Idli and appe: One batter, two dishes! Meatless Monday.

As a working mom, I am always striving to feed my family, especially my children healthy meals. Weekends, I make it a point to make traditional breakfasts which also can become lunch items for the first couple of days of the week. Most Indian traditional breakfast items require some kind of batter to be made ahead of time and fermented. This means you have to plan ahead mid-week as to when to soak the rice and lentils and when to grind the batter and make sure there is enough time for fermentation. If I am making all this effort, I might as well make sure that I have enough for two breakfasts and many be even a few of the kiddos lunches through the week! Now obviously, nobody wants to eat the same breakfast two days in a row!! We all crave variety. So, I became creative and created variety.

My kids love idlis ( steamed rice-lentil cakes) that are usually served with sambar. When I make idli batter, I make sure that I make enough batter for two breakfasts! However the second day, instead of making idlis, I make appos ( paniyaram ) in a appe pan or ablesevier pan. Making appe is also a great use for idli/ dosa batter that has gone sour. I use the same chutney for both. You could even get creative with the appe by adding chopped onions, coriander leaves, bits of ginger and green chillies and may be even some finely chopped veggies! It comes out delicious!

Today, I am going to share the recipe for this batter and the technique for both.

You can find the recipe for the idlis here and the technique for appe here.

This is perfect for the lunch-box for the kids. You can even make mini-idlis instead of the regular big ones.

Mini-idlis with peanut chutney and blueberries

Mini-idlis with peanut chutney and blueberries

Hope this has helped you and you can come up with even more wonderful ideas!

Appe with peanut/coconut chutney and blueberries

Appe with peanut/coconut chutney and blueberries

I am bringing this to Throwback Thursday # 30, Fiesta Friday#111 and Saucy Saturdays. Angies's co-hosts this week are Naina @ Spice in the City and Julianna @ Foodie On Board.

Cooking made easy:

After making idlis, cleaning the idli mold plates can be quite a tedious task. You can make this chore easier by ensuring that you liberally grease the idli mold with butter or ghee( clarified butter), which also gives the idlis a nice flavor.

Tip for healthy living:

Giving kids home-made lunch is much healthier than pre-packaged processed stuff. Always make it a habit to include some fruit with your child's lunch.

Food for thought:

You don't know until you have tried. Suchitra

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!