Onion Sambar

A yummy onion sambar for idli, dosa, ven pongal or rice. Use only small/sambar onions (shallots) for best results. 

Ingredients  :

1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek sees
a pinch of asafoetida
1 cup sambar onions
2 green chillies
10 curry leaves
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 medium size chopped tomatoes
1 lemon size tamarind 
1 tablespoon sambar powder (any brand like MTR or Sakthi masala)
1 cup toor dal cooked
a small bunch of finely chopped coriander

Method :

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds start spluttering, add fenugreek seeds and asafoetida. Fry for a few minutes and add onion and curry leaves.  

Saute for a few minutes and add turmeric powder and green chillies. When the onions start turning light brown add salt and tomatoes.

Saute for a few minute and when the tomatoes turn mushy, add sambar powder. Mix well and add tamarind water.

Let the tamarind water boil till the raw smell disappears. Add dal finally and let the sambar come to a boil. Finally switch of the stove and garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve sambar hot with idlis, dosa or rice.

Thogayal

Ridge gourd peel chutney known as Sammandha in Udupi cuisine and Thogayal or Thuvaiyal in Tamil cuisine is a popular accompaniment to rice, idli or dosas. It is advisable to use organic ridge gourd. You can even make this with chow-chow/chayote peels or cabbage. 

Ingredients :

1 teaspoon oil

1 cup ridge gourd, finely chopped

2 teaspoons urad dal
1 teaspoon channa dal
3 to 4 dried red chillies
a pinch of asafoetida
2 tablespoons grated coconut
1 small marble sized tamarind
salt to taste

for the seasoning (tadka)

1 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
8-10 curry leaves

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and fry the ridge gourd peel till it is cooked. To this add the coconut, tamarind and curry leaves and saute for a few minutes. Keep aside to cool.

In the same pan, add red chillies, urad dal, channa dal and roast till it turns brown. Add asofoetida in the end. 

To this add the ridge gourd, coconut mixture and grind to a coarse paste in a mixer. 

Heat oil, add mustard seeds, when they splutter, add curry leaves and  add to the chutney.

Serve with idli, dosa or rice.

Raw Onion Coconut Chutney

A simple 3 ingredient onion coconut chutney using sambar onions (shallots), coconut and red chillies. You don't have to cook or add any tempering. This chutney tastes best with small/sambar onions (shallots) only. Serve with dosa, idli or adai.

Ingredients :

1 cup peeled sambar onions (shallots)
1/2 cup coconut
4 red chillies


Method :

Grind the onion, coconut and red chillies and serve. 

Tastes best with neer dosa.

Hot & Sour Veg Soup

As the name suggests, hot and sour veg soup is a spicy indo chinese dish with lots of vegetables. It is low calorie and very healthy. You can add vegetables like cabbage, bell peppers (capsicum), beans, carrots etc. It is ideal for a rainy or cold day. You can also try it when you have a bad throat or cold.

Ingredients :

2 onions sliced
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped green chillies
1/2 cup chopped cabbage
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped beans
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup cubed tofu or paneer (optional)
1 teaspoon each of soya sauce, vinegar and green chilli sauce 
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
1 teaspoon red chilli sauce (optional)
1 teaspoon black pepper powder
1 tablespoon corn flour
5 to 6 cups of water
salt to taste

Method :

Heat oil in a pan. Add onions, finely chopped garlic, ginger and green chillies. Once they turn translucent, add salt. Saute till they turn light brown.

Add all the chopped vegetables and saute for a few minutes on a high flame. Once the vegetables are slightly cooked, reduce the flame and add soya sauce, vinegar, green chilli sauce and tomato ketchup. Mix well and saute for a few minutes.

Mix corn flour in 1/4 cup of water. Once it is completely dissolved, add more water. Add this paste to the vegetables. Adjust water,salt and black pepper powder to your liking and bring to a boil. Taste the soup and add more vinegar, soya sauce or chilli sauce as per your preference.

Serve soup hot and adjust seasonings as per your preference.

Dosa

Dosa is one of the most popular breakfast items in South India. The basic recipe for dosa has rice and urad dal but the proportions vary in each household. This is a recipe for dosa that has fenugreek seeds which make the dosa more delicious. You could also add 1/4 cup of poha while soaking the rice to make the dosa more soft and crispy. You can use the same recipe for idli but reduce the fenugreek seeds to 1 teaspoon.

Ingredients :

1 cup raw rice
1 cup boiled rice
3/4 cup urad dal
1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds
salt to taste

Method:

Soak the rice separately. Soak the dal and fenugreek seeds separately.

Soak for a minimum of 3 hours. Drain excess water and grind the rice and dal separately in a mixer or grinder. Add water when grinding to make a dosa/idli batter consistency. Mix both the batter together and add salt as per taste.

Ferment overnight or for 6 hours depending on the climatic conditions in your location.

Once the batter is fermented, refrigerate and use to make dosas as required. Bring the batter to room temperature before making dosa.

Serve hot with sambar/chutney/idli podi.

MEAL PLAN 2

MEAL PLAN 1

Here's a weekly meal plan that will help you planning your meals in advance. Make sure you buy all the ingredients you need and prep them the previous day or whenever convenient. This meal plan is especially designed for all the busy ladies as it reuses some dishes for lunch and dinner.

Make sure you eat fruits and nuts for in between meal snacks to maintain a healthy balanced diet.

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Sunday	Cheese and  Corn  Sandwich	Bisi Bele Bath Amla raitha	Bisi Bele Bath and  Curd Rice
Monday	Uppu Huli Dosa	Udupi Tomato Rasam Brinjal/Eggplant Stir fry	Cabbage Pathrode Curd rice
Tuesday	Heerakai Dosa	Udupi Style Sambar (Masali Kodhel) Moong Dal Salad/ Kosambri	Idli  Udupi Style Sambar
Wednesday	Huli Avalakki	Green Pulao Bell Peppers and Cucumber Raitha	Roti Bombay Chutney
Thursday	Oats and Broken Wheat Idli	Lemon Rasam Beans Poriyal	Roti with leftover  Rasam (thickened) and Beans
Friday	Chithranna	Mango Menaskai Udinna Hittu (Udinittu)	Kadubu Idli  Menaskai
Saturday	Neer Dosa / Bajjari Dosa	Mushroom Fried Rice Chilli Vegetable Gravy	Hakka Noodles   Chilli Vegetable Gravy

Avial

Avial is a healthy side dish made with mixed boiled vegetables, coconut and spices. It tasted best when eaten with rice or adai dosa. This recipe is a basic white avial with curd. I have also posted the vegan version of Udupi style avial without curd.  

Ingredients :

2 cup mixed vegetables (beans, carrot, peas, brinjal, yam, potato etc)

1 cup curd

for paste :

1 cup grated coconut

2 to 3 green chillies

1 teaspoon jeera

10 curry leaves

for tadka (seasoning) :

1 teaspoon oil

10 to 15 curry leaves 

Method :

Grind coconut, green chillies, curry leaves and cumin seeds to a fine paste.

Pressure cook vegetables with required amount of water with salt for one whistle. 

Add the prepared paste and let it come to  a boil.

Heat oil in a pan, add curry leaves. Wait for a few seconds and switch off the gas. 

Add this tadka to the Aviyal. Add curd before serving. .

Serve hot with adai or rice.

Adai

Adai is a protein rich South Indian breakfast dish. It is a dosa (pancake) made with rice, dal and spices. The ratio of rice to dal varies in different versions. You can tweak it slightly to modify your dietary requirements. It is very healthy and tastes delicious when eaten with Avial (vegetable stew).  

Ingredients :

for soaking & grinding:

1 cup raw rice

1 cup parboiled rice (idli rice)

1/2 cup toor dal

1/3 cup channa dal

2 tablespoons urad dal

for grinding:

2 red chillies

2 green chillies

1 cup grated coconut

15 to 20 curry leaves

a small bunch of coriander leaves 

for dosa garnish:

1 cup finely chopped onions

a small bunch of finely chopped mint and coriander leaves 

Method:

Wash the rice and dals thoroughly and soak them separately for a minimum of 3 hours. After soaking, drain the excess water. 

Grind coconut, red chillies, green chillies, ginger, corainder leaves, curry leaves and rock salt to a paste. 

Add the soaked dal and rice. Grind to a coarse paste. The batter should be slightly thicker than your regular dosa batter.

Add finely chopped onions and coriander leaves to the batter and mix well.

Prepare adai dosa on hot dosa tava using little oil.

Serve with avial, jaggery or any chutney of your choice.