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Carrot Halwa (South Indian Style):

February 13, 2018

Carrot Halwa or Gajar ka halwa is a very popular Indian dessert. This halwa is everyone’s favorite in my place. They love it hot directly from the stove top as it is or with vanilla ice-cream.

It is a south Indian style preparation, which we follow in our homes. i.e. Without khoya/milk solids and it is cooked in whole milk.

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Now we will see my style of preparation,

Ingredients:

Red Delhi carrot – 1 kg

Regular carrot – ½ kg

Milk – ½ litre

Sugar – ¾ to 1 cup (according to your taste)

Ghee – ¼ cup

Roasted Slivered almonds – 1 to2 tablespoon

Roasted cashew bits – 1 to 2 tablespoon

Cardamom powder – 1 tsp.

Method:

-Wash and peel the outer skin and grate the carrots.

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-Take one thick bottomed pan, heat 2 tablespoons of ghee and fry grated carrots for 10 min, till it completely wilts.

-now add milk, cook until milk evaporates and carrot cooks.

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-now add sugar (here we must check for required sweetness, we usually prefer a little less sweet), and mix nicely by adding the remaining ghee until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.

-now garnish this with cardamom powder, roasted slivered almonds and 1 tablespoon ghee. Mix this nicely.

Serve hot as it is or with vanilla ice cream and enjoy your winter treat.

Plantain / Banana Flower Chutney:

February 10, 2018

We call Coconut tree as a Kalpavriksha. In my opinion Banana plant also should come under this category, because almost every part of the banana plant is used in some way or the other.

The leaves, flowers, fruits, stem, stem fibre etc. Nothing is wasted over here, and it is very useful in many ways.

The male banana flower is purple coloured, dome shaped, and can be seen hanging at the bottom of every fruit bunch. In banana plant, female flowers appear first and appear as a hand like structure in clusters. These female flowers will develop as the real fruit, which we normally eat, and male flowers will remain intact in layers of purplish outer bracts.

After fruit matures, we harvest the fruit and use the male flower that we see at the end of the fruit bunch in cooking. It is loaded with fibre, anti-oxidants, iron, potassium, calcium, vitamins and all other minerals. Flower is used mainly to treat constipation and anaemia in villages of our native in and around Mangalore.

This Chutney recipe is handed down to me by my amma (mother), and I used to relish this from my childhood. It is a perfect combination with hot rice, topped with fresh home-made ghee. We can feed this to small toddlers as well.

Ingredients:

Banana flower – 1

Cumin – 1 tea spoon

Pepper – 1 tea spoon

Tamarind – ½ tea spoon

Salt

Water – 1 bowl

Curd – 1 serving spoon

Grated coconut – 1 cup

For Seasoning:

Ghee – 1 table spoon

Cumin – ½ teaspoon

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

-Wash banana flower from outside and remove outer purple bract (remove 2 layers) and discard.

-Now take one bowl of water with 1 serving spoon of curd and mix and keep it ready. (This water will avoid decolouration of the chopping’s)

-Start chopping banana flower from the tip (refer picture)

-Keep on adding chopped part to curd water.

-While chopping, whenever outer shell opens by itself, discard that and proceed chopping.

– After chopping is done, drain the curd water and collect the banana flower chopping’s.

-Take one vessel, add chopping’s, salt, pepper, cumin, tamarind, 1 cup water and cook.

-When it is done, remove from the fire and cool.

-Add coconut, required amount of water and grind the content.

-Now take one tawa, add ghee, cumin, curry leaves and pour the ground mixture and boil.

-This chutney will stay good for a couple of days under refrigeration and can be served either with hot rotis or with rice.

Balloon Vine Dosa:

February 6, 2018

Balloon vine is well known and widely used as medicinal herb. In Tamilnadu it is used mainly in treating joint pains. I was not aware of this super food until recently which was introduced to me by our beloved uncle Senguttuvan on our Facebook Foodie group. I am very lucky to experience the taste, because of my Foodie friend Ashwini, who came all the way to my home and dropped off the leaves and asked me to prepare the Dosa. 😊

It is a medicinal herb and botanical name is cardiospermum halicacabum (Family sapindaceae).

Balloon vine is also known as Heart seed, Heart-Pea, Love in a puff, winter cherry (English).

The plant got its name because of its Balloon like seed pods.

Some of the regional names are-

Indravalli – In Sanskrit

Agniballi, bekkinatoddinaballi, erumballi – In Kannada

Mudakathan keerai – In Tamil

Jyotishmati, katabhi – In Malayalam

Kapalphoti, khanphuti – In Hindi

It has numerous health benefits and is used in many ailments from Anaemia, diarrhoea, eczema, rheumatism in the form of tea, paste application, kozhambu or mixed with Dosa batter etc.

I tried this Dosa by grinding fresh batter by mixing the leaves in, and it was very tasty. It tastes like plain Dosa with green natural colour.

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Now we will see the procedure-

Ingredients:

Dosa rice – 1 cup

Idly rice – 1 cup

Urad dal –¼ cup

Chana dal – one fist full.

Methi – 1 teaspoon.

Balloon vine greens – 2 cups

Cumin – 1 teaspoon

Red chilli – 1 (use Byadagi variety)

Salt

Method:

-Wash and soak Dosa rice, idli rice, methi and soak for 3 hours.

-Wash cleaned greens and keep them aside.

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-Grind soaked rice, greens, salt, cumin, and red chilli into a fine paste.

-Ferment the batter for 8 to 10 hours or overnight.

-Next day mix the batter, and adjust the consistency.

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-Heat Iron Dosa griddle, pour one serving spoon of batter, spread and cook on one side.

-Pour some ghee or oil and flip the side and cook.

-Serve the Dosa with any chutney of your choice.

Gujje palya/ Tender jackfruit Subzi:

February 3, 2018

Gujje is nothing but tender jackfruit. We Mangalore people start using Gujje from its very tender form. This particular recipe is for very tender means even before its formation of eyes (seed) and known as “Guddhi palya” as it is prepared after crushing. We will see how to prepare this in a traditional way.

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Ingredient:

Tender jackfruit – 1

Mustard- 1 tsp.

Black gram dal – 1 tsp.

Red chilli – 1 (for seasoning)

Curry leaves – 4 springs

Coconut oil – 4 tsp.

Red chilli powder – 1 tsp.

Turmeric – ½ tsp.

Tamarind – ½ tsp.

Salt and jaggery – for taste.

Grated coconut – 3 tbl sp.

Methi seeds – ½ tsp(roasted)

Red chilli – 2 to 3 (roasted)

Method:

Remove outer thorny skin and centre core. Cut the inner pith into one-inch cubes. Immerse in water for 10 minutes. Drain and keep aside.
Take one thick-bottomed kadai or pressure cooker. I usually prefer one whistle a pressure cooker. This method fastens the procedure.
Put chopped jack pieces, salt, tamarind, jaggery, red chilli powder, turmeric. Now add a cup of water and cook until one whistle.

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When it becomes cool, remove the cooker lid.
Mash the cooked jack a little so that all the segments of the jack pieces will open, and it will help to enhance the taste and structure of the palya.
Dry grind coconut, roasted methi and red chilli into rough powder and add.

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Now check for the seasoning and cook until any remaining water is dried and the masala cooks and coats well.
Garnish with curry leaves, two tsp. Take raw coconut oil, keep it closed, and cook for a while so the coconut and curry leaves’ flavours will spread to give a very authentic “homely” flavour.
Season it by heating coconut oil and adding mustard. When it splits, add Urad dal, red chilli and curry leaves and pour over the ready palya/sabzi.
This palya will taste great with ghee and hot rice or as a side dish with Rasam rice.

Baby potato fry:

January 31, 2018

Baby potatoes are naturally sweetish with thin outer skin. I usually don’t peel baby potato skin, due to its richness in taste as well as vitamins and minerals as well. This potato fry tastes great as it is or as a side dish with plain dal or Rasam.

I am preparing this potato fry from so many years and my guests usually love this and ask for the recipe, so I thought of sharing the recipe with my readers, as well. It is made with very minimal oil and one can indulge in it, as much as they want.

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How I make:

Ingredients:

Baby potatoes – ½ kgs

Salt- as needed

Oil – 2 table spoons

Curry leaves – 2 springs

Turmeric – ½ tea spoon

Red chilli powder – 1 tea spoon

Coriander powder – 1 tea spoon

Garam masala powder – ½ tea spoon

Amchur/ dry mango powder – ½ tea spoon

Method:

-Soak baby potatoes for some time, scrub a little and clean properly.

-Cut all the potatoes in half.

-Take water in a sauce pan, boil, add halved potatoes in this water and cook until it is tender but firm.

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-When you keep the potatoes in between your thumb and fore finger and press, it should crack.

-Switch off the gas, drain the water.

-Now take one tawa, heat oil, splutter curry leaves, add drained potato pieces and fry for 2 to 3 minutes.

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-Add all the powders, salt and fry until you get a little charred texture.

-Check the taste and adjust the masala accordingly.

-Serve either as a starter or side dish with rice and dhal.

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NOTE: If you have Ready Tawa fry masala (MDH brand) use 3 to 4 tsp of that, omit coriander powder, garam masala, red chilli powder and amchur powder.

Walnut – Chocolate chip Coffee Cake:

January 27, 2018

Coffee flavoured cake happened by chance. I had some unused Nescafe instant coffee and wanted to finish it ASAP. So, I thought of baking a cake. It is made up of healthy flour and a very good option as a snack.

While getting ready to assemble everything, I thought of adding chocolate chip and walnut as an attraction to kids and it worked out very well with finger millet or Ragi flour as well. Now we will see how I proceeded with the ingredients.

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Ingredients:

Whole wheat Flour – 1 cup

Ragi/ Finger millet flour – 1 cup

Baking soda – ½ tea spoon

Baking powder – ½ tea spoon

Salt – ¼ tea spoon

Walnuts – ½ cup

Choco chip – ½ cup

Butter – 100 grams

Eggs – 2

Sugar – 1 ½ cup

Hot milk – 1 cup

Instant Coffee powder – 1 to 1 ½ table spoon

Hot water – ¼ cup (you can take little less than ¼ cup)

Method:

-Pre heat oven at 180°C, line a baking tray with the butter paper.

-Take one bowl and mix all the dry ingredients like, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, walnuts and Choco -chips.

-In another bowl, beat melted butter, eggs, sugar, milk by adding one by one respectively.

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-Make dark coffee by mixing powder and water. Mix in the liquid and beat.

-Now wet mix is also ready.

-Pour this wet mixture to dry ingredients and fold the batter by using any spatula.

-Pour the batter in lined baking tray and keep this for baking until done.

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-It takes anywhere between 40 to 50 minutes.

-Before removing, check with a knife by inserting, in the baked cake.

-Knife should come out clean.

-Remove the cake, cool before cutting, and serve.

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Note: For the Eggless Version, use 1/2 cup of flax gel and you can refer my earlier post for the preparation.

Protein rich Millet Health Mix:

January 25, 2018

Millet health mix is a wholesome breakfast solution for people who leave their home very early in the morning and yet they can get goodness of wholefood by preparing quick porridge. Once the powder is ready, it is super easy and quick to prepare and consume. One can even prepare this drink and carry it in their bag and have it at their convenience as well.

Health benefits of millets and sprouts are numerous. They are filled with nutrients, vitamins and minerals. It really boosts immune system and overall health of human body.

I prepare this porridge specially for my husband, who started following Naturopathic diet after staying and enjoying this simple diet in a Naturopathic centre. Gradually my niece who leaves home by 6:45 AM from home, started carrying this drink as her mid-morning “meal”. It is very tasty, and at the same time, healthy, filling and nutritious too.

At first, we will prepare the powder and the procedure goes like this-

Ingredients to sprouts and Roast:

Whole wheat – 500 grams

Finger millet / Ragi – 500 grams

Pearl millet/ Bajra – 100 to 150 grams

Green gram / whole moong – 250 grams

Black Chana – 250 grams

Ingredients Only to roast:

Fox tail millet – 50 grams

Sorghum / Jowar – 50 grams

Organic Red rice – 50 – 100 grams

Sago – 100 grams

Roasted Chana – 50 to 100 grams

Almonds – 100 grams

Flax seed – 25 grams

Other ingredients:

Cardamom – 10 (whole)

Method:

-First wash all the ingredients under “Ingredients to sprouts” one by one.

-Soak all these for 6 to 8 hours or Overnight.

-Drain and keep it covered to germinate.

-Next day morning, spread these on a clean cloth separately, and dry under partial or direct sunlight.

-It takes 2 to 3 days to perfectly dry.

-Now you can start roasting all these dried items one by one, as well as ingredients under “Only to roast”.

-After roasting each ingredient, spread this on a newspaper or clean cloth and cool.

-Add cardamom.

– Powder this mixture in a flour mill.

-Store this ready flour in an air tight container and use as needed.

How to make the porridge:

I make it in two ways. One is plain and another one is with oats.

For the plain one:

Take 4 spoons of porridge powder, add 450 ml of water, or as much as you want, according to the required consistency, and boil until it is cooked properly.

At that time, mixture will become glossy.

My husband likes this porridge with a little rock salt and a tinge of sweet (usually I add sugar free Natura)

You can either add plain sugar or Jaggery or brown unrefined sugar as well.

With Oats:

Take 2 spoons of porridge powder, 2 spoons of Oats and proceed with the above procedure.

Leek and Broccoli Soup:

January 22, 2018

This soup is light and creamy in texture, that too with very little calories. Addition of broccoli neutralises the strong flavour of leek as well as gives creaminess and appealing colour without adding any fat.

This is a lovely option to have when it is cold outside. With a slice of garlic bread or whole wheat bread or with lots of croutons this can be a delicious, nutrient filled meal.

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First, we will see how to prepare this soup:

Ingredients:

Leeks- 2 to 3 (white and green parts are chopped and tops can be used in stock)

Broccoli – 1 medium head.

Toasted Pine nuts- ¼ to ½ cup (you can use any nuts of your choice)

Vegetable stock – 4 cups

Butter – 1 tsp

Turmeric- ½ tsp.

Salt

Pepper

Red chilli flakes

Method:

Clean leek by removing each cover,( Refer note) and chop (keep aside some roundels for garnishing).
Heat butter in a pan ,add reserved roundels and fry till you see the charred look. Keep aside.(this is for garnishing)
In this same tawa ,by using remaining butter ,add chopped leeks, sauté for a while. Then add broccoli florets ,turmeric, garlic salt and sauté for some time.

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Then add toasted pine nuts.
Now add vegetable stock.
Boil for 10 minutes and remove from the heat.
After it cools down a bit ,blend this carefully.
Bring this puree to boil ,check the seasoning.

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Serve this soup by sprinkling red chilli flakes ,pepper and toasted leek roundels.
If you want you can add bread croutons or have it with garlic bread.

Note:

How to clean leek : Leek has very tightly packed leafy layers. Usually we find a lot of mud in between the layers ,because they usually grow in loose ,sandy soil. To clean this , trim off the roots and top dried part if any. Now halve the leek lengthwise ,separate all the layers ,so that it will be really easy to rinse and clean. Now leek is ready to use.

Steamed rice with Hot and sour vegetables:

January 18, 2018

Hot and sour veggies with some steamed rice works perfect for a winter night dinner. It is light, filling at the same time, very nutritious and tasty as well. It doesn’t need any major preparation and I love making it on winter nights when we need a tongue tickling hearty dinner.

It is very simple, usually I use some chunks of veggies which is tossed with chunks of onion and simmered with one packet of hot and sour soup powder with sufficient water. Yes!! It is such a simple affair. While serving I usually take a couple of spoons of cooked rice as well.

This quantity suffices for a 4-member family.

How I make –

Ingredients:

Onion – 1 big

Green chilli – 1

Veggies – 1 bowl (veggie pieces in byte sizes)

Garlic salt or chopped fresh garlic – little

Oil – 1 table spoon

Hot and Sour Veg soup – 1 pack (Knorr Or Maggi brand)

Basil or Lemon grass – for an additional flavour (optional)

Method:

-Chop vegetables and onions into chunk size. Slit green chilli. If you are using garlic, chop that as well.

-I usually prefer French beans, carrot, broccoli or cauliflower, capsicum, cabbage or lettuce.

-Take one big wok, pour oil, when it is hot, if you are using garlic, add garlic, green chilli, onion and fry for a minute.

-If you want to use basil or lemon grass, add now.

-Add vegetable chunks and toss. If you are using garlic salt, add it now, otherwise you can also add plain salt.

-When veggies wilts, add one pack of soup powder and mix.

-Add 4 cups or more of water to adjust the consistency.

-Boil until gravy cooks up and becomes shiny.

-Serve with plain steamed or cooked rice.

Paramanna/ Pindi payasam:

January 13, 2018

Pindi payasam is nothing but our traditional rice kheer without adding any milk or coconut milk, which is usually offered to god as a Naivedyam and served as a prasadam at any pooja. It is considered as a favourite of goddess Devi. When I look back and think, Pandan leaves were widely used in our region(Mangalore) as well. One can make this payasam even without adding Pandan leaves.

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Pandan leaves are known as gandhasaale ele in our Mangalore region.
Gandhasaale rice is a traditional, flavoured and scented rice variety of Karnataka and Kerala, cultivated in small pockets. Gandhasaale rice is the best rice for meals, Pulav, payasam and other eatables. The Gandhasaale rice is known especially for its rich aroma. It is also called Kerala’s basmati.
In our native, to get aroma of “gandhasaale” in ordinary rice, my grand mom used to put these leaves in, while cooking the rice. Pandan (Scientific Name: Pandanus, also known as screw pine or palm pine) is a herbaceous tropical plant that grows in Southeast-Asia. In Chinese, it is known as ‘fragrant plant’ because of its unique, sweet aroma. The cultivated plant features upright bright green leaves, and it’s the leaves that are used for cooking up many Thai and Southeast-Asian dishes. Pandan is also made into a paste that is used in cakes and desserts, much the way we use vanilla flavouring in the Western cuisine. However, in addition to flavour, Pandan paste also instil foods with a bright green colour. Some Thai and Malayan desserts which I have tasted are Pandan baked cake, Pandan jelly and Pandan sticky rice in Malaysia. Personally, I dint like it much because of its overpowering fragrance and felt that, like my ajji (grand mom), one should use one or 2 leaves to get that perfect blend.

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Ingredients:

White rice – 1 cup (I have used small grain rice)

Grated jaggery – 1 cup

Ghee – 2to 3 table spoons

Coconut – 2 table spoons (grated)

Cardamom powder – 1 tea spoon

Pandan leaves – 2

Cashew bits – as needed

Method:

-Wash rice, Pandan leaves. Soak rice for 10 minutes.

-Boil 2 to 3 cups of water, add rice, Pandan leaves and cook until it is done.

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-After cooking, remove Pandan leaves.

-In the meantime, take one cup of water, boil, add jaggery and melt.

-Sieve this solution and remove all the impurities.

-Add this solution to cooked rice and boil.

-When the mixture becomes thick, add ghee and mix nicely.

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-Lastly add coconut, cardamom powder and give a stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until it becomes like a creamy mass.

-Roast cashew bits in a little ghee and garnish.

-If you want to offer this to god, do that and then serve. Other wise serve hot and enjoy this delicacy.

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