Rava Dosai

Rava dosai is a very tasty and crispy dosai that can be prepared instantly. It is very easy to prepare. This tastes good when taken hot.

Ingredients

Rava/Sooji - 1/2 cup
Maida/All purpose flour - 1/2 cup or a little less than 1/2 cup
Water - 2 cups approximately
Cilantro/Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Salt as per taste

For the seasoning

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Whole black pepper - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - one strand 
Dry red chillies - 2 (adjust as per taste)
Green chillies - 1, finely chopped (adjust as per taste)
Ginger - 1 inch piece, finely chopped
Cashews - 6-10, broken into small pieces
Oil - 2 tsp
Asafoetida as per taste

Method

1. Combine rava and maida together. Add 1 cup of water and mix well without forming lumps. Allow to sit for 30 mins.
2. Add the remaining water and salt. Mix well. The batter should be very thin like buttermilk. Only then the dosa's will turn crispy.
3. Now heat 2 tsp of oil in a small pan and do the seasoning with all the ingredients mentioned. Add this to the rava dosa batter.
4. Heat a dosa pan. Once the tawa is hot enough, take a laddle full of batter and start pouring it in a circular motion starting with the outer corners towards the center. Keep pouring until it fills the whole skillet. 
5. Drizzle a tsp of oil all around the dosa. Rava dosa usually takes a longer time to get cooked. So wait until it turns all golden brown and the corners start lifting up slightly.
   
   
6. Flip over to the other side, drizzle few more drops of oil and allow to cook. Hot and crisp rava dosa is ready to be enjoyed with coconut chutney/tomato chutney and sambar.
7. Remember to mix the batter well everytime you prepare a dosa. Or the rava will settle down at the bottom. The batter will turn thick after preparing 2 or 3 dosas. Add little water again and mix well and then prepare dosas.

Badusha - How to make Badusha - Diwali Sweets

I love Badusha for its soft texture and mild sweetness. But I have never dreamt that I would be making badusha's at home :-) I read enormous number of recipes from my fellow bloggers before making the first attempt. With all the tips and tricks I got it right with the very first attempt, but then I could not click any pictures. So I planned to make this sweet again for this New Year and it turned out well this time too. Last time when I tried to make the swirls I did not get them perfect. This time it did not disappoint me. And this is my first recipe with stepwise pictures. It was bit tough clicking and preparing altogether, but managed somehow. Here is the recipe for the deliciously, flaky and layered Indian sweet Badusha... Enjoy!!!

Ingredients

Maida - 1 & 1/2 cups
Butter - 1/4 cup
Oil - 2 tbsp or 1/8 cup
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Curd - 1 & 1/2 tsp
Cooking soda - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1/4 cup approximately
Oil for deep frying

Sugar Syrup

Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water - just to immerse the sugar
Saffron - 2 strands (optional)
Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Method

1. Melt butter in a bowl and add oil, sugar, curd and cooking soda to it. Mix well using a whisk until frothy. 
   
2. Add the flour and make it crumbly with your hands. Add the water little by little and make it to a smooth dough. But be cautious in the amount of water. Less than 1/4 cup was sufficient for me. Knead well for 8-10 mins. The dough should be very smooth. Divide into equal sized balls and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
   
   
   
   
    
3. Meanwhile we can prepare the sugar syrup. Add sugar and water in a pan. Stir only until the sugar dissolves. After that just allow to boil until it reaches single thread consistency. Stirring continuously will crystallize the sugar syrup. Add saffron and lemon juice. You can also add a pinch of elaichi powder if you like the flavor. I have not added it as I don't like the flavor of elaichi.
4. Start shaping the badushas while the sugar syrup is getting ready. You can make decorative ends as swirls or leave them as simple doughnuts. I learnt making the swirls from here. 
5. 
6. Heat oil in a pan, check by adding a small pinch. If it rises immediately that is the right stage. Add few badushas, turn off the stove  and allow to get cooked in the pre-heated oil. This may take upto 5 minutes. At one of time the sshh sound will go off and bubbles will disappear. Now turn on the stove and keep it in medium low flame. Flip the badushas to the other side and cook until golden brown on both sides.
7. Drain it in a tissue and immerse in the sugar syrup immediately. Dip well on both sides, let it be in the sugar syrup for 2 mins and then transfer to a greased tray. You can store them in a container after the sugar syrup turns non-sticky. Do not refrigerate. Consume within a weeks time :-) 
   

Tips

• If your badushas dissolve in oil as you are frying then any one of these is excess : butter or oil or cooking soda or water. So add more flour to the dough and knead again to troubleshoot the problem. It might also crack/break if there isn't enough kneading. Knead atleast for 10 mins
• If you are frying them in batches and if you get one or few batches right but the other batches gets dissolved or breaks up in the oil, the reason might be the temperature of the oil. Oil temperature should be just right. If over heated you will end up with undercooked badushas. If less heat, the dough will break inside the oil. Also there should be enough oil for the Badushas to float. Else they will dissolve too.
• If you reduce the quantity of butter or oil,then there will be drastic change in the texture of the badushas too,it will turn hard or crispy. You wont get the layers inside too.
• Do not rush during the frying process. Patience level is very much important. If you rush, the texture will disappoint you
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Tomato dosa

I prepared this tomato dosa for Prajwal's snack box recently and he loved it for its attractive color and taste. I have not made it spicy as this is a kid friendly version. You can make it more spicy by adding green/red chillies accordingly to suit your taste buds. Saute and grind the chillies along with the tomato mixture.

Ingredients

Dosa batter - 1 cup
Tomato - 1, large and ripe, chopped
Onion - 2 tbsp apprx or 1/2 an onion, chopped finely
Garlic - 2 or 3, chopped finely
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp
Salt and oil as needed.

Method

1. Heat a pan, add a tsp of oil. Once the oil is hot enough, add the cumin seeds and allow to splutter. Add the garlic flakes and saute for a min, followed by onion. Saute until the onion turns transparent. Then add the chopped tomatoes and saute until the raw smell goes off. Add the coriander leaves and asafoetida, mix well and turn off the flame.
2. Allow this to cool down completely and grind to a smooth paste. Add salt as per taste, but keep in mind that the dosa batter already would have some salt.
3. Mix the tomato paste along with the dosa batter and stir well.
4. Now that the tomato dosa batter is ready, heat a skillet, pour a ladle full of batter, drizzle few drops of oil along the sides. Cook on both sides. Goes well with coconut chutney.