Kuleeth dosa (kuleetha ramnaN)

Kuleeth or kulthi, also called Horse gram in english is a legume. It looks like whole masoor or brown lentil. Kuleeth was the staple food fed for horses in India, and hence its English name. The cooked kuleeth was fed to horses and the liquid after cooking kuleeth was drained, used to make saar. I will post this recipe some other day.


Kuleeth or Horse gram

This recipe for Kuleeth Dosa, called kuleetha ramnaN in konkani, is from the authentic Konkani Cookbook, "Oota Upahara" published in Kannada and "amgele kaaNa jevaN" in konkani by Jaya V Shenoy. The book has been around nearly past 20 years and is a popular cookbook in the Mangalorean Konkani households.

1 cup kuleeth/horse gram
1 cup urad dal
1.5 cup rice/idli rava

To make the batter
Soak kuleeth and urad together. If using rice, soak it separately. Soak time approx 2 hrs. Rinse and clean the above. Grind kuleeth and urad to a smooth paste. Grind rice coarsely to the consistency of idli rava. Batter should be of idli batter consistency. Mix all the batter and add salt. (If using idli rava mix it with kuleeth and urad batter now). The batter can be used immediately, does not need to be fermented.

Now to make ramnaN. ramnaN can be made in 2 different ways

You can steam cook the batter like idli. Traditionally its cooked in a round metal plate with 1 inch depth like the cake tins/dokla stand called vaTTe in konkani


Kuleeth dosa or kuleetha ramnaN

The other way to make is in a round bottomed wok or kadai. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a kadai and splutter a few mustard seeds. Add 2 serving spoonfuls of batter. Place the lid and cook on low flame till the bottom side gets crispy and brown and upper side is cooked. You can turn the ramnaN and roast other side. This turns out like Idli hidden inside a crispy Dosa!

Serve with Sambar or Rasam or Chutney.

Updates
Check out the recipe for Kuleeth Saaru and Stir Fry

Flax Seeds

Whole Flax seeds

Flax Seeds are high in Omega3 Fatty acids. Whole Flax seeds are not digested and hence you need to grind it to be consumed. The ground flax seed becomes oxidized if kept exposed to air for long time. So it should be ground freshly at home. You can use a coffee grinder or the chutney jar of the mixer to grind it. It lasts upto 30 days when stored in an air tight jar.


Ground flax seeds

Ways to eat ground flax seed
You can mix the ground flax seed with your breakfast cereal, oat meal or even in milk. You will hardly notice its taste. I tried mixing a tablespoon of ground flax seed in the atta to make chapati. The chapati comes out very soft.


Flax seed chapati with gherkins

You can find more flax seed recipes here
Indian recipes with Flax Seed
Baking with Flax Seed

Apple and Avocado Fruit Salsa

You need
1 apple, variety of your choice
1 avocado
10-15 grapes
1 lime/lemon
1 jalapeno pepper
3 sprig cilantro
3 onions, could be green onion or any other

Wash and core the apple. Slice into small bite size pieces. Chop onion, jalapeno and cilantro.

Cut avocado into pieces. Here is an easy and clean way to chop avocados. Slit avocado along the center line of the avocado i.e all around the pit. Turn or twist the 2 halves in different directions. The upper half just pops out, leaving the pit in the lower one. With a single stroke beat your knife into the pit and twist it. The pit comes out with your knife. Now with a small knife make vertical and horizontal cuts on the pulp of the avocado when it is still inside the shell. Do not cut the shell. Spoon out the pulp, the small pieces fall out.

In a bowl mix chopped apple, avocado, grapes, onions, jalapeno and cilantro. Squeeze the juice of a lemon, add a pinch of salt. Fruit salsa is ready to be served. This recipe serves 2 people

Lettuce salad with Homemade vinaigrette

To make homemade Balsamic vinaigrette you need
3 tsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tsp balsamic vinegar or any other vinegar
3 cloves garlic finely minced
1 tsp salt
Mix all the ingredients in a glass bottle and refrigerate for 24 hrs before using. This will stay upto 2-3 weeks.



To make salad, I used 3 leaves of romaine lettuce and 4 leaves of iceberg lettuce. You may use any leaves of your choice. Wash the leaves under water. Use plenty of water and float the leaves. Then transfer the leaves to a bowl and let them drain. Its easier to drain till the last drop in a salad spinner. If you do not have one just let the leaves drain for 30 mins. Chop the leaves into tiny ribbons or strips. Pour the vinaigrette onto the leaves and gently mix them.

Vegetable Pulao

Ingredients

1 cup basmati rice
2 cup mixed vegetables , (carrots, beans)chopped
1 tsp garam masala
¼ tsp turmeric powder
oil or ghee
1” cinnamon stick, 2 cloves, 2 cardamom

grind to paste
2 medium onions
4 cloves garlic
1” ginger
4 green chillies
Method

Soak rice for 30minutes, drain and set aside to dry.
Prepare the paste grinding the ingredients listed above.
Heat oil/ghee in a pan or wok, called kadai in Hindi. Add cinnamon, cloves and cardamom and fry for a minute
Add the paste and fry under low flame. Add just enough oil so that the paste does not stick to the kadai. Fry until the oil comes out on the sides of the pan. i.e the raw smell goes off approx 20minutes
Add turmeric powder and garam masala and stir for 2 more minutes. Add rice and fry for 2 minutes. Now add the vegetables and fry for another 2 minutes.
Transfer the contents to the pressure cooker. Add 2 cups of water to the empty kadai and bring it to a boil. This helps you to get all the stuff from the kadai and also cleans the kadai. Add boiling water to the pressure cooker. Add salt and stir. I add water double the quantity of your rice, adjust water quantity according to your rice. Use the same proportion of water that you would use to make your rice otherwise.
Close the lid of the pressure cooker lid and cook to your desired level. I cook for 3 whistles

Tips : Let the cooker cool down on its own. Do not hurry to open the lid. After the pressure comes down, open the lid and let the rice cool down for another 30mins before you insert the spoon. Hot rice will get smashed down easily and the pulao may get mushy.

This is just a variation in the making with same ingredients. Instead of grinding the onions, green chillies, garlic and ginger into paste and frying, you can just reverse the process. First fry these ingredients and grind into paste. This just helps you to judge better when to stop frying.

For a quick pulao, do not grind onions and green chillies to paste. Use red chili powder instead of green chillies. Use ginger garlic paste if you have it ready. Finely chop onions. Fry onions and ginger garlic paste.

This recipe serves 2 people