Recipe world

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ

Majjige Huli / Paladya is one of the most common side dish in Havyaka households at my native place. When you are bored of eating same type of Sambar everyday, Majjige Huli makes the lunch or dinner more enjoyable. Different vegetables are used to prepare Majjige Huli. When made using every different vegetable, taste of this side dish varies. Also, we can make both sweet and savoury version of Majjige Huli with every vegetable!

During our recent visit to Sydney, one of our family friends had kindly shared some home-grown Tondekayi / Dondakaya with us. It was long time since I prepared Majjige Huli using Tindora. We all enjoyed this sweet version of Tindora Majjige Huli, and here is the recipe for you all to try!

Preparation time: 25 minutes
Difficulty level: Medium
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

Tindora / Tondekayi / Ivy gourd / Dondakaya - 15 nos

Thick buttermilk - 1 1/4 cup

Salt - to taste

Jaggery (or sugar) - 4 to 5 tea spoon (as per taste)

- For grinding:

Coriander seeds - 1 1/4 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Till / sesame seeds - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Green chilli / dry red chilli - small piece (for taste)

Curry leaves - 2 to 3 leaves

Grated coconut (Fresh / frozen) - 1 cup

Water - for grinding the mixture

- For Seasoning:

Cooking oil - 1 1/2 tsp (see tips)

Urid dal - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 7 to 8 leaves

Recipe Instructions:

Wash the Tindora thoroughly, and cut them into medium size pieces.
Transfer the Tindora pieces into a vessel. Add enough water just to cover the tindora pieces (around 2.5 cup). Also add 1 tsp salt and allow it to cook on medium flame.
After cooking for around 15 minutes, Tindora pieces would have been nearly cooked, and you can see the colour has changed. Add jaggery at this stage and cook for 3 - 4 more minutes.
Add the ground paste to this mixture allow to boil for 5 minutes. If the mixture looks too thick, add little water and adjust the consistency.
Finally add the buttermilk. Check and adjust the taste. Boil it for a minute and turn off the flame.
Do the seasoning with oil, urid dal, mustard seeds and curry leaves and add it to the prepared gravy.
Serve this gravy along with hot rice and pickle. This Majjige Huli stays well for 5 - 6 hours since we have heated it after adding the buttermilk. If you prepare it for lunch time, it stays fresh for dinner as well.

Tips:

Coconut oil is preferred for an authentic taste

Kaayi Unde or Kaayunde is one of my favourite sweet snacks from childhood. As the name indicates, the main ingredients in this sweet dish are coconut and jaggery. To make it more tastier, nuts like toasted groundnuts or cashews can also be added.

Here is the recipe of Kaayi Unde for you all!

Time required: 30 minutes
Difficulty level: Medium
Serves: 28 balls

Ingredients:

Fresh grated coconut - 3 cups
Jaggery - 1 cup (either powder or liquid)
Roasted groundnuts - 1 cup
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Recipe Instructions:

Take the toasted groundnuts, peel off the skin and pulse them in the mixie or food processor into small chunks.
Combine fresh grated coconut and jaggery in a wide pan, keep mixing it on medium flame.
Slowly, the water content in the coconut releases and the jaggery combines well with the coconut. If the mixture looks too dry, you can add 1 - 2 tablespoon of water to make it moist.
Keep mixing the mixture for around 20 minutes, till you see the mixture starts thickening and starts to leave the sides of the pan. Take a small bit of the mixture and check whether you are able to form a ball.
Turn off the flame, add the groundnuts and cardamom powder. Mix everything well.
Once the mixture is lukewarm, grease your palm with a few drops of ghee / oil, take small portions of the mixture and shape them into balls.
Store these chewy sweet balls in an air tight container and enjoy them anytime!

Tips:

You can add cashew-nuts instead of groundnuts.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ

Just like every year, our summer veggie patch is on full bloom this year too. When there are so much home grown veggies, its very hard to choose the veggies for your cooking, when you don't want anything go waste! We are making a good use of home grown veggies in our daily cooking, sharing some with friends and also, preserving some in the freezer for the winter months.

A few of our white radish plants grew up taller, they didn't produce any bulbs, but we could see big bunches of radish beans on the plant. Then, I got to know from one of my friends that, radish beans are good for cooking curries and stir fries. I tried my hands on making 2 - 3 varieties of stir fry (Palya), and here is the one which was liked by all..

Preparation time: 25 - 30 minutes
Difficulty level: Medium
Serves - 5

Ingredients:

Radish / Muli beans - about 3 cups
Salt - to taste
Sugar - 1 tsp
Amchur powder - 3/4 tsp

- For Seasoning: cooking oil - 3 tbsp, Urid dal - 1 tsp, Mustard seeds - 1 tsp, Turmeric - a pinch

- For the Masala Powder:

Cooking oil - 2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
Clove - 1
Dry red chillies - 3
Chana dal (split chana) - 3 tbsp
Urid dal - 1 tsp
Methi seeds - 1/4 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing / asafoetida - a pinch
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Dry grated coconut / Shredded coconut - 3 to 4 tbsp

Recipe Instructions:

Wash the beans in water, take off the stem and the pointy ends of the beans. Chop them roughly or just break each of them into 2 - 3 pieces using your hand. I had around 2 cups of chopped beans after cleaning and taking off the stem and pointy ends.
Next step is to prepare the Masala powder; Heat 2 tsp of oil in a heavy bottom pan. Add cinnamon piece, red chilli pieces and split chana dal, toast them for 1 - 2 minutes. Then add urid dal, methi seeds and clove. Stir it for half a minute and add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and a pinch of hing. Toast them all till the mustard seeds start crackling. Finally add 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder and turn off the flame.

Transfer the toasted spices into the mixie jar after they cool down a bit. Run the mixie a few times on whip / pulse mode to make a course powder. Let it be like semolina, not too course. Add the shredded coconut at the end and pulse it for a few more seconds to make everything evenly course.
Heat 3 tbsp of oil in the sam heavy bottom pan for the seasoning. Add urid dal, mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds start crackling, add a pinch of turmeric powder and chopped radish beans. Give it a good mix and sauté the mixture for 2 minutes. Then, close the lid and allow it to cook on medium flame.
When the mixture is half - way cooked, add salt to taste, 1 tsp sugar and 3/4 tsp of amchur powder. Combine it well, and close the lid to cook further. Keep mixing it every few minutes. No need to add any extra water, as the water content in the beans would be sufficient to cook them.
It would take around 12 - 15 minutes to cook the beans mixture. Once its cooked well, add the prepared masala powder and combine everything well Cook it for 2 - 3 minutes more and turn off the flame.
Serve this tasty Palya along with rice or chapathi!

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ

Cucumber is one of those vegetables which is widely used in Indian cooking. Its summer here, and we are making a good use of cucumbers. My cooking style goes more towards my native style food when its summer; we enjoy preparing and eating native style curries like Hashi, Tambli, etc which are mainly yogurt based. But when the winter starts, we prefer more of soups, chapathi and curries.

Hashi or Saasive is a yogurt and coconut based curry which is a good combination with rice. We Havyakas can prepare Hashi or Saasive using almost every variety of vegetables and edible leaves.

Today, I am going to share the recipe of Savatekayi Hashi (Sasive) with you all. When we were school age kids, we cousins were all very keen to watch how Amma / Aunty / Grandma chop the cucumber so finely using 'Ilige mane' or coconut scraper. We all loved that aroma which comes when the cucumber is chopped finely. And, we used to wait for that small leftover pieces of cucumber which they give at the end!

Below is the recipe of Soutekayi (Savatekayi) Hashi for you all..

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Serves - 5
Difficulty level: Medium

Ingredients:

Finely chopped cucumber - 1 cup (see Tips)
Fresh grated coconut (or frozen) - 1 to 1 1/4 cup
Fresh curd - 1 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Water - about 1 cup (approx)

For Seasoning: Cooking oil - 2 1/2 tsp, Dried red chilli - 2 small pieces, Urid dal - 1 tsp, Till seeds - 1 tsp, Sesame seeds - 1 tsp, Asafoetida (hing) - a pinch, green chilly - 1

Recipe Instructions:

Grind the grated coconut into a thick, fine paste by adding around half a cup of water. Transfer it into a bowl.
Cut the green chillies and keep it ready for seasoning.
Heat a thick bottom pan for seasoning. To this, add around 2.5 tea spoon of oil. Once its heated, add red chilli pieces and 1 tsp urid dal. Saute it for half a minute and add 1 tsp till seeds, 1 tsp sesame seeds followed by a pinch of hing.
When the sesame seeds start crackling, add the green chilly pieces and sauté it for 1 - 2 minutes and turn off the flame. To this seasoning, add the finely chopped cucumber when the pan is still hot. Mix it once, and transfer this mixture into bowl where we kept the coconut paste.
Crush the chilli pieces using a spoon or using your fingertips (if its not too hot). Add 1.5 cups of curd, 1/2 tsp sugar and salt to taste.
Mix everything well, check and adjust the taste. If the mixture is too thick, you can add a few spoons of water to adjust the consistency.
Enjoy this Hashi along with rice and pickle.

Tips:

If you are using the young cucumbers no need to take off the peel while chopping.
Fully grown cucumbers are not good for this recipe. I normally use lebanese cucumbers for this.
Pull chopper comes in very handy to chop the cucumber finely.
Some varieties of cucumbers comes with a bitter taste. Hence, make sure to taste a small piece before you proceed with the preparation.
For that authentic taste, I prefer using coconut oil for the seasoning.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ

Healthy food habits are good for everyone. Our daily food intake should have a balanced portion of pulses, dairy, fruits, nuts and other things. Being hard core vegetarians, I always try to serve the best food for my family.

Today, I am sharing a healthy recipe with you all. These Energy Balls are so delicious to eat, and comes very handy while you are on a trip, hiking, sports activity and also for kids snacks. I have not used any nuts in this recipe since my kids love to carry them for school snacks, and nuts are not allowed in school. You can use any combination of dried fruits and nuts for this recipe.

Preparation time: 20 - 25 minutes

Difficulty level: Medium

Yield: Around 23 balls of medium size

Ingredients:

Oats: 1 cup
Desiccated coconut: 1/2 cup
Pitted dates: 2 1/2 cup
Chia seeds: 4 tbsp
Cocoa powder: 2 tbsp
Orange zest: 1 tbsp
Coconut oil: 2 tbsp

Recipe Instructions:

Take the oats and make a coarse powder using a mixie or food processor.
Lightly roast the coarsely powdered oats, desiccated coconut and chia seeds separately and allow to cool. Each one would take a few minutes to turn aromatic.
Roughly chop the pitted dates and transfer it to mixie jar or food processor. Blend the dates till it turns into a sticky mixture.
Add all the remaining ingredients to the dates mixture in 2 - 3 stages and run the mixie or food processor till everything blends well. I have used the 'whip' setting in the mixie to do this.
Take small portions of dough, and shape them into balls of desired size.
Transfer the Energy balls into an air tight container. They stay well at room temperature for 4 - 5 days. Or, you can store them in the refrigerator for 2 - 3 weeks.

Tips:

Replace the ingredients with dried fruits and nuts of your choice.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Zucchini - this vegetable was originated from Italy and is popular in many countries. Look-wise its like cucumber, but tastes like ridge-gourd. Since zucchini won't have any strong taste or smell, it goes well with many other veggies in cooking.

It was during our initial days in Australia. Dear hubby had brought home a big box full of Zucchini, thinking they were cucumbers! I had no clue how to use zucchini in cooking. I had to look for zucchini recipes over the net, tried using using it in my style of dishes too. Finally, the box got over without wasting too much of them 😅 But now, I love to use zucchini in my day-to-day cooking and kids enjoy eating them. Zucchini is the most common veggie in our grocery list these days.

Today, I am sharing the South Indian style Akki Rotti recipe (Rice flour roti) using zucchini. Do try this recipe for your breakfast or dinner.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35 - 40 minutes
Difficulty level: Medium
Serves: 7 pieces

Ingredients:

Medium sized Zucchini - 1 (or grated zucchini 1 1/4 cup)
Onion - 1 (medium size)
Green chillies - 2 or 3 (adjust according to taste - see tips)
Capsicum - 1
Curry leaves - 10 to 12
Fresh ginger - 1/2 inch
Salt - to taste
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Curd - 2 tbsp
Rice flour - 2 1/2 cup (approx)

Recipe Instructions:

Grate the zucchini and transfer to a mixing bowl.
Finely chop the onion and mix with grated zucchini. My pull chopper is very helpful to chop the onion finely.
Add finely chopped capsicum, crushed ginger and finely chopped curry leaves to the zucchini mixture.
Crush the green chillies or make them into a paste and add to the veggie mix.
Add 1/2 tsp of sugar and salt for taste. Also add 2 table spoons of curd and combine everything well. Leave it for 10 minutes, if you have time. Water content in the veggies will come out and it helps to mix the dough without adding any extra water.
Add the flour in small batches to the veggie mix and keep mixing. Add the flour till you reach the soft, non sticky dough consistency.
Grease a plantain leaf or a non-sticky sheet with 1 - 2 tea spoons of oil.
Take a lemon size of dough, pat it thinly into a circle on the greased sheet using your finger tips. Make a hole in the middle of the dough circle (See tips).
Transfer it carefully onto the heated tava and cook on medium or low flame. Add a spoonful of oil or butter while cooking. More the oil or butter, more tastier the Rotis are.
Cook it on both the sides till you see brownish spots. If you like the Rotti to be crispy, cook it on low flame for a little longer time.
Serve the hot Roti along with butter or coconut chutney!

Tips:

Green chillies can be replaced with red chilli powder.
If you don't have plantain leaf or non-sticky sheet handy, just grease the tava when its not yet hot, and pat the dough on the tava directly and cook it.

Balekai or plantain is one of our family favourite vegetables. We get raw banana or plantains once in a while in the Indian grocery stores here. We love different dishes made using plantains in our native style.

I had brought raw bananas after a long time during my recent grocery shopping. My daughter requested to prepare Banana chips since its her all time favourite. Hence, I had to make some Banana / Plantain Chips for her. One dish we never want to miss is Plantain Palya / Poriyal / Fry / Thoran.

Here is the recipe of Havyaka Style Balekayi / Plantain Palya for you all!

Preparation time: 20 -25 minutes
Difficulty level: Medium
Serves: 4 - 5

Ingredients:

Medium sized plantains - 3
Grated coconut - 3 tbsp (fresh / frozen or desiccated coconut)
Green chilli - 1 (according to taste)
Salt - to taste
Sugar - big pinch
Lime squeeze - 2 tbsp or to taste
Curry leaves - 1 string
Dry red chilli - 1 inch piece
Urid dal - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 3/4 tsp
Hing / Asafoetida - generous pinch
Turmeric powder - 3/4 tsp
Cooking oil - 2 1/2 tbsp (use Coconut oil for authentic Havyaka taste)
Water - 4 to 5 cups (to cook the bananas)

Recipe Instructions:

Heat 4 - 5 cups of water in a pan. Add 2 - 3 drops of oil to avoid stickiness. Once the water is hot enough, add the whole plantains and cook for 8 - 10 minutes or till they are nearly cooked, but still firm. Once cooked, their skin will turn darker brown and plantains will be a bit soft than before.
Take out the cooked plantains and allow them to cool.
Peel the skin and grate the plantains using a grater.
Take the grated plantains in a mixing bowl. Add grated coconut, salt, sugar and lime juice for taste.
Heat 2 1/2 tbsp oil in a heavy bottom pan for seasoning. Once the oil is hot, add red chilli, urid dal, mustard seeds and hing. When mustard seeds start spluttering, add turmeric powder, slit green chillies and curry leaves. Sauté it for half a minute.
Add grated plantain to the seasoning and mix it well. Close the lid half way and cook it for 5 more minutes.
Serve it as a side dish with Rice, Sambar and Curd.

Tips:

While cooking, if the plantains became softer than required, wash them in cold water immediately. This will avoid them from becoming smoother again.
Lime squeeze can be replaced with Aamchur powder / Hulipudi.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ

We do prepare varieties of sweet dishes using different vegetables. Beetroot Burfi is one of those delicious sweets which I frequently prepare. My kids love to eat non - sticky sweets. This colourful burfi tastes divine and is the perfect Indian sweet for any occation!

Below is the recipe of Beetroot Burfi / Beetroot Barfi for you all..

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Difficulty level: difficult

Yield: 12 pieces

Ingredients:

Grated beetroot - 1 cup
Grated coconut (fresh / frozen) - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee / clarified butter - 3 tbsp
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Recipe Instructions:

Pulse the grated coconut in a mixie or blender for a few seconds to make it evenly course.
Take a heavy bottom pan. Mix 2 tbsp of ghee and grated beetroot on medium flame for about 2 minutes or till the raw smell is gone.
Add grated coconut and sugar to this mixture and keep mixing on medium flame till it thickens. It took me around 30 minutes to achieve this stage. If the quantity is more, you may need a bit more time.
When the mixture starts leaving the sides and becomes like a lump, add a tablespoon of ghee and cook for a few more minutes.
Once it starts leaving the vessel and it feel very hard to stir the mixture, its time to add cardamom powder.
Spread the mixture evenly on a greased plate and cut into desired shapes when it's warm.
Allow it to cool completely and enjoy the sweet burfi!

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ

Broccoli is one of our family favourite vegetables. Kiddos love it because of the color and we, adults love it for its health benefits. I heard a few people won't like this vegetable for its distinct smell. But we love every dish prepared using broccoli.

3 years back, my Mum and Dad were here with us for a few months. During that time, buying vegetables was not that easy for us as many vegetables we get here are totally different from what they get in India. When we go out for groceries, mum eyes usually look for only those veggies which are available in hometown! To my surprise, they both liked broccoli and she used to prepare Broccoli Stir Fry (Palya) 2 - 3 times a week during their stay.

I would like to share the recipe of Broccoli - Potato Cutlet / Broccoli Patties with you all today. These patties are perfect for breakfast, snacks, starter and kids lunch box too. Below is the recipe of Broccoli - Aloo Cutlets:

Preparation time: - 25 - 30 minutes
Difficulty level: Medium
Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Broccoli florets - 2 cups
Medium size potato - 1
Chat masala powder - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 2 (adjust according to taste)
Onion - 1 (small)
Amchur powder / lime juice - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Bread crumbs - 1 cup or more
Oil - for shallow frying

Recipe Instructions:

Cook the potatoes till soft. I have halved the potato and pressure cooked till two whistles.
Finely chop the onion and crush the green chillies.
Wash the broccoli florets and put them in a bowl. Add 1 tsp salt and about 4 cups of hot water. Leave them for 5 minutes.
Drain all the water and spread the broccoli florets on a kitchen towel for 4 - 5 minutes.
Pulse the broccoli florets in a mixie or blender coarsely without adding any water.
Peel the cooked potatoes, and mash it nicely.
Take a mixing bowl and add pulsed broccoli, mashed potato, crushed chillies, chopped onion, chat masala, amchur powder / lime juice and salt to taste.
Also add 2 - 3 tbsp bread crumbs and mix everything well.
Make lime sized balls and pat them into flat discs.
Roll these discs in bread crumbs and shallow fry on hot tawa. Flip the discs a few time and cook till both the sides turn slightly brownish.
Serve hot cutlets along with tomato sauce or your favourite dip. We would love to have it with coconut chutney!

Tips:

Green chillies can be replaced with red chilli powder.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ

Keeper recipes like Chutney, Thokku, Gojju are our family favourites. A few varieties of these preserves will always be there as part of our lunch and dinner. Not only there are tasty, they come very handy when I feel tired and can't make varieties of fresh curries.
Here is a finger licking Thokku recipe which I learnt during my India trip last year. This Thokku goes well with rice, chapathi or dosa.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Serves - 20

Difficulty level: Medium

Ingredients:

Mint leaves - 50gm
Dry red chillies - 50 gm
Garlic peeled - 50 gm
Tamarind - 50 gm
Salt - to taste
Jaggery or sugar - 1/2 tsp or to taste
Water - 1/4 cup (if needed)

- For seasoning:

Oil - 5 to 6 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Method:

Grind together mint leaves, dry red chillies, garlic pods and tamarind into a fine paste. Add a few tablespoons of water if needed.
Heat oil in a thick bottom pan. Add mustard seeds to the hot oil and let it splutter.
Now, add the prepared paste to the seasoning slowly and carefully. Mix it well.
Add salt and jaggery/sugar for taste.
Mix everything well and cook till it becomes a thick paste and there is no water left in it. If minimal water is added, it takes less than 10 minutes to do this.
Keep mixing it regularly to avoid burning.
Once it becomes like a big lump and starts leaving the bottom of the pan, turn off the flame and allow it to cool.
Store in an airtight container.
Mint leaves thokku can be served as pickle or chutney along with rice, dosa or chapathi.
It stays good for 3 - 4 days at room temperature and can be stored in the fridge for a few months.

Tips:

Quantity of tamarind can be adjusted according to your taste.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ

Wheat flour dosa is popularly known as a fasting recipe. I was never a fan of Wheat Flour Dosas till I learn this recipe from my friend Maitri. Since then, Wheat Flour Dosa has become our family favourite breakfast. This is an instant dosa, and won't need any fermentation.

Below is the recipe of Wheat Flour Dosa / Paper Dosa / Tellevu / Crepe:

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Difficulty level: Medium

Serves: 3

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour - 1 1/2 cup
Sooji rava / Semolina - 1/3 cup
Green chillies - 1 or 2 (depending on spiciness)
Ginger - half inch
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 5 to 6 leaves
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Hing / asafoetida - generous pinch
Fresh grated coconut (or frozen) - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1 tsp or to taste
Water - to prepare the batter

Recipe Instructions:

Combine wheat flour and sooji rava in a mixing bowl.
Blend coconut, green chillies, ginger, cumin seeds, curry leaves, turmeric powder and hing into a smooth paste. Add water as needed while blending.
Add this paste to the wheat flour - semolina mix and also add salt to taste. Mix everything well.
Add water little by little and keep mixing it. Make it a thick batter without any lumps.
Take a ladle full of batter and spread it thinly on the hot tava.
Cook it on medium flame till it turns a bit crispy.
Serve hot dosa along with Coconut Chutney or your favourite side dish.

Tips:

Adjust the wheat flour - sooji rava ratio as needed. The more sooji rava you add, more crispier the dosa will be.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ

As a South Indian family, we love rice for our daily lunch. Hubby loves Roti / Chapathi and hence, I prepare Roti / Chapathi for our dinner. To ease the the cooking time, I plan to make any one side dish or sambar or dal to be suitable for both rice and roti! This reduces my time in the kitchen a bit.

Here is one such Palya / curry which goes well with rice, roti / chapathi, dosa and poori. Do try this healthy and delicious Cabbage - Sprouted Green Gram Palya / Thoran / Masala Dry Curry and let me hear your feedback :)

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Difficulty level: Medium

Serves: 3

Ingredients:

Finely shredded cabbage - 3 cups
Sprouted green gram / mung bean - 1/2 cup (can use more also)
Salt - to taste
Amchur powder / hulipudi - 3/4 tsp
Sugar - 1/3 tsp
Pav Bhaji Masala powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp (adjust according to spiciness)

- For Seasoning:

Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp
Dry red chilli - 1 inch piece
Urid dal - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/3 tsp
Green chilli - 1 slit
Curry leaves - 5 to 6

Recipe Instructions:

Keep all the ingredients ready.
Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan for seasoning. Add red chilli piece, urid dal and mustard seeds. Toast it till mustard seeds start crackling.
Add turmeric powder, slit green chilli and curry leaves.
Sauté it once and add shredded cabbage and sprouted green gram.
Mix everything well, close the lid and cook it on low to medium flame.
Keep mixing it every now and then to avoid burning. If the mixture looks too dry, a few tablespoons of water can be added. I have not added and water here.
When the mixture is nearly cooked, add salt, sugar, amchur powder, pav bhaji masala powder and red chilli powder. Mix it well and cook covered till done.
Serve this delicious Palya along with rice, chapathi, dosa or poori.

Tips:

You can skip using green chillies by adding little more chilli powder.
Adding sugar is purely optional.
Pav bhaji masala powder can be replaced with sambar powder or any other masala powder.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ

During our childhood days, Cake was a luxurious treat for us. Rarely we had a chance to eat the bakery products like cakes, so it felt like cakes were the most delicious food when compared with whatever Mum made at home with all the love! Gone are those days and now, many of us have ovens at home and its easy to prepare cakes or other bakery food whenever we feel like.

I often prepare varieties of eggless cakes at home. When kids are at home, how much ever snacks I prepare, they all vanish so quickly! My daughter loves to eat cake for her evening snacks. Eggless Vanilla Cake and Eggless Chocolate Cake were here favourites before. And when we found this way of making Eggless Orange Cake, this cake has become her favourite now!

I just tried to follow the technique of Hot Milk Cake while preparing my Eggless Orange Cake and the result was - Wow! My eggless loaf turned out to be the most delicious one with a soft, airy, moist texture. It tastes the same like Iyengar Bakery Plain cakes.

Below is the recipe of Eggless Orange Cake for you all:

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Baking time: 25 - 30 minutes

Difficulty level: medium

Serves: 1 loaf cake

Ingredients:

All purpose flour (Maida) - 1 1/2 cup (Or you can use Maida and wheat flour in 50:50 ratio)
Baking powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Baking soda - 1/8 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Fresh orange juice - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Orange zest - 1 1/2 tbsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Curd - 1/4 cup
Oil - 1/2 cup

Recipe Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 175C.
Grease the baking pan with oil, dust it lightly with flour and line it with baking paper.
Sieve together flour, baking powder and baking soda 2 - 3 times.
Mix together sugar, salt and curd in a bowl.
Once sugar is dissolved completely in the mixture, add orange juice, zest and oil. Mix it well.
Fold in the flour in small batches and mix it gently.
Add the hot milk to the batter little by little and bring it to thick, pouring consistency (like dosa batter).
Transfer the batter into the lined baking pan and bake it for about 25 - 30 minutes or till the toothpick inserted comes out clean. Mine got done exactly at 25 minutes.
Wait for it to cool down on a cooling rack.
Once its almost cool, take it out of the pan and allow to cool down completely before cutting it into slices.
You can pour some icing if you would like to. Or it can be eaten as it is.

Tips:

Tutti frutti chunks can be added to this cake to enhance the taste and make it more colourful.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Now, its the season of Jackfruits in India. Both raw and ripe jackfruit are great for cooking. Few food items are made using them which can be preserved till the next season. At my mum's place, they prepare raw jackfruit chips, preserve some raw jackfruit flesh in salt water and also, sundry the raw jackfruit pieces. So, its possible to prepare jackfruit dishes whenever they feel like.
My Mum had packed some Sun-dried Raw Jackfruit pieces for us during our recent India trip. We are enjoying typical native style curries once in a while now! Below is the recipe of Sun - dried Raw Jackfruit Bajji or Raita.
Click here to see How to make Sun - dried Raw Jackfruit Pieces.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Soaking time: 20 minutes

Difficulty level: medium

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Dried raw jackfruit pieces - 1/2 cup
Water - 3/4 cup
Salt - to taste
Lime squeeze - 1 tbsp or to taste
Thick curd - 1 cup

- For seasoning:

Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp
Dry red chilli - half piece
Urid dal - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 3/4 tsp
Green chilli - 1 (or as needed)
Crushed garlic - 1 tsp

Method:

Soak 1/2 cup of sun-dried raw jackfruit pieces in 3/4th cup of water for about 20 minutes.
Pressure cook the soaked raw jackfruit pieces along with the soaked water for 2 whistles.
Take off the excess water and mash the cooked jackfruit pieces lightly.
Add 1 cup of thick curd to the mashed jackfruit. Also add salt and lime squeeze for taste.
Heat oil for seasoning in a wok of small pan. Add red chilli piece, urid dal and mustard seeds.
When mustard seeds start crackling, add green chilli pieces and crushed garlic. Sauté it for a minute or two, or till aromatic.
Add this seasoning to the curd - jackfruit mixture. Crush the chillies with ladle or with your finger tips.
Mix the bajji / gojju / raita well and serve it with hot rice.

Tips:

Take care while adding salt to this recipe. Since the jackfruit pieces are salted and sun-dried, it already has some salt in it. If the Raita / Bajji tastes too salty, take a palm size of banana leaf and soak it in the salty dish for about 15 - 20 minutes and take it off. Banana leaf will suck the salt content in it.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

This year, we had planted some snow pea plants in our little backyard. Snow peas are easy to grow, they won't need much care and the yield is also pretty quick. Now, the winter has started and still we are getting enough crop to serve our little family. As they have a sweet taste, my kids love to pick the snow peas fresh from the garden and eat them as it is.

Here is the recipe of a side dish which my family loves to eat often. I use potato, snow peas, capsicum and green peas for this Subzi. But it should be ok if you skip capsicum and / or green peas.

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Difficulty level: Medium

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Potatoes (big) - 2
Snow peas - 8 to 10
Capsicum chopped - 3/4 cup
Green peas - 3/4 cup (I have used frozen peas)
Kasuri methi - 1 tbsp
Cumin coriander powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Pepper powder - 1 tsp or for taste

- For seasoning:

Oil - 2 tbsp
Fenugreek / Methi seeds - 1/4 tsp

Method:

Wash all the vegetables thoroughly in clean water.
Chop the snow peas and capsicum into medium size pieces.
Peel and chop the potatoes into small pieces lengthwise.
Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. Add the fenugreek seeds and toast till aromatic.
Add the potato pieces, mix well and close the lid for cooking.
Keep mixing it frequently to avoid potatoes sticking to the bottom.
When the potatoes are half-cooked, add chopped snow peas, capsicum, green peas and kasuri methi. Close the lid and continue cooking. Keep mixing them regularly.
When potato pieces are almost cooked, add salt, pepper powder, cumin - coriander powder and cook for 3 - 4 minutes or till done.
Serve this delicious side dish along with rice, chapathi or pooris.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Who loves chocolates? I know, most of us love chocolates. Chocolates are good to eat in any form and any time. Here is one easy and quick recipe using cooking chocolate and rice bubbles. I guess, rice bubbles can be replaced with our own Murmura (Mandakki) if its not salty; but I have not experimented it yet. These Choco treats are my kiddo's favourite snacks. Also, they are perfect for kids parties, food stalls, picnic and travels.

Here is the recipe of Choco Crackles to munch on any time!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Difficulty level: Easy

Serves - 27 byte size treats

Ingredients:

Cooking chocolate (I have used dark cooking chocolate)- 100 gram
Rice bubbles (plain, white ones) - 2 1/2 cup
Coconut oil (or Copha)- 1 1/2 tbsp

Cooking method:

Heat coconut oil and cooking chocolate in a double boiler. Or, fill water in a wide pan upto 1/4th. Place a vessel inside and start heating. Put the oil and chocolate in the inner vessel.
Keep mixing the mixture regularly.
Once everything is melted and turns into a fine paste, fold in the rice bubbles.
Mix everything well and turn off the flame.
Scoop the mixture on a plate or into cupcake moulds. I have used small cupcake tray to make them cuter!
Keep the tray inside the fridge for 10 minutes.
Heat the bottom of the tray / plate for a second or two. This make it easy to unmould the choco crisps in no time.
Have a byte or more. And store the remaining in an airtight container!

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ

Appehuli is a special variety of curry or rasam which is prepared mainly in Western Ghats of Karnataka. This curry is mainly prepared in Havyaka Brahmin households and hence, the name 'Havyaka' is very much associated with 'Appehuli'. Appehuli is served as a side dish with rice. Some people love to drink it as Soup too.

Nicely aromatic raw mangoes are perfect for preparing Appehuli. Apart from raw mango, sour fruits and veggies like Kanchikayi (Kaffir lime), lime, lemon, Star fruit, raw / ripe tamarind, etc. are all good to prepare Appehuli.

Today, I am sharing the procedure of preparing Tamarind Appehuli. Ripe tamarind which is a bit sweet and sour in taste is good for preparing this Appehuli.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Difficulty level: Easy

Serves: 5 - 6

Ingredients:

Ripen tamarind - 2 tbsp
Water - 1 1/4 cup
Salt - 1 tsp or to taste
Sugar - 1 tbsp or to taste

- For Seasoning:

Oil - 2 tsp
Dry red chilli - 1 inch piece
Sesame seeds - 3/4 tsp
Asafoetida / hing - a pinch
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Green chilli - 1
Curry leaves - 5 or 6
Crushed garlic - 1 tsp

Method:

Take the tamarind in a small bowl. Add enough water to cover it and soak for 10 minutes. Soaking in warm water will quicken the process.
Squeeze the tamarind and collect the pulp. Add little more water and prepare 1 cup of tamarind water. Adjust the sourness according to your taste.
Add salt and sugar according to taste. This Appehuli tastes good with sweet - sour taste.
Heat oil in a small wok. Add dry red chilli, sesame seeds and a pinch of hing.
Once the sesame seeds start crackling, add a pinch of turmeric powder, green chilli pieces and curry leaves. Sauté it for a while and add crushed garlic.
Turn off the flame once the garlic becomes aromatic and add this seasoning to the tamarind water.
Crush the chillies and crunchy curry leaves to enhance the taste.
That's all, tasty Appehuli is ready to go with hot rice!

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ

Eggplant is one of those vegetables which is available throughout the year. Although its not so good in nutritional values, it adds more taste to various dishes and curries. There are different varieties of brinjal available in the market. Varieties of curries and other dishes can be prepared depending on each variety of eggplant. For instance, I prepare Baingan Barta (Badanekayi Hindi / Gojju) when we get the bigger eggplants.

My sister is a huge fan of Badanekayi Hindi / Baingan Barta. If there is Baingan Barta for lunch / dinner, her dinner / lunch will start with this curry and also ends with this curry! As she likes Badanekayi Hindi, she may have tasted it 'n' times. Today, I am sharing with you all the recipe of Baingan Barta which I learnt from my sister.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Difficulty level: Medium

Servings: 3

Ingredients:

Eggplant / Brinjal (medium sized) - 1
Salt - to taste
Aamchur powder - 1 tsp or to taste
Sugar / jaggery - generous pinch
Onion (small) - 1
Grated coconut (optional) - 2 to 3 tbsp

- For seasoning:

Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp
Dry red chilli - 1
Urid dal - 1 tsp
Asafoetida / hing - generous pinch
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - a small pinch
Green chilli - 1
Curry leaves - 5 to 6 leaves

Method:

Cook the brinjal on direct flame on low heat. This process takes around 15 minutes.
Once the fire roasted brinjal is cool enough to handle, take off the dark, outer skin carefully. Keep a bowl of water handy and dip your hands frequently, it helps to avoid the brinjal skin mixing with its flesh.
Mash the flesh of brinjal using a ladle using cut and mix method.
Heat the oil in a wok for seasoning. Add red chilli pieces, urid dal, hing and mustard seeds.
Once mustard seeds start crackling, add a pinch of turmeric powder followed by green chilli pieces and curry leaves.
Turn off the flame after a minute of cooking. Add this seasoning to mashed brinjal.
Crush the red chillies and green chillies to enhance the taste.
Add salt, amchur powder and a pinch of sugar / jaggery for taste.
Just before serving, chop the onion finely and add it to the brinjal mixture.
Some people add fresh grated coconut for this curry. I personally like it without coconut.

Tips:

If you have prepared this Gojju for more than one time serving, keep the excess part aside and add chopped onion only to that portion which is ready to serve.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ

Summer is the season of jackfruits in my native. Many households will be busy preparing different dishes and preservable foods from jackfruit during jackfruit season. Apart from papad and chips, my mum and aunts will make sun-dried raw jackfruit pieces. They use them to make different jackfruit dishes whenever they need. Here is the recipe of sun-dried jackfruit pieces for you..

Time required: 3 hours

Drying time - 1 week

Difficulty level: Medium

Ingredients:

Fully grown raw jackfruit - 1
Salt - for taste

Method:

Cut the raw jackfruit and separate the flesh.
Cut the flesh into medium sized chunks or into desired size.
Add salt to taste and mix well. Allow it to rest for 1 - 2 hours.
Squeeze off the excess water content and spread them on a plate for drying.
Sun-dry the raw jackfruit chunks for upto a week or till the chunks are dry and crisp and there is no moisture left in them.
Store the sun-dried chunks in an air-tight container and use them for preparing different dishes.
Soak them 30 minutes before cooking and they are ready to use!
I will share a few recipes using sun-dried raw jackfruit pieces in my upcoming posts.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ

During our last India trip, my sister had packed some home made Sandige Menasu (Buttermilk chillies) for us. These chillies, once fried in oil, turn out so delicious! My kids wanted to give them a try and both started liking them. We get a spicific variety of green chillies called Gokarna Menasu in our native place. The name is because of the place where they will be grown. These chillies are very mild in taste and are perfect for making Curd chillies.

Few days back, we had got a big bunch of fresh green chillies from the farmers market. I checked with my sister for the recipe and tried my hands on making Curd chillies. They were a bit spicy than what my sister gave to us, but there was no compromise in taste.

Here comes the recipe of Sandige Menasu or Curd Chillies which I learnt from my sister:

Time required: 45 minutes

Sun drying time: 1 week approx.

Difficulty level: difficult

Ingredients:

Green chillies - 1/2 kg (mild ones are better)
Salt - to taste
Thick curd or thick buttermilk - 2 cups (approx)
Urid dal - 2 tsp
Methi seeds - 4 or 5 seeds
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida / hing - 1/4 tsp
Lime squeeze - for taste (use it if the curd is not sour)
Water - as needed

Method:

Wash the green chillies in water thoroughly.
Make a slit in the chillies lengthwise, but don't separate into parts. Slit helps to absorb the curd easily.
Heat enough water to cover the chillies.
Once the water starts boiling, transfer the slit chillies into the boiling water and after half a minute, take all the chillies out and drain them on a cotton cloth or thick paper towel for 15 minutes.
Spread the chillies on a wide plate and cover the plate with a thin cloth. Sun dry these chillies for two days. Then, dip them in curd mixture.

How to prepare Buttermilk mixture: Prepare the curd mixture on the second day by following the below steps:

Dry roast urid dal, methi seeds, asafoetida / hing and cumin seeds till aromatic and make a fine powder.

Take the thick curd and add the spice powder you made. Blend it in mixie for 2 minutes to make a fine mix.

Add salt according to taste. If the curd is not sour, add some lime squeeze.

After sun drying for 2 days, immerse the chillies in the curd mixture overnight.
Next morning, take out the chillies from the curd mixture and spread them on the plate, cover with a thin cloth and sundry them. Keep the remaining buttermilk mixture as it is.
Put the chillies back into the curd mixture in the evening, take out and sundry them next day. Repeat it till the curd mixture gets over.
Sun dry the chillies till they are nicely crisp and there's no water content left in them.
Store these dried chillies in an airtight container for upto a year.

How to fry Curd chillies:

Heat 3 - 4 tsp oil in a wok. Add 5 - 6 chillies and fry them on low flame till they turn a bit brownish.
Turn off the flame and enjoy these fried chillies along with rice and curd.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ