Semolina is tasty, inexpensive and an Indian kitchen staple, capable of being transformed into a number of creations. Here are 3 delicious and easy semolina recipes which you can make with ingredients you’ll definitely have at home.
Stuffed Semolina Idli
Firstly, we need to make the semolina base. So we dry-roast a cup of semolina on a medium flame till its golden and toasty. Always roast your semolina. Then we’ll take some oil in a pan and saute chilli and some ginger. Once done, add 2.5 cups of water along with some desiccated coconut and salt. Let it boil and then add in the roasted semolina. Stir it continuously and bring it together It should be dough-like. Now set this aside and let it cool a bit, till we prep the filling. We’re going to blend a cup of fresh (or frozen) peas in a blender with some garlic, ginger and chillies.
Keep the filling chunky. Now in a pan, we’ll heat some oil. Add some cumin, asafoetida and crushed coriander seeds. Now we’ll add some onions. When these are cooked fully, add the peas mixture and let it cook. After 5 minutes or so add the cumin powder followed by salt. Now finish with some coriander and a squeeze of lime juice and put it aside to let it cool off. Now back to the semolina dough. We’ll need this, just like a dough and then start portioning off pieces and flattening them. Add a bit of our cooled filling and seal it up. I’m going for small discs, you can try whatever shape you like.
If you find that you’ve got less dough and more filling, just break off a piece and seal off any holes. Now, these can be steamed, which is super healthy; pan-fried, which is faster but less healthy or even deep-fried. To steam, these just grease the plates and steam them for about 15-20 minutes. You can pan-fry them for 10-12 minutes or until they’re golden. Make the filling the day before and these will make a super quick breakfast or snack.
Steamed Semolina Bondas
Now, for our second recipe, the Steamed semolina Bonda, we’ll use the same semolina dough base. Only this time, we’ll roll it into small balls. You can make these big but we prefer the tiny ones. Get them ready and we’ll steam them in a steamer for about 12-15 minutes. Just make sure they don’t go too soft. Then all you have to do is toss them with your favourite spices. I’m going to start with oil, dry red chillies, cumin, Let them cook, then add in the urad dal and curry leaves. Lastly add red chilli powder, turmeric and salt cook it slightly and then add in the steamed bondas. Toss them, finish with some coriander you’re pretty much done! A fun snack that even the little ones will enjoy.
Semolina Idli
For our last recipe, we’ll do the famous semolina Idli. We start again with a cup of roasted semolina to which we add ½ a cup of dahi. This semolina is pre-roasted Whisk it to prevent lumps and then add a cup of water to form a paste. We let this soak for 15-20 minutes to let the semolina soften while we prepare the tempering. Starting with oil in a pan. We’ll add some mustard and cumin and let it crackle. This tempering flavours the idli, so feel free to get creative with it. Follow that with the urad dal, green chillies and ginger.
Now we’ll add this tempering to the semolina mixture along with grated carrot, coriander and salt and stir it in. You can off course customise the veggies to your liking. Now add a cup of water to form a paste. Then add ½ tsp of baking soda and after greasing the idli plates, start filling them up. Make sure to thin the batter or thicken it with some extra semolina if required. We’ll cook these for 12-15 minutes approximately and then they’re done!
