Mapillai Samba Rice Idiyappam (Red rice string hopper)

Category: Idiyappam / Breakfast recipes
Preparation Time: 15 mins  
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: 3-4 servings

Mapillai Samba Rice Idiyappam

Mapillai Samba Arisi or “Bride Groom Rice” is a traditional and native variety of rice, which is red in colour and is grown predominantly in Tamil Nadu. In ancient period, the newlywed bridegroom would be asked to lift the rock in front of everyone to display his mental & physical strength and bravery. To improve the physical and mental power, they would be  served this rice which is high in nutritional value. Mappillai samba is one such native rice which has got a high nutritional value that will help them to stay focused while lifting the rock as well as give them the power to lift. Hence, this red thick rice got its name as “Mappillai Samba” and was often cooked and served to newlywed bridegrooms. 

Mapillai Samba Rice

Even though the name of the rice is “Bride Groom's Rice”, it is meant for all who wants to get good energy and strength.

Idiyappam with Mixed Veg Curry

Mappillai samba rice has great amount of iron and zinc. Iron protects the production of myoglobin and haemoglobin. They carry the oxygen to tissues and muscles which keeps the energy level high of the body. It also consists pro-anthocyanins which assist in reduction of the cholesterol level and hyper glycemia. Good for diabetics since it is has a low Glycemic Index. Children will achieve better growth.

Here I used home made Mapillai Samba rice flour. Wash and soak rice for about 2 hours; then drain the rice and spread it on a clean cloth; let it dry in shade until it gets completely dried. Then grind it to a fine flour in the flour mill. If making in small quantities, we can grind it in batches in the mixie.

Ingredients:

• Mapillai Samba Rice flour - 1 1/2 cups
• White rice / Idiyappam flour - 1/2 cup (optional and can be replaced with Mapillai samba rice flour)
• Water - 2 cups (Adjust as needed)
• Salt - to taste
• Sesame oil - 1/2 tsp

Asparagus Parupusili

Category:  Lunch
Preparation Time: 15 mins  
Cooking Time: 20 mins 
Servings: 3-4 servings

Asparagus Parupusili

Ingredients:

• Asparagus spears - 1 lb

  

  Asparagus

• Toor Dhal - 1/3 cup
• Channa Dhal - 1/4 cup
• Red Chillies - 2 (adjust as per spiciness)
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida - a generous pinch
• Curry leaves - few
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

*Veggie - Dhal ratio can be adjusted as per our liking

Method:

1. Wash the asparagus spears, break the woody stem part by bending the spears and chop them into fine pieces
   
2. Wash and soak the dhals in hot water for atleast an hour (If you have time, you can soak it in normal water for 2-3 hours)
3. Grind the soaked dhals along with red chillies, asafoetida and enough salt (without any water) into coarse mixture
   
4. Steam cook the coarsely ground dhals for 10-12 mins and allow to cool
   
5. Once it becomes warm, crumble it
6. Along with the dhal, In another plate, steam cook the finely chopped asaparagus till its done
   
7. Heat oil in a pan, once it is hot add the mustard seeds then curry leaves
8. Then add the crumbled dhal and turmeric powder; saute well for 2-3 mins
   
9. Add the steamed asparagus and saute for few mins till all gets combined
   
10. Check for salt and switch off
    
11. Serve hot with rice and your favourite Kuzhambu
    

Green Beans Parupusili

Category:  Lunch
Preparation Time: 10 mins 
Cooking Time: 20 mins 
Servings: 3-4 persons

 Green Beans Parupusili

Ingredients:

• Green Beans, finely chopped - 2 cups
• Toor Dhal - 1/4 cup
• Channa Dhal - 1/4 cup
• Red Chillies - 2 (adjust as per spiciness) + 1 for tempering
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida - a generous pinch
• Curry leaves - few
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Coconut, grated -1-2 tbsp (Optional)

Method:

1. Wash the green beans and finely chop them
   
2. Wash and soak the dhals in hot water for atleast an hour (If you have time, you can soak it in normal water for 2-3 hours)
   
3. Grind the soaked dhals along with red chillies, asafoetida and enough salt (without any water) into coarse mixture 
4. Steam cook the coarsely ground dhals for 10-12 mins; I cooked in my Idly pot
   
5. We can also place the beans in another plate and steam cook them together with the dhal mixture (I prefer this method since steam cooking is healthy as well as saves time)
   
6. Once it gets cooked, crumble the dhal mixture
   
7. Heat oil in a pan, once it is hot add the mustard seeds then curry leaves and red chilly
8. Then add the crumbled dhal and turmeric powder; saute well for 2-3 mins 
   
9. Add the cooked beans and saute for few mins till all gets combined
   
10. Check for salt and switch off
11. Add the grated coconut and mix well
    
12. Serve hot with rice and your favourite curry - goes well with Morkuzhambu
    

 

Barley Idly & Dosai

Category: Breakfast / Tiffin    
Soaking Time: 6 Hrs / Overnight  
Fermentation Time: 8-12 Hrs    
Cooking Time: 10 mins /batch; 2 mins/dosa

Barley idly & Dosa with Carrot Sambhar

Another healthy Idly / Dosa recipe to add on to my list:) I tried substituting 50% of Idly rice with Barley in our normal Idly / Dosa batter and the result was good:) Only the colour of the Idlies would be pale and not pure white but tastes good. Dosai came out perfect and yummy!

Barley Idly

Barley Dosa

Ingredients:

• Barley -2 cups (I used Pearl Barley)
• Idly rice - 2 cups
• Whole white urad dhal - 1 cup
• Fenugreek seeds - 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt - To taste

Method:

1. Soak Idly rice & fenugreek seeds together and barley (separately) for 5-6 hrs / overnight and urad dhal for 45 mins-2 hrs
   
   
2.  In a wet grinder, first add the urad dal, grind till it becomes soft and fluffy. Once urad dhal is done, remove it in a big container and keep aside. While grinding for Idly, make sure you just sprinkle required water at regular intervals rather than pouring it at once. This will make the batter very fluffy and airy which results in soft idlies
3.  Add barley to the grinder and grind it till it becomes smooth, then add the rice and fenugreek seeds to it and grind to a smooth batter, but with a slight coarse texture. Once done, remove it into the container with urad dhal
4.  Add required salt and mix well with hands

   

   Before Fermentation

5.  Allow to ferment for about 8-12hrs and it depends on your room temperature; After fermentation, the volume of the batter would be almost doubled. (Make sure to place the batter in a big bowl to avoid spills after it gets fermented)

   

   After Fermentation

6. Once fermented, make idlies as usual
   
   
   
   
7. Serve with your favourite side dish
8. Next day, just add little water to the batter and make it slightly thinner than the idly batter
9. Heat Tawa and grease it. Pour a ladle of dosa batter and spread it to a thin circle. Pour a teaspoon of oil around the corners and cook covered for few seconds 
   
10. Flip it over and cook other side
    
11.  Serve hot with sambhar / chutney!
    
    

Horse gram (Kollu) Idly & Dosai

Category: Breakfast / Tiffin      
Soaking Time: 6 Hrs / Overnight  
Fermentation Time: 6-8 Hrs      
Cooking Time: 10 mins /batch

Horse gram (Kollu) can help with a number of health problems as it is a grain which contains a good and rich amount of vitamins, proteins, and iron. In addition to weight loss, it helps in reduction of extra fat from the body. Horse gram is rich in B-complex vitamin and proteins. It helps in purifying menstruation and cures and prevents arthritis. The presence of a good amount of dietary fiber in the gram helps balance sugar glucose and blood pressure levels.

In our normal Idly - Dosa batter, I just tried replacing Urad dhal with Horse gram and  the result was too good:)
 

Kollu Idly

Kollu Dosai

Ingredients:

• Idly rice - 4 cups
• Horse Gram (Kollu) - 1 cup
• Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
• Salt - To taste
• Sesame Oil - for preparing Dosa

Method:

1. Soak Idly rice and fenugreek seeds together and Horse gram (separately) for 5-6 hrs / overnight

   

   Soaked Horsegram

2. In a wet grinder, first add the horse gram and grind till it becomes soft and fluffy (similar to the normal Urad dhal batter). Once it is done, remove it in a big container and keep aside. While grinding for Idly, make sure you just sprinkle required water at regular intervals rather than pouring it at once. This will make the batter very fluffy and airy which results in soft idlies

   

   Fluffy Horse gram batter while grinding

3.  Add rice to the grinder and grind it till it becomes smooth, but with a slight coarse texture. Once done, remove it into the container with horse gram
4.  Add required salt and mix well with hands

   

   Before Fermentation

5.  Allow to ferment for about 6-8 hrs and it depends on your room temperature; After fermentation, the volume of the batter would be raised. (Make sure to place the batter in a big bowl to avoid spills after it gets fermented) 

   

   After Fermentation

6. Once fermented, make idlies as usual and serve with your favourite side dish

   

   Idlies - Before steaming

   

   Idlies - After steaming

7. Next day, just add little water to the batter and make it slightly thinner than the idly batter. 
8. Heat Tawa and grease it. Pour a ladle of dosa batter and spread it to a thin circle. 

   

   Dosa - Before Cooking

9. Pour few drops of oil around the corners and cook covered till its done.

   

   Dosa - After Cooking

10. If not covering with lid, Flip it over and cook other side
11. Serve Hot with favourite side dish
    

Brown Rice Idly & Dosa

Category: Breakfast / Tiffin    
Soaking Time: 6 Hrs     
Fermentation Time: 6 - 8 Hrs    
Cooking Time: 10 mins /batch

Brown Rice Idly / Dosa Batter - I tried substituting 50% of white rice with brown rice in our normal Idly / Dosa batter and the result was good:) One thing I noticed in this method was fermentation takes bit less time than our normal batter and also it gets sour quickly. So its better to use up the batter within 2-3 days (Under refrigeration) and keeping it in fridge for more than 3-4 days will make it very sour.

Brown Rice Idly

Brown Rice Dosai

Ingredients:

• Brown Rice -2 cups
• Idly rice - 2 cups
• Whole white urad dhal - 1 cup
• Fenugreek seeds - 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt - To taste

Method:

1. Soak brown rice & Idly rice together and fenugreek seeds (separately) for 5-6 hrs and urad dhal for 1-2 hrs
2.  In a wet grinder, first add the fenugreek seeds and then urad dal, grind till it becomes soft and fluffy. Once urad dhal is done, remove it in a big container and keep aside. While grinding for Idly, make sure you just sprinkle required water at regular intervals rather than pouring it at once. This will make the batter very fluffy and airy which results in soft idlies
3.  Add rice to the grinder and grind it till it becomes smooth, but with a slight coarse texture. Once done, remove it into the container with urad dhal
4.  Add required salt and mix well with hands
5.  Allow to ferment overnight / for about 6-8 hrs and it depends on your room temperature; After fermentation, the volume of the batter would be almost doubled. (Make sure to place the batter in a big bowl to avoid spills after it gets fermented)
   
6. Once fermented, make idlies as usual and serve with your favourite side dish  
   
7. Next day, just add little water to the batter and make it slightly thinner than the idly batter. 
8. Heat Tawa and grease it. Pour a ladle of dosa batter and spread it to a thin circle. Pour a teaspoon of oil around the corners and cook covered for few seconds. 
   
9. Flip it over and cook other side
   
10. Serve hot