Kuzhipaniyaram & Idli Bowl

Kuzhipaniyaram is something that my mom makes quite often at home… Its a lite and savoury version of the Unniyappam thats basically made by adding some chopped Shallots, Ginger, Curry Leaves and Green chillies to the usual Dosa batter but then cooked using the Appa-Kaarai that we use for making Unniyappams… The difference is that instead of deep frying in oil/ghee, we just brush on some oil to the cavities before pouring in the batter… Kuzhipaniyaram is typically eaten with Chutney and Sambar just like Idlies… Hence, its a common practice in my household to eat this just like we eat the Ney-Idlis… This is basically a healthy breakfast option especially when made at home with minimal amount of refined oil…

Recipe for Kuzhipaniyaram:

Ingredients:

1. Dosa Batter – 1/2 litre
2. Shallots – 1 cup, chopped
3. Ginger – 1 inch piece, finely chopped
4. Curry Leaves – 4 sprigs, finely chopped
5. Green Chillies – 1/2 cup, chopped or to taste
6. Asafoetida – 1/4 tsp, powdered
7. Salt – to taste
8. Cooking Oil – minimal, just enough to brush the Appa-kaarai (if you are using non-stick, you can avoid the oil completely, but having that very thin and lite coating will make the outside crispy)

Method:

• Mix the ingredients 1 to 7 together
• Brush on a very thin layer oil in the cavities of the Appa-kaarai and then fry the batter in them till it solidifies and turns golden brown.

Of late, I had been watching videos of Mikey Chen featuring him showing bowls of Udon Noodles… So, I thought why not try making a big bowl of Kuzhipaniyaram with Sambar and Chutney… My mom also happened to make some Idlies on the same day and so, I decided to include that as well and here we are, using Sambar as the broth, the Kuzhipaniyaram and Idlies as the ingredients and then the usual Coconut Chutney as the condiment to top with… The end result is as shown in the pics above as well as the pic below… 🙂

P. S. : I didn’t include the recipes of the Dosa batter, Idli, Sambar and Chutney because what I used here are the classic recipes for them and its quite well known… In my case, to keep it healthy when making the Sambar and Chutney, we use very little, as in at-most a teaspoon full of refined oil just for the tadka / tempering at the end…