Poongar Rice Appam

 Poongar rice is one of the traditional rice varieties from Tamil Nadu. It is also called as "Women's rice" as it's helpful in boosting the health of women. It's very healthy for pregnant women and lactating mothers.

Poongar rice is red in color which is because of Anthocyanin, an anti-oxidant present in the rice.

It has a plethora of health benefits like below but not limited to,

• Controls Diabetes
• A rich source of Antioxidants and Minerals
• Contains Vitamin B1
• Provides good nutrition for Pregnant women 
• Helps to boost the immune system

We can make many recipes with this rice like Porridge(Kanji), Idli, Dosa and Appam.

My family loves the appam and I usually make appam with Idli rice. I wanted to give a healthy twist to the usual one and tried it with Poongar rice and to my surprise, the whole family was impressed with this nutritious dish and hence I'm sharing it with you.

Ingredients:

BlissTree Poongar rice - 1 lb or 2 cups

Bliss Tree Whole Urad Dal - 1 handful

Methi/Fenugreek seeds - 1 teaspoon

Coconut milk - 1 can

Salt - as required

Water - as required to grind batter

Method:

1. Soak the Poongar rice, Urad dal and Fenugreek seeds together in water overnight or for 8 hours.

2. In a wet grinder, add the soaked ingredients, water and let it grind smooth. Note that, it takes a little longer to grind than the regular rice as the rice has good amount of fiber. That's why soaking for 8 hours is a must.

3. Once the ingredients are finely ground to a smooth batter, then take 2 tablespoons of batter separately in a saucepan and mix a little water and cook it on a stovetop to a porridge like consistency. Once it cools down, add to the batter.

This step is an important one to get soft appams and please don't skip it.

4. Add salt according to your taste and let it ferment.

5. Once it ferments, add 3/4 of the coconut milk can and start pouring on the appam pan.

4. Serve it with any kurma or add little sugar to the remaining 1/4 cup of coconut milk and enjoy the blissful appams.

Finger Millet(Ragi) Moringa Leaves Adai

 Finger millet is commonly known as Ragi. Ragi is the best source of calcium which is dairy-free. It has low glycemic index and thus aids in weight loss and to control diabetes.

This gluten-free recipe has the goodness of moringa greens and the finger millet and is one of the best breakfast options to fuel you for the day!

Ingredients:

BlissTree Ragi flour - 2 cups

Drumstick leaves/Moringa leaves - 1 cup tightly packed

Red Onions - 1 cup, finely chopped

Green chillies - 2 finely chopped (Optional)

salt - 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ( adjust according to taste)

Water - 1 1/2 cups

Method:

1. Clean the Moringa leaves from the stem and take only the leaves. 

2. Mix all of the above from the Ingredients section, and keep it aside. Split the dough into equal parts of balls.

3. Heat an iron griddle. When it's hot, Take the dough ball and start patting on the pan directly till you spread it like a pancake. Since the dough is not so loose, we need to spread it with hands.

 Alternatively, you can pat it on a parchment paper and transfer it to the pan carefully without breaking.

4. Pour oil on the sides and let it cook well on both sides.

5. Serve the healthy Ragi Moringa leaves adai with Jaggery or any chutney of your choice. 

Pearl Millet Adai

Pearl Millet Adai is a great recipe to include the nutritious pearl millet in your diet. It tastes great and you'll feel fuller for a long time.

 Pearl Millet is rich in nutritional value and is an excellent source of iron. It also helps in controlling blood sugar levels and aids in weight loss.

Ingredients:

•  Bliss Tree Parboiled Pearl Millet - 1 cup
• Bliss Tree Idli Rice - 1 cup
• Bliss Tree Toor Dal - 1 cup
• Shredded Coconut - 1/3 cup
• Coriander seeds - 1 tablespoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Red Chillies - 2 or 3
• Salt - To taste
• Water

Method:

1. Soak Pearl Millet for 8 hours separately, Idli Rice and Toor Dal together for 3 hours separately.

2. In a wet grinder or a blender, add Pearl millet with little water and grind until its broken into half.

3. Then, add the rest of the ingredients and grind until the batter comes to a coarse rava consistency.

4. Water should be added just enough to grind. The batter should not become watery.

Note: 

1. Don't grind it fine. Adai batter should be in thick coarse consistency. 

2. If using blender, use the pulse option, so the batter is not ground fine.