Category: No Onion No Garlic

Jackfruit kottige:

May 10, 2018

Halasina hannu is Jack fruit and Kottige is nothing but idly or kadubu,also known as Halasina Hannina kottige Or Gatti in local language. In which mixture is wrapped in pre-wilted banana leaves like pockets and steam cooked. Like bottle gourd kottige, which I have posted earlier, it is not a savoury kind, it is sweetish and bustling with jackfruit flavour which is enhanced even more with the usage of banana leaves wrap.

Jackfruit season is considered as a feast time in our region. Usage starts from tiny raw fruit form to ripened stage. You will find couple of curry recipes in my blog which I have posted earlier as well as Ripe jack fruit Dosa.

Now we will see how to make kottige, in our traditional method.

Ingredients:

Dosa rice – 2 cups

Jackfruit – 2 cups (cleaned)

Fresh coconut gratings – 1 cup

Grated jaggery – ¼ to ½ cup (according to your taste)

Ghee – 1 table spoon

Salt

Method:

-Wash Dosa rice (white raw rice) and soak for 2 to 3 hours.

-If you are using banana leaves, wilt the leaves on gas flame, wipe with a wet cloth and keep it ready.

-If you are using idli mould, grease the moulds with little ghee and keep aside.

-Chop jack fruit, separate fruit pods, remove outer thin white fibres as well as inner seed and take only yellow fruit part.

-Mix grated coconut and jaggery as well as ghee and keep aside.

-Grind rice into fine paste by adding very little water and salt.

-Now take jack fruit little by little and whip a little to chop roughly by using same mixer jar in which rice batter is ground.

-Take one wide bowl, mix in ground batter, roughly whipped fruit pulp, coconut-jaggery mixture.

-Mix nicely, spread the wilted banana leaves and pour one spoon and fold it like a sealed pocket. (refer the below pictures)

-Assemble all these packets in a water filled idli steamer or Momo steamer and cook this for half an hour to 40 minutes in medium to slow heat.

-If you are using idli mould, pour required amount of batter and steam cook like an idli.

-Relish this jackfruit idli or kottige with ghee or coconut and ginger chutney.

-We usually steam cook this on the previous night and keep it ready for the next day’s breakfast. In this way, It will be easy in the morning as now you just have to prepare chutney and serve.

 

 

 

 

 

Barley Pongal:

May 5, 2018

Come Summer, our ancestors used to drink Barley water to keep their body cool. Otherwise Barley gruel or water is used mainly during illness- diarrhoea, urinary tract infection. As it is a natural diuretic, it increases urination and helps to flush out any toxins or infection causing bacteria from the body. Here I have used this super cool grain in making Pongal, south Indian breakfast dish.

Barley has two varieties, one is with outer cover which is called hulled barley and other one is more processed, without outer cover and is called De hulled or pearl barley. Compared to hulled, pearl is little less in fibre but cooks faster and is ideal for our day to day cooking.

Barley is known for its low glycaemic index, which makes it an excellent option for diabetics. Over all it is good for all and we can include it in our day to day cooking in one form or the other and take a benefit from this age-old grain for sure.

Although Barley is very good for health, it contains gluten and people who have sensitive digestive system or are allergic to gluten should avoid this grain.

Recipe is like this-

Ingredients:

Barley Rawa/ grits – 2 cups

Green gram/moong dal – 1 cup

Green chillies – 2

Ginger – ½ inch

Grated coconut – 3 table spoons

Ghee – (to serve)

Seasoning:

Ghee – 1 table spoon

Mustard – 1 tea spoon

Cumin – ½ tea spoon

Hing – ¼ tea spoon

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

-Dry roast moong dal for 2 to 3 minutes.

-Wash moong and barley grits together and keep aside for a while.

-In the meantime, prepare for the seasoning.

-Take one cooker vessel, do seasoning, heat ghee, splutter mustard, add cumin, hing, curry leaves, chopped green chillies, chopped ginger (slivered) and fry for two min.

-Add water (around 8 to 9 cups) and boil. Add salt, coconut gratings and keep it for boiling.

-Add soaked dal and barley mixture and close the cooker lid.

-Cook for 3 whistles and switch off the gas.

-When pressure releases, open the cooker lid, give a stir and adjust the consistency.

-Pour a couple of spoons of ghee to enhance the taste or you can completely skip the ghee if you are into low calorie diet.

-Serve with coconut-ginger flavoured chutney.

 

Simple Bele saaru /Rasam:

May 3, 2018

This Rasam is a very good option, if one has to cook no onion and no garlic meal. Usually it is an option for us during any festivity or “No mood to cook” meal. Olden days usage of onion or garlic was a taboo in our community and our grand moms used to prepare this kind of Rasam, which we call as saaru in local language. My hubby has fond memories attached to this Rasam, which he used to relish as a small child in his grand mom’s place and he usually asks for it and calls this Rasam as Doddajji saaru (grandma’s saaru) to signify. It is a plain Rasam, with ginger and hing flavour. In our region, we see this Rasam in some of the temple meals as well. If it is ginger flavoured one, no Rasam powder will be used and Rasam will be yellow in colour, due to the addition of turmeric and dhal.

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Ingredients:

Toor dal – 1 cup

Tomatoes – 3 to 4

Green chillies – 4 to 6

Hing – peanut sized

Ginger – ½ inch (slivered)

Curry leaves – 2 springs

Salt

Jaggery – ½ to 1 tea spoon

Turmeric – ½ tea spoon

Tamarind – 1 tea spoon

Coriander leaves – little (optional)

Seasoning:

Coconut oil or ghee – 1 table spoon

Mustard – 1 tea spoon

Red chilli – 1

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

-Wash and cook toor dal in a pressure cooker, mash a little and keep aside.

-Soak tamarind, chop tomatoes, green chillies and ginger.

Ribbet collage

-Take one Rasam pot (I normally use clay pot) and take 3 to 4 cups of water, tomato, green chillies, ginger, hing, curry leaves, turmeric, salt and jaggery.

-Cook this until everything cooks properly.

-Now add toor dal and mashed soaked tamarind.

-Boil this and adjust the consistency and check for salt, ginger and green chilli. If needed adjust by adding extra.

-When it is boiled, add chopped coriander leaves.

Ribbet collage 1

-Season with oil or ghee by spluttering mustard, red chilli and curry leaves.

-Serve with hot rice .

 

 

 

 

Gujje kadle gashi / Tender jackfruit and whole black chickpeas curry:

April 27, 2018

Tender jackfruit is an integral part of our traditional cooking. Till now I have shared a couple of recipes and today I am going to share one more tender jack recipe which is prepared by pairing it with protein rich black chickpea, which is also known as kala chana, black chana in India.

Tender jackfruit is a super food, which is high in vitamins, minerals and dietary fibers and at the same time, less in calories, salt and fats. Now a day, it is available in almost all parts of the globe as fresh or frozen.

This curry is double beneficial because of additional benefit by adding black chickpea. Which is also known as Bengal grams, Garbanzo beans or Kala chana which has darker skin and thick outer cover and has high roughage.

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Ingredients:

Tender jack or Gujje pieces – 1 bowl.

Black chick peas/chana – 1 cup

Salt

Jaggery – 1 tea spoon

Red chili powder – 1 tea spoon

Coconut oil – 1+2 tea spoon

Masala:

Grated Coconut – from half coconut

Coriander seeds – 1 tea spoon

Urad dal – 1 tea spoon

Methi – ¼ tea spoon

Hing – one pinch

Red chillies – 3 to 4

Tamarind – ½ tea spoon

Season:

Coconut oil – 1 tea spoon

Mustard – 1 tea spoon

Red chilli – 1 (optional)

Curry leaves – 1 or 2 springs

Method:

-Wash and soak Black chana overnight. Drain the soaked water the next morning.

-Take one pressure cooker, cook chana by adding sufficient water. It requires around 4 to 5 whistles.

Ribbet collage

-Add Tender jack pieces into cooked chana, if needed some water, salt, red chilli powder and jaggery and cook in an open fire, until jack pieces are soft.

-In the meantime, prepare masala:

-Take 1 tsp of coconut oil in a tawa, fry methi, add coriander, hing, urad dal, red chillies and fry until urad dal becomes red. Next add coconut and fry until it emits fragrance.

Ribbet collage 2

-Cool the mixture, add tamarind and grind into little rough paste by adding water.

-Add the ground masala into cooked veggie mixture, boil.

-Add seasoning, heat coconut oil, splutter mustard, add red chilli (optional), curry leaves into oil and pour the mixture over boiled curry.

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-After adding the seasoning, add 2 tsp of raw coconut oil and keep it covered until u serve. This is to get an authentic taste.

 

Mavinakai Chutney/ Raw Mango and Coconut chutney:

April 24, 2018

There are so many ways to make lip smacking good Mango chutney. This is traditional mango chutney from Mangalore, South of Karnataka and it is mostly ground to a thicker consistency and is also called as Gatti chutney, which means thick raw mango chutney and is served with Kanji (Brown rice gruel) and ghee. It is our comfort food.     DSC_0037_Fotor

Ingredients:

Grated Fresh coconut – 1 cup

Grated fresh green mango – ¼ cup

Green chillies – 2 to 3

Salt

Seasoning: Coconut oil, mustard, curry leaves.

Method:

-Put freshly grated coconut, grated green mango, green chillies and salt in a mixer grinder.

-Instead of green chillies, traditionally people use small bird eye chillies too. If you have that, you can use those chillies as well.

– Now blend the mixture in the mixer grinder coarsely, without adding any water. If juice from the raw mango is not sufficient, then add 1 to 2 tsp of water and grind to get this thick consistency.

-Prepare the seasoning and serve with Brown rice kanji and ghee.

Nendra Sippe Palya/Plantain peel dry curry:

April 17, 2018

Nendra is also known as Kerala Banana. Which is mainly used in chips, if it is raw and firm or Halwa making, when it is ripe and black.

When Chips is made, all the healthy, iron rich and fibre rich peel will be wasted, and it is some what a bi -product of chips making activity.

This palya is normally prepared on previous night of wedding celebrations in our region. Normally plantain chips are an integral part of any festivity meal and it is prepared well in advance, usually process starts from the previous afternoon and peels will be fresh and ready to be used in the previous night’s dinner menu.

It is a very tasty side dish with hot Rasam or as it is with hot rice topped with ghee.

Taste of this dish will be a mixture of sweet, hot and sour and only Raw Nendra banana peel can be used to make this palya.

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Ingredients:

Plantain Peel – of 8 to 10 Raw bananas

Tamarind water – ½ to 1 cup

Salt

Jaggery – 1 to 2 table spoons

Red chilli powder – 2 tea spoons

Fresh grated coconut- ¼ cup

Seasoning:

Coconut oil – 2 table spoons

Mustard – 1 tea spoon

Urad dal – 1 tea spoon

Red chilli – 1

Curry leaves – 2 springs

Method:

-Make thin buttermilk water to immerse the chopping’s:-Take one vessel, put 1 spoon of curd or butter milk and add two cups of water.

-Soak one tea spoon of tamarind in a half to one cup of hot water and make tamarind water and keep.

Ribbet collage 1

–Wash Plantain peel and keep aside.

-Chop plantain peel into thin strips and put it into thin buttermilk water.

-Take one tawa, add one table spoon of oil, splutter mustard, add urad dal, red chilli and fry until dal becomes red. Add one spring of curry leaves.

Ribbet collage 2

-Pour tamarind water, salt, jaggery, red chilli powder and boil.

-Discard butter milk water and keep chopping’s ready for use.

-When it starts boiling, add drained plantain peel chopping’s.

-Close the lid and cook this in a simmer.

-Check for water in-between. If peel is not cooked add some more water.

-When chopping’s are soft and cooked, after water drains, add grated coconut, remaining 1 table spoon of oil and one spring curry leaf.

-Mix everything and cook for 2 to 3 minutes and then switch off.

-Serve with hot rice topped with ghee or as a side dish with rice and Rasam.

Temple Style Vegetable Sambar:

March 17, 2018

Usually people ask me regarding recipe of sambar, which is served in Coastal Mangalore temples. In our coastal temples, prasadam is served in the form of afternoon lunch. It is a simple lunch, served on a plantain leaf. which usually includes palya, rice, Rasam, sambar, payasam and buttermilk. Speciality of this lunch is, taste of the Rasam or sambar will linger in your mouth even after some time.

Commonly used vegetable for this kind of sambar is Ash gourd, sweet pumpkin or Coloured cucumber. You can take any one of these above-mentioned veggies and make. Here freshly roasted and ground masala has been used and onion or garlic is a taboo ingredient in prasadam lunch.

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Here I have used home grown Sweet pumpkin –

Ingredients:

Sweet pumpkin – ½ kg (you can use coloured cucumber or Ash gourd as well)

Salt

Jaggery – 1 to 2 tea spoons (adjust according to your taste)

Red chilli powder – ½ tea spoon

Coriander seeds – 1 table spoon

Cumin – 1 tea spoon

Methi – ¼ tea spoon

Hing – pea nut size (hard hing) or ½ tea spoon of powdered hing.

Urad dal – 1 tea spoon

Chana dal – 1 tea spoon

Red chillies – 3 to 4

Coconut – ½ cup

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Toor dal – ¼ cup

Turmeric – ½ tea spoon

Tamarind – ½ – 1 tea spoon

Seasoning:

Coconut oil – 1 table spoon

Mustard – 1 tea spoon

Red chilli – 1

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

-Cook toor dal after washing and keep aside. (don’t use more dal)

-Remove central seed part. Chop veggies, as bigger chunks.

Ribbet collage 1

– Cook chopped veggie by adding sufficient water, salt, jaggery, red chilli powder.

-In the meantime, roast masala for grinding.

Ribbet collage 2

-Take one thick kadai, add 1 tea spoon of coconut oil, fry methi seeds until light brown.

-Add in coriander, cumin, Hing, Red chillies, urad and Chana dal and proceed frying until dal becomes light brown and red chillies puffs and roasts.

-Add in coconut, curry leaves and turmeric, proceed frying for 2 to 3 minutes or until you feel the aroma of coconut.

-Cool this mixture and grind into not so smooth paste by adding tamarind and sufficient water.

– Now mash cooked dal add dal and freshly ground masala to cooked veggie and boil.

-Check for salt, jaggery and adjust. When it boils add seasoning.

-Heat coconut oil, mustard, red chilli, when mustard splutters, and curry leaves and pour over the prepared(boiled) sambar.

-Serve with hot rice.

 

 

 

Manoli Kadle Ajadina /Thondekai Kadle palya /Ivy gourd and chick pea Dry curry:

December 25, 2016

This is one of our family favourite curries, which is loved by all. We make two types of curries by using ivy gourd and chickpea.

One is with onion and garlic, other one without it.

This name is derived from Tulu language, which is a local language of Mangalore. Manoli is ivy gourd or Tindora, Kadle is black chick pea and Ajadina is dry curry.

This particular masala is used in Bunt community of Mangalore and it is an integral part of their festive cooking.

How I make this-

Ingredient:

Ivy gourd – ¼ to ½ kg

Black Chick pea – 1 cup

Salt

Jaggery – ½ tsp (optional)

For Masala:

Fresh grated coconut- 1 cup

Coriander seeds – 1 tsp

Cumin – ½ tsp

Urad dal – 1 tsp

Methi/ fenugreek seed – ½ tsp

Dry red chillies- 3 to 4

For Seasoning:

Coconut oil – 1 to 2 tbl sp

Mustard – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

-Soak black chick peas in water overnight. Next day discard soaked water and add fresh water, salt and cook this in a cooker for 3 to 4 whistles.

-Wash ivy gourd, cut this lengthwise into 4 pieces. Cook this by putting very little water and salt and jaggery.  keep aside.

-When pressure releases from the cooker, open the lid, drain the water and keep chick pea aside. Don’t discard the drained water. You can make really yummy Rasam or soup out of this.

Next is the masala preparation-

-Heat little oil, fry methi seeds until it is light brown, add remaining ingredients, coriander, cumin, urad dal,  red chillies, and fry nicely.

-Take one mixer jar, put roasted masala, make  a powder, and add coconut into it and whip couple of times to get dry coarse powder.  

Now we can proceed to make palya-

-Take one kadai, put coconut oil, when it is hot, splutter mustard seeds, add curry leaves.

-Now add ground masala and fry for a while.

-Now add cooked chickpea and ivy gourd mix well, check for the salt and adjust.

-Cook this until it becomes like a mass and veggies are coated well with the masala.

-Serve this as a side dish with hot rice.

NOTE:

-Usage of coconut oil will give authentic taste.

-Don’t discard drained water from cooked chick pea. It is very nutritious and you can prepare really tasty Rasam, and it is here.