February 2017

Tamarind Pickle:

February 25, 2017

Tamarind has a very important place in the Indian kitchen and it has loads of health benefits as well as it is a treasure of anti-oxidants and dietary fibres.

Indians love its tangy and sweetish taste and enjoy this in chutney, relish, digestive candies, pickles and more.

tamarind 1 tamarind 2

From childhood, I used to enjoy tamarind pickle and never knew about the recipe. Thanks to my brother-in-law who sourced the recipe and made it possible for me to enjoy this relish after so many years.

This is a family recipe of one of our friends from Mangalore and speciality of the local Jain community form coastal region.

Ingredients:

Tamarind- 100 grams

Dried red chillies – 200 grams (Byadagi variety)

Jaggery – 250 grams

Salt – 8 to 10 teaspoons

Water – 3 to 4 cups

Fenugreek /methi seeds – 1 tea spoon

Cumin – 2 tea spoon

Gingelly oil – 1 to 2 table spoon.

Mustard – 1 tea spoon

Garlic – 5 to 6 cloves (crushed)

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

Soak tamarind and grated jaggery in water for some time.
When it becomes soft, nicely squeeze out and sieve the liquid.

Discard all the roughage and fibres.
Dry roast methi and cumin.
Roast red chillies by putting very little oil.
Powder all the roasted items by using dry mixer jar.
Now keep one thick bottomed vessel on the gas stove, put oil and do seasoning.
When oil is hot, splutter mustard seeds, then add crushed garlic and curry leaves.

Pour tamarind and jaggery concentrate, salt, ground masala powder and boil.
After boiling it for some time, upper layer of the mixture will look glossy and it is the sign for its doneness.
Switch off the gas, cool this mixture completely and store it in dry glass bottles and keep outside for two days to set and afterwards keep it in the fridge.

It will stay up to one year if you store it in the fridge.

Cornmeal-Cranberry Scones:

February 21, 2017

These are very soft, crumbly and melt- in- the -mouth kind of delicacies. It has rich corn meal flavour and it is neither a cookie nor a cake and is very mildly sweet. It does not need any side dishes like butter or jam and one can enjoy it as it is with a cup of tea or coffee.

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Ingredients:

All-purpose flour- 1 cup

Cornmeal- ¾ cup

Butter- 100 grams

Dried cranberries- ½ cup

Baking powder – ¾ teaspoon

Baking soda- ¾ teaspoon

Salt – ¼ teaspoon

Sugar – ½ cup

Butter milk – ½ cup (chilled)

Topping – Sugar crystals

Method:

Pre heat oven at 170 C
Take one mixer jar or food processor. Put all the dry ingredients like flour, corn meal, salt, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Dry grind all these for a couple of rounds.
Chop the butter into bite size pieces and add. Again dry grind until flour becomes crumbly and wet.
Add buttermilk and run the food processor. Dough will become a little sticky.
Line the cookie tray with butter paper.
Drop the dough into lined cookie tray either by using spoon or ice cream scoop.

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Sprinkle some sugar on top and bake this in a pre-heated oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

It yielded 15 scones for me and I have used small ice cream scoop to scoop out the dough.

Kathal Ki Biryani / Raw Jackfruit Biryani:

February 19, 2017

Raw jackfruit is a less known, very healthy, fibre-rich and low glycemic index wholesome vegetable. In our coastal region, we start using jack from its very tender form. We have so many traditional recipes. Apart from that, we even enjoy this one-pot meal, and it is a very good option for tiffin boxes for lunch.

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice – 3 cups

Raw Jack pieces – 1 big bowl.

Ghee – 3 tablespoon

Bay leaf – 1

Shah jeera – ½ teaspoon

Cinnamon – 1” piece

Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoon

Salt

Onion- 2

Green chillies – 3

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tablespoon

Curd – 1 small cup

Shahi Biryani Masala – 1 to 1 ½ tablespoon

Pudina – 10 strings (chopped)

Coriander leaves – 10 strings (chopped)

Method:

-Wash Basmati rice and soak it while preparing other things.

-Chop Young Jack into bite-size pieces by removing the outer skin (thorny part) and inner pith and soak this in a bowl of water.

-Chop onion, slice green chillies, chop Pudina and coriander leaves.

-Before keeping the cooker vessel, drain the soaked rice and chopped jack pieces and keep aside.

-Now, take one cooker vessel and heat the ghee. Put bay leaf, Shahjeera and cinnamon.

-Next, add chopped onion, green chillies, turmeric, salt and fry until it becomes light brown.

jack collage

-Add ginger garlic paste and fry when the onion becomes brown until its raw smell vanishes.

-Next, mix Biryani masala, Curd, and jack pieces until masala coats the Jack pieces.

-Now, add drained rice and fry it for a while. Then, add chopped pudina and coriander.

-Add sufficient water (6 cups) and check for the salt.

-When it starts boiling, close the lid and cook until one whistle; keep it in a simmer for 3 minutes and switch off the gas.

-When pressure relieves, serve this with onion raita.

NOTE: I usually use 2 cups of water for 1 cup of Basmati rice.

Roasted Red pepper Pasta with Pine nut Sauce:

February 15, 2017

It is colourful, simple, yet bursting with flavour, very satisfying one pot nutritious meal.

How I proceeded with the recipe-

Ingredients:

Whole wheat pasta – 1 pack

Pine nuts – ½ cup

Milk – 1 to 1 ½ cup

Onion -1 (sliced)

Red bell pepper-3

Yellow bell pepper – 2

Green bell pepper -1

Red chilli flakes

Oregano

Olive oil – 1 table spoon

Garlic salt – as required

Grated cheese – 3 table spoon

Garlic greens or spring onion greens – little

Method:

Wash Red peppers and apply some oil to the outer surface.

Soak pine nuts in milk.
Slice onion, green pepper and yellow pepper.
Cook pasta in sufficient water by adding little salt and oil. When it is cooked, drain the water and reserve this water to further use.
Pre heat oven to 200 C and keep the setting to Grill Option.
Make 4 quarters of red bell pepper and remove seeds, arrange this in a butter paper lined cookie tray.

When oven is pre heated and ready, keep this tray in an oven and grill this for 10 minutes and then bake this further for 10 minutes.
(if you grill at first, you can avoid oozing of the water content from the bell pepper and it will be firm and juicy)

When bell pepper is ready, make a paste by adding the pine nut and milk which has been soaked, with the bell pepper, and grind it in a mixer jar.

Keep one wide mouth tawa, add olive oil or butter, when it is hot add sliced onion and fry for 2 minutes.

Add sliced green and yellow bell pepper, little garlic salt, red chilli flakes and oregano. Fry for a while and add ground bell pepper paste.
Adjust the consistency by adding drained water which you reserved.
Check the taste and adjust salt, seasoning, red chilli flakes.

When it is cooked, add grated cheese and mix in drained pasta and mix nicely. Serve by garnishing with garlic or spring onion greens.

Note:

-If you don’t have garlic salt, add chopped garlic to the hot oil while adding onion.

-You can use any nuts of your choice.

Mint- Coconut chutney:

February 12, 2017

In Mangalore, we have one very famous ice cream parlour called Pabba’s and they serve not only ice creams, but also really tasty snacks as well. Beauty of the Cutlet that they serve is mainly because of this coconut chutney which goes really well with their mixed vegetable cutlet, this recipe which I have posted earlier.

chutney3

Ingredients:

Coconut – 1 cup

Green chillies – 3to 4

Pudina/mint leaves – little

Coriander leaves – little

Garlic – 4 to 5 cloves

Salt

Oil – 1 table spoon

Tamarind – peanut size

Seasoning: – oil – 1 teaspoon, mustard – ½ Tsp, curry leaves – 1spring.

Method:

-Wash; chop Pudina, coriander and chillies.

-Take one small kadai; fry these chopped items and garlic, by putting a little oil until it wilts, put grated coconut and fry for 2 minutes. Then switch off the gas.

-When it cools down, add tamarind, salt and grind this into a smooth paste by putting required amount of water.

-If you want, add seasoning with mustard and curry leaves.

cutlet10

-Serve this with mix vegetable cutlet and enjoy your snack.

Mix Vegetable Cutlet:

February 9, 2017

Exam time and kids were craving for Mangalore style cutlets, like the ones you get in Pabba’s ice cream parlour in Mangalore. My daughter asked me to prepare that same chutney as well. Finally tried my hand in this combo and succeeded. Everyone at home liked and asked me to blog about this yummy snack from Mangalore.

cutlet11

Ingredients:

Potato – 3

Beans – 10

Carrot -1

Beetroot – 1 small

Green peas – ½ cup

Onion – 1 big

Green chillies -5 to 6

Curry leaves – 2 springs

Garlic – 5 to 6

Salt

Garam masala – 2 to 3 tsp (according to taste)

Bread slices – 2 to 3 (whole wheat is fine)

Coriander leaves – 2 table spoon (chopped)

Seasoning: Oil – 2 table Spoon, Mustard – 1 tsp, urad dal – ½ tsp, chana dal -1/2 tsp.

Slurry :– All purpose flour – 1 table spoon and little water

Bread crumbs- to coat

Oil –for deep fry the cutlet

Method:

Wash all the veggies, chop beans, carrot and beetroot into bits.
Make potato into 4 pieces and cook all these in pressure cooker with sufficient water by adding frozen green peas as well.

cutlet1

Cook this for one whistle and switch off the gas.
When pressure relieves, open the lid, drain the water and keep the veggies aside.
When it becomes cool peel the potato skin and mash.
Chop onions, garlic, chillies and curry leaves.

cutlet2

Take one kadai; add seasoning ingredients one by one from oil, when it is hot add mustard, then urad and chana dal.
When dal becomes red, add chopped curry leaves, garlic, chillies and onions and fry until onion becomes little brown.

collage 1

Now add cooked veggie, mashed potato, Garam masala, salt, powdered bread slices and mix nicely until it becomes like a mass.
Add chopped coriander leaves and mix nicely. Check for salt and adjust.
Now take one cookie cutter, fill the mix to give a shape or make round patty and arrange them in a plate and refrigerate for one hour OR you can keep this in a freezer for 10 minutes while preparing other patties and can proceed.(It will help the patty to firm up a bit)
Make maida (all-purpose flour) slurry to dip these patties. It should be little thinner than Dosa batter.

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Remove patties from the fridge and dip one by one in the slurry and roll this in a bread crumbs and this is now ready to deep fry.
Heat oil in a kadai, when it is hot, drop these patties one by one and fry until it is brown. Remove from the oil, drain the excess oil and serve this with a mint – coconut chutney and tomato sauce.

cutlet15

Will post the chutney recipe in my next post 🙂

cutlet12

Note:

-You can use whole wheat bread as well.

-You can use the drained water in making curries, Rasam’s or soups.

– If you are using dried peas, please soak it and cook separately in cooker.

– I use Nayak’s brand Garam masala to give authentic taste and is available at all Mangalore stores in Bangalore.

Alasande- Hesaru kaalu Jeerige Bendi:

February 5, 2017

It is nothing but Yard long beans and whole green gram with cumin flavoured coconut gravy.

This is an age old combination and a traditional recipe from Mangalore. Jeerige Bendi is very mild, flavourful and not spicy. It can be enjoyed with hot rice, Whole wheat Roti’s, Dosa or Rice rotti.

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Ingredients:

Yard long beans / Alasande – 250 grams

Green gram – 1 cup

Coconut – 1 bowl

Cumin – 1 teaspoon

Dried Red chilli – 2

Salt

Jaggery – ½ teaspoon

Red chilli powder – ½ teaspoon

Tamarind – peanut size.

Seasoning: Coconut oil – 1tsp, mustard – 1 teaspoon, Red chilli -1, curry leaves – 1 spring.

Method:

Wash green gram and soak it overnight.
Next day, wash yard long beans and make one inch pieces.
Cook Soaked green gram with sufficient water, salt, jaggery and red chilli powder.
When it is half done, add chopped yard long beans and cook.

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Meanwhile, grind coconut, red chillies, cumin and tamarind into a smooth paste and add this paste to cooked vegetable and boil.
Check for the salt and add seasoning.
For seasoning, heat oil, add mustard, red chilli. When mustard starts spluttering, add curry leaves and pour this into boiled curry.

It can be enjoyed with hot rice, Whole wheat Roti’s, Dosa or Rice rotti.

Chikki from ellu bella/ Energy bar from left over sesame mixture:

February 2, 2017

Makara sankranti festival is over and you may have left over Ellu Bella which you got from your near and dear ones during distribution to each other.Usually there will be no takers for this after two days of festival. Even I had some left over sesame mixture and tried this Indian Chikki or energy bar from these power packed ingredients.This mixture usually has lots of sesame seed, which is a high iron source, peanuts, coconut bits etc.

Ingredient:

Left over ellu bella mix – as much as you have

Sugar – 3 to 4 spoons (What I took)

Butter – 1 table spoon

Cardamom powder – ¼ teaspoon

Method:

Separate Sugar blocks as well as jaggery chunks from the mixture.

Take one thick bottomed vessel; add all these jaggery and sugar chunks as well as extra sugar with butter.
Heat this by constant stirring, until it becomes caramelized liquid.
Immediately mix in the rest of the sesame mixture and cardamom powder mix nicely to coat caramel liquid uniformly.

chikki collage

Spread this on a clean kitchen counter or butter paper laid baking tray and press this nicely till it is uniformly flat.
You can use either pav bhaji masher or roti belan to press this mix.
Make a mark when it is hot by using sharp knife.
When it is cool, store this in an airtight container.

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