These days more and more people are becoming health conscious. Calories are counted before consuming a meal, especially snacks. While snacks generally bring up the images of fried hot vadas, fried bananas and so on, here are some evening treats that are oil free and tasty.
Leafy Adai
Ingredients
Idiappam rice powder: 1 cup
Spinach (finely chopped): 1 cup
Green chilli paste: 1 tsp
Salt: as per taste
Finely grated coconut: half cup
Oil: 1 tsp
Mustard: 1 tsp
Banana leaf (cut lengthwise): 6
Method
Pour one tsp oil in a kadai and heat it. Add mustard and when it crackles add the finely chopped spinach and green chilli paste.
Saute for about five minutes and add one and a half cups water and required salt. Add the rice powder when the water starts to boil. Stir. When the mixture starts to thicken, remove from flame. Keep aside and let it cool.
Make small balls out of this mixture. Take a long banana leaf and flatten one of the balls in the leaf into a round shape.
Make a hole in the centre (like a donut). Make similar adais out of the mixture and steam for five minutes. Remove the adais from the leaves and serve.
Kara Unniappam
Ingredients
Idli-dosha batter: 2 cup
Raw rice powder: half cup
Onion, chopped: half cup
Grated carrot: quarter cup
Chopped green chilli: 3
Chopped ginger: 1 tsp
Oil: 2 tsp
Mustard: half tsp
Chopped coriander leaves: 2 tsp
Curry leaves: a sprig
Oil: quarter cup
Method
Into a kadai, pour two tsp oil and heat it. Add the mustard seed. When it crackles, add the onion, ginger and green chilli. Sauté. Add the grated carrot and the required amount of salt and mix thoroughly. Switch off the stove. Put in the coriander leaves and curry leaves and mix well. In a bowl, mix the dosha batter and rice powder. Add a little water and salt. Transfer the sautéed mixture into this batter and mix well.
Take an unniappam mould (if the mould is non stick, we can cook without oil) and heat it. Pour a drop of oil in the moulds then pour the batter. Cook it on a slow flame. When the bottom turns brown, turn the paniyaram and cook. When both sides become brown remove and serve along with chutney.
