Back to blogging with a Desi Delight!

Hey people, I am back!!! (read as in "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines") I know many of you checked in to find out if I was doing good. Thank you so much for your concern. I am very much alive and doing good. As my friend had said, I was down with a sweet sickness that bore fruit at the end of 9 months..Oh wait, it was 8 months plus 3 days!!

Yes, we recently welcomed a little cub into our pack! And that was the reason for my 'a year-long hibernation'. Our sonny dear arrived on a chilly November day and from then on, life has a taken a steep turn that is totally perpendicular to what it used to be! Suddenly sleepless nights are no more irritating, watching TV in mute and deciphering the dialogues is fun, and of all, waking up everyday to witness a sweet innocent toothless smile is HEAVEN!!

Well, I can go on and on bragging about my son and my new-found-status as a mom, but that's not what we are all here for, right? OK here's the recipe of the day, HOT and SOUR IDLI... yes our own south Indian breakfast with a twist.

This recipe, I saw a couple of years ago on a cookery show and it turned out to be fabulous. But I had completely forgotten about it. Recently when mom and I was talking about all the different dishes we used to make, this one promptly flashed on my mind and here I am blogging about it.

Hot and Sour Idli
Steamed rice cakes deep fried and topped with tomato based sauce

What we need:
Idli - 4 to 5 preferably left-over cold ones
Capsicum - 2, sliced
Tomato - 2 medium sized, chopped
Onion - 1 medium sized, thinly sliced
Garlic pods - 2 to 3, finely chopped
Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp.
Salt - as needed
Oil - to deep fry
Tomato ketchup - 1 tbsp. Optional

How to do:
1. Cube the idlis into bite sized pieces. Deep fry the pieces to golden brown.
2. Blanch and puree the tomatoes.
3. In a kadai, heat oil. Add onion, garlic pods and salt.
4. Fry till the onion turns pink and soft. Now add the sliced capsicums and fry till they get cooked.
5. While the capsicum is still crunchy, add the tomato puree, tomato ketchup, red chilli powder and if needed, a bit of water to bring to the gravy consistency.
6. Bring it a boil and swtich off.
7. When ready to serve, arrange the idli pieces in the serving bowl and pour the gravy over them
Serve immediately.

As I sign off with a hope that I would be able to resume blogging, I also hope that I would be able to catch up with all your posts I missed for so many months! Till then, Happy Cooking and Happy Blogging!!