Thekkareda Dose (Cucumber Dosa)

You can make dosas out of the batter that remains after making thekkareda adya. For ingredients and procedure, see http://katmandige.blogspot.in/2014/04/thekkareda-cucumber-adya_24.html

When the batter is ready, heat a dosa griddle/pan and apply some oil on the surface. When the griddle/pan is hot, pour some batter using a ladle. Cover the griddle/pan. When you know that the dosa is cooked, add some oil on the upper surface and turn it over to fry the other side. 

Thekkareda Adya / Cucumber Pancake

Ingredients:

Dosa Rice - 2 cups
Cucumber - 1/2 of medium sized - cut into pieces
Peppercorns - 2
Cardamom - 1 pod
Jaggery - 1 cup

Salt for taste
Oil

Procedure:

1. Soak Dosa rice in water for at least four hours. You can soak it overnight. Grind rice along with cucumber, jaggery, cardamom, peppercorns,  and salt. Ensure that the batter is smooth without any pieces of cucumber.
2. Grease a steel plate with oil. You can also use idly bowls/plates. Grease them with oil. 
3. Boil water in an idly cooker, pour the batter to the plate/idly bowls. Note that you must add the batter only upto 1 inch.  If you add more batter, it doesn't get cooked well. 
4. Place the plate/idly bowls on the idly cooker and insert the lid.
5. Let it get cooked in medium flame.
6. Wait for 15-20 mins  and check if it's ready using a knife. Insert a knife randomly, if it comes out clean, it's cooked, if not, let it get cooked for some more time. Repeat the test before you put off the flame.   
7. Once it is ready, remember to draw lines on the adya using a knife to cut them into pieces of medium size.  

This is what I do every time. I pour batter into idly bowls, place them in the idly cooker and above those bowls place the plate with batter. This is a breakfast item and easy to make. You do not have to keep it for fermentation, instead you can use the batter immediately. It's healthy too. 

Thekkareda Adya  is ready to be served. You can have this with chutney. 

Refreshing Drinks for Summer

Buttermilk / Ale / Majjige

This is my version of butermilk recipe. I prepared and served this for family get-together and yes, everyone liked. So thought of sharing this recipe in here.

Ingredients:

Curd - 4-5 tsps
Coriander Leaves (Cilantro) - 1/2 cup
Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 11/2 -2
Hing (Asafoetida) - A pinch
Ginger - A small piece
Salt for taste

Procedure:

1. Grind all the above ingredients in a mixer to a fine paste.    
2. Take out the ground mixture and add add 11/2 cup of curd. Add a glass of water and whip it until tiny curd particles dissolve properly. 

Yummy buttermilk is ready.

Ragi Juice 

This recipe comes from my mom. She makes this juice daily without fail,  in summer.  Ragi also known as finger millet or nachani and has several health benefits. You can go through its health benefits in here: http://health.india.com/fitness/did-you-know-these-10-health-benefits-of-ragi-or-nachni/  

Ingredients:

Ragi (finger millets) - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Cardamom - 1

Procedure:

1. Soak Ragi/Finger millets in water for 2-3 hours. You can also soak it overnight.
2. After soaking it for the  required amount of time, be sure to wash it twice with clean water. 
3. Grind it along with jaggery and cardamom  in a mixer. You can add 1/4 cup water when you grind the ingredients.
4. Strain the mixture using a sieve twice or thrice.  This is because, the ground mixture is thick. So, you can add enough water to reduce its thickness; however, be sure to add enough jaggery to make it sweet.  

Note: Do not add too much water, it might lose its taste.
You can have this juice immediately or refrigerate and have it as and when you wish. It tastes better when its refrigerated.

Jeerige Neer (Jeera / Cumin Water)

This one is again from my mother's kitchen. Jeera/Cumin is considered to be a cooling agent. It cures indigestion and heals mouth ulcer. It hardly takes 5 minutes to make Jeera water. You can go through its health benefits in here:http://www.stylecraze.com/articles/benefits-of-jeeracumin-water-for-skin-hair-and-health
http://www.womenplanet.in/health-fitness/benefits-of-jeera-cumin-jeera-water-its-powder-and-seeds-oil
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumin
When we were kids, my mom used to soak jeera overnight and we used to have this water first thing in the morning. 

Ingredients:

Jeera /Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Water - 2 cups
Salt for taste

Procedure:

1. Grind Jeera/Cumin seeds using a mixer to make a fine powder. Do not add water.
2. Meanwhile, boil two cups of water. Add the ground powder to it along with a pinch of salt. 
3. Let it boil until you get the aroma. 
4. Strain the water and serve. 

Some use sugar instead of salt. You can try that as well. I personally feel salt goes well with this.