Balehannu Rasayana | Vegan Banana Dessert : Beginner Series

A very simple, no cook & easy to whip vegan banana Indian dessert! One more good example for "less is more". There are many versions of this simple banana dessert. This is one of the neivedyam/prasadam recipes. 

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: Nil

Ingredients:

• Ripened & Firm Bananas*: 3 nos (refer notes)
• Jaggery/Brown sugar: 3 tbsp
• Fresh grated coconut: 3 tbsp, fresh or frozen
• Cardamom: 1 no
• Chopped nuts: 1 tbsp (I used almonds, cashews & raisins)

Method:
Peel the bananas & dice them.

Add the jaggery, coconut, peeled cardamom to a food processor/blender. Add couple of tablespoons of water & make a smooth paste.
Scoop them out on the diced bananas.

Throw in the chopped nuts, mix well & let it sit for 15-20 mins for the flavors to blend well.
Serve it cold or at room temperature & dig in!

Notes:

• Do not use over ripened bananas. 
• The color of this dessert depends on the jaggery color. Use a lighter version of jaggery to get a lighter color. I have used the dark colored jaggery in this.

Ambode | Masala Vade | Dill leaves and Chana dal Fritters

Wishing all Savi-Ruchi readers a very happy and a joyous Navaratri. 

Was craving for ambode (also known as chattambade) with dill leaves from many months. Hence, made them couple of weeks before with Majjige Huli & relished it thoroughly!

Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Soaking Time: 2-3 hours

Ingredients: (Makes 20-22 vadas)

• Gram dal/Channa dal/Kadale bele: 3/4 cup
• Skinned black dal/Urad dal/uddina bele: 2 tsp, optional
• Ginger: 1 inch piece
• Green chillies: 5 nos
• Onion: 1 medium sized
• Dill leaves: 1 cup, finely chopped & loosely packed (refer notes)
• Rice flour: 2 tbsp
• Salt: As needed
• Oil: For deep frying

Method:
Wash the channa dal & urad dal together. Soak it for 2-3 hours in sufficient water.
Drain the water from the dal/lentils.
Wash the dill leaves & finely chop them. 
Add the ginger, green chillies to the drained lentils. Throw it in the food processor & make a coarse paste out of them(Do not add any water).
Scoop out the coarse paste. 
Add the dill leaves, onion, rice flour, and salt to the coarse lentils paste. Mix it thoroughly. The consistency should be like a patty. 
Heat sufficient oil in a broad pan/kadai.
Prepare lime sized balls out of the paste. Pat them gently (just like a patty for burgers) using the fingers on a greased aluminum foil/butter paper/plastic sheet.
When oil is hot(check notes), remove the patties carefully from the foil & slide them in oil. 
Cook it on a medium heat until golden brown on both the sides. Drain it on a paper towel & repeat the procedure with the remaining dough balls. 
Serve it warm as a starter with chutney or with rice & a side dish.

Notes:

• I'm repeating it again, just in case! Make a coarse paste out of the lentils without adding any water. The moisture in the lentils would be sufficient.
• To check the readiness of the oil, drop a small ball of dough (say around the size of the lemon seed). If the dough ball floats in a couple of seconds, the oil is hot enough to drop in the patties.
• Dill leaves could be replaced with coriander leaves. 
• It is essential to cook the vada on a medium heat to ensure proper cooking of the lentils. 

Sambandha | Indian Mixed Vegetable Medley: Karnataka Recipes

Weather is getting colder as days are passing. I am all excited to watch my first snow & at the same time a bit scared too. Currently enjoying the fall to the fullest. My throat keeps itching for something hot/warm these days. The last couple of months, I have literally stopped making the amazing tambuli. Hence for a change on a warmer day, I made this sambandha/gojju/bajji. It is a great side dish for boiled rice.

The literal meaning of sambandha (in Kannada) is relationship. I don't know how this dish got the name "Sambandha". Is it because, it binds many vegetables together :p You could add any vegetable to this dish & it always turns yummy!

Pardon the poor images. Will try to get better pictures next time!

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins

Recipe Source: Mother-in-law.
Ingredients: (For around 3 cups of the gojju)
Vegetables used:

• 2 inch zucchini
• 1 tomato
• 2 inch ridge gourd ( no need to peel the skin)
• 2 tbsp chow chow
• a fistful spinach leaves
• 1/4th medium carrot
• 1/2 potato, peeled
• 1 small piece of red pepper/capsicum
• 4 green chillies
• 5 nos of curry leaves
• 1 tbsp coriander leaves
• Salt: 1 tsp, more or less
• Turmeric powder: a big pinch
• Tamarind extract: 1 tsp, thick
• Jaggery: 1 tsp
• Asafoetida: a big pinch.
• Grated coconut: 3 tbsp, fresh or frozen
• Water: 1 cup, more or less

Method:

Dice all the vegetables. Add water & turmeric powder to the vegetables. Cook it on a medium-high heat uncovered until all the vegetables are soft. (Takes about 10 mins).
Add salt, tamarind extract, jaggery, asafoetida, to the cooked vegetables & continue boiling the vegetables for another 5 minutes on low-medium heat.Finally add the grated coconut & turn off the heat.
Allow the vegetables to come to room temperature.
Once cool, make a coarse paste of the cooked vegetables. Scoop it out & serve!

Notes:

• Any quick cooking vegetable could be added to make this dish. Some other options would be brinjal, ivy gourd, broccoli, any squash, green apple etc.
• Do not add onion, ginger or garlic to this as these will over power the flavor of this gojju!

Oats Guliappa | Gundponglu | Paniyaram | Paddu

Couple of months before during grocery shopping, I got 5 pounds of quick cooking oats. Now, I'm finding ways to finish them! I made this oats guliappa on a weekend brunch & my family loved it. From then on, it is a regular tiffin box/lunch box item at our place. I plan to make it at least once a fortnight!

Other paddu/guliappa recipes:
Cucumber guliappa
Boiled rice gundponglu
Lentil paddu
Rice flakes paddu

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: Around 20 mins
Soaking Time: An hour

Ingredients: (Makes around 40 paddu/guliappa)

• Quick cooking oats: 1.5 cups
• Rava/Semolina/Cream of Wheat : 1/2 cup
• Rice flour: 3/4 cup
• Curd/Yogurt: 1 cup
• Water: Around 1.5 to 2 cups
• Onion: 1 medium sized, finely chopped
• Grated ginger: 1 tsp
• Finely chopped corinader leaves: 2 tbsp
• Baking soda: a pinch, optional
• Salt: 1 tsp, adjust according to your family needs

Method:
Dry roast the oats until till slightly changes its color. Allow it to cool.
Dry roast the semolina too & let it cool.
Mix in the semolina, oats, rice flour & salt.
Pour in the curd & one cup of water . Mix well. Adjust the consistency.
Let it sit for an hour or more. The semolina & oats would have absorbed most of the water & would have become thick.
Just before making the paddu/paniyaram, add the finely chopped onion, ginger, and coriander leaves. Pour in half or 1 cup of more water to adjust the consistency (it should be like a thick milkshake). Stir-in a pinch of soda, if needed.
Heat the aebleskiver pan. When hot, spray little cooking oil & scoop out around 2 tbsp of batter to each mould. Cook on low-medium heat on both the sides for a minute each. 
Repeat it with the remaining batter.
Serve it hot with a chutney/dip/sauce of your choice.

Notes:

• Always use quick cooking or instant oats to make this. 
• Finely chopped vegetables could be added to make it more healthy.
• I have tried making it without adding baking soda too. It tastes fine.

Kadlekalu Guggri / Indian Spiced Chickpeas

I always associate Swarna Gowri pooja & Ganesh Chaturthi with this Indian Chickpeas. At my mom's place, pooja celebrations begin a week before. My mom makes varieties of murukku, kodubale, kara sev, karigadubu, besan unde, modaka. Every year the neivedyam that is made on the Gowri pooja evening is kadlekalu guggri. My mom makes this in the large pressure cooker. She always invites at least 10 ladies for the arishina/kumkuma (haldi/kumkum). She would give this as a prasad/offering to all the ladies & to the kids who accompany them. I am being nostalgic now!! Wish I could go back in time.

To continue with the tradition, I celebrated Gowri Vrata here and prepared the same kadlekalu guggri as neivedyam :)

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Soaking Time: 8-10 hours

Ingredients: (Serves 2-3)

• Dry Black chickpeas/kadlekalu: 1 cup
• Salt: As needed

For tempering:

• Oil: 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
• Green chillies: 3 nos
• Curry leaves: 6 nos, finely chopped

For the garnish:

• Fresh grated coconut: 2-3 tbsp

Method:
Wash the chickpeas 2-3 times & soak in water over night. The dry chickpeas will double in size overnight.
Wash the soaked chickpeas. Add sufficient water & pressure cook the chickpeas for 2-3 whistles. Allow it to cool.
Meantime slit the green chillies.
Drain the water from the cooked chickpeas. 
Heat oil in a broad pan. When oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. Follow it by curry leaves & green chillies. 
Pour in the drained & cooked chickpeas. Add the salt & cook it on a low-medium heat for 3-5 mins. Let the chickpea absorb the salt.
Turn off the heat. Garnish it with fresh grated coconut.
Mix well & serve. 

Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes with Butter cream Frosting

I have been baking cakes since long but never dared to post a recipe! I have always felt that there is so much more to learn & kept on postponing. After making dozens of cakes, now I feel confident about my baking skills. So here I am with with my first cupcake recipe with butter cream frosting !!

I baked 40 cupcakes for my son's birthday last week. He took 26 cupcakes to school & remaining I gave to his friends at our apartment. Made two batches of chocolate & a single batch of vanilla cupcakes.

Pardon me for the poor cupcake decoration...

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Baking Time: 20 mins

Recipe source for the cupcakes: Cookcurrynook

Ingredients: (Yields around 13-14 cupcakes)
For vanilla cupcakes:

• All-Purpose flour/Maida : 1 & 1/2 cups
• Yogurt/Curd: 1 cup
• Sugar: 3/4th cup
• Cooking Oil: 1/2 cup (I used sunflower oil)
• Baking soda: 1/2 tsp
• Baking powder: 1 & 1/4 tsp
• Vanilla extract: 2 tsp

For vanilla flavored butter cream frosting:

• Butter: 1 cup
• Confectioners sugar/powdered sugar: 3 cups
• Yellow food color: 3 drops
• Vanilla extract: 2 tsp
• Milk: 1-2 tbsp

Other ingredients:
Rainbow sprinkles

** All the measurements mentioned above are leveled & not heaped!

Method:
For the cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 400F/200C for 10 mins. Grease the cupcake moulds with butter or place cupcake liners.
In a large bowl, mix the yogurt & sugar until the sugar dissolves completely.

Add the baking soda & baking powder to the yogurt mixture

Mix the baking soda & baking powder. Keep it aside for 5 mins. The yogurt mixture will turn frothy & will slightly increase in volume.

Meantime, measure & sieve the AP flour.
Pour in the cooking oil, vanilla extract to the frothy yogurt mixture & mix.

Add the flour & gently fold the mixture. Don't stir vigorously.

Scoop out around 2 tbsp of mixture to each cupcake mould.
Reduce the oven temperature to 360F/180C & bake the cupcakes for about 15-18 mins.
To check if the cupcakes are done, insert a toothpick & if it comes out clean, cupcakes are done.
Place the cupcakes on a wire rack & allow them to cool. (I cooled my cupcakes for about an hour!)

For the frosting:
Prerequisites: 
The butter has to be at room temperature.
Milk has to be cold.

I poured in the butter & sugar to my food processor jar & pulsed it for 10 secs.
When it was almost done, I added 1.5 tbsp of milk, vanilla extract, food color & pulsed again for 5-10 secs. Frosting was all done.
#In case, you don't have food processor, you could do it with your hand mixer/stand mixer. You could also mix it using your hands. Good exercise!!

Besan Laddu : Festive Foods

Few of my friends ask me, why don't I publish during festivals? I always cook a lot during the festivals, but at the end of the day I get so tired that I never take any pictures! This week I had three occasions back to back. Swarna Gowri Pooja, Ganesh Chaturthi & the following day was my son's birthday. I have cooked so much over those three days that I feel I need rest for the next three weeks!!

For the Gowri pooja, I had cooked kadlekalu guggri/usli (Spiced Chickpeas) & besan laddu as neivedyam/prasad.

I follow my aunt's measurements for making the besan laddu. It turns perfect every-time.

Preparation Time: 15 mins

Cooking Time: 30-40 mins

Makes around 20-22 laddus

Ingredients:

• Besan/Gram flour/Kadale hittu: 2 cups
• Sugar: 2 cups
• Ghee/Clarified Butter: 1/2 cup & a tablespoon

Method:

Sieve the gram flour & keep aside.

Take a wide & thick bottomed pan. Add the gram flour & roast until the flour is warm on a medium-low heat.
Add the ghee to the warm gram flour & gently mix until the ghee is well coated on the gram flour. It will form a mass now. 
Keep breaking it & roast it on low-medium heat for 25-30 minutes. The aroma of the flour roasted in ghee should fill your home. The flour will slightly change its color. 
Turn off the heat & let the flour cool completely. 
Powder the sugar & keep aside.
When cool, add the sugar & mix well. Take a tablespoon of mixture & press it firmly with your fist. Make medium lime sized balls with the mixture & store them in air tight container. (In case your mixture is breaking, refer the notes below). This stays good for up to 15 days without refrigeration. 

Notes:

• Sometimes the mixture might turn too powdery & becomes difficult to make balls out of it. In that case, add a couple of teaspoons of warm ghee & mix well. Then make laddus out of it. Some people add warm milk too. But with milk, the shelf life of the laddu reduces. 
• On the contrary, the mixture might become very soft making it difficult to make laddus. In such a case, refrigerate the mixture for 10 mins to make the mixture a bit hard. Make laddus out of it.
• Very soft mixture is an indication that more ghee was added. Reduce the ghee for the next batch! 
• Add dry fruits of your choice to make the laddus rich!