Bajil Chutney

Bajil chutney is not your usual chutney but a snack. I think it is also called as Bajil upkari. But I am not sure. If any of you have more information on this please let me know.

Bajil chutney is a very tasty snack that I learnt from my husband. Actually in his home this is prepared as a side dish for sajjige (rava or semolina) uppittu (recipe coming soon ...). It goes very well with uppittu, but normally I prepare it in the evenings as a snack.

It is quite simple and easy to prepare. The main ingredient is beaten rice (thin variety) or paper avulakki. This involves no cooking. Only chop the onions and add the tadka (garnish) and bingo! the dish is ready :).

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
Beaten rice - 1 cup
Onion finely chopped- 1 small
Coconut scrapped - 4-5 tbsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Sugar - 2-3 tsp
Salt

Garnish:
Mustard - 2 tsp
Urad dal/White gram - 2 tsp
Red chilli - 2Coriander seeds - 1
Curry leaves - 5-6
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp


Method:
In a large bowl, crush the onion, coconut and coriander seeds a little by hand so that they blend and give a nice aroma.
Add the beaten rice to this mixture.
Heat oil in a pan. Add red chilli, coriander seeds and urad dal and when the dal turns red add the mustard.
When mustard splutters, add curry leaves and fry till the curry leaves give a nice aroma.
Pour this garnish to the beaten rice mixture and also add sugar and salt
Mix well.
Serve with coffee.

Preparation time: About 15-20 mins
Serves: 2 people

Olan

Olan is a simple dish originally from Kerala. Its one of the tastiest dishes to be prepared with minimum ingredients and no spice, except for green chillies. This is an important dish for any sadhya and with Onam around, no one can miss Olan.

The dishes from Kerala have an unique fragrance emitted by the coconut oil which is used liberally in all the dishes. In Olan, coconut oil is added at the end of cooking process so that the aroma stays in the dish. Also, fresh curry leaves yeild the perfect fragrance which is highly apetizing. We can use red pumpkin as well as ash gourd for preparing the dish. Here I'm using only red pumpkin. The black-eyed beans added along with pumkin gives a unique taste to Olan.

Ingredients:
Red pumpkin- 2 cup
Black-eyed beans- 1 cup
Green chillies- 3-4
Curry leaves- Few
Salt to taste
Coconut milk- 1 cup
Coconut oil- 2 tsp


Method:

Pressure cook the pre-soaked beans and keep aside. The beans may be soaked overnight. In a vessel, sprinkle 1/4 cup of water to the diced pumpkin and let it cook along with curry leaves and slit green chillies. Once, they are half done, add the beans and let it cook again. Add salt and the coconut milk. Let it boil for a minute. Dish out after adding Coconut oil and few curry leaves. Serve hot with Rice.

Preparation time: 20 Minutes
Serves: 4 people

Onion vethakozhambu

Vethakozhambu or Vathalkozhambu is a spicy gravy prepared in tamil iyer homes. 'Vathal' means sun dried vegetable or berries. Vathals made from Manathakkali/ marthangalikkai (Black nightshade), Kothavarangai(Cluster beans) etc or fresh vegetables like onion, tomato etc can be used for making this. Vathalkozhambu is a wonderfull combination of tangy, spicy and also sweet taste. The tanginess comes from the tamarind which is added in slighlty larger amount. It tastes very good with 'Urulakkazhangu Podimas' (recipe coming soon).

During summer holidays, in the afternoon we cousins would gather in a circle around our patiyamma (grandma). She would place a small quantity of curd rice on our hands and pour a spoofull of vathalkozhambu over it. By the time she moves to the next eager hand, we would be ready for our turn again. Hmm... lovely days.

An easier version of vathakozhambu is prepared by the Palakkad iyers using chundakkai or turkey berry, but the recipe is slightly different.

Traditionaly the spices are fried and powdered freshly before making the kozhambu but to make life easier, the powder can be in large quantities and stored in a air tight container. I normally prepare this fresh every time I am making the vathalkozhambu as it does not take much time to prepare this powder. Also the freshly ground powder is tastier.

In this recipe, I am using onion (vengayam). The recipe is same for other vathals as well.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients for vathakozhambu powder:
Red chilli - 2-3
Coriander seeds - 11/2 tbsp
Chana dal - 3/4 tbsp
White gram - 1 tsp
Fenugreek/Methi seeds - 1 tsp
Pepper - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 4-5
Oil (Preferably gingely) - 1 tsp


Method:
Heat the gingely (or any other oil) in a pan. Fry the ingredients separately. Grind them together to a fine powder.

Note: With the measurements given above vathalkozhambu for 4 people can be made. It can be increased proportionally if you plan to store for long term usage.

Ingredients for vathakozhambu:
Onion chopped - 2 medium sized
Red chilli - 2
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Mustard - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 5-6
Fenugreek/Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Tamarind - 1 lemon sized
Jaggery - small piece (if you like sweet then you can add more)
Salt
Gingely oil - 1/4 cup
Rice powder - 1-2 tsp


Method:
Soak tamarind in water and squeeze it. Filter and keep the water.
Heat oil in a pan. Add red chilli, coriander seeds, chana dal.
When the dal turns red add mustard. When mustard splutters add cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds and saute till they turn red.
Care should be taken not to burn them as fenugreek burns quiclky.
Add the curry leaves and fry till you get the aroma and then add onions and saute till they turn golden colored.
Now add the tamatind pulp and little turmeric and let it boil till it reduces to half its quantity.
Then add salt and jaggery and stir.
Add vathakuzhambu powderand boil well till raw smell goes.
Keep it in medium flame till it becomes thick in consistency.
If it becomes too watery, mix 1 or 2 tspns of rice flour in little water, add this to vathakuzhambu and allow it to boil till you get the desired consistency.
Dont add too much rice powder and this will make the kozhambu too thick once it cools.

Note: In this recipe I have not used asafoetida as normally when onion is used we do not use asafoetida. But if you are using any other items instead to make the kozhambu, then add 1/2 tsp asafoetida along with the vathal when it boils.

Preparation time: About 30min
Serves: 4 people

Zucchini Aloo Gobi

What inspired me to try this dish is the creator of this dish, who is the new entrant to our family, my bro-in-law. Its nice to see how he pays attention to the minute details of cooking. This side dish is one of the simplest and requires just one main ingredient, Green chilly! Might sound like we are going to burn our taste buds away. Trust me, after tasting the bhaji, we were left wondering where all the chillies vanished. So...'The more the better'....

Ingredients:
Cooked and diced potatoes- 2 cups
Cauliflower- 2 cups
Zucchini- 1 cup
Onions chopped- 2 medium sized
Green chillies- 6 [Please be generous :) ]


Oil- 4 tsp
Urad dal- 1 tsp
Mustard- 1/2 tsp
Jeera/Cumin seeds- 1 tsp (Optional, added since we love its aroma and is good for digestion too)
Turmeric- 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves- Few (Optional)
Spring Onions- 8-10

Method:

In a pan, heat oil. Add Urad dal and Mustard seeds. When the Mustard seeds splutter, add Jeera. Now add the split Green chilles and saute for a minute. Add the Onions and saute till golden brown. Add the Cauliflower and sprinkle water. Cover with a lid for it to cook. Add Zucchini and cover the lid once again. Leave it for just about 5 minutes, while the Zucchini cooks. Add the cooked potatoes and mix well. Add Turmeric and salt. Mix well. Add finely chopped sprng onions and heat it for another 2 minutes. This gives the special taste and aroma to the dish. Garnish with Coriander leaves and enjoy with Rotis!

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4 people

Ulundu Adai

Ulundu adai can be called the king of adai! Traditionaly adai is made with a mixture of toor dal (pigeon pea), muzhu (whole) ulundu (black lentil) and par boiled rice. The wonderful aroma which comes when this adai is roasted in the griddle is from the generous amount of curry leaves and asafoetida that goes in during the grinding process and the ginely oil used for roasting the adai. I add cumin seeds as it is very healthy and also gives some extra taste to the adai.

My mom makes one of the best adais I have had ... always very cripsy and red in color.

Adai is an oil guzzler.Experienced housewives, use their bare hands to spread the batter on the hot tava. Once you make the batter, you can store in the refridgerator and use it for a week. With fresh batter you can always make crisp adai. The refridgerated batter will yield adai that are very soft but tastes good because it has fermented well.

I am sending this recipe for MyLegumeLoveAffair-14 hosted by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook.

Here is the recipe from my mom's kitchen.

Ingredients:
Boiled rice - 1 cup (Idli sooji can also be used. The proportion is same)
Muzhu ulundu/black lentil/white lentil- 1/2 cup
Togari bele/Toor dal/Pigeon pea - 2/3 cup
Red chilli - 4-5
Pepper corns (optional) - 5
Cumin seed (optional) - 2 tspAsafoetida - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 15-20 leavessalt
Gingely oil - for shallow frying
Note: Traditionaly ginegely oil is used as it imparts a wonderful aroma to the adai. But any other refined oil can also be used for roasting.

Method:
Soak the rice black lentil and pigeon pea overnight.
Grind them coarsely along with red chilli, curry leaves, asafoetida and salt. The ground batter should be of thick consistency.


Heat the griddle or a flat pant. Pour a ladle full of the batter and flatten the adai with hand in a circular motion dipping the hand often in cold water to avoid burning of the hand.
You can spread it using the back of the ladle, but since the batter is thick in consistency, this would make the adai thick.
Optionally you can add some water to the batter to make it thin in consistency and use the back of the ladle to flatten the adai.


Make a small hole in the centre with spoon and pour oil generously (1 tbsp). Drizzle oil on the sides as well.


Let it brown, flip over. Pour another helping of oil, for this side to be fried. When both sides are evenly fried, to a golden brown colour, the adai can be removed from the tava.
Before the next round, take a piece of moist cloth or Vazhai Pindi (banana stem), and clean the tava of the left overs.
Your next adai will also come out as good as the previous one.
The adai can be served with butter.
Personally I love to have adai with orange peel pulikachal (recipe coming soon).

Preparation time: About 10-20 mins (grinding), 5 mins (To roast the adai)
Serves: 4 people

Modakam (Udupi style)

Modakams are of different varities. There are Modakams with filling and without filling too. The following recipe is traditionally followed in udupi and is made during Ganesh Chaturthi. This is made out of Rice, Jaggery and Coconut. If we closely observe the method in which it is prepared, its in tandom with the Kozhukattai made in Kerala.

This is one of my personal favorites and I can have as much as I'm offered! Its simple and doesnt involve a million ingredients. Sure children will enjoy it thoroughly too.

Ingredients:


Raw rice- 1/2 cup
Grated Coconut- 1 cup
Jaggery- 3/4 cup
Cardamom powder- A pinch
Ghee- 4 tsp

Method:
Soak the rice for about half an hour. Grind the rice and coconut together to a coarse mixture. The consistency of the batter may be litle thinner than that of dosa batter.


In a vessel, to jaggery, add about 1/4 cup of water and heat to just melt the jaggery. Strain this jaggery solution into the rice and coconut batter.


In a kadai, pour the batter and start stirring it continuously on medium heat. In about 15 minutes, you will observe solidification of the batter. Add ghee and cardamom powder and continue mixing. The batter will leave the sides of the kadai and form a solid mass.


Let this cool for about 10 minutes. Make medium sized balls of the batter and let it steam cook for about 20 minutes.


Delicious Modakams are ready to eat!

Preparation Time: 45 Minutes
Serves: 4 people

Padanji bele payasam/ Moong dal payasam

When it comes payasams, we all drool. This is a payasam with Padanji bele (Moong dal); happens to be my best half's ultimate favorite. There are two categories under which payasams may fall. One in which we add jaggery with coconut milk as the combination, else, its sugar with plain milk. The trophy, I personally feel, should go to the former.

In Udupi, during the summer time, we get tender cashew-nuts. These may be added in this payasam along with moong dal...now thats called as a deadly combination. I'm adding Sabu dana (Tapioca pearls) along with the dal just to bring about a variation.

Ingredients:

Moong dal- 1/2 cup
Sabu dana- 1/2 Tbsp
Jaggery- 3/4 cup
Coconut milk- 2 cups (Extract of one coconut)
Ghee- 4 tsp
Cashew nuts- Few
Raisins- Few
Cardamom powder- A pinch

Method:

In a pan, dry roast the dal well till you get the aroma. Soak Sabu dana is in a cup of water for half an hour.
Put the dal and sabu dana into a vessel and add a cup of coconut milk along with 2 cups of water. Let the dal and sabu dana cook in this milk-water mixture. This will take about 15-20 minutes. Keep stirring in between. In another small vessel, add the jaggery and pour about 1/4 cup of water to just melt the jaggery. Strain this solution and pour it into the cooked dal. Let this boil for 10 minutes. Add the remaining coconut milk and let it boil for few minutes as well.Now, in a pan, to 4 tsp of hot ghee, add cashew nuts and fry them well. To this add the raisins and pour this into the payasam. Add pinch of Cardamom powder and serve hot.

Preparation Time: 30 Minutes
Serves: 4 people

Kai Chutney

Whenever I prepare idli or dosa along with sambhar chutney is a must. I can say that N literally drinks chutney.

Coconut chutney can be prepared in different ways. You can use either red chilli or green chilli based which gives the actual color.Hurigadale/roasted chana can also be added to the chutney. In this recipe I use only coconut as the main ingredient

Here is the recipe.

Ingredietns:
Coconut - 1/2 cupGreen chilli - 2-3
Curry leaves - 6-7
Ginger - a small piece
Tamarind - small piece
Salt



Seasoning:
Mustard - 1 tsp
Urad dal/White gram - 1 tsp
Oil (preferably coconut) - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 3-4

Method:
Heat oil in a pan. Fry the green chilli till you get a fragrance from it. Then add the curry leaves and fry.
Grind this along with coconut, ginger, tamarind and salt to a fine paste.

For seasoning:
Heat oil in a pan, add the urad dal. When they turn red add the mustard. When the mustard splutters add the curry leaves and stir once. Add this to the chutney.
Serve with idli, dosa, kahara bath, etc.

Manoli Ajathna

This recipe I learnt after my marriage. N loves this very much so I got the recipe from my MIL. Though I have never tasted the original recipe (that my MIL makes), I have been doing this for some time now. It is fairly simple and delicious.

Aajathna is derived from tulu word 'Aajothno' which means completely evaporating the water. Here the Manoli/Ivy gourd is cooked in tamarind water till the water evaporates completely .(Not steam cooked)

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
Manoli/Tondekayi/Ivy gourd quartered lengthwise - 1 cup
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Red chilli - 2
Curry leaves - 6-7
Tamarind - small pieceUrad dal/White gram - 1 tspJeera/Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Salt
Oil (preferably coconut) - 3 tbsp
Water - 1/4 cup
Jaggery - small piece

Method:
Soak tamarind in the water and extract the juice. Keep this aside.
Heat oil in a pan. Add the red chilli and then urad dal. When the urad dal turn red add the mustard and when they splutter add jeera. Then add the curry leaves and mix once.
Now add the ivy gourd,tamarind extract, jaggery, water and salt.
Mix once and leave it to cook. Do not close the lid.
Keep stirring at intervals so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
Add more water if required.
Cook till the water evaporates.
Then add the grated coconut and stir till it mixes.
Serve as a side dish with rice and dal.

Preparation time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 4 people

Bisi Belebath

Bisi Belebath is one of the unique dishes of Karnataka. Its a wholesome meal in itself and is complete in terms of nutritional value. It is available even in any of the fast food joints in Bangalore and is a very popular dish. Its best served with Boondi/Raitha/Potato wafers.

I have had the best Bisi Belebath in my aunts place and of course what Amma makes leaves us finger-licking. We like it little mild unlike the real spicy flavor which is available outside. All in all, home-made is the best made.

This recipe is off to Chaitra's RiceFeast event.

Ingredients:
Rice- 1/2 cup
Toor dal- 1/2 cup
Vegetables- 1 cup (Assortment of Carrot, Beans, Green peas, Potato..list may go on)
Oil- 3 Tsp
Urad dal- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Red Chilly- 1
Cashewnuts- Few
Curry leaves- Few
Onion- 1/2 cup
Capsicum- 1/2 cup
Turmeric- 1/4 TSP
Tamarind extract from a Lemon-sized ball
Jaggery- 1 Tsp
Salt to taste

To fry in 2 tsp of oil and grind:

Cinnamon- 1 inch peice
Bay leaf- 1 medium
Cardamom- 2
Black pepper corns- 7-8
Clove- 2
Asafoetida/Hing powder- 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds/Methi seeds- 1/2 tsp
Channa dal- 4 tsp
Coriander seeds/Dhania- 3 tsp
Red chillies- 2-3
Grated coconut- 1 Tbsp

Method:

Cook Rice, Dal and vegetables separately and keep aside. In a pan, heat 2 tsp of oil. Fry the above mentioned ingredients and grind it to a paste. In a vessel, heat 3 tsp oil. Add Urad dal, Mustard seeds, Cashewnuts and Red chilly. When the Mustard starts to splutter, add the curry leaves. Add the chopped onions and saute till golden brown. Add Capsicum and fry them well too. Add the cooked vegetables, ground paste, tamarind pulp, salt and jaggery. Adjust the consistency of the gravy now with sufficient water. Let it boil well. Add cooked dal and mix well. Finally add Rice, mix well and garnish with coriander leaves.

Preparation Time: 45 Minutes
Serves: 4 people

Capsicum Rice

I was really tired of preparing the same dishes like pulao, bisibelebath, vangibath etc for the lunch box. Not that I dont like them, its just that sometimes we crave for a different taste.

There were different colored bell peppers lying in the fridge. So I decided to make capsicum rice. I don't know the actual recipe, so I decided to make it in my own way. The recipe is fairly simple. I mixed ground spices to fried capsicum giving it a nice flavor and stirred it with cooked rice. You can also fry onions along with capsicum.

This recipe is off to Chaitra's RiceFeast event.

Here is the recipe. Hope you all will like it.

Ingredients:
Capsicum - 1 cup
Rice - 1 cup
Salt
Mustard - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 5-6
Turmeric - a pinch
Oil - 4-5 tbsp

Masala:
Dry roast the below ingredients except tomato and ginger separately. Grind them to a fine paste together with tomato and ginger.


Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Coconut scrapped - 3-4 tbsp
Fennel/Saunf/Sombu - 1 tsp
Tamarind - small piece
Groundnuts - 1 tbsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
Channa dal/Gram dal - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Ginger - small piece
Toamto - 1 medium sized
Asafoetida - a pinch

Method:
Cook rice such that each grains are separate. Keep is aside.
Heat gingely oil in a pan. When it is hot add the mustard and when it splutters add the curry leaves and bell peppers and saute till the bell peppers are fried properly. Add salt and turmeric. Then add chopped tomato and saute till the they are cooked. Then add the ground masala and fry.
Finaly add cooked rice and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Note: If you are using normal rice (not basmati) then cool the rice before mixing. This will prevent the rice being mashed in the process of mixing.

Preparation time: About 30 mins
Serves: 4 people

Kai Vade

'Kai' means Coconut in Kannada. Hence, Kai Vade refers to Vade which has Coconut as the base. Its for sure one of the quick answers to sudden guests at home during the evening snack time. This vade requires the minimum ingredients. Children thoroughly enjoy this as we eight cousins at our Gradma's place used hog on it.

The other inredient is Rice which has to be incorporated. Either we may soak rice and grind it else, for all the people who are on fast track, Rice flour is the best option. Both give equally good result. Thanks to my Amma for this short-cut!

Ingredients:
Grated Coconut- 1 Cup
Rice flour- 1 Cup
Jeera/Cumin seeds- 1 Tsp
Black Pepper Corns- 8-10
Salt to taste

Method:

Grind Coconut, Jeera and Black pepper corns together to make a paste like that of any Chutney with the minimum amount of water required. Now to this paste, add Rice flour and salt. Mix well. The mixture should attain a dough like consistency. Just in case, there is too much water content, then add more Rice flour and adjust the consistency.

Make lemon-sized balls and place it in between two oil-greased polythene sheets. Now, with the help of a flat based vessel, apply gentle and equal pressure to make a flat Vade.

Slowly slip this vade into hot oil in a kadai. Cook on both sides. If the vade puffs up, then its success. Have it hot with Coffee/ Tea and enjoy!

Preparation Time: 20 MInutes
Serves: 2 people [5 each :) ]

Khara Bun

Khara means spicy. These buns contain a mixture of onion , green chilli and coriander leaves (cilantro). Khara bun was one of our favorite snacks from the Iyengar bakery at Mysore's Ursu (DD Urs) road. After a busy morning of shopping we would hop into Iyengar bakery for these fresh buns which would be available in the afternoon ... hmmm so yummy. I miss them so much here.

Never really thought of baking them as I was a little apprehensive about the result. For me baking has always seemed like a difficult challenge.
Few days back when I was blog hopping, I saw a recipe of cumin bread here. I should say it was a real inspiration for me to bake as the instructions were very simple. I started to buy the ingredients thinking of baking the same bread but on the D-day I remembered the khara bun and thought why not change the recipe a bit and make the buns instead.

Here is the result of my first baking.

Ingredients:
Maida/All purpose flour - 1 cup
Wheat (I used the whole grain wheat) - 1 cup
Sugar - 2-3 tsp
Salt - 2-3 tsp
Dry yeast - 11/2 tsp
Unsalted butter - 1 tbsp
Olive oil
Water - 3/4 cup

For onion mixture:
Onion chopped - 1 big
Green chilli chopped - 1-2
Cumin seeds - 3 tsp
Coriander/cilantro leaves - 4-5 tbsp

Method:
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and add the cumin seeds. Then add the chilli and onion and fry till the onion turns golden. Add 1 tsp salt and mix well. Remove from the stove and add the coriander leaves and mix well. Keep this aside.

Heat water till it is lukewarm. To this add sugar, butter and little olive oil. Then add yeast to it. Leave it at a warm place for 10mins till yeast becomes active.
Then to this add the flour, onion mixture, remaining salt and knead it to a dough. Add more water if required. If water is more then you can add little flour to adjust the consistency. Knead the dough for 10 mins.


Leave this in a warm place for 1.5 hours till the dough doubles in size.
Take out the dough on to a flat surface and knead for a minute or two. Shape it up into buns and place on a greased baking tray. Leave it for another 45 mins.


Brush the buns with butter on top.
Preheat the oven to 260C or about 500F.
Bake them for about 15 mins till you get the nice brown colour.


Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee or tea.

Quantity: About 7 buns

Idli Upma

If you have lots of left over idilis and wondering what to do with them, then here is a simple and tasty recipe. I am sure many of us idli lovers would eat them any how...but for some people out there who don't like idli, this is a tasy option.

Apart from the ingredients mentioned below, you can make this more healthier by adding vegetables like carrot, beans, bell peppers etc.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
Idlis - 10
Onion chopped - 1 big
Chilli chopped - 2
Mustard - 2 tsp
Urad dal - 2 tsp
Coconut scrapped - 5-6 tbsp
Curry leaves - 5
Salt
Coconut oil or ghee - 3 tbsp
Turmeric - a pinch
Coriander leaves chopped - 3 tbsp


Method:
Mash the idlis coarsely in hand. (Note that the idlis should not be mashed to a paste).
Heat the oil/ghee in a pan. Add the urad dal. When it turns brown add the mustard. When the mustard splutters add the turmeric and chilli and fry once.
Add the curry leaves and chopped onion and fry till the onion turns golden.
Add the coriander leaves and fry once.
Then add the coarsely mashed idlis and salt and mix well. Add the scrapped coconut and serve hot. Generaly we eat it without any side dish as it is very tasty by itself. But you can serve this with chutney or sauce.

Preparation time: 15 mins
Serves: 2-3 people

Tambuli

Tambuli is one of the easiest and good for health side dish. It is basically made out of Coconut and buttermilk. This is a thirst quencher too as people in Udupi face real muggy summer! It is served in the beginning before the main course and is taken along with Rice.

There are a variety of Tambuli which may be prepared. We may prepare it with Jeera (Cumin seeds), Dhania (Coriander seeds), Methi (Fenugreek seeds), Onion, Ginger, Garlic, Capsicum, Pudina (Mint), Coriander leaves, Palak (Spinach), Dill leaves, Sambrani soppu, Timire soppu and the list may go on... These above listed items may be ground raw with Coconut else must be fried a bit in Ghee which would enhance the taste of Tambuli.

Following is the recipe for Ginger Tambuli.

Ingredients:
Ginger- 1 inch piece
Green chillies- 2-3
(Note: Alternatively, you can use few Black pepper corns if you like to avoid Green chillies...definetly a healthy option!)
Grated Coconut- 1 Tbsp
Salt to taste
Buttermilk/ Yogurt- 1 cup
Ghee- 2 Tsp
Urad dal- 1 Tsp
Mustard seeds- 1 Tsp
Red Chilly- 1
Curry leaves- Few


Method:

In a pan heat a teaspoon of ghee and fry the Ginger pieces till golden brown. Transfer this to a mixie and add Green chilles and Grated Coconut. Grind to a fine paste. Add the buttermilk. If you are using Yogurt, before adding it to the ground paste, give it a spin in mixie as well. Now add Salt. In the same pan add a teaspoon of Ghee and when hot, add Urad dal, Mustard seeds and Red chilly. When the Mustard seeds splutter, add the Curry leaves and pour this to Tambuli. Serve with rice and enjoy the cooling effect!

Preparation Time: 15 Minutes
Serves: 2 people

Koddel/ Huli

One of the commonly prepared dish is Koddel/Huli/Sambar. There are a variety of Sambar which may be prepared by just varying the spices which are roasted and powdered. This gives the unique taste and aroma to it. It is a best accompaniment to Rice, Idly and Dosas.

Here, this recipe is of a typical Udupi Koddel.

Ingredients :
Chopped Vegetable- 1 cup (Any vegetable)
Cooked Toor dal- 3/4 cup
Turmeric- 1/4 Tsp
Curry leaves- Few
Tamarind- Medium sized lemon
Salt to taste
Jaggery- 1/2 Tsp
Oil- 2 Tsp

To grind:
Methi seeds/Fenugreek seeds- 1/2 Tsp
Dhania seeds/ Coriander seeds- 2 Tsp
Red Chillies- 3
Curry leaves- Few
Grated Coconut- 1 Tbsp

Method:

Cook the vegetable with water, turmeric and few Curry leaves. In a pan, heat oil. To this add Methi seeds. Wwhen they turn brown, add coriander seeds, Red chillies and Curry leaves. Now add grated Coconut and fry for a minute. Grind this to a fine paste. Aadd this to the cooked vegetable. Add the extract of tamarind with half cup water, Jaggery and Salt to taste. Add the cooked Toor dal and let this boil for few minutes. Serve hot.

Preparation Time: 30 Minutes
Serves: 2 People

Bread Masala

Bread masala is one of the easy dishes to prepare and very tasty. It is also good for the lunch box. I normally prepare this when we are bored eating rice. It tastes good when the bread is toasted but we can use the bread directly as well.

Ingredients
Bread - 10 slices
Onion chopped - 2 medium sized
Tomato chopped - 2 medium sized
Green Chilli chopped - 2 to 3
Ginger finely chopped - 1-2 tsp
Mustard - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 5-6
Coriander leaves chopped - 4 tbsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 3 tbsp
Ghee - 2 tsp

Salt

Method:
Toast the bread in a toaster or a normal tava (without oil/ghee). Cut them into small squares and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds, when they splutter add the chopped green chillies.
Then add the curry leaves, turmeric and fry little.
Add the chopped onions and fry them till they turn golden.
Then add the chopped tomato and little water incase the tomatoes are not juicy. Don't add too much water as the bread will become soggy.
Add enough salt and mix well.
Now add the bread pieces and ghee and mix well.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.
This does not require any side dish to accompany with it.

Preparation time: 20 mins
Serves: 2

Hayagreeva/ Muddy

This is one of the signature dishes of the people belonging to Shivahalli (Udupi) in Karnataka state. As Hindu God Vishnu devotees, traditionally, for each and every auspicious occasion its considered mandatory to prepare Hayagreeva Muddy for Nivedya (Offering to God). Its a fairly simple sweet dish made out of Channa dal (Chick peas) lentil. The sweetening agent is traditionally Jaggery however, my Amma (Mother) would prepare it by adding sugar which tastes awesome too.

Off goes this recipe for MyLegumeLoveAffair-14 hosted by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook.

The main taste to this dish, rather the aroma to it comes from the Coconut we add which has to be roasted till nice golden brown.Here are the ingredients...

Ingredients:
Channa Dal/Split Chick peas Lentil - 1 cup
Sugar- 1 1/2 cup
Ghee- 1/2 cup
Grated Coconut- 1 Tbsp
Cashew nuts- Few
Raisins- Few
Cardamom powder- A pinch

Method:
Soak Channa dal for about half an hour and pressure cook it until just its 3/4th done with 2 cups of water . Transfer the dal along with its water (used while pressure cooking) to a kadai (or any heavy bottom vessel) and turn on the heat. Let it boil for 10 minutes. Now add the sugar and let it simmer for atleast 20 minutes. The mixture will attain a thick consistency. In a separate pan, add Ghee and when it is hot, add the Cashew nuts. Roast them till golden brown. Now add the Raisins and the Grated Coconut. Roast Coconut till golden brown. Add this to the boiling Channa dal mixture and mix well. Add Cardamom powder and remove from heat. Serve hot.

Preparation Time: 45 Minutes
Serves: 4 people

Idli

Idli is one of the basic recipes but sometimes the basic recipes could be problematic. When I started cooking my idli's always turned harder than what mom made at home. But after continued efforts and persistence, my idli's are better now. Here is the recipe.

Inredients:
Boiled rice or Idli rava - 3 cupsUrad dal/white gram - 1 cup
Salt
Method:Soak the rice (if you are not using idli rava) and urad dal seperately for 5-6 hrs.
Grind the urad dal to a very smooth paste adding little water as it should be of a thick consistency. The more it is ground the better the idlis will turn out.
If you are using boiled rice, grind it coarsely adding little water.In case if you are using idli rava instead of rice, wash the idili rava and if the rava is bigger you can grind it with little water for sometime. Do not grind this for long as it should not become too smooth.
Mix the coarsely ground rice or idli rava with the urad dal paste, adding enough salt.

Leave it overnight in a warm place for fermentation.
The next day the volume of the batter would have increased if it has fermented properly.
Once the batter has fermented, grease the idli plate with either oil or ghee.Pour the batter in each plate.
Steam them for around 15 mins. If you are using pressure cooker, do not use the weight.
Leave it for around 5 mins before opening the steamer/cooker. Remove the idlis from the idli plate and serve hot with chutney and sambar.

Preparation time: 25 min

Serves : 4-5

Arachu Kalakki

Arachu kalakki is a perfect compliment for keerai molagootal. Normally arachu kalakki is prepared using kanni mangai (mango) or nellikai (gooseberry) preserved in salt water. It can also be prepared using chenai (yam).

Here in this recipe I am using washed nellikai from the nellikai pickle.














Ingredients:
Coconut - 1/2 cup
Gooseberry - 10-12
Green chilli - 2
Butter milk - 1 cup
Salt
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 5


Method:
De seed the gooseberry and cut it into small pieces. Grind this along with coconut and green chilli into a paste.
Mix the ground mixture with butter milk and add the required amount of salt.
Heat oil in a pan, and add the mustard seeds. when they splutter add the fenugreek seeds and immediately remove the pan from the stove as fenugreek seeds burn fast. Then add the curry leaves. Pour this garnish into the arachu kalakki.
Serve as a side dish for Keerai molagootal. It can also be mixed with rice.

Preparation time: 10 mins
Serves: 4 people

Appam

The word 'Appam' brings many nostalgic moments back into my mind. The days when we were in Kerala, we would eagerly wait for the prasadam especially in the Shiva temples as we would get Appams! Also, I cherish those vacation days in my Dodda's (Grandma) home, when we all cousins would be ready to devour on the delicious snacks, she would keep ready during the hungry evenings!....and if it was Appam, then a fight would be assured. Those were the days.......

Traditionally its made with Rice, but as we all are racing with time, one of the alternative to Rice is Wheat flour. This saves us the time spent for soaking Rice and grinding it; though, personally, I love it when its prepared with Rice. The other key ingredient is Banana which we add to this dish. The best variety to used would be Nendran variey but I'm using Chiquita here.

Ingredients:
Wheat Flour- 1 cup
Banana- 1
Jaggery- 3/4 cup
Cardamom powder- Pinch
Ghee/Clarified Butter

Method:
Mash the Banana well with a masher. To this add, Wheat flour. In a separate vessel, put the Jaggery and melt it with 1/2 cup water. Pour this onto the Banana and Wheat flour mixture. Add Cardamom powder and mix well. Bring to a consistency little thicker than that of Dosa batter.


Now, place the Appam mould and turn on the heat. Pour a teaspoon of Ghee into each depression.


When the Ghee is hot, pour the batter.


Cook it on both the sides by inverting the Appams with a spoon.


Remove and serve hot.

Preparation time: 20 Minutes
Serves: 4 People