Raw Jack fruit dosa | Gujje Dose | Halasinakayi dose | Sunshine Dosa | Kathal Dosa : Gluten free jack fruit crepes

Raw jack fruit dosa needs no fermentation and can be made in a jiffy. It's gluten free and vegan. You need jack fruits that is raw and firm. Please do not use tender jack fruit (baby jack fruit) to make this. Please refer to CookwithSmile blog. She has put tender jack fruit pictures.  We are using fully grown jack fruit that is yet to ripen. Look at the picture below.

The aroma of this dosa makes you want to eat more. The subtle flavor of jack fruit makes you salivate. Don't believe.., just make it once. You'll hunt for raw jack fruit to make them again and again.

We call it Sunshine Dosa at home because of the vibrant yellow color.

Here goes the recipe:

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: About a minute for each dosa
Serves: 4 adults (Makes about 18 to 20 dosas)


Ingredients:
2 cups raw rice (normal sona masoori/ponni would do)
4 cups raw jackfruit (remove the seeds & cut into small pieces)
1 tbsp fresh/frozen grated coconut, optional
salt according to taste.

Additional ingredients:
Few drops of coconut oil/cooking oil for each dosa.

Method:

• Soak the rice for at least 5 hours.

• De seed the jack fruit and chop them into small pieces.

• Grind the rice along with the jackfruit, coconut & make smooth paste out of it. The batter should be just like any other normal dosa batter.

• Add salt according to taste & start preparing the dosas immediately. (No fermentation required) Refer to the video below.  

• Serve the dosa with honey, chutney or any dip of your choice. Tender jack fruit sambar/koddel goes very well with this dosa.

PS: This is one of my revisited posts. 

Stage 1 foods: Pear puree

How to make pear puree at home?

Stage 1 foods/purees can be given to babies from 4+ months. However, I started after my baby turned 6 months old.

Notes:
I stored the puree in 2.5 oz bottles/jar. That is how much I give my daughter at a time.
You can store in 4 oz or 2.5 oz bottle.
Store in small bottles, enough for 1 serving. This way, you'll not end up wasting the food and you can thaw just 1 jar of food/serving.
I used organic vegetables/fruits for making baby food.
Since, it's first food I'm not adding any flavoring like cinnamon, cardamom to the puree. If you wish, you could add flavoring of your choice.
However refrain from adding sugar or salt. Your baby does not need additional sugar/salt. Fruits have enough sugar in them. 

Items needed for making and storing the baby food.

• A steamer | pressure cooker | electric cooker
• Food processor | blender | Indian mixie
• Food grade bottles/jar that can be freezed. I prefer glass jars, but in the beginning had to use few plastic ones too. Later, I switched completely to glass jars. I washed the food jars thoroughly and wiped them to remove the moisture from the jars.

How to make pear puree:
Organic pear: About 1 lb or 1/2 kg
Makes about 7 2.5oz jar

Method:

Core and de-seed the pear. You can peel the skin, I didn't peel it though.

Chop into 1 inch cubes and steam the pear for 5 minutes. Do not add any water/milk while steaming. Pear has enough water in itself.

Once the steamed pear cools down, blend them in a food processor/mixie. I tried doing it in my food processor. My food processor couldn't grind the skin of the pear, hence I moved it to my Indian mixie.

 (PS: Can you see the difference between the food processor puree and the Indian mixie puree?We want it like the later..)

Make sure you make a fine puree of the fruit.
Scoop out the puree into the desired jars and freeze.

I use 1 fruit jar per day and I got enough for a week.

Introducing solids to the baby

My second baby is 6 months old now and we are officially introducing solids to her. Our doctor recommended introducing solids at 5 and 1/2 months. We went on a trip to India and our parents insisted we start solids earlier..so..we started solids after she completed 5 months. But, I was giving very little..around a teaspoon of rice cereal, once a day. After 2 weeks, we started giving the same rice cereal in the evenings too.

I got mixed opinions about starting solids and got really confused with what to do. My suggestion is don't listen to the outside world or the internet. Go with your mommy intuition and the baby cues to introduce solids. It'll really help. Based on the opinions from others, I gave baby cereal to my baby after she completed 4 months. She didn't take it. I stopped forcing her and didn't feed solids for another 3 weeks.

Take it slow. I know, you'll be eager to give him/her all the healthy food available (This is a note to self too).
Consult your pediatrician or your mom/grand-mom. They will have a wealth of information about what are the first foods that can be given to the babies.
Don't prepare a big batch of baby food once. Make in smaller portions. The idea is to introduce variety of foods in the first few months. If you make in bulk, you will feed the same to baby and he/she will get used to that one taste. It'll become difficult to make him/her try something else. (I have made that mistake with my first one.., so I am planning to make sure,, I don't repeat the same mistake)

To start with, I got store bought (Gerber/Plum Organics/Beechnut etc) stage 1 fruit/vegetable puree. I got the smallest size available (2.5 oz ) and also bought 4 of each. I meant.., I bought 4 carrot purees, 4 sweet potato purees etc..

Start only one vegetable/fruit puree at a time. Give the same thing for 3 days minimum before starting a new one. This is to make sure that the baby isn't allergic to anything and also to make sure he/she is digesting it well. Our pediatrician asked us to start the new food in the mornings, so that you can keep an eye on the baby for allergies. Please be extra careful, if your family has a history of allergies. Take it very slow and watch out for reactions.

I started my daughter with carrots, followed by sweet potatoes, pears, peas, apple, squash and banana.
After trying all these, I decided to make my own stage 1 fruit/vegetable purees. I saved the glass containers (to reuse to store the baby food that I make).
I also bought 4 oz jelly jars to save the home made purees.

I started making enough purees for a week and started freezing them. I know, people will judge me for giving frozen food for the baby. I feel safe giving my baby home made frozen food than canned store bought baby food. Again, do what works for you. If you have the patience and time to make baby purees, go ahead, make it and freeze. Do not freeze a lot. Do it in batches for a week or so.

Disclaimer: I'm not a dietitian or a pediatrician. I have written what has worked for my daughter. I'm documenting my daughter's journey along with.

In the coming posts, you can expect recipes for baby vegetable/fruit purees. I'll start with stage 1 and then move along.

Strawberry Sasive | Strawberries in coconut-mustard sauce

 Life is taking unexpected turns from the last few months or so. I'm still coming to terms with it. We are having not so good days and hoping that the ray of light is not far away. All I can say is, God is helping us and he will definitely be with us.

Hopefully, I will start blogging frequently from now on. We went strawberry picking and got a whole basket of strawberries home. So, I started experimenting and made lots of new recipes using strawberries. I'll try to post all of them. 

One of the first recipes that I tried was this strawberry sasive, I loved it thoroughly. 

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 5-7 mins

Serves:4-6

Ingredients:

Strawberries:6-8 nos, refer notes

Salt: As needed

Water: About 1/4 cup

Whisked yogurt: 1/4 cup
Jaggery: 2 tsp, optional

For coconut-mustard paste:

Fresh or frozen coconut: 1/4 cup, grated

Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp

Green chili: 2 nos, according to taste

Water: As needed

For tempering/oggarane:
Cooking Oil: 1 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves: 3-5 nos, torn
Red chili: 1 no, broken (optional)

Method:
Wash the strawberries thoroughly and roughly chop them.
Add about 1/4 cup of water, salt, jaggery to the chopped strawberries and bring it to a boil.

Strawberries get cooked pretty fast. In less than 5 minutes, strawberries will be done.
Allow the strawberries to cool.
Make a fine paste of the items mentioned under the coconut paste. Add very little water. You could use the water used for boiling the strawberries.

Add the cooked strawberries to the coconut paste and crush it coarsely.
Scoop out the mixture to a bowl. Add the whisked yogurt. Mix well.

Prepare the tempering. Add oil in a small pan. When oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. When mustard seeds crackle, add the cumin seeds. When cumin seeds turn golden brown, add the curry leaves and red chili. Remove from the heat and pour it over the saasive prepared. Mix well and serve with steamed rice.

Notes:
Do not use very sour strawberries. Try to use sweeter ones. If the strawberries are very sour, try using 3 or 4 only. 

Pudina Chutney | Mint Chutney | Pudina Thogayal : Iyengar Style

Pudina Thogayal is a South Indian version of the mint chutney that is popularly consumed as a side dish for steamed rice. It is very flavorful and goes well with so many South Indian items like dosa, akki rotti, or uttappam. I make this chutney mostly in summers as I harvest mint once in 15 days (I grow it in my balcony garden). Also, mint helps cool down your body in hot and humid summer days.

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 10 mins

Serves: Makes about 1.5 cups of thogayal

Notes: 

• Pick only the leaves from the mint leaves and discard the stem
• Cilantro can be washed and used along with the tender stems. 
• The stems of the cilantro adds volume to the thogayal and also makes it flavorful.
• Do not add more water while making a coarse paste. The thogayal needs to be thick. Add a teaspoon of water at a time and continue grinding.

Ingredients:

Pudina | Mint leaves:1.5 cups tightly packed, refer notes

Coriander leaves | Cilantro: 1/2 cup, refer notes

Dry coconut: 1/4 cup

Green chilies: 4 nos, adjust accordingly

Tamarind: a big grape sized or about 1 tsp of thick tamarind extract

Urad dal | Black gram dal | Uddinabele: 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp

Oil: 1 tsp

Salt: As needed

Water: As needed

For tempering:
Oil: 2 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 4 nos, torn

Broken red chili: 1 no

Method:
Wash the mint and coriander leaves thoroughly and roughly chop them.

In a broad wok, heat oil. When oil is hot, roast the urad dal until golden brown.

When the dal is golden brown, add the green chili and saute for 15 secs.

Add the roughly chopped mint and cilantro. Saute till the leaves wilt and become soft.

When leaves are soft, add the turmeric powder, salt and the tamarind. Turn off the heat and allow the leaves to cool for about 5 minutes.

Scoop out the cooked mint mixture to a blender or mixie jar. Add the grated dry coconut and make a coarse paste out of it. Add couple of tablespoons of water, if needed.
Heat oil in a wok. When oil is hot, add the mustard seeds.

When seeds crackle, add curry leaves and broken red chili.
Scoop out the chutney paste to the wok that has the tempering and heat the chutney until the extra water is absorbed. Cook the thogayal on a low heat for about 3-5 mins.

Turn off the heat. Allow it to cool and serve it with rice or dosa.

No grind Idli Recipe | Vegan and Gluten Free Idli Recipe | Idli Recipe using Urad dal Flour : Beginner Series

Idli is a South Indian breakfast/tiffin recipe that is mostly gluten free and vegan. Idli is made with fermented lentils and rice mixture. However for instant idlis or no grind idli, we add yogurt to skip the fermentation process. Addition of baking soda, fruit salt or citric acid crystals are common too.

I'm having a tough time cooking these days and always avoid soaking, and grinding of the urad dal. So, I came up with this idli recipe. It does need fermentation but I did avoid yogurt and all other rising agents like baking soda, fruit salt etc.

Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins, for each batch
Fermentation Time: 8-10 hours
Makes about 15-18 idlis

Ingredients:
Urad dal flour: 1 cup, store bought
Idli Rawa : 1.5 cups, store bought
Fenugreek powder: 1 tsp
Water: About 2 cups, more or less
Salt: As needed

Method:
Add about 2 cups of water to the urad dal flour and whisk well. You can use a hand blender or whisk to make the batter airy and frothy.

Add the idli rawa and fenugreek powder to the whisked urad dal batter. Fold in. You should not whisk now. Just mix it. Add water, if needed. The batter should be like a thick milkshake/smoothie consistency.

Keep the batter in a warm place overnight or for a minimum of 8-10 hours (this depends on the outside temperature too).

Before making the idlis, add salt and mix.
Grease the idli moulds and scoop out about 1.5 tbsp of batter to each mould.

Steam the idlis for about 15 mins.
Allow it cool for 5 mins. Once the steamer is cool enough to handle, remove the moulds and scoop out the steamed idli using a spoon or blunt knife.

Serve the idli hot with a side dish/dip of your choice.

Some side dishes that go well with idli are given below.
Hotel Sambar
Ginger coconut chutney
Red chili chutney
Flax seeds and garlic dry chutney
Peanut Mint Chutney

Notes:
Please refer here for all the tips and tricks to make idli.  

Cucumber Dosa | Southekai Dose | Cucumber Crepes : Gluten free and vegan recipe.

Learn how to make cucumber dosa | southekayi dose or gluten free crepes,

Cucumber dosa doesn't need any fermentation. It's very quick to make, gluten free, vegan and healthy dosa recipe. The specialty of this dosa is, it stays soft for hours. You can pack this for lunch and also eat it cold or at room temperature.

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: About 90 secs for each dosa

Soaking Time: 3-5 hours

Makes about 20 dosas

Ingredients:

Rice: 2 cups, refer notes

Cucumber: 2 medium sized or 1.5 large, refer notes

Salt: As needed

Water: As needed

Oil: A few drops for each dosa

Method:

Wash the rice thoroughly and soak the rice in enough water for 3-5 hours.
Drain the water from the rice. Reserve the drained water.

First add half the cucumber cubes and half the soaked rice to the mixie or food processor.

Do not add water while grinding the rice. The cucumber oozes out enough water to grind the rice to a smooth paste.

Repeat the grinding process until all the rice and cucumber is ground to a smooth paste.
Scoop out the paste in a sauce pan or a mixing bowl. 

Add enough water (you can use the drained water here!) and salt. Mix well.
Let it sit for 10 mins (not really needed though)
Heat a griddle. I use a cast iron griddle to make my dosas. Make dosas similar to rava dosa or neer dosa. You can refer the video here. You need to cook only one side for this dosa.

Serve the dosa hot or at room temperature with a chutney/dip of your choice. 

Notes:

• I have used sona masoori rice, basmati rice, and ponni rice to make this dosa. You can use any rice of your choice. I however do not recommend boiled rice or idli rice.
• I use the whole cucumber as is with the skin and the seeds. You could peel the skin, if you want to. I roughly use about 2 to 2.5 cups of 1 inch cubed cucumbers. 
• Try to use a tender cucumber in which the seeds are soft.
• You can add green chili if you wish. I do not add.
• It is important to add the cucumber cubes to the mixie jar or food processor first, followed by soaked rice.