RAVE UNDE / RAVA LADDOO

As you know, this is actually an ancient dish! I vaguely remember  that my ajji, i.e.your thatha's mother, used to make tiny unDes specially for me and place one in each of my three year old  tiny hands, since  they say I used to ask for two pieces every time!

The procedure is very simple and  the ingredients are almost always readily available on the South Indian kitchen shelves. That is the reason the ladies those days prepared this in no time if the guests were to arrive within a short notice.

So, here are the ingredients:

Chiroti Rava                               1 cup
Sugar                                          1/2 cup
Grated coconut                           1/2 cup
Ghee                                           2-3 table spoons
Water                                          Enough to cover sugar in the kaDai
Cardamom powder                    1/4 teaspoon
Cashew nut pieces                     1-2 tablespoons
Raisins                                        1-2 tablespoons

Optional:


How to proceed:

Take about a teaspoon of ghee in the kaDai and fry cashew nuts till golden brown and raisins till they bloat. Transfer them to a small bowl.

Take  the remaining ghee in the kaDai and when it melts add both the rava and grated coconut and roast till the rava turns golden brown and the rava together with coconut give a pleasant aroma. Transfer the contents to the same bowl.

Next take sugar in the kaDai, add water just enough to cover it, and bring to boil till you notice foaming of the syrrup. Turn off the burner. Add cardamom powder, mix well and then transfer the contents of the bowl to the kaDai and mix well.  When the mixture is cool enough for you to handle, take small portions and make balls. Store in an airtight container. Can stay fresh for about a week.

From this amount you can make about 10 balls.  Enjoy!

PARANGI KAI ( RAW PAPAYA) CHUTNEY

My daughters  liked this sweet-hot chatni I used to make out of  parangi kai or thothapuri mavinkai (thothapuri raw mango).  I had learnt this when I attended the course on fruit preservation conducted by The Ministry of agriculture in Bhopal 35 years ago.

But nowadays  raw papayas have become a rarity since nobody grows the trees in their garden (and garden  itself has become a rarity),  and they are rarely available in shops.  Even papaya vendor has failed to get one for me. But last week I was lucky to get one unexpectedly from a cousin who offered one to me  which she had grown in her  garden.  I was quick  enough to grab it and was equally quick to make this chutney. You can try this if you a can get a papaya or make this with raw mangoes during the season.

This is how a fully raw papaya looks when cut. You have to choose one like this. So shall I go ahead with the ingredients and procedure?

Ingredients:

Raw papaya                   1 kg
Sugar                             1 kg
Onion                            50 gms ( 1 medium sized)
Garlic                            5 gms (4-5 pods)
Ginger                           20 gms.
Salt                                20gms.(2 1/2 teaspoons)
Red chili powder          10 gms. (2-3  teaspoons)
Jeera powder                 1 teaspoon
Garam masala               5 gms or 1 teaspoon (made of cloves, cinnamon and cardomom)
Pepper powder              3/4 teaspoon
Citric acid                     1 teaspoon
Dry fruits                      50 gms (optional)
Glacial acetic acid        2 teaspoons
        OR
Vinegar                         1/2 cup
Water                            1 cup

Procedure:

Wash and peel papaya.  Grate it. Add grated onion, ginger or garlic.  Add water and cook till it becomes a bit soft. Or you can even microwave it for about  5 minutes. When soft, add citric acid, sugar, salt, red chili powder and dry fruits.  Cook till it thickens. Then add all the other spices and mix well. Remove from fire and add acetic acid.

Now a days I dont get acetic acid, so I use white vinegar which is dilute acetic acid.  So, if you add vinegar, there is still water content in this and so you have to boil till the end point.

To know the end point:

1.Best thing is to use a chemical thermometer. When the content reaches a temperature of 222 Degrees Fahrenheit or 105 degrees celcius,  you can remove it from fire.   OR

2. You can do what is called a plate test. Here add the contents on a plate and tilt it a bit. If the drops of liquid or syrup do not flow fast, it means that it is done.            OR

3. If the syrup has reached one string consistency, it means it is ready to be poured into bottles. 

How to fill in bottles:  After reaching the end point, note that the chutney still has liquid content in it.

Place wide mouthed bottles (eg.jam bottles) in a plate filled with water. Keep a long spoon in the bottle. Pour the hot chutney into the bottle immediately after removing fire. It is important that that the bottle is under water and has a spoon in it, since they absorb heat or else the bottles may break due to sudden exposure to heat. Fill to the brim. Place the lid over the bottles till the contents cool. Then close them tightly.

This chutney goes well with phulkas, chapatis, different types of dosaes, and even bread.  The chutney stays for a few months, even without refrigerating. From one kg of papaya, you can make about three bottles (usual jam bottles) of chutney.

SPICY AKKI - KAI DOSAE (RICE-COCONUT)

This is a recipe I learnt from a friend.  This is a very simple and very tasty snack. You can say it has all-in-one taste,  in the sense that it has all the required  tastes... sweet, sour, salt and spicy.  And hence, can be had without any accompaniments. This is also an instant dosae except that the rice and avalakki is to be soaked for about two hours.

You need to take:

Rice (ordinary)                                         1 cup
Avalakki/poha/beaten rice                       1/2 cup
Grated coconut                                        1/2 cup
Water                                                       2-3 cups
Cumin                                                      1 teaspoon
Dhania seeds                                          1-2 teaspoons
Tamarind paste                                        1 teaspoon (thick)
Jaggery powder                                       2 teaspoons
Salt                                                          1 teaspoon
Red chillies                                              2-3 (if byaDagi) and 1-2 (if Guntur)
Raw green menthya or
 palak or dhania                                       1 cup chopped (optional)

Procedure:

Soak rice and avalakki for about 2 hours. Drain water and grind together to a smooth paste all the ingredients except the greens. While grinding add water as per requirement.  Add chopped greens. The batter for this dosae is a bit thinner than the usual dosae batter.

Heat tava. Grease it and pour half cup of the batter and spread it to a round shape. Put half a teaspoon of oil round the dosae. When done, reverse and add half tea spoon more of oil. Remove when done and serve hot and eat hot :)

These dosaes are quite thin and you can make about 8 dosaes from this quauntity of batter.

HAYAGREEVA

This is a protein rich, easy to make, delicious sweet dish of Karnataka.  Needs no pre-planning since the ingredients are mostly readily available in our kitchens. Usually made during festivals, but it is quite rare. Never to be found in restaurants! 

There is an interesting mythological story behind this dish. The name Hayagriva comes after the God Hayagriva, a horse headed avatar of God Vishnu.  Haya-greeva, (horse-neck) also known as Haya-vadana (horse-face) is worshiped as a God of knowledge and wisdom.  The story goes that the Saint-composer Sri Vadirajaru used to offer this sweet daily to Vishnu by keeping it on his head and Vishnu used to come in the form of a beautiful white horse and consumed the offering !

This is how you can make it:

Ingredients:

Bengal gram dal                   1 cup
Water                                    2-3cups
Jaggery                                 3/4 to 1 cup (Powdered)
Ghee                                     1-2 teaspoons
Cashew nut pieces               1 table spoon
Raisins                                  1 table spoon
Almond pieces                      1 table spoon
Dry coconut pieces               1 table spoon (optional)
Poppy seeds                         1 teaspoon
Cardamom                             4-5 (powdered)

Procedure:

Take dal and 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker/pressure pan and cook till dal is very soft. It will be good if the dal retains its shape and so take care that the dal is not overcooked. Now add jaggery, and a little more water and bring the mixture to boil.  Boil for about 4-5 minutes and turn off the stove when the mixture is still liquidy. Because on cooling it becomes thick. Now add add ghee  and cardamom and mix well. 

Fry cashew, almond and coconut  pieces and raisins in ghee. Dry roast poppy seeds.  Garnish the dish with these.

 Tastes better after 4-5 hours. You can warm and serve. This quantity

 serves about 4.  Can be served along with the main menu or had just as a sweet dish anytime.

BADAM POORI

This is a very simple and tasty dish which my daughters love. Other than the taste, its crispiness is one thing which makes people love it.  Preparing is also quite simple  and in spite of that  I have not come across this item in any sweet meat stalls. You can try this.

Ingredients:

For the flour:

Maida                                                 1 cup
Chiroti ravae/samolina                       1 tablespoon
Salt                                                     1 pinch
Butter/Refined oil                                1 table spoon
Water                                                   About half a cup
Refined oil                                           2 cups, for frying
Pure ghee                                            1 teaspoon (add to oil while frying)

For the syrup:

Sugar                                                   1 cup
Water                                                    About 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder                              1/4 treaspoon
 
Method:

For the flour:  Mix well maida, chiroti ravae, salt and butter in a bowl.  Add water little by little and knead till you get a consistency which is almost like the flour you knead for pooris.  What I mean is, it should be a bit hard, and not like that you knead for rotis or parathas. Smear with oil or cover with damp cloth and and keep aside for about half an hour.

For the syrup: Take sugar in a shallow container. Add water just to cover the sugar and  bring it to boil. Boil till you get a two or three string consistency. Add cardamom powder and mix.

Next step:

Now, take small balls of the flour and knead into  thin pooris.  It is a good idea to smear the rolling board and the pin with a little oil before rolling so that the flour doesn't get stuck to the board or the pin.  (You can even roll a big poori and cut it to any shape by pressing on it a sharp edged cup or the lid of small box). Take oil in a pan and  deep fry these pooris on a medium heat till golden brown.  Take them out into a plate.

Now start frying the next batch of pooris. In the meanwhile, dip all the already fried pooris in the syrup and take them out one by one with a tongs and arrange separately on a plate so they don't stick to one another.  Leave them to dry. 

Repeat the process till flour gets over.  When dry store in air tight boxes. 

From one cup of flour, you can make about 20-25 badam poories of   about 1-2 inch diameter each.

The badam pooris get a glazed finish and remain crisp for days provided the syrup  is of proper consistency.

CHRISTMAS CAKE

This wonderful cake needs some planning and the ingredients required are also more. The process of baking this is a bit laborious too, but I feel it is really worth the trouble. You know how happy I get watching people enjoy my cake.  This has made me bake more and more.  Anyway, I suggest you do try this out.

You need to take:

Maida/fine whole wheat flour                      1 cup
Baking powder                                            1/4 teaspoon
Sugar   powder                                            3/4 cup
Eggs                                                            2
Butter                                                           2 tablespoons
Vanilla Essence                                           5-6 drops
Dry fruits                                                      1 cup (like cashew, almond, walnut, dates, raisins, glazed                                                                                cherries, tutti frutti)                               
Rum                                                            About 100mls., to soak the dry fruits
Cinnamon powder                                      1/2 teaspoon
Clove powder                                              1/8 teaspoon
Candied orange peel                                   1 teaspoon, very finely cut.               
Instant coffee powder                                   3 level teaspoons
Sugar caramel *                                        (made from about 3 tablespoons of sugar)

                         

In this picture you can see the dry fruits I have taken :

Procedure:

Soak dry fruits and nuts in rum for at least 2 to 3 days.

Soak spices in warm water just before you start preparing the cake batter.

Sieve maida/wheat flour with baking powder.

Now preheat the open for 10 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. 

In the meanwhile get the batter ready. 

Break eggs into a bowl. Add vanilla essence and beat till fluffy using a hand mixer.

Add butter and whisk it well. Then add sugar powder and continue mixing. Add soaked spices, sugar caramel* and coffee and beat well.

Mix in maida/wheat flour.  If you feel that the batter is hard, add some milk to get a dropping consistency. When it is very well mixed, add cut orange peel, dry fruits and nuts. Mix them well with a spoon.

Transfer the whole mixture into a greased baking trey. 

Bake in an oven at 180 degrees C, for about one hour.

Allow it to cool. Loosen the sides of the cake from the baking trey. Reverse the trey,  tap the bottom and transfer the cake on to a plate. Reverse it again on the plate.

Your Christmas cake is ready! 

(* To make sugar caramel: Heat sugar in a pan. It first melts. In a while it starts turning brown and starts foaming. Immediately add water and turn off the stove. The resulting solution is the sugar caramel)

GODHI/WHEAT FLOUR DOSAE

This is one of the simplest dosaes, an idea got from a young friend. This is instant and you can prepare whenever you think of since you have all the ingredients ready on you kitchen shelves for sure.  If you have no patience to roll chapathis, you can spread the batter and make dosaes!  You can include this in your menu for breakfast/evening snack/dinner !

You take:

Wheat flour                                       1 cup
Milk                                                   1 cup
Salt                                                   1/2 teaspoon
Ginger grated                                    1 teaspoon
Green chili                                         1 or 2 finely chopped
onion                                                  1/2 medium, finely chopped
Coriander 
       or                                                1 tablespoon chopped
Kasoori methi                                    1 tablespoon
Tamarind paste thick                         1/2 teaspoon
Cumin                                                1/4 teaspoon
Oil                                                       For roasting

procedure:

Take wheat flour in a bowl and add milk and whisk it till you get a dosae batter consistency. Add salt. Add all other ingredients and mix well. And it is ready to be spread on the tava! Spread one teaspoon oil on the tava, spread the batter and shallow fry on both sides just as you do for other dosaes.  Golden brown, thin, crisp dosae is ready ! You can have it hot with chatni pudi or any chatni, or without any of these.

A Note: You can mix just wheat flour, milk and a pinch of salt and make a plain dosae and have it with honey too.

This quantity will yield 4-5 dosaes.