Vaghaar Idli

Two weeks of traveling have taken its toll – I’m so behind on blog posts all over again:(. They were an amazing two weeks though as we were visiting Bangkok and then India. And not surprisingly, full of gastronomical adventures. I will save the Bangkok food pictures for a later post which is an entire food album.

This was our first weekend back together at home as a family again. Home in Singapore I mean. Someone asked me what “home” really means to me these days – India where I grew up and spent all my “formative” years, the US where I spent almost a decade and a half of my “grown up” life, or Singapore where I am barely a few weeks old . Tough question, when travels take you everywhere and you aren’t sure what’s next. Truth be told, I do miss the US every single day, but remind myself that this is a short stint and I need to make the most of my experiences here in Singapore. And India of course is just a “stone’s throw away”, well, at least compared to the distance from the US. So I suppose I have the best of all worlds here:). Humor me, will you, as I call this home (for now:).

In any case, I had so much idli batter left over from yesterday’s Varalakshmi pooja (again, a separate post. Told ya I was behind:) that I tried this quick recipe which turned out great for using leftover cooked idlis. This recipe is courtesy “Sankalp” restaurant in Dallas. I tried this dish when we went to Sankalp during their first opening weeks and I know Nikhil loved it. This will be a lunch box staple for him over the next few weeks when school starts:)

Ingredients:

Red onion chopped – 1

Medium tomato chopped – 1

Green chilies – 3-5 per taste finely chopped

Mustard seeds – 2 tsp

Urad dal – 1 tsp

Jeera or cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Olive oil – 2 tsp

Mini idlis – about 15-20. Alternatively you can cut one idli into quarters, so you will need about 4-5 full idlis.

Method:

1. Take a heavy bottom vessel or kadhai and add the oil. When the oil is hot add mustard seeds.

2. Wait for the seeds to crackle and then add the urad dal. Saute a little and then add the jeera.

3. When the urad and jeera are lightly browned, add the chopped onion and stir until the onions are slightly glazed. Now add the curry leaves and saute for about 2 more minutes. Make sure the onions don’t get too brown. Add the green chilies and turmeric powder.

4. Add the chopped tomatoes and saute for another 2 minutes. They shouldn’t get mushy, just lightly cooked.

5. Now add the mini idlis and stir till the “masala” has completely coated the idlis. The idlis should be yellow from the tuemeric coating etc.

6. Garnish with chopped cilantro, and serve hot.