Soppu bele Palya

Where am I these days... well after moving to a new house in the suburbs life is thrown out of gear. We are settling down and the last thing I have time for it  to take pictures of the food I cook. Therefore not updated this blog in a while. This state of affairs will continue till I have the house set up!

For now it is Soppu and Kalu palya. North American winter can be brutal. This season has been the most unkindest and most brutal in years.. All kinds of dubious records have been created and February end feels like early Jan. The  only vegetables which can withstand this kind of brutal weather are Mushrooms (mostly because they are cultivated indoors / green houses) and hardy greens like Kale, Chard and Collards. Unless we are ready the buy the waxy super market produce which has been transported half way across the globe, there are not many choices. So during times like these I end up  cooking greens 2-3 times a week, sometimes even more.  How creative can I get with greens? Well not much I should say. My creativity is limited to the same old templet of Huli,Saaru, Gojju and Palya, only the combinations vary. May be I will experiment a bit more on this front in the coming weeks since the old man winter does seem to be going strong for now.

For now it is Palya with mixed greens and Hesaru kalu as the star ingredients. 

We will need,

Greens / Soppu (assorted/ choice)  1 big bunch
Whole Moong/ Hesaru Kaalu   1/2 cup
Onion 1 small
Green Chilli 2-3
Peanut oil 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Hing a generous dash
Curry leaves 8-10
Coconut grated 1/4 cup
Salt to taste
Lemon Juice to taste

Method:

• Pick and clean the Moong. Wash it in several changes of water and soak it in water over night. 
• Drain the Moong and cook till it is soft. (Pressure cook, stove top cook. ) It can be cooked till al dente or till the belly bursts (as my mother says ) These days I tend to cook it till the belly bursts, that is it gets rather soft. That way it is easy to digest. Also use the stock to make rasam, saaru or soup.
• Wash and clean the greens. reserve. Chop the onions and slit the green chillies. Reserve.
• Heat oil in a skillet. Throw in the mustard seeds , Jeera and the Hing. Throw in the curry leaves and the onion. Once the onion is soft throw in the greens. Saute till the greens are tender. 
• Stir in the coconut, followed by the cooked Moong. 
• Adjust salt and lemon juice. Cook till the beans are warmed through. Remove and serve with rice, curry or a bread of choice.

Tondekayi Fry

After three short years my laptop battery decided to die on me stalling my life as a blogger for weeks. Just happened to receive my shipment and guess what the first thing on my mind, write up a post. I have a bunch of photographs from the previous weeks that needs to be done and sent to blogger heaven!


Here is the first one. Tondekayi or the Tindora /Ivy goud is one of my favorite vegetables. It makes a wonderful Huli, Palya and also Gojju. This one is a fry. In my lexicon, that means a more elaborate dish than a Palya but less so than a Gojju. Mom makes a delicious version but that one seems to take forever and also she uses like a cup of oil for every kilo of the vegetable which is a little too much even by my standard. But sure enough it is absolutely tastey. This version is my modified version with much less oil almost the bang taste wise.

We will need,

Ivy Gourd/Tondekayi/ Tindora 2 lbs (cleaned slit into four length wise, ends discarded)
Peanut oil 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Hing a dash
Curry leaves a handful
Turmeric a generous pinch
Green chillies 4-5 chopped
Dhania powder 1.5 tsp
Jeera powder 1 tsp
Jaggery  about a tsp crushed
Amchoor powder 1.5 tsp
Kopra 1/4 cup (coarsely powdered)
Salt to taste

Method:

• Heat peanut oil in a non-stick wide bottom skillet. 
• Throw in the mustard, Jeera, Hing and curry leaves. Once they stop sizzling, throw in the Ivy Gourd. Cover and cook for about 7-10 minutes till they are every so slightly tender. 
• Throw in all the spice powders, stir well cover and cook till three fourth cooked. It took me about 10 minutes on very low heat. 
• Once the Ivy gourds are tender-crisp, throw in the Kopra, adjust salt and remove from heat immediately. 
• Serve hot with hot rice and a little ghee. Goes well with Rotis as well.

Spicy Orange Baby Bok Choy

Sunny boy wants to be a chef these days. He is in the kitchen all the time, trying his little hands in making one pretend dish after another. After endless chocolate, strawberry pancakes, Doses and Paddus, he finally graduated into a dish of his own. He said he was making 'strawberry chicken and ......may be banana chicken'. I am like wow! He will probably grow into a foodie like me. That reminded me of orange in savory foods and I had to try it. Soon enough, I got a box of baby bok choy. Any way there are not many options during this time of the year, except for greens, leeks and mushrooms. So Bok Choy it was in a sort of orange glaze. I make a generous batch of this glaze and enjoyed it over cheese toast, over shredded Romain and will be trying it on a lot of other things as well. It is a super yummy versatile glaze/ chutney.

We will need,

Baby Bok Choy 1 lb
Peanut oil 1 tbsp
Garlic cloves 2 
Ginger 1/2"
Oranges 2
Soy sauce 2 tsp
Chilli flakes 1 generous pinch
Sugar scant tsp
Salt to taste
Lemon juice to taste

Method:

• Sqeeze the juice from and orange, place it in a thick bottom sauce pan. Heat and reduce the juice to half.
• Stir in the soy sauce, sugar and chilli flakes. Cook it down till it coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and refrigerate it in a air tight bottle.
• Trim and clean the Bok Choy. Separate the white parts and the green parts.
• Heat peanut oil. Throw in the garlic and ginger. Once the garlic is golden, throw in the white part of the Bok Choy. Saute it till it softened a bit. 
• Now throw in the green parts and cover and cook just for a couple of minutes till the greens slightly wilt. 
• Remove it to a serving platter. Drizzle the orange glaze, salt and lemon juice and serve immediately.

Mooli Pomogranate Raita

New year kicks in. This time around, I have no resolutions. It never did work with me, figured out any  day is just as good as the 1st of Jan to do good things. Just not reading News as voraciously as before, to sort of keep the mind away from all the bad news floating around.
Now for a new recipe. I wanted to present a Raita for a dinner party, something that says winter in a mouthful but cools the spicy Chole that went along. That particular day it was Punjabi style meal with spicy Chole, Saag Panner and Pulkas. It reminded me so much of the Punjabi winters that I had to serve Mooli along, just the way they do back in Punjab- a simple salad of Mooli, onions and green chillies.  Dressed it up a bit to use up some Pomegranates procured in bulk from Costco!

We will need

Mooli /Daikon (tender ones) 1 cup (grated and drained)
Pomegranate seeds   1 cup 
Yogurt 1.5 cup (fresh and sweet preferable)
Mint leaves 3-4 chopped
Pepper a dash
Salt to taste
Sugar a generous pinch

Method:

• Press and drain the grated Mooli very well. 
• Beat the yogurt well. Fold in the Mooli, Pomegranate seeds and Mint.
• Add salt, sugar and pepper just before serving. Serve it along a spicy main course.

Kumbalakayi Bajji / Mash Pumpkin

"Look outside the weather is cool

Bears hibernate and birds migrate

Lets sing a song for autumn is here...."

I heard Sunny boy mumbling this cute song he was taught in his school. Ah! I wish we were like bears. Hog all summer long and hibernate during the cooler months. The worst of weather is supposed to be a few weeks away, but the unseasonable chill has already cooled my bones. I am not even thinking of all the holiday displays and the decorations and the holiday songs that are being played everywhere! All I can think of is warm soups and nibbles all day long. I wish it were a typical fall with balmy days and cooler nights. If it were a typical fall, we would have enjoyed our share of Halloween and Pumpkins. Alas, Sandy thought we did not deserve it this year and ruined both our Pumpkins and Halloween.  Lucky me,  I had a stash pumpkins and squash from late summer. I still have a few left. Picked them up when they were a dollar a piece. So we are still eating the Pumpkins we picked with our own bare hands. This time I got the tiny sugar Pumpkins. They did not impress me much. They are too tiny and barely any flesh. For the quantity we consume, we will need at least 3 sugar Pumpkins. I did rather get a huge chuck of the larger variety from our local Indian stores all cut up and ready to go. The sugar Pumpkins were probably sweeter than the larger ones though.
After our share of Pumpkin Huli, Palya, soup and even thanksgiving Stuffing, I really wanted to make something different. This Bajji was the answer. It is very simple and cooks in a jiffy. It is mouthwatering delicious, especially if you are like me- a big Pumpkin eater :)

We will need,
Pumpkin/ Kumbalakayi /Butternut Squash  1lb (cleaned and cut into chunks)
Peanut oil /Coconut oil  1 tbsp
Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds 1/4 tsp
Hing a dash
Curry leaves a handful
Fennel seeds 1/4 tsp
Green Chillies 4-5 (slit lengthwise -adjust according to taste)
Jaggery  1 tsp (crushed)
Salt to taste
Yogurt 2-3 tbsp (preferably tart)

Method:

• Steam Pumpkins till soft. This can be done using a steamer like the Idli steamer or using a steamer inset of a Pressure cooker. Allow it to cool down and coarsely mash the cooked Pumpkins.
• Heat oil in a thick bottom pot. Throw in the the Mustard seeds, Jeera, Fenugreek, fennel seeds. Once they crackle, add the hing and curry leaves.
• Throw in the slit green chillies. Saute till blisters appear on the chillies.
• Throw in the mashed Pumpkin. Mix well,  throw in the Jaggery and adjust salt. Allow any excess water to evaporate. 
• Once the mixture is thick, remove from heat. 
• Stir in the yogurt and fresh coriander. Check salt once more and serve immediately. Goes well with Chapati. I can eat it all by itself too...

Mixed Vegetable Masala

It is Blog hop Wednesday again. This time I am paired with Rajini . She has a collection of eclectic dishes and I loved her Potato roast. Thought of doing just the potatoes but at the last minute found that I had just one big potato left and so were a handful of okras and half a zucchini. Decided to throw everything in and we were surprised how good  the dish came out to be. The masala called for in the recipe can be counted on the fingers in one hand but that is what makes this dish stand out. Simple yet delicious. Also decided to start and finish the on stove top as against the original recipe.

We will need,

Potato 1 large chopped
Okra chopped 2 cups (toast the chopped okras on a hot griddle till the slime disappears)
Zucchini chopped 1 cup
Tomatoes 1 medium
Green chillies 2 slit
Salt
Peanut oil 3 tbsp

For the masala paste
Onion 1 medium
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Jeera 3/4 tsp
Chilli powder to taste

Method:

• Combine all the ingredients for the masala paste in a blender and grind it into  a smooth paste. Set it aside.
• Heat oil in a Thick bottom wok. Throw in all the vegetables and saute for a few minutes. Once the vegetables are brown and crisp on one side, pour the masala paste and toss well.Cover and cook till the vegetables are tender crisp and the masala fragrant.
• Adjust salt and serve warm with Roti.

Hagalakayi fry / Bitter gourd fry

It is again a cloudy and gloomy looking day. I am a sunny gal! Love it when it is bright and sunny outside and would not mind it if it is a little hot either. But rains and clouds, take the spirit of my soul away. All I want to do is curl up in bed and sip something warm, cuddled up with a book or my laptop in my favorite blanket. Obviously that is so much of a luxury to expect especially with Sunny boy home with me all the time.  Thankfully I did not have to cook much today as we are sitting over lots of left over from earlier in the week. Thanks to my maniacal shopping bouts. I just make a quick soup for Sunny boy and fixed a salad for myself. Dinner is waiting for us in the fridge for now.  Part of it is the Hagalakayi fry that I made yesterday.

Me and Honey both love bitter gourd. I always buy them when ever I see them fresh and inviting. We also pick them up from the farms during the growing season. I can barely wait for the season to start though. I always make the Gojju . Of late I wanted to try it in a different dish, may be with potatoes just the way they did back in Sabarmati, JNU. Not that they were great by any chance, but it was one of the few things they served that made me happy. It was during those days that I realized people either loved this vegetable or hated it to the core. There were people like me, fighting with out mess staff for more bitter gourd, and then there were others fighting for the potatoes. I think it would  have been a better idea for the cooks to make two different dishes, one entirely of bitter gourd and the other of potatoes, that way both the camps would be happy. 

Last night was our movie night. We watched Kannada movie called Milana and had a TV dinner of Pulkhas, bitter gourd and a few other things. Sunny boy still does not appreciate bitter gourd as much as his parents. Let alone bitter gourd, I did be happy if he eats any vegetable at all. He is a thorough protein boy which makes me sad. Wonder when at all he would start loving vegetables as much as I do.

Serves 2

Bitter gourd  3 medium sliced 

Potatoes 3 medium chopped into cubes 1"

Peanut oil 4 tsps

Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp

Jeera 1/2 tsp

Green chillies 5-6 (adjust according to taste)

Onions 2 medium chopped

Jeera powder 2 tsp

Dhania powder 2 tsp

Amchoor to taste (optional, omit this if the tomato is tart)

Tomato 1 medium chopped

Sugar 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Method:

•  Heat 2 tsp oil in a wok. Toss the bitter gourd in and fry it till the bitter gourd is brown. Do not move them much in the wok, else it will take for ever to brown. Remove from the wok and set it aside.
• Heat the remaining oil in the same wok. Throw in the mustard, Jeera, chillies followed by the onion. Once the onions are golden brown, throw in the potatoes. Add a pinch of salt and cover. Cook till the potatoes are almost cooked but still is firm. 
• Throw in the Jeera powder, Dhania powder and Amchoor if using. Stir fry for a few seconds. Throw in the tomatoes and cover. Cook till the tomatoes are tender.
• Return the bitter gourd back to the wok and mix everything. Adjust the salt and throw in the sugar. Cook for a couple more minutes for the bitter gourd to heat up nicely. Remove from heat and serve hot with Phulkas or any other bread of choice.

 

Badanekai Donnemenasina Palya / Curried Eggplant and Capsicum

Continuing with the celebration of summer bounty here comes more vegetables, absolutely fresh and no sign of wax what so ever! The taste of fresh vegetables had actually become vague after years of consumption of the waxed supermarket stuff. But it is all coming back. The only gripe, the shortness of the season. Why cannot the sun be munificent for a few more months? Nothing can beat 'pick your own' produce, well may be 'grow your own' would!!

Here is a simple Palya, a staple during the Capsicum season back home. My little sister loves this preparation and MIL sets the benchmark. Honey loves it and this time around he was quite impressed. I give credit to the fresh vegetables, they are the actual stars. The best part of course were the India-style eggplant and capsicum. They really made my job easy.

We will need,

Eggplant/ Brinjal/ Badanekayi (preferably irinagere) 1/2 Lb
Capsicum/ Green Bell Pepper        1/2 lg
Potatoes         2 good size
Green Chillies  3-4
Tomato  1 large
Onion 1 large
Peanut Oil  1/4 cup or more
Mustard seeds  1/4 tsp
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Hing a dash
Huli Pudi /Sambar Powder 2 tsp (adjust according to taste)
Coriander fresh a handful
Salt to taste

Method:

• Wash and clean all vegetables. Wipe dry and dice them so they uniform in size.
• Heat oil in a wok. Throw in the mustard, Jeera, Hing in quick succession.
• Once the spices sizzle, throw in the onion, chillies. Saute till onion is golden.
• Throw in the Potatoes. Add a pinch of salt, cover and cook till the potatoes are slightly soft.
• Throw in the brinjal. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes. Now throw in the rest of the vegetables and the sambar powder/ Huli Pudi. Cover and cook till all the vegetables are tender crisp. Sprinkle some water if needed. (Water not needed if the vegetables are fresh)
• Finish with some fresh coriander adjust salt. Serve hot with Chapatis or Akki Rotti

Carrot Palya and an experiment

Hmm...summer in full swing and I am not complaining. Love the fresh local produce and the farmers market overflowing with vegetables and fruits. Suburban Organics is sending us all bounty of the season.. fresh strawberries, apricots, peaches and berries..
Amidst this bounty I decided to do some experimentation on myself. Inspired by fellow bloggers who found certain dietary changes beneficial, I decided to tweek my diet. 
Very honestly I have never gone on a starvation diet. Thanks to my parents, who encouraged good eating habits early on, my diet has always been very balanced. When I was younger and lived with my parents, we generally ate plenty of vegetables, rice, ragi, plenty of fresh fruits, plenty of dairy, 2-3 eggs a week. Home made cakes and sweets in tiny quantity (A Starbucks chocolate chip cookie would feed my entire family twice !!!) and deep fried food would be once in a blue moon. This diet was much like what my grandparents ate (except for the egg, cake part). I never had any health related issue during that phase of life. My problem started once I left home for University. The hostel food was very alien to me. Chapati and potatoes were the staple. Yogurt was served just once a day for lunch..No yogurt at dinner? I was heart broken. We had to wait for the winters to see any trace of vegetables. The first six months were ok, the damage started to show up during the next six months.
* First sign of problem was my hair fall.
*Second sign was weight loss. I lost about 3-4 Kgs. Which was very unlike me. I have always maintained my weight.
*Third sign was breakouts. Wow, I never had them in my teen years...
*Then aunt-flow messed up my calender, again very unlikely. 
After a while I realized that it was partly due to academic stress and of course the diet. Diet I could not help as long as I was there except supplement the hostel food with some fruits and dairy. That was not enough however.  Then after the university days, I was on my own and the recovery process started. Shortly afterward I moved to the US to be with by husband. Here again, some more problems started.
Aunt-flow was screwing me big time now. Boy o boy... what was going on?? It ought to be either the weather or the food. Weather cannot be controlled, food can. Growing up in sleepy towns in India, we were always used to wholesome foods, be it produce, be it dairy, be it legumes and grains. Lot of the legumes and grains were from the family farm as well. But here everything were done factory style. God knows what ever was in that creepy looking contains of dairy,produce everything got from the supermarket indeed. Then switched over to organic dairy, organic fruits and organic produce when ever possible. That seemed to have solved the problem, aunt-flow is now benign. Breakouts gone, hair fall back to normal. My weight is normal. Yeah! I was never quite able to shed the last 2-3 Kgs after giving birth to my son. But it does not bother me as long as I am able to fit into my jeans.  I find it amusing when people pick a certain health issue and try to isolate it for treatment. Breakouts? oh! must be the oily foods, so go zero fat! How logical can it be?Should it not always be a wholistic view? Breakouts can be a part of larger problem. Somethings are just not right.

Now to experiment part. Eating real foods. The adjustment was not much. me and Honey together consumed over 1 Kg of vegetables each day. We also ate around a cup of rice per head per meal (lunch and dinner). We ate 3 eggs each week (of course when I say eggs, I mean everything inside the shell, never thought of separating the while and yellow except for the souffle!!! I laugh when people say 'whole eggs'.. eggs are supposed to be whole, aren't they!). My sweet tooth always meant a stash  of dark chocolates, an occasional chocochip cookie and dry fruits. But Honey is already sugar-free, so we have indeed reduced out sweet intake. Eliminating vegetable oil was not a problem because I already use Ghee in most of my cooking for my own reasons (1. that is what my great grandparents ate and lived a healthy life 2. Ayurveda recommends consumption of ghee in moderate quantities 3. Nothing can beat the taste of home made organic ghee)
To stick to the experiment, I had to reduce consumption of rice, eliminate sweets and increase the quantity of vegetables and protein consumed. Protein was easy. I just had a gulp down a mug full of milk or fill my plate with the home made organic yogurt which I love. I did it religiously for about two weeks.

The results were hmm surprising- I started to crave for sweets and cool foods like Salads. Most of the time, our bodies know better. Any imbalance in the Vatta-Pitta-Kapha, your dietary preference will change. Craving for sweets meant Pitta dosha. So this experiment screwed up my Dosha-balance... Looks like it is not for me! I am good with the traditional Kannadiga meals. Give me my rice, and I am a happy lark. So for now, it is back to our original diet even as I think of some warm Jelebis... 

We will need,

Carrots chopped 2 cups
Expeller pressed peanut oil 2 tsp
Mustard seeds   1/4 tsp
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Hing a dash
Channa dal split 1 tsp
Urad dal  split 1 tsp
Dry red chillies (Byadagi) 3
Coconut grated
Salt and black pepper to taste
Lemon juice to taste

Method:

• Heat oil in a wok. Throw in the mustard, jeera, hing, channa dal, urad dal and the chillies in quick succession.
• Once the spices are fragrant, throw in the chopped carrots. Sprinkle a little water about 3 tbsp, add salt to taste and cover. Cook till the carrots are crisp tender.
• Throw in the coconut, stir, throw in the black pepper and the lemon juice and remove from fire. Serve as a part of a South-Indian meal.

Batani Usli Spiced green peas

Summer in right around the corner here in the East Coast.. Summer brings fresh local produce aka vegetables and fruits. It is like a huge celebration to see so many fresh vegetables. Now that fresh green peas has already started hitting the markets, it is definitely time to dish up some Usli- a winter favorite back home.

We will need,

Green Peas  3 cups
Onion  1 large
Garlic   3 cloves
Ginger  1/2"
Green Chilies   7-10 (depends on how spicy one likes )
Expeller pressed groundnut oil  4 tbsp
Cumin seeds    1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds  1/4 tsp
Curry leaves a handful
Fresh Coconut  1 cup (yes that is awfully lot! but it is required)
Salt and Lime juice to taste

Method: 

• Clean and wash the green peas and set it aside. 
• Combine onion, garlic, ginger and green chillies in a food processor and whiz it till chunky , think of Salasa like consistency.
• Heat oil in a thick bottom pan. Once it is hot throw in the mustard seeds, curry leaves followed by the onion garlic mixture. Cook till the mixture is almost golden. Keep stirring it often else it is stick to the bottom.
• Throw in the Green Peas, add a little water, cover and cook till the peas are almost cooked. 
• Toast the fenugreek seeds and Cumin on a hot skillet and crush it into a coarse powder. 
• Stir in the fenugreek powder, coconut and salt into the peas. Simmer till everything is combined. Say about 10-15 minutes.Adjust lime juice and remove from heat.
• Serve it with Akki rotti.

This recipe goes to the MLLA 36 hosted by aqua started by beloved Susan  

Green Beans Palya

We are a big vegetable loving family! My gut is happy when I load it with Veggies.. Same with all my folks.I need at least 2 lbs / 1 kg of vegetable for Palya alone.So my effective weekly vegetable shopping means 7 * 2lb of vegetables.  Also we like our vegetables tender crisp, not soggy and shapeless. Therefore our option is limited to either Palya or Salads. So here is one of the most sought after Palya of our family. I used organic Green Beans and it was fantastic

Serves 6 || Per serving Calories| total 148 | Protein 4 |  fat 8.3 || Fiber 7 gm |

Green Beans  2 lbs
Expeller pressed Peanut Oil  2 tbsp
Urad Dal                1 tbsp
Channa Dal             1 tbsp
Hing                 a dash
Mustard Seeds    1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds      1/2 tsp
Dry red chillies (Byadagi)     4-5
Fresh grated coconut  1/2 cup

Salt to taste
Lemon Juice to taste

Method:

• Wash and clean the Green Beans. Trim the ends and chop it. Set it aside.
• Heat oil in a wok. Toss the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and hing. Once the spices crackle throw in the chillies, Urad dal, Channa dal. Toast till the dal is golden brown. 
• Throw in the Green Beans. Add about 1/4 cup of water. Cover and steam till the beans almost tender but still crisp.
• Toss in the coconut. Adjust salt and lemon juice. Cook for a few more minutes. Serve with hot rice.

Herekai Palya / Curried Ridge Gourd

It was Sriram Navami a couple of days back. As much as I remember Lord Rama on the occasion of his birthday, it is all about Panaka, Majjige and Kosambari. We did not celebrate the festival this time because my Grandmother was operated upon that day. We reserve the celebration for tomorrow. Thanks to Lord Rama my Grandmother is recuperating.

Back to Ramanavami. For me this occasion somehow brings back my school days. It was around Ramanavami that the results of Final exam would be announced. Many a years it would be right on the day of Ramanavami. On such days, we did set out to bring our Report Cards and en-route munch on Kosambari served ubiquitously by devotees of Lord Rama on the roadside, at temples etc . There would be tonnes of Kosambari, and liters of Panaka /Maggige. Some would taste soggy and sad, some bright, happy and a sheer delight to our senses. Eating the cold salad right under the early summer sun had a charm of its own. Ah! Wonder years, they were.
My Grandfather has a practice of taking us kids, his own and all the kids in the neighborhood, basically, who ever wanted to walk a milk to hear his stories and eat all the goodies he gave, to his farmland. There was a Banni tree and he did arrange for Kosambari-Panaka-Majjige routine there. The specialty of course was his story telling session. He was an expert and well loved story teller. So we kids would trek all the way to the farmland and listen to his stories, mostly related to Lord Rama and eat Kosambari served in 'Donne' a bowl make of dried leaves and drink utterly sweet Panaka and Buttermilk in stainless steel glasses. Of course there were no disposable plastic ware to choke our farms and farm animals!  After all the eating we did linger around trying to siphon off the end of the season 'Elachi kayi' / Ber fruit...By then all the 'Avarekai' would have gone, and we did wait for Mangoes. There were a few mango trees right next to the 'Banni' tree. It was my favorite place to hang out. I did climb one of the smaller trees and hoist myself on its lowest branch. (That would probably be about 7-8 feet from the ground!) I did be in heaven till the big-bad-red-ant got me!! The 'Raspuri' Mangoes from that tree used to be so sweet, so juicy, never had anything like that after the tree died.  Yes, it did after my Grandfather......

Now for some Herekai Palya...

We will need,

Herekai/ Ridge Gourd  1 big (about 1 lb)
Onion        1 small diced
Expeller pressed Peanut oil  1 tbsp
Hulipudi / Sambar Powder  1 tsp
Green Chillies  2 slit
Mustard Seeds   1/4 tsp
Cumin  Seeds 1/2 tsp
Hing a dash
Fennel Seeds  a generous Pinch
Salt to taste
Lime juice to taste

Method:

• Wash and clean Herekai. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the ridges and discard the same. Chop the Ridge Gourd set it aside.
• Heat oil in a wok, throw the mustard seeds. One they pop, follow with cumin and fennel seeds. After 5 second, throw in the Hing.
• Now add the diced onions and green chillies. Saute till the onions are soft.
• Throw in the Ridge gourd, a little salt and the Huli-Pudi. Cover and cook on low.
• Once the Ridge gourd is cooked, adjust salt and lime juice and remove from heat. serve it with rice or Chapatis.

Kale Palya

Sugar free update: Well, Honey managed to stick to the sugar free diet for the past two weeks...Surprisingly he has lost 5.5 lbs... Yes! No exaggerations here. That was a pleasant surprise. Me :( There was this big bag of Snickers lying in the pantry from the last Halloween, I had to eat it. The craving used to strike me so hard and every time I walked past the pantry, i had to grab one. I finished the entire bag. Now, there is nothing much at home and hopefully I should go sugar free the next few weeks. In fact Honey's success is actually motivating me to go ahead in this direction.

So here is Kale from Suburban Organic It was fresh as it could be and gorgeous but Kale is not actually a familiar vegetable in my kitchen. Well what to do when you get something you have never tried before? Make a "Palya" out of it. We are a Palya loving family. So I went ahead with it.

We will need,

Kale 1/2 lb
Onion 1 big chopped into strips.
Dry red chillies / Bydagi 2-3
Expeller pressed Peanut oil 2 tsp
Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Channa Dal 1 tsp
Urad Dal 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Hing a dash
Coconut grated 3-5 tbsp (Optional)

Method:

• Wash and clean Kale and chop it into ribbons. Put the Kale in pot with about 1/2 cup of water. Blanch till the kale has soften a bit but still kind of al dente... We dont want our Kale to look limp and mushy. Drain and set it aside
• Heat oil in a wok/ Kadai. Once hot, throw in the mustard seeds, Jeera, Hing,Channa dal, Urad Dal, Chillies in quick succession.
• 10 seconds after adding the chillies, throw in the onions, cook till onions are transparent. Add the blanched Kale.

• Stir adjust salt. Add the coconut if using. Cover and simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat and serve hot.

Thank Leena for your cute award..

Vegan chilly Chicken -Karnataka style /Temphe Chilly

I am not a very big fan of soy products..'soy milk', I did say eww...Soy cheese I did say 'no thank you'. I did rather have my cup of milk-milk or 'cheese-cheese'. Tofu is still fine, nothing can beat Panner. Will I ever be a vegan? I do not think so, give me my yogurt, give me my cheese and I am as happy as a lark.  So what about this Temphe?

I have been reading about Temphe in most western vegetarian cook books. I was always curious to check it out. So a few months back we got a slab of Temphe. I did not do my home-work properly and replaced half the slab of Temphe in a recipe that called for Paneer..We all hated the Temphe then. It was absolutely tasteless and so much like eating a bitter cardboard. Even though first impulse was to trash it, I threw the remaining Temphe in the freezer after much deliberation.
And then I came across a recipe that called for Temphe and the recipe also called for it to be deep fried the first thing! So be it. I said and bingo this is how it was. This dish was such a hit, we polished it off straight off the Kadai.
My mother got me a Karnataka style Chilli Chicken recipe from her friend.. I substituted chicken with deep fried temphe. It was heavenly. Love it.

We will need,
Temphe 1/2 lb cup into strips.
Expeller pressed peanut oil to deep fry + 4-5 tbsp
Whole Red Chillies      4-5  (Byadagi variety prefered)
Garlic                           2 cloves
Ginger                          1/2 " piece
Tamarind paste            1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Fresh Coriander            a handful

Method:

• Bring 4-5 tbsp of water to a boil. Dump all the chillies and cover with a tight fitting lid. Set it aside.
• Deep fry Temphe strips in hot oil till golden brown and crisp. Drain it on paper towels. 
• Once all the Temphe is fried and good to go, start making the sauce. Grind the soaked chillies and the soaking liquid, garlic, ginger and tamarind into a smooth paste.
• Heat 4-5 tbsp of oil in a Kadai. Pour the spice mixture into the hot gently and carefully. Stir well and simmer.Cook it till the raw smell of the garlic and tamarind disappears.About 10-15 minutes. The sauce by now should be fairly thick. Add salt to taste.
• Toss in the fried Temphe and turn off the heat. Sprinkle some fresh coriander and serve immediately.

If preferred substitute Chicken/ Mutton for Temphe.

Kesavuna Gedde Gojju/ Colocasia Curry/ Arbi Curry

Wishing you all a happy and prosperous new year..Eat well and have a good time.

It was all quiet all home this time around. With my little sunny boy we could not think of much.We loved the quiet new year celebration though. We had some Bisibelebath and Mango ice-cream with some Prosecco!


I am ready with my first post for the new year. It is a grossly under appreciated vegetable i happened to be head over heels in love with! Apparently Honey too adores this vegetable. We reserve  it for special occasions because it is rather too rich prepared this way. This last week as well said our fond farewell to 2010, we celebrated with a rich meal of this curry, rice and chapatis. Boy could it be better? No..

We will need,

Kesavina gedde/colocasia /Arbi  1 lb
Onion           1 big sliced lengthwise
Garlic         3-4 cloves minced
Green chillies  2-3
Oil             1/4 Cup + for deep frying
Tomato          1 chopped
Red Chilli powder 1 tsp (adjust according to taste)
Dhania            1 tsp
Turmeric           1/2 tsp
Mustard             1/4 tsp
Fenel               1/2 tsp
Jeera                1/2 tsp
Coriander           a handful
Salt to taste
Cloves and cinnamon    ground 1/4 tsp


Method:

1. Scrub and wash the colocasia in plenty of water.Dump them in the pressure cooker with water to almost cover them and cook for about 2-3 whistles.Remove from heat and cool. 
2. Once the colocasia is cool enough to handle, pull the skin off the vegetable and wash it in water once again. It is tricky till here, because sometimes this temperamental vegetable causes allergic itching if not done te right way!
3. Slice the vegetable and deep fry them in hot oil till golden brown. Drain on paper towels
4. Heat the 1/4 cup oil in a skillet. Throw in the mustard jeera and fenel seeds. Once they stop spluttering throw in the onion, garlic, green chillies. Saute for a couple of minutes, throw in the tomatoes and all the spices except the ground cloves and cinnamon. Cook for a few minutes till the rawness of the spices disapper, about 10 minutes. 
5. Add the the fried Colocasia. Cover and cook till everything is well combined.Adjust salt, throw in the ground cloves and cinamon. sprinkle the coriander, cover and cook for 10 more minutes. Remove from heat, serve hot with rice or rotis.

Vegetable Masale Gojju

MIL makes this wonderful curry to go along with anything from Dosa to Chapati and everything in between!! We love it. It is rich and spicy and can satisfy any palate craving something savory.

We will need,

Mixed vegetables     2 cups
Coconut grated         1/3 to 1/2 cup
 Oil                              4 tbsp
Mustard seeds             1/4 tsp
Jeera                           1/2 tspSalt to taste
Lemon juice to taste

Grind to paste: 
Onion                        1 small ( chopped and toasted )
Garlic                        3 cloves (optional)
Ginger                        1/2" piece
Coconut grated          1/4 cup
Cinnamon                  1" piece
Clove                         5-6
Poppy Seeds              1 tsp (toasted and coarsely pound)
Green Chillies             5-6 or according to taste
Coriander                   a small bunch
Mint                           about a handful
 
Method:

• Heat oil in a thick bottomed pot. Throw in the mustard and Jeera. Once they stop spluttering pour in the masala paste. Bring it to a boil.
• Throw in the vegetables. Cover and cook till the vegetables are tender- crisp. 
• Adjust salt. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon and serve hot with Rice/Roti/Dosa

Tomato Palya

MIL is not just a sweet person but also a super cook. I have always wondered how her signature dishes taste consistently awesome every time she makes them, anytime, anywhere! Me..I get lost if I do not find my measuring cups and spoons :)
This time around I measured all the ingredients so as to never go wrong.
Honey adores Tomato Palya. I like it too. It goes very well with Chapatis and a dollop of ghee. 

We will need,
Tomatoes (Plum or the Jamoon variety )    3 large
Onion                                                        2 large
Oil                                                            4 tbsp
Green Chillies                                            4-5
Channa Dal                                                1 tsp
Urad Dal                                                    1 tsp
Curry leaves                                               a handful
Sugar                                                         1 tsp
Huli Pudi / Sambar Powder                        2 tsp
Mustard Seeds                                           1/4  tsp
Cumin                                                        1/4 tsp
Hing                 a dash
Salt  to taste

Method:

• Dice tomatoes and onions roughly. Slit the green chillies.
• Heat oil a Wok. Throw in the mustard seeds, cumin and the hing. Once they splutter, add the channa dal and urad dal. Saute for a couple of minutes.
• Now add the curry leaves and green chillies. Stir for a minute and add the onions. 
• Once the onions are translucent, about 5-8 minutes add the tomatoes with their juice.  Toss in a pinch of salt. Cook covered for 5-10 minutes.
• Now add the Huli Pudi and sugar and mix well. 
• Cover and cook till the tomatoes are soft. Most often than not tomatoes are juicy and does not need additional water to cook but if the mixture becomes dry before the tomatoes are done add half a cup of water.
• Once the tomatoes are done, adjust salt and serve hot with fresh chapatis.

Chilli Egg

Dhabhas are a must-try food joints back home. As I remember, most restaurants in the city-centers in smaller towns of Karnataka (i.e. most cities apart from Bangalore and Mysore) had very few places serving non-vegetarian meals. There used to be something called 'Hindu Millitary Hotel' (HMH). These  eateries were the exact contrast to 'Bramhanara Upahara Mandira'. HMH served traditional meat dishes. I am not sure what all dishes are common in their menu, for I have never been to one. And then there were Dhabas on the outskirt of the cities. The best part about these Dhabas were the anonymity and stigma-free non-vegetarian food for those who are not supposed to eat meats! Besides being affordable Dhabas were the eatery of choice for young people with not-much-money-to-spend like students!!
I have had my fair share of Dhaba on Tumkur Road, Mysore Road....Wonder if there still are any left. They do serve amazing food...hot rotis, naans straight out of the oven and of course stuff like Tomato masala, Dal fry, Capsicum masala, Kofta curries.. I am drooling even as I type!!
I have not been to a Dhaba in quite some time. But my sister had the opportunity of visiting one and she came back with a new recipe..Egg Chilli. I tried it and it was tasty.

We will need,

Hard Boiled Eggs  4 cut into half
Red Onion   1 small chopped
Ginger Paste   1/4 tsp
Garlic Paste 1/4 tsp
Green Chillies  2 chopped
Green Coriander chopped
Corn Starch  2 tsp
Salt  to taste
Soya Sauce to taste
Peanut Oil    3-4 tbsp

Method:

• Toss the eggs with some salt , soya sauce and corn starch. 
• Heat 2-3 tbsp oil in a pan and pan-fry the eggs till golden in colour. Remove and drain it on a paper towel
• Heat the remaining oil in a pan. Drop the onion, garlic and ginger, saute for a few minutes.
• Toss in the green chillies and then the fried eggs. Toss well.
• Splash in some Soya sauce and fresh coriander. And serve immediately.

If preferred, the eggs can be deep fried as well. I bet it will taste better..

Kumbalakai Palya

The Yellow Indian Pumpkins are one of those vegetables that grows like weeds back home in Karnataka. There was a time when most of our backyards had at least one Pumpkin creeper that we would scoff at the idea of having to buy them in the market. My grandmother probably would still not agree with the idea of buying pumpkins!! It used to so happen that these giant vegetables were just too much to be used up for a meal or two. Therefore sharing was the name of the game. If we had a Pumpkin in our creeper today then the entire block would be cooking Pumpkin. Same if our neighbour harvested Pumpkin from their backyard the next week. Food was all about sharing right. Now towns like Bangalore and Mysore have grown beyond recognition. As far as me, I am still in the time shell that was my childhood, when air at this time of the year was permeated with the aromas of Mangoes and Jackfruits not burnt out gasoline!!! None of my family members have a back yard these days. My grandparents got their backyard paved with concrete because there was not enough sunlight in the backyard, (thanks to the matchbox-over-matchbox concrete construction around their home in Bangalore!!) and nothing would grow there anymore. It is now my dream to have a large backyard and all sort of fresh vegetables flourishing there.
Coming back to Pumpkins, we did not get these in the Indian stores when we lived in Connecticut. But here in New Jersey, it is different. We get all sort of vegetables. I only hope we do end up getting raw Jackfruit and plenty of Indian mangoes...

We will need,

Yellow Pumpkin          1 lb cubed
Coconut                      3 tbsp (yes be generous)
Green Chillies               6-7
Peanut Oil                    1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds             1/2 tsp
Hing                             a dash
Cumin Seeds                1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves                a handful
Salt

Method:

• Heat oil in a Wok. Toss in the Mustard, Cumin, Hing and curry leaves.
• Once they crackle, drop the slit green chillies. Once they pop, drop in the cubed pumpkin and coconut.
• Sprinkle a scant 1/4 cup of water, cover and cook till the pumpkin is soft. They cook pretty fast. So keep a close eye on them. Adjust Salt.
• Serve them with Akki Rotti. 

Anda Kalimirchi Hydrabadi

My family is pretty diverse when it comes to culinary tradition. Our family has of course grown in number with new members bringing in their own traditions along. My BIL is from Coorg, my eldest cousin has strong Hydrabadi roots, born in north Karnataka and lived in Kerala for close to two decades. My SIL is a tambram. So all of them have brought in their own array of delicacies. So our food spectrum has widened over the past few years. Personally, my tastes have been affected greatly by my oft traveling father and related relocation. However, the comfort food has always been what we grew up eating. That is essentially south-Kannada cuisine. Most of which are already on the blog. So instead of trying something on my own to post, I have been asking my folks to contribute their favorite recipes. Starting with my eldest cousin, he is a connoisseur of great foods. His family is known for their Hydrabadi style food. I hope this is just the beginning of a series of contribution!!

My cousin says this particular dish goes well as a party food/ finger food. Of course more so if accompanied with good Whiskey!!!! it is also a good way to start eating eggs if particularly averse to eggs.



Serves 6 ||  Calories per serving  130 Kcl || Protein 6.3 gm ||  fat 11.5 gm || Fiber 0.05 gm

Organic Eggs 6
Coarsely ground black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Vegetable Oil 2 tbsp

Method

1. Wash eggs. Fill a wide mouthed pot with cold water. Place the eggs. Cook till the eggs are hard boiled. Cool, crack the skin open and slit the eggs horizontally.
   
2. Heat oil on a Tawa/griddle. Arrange the eggs, yolk side up. Sprinkle pepper and salt generously. Drizzle some oil.
   
3. Once the eggs are golden flip the eggs. Sprinkle some more pepper and salt. Cook till the yolks also are golden on the edges. Serve warm.