Kadhi with Raw Banana | Kele ki Kadhi

Kadhi is basically a gravy made up of buttermilk and chickpea flour and is prepared in various ways across regions.The famous Punjabi version 'Kadhi Pakora' is a thick version and the pakoras(onion or methi fritters) are dunked in the thick kadhi.The Gujaratis make their kadhi very thin and also mildly sweet.While I like both the versions I make them according to my preferences.I make kadhi quite often and it appears at least once a week in my menu,it pairs well with rice/roti/khichidi.I rarely make Pakora waale kadhi because of the deep frying involved and it is boring to eat the plain kadhi sometimes.Hence I try to do variations with some roasted vegetables like Ladies finger or raw banana,sauteed spinach,curd chillies,gatte(chickpea flour dumplings),sun dried urad dal fritters etc.I also play with various seasonings of kadhi which makes it taste different each time.I have mentioned a few variations in the notes,please go through if you want to give a try.

Kadhi with Raw Banana | Kele Ki Kadhi Recipe | Chickpea flour Yogurt Gravy:
(Serves 2)

Ingredients:
2 Raw bananas
1 1/2 tbsp Chickpea flour/Besan
1 cup sour Curd
1 tsp Ginger,grated
2 tbsp chopped Coriander leaves
2 Red chillies,roughly torn
1/2 tsp Red chili powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
7-8 Fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
a pinch of Asafoetida
1 tbsp Ghee
2 tbsp Oil

for tempering:
1 tsp Ghee
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
a sprig of Curry leaves
2 Red chillies,roughly torn
a pinch of Asafoetida
Method:

• Steam raw banana for 7-8 mins or pressure cook for 1-2 whistles,it should be firm to touch.Once it is cooled down,remove the skin and cut into 1/2 inch half moon pieces.
• Heat oil in a thick kadai and add raw banana pieces and fry them on high flame for 2-3 mins with out mixing it.
• Reduce the flame and turn the pieces and fry on low-medium flame until they are crisp.Remove them and keep aside.
• Whisk chickpea flour,turmeric powder with sour curd and mix well.Add 1 1/2 cups water and mix well with out any lumps and keep it aside.
• Heat ghee in the same pan and crackle cumin seeds.Add fenugreek seeds ,broken red chillies, asafoetida,red chili powder and fry for few seconds.
• Add whisked chickpea flour-curd mixture and mix well and cover it and cook on low flame for 12-15 mins.Cook well until you see the mixture bubbling and form a nice thick kadhi.Check the consistency,I prefer a slightly runny kadhi instead of very thick or very thin.
• Add grated ginger,salt,coriander leaves to kadhi and cook for 2-3 mins.
• Add fried raw banana pieces and mix well and cook for a minute and remove from flame.
• In a separate small pan heat ghee and crackle mustard seeds followed by broken red chillies,curry leaves,asafoetida and fry for few seconds and pour this tadka over kadhi.

Serve it hot with rice/khichdi/roti/paratha.
Notes:

1. You can follow the same procedure for kadhi and instead you can add sauteed spinach for Palak Kadhi or deep fried okra pieces for Okra Kadhi or Onion pakora or methi pakora for Kadhi Pakora for a variation.
2. You can add few pinches of saunf or ajwain in tempering before starting making kadhi.It gives a nice flavor to kadhi.
3. Whole masalas like 2-3 cloves,1" cinnamon can be added to the tempering before making kadhi.This makes the kadhi more aromatic and I prefer to add them when I am making it for any occasion as I avoid whole spices in my cooking on daily basis.

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Beans Stir fry | Beans Poriyal | Beans Kobbari Kura - ONAM Sadya Recipes

I wish all my readers and friends 'HAPPY ONAM'.I hope all my mallu readers and friends would be busy today with the ONAM celebrations.
During festivals we do not use certain vegetables such as, onion and garlic which narrows down the options.In general, we make the main course simple and light on the festival day as we would be gorging on extra portion of traditional sweets and savories on that day. Our ideal festival menu would be a rice bath variety,1-2 varieties of palya,sundal,kosambari(salad), plain dal, rasam, payasam,plain rice,traditional sweet like holige,boorelu etc which depends on the festival) and some snacks/savories(like bonda,bajji) varieties.

As we do not use onion during festivals,we make most of the dishes with coconut based masala.Today's recipe is one such example.It is quite simple to make and it takes hardly 15 mins to prepare if we have chopped beans at hand.These kind of stir fries doesn't need any spices and green chillies pound with coconut adds a nice taste to the curry.

Beans Palya | Beans Thoran Recipe:
(Serves 3-4)

Ingredients:
250gms French beans,finely chopped
1/3 cup grated fresh Coconut
3-4 Green chillies
2 whole Red chillies
1 tbsp Chana dal
1 tsp Urad dal
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
8-10 Curry leaves
juice of 1/2 lemon(optional)
a pinch of Asafoetida
salt to taste
2 tsp Oil
Method:

• Steam chopped beans with few pinches of salt either in pressure cooker(without whistle) or steamer for 8-10 mins.You can even microwave them on HIGH for 4-5 mins.Strain them and keep aside.
• Heat a spoon of oil in a pan/kadai and crackle mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
• Add asafoetida,chana dal,urad dal,red chillies and curry leaves and fry for a minute.
• Grind grated coconut with green chillies and salt to a coarse masala.It should not become a paste,it should be like just roughly coarse ground masala.
• Add cooked and strained beans and stir fry for 2 mins.
• Now add ground coconut-green chili masala and fry for another minute or two.
• Switch off the flame and add lemon juice and give a stir.

Serve it with rice,dal/rasam/sambar and papad.
Variations:

1. You can follow the same process for vegetables like carrots,beans-carrot,raw banana,cluster beans,yard long beans,cauliflower etc.
2. You can skip the steaming part and can make with the vegetables like ladies finger,cabbage etc.You need to saute them well for 7-8 mins before adding ground coconut masala.
   
3. You can add red chili powder instead of green chillies,it would slightly change in color.
4. You can add 1 tbsp kurala podi along with the ground coconut masala to the stir fry,in that case reduce the amount of green chillies to 2 in the recipe.This gives a nice taste to curry.
5. If you want you can add finely chopped onion to the pan and saute well and then proceed with adding beans and ground masala.
   

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Moong Dal Kheer | Pesarapappu Payasam - ONAM Sadya Recipes

Moong dal kheer is one of the easiest kheer varieties to prepare and is also my most favorite one.My mom used to make this quite often, saying that it will give a cooling effect to the body.She always prepares this kheer which would be of the consistency of a thick milkshake and hence she always used to serve this in a glass.Though the ingredients are similar the taste and consistency is entirely different. I would post that recipe too later.

Back home, all the sweet varieties are made up of sugar at my place as my mom does not like jaggery.She would make the sweets with jaggery sometimes, if I insist but it used to be double work for her, as she would prepare the sweet with sugar too. It is possible that this is the reason,why even I used to prefer sweets made with sugar rather than jaggery.Over a period of time, even I developed the taste for jaggery and now I prefer using jaggery instead of sugar for a healthy version. For kheer etc though I still prefer using sugar,but today's recipe though is made of jaggery. In Kerala they make this kheer with coconut milk and also the fried coconut bits are added to the kheer,I am posting the version what we make at home.
Moong dal Kheer | Pesarapappu Payasam Recipe:
(Serves 2)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Moong dal(yellow variety)
1/2 cup + 1tbsp grated Jaggery
1 cup whole cream Milk
1 1/2 cups Water
1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
10-12 Cashew nuts,broken
1 tbsp Ghee
Method:

• Heat ghee in a thick kadai and add cashew nuts and fry them until they turn light golden brown in color and keep them aside.
• In the same kadai add moong dal and fry until it turns slightly red in color.
• Meanwhile boil water in another vessel and add the boiling water to the roasted moong dal.
• Cook this for 12-15 mins until moong dal splits and is cooked.It should be properly cooked and also should not become mushy.You can even pressure cook this for 2 whistles.
• Add grated jaggery to it and boil for 5-7 mins until the jaggery is melted and the kheer starts thickening.
• Add boiled milk to it and simmer for another 5 mins.Feel free to add more milk if you want slightly a thin kheer.Also adjust the jaggery if adding more milk according to your taste.
• Add cardamom powder and fried cashew nuts and mix well and switch off the flame.

Serve it hot/cold/warm or at room temperature.
Notes:

1. You can substitute jaggery with equal quantity of sugar in the recipe.Sugar will make the kheer slightly yellowish.
2. This would yield a slightly thick kheer,if you want thin kheer add more milk to it,accordingly adjust the sweetness by adding extra jaggery.
3. You can also add fried raisins along with cashew nuts to the kheer.
4. You can make the kheer really rich by even pressure cooking the moong dal in complete milk,in that case you would need approximately 3 cups of milk.
5. The kheer tends to thicken along with time,hence switch off the flame accordingly.
6. You can even add fried coconut pieces(in ghee) to the kheer for a typical Kerala touch.
7. For a Vegan version substitute milk with coconut milk in the recipe and avoid frying cashew nuts in the ghee.

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Avial Recipe | Kerala Style Aviyal - ONAM Sadya Recipes

Every cuisine offers its unique taste even if it has several common ingredients in between them.Coconut is one such common ingredient which is used abundantly on a daily basis in both Kerala and Karnataka cuisines though the flavors and taste of the dishes differ with the additional masalas added in each dish.While I do not prepare many kerala recipes regularly, I like to indulge in few of them once in a while. A few dishes like avial,Appam-vegetable stew,puttu-kadala curry,neyyappam, few kheer varieties do feature once in a while in my cooking.

Avial is basically mixed vegetables mixed in ground coconut and yogurt gravy, which reflects the rich coconut flavor in each and every bite.Ideally, avial is served with adai and is a well known combo. I am not fond of the adai and avial combo or I can say I am too lazy to prepare avial for adai when a simple chutney would go nice with adai.I know its just an excuse,but I usually pair avial with plain white rice.We like Avial in a slightly gravy form than a very thick curry(which is the usual Kerala Avial),so it is your wish to adjust the consistency according to your requirements.

Aviyal Recipe | Mixed Vegetables in Coconut-Yogurt Gravy:
(Serves 3-4)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh Curd,beaten well
2 tbsp Coconut Oil
a sprig of Curry leaves(12-15 leaves)

Vegetables-peeled and chopped lengthwise:
1 Potato,cut into 1 1/2" pieces
1 Raw banana,cut into 1 1/2" pieces
1 Carrot,cut into 1 1/2" pieces
1 Drumstick,cut into 2" pieces
6-8 French Beans,cut into 1 1/2" pieces
1/4 cup sliced Red Pumpkin
1/4 cup sliced Yam

to grind:
1 cup grated fresh Coconut
1 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
5-6 Green chillies
1 tbsp Rice,soaked for 1 hr
a pinch of Turmeric powder(optional)
Salt to taste
Method:

• In a big pot add water and add chopped vegetables like potatoes,carrots,drumsticks,french beans and let them boil for 5-6 mins until half done.Now add the remaining vegetables ,raw banana,yam,red pumpkin and boil for another 6-8 mins until completely done.Do not make the vegetables mushy,they should be firm to touch and slightly crunch to bite.If you have more water in it remove some.

• Meanwhile grind grated fresh coconut,cumin seeds,soaked rice,green chillies,turmeric powder and salt to a fine paste using little water.
• Add the ground paste to the boiling vegetables and reduce the flame and cook until it comes to a boil for 5-6 mins.Adjust the consistency of the gravy according to your wish.I like it slightly thicker one instead of either dry or thin consistency.
• Heat coconut oil in a small tadka pan until it is luke warm.
• Add curry leaves and heated luke warm coconut oil to the boiling gravy and switch off the flame.Cover it with lid,this will help in retaining the flavor.
• When it is warm add beaten curds and mix well and serve it.You can add the beaten curds and simmer for another 2-3 mins,but do stir continuously in order to avoid the curdling.
  

Serve it with hot rice/dosa/adai.
Notes:

1. You can also add vegetables like snake gourd,chow-chow,white pumpkin and peas to avial.
2. Always retain the crunch of vegetables which is a key to good aviyal.
3. Do not skip coconut oil in the recipe which adds a typical Kerala touch to the recipe.
4. If you want a white colored Avial avoid turmeric powder in the recipe.Also add slit green chillies to the boiling vegetables instead of grinding to a paste with coconut.
5. Cut the vegetables uniformly for even cooking.

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Simple Ladies Finger Curry | Bhindi Sabzi | Okra Curry

Ladies finger tops in my list of vegetables and I like it in any form.While I was a kid, I was never fussy about any vegetable and I used to eat all kinds of veggies.My mom made sure that we never have aversion to any vegetable or greens and I am really proud about it now.It is always challenging for me to cook with vegetables, as TH is not fond of many vegetables which makes my choice limited and so I end up repeating the vegetables.The only way we don't get bored is to make various varieties of these vegetables.One of them is, 'Bhindi', which I cook very often.I prefer to cook, dry varieties with bhindi rather than the gravy kind.This is one of the most basic curry recipes with bhindi which I often cook at home.I feel the more simpler is this curry,it tastes better.Hence I do not add any masalas to this curry other than salt and spices.This recipe would be of great help to beginners, as I have mentioned few tips to handle this slimy okra. I hope it helps!!

Simple Bhindi Curry | Sukhi Bhindi Recipe:
(Serves 2)

Ingredients:
250gms Bhindi(Ladies finger,Okra)
2 medium Onions or 15 Small Shallots
2 Green chillies
2 tbsp chopped Coriander
1/2 tsp Black pepper powder or 3/4 tsp Red chili powder
1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
3-4 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
Method:

• Wash and wipe the ladies fingers using a dry cloth.Make sure that no moisture is left on them,otherwise they will turn slimy while cooking.
• Cut ladies finger into 1" pieces and again cut each piece lengthwise into two pieces.You can cut them into 1/2" roundels or cut them into diagonal pieces,it is your wish to cut them.I cut them according to my mood while chopping them.If you can chop them ahead,say a couple of hours before it is still better as it reduces the sliminess of ladies finger.
• Roughly slice onions into small pieces,if you are using shallots remove the skins and keep them aside.Also slit green chillies into 2 pieces.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a thick bottomed kadai/pan and crackle cumin seeds,green chillies and add chopped coriander leaves and then add sliced onions and fry well until they turn pink.Add little salt enough for the onions and remove them and keep aside.
• Heat 2-3 tbsp oil in the same kadai/pan and add chopped ladies fingers and fry on high flame for 2-3 mins stirring occasionally.
• Add sugar to it and reduce the flame and fry for 6-8 mins until bhindi is cooked.Sugar will help in retaining the green color of ladies finger.Ladies finger cook very fast,you need not to wait until the color is changed.
• Once the sliminess of bhindi is gone add salt and pepper powder/red chili powder to it and also add fried onions and give a good stir and fry for another minute.

Serve it hot with roti/rice.
Notes:

1. To reduce the sliminess of okra,you need to wipe the okra clean.You can even add a tsp of curd while frying okra which also helps.
2. You can add masalas like 1/4 tsp Garam masala ,1/2 tsp amchur powder along with red chili powder/pepper powder in the recipe.
3. The addition of coriander leaves gives a nice aroma to the curry.However it is optional to use them if you don't have them in hand.
4. If you are using shallots in the recipe,soak them in water for sometime which helps in easy peeling.
5. Frying Ladies finger consumes lot of oil ,you can prepare the same curry with less oil but takes lot of time.If you want a low cal version,add 1 tbsp oil to chopped ladies fingers and microwave it for 3-4 mins on HIGH and then follow the same procedure.This way it would consume less oil and also cooks fast.

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MARIE BISCUIT PUDDING | EASY EGGLESS DESSERTS

A few years back,when I was not into blogging, I used to spend several hours on the net checking various recipes and bumped into Aayis Recipes which I used to check regularly.I have already posted the Dates cake recipe, which I tried from her blog and made it several times and I came across the biscuit pudding for the first time in her blog and from then it has become regular dessert at my place but I tweaked the recipe over a period of time with my own touches to suit my requirements.I had also loosely adapted the measurements from Divya's space.

One can say that this chocolate pudding is simpler version of Italian Tiramisu though it is not as rich as it but it is very quick to make with easily available basic ingredients.This dessert has a nice texture and also a range of flavors.The layers of biscuit soaked in the silky textured rich custard makes it taste delicious with various textures,slight crunch from biscuits and soft and smooth feel due to the chocolate topping.It is really a simple yet delicious dessert and is definitely kid friendly recipe.It took me hardly 20 mins to make this dessert and the only thing is,it needs enough resting time so that it can be set nicely which makes it easy to cut it into individual portions.

I had planned to post this dessert for Ramzan to wish my dear friend Lubna(of YUMMY FOOD) and also my readers.Lubna is a very dear friend of mine with whom I discuss various things apart from blog related stuff.She is even my mentor and also guides me in many aspects related to blogging.Lubna dear-I wish you a very happy Ramzan through this post.This dessert also goes to her on going event 'Joy from Fasting to Feasting'.Now off to this simple dessert recipe.

MARIE BISCUIT CHOCOLATE PUDDING RECIPE:
(serves 6-8)
loosely adapted from: Aayis Recipes and Easy Cooking

Ingredients:
1 pack Marie Biscuits(around 20 biscuits)
400ml whole cream Milk
1/2 cup Cream(I used Amul 24% cream)
1/3 cup + 1tbsp Sugar
3 tbsp Vanilla Custard powder
2 tbsp Cocoa powder
1 tbsp Drinking chocolate
1tsp Instant Coffee powder
1/4 cup Hot water

for decoration and filling:
1/3 cup Cashew nuts,roughly chopped
1/4 cup Chocolate chips
Chocolate,grated or curls
Silver balls sprinkles
Method:

• In 1/4 cup milk mix cocoa powder,custard powder and drinking chocolate until no lumps are formed.Use a hand whisker to do this which makes this job easier.
• Boil the remaining milk,once it comes to a boil add sugar and cream and mix it well.
• Add cocoa custard mixture and mix it vigorously using the whisker.Boil until the mixture becomes thick which takes approximately 4-5 mins.The right consistency for a good custard is it should coat the backside of the spoon and if you draw a line the line should stay with out getting mixed up.Check the sweetness of custard at this point,if needed add a couple of tsps more and mix nicely,with the heat it will melt nicely.
• Meanwhile heat 1/4 cup of water either in microwave or on stove top.Add coffee powder and mix it nicely.Pour this into a small flat shallow plate.
• Take a serving dish and pour a ladle full of custard and spread it to get a thin layer of pudding in the bottom of the serving dish.
• Dip each marie biscuit in the coffee decoction for 2 seconds and arrange them to form a layer of biscuits.Repeat with half the biscuits.You can roughly make them into pieces to fill the gaps in between.
• Sprinkle half of chopped cashew nuts,choco chips over it.
• Add half of the prepared custard while it is still hot on them evenly.
• Repeat the process of dipping of remaining biscuits and arranging them on the custard and pour the remaining custard over it.
• Gently tap the dish so that custard will settle in the edges.
• Sprinkle the remaining chopped cashew nuts,choco chips over it and decorate with grated chocolate and silver ball sprinkles.
• Let the pudding comes to room temperature.Cover it with cling and keep it refrigerated for 6-8 hours or overnight.

Cut it into slice and serve it cold as it is or with chocolate ice cream.
Notes:

1. You can replace drinking chocolate with the same quantity of cocoa powder.
2. If you want make it less fat,avoid cream in the recipe and add the equal quantity of milk and follow the recipe.
3. Almonds and walnuts can also be used along with the cashew nuts in the recipe.
4. You can substitute custard powder with the same quantity of corn flour and 1 tsp vanilla essence in the recipe.
   

This sweet chocolaty slice is for you all.ENJOY!!

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Mosaru Avalakki | Dahi Poha | Perugu Atukulu

Mosaru Avalakki is nothing but flattened rice soaked in seasoned curds.As we prepare mostly poha based recipes for Krishna Janmashtami,I have prepared this for that festival last week.It is a simple recipe and does not require much time other than the soaking part.This recipe is apt even on the days of fasting, as it is quite filling and also is a good substitute for rice.I have prepared this in a manner similar to the preparation of curd rice using poha instead of rice. It is a simple,tasty and filling recipe.

Mosaru Avalakki Recipe:
(Serves 2)

Ingredients:
1 cup thin variety Poha(flattened rice)/Avalakki
1 1/2 cups fresh thick creamy Curd
2 tbsp grated fresh Coconut
1/2" Ginger,finely chopped
3-4 Green chillies,slit
1-2 Red chillies
2 tbsp chopped Coriander
5-6 Cashew nuts,broken
1 tbsp Raisins(optional)
a sprig of Curry leaves
1 tbsp Chana dal
1 tsp Urad dal
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
Salt to taste
2 tsp Oil
Method:

• Clean and wash poha and remove all the water and let it sit for 7-8 mins.As we are using thin poha it does not need much water to get soaked.If you are using thick poha add some water while soaking it.
• Beat curds nicely with salt and add to the soaked poha and mix gently,otherwise it would become mushy.If you need more curds to mix it feel free to add acccording to your wish.Keep this aside again for 10-12 mins.
• Heat oil in a small kadai and crackle mustard seeds.
• Add chana dal,urad dal and fry until they turn slight red in color.
• Add slit green chillies and fry until you see blisters forming on them.
• Add red chillies,curry leaves,cashew nuts and raisins(if using) and fry for a minute.Switch off the flame and let it cool.
• Add coriander,grated fresh coconut and fried tempering mixture to the soaked poha and mix well until everything is mixed.

Chill it for some time and serve it.
Notes:

1. It gets thickened if kept for long,so add more curds if needed to it while serving.Accordingly do not forget to add salt.
2. You can add pomegranate kernels or chopped fresh grapes instead of raisins in the recipe or totally avoid it.
3. If you want to serve it later keep it refrigerated until needed.
   

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Tricolor Cocktail Idlis...Independence Day Special!!!

Happy Independence Day to all!!!

This year India will celebrate its 66th Independence Day.I was planning to post on this occasion featuring the colors of our Indian flag and settled on tricolor idlis finally.
It's a real fun to make these idlis as they look quite colorful and appealing.They would be definitely a hit in any party and can be served as an appetizer.One can eat these idlis without any accompaniment as they are already spiced up or if wish you can serve them with regular chutney/sambar or any side dish of your choice.I also make a masala version of these cocktail idlis which would be a nice finger food in any party;would share that version too very soon.
We have a flag hoisting celebration with few other cultural activities which starts in some time in our apartment complex.So I would like to leave you people to go through the remaining post so that I can go and attend the celebrations.
Tricolor Idlis | Colorful Cocktail Idlis Recipe:
(serves 2-3)

Ingredients:
3 cups Idli batter(recipe link follows)
2 tbsp Tomato chutney(recipe follows)
2 tbsp green Coconut chutney(recipe follows)
1/4 tsp Cooking soda*
oil,to grease the idli stand

Idli batter:
Idli batter recipe using Idli rice
Idli batter recipe using Idli rava

for Tomato chutney:
2 ripen Tomatoes
2 tbsp grated fresh Coconut
4-5 Byadige Red chillies**(or regular Red chillies)
2 tbsp Chana dal
1 tsp Tamarind pulp
1 tsp Oil
Salt to taste

for Green Coconut chutney:
1 small bunch Coriander leaves
1/2 small bunch Mint leaves
1/3 cup grated fresh Coconut
4-5 Green chillies
1 tsp Tamarind pulp
Salt to taste
Method:
Tomato Chutney:

• Heat oil in a kadai and add chana dal and roast until red and add red chillies and roast them until red and remove them and keep aside.Cool it.
• In the same pan add chopped tomatoes and fry until they become soft.Add tamarind pulp while it is still hot and switch off the flame.Cool it.
• Grind all the roasted ingredients with mushy tomatoes,coconut and salt to a fine paste.Add little water if needed while grinding,keep the chutney thick.

Green Coconut Chutney:

• Grind mint leaves,coriander leaves with grated coconut,green chillies,tamarind pulp and salt to a fine paste.Add little water while grinding,keep the chutney thick.

To make Tricolor Idlis:

• Divide the Idli batter into 3 equal portions(1 cup each) into 3 different vessels.
• Add 2 tbsp tomato chutney to one portion and 2 tbsp green coconut chutney to another portion and leave the 3rd portion as the plain idli batter.Do not add more chutney,but if you want slight more prominent color add little more but not much.
  
• Mix the tomato chutney and green chutney nicely into their respective batters until you get uniform orange and green color as shown in pictures.

• Before steaming add a pinch of cooking soda to each portion and mix nicely.This ensures that you get nice soft and fluffy idlis.
• Grease the impressions of button idli stand with oil slightly.
• Make your steamer/cooker(without whistle) ready and heat some water in it.

• Take a spoon and scoop out 1 tsp of batter into each impression of idli stand.Repeat the process for all the colors.Use different spoons for different colored batters.

• Place the stand in the steamer/cooker and steam for 10-12 mins.
• Cool it for 5 mins.Run a sharp knife round the edges of idlis and remove them slowly.
• Arrange them according to your wish or prick them to toothpicks as I did.

Serve them with the same tomato chutney/green coconut chutney or sambar.Check out various options for the side dishes of Idli here.

*Though the cooking soda is optional in the recipe.I recommend to add it to the batter.Sometimes Idlis turn flat and hard because of the addition of chutneys,hence to avoid that I prefer adding cooking soda to it.
**Byadige red chillies give nice bright red color chutney.Hence try using them,if you don't get them use regular red chillies.
Notes:

1. If you are not in a mood to do elaborate chutneys for these cocktail idlis.You can try pureeing carrots with some salt for orange color,blanched spinach with green chillies and salt for green color in the recipe.
2. The green color would be more prominent with spinach rather than the coriander-mint chutney.
3. You can even use Onion-Tomato chutney instead of tomato chutney for the orange color ones.Do not temper the chutney if using for idlis.
   
4. You can still make other colors like dark pink by using pureed beetroots.
5. You can add regular white coconut chutney to the white batter.I left it plain,if you want you can mix in coconut chutney for flavorful idlis.Do not temper the chutney if using for idlis.

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