Jeerige Saaru | Jeera Rasam | Cumin seeds Rasam: No onion, no garlic recipes!!

This quick rasam makes your taste buds jump with joy. It is a burst of flavors in your mouth. On a sick day, when my taste buds refuse any food, I make this rasam & relish it. Try it and you won't be disappointed!

Preparation Time: 5 mins

Cooking Time: 15 mins

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients: 

For the rasam:

Water: About 2 cups, more or less

Jaggery: 1 tsp

Tamarind extract: 1 tsp

Salt: As needed

Spice powder: 1.5 tbsp

For the spice powder:

Cumin seeds: 2 tsp

Coriander seeds: 1 tsp

Urad dal | Black dal: 1 tsp

Pepper corns: 6-8 nos

Dry red chili: 2 nos

Oil: 2-3 drops

For the tempering:

Oil: 1 tsp

Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves: 4-6 nos, torn

Asafoetida: a big pinch

Method:

For the spice powder:

Add the oil in a small pan. When oil is hot, throw in the cumin seeds & roast on a low heat until they leave out a nutty aroma.

When cumin seeds are golden brown, add the urad dal, and roast again till dal turns golden brown. 

Add the coriander seeds, dry red chili, pepper corns & roast again on a low heat.

Allow the roasted spices to cool down. Once cool, make a coarse powder of the spices & store them in a air tight container.

For the rasam:

Add water to a sauce pan. Throw in the spice powder, salt, jaggery, tamarind paste & boil the water for about 10-15 mins on medium heat.

Heat oil in a small pan. When oil is hot, throw in the mustard seeds followed by curry leaves. When leaves wilt, turn off the heat & add the asafoetida. Add this tempering to the boiling rasam & quickly cover the rasam with a lid. The tempering gets trapped in the rasam & hence enhances the flavor of the rasam. 

Serve the rasam hot with rice & a side dish or with fritters/papad etc.

Notes:

Make the spice powder in small batches to retain the freshness & the aroma of the powder.

Alasande Kalu Palak Soppina Huli | Spinach and Black eyed peas Sambar | Legumes Curry : Without coconut

When I posted the ragi mudde recipe, some of you asked for another classic huli/sambar recipe that goes very well with the mudde. That is the kaalin huli or soppu kaalin huli (legumes curry!). So, thought of posting the recipe ASAP.

Update: Do you remember that we decided to eat healthy? Here is an update on it. I did not reduce much.., may be because I was not into junk foods any way. But, my better half reduced 16 pounds just by eating healthy!!! He did not even exercise. He is very happy about it & wants to continue for couple of more months :)

Back to the recipe.

Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 40 mins
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
Black eyed peas: 3/4 cup
Mixed beans: 1 tbsp, optional (refer notes)
Spinach leaves: About 4 cups, finely chopped
Toor dal/Pigeon peas: a fistful
Sambar powder: 2 tsp, refer notes
Menthyada hittu/Mixed lentils powder: 1 tsp, refer notes
Thick Tamarind Extract: 2 tsp
Turmeric powder: 2 big pinches, divided use
Salt: As needed
Curry leaves: 2-3 nos, torn

For tempering:
Oil: 1 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 2-3 nos, torn

Method:
Soak the mixed beans & black eyed beans in enough water overnight or for a minimum of 6 hours.

Drain & rinse the beans in running water. Add the toor dal, beans & turmeric powder to a pressure cooker. Add about 3 cups or more of water to the beans & pressure cook the beans for 4-5 whistles. If cooking in a stock pot, boil till the toor dal is over cooked & mushy, while the beans are cooked & soft.
Allow the pressure cooker to release the steam.
Meanwhile, add the finely chopped spinach & little water to a medium sized sauce pan.Add turmeric to the spinach & cook the spinach until it is soft. Spinach gets cooked very fast, say about 5 mins.

Add the salt, tamarind extract & boil again for couple of more minutes.
Add the sambar powder, lentils powder & mix well.

Drain the excess water from the cooked beans (if any). Do not add more water to cook the beans, add about 1 inch of water to the pressure cooker. That way you are retaining the nutrition & not discarding the boiled water.
Pour in the cooked beans + lentils to the spinach mixture. Throw in the torn curry leaves.
Boil it on a medium heat for 15 mins. Boiling in medium heat would allow the beans to absorb the salt, spice & sourness from the gravy.

Once the sambar has boiled enough, remove it from the heat & keep it covered.
Prepare the tempering. In a small pan, add the oil. When oil is hot, throw in the mustard seeds. When seeds splatter, turn off the heat & add the curry leaves. When leaves wilt, pour the tempering over the sambar prepared. Cover the sambar immediately. This will ensure the aroma of the tempering is held inside the sambar & enhances the taste of the sambar.

Notes:

• Add the mixed beans to this sambar is optional. I had this 15 bean soup mixture at home & hence used it a little. 
• You could use any store bought sambar powder to make this sambar. 
• The lentils powder or the menthyada hittu is used to make the sambar thicker. If you do not have this lentils powder, you could use 2 tsp of hurigadale pudi (putani powder or roasted channa dal powder) to make the sambar thick.
• Other greens like amaranth leaves, harive soppu, fenugreek leaves could be used to make this sambar. 

Cabbage Sabzi | Patta gobhi sabzi | Cabbage Palya

Cabbage is known as yele kosu in Kannada.

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:
Shredded Cabbage: About 5 cups
Frozen Peas: 1/2 cup, refer notes
Oil: 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 4-5 nos, torn
Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder: 1-1.5 tsp, more or less
Coriander powder/dhania powder: 1 tsp
Salt: As needed
Sugar: 1-2 tsp, more or less

For the garnish:
Coriander leaves: 2 tbsp, finely chopped

Method:
Heat oil in a broad sauce pan. When oil is hot, throw in the mustard & cumin seeds.

When mustard seeds crackle, add the curry leaves. When leaves wilt, throw in the shredded cabbage.

Give it a mix. Then add the salt, red chili powder, coriander powder and mix.

Cook the cabbage covered for 2 mins.
Add the sugar, green peas.

Mix it well and cook the cabbage covered for about 5-7 mins. Keep stirring once a while to avoid burning of cabbage.
The cabbage should get cooked by 7-9 mins.

Turn off the heat once the cabbage is cooked & yet firm.
Add the coriander leaves & mix.
Serve the sabzi/palya hot with roti or rice.

Notes:
If you are using fresh peas instead of frozen, make sure to boil the peas before adding it to the sabzi.
I did not have coriander leaves. So, I skipped it.
Instead of peas, you could add cubed potatoes too. Ensure to make small cubes of the potatoes for faster cooking.

Homemade Bisi Bele Bath Powder Recipe | Bisi bele bath masala Recipe

...........Learn to make bisi bele bath powder at home. 

Bisi bele bath was one of the first few recipes that I posted on my blog way back in 2008. Bisi bele bath is a Karnataka delicacy and hands down my most favorite dish of all! You could use MTR bisi bele bath powder or make your own powder at home. You could see the bisi bele bath recipe with detailed pictures here. 

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: Nil
Makes: About 1/2 cup spice powder

Ingredients:

Channa Dal/Gram dal:  2 tsp
Urad Dal/Black gram dal:  2 tsp
Cumin seeds/Jeera: 1 tsp
Coriander seeds:  2-3 tsp
Fenugreek seeds: 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon: 1 inch
Poppy seeds/gasgase: 1/2 tsp
Dry red Chilies - According to taste (I used about 2 tsp of red chili powder)
Grated Dry Coconut/dessicated coconut - 1 Table spoon
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Marati moggu: 1 extra small, optional 
Curry leaves: 2-4 nos, optional
Oil: 1/2 tsp

Method:
Add oil to a small pan. When oil is hot, throw in the gram dal & urad dal. Roast the dals on a low-medium heat until the dal leaves out the aroma & changes the color slightly. 

Add the cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, cinnamon, marati moggu & roast it again. (about 2-3 mins)

Add the poppy seeds, coriander seeds & roast again until the aroma fills the kitchen. (about 2 mins)

Remove the pan from the heat. Add the asafoetida, curry leaves & dry coconut. Allow it cool. 

Once cool enough to handle, make a coarse to fine powder of all the roasted items. (I used a coffee grinder to make a fine powder!) 

Add about 2 tsp of red chili powder & mix well. 

Store it in a air tight container & use it as needed. 

Ragi mudde | Ragi Sangati | Ragi mudda : Finger millet balls

Learn to make ragi mudde........

Though mudde calls for just 2 ingredients, the proportion of water to ragi flour is different in every household. I have seen people adding cooked rice or rice rawa to make mudde soft. Some people add a couple of tablespoons of bombay rawa or upma rawa to the mudde too. Well, my mom made it with only ragi flour & I followed her. Recently I found adding a tbsp of quick cooking oats to the mudde & I liked it. From then on.., I add oats. It is however completely optional.

Some of the side dishes that go well with mudde are:
Masoppu
Majjige huli /Mor kulambu
Upsaaru
Okra Sambar

Preparation Time: Nil
Cooking Time: Less than 10 mins
Serves: 1-2


Ingredients:
Ragi flour | Finger millet flour | Nachni flour: 2/3 cup
Quick cooking oats: 1 tbsp
Water: 1 cup & 2 tbsp
Salt: A pinch
Ghee: A pinch or 1/8 tsp, optional

Method:
Heat water in a sauce pan.

When water starts boiling, add salt & the oats.
Measure the ragi flour & add it to the boiling water. Add the ghee too. DO NOT DISTURB THE FLOUR. 

Let the ragi flour cook on a low-medium heat for 5-7 mins.
Turn off the heat & mix the ragi flour. You could do whisking action to mix it thoroughly.

Ensure there are no lumps.
Scoop the cooked dough onto a plate. Work with the dough when it is hot.
Use your hands to knead the dough for about 10-20 secs. Dip your hands in cold water in between.

Shape the dough to a ball.
Serve it immediately with a side dish of your choice.

Notes:

• Do not allow the dough to cool. Once cool, you cannot shape the dough or knead it.
• Adding ghee or oil to the mudde is completely optional. According to my mom, adding oil or ghee will make the mudde soft & also the dough doesn't stick to the saucepan.

Homemade ghee | DIY ghee (With Video)

Want to learn how to make ghee? Here is the generic procedure for making the clarified butter/ghee  Butter is melted until it bubbles & simmered until most of the water content from the butter is evaporated.

I have made a video & also clicked step by step pictures to show you guys how I make ghee at home. Hope it helps.

Language translation of ghee
Kannada: tuppa
Tamil:  nei
Telugu: neyyi
Marati: tup
English: Clarified butter. For other language translations, refer here.

Preparation Time: Nil
Cooking Time: 30-40 mins
Shelf life: About 2 months, without refrigeration..

Ingredients:
8 sticks or 2 pounds or 1 kg of unsalted butter.
Few curry leaves, optional

Method:

Melt the butter over medium heat.
Once butter starts foaming & bubbling, reduce the heat to low-medium & mix once in few mins. The foaming is cloudy & covers the liquid completely.

After 5-7 mins, the bubbles start appearing frequently & starts making sizzling sound. The foam still covers the liquid inside.

After boiling the butter for about 15 mins, the foam starts clearing but the sizzling sound continues.

When most of the moisture is evaporated, the sizzling sound reduces considerably. The color of the liquid becomes clear & then there will be another layer of foaming. But, this will be bubbly & not cloudy as in the beginning.

This is when ghee is done. Add few curry leaves & turn off the heat.
Remove the pan from the heat & allow it to cool.
Once it is cool enough to handle, strain the milk solids from the ghee & store it in a air tight container.


Notes:
Never increase the heat thinking you could make it faster. A little patience goes a long way!!

Chutney pudi idli | Spicy Idli | Podi Idli : Fiery hot!!

I tried the tempered podi idli at Anand Bhavan Restaurant, Singapore long time back & I liked it very much. My mom or MIL do not prepare this & it was something new to me. After tasting at the restaurant, I got a hang of how they made it & I started making them for myself. Podi idli is not a favorite of my hubby or my son. So, I prepare it with left over idlis for my lunch.

This is my own version, I understand that milagai podi or idli podi is added to this recipe. However I add the putani pudi  ( dry chutney).

If you are at Bangalore (or anywhere in South India for that matter!) & want to try this, here is what you need to do. Go buy around 6 idlis from any fast food joint. Take your mom made or home made chutney pudi & whip this dish in minutes. It could make a great dinner after a long tiring day at office!!

Preparation Time: 5 mins, excluding the idli preparation.
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Serves: 1-2

Ingredients:
Idlis: 6-8 nos, cubed (refer notes)
Oil: 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds: 1/4 tsp
Urad dal : 1 tsp
Onion: 1/2 medium sized, finely chopped
Curry leaves: 4 nos, torn
Red chilli powder: 1/2 tsp, optional
Chutney powder | Putani pudi: 1 tbsp, a little more or less
Salt: As needed

Method:
Heat oil in a wok. When oil is hot, throw in the mustard seeds & urad dal.
When mustard seeds splatter & urad dal turns golden brown, throw in the curry leaves.
When curry leaves wilt, add the finely chopped onion & saute until the onions turn translucent.
Once onion turns translucent, add the chilli powder, chutney powder, and salt.
Throw in the chopped idlis & saute gently until the chutney powder coats well on the idlis.
Serve the podi idli warm/hot.

Notes:

• Idli contains salt & chutney powder too. So, be extra careful while adding the salt. 
• You could use button idlis or mini idlis to make this podi idli. 
• Idli needs to be completely cooled down before chopping them. You could refrigerate for couple of hours. Idli won't crumble while chopping. 
• Feel free to add grated carrots or finely chopped bell peppers for some crunch & added benefits!