Talipattu

 Talipattu is a very filling breakfast. I remember asking mom to make this for me on days when I did foresee no time to break for lunch. These Talippattu kept me full and used to see me through the day! It is hardy and very nutritious.
By the way my old faithful camera died. ...and this picture was shot on my handycam and I am not too happy with the results. But till the new camera is here this is what I can offer :(

Water  1.5 Cups
Whole grain flours 1 Cup (Think a mixture of Ragi, Rice, Bajra, Millet)
Whole Wheat flour  1/2 Cup
Oil
Spinach/ Dill/ Fenegreek/Coriander 1/2 C
Onion                                        1 medium
Green Chillies                     4-5
Cumin                               1 tsp
Salt to taste
Method:

• Heat water in a thick bottomed pot. Throw in the salt. 
• Mince onions, greens and green chillies. Set it aside
• Once the water comes to a boil, add the whole grain flours. mix and cook covered for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, stir in the minced onions, greens, green chillies, cumin, whole wheat flour and kneed into a soft dough. Rest the dough for a 10-15 minutes.
• Preheat a skillet.
• Pinch lemon sized balls out of dough and roll it between your palms. Place it on a piece of parchment paper or a greased plastic sheet and flatten it with the palm of your hand. Using your finger tips, roll the dough out into flat circular discs the thickness of say rotis. 
• Transfer the discs to the skillet. brush it with some oil on top. Cook till the Talippatu changes colour and flip. Cook on the other side till golden brown specks appear.
• Serve it hot brushed with some ghee. Yogurt and pickles goes very well with these Talipattu.

Tips: I generally use a mixture of Bajra /Sajje, Millet/ Navane, Ragi, Rice flours for the whole grain part. The original Talippattu calls for just these and contains no wheat flour. But without the gluten in the wheat it is rather difficult to roll out the Talippattu. If you prefer gluten free Talippattu just substitute the wheat flour for a flour of choice.
Also mincing the onions, greens and chillies is important. The finer they are the thinner the Talipattu will be. I process mine for a few seconds in the food processor. It gives excellent results.

Haal Holige/ Haal Obbattu/ Whole Wheat flatbread with coconut sauce

We Kannadigas make a variety of Holiges...This is one of the rustic types. MIL made it when she was here and this has been in my drafts for a long time. Looks like it is time to post it :)

Unlike other Holiges this one does not have a filling but comes with a rich sauce.

We will need,

For the Pooris,

Whole wheat flour ( like Ashirwad )    2 Cups
Salt a pinch
Peanut Oil to deep fry.

For the Kaihalu the sweet sauce,
Coconut grated          2 cups
Coconut dry /Kobbari/ Kopra 1/2 Cup
Jaggery                      1 to 1.5 Cups (or more depending on taste)
Poppy seeds              3 Tbsp
Cardamon                 3

Method:

• Mix the whole wheat flour, salt with some water and kneed it into a tight dough.
• Pinch lime sized balls of dough. Roll it into thin flat discs and let it air dry for about 10-15 minutes.Roll out most of the dough and let it air dry and start deep frying the first rolled out disc first and so on; that way most of it will be air dried and ready to be deep fried.
• Heat oil in a deep fryer/ Kadai. 
• Slip the disc into the hot oil one at a time and fry till golden brown. These Pooris will not puff up and will be crispy. Drain and stack the pooris in an air tight box. This way they can be stored for a week. 
• For the Kaihalu, Toast the poppy seeds on a warm skillet and crush it using the mortar pestle. 
• Open the cardamon pod and scoop the seeds within. Crush them using the mortar pestle.
• Combine the coconut, kopra, the crushed poppy seeds and cardamon seeds in a blender with some water and grind it into a smooth paste. 
• Remove the mixture to a thick bottomed pot, add coarsely crushed Jaggery and  about 3-4 cups of water. 
• Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer till it is reduced and thicker. Remove from fire. This sauce too can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for about 4-5 days.
• To assemble the holige, dip the Pooris in the kaihalu for about 20 seconds and pile it on the serving plate. Spoon a little sauce on top. This yields slightly crispy Holiges. i loves these. If you prefer softer ones, Let the Pooris soak in the sauce for 30 minutes or longer. The longer it sits the more mushy it will be. It can be served warm, or chilled in the refrigerator.

Kadalebele Payasa/ Chickpea Pudding

Payasa is an ultimate comfort dessert. I know I did die for a good Cheesecake or say Chocolate Eclair but they satisfy just my sweet tooth, not my soul. I guess it is more to do with what we eat when we are young - the degree of familiarity.The aroma, textures that are familiar, makes me feel that they know the right spot to light up in my soul. We Kannadigas are notorious for serving Payasa for all occassions, weddings, child birth, postpartum..and not to mention funerals and this has done a great deal to increase my affinity with these decadent delicacies.

When my mother was here helping me with my new born, she fed me umpteen number of Payasa, almost one everyday. The lore has it that, as much as a new mother, that too a breast feeding one eats sweet like Payasa the sweeter her milk will be and happier the baby will be!! My guess is more to do with the calorie part of it. Most Payasas are rich and that will go a long way to take care of the nutritional requirement of a new mother and her baby. What ever it was, this is something mom made almost a year back and I have been pretty lazy to write about. Now is the time I guess.

We will need,

Chickpeas Split /Channa dal   1/2 Cup
Jaggery                                   1/2 Cup
Fresh grated Coconut             1/2 Cup
Ghee                                       2-3 Tbsp
Raisin                                      2 tbsp or more
Cashew                                  a handful
Saffron                                  a few strands (optional -I love it)
Cardamon                              2 pods

Method:

1. Pick and clean the Channa dal. Wash it with several changes of water. Soak it for at least 2 hours.
2. Cover it with fresh water and cook it is soft. Set it aside.
3. Meanwhile, grind the coconut and Jaggery into a smooth paste with a little water. The paste should be as smooth as sandal paste (Mom says!! )
4. Crack open the cardamon and pound the seeds into a fine powder. And combine it with the coconut paste.
5. Soak the saffron in a tablespoon of warm water or milk. Set it aside.
6. Heat about 1 tbsp of ghee, throw in the cashew pieces, toast it till golden and remove it from heat. Repeat it for raisins using the remaining ghee.
7. Fold in the coconut mixture into the cooked dal and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer.
8. If using saffron, add it to the dal mixture.
9. Finish it with the toasted cashews and raisins. Pour in the ghee the was used to toast the cashews and raisins. Serve hot/cold or at room temperature. I usually have it in all forms!!

P.S: If you prefer your Payasa to be thick like 'eating' consistency, add about 3/4 cup of water while cooking the dal. If the dal remains uncooked and becomes dry add a  little more hot warm 1/4 cup at a time. If you like your Payasa at 'drinking' consistency the way I do, be generous with water right at the beginning. Control the amount of water to alter its consistency.

Ice Cream Indian style

I love Ice Creams. I know this is not the time of the year for ice creams, but then for a person like me when is it not the right time to have one!! The single biggest craving  when I was expecting my son was Ice Cream and pity here in north America Ice Cream has a different meaning all together and is made with egg yolks... I never liked Hagen Daaz, but i never knew of the yolks in them till pregnancy made my olfactory senses more acute and told me about the yolks even before the list of ingredients did.

I kept searching for good home made ice cream recipe till i ate one at my co-sister's place. Her mother served us the most delectable home made ice cream ever. I fell in love with it immediately. She obliged my request for her recipe with a sample supply of ingredients. How gracious was that one, lucky me! Thanks to her. We now have a perpetual supply of home made ice cream in all different flavors- strawberry, pineapple, pomegranate...the list is endless. Just like me, tweaked her basic recipe with my fresh fruit pulp and honey :) Not only is this recipe vegetarian but it is also low in fat compared to the commercial variety. In fact for this reason it can be technically called a frozen dessert in USA and not ice cream!! Cannot believe it :)

 Here is the basic recipe courtesy Hema Aunty.Yes it is the heavenly pumpkin cheesecake peeking at the corner of this photograph.

We will need,

Milk   1/2 Liter
GMS   (Glycerol Mono Stearate)  1.5 tbsp
Cornflour           1.5 tbsp
Sodium Alginate  (look for food grade) 1/8 tsp
Sugar 10-12 tbsp
Cream 75 ml
Fresh fruit pulp  1/2 cup (Think strawberry puree, crushed pineapple, pomegranate molasses, Raspberry, blueberry, mixed berry puree, mango puree)
Honey  2 tbsp
Essence and food color if preferred. ( I do not use synthetic food colors though)

Method:
Stage 1:

• Mix the G M S powder, Cornflour and Alginate in little milk and set it aside. 
• Bring the rest of the milk to a boil. Dissolve sugar in it. 
• Stir in the cornflour mixture. Simmer for a few seconds and turn off the heat. 
• Cool completely making sure that no cream films the milk mixture. Stir it once every 3- minutes or so till completely cool.
• Pour the mixture into tall 2 quart container ( at least 1.5 liters) and freeze it.

 Stage 2:

• Once the mixture is completely set, remover and cut it into big chunks. Pour in the cream, honey and run it under a hand mixer. Once the mixture has at least doubled in volume pour in the fruit pulp and whisk it with the hand mixer till the volume is at least tripled.
• Freeze the mixture till firm. 
• Scoop and serve as desired.
P.S: In the picture are strawberry and pineapple: with pick-your-own strawberry puree that is lying in my freeze and the other with drained crushed pineapple out of the can. If you prefer brighter colors, add a few drops of food coloring. Essence and extracts also can be used if preferred.

Jam Cookies

Yay yay yay....it is that time of the year again, when I do not feel guilty eating goodies. Before the resolution comes into effect I go into binge-eating. It is a different issue that my resolutions weaken by the third week of January and fail by the end of February.
At this time of the year it is all about baking. The nip in the air always turn my oven on!!  There is something about fall that makes the aroma of fresh baked cookies, cakes and bread beyond irresistible.
Here is a batch of jam cookies. I tweaked my mother's basic biscuit recipe a bit to end up with these. The actual recipe calls for Dalda or Shortening. I am against shortening and the likes. I like to keep food as natural as possible without becoming fanatically against dairy...nuts...wheat and you name it.. (I can never imagine a 'Vegan me'....cannot live without Yogurt and Ghee and of course Panner, everything else can go to heaven)

This basic biscuit recipe is very versatile. Just use the choice of custard powder, essence and food colour (again not my choice) to end up with your favorite flavor. One look at the Bakery shelves back home, we will stumble upon green-pista cookies, pink-strawberry cookies, pale yellow vanilla cookies etc. These are just so versatile.. I did not have strawberry custard and I am against synthetic food colors so I jazzed these cookies with some home made Strawberry preserve (made from pick-your-own Strawberries this summer). These  came out perfect.




We will need,

Butter  125 gms  (room temperature)
Sugar 125 gms
Milk     60 ml
Vanilla  1/2tsp
Flour   185 gms
Baking Powder  2 tsp
Custard Powder   50 gm
Salt a pinch
Strawberry preserve   about 1 tbsp or there about (instead use a preserve of your choice)

Method:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.
• Cream butter till soft. Add the sugar and cream till the sugar is completely dissolved.
• Pour in the milk and the vanilla essence/ extract and mix thoroughly.
• Sift the flour with Custard powder and Baking powder a few times to combine it well.  Stir in the salt. 
• Now gently mix in the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Mix it till just combined. Over mixed dough yields tough biscuits. So be gentle with the dough.
• Pinch small balls the size of limes. Roll it between your palm. Press it slightly with your thumb to make an indentation. Repeat with the rest of the dough. 
• Using a teaspoon drop the preserve into the indentation.
• Pop it into oven for about 15-20 minute, till they are golden.
• Cool it on wire racks and store it in air tight boxes. They last for at least a week.