HUGGI ( KHICHDI KARNATAKA STYLE)

Whenever Ajji makes Huggi, she says it is made usually in Dhanurmasa ! This is the winter season and according to Hindu calender, from December 16th to January 15th is Dhanurmasa. And for those who believe, this is supposed to be an auspicious month and they perform special poojes during this period. The story goes that Indra's wife Shachi made this and offered to God :)

As you know Makara Sankranti time is Harvest season also. Taking this into consideration, and also the body requirements during the winter season, the important ingredients used to make Huggi are rice, moong dal, ghee, black pepper, cumin, etc.

Anyway this is a wonderful, simple and healthy food and having this as a breakfast in an early winter morning, with suitable accompaniments, you just can't stop consuming it.

Ingredients:

Rice 3/4 cup (washed)
Moong dal 1/4 cup (roasted to a golden yellow colour)
(you can 1/2 cup rice and 1/2 cup dal also)
Water 4 cups
Salt 1 level teaspoon
Ghee/oil 2 teaspoons
Jeerige 1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves a few
Ginger 1/2 inch grated or finely chopped
Black pepper 6-8
Clove 4-5
Dry coconut cut into size of peas-1 table spoon; you can take grated also.
(cut pieces give a special effect while eating)
Cashew nuts 10-12 cut into halves
Masala (if you want it spicy take just half a chilli, finely cut,
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper powder, 1/4 teaspoon of clove
powder)


Method:

Put ghee in a small pressure cooker. When it is just hot, add jeerige and fry till brown. Now add pepper and clove and fry for half a minute. Add curry leaves and immediately add cashew nuts and fry till golden brown and then add dry coconut pieces and fry till golden brown. Add masalas and immediately add only 3 cups of water. Add rice, dal and salt and pressure cook till done. When the pressure is released, take out the lid and add one more cup of water and boil again. Huggi should have a bit liquidy consistency and if you like you can half a cup more of water. Serve/eat hot. Not just that ! But with a heaped table spoon of butter (!!!!!!) if you want to enjoy life, and sugar powder and/or hunise gojju !!!! I will give you the recipe of hunise gojju in my next post.

Now a days they serve this in hotels with coconut chutney/raita, which I don't relish. Anyway, prepare this, enjoy and let me know how it was!