Makar sankranti , Pongal, Lohri… Different names in the different regions of India… The harvest festival is celebratedby preparing sweets, bathing and adorning the cattle and distributing Tigul/sesame and jaggery. Posting the two most favoured sweets prepared during this festival. Puffed rice Ladoo and Sesame and peanut Ladoo. Recipe links to both the items are given below.
Sharing a Thali today of Chapati, Jeera rice, Dal fry, Palak and baby corn masala, boondi raita, Tree sorrel pickle, slices of onions, a wedge of lemon, pomegranate and bananas. Recipe links to all the items are given below.
Dig into this heavenly Palak and baby corn masala and savour the fragrance of the mildly aromatic spices. Best served with either hot Basmati rice or Roti, slices of cucumber and onions, a dash of lime and a Boondi raita, this is my idea of a soul soothing meal on a cold afternoon.
Ingredients :
1 medium sized bunch of Palak
9 baby corns
2 medium sized onions
1 large tomato
2 inch piece of ginger
5 green chillies
5 cloves of garlic
1/ 4 tsp of Garam masala
A pinch of Haldi/ turmeric
Salt
A few sprigs of coriander leaves along with their tender stems.
Seasoning:
1 tbsp of Ghee/ clarified butter
2 tbsps of oil
1 tsp Jeera/ cumin seeds
Garnish:
1 heaped tbsp fresh cream.
Method:
Wash and blanch the Palak. Immediately dip it into ice cold water. Remove and keep aside. Cut the baby corn into bite sized pieces and boil them with a little salt till they are done. Slice the onions, ginger, garlic , green chillies and tomatoes roughly. Heat the ghee and oil mixture in a pan. Add the cumin seeds. Once it crackles, drop in the sliced onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies. Roast till translucent. Add the tomatoes, garam masala, salt and turmeric. Saute for a couple of minutes. Remove from flame and allow to cool thoroughly. Tip in the Palak, the roasted onion tomato mixture and coriander leaves into a blender and blend to a smooth paste. Tip it into a pan. Add the boiled baby corn and bring to a boil. Simmer for a minute and finally tip in the cream. Switch off and serve hot.
Sharing a breakfast platter today of Onion Uthappa, masala appe and Dahi appe. Chutney is the roasted gram and coriander one which goes well with most dishes. Recipe links to all the items are given below.
A hearty breakfast of Masala appe and chutney for breakfast today. I had soaked a little extra as the cold delays the fermentation process , but as luck would have it the batter has fluffed up well and I am left with a big batch of urad and rice batter. So it’s going to be a variety of breakfasts from the same batter for the next two days. Sharing the recipe link to the basic Appe recipe. Once this batter is ready ,you can add spices of your choice. Today I just took a little of the batter and added some crushed green chillies, ginger, finely chopped onions and coriander leaves to the batter. Feel free to experiment with other vegetables like tomatoes, sweet corn and finely chopped capsicum as well.
Sharing a Thali today of Rice, Jeere mirya kadhi, Tomato and onion chutney, Eggplant, potato and onion subzi, Avakai, and masala butter milk. The cashewnut burfi is from the packet of sweets sent over by a friend, but you can find the recipe on my website. Sharing the recipe links to all the items below.
Davangere is a place in Karnataka famous for the Benne Dosa and the unique style of chutney and the potato and onion accompaniment served. Benne refers to butter in Kanada. A generous amount of butter is used to roast this dosa and it is served with a blob of butter on top.
Ingredients for the batter :
1 cup Urad dal/ split black gram
1 cup thin Poha/ flattened rice
3 cups raw rice
1 tbsp Methi/ Fenugreek seeds
Salt
Ingredients for the Potato and onion subzi :
4 potatoes pressure cooked, peeled and mashed
2 large onions sliced
1 tsp oil
A pinch of mustard
Salt
Ingredients for the Chutney:
Half of a small coconut
7-8 green chillies slit
1 tsp oil
1 clove
1 cardamom
Salt
Butter to roast the Dosa
Method:
Batter:
Wash the urad dal four to five times till the water runs clear. Soak it in enough water along with the washed rice, Fenugreek seeds and poha for five hours. Drain the water and grind this mixture in a wet grinder adding a little of the drained water at a time to a smooth batter. This process takes about half an hour. If using the mixer or blender, the batter is ready in ten minutes but does not increase in volume as it would when ground in a wet grinder. Tip the batter into a vessel, add salt and allow to ferment for ten hours.
Potato and onion subzi:
Boil the sliced onions in a glass of water . Drain the water. Heat a tsp of oil in a pan. Add just a pinch of mustard seeds and after they splutter add the mashed potatoes, onions and salt. Mix well, heat and keep aside.
Chutney:
Heat the tsp of oil in a pan. Drop in the green chillies and roast till they change colour. Grind the grated coconut, roasted chillies, Cardamom and clove to a smooth paste with very little water. Tip it into a bowl.
Heat a tava/ skillet. Whisk the dosa batter well and pour a ladleful of it on the tava. Spread in concentric circles to the required size. Dtop blobs of butter on the dosa. Allow to roast to a golden yellow. Flip and roast only for a few seconds on the other side. Serve with a blob of butter, the potato onion subzi and chutney.
This proportion makes 25 dosas.
Note: you can increase or decrease the amount of spice you require for the Chutney. We like the chutney a little spicy as there are no chillies added to the potato and onion subzi.
This is an old favourite of the Konkani community. Thick slices of raw banana cooked al dente, added to a coconut gravy and seasoned with garlic. The heady aroma of garlic fills the kitchen as I type out this post.
Ingredients:
2 large raw bananas
Salt
To be ground to a paste:
1 tbsp rice flour
1/2 of a small coconut grated
12 Byadgi chillies roasted in a drop of oil
1 tsp tamarind paste
Seasoning:
15 cloves of garlic crushed gently
2 tsps coconut oil
Method:
De skin the bananas and wash them. Slice into half inch size roundels . Cook them al dente in a glass of water along with a little salt. Grind together the grated coconut, rice flour, tamarind paste and Byadgi chillies. It should be a really smooth paste. Tip the ground masala into the cooked banana. Adjust to pouring consistency by adding water. Boil well. Check for salt and add if necessary. Heat the coconut oil in a pan. Drop in the crushed garlic cloves and roast till they turn a nice brown. Drop the seasoning into the boiling Koddel and simmer for a couple of minutes. Switch off, cover and keep it aside for fifteen minutes for the flavours to infuse. Serve with rice.
Sharing today’s breakfast platter of Chutney sandwiches with slices of potatoes , Sabudana vada, a piece of Ashgourd halva, banana and masala chai. Recipe links to all the items are given below.
Sharing a Thali today of Rice, Dali, Fresh pigeon peas upkari, Potato and farmyard beans Sukkein, curds and Tree sorrel pickle. The recipe link to all the items are given below.
