Recipe world

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

During our childhood days, very rarely we used to get bakery food at home. We loved chocolates and bakery food more than anything else which was prepared at home :) Couple of years later, my mother mother learned preparing cake using pressure cooker. Then, she started preparing cake whenever we want! Especially, we loved the cake prepared using different colors :D She tried adding different flavors and dry fruits in her next experiments. Even now, we prepare the same cake with slight variations.

This cake can be prepared very easily using pressure cooker. This time, I have prepared it using oven since I didn't had a wide vessel to fit in the pressure cooker. It came out very well in oven also! The only difference you can observe is when you use pressure cooker, base of the cake will become slightly dark in color; whereas base color won't change when oven is used.

Preparation time:1 1/4 hours
Yield: 1 round cake

Ingredients:
Maida / All purpose flour - 2 cups
Powdered sugar - 1 cup
Milk powder - 1 cup
Unsalted butter - 1 lemon size
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Cooking soda - 1/2 tsp
Milk - 2 cups
Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp or few drops of vanilla essence

Method:
Sieve all purpose flour and baking powder 1 - 2 times.
To this, add powdered sugar and milk powder and mix it well.
Melt the butter in a wok and pour it on the flour mixture and mix it nicely with your hands.
Now, add milk little by little and prepare the cake batter. No need to add the whole quantity of milk; add it till you get the dosa batter consistency.
One main tip here is to mix the batter in only one direction. Don't mix the batter in different directions.
Finally, add cooking soda and vanilla essence or cinnamon powder and mix it without lumps.
Transfer the batter to the greased baking pan and add some dry fruits, if you wish.

- Baking in Pressure Cooker:
Transfer the cake batter to a wide pan which will fit in the pressure cooker.
Heat the pressure cooker (without closing the lid) without adding any water.Put the pan inside the cooker and close the lid. Don't put the weight on the lid, just close it with a steel cup.

Keep it on simmer and cook it for around 40 - 45 minutes. Since we cook it on low flame, cooker won't get burnt.
As we didn't put the weight, anytime we can open the lid to check whether its cooked. After cooking it for 30 - 35 minutes, just open the cooker lid and insert a knife into the cake. If the batter won't stick to the knife, its the sign that the cake is cooked.

- Baking in Oven:
Transfer the cake batter to a greased baking pan.
Preheat the oven to 350 F and cook the cake for about 50 - 55 minutes. After cooking it for 40 minutes, keep checking it for every five minutes.

Allow the cake to get completely cool. Then, remove it carefully from the baking pan.

Icing:
Apply the icing after the cake cools down completely; otherwise it will melt.
I have done the icing with cocoa powder for this cake. Mix butter and cocoa powder with sugar powder for taste and beat it nicely. Apply it to the cake and delicious cake is ready to eat!

Tips:

You can substitute cocoa powder with horlicks, winner or any other powder with chocolate flavor for icing.
If you are using food colors for this cake, divide the cake batter into 2 - 3 portions and add different colors for the same. Pour one color batter after another to the baking pan. Better to use dark color to the base so that the base color, if becomes dark won't be visible ;)

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

This snacks resembles the memories of my childhood. I was born n brought up in a joint family. So, myself and 2 - 3 of my cousins we of the same age group. Daily, we used to have some snacks after coming back from school in the evening. Poha seasoning was our favorite snacks those days and most of the days, we used to demand for the same :D

Even when I was working, I used to carry this poha seasoning for my lunch box. Although its not a stomach filling snack, I was preparing it for lunch box on some lazy days ;) There, it was a big hit! My colleagues were fond of this poha and they used to finish my lunch box whenever I carry poha! And I was satisfying myself with somebody else's lunch box :)

This poha is a perfect snacks for evening time with a cup of hot tea or coffee.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Thin poha / Paper Avalakki - 2 1/2 bowl

Groundnuts - 3 spoon

Urad dal - 1/2 spoon

Dry red chillies - 2 pieces

Mustard seeds - 1/2 spoon

Coriander seeds - 1 1/4 spoon

Big pinch of turmeric

Green chilli - 1 (adjust according to taste)

Curry leaves 8 - 10

Salt to taste

Sugar - 2 spoons or to taste

Oil - 4 spoons (I prefer using coconut oil)

Grated coconut - 1/2 or 3/4 cup

1 medium size onion

Water - 1/2 cup

Method:

Cut the green chilli into medium size pieces; chop the onion finely.

Transfer the poha to a mixing bowl. Add salt and sugar for taste.

Heat oil in a wok. Add groundnuts, red chilli pieces, urad dal, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, turmeric, green chilli pieces and curry leaves.

Once it starts spluttering, pour the seasoning on the poha. Add 1/4th cup of water to the wok to clean it and sprinkle the same on the poha.

Also add grated coconut and chopped onion to the poha and mix it nicely with your hands. Add little more water, if needed. Don't add too much water, otherwise poha will become mushy mushy.

Check the taste and add salt or sugar, if needed.

Serve this poha seasoning along with some spicy snacks. Some people love to have it with curd also!

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

This is one of the rice variety which I usually prepare for hubby's lunch box. Recipe is also very simple, and it won't take much time to prepare. If you have no time to prepare a side dish or raita, simply it can be had with plain curd also!

Normally, mint leaves will get spoiled within very few days even if you keep them in the fridge. I want to share a nice tip with you to avoid the spoiling! Clean the mint leaves and grind them in a blender along with little salt into fine paste. Add little water, if needed. Then, transfer the paste into a glass bottle and refrigerate it. It will last for at-least a month or more :) I will use this paste for chaat items, chutney, rice items, etc.

Preparation Time: 25 - 30 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 1/2 cup

Mint leaves - 1/2 bunch

Green chillies - 3

Ginger - 1 inch

Garlic 3 - 4 cloves

Grated coconut - 1/4 cup

Cardamom - 2

Cloves - 4

4 - 5 small pieces of cinnamon

1 medium size onion

Potato - 1 halve

Water - 3 cups

Oil - 3 tbsp

Lime - 1 halve or to taste

Salt to taste

Method:

Peel the potato and cut into small cubes. Soak it in water to avoid becoming oxidized.

Chop the onion thinly lengthwise. Grind the grated coconut, ginger, garlic, mint leaves and green chillies fine paste.

Heat oil in a thick bottom pan and add the cinnamon pieces, cloves and cardamom. Roast them for few seconds and add the chopped onion.

Fry the onion on low flame till it becomes brownish. Then, add the ground paste and potato cubes.

Saute it for 3 - 4 minutes until the raw smell is gone. To this, add the washed rice and saute it for 1 - 2 minutes.

Now, add required amount of water, salt and lime squeeze. Transfer the mixture to rice cooker / pressure cooker and and cook them.

Serve it hot with raita or simply curd!

Tips:

If you have used more water while grinding the paste, add little less water while cooking. Adjust the quantity of water according to the rice which you are using. Don't make it too mushy.
For garnishing, you can use some cashew pieces roasted with little oil.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Gavvalu is a famous snack item from Andhra. Few months back, one of my Andhra friends offered these lovely goodies to us. We were wondering about the shape of these goodies! They look alike small shells and tastes very nice.Then, she told me the recipe of these sweet shells.

But there was a small confusion. She told that she had used the Gavvalu board, a small board with zig zag surface to give that shape to the Gavvalu. Then, I searched in Google for an alternative for the Gavvalu Board. I ended up with two easy alternatives which are - a fork or a big comb! I tried with both, but for giving a nice shape, I felt the comb better than fork. These days, I am maintaining a separate comb in the kitchen exclusively for Gavvalu preparation!

These sweet shells goes well with a cup of hot tea or coffee. Or simply you can eat them anytime (like me??) :) Be cautious a bit while eating Gavvalu..coz you can't stop munching them!!

Thanks Usha for this lovely recipe :)

Preparation time: 1 1/4 hours

Servings: 5 - 6 (it depends ;) )

Ingredients:

All purpose flour / Maida - 2 cups

Sooji rava (Semolina) or Chiroti rava - 1/2 cup (see the tips)

Salt - 1/4 spoon

Ghee / clarified butter - 3 spoon

Water to prepare the dough (approx 3/4th cup)

Oil for deep frying

For sugar syrup: sugar - 1 cup, water - 1/2 cup, pinch of cardamom powder

Gavvalu board, a big comb or a fork

Method:

Mix all purpose flour, rava, salt and ghee in a mixing bowl. Add water little by little and prepare a non - sticky dough. Dough should not be too soft, nor too hard.

Cover the dough with a lid or a wet cloth and leave it for 20 minutes. Then, take a lemon size dough and prepare small balls out of it.

Gently press each ball on the comb (or Gavvalu Board) as shown in the picture. Keep the designed surface out and carefully roll the Gavvalu little bit to give the Shell shape.

Heat oil in a heavy pan and deep fry the prepared Gavvalu in batches on medium or low heat for around five minutes.

Once the Gavvalu becomes crispy and golden brown, drain the oil and transfer them onto a tissue paper to absorb the excess oil.

In the meanwhile, combine sugar and water and prepare a thick syrup (may be 2 1/2 thread consistency). Add pinch of cardamom powder and keep it aside.

Transfer the deep fried Gavvalu to a mixing bowl. Pour 3 - 4 spoons of sugar syrup and mix it thoroughly. Adjust the quantity of sugar syrup according to your taste.

Spread the sugar coated shells on a plate for 2 minutes to get dried up. Once they are dried up, they won't be sticky anymore.

Enjoy the sweet shells with a cup of tea / coffee!

Tips:

For giving a crispy touch, I have added sooji rava here. I have got very good results with chiroti rava also. If you wish to use chiroti rava, you can add 2 spoons of sooji rava along with chiroti rava.
If the dough has become too soft and you are not able to give a nice shape to the Gavvalu, try adding little more sooji rava to the dough.
Keep the dough closed to avoid becoming dry.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Last week, we had been to a shop nearby for the weekly shopping. There, I saw some fresh bitter gourd in the vegetables counter. Simply I went there and picked few of them. It was a long time ago I prepared Bitter Gourd Palya at home. Bitter gourd makes me remember one funny incident happened when we were in Australia. It was not even a month ago we stayed there, we had been to a Weekend Market where farmers themselves come directly and sell their produces. We had bought some bitter gourd from there and I prepared Palya. As far as I observed, water content is relatively high in most of the vegetables available in Australia. Bitter gourd palya needs to be fried for longer time till the water content is almost reduced. I prepared Palya with 2 - 3 bitter gourd, once it was nicely roasted and done, I could have measured the quantity in spoons! :D It was reduced that much!! After this experiment, I never tried Bitter Gourd Palya during my stay there:)

This Palya recipe is from one of my relatives in Bangalore. My mom does it in a different way, but I prefer this kind of palya most of the times! This palya tastes very good and you won't feel the bitterness anytime. Since it is roasted nicely, it can be used up to 10 - 12 days.

Preparation Time: 1 1/2 hours

Servings: 8 - 9

Ingredients:

Bitter gourd - 2 nos

Turmeric powder - 1/2 spoon

Salt to taste

Amchur powder / HuLipudi - for taste

Jaggery 2 - 3 spoon or to taste

- For seasoning: Oil - 2 - 3 spoons, Dry red chilli - 1, Urad dal - 1 spoon, Mustard seeds - 1/4 spoon, Sliced green chillies - 2, Pinch of turmeric, Few curry leaves (optional)

- For Masala Powder: Oil - 1/2 spoon, Dry red chillies - 3, Chana dal - 2 1/2 tbsp, Urad dal - 1 1/2 tbsp, Fennel seeds - 1 spoon

Method:

Cut and remove the seeds from bitter gourd and chop them finely. Add 3 - 4 spoons of salt and 1/2 spoon of turmeric powder and mix it well and keep it closed for 30 minutes.

Squeeze off all the water content from the chopped bitter gourd using your hands.

Take a wide bottom pan for frying. Heat the oil, add red chilli pieces, urad dal, mustard seeds, turmeric, green chillies and curry leaves.

After the seasoning is roasted nicely, add chopped bitter gourd, salt, amchur powder, jaggery and mix well.

Saute it occasionally and fry on low flame for about 45 minutes.

In the meanwhile, keep the Masala Powder ready: Roast the above mentioned ingredients for Masala Powder using little oil and make a coarse powder.

Once the bitter gourd is roasted nicely and looks bit dry, add the masala powder and saute it well.

Fry it for 4 - 5 minutes and switch off the flame.

Now, Bitter gourd palys is ready to accompany your meals!

Tips:

To remove the bitterness of bitter gourd, mix the chopped bitter gourd with salt and turmeric and keep it for half an hour. Then, squeeze off all the water from bitter gourd by pressing with your hands. Then, use it for cooking.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Actually, this posting was planned long time ago! Whenever I prepare Banana Rotti, I was thinking of posting the recipe. But I was bit lazy to note down the measurements ;) This time, I have noted down the measurements properly and thought of posting the recipe! If you have a stock of fully ripened bananas at home, just try this soft and sweet rotti. Its very easy to prepare and there is no compromise in taste. This rotti suits for your breakfast as well as for lunch box :)

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Servings: 3

Ingredients:

Fully ripened large bananas - 1 & 1/2

Rice flour - 2 cups

Wheat flour - 1/2 cup

Water - 1 cup

Salt - 1 1/4 spoon or to taste

Sugar - 4 spoons

Jaggery - 2 spoons

Method:

Peel and chop the bananas into medium size pieces. Grind them in mixer and prepare a fine paste.

Add salt, sugar, jaggery and water to the banana paste and boil it for 2 minutes.

Then, add the flours and saute it for 2 minutes so that the dough gets cooked well.

Once you get the right consistency to prepare the balls, switch off the flame and close the dough with a lid.

After the dough is completely cool, prepare lemon size balls from the dough and roll them thinly using some dry flour.

Transfer the rotti onto the hot skillet and cook both the sides nicely.

Serve the hot rotti along with ghee!

I love to add few drops of ghee to the rotti once it is almost done and turn it for few seconds to get the nice aroma :)

Tips:

If you are planning this rotti for the breakfast, you can prepare the dough previous night itself.

Sending this over to Banana Recipes event at My Culinary Creations

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

We had a mixer grinder of Butterfly brand from past 3 years. My sister has been using this brand mixer from around 10 years. She suggested me this brand after my marriage. I was happy with the mixer and loved the juice jar which comes along with it! Due to our luggage limit, we sold it in Australia while relocating to India. After coming to Bangalore, I wanted to buy the same model from butterfly again! We searched and searched here, nowhere I could find the same kind of mixer :( Most of the big and branded shops won't have the Butterfly mixer these days and very few shops have some other model in Butterfly. Finally, I was able to get the same model mixer in a small shop and without a second thought, we bought it from them!! Now I have decided not to loose this mixer for any reason for at-least a couple of years.
We had been to our native recently. One of our relatives had brought some home grown Amatekayi (Ambatekayi) for us. Since we can't get all these village veggies and fruits here, our bags will be heavily loaded with these items while coming back from the native :) Amatekayi (Ambatekayi) is a kind of tangy fruit which is common in rural areas. It will have a hard skin and a fibrous seed inside. Lot of delicious recipes can be prepared using this Amatekayi. Here is the recipe of sambar using this Amatekayi. This sambar is called as 'Amati' in my place. This sambar will have a spicy, tangy and sweetish taste and goes well with rice!

Preparation time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4 - 5

Ingredients:
Amate (Ambate) kayi - 6
Cloves - 3
Coriander seeds - 1 1/4 spoon
Mustard seeds - 1/2 spoon
Dry red chillies - 3 (adjust according to taste)
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Jaggery - 4 spoon (for sweetness)
For seasoning: oil - 2 spoon, urad dal - 1/2 spoon, mustard seeds - 1/4 spoon, pinch of asafoetida, few curry leaves

Method:
Take 3 cups of water in a vessel and cook the Amatekayi till soft.
Once the cooked Amatekayi is cool, add salt and sugar. Squeeze off the Amatekayi in that mixture and let the skin and seed remain in the gravy.
Heat 2 spoons of oil in a small wok and add cloves, red chillies, coriander seeds and mustard seeds. Roast them until you hear the spluttering sound and grind them finely along with grated coconut.
Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan, add urad dal, mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves.
Add the cooked Amatekayi gravy to the seasoning and boil it for 4 - 5 minutes.
Sambar (Amati) is ready to serve with hot rice! It can be preserved upto a week in refrigerator.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Here is a very simple recipe for preparing a special pulav! If you hear the word pulav, you will think of the ingredients which you need for it and a complicated method of doing it.. My mother never uses garam masala for preparing pulav. She uses her own masala powder . She cooks rice and vegetables separately and mixes in the seasoning. Then what, pulav is ready! Don't worry about my mother's secret pulav powder, you can prepare pulav with your own sambar/ saaru powder also. Here is the recipe for you...

Preparation time: 30 - 35 minutes
Servings: 2

Ingredients:
Rice - 1 1/2 cup
Water - 3 cups
Beans 6-7
Carrot - 1
Green peas (optional) - few
Cloves 3-4
Cinnamon - 1" piece
Cumin seeds - 1/2 spoon
Fennel seeds - 1/4spoon
Mustard seeds - 1/4 spoon
Ginger garlic paste - 1 spoon
Onion - 1 medium sliced thinly
Sambar / rasam powder - 1 1/2 spoon as per your taste
Green chilli -1
Sugar - 1/4 spoon
Salt to taste
Lime juice - 1 spoon
Oil - 3 tbsp
Ghee - 1 1/2 spoon

Method :
Wash the rice thoroughly and cook with 1:2 cups of water.

Mix long cut carrot, beans and green peas with little salt in a pressure cooker for one whistle. Let it cool and drain all the water.

Heat oil in a pan and add cinnamon pieces, cloves, mustard seeds and fry for a while. Add cumin seeds, fennel seeds, sliced green chilli, ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute.

Now add thinly sliced onion and fry for 3-4 minutes.

Add sambar/rasam powder and cooked vegetables into the pan and cook for 2 minutes.

Then add cooked rice, salt , lime juice and sugar and mix well.

Finally add ghee and cover the pan, simmer for 4 minutes. Now your pulav is ready!! It's tastier if you eat hot with raitha.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Here is a variety of chutney which I learned from my mom. For this chutney, don't use the green chillies which r too hot. Use more of green chillies which are less hot to give a nice aroma to the chutney. This chutney goes well with all varieties of dosa, idli and chapathi.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Grated coconut - 3/4 cup

Urad dal - 1 spoon

Sesame seeds - 1/4th or 1/2 spoon

Mustard seeds - 1/4 spoon

Oil - 1 1/2 spoon (I prefer using coconut oil)

Green chillies - 3

Method:

Heat oil in a small wok. Add urad dal, mustard seeds and sesame seeds.
Once it is nicely roasted and starts spluttering, add chopped green chillies.
Saute them for 2 - 3 minutes and remove from the flame.
Grind this seasoning along with grated coconut into a coarse paste.
Add salt to taste and do the seasoning with mustard seeds.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

I always love doing new experiments in kitchen. Especially for breakfast, I will keep trying new varieties frequently. Mom knows my liking towards cooking. Normally, when she goes through an interesting recipe, she will note it down for me! Happy to say that, she has added lot of recipes to my collection :) Also, she will share lot of tips with us for improving the taste of recipes.

Here is a recipe from my mom's collection which suits for your breakfast. This variety of idli is prepared using cucumber and rice as the main ingredients. It's a stomach filling idli since we use the rice. Fermentation is not required for this idli, so you can start working on it just an hour before breakfast!

Preparation time: 35 minutes

Cooking time: 25 - 30 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 1/2 cup

1 medium size cucumber

Grated coconut - 3/4 cup

Green chilli - 1 (adjust according to taste)

Ginger - 1/2 inch

Chopped coriander leaves - 1/4 cup

Cumin Seeds - 1/4 spoon

Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 spoon

Carom seeds - 1/4 spoon

Salt to taste

Method:

Wash the rice and drain all the water. Spread it on a cotton cloth for 10 - 15 minutes for drying. Then, make a coarse powder same as Idli Rava from the rice. This can be done previous night itself to save the time!

Dry roast fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds and carom seeds and make a fine powder. Only half of this powder is sufficient for preparing idli with the above measurement. Preserve the remaining powder for using next time.

Peel and grate the cucumber. Keep the crushed ginger and chopped green chilli ready.

Take the grated cucumber in a mixing bowl, add the coarsely powdered rice, grated coconut, chopped green chilli, crushed ginger, chopped coriander leaves, powdered spices and salt to taste. Mix it well.

Wash the idli plates and apply little oil. Fill the roundels with idli batter and cook them for about 25 - 30 minutes. It will take exactly 25 minutes in my Idli Kadai.

Serve it hot with coconut chutney.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Kannekudi or Soralekudi is a plant variety of Malnad region, the leaves of which will be used for cooking. It will grow like a bush. I don't know its scientific name. People use it for cooking mostly during the rainy season. It has good health values..especially when we get cold, fever, etc, it is good to have Katne with rice.

If you can get Kannekudi, don't miss out preparing this healthy and tasty dish. The same way, Katne can be prepared using Spinach (Palak) leaves also!

Preparation Time: 20 - 25 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Kannekudi (Soralekudi) - 25 leaves

Pepper corns - 15

Cumin seeds - 3/4 spoon

Garlic 7 - 8 cloves

Oil for seasoning

Mustard seeds - 1/4 spoon

Salt to taste

1 lime

Grated coconut - 1 cup

Method:

Wash the Kannekudi leaves thoroughly in water. Remove the leaf stalks and leaf veins which are hard.

Heat 2 spoons of oil in a pan and roast the pepper corns till you hear the crackling sound.

Add the cumin seeds and saute for a while. Then, add the Kannekudi leaves and saute for 2 - 3 minutes. Switch off the flame once the leaves change their color.

Grind these ingredients along with grated coconut into a fine paste. Add 3 - 4 cups of water to adjust the consistency.

Add salt to taste and boil it for 5 minutes. Switch off the flame and add the lime squeeze.

Do the seasoning with mustard seeds and crushed garlic before serving.

This healthy and tasty Katne is a good combination with rice especially during winter and rainy days.

Tips:

For this recipe, amchur can be used instead of lime squeeze. But adding of lime will give a nice aroma to Katne.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Due to my passion towards sweets, I will keep preparing some or the other sweet / desserts at home. Believe me, when I visit anybody's food blog / website, first thing I will check for is sweet varieties. I don't know why, but for me, this has become one of the main criteria to make an impression!! No doubt, I will admire other dishes also, but sweets will always occupy the first rank :)

Coming to the recipe, Saate is a special sweet variety which you can find in North Kanara. It looks bit similar to Badusha, but the taste will be different. Badusha will have a smooth texture whereas Saate will be kind of crispy. You will find this sweet dish in almost all the sweet stalls in North Kanara, but nowhere else I have seen this sweet variety in Karnataka.I checked for Saate recipe in the net, but didn't get any postings still!! So, I am very glad to post this recipe.. may be I am the first person to post this ;) I learned this recipe from one of my cousins, who has expert hands for preparing these goodies..

Preparation time: 2 hours

Yield: 13 - 14 pieces

Ingredients:

2 large cups of all purp. flour / maida

Ghee / dalda - 1/4 cup

Sugar - 2 cups

Pinch of salt

Water

Oil for deep frying

Nylon cloth

Procedure:

Mix all purp flour, salt and ghee / dalda nicely. To this, Add water little by little and prepare a non - sticky dough like chapathi dough.

Close it with a lid and allow it rest for 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 2 equal parts (this is just for convenience; you can use the whole quantity at once).

Roll the dough like a big chapathi.

Fold it twice and you will get a triangle shape. Roll it again like chapathi and fold it.

Repeat this step at-least 15 - 16 times to get lot of layers.

Finally, roll it into 1 inch thick chapathi and cut into circle or any other shapes.

Combine the remaining dough, roll it 15 - 16 times and cut them.

Prick the circles with a fork to avoid puffing up. Also, it helps to cook the inner layers of saate nicely.

Add very little water to the sugar just to liquidize it and bring to boil. Prepare a thick sugar syrup. Consistency should be such that, if it becomes cool, it should crystallize.

Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. Deep fry the Saate on low or medium flame for around 20 minutes or until it becomes crispy.

Transfer the deep fried Saate onto a tissue paper to absorb the excess oil.

Once Saate becomes cool, arrange them on a nylon cloth.

Heat the sugar syrup and liquidize it. Pour around 3 spoons of sugar syrup on the top of each Saate and spread it little-bit.

Once the sugar syrup is settled and crystallized, its the time to take out the Saate from the cloth.

Enjoy the Saate with your family and store the remaining in an airtight container. It will last upto a week if preserved properly.

Sending it to the Event Love Lock With Sweets @ Sweet Karam Kapi.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

It's a well known sweet prepared during festivals in India. It tastes very similar to jilebi. I thought of this recipe to welcome a new member in our family. It's my first experiment. Even if I do not guarantee you about the shape, taste is guaranteed!

Preparation Time: 1 hour
Soaking Time: 6 hours
Fermentation Time: 1 hour
Yield: 20 jangirs

Ingredients:
Black gram - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 cups
Water - 1 cup
Lemon - 1/2
Oil for deep fry
Food color (optional) - pinch
Zip lock cover -1

Method :
Soak black gram for 5-6 hours and keep in the refrigerator for one hour. This is to make sure that the batter should not get warmed while grinding.
Mix together a cup of sugar and a cup of water and boil to make a syrup of one thread consistency. Now add lemon juice and turn off the gas and keep it aside covered.
Take out the black gram from the refrigerator and filter it. Grind the gram to get a batter soft like butter by adding very little water. The batter should be thicker than dosa batter. Keep in mind that the batter should not get even warm.
Add a pinch of food color if you want. I added a pinch of turmeric here.
Make a round hole in a zip lock cover with the help of hot nail. Fill the cover with the batter and lock the cover. Test the cover by pressing it on a plate whether the batter is coming out properly.
Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat and put the batter in jangir shape in it. Fry until crispy.
Put these jangirs in sugar syrup for 2 minutes.

8. Take out the jangirs and keep them on a plate and later transfer them to a storage container.

Jangir will be tastier if you eat after 2-3 hours. Otherwise it might have black gram smell.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Onion Samosa is a famous snack of Hyderabad. I heard about this samosa from some of my friends and tried it at home. It was so good and tasty n we liked it a lot. It will have a crispy outer layer and will be smooth from inside. For learning this recipe, first thing I did is I checked the Vah chef video and followed the same procedures. Later, wanted to go for a healthier version. I tried my own variations in the original recipe and prepared Oats Samosa!
As all of us know, oats is low fat healthy food and many people prefer having oats for their breakfast to reduce the fat.
These samosas can be preserved for 1 - 2 days and are perfect for evening snacks.

Preparation Time: 1 hour
Servings: 3

Ingredients:
1) For the dough:
    Wheat flour - 1 cup
    All purpose flour / maida - 1 cup
    2 tbsp oil
    Salt to taste
    Water

2) For stuffing:
    Chopped onion - 1 cup
    Instant Oats - 1 cup
    Chaat masala - 1 tsp
    Chilli powder - 1 tsp
    Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
    Chopped green chillies - 2
    Chopped coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
    Salt to taste

3) Other things needed:
    Oil for deep frying
    All purpose flour - 3 tbsp (approx)
    Water

Method:
Mix wheat flour, all purpose flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add 2 tbsp of oil and mix well.
To this, add water little by little and prepare a smooth, non - sticky dough. Close the lid and let it rest for 15 - 20 minutes.
For stuffing, mix all the ingredients mentioned above and keep aside. Check and adjust the taste according to your preference.
Prepare lemon size balls from the dough and roll them into thin circles. Use enough dry flour for dusting.
Cut the rolled circle into rectangles of around 15 cm length and 7 cm width.

Heat the dosa pan / skillet and put the rectangle sheets on it for a while. Once you see small bubbles on the sheet, just take them out.
Take around 3 tbsp of all purpose flour / maida, add little water and prepare a thick paste.
Prepare small cones from the sheets using the maida paste.
Put around 2 tbsp of stuffing inside the cone and seal it firmly using the maida paste.
Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and deep fry the samosas on medium flame till they are crispy.
Serve hot with sauce or ketchup. Or, simply you can eat the samosa as it is!

Tips:

To make the samosa more crispy and nicely colored, deep fry them twice. But samosa will absorb more oil if you deep fry twice.

This is my entry to the Event Fast Food, Not Fat Food, # 7 hosted by Priya of Now Serving.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Spring roll is a kind of Chinese appetizer which will be perfect for evening snacks. It will have a nice crispy layer from outside and a smooth and spicy stuffing inside. The name 'Spring Roll' is because of Chinese people who eat this dish during Spring festival.

Spring roll sheets will be available in supermarkets and I used to buy the same earlier. Then, I tried preparing these sheets at home. Preparing the sheets at home is bit time consuming, but if you can't get them from the shop, definitely you can try preparing the sheets at home.

Preparation Time: 1 1/4 hour

Yield: 8 spring rolls

Ingredients:

1 ) For Spring Roll sheet: (you can buy it from supermarket as well)

All purpose flour / maida - 1 cup

Pinch of salt

Water to prepare the dough

2 ) For stuffing:

Thinly sliced (lengthwise) onion - 1 cup

Grated carrot - 1 cup

Grated capsicum - 1 cup

Thinly sliced cabbage - 1 cup

Soya sauce - 1 spoon

Tomato sauce - 1 spoon

Red chilli powder - according to taste

Salt to taste

3 ) Other ingredients:

Oil for deep frying

1 spoon of all purpose flour / maida

Water

Method:

1 ) Spring roll sheet:

Mix all purpose and salt in a mixing bowl. Add water little by little and prepare slightly stiff, non sticky dough. Knead the dough well, close the lid and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8 equal parts and prepare the dough balls. Roll them into very thin sheets using the rolling pin. Use the dry flour generously while rolling.

Roll the sheets into the shape of circle or square. Cut the edges to give a nice shape. Anyways, shape doesn't matter coz it will be covered once you fold them ;)

2 ) Stuffing:

Squeeze off excess water from the grated vegetables.

Heat 2 - 3 spoons of oil in a frying pan. Add sliced onion once the oil becomes hot.

Fry the onion for 2 - 3 minutes and add grated carrot, capsicum and salt to taste.

Fry the vegetables for 5 - 6 minutes or until they become slightly crispy.

Then, add soya sauce, tomato sauce and red chilli powder. Saute them for 2 - 3 minutes and switch off the flame. Less the water content, it will be better.

Take around 1 spoon of all purpose flour / maida and prepare a thick paste using water.

Take a spring roll sheet and pour around 2 table spoons of stuffing on one edge.

Roll the sheet upto half by keeping the stuffing inside.

Fold both the edges of the rolled portion into inside and press it gently.

Then, apply the maida paste to the edges and roll the sheet fully. Fix the edges properly so that stuffing won't com out.

Heat oil in a frying pan and deep fry the spring rolls on medium heat. Once they are 3/4th done, take them out and allow to cool for few minutes.

Then, put them in hot oil again and fry until golden brown.

Deep frying twice will make them nicely crispy and will give a nice golden brown color.

Transfer the spring rolls onto a tissue paper to absorb excess oil.

Serve the vegetable spring rolls with tomato sauce.

Sending this recipe to Contest @ Manjula's Kitchen - Oct 2011

Sending this over to the event Christmas Delicacy hosted by Julie.

Sending it to Food of the Month Contest at Food Corner.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Hi!! It was more than a week since I did the last posting. Due to our relocation to India, I was not able to update the blog regularly. Things are coming to a line now and I am back to my kitchen! We had been to our native last week. It was a nice time for us since we met parents and all the relatives after long time. My Aunt suggested me some authentic Havyaka recipes which I can try and share with you in the days to come.

Here is a kind of curry / side dish which goes well with rice. People from Malnad region will be familiar with the name Kanchikaayi. This is a kind of tangy fruit. Juice taken from this fruit will be used for cooking and for preparing juice. Most of the people will have a Kanchikaayi tree in their backyard and they will substitute Lime with Kanchikaayi. Preparation of this Appehuli won't take you much time and the most important thing is... it can be stored upto 4 - 5 days ;)

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Servings: 5 - 6

Ingredients:

Kanchikaayi - 2 ( or around 1 cup of Kanchikaayi squeeze)

Cloves - 3

Coriander seeds - 1 1/2 spoon

Mustard seeds - 1/2 spoon

Dry red chillies - 3 (adjust according to taste)

Grated coconut - 3 to 4 spoon

Salt to taste

Jaggery - 1 lemon size ( adjust according to taste)

For seasoning: oil, mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves

Method:

Take out the peel and cut the Kanchikaayi into two halves.

Take a spoon full of salt in a bowl and squeeze out the Kanchikaayi juice into it. Adding of salt will prevent the juice from becoming bitter.

Heat around 1 spoon of oil in a small pan and roast the cloves, red chillies, mustard seeds and coriander seeds until you get a nice aroma.

Grind the roasted ingredients along with grated coconut into a fine paste. While grinding, use the Kanchikaayi squeeze instead of water.

Add around 1 1/2 cup to 2 cups of water to make the Appehuli little watery. Add salt and jaggery and adjust the taste.

Boil the Appehuli for 5 minutes and do the seasoning with mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves.

This tangy, spicy and sweetish appehuli goes well with rice.

Tips:

This kind of appehuli can be prepared using lime also.