pan and start making dosas.. Spread the kheema mixture on the dosa while the batter is still wet.
• Turn it over and cook the kheema mixture well. Remove to a plate.

Chicken or Mutton Chalna is a great side dish for this dosa.