Savoury Semolina Cake

This is a bookmarked recipe from Neha's lovely space, From my heart. The moment I saw this post in her blog, I had decided to try it out because I love savoury stuff than the sweet ones. The recipe just mentioned semolina and I had already roasted semolina with  me. So I confirmed with Neha if I can use the roasted one for this recipe. I was happy when she responded quickly with a yes and I tried it out yesterday itself.  This was my first savoury bake and I loved it totally. I don't like semolina upma much and this was definitely a unique recipe with a different taste. The savoury cakes came out awesome and its sure a healthy breakfast/brunch/snack idea. I have followed the exact recipe with very slight changes and I didnt have sesame seeds as topping too, so I adjusted with some cashews. It's a lovely recipe and very easy to prepare.

Click here for the original recipe.

What you need?

1 cup Semolina

1 cup thick Yoghurt

1 cup mixed Vegetables of your choice

1/4 cup chopped Onion

1 tbsp chopped Ginger

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

3/4 tsp Chilli powder 

1/2 cup Water

Salt

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

5-6 Curry Leaves

2 tbsp Oil

1/2 tsp Baking soda

1/2 tsp Baking powder

1 tbsp  broken Cashews (optional)

How to prepare?

In a bowl, add semolina, vegetables, onion, ginger, turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt. Combine this well. Now add yoghurt to this and mix well. Add water to this to get a thick batter. ( I added only 1/2 cup, original recipe says 1 cup)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a pan with oil.

Heat oil in a pan. Splutter mustard and cumin seeds. Add curry leaves and saute for few seconds. Now add this tempering to the batter. Finally add baking soda and powder to the batter. Combine everything well. 

Pour the batter to the pan. Throw some cashews on the top. Bake for about 35-40 minutes.

Serve hot with some ketchup or chutney.

Kadala Curry / Chana Curry

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and now energised for a great week ahead. Today's recipe is a Kadala or Chana curry which is a typical sidedish with Puttu (steamed rice flour). This combination is very popular in Kerala and makes an excellent breakfast. Another combo is Puttu and Cherupayar or Green gram curry which I have already explained here in the Oats Puttu recipe. Both the Kadala and Cherupayar curries are awesome combos with Puttu and we love them equally. This Kadala/Chana curry can also be served along with Chapathi or Dosas as well. The coconut is fried along with spices, then ground and added which gives a special flavour to this delicious curry. Usually black chana is used for this curry, but I have used Kabuli chana which is our family favourite.

What you need?

1.5 cup Chana/Kadala

1 Onion chopped

2 Tomatoes chopped

3/4 cup shredded Coconut

1 tsp Chilli powder

1.5 tsp Coriander powder

1/2 tsp Garam masala

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

1 tsp Ginger garlic paste

5-6 Curry Leaves

2 tsp Oil

Salt

How to prepare?

Soak the chana or kadala overnight, pressure cook with sufficient water and keep aside.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan. Saute the coconut until light brown. Now add turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala, saute on a low flame until raw smell goes. Allow this mixture to cool. Grind this to a smooth thick paste in a blender by adding a little water.

Heat again a tsp of oil in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds. Saute onions, ginger-garlic paste and curry leaves until the onions turn pink. Now add the tomatoes and cook till tender. Add the cooked chana and add some water ( can also use water in which chana was cooked). Now add salt and let this boil. On a low flame, add the coconut mixture and combine everything well. Cook for a couple of minutes and garnish with coriander leaves if you desire. Serve hot as a sidedish ideally for Puttu or with rotis, poori or dosa.

Sending this to Kerala Kitchen event hosted by Fajeeda , original event announcement here.

and also to Healthy Cooking Challenge - Lunch event hosted by Kavi, initiated by Smitha