Grihini

Beans Palya - Sauteed Beans Fry

2008-02-08T18:32:00.000-08:00

Beans Palya or Sautéed Beans Fry is one of the most common dishes in the kannadiga household, at least in mine! This is so easy and so famous, be it any family event like weddings, naming ceremony, house warming ceremony..this Palya finds its way on the platter.

If it were to be beans palya for breakfast, on the previous night you would find my mother sitting in front of the TV with a chopping knife and board. She would snip-off the bean tips on either side and chop them (beans) to thinly slice. She says that beans palya with very finely chopped slices makes it look and taste better. She never approves if I cut the beans to say even 5cm apart! Phew!!! I am sure she would disapprove if she saw these pics! (I could blame it on the macro mode. Smarty pants aren’t I?)

Ingredients:

French Beans: about 1/2 Lbs or Kg
Onions: 1 Small (Optional)
Green Chillies: 3-4 as per taste
Ginger: 1 small peice
Garlic: 2-3 clove
Grated Coconut: For garnishing. About 2-3 spoons

For tempering:
Oil: 2-3 spoon
Mustard Seeds, Jeera, Channa Dal, Urad Dal, Red Chillies, Curry Leaves and a pinch of Asafoitida

Method:

Wash and remove the ends of the beans. Finely chop and keep aside.

Chop Onions and green chillies.

In a Cooking Pan, heat oil and and temper it with the above mentioned ingredients.

Add ginger, garlic, green chillies and onions one after the other Stiring in between.

Saute till the onions are tender.

Add Beans and saute for another minute.

Add about 1/2 cup of water and salt as per taste. Cover and cook in medium heat till the beans are cooked tender. Don't over cook the beans. It tastes better when it is almost tender with a little crispiness.

Turn off the heat. Garnish it with grated coconut and freshly chopped Coriander leaves (optional)

Serving Suggestions: Beans Palya can be eaten alongside chapathi's, Akki Rotti and like wise.
Can be a used as an accompaniment with Rice and Sambhar.

Note: Adding chopped carrots along with beans is a good variation to this palya. Also, cooked dal can be added to this beans to enhance its flavor.

See, its that easy. It takes not more than 15 mins to make this one.

Corn Dip

2008-02-01T11:14:00.000-08:00

Yet another corn-y dish from me!! Learnt this from my good friend R. She is an amazing cook and is also kind enough to share with me and teach me her recipes. Thank you R!

One of the dishes I've learnt from her is this easy and healthy Corn Dip with no cheese or butter involved. :) The creaminess of milk combined with the sweetness of corn and a tinge of hot bursts from black peppers and Jalapeno's makes this Corn Dip Cornilicious err... I mean Delicious! Read On.

Ingredients

Corn Kernels: 2 cups (Frozen corn or fresh corn can be used)

Spinach leaves, chopped: 1 cup

Milk: 2 cups
Plain Flour / Rice Flour: 1 tsp
Olive Oil: 2 tsp (Or any cooking oil)
Jalapeno or Green chilli: 1
Onions, finely chopped: 1 small (1/2 cup)
Garlic: 1 clove. (For those of you who are garlic-haters, you can omit this)

Salt and black pepper: as per taste

Method

Finely chop onions, Jalapeno (remove seeds if you want to). Roughly chop spinach leaves. Defrost the frozen corn kernels (not necessary when using fresh corn!)

In a thick bottomed pan, pour 2tsp of olive oil. Add in chopped garlic, jalapenos and onions. Sauté those till onions turn translucent Add in corn kernels and sauté for a minute. Add about 2 cups of milk to the mixture and cook. Stir intermittently.

In a small bowl, add Rice Flour and a little water to form a paste. Add this paste to the corn mixture and stir. After a minute or two, the mixture tends to thicken. Season it with salt and black pepper powder.

Turn off the heat. Add chopped spinach, stir and cover the lid.

Corn Dip is ready to be served. Add finely chopped Cilantro (if required) for garnishing.

Note: As the dip gets colder, it tends to thicken further. Reheat it with little milk/water before serving.

You can serve it as an appetizer with chips / tacos or toss a spoonful over a toasted bun and you'll have a great kids-time/ tea-time / game-time snack in a jiffy!

Papaya Paratha

2008-01-28T16:35:00.000-08:00

The other day, when I was doing my regular grocery and vegetable shopping at Kroger, I came across raw green papaya. I've seen it many times before lying there but never paid any attention. But this time, it was different. It suddenly reminded me of this blog event. Back to when I was in school in Bangalore, we had a huge garden around our house and in one of its corner we grew a papaya tree. So, I started remembering the ways my mother cooked with this raw papaya. She made something like a curry/palya and also something like a sweet similar to carrot halwa. She also made paratha's with them. So, with that in mind I got the papaya home and derived my own version of the recipe. Here it goes....

Ingredients:

Raw Papaya: 1 small

Onions: 1 small
Green chillies: 3-4

Ginger: 1 small piece

Coriander leaves: a small bunch
Methi Leaves: a small bunch (Optional)
Garam Masala: 1 spoon

Jeera: 1/2 spoon

Salt to taste

Sugar: a pinch

Wheat Flour: 4 cups

Oil

Method:

1. Wash and peel papaya. Remove the seeds. Grate the papaya. You will need about 2 cups of it for 4 cups of flour.

2. Finely chop onions, green chillies, ginger, Methi leaves and corainder leaves

3. In a mixing bowl, add in wheat flour, grated papaya and chopped onions, green chillies, ginger and corainder leaves. Add jeera, garam masala, a pinch of sugar and salt as per taste.

4. Start mixing the flour with as little water as possible to form a dough for chapathi consistency.

Do not add more water, as the papaya contains lots of fluids in itself.

5. Make equal sized balls of the dough and roll it as usual to form a chapathi. Use little dry flour to help in rolling out the paratha's as the dough may stick to the flat surface.

6. Heat a non-stick pan/tava and roast the paratha's on either side with help of little oil.

Papaya Paratha is ready! This tastes better when its served hot, right from the pan.

Suggested accompaniments: Thick curds/yogurt, pickles or any gravy items.

This recipe is off to Nags for her AFAM-Papaya. Details can be found here.

Life is Beautiful!

2008-01-26T10:22:00.000-08:00

When: Pic taken in the morning of Jan 26th 2008.

Where: Little Rock, Arkansas

Mood: Life is Beautiful!!!!!!!!! :)

Mixed Vegetable Stew: Kerala Style

2008-01-09T16:24:00.000-08:00

When RCI-Kerala was announced, I was delighted. This is one event I didn't want to miss. Kerala holds a special place in my heart. I did my high schooling from a school that was run by a Kerala Society. And few of my best friends are keralites. They are one of the nicest people I know.
So, for this event, I buzzed my friend P to give me a Kerala recipe, and she being the coolest, gave me a list of websites to go through!!! :) After searching many sites, I thought I will begin my experiments with the simplest of the lot. And so, I chose to make Mixed Vegetable Stew and it turned out so good; my husband came asking for more of it. :)

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Stew : A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in water or other water-based liquid, typically by simmering, and that are then served without being drained.
Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables (potatoes, beans, etc.), fruits (such as peppers and tomatoes), meat, poultry, sausages and seafood. While water can be used as the stew-cooking liquid, wine, stock, and beer are also common. Seasoning and flavorings may also be added. Stews are typically cooked at a relatively low temperature (simmered, not boiled), to allow flavors to marry.

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Recipe adapted from here

Ingredients:

Onion: 1 Medium
Potato: 1 medium sized
Green Peas: 1/2 cup
Beans: 3-4 in number
Carrot: 1 small
Green Chillies: 3
Ginger: a small piece (finely chopped or grated)
Garlic: 1 clove (finely chopped or grated)
Coriander Powder: 2 tbsp
Garam Masala: 1 tsp
Thick Coconut Milk: 1/2 can
Diluted Coconut milk: 1 cup
Salt as per taste

For tempering:
Ghee - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Dry red chillies: 2
Curry Leaves: few
Small Red Onions: 3-4 halved.

Method:

1. Chop all vegetables and keep them ready.

2 In a large cooking pan saute the onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies.

3. When onion starts becoming transluscent, add the vegetables and stir.

4. Add coriander powder, salt and stir for 1 min.

5. Add 1 cup of diluted coocnut milk and mix well.

6. Cover and cook in simmer until the vegetables are done. This may take a while (about 20 mins)

7. Once cooked, stir in about a 1/2 can of thick coconut milk and and cook on low heat.

8. Add garam masala and turn off the heat.

9. In another small pan, heat ghee and add mustard seeds, small onions, red chillies and curry leaves. Turn off the heat after a minute.

10. Add the above to the stew and serve hot.

This Mixed Vegetable Stew goes well with kerala Style Appams.
The above quantity serves 4 people.

This recipe is my contribution to RCI-Kerala hosted by Jyothsna.

Baby Corn n Bell Pepper Gravy

2008-01-01T23:21:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to my fellow blog friends and to all my readers. :)

The last two months have been very hectic with us taking a vacation in November and later friends and family visiting us over. Long drives n dinners, non-stop chit-chatting n cooking, shopping (yeah!) and late night movies have become a part of our lives these days. And I have been enjoying every bit of it.
Thank you Archy n Deepa for enquiring about my non-existence in the last few weeks. That was very sweet of you girls :) I am fine, just that I had been caught in a whirl of activities.

I am hoping to be regular with posts henceforth. And will also read n leave a comment on my fellow blogger’s post. I know I have a lot of reading to catch up with. But I did take a sneak-peak here n there :)

I am beginning my New Year post with Baby Corn n Bell Pepper Gravy. This is also another in the very-simple-to-make dish list. It's adapted from one of Sanjeev Kapoors cook book collection.

Ingredients:

Baby Corn: 1 small can (or 10-15 in number)
Red Bell Pepper: 1 (you can also use green, yellow peppers)
Onion: 1 Medium
Tomato: 1 Medium
Spinach Leaves: few leaves (8-10) This is optional
Oil/Butter: 2 tsp
Jeera: 1/2 spoon
Ginger-Garlic Paste: 1/2 spoon
Dhaniya Powder: 1 spoon
Kitchen King Masala: 1-1.5 spoon
(You can use Garam Masala instead. I like Kitchen King Masala for all baby corn dishes)
Red Chilli Powder: as per taste
Salt: as per taste
Cashew nuts: 8-10
Cilantro: for garnishing

Method:

1. Soak cashews in a little water for about 5-6 mins

2. Finely chop onions, tomatoes and red bell peppers. Cut baby corn into halves or quarters.

3. Heat oil in a cooking pan. Temper it with a little Jeera seeds.

4. Sauté onions till they are translucent. Add in ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a minute again.

5. Add in chopped tomatoes and sauté until the tomatoes start leaving the oil on the sides. This takes about 1-2 min on medium high heat.

6. Add Dhaniya powder and fry for a minute again.

7. Now add in chopped Red Peppers and Baby Corn. To this add about a cup of water and cover and cook.

8. In the meanwhile, using a blender quickly make a paste of cashew nuts with water.

9. Check if the vegetables are cooked. Add in salt, red chilli powder and Kitchen King Masala.

10. Once the vegetables are done, add in cashew paste to this and stir for a minute. Add a little more water if the gravy gets too thick. Turn off the heat.

11. This step is optional: Add finely chopped Spinach leaves to this and cover the pan with a lid. The leaves will get cooked in the heat.

12. Garnish with cilantro before serving.

The above quantity serves for 4 people. Serve it hot with Roti's, Naan or even Rice. It's very yummmm....

Have a wonderful year ahead, my friends. CHEERS!!!!!!!

Mini Vegetable Spring Roll's and Mint Chutney

2007-11-04T20:30:00.000-08:00

It's such a beautiful world out here in this season. We went on a drive this weekend, and theres bright fall colors everywhere. It was such a beautiful sight. Beautiful is an understatement I suppose. This is my first fall color since I moved to USA and man, I am so excited seeing it all. My husband who has been living here is this city for a while now says that in the next 1-2 weeks, the colors will get more brighter. I am so eagerly looking forward to that.

The tree in my garden is changing its color too. Every morning I wake up to see few more leaves joining the color party. Will share the picture as soon as its all yellow. :)

Now, coming to the recipe. This is one of those recipes I had book marked long long ago and never got a chance to make them. But on one of the days last week, I made this for a evening snack and it turned out great. You know, how every 'firsts' are nice........ this made me feel nice too. :))

Mini Vegetable Spring Roll's and Mint Chutney

Ingredients for Mini Vegetable Spring Rolls

Small Spring Roll wrappers

(I used TYJ Spring Roll Wrapper. These thin delicate wrappers are sold frozen and should be defrosted and separated before use. While working with the wrappers, keep them covered with a damp cloth to prevent them from drying out.)

For the Filling:

1 large carrot, peeled and grated

3 large spring onions/scallions, finely chopped.

Very finely shredded half piece of a small cabbage

Hoisin Sauce : 3 tbsp (I used Soy Sauce)

Garam Masala: 1/4 sp

Oil for deep frying

A little Milk, may be about 1 spoon (you can use one lightly beaten egg)

Make the filling:

In a bowl, add the carrot, spring onions, cabbage, Hoisin Sauce and Garam Masala powder. Mix until it's well combined.

Make the spring rolls:

Take one wrapper and place it diagonally on a board such that the corner faces you. It should look like a diamond.

Place a tablespoon of filling just up from the edge of the corner.

Fold the corner tightly over, fold in the sides.

Brush the wrapper with milk (or beaten egg), then continue rolling to form a tight roll.

Set this to one side (rest it seam side down) while you make the other rolls.

Fry the spring rolls:

Heat oil as you would normally for frying.

Dip in few rolls and deep fry them until golden brown. It takes about 2-3minutes since the contents inside are raw. Ensure you don't over fry them.

Remove them from oil and spread them on a paper towel to remove excess oil.

Serve these Mini Vegetable Spring Roll's while they are hot. Mint chutney goes great with this.

An easy and quick way of making Mint Chutney. This type is best used as dips for samosa's , spring rolls etc.

Ingredients for Mint Chutney:

Fresh Mint leaves (Pudina Leaves): 1 Cup
Fresh Coriander Leaves: 1 Cup
Ginger: a small piece
Green Chillies: 2
Tamarind pulp: 1/2 spoon
Sugar: a pinch
Salt as per taste

Method:

Heat a small pan and slightly dry roast the green chillies and Mint Leaves.
In a blender, add in all the ingredients with a little water and blend them all together.
Mint Chutney is ready to be served.

Godhi Paayasa - Cracked Wheat Pudding

2007-10-29T01:57:00.000-07:00

My ramblings….

Do I have to give an intro to the blog every time I write one, like an introduction to the ingredient or to the recipe? Should I also be writing something like personal narration / story that gives my blog a personal touch?
Well, not necessarily!
But yeah, if you want your readers’ attention, you need to be conversing with them, sharing your experiences, stories and also be informative at the same time.
But what If I don’t have any thing to write?
Well, create one, you lazy!!
But what If I am not in mood to write one?
Well, I suppose you can be excused for a day! ;)

My dear readers, Let me not bother you further with my But's and well's.

I made Godhi Paayasa (Cracked Wheat Pudding) last week when we had some friends over for a dinner party. They sure did like it. I hope you will too.

Ingredients (serves 4):

Cracked Wheat: 1 Cup
Jaggery: 1/2 Cup
Milk: 2 Cups
Butter/Ghee: 2 spoons
Cardamom Powder (elachi): a pinch for aroma
Ghee Fried cashewnuts and Raisins: few

Method:

Dry roast the cracked wheat grains for about 3-4 mins on medium heat or until the raw smell of the grains goes away.
Pressure cook the grains with water just enough to cook the wheat. (You can use 1:1 water and milk)
Heat a cooking pot on medium or medium high. Add Ghee/Butter. Fry cashews and raisins in the ghee till golden brown and keep aside.
Add the cooked cracked wheat grains and also jaggery. (Use jaggery as per your sweet requirement.) Add in milk and cook until it begins to boil. Stir intermittently.
Once the jaggery is dissolved, add in a pinch of cardamom powder for the aroma. Also add in fried cashews and raisins. Add in more milk/water depending on the consistency you desire.
Turn off the heat.

Cracked Wheat Pudding/Godhi paayasa can be either served hot or can be served cold. I like it to savor it after its been refrigerated for few hours. Umm..... :)

Quick n Easy Pea's Soup - Matar Ka Shorba

2007-10-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

It’s been raining continuously here since the last 3 days and the temperature has dropped to 49F. Ah, a perfect weather for those lazy afternoons, with a warm (but light) shawl wrapped around and a good book to read. It’s much better watching a nice mushy movie on TV and something hot like a bowl of soup to slurp along! So, on one of those afternoons (read yesterday) I made this quick and easy to make Green Pea's soup - Matar Ka Shorba. And I think I made did this in under 8 minutes. You wanna try?

Ingredients:

Green Peas: 1 cup (I used canned peas. You could also use frozen ones. Ensure to defrost them before use)

Onions: 1 small size

Green Chilli: 2-3 (depending on your taste)

Ginger-Garlic Paste: 1/2 spoon

Cumin Seeds: 1 spoon

Bay Leaves: 1-2

Butter/Ghee: 1 spoon

Fresh Cream or Milk: 1/4 cup

Salt: as per taste

Method:

Minute 1:
Place a pot on medium heat. Add in butter to melt.
Peel and finely chop onions.
Add Cumin Seeds and bay leaves to the pot and sauté.

Minute 2 -3:
Add in chopped onions to the pot and sauté till it turns light pink.
Meanwhile, blend together green peas and Chillies to form a puree.

Minute 4:
Add ginger-garlic paste to the pot and sauté till the fresh aroma of the paste goes away.

Minute 5 and 6:
Add the peas puree to the pot. Season with salt as per your taste.
Stir continuously. Add 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.
Remove Bay Leaves and discard.

Minute 7:
Stir in fresh cream or milk. Turn off the heat.

Soup is ready! Serve it hot with a swirl of cream.

Minute 8:
Switch on your favorite movie and curl onto the couch with this hot hot Matar ka Shorba in hand. :)
Enjoy!

Ridge Gourd and Pea's Curry

2007-10-18T08:26:00.000-07:00

With the cold season fast approaching, the farmer’s market in my area didnt have much variety of vegetables to look for. I did manage to spot a few Ridge Gourd’s and gladly got them home. And with Peas, green chilli and coconut put together, it made a delicious curry and I like to call it as Ridge Gourd and Pea's Curry. Simple, eh?!

Ridge Gourd is also known as the silk gourd or luffa. In Kannada, it’s called Heere Kaayi.

Image Courtesy from here

Ingredients:

Ridge Gourd: 1 Medium
Onions: 1 Small
Ginger: 1 small piece
Fresh green Peas / Frozen peas: 1/2 cup
Grated Coconut: 1/2 cup
Green Chillies: 1 or 2, depending on your taste
Poppy Seeds: 1/2 spoon
Milk: 1/4 cup

For tempering:
Mustard seeds; 1/2 spoon
Cumin seeds/Jeera: 1/2 spoon

Salt to taste
Oil

Method:

Wash and peel the gourd. Chop them to small cubes.
Chop onions and ginger

Heat a cooking pan with about 2 spoons of oil. Add the tempering and when done, add in onions. Sauté for about 2-3 mins or until the onions get tender.
Add cubed ridge gourd and peas. Sauté for another minute. Pour in little water, just enough to cook the gourd. Cover it with lid.

In the meanwhile prepare the coconut paste: In a blender, add grated coconut, green Chillies and poppy seeds. Grind them to a paste.

Check if the vegetables are cooked. If yes, take about a big spoonful of the vegetables and blend them together with the coconut paste.

Mix in the coconut paste to the vegetables in the cooking pan. Add salt and check for taste. If the curry is too thick, add little milk to attain desired consistency. Cook for another minute and turn off the heat.

Serve this hot hot curry with Chapatti’s or Roti's. This can also be eaten along with rice.

Worldspace Online Radio

2007-10-11T09:39:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

Could not wait to share a little piece of info with you all... especially to my fellow Indian Bloggers with ears for music.

MSN India has launched an online Worldspace Radio. It’s still a beta version though. You can listen to 5 music channels 24hrs FREE for a limited time!

They have:

Farishta - Bollywood Oldies: our old is gold Hindi songs. It takes us back the memory lane.

Sparsha - Kannada Hits: variety of songs from old to the present hits.

Gandharv - Hindustani Classical: what can I say... Listen for yourself.

Shruti - Carnatic Music: for those really carnatic music buffs

Spandana - Telegu Hits: I personally haven’t heard it yet.

You can either register for a trial version or you can subscribe for just $9.99/month. (No, I am not campaigning for them)

You can sign up here

Enjoy and happy weekend!!!!!!!

Corn Cutlet

2007-10-09T16:53:00.000-07:00

These crunchy corn cutlets are a good tea time snack. These can also be used in burgers. Here is the recipe I got from Sanjeev Kapoor's 'Simply Vegetarian' cook book.

Ingredients:

Corn Niblets: 1 Cup
Onions: 2 medium Sized
Green Chillies: 3-4
Ginger: 1 small piece
Coriander Leaves: about 1/2 cup
Cumin Seeds: 1 spoon
Fennel seeds: 1spoon
Coriander Powder: 1 spoon
Garam Masala: 1 spoon
Turmeric Powder: 1 spoon
Gram Flour (Besan/Chickpea flour): 1/4 cup
Bread Crumbs:1/4 cup
Lemon Slices: 3-4
Chaat Masala: 1 spoon
Salt to taste
Oil

Preparation:

Pressure cook or boil the corn niblets in about 2 cups of water. Once done, drain the water out completely. Press them with tissue paper to remove excess water.
Finely chop onions, green chillies, ginger and coriander leaves.
Roast gram flour in a pan until it gives a nice aroma.

Method:

Heat about 2tbsp of oil in a pan; add cumin seeds and fennel seeds.
Add onions and sauté till they turn light brown.
Add turmeric powder, Coriander powder and Garam Masala powder. Stir to mix well. Add half of the cooked corn niblets to this and sauté till dry.
Remove from heat, cool it and grind it to a coarse paste in a mixer. Remove to a bowl.
To the above mixture, add the rest of the cooked corn niblets, coriander leaves and salt as per taste.
Also add gram flour, bread crumbs and mix well to form dough. Make cutlets out of them.
Heat sufficient oil and fry the cutlets till golden brown. Drain onto an absorbent kitchen towel.
Sprinkle lemon juice and chaat Masala and serve hot.

He came, he saw and he left!

2007-10-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

We had an unexpected but a welcoming guest for lunch today. Can anyone take a guess who? He is one of the lovable, slow but steady types and four legged reptile. Yeah...............a Tortoise!!!!!!!

It was around 12:10 in the noon and as my husband pulled over his car to park, he saw something crawling in the backyard. He called me to show what he saw. Initially I freaked out seeing Mr.Torty in our backyard. Mr.Torty probably got scared too. He hid within is shell. Few minutes later he popped his neck out to check if I were still there. Seeing me silent, he must have calmed down too. And then, he started exploring our backyard slowly. I followed him cautiously with camera in hand. The grasses in our backyard are taller unlike our neighbor’s who had just mowed theirs yesterday. And the dry leaves were spread all around here. Mr. Torty must have been disappointed seeing the unpleasantly looks in the backyard. He began crawling towards the exit (read fence). I offered him some carrots and spinach to lure him back, and that didn’t stop him from leaving. And within few minutes, he was on the other side of the fence.

We let him go. But the few minutes Mr.Torty spent with us was a good one. He even posed a lovely shot for me. Take a look...

He Came

He saw

....and he left!

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

2007-10-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

I must admit, when it comes to learning to cook new recipes, it’s the picture of the dish and its simplicity that makes me want to. One such recipe that captivated my attention recently was TBC's Creamy Cauliflower Soup. The way she presented the soup made me drool all over it and I had to give it a try. I've never made a soup before (Yes, not even once) and her picture goaded me into dishing out one. Thank you TBC for your inspiration and for the recipe!

I've followed her recipe to the T with mild variations. TBC's recipe can be found here.

Ingredients for Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Cauliflower: 1 head
Onions: 1 small or 1/2 medium.
Potato: 1 small
Carrot: 1 small
Garlic: 2 cloves
Pine Nuts: 2 tbsp (optional)
Olive Oil: 2 tbsp
Vegetable stock *: 1/2 cup
Milk: 1/2 cup
Nutmeg: ¼ spoons
Salt n Pepper: to taste
Any Herbs**: Rosemary, Celery, Parsley, and Cilantro

Preparation:

Remove the outer leaves and thick stalks of the cauliflower head. Break cauliflower into small sized florets. Wash them. Take about 1 cup of these florets. Alternatively, you can use frozen Cauliflower

Peel and chop onions, potato, carrot and garlic.

Toast the pine nuts in microwave for about a minute or two on high.

Method:

Heat Olive Oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onions and garlic for 2 minutes and then add cauliflower, potato and carrot. Stir occasionally for about 3-4 minutes. Add pine nuts too.

Add vegetable stock or water and cook until the veggies are well cooked.

Remove saucepan from heat; Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor.

Reheat the sauce pan with the puree over low-medium heat. Add in about half cup of milk/water to the puree and cook for about 5 minutes. You can vary the quantity of milk/water depending on the consistency of soup you require.

Stir in a pinch of nutmeg powder, herbs, salt and pepper as per taste. Turn off the heat.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup is ready to be served.

Note:

* A simple version of vegetable Stock is to sauté carrot, onions, a little of coriander seeds and Fennel seeds and cook them with water. Strain the vegetables and use the water as your vegetable stock. The left over veggies can be pureed to be used in the soup.

** I’ve used Italian Herbs Seasoning mix that you would get in the grocery store.

Sapsige Soppina Rotti - Rotti with Dill Leaves

2007-10-03T09:09:00.000-07:00

Sapsige Soppu/Dill Leaves: These green feathery leaves are very soft and flavorful. Back home (Karnataka), Dill Leaves are used to make Uppittu (Upma), Pulav, Curry and other dishes. I am going to show you how to make Rotti with Dill Leaves - Sapsige Soppina Rotti. In Kannada these leaves are also known as Sabasige Soppu.

Earlier, I had written about how to make Akki Rotti. Now, this one (Sapsige Soppina Rotti) is similar in making Akki Rotti but it also includes some masala's, onions, carrots and of course the leaves.

Ingredients:

Rice Flour: 2 cups
Onions: 1 Medium
Carrot: 1 Big or 2 Medium
Sapsige Soppu/Dill Leaves: a small bunch
Ginger: a small piece
Green Chillies: 2-3 as per taste
Few Curry Leaves
Grated Coconut (optional): 1/2 cup

Jeera/Cumin Seeds: 1/2 spoonChanna Dal: 1 spoon
Salt: As per taste

Preparation:

Sieve Rice flour in to a large mixing bowl.
Finely chop onions, green chillies and ginger.
Wash and chop the Dill leaves, Curry leaves
Peel and grate Carrots
Grate coconut or use frozen coconut. (This is optional)

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, add all the above ingredients and mix gently.
Add hot water into this mixture and with a spoon mix it until the dough comes together. Once cooled, knead with hands to form dough consistent enough to spread.
Make round balls of equal proportions, about the size of Clementine, from the dough.
Start heating the tava/griddle on Medium-heat.
On a flat surface, spread a wet cloth or a thick plastic sheet/wax paper. Take one ball at a time, and spread the dough with your palm. Make sure to pat it to even. The spread should not be too thin or too thick.
I make a small hole in the middle, just to get the crispiness in the middle ;)

Transfer the Rotti onto the hot tava. Be careful while doing so.
(Lift the 2 side edges of the cloth/wax paper and pop it down (Rotti side down) on to the tava. Remove the cloth/wax paper once transferred)
Spray oil on the Rotti. After 2-3 minutes, flip over the Rotti and cook again for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Let the heat on the stove remain the same (medium hot).
Cook for an extra minute if you like your Rotti's to be crunchy.

Hot, hot Sapsige Soppina Rotti's are ready to be served. These aromatic Rotti's are a delight to the eyes, to the taste buds and to the tummy of course. Enjoy!

Serving Suggestions:

These Rotti's taste good as they are. I generally prefer to savor it with a cup of curd/yogurt and mango pickle. Coconut Chutney or any type of chutney or gojju will also go well with this. A dollop of ghee or butter isn't bad either ;)

Green Tomato Curry

2007-09-28T18:32:00.000-07:00

Fall is around the corner and the veggies in the garden are up for grabing. If the tomatoes are taking long to turn Red, dont worry, you can eat them Green!

And for those like me, who do not have a vegetabe patch at home, goto your local market and grab some green tomatoes and there we go, all set to make a Green Tomato Curry.

Ingredients:

Green tomato's:2-3

1 small-medium Red Onion
1 spoon of grated jaggery
Red Chilli Powder: as per taste
Dhaniya Powder: 1 spoon
Curry Leaves (optional)

Mustard Seeds, Jeera, Oil, Salt

For the masala powder:
Around 10-12 groundnuts

1 spoon Til seeds (Sesame seeds)

Grated Dry coconut: 2 spoons

Channa dal: 1 spoon

Dry roast the above ingredients and grind them to powder.

Method:

Heat a pan with about little oil. Add in mustard seeds and Jeera when hot.

Saute chopped onions till they turn translucent.

Add in chopped tomato's.

Cook for about 3-4 minutes till half tender.

Add in the masala powder and other left over ingredients at this time.

Cook for some more time till the tomato's are soft.

Tip:

To remove the tangyness of the tomato's, soak them first in a bowl of water with a little salt for a while. Drain water and then use the tomatoes.
Use red onions for its sweetness. You can also use any other variety of onions you have.

I generally follow this recipe of mine for making green tomato curry. I just avoid lemon juice.

Mosaranna - Curd Rice

2007-09-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

Mosaranna or Curd/Yogurt Rice, is one good comfort food. My meal is never complete without this. It gives me the satisfaction of a good meal. Its very simple to make and refreshing too.

Here in USA, I usually use the store bought yogurt. I have tried a few times to make curds at home and it has been quite well. But not like the one we get in India, and definitely no where close to what my granny makes in her village. The milk used is from a home-fed cow or a buffalo.
Religiously, every morning and evening one of the ladies of the house milks the cow. When young, this always amazed me and I used to wake up early just to catch this action and also to drink the fresh milk from the container as it is. I remember, we used to get a white-moustache drinking that creamy/frothy fresh milk and would walk around posing like Santa Claus! :)
I've also heard from my cousins that applying that fresh milk on face for few minutes gives a good glow. Not sure how far this is true...........

Ok, back to the Mosaranna recipe. As I said before it’s very simple and can be done in various ways. This is how I do it:

Ingredients:
Rice: 1 cup
Curds/plain yogurt: 2-3 cups
Milk: a little
Sour Cream: 2-3 spoon (optional)
Ginger (finely grated): small piece
Green chilli: 1-2
Coriander leaves
Salt

For Seasoning:
A little oil: 1 spoon
Mustard seeds
Jeera
Urad dal+Channa dal: 1 spoon
Asafoetida
Curry leaves

Method:
Cook 1 cup of Rice (Sona Masoori) with 2-3 cups of water. For curd rice, the rice must be soft.

After the rice is cooked, spread it in a big bowl to cool.

Take a little oil in pan. Season with mustard seeds, jeera, urad dal+channa dal, Curry leaves and a pinch of asafoetida. Add grated ginger and turn off the heat.

Add the seasoning to rice. Mix curds/yogurt, sour cream and a little milk to the rice mixture and mix it evenly. Add in salt as per taste and finely chopped coriander leaves.

Use pomegranate seeds, Seedless grapes, grated coconut or fried cashews to further garnish it.

Note: After a while, the rice may seem to have gotten thick as it might have soaked in all the curds. Before serving, add in a little more milk to get the consistency you want.

I want to send in this entry to RCI-Karnataka hosted by Asha from Foodies Hope. Hope I am not too late..

Sauthekaayi Avalakki OggaraNe - Poha with Cucumber

2007-09-25T09:55:00.000-07:00

In the last few months I was so used to waking leisurely in the morning (read 8:30-9AM!), that when I visited Bangalore recently, I literally had to pull myself out of bed to wake up early. Yeah..I was at my in-laws house and I didn’t want to give them an impression that their daughter-in-law is one lazy bum! :)

On one of those early mornings, i.e. around 7:30ish, still with heavy eyes (and jet-lag too), I went into the kitchen and saw my MIL (Mother-in-Law) peeling a cucumber.

Naanu: Athe, yen maadtha iddira? Naanu help maadla?
Athe: Illa bedamma. Sauthekaayi thuri beku ashte.
Naanu: Kodi, naanu maadkodthini. Yen thindi maadtha iddira?
Athe: TV-li hosa ruchi thorisidru. sauthekaayi haaki avalakki oggarane maadodu. Adanna maadona antha.
Naanu: Sauthekaayi na? Adu avalakki jothe...???? hmm. Kodi, naanu thuridu kodthini.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Loosely translated in English:

Me: Athe (MIL), what are you doing? Do you need some help....?

MIL: No, it’s ok. I just have to grate the cucumber.
Me: Give that to me, I'll do it. What’s for breakfast though?
MIL: There was this new recipe on TV the other day: Sauthekaayi Avalakki OggaraNe - Poha with Cucumber. I am doing that.
Me: Cucumber? And with Poha....???? Hmm. Give that to me, I will grate the cucumber for you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And then, within minutes before my eyes, breakfast was ready. I must confess, my MIL is an amazing cook. And what I like about her is the ease with which she makes. Even the complicated dish is done in few minutes and without any noise. And she does not mess the kitchen, its always sparkling clean.

The next day, I went to my Mother's place. After the initial greetings and chit-chatting, we both (Mom and me) realized we were hungry. Had to be..we hadn’t had our breakfast that day!
So, while I surveyed the house, garden and my old-bedroom (to check on what's changed during my absence) my mother went into kitchen to make something quick and light for us to eat.

She calls for me that breakfast is ready.

Naanu: Mummy, Ishtu bega yen thindi maadidri?
Mummy: Adu... TV li, hosa ruchi thorisidru. Sauthekaayi Avalakki anthe.. maadidini. Thindu nodu hege ide antha.
Naanu: ahhhhhhhhh, mathe ade na!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Translation:

Me: Mummy, what did you make so quickly?
Mummy: The other day on TV, they showed a new recipe. It's Sauthekaayi Avalakki OggaraNe - Poha with Cucumber. Try this and tell me.
Me: ahhhhhhhhhhh, not again!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So in the matter of two days I got to taste this new recipe twice. I liked it though. It’s also a good Jain Breakfast as there is no onions involved in this. Here goes the recipe for Sauthekaayi Avalakki OggaraNe - Poha with Cucumber.

Ingredients:
Gatti Avalakki/Thick Poha/Beaten Rice: 3 big handful of it.
Cucumber: 1 Medium sized
Ginger: small piece
Green Chillies: 2-3
Turmeric powder: 1/4 spoon
Groundnuts: 6-7 (optional)
Yellu/Sesame Seeds: 1/2 spoon (optional)
Grated coconut: 1/4 cup or per taste
Lemon
Coriander Leaves
Salt

For OggaraNe/tempering:
Oil
Mustard seeds
Jeera
Channa Dal
Curry Leaves
Red Chilli: 1-2
Asafoetida: a pinch

Method:
Wash Avallaki (I wash it twice) with water and keep aside.
Peel and grate (use the big eye of the grater) cucumber.

Add in the grated cucumber to Avalakki/Poha and mix it well. The poha should get soaked in cucumbers juice.

Now, heat a little oil in a cooking pan. Fry the groundnuts and keep aside.

To the same oil: Temper it with mustard, jeera, channa dal, curry leaves, Red chillies and Asafoetida. Add in green Chillies and finely chopped ginger. Add turmeric too.
Also add sesame seeds and pre-fried groundnuts.

Now, add in the Poha soaked in cucumber. Add salt as per taste. Mix it thoroughly. Cook for about 3-4 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Garnish with grated coconut, lemon juice and finely chopped coriander leaves.

Sauthekaayi Avalakki OggaraNe is ready. Serve it hot/warm with pickles, curds etc.

Total time: 7-8 minutes
Serves: about 2 people

Note: Instead of grating cucumber, you could also chop them and use in the same way. Those little chunks of it you get while eating ..is yummy!

Kadale KaaLu Usli

2007-09-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

Usli is a side dish made of dry beans. I am using Kadale KaaLu here for Usli. This one is supposed to be Lord Ganesha's favorite (and my Dad's too!) and is served as a prasada in most of the temples in Karnataka. So, this ought to be one of my entries for RCI-Karnataka hosted by Asha.

Ingredients:

Kadale KaaLu/Black Channa : about a cup
1/2 chopped Onion
Green Chillies: 3-4
Garlic: about 3-4 cloves
Ginger: a small piece
Grated Coconut: about 3 spoons
Coriander Leaves
Lemon juice
Salt

For Tempering: A little Oil, Mustard seeds, Curry Leaves and a pinch Asafoetida/Hing

Method:

Soak Kadale KaaLu in enough water for about 3-4 hours. Pressure cook the same soon after.
Drain water and keep aside.
Heat a little oil in a pan. Add in mustard seeds, curry leaves and a pinch of hing. After the mustard seeds sputter, add in chopped green chillies and onions. Also add in diced ginger and garlic. Once the onions begin to turn golden brown, add in the cooked kaaLu/Channa and salt as per taste. Cook for few minutes. Garnish it with grated coconut and coriander leaves. Sprinkle with lemon juice before serving.

Usli goes best with Akki Rotti. It could also be used along with Chapathi.

The above quantity serves 2 people.

Herali Kaayi Gojju

2007-09-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

Now folks, don’t ask me what Herali Kaayi is? It’s kind of a Green Citrus Fruit, larger than a Lemon/Lime. It kind of looks like an Orange: but its not sweet. It’s very very sour. In Karnataka, India this is called as Herali Kaayi. Not sure if this is grown in other parts of India. This is used to make Chitranna, Juice, Pickles and Gojju. Basically, a drop or two of it can easily substitute a small sized lemon.

For comparison, I have the picture of the Kaayi with a small lemon. Could someone enlighten me of its English name? Thanks in advance. I got this Kaayi from my recent India trip.

I made Gojju of its juice yesterday. It was really good. I know I am blowing my own trumpet, but yeah, it was really good. The Gojju mixed with Rice becomes HeraliKaayi Gojjanna. I learnt this simple version of the recipe from my Mother-in-Law. My mother makes it in a slightly different way, similar to Kittale Sippe Gojju.

Ingredients:
Juice of 1/2 Herali Kaayi
Sambhar Powder: 1-2 spoons or as per taste
Jaggery: 1 spoon or as per taste
Salt: as per taste

For seasoning:
Heat a little oil (2 Spoons) and add in Mustard seeds and a couple of curry leaves and red chilies.
Make a powder of:
2 Spoons of roasted Yellu/Til /Sesame Seeds
4 Spoons of Grated Dry Coconut (Kopra/Kobri)
4 Spoons of Besan Flour (Kadle Hittu)

Method:

After the seasoning is done, pour in HeraliKaayi Juice and add Sambhar powder, Jaggery and salt. Get this to a boil. Add in water to get desired consistency. In the end, stir about 2 spoons of the mixture (sesame, dry coconut and besan flour). Let it boil for another 1-2 minutes.
Gojju is ready. Taste it once before turning the heat off.

Mix gojju with Rice and it makes a delicious Gojjanna. Garnish it with coriander leaves.
Gojju can also be eaten in mild with Chapathi's.

You could also use the juice as it is to make chitranna. The flavor is different and stronger than lemon juice. Back home they say, Herali Kaayi is good during summer's to beat the heat and also when one is sick and do not feel like eating anything else.

This Gojju recipe will be another entry of mine to Asha's RCI-Karnataka.

Kosambari - Indian Salad

2007-09-20T14:02:00.000-07:00

Kosambari - the Indian version of salad is made of fresh raw vegetables and with or without Lentils. It’s seasoned with mustard, coconut and fresh lime juice. Kosambari's are a quick, easy, no-cooking and no-nonsense salad which is a must in a kannadiga family, especially during the festive/wedding season or when there are guests at home.

I eat them by bowlfuls as it’s considered very healthy. It’s great during summer. Below, I am giving you two varieties of Kosambari. You can mix and match the vegetables to suit your taste.

Sauthekayi Kosambari - Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Moong Daal (split and skinned green gram)
1 Cucumber
1/2 cup grated coconut
Juice of a small piece of ginger
Finely chopped Coriander leaves
Salt and Pepper Powder
For seasoning: Little oil about 1/4 teaspoon, mustard seeds, 1-2curry leaves.

Method:

Soak moong daal for at least an hour in about 2 cups of water.
Peel and finely chop cucumber.

In a mixing bowl add Moong dal, chopped cucumber, grated coconut, ginger juice and coriander leaves.
Prepare seasoning with the above mentioned ingredients and add the seasoning to the above mixture.
Just before serving, add in salt and pepper to taste.

Sauthekayi Kosambari is ready!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Carrot Kosambari - Carrot Salad

Ingredients:

1 big size Carrot
1/4 cup grated coconut
Juice of a small Lime/lemon (as per taste)

Finely chopped Coriander leaves

Salt to taste

For seasoning: Little oil about 1/4 teaspoon, mustard seeds, 1-2curry leaves, 1-2 red chilies.

Method:

Peel and grate carrot.

In a mixing bowl add grated carrot, grated coconut, and Lemon juice and coriander leaves.

Prepare seasoning with the above mentioned ingredients and add the seasoning to the above mixture.

Just before serving add in salt.

Carrot Kosambari is ready!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Try these simple, healthy and delicious Kosambari's. I am sure you will like it too.

This will be my entry to RCI-Karnataka hosted by Asha from Foodie's Hope.

3 weeks later and 4 pounds gained.....

2007-09-19T10:58:00.001-07:00

After what could be called as a hectic vacation in India, I am back to USA and to the blogging world. Really, a three week vacation is too short a period to be visiting home. But the little time I got to spend there was worth every minute of it. And I can live for another year cherishing those memories.
I was telling my friends that I can summarize my vacation in one word , ok two words : Bhagam Bhag! Yeah, it was similar to that movie, running all the time from one place to another...always on the toes. That was how crazy it was.

Traffic in Bangalore has gotten worse. Believe me, I would have been the last person on earth to complain about my Bangalore, but this time, I give up. I've lived all my life in this city and I’ve always been loyal to it and defended the city when all my friends were complaining. But this time, it was too much for me to withstand. It seems there are like 800 vehicles added on to the Bangalore roads every day, but the city's roads remain the same. The new flyovers being built are not of much help either. And to add to the woes, it was pouring cats and dogs there. This added to the misery of roads. My husband and I were stuck waiting for an auto for more than half an hour near Forum, Koramangala. And we had to pay Rs.100 to the Auto driver to have him drop us off to our house, which was like just 6kms away!

Ok, will stop whining. But whatever it may be. I still love Bangalore. The city looked lush green with all the rains, it was beautiful!

I am already missing all my folks back home. I miss the timely manner in which my MIL or my Mother served food. I didn’t have to cook for all those 3 weeks there. And it being a month of festivals, I got lot of sweets and savories to eat. Am scared to step on my weighing machine now ;) And as planned, I did visit my favorite places to eat and shop. How much ever I did it all, I still wish I had a little more time to do some more. I know we humans are greedy: at least I am in this matter! ;)

And in all that bhaag-daud, my blog took a back seat. I could neither take pictures nor note down the recipes. I will have to wait for another year to post those yummy goodies in my blog. Until then, will continue to post whatever little I have learnt or will learn on the way.

And thankyou my dear blog friends for having wished me for my good trip. I really did. :)

Off to Namma Bengalooru..

2007-08-23T09:45:00.000-07:00

Oh, me so excited. Our traveling plans to India got confirmed only yesterday and I am on my toes ever since. You know last minute shopping, packing etc. And, I am not yet done though, there’s lot more to buy for my parents n brother, for my in-laws, my aunts, his aunts, my cousins, his cousins, my friends, his friends..............the list never seems to end. Not that I am complaining or something. It’s just the sheer excitement of shopping for all. :) I wish I owned a super store which had all the things I would want to take back home and never have to worry about the bills. Funny eh?!

This would be my first visit to Bangalore after my marriage. So, it’s all the more exciting. I've planned on doing so many things there: eating churmuri, pav bhaji from those small road side shops near Sajjan Rao Circle, Masala Dose in Vidyarthi Bhavan, and Pineapple Pastry from Sweet Chariot and of course loads and loads of shopping in Commercial Street and Avenue Road. Oh, I just can’t wait to land there.

And for my blog: well, not sure how much time I can spare to do this with all the above mentioned activities lined up. But don’t you worry folks, I will be introducing you all to my mother and to my MIL...So, I will definitely log in and read your posts. And also, I am looking forward to get some authentic recipes for Asha's RCI Karnataka. Asha, I would love to participate. I will try my best. Miss you all girls.

Let me now get back to my last minute chores.

Bangalore........... I am coming!

:)

Carrot n Almonds Kheer

2007-08-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

To celebrate my first blog award, I made this easy concoction of Carrot Puree and Almonds blend together and cooked with sugar and milk. Its very easy to make, I must admit.

Its very simple that I don't even have to list out the ingredients.

Wash and Peel Carrots (2-3). Roughly cut them and cook them in hot water till tender.

In the meanwhile, soak a few Almonds (9-10) in water.

After the carrots are cooked, blend them together along with Almonds. This makes a carrot puree.

Parallely, get about 2 cups of Milk to boil. I've used half n half. Let the milk condense to 3/4th of its original quantity. Add about a 1/4th cup of Sugar and stir. Pour in the carrot puree and cook for another minute. Turn off the heat.

Refrigerate the Kheer for about 1-2 hours. Its done :)

The above quantity makes about 1 big glass full of kheer.

I actually served it in a large glass and drank as if it were a juice or something.

Serve it up either way you like, this is delicious. You could also use a pinch of Ealichi powder for aroma.

Cucumber Raitha

2007-08-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

I came across this very simple yet delicious raitha on one of the blogs. You can find its original source from A Mad Tea Party here.

Its similar to the cucumber raitha we make back home with thick yogurt and chopped cucumber. But this recipe calls for lemon juice and garlic. And is known as Greek Cucumber Raitha. Not sure as to why the word Greek is in there. Well.., this raitha sure tingled my love for garlic.

I mixed 2:1 ratio of Plain yogurt (home made) and Light Sour cream. Tossed over cucumber chunks (after washing, peeling and seeding) and Garlic. I actually grated garlic very finely and toasted for few seconds in microwave. Lastly, I added salt, black pepper powder to taste and also 2-3 drops of lemon juice. Since I was using sour cream, I didn't want the lemon juice to make it too tangy.

Refrigirate this for about 30-40 mins before serving. Tastes delicious with Peas Pulav or even Vegetable Pulav. Its a great way to beat the summer heat!

Thankyou 'A Mad Tea Party' for this amazing recipe. :)

Rockin' Award

2007-08-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

Heeeeeeeeeeee, I can't stop smiling, heeeeeeeeeeeeeee. yeah, I will control it for a while and tell you all the reason for my 32-teeth wide smile.

Roopa, a dear blog friend of mine from My Chow Chow Bhath gave me the "Rockin' Girl Blogger" award! heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, yeah I know. I will stop that now. My heartiest thanks to you Roopa. You rock! ;) And btw, Roopa you were the first visitor to my blog and also to leave a comment.

Thankyou my dear fellow bloggers for inspiring me and my readers for giving the much needed motivation through your comments.

Its my first blog award and comes within a month of my first blog........yiiipeeeeeeeeeeee :)))))))))))))))))))))

Folks, this means a lot to me.

I would want to pass this award on to other Rockin' Girl Blogger : Mamatha of KarnatakaRecipes

One last time, please .. heheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

HesaruBele Tovve - Moong Dal ki Dal

2007-08-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

HesaruBele Tovve (Moong Dal ki Dal) got to be a typical Karnataka dish. Hesaru Bele also known as Split green gram or Moong Dal is cooked along with onions, tomatoes and coconut. This gravy type side dish is best served along with Chapathi's or Akki Rotti.

Ingredients:

HesaruBele/Split GreenGram/Moong dal: 1 cup
Onions: 1 small one, finely chopped
Tomatoes: 1 small one, cubed.
Green Chillies:3-4
Curry leaves:3-4
Ginger: A small piece finely chopped
Grated Coconut: about 1/2 a cup
Salt as per taste

For Seasoning:
Oil: about 4-5 teaspoons
Mustard seeds, Jeera, Channa dal, Red Chillies 1-2, Turmeric Powder: a pinch of it.

Method:
Dry Roast the hesarubele till it turns light brown. Wash it with water and drain and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan, season it with the above ingredients in the order mentioned.

Add in onions, crushed ginger and curry leaves.

Mix in the hesarubele and pour about 3 cups of water. Close the lid of the pan and let the Bele cook. It takes 10-15 mins on medium high heat.

Add salt when the tovve is half-cooked. Continue. Add water if you feel it requires more to cook.

Just before you can turn off the heat, add in the tomatoes and grated coconut. Cook for a minute.

Garnish with coriander leaves before serving. Tovve can be served hot or cold.

Cooking time: 25 mins. Serves: 3-4 people.

60 and going strong!

2007-08-15T00:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am talking about my country India. She is 60 today (August 15) and she is still going strong. She has seen it all...Love and Hate, Happiness and Sorrow, Gandhigiri and Dadagiri..and yet, she is going strong. Here's to all you fellow Indians,

A very Happy Independence Day!

Enjoy the freedom with Love, Trust, Respect....Lets make India proud!

A R Rehman's composition of National Anthem

Kittale Sippe Gojju - Orange Peel Gravy

2007-08-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

My friends from high school and college know my Mother as the one who makes Gojju from Orange Sippe.. Yuckkkkkkk! Nobody would even bother to taste when I would tell them about the ingredients. I used to coax them to eat because I wanted to finish it off from my lunch box!!! I used to tease my mom whenever she made it. Later, she started improvising on her recipe and well, yeah..the gojju got better. Remember, those were the days with no internet nor cooking shows on TV. I suppose she learnt it by herself or might have heard it from her neighbors.

Its been a week since we had brought Clementines from the market and they were still lying around. Its then this recipe occured to me, and I wanted to give a try. But it was late in the afternoon and Mom would be still sleeping (in India). So I didn't want to disturb her nor did I want to wait for another day to try this.

I followed my little cooking knowledge I had gained over the last few months and made an attempt. And the once I-Hate-Kittale Sippe Gojju turned out to be Not-too-bad-Kittale Sippe Gojju!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is How I made it:

Wash and Peel Clementines/Orange. Chop the peel to small pieces.

In a non-stick pan, heat about a teaspoon of ghee and fry the pieces till they turn light brown. I actually loved the aroma it was eminating when I was frying them. Keep aside after done.

Heat about 5-6 soons of oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and Channa Dal.

Cut a small onion and fry them till translucent. Add the already fried peel pieces.

Take about 2 spoons of concentrated tamarind paste, dilute it and pour to the pan. Add in chilli powder , salt and Jaggery. All the four ingredients can be on a little higher side. Keep cooking this until the orange peel pieces gets properly cooked. It should turn soft and has to absorb all the spices.

In the meanwhile, grind together grated cocunut, a few groundnuts (5-6), 1-2 cloves and Poppy seeds (gasagase)

Once the gravy is cooked, add in the above made coconut paste. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Check for salt and spice again and add if required.

Voila... gojju is done!! This can be served as a side dish along with chapathi's. You could also mix it with hot rice and a spoonful of ghee. Yummicious!

Believe me folks, this didn't taste bitter at all. Infact my husband had his whole meal without even knowing what it was made up of. ;) Its still my little secret. But he kept saying "Honey, this tastes different. what is it? It tastes something like .. something like..."

Shhhh.... I am not telling him yet!!

Gojju Avalakki - Poha with Tamarind Sauce

2007-08-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

Avalakki.. pavalakki.. kanchina.. mina mina .....dam dum dus pus... oh, how I miss this little Kannada rhyme. We used to play this game as kids. The players sit around forming a circle, stretching their hands..pressing their palms against the ground. One person starts singing the rhyme and touches each one's palm as he/she sings along. The last palm thats touched by the time the song ends, flips his/her palm. This way the game continues..and the player who has both palms touched, is a winner..well, something like that. I seem to have forgotten it. Whatever, it brings in warm memories of those lazy afternoons with cousins.

The rhyme reminds me of this dish called Gojju Avalakki. This has to be amongst the favorites of many who have tasted it. But alas, my Dad and Brother beg to differ. But I....hmmm love this. Gojju Avalakki is an easy to make breakfast dish. I usually do this on weekends so that I can relish it in leisure. I had taken down the recipe from my mom before coming to US. First time when I tried it, I had messed up with the quantity of tamarind and chili powder. It tasted bland. Yet my husband ate it quietly without saying a word :). By second time, I got it right.. and I've been cooking it ever since.

Avalakki is also known as Poha, beaten rice, etc. It’s better to use the thick or may be medium flakes for this. Don't use the paper-light Poha. I don't know the literal translation for Gojju in Hindi or English. So, I would simply call this recipe as 'Poha with Tamarind Sauce'

Ingredients:

Avalakki: 1 cup (I roughly use about 3 handful of avalakki for 2 people)
Tamarind paste: 1 spoon (I've used concentrated paste)
Chili Powder/Sambhar powder: 1-1.5 spoons (again, as per your taste)
Grated Jaggery: roughly about 1.5 spoons
Salt to taste
Onions chopped: 1/2 cup (optional)

Seasoning:

Cooking Oil: about 6 spoons
Mustard seeds, Jeera, Urad dal, dry red chili’s (1 or 2), curry leaves, Turmeric Powder (a pinch) and Asafoetida (a pinch)

Garnishing:

Grated Dry Coconut (Copra)
Groundnuts/Peanuts: roasted or fried in about a teaspoon of oil
Finely chopped cilantro leaves

Method:

First of all, coarsely grind avalakki for few seconds in a mixer. Make sure not to powder it. Wash avalakki with water and drain it. Soak it in water for few minutes until it gets soft.

In the meanwhile, prepare the Gojju - Tamarind Sauce.
Dilute the tamarind concentrate with about 1/2 cup of water.
Heat a small pan with a couple of spoon of oil. Before the oil gets too hot, add in the tamarind paste, jaggery powder and sambhar powder. Add salt too and let this cook for couple of minutes. Once done, mix this sauce gently to the soaked avalakki.

Heat oil in a large pan. Add in all the seasoning ingredients in the order mentioned. Add Asafoetida in the end. Add in onions and fry till it turns pink. At this point, add the avalakki mixture (with tamarind sauce), groundnuts and dry grated coconut. Cook for a minute. Garnish it with cilantro leaves. This can be served hot or cold.

Cooking time: 15 mins. Serves: 2 people.

Note:

Traditional recipe for Gojju Avalakki does not include onions. I've used it here in my recipe because I love anything with onions. To use it or not to : is your choice.

I like to eat this along with thick yogurt (curds). It tastes good as it is.

Gojju Avalakki is of Khatta-meetha types. Vary the quantity of tamarind, jaggery, chili powder and salt as per your taste.

You can also sprinkle a little of Yellu Pudi (White Til powder). It adds to the taste.

Yeah, one last thing. In the picture you can see that the avalakki is not coarsely grinded. My mixer is conked off and hence.

Hand Embroidery 2

2007-08-07T14:38:00.000-07:00

Embroidery on a face towel : I tried to get artisitc by embroidering the face towels I had in my closet. I know, the texture of the towel isn't good enough to hand embroider. But still I tried and learnt some lessons in the process. I hope the next one comes out better.

Here is the picture of what I did. I cant say that I absolutely love it, but its not bad either, isn't it??!!

Shyavige Halwa - Vermicelli Halwa

2007-08-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

I basically use Shyavige (vermicelli) to make Payasa (called as Kheer in Hindi) or Uppittu (Upma). Here, I've tried a little bit different version: A Halwa. I was a bit apprehensive as to how it would turn out, but it was good. Not too bad. This halwa is strictly for those sweet teeth’s.

Ingredients:

Vermicelli: 1Cup

Besan Flour (Kadle Hittu) : 3/4 th of a cup

Sugar: 3/4th of a cup. (or a little more, depending on how sweet you want)

Ghee (Clarified butter): 6 spoons

4-5 Cashewnuts, 2-3 Cardamoms (Elaichi) and about 8-10 Raisins

Water: About a cup and a little more.

Method:

Break vermicelli into small pieces. Heat a non-stick pan, add little ghee and roast vermicelli until they turn to light brown. Keep aside

In the same pan, roast besan powder till about the raw smell of the flour goes away. Ensure not to over do it. Keep aside

Fry Cashew nuts in a little ghee till golden brown and keep aside.

In the same non-stick pan, boil water and pour in the roasted vermicelli to it. Allow the vermicelli to get cooked completely. Also ensure not to use too much of water.

Once cooked, add in sugar. After sugar is completely dissolved, mix in the flour and the nuts and raisins. Cook on medium heat stirring continuously till you can see the ghee leaving the sides of the vessel.

Take the seeds from cardamom, powder it and then mix it to the halwa mix.

Spread a buttered foil sheet on a flat surface; evenly spread the halwa on to the sheet. Flatten it using a rolling pin or if you can dare the heat, use your palm! Cut them into desirable shape.

Note:

The first time I had tried this, I was a little haste in not allowing the vermicelli to cook properly. Be patient with it. Let it cook completely.

Cook on medium heat.

Prepation time: About 25 Mins. I was able to make around 20-24 pieces with the above quantity.

Baby Corn Masala

2007-08-02T09:06:00.000-07:00

The other day at a dinner over my friends place, I came across this amazing dish she had cooked. My husband absolutely loved it and I wanted to give it a try. I could not believe when she gave me the recipe, it was so simple and yet it looked as if it took hours to make. I of course made changes to the recipe based on what I had in my pantry. Here it goes:

Ingredients:

Baby Corn: I've used a small can containing about 10-12 pieces. I used this because I had it in my pantry. Otherwise, you can use the raw baby corn you get in the vegetable section. You could also use big corns instead. Cut them into desirable length and Boil them in water along with little salt and keep aside.

Finely chopped Onions: ¾ cup
Tomato Puree: ½ cup
Garam Masala: 1 spoon
Kitchen King Masala: 1 spoon
Ginger Paste: ½ spoon
Oil, Salt, Chilli Powder
Amchur powder: ¼ spoon
cilantro

Method:

Heat oil in pan and fry onions till golden brown.
Add ginger paste and fry for another minute.
Add the tomato puree and other masala’s.
Add the pre-boiled baby corn into the masala and let cook in medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add water to attain desired consistency. The corn should soak in all the masala’s. That’s when you know it’s done.
Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves.

This gravy serves 4 people and goes well with rice, chapatti or roti’s.

Lemon Rice

2007-08-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

Well well well...this is completely my Husband's blog. I am just writing it on his behalf.

Last weekend we had a potluck party and we were to cook Lemon Rice for about 15-20 people. My husband offered to help me in the process, but alas, in the end it turned out that I was his helper and he the chef!!!! Let me admit, he is a better cook than me. He amazes me with his innovative recipes.

No doubt, the lemon rice was a super hit at the party. The picture, I guess will say it all. :)
Pssst: It was me who did the decoration!

Here is my husband's version of Lemon rice or should I say 'Vegetable Lemon Rice'!

Ingredients:

Rice: cook rice with water in 1:2 ratio.
Finely chopped onions
A bag of frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, beans, corn, peas): cooked and kept aside
Green chilies, curry leaves, Ginger
Urad dal, Mustard seeds, Turmeric powder for the color
Roasted groundnuts
Fried cashew nuts and finely chopped cilantro for garnishing.
Lemon Juice
Salt to taste, Oil

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Add urad dal, green chili’s, curry leaves and ginger. Sauté for a minute.

Add onions and fry till golden brown. Add mixed vegetables and cook for few more minutes.

Add roasted groundnuts and turmeric.

Mix the above with rice. Make sure you are gentle while mixing, you dont want rice to get mashed. Add salt and squeeze in lemon juice as per taste.

Garnish it with cilantro and cashew.

Simple isn't it? I think we took about less than half an hour to do it all. Of course rice had to be cooked before hand.

Thondekayi Palya / Ivy Gourd Curry

2007-07-31T12:26:00.000-07:00

7:30 PM:

My husband calls from work and says he will be coming a little late tonight. Of course he had to compensate for the work he had missed in the morning. He had stayed home watching the cricket test match where India played Vs England. Wonder what’s with cricket and guys! Hmmm…I think that can be my blog material for some other time.

7:45PM:

With no mood to cook, I reluctantly entered the kitchen. I cleaned up the dishes that were lying since the afternoon lunch. Checked my fridge to cook up something simple and I spotted a handful of thondekayi’s (Ivy Gourd) lying there. I had got them last Tuesday from the local Indian grocery store. It had been a while since I had cooked them, so I decided to make a Palya (curry) from them. Since hubby dear was to be late, I decided to capture the process in my camera and blog the same.

Long long ago..when I was a kid, we grew thondekayi in our garden. It’s a creeper and we used sticks to build a small support system for them to grow. The Palya made from these fresh kayi’s are yummy… ok, enough of my story. Let me quickly write the recipe for the Palya.

Ingredients:
A handful of Ivy Gourd
Onions chopped
Oil, Salt
Red Chili Powder (I have used Saarina Pudi (Sambhar powder))

For Seasoning:
Mustard Seeds
Channa Dal
Jeera
Curry Leaves
Red Chilli – 1 or 2

For Garnishing:
Grated Coconut ½ cup
Lemon Juice
Coriander Leaves

Method:

Wash and cut each gourd (kayi) into 4 pieces. Be sure to trim off the edges.
Chop onions.

Heat about a little oil in a pan. Season it with mustard, jeera, red chilli’s and channa dal. Add a few leaves of curry leaves if desired.

After the mustard seeds sputter, fry onions till golden brown.

At this point, I add Saarina Pudi (You can use red chilli powder instead). I just allow it to get cooked in oil for a second. I feel it gives a great taste.

Add thondekayi and little water and cook till tender. Add salt as per taste.

Garnish the cooked curry with grated coconut, chopped coriander leaves and with a little lemon juice.

Serve it with chapatti’s or roti’s. It’s a delicious combination

Note:

Discard the thondekayi if they are red in color when you cut them. It gives a bitter taste.
Add about half teaspoon of sugar/jaggery for those sweet buds. It tastes good, believe me!

8:25PM:

I am done with my cooking and photo taking sessions and still, no sign of my husband. The Palya looks so good.. that my mouth begins to water! I take a little to taste and its yummmm. And the next thing I know is that I’ve finished it all, without waiting for hubby dear ;) c’mon it was so tempting and I couldn’t wait…slurrrrrrp!!!!!!!!

Turning 30 (not yet !! )

2007-07-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

One of my friends forwarded me an email that I thought is quite worth to share. As I read , I realised how true every line in there is. Let me cut the story short, read it for yourself.

George Carlin's view on aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excitedabout aging that you think in fractions. "How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!"

You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going onfive! That's the key. You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. "How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16!
And then the greatest day of your life . . . you become 21. Even thewords sound like a ceremony . . . YOU BECOME 21. . . YEAS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk. He TURNED, we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40.

Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 . . . and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime.

And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I was JUST 92." Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"

May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

Akki Rotti

2007-07-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

How could I not start my first food blog without writing about ‘Akki Rotti’ (Rice Roti). This dish is a well known amongst kannadigas and especially in the Kannadiga Jain houses. I being one, Akki Rotti is no doubt my favorite. As a Grihini – housewife, one has to learn this process of making Akki Rotti. It’s like a benchmark for all housewives; who can make the best Akki Rotti’s in town!

For a novice like me, making Akki Rotti was a Herculean task. Earlier, my mother did try her best to teach me how to, lest she didn’t want my future-in-laws to be complaining about it. ;)
However, during one of my summer vacations at my Doddamma’s (My mother’s elder sister) village, I made an attempt to learn. Doddamma is very kind and sweet lady. She taught me in an easiest way to make one. I did try making a few and it came out pretty good. And after that I never got a chance to make one.

So today, I tried. And it’s for all you to see how it turned out. Of course, for those who have seen it or eaten it before may laugh at the look of it, but believe me for a second timer it was not bad at all. I made ‘badenekayi palya’ (Eggplant/Brinjal) to go along with it.

Akki Rotti’s are made in a variety of way. One way is to add onions, carrots, jeera etc...
But this version is a little bit different. And one good thing about this is that, there is no need to use oil – healthy isn’t it!

Akki Rotti

Ingredients:

Rice Flour: 2 cups
Water: 1 cup
Salt: 1 teaspoon (may vary as per your taste)

Makes about 4 Rotti’s.

Method:

In a bowl, mix rice flour and salt. Boil the water and pour it on to the flour mix. Let set for couple of minutes or until the water gets warm enough to knead the dough.

Make dough just fine enough to be able to spread. (Similar to chapathi dough). Add cold water if required while mixing.

Make lemon size balls of it. Wet a kitchen cloth (I used a new hanky) and spread it over the flat base. Now, spread the dough on the cloth with your fingers/palm until u get a round flat Rotti.

Heat the tava. Carefully, transfer the Rotti from the cloth onto the tava. Using the same cloth, spread a layer of water over the rotti, just enough to wet it. Wait for a minute. Turn it over. Allow it to cook for another minute. Turn it over again. And with a wooden saddle, gently press the Rotti on all sides, so that it slowly blows up. And then, transfer it to a plate. Serve it with your favorite curry.

Note:

I have used a wet cloth to spread the Rotti dough. Typically back home, they use rice flour instead.
The rice flour we get here in the US Indian grocery stores is not ideal for making this type of Akki Rotti. Back home, I remember my mother, washing rice with water several times and then allowing it to dry by spreading it over a cloth for days. And then taking it to the Flour Making Mill to get Rice Flour. Akki Rotti’s made from this flour turns out very soft and white too.

Mamatha's version of Akki Rotti is good. It solves the problem of me trying to use a wet cloth to spread the Rotti. Have a look : http://karnatakarecipes.blogspot.com/2007/06/akki-rotti-with-badanekai.html

My First Embroidery Project

2007-07-24T14:03:00.000-07:00

My first foray in to embroidery was watching my Mother do it patiently on her sari’s, on my little frocks or a little bear on my brother's cap. I admired her for how she transformed a simple frock of mine into a colorful flowery frock. At age 10 or so, I started learning the basics of hand-embroidery. It started with a simple chain stitch. I loved how I could play around with a simple needle and thread. Then came the stem stitch, satin stitch...and then the list grew. I was a proud little girl when I completed my first project: a fancy embroidered hand kerchief. I also did a few more small projects like embroidering my initial on my pillow cover, embellishing my first sari with my art and of course the beginners cross-stitch project. But somewhere down the line, I lost touch with this art I had once fancied.

Fast forward to July 2007: Recently, I visited a local craft store and found a wide range of embroidery stuff and this triggered the interest I had lost long ago. I got home a set of colorful embroidery threads and needles. I don’t have a Sewing machine at home so I bought a ready-made table runner. And then I started..... doing what I liked.

This is how it looks and I love it!!!!!!!!!!! What do you think?

Live, Love, Laugh

2007-07-24T13:22:00.000-07:00

What could be a better way than to start my first blog with this title. I firmly believe in this motto... Laugh as long as you breathe, Love as long as you live. :)

Be Happy: Remember to Live, Love, Laugh and Learn