Quick Carrot Pickle

This is one of the outcomes of experiments in my kitchen. I didnt know its going to be a success. We can prepare this pickle in 15 mins and can be served on the same day. Hmm, adjusting the salt was a very tricky task for me, succeeded after adding  for several times.  I had to prepare curd / yogourt rice for an occasion. I took this pickle along with yogourt rice. Everyone liked it. Give it a try.  Have fun...

Preparation time: 15 min
Yeild: Approximately 700 gms.

Ingredients:

• 3 medium size Carrot
• 2 tbsp  Green Chilies chopped
• 1/4 cup grated Ginger
• 1 large Yellow Lemon chopped( optional)
• 1/4 cup large lemon squeezed (plz see the note)
• 3/4 Red Chili powder( I used 1/2 cup regular and 1/4 cup extra hot chili powder)
• salt to taste ( about 5 tbsp)

For tempering

• 1 tbsp Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp whole Fenugreek seeds / Methi seed
• 1 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp Asafoetida / Hing
• 2 tbsp cooking Oil

Method:

• Cut the Carrot into 1 inch long slightly thin slices( you can cut however you want, but do not make too small pieces).
• Heat the Oil in a griddle. Add mustard seeds and  Fenugreek seeds. Once the Fenugreek seed starts changing the colour to light brown add chopped Green Chilies, grated ginger. Saute for a min. Add Turmeric powder and Hing. Saute for 40 secs.
• Add chopped Carrot, saute for about a min.
• Now add the Red Chili powder and salt to taste. Add about a cup of water. Add chopped lemon. Mix well and bring into boil. Do not cook for long time. Carrot should be crunchy.
• Add the lemon juice and cook for 1 more min. 
• Allow to cool. Transfer into a bottle  and refrigerate.

Note:
You can skip the chopped Lemon if you do not like it. But,substitute chopped lemon with its juice.
 

 

ಹೆಸರುಂಡೆ/ Whole Green Moong balls

This is one of the simple recipes. You can make these laddoos for any occasion. I learnt this recipe from my mother in law. Give it a try and let me know how you liked it.

Preparation time: 15-20min
Servings: 6-7 medium balls

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Jaggary
• 1 cup whole green Moong
• 1/8th tsp Cardamom powder
• 1/2 cup water.

Method:

• Take the Jaggary and water in a wide  pan. Melt it in  a medium heat. Keep stirring occasionally until you get a thick syrup( if you touch with your thumb and index finger, it should form a single string). Switch off the flame.
• In the mean while dry roast the Green Moong until you hear crackling sound or till you feel nice aroma.
• Coarsely grind the roasted Green Moong.
• Then add to the jaggary syrup, add cardamom powder. Mix well. Allow to cool for 5-10 min. Then make into small balls out of it.

Banana Rotti

Preparation time : 30 min
Servings: 2-3 ( depends)


Ingredients:

• 3 cups whole Wheat flour
• 2 medium size ripe Banana mashed
• salt to taste
• 2-3 tsp Ghee/ Clarified Butter ( optional)

Method:

• Take the flour, mashed Banana and salt in a bowl.Add some water and mix into smooth dough ( same as any other chapathi dough). Keep it aside for 10-15 min.
• Make lemon size balls out of the dough and roll into moderately thin chapathis using some dry flour.
• Cook both the sides on a pan. Brush the Ghee while cooking if you like.
• Serve hot with Chutney or any palya / stir fried veg..It goes very well with Mixed veg chutney.

Badnekaayi Bonda / Deep fried Eggplant

Have you ever tried preparing Bonda from Brijal / Eggplant?. If not, try this time.. I had tasted Eggplant bonda at one of my uncles place, so credit goes to my chikkamma/ aunt. Its been a long since I took the pics, today I got muhurtham to post this recipe.The preparation is same as any other Bondas. You will definitely like it if you are a Bonda person( hope everybody likes) :). Give it a try...Have fun.

Preparation time : 30 min
Servings:3

Ingredients:

• 1 Large eggplant
• 1 1/2 cup basan / Gram flour
• 1 tsp crushed or whole Cumin seeds / Jeera
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Red Chili powder
• pinch of Hing/ Asafoetida
• Pinch of cooking soda
• salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

Method:

•  Mix all the ingredients except Eggplant and Oil in a bowl. Add some water and mix into smooth batter ( Dosa batter consistency).

• Cut the Eggplant into 1/4 inch round slices.

• In  the mean while heat the Oil in a pan for deep frying.
• Dip the Eggplant slice in the batter and deep fry in a medium heat until colour changes to light brown.
• Serve hot with Ketchup.

Coconut -Sesame seed Laddoo

There is a small story behind this recipe. I was making Karjikayi/ karikadubu (kind of sweet stuffed with coconut and Sesame seed) on day before the Ganesha festival, it somehow  went wrong. So I stopped preparing it. But, I didn't want to waste the stuffing. Because the stuffing was smooth, I added some more sesame seeds and grated coconut, and gave a quick heat shock!!. Then made small laddoos out of it. It was really tasty.. I hope you will try. You do not have to wait until your karjikaayi screws up!! Enjoy...

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Sugar or Jaggery ( I used Jaggary)
  
• 1 cup Sesame seed
• 1 cup fresh grated or desiccated Coconut
• 1/2 tsp Cardamom/ Elachi powder
• 1 cup water

Method:

• Take sugar/jaggary and half cup water in a griddle and heat untill you get a thick sugar syrup ( if you touch with your finger you should get a single thread).
• In the meanwhile dry roast the sesame seed until you get a nice aroma ( starts spluttering). Allow to cool and give a quick jerk in a mixer for 2-3 secs.
• As soon as the sugar/jaggary  syrup is ready, switch off the heater or flame. 
  
• Add Coconut, crushed Sesame seed and Cardamm powder. mix well. Allow to cool a bit. 
• Make small balls out of it when the mixture is still warm.
  

Coconut Rice ( My style)

Preparation time: 30 min
Servings: 2

Ingredients:

• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Coconut
• 2 Green Chilies chopped to taste
• 2 tbsp Ghee / Clarified Butter
• 1 tsp Chana dal / split yellow lentil
• 1 tsp Urid dal / black gram dal
• 1 medium Onion chopped
• 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 spring curry leaves.
• 8-10 Cashew nut
• 2 tsp squeezed Lemon
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Pressure cook the Rice with 1 1/2 cup water ( 2 whistle).
• Heat Ghee in a pan, add Mustard seeds, Chana dal, Urid dal, green Chilies, Curry leaves and Cashew nut. Saute for 30-40 secs.
• Add Onion, saute for 2-3 min (until pale brown).
• Now add grated Coconut, saute for 3 min on a low to medium flame.
• Add cooked Rice, Salt to taste. Mix well. Finally add squeezed Lemon and mix well.
• Serve with raitha or any curry. I prefer curry as it contains coconut.

Note: You can finish off  with handful of coriander leaves/ Cilantro.

Menthe Plain Dose / Fenugreek pancake

 Here is a another version of menthe ( methi) dose recipe. We already know the recipe of Menthe sihi dose. The procedure is same as sihi dose but  the difference is, for menthe plain dose we do not add  jaggery and slight change in quantity of ingredients. Here I am using  less fenugreek seeds and adding pressed Rice instead of jaggary, it makes dosa very fluffy. You can even use grated coconut instead of pressed rice. It goes well with any chutney. Please feel free to ask me if you have any doubts. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups white Rice
• 1/2 cup Fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 cup thin pressed rice / avalakki/poha
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Soak the Methi for 20-24 hours( see the note).
• Soak the rice for 3-4 hours.
• After soaking, grind both Methi into fine paste. Grind rice and pressed rice together into fine paste. Take both the pastes in a large vessel, add salt to taste and mix very well. Consistency should be as of any other Dosa batter. Do not add too much water..Allow to ferment for 3-4 hours or overnight.
• Once after the fermentation, heat a pan, grease some oil and pour a ladle full of batter and spread a little. Do not spread very thin. Cover and cook on a low to medium heat for about 1-2 mins. Do not over cook.
• Then carefully flip the dose to cook other side.
• Serve with Ghee and Garlic Chutney.

Note:Fenugreek seeds must be very soft before grinding. Taste 2-3 seeds, if you feel the seeds are still bitter, boil the soaked fungreek seeds for 2-3 min. so that seeds gets softened and bitterness will be reduced. If the batter is too watery, Dosa will not turn out fluffy,

Coconut-Cashew Barfi

Hmmm, I think its been a month, Our Yakshamitra troupe had a Yakshagana practice at someones place. I wanted to prepare some sweet for the session. I didnt know what to make. I just gave a call to my mom and she suggested me this awesome sweet. . Adding some Cashew gives  a super like taste and flavour to the Burfi. It was my first attempt, I turned out really  good. Everyone liked it. I was so happy at the end  of the day..Try maaDi, enjoy maaDi!!!!

Preparation time: 30-35 min
Outcome: 20-25 slightly large pieces.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Sugar
• 2  cups desiccated or freshly grated Coconut
• 1 cup coarsely ground Cashew
• 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
• few strands Saffron
• 1 cup milk

Other requirements:

• Wide mouth pan
• large plate or tray
• 1 tsp Oil or Ghee / clarified butter for greasing.

Method:

• Take Sugar, Milk and Saffron in the wide mouth pan. Give a mix. Then melt the sugar in a low to medium flame until you get a thick sugar syrup. Syrup should form a single string when you touch with your finger.
• In the mean while grease the tray or plate with Oil or Ghee and keep it handy.
• Then add Desiccated Coconut, Cashew Powder and Cardamom powder. Keep mixing the mixture on a slow to medium heat. Do not take off your hand from mixing. 

• When you see the mixture starts separating from edges of the pan as you see in the pic. 

• Immidiately pour evenly on the tray or plate. Do not pat or touch.Leave it for 5 min.
• Then cut into whatever the shape u want with a sharp knife when it is still hot.

Spicy Quinoa Rotti

Here is a good, healthy recipe for you all. As you know, Quinoa is a grain like edible seed, which contains essential amino-acids and is a good source of calcium, phosphorus, iron and rich in dietary fibre too ( learnt over the internet). I heard that lot of people lost their weight after including Quiona in their daily diet. There are lot of dishes which can be prepared from Quinoa. This is my own recipe. I just gave it a try, it came out really good. I hope you will try this and enjoy!.

Preparation time: 30-45 min
Servings: 2 ( 7-8 small Rotties)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Cooked Quinoa ( see note)
• 1/2 cup Rice flour
• 1 medium Onion finely chopped
• 2 Green Chili
• 1/2 inch Ginger root
• 1 spring Curry leaves
• 1/2 tsp Jeera /Cumin
• pinch of Turmeric powder
• pinch of Hing / Asafoetida ( optional)
• salt to taste
• 1-2 tsp Oil

Method:

• Coarse grind the green Chilis, Cumin, Curry leaves, and Ginger root.
• Take coarsely  ground spices, cooked Quinoa, Rice flour, finely chopped Onion, Hing, turmeric powder and salt to taste in a bowl. Mix well. Add some water if required. Consistency should be as of any Akki Rotti dough.

• Take a small portion of the dough, and pat it on a pan and cook both the sides until golden brown.

• Serve with Chutney of your choice.

 Note: Boil about 2 cups of water and add about 1/4 cups of washed  Quinoa. And cook for about 15 min until soft. Keep stirring in between.

Linking  this post to Quinoa Event  hosted by Priya.

Chakli

Belated Happy Ganesha Chaturthi to all my friends. As we all know, Chakli is one of the special dishes which will be made for Ganesha festival. I do not have to write much about Chakli. I am sharing here a simple recipe handed down from my mom.  I do not know how many of you use Milk while preparing chakli. If have not used milk before, try with milk this time :-).  I think 5 cups of flour is a lot, it really tested my patience..You can reduce the quantity of the flour if you do not have lots of patience!!.Hope you will enjoy.

Preparation time: 4 hrs( depends on quantity of flour you take)
Servings: may be 10-15 ( depends)

Ingredients:

• 5 cups Rice flour ( raw)
• 7 cups Milk
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 1/2 cup Hurigadale/ putani/ dalia/ roasted channa dal.
• 1/4 cup Urid dal/ black gram dal.
• 1 tbsp Cumin seeds crushed
• salt to taste.
• Oil for deep frying.

Other requirements:

• Chakli maker/ mould
• Muslin cloth

Method:

• Dry roast the Rice flour in a thick bottom pan for about 6-7 min on a low to medium heat with constant stirring. Do not burn the flour. Keep it aside.
• Dry roast the Hurigadale and Black gram dal separately until become light brown. Please roast both of them on a low heat. Hurigandale would take just 1-2 min. Do not burn..
• Then make fine powder of both hurigadale and Urid dal. Then mix with roasted Rice flour. 
• Add crushed Cumin seeds and salt to taste to the above mixture. Then mix well.
• In the mean while, take 7 cups milk in a wide mouthed griddle and bring to boil. Take out about 1 cup of milk and keep it aside. 
• Then add Butter, allow to melt.
• As soon as Butter melts, take off the griddle from the stove. Immediately pour Rice flour mixture. Mix well. Add some milk if required. Dough should not be very dry or watery. 

• Cover the griddle with a lid or a plate. Leave it for 10 min.
• Then take some( say 2-3 ladle full)  dough in a clean surface or a plate and knead very well into a soft dough.  You can sprinkle very little  milk or hot water if you feel the dough is dry. 

Needs little more kneading

                      

• Then fill  the dough into a chukkuli maker/ mould and press into coil shape on a wet muslin cloth.

• Then carefull transfere to hot oil and fry until light brown on a low to medium flame.
• Store it in a airtight box.

Note: Keep the remaing dough / griddle closed while kneading/ frying because dough gets dried if you keep it open.
I prefer wet muslin cloth so that it doesnt allow the pressed chaklis to be dried and breaking.
If the dough is not kneaded well, we can not give the proper shape and cant make desired size chaklis.