Savory addition to Yummies from Blogosphere series...

I am constantly amazed by the creativity of recipes that I come across on blogsphere...often I find these recipes to be more original and flavorful than those featured on many professional food websites...which is why I am so extremely happy to add this very savory dish to my Yummies from Blogosphere series !

This time I chose a breakfast/snack item from the extremely creative blog penned by Swapna Sridhar. It is a very versatile...easy, breezy dosa dish(Indian savory pancake) which can be served as a breakfast, snack, brunch or even light dinner dish  - Oats Dosa.

Also, I loved this dosa/pancake because it is truly a quick-prep item...no labor-intensive soaking of rice and lentils and grinding and so on and so forth...which appeals to my multi-tasking, get-meal-ready-in-under 30 minutes-self (that is the Rachel Ray side of my personality, I think :))

Notes/Variation: In this recipe, I added a 1/4 cup of ragi flour(finger-millet flour) to the batter...hence the light pink hue on the dosa. The original recipe called for a topping of sliced onion and cilantro...I served a side of broccoli masala with the dosa instead.

My recipe  for Broccoli Masala follows...though this dish should taste great with any kind of chutney / sambhar(South Indian style soup).

Link: Original recipe  for Oats Dosa posted on Swapna's blog.

Thank you, Swapna for this awesome, creative yet healthy dish...I know I will be making it many more times for my family judging from their enthusiastic response.

Recipe for Oats Dosa(as posted on Swapna's blog):

Serves: 2 to 3

Prep/cook time: 15 - 20 mins

Ingredients :

Oats(Quick cooked) - 1 cup

Rice flour or Wheat flour - 1/4 cup

Sooji / Semolina - 1/4 cup

Red chilly powder / green chilly paste-1 tbsp

Chopped Onion -1 medium sized

Minced Coriander

Salt to taste

Water-2 1/2 to 3 cups

Method :

1.In a microwave safe bowl add oats and add enough water, put it in microwave about 1 min, cool  it for 3 mins.or soak it in warm water for 10 to 15 mins.

2.In a blender add oats and blend into smooth paste.

3.In a mixing bowl add oats paste,wheat flour,sooji,chilly powder,salt mix well.and add water...prepare the batter like dosa batter.

4.Heat the dosa pan on medium flame. Grease it,pour ladle full batter and with the help of ladle starting from the center,move the laddle in a circular motion and spread it in to circular shape.

5.On the top of dosa add onion and coriander leaves.press with spatula, spray oil, let it cook for 2 to 3 mins.Then slowly flip the dosa and let it cook for few more mins.Then remove it from the pan.

My Recipe for Side of Broccoli Masala:

Serves: 2 to 3

Prep/cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

Broccoli - 1 full head of broccoli cut into smaller pieces

Onion - 1 sliced thinly

For seasoning:

Cooking oil. salt, black pepper, cumin powder(jeera powder), cilantro chopped, lemon juice.

Method:

In a pan, add some cooking oil and when it starts to heat up, add the sliced onion.

When the onion starts to brown, add the seasonings and also the broccoli florets and let cook for a few minutes till the mixture is crisp and well-cooked(takes about 6 to 7 minutes)

Serve warm or at room temp. alongside dosa.

Herbalicious Weekend Brunch

What is the perfect weekend brunch? Is it slices of warm toast with jelly/jam or is it golden parathas with yoghurt??? Is it light, fluffy omelettes or maybe it is steaming idlis/dosas(Indian savory snacks)??? It is so difficult to say which one is more perfect...they are all so scrumptious.

Well, we had this great weekend brunch which was enjoyed by everyone in our family recently: Herb - filled  Spinach Pancakes topped with grilled tomatoes. For such a scrumptious dish, the best part is that it is an iron-rich power-packed dish...

Hope my readers will be able to enjoy this brunch one of these days too, with their loved ones.

This wonderful spinach pancake dish goes to Priya's Pancake event and to Healing Foods Event- Spinach  hosted by Divya and started by Siri.

Recipe for Spinach Pancakes with an assortment of herbs:

Yields: 6 to 8 servings
Prep/Cook Time 20-25 mins


Ingredients
10 ounces fresh spinach, well washed and cut finely, or one 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
cilantro and/or mint- 1 bunch cut finely(you could also use dill,
parsley or basil in this, in any combination)
2 cups all-purpose flour(or 1cup wheat flr + 1cup ap flr)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda,
1/2 tsp baking powder,
flaxseed - 1tbsp
salt
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 to 2 cups buttermilk or thin yogurt
1 tablespoon minced lemon zest, optional,
ginger, garlic - minced (1tsp each),
green chillies - 2 cut finely
cut onion - 1
cooking oil(or butter) for cooking pancakes


Method

1. Heat large skillet over medium-low heat. Add a little cooking oil and add onions, ginger and garlic to it...when the onions start turning brown, add the cut spinach and other herbs to it and let cook for 4-5 mins. Then turn off heat and set aside.

2.In the meanwhile, in a bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Add 1 1/2 cups buttermilk(or yoghurt) to it. Add a little more buttermilk if batter seems thick; then add the cooked spinach mixture to it.

3. Place a teaspoon or two of cooking oil (or butter)in a skillet. When the skillet turns nice and hot(oil will start bubbling), ladle batter onto skillet, making any size pancakes you like. Adjust heat as necessary; first batch will require higher heat than subsequent batches. Add more oil/butter to pan as necessary. Flip only when pancakes are fully cooked on bottom; they won't hold together well until they are ready.

4. Cook until second side is lightly browned; and move from pan to serving dish.

Suggested garnish: lemon zest, cilantro, mint...I topped the pancakes with some grilled tomato slices and a little skimmed mozarella cheese.

Notes:

1.To make these pancakes even more protein-rich, you could optionally beat a couple of eggs into the batter.

2.If the batter looks or cooks too thin (that is, it spreads unappealingly over the pan), add a little flour, or some more spinach. If it is too thick, stir in some liquid -- milk, water, stock, whatever -- a spoonful at a time. The batter should be spoonable but not pourable.