I couldn't resist this recipe for Masala Bread when we saw it on Coffee's blog a little while ago, so we duly bookmarked it and put it on our list of things to try.

The way we normally work with online recipes is to print out a copy when we want to try it. We then stick it on the refrigerator with a magnet while we are cooking, and when we are done, we make annotations directly onto the printed sheet. If it turned out not so great - or if we just didn't particularly like it - it usually ends in "File 13." On the other hand, if we did like it, it goes into our folder filled with other recipes printed from online sources, categorized by type.

If we really, really liked it, it goes right in the front of the folder, along with a handful of other favorites.

Well, a few days ago we had a build-up of bread that was a couple of days old; not really appealing for sandwiches, but still perfectly fine otherwise: the perfect conditions to try out "Breakfast at The Spice Café!"

We followed the recipe pretty much as written, and boy, was this finger-lickin' good! We served it with homemade ginger chutney, and we couldn't keep our plates filled; even the picky six year-old kept asking for more.

When we do it again, we would most definitely make the recipe at least double, if not more. This is very light, and would be best if it was not the only item on the table - unless of course the object is to have a very light meal.

This is the kind of recipe that has such great basic structure that one can endlessly improvise on it; we look forward to doing just that in future. Thanks Coffee for a wonderful addition to our permanent recipe folder - no need to say that it is right in the front among the favorites.

The weekend turned rainy, and we hardly saw any blue sky at all. By the time Saturday afternoon rolled around we were all in need of a little pick-me-up. That's when I remembered Raji of Talimpu's wonderful recipe a few days ago for Aratikaya Bajji Chat.

What could be better on a gloomy day than the golden color of bajji with the taste of sunshine inside, mixed with the freshness of the onion, chilli and coriander leaves that will explode in your mouth?

So, off to my bookmarks, pulled up the recipe and printed it out (if you haven't yet tried it, you should take a look at Raji's cool "Print" button that creates a copy perfect for printing), then downstairs to start the preparation.

Like many other favorite recipes, this one is simplicity itself, relying on the innate flavors of the ingredients and their interaction with one another to produce a great-tasting result.

The first part of the recipe calls for making little golden coins of plantain bajji. That is simple enough, and the bajji were good enough just like that that we were sorely tempted to forget the rest of the recipe and eat them right then!

We had a little bit of the batter left, and no more plantain, so we sliced thin discs of zucchini and made bajji of them as well. Those we did eat right away - after all, you can stand only so much temptation, don't you think?

Ingredients for the chatNext we filled the kitchen with the aroma of roasting peanuts - I lightly stomp them with mortar and pestle first to split them in half, but not so hard as to break them into little pieces. After letting them cool, I rubbed them lightly between my palms to loosen the skins, and went out onto the deck to blow them away. The old ways still work the best!

Mixing it in a large bowl with the chopped bajji, we could already tell it was going to be a winner. We added a few pinches of chat masala at this stage, just before squeezing over the lemon.

On the plateI didn't bother making tamarind chutney for this, but used a lovely store-bought tamarind-date chutney instead. What I did make was just a quick yogurt sauce: on 1.5 cups of yogurt I added half a teaspoon each of cumin powder and coriander powder, a quarter teaspoon each of black pepper and red chilli powder, and salt to taste. After stirring it up, we served it over the chat to complete the experience.

Simple and brilliant! Thanks Raji for the recipe.

So there I was on Friday night, thinking desperately what to serve the family for dinner at such a late stage, and the idea of Rajitha's Dhal Banjari presented itself (see previous post). That was a huge relief, but then the question of what to accompany it remained.

Now, ideally I would have rounded out the Rajasthani meal with makki ki roti, but coming home so late, I wasn't really looking forward to rolling roti. So I started free-associating, and ended up turning rava idli into corn idli.

I mean, why not?

The concept basically involved replacing some of the wheat rava with corn rava, and adding corn kernels to the mixture. The important thing to note here is that in the US, much of the corn rava (and corn flour) that is available is the so-called "hominy" kind. The adjective hominy is applied to corn when the bran and germ has been removed by soaking it in a lye solution. Many people (especially in the South) grow up eating it and loving the taste.

Personally, I cannot stand it, and when I buy any corn flour or corn rava, I check to make sure that it isn't hominy, or I just won't buy it.

For defrosting the corn (or any vegetables for that matter) I believe in placing it in a bowl and adding cold tap water to it (well, filtered water in India of course). After a few minutes, I might give it a little stir to encourage some of the clumps to break up and if it is a dense vegetable, I might change the water once.

But I never, never put hot water on the frozen vegetables - unless of course I intend to cook them that way. Counter-intuitively, cool water defrosts items much more quickly than hot (think of the inverse square law) and it doesn't spoil the texture of the food.

For this recipe you could replace the frozen corn with a can of whole corn kernels, well drained. Of course, if you are in the lucky position of having fresh corn on the cob to hand, slice off the kernels until you have a cup full, and then boil them quickly for three minutes and drain well.

Traditionally rava idli recipes call for baking soda (also known as bicarbonate of soda, soda bicarb etc.); this reacts with the acid in the curds and forms the leavening of the batter.

The problem with baking soda is that just a little too much (or a little unevenly mixed in) soda turns the mixture brown with a horrible brackish taste. So, I replace the baking soda with baking powder which is a much more stable and reliable mixture, needing only liquid as a catalyst since it has all the reagents in itself.

If you insist on using baking soda instead, and if you are better than I am in controlling it, this amount of rava and curds would usually take a quarter of a teaspoon of baking soda.

The amount in this mixture was enough to make four plates of idli.

Srivalli made these wonderful rice parathas for the WBB Breakfast from Leftovers roundup. We knew as soon as we saw it that this would be a recipe we would like to try; a week or so later, we did indeed try it. And we absolutely loved it.

We did have a few challenges in trying to make it, the chief one being that I don't have cast-iron fingers. This meant that I wanted a batter that could be spread with the back of a spoon onto the hot tava, instead of pressed with my fingers. This meant adding water bit by bit until I got the right consistency. But making the batter that thin meant that the parathas lacked body, so I added a little baking powder to give it body and lightness.

Now it is all very well to fiddle once with a recipe; the big challenge is to see whether you can now follow your altered recipe from scratch and end up with satisfactory results. (In other words, the family was clamoring to have me make these again).

So this past weekend I did. And we loved the result. Since I am confessing here, I will tell you that first, we didn't have leftover rice, we made "leftover" rice; i.e. on Saturday night we cooked some rice with the express intent to use it on Sunday for these parathas! Second, I tripled the recipe, and there was barely enough to everyone's satisfaction.

What would I change? When I tripled the recipe, I didn't quite triple the onion. That was a mistake - the onion plays an important role in the taste of this dish, and you could even add more. If you like heat, you could also add sliced rings of green chilli to the batter.

To make up for my absence, I am jumping right back in with a scrumptious recipe.

"But what happened to you?" you might still be inclined to ask.

Well, there is always work of course, but this time I got a sudden big load on my shoulders with a significant deadline attached, so that ate up some time and energy. Then there is family and home life in general; we have each of us (except my husband) taken turns to be laid low with this nasty cold that is going around. Then of course there is my role as conference organizer for a volunteer organization (what was I thinking?!), with its continuous demands. But by far the most significant thing that kept me from posting has been stacks of homework and preparation for the final exams for the coursework for my masters.

That is now behind me, and so I can breathe again. In the meantime, a couple of my friends have just had babies, with several more soon to come between January and April, so I have taken up knitting again. I've just completed one little cardigan (I promise I'll put up pictures) and am about a third of the way through another little sweater; right now I am all excited about wools and patterns - i.e. when I am not totally shocked by the cost of yarn!

But to get to the recipe: this is a really easy and protein-rich version of a masala vada-type snack. Note, I said "type" - this is not the real thing, but it is delicious and easy.

The basics: grind soaked chana dhal along with onion, green chillies and spices. Make a flavorful tempering and mix this with the batter along with chopped onion, chillies and cilantro. Fry, drain and serve.

See, how much easier can it get?

I take a tablespoonful of the batter and smooth the top, then slide it into the oil. This means the batter can be a little thinner than for traditional masala vada, and you don't have to stand and shape each one by hand.

Note: After you have fried the first vada, taste it before you fry any more, and check for salt and spice. At this time you can add salt and chilli powder or other spices to the batter if required.
A neat trick is to put the additional salt and/or spices in a little bowl/katori and take a little oil and mix them up. Then stir it into the batter; this way the spices will evenly disperse throughout without clumping.