Next project...

Next, I thought I would tackle some Indian cooking. Really, I need to be able to make my mother something authentic when she gets here!! This has been a long overdue task. Harish and Sheela have been after me for months to pick up a few popular recipes. So, away I went... Harish took me to a local place to buy a dosa pan (tava) and an idly cooker. The entire staff crowded into my small kitchen to see the instruction!! Regular dosa batter is made from rice and split, skinned urad bean (black lentil) blended with water and left to ferment overnight. For a price, you can buy it already made - cheating a bit, but listen, I am NOT skinning lentils!!! The batter is then ladled in small amounts onto a hot greased tava, where it is spread out into a thin circle and fried with oil or ghee (clarified butter!) until golden brown. Then you simply roll it (like a crepe) and serve! Simple, really. The trick is to spread the batter very thin, so the dosa is crispy. Anyway... I made them for dinner last night and the kids devoured them!!!! My camera battery was dead, so, sadly there are no photos. Next time, though!

Using the very same batter, with some added baking soda. I learned to make idlis next! These are wildly popular in the south of India. They are eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner and are steamed in a pressure cooker. Here's my idli cooker!!

My first batch came out perfectly!!

Idlis are considered to be one of the world's 10 healthiest foods! Probably more so when eaten traditionally with chutney or sambar. Not so much when dipped in maple syrup and spread with peanut butter - but, hey, they ate the ENTIRE batch!!

OK, and Andrew did drink what was left of his syrup... what is wrong with this kid??