Huchellu Chutney :

If you are wondering what exactly it is? Wait! It has some more names, such as Gurellu in Kannada and Niger seed in English. They are used extensively in the North Karnataka region.

Niger seed or Huchellu is filled with many nutrients and is the best Omega 3 natural supplement for vegetarians.

I made Huchellu chutney with Ragi Rotti, considered the best combo in Bangalore.

Ingredients:

Chana dal – 1 tsp

Urad dal – 1tsp

Peanuts – ¼ cup

Hurigadale, roasted gram – 2 tbl spoons

Green chillies – 2 to 4

Garlic – 4 cloves

Curry leaves – 4 leaves

Coriander leaves – little

Salt and tamarind little

Roasted niger seeds or powder – 1 tbl spoon

Fresh coconut – 2 to 3 tbl spoons

Method:

-Heat little oil, roast chana dal, urad dal, and peanuts. Add roasted gram, green chillies, and garlic cloves and fry further.

-Switch off the gas, add curry leaves and coriander leaves, and toss a little to wilt the greens; cool.

-Grind the content to smooth paste by adding coconut, salt, and tamarind.

-I don’t add any seasoning. If you wish to add it, please go ahead and add it. Serve with Ragi rotti.

Ragi Rotti:

Ragi rotti, either you love it or hate it. It is one of the healthiest meals in the Mysore-Bangalore region. Unlike a dosa, where the fermented batter is poured and swirled, we pat the pliable batter by hand.

Even though it was a part of the rural part of Karnataka or in traditional cooking, it has now got its due credit by being considered “Superfood”, diabetic-friendly, calcium-rich, gluten-free, and what not!

Ragi rotti with peanut/Huchellu(Niger seeds) chutney is a healthy and authentic breakfast in Bangalore.

The Rotti and chutney, which I learnt from a couple of my friends, then adapted to make my version, according to my family requirement is here,

Ingredient:

Ragi/ finger millet flour – 2 to 3 cups

Cooked rice – ½ cup

Grated coconut – ¼ cup (optional)

Chopped onions – 2 to 3 (medium size)

Chopped green chillies – 2 to 3

Chopped coriander leaves – ½ cup

Chopped Curry leaves – 2 tbl sp

Chopped pudina – 2 tbl sp (optional)

Salt

Hot water – as needed.

Method:

-Take one wide steel bowl, dry mix everything from ragi flour, cooked rice, chopped green chillies, onions, coriander, curry leaves, pudina, coconut gratings and salt.

-Make a pliable dough by adding sufficient boiling hot water.Keep it aside for 5 to 10 minutes to absorb the seasoning and soak.

-When you want to make rotti, take one piece of banana leaf or butter paper.

-Take a little rotti dough in your moist hand, and start patting in a circular motion by wetting your hand in the water now and then.

-Make 3 or 4 holes here and there if you want the crispier version. Sprinkle one teaspoon of oil over this patted rotti and keep it ready.

-Heat iron skillet and cook oil sprinkled rotti by putting upside down on it. After 2 to 3 minutes, peel off a banana leaf or butter paper.

-Sprinkle little oil over it and flip. Cook and serve hot with peanut chutney or Huchellu chutney.

Note:

-Keep one bowl of water at a reachable distance to dip your hand in-between.

– wetting your hand will help avoid the dough sticking to your fingers while patting.

 

Overnight Poha flakes:

Overnight Poha flakes are our desi version of overnight oats with my personal touch to solve my daughter, who doesn’t like oats but stays in the hostel and prefers a quick breakfast option in busy mornings.

This recipe is forgiving and adaptable to however one wants to have it.

One can use available millet flakes, medium-thick rice flakes white or red or black and can be soaked in plain or vegan /plant-based milk, yoghurt, or mixture. Hence, according to one’s diet restriction, it can be made and consumed.

Let us see how I made them. It is ready to make a flaky overnight mixture as an instant mixture to replace plain oats.

Ingredients:

Medium-thick poha – 1 cup

Ragi poha / flakes – 1 cup

Jowar poha – 1 cup ( optional)

Puffed Amaranth – 1 cup ( optional)

Method:

-Dry grind Red poha ( what I have used) in a small mixer jar using “PULSE” mode.

-Pulsing the rice poha helps reduce the size, and it helps to match the size of other millet poha and puffed Amaranth.

-Now, take one dry bowl, mix everything properly and store it in an air-tight bottle.

As we all know how to make overnight oats, we use this poha flakes mix and proceed.

Take 2 to 4 tbl spoon of the above poha flakes in a glass bottle or bowl. Add chia seed, dry fruits etc

Pour cow’s milk or vegan plant-based milk. Close the lid and keep it overnight inside the fridge.

-Next morning, add chopped fruits and dates with/ without a prefered natural sweetener like honey, jaggery syrup or sugar.

 

Raw Mango Thokku:

Raw Mango, the name itself makes us drool. Summer is always the time to relish Mango, from tangy to sweetest form. Here, I have shared a super simple, quickest form of relish. Mango thokku is a perfect balance of hot and sour tastes and goes very well with every possible dish. It can be used as a chutney, spread or with curd rice or Indian dal.

Things which we have to keep in our mind are,

-Use thick bottomed steel or anodised cookware. (please don’t use aluminium or iron Kadai while cooking souring agents) 

-Usage of Mango: Thothapuri variety is ideal for this.

-The quantity of Oil: If you want to store the thokku for a longer duration, use more oil, and if it is for quick use, with a shorter shelf life, use less oil and keep it under refrigeration.

-To get an authentic taste, use cold-pressed sesame oil or Til oil. If you don’t like the overpowering taste of til, add half the amount of sesame oil and half the amount of Sunflower oil.

Ingredients:

Thothapuri Mango – 2

Oil – ½ cup ( ¼ cup of sesame + ¼ cup of sunflower oil)

Mustard – 1 tbl spoon

Broken red chillies – 2

Curry leaves – 2 springs

Salt – acc to your taste

Turmeric – 1 tsp

Red chilli powder – 1 to 2 tbl spoons ( acc to the required hotness)

Roasted methi powder – ½ tsp

Method:

-Wash, peel and grate the mangoes.

-Heat Kadai, add oil and Do the process in low heat to avoid burning. Splutter mustard, fry red chilli and curry leaves.

-Add grated mangoes, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. When it starts wilting, add turmeric, red chilli powder, salt, and cook further.

When oil starts to ooze out at the sides, add roasted methi powder, cook some more time, and switch off.

-Cool the mixture, and store it in a dry glass bottle. Enjoy with hot rice, rotis or even toasted bread.

 

 

 

Basale bendi / Malabar spinach and jack seed curry :

I have shared some Basale / Malabar spinach recipes and jack seed recipes in my previous posts. If you are interested in finding out more Mangalore-based recipes, such as basale Chutney and basale with raw papaya curry, the method to preserve jackseed, hummus, the side dish with coloured cucumber, dry curry with bamboo shoot and Rasam. Please click the hyperlink and check it out.

As we all know, basale is rich in iron, fibre, and vitamins and low in calories. When combined with jackseed, natural plant protein is an added benefit; cooked jackseed is creamy in texture, tasty to the palette and healthy for our bodies.

Here is the most amazing Malabar spinach and jack seed recipe from my family to yours, which is a perfect pair with Hot Rice or traditional red rice rotti or Rotti using rice flour.

Ingredients:

Malabar spinach – 250- 300 grams

Jack seeds – 12 to 15 ( crushed and shelled) OR Soaked black-eyed peas (white)

Onion – 1 sliced (medium)

Turmeric – 1tsp

Salt – as required

Jaggery – ½ tsp (optional)

Red chilli powder – 1tsp

Tamarind – small gooseberry size, soaked in water.

For the Masala Paste:

Grated fresh coconut – 1 cup

Red chillies – 4 to 6 ( Byadagi)

Coriander seeds – 1 tbl spoon

Cumin – 1 tsp

Garlic – 2 cloves (optional)

For the seasoning:

Coconut oil – 1 tbl spoon

Mustard – 1 tsp

Red chilli – 1

Crushed garlic – 8 – 10

Curry leaves – 1 spring.

Method:

-If you use Pieces of stems from the Malabar spinach, cook those stems with salt in a pressure cooker for 2 to 3 whistles. Add Jack seed or Black-eyed peas and chopped Malabar spinach greens, tamarind water, salt, jaggery, and red chilli powder when the pressure releases.

-cook further in an open vessel or close the lid of the pressure cooker and give one whistle.

-Now, make masala. Heat a coconut oil, coriander, cumin, garlic, and red chillies, and fry until crisp. Now, grind these fried items with coconut and make a smooth paste.

-Add the ground masala to cooked veggies, boil, and season.

-For seasoning, heat coconut oil, splutter mustard, add crushed garlic and red chilli, and fry until it turns light brown; add curry leaves and pour it over the curry. Enjoy with Dosa, Rotti, or rice.  

Kithul Flour- Sweet and Savoury Drinks:

Kithul tree is found all over south India while travelling in and around our native, at fields,  ghat section or any hilly area. Kithul palm, commonly known as Solitary Fishtail palm, sago palm, Toddy palm, jaggery palm etc.

Scientifically, Caryota urens is a species of flowering plant in the palm family from the Indian Subcontinent and South-East Asia.       

 In Kannada, it is called as ಬೈನೆ ಮರ /baine tree.

In and around Mangalore, it is known as ಈ0ದು /Eendu.

It is famous for Folk medicine in our region.

What is Kithul flour?

Starch extracted from the pith of the Kithul tree is “Kithul Flour” and known for its benefits in traditional “grandmom’s remedy” to control many ailments such as reducing body heat during summer, remedy for Sevier acidity, stomach ulcers, headache due to stomach ailments etc. in our villages. It is high in fibre and antioxidants. Hence, it helps to regularise gut health.

Extraction of Kithul flour is a tedious process; hence, we need to be extra cautious while buying the product.

Luckily, I have found a farmer who follows the traditional farming method and manages to prepare Kithul flour conventionally.

Kithul flour Porridge: One of the most popular breakfast porridge/puddings in Srilanka.

Rich in fibre and healthy Sri Lankan breakfast porridge, usually prepared by cooking kithul flour with sufficient water, then enhanced the taste by adding coconut milk, jaggery and crushed cashews or grated nutmeg.

The benefits of usage of this flour are endless.-

-Stops lose motion.                                                                   
-Reduces body heat and mouth ulcers.
-Reduces the painful periods
-Regulates acidity and improves gut health.
-improves the nerve health

Method: which I followed is straightforward.

-Take a glass of water, and add a spoon of Caryota powder and a pinch of salt or sugar or jaggery. Boil the mixture until the content is cooked and turns shiny.

-Adjust the consistency by adding hot milk. Garnish with cardamom powder and roasted cashews.

If you don’t like sweet and prefer to have it savoury, one can also make the salted version.

Boil 1 tsp of kithul flour with water, add sufficient salt and cool a bit. Add buttermilk and make a chaas / thin version of buttermilk like consistency. You can add crushed jeera or jeera powder, chopped coriander or hing.

I prefer cumin and salt. Drink as a thirst quencher and enjoy this summer drink with an added benefit for your health.

 

 

Badanekai Gojji Sambar/ Brinjal Dal :

Our Native Brinjal has its charm and a fan base. People who like it relish it in many ways. I have already shared the palya, and this dal is one more item, which is our family favourite and mild at the taste. Here, we use either Gulla or a native variety of big green brinjal.

It needs hardly any ingredient but tastes fantastic and soothing in the summer heat. It is No coconut, vegan curry. 

Ingredients:

Brinjal – 1 ( big)

Toor dal – 1 cup ( cooked with turmeric and mashed)

Green chillies – 5 to 8 ( slit)

Salt – as per taste

Jaggery – as per taste

Roasted methi powder – ½ to 1 spoon

Tamarind – small lemon sized

coriander leaves – 2 tbl spoon (Chopped)

Seasoning: Coconut oil – 1 tbl spoon, Mustard – 1 tsp, Hing – peanut size ball, red chilli – 1, curry leaves – 1 spring.

Method:

-Here, we use full brinjal, even its stalk. So, the chopping procedure is, Halve the brinjal, even the stalk. Make four slits lengthwise. And dice it. Remove the inner woody part of the stalk and discard.

-Put those brinjal pieces in water and immerse.

-Now, take one vessel, Boil tamarind, 2 cups of water, salt, jaggery, slit green chillies. When it starts boiling, add brinjal pieces by draining the immersed water.

-When brinjal pieces turn soft, add mashed dal, roasted methi powder, adjust the salt and, jaggery and chillies according to your taste.

-Boil nicely, garnish with coriander. Do the seasoning by heating oil, splutter mustard, hing, red chilli and curry leaves.

-Enjoy with hot rice and papad.

NOTE: You can check the quantity of all the essential ingredients in the Above picture.

 

 

 

Badanekai palya/ Brinjal dry curry:

Usually, Brinjal/ Eggplant of Mangalore/Udupi region is known as “UDUPI GULLA”. No! We have two varieties.

Both are Heirloom, native variety.

How to differentiate our native varieties of brinjal? It is so easy.

Here, I am talking about our “Oora Badane”, “Native Brinjal” of Mangalore. 

Much bigger (almost like purple brinjal, used in Bhartha). The outer skin is shiny pear-shaped; the outer skin is thinner, pale green with white lines.

It is fleshy and used in our style of Bhartha ( Roasted sweet and sour Gojju), Palya, Sambar and kayi Huli.

We all know that GI tagged “Udupi Gulla”, which is small, darker in the shade, matte-finished outer skin with a couple of thorns at the woody stalk. ( which is at the backside in the picture) 

For this palya, we use fleshy, seasonal native brinjal. This one side dish, which my husband craves for and asks to make, and he relishes with Ghee smeared Chapathi.

The recipe is simple and needs freshly ground masala or readily available Rasam powder.

Ingredients:

Round Brinjal – 1

Onion – 2 ( medium)

Green chillies – 2

Salt

Tamarind – gooseberry size

Turmeric – ½ tsp

Jaggery – as needed

For the masala powder:

¼ cup – grated coconut

2 -Red chillies

Coriander -1 tsp

Cumin – ½ tsp

For the seasoning:

Coconut oil – 2 tbl spoons, mustard – 1tsp, urad dal – 1tsp, Chana dal – 1tsp, hing – 1 pinch and curry leaves – 1 spring

Chopped coriander – to garnish.

Method:

-Slice onion. Chop green chillies. Soak the tamarind in a small cup of hot water.

-Roast the coriander, cumin, red chillies in a drop of oil, make a coarse powder and keep it aside.

-Now take a bowl with water and immerse the chopped brinjal. Brinjal pieces should be slightly bigger and ¼” thicker. (Please refer to the pictures)

-Now, we would do the seasoning, take one Kadai, heat oil, splutter mustard, add urad dal, chana dal, hing and fry until it is slightly brown. Add curry leaves.

-next, add onion and green chillies and fry until it is transparent and wilts.

-Extract tamarind water pour-over. Add turmeric, salt, jaggery. When water starts boiling, add brinjal and mix everything properly.

-Close the lid and cook the veggie on a low flame. Add freshly dry ground coconut masala, mix everything, once again close the lid and cook further to absorb the flavour.

-Switch off the gas and garnish with the chopped coriander leaves. It pairs well with Roti or rice.

NOTE:

If you are using the rasam powder, add little coconut and proceed with the procedure with the Rasam powder.

-Freshly made masala and the usage of cold-pressed coconut oil does give the authentic taste.

Rice flour Ubbu rotti / Ukkarisida akki rotti:

Rotti is an integral part of our breakfast menu. In Karnataka, every region has a different method to make Akki rotti/Rice rotti. Mangaloreans prefer to make Red boiled rice rotti by grinding the soaked rice, I have already shared the recipe, and the link is HERE.

After some exposure to Bangalore, I learned this shortcut method to make equally satisfying no preparation or soaking, an instant and quick method, which uses readily available rice flour.

One can use a Rotti press or coupe of wooden planks or roll like a chapati/ pulka.

Ingredients:

Rice flour – 2 cups

Water – 2 ½ cups

Salt – as needed

Oil – 1 tsp

Method:

-Boil water in a thick bottom vessel by adding salt and oil.

-When it starts boiling, switch off the gas, add rice flour mix everything, close the lid and leave it for 5 to 10 minutes.

-The build-up Steam would help you get a smooth, crack-free dough to make perfect rotti.

-After 10 minutes, Open the lid start kneading the dough. Take out the little dough, make the roundel and start making the flat disc.

-To make the disc, take two thick plastic or butter paper sheets. Use Roti press and keep the lemon-sized ball between two papers and press.

OR

-Roll like a chapati/ Pulka by dusting the dry flour.

-Cook on tawa, just like whole wheat pulka —Cook both sides by flipping. Then, place it on gas fire to puff.

-If you wish, you can apply coconut oil or ghee on top of the puffed rotti. Serve with Chutney of your choice of curry.

NOTE:

While kneading the dough, If you feel it is dry, breaking and not holding together, please add little hot water and adjust it until it turns out pliable.

-Each rice flour acts different, and the water absorption happens accordingly. 

 

 

 

Buddha Bowl:

Buddha bowl is wholesome and rich in protein, fibre, and goodness.

When my daughter wanted to experience the dish’s taste, it was a real challenge to me. She had an idea about the final dish, what all should contain, a list of vegetables, how it should turn out everything in her mind and had given a list of her choices.

Dalia: Source of carbohydrate

She was not happy about the usage of rice. Hence, prepared the broken wheat precisely like how we cook rice for fried rice, by putting in a lot of water, oil, salt. Boil well, cook and strain. It tasted pretty well.

Then comes the Chana/Chickpea – Source of plant protein

– Soaked the Kabuli chana, sprouted, cooked in a cooker by adding salt two drops of oil. Drained and tossed with little tomato sauce, Soy sauce, and cooked for 2 minutes.

I follow one more method: heat oil, add ginger juvenile, hing, cooked chana, salt, coriander powder, cumin powder, a pinch of sugar.

Note Addition of oil while cooking high protein legumes helps to avoid bloating.

Next, Brinjal: Cut brinjal into 4 to 5 slices. Marinate with salt, crushed garlic, red chilli powder, Rasam powder, tamarind powder, little olive oil.

Roast it on a hot iron skillet by sprinkling little oil.

Tofu – Protein

Slice 4 pieces marinate with Sriracha sauce, Sweet chilli garlic sauce, four basil leaves (torn), olive oil.

Roast it in a hot iron skillet.

Tossed Veggies:

Veggies used here are – Cauliflower, Broccoli, Beans, Carrot (blanched)

green capsicum, red and yellow capsicum – half each

One onion – diced

I have used butter for tossing these veggies. At first, onion, then capsicum, then blanched veggies. Add garlic salt, pepper, red chilli flakes.

Sweetcorn:

Boil, drain, toss with salt, butter, pepper powder.

2 Sauces: Dressings

One sauce is: Add Sriracha sauce, Honey, little sesame oil and Soy Sauce (add according to your taste). Adjust the consistency by adding 1 or 2 spoons of water.

The second sauce is: Add Sriracha sauce, Veg Mayonnaise, Red chilli powder ¼ tsp, Sweet chilli sauce, Maple syrup (add according to your taste). Adjust the consistency by adding 1 or 2 spoons of water.