Many thoughts fill my mind as I write my first post of the new decade. The year 2020 has brought in a lot of uncertainties with it but one thing that I have held on to is hope. The time at hand has allowed me to try quite a few recipes on the weekends and I decided to share them with each of you.
Paniyaram is a South Indian dish prepared by cooking the fermented idli or dosa batter in a mould. They are like dumplings and served during breakfast or as a tea-time snack. Usage of minimal oil with ability to stuff various vegetables as fillings makes this dish an instant hit with the kids. For this recipe, I have used carrots and onions to make this wholesome recipe. Typically, paniyarams are best paired with onion or mint chutney.
Paniyarams are made in a paniyaram maker which is a vessel made of steel or soapstone with mould pits of equal depth.

Recipe Details :
Serves: 3 pax
Time: 40 mins
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients :

• 2 cups of idli/dosa batter
• 1/4 cup of finely grated carrot [use the smallest marker size of the grater]
• 1/4 cup finely chopped or grated onion
• 2-3 green chillies, finely chopped
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 1 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
• 2 tsp cooking oil
• 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• Salt to taste

Method: 

• Heat the oil in a cooking pan. Temper the urad dal and mustard seeds till they splutter and become slightly golden.
• Now add in the finely chopped green chillies and onions and cook them till they become translucent.
• The add in the grated carrots, ginger and salt and cook the veggies for five minutes.
• Cool the vegetables for a few minutes and add them to the batter. Mix well to combine
• Take the paniyaram maker and heat it on a low flame. Pour 1 tsp of oil into each pit of the pan. Once the pan is hot, pour the batter into each of the pits. While pouring, fill it to 3/4th of the capacity of each pit since the batter will rise once heated.
• Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook for 4 minutes. Now turn over each paniyaram with the help of a chopstick and cook it till a toothpick inserted at the centre of the paniyaram comes out clean.
• Serve and eat them while they are piping hot.

Tips:

• Do not overfill the mould with the batter and leave some space in the mould pit for the batter to rise.