SAARINA PUDI

This recipe is actually for the Karnataka style saaru . Very easy to make.

Ingredients:

Coriander seeds 1 cup
Red chillies 3 cups (Byadagi variety)
Black pepper 2 teaspoons
Jeera 4 teaspoons
Menthya (Fenugreek ) 2 teaspoons
Mustard seeds 2 teaspoons
Oil 2 teaspoons
Ingu 1/2 teaspoon (This I think is my own)
Curry leaves about 20(dried)

Procedure:

Dry roast separately on a low flame coriander seeds and menthya to a golden brown colour. Roast black pepper and also mustard seeds separately till they start sputtering. Transfer all to a bowl.

Add oil and fry red chillies till they sound dry and light.

Allow all the ingredients to cool to a room temperature. Grind to a fine powder along with ingu and curry leaves. Some times I roast curry leaves in half a teaspoon of pure ghee, crush with hands and mix it with the powder. This I do specially if I have to send it to you, Poo, since good flavoured curry leaves are not available where you live.

Store in air tight jar. Will remain good for more than 2 to 3 months.

BHATH PUDI

Though this is a masala used to make mixed vegetable bhath, can also be used for sabzis which go with rotis or chapatis also. Poo recently announced that it is an amazing masala powder, just when the stock on my kitchen shelf was over and I was about to prepare it. So I decided to post this recipe first and then the recipes for all the main `puDis' one by one. (Don't worry Shru and Poo, I will supply this to you as long as I can) ;)

One good thing about this masala is that you can prepare the bhath very frequently without the fear of getting bored with the same taste. That is because, different combinations of vegetables give you different flavours for the bhath. So with the same masala, you can make bhath with different flavours!!

The recipe for mixed vegetable bhath, I will post later. So here is just how you make this masala.

Ingredients:

Gram dal 1/2 cup
Urd dal 1/2 cup
Coriander seeds 1 tablespoon
cinnamon sticks about 10 gms
Red chillies 5-6 if it is Byadagi vereity, less if Guntur variety (cut into 1"pieces)
Cloves 4-5
Cardamom 5 -6 grains
Dry coconut grated, 1/2 cup
Oil 2 teaspoons.

Procedure:

Dry roast in a thick kadai and on a low flame gram dal along with cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Transfer to a bowl. Similarly roast urd dal, coriander seeds till golden brown and add to the bowl.

Now add oil to the kadai and roast red chillies, also on a low flame till you get a feel through the sound that it is dry and light. Transfer to the same bowl.

Roast dry coconut powder taking care that it does not get burnt, for it has a tendency to get burnt even with little excess of heat. Transfer this to a separate bowl.

Allow all to cool to a room temperature. Except dry coconut run all the other ingredients in a mixer to a coarse powder. Add coconut and run it again.

Store in an airtight container. This will stay good for about two to three months.

HUNISE HANNU AVALAKKI

This is a very tasty dish and Poorvi's one of the most favourites! Very simple and easy to make too. Inspite of this I don't prepare it often. I dont know why!

Recently I remembered this suddenly on Krishna Janmashtami day, since avalakki is supposed to be Krishna's favourite. So I did prepare it.


To make this you need:

Ingredients:

Avalakki/Poha 1 cup
Water 1 cup
Tamarind paste 1/2 teaspoon (thick paste)
Salt 1 level teaspoon
Jaggary powder 2 teaspoons
Sarina pudi 1 teaspoon
Ingu 2 pinches
Oil 1 tablespoon
Mustard seeds 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves 8-10
Raw coconut 1/2 cup (grated)
Peanuts 2 tablespoons (roasted)

Procedure:

Run avalakki in a grinder for one or two seconds to a coarse powder. Doesn't matter if a few of the grains are not ground at all.

Now take water in a bowl. Add salt, tamarind paste, ingu, jaggery, sarina pudi and mix till salt and jaggery dissolve. Add ground avalakki and mix well. Leave it for about half an hour, while stirring the contents with a spoon once or twice in between so that the grains are separate.

Keep a kadai on flame. Add oil. When it is hot, add mustard seeds. When they sputter, add curry leaves and add the contents of the bowl. Keep stirring till the contents are mixed uniformly. Now add grated coconut and roasted peanuts and mix well.

The dish is now ready to eat. It will not be hot, but just warm since there is no need to cook it. If you want to have it hot, microwave for a few seconds.

It may not stay for more than one day even if you refrigerate it because of raw coconut. So you have to consume it soon.

BREAD ROLLS ! THE MOST RELISHED !!!!!

 As you know, this is one dish in the world, which can never be disliked by any one. Those who are on a diet also cannot resist and end up eating 3 or 4 pieces, though just one piece itself is quite filling. But I wonder why this is an unheard of dish. What I mean to say is, I have never come across anybody mentioning that they ate bread rolls in some restaurant.

Here goes the recipe!

Ingredients:

Bread slices                           8

Water                                     1 bowl (for dipping the bread slices}

For the stuffing:

Potatoes                                4 medium

Onion                                    2 medium

Salt                                        1 teaspoon

Red chili powder                  1/2 tsp or more

Amchur powder                    1 teaspoon

coriander leaves                    3-4 tbsp finely cut

Procedure:

Boil potatoes and mash. Chop onions finely. Add salt, red chili powder, amchur powder and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well. Take a fistful of this stuffing and  roll them as shown in the picture.

Now dip a slice of bread in water and take out immediately. Squeeze well between palms. Place the stuffing on the slice and cover it fully with the soaked bread. Roll it as shown in the picture. Follow the same procedure for all the slices. (Some people remove the edges of the bread so that the fried roll looks smooth. But I dont take them out since I dont want to waste them)

Deep fry in oil to a brown colour. Serve/eat hot with tomato sauce and/or pudina chatni. I can say this serves 4, but it can serve just two ;) 

This is to be eaten immediately when the bread covering is still crispy.

Making bread rolls is a bit long and messy process, but all the trouble is worth. In case you are expecting guests and you want to treat them with bread rolls, you can make the rolls with stuffing the previous day and store in the fridge. You can fry them after the guests arrive.

Enjoy!

WALNUT DATES CAKE

Basically there is not much difference in the proportions of the main ingredients we use for any variety of cakes. This is what I feel. When you add different items like dry fruits and nuts, there is another small step to follow. For example, for this cake, I microwave the dates for just 10 seconds to make it soft. I soak crushed walnuts in two teaspoons of milk, mixing it often, again to make them soft. By doing this, you can cut the cake into neat slices, or else the hard nuts come in the way and crumble the cake. That is why while baking Christmas cakes or fruit cakes, all kinds of nuts and dry fruits are soaked in rum for two days. (Rum gives the cake the special flavor).

So, here is what you need for this cake.

Ingredients:

Maida 1 cup
Sugar 3/4 cup (here I add 3/4 cups instead of 2/3, because, the dates also give sweetness)

Butter 3/4 cup

Eggs 2

Essence (I use pineapple)-1/2 teaspoon

Baking powder 1/4 teaspoon

Walnuts about 100 gm or 1/2 cup- crushed to small pieces, softened with milk

Dates Cut to small pieces, eg. size of a peanut, microwaved for 10 seconds


Procedure:

Preheat oven to 180 F

Sieve maida with baking powder. Powder the sugar.

Break eggs into a bowl and add the essence. Beat well with a hand mixer. Add butter and beat well. Add sugar, mixing it continuously with the mixer. Add maida, mix well. In the end add walnuts and dates and mix lightly till they are equally distributed in the batter.

Pour into greased tray and bake for about 50 minutes. (I love to sprinkle sliced almonds on the top. This is actually optional)

In spite of soaking in milk, you get crisp pieces of walnuts while eating and it is.............. just delicious! Let me see who will try this first........... :)

ALU METHI PULAV

This is quite a simple dish. Long back Anu mausi had prepared something like this. I do not remember how exactly she made it, but on that basis, I tried this and it turned out very tasty.







So, here are the

Ingredients:

Rice (jeera rice or plain) 1 cup; here I have used unpolished red rice... healthy rice :)
Alu 1 medium
Kasoori methi 1/4 cup or
Fresh chopped menthya soppu 2 cups
Potato 1 medium
Onion 1 big
Grated coconut 1/2 cup
garlic 2-3 pods
Ginger 1/2 " piece
Green chillies 1 or 2
Cinnamon 1/2" pieces 3 or 4
Clove 8 pieces
Black pepper 4 or 5
Cashew nut a few pieces
Tamarind paste (thick) 1/2 teaspoon
Water 3 cups
Refined oil and/ghee 2 tablespoons
Salt about 1 1/2 teaspoons

Procedure:

Wash rice and drain water and leave it for half an hour.

Soak kasoori methi in hot water for about 15 minutes.

Cut potato into 1/2" cubes

Grind together coconut, onions, ginger, garlic, green chillies, black pepper, one piece of cinnamon, and 4 pieces of clove into a rough paste.

Fry cashew nut pieces in ghee to a golden brown colour.

Heat oil in a pressure pan. Add remaining cinnamon and cloves and fry for half a minute. Add the ground paste and fry till raw smell goes. Add potato and fry for one minute. Add soaked kasoori methi or menthya soppu and fry for one minute. Add rice and fry for one minute. Add water (you can also include the water in which you had soaked kasoori methi ). Add salt and tamarind paste. Pressure cook till you get 3 whistles. When done, transfer to a bowl and garnish with fried cashew nuts. Serve hot with raitha.