Balehannu chapathi | Banana Chapathi : Left over magic

 

Because of Singapore's weather, the shelf life of banana is very less. Within 3-4 days, the bananas get ripened & cannot be consumed. So.., what could be done to use this completely ripened bananas?? There are many recipes that take ripened banana as an ingredient like banana dosa, buns (Mangalore buns), mulka, appa. I'll post all the above mentioned recipes, but now, I'm publishing a different & a very easy recipe whose main ingredient is ripened banana.

If you are thinking that the chapathi/roti becomes sweet.., you are wrong. It doesn't become sweet, but will have flavor & aroma of banana. You can have it with any palya, gojju or curry.

This is again learnt from my co-sister & here it goes...............

Ingredients: (Makes about 20 chapathis)
2-3 ripened bananas (over ripened)
3 cups whole wheat floor | atta
2 tbsp sugar
a pinch of cardamom powder
salt according to taste.
ghee/oil for greasing

Method:

• Mash the bananas completely & add salt, sugar and cardamom powder to it.
• Keep adding the wheat flour to the mashed bananas & mix the wheat flour with the bananas.
• Dont add water at this stage, just mix the mashed bananas with the flour. 
• Add little water at a time to make a stiff dough. The banana will ooze out water, hence do not add too much water at a time. I'm stressing again, make a stiff dough. Once the dough rests for 30 mins, the dough will become soft.
• Set aside for 30 mins.
• Knead the dough again, and divide it into lemon sized balls.
• Dust the surface and roll out the chapathis using a rolling pin.
• Roast the chapathi on a medium-high heat on a hot griddle. Smear some ghee and roast the chapathis on both the sides until golden brown.
• Banana rotis, chapathis are ready to serve.
• Serve with any curry, palya, chutney of your choice.

Tondekayi gojju (Tendli curry)

This one is again a south canara specialty. This is a spicy & tangy curry that tastes great with dosas & idlis. You need very minimal ingredients for this & very simple preparation. Hope you enjoy preparing & eating this as much as me :)))



Ingredients:
15-20 tondekayi
1/2 coconut grated (fresh/frozen)
3-4 red chillies
1 pinch of khus-khus/gasagase
1 small ball of tamarind soaked in water
salt according to taste

For tadka/oggarane/tempering
1 big pod garlic (minced/finely chopped)
3-4 curry leaves
1-2 red chillies
1 tsp saasive/mustard seeds
Oil - 1.5 tsp

Method:

• Slit the tondekayi/tendli/dondagaya into half (Make 2-4 pieces from each tendli)
• Cook for 1 whistle in pressure cooked by adding little water or cook in microwave (high) for 5 minutes.
• Make a paste of coconut, tamarind, khus-khus, red chillies
• Heat oil in a broad kadai
• Add mustard seeds, garlic, curry leaves, red chillies
• Fry this mixture for a minute
• To this, add the coconut paste
• Allow the mixture to boil. Add salt.
• Put tondekayi to this boiling mixture and cook it for 2 more minutes
• The gojju is ready but serve it after 30-45 minutes so that the tondekayi absorbs the masala properly

Thondekayi-kadale palya & Spinach Paratha

This was our dinner tonight. This thondekayi-kadale palya is mainly cooked in South Canara. Most famous one is, thondekayi-godambi palya (English: Ivy Gourd-cashewnuts stirfry).
To help readers know better.., here goes the translation of tondekayi in various languages.
English: Ivy Gourd, Telugu: Dondakaya, Tamil: Kovakkai, Gujarathi: Tindora, Hindi: Kundru/Tendli.
Kannada : Kadale, English: chick peas, Hindi: Kabul Channa
Palya in Kannada means stirfry.

Without wasting your time, here goes the recipe of it..


Ingredients:
15-16 thondekayi
1 cup channa (soaked for 3 hours in warm water)
1/2 cup grated coconut (fresh/frozen)
2 red chillis
1 tablespoon dhania (coriander seeds)
1 teaspoon jeera (cumin seeds)
1 teaspoon amchur powder
1 small piece of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds/menthya.
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 pinch asafoetida
4-6 curry leaves

For garneshing:
cliantro/coriander leaves

Method:

• Cut the thondekayi into medium sized pieces (One thondekayi can be cut into 3 pieces approximately).
• Pressure cook the channa & tondekayi seperately.
• Dry roast the red chilli, jeera, coriander seeds, cinnamon, fengreek seeds seperately.
  
• Add coconut to the roasted spices & make a paste out of it.
• Drain out the water from cooked thondekayi and channa
  
• In a pan, add oil. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds, hing, curry leaves
• Add thondekayi,channa & salt to this.
  
• Now add the paste prepared & the amchur powder.
• Cook the whole for 2-4 mins & garnish with coriander leaves.
• Palya is ready to be served. It tastes great both with rice & with chapathi.
  

PS: If you want channa to absorb salt, then add salt while cooking channa. Also, amchur powder can be replaced with lemon juice.

Now is the recipe for spinach paratha. This is quite simple.

Blanch the spinach in hot water for 15 mins. Make a smooth paste of it. Mix this paste to the normal chapathi atta (Just like normal chapathi) & prepare parathas with it.

Here is the photo of both together waiting for me to consume ;))

I'm sending this plate to Aartee for the sapadu ready event.
Thanks for the nice event.

Hongone masoppu (Sessile Joyweed Curry)

My grandmom used to & even now prepare kajal (kannu kappu) with honagone soppu; according to her it is very good for eyes :))

Kannada :Hongone Soppu, English: Sessile Joyweed, Tamil: Ponnanganni Kerai (Courtesy Lakshmi)
I had got a big bunch of hongone soppu from the market last week & was wondering what could I prepare with so much of soppu. First day, I prepared palya(stir fry) with it & was wondering what else could be prepared. Later, thought of preparing sambar, but I had never prepared sambar with this or seen anybody preparing sambar. My mom & granny also used to prepare only palya. I have never seen my in-laws using this, so was in a confusion..., then the thing that struct me was masoppu (English translation: Masoppu means., masediro soppu => mashed greens).

I gave a try & the dish was sold out FDFS(First Day First Show) & was a super duper hit. I could not even take a picture of the masoppu prepared, nothing was left :((
Anyways, who needs the picture, what we all need is the right recipe..

Ingredients:

1. 1 bunch (washed & chopped) hongone soppu
2. 1 medium sized onion
3. 2-3 tomatoes (if the tomatoes are not sour, you may end up adding more !!)
4. 3 green chillies
5. 1 pod garlic (minced & finely chopped)
6. 2 tablespoons of Toor Dal
7. 2 cups water
8. Salt according to taste.
   

For tempering:

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1/2 pod garlic finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon jeera
• 3-4 curry leaves
• 1-2 red chillies

Method:

• Put all the ingredients from 1-7 in a cooker & pressure cook for 3 whistles
• Allow the cooked mixture to cool
• Once cool, put the mixture in a blender & just run the blender for 10-15 secs (It should not become a very smooth paste).
• Heat a pan, add oil. When oil is hot, add mustard & jeera to it. When seeds crackle, add garlic, chillies & curry leaves.
• To this add the mixture(from the blender), add salt according to taste & boil for 5 mins.
• Hongone masoppu is ready, tastes great with rice & papad/chips.

I took a photo of my plate & here it is.., Next time, when I prepare, I'll put the photo of masoppu ;))

Bitter gourd Chips (Karela Chips)

Ingredients:
Bitter Gourd - 4-5
Rice Flour - 2 tbsp
Corn flour - 1 tbsp (corn starch)
Chilli Powder - According to taste
Salt - According to taste
Oil - For deep frying
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Method:

• Slice the bitter gourd & remove the hard seeds.
• Add salt, turmeric powder to the chopped bitter gourd
  
• Mix it well and keep it aside for a hour
• Squeeze out the water from karela completely
• Add rice flour, corn starch, chilli powder to the bittergourd slices and mix it well
• The mixture should form a coating on bittergourd
  
• Now, fry the slices in oil.The slices should be fried on a slow flame until they turn golden brown in color.
  
• Bittergourd chips are ready to serve

PS:Updated the photo on 12th Feb 2010.

Appe Huli (Raw Mango Rasam)

Appe huli is consumed as an appetizer in North Canara part of Karnataka, India. This is the first thing served with rice during festivals, celebrations in Sirsi. It will surely impress people who have affinity towards eating sour dishes like pickles, raw mango with salt & chilli powder, raw tamarind chutney etc. I just love eating this.., now don't ask me what is that I don't like ;)

As I mentioned before.., our family members are from various parts of Karnataka. Myself from Chikmagalur, my hubby from Udupi(South Canara), my co-sister is from Sirsi(North Canara), my sister's in-laws are from Belgaum..., so I get a chance to taste the wide range of Karnataka recipes, slurp, slurp... :))

The food prepared in North Canara (Sirsi, Siddapur side) is quite interesting & I must accept that my co-sister is an expert in that ( I don't get tired appreciating her culinary skills :) ). I learnt this one from her & here is my small effort to put North Canara recipes..,



Ingredients:
Raw Mango - 1 (Take a sour one)
Green chillies - 2
Garlic - 1 pod (minced & chopped finely)
4 curry leaves
salt according to taste.
2 cups water
1.5 teaspoons oil (I use coconut oil to this, as the aroma will be good & tastes authentic)
1 teaspoon jeera/cumin seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds

Method:

• Chop the mango & green chillies.
• Add 2 cups of water in a vessel & add mango & green chillies to it.
• Cook the same for 10mins or till mango is soft.
• Allow it to cool.
• Now, remove the skin of the cooked mango & mash the mango & chilli in the water cooked.
• Add salt according to taste & bring the water mixture to a boil.
• Heat oil in a tadka pan, when oil is hot, add mustard seeds & jeera. When seeds crackle, add garlic & curry leaves. Add this tadka to the water boiled.
  
• Appe huli is ready to serve.
  
• It tastes good with rice, pickle & papad.

I have a sample plate for you that has appe huli, rice, majjige menasu ( dried chilli in yogurt), bitterguard chips, butter-milk (majjige), pickles.., Aren't you hungry after seeing this????

Pongal

Has anybody tasted pongal prepared in Karnataka restaurants, especially in Sagars, Nalpaks etc?? I just love the way they prepare. It will be semisolid (consistency of bisibele bath) in state & tastes heaven!!

But whenever I tried preparing, it wouldn't become that yummy. So, I got tips from a resturant owner :))) ( My hubby's grandfather was running a hotel business for almost 50 years & he, along with my father-in-law/mother-in-law keep sharing information on how to prepare dishes :)), lucky me, right?? ....).

Although I have made slight modifications to what was told, I give the complete credit of this recipe to them & ......me just posting on their behalf.

Ingredients:
1 cup rice (dont take basmati rice, just normal rice)
1 cup moong dal/hesaru bele
6-8 peppercorns
1 teaspoon pepper powder
1 tablespoon fresh coconut (grated or finely chopped)
1 green chilli
1 teaspoon ginger/shunti(grated)
1 teaspoon jeera/cumin seeds.
8 cashewnuts
4-6 curry leaves
1 tablespoon coriander leaves
salt according to taste
7 cups water
1 tablespoon ghee
1 tablespoon oil.

Method:

• Soak the rice for 30 mins.
• Dry roast the moong dal for a minute.
• Mix the moong dal, rice together, add 5 cups of water & pressure cook for 3-4 whistles.
• Heat a broad kadai, add ghee & oil to it.
• When oil is hot, add jeera. To this add, grated ginger, cashewnuts.
• Add green chilli & curry leaves after cashewnuts become golden brown.
• Add pepper corns & add remaining 2 cups of water to this kadai.
• Add salt, pepper powder. When starts to boil, add the cooked moong dal, rice mixture. Add small amounts at a time, ensure no rice lumps are formed.
• Mix the whole & add coconut & coriander leaves.
• Cook the same in a slow flame for 5 mins.
• Pongal is ready to serve, serve it with raitha, coconut chutney or imli chutney.

(PS: The recipe for stuffed chilli can be found here)

Hope you relish this as much as I do ;)