Arida Huli/ From the scratch vegetable curry

What do you cook when you ought to feel indulgent? No not Biriyani! Not me... I am an Arida Huli gal!! Arida huli is another name for from the scratch vegetable curry. It is also sometimes referred to as Kootu. A rose by any name would smell as sweet! Arida Huli by any other name would taste just as indulgent.. This is a dish that is reserved for special occasions, may be a guest, may be a Sunday noon...
Generally vegetables like yellow cucumber and Yellow pumpkin make up the very heart of the dish, but if these vegetables are unavailable go ahead with vegetables of your choice.

Serves: 8
Per serving: 357 calories : Protein  13.57 g : Fat 16.5 g : Fiber 9

Toor Dal ¾ C


Vegetables 3 Cups
Tomato 1 small
Turmeric a generous pinch
Coconut 4 tbsp
Onion ¾ C (pearl onions)

Tamarind extract 1 tsp
Jaggery crushed 2 tbsp
Peanuts 1 Cup

For the Spice blend:

Red Chilles 9-10
Channa Dal ½ tsp
Urad Dal ½ tsp
Pepper ¼ tsp
Fenugreek ¼ tsp
Jeera 1 tsp
Cinnamon 1/8 tsp
Dhania 2 tbsp

Oggarane/ tadka
Ghee 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds ½ tsp
Hing a dash
Curry leaves 15-20
Dried red chillies –Kashmiri mirch/ Byadige chillies 4-5

Method:

1. Combine dal, vegetables and peanuts in a pressure cooker and cook till done. Else cook the dal in a open stock pot till half way through and add the vegetables and peanuts and cook till everything is done. Set it aside.
2. Toast all the spices under ‘spice blend’ one by one till fragrant. Combine it with onions, tomatoes,coconut, tamarind, 1 cup of water and blend it till smooth. The paste must be very smooth. My mom says it should resemble sandalwood paste! That is somewhere between oat meal porridge and peanut butter.
3. Add a little more water if necessary to the mixture and cook it on a slow flame till the raw smell disappears.
4. Once the spice mixture is well cooked and fragrant anywhere between 20-30 minutes, gently stir in the dal mixture. Bring it to a gentle boil. Throw in the jaggery. Adjust salt. Simmer.
5. Prepare the oggarane. Heat ghee in a pan. Throw in mustard seeds, Hing, curry leaves and the dried red chillies. Once the popping stops, pour the contents on to the simmering curry. Stir gently and serve with rice.

Conquered Macaroons

Macaroons have become such a fashion statement these days. I have been waiting for a long time to achieve a certain degree of success in making them in my Kitchen. How lovely would it be to be able to make these ultimate indulgence in my own kitchen savour it at my own time and relax!! (RELAX is a word not often found in my dictionary these days with a four month old around )

But then these Macaroons are horribly moody and they have a mind of their own. I have been diligently bookmarking every Macaroon recipe Helen posts on her blog. But my previous two attempts ended up with anything but Macaroons. When it comes to food, I can probably better King Bruce! I guess I got luckier than the unhappy Scottish King or the proverbial spider and my third attempt was a fair success. We ultimately got to eat Macaroons proudly baked in my kitchen. They were not as pretty though. Got to still master the art of piping bag :(  Mom and Honey are thoroughly impressed. Thanks Helen!!
I struck to Helen's recipe for the shells altering only the flavor. Just added some Vanilla to the shells. The filling had to be Strawberry. With the spring in the air, my head is reeling with the thoughts of strawberry and cream. So combined the two for the filling. The recipe for the filling follows. What better way to serve the macaroons than cups of cafe creme.

We will need,

Whipped Cream   2 tbsp
Strawberry preserve 1 tbsp

Method:
Fold the strawberry preserve gently into the whipped cream.
Place a teaspoon of the filling on a Macaroon shell and sandwich it with another. Do not sit these filled Macaroons for long, they tend to get soggy. At least they did not in my home.
Enjoy with a cup of cafe creme!!

Bananti Pudi, Postpartum chutney powder

A new mothers dietary requirements are very different. Not only do new mothers require extra calories but breast feeding mothers are constrained by a variety of foods that needs to be avoided because of the weak digestive system of the new born.
Traditionally new mothers are served this particular spice blend to improve the digestion of both newborns and the mother. The new mother starts her meal by mixing about 1/2 -1 tsp of this powder with a tablespoon of freshly cooked hot rice and about 1 tsp of ghee. This morsel is followed by the rest of the meal.
This works magic on colicky babies, it worked very well with me and my son :). I will post a few more posts on remedies for a colicky babies, after all I can not write with a great deal of experience.

To prepare this blend we will need,

Jeera 1 tbsp
Pepper 1 tbsp
Fennel Seeds /Saunf 1/2 tbsp
Ajwain/ Omkalu 1/2 tbsp

Method:

1. Toast all the spices one by one till fragrant
2. Using a mortar pestle or coffee grinder or mixer crush the spices into a fine powder.
3. Store it in an air tight jar.

Use a measure of your choice instead of the tbsp, it works just as fine. Sending it out to the home remedies event hosted by Ruchika started by Sadhana & Muskhan

Beetroot Pacchadi/ Raita

My family loves yogurt based dishes. We Kannadigas are pretty good at making use of Yogurt in Paccchdi or Raita. We are not quite as innovative as the Moghuls who used it in gravies. These Pacchadis are not stand alone dishes, instead they can make a nice accompaniment to chutney, neutralizing the spicy heat of the Chutney. These Pacchadis are very mild and not to mention adds colour to the dinner palate. I like them in every which way, all possible vegetables.
Mom has a practice of making Pacchadi at lunch time during summers. It is cooling and soothing as well. She made some the other day even though this is no summer. I am still off yogurt. But the rest of the family enjoyed it.



We will need

Beetroot 2 big chopped
Yogurt 1 cup
Oil 2 tsp
Mustard 1/4 tsp
Garlic 2 cloves crushed
Curry leaves a handful
Green Chillies 2 slit length wise
Fresh Coriander chopped
Salt

Method

1.  Beat yogurt till smooth and creamy. Set it aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan. Drop the mustard. Once it stops spluttering, add the garlic, saute till fragrant. Follow it with Chillies
3. Drop the curry leaves. Follow it with the chopped beetroot. 
4. Cook till the beetroot is cooked but still not mushy. Remove from fire. Cool completely
5. Before serving, stir in the yogurt. Adjust salt, garnish with fresh coriander and serve at room temperature.

Halkheer/ Milk Kheer

I have developed an incredibly incurable sweet tooth! Of late I am craving for sweet like nobody’s business!! Now that my mother will be going back to India in two weeks, I am resorting to sweets for comfort. Mom is making all sorts of sweets to comfort me and my palate. She made Halkheer the other day. Kheer is one of those victuals associated with celebrations, festivities, joy and comfort. There are umpteen number of Kheer recipes calling for ingredients as varied as Channa dal, rice to Lotus seeds/ Makhana.
Halkheer aka Milk-Kheer is one of my mom's specialties. I have not had it else where. I am not sure if it is a standard recipe at all!It is kinda a hybrid between plain Milk kheer and Badam Milk..



We will need,

Milk 2 Cups + 3 tbsp
Cashew nut unsalted 4 tbsp
Coconut grated, unsweetened 4 tbsp
Sugar   2 tbsp + according to taste.

Method

1. Soak Cashew nuts in the 3 tbsp warm milk for at least two hours.
2. Pulse coconut and soaked cashews + milk in a blender till very smooth.
3. Pour the mixture into the remaining milk, stir in the sugar and bring it to a boil. Simmer for a few more minutes till all the flavours mingle. Remove from fire and cool. Refrigerate before serving.
4. Use a few strands of saffron or a pinch of crushed cardamom for extra flavour.

Serves two, (only one if it is me :)

Togaribele/ Pigeon pea Chutney

Chutneys are incredibly versatile condiment. Of course chutney assumes a different dimension in the western world. In India chutney mostly conjures up images of freshly ground, fragrant sweet-sour-spicy condiment that goes well with practically everything from breads like Roti to hot rice. In the western hemisphere Chutney instead conjures up images of bottled sugary jelly like substance that has a hint of some spice and fruit! That is how different chutney can be.
Well now for an authentic old time Kannada recipe. This is a Chutney mom seldom made because it was simply forgotten and kind of old fashioned. This is one more recipe that she had to dig out from her memory chest. Like all recipes this one too brought back some memories. Apparently my grandmother who is a fabulous cook (all grandmothers are for some reason fabulous cooks!!!) never made chutney this way. All legume chutneys like toor dal, green gram, Channa dal chutneys are poor people’s food. After all during those days, legumes and grains were the staple food of poor people. Not many could afford expensive spices or ingredients like coconut, assorted fresh vegetables and fruits. My grandmother whose father was the village headman hailed from a wealthy family and knew to cook the more elaborate dishes like sweets. But she was married to a less fortunate household and her MIL, i.e. my great grandmother taught her to eat like the unprivileged majority!!! This is what it was back then. Once the fortunes of the family improved these legume chutneys gradually took a back seat and were made occasionally. Mom tells me that when one of the children in the family, there were six of them, fell sick and recovered they were served these chutneys as the chutney tends to tickle the bland sick palate. In fact mom says they got to eat white bread only when they fell sick and prayed to fall sick so that they could get to eat white bread with coffee and subsequently legume chutney!



We will need,
Toor dal/Split Pigeon peas   1/2 C
Dried Red Chillies  5-6 (adjust according to taste, but chutney should be on the spicier side)
Tamarind                1/2 tsp (extract)         
Garlic                     1 clove
Curry Leaves          5-6
Coconut                 1 tbsp
Salt to taste


Method:

1. Toast Toor dal on a skillet till golden in colour and fragrant.
2. Toast the chillies, curry leaves on a skillet. Combine all ingredients, little water and pulse till combined but still coarse. Serve with hot rice or breads like Naan/Roti

Gattakki Payasa, Rice & Chickpea Pudding

Continuing with long lost traditional Kannadiga recipes, I present Gattakki Payasa. This particular sweet dish like all ancient recipes requires very few ingredients, the things that were handy back in the days when there were no commercial agriculture and supermarkets, and food mostly meant something that was harvested during the past season. As we can see the ingredients are simple. Broken rice, the coarse leftover from paddy husking, is the primary ingredient of the dish. Split chickpeas or Channa dal was one of the most common legume in our region during those days. A few decades ago when the social fabric was still tight knit, entire community used to pool in scare resources to grow Chickpeas on dry but fertile tank beds when rains failed. Not only are chickpeas hardy crop but also bountiful enough to see folks through difficult times. My grandmother tells me that her father who was the village headman led such projects quite a few times. One person from each household in the village was dedicated to the community project and at the end of the harvest, each household used to get a share in the harvest. A wonderful way of life is it not?

I have been pushing mom for ancient recipes. Everyone else will probably think high of Gulab Jamoons and Mysore Paks but then who will care for these 'subaltern' sweets that are almost out of collective memories!! She probably thinks I am a nut to pursue such recipes. In fact I had never heard of this recipe before. Even mom kind of forgot about this one, just that my prodding brought back the memory of this dish. Well, the recipe actually calls for Akki-nucchu or broken rice but we did not get it here in USA, instead we got cream of rice and Mom used it instead. She opines that broken rice is still the best bet but like us if you fail to find broken rice, go ahead with some cream of rice.



We will need,

Broken Rice /Akki Nuchhu 1 Cups
Channa Dal 3/4 Cup
Jaggery 2 Cups
Coconut 1/2 Cup
Cardamon 2-3 crushed
Ghee 3 tbsp

Method:

1. Pick and clean the broken rice. Wash in several changes of water. Combine with 4-4.5 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Simmer till cooked half way.
2. Throw in the Channa Dal. Cook till the dal is tender but has a bite to it- al dente!
3. Stir in crushed Jaggery, crushed and simmer till the flavors bend.
4. Finish by stirring in the ghee. The ghee adds a nice simmer apart from of course enhancing the taste.

Traditionally it is served with freshly extracted coconut milk! I did say just dig in :)
This recipe goes out to the MLLA 20th helping started by Susan

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.

Gobi Paratha

I love gobi Parathas and paneer parathas. I am reserving panner parathas for some other time.It is absolutely out of bounds for me right now.I made some for mom one of the week nights when she abstains from rice. It is simpler to use frozen cauliflower but fresh ones taste much better. I had the best gobi paratha of my life in Parathewali gali in Chandni Chowk, New Delhi. Back in those days it never quite mattered to how dirty the eatery looked as long as they served great tasting food. Now a days I might not be so comfortable eating there, right next to drains. But the parathas were simply heavenly. I also had some panner parathas the same day. Boy o Boy I never got to eat such heavenly tasting parathas ever. Well it was called the Mecca of Parathas for a reason.



We will need,

Cauliflower frozen 1/2 lb
Chilly powder 1 tsp
Dhania powder 1 tsp
Amchoor powder ½ tsp or lemon juice
Coriander fresh chopped 2 tbsp
Salt
Garam masala a generous pinch
Whole wheat flour
Water
Oil
Salt

Method

• Mix whole wheat flour with water and a pinch of salt to form a soft dough. Set it aside.
• Thaw frozen cauliflower overnight. Sqeeze the thawed cauliflower and drain very well.Mix in the chilly powder, Dhania powder, Amchoor powder, Garam Masala and coriander.
• Preheat a skillet.
• To make the parathas, pinch lemon sized dough and rolls it out slightly. Place the lime sized cauliflower mixture in the center of the rolled out dough. Bring together the edges of the rolled out dough.
  
• Roll out the stuffed dough into 6 inch circles.
  
• Transfer the paratha on to the hot skillet.
• Cook for a few minutes till small bubbles appear on the edges. Flip the paratha. Drizzle oil or ghee generously over the parathas. Flip once more and drizzle oil/ghee once more and cook till the parathas are golden brown.
• Serve hot with ghee, pickles and thick tangy yogurt.

Belladanna, Rice Pudding

Wishing you all a very happy sankranti. Sankranti, the harvest festival usually means sweet and savory 'pongal',cooked sweet potato, Avarekai and groundnuts. But back in the days of my granny, it was not sweet pongal but belladanna that used to occupy the center stage during Sankranti. Sankranti was also about exchanging Ellu-bella, a mixture of toasted sesame seeds, jaggery, coconut, roasted channa dal and peanuts.Me and my sister used to wear our silk-langa (reshme langa) and go about the neighbourhood exchanging Ellu-bella, sugar cane, banana, sakkare acchu and elchi hannu (ziziphus as it says in Wikipedia).Very typical of me, I had once mixed up Ellu-bella packs to-be-taken-home and to-be-given-away and mom had the surprise of the day to find all our Ellu-bella packs cozily still in my basket. This year should have been a 'bombe-Ellu' for me because of my new born. It is a tradition of distributing a small toy/doll the year a new baby is born. Sadly this is not home and I miss the tradition so much. Memories and traditions apart, these foods are rich in fat and are good during the cooler season. In fact it is surprising that people celebrating Lordhi in Punjab too consume chikkis-sesame seed chikki as well as peanut chikki. That is probably what holds India together despite the diversity...a common thread running inconspicuously.
Apart from Ellu-bella, Sankrati also mean Sakkare Acchhu, moulded sugar candy.
I love the soft ones that mom makes, in all shapes, fruits, animals,tulasi-katte, Mantapa etc. Both my grandmothers are good at making Sakkare acchu but mom is the best. I will reserve the recipe for some other day.
Another tradition associated with Sankranti is 'Kitch haisodu'. It is the 'fire-jumping' cattle. A small fire is lit and domestic cattle are prodded to jump over the fire. The cattle participating in the event are decorated with bells, colours and other trinkets. It is fun to see all the cattle so festive and colourful, though I did rather not see the fire part of it.

For now it is all about Belladanna. It is actually a very rustic and ancient family recipe. Somehow it was forgotten in between. recently mom and Doddamma retrieved the recipe for this dish and have started making it. So me and Honey had it for the first time, courtesy mom. We both liked it. It is not as heavy as sweet pongal but equally satisfying. Best of all, it is good for new mothers as well :)



Rice 1 C
Jaggery 1/3 to 1/2 C
Nutmeg a pinch
Cardamon 1 whole
Coconut grated 1/2 C (optional)
Raisin a handful
Cashew nuts a handful
Ghee 1/4 C

Method:

• Cook rice in 2 cups of water till soft.
  
• Bring the jaggery and very little water to a boil and simmer till it attains one thread consistency. (When the syrup is easily stretched into a single thread between two wet fingers. Requires care, the syrup being hot can scald)
• Mix grated coconut into the syrup.
• Heat ghee in a thick bottomed pot. Drop the cashew nuts and raisins, fry till light golden in colour. Throw in the whole cardamom. Pour it over the syrup and coconut mixture.Grate a dash of nutmeg into the syrup.
• Gently fold in the rice while still warm. Serve warm.
  

Goes to the SHF hosted by a merrier world..

Hesarunde/ Moong Ladoo

his year our Festival season stretched well into the holiday season and the new year because Mom is here :) She made some delectable Hesarunde last week, we gobbled it up in no time. Yes!! the good news is that I was able to eat it. It is very much allowed during post partum period.
I will ask mom to make an extra batch next week.. I am craving for good food like never before, not even during my pregnancy.


We will need,

Split moon dal powder 1 C
Sugar 3/4 C to 1 C coarsely ground (Burra Sugar)
Almond roasted and chopped
Saffron
Ghee (melted) as needed

Method

• Toast split moong dal on low flame till fragrant and golden in colour. Set it aside to cool.
• Grind it into a smooth powder. Back home they do it on "Beso Kallu" or a stone mill (Two hefty stones sandwiched and used to crush grains etc) which adds to the flavor of the moong. (The heat generate by the blenders/grinders motors causes the essential oils to evaporate and therefore reduces taste) But then all of us do not have the "Beso Kallu"and therefore got to do with coffee grinders etc.
  
• Mix sugar and the roasted moong powder, crushed saffron, roasted and chopped almonds (substitute cashew nuts if you like).
• Pour a tablespoon of ghee at the edge of the mixture, work it into lime sized balls. Continue with the ghee a table spoon at a time and work the remaining mixture into balls/ ladoos.
  

Enjoy!!
This is my entry to the MLLA 19th helping hosted at simple Indian food, started by Susan .

Pineapple Gojju/ Pineapple Chutney

Though not a native fruit, Pineapple has somehow integrated into Kannada culinary fabric very well. So much so that it is an integral part of a Kannadiga wedding. One of the most popular way to use pineapple is to convert it into Gojju. Gojju is a thick accompaniment to rice that generically falls somewhere between curry and chutney. I would not serve it as a main course or a stand alone curry, instead use it to make a dowdy meal interesting.



We will need,

Pineapple (fresh) 1 c chopped
Red chillies 2-3
Jaggery 1 tbsp crushed
Oil 3 tbsp
Bisibele bath powder 2 tsp
Copra 3 tbsp roasted and powdered
Curry leaves 8-10
Hing a dash
Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
Salt

Method

• Heat oil in a thick bottomed pot. Throw in the mustard seeds, hing, curry leaves and red chillies.
  
• Once the spluttering stops drop the chopped pineapple. Sprinkle some salt cover and cook till the pineapple is tender. Alternately if you like your pineapple softer than al-dente you can cook the pineapple separately and add cooked pineapple once the mustard et al stops spluttering.
• Mix in the remaining ingredients and a few tbsps of water, cover and cook till it attains a chutney like consistency.
• Enjoy it while it is hot.

I used a home made blend for Bisibele bath powder, MTR should work fine though. Also canned pineapple can be used. Since canned version is softer than fresh pineapples, reduce the cooking time and avoid adding too much of water.

Jelly Cream

Mom loves jelly. So we had a great time with jelly this summer. There was a time when the instant jelly mix in the box contained gelatin therefore unsuitable for our consumption. And then there was vegetarian agar-agar that tasted more like figments of cardboard than jelly. But these days they have great tasting vegetarian instant jelly mix. I had a great time this fall with these jelly mixes. We also tried various combination and had great tasting desserts. This particular combination is something we all loved and enjoyed. Looks great on a holiday table as well.



We will need,

Instant jelly (strawberry flavour) 1 package
Heavy whipping cream ½ cup
Sugar 2-3 tbsp
Dates chopped
Raisins
Cashew chopped
Almonds chopped as desired

Method:

• Prepared jelly according to the package instruction. Once set cut it into1 cm*1cm*1cm cubes.
• To prepare whipped cream, freeze whisk and a bowl for at least 30 minutes. Whip the cream over a bowl of ice till it increases in volume. Add sugar a table spoon at a time and keep whipping. Continue till all the sugar is used up and the stiff peak appears on the cream.
• To assemble the dessert, take Champagne flutes, drop a few pieces of jelly on to the bottom of the flute. Layer some whipped cream followed by some dry fruits and nuts. Start with jelly and repeat the layers topped with nuts and fruits. Serve immediately.