Upsaaru Recipe | Three-in-one dill leaves recipe: A Mandya/Mysore Speciality

.........a very elaborate recipe made easy using step-by-step pictorial.

Upsaaru & Mudde is a staple food of farmers of Karnataka, especially Mysore/Mandya region. Though my mom used to make mudde very frequently, I did not know about upsaru until I moved to Mandya. I tried masoppu & upsaru for the first time at Mandya. My mom used to make something similar to upsaaru. She called it bassaru, meaning basida saru . The literal meaning of basida saaru is "drained water" or "vegetable stock rasam/soup".

Preparation Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:
Sabsige soppu: 2 cups (finely chopped)

Pigeon peas | Toor dal: 3/4 cup

Green gram | Green moong | Hesaru kalu: 2-3tbsp
Turmerice powder: 1/4 tsp
Salt: As needed

For chutney or khara or hasi khara:
Coriander leaves: 2 cups
Green chillies: 15-20, yes we want the chutney to be very spicy!!
Tamarind: small marble sized
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Pepper Corns: 6-8 nos
Garlic: 1 lobe (12-14 pods)
Salt:According to taste
Cooked dal + dill leaves: About 1-2 tbsp

For palya or poriyal or side dish:
Onion: 2 nos (finely chopped)
Oil: 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 6-8 nos, torn
Salt: As needed

Notes:
Important:The khara/chutney has to be made "spicy" as the other things are relatively bland & less spicy!!!
It is important to cook the dal completely & yet keep the dals firm & seperate. You do not want a mushy dal or mashed dal for this recipe.
If you cannot find dill leaves, use greens like spinach,  or amaranth leaves.
Other legumes like black eyed peas could be used too.
If you want the palya/stir fry spicy, add some green chillies to the tempering. I do not add as we don't like it spicy!
The palya tastes good with rotis too.
The above mentioned ingredients are eye balled. Use this as a reference to create yours.
The shelf life of the chutney is about couple of days (refrigerated!)
My friend Kannada Cuisine has a similar recipe named sapneeru. Do visit her space for the recipe.

Method:
Wash the toor dal & green gram in the running water thoroughly. Add about 4-5 cups of water to the dal & boil the dal in a broad sauce pan. Add the turmeric too.
When dal is 1/2 done add sapsige soppu, salt & cook until dals are cooked & yet firm. Keep adding water if you find the dal very thick. You might need another couple of cups of water.

Drain the water using a colander & save the drained water. We will make a rasam/saru using the drained water.

For the palya/stir-fry:

Add oil to a broad sauce pan. Once the oil is hot, throw in the mustard & cumin seeds. When seeds crackle, add the curry leaves. When leaves wilt, throw in the finely chopped onions & saute till the onions turn translucent.
When the onions are cooked, add the dal + dill leaves mixture(reserve about 2-3 tbsp for the chutney) to the sauce pan. Add some salt & give it a mix. Turn off the heat & your palya/stir fry is ready.

For the khara/chutney:

Soak tamarind in about 2tbsp hot water for 5 mins. Squeeze out the pulp & discard the fiber from the tamarind.
Grill a lobe of garlic along with the skin of the garlic on the stove top or in the oven. I grill it directly on the stove. It will be messy, but that's perfectly alright. When garlic is grilled, move it away & allow it to cool.
When garlic is cooled, peel the skin of the garlic & throw it in the food processor. Add the washed coriander leaves, green chillies, tamarind extract, cumin seeds, salt, pepper corns to the food processor jar. Add couple of tablespoons of water (if needed) & grind a smooth paste out of it. Add about 2-3 tbsp of dill leaves + dal mixture to the paste & pulse again. Scoop out the chutney in a separate bowl.

For the rasam/kattu/saaru:
Add about a tbsp of khara/chutney prepared to the drained water (stocking) & mix. Adjust the salt (if needed) & boil it. Rasam/saaru is ready.

How to serve: 
Add a portion of rice or mudde (ragi balls) to a plate. Pour in about 1/4 cup of saaru, serve few tablespoons of palya/stir fry at the side along with a tsp or more of chutney. The idea of this upsaaru is to have a very spicy khara/chutney & adjust the spice level of the rasam according to each & every one's preference.

Bele saaru | Toor dal rasam | Pigeon peas Soup: Karnataka Recipes

Wishing all my readers a very happy 2014!

Let me update you guys about our weight loss. As promised to myself, I did not cook any deep fried dishes for the month of December. We did eat junk food once a while at parties, but tried to avoid it as much as possible. We limited our intake of cakes & other desserts too. Without any exercise & eating healthy, we both could reduce about 4+ pounds. We are happy with the results & would plan to continue doing it.

Back to the recipe.I have spoken a lot about my in-law's side cooking & I have learnt a lot from them. However, there are many classic recipes from my mom's side that I miss terribly. This bele saaru is one of them. I'm making this rasam frequently these days. Looks like it is time I visit my mom's place :)

This is how my mom prepares bele saaru or rasam.



(I served rasam with rosematta rice & zucchini palya/stirfry)

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Serves: 3-4


Ingredients:
Toor dal | Pigeon peas | Thogari bele: 1/2 cup
Tomatoes: 2 nos, medium sized
Grated coconut: 2 tsp, fresh or frozen
Coriander leaves: 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Rasam powder/saarina pudi: 2 tsp, refer notes
Tamarind paste: 1/2 tsp (refer notes)
Jaggery/Brown sugar/bella: 1 tsp
Salt: As needed
Asafoetida: a big pinch
Turmeric powder: a big pinch

For the tempering:
Ghee/Clarified butter/Cooking oil: 2 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 3-4 nos, torn
Asafoetida: a pinch
Method:
Wash the pigeon peas, cut the tomato in half.
Add about 1.5 cups of water to the washed pigeon peas. Throw in the cut tomato to the pigeon peas. Add the turmeric to it & pressure cook the pigeon peas & tomatoes for 3-4 whistles. Let the cooker cool.


Once the pressure is released from the cooker, take out the cooked peas.


Mash the tomatoes & pigeon peas thoroughly. (refer notes)
Pour the mashed dal to a sauce pan. Adjust the consistency (Add about a cup or more of water!). Add the rasam powder, salt, tamarind paste, brown sugar, asafoetida, coriander leaves & coconut to the mashed dal. Boil it on medium heat for 15 mins.

 
Remove from the heat.
Heat ghee/oil in a small pan. When ghee is hot, throw in the mustard seeds. When seeds splatter, add the curry leaves. When leaves wilt, turn off the heat & add the asafoetida. Pour the tempering over the prepared saaru/rasam & cover the rasam with a lid immediately. Let it sit for 5 mins. The tempering will infuse a nice flavor to the rasam.
Serve the rasam/saaru hot with steamed rice & fritters (or some vegetable side dish like palya).


Notes:

• If the tomatoes are sour, you might need less tamarind paste. Adjust the tamarind paste accordingly.
• If you do not like the skin of the tomatoes in the rasam, you could mash the tomatoes separately & strain them.
• You could use store bought rasam powder. MTR rasam powder works best!

Mustard greens with lentils/mustard greens dal

Mustard greens are a tad bitter & I used to mix them with spinach to make palya/stir fry or saag/curry. Mustard greens are rich in Vitamins & very low in calories. They have the properties to detox our body & prevent cancer. I used to get these greens easily at Singapore & after moving back to Bangalore, I could not find it. Now, after moving here, I get these greens in abundance. This time made a dal/thovve types with mustard greens & my family loved it.

Preparation time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 30-40mins

Serves: 3 people

Ingredients:

For cooking the lentils:

Toor dal/Pigeon peas/Arhar dal/Thogaribele: 1 cup, washed

Turmeric: a big pinch
Salt: 1/2 tsp

For tempering 1:

Oil: 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp

Onion: 1 no, finely chopped

Green chillies: 3 nos, finely chopped

Tomato: 1 no, (optional)

Mustard greens: 3 leaves, yielded around 2 cups of chopped greens.

Coriander powder: 1 tsp

Turmeric powder/Haldi: 1/8th tsp
Salt: Adjust to taste

For tempering 2:
Ghee/Clarified butter: 2 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Asafoetida: 1/8th tsp or a big pinch

Before serving:
Lemon juice: 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves/Cilantro: 1 tbsp finely chopped

Method:

• Wash the toor dal 3-4 times in water. Add 2 cups of water, turmeric, salt & cook in a pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles.  Let it cool.
• Meantime, wash the greens, tomato. Finely chop the greens & dice the tomato.
• Heat oil in broad pan. When oil is hot, add cumin seeds. When seeds turn brown, add green chillies followed by onion. Saute till the onions are translucent.
• Add the tomatoes, salt, turmeric, coriander powder & saute till the tomatoes are soft.
• Throw in the finely chopped greens & cook till the leaves are tender(Around 4-6 mins).
• Mash the cooked dal & pour the dal to the greens mixture. Add 1/2 cup of water & adjust the salt.
• Cook the mixture on a medium heat for another 10-12 mins. Turn off the heat.
• Prepare the tempering. Add ghee to a small pan, when ghee is hot add cumin seeds. When seeds turn brown turn off the heat & add asafoetida. Pour the tempering over the dal prepared & cover it. Do not disturb for 2-3 mins, let the flavors soak in. 
• Just before serving, add lemon juice, coriander leaves & mix well. Serve it with rice or roti.

Notes:
Addition of garlic could add a nice twist to this dal.
Since the mustard leaves are a tad bitter, it is better to add lemon juice at the end.
Toor dal could be replaced with split green gram/moong dal or mixture of 2-3 dals. 

Menthyada hittu/ Fenugreek seeds powder

Though this powder is a tad bitter, it tastes too delicious that the bitterness goes unnoticed. This powder is made with lentils & is rich in proteins.It is considered beneficial during both pregnancy & post pregnancy. None the less, you can include it as part your daily intake too. The shelf life of this powder is 2-3 months (without refrigeration). Preparing this one is like, putting the effort one time & reaping the benefits many a times :)

I have been waiting to put up this recipe from the last year or so. I have told this recipe to a dozen of my friends & most of them have been making this powder since then. My son & hubby can happily finish their dinner/lunch with this powder, rice & ghee.

Ingredients: (For about 3 cups of powder/hittu).
Toor dal: 1 cup
Channa dal/Gram dal: 1 cup
Moong dal: 1 cup
Urad dal: 1 cup
Coriander seeds/dhaniya: 2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds: 2 tsp
Dried red chillies: 4-5 nos(non spicy chillies like Kashmiri or byadgi chillies)
Asafoetida: a big pinch
Turmeric: A big pinch
Salt: 1/2 tsp

Method:

• Dry roast the toor dal, channa dal, moong dal, urad dal, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds seperately. The dals should slightly change the color & leave out the aroma. 
• Dry roast the chillies at the end & allow the lentils/dals to cool. 
• Once the dals are completely cooled, mix them & make a fine powder of the dals & chillies together. Use a spice blending jar to make the job easier.
• Add turmeric, asafoetida, salt to the powder. Mix well & allow the powder to cool for an hour. 
• Store in air tight container & enjoy whenever needed or daily!

(Serving suggestion: For a cup of cooked steaming hot rice, add a tbsp of this powder, a tsp of ghee & salt (according to your taste). Mix well & enjoy the rice)


Notes:

1. For this recipe alone, I have used a smaller cup. 1 cup holds 100 ml of water.

Tomato pappu/Tomato dal

Here is an Andhra dal/pappu recipe. I tried this from amma cheppindi blog. Made very few changes to the original one. The highlight of this pappu/dal is the addition of rasam powder to the dal!!

Here goes my version of the same.

Ingredients: (Serves 3-4)

Toor dal/thogari bele/split pigeon peas: 1 cup

Turmeric: 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida: a pinch
Red chili powder: 1/2 tsp
Rasam powder: 1/2 tsp (Original recipe called for MTR rasam powder, I used home made)
Salt: According to taste
Water: As needed

Coriander leaves: 1 tbsp, finely chopped (for garnish)

For tempering:

Oil: 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
Garlic: 2 pods, minced
Curry leaves: a string or 6-8 nos
Red chili: 2 nos, broken
Tomatoes: 2 nos, medium sized

Method:

• Wash the toor dal thoroughly & add water, turmeric & asafoetida to it. Cook the toor dal in a pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles. Allow it to cool.
• Meantime, heat oil in a broad pan. Add mustard & cumin seeds. When seeds splutter, add curry leaves, red chili & garlic. Saute till the garlic turns golden brown.
• Add the tomatoes. Mix in the rasam powder, red chili powder & cook the tomatoes till they are soft.
• Mash the dal/lentils gently with the back of a spatula or a masher. 
• Add the mashed lentil to the tomatoes. 
• Add the salt & 1/2 cup of water (adjust accordingly). 
• Allow the dal to boil. Once the dal starts boiling, turn off the heat. 
• Garnish it with coriander leaves & serve them hot with rice.

Notes:

• The highlight of this dal is the usage of rasam powder. Hence, do not try to skip it.
• For a tangier dal, add 1-2 tsp of lemon juice at the end.

Muddi palya /Mudda bhaji (Mashed lentils & greens)

This is a North Karnataka specialty. A very healthy, low fat dish that goes well both with rice & rotis. When I prepared this, I was not very sure if my hubby would like this.But, he thoroughly enjoyed eating it.

I am happy that I have made one more good friend here. She is from North Karnataka & this recipe is from her. I have noted down many North Karnataka dishes from her & you all know what to expect from my coming posts :)
We not only exchange recipes, we exchange good food too. Last week I got a box full of piping hot stuffed mirchi bhajji (stuffed green chili fritters). It was amazing !

Now, back to today's dish.

Serves: 3-4
Preparation time: 15mins
Cooking time: 45mins

Ingredients:
Spinach or any other greens like amaranth leaves: 1 small bunch (around 150gms)
Toor dal/Pigeon peas: 3/4 cup
Brinjal: 1 medium sized (I normally use Chinese eggplant)
Tomato: 1 medium sized
Onion: 1 medium sized
Garlic: 1 pod
Green chillies: 3-4 nos
Any spice powder: 1 tsp (like rasam powder or sambar powder. I use sambar powder)
Tamarind extract: 1.5 tsp
Salt: According to taste
Turmeric: a big pinch
Oil: 2 drops
Water: Around 4 cups

Muddi palya tempering:
Oil: 1 tbsp
Garlic: 3 pods (sliced)
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Curry leaves: 6 nos
Dry red chili: 1 no

Rasam/Soup tempering:
Oil: 1 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida: a pinch
Curry leaves: 3-4nos

Method:

• Wash the lentils thoroughly & keep them to boil in a large sauce pan (add around 2 cups of water to it).
• Add the oil, turmeric to the lentils & let them cook on a medium flame.
• Meantime, wash the eggplant, greens, tomato. Coarsely chop the greens, eggplant, tomato & onion.Crush the garlic & keep it aside. 
• When the lentils are 3/4th cooked (press the lentil gently between your fingers. If lentils are soft to press then they are cooked), add the spinach, tomato, brinjal, onion & crushed garlic. Add another 2 or more cups of water. Cook for another 5-7mins on a medium flame till the vegetables are soft.

• Add the spice powder, tamarind paste, salt & cook for another 3-4mins.
• Turn off the heat & pass the cooked vegetables + lentils through a colander (Drain out the water). Preserve this drained stock to make a tasty rasam/soup. 
• Immediately take out the veggies + lentils & mash them as much as possible (Remember to do this while the mixture is hot). 
• Now you have 2 parts, mashed lentils + greens & drained stock.

For rasam:

• Using the drained stock, proceed to make the rasam. Adjust the seasoning to the stock.
• Prepare the tempering. Heat oil. Add the mustard seeds to the oil. When seeds splutter, add curry leaves, asafoetida & turn off the heat. Pour this tempering to the seasoned stock & mix well. Nutritious rasam is ready. Serve it hot with rice.

For muddi palya:

• Prepare the tempering. Heat oil. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When seeds splutter, add garlic & curry leaves. When garlic turns golden brown, add broken red chili & turn off the heat. Pour this tempering over the  muddi palya. Mix well & serve it hot with rice or roti.

      (Thali/Lunch plate, Clockwise L-R, muddi palya, rasam, plain yogurt/curd, papad, steamed rice, chapathi/roti. ) 


Notes:

• If you are "no" to garlic & onion, you could omit it. I have made this without the garlic & onion. It tastes good either ways. 
• Many greens like amaranth leaves, methi (fenugreek leaves), sharp spinach, round spinach could be used to make this.
• It is very essential to mash the vegetables & lentils while they are still hot. No need to mash it in the blender. Just a rough mash using your masher should do the work. Also, take care not to make a paste out of it. Refer the picture to see how much to mash them. 
• If the lentils are not properly cooked, this dish do not turn good. Hence cook the lentils well. 

Amma's Palak Thovve Recipe | Karnataka Style Spinach Dal | Indian Spinach & Lentils Curry

This is my mom's (amma's) signature dish. Whenever we asked for dal to go with roti/chapathi, she used to make this dal, but with different vegetable each time! We all as kids loved eating them & even now love it! Now it is my son's favorite too.

                                                          (Served with ragi-jowar rotti)


Ingredients:

1 cup toor dal/thogari bele
3 cups roughly chopped spinach 

salt according to taste
a small pinch of turmeric powder
2 tsp lemon juice


For the tempering:
a generous pinch of turmeric
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
4 curry leaves
a pinch of asafoetida
1 dry red chilli, broken

For the spice paste:
4 green chillies
2 tbsp grated coconut (fresh or frozen)
1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
3 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves

Method:

• Add a pinch of turmeric powder to the dal. Pressure cook the dal & spinach by adding sufficient water (I added around 2.5 cups of water) for 2-3 whistles. Allow it to cool.
• Meantime, make a fine paste of the items mentioned for the spice paste. 
• Take a broad pan, add oil to the pan. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add dry red chilli. Add asafoetida & curry leaves. Add the spice paste & mix well.
• Gently mash the cooked lentils & spinach. Pour in the mashed lentils. Add the turmeric powder & adjust the salt. 
• Let the mixture boil on a medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
• Turn off the heat, add lemon juice. Mix well & serve it with roti or rice. 

Bisi bele Bath Recipe

Well..I must say that I love this dish..I can eat it in mornings, eat it for lunch, eat it as evening snacks or eat during supper !!! Though preparing this takes more time than average, it is worthwhile...There are many versions of this bath and what I am going to share with you is the version, without onions and garlic...I will post my mom-in-law's version of bisibele bath soon

Here we go:

Ingredients:
Rice - 1 cup
Pigeon pea dal / Toor Dal - 1 cup - use the same cup what you used above :)
Mixed Vegetables - 1 cup (Carrot, beans, green peas, potatoes)
Tomato - 1
Tamarind - 1 (small lemon size)
Jaggery - According to taste
Salt - According to taste
Homemade bisi bele bath powder: About 1/4th cup

Ingredients for tempering (Tadka):
Ground Nuts - 1 table spoon
Cashew Nuts - 4-6
Ghee - 2 table spoons
Red Chilly - 1
Curry Leaves
Mustard Seeds
Asafoetida
Bell peppers/capsicum - 1 finely chopped (Optional)

Method:

For main dish:

Wash toor dal and cook it in pressure cooker with 2 cups of water for 4-5 whistles. You could cook the toor dal & vegetables together. 

 Cook the rice separately.

 In a pan, add water and tomatoes; cook until tomato is soft. 
To this, add tamarind water, jaggery, salt.

Add the bisi bele bath powder and the cooked vegetables and the dal. 

Keep it in a slow flame and boil it for 5 minutes until the flavors blend well. 
To this, add the cooked rice slowly. Keep mixing the rice in between to ensure there are no lumps. 

Add enough water to make it semi-solid
Cook the mixture in a slow flame for 10-15 minutes (Keep the flame very slow as all the ingredients are already well-cooked).

For tempering:

• Add ghee to a kadai
• When the ghee is hot, add mustard seeds
• After the mustard seeds crackle, add asafoetida
• Add ground nuts and cashewnuts
• Fry till these becomes golden in color
• Add bell peppers and fry for a while
• Add curry leaves and red chiily (cut into 2 pieces)

Add this tempering to the main dish. 

The bisibele bath is ready to serve. Serve it hot with khara boondi / paapad / chips.

Congrats if you have come this far..I had warned you beforehand that the procedure is lengthy...anyways, the taste of the bath just makes you forget all the effort you have put...everytime, i just love to see my hubby and my son's expressions when they take their first bite of this :)

Also, this can be stored & used for 1 or 2 days. The best part of this recipe is..., it tastes better the next day!!

Notes:
I use MTR bisi bele bath powder whenever I am in no mood to prepare the powder at home. I am in no way affiliated with MTR.