If You Like Idli and Uttappam

In my spare time, which there is a lot of these days, I make books. Not to sell, though many have suggested it. For my own reference, I created a "My Favorite Recipes" book a long time ago, going on to create a Volume II as there were so many more recipes that came to mind after finishing the first volume. 

My Guatemalan Cookbook

I have made books of bird and fowl identification, using photos I had taken or from my sisters for identifying purposes, spend a lot of online time researching descriptors and other details so If I came home with yet another unidentified photo, I had a resource for identification. I made a book of all the flowers, be they weeds, wild or other, from trips to the Pacific northwest, one from flora of California I had photographed, of orchids I'd grown myself or taken photos of in botanical gardens. More recently, I created 4 smaller books of plants and flowers on Arizona (one of cacti, one of tender plants, one of succulent type plants and one of shrubs and trees). 

Many other cookbooks have been made since those first ones so long ago. One was a memoir cookbook of Guatemalan recipes for my oldest daughter when she turned 40. I had lived in Guatemala for 12 years, and my children were born there. My oldest was still closest to the relatives there; still spoke Spanish reasonably well. At the time of creating that book, I had made such few recipes as were included in the book, maybe around 40, because there was nothing online to find nearly 12 years ago. Since then I have added to that memoir cookbook for my son and next daughter turning 40. I have managed to include over 80 recipes in there now, and I learn more as the years go by.

My Bread Cookbook

I have no background in India, but love the flavors and spices. I have created a couple of Indian cookbooks so far, but it wasn't until I was finishing the pages for a new Bread cookbook that I went searching for other Indian breads than Naan, parathas or chapatis. While researching Indian breads, and the "appams" in particular, I came upon recipes for Utappam, which uses leftover Idli batter. Oh boy.

Idli was something I got interested in - as a concept - a LOT of years ago, but never got around to trying, out of fear. Too many conflicting admonitions, a lot of strictures, and it was just so foreign (excuse the word) a concept. So I managed to set that on the back burner for about 8 years. Once I did venture to make Idli, while the batter did not ferment (remedied by adding baking soda last minute before using), I loved those little steamed pillows! But making Idli is a definite process, needing time and some attention. When I read about Utappam, I really wanted to try, but did not want to go through all that trouble of making Idli batter just then.

I mused on that a bit and thought, 

"Really, idli batter is made of presoaked rice and urad dal, with a little fenugreek and a little cooked leftover rice or Poha rice, then grinding the soaked grains to a batter. What it I skipped the first part of soaking the rice and the lentils and used rice flour and pre-ground urad dal? I have fenugreek powder. Poha rice nearly disintegrates in liquid anyway."

I proceeded to try that out, but as a quick version used instant yeast to approximate fermentation (it took a couple of hours to rise). It was good, and it worked. Still, obviously the fermentation process would be adding proper flavor. These yeasted ones, while good, were curiously "flat" tasting. So I went back and made a new batter. After mixing the ingredients I left it on the counter for nearly 24 hours, at which time I saw a slight growth of the batter and some bubbles. Eureka! 

 Clockwise from top left: Nariyal chutney, Idli Podi, Idli, and Imli Chutney

This batter made lovely and very delicious Utappam, as well as Idli, so I am truly happy. 

Quicker Idli or Utappam Batter

Made 4 (5-6 inch) Utappam and 8 Idli

Utappam

1 cup white rice, ground finely to equal 1 1/4 cups,  OR use 1 1/4 cups preground rice flour flour (about 190 grams)

1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (3 grams), ground finely,  OR 1 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek in powder form

1/3 cup peeled split urad dal, ground to flour (about 74 grams), or 3/4 cup once ground (- not a typo!)

1/4 cup Poha rice,

OR use 1/4 cup leftover cooked rice

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups cool water, or as needed


Place the rice flour, urad dal flour, ground fenugreek and Poha rice into a large mixing bowl. Begin stirring in the water with a wooden spoon, so as not to form lumps. Add only enough water to make what looks like a stiff pancake batter. Set the bowl aside in a warm area and cover with a lid or plastic film and allow to ferment. This may take up to 24 hours. Look for puffing, bubbles and a nice fermented aroma. Once ready to use, stir in the salt.

To make Utappam,  heat a skillet as you would for pancakes. Lightly grease the pan and ladle in batter, as for pancakes, spreading to about 5 or 6-inches in diameter. While the "pancake" is cooking on one side, place your desired toppings on the uncooked upper side. Possible toppings include: 

• 

  Idli Batter in tray to steam

  cilantro,
  
• parsley,
• curry leaves,
• shredded fresh ginger,
• sliced onion or shallot,
• chopped garlic,
• grated carrot,
• chopped bell pepper (green or red),
• chopped or sliced green chilies (Serrano or Jalapeno are good),
• chopped tomatoes (not too juicy),

or anything else that sounds good. (Limit the toppings as they will only fall off if too many are in place when the pancake is flipped over.) Once the bottom is browned, drizzle some oil over  the toppings before turning and then flip the pancake to lightly brown the other side. Serve with toppings upwards, with any chutney or pickle of choice, with a dal dish or a soup.

To make Idli, a traditional south Indian breakfast or snack food, an Idli stand is a must. My Idli stands consist of a three-tiered stand with a base to be able to set into a large pot with a shallow layer of lightly boiling water. The little rounded wells, 4 per tray (with three trays total), are filled just to their edges and stacked. Once set into the pot with water, the water must not touch the bottom tray. Cover the pot and steam the idli for about 7 to 9 minutes. They should test done as for a bread or cake, by inserting a toothpick in center that should come out clean. Idli can be served with any curry or leftovers, with Sambar, Tamatar ki Chatni, Tamarind (Imli) Chutney, Coconut (Nariyal) Chutney, Idli Podi (a dry spiced mixture that tastes heavenly), or all by themselves with any of these chutnies or Podi.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest. 

Untangling Indian Dals and Other Terminology

Anyone who has tried to understand which "dal/dahl/daal" is which, will find there is a surfeit of misinformation abounding on the web. While looking through my cookbooks, and some recipes online, I have come across differing names for some of the lentils, beans, dals and other legumes. When trying to find them to buy, there is even more confusion. There are a lot of different lentils and beans and seeds that are used in Indian cooking. I do not propose that I am a total expert, but I have spent a lot of time on this subject, researching to try and get to the root of which is which, and what names the varying lentils and beans may be called by, in order to use the proper one when using a recipe.

My Indian Cookbook by Amandip Uppal

My search came down to a crunch about a week ago, when I decided to try making "Tadka Dal," a recipe right out of the cookbook called "My Indian Cookbook," by Amandip Uppal (found on Amazon, here). I was given this book by friends, and at first I thought how very simple some of the recipes seemed. Most Indian recipes look forbidding, with the vast array of ingredients, spices and other flavoring agents. This is why I have amassed an amazing array of spices over the years, and a fair bit of knowledge in how to use them. Amandip Uppal's recipes, the ones I have tried, to date, have been really delightful. Her Naan bread is so amazingly soft, I found it hard to believe. So when I decided to try this recipe for Tadka Dal, I ran into a snag, since I was missing one of the "dals" called for. I set about remedying that situation right away, but in the meantime, I made it with just two of the three dals called for. It was delightful. But then I wished I'd had the third, missing dal, to have tried it out for flavor.

Okay, What is Dal, Daal or Dahl?

Dal is the term used to denote any split, peeled lentil, bean or other dried legume. If the particular lentil, bean or dried legume is left whole, it is not called "dal." 

Dal is also the term for a thinner, slightly soupy dish cooked from these aforementioned split, peeled, lentils, beans or other dried legume, as well as whole cooked legumes. Confusing, as I said! I created a table, which is large, but hopefully will help unravel some of the confusion. I am sorry if some of the type is rather small, but it is a large table.

Table of Lentils, Peas and Dals

Not all Chickpeas are Created Equal

Another thing came out of my search to identify some of these lentils, beans, peas and other legumes. I had not realized that when an Indian recipe called for "besan" flour (which I knew was chickpea flour), it did not mean the kind of chickpeas / garbanzo beans we in the U.S use for hummus. Instead, there is a much smaller "chickpea" called Desi Chickpea / Kala Chana / Bengal Gram / Black or Brown Chickpea. With that many names for one single kind of chickpea, it is no wonder there can be massive confusion. Once this small Desi Chickpea is peeled and split, it is called Chana Dal, Desi Channa Dal or Split Yellow Gram! Good gracious! And it is this little split and peeled Desi Chickpea that is generally used to make the "besan" flour, but until just a couple of days ago, I did not know this.

Brown Desi Chickpeas vs Garbanzo Beans for size

I came upon this little fact when I tried following a recipe for some Carrot & Chickpea Pancakes (also from "My Indian Cookbook," by Amandip Uppal) made with besan. I thought "I have dried chickpeas/garbanzos, and my grain mill will grind them into flour - no problem." So when I went to make the breads, the recipe called for something like 5 tablespoons of water. At that point, there was absolutely no way this mixture was the soupy mixture the recipe showed it to be - something like crepe batter. After adding about 7 or 8 more tablespoons of water, it finally approached the right consistency. And it was after this that I read that if using our large, regular chickpea (kabuli channa) flour, that you would need a lot more water to get the right consistency. Aha! Now that I know, I also have the split, peeled Desi chickpeas, so I can make proper "besan" flour.

Carrot & Chickpea Pancakes from "My Indian Cookbook" - also called Besan Chilla (or Besan Puda)

Terminology Difficulties

The next thing I came across that had me stumped for a bit is the term "Tadka," sometimes also called "Tarka." 

I have read a lot of recipes that have this term applied to it. And I have found recipes for various lentil, or lentil combination dishes that are all called "Tadka or Tarka Dal." Okay. So, why, if the lentils are different, and the other ingredients vary radically from one recipe to another, are they all termed Tadka Dal? 

My Dal Fry or Toor Dal with Tadka

I made that recipe from "My Indian Cookbook" (mentioned above), that Amandip Uppal called Tadka Dal, using two of the three types of lentils called for. It was wonderful. Once I ordered the remaining dal that I had not owned (Toor Dal, or split, peeled pigeon peas), I felt that I would like to make something with just these split peeled pigeon peas alone, to gauge the flavor. I found a recipe using just Toor Dal on www.vegrecipesofindia.com for something called "Dal Fry." I made it and was instantly enchanted by the flavors. I ate it for lunch, and after the veritable orgy of flavors in my mouth, I stopped to think: "Hmmm. Looking back, it seems that the ingredients for the Tarka Dal of a few days previous, and this Dal Fry were remarkably similar. What?" I got out both recipes to compare, and aside from one recipe calling for three different dals, and the other calling for only the one, the remaining ingredients were nearly identical! So, what in the world is the difference? How can they be the same?

My first thought was that "Fry" in the title "Dal Fry" is a purely English word. So, what would this recipe be called if not for the word "fry?" I went hunting online, and finally figured out the problem:

Tadka, Tarka (or Chaunk or Dhungar) means fried flavoring agents.

These various dals, whether little Masoor Dal (red lentils), Toor Dal (split peeled pigeon peas), Desi Channa Dal (split, peeled Desi chickpeas / brown Desi chickpeas) or other, when these are cooked in water, have very little flavor of their own. It is far easier to cook them without salt, so they will absorb water more quickly, leaving one with a pot of well cooked, possibly mushy lentils (often a desired state), but with little to no flavor. The Tadka comes in when adding flavors to this resultant mush to give it flavor. This "Tadka" can be as simple as a few kinds of spice such as mustard seeds, cumin seeds and maybe a Garam Masala, fried in some ghee and then added to the cooked lentils, along with salt, for flavor. It can be as complex as you wish. The recipe from vegrecipesofindia.com used quite a lot of things, first frying mustard and cumin seeds, adding onion, garlic, ginger, curry leaves, and on and on, creating quite an excellent mixture, that was then added to the cooked, mushy, bland pigeon pea mixture.

The result was nothing short of amazing, in my estimation. This recipe was so good that I said to my husband that I could eat it breakfast, lunch and dinner! My husband liked it, but said he wouldn't go quite as far as I would, such as eating it for breakfast! Yet, I have done just that, for the past two mornings. I - LOVE - this dish. And I really love the flavor of the Toor Dal. Despite all the added flavors, it was quite distinct from the Tadka Dal of those few days prior, despite having nearly the same flavoring ingredients. Before this dish, my most absolute favorite dal dish was one made with Masoor Dal, the little "red" (more like orange/salmon color) lentils. This new dish totally eclipses that first one, and that says a lot.

I changed very little in the "Dal Fry" recipe from Veg Recipes of India (click the link for that recipe). I had read elsewhere that more often amchur powder is used in place of the lemon juice called for in the recipe. Amchur is dried green mango powder, used often as a souring agent, sometimes alongside tamarind, another souring agent. I used amchur rather than lemon juice and slightly less chili powder, because if my husband was going to taste it, he cannot abide anything so hotly spiced. 

Another Misleading Bit of Information

When looking for Toor Dal, and sometimes Chana Dal, many people said they were the same as yellow split peas. NOT.

Yellow Split Peas, left - Split Desi Chickpeas (Chana Dal), middle - Split Pigeon Peas (Toor Dal), right

Yellow split peas (split peas would be termed "matar dal") take far longer to cook at upwards of 2 hours (with no advance soaking) and are a fair bit larger than Chana Dal (split brown chickpeas / Desi chickpeas) or Toor Dal (split pigeon peas), both of which can take about a half hour of cooking, with no pre-soaking.

A note on many recipes calling for lentils: In my experience to date, while most Indian recipes call for the use of a pressure cooker (which I do not own), I truly cannot quite grasp why a pressure cooker is necessary. It barely takes a half hour, even without pre-soaking any of these split lentils/peas/beans to cook through. Many of the small ones, like the little red lentils (masoor dal) take about 15 to 20 minutes. What I do is set the lentil to cook in plain water first. Get it to a boil, reduce heat, then cover and let cook - and then I proceed with any measuring, chopping and frying called for in the recipe. Once that is taken care of, the lentils are generally cooked through. It's all about timing and organization. 

I truly hope that this blog may help some who are new to these terms and the many and varied legumes. I have been experimenting with Indian cooking for nearly 20 years and have myriad Indian cookbooks and such an abundance of spices unique to Indian cooking that they warrant a whole, dedicated drawer of their own. I love the foods, the spices and flavors that come of combining so many and varied ingredients. India is a whole world unto its own and has such varied cultures just among their own states. I am endlessly fascinated with their culture and their foods. I taste something new, such as the Toor Dal with Tadka, and I feel like I just ate the best comfort food, ever. Despite a Slovak background, when I eat Indian foods I feel like I've come home.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.