Rawa Idli (Semolina Idli)

Rawa idli is one of the top evening snack available in Sagars (Bangalore fast food points). I always tried preparing it while I was in India, but never succeeded, it used to become hard always..After coming to Singapore, started craving for all those fast foods available in Bangalore. I think it is bound to happen as I was used to eating nice varieties of dosas, rawa idli, pooris etc for such an affordable price.

I never found rawa idli in any of the restaurants in Singapore :((.., but was wanting to eat. The only option available here is...., cook what you want & eat how much ever you want ;) I did few modifications to the original recipe based on my experience :) It turned out just like how we used to get in Bangalore restaurants. Now, it has found a place in my breakfast list. I cook it at least once in fifteen days.

Here is the recipe, which requires no fermentation.



Ingredients:
2 cups upma rawa/semolina
2 cups curd/yogurt (it should have turned little sour)
1 tbsp cashew nuts
1/2 tbsp chana dal
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
8-10 curry leaves.
1/4 cup coriander leaves
1/2 cup grated coconut (fresh/frozen)
salt according to taste
1 tsp baking soda.
1 tbsp oil

Method:

• Dry roast the rawa until it turns golden brown. Allow it to cool.
• Add oil to a pan, when oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds crackle, add chana dal. Allow the chana dal to turn golden brown.
  
• Add cashew nuts & fry till it turns golden brown. Add curry leaves to it.
• Add this tempering to the rawa.
  
• Add coconut, coriander leaves to the rawa.
• Add the curd to this & mix well. Batter should be like normal idli batter or a little thicker than that would do.
  
• Keep the batter for 1 hour.
• Add baking soda, salt to the batter (adjust the batter if required by adding little water, rawa absorbs curd/water, hence batter could have become little thicker), just before pouring to the idli moulds.
• Steam cook the idlis for 20-25 mins.
• Serve it hot with potato sagu(curry) or chutney or any curry of your choice.
  

Appa/Yeriyappa (Healthier version)

Yeriyappa is a must sweet at my mother's place for Navaratri festival. It is usually prepared on the Saraswathi Pooja day. Yeriyappa is called appa in Udupi/Mangalore.

We had been to our relatives place here in Singapore. We went there without informing about our visit. As soon as we reached there, she started preparing something.., within minutes we were given guliyappa/paddu/gundpongalu. When we tasted.., we were pleasantly surprised.., it was a sweet dish :))

As I generally do everywhere, I asked her about the recipe, she said.., it was made of maida & banana..,I could not get the full recipe from her, but she also told me that the yeriyappa batter can be used to make sweet paddu/gundpongalu. I tried with the yeriyappa batter & it was impressive.

Why I call this healthier version is because the appa is not deep fried in oil. It is prepared using gundponglu/paddu pan.

So, here goes the healthier version of yeriyappa,
Ingredients:
1 cup raw rice
2 ripened bananas
1/3 cup jaggery
1 tbsp dry fruits of your choice ( I used cashew nuts + raisins)
a pinch of powdered cardamom
a pinch of baking soda
a pinch of salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp oil

Method:

• Soak the rice in water for around 3-4 hours.
• Make a fine paste of rice, bananas & jaggery (dont add much water), batter should be like normal idli batter.
• Mix the dry fruits, sugar, cardamom powder, salt & baking soda to this batter.
• Keep aside the batter for 10-15 mins.
• Heat the guliyappa pan, add 2 drops of oil to each of the holes in the pan. Pour the batter to each of the holes. Cook the appa on both sides on a slow flame, it takes a little more time than the normal guliyappa
  

Guliyappa pan can be seen in the below photo.


Here is some appa for you to taste :)

Mungaru Male Music!!

ಮುಂಗಾರು ಮಳೆ!!

Kannadigas can never forget this movie name.., Though the story-line is good, I am more interested in the music. Anybody would love to listen to this song at anytime.., aha!! such a soothing music, where you could enjoy every beat.., wonderful lyrics & fabulous singing by Sonu.
Refreshing!!

ಮುಂಗಾರು ಮಳೆಯೇ ಏನು ನಿನ್ನ ಹನಿಗಳ ಲೀಲೆ.
Even a non-romantic guy would become romantic after listening to this song.., even if he doesn't understand the lyrics..

one such beautiful line of this song...
ಭುವಿ ಕೆನ್ನೆ ತುಂಬ ಮುಗಿಲು ಸುರಿದ ಮುತ್ತಿನ ಗುರುತು.., ನನ್ನ ಎದೆಯ ತುಂಬ ಅವಳು ಬಂದ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆಯ ಗುರುತು..
what a comparison!!. I'm not a poet or ಕವಿಯತ್ರಿ, to say more about this.., but I just love to listen to this song always & always.. regardless of my mood...

Now coming to one more beautiful track of this movie.., the most popular one I suppose...
ಅನಿಸುತಿದೆ ಯಾಕೋ ಇಂದು.., ನೀನೇನೆ ನನ್ನವಳೆಂದು..
This is my son's ever favourite song.., this movies songs have the strength to make my son sit in one place for hours together.., he was just 9-10 months old during that time & he used to be silent when he get to hear these songs..., he is 26 months now & these songs are in his top most list even now.., he listens to this movies songs atleast once a day & he is not bored to listen this.., but would be willing to listen to this again & again. He can even make out a single beat change in those songs :))

ಆಹಾ ಎಂಥ ಮಧುರ ಯಾತನೆ..ಕೊಲ್ಲು ಹುಡುಗಿ ಒಮ್ಮೆ ನನ್ನ.., ಹಾಗೆ ಸುಮ್ಮನೇ..
again a masterpiece.., those who have not listened to these songs.., I suggest you to listen to this once & you would recall what I said..

This movie got released when I was on my maternity leave & was at my native.., Kannadigas were crazy for this movie..,my cousins, brother & sister were no exceptions, everybody kept on saying.., I have seen this 6.., 7.., 8 + times. But, my son was around a month.., so it was not possible for me to watch the movie at that time. But, I managed to watch it after 6 months or so.., but songs were always on the top of my list.

I have just mentioned about 2 songs here.., but all the songs including music, lyrics are fabulous & is a classic of all times..

Hats off to Mano Murthy, Jayant Kaikini, Sonu Nigam & also to Yograj Bhat for making such a wonderful movie & giving us beautiful songs..

Beetroot Anna (Beetroot rice)

I learnt this recipe from my aunt when cooking became a routine activity for me ( i.e. after getting married) . I wanted to try something new everyday & impress my hubby.., those were the days when we stepped into "Gruhasthashrama".

My hubby is a ready-to-eat rice freak. what I mean is.., he enjoys eating pulaos, bhaths, mixed rice..etc.., more than the traditional South Indian rasam/sambar & rice. This is when I started learning & preparing lot of mixed rices & pulaos. Here is one such rice/pulao learnt during those wonderful days, but somehow this had washed out from my memory until few days back :(...., I prepared it yesterday & enjoyed eating..

Ingredients:
1 medium sized beetroot (grated)
3 cups rice (basmati preferred)
2 tbsp dry fruits ( I used raisins + cashew nuts + badam)
1/2 cup green peas or sweet corn (I used corn this time, but I have prepared using peas also.., both taste equally good)
1 medium sized onion sliced
1/2 inch ginger grated
1 inch cinnamon (powdered)
3 cloves
2 cardamom
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp cumin powder/jeera powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder/dhania powder
1 tsp pulao masala ( I used MTR pulao masala)
1/2 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
1/2 cup yogurt/curd
coriander leaves (for garnishing)
6 cups water
salt according to taste.
4 tbsp butter/oil
1 tsp lemon juice (or according to taste)

Method:

• Soak the rice for 10 minutes.
• Heat the cooker/pan, add butter to it. When butter is hot, add jeera.
• Add the sliced dry fruits, cinnamon, cardamom & cloves. Fry it till the dry fruits become golden brown.
• Add ginger, onions & saute till the onions are soft.
• Now add sweet corn/green peas & cook it in oil for a minute.
• Add the grated beetroot & mix well.
• Add the soaked rice & saute the rice in oil.
• Now add all the dry spices (red chilli powder, dhania powder, jeera powder, pulao masala & garam masala)
• Add water & salt. Bring the water to a boil & then add the curd to it.
• Close the lid of the pressure cooker & cook it for 1 whistle.
• Allow the cooker to cool, mix the rice thoroughly, add lemon juice & coriander leaves.
• Serve it hot with a raitha of your choice.

Tip of the Day:
Don't discard the skin of the lemon squeezed, instead rub your elbows or face using the lemon skin.., it will reduce the tan on the skin & act as a natural bleach to the skin. This tip is for people having oily or normal skin. If you have dry skin, avoid using lemon juice on your face or on hands.

I'm sending this rice to Sunshine Mom's FIC purple event

Shunti Tambuli ( Ginger Tambuli)

This dish can be prepared in minutes & shunti (ginger) is available at home almost always!! So, prepare this whenever you are in a jiffy & cannot afford to spend more time cooking :)

Tambuli can be prepared like a thick curry by adding thick yogurt or could be prepared like rasam by adding buttermilk (blended yogurt). Choice is left to individuals. My mother prepares tambuli like chutney & my mom-in-law adds lot of butter milk & makes it like rasam.

Thought of adding few cooking tips from now on along with the recipes.

Tip Of The Day: If you have gastric problem, using raw green chilli could harm your stomach, hence always fry it in little oil for about 30 secs & then use green chillies.

Note down the ingredients & prepare it at your ease.
1.5 inch ginger ( roughly chopped)
1/2 tbsp jeera/cumin seeds
1 green chilli (optional)
3 tbsp grated coconut
1.5 cups buttermilk/curd/yogurt

For tempering:
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 red chilli
1 pinch asafoetida
2 curry leaves

Method:

• Grind the coconut, ginger, green chilli & jeera to a smooth paste
• Add curd, salt to the paste & mix it well.
• In a small kadai, add oil. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add red chilli. asafoetida, curry leaves & add this tempering/tadka to the curd mixture.
  
• Tambuli is ready to be served.

Pathrode fry

A very tasty & healthier tea time snack. We usually prepare this using the left over pathrode. Few sub-dishes are prepared using the pathrode as the main ingredient. Some of them being pathrode palya(both sweet & spicy version could be prepared), pathrode fry.

I was the only consumer of the pathrode prepared at my home, as my son is too young to eat that spicy & my hubby dear prefers only pathrode palya. I prepared pathrode fry for tea time today & enjoyed eating!!!

Ingredients:
1 roll of pathrode
1 tbsp coconut oil (or any oil of your preference)

Method:

• Cut the pathrode as shown in the below picture.

• Heat the tawa. Add 1/2 tbsp of oil
• When oil is hot, place the pathrode slices on it and add the remaining oil on to the surface of the slices
• Shallow-fry it on both the sides for a minute (until the sides are crisp)
• The pathrode fry is ready to be served
  

Pathrode (Colocasia leaves Roll)

Colocasia/Taro/kesuvina leaves grow in abundance during the rainy season & this is the time when South Canara people prepare various dishes using taro leaves. Taro leaves grow where water is in abundance like near the well, near the pond or where water flows as a stream. Every road in Malnad region will have its own stream during the rainy season.., that is the beauty of malnad region. Che!, I became nostalgic.

This dish is not prepared quite often as the availability of this leaves is seasonal. My mom-in-law is very particular when comes to preparing this, she tells.., if the leaves are not good, then after eating pathrode, our tongue starts itching!! Thankfully, I have experienced the itching of my tongue only once.

I got few leaves in the frozen section in the supermarket, just got them & prepared the pathrode. I loved eating them & thankfully the leaves were good.

The preparation of pathrode is quite lengthy, but the end result is so very relishing.

Ingredients:
Taro leaves (ಕೆಸುವಿನ ಎಲೆ ) - 6
Raw Rice - 1 cup
Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup
Toor dal - 2 tbsp
Moong Dal (Yellow) - 1/4 cup
Beaten Rice - 1.5 tbsp
Red Chilly - 8-10
Tamarind - One big grape size
Jaggery - One big grape size
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Coriander seeds - 2 tsp
Salt according to taste

Method:

• Wash and soak the rice, toor dal, moong dal & beaten rice together for around 4-5 hours.
• Dry roast the red chillies.
• Make a coarse paste of the rice, dals soaked along with red chillies, tamarind, coconut, cumin seeds, coriander seeds & jaggery (Batter should be similar to normal idli batter).
• Add salt according to taste (add a little more salt as this paste will be smeared on the leaves)
• Wash the taro/colocasia leaves, remove the stem & the large veins of the leaves & take the largest/biggest leaf.
• Smear the paste prepared on that & place a smaller leaf on top & repeat the same process. In one pathrode roll there can be 3+ leaves. Have a look at this picture to get an idea.

• Now roll the leaves & after it is rolled, smear the paste on top of it.

• Steam cook these rolls for 30-45 mins.

• Cut the rolled pathrode, smear it with coconut oil & serve it hot.

Updated on 26th Oct 09 to include coriander seeds & cumin seeds

Southekayi dose (Cucumber Dosa)

One more dosa that doesn't need fermentation!!, isn't it great...

These kinds of dosas are mainly prepared in the small villages of Malnad region (Hilly area) of Karnataka. For them, Paddy is a main crop, along with coffee, pepper & other spices. So, they prepare umpteen dishes using rice as the main ingredient. Dosa is one of them and adding vegetables, fruits to dosa increases the nutritive value of dosa.

I learnt this dosa from my ಸೋದರತ್ತೆ (aunt) who is staying in Kalasa ( Chikmagalur District, Karnataka). For me, it is an ideal breakfast as it has both carbohydrates & vegetables :))

Here goes the recipe:

Ingredients:
2.5 cups raw rice (normal sona masoori/ponni would suffice)
5 cups finely chopped ಸೌತೇಕಾಯಿ/ cucumber (peeled, if cucumber is tender use the entire cucumber, else remove the seeds)
3 tbsp grated coconut (fresh/frozen)
salt according to taste

Method:

• Soak the rice for 5-6 hours ( I soak it whole night & grind it in the morning)
• Add the chopped cucumber, coconut to the rice, grind it and prepare the batter like normal dosa (Be little cautious while adding water as cucumber itself has a lot of water content)
• Add salt according to taste & start preparing the dosas
  

PS: With the above measurement, I could prepare around12-15 dosas.

Here is the dosa plate for you, it has cucumber dosa, tomato gojju & putani chutneypudi(roasted channa dal chutney powder)

Hagalakayi Tomato Curry(Bitter melon Tomato curry)

Though it has numerous medicinal value.., my son & my hubby donot like to eat this veggie in any form. So, somehow once in 3 months I manage to get this & force my family members to eat.
This time instead of Indian karela(bitter gourd), I got Chinese bitter melon & prepared the "not-so-common" recipe using bitter melon.

You can get to know more about the medicinal values of bittergourd/bitter melon here & here.

My maid told me about this recipe, I made some changes according to my family needs. I did not know the actual name for this curry, as my told the name in her language. So, if any of you have ideas, do let me know.., I'll add it here :))

Ingredients:
1 medium sized ಹಾಗಲಕಾಯಿ/karela/bitter melon (finely chopped)
3 tbsp grated coconut
1 tbsp peanuts
2 tomatoes (boiled)
3 red chillies
1 onion chopped
1 big pinch turmeric
1.5 tsp oil
0.5 tsp mustard seeds
0.5 tsp cumin seeds
3-4 curry leaves
1 red chilli (for tadka)
coriander leaves (for garneshing)
salt according to taste

Method:

• Finely chop the karela, sprinkle salt & turmeric on it & keep it aside for 10 mins.
• Dry roast the red chillies & peanuts separately.
• Grind together the peanuts, chillies, coconut & 2 boiled tomatoes & prepare a smooth paste with it.
  
• Squeeze out the water from karela & cook the karela by adding little water ( this would be cooked within 5 minutes).
• Add the oil to a kadai, when oil is hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, red chilli.
• Add onions & fry them till it turns golden brown.
• Add the paste to the tadka & cook it for a minute (until raw smell disappears).
• Add the cooked karela, salt & cook for another 3-5 minutes in a slow flame.
• Garnesh it with coriander leaves & serve it with chapathi or rice.

You can find one more recipe of bitter-melon here: Hagalakayi palya (In Taste Of Mysore)

Tukudi | Shankar poli | Namak para

My mother used to usually prepare this during the summer holidays to make all the 3 or sometimes more of us happy & also during our short/long tours. Shankar poli was a must item prepared by my mom for my school trips. I used to tell her to prepare something else, but never understood why she was preparing this so many times.

I learnt the reason once I started cooking. The reason being, the preparation being so easy (her time, effort is saved), can prepare in bulk (to satisfy the entire school bus going on a vacation) & always turns out crispy & yummy.

Now, this has become an all time available evening snack at our home in Singapore. I prepare this, once a week & use it for the rest of the week.

Here is the bowl of thukudi for you, keep munching this.., & enjoy the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour/maida
1.5 tsp hot oil/ghee
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp pepper + jeera powder
salt according to taste
oil for deep frying

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients in a bowl (except the oil kept for deep frying).
• Prepare a firm dough (dough should be little hard) with the ingredients using water & keep it aside for 10-15 mins.
• Divide the dough into 4 equal portions & roll out each portion by dusting very little flour(like normal chapathi)
• Cut the rolled out chapathi into small diamond shapes (like we cut normal barfi) & deep fry the thukkudi (cut diamond shaped) until golden brown.
• Drain it on absorbant paper, allow it cool & store it in an air tight container. (This can be stored for upto 3 weeks)

Meme, awards, awards & .................... awards

Thanks a lot to Smitha & Lakshmi for passing on these beautiful awards to me. Awards inspire & encourage people to keep going. I sincerely feel that they are like energy boosters :).

Now, let me share with you all, how & why I started blogging..

I was such a busy lady for atleast a decade.., 97 started my engineering (with full josh, dreaming big) & 2001 completed my engineering.

I could not even spend a month for myself, as I was lucky enough to get selected in campus recruitment & joined my first company.., then on started my career.., parallelly got married, had a kid, but never took a break from my career.

I felt all of a sudden, my life has become standstill, when I first became a full time home maker. It was 2 extremes in my life, but slowly started enjoying the "staying at home" phase of life. This is when I started blogging.., cooking was an all time passion for me, but never found so much enthusiasm before. I started blogging to utilize my time effectively & now, I am so much involved in blogging that I dont want to leave this anymore. I have 50+ recipes already, thanks a lot for all your support.

Time for MEME

7 Things I Say More Often
1. Noooooooooooooo ( for my son who keeps pulling things from here & there)
2. Adi... ( my son's name)
3. yenu ?? ( asking what?? in Kannada)
4. yen madodu helippa (asking my hubby what to cook??)
5. matte..(next)
6. ABCDEFG for my son.., ha ha ha
7. Good boy...(when my son listen to me)

7 things I did before
1. Enjoyed a lot with my entire family ( my brother, sis, father, mom, bro-in-laws, co-sis, MILs, FILs etc)
2. Enjoyed working with an excellent group in my previous company
3.Enjoyed eating out more tha
n 3-4 times a week
4. Completed my masters
5. Enjoyed my pregnancy & post delivery phases.
6. Went kilometers together to have favourite chats
7. Did lot of shopping & enjoyed buying whole lot of things (Shopping is fun yaar)

7things I do now:
1. Most of the time watching TV or browsing the net
2. Cook
3. Play with my son & try to teach him something new everyday
4. Keep applying for jobs without losing hope :(
5. Blogging
6. Laze around & keep dreaming about when to visit India.
7. Go for a walk with hubby + son every evenings.

7 things I want to do ( not sure whether I can write 7! let me see)
1. Start working again
2. Visit India ( missing it damn soo much)
3. Talk to dear ones for hours together...
4. Shop till I drop ( he.., he.., my hubby will be upset after reading this )
5. Publish the recipes ( I have taken soo many recipe snaps, not getting much time to publish)
6. Roam around in Singapore
7. Play a lot & teach new words to my son..

7 things that attract me about opposite sex
1. Honesty
2. Patience
3. Sense of humor
4. Decency
5. Love & Care
6. Trust
7. Helping nature + more....

7 Favorite Foods ( I can easily name more than 10 .., he he he)
1. my first & ever favorite.., nothing can beat this..., bisibelebath
2. curd rice (2nd love)
3. hot upma
4. dahi wada ( I love the one that is served in "Adigas" group of resturants, Bangalore.., slurp, slurp...)
5. shunti tambli
6. timare chutney (brahmi chutney)
7. gujje dose..
8. Kashi halwa/bood gumbala halwa
9. Dry jamoon + ..................................many many many.........................

Here are my awards
Lakshmi of Taste Of Mysore has given me the below awards..




Both, Smitha of Kannada Cuisine & Lakshmi of Taste Of Mysore have given me the below awards.

Nugge soppu chapathi (Drumstick leaves Bread)

As said in my previous posts, I had got a big bunch of nugge soppu & wanted to try all the recipes taught by my aunt. I tried 2 of the recipes shared by her.. nugge soppu tovve & nugge soppu rotti & it was super-duper hit at our home. My husband suggested me to prepare more dishes using this soppu. I was on cloud nine after those comments & started dreaming about the next recipe & the comments that I could receive from him!!! But, when I saw the remaining soppu, I was a bit disappointed as I had very few left with me. I could just manage with just one more dish :-p

Here you go:

Ingredients:
1 cup cleaned nugge soppu
2 cups wheat flour
1 pinch turmeric
1 pinch om kalu/ajwain
1 tsp chilli powder
1.5 tsp oil
salt according to taste.

Method:

• Add all the ingredients mentioned above in a bowl & mix it together.
• Add enough water & make a dough similar to the normal chapathi/roti
• Divide the dough into equal portion (around medium sized lemon)
• Roll each portion like normal chapathi/paratha & cook it on tawa.
• Cook on both the sides until brown spots appear on each side.
• Serve it hot with curd, pickle or subzi of your choice.

Below picture contains nugge soppu chapathi & a simple chayote sabzi( seemebadane palya)

Bhendi Saasime (Stir fried okra in mustard,coconut paste)

Very soothing side dish for people during summer. Saasime(some people call it saasive), hashi, methi tambli, are all said to have cooling effects on the body & helps one to fight summer temperatures. Hence, one of them will definitely feature in a 'hot day' menu in South Canara/Udupi.

As Singapore's climate is very similar to Mangalore/South Canara's weather, I prefer doing this atleast 2 times a week or sometimes more.

Here is one such saasime prepared using bendekayi/ladies finger.


6-8 thinly sliced bendekayi
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
1 big pinch turmeric
1 big pinch tamarind powder/amchur powder
1/2 cup curd
3 tbsp grated coconut(fresh/frozen)
1 green chilli
salt according to taste
1 tsp oil

Method:

• Add the oil to a broad kadai, when oil is hot, add jeera & urad dal.
• When urad dal becomes golden brown, add bendekayi (sliced), amchur powder & fry it in oil until crisp. Remove from flame & allow it to cool.
  

• Make a fine paste of grated coconut, green chilli, turmeric & mustard seeds.
• Add this paste, curd & salt to the cooled bendekayi. Bhendi saasime is ready to be served. It is a great side dish for rice & also for roti.
  

Note: For bhendi to be crispier, add the paste, curd & salt just before serving.

Sorekayi Chapathi(Bottle gourd Indian Bread)

My family prefers non-rice items over rice items any day. Both my hubby and my son can have these - the rotis, the chapathis, the pooris - all 3 times of the day..sometimes, even 4 :). So, I had to learn different types of paranthas, chapathis to introduce variety into our, otherwise monotonous, chapathi menu. One such is sorekayi paratha/chapathi and here is the recipe for this:

Ingredients:
1 cup grated sorekayi /doodhi/lauki/bottle gourd
2 cups atta/wheat flour/godi hittu
1 pinch of turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp oil
1 tsp chopped coriander leaves/cliantro

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients mentioned above (Dont add water as the doodhi leaves out a lot of water when grated) & form a dough similar to the normal roti/chapathi.
• Divide the dough into 8-10 portion.
• Roll out each portion similar to a normal roti.
• Cook the chapathi on each side until brown spots appear by smearing little oil on each side.
• Serve this hot with curd, pickle, raitha or chutney.

One of my friend calls it Thepla. She was telling, there would be some minor changes in the ingredients for this thepla. I would get the ingredients from her & publish soon :))

Heerekayi Bajji (Ridgegourd snack)

When we were in India, preparing bajji/pakora used to be a rare event, may be during festivals or on some very special occasion, the reason being easy availability of them everywhere. But, after leaving India, it has become very hard to get these tasty bajjis/pakoras. The road side shops are no where to be seen here. Our tastebuds crave to eat all these, irrespective of the country in which you are residing. So, the only option to fullfil our wishes is to cook them, all by ourselves.

On one such Friday evening, it was heerkayi bajji, at our place.

Ingredients:
Besan 1 cup
Rice Flour 1 tbsp
Chilli Powder 1.5 tsp
Salt According to taste
Ridgegourd 0.5 (Peeled and thinly Sliced)
Oil For deep frying

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients except ridgegourd (heere kayi) and make a thin paste, out of it (The batter should be similar to thick milk shake)
  
• Now, dip the heere kayi slices one-by-one and deep fry them in oil
• Heerekayi bajji is ready to serve
  

Nugge Soppu Rotti (Indian bread with drumstick leaves)

Akki rotti (rice flour Indian bread) needs no introduction for Kannadigas (people who belong to Karnataka). I feel, there are more versions of akki rotti than the number of districts in Karnataka!!

My granny keeps reminding me of my childhood days & keeps saying that you used to love eating akki rotti when you were toddler. We were scared to give you because you didnot have much teeth, but you enjoyed eating :))

Now.., my mom can proudly say the same thing to my son. My son started eating akki rotti when we were giving him mashed rice. He used to love akki rotti, cant blame him, it is in his genes ;)

Here is the akki rotti filled with nutrients:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rice flour
• 1 cup nugge soppu/drumstick leaves
• 1/2 cup grated coconut
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp jeera
• 1 handful of cooked rice/leftover rice (optional, this makes the rotti soft)
• salt according to taste

Method:

• Wash the drumstick leaves & add all the ingredients listed above to a large bowl.
• Add enough water & make a dough out of it. (The dough should be softer than the normal chapathi atta).
  
• Take a greased paper/banana leaf or directly pat it on a tawa & cook on both sides.
• Akki rotti s ready to be served. Serve it with ghee/butter, chutneypudi or chutney.

Below picture shows the detailed procedure for making akki rottis.

Nugge soppu tovve (Drumstick leaves Dal)

Nugge soppu is not so popular veggie in our family. So, I never bought this, but.., I was very much fascinated about the medicinal values of this leaves. Though, my granny didnot serve me dishes prepared using this during my post pregnancy, she always used to say that it is very good for lactating mothers.

Now that.., I got so much information from her, I thought of sharing this information with you all.
Uses of nugge soppu:

1. It helps in weight gain & overcoming anemia (rich in iron).
2. Pregnant ladies & feeding mothers are advised to consume nugge soppu. It helps in increasing the breast milk for feeding mothers ( because it is rich in calcium).
3. Rich in Vitamin C & thus helps in fighting against cold & cough.
   
4. It contains more potassium than banana.

For more information, refer this ( it also gives the different names of this leaves, in different Indian/Asian languages).

When I called up my aunt, I got to know very easy & mouthwatering nugge soppu recipes from her. So, ladies & gentlemen.., it would be nugge soppu recipes for few days in my blog :))

Ingredients for tovve:



1 cup hesaru bele (moong dal, split green gram dal)
3 cups nugge soppu
1 onion chopped
1 tomato chopped
1/2 tsp grated ginger
3 green chillis (slit)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/ tsp jeera/cumin seeds
3-4curry leaves
salt according to taste
1 tbsp oil

Method:

• Soak the moong dal in warm water for 1 hour.
• Wash the nugge soppu & keep it aside.
• In a broad kadai, add oil. When oil is hot, add mustard & cumin seeds. When they splutter, add onion & saute till it turns golden brown.
• Add green chillies, curry leaves & tomato & saute till tomatoes become soft.
• To this add, nugge soppu & cook for 2mins (till leaves become soft).
• Add hesaru bele, salt & water & cook till dal is cooked completely (Can pressure cook for 1 whistle).
• Add lemon juice & serve it with rice/roti.

Boodu kumbala koddel (Winter Melon Curry)

Another easy koddel (Koddel is a Tulu word for sambar/curry) to prepare is Kumbala koddel. As you all know, kumbala kayi (Ash gourd or Winter melon) is a cooling vegetable; so, it pays to eat this vegetable in the Singapore tropical climate. It is also low in calories; so, all you diet freaks out there, it's time to pick up a ash gourd and prepare this sambar.

BTW, there is no sambar powder concept in south canara and the usage of toor dal is also very minimal. Keeping all this in mind, here goes my 'south canara style' kumbda koddel:



Ingredients:
1/2 kg ash gourd(Peel out the skin, remove the seeds and chop the vegetable)
1/2 coconut grated (around 1.5 cups fresh/frozen)
3-4 red chillies
1 tsp jeerige (cumin seeds)
2.5 tsp dhania (coriander seeds)
1/4th tsp methi seeds(fenugreek seeds)
1 tbsp thick tamarind extract
jaggery (1 medium grape size)
salt according to taste

For tempering/tadka:
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
4 curry leaves
a pinch of asafoetida/hing
coriander leaves (for garneshing)

Method:

• Add enough water to ash gourd & cook it until soft (Need not pressure cook as this would become soft quite fast)
• Dry roast the jeera, dhania, methi seeds & dry red chilli seperately & allow it cool for a while.
• Make a paste of the above dry roasted spices along with the coconut. Dont add too much water to prepare the paste.
• Add tamarind extract, salt & jaggery to the cooked ash gourd & bring it to a boil again. (This is to ensure that the tamarind is cooked well & the raw smell of tamarind is no more).
• Now add the masala paste to the ash gourd & cook it in a slow flame for 5 minutes or untill the mixture becomes thick.
• Prepare the tadka in a small pan. Add oil, when oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves, asafoetida & add this tadka to the koddel prepared.
  
• Garnesh it with coriander leaves. Koddel is ready to be served.

Note: There is no toor dal added to this koddel, thickness of the sambar depends on the amount of coconut + water added to this.

This is also called as hasi masale huli (hasi = raw, masale = spices, huli = sambar/curry).
Believe me, this sambar tastes so good because of the hasi masale.

Wow!!, I started smelling the aroma of this sambar right now, even though I prepared this sometime back..

Molake hesaru kaalu palya (Sprouted green gram stirfry)

A low calorie recipe after a long time in my blog, but a much needed one. It was treat to tummy during these festive seasons. Entire family enjoyed eating deep fried foods, various kinds of sweets & varieties of side-dishes, main course etc. After eating sooo many dishes, the entire family fell sick :( & everyone was served with only garlic pepper rasam.

We have regained our health back & want to start our normal routine. So.., thought of preparing something healthy & nutritious.

Here goes a slightly different but a nutritious side dish for chapathi/roti & rice.


Ingredients:
2 cups sprouted hesaru kalu (sprouted green gram)
1 carrot chopped (cut into cubes)
1/2 cup cauliflower
1/2 capsicum chopped (optional)
1 onion sliced
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of turmeric
2 green chillis
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cliantro/coriander leaves chopped for garneshing

Method:

• Pressure cook for one whistle the green gram, carrot & cauliflower by adding little water.
• Drain the water completely from the cooked green gram
• In a kadai, add oil. When oil is hot add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add onion & green chillis.
  
• Fry the onions, until it becomes golden brown.
• Add capsicum & dice for a minute or 2.
• Now add the drained green gram & the vegetables. Add salt & cook for a minute.
• Finally add the lemon juice & garnesh it with coriander leaves.
• Palya is ready to be served. Have it as a side dish for rice or roti.

Tips: The drained water from the cooked vegetables can be used for preparing rasam or can be added while preparing soups.

Forgot to mention, I got another lovely award from my friend & a fellow blogger Sukanya. Thanks a lot for giving me this award.


I'm sending this simple & healthier recipe to Veda(Iyengar's Kitchen), who is hosting the Challenge event. Here is a small contribution from my side :)

Godi Shira (Wheat flour sweet dish)

The credit for this recipe should also go to my co-sister (and her granny). I had been to her paternal grand mother's place (Tyagali near Sirsi) and had this dish for the first time. Her granny had prepared this dish herself with all her love and care. So, it tasted divine and i wasted no time in asking her the recipe. After coming back home, i tried preparing it once; but couldn't quite impress people. I seeked my co-sister's help and learnt the nitty gritty of this dish.

Here is the secret recipe, especially for you folks:


Ingredients:
Wheat Flour 1 cup
Milk 2 cups
Ghee (Clarified Butter) 0.75 cup
Sugar 1.5 cups
Cashew

Method:

• Take a broad vessel;Add 1 tbsp of ghee
• When ghee is hot, add cashew nuts and fry till the cashew nuts turn golden brown; Keep aside only the fried cashew nuts
• Add wheat flour to the same vessel and fry till the raw smell of the wheat flour disappears (it changes its colour slightly, in the process)
• Allow it to cool.
• In another broad pan, boil the milk.
• When the milk starts boiling, simmer the flame and add the wheat flour to it
• Mix it properly so that no lumps are formed
• Cook it for a minute and add sugar to it.Keep stirring so as to hold the mixture together
• When the mixture starts sticking to the pan, add 2 tbsps of ghee with continuous stirring
  
• Repeat the above step until the ghee is finished or the mixture doesn't stick to the pan
  

As you can see, the method is quite similar to the rava (semolina) kesari bath, except for the addition of the ghee, in the end.

Sutta badane hashi (Smoked Brinjal Raitha)

There are umpteen dishes that could be prepared with smoked brinjal (sutta badane). Some of them being, baigan bartha, sutta badanekayi bajji etc. Here is one more interesting recipe using smoked brinjal.

To prepare this, I usually prefer Udupi Gulla (one of the brinjal varieties), but after leaving India, there was hardly any chance of getting it. So, I started preparing this with any kind of brinjal available. To know more about Udupi gulla, see this & also this.

This is easy to cook, yet tastier side dish for rice, pulav or chapathi/roti. As said by one of my friend, it tastes great with ragi mudde (finger millet balls) too :))



Ingredients:

1 brinjal
1-2 green chillies
2 tbsp grated coconut
1/2 cup curd/yogurt
1 tsp chopped cliantro/coriander leaves
salt according to taste

For tempering:
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2-3 curry leaves

Preparation:

• Wash & dry the brinjal. Smear a little oil throughout to the brinjal.
• Cook this brinjal over hot charcoal or gas flame or in a microwave for 3-5 minutes (The brinjal looks burnt from outside, but need not worry)
• Now, remove the outer skin of the brinjal & mash it thoroughly.
• Make a paste of grated coconut & green chilli using little water.
• Add this paste & salt to the mashed brinjal.
• Also, add curd to this.
• Prepare the tempering/oggarane. In a seperate pan, add oil, when oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves & add this tadka to the brinjal mixture.
• Garnish it with coriander. Sutta badane hashi is ready.

Note: Serve this hashi after 10 mins, as the sutta badane absorbs the curd & the coconut mixture. As said before, it goes well as a side dish for rice or can even be consumed as a raitha for any pulav prepared.

Balekayi dose (Raw banana dosa)

A different & a tasty dosa that can be prepared in minutes as it does not need fermentation.

Generally, most of us forget to plan for the next day breakfast & try to plan for something only after finishing the dinner. Am I not right? So, here is one such recipe that comes handy & is a very easy preparation. I'm sure ladies(also for guys who love to cook :)), all of us will be benefited with this one :)

Here are the very minimal ingredients for this dosa

1 cup raw rice (soaked in water for 3-4 hours)
1 cup balekayi (raw banana) with the outer skin lightly peeled
salt according to taste.

Method:

• Grind together the rice & the raw banana to form a smooth batter (very similar to normal dosa)
• Add salt according to taste & start preparing the dosas :)

Dosas become very crisp & thin.
Below is the dosa plate for you, it has dosa (ofcourse :-p), karibevu chutneypudi & sambar

Basale Tambli

I got red spinach (kempu basale) from NTUC today to cook basale tambli. They say, kempu basale is a very effective medicine for curing mouth ulcers.

This tambli can be prepared using normal basale(malabar spinach) also. Tambli turned out very tasty, unfortunate that I had cold, I had to restrict myself from eating. My husband enjoyed this tambli. He even drank it after finishing the dinner ;)

Let's see the recipe for this tambli.

Ingredients:

1/2 bunch of kempu basale finely chopped (use only the leaves & discard the stem)
1.5 tablespoons of grated coconut
1 medium sized onion chopped
1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
1.5 cups of curd/yogurt ( buttermilk can also be used for this)
1 green chilli
1 tsp oil

For tempering:
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp urad dal
a pinch of hing
1 red chilli

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan, when oil is hot, add jeera.
• When jeera becomes golden brown, add onions & saute for 45 secs. (Onions need not be sauted till golden brown)
• Add chopped basale(spinach) leaves to it & saute for 2 mins. No need to cook the leaves completely by adding water. Saute till the leaves become soft. Allow it cool.
• Make a paste of the spinach leaves (together with onion & jeera), coconut, green chilli by adding buttermilk/majjige/curd/yogurt
• Now add salt according to taste & add enough curd. The tambli should have the consistency of thick milkshake.
• Prepare the tadka/tempering. In a seperate pan, add oil, when oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add urad dal, red chilli, hing & add this tadka to the hashi prepared.
• Basale tambli is ready to be served.

Tamblis (various kinds) are consumed as an appetizer. If I try to recollect, festive food for the people from north canara, starts from tambli or appe huli & then followed by rasam/sambar.

Basale Hashi (Malabar spinach curry)

Was talking to my aunt on phone & asked her about the dishes that could be prepared using basale. I knew how to prepare basale hashi, basale sambar but nothing more. She told me couple of more recipes, will publish them as soon as I prepare. Not only the recipes, I got very useful information from her. We get a lot of red spinach (kempu basale) here in Singapore. I never bothered to get them, she told me that there are umpteen medicinal values with kempu basale & also that it is not so easily available in South Canara, Karnataka. She told me that it is called bayi basale soppu (Bayi is a kannada word & its literal translation is "mouth"). It is a very effective medicine for mouth ulcers & has a cooling effect on the body.

Now, some general information about this soppu (leaves). It is a sticky vegetable like okra(bhindi), but the leaves are not so very sticy when compared to stem. The stem along with the leaves are used for sambar preparation, but for hashi, saasime.., some people only add the leaves (just to avoid the stickiness). I see the quality of the stem, if it is quite tender, I just chop it finely & add the stem also for hashi (as stem also has medicinal values....and I have paid for the stem too ;))



Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 cup finey chopped basale soppu ( only leaves or both stem & leaves)
1/2 cup curd/yogurt/mosaru
2 tbsp grated coconut (fresh/frozen)
1 green chilli
1/2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp amchur powder/huli pudi
salt according to taste

For oggarane/tempering:
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp urad dal
a pinch of hing
1 red chilli

Method:

• Add the oil to a broad pan, when oil is hot, add the basale & fry them. Cook the basale in oil until soft (add very little water, if required).
• To remove the stickiness of the leaves, a little amchur powder & salt is added to the leaves while cooking.
• Make a fine paste of coconut & green chilli.
• Allow the basale to come down to normal room temperature & add the coconut paste, salt & curd. Mix them well.
• Prepare the tadka in a seperate pan, add oil, when oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add urad dal, red chilli, hing & add this tadka to the hashi prepared.
• Hashi is ready to be served. Tastes good with rice & rotti.

I had shared this recipe with my friend Lakshmi, she has published the recipe & a nice snap in her blog too.., you can see it here.