Kempu Rotti aka Red Rotti

Akki Rotti is my favorite. I think all those visitors who come here might have understood it by now. I (We) have various versions of akki rotti. This rotti was introduced to me by my mother-in-law. It tastes different err....something like nippattu.. I became a instant fan of this rotti and I am sure you will love it too..if you are a akki rotti fan. Here is my MIL's recipe for you all.....

Ingredients :

Akki Hittu (Rice Flour): 2 paavu (1 Paavu=approx 250g)
Hurk(g)adale (roasted split chickpeas without outer coat) : 1.5 hidi (hidi = fistful)
Grated fresh coconut : 5 tbsp
Red Chillies : 15 (you can use more to make it more hot)
Cumin : 1tsp

Onions : 2-4 (de-skinned and chopped into thin pieces)
Salt

Oil : as required

Gadgets : Akki rotti pan or a non stick tava; Non-sticky paper if you are using non-stick tava.

Method :
1.Grind to smooth paste Hurgadale(pottukadalai), grated fresh coconut, redchillies, salt and cumin using little water. Add this paste to Rice Flour. Reserve the water you have used to wash the grinder jar. Warm it.
2.Mix rice flour, paste and chopped onions with warm water to make a soft but stiff dough.
3.Grease akki rotti pan and take a big lemon sized rice flour dough and start patting it to make a circle.
4.Place the rotti pan on tava and cover the pan. You can see the pictures here. Keep turning the tava every 2 mins so that the whole rotti is evenly baked.
5.Reverse the rotti and roast it on the other side too. Remove and serve hot with tuppa/ghee.

If you are using non-stick tava :
Use a non-stick/one side laminated paper. Grease the paper with little oil.
Take a a big lemon sized rice flour and make a ball. Press down the ball and pat it to make a circle. You can grease your fingers with little oil if it sticks.
Transfer the paper with rotti to the hot tava with rotti side facing the tava.
Let the rotti with paper stand for 2 mins. Now slowly peel the paper from the top and make another rotti using the paper.

Hitikida Avarekalu - Sihi mathu Khara (Curried Hyacinth Beans/Surti Papdi)

This is the last post of the year. Taste of Mysore wishes all it's readers a very happy and funfilled new year. Let's say bye to 2008 and welcome 2009, let this journey for a new year begin with a smile :)

An avarekaalu smiley for welcoming 2009 :

Avarekalu/Hyacinth beans/SurtiPapdi season is on! in Karnataka and it's raining Avarekaalu at home. From upma to sambar you can find it in all 3 meals. A crunchy snack also is made for tea time..so it is totally avarekalumaya (avarekalu everywhere). Khara (curried) Hitikida Avarekalu (de-skinned beans) is very popular and every household has it's own way of making it. Here is my mother-in-law's way of making
Hitikida Avarekalu.

How to deskin:

Soak fresh (peeled) beans in water for 2-3 hours. Remove water from the beans and hold the bean between two fingers and de-skin it. The action is that of snapping your finger with a bean between your fingers.

Curried Deskinned Hyacinth Beans : (for 5-6 people)
You need the following :

Deskinned Beans : 200gms

To make curry paste/masala
Red Chillies : 10

Coriander seeds : 1.5 tbsp

Cumin : 2 tsp

Balck Pepper : 8

Fenugreek Seeds : 1/4 tsp

Mustard : 1/2 tsp

Garlic : 1/2 pod

Toasted Onions : 1/2

Grated Fresh Coconut : from 1/2 coconut (small coconut)

Tamarind : 1tbsp

Salt

Jaggery (optional)as per taste.

Other ingredients :
Oil : 2tsp
Onion : 1 chopped into 1" cubes
Curry leaves, turmeric powder

Method :

1.Cook deskinned beans in sufficiant water till it is soft. Beans should not be mushy.
2.Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once it stops crackling add curry leaves, turmeric and onions. 3.Sautee till onions are soft.
4.Grind all the ingredients listed under curry paste with little water to make a smooth paste.
5.Add cooked beans, masala paste and salt. Bring it to boil. You can add jaggery if you wish. Boil the curry for next 10 mins till the beans get cooked in masala paste. Check for the correctness of salt and switch off the stove.
6.This curry is best served with dosa, akki rotti, chapathi. We love it/devour it with dosa.

Sweet Deskinned Beans/Ellu Avarekalu

You need the following :

de-skinned Beans : 2 cups (1 cup =100ml water)

Jaggery: 1.5 cups

White sesame seeds : 2 tbsp

Cardamom pod : 1
Grated Coconut: 1 cup

Ghee : 3 tbsp

Cashews and Raisins

Method:
1.Cook deskinned beans in sufficiant water till it is soft and not mushy. Beans should still hold the shape
2.Fry sesame seeds till they are fragrant and let it cool. Powder it in a mixer grinder along with a pod of cardamom.

3.Heat jaggery with 3 tbsp of water. Let jagerry water boil for about 4 mins. At this stage the syrup is thick. 4.Add cooked beans, powdered sesame seeds, grated dry coconut and 1 tbsp ghee. Mix well and bring it to boil. Let it boil for a min. Do not over boil it as beans will harden. Remove from stove and set aside.
Serve hot/cold.

Gasagase Payasa (White Poppy Seeds in sweet coconut sauce)

A post from Mysore.......
I had to put the above statement as many doubt about the availability of Poppy seeds in Singapore. This delicious payasa is everyone's favorite at home. It gives kind of 'drunk' effect after it's consumption and you all know the reason. If you are not sure of poppy seeds check it out here. It is a very simple and delicious payasa which is made on many festive occasions.


Gasagase Payasa :

Gasagase/Poppy Seeds : 1.5 fistfulls (Soak it for 2 hrs in luke warm water)
Grated Coconut : from 1 small coconut
Jaggery : 3/4 of the amount of grated coconut



Measure grated coconut. If coconut measures 3 cups take 2 cups of jaggery.
Grind coconut, jaggery and soaked poppy seeds in a blended to make a smooth paste. Use very less water to grind if required.
Remove the contents to a non stick pan and bring the contents to boil. You may dilute payasam with milk or with water.
Serve hot or chilled, both are lip smackingly delicious!

Hema of Adlak's Tiny Kitchen has showered me with Best Blogger Friends award. Thank you soo much Hema.

Nimbe Saaru ~ Clear Soup

'No Milk' 'No Yogurt' 'No coconut' there were many on 'No' list. Nope..I am not talking about Veda's Challenge event..I am recovering from food infection :( . Doctor gave me a list of 'No' eating foods and said "please do yourself a favor" don't eat these foods for next few days till your intestine recovers :( Stay on clear soups! CLEAR SOUPS! for how many days ....? there came a calm answer 'as many days as your intestine takes to recover' :) gosh!!! was my response to myself :( My troubled stomach groaned for food..no coffee too....I ran my hand over my stomach and said to it :P Well, I was pondering how to gulp in CLEAR SOUP.

Nimbe Saaru (patient's friend) came to my rescue! I just indulged myself drinking it added little well mashed rice to it and it was perfect. This is a 'nothing exotic' recipe but I thought of blogging to it for my future reference.

Nimbe Saaru

You need the following :

Toordal : 1tbsp
Water : 500 ml
Turmeric : 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves : 4 leaves
Coriander Leaves : 1 tsp (chopped)
Lemon Juice from 1 lemon
Salt

Oggarane/ Tadka
1 tsp oil, Cumin - 10-12 grains, red chillies broken - 1 small piece,

Method :

1.Pressure cook Toordal in 500 ml water with turmeric and curry leaves.
2.When the pressure is down, remove the vessel and separate the water from dal. Mash dal well with the help of a spoon. Mix dal and water.
3.Heat a tsp of oil in a pan. Add cumin, sautee and add red chilli piece mix well to coat the oil over chilli. Add dal and water mix.
4.Add salt and bring the mixture to boil. Taste the soup for salt. Switch off and add lemon juice and chopped coriander juice. Mix and let the saaru/soup sit for next 10 mins before you scoop into a bowl and gulp it down.
5. You can mash rice well and add this soup and enjoy it!!

I simply loved both the pics so have put them in.....

Here is my precious kitchen treasure...My Akki Rotti Pan ;) for Kitchen treasures event hosted by Dibs and Chitra at Chitra Ammas Kitchen.

This is a cast iron pan which is specifically made for Akki Rotti. We call it banale (pan) rotti or thalipet (in Chitradurga Davangere sides..) . These pans are very thin. The picture shown below is the thickest akki rotti pan I have come accross but, I had no choice but buying it as I had no time to hunt for the thinnest one. We come from a family of traders/merchants. Oil tins were in abundance at grandmothers place. Empty oil tins were given to a shop (don't remember this specific clan name now) where they artistically made round rotti pans. They were again washed cleaned and given a bath with several changes of rice water then oiled and made rottis. Now..all these efforts were certainly fruitfull when one eats thin, crisp, rotti aaahhhaa..is all I can say in appreciation to my granny made akki rotti.

How thick is my rotti pan? see it here...

They go to Dibs for their Kitchen treasure hunt event..

Paav Bhaji

We had few guests and I decided to make Paav Bhaji. It turned out very good. The recipe was from Tarla Dalal and Nupur of One Hot Stove. I refered to both pages and took good tips from both pages and went on preparing Pav Bhaji. I made Pav Bhaji Masala at home which worked out very well.

Pav Bhaji Masala Powder :

Ingredients :

Anistar Powder - 2 tsp (anistar roasted and powdered)
Black Cardamom - 1
Black Pepper - 10
Cassia Leaf/Tej Patta - 1 leaf
Red Chilli - 6
Cloves - 4
Balck Salt/Sanchal - 2tsp
Coriander - 2 tbsp
Cumin-1tbsp
Dry Ginger - 2tsp
Dry Mango - 2tsp
Fennel- 2tsp
Turmeric- 2tsp

Dry roasted all ingredients except turmeric and powdered it in a mixer grinder. I used 2 tbsp of the above powder in making Pav Bhaji.

Pav Bhaji :
Green Bellpepper : 1
Carrot : 1/2
Cauliflower :  2cups of florets
Potatoes : 3 big
Peas : 1 cup
Tomatoes : 3 big
RedChillies : 4 (soaked in hot water)
Garlic : 4 pods
Butter : 1tbsp
Oil : 1tbsp
Pav Bhaji Masala : 1 to 2 tbsp
salt


Preparation :
1.Pressure cook washed, peeled, and chopped potato, carrot, peas and cauliflower to 3 whistles. Separate cooked veggies from water and reserve the stock water.
2.Grind soaked redchillies with garlic to smooth paste.
3. Chop bell pepper into small pieces
4. Grind Tomatoes to smooth paste



Method :
1.Heat oil in a kadhai/pan. When oil is hot add  about 1 tbsp of garlic and redchilli paste. Sautee for few seconds. 
2. Add 1/2 tbsp of pav bhaji masala, sautee and add tomato puree. Bring to boil. When tomato paste becomes thick like sauce add cooked vegetables. Using a potato masher mash vegetables. Mix veggies with tomato puree..add stock water as and when required. Add Pav Bhaji Masala, salt and bring the mixture to boil.
3. Taste the bhaji and adjust salt and pav bhaji masala till you get a taste required. Add a blob of butter on top and simmer it for 15-20 mins with intermittent mixing..

Assembling
Chopped Onions, Chopped Coriander Leaves, Wedges of Lemon, Pav Buns, Bhaji
The left over chilli garlic paste is generously spread on pav bun. Toasted it on hot tava using as much butter you want.
Serve Hot with Bhaji and Chopped Onions, coriander leaves and lemon wedges.

Enjoiii...

Pudina Pulav/Mint flavored Rice

You can see many types of Pulav these days in all blogs, as Rice Mela hosted Srivalli is in air! I wanted to post this before the date line however the last week of November was really disturbing and could not post anything. I hope Srivalli will accept this for her Rice Mela.

Pudina Pulav

You need the following :
Pudina/Mint Leaves - one small bunch
Coriander Leaves - 4 lines
Cloves - 2
Cinnamon - 1" piece
Marathi Moggu - 4 (click on it to see the pic)
Green Chillies - 5 for 1 paavu (approx 1/4 Kg)

Grated Coconut - 1.5 cup (1cup holds100ml water)
OR
Thick Coconut Milk : 50 ml
Ginger - 1" piece
Garlic - 3 big pods or 6 small pods (small means Indian variety)

Rice - 1 Paavu (approx -1/4 Kilo) (if using basmati, wash and soak for 15 min)
Oil/Butter - 3 tbsp (preferably sunflower/gingely oil)
Curry Leaves - from one line and Mustard 1 tsp
Salt

Vegetables :
Carrot, French Beans, Peas, Potato, Onion cut into desired shape

Method :
1. In a pan roast/fry cloves, cinnamon, marathi moggu and green chillies with half a teaspoon of oil.
2. Grind roasted cloves, cinnamon, marathi moggu and green chillies with coriander, Mint, grated coconut ginger and garlic to a smooth paste.
3. Heat cooker pan and add oil. Add a tsp of mustard and when it stops spluttering add curry leaves.
4. Add all cut vegetables and sautee for 3 mins.
5. Add ground masala and sautee till the raw smell in masala goes away.
6. Add salt, and water (1 cup rice: 2cups water) and bring it to boil. Taste the water and check for correctness of salt.
7. Wash and drain rice. Add rice to boiling water and give a good stirr.
8.Close the cooker lid, place the weight. Cook it for 3-4 whistles. Switch off the cooker and let the pressure come down
9. Open the lid and mix the rice and serve hot with cool cool onion tomato raita.




This goes to Sri's Rice Mela