Uppudu Pindi

This is a very simple tiffin that is typical of Andhra Pradesh. It consists of rice rava, or coarsely ground rice flour. It is light, non-spicy, easy to prepare, and can be eaten cold or hot.

ingredients:

2 cups rice rava
4 cups water
1tsp salt
few curry leaves
Tadka:
3/4tsp aavalu (mustard seeds)
1tsp mina pappu (urad dal)
1tsp jeera
2 dry red chillies

Method:

• In a vessel put in 1 1/2tsp oil and put in the tadka items
• Once the mustard starts to pop, and the urad dal turns brownish, add the water, salt and curry leaves and put on the lid.
• Once the water is boiled, slowly add the rice rava while constantly stirring.
• Once the entire rice rava has been added, put the lid again, and stir intermittently until the upma is done.
• The upma will start sticking to the bottom of the vessel, and also the rice rava will be  visibly cooked when done.

You can serve this upma with kandi pachadi, any pickle or curds.

Fried Atukulu

This is a quick snack that can be made with very little prep, and light on the stomach. Atukulu, or beaten rice, is a staple in most Indian kitchens, especially those that make poha as breakfast! I’m sure there are more dishes that can be made with atukulu, but am yet to discover, and make them. 🙂

Ingredients:

• 2-3 tbsp oil
• 1/2 cup groundnuts
• 1 cup beaten rice
• few curry leaves
• salt and chilli powder to taste

Method:

• Heat the oil in a wide wok on a medium flame, and put the groundnuts in.
• Put the curry leaves into the basic/bowl into while you intend to put in the fried groundnuts and atukulu.
• While the oil heats, it also fries the groundnuts. Keep them in until they are well done, and then take them out with a metal sieve.
• Turn the flame to low and drop a few atukulu at a time. They will immediately puff up. So be sure to put in only a few and scoop them out immediately, else they would get burnt.
• Follow the process until all the atukulu are done. The curry leaves in the bowl will get fried because of the heat from the groundnuts and atukulu dropped over them.
• Finally add salt and chilli powder to taste and mix well.

This snack can be store for over a week. But I must say that I’ve never been able to check that out for myself. It’s always over within a couple of days!!! 🙂

Atukula Dosa – II

The first time I wrote about the Atukula Dosa, I hadn’t posted any pictures. And then, I managed to put in pictures of an already prepared dosa. It occurred to me this morning that I could cover the section where I’m actually making the dosa! Hmm. So here goes!

Process:

• Heat a mid-sized iron skillet on the smallest possible flame on the gas stove/cook-top. Spread 1/2 tsp oil, to help heating the skillet evenly. Also when it starts to smoke, you know the skillet has heated enough!
• Take 1 tbsp batter, and pour onto the center of the skillet. Dont spread as though you’re making a normal dosa. Rather nudge it to the sides. the batter should look like a small pancake about 1/4 inch thick. Spread 1/2 tsp oil around the edge of the dosa.

• Place a domed lid over the dosa. I prefer to use a steel lid from a serving set I don’t use, as the heat from the skillet wouldn’t spoil it. Of course, taking it off the skillet time and again without burning your fingers takes practice! 😉

• The overall cook time per dosa is about 5 minutes. Lift the lid time-to-time to check if the dosa is done.
• Once done, the dosa will have puffed up, and the surface will have got a dry look.
  • However, if you place it on a higher flame, the inside would not have cooked properly. A good idea would be to dip a knife tip into the dosa to check if its done, same as you would any cake. You can do this until you are confident of getting it right. 🙂

• Gently lift off the skillet and serve hot. Do NOT flip this dosa.

Note the puffiness of a well-done dosa. Also this dosa doesn’t require a lot of oil during its preparations, which makes a perfect light snack, breakfast or dinner item. As it is cooked over a small flame, the base doesn’t get burnt while the dosa is cooked. However, don’t be too stingy with the oil! It’s the oil that prevents the base from burning. 🙂

You can serve this dosa with chutney, pickle, kura podi, or even sugar. The soured buttermilk gives it a slightly sour taste, which works well with almost any accompaniment! You can also add green chillies before putting on the lid for the dosa. It adds another dimension to the flavours of this amazing delicacy.

Related articles

• Atukula Dosa (teluguveggie.wordpress.com)