Monday, August 13, 2018

Urad Dal~Rice Khotte (Idly) Usli.


“Urad Dal~Rice Khotte (Idly) Usli” … A delicious breakfast / tiffin  dish prepared by crumbling khotto/Idly and seasoning the same … A healthier two in one choice for breakfast that not only saves on time but also tastes awesome … Yumz … 

** Usli is a breakfast dish that is similar to upma as in texture or seasonings etc. Usli is prepared with poha, moong dal etc. and is served as a breakfast dish. Usli is also prepared with leftover Khotto or Idly by crumbling the same and seasoning it after the addition of freshly grated coconut. In olden days it was a joint family system where sometimes there were more than 20 members in a family. Idly or khotto were prepared in bulk for breakfast as not only family but there were many nearby people or relatives who would often drop by and it lessened the burden in kitchen of the ladies if the same was prepared in excess as all they had to do was serve it with some pickle, chutney or podi/powder etc. However, many a times the same was leftover if it so happened that there were no visitors or so. In olden days a intelligent home maker never wasted food, it would either be given away as charity to the poor or would be recycled. 

** A joint family always had many children at home and as we know children are always hungry specially on returning from school in the evening. The mother then lovingly prepared usli out of the khotto or Idly to pacify the child with something new without giving them the same as of breakfast and the children happily ate the same. These were small joys for both mother and child unlike now when children have begun to demand outside ready to eat snacks. A hassled poor mother who herself has come home tired just from her office has no choice put to put up with it to avoid fights. But trust me, if from childhood children are taught to eat homemade food which is healthier and given outside food only once in a way they will become much healthier adults. They will not only learn to love our food but will see to it that they have the same in regular basis and instill the same habit in coming generations. 
** Preparation of Khotte / Idly Usli : Just crumble the Idly / khotto into a fine texture in a large bowl. Add in required amount of freshly grated coconut and mix well. I always add freshly grated coconut in the ratio of one large tablespoon of it to one cup of crumbled khotto/Idly. You may add a little more or less. But according to me 1 large tblsp is sufficient and tastes great. Prepare this in required amount, check the salt and add if necessary only, mix well and keep it ready. 

** I had used about 10 cups of the prepared crumbled texture of the same for this recipe. 

** Note : Be careful and add salt to taste only if necessary as the khotto/Idly already has salt added to it. I usually never add, but some people like to add in a bit of it. So check and add as necessary. 

** Now in a thick bottomed kadai add in 2 tblsp of coconut oil, when hot lower the heat and add in 1 tsp of urad dal and let it fry till the color changes slightly, now add in 1 tsp of mustard seeds and when they begin to splutter add in ½ - 1 tsp of hing / asafoetida powder, 5-6 green chillies slit lengthwise, 2-3 red chillies cut into pieces, 8-10 curry leaves and fry for a few seconds. 

** Note : I have used coconut oil, as it gives an awesome taste to the dish, however you can use any oil of your choice. 

** Now do not raise the heat, add in the crumbled khotto/idly~coconut crumbled texture and mix well. See to it that there are no large pieces of the same left over. Now cover with a lid and cook on low heat for 5-10 mins. Do stir in the mixture gently in between 2-3 times for even heating of the usli. Remove from fire and mix well once again and its ready. 

** “Urad Dal~Rice Khotte (Idly) Usli” is done and ready to be served. Serve this immediately once prepared either for breakfast or tiffin in the evening and enjoy with your family and friends.  Though this does not need anything else as an accompaniment, many a times we serve the same with some farsan / chooda. This is a very healthy bf/tiffin variety that can be prepared in a jiffy if you have excess khotto / idly at home. 

** Note : I always prepared Khotto/Idly in excess so that I can prepare the same the next day for breakfast as in my home we simply love it. It also cuts down my excess work of preparing breakfast and gives me that much more time to do something new or attend some other unfinished work. 

** I am sharing below the link of preparing khotto for newbies, please check on the same and enjoy preparing this two in one dish, that will not only save you time by half but will also give your family a healthier option of breakfast. I have also added on the link to another usli prepared by me out of Kultih Khotto / Horsegram Idly, do check out on the same, as that one is healthier and tastier too. 

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