FREEZING FOOD - PART II

This is the part II of freezing food post.   I had covered the Menu planning, Shopping things for Menu, and Cooking Strategy in the Freezing Food Part I post.  In this post, we will look at Cooking Strategy, Packing and Freezing, Consuming the food.

I created this blog post by taking all your questions and have answered them to my best in part I and Part II.  If there is any question that I have not covered in the post, I have answered it separately at the bottom of the post.  If you still have questions, please do comment in my blog post.

Do check my Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Dishesfrommykitchen/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/dishesfrommykitchen/?hl=en) for regular updates of day to day cooking and lunch boxes.

I am by no means saying that you must do it the way I have shown here.  Please try to understand and follow what works for you.  Test in small batches before you do it for large portions.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert on freezing food or a nutritionist.  The outcome of freezing food is dependent on various factors like temperature of the refrigerator, temperature of the house, type of food etc.

Check Menu Planning and Shopping things for Menu in FREEZING FOOD PART I

1) Cooking Strategy

2) Packing and Freezing

3) Consuming the Food

1)      Cooking Strategy:

Shopping for Vegetables: Do the vegetable shopping the day before you plan on cooking.  The idea is not to store the vegetables for long time before cooking.

Planning the cooking: Based on the time it takes for you to cook, breakdown the items into manageable groups.  Also identify the common things needed for cooking all your dishes and account for those to be done in one shot.  For example, ginger-garlic paste can be prepared in one shot.  I prepared ginger-garlic paste and chutneys before the other cooking. 

I planned my cooking for 2 full days and broke the items accordingly.

Timing the cooking:  Its best to do the cooking and freezing closer to the date you start your trip, so that it reduces additional days the food is going to be in the freezer.

Below are the variety of food items I cooked

Break Fast Items:

Break Fast Items: [Each was prepared for 5 servings]

Overnight Oats

Pesto Sandwich with grilled vegetables

Muffins

Banana Bread

Idly

Granola – Need not freeze (To be consumed with Yogurt and fresh fruits)

Lunch Items:

Lunch Items: [Each was prepared for 5 servings]

Lemon rice, cauliflower, Green Gram/Whole Mung curry

Brown rice, Rajma/Red bean masala, Mixed vegetable dry curry using carrot, beans and Green peas

Vegetable pulav, Channa/Garbanzo masala, Broccoli

Brown rice, Sambar, Beetroot dry curry, Eggplant dry curry

Tomato rice, Chayote dry curry

Buckwheat, Cabbage Green peas dry curry, Squash dhal/Lentil

Dinner Items:

Dinner Items: [Each was prepared for 5 servings unless stated differently)

Two chutneys: Tomato chutney, Coriander/Cilantro chutney

Sambar

Chapathi

Channa masala (3 portion)

Paneer butter masala (3 portion)

Vegetable upma

Vegetable vermicelli upma

Pasta with vegetables

Quinoa with vegetables

Poha

Idly

2)      Packing and Freezing:

After cooking the food, it is important to properly fill the food into the containers for freezing.  First thing is to portion the cooked food into portion sizes based on the number of portions.   It is important to wait for the cooked food to cool to room temperature.  Make sure you don’t leave the food for longer than 2 hours after cooking.  Fill the food into the freezer containers and then store them into the freezer (before storing into freezer make sure the food is cool, if you feel it is still warm put the boxes into the fridge until it cools down and then transfer to the freezer). 

*** Its best to freeze food when it is still fresh so that it tastes the same way when it is defrosted. 

*** Don’t put HOT food into the freezer as it messes up the internal temperature of the freezer and ends up spoiling other things in the freezer

*** After you fill all the boxes into the freezer, open the freezer only when needed.  Frequently opening the freezer is going to reduce the shelf life of the food.

To minimize wastage of food, plan and store the portion sizes based on your individual needs.  So that you have the right amount per meal, the reason being that if there is unconsumed food it cannot be re-freeze.

I froze the chutney by storing into the ice cube tray and covered them with cling wrap.  After it is solidified unmold them and store into the freezer Ziploc bags.

For Sambar, I followed the same process as the chutney, but stored them in small cups instead of ice cube trays.

*** Label the boxes with a sharpie before storing into the freezer.  I labelled it with the name of the food item stored.

I cling wrapped individual muffins/sandwiches and stored them in the freezer bag.  The banana bread I stored them in individual freezer bag as per the serving quantity.

*** Do not choose breads that are very soft for the sandwiches, because it will make the sandwich soggy.

*** Make sure there is no air in the freezer Ziploc bag after filling the food.   Also flatten the Ziploc bag after storing the food, so that it freezes evenly and makes storage easy.

SAMBAR:

3)      Consuming the Food:

ATTENTION! Do Not re-freeze unconsumed food.  It is important to plan your consumption.  If you plan to consume the food for breakfast or lunch, take those boxes and put in the fridge the night before going to bed.  In the morning after getting up take the breakfast box and put it outside the fridge and microwave it before you eat.

Take the box for lunch from refrigerator 2 to 2.5 hours before consumption.  When you get ready to eat, warm it in the microwave.

You are ready for a scrumptious breakfast and lunch!

For dinner, take the box from the freezer in the morning and put it in the fridge.  Take the box from the fridge 2 to 2.5 hours before consumption.  Microwave before eating.

For consuming the Chapathi, do it like a frozen Chapathi.  I will try to share how to freeze Chapathi in a future post.

For idli, transfer the idli into a glass container and sprinkle few drops of water on the idli before warming it.  Close it with a lid while warming in the microwave.  It is very important not to overheat any of the food stuffs, which will make the food dry.  You can warm for a short period and check and determine if you need it to be warmed more. 

Anything stored in freezer Ziploc, should be transferred to glass container and covered before warming.  If the freezer boxes you use can be microwaved, then you can directly warm the box in microwave.  If not transfer the contents to a glass container and warm it.

*** After warming and consuming it, if you have left over food DO NOT REFREEZE or REFRIGERATE.  It is best to throw it away.  This is what I follow.

Depending on the food/meal that should be consumed first Eg. Muffins, Sandwich and Banana bread should be consumed first compared to Idli and other breakfast foods.

I created a time table which says what to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the 30 days.  The idea is to spread out the foods so that it does not feel like a repetition of the same thing.

How to Organize in the freezer

I emptied the freezer for this purpose and stored the food.  Make sure the label on the Ziploc/boxes faces outwards.  Group foods by Category like breakfast, lunches, dinners, Chapathi, chutneys and Curries.  You can also store the food in the chest freezer if you have one.  I stored them in my refrigerator freezer.  As I said I did not had any plans on doing blog post on this so I did not take any pictures of my freezer. 

Questions on freezing food:

How long will I store these foods?

I kept it for 30 days and it worked for me.  Beyond that, there are various factors which play a part. 

How do you freeze rice and defrost?

Portion size the cooked rice and freeze it.  Defrost them when needed.  Please refer to the post for more specific details on the same.

Will the food still tastes same? For Example, lemon rice that you have displayed in the picture

Yes, it tastes the same.

Can we freeze roti atta?

I have not done this.

Freezing means deep freeze or just refrigerating??

I freeze in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator.

Do you add any preservatives??

No.

Items like onion, coconut ... Will you add them yet food will be fresh after freezing and heating?

Yes.  I used onion and frozen coconut in my dishes.  I did not have a problem.

Is the rice here half cooked?

The rice is fully cooked.  Make sure anything you cook is not mushy.

Can you let us know how to store Chapathi?

I will do it as a separate post.

Is oven mandatory for reheating; Are all the dishes are fully cooked or require couple more steps before eating?

Yes, microwave is needed for reheating.  All dishes are fully cooked and no additional steps are needed.  If you don’t have a microwave, you can warm it on the stove top provided your items are frozen individually.

Will food lose its nutritional value when frozen or refrigerated?

I am not a nutritionist, so I cannot answer your question.  Based on my research in the Internet, I found that the nutritional value is not lost if cooked and frozen correctly.  Moreover, freezing is not a regular activity in our house and it is only done very rarely based on situations.  The bottom line is freezing home cooked food and eating is better than eating outside food for 3 times a day for 30 days.  You are welcome to do your own research.

Considering Indian power cuts, would you suggest freezing? I mean, can the food stay good with 2-3 hours of power cuts (it may get partially thawed)?

Power cut is a big problem for freezing food.  If you know power cuts will happen, then my suggestion is not to freeze food.

Can we freeze almost everything we cook? Even the ones with tomatoes as one of the ingredients?

I am not a specialist of freezing.  I did my research on the things that I planned to cook as to seeing if they can be frozen or not.  Please do your research based on what you plan to cook.

Yes, my dishes had tomatoes as ingredients.

I created this blog post by taking all your questions and have answered them to my best in part I and Part II.  If there is any question that I have not covered in the post, I have answered it separately at the bottom of the post.  If you still have questions, please do comment in my blog post.

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FREEZING FOOD - PART I

When I shared few pictures of meal boxes (for freezing) with my friends and in social media, many of them came up with lots of questions about freezing and planning related to what I did.  Freezing food is NOT what I do on regular basis, I only froze the cooked food only when I go for long vacation.  I am writing this post to share my experience with everyone on what I did.  Eating food that is not home cooked, is not healthy for my family especially 3 times a day for one and half months.  This post is NOT intended to discuss on advantages/disadvantages of freezing food also this is not a recipe post.

My friends and followers who follow my blog http://www.dishesfrommykitchen.com, Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Dishesfrommykitchen/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/dishesfrommykitchen/?hl=en)  knows how I cook fresh and healthy meals almost 3 times a day.  I was brought up with the ideology of cooking healthy and fresh meals.

When I did all these, I did not have an intention to do a blog post on this.  Also amidst planning and preparing the food and getting ready for trip made things very busy that I did not take enough pictures from the standpoint of a blog post.   So, I am sharing whatever pictures I shot using my phone.

I created this blog post by taking all your questions and have answered them to my best in this post.  If there is any question that I have not covered in the post, I have answered it separately at the bottom of the post.  If you still have questions, please do comment in my blog post.

I am by no means saying that you must do it the way I have shown here.  Please try to understand and follow what works for you.  Test in small batches before you do it for large portions.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert on freezing food or a nutritionist.  The outcome of freezing food is dependent on various factors like temperature of the refrigerator, temperature of the house, type of food etc.

Before going into the details of the process, I want to list the steps to prepare frozen food:  

1. Menu Planning

2. Shopping things for Menu

3. Cooking Strategy

      4. Packing and Freezing

      5. Consuming the Food

1)      Menu Planning:

Determine the timeframe: Number of Days

Determine the no of meals: Total of (breakfast/Lunch/Dinner)

Here is how I planned for a month.

Number of Breakfasts	Number of Lunches	Number of Dinners
30	30	30

I planned the meal combinations especially lunch to be healthy, and well balanced.

I decided to prepare each food item so that it could provide five full servings. 

Determining the number of varieties of food to do is based on Total number of days/consumption times.  30/5 gives 6 varieties of food to be prepared.

2)      Shopping things for Cooking:

Prepare the shopping list based on the things you need for cooking the above mentioned items (Grocery and vegetables).

Storage boxes/Freezer bags:

*** I used freezer boxes and heavy-duty freezer Ziploc bags.   The size of the freezer box should be selected in such a way that there is not a lot of empty space in the box after you fill the food in the box (choose shallow container that best fits for the meal). There could be 1 to 1.5-inch space on the top of the box above the filled food (when food freezes it expands and there needs to be space for expansion).  Choose freezer boxes labelled BPA free.

Why I did not use glass?

Many people had asked me on the usage of plastic containers and raved on the usage of plastic.  I am aware of the good and bad of plastic.  In-fact we don’t use plastics and non-stick at home.  My freezer does not have enough space to store 30 glass containers.  Moreover, I don’t have 30 glass containers that would fit for this purpose.  Since I don’t freeze on a regular basis, I went with non-glass freezer boxes which are BPA Free and used it for one-time use only.

Need a marker for labeling the boxes and Ziploc bags.

3)      Cooking Strategy:

Shopping for Vegetables: Do the vegetable shopping the day before you plan on cooking.  The idea is not to store the vegetables for long time before cooking.

Planning the cooking: Based on the time it takes for you to cook, breakdown the items into manageable groups.  Also identify the common things needed for cooking all your dishes and account for those to be done in one shot.  For example, ginger-garlic paste can be prepared in one shot.  I prepared ginger-garlic paste and chutneys before the other cooking. 

Ginger-Garlic-Chilli Paste

Tomato and Cilantro Chutney

I planned my cooking for 2 full days and broke the items accordingly. 

Timing the cooking:  Its best to do the cooking and freezing closer to the date you start your trip, so that it reduces additional days the food is going to be in the freezer.  

Stay tuned for Part II of my freezing series.

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SPICED PUMPKIN FRENCH TOAST - PERFECT FOR THE SEASON !

Weather is getting colder these days and there is nothing like having Warm French toast served with butter and drizzled with Maple syrup for Breakfast or Brunch.  Everyone Loves them and like all other French toast it’s easy to make.   Pumpkin French toast tastes so delicious with hint of cinnamon and nutmeg.   Fill your house with the aroma of fresh Pumpkin spiced French toast and enjoy with your loved ones. Perfect for the season!!!

PUMPKIN FRENCH TOAST

Ingredients:

Bread Slices - 8 to 10 (Any of your Favorite bread, it has to be thick slices or even you can use Challah too)
Eggs - 3
Milk - 3/4 cup
Pumpkin Puree - 1/2 cup
Light brown sugar - 2 1/2 tbsp
White sugar - 1/2 tbsp
Vanilla extract - 1 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1 tsp
Nutmeg - 1/2 tsp
Butter for the griddle and also for Serving.
Toasted Chopped Pecans - 1/4 cup chopped
Maple Syrup - for drizzle

Method:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, Pumpkin puree, sugars, vanilla extract, spice powders whisk until they are combined well.
2. Now heat the nonstick skillet to medium heat.
3.  Brush the skillet with butter.
4. Dip a slice of bread in the egg mixture flip over to other side too so that it is well coated on both the sides.
5. Put the soaked bread in the skillet, cook for about 3 to 4 minutes flipping in-between (They have to be cooked until they are browned on both the sides).
6. Serve hot with butter and drizzle of Maple syrup topped with toasted and chopped Pecans.
7. Wipe the skillet with the paper towel, brush with the butter and repeat the process for all the breads.
8.  Enjoy warm Pumpkin French toast with butter and Maple syrup with cup of coffee...

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OKRA DOSA (VENDAIKKAI, BHINDI)

Bhindi masala, Okra Curry, Stuffed Okra, Sambar ...... etc are all regular dishes we make using Okra. This Okra Dosa is little different from the above list.  If you are okra lover then sure its for you and you should definitely give it a try.   I make this very often and we all love this a lot.   The sliced okra which we add to the batter is well roasted when making dosas, it gives a nice texture and you feel the crunchiness in every bite. You can have this with  Idli spice powder, Coconut chutney, Onion chutney. It still tastes great on its own, to enjoy the full flavor  I prefer to eat them without any condiments. 

 Please read my note before trying this...Happy eating :)


Ingredients :


Idli rice - 1 cup
Raw rice - 1 cup
Okra - 5 or 6
Green chilli - 8 (adjust according to spice level)
Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - few chopped
Coriander leaves - few chopped finely
Okra - 7 or 8 sliced very finely for the batter
Mustard - 1 1/4 tsp
Salt
Water- To adjust the consistency of the batter.







Method :


1. Soak the rice for few hours, and now grind the rice, 5 or 6 okra's, green chilli, asafoetida, salt to fine batter.
2.Dilute the batter thin like rawa dosa batter.
3. Season with mustard and curry leaves. Add the coriander leaves.
4. Add sliced okra's to the batter.
5. Now heat the Skillet, Pour a ladle full of batter starting from the edge of the skillet.
6. The middle part is filled by it own as the batter is thin and runny.
7. Fill the unfilled part by slightly pouring the batter.
8. Add 1/4 tsp of oil around once it is roasted, just flip it over and make it crispy.


Happy eating :)









Note :


1. Grind the batter at least 2 hrs before, to get very crispy dosa.
2.You can grind the batter in the evening,  keep  it in the fridge and can be used for morning breakfast.
3. Add the sliced okra only when you are ready to make Dosas. If you add it before it makes the batter slimy and its difficult to make dosa.
4. Reserve half batter separately before adding okra , because you cannot keep the leftover batter after adding the sliced okra, as I said it will make the batter slimy.
5. Since we are adding the okra while grinding the batter, it gives nice volume to the batter and you can make at least 20 to 25 dosa for the measurement I have given.
6.Add water to the batter whenever you need to thin it.





Tips :


One more tip for this okra is while grinding the urad dhal for making Idli's , if the quality of urad dhal is not good it does not foam right , Just add 1 chopped okra, it gives nice foam and your Idli comes out very soft too.

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PULUSU DOSA OR ADAI ( TAMARIND DOSA, ADAI)

Let me first give an entry to my snow guest in the blog before we go for the recipe. Presidents day was totally fun for me and my kid. We had wonderful play in the snow.


Snow : Hi friends, Glad to meet you!!!!!!!!!!!!





Ok coming to the recipe this is pulusu adai which is basically spicy, mild sweet and tangy(tamarind). You can call this as tamarind adai or dosa too. Traditionally we do 4 items with same combination of ingredients adai, dosa, upma and vadai. Everything tastes so yummy and I am sure it tickles your tongue because of spicy, sweet and tangy taste. Today I will post both adai and dosa. Soon will post the vadai and upma recipes. Read my note if your interested in the variation.

Ingredients :


Idli rice - 1 cup
Raw rice - 1 handful
Urad dhal - 1 tbsp
Tamarind pulp - 1 tbsp( adjust according to your tanginess)
Jaggery - 1/2 tbsp( again adjust to your sweetness)
Bengal gram dhal - 1/2 handful soaked in water
Coconut - 1/2 cup
Cummin seeds - 2 tsp
Curry leaves few
Red chillies - 7
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Onion - 1 very finely chopped
Coriander leaves - 1/4 bunch finely chopped
Mustard - 1 tsp for seasoning
Oil and Salt







Method :


1.Soak the rice for few hours in warm water. This is very important the water should be warm not so hot or cold. If you touch you should feel the hot.
2.Grind it with cummin, asafoetida, red chillies, coconut, tamarind and Jaggery to fine batter.
3.Let the batter be thick itself. Let the batter rest for couple of hours.
4.Now to this batter add all other ingredients chopped onion, bengal gram dhal, coriander and add the mustard seasoning. Check for salt and if you want to loosen the batter use hot water.
5. Now heat the skillet and pour ladle full of batter to make small circles to make adais and close with the lid.
6. Now open and add tsp of oil, when one side is done flip over to the other side. Need not close with lid again. Its enough to close the lid in one side.
7. This take some time to cook and roast so please be patient and keep the gas in the medium flame.
8. Now serve hot with butter. As this has all the taste in it you need not have side dish.. but if you wish you can have podi which I made for tomato dosa. Please click here to find the podi recipe. For kids you can serve with honey.





For dosa :


You can use the same batter but make it thin by adding hot water. The consistency should be like rawa dosa and make it exactly how we make rawa dosa. Like pouring the ladle full of batter starting from the edge of the skillet.. but close the lid while it is cooking in one side and then flip it over to cook other side now you need not close with the lid cook until it is crispy.







Vadai :


For making vadais, make this batter very thick. No need of onion and bengal gram dhal. Just make small balls and apply some oil in the plantain leaf. Flatten the ball like how we do bobattu or poli and deep fry in the hot oil. If you cannot make the batter very thick just pour the batter in the clean kitchen muslin cloth and let it be for some time so that water will be absorbed. Then you can take small balls and execute same procedure. Just be careful while taking from the leaf its bit tricky as it is not very stiff as poli. Anyway I will try to post this soon.







Note:


1. For variation , you can add the white part of the water melon 1 cup while grinding the batter. You cannot make vadais by making water melon rind.
2. Even you can add the yellow pumpkin 1/2 cup while grinding the batter. Just omit the coconut and grind only the pumpkin while making vadais.
3. Adjust the tamarind, jaggery and chilli according to your taste.
4. It is good to grind the batter at least one hour before you make it.
5. If the tamarind pulp is watery add it while grinding instead of water.

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FLAVORS FOR IDLI

I know most of us may or may not have idli leftover because our hunger varies everyday right !!!!. Offcourse you can make this with your fresh Idlies too. These are some sample of flavors you can give for your remaining or fresh idlies. I bet you all like the flavors that I post today.. all these are our favorite ones. I cannot say which is better or best because everything is so tasty. Hope you all will enjoy my virtual idli bonanza.............he he we enjoyed eating these all in one shot.....

Let me first tell the flavors and the measurement which I am posting is for 2 idlies

1. Tomato flavor Idli

2. Coriander Idli

3. Masala Idli

4. Idli upma with onions

5. Seeyali

6. Cummin pepper Idli

7. Lemon Idli

Ingredients for Tomato flavor idli :

Idli - 2 chopped to cubes

Tomato - 1/4 chopped finely

Onion - 1/4 finely chopped

Coconut - 1/2 tbsp

Saunf - 1/2 tsp

Red chilli - 1

Garlic - 1/2 pod

Mustard and urad dhal for seasoning

Coriander and curry leaves few

Salt and oil

Method :

1. Grind the coconut, saunf, red chilli and garlic to fine powder or paste.

2. Heat oil in the pan add the mustard and urad dhal.

3. Add the onion then followed by tomato till its mushy.

4. Add the curry leaves and the ground powder or paste.

5. Add the idli and saute well so that everything is blended well and slightly roasted.

6. Garnish with Coriander leaves.

Ingredients for Coriander Idli :

Idli - 2 chopped to cubes

Coriander leaves - 10 sprigs

Coconut -1/4 tbsp

Garlic - 1/2 flake

Red chilli - 1

Roasted gram dhal - 1/4 tbsp

Cummin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Onion - 1/4 chopped length wise

Urad dhal and mustard for seasoning

Salt and oil.

Method :

1. Grind the coriander leaves, coconut, roasted gram dhal, red chilli, garlic to fine paste.

2. Heat oil in the pan, add the mustard and dhal.

3. Then add the onion saute, now add the coriander paste.

4. Once the raw aroma disappears add the idli and give a nice toss by adding salt....

Ingredients for Masala Idli :

Idli - 2 chopped to cubes

Onion - 1/4 chopped finely

Tomato - 1 tbsp chopped finely

Mixed veggies - 2 tbsp( carrot, beans and peas)

Spices - 1 each( clove, cardamom, cinnamon small)

Mint - few leaves

Garam masala - 1/4 tsp

Chilli powder - as required

Tomato ketchup - little

Coriander for garnishing

Salt and oil

Method :

1. Heat oil in the pan, add the whole spices.

2. Add the onion, followed by tomato.

3. Then add the veggies saute well and add the powders and mint leaf.

4. Now add the idli give it a nice toss by adding the tomato ketchup.

5. Check for salt and garnish with coriander leaves.

Ingredints for Idli upma with onions :

Idli - 2 crumbled

Onions - 1/4 chopped finely

Green chilli , red chilli and curd chilli - 1 each broken to 2 pieces

Mustard -1/2 tsp

Urad dhal and Bengal gram dhal - 1/2 tsp each

Curry leaves - few

Method :

1. Heat oil in the pan, add the mustard and dhals.

2. Now add the chilli followed by onion and curry leaves.

3. Add the idli and mix well.

Ingredients for Seeyali :

Idli - 2 chopped to cubes

Coconut - 1/2 tbsp

Coriander seeds - 1/4 tsp

Cummin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Red chillies - 1

Roasted gram dhal - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida - little

Turmeric

Onions - 1/4 chopped finely

Curry leaves and coriander leaves

Mustard and urad dhal - 1/4 tsp each

Salt and oil.

Method :

1. Powder coconut, coriander seeds, cummin seeds, red chilli, roasted gram dhal and asafoetida.

2. Now heat oil in the pan, splutter mustard and add urad dhal.

3. Add the onion followed by curry leaves.

4. Add the turmeric and powdered mixture. Saute for a minute and add the cubed idlies.

5. Saute well garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Ingredients for Cummin and pepper Idli :

Idli -2 crumbled

Curd chilli - 2 roasted in the oil and crushed

Cummin - 1/2 tsp

Pepper - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves

Oil and salt

Method :

1. Heat oil in the pan add the cummin once it is spluttered add the curry leaves.

2. Add the other ingredients and idli toss well and serve hot.

Ingredients for Lemon Idli :

Idli - 2 cubed

Lemon juice - 1/2 tbsp or as required

Ginger + Green chilli paste - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - few

Turmeric - few

Curry leaves and coriander leaves - few

Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

Urad dhal and Bengal gram dhal - 1/2 tsp

Method :

1. Heat oil in the pan and the mustard, urad dhal.

2. Add the ginger and green chilli paste.

3. Add the turmeric powder and asafoetida, curry leaves.

4. Add the chopped idli and lemon juice, salt.

5. Mix everything and so that everything is well blended.

6. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Note:

1. Remember idli have salt too so take care while adding salt.

2. You can make all these with small idlies too.... Make small idlies using the mould and follow the same procedure. Its so interesting and everyone loves it. Since I dont have right now I made cubes.

3. Curd chilli that we are using has salt too so add salt accordingly.

4. If your making the masala , coriander or tomato idlies you can serve with raita tastes so yumm.

Hope you all enjoyed my visual treat....Happy eating.

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