Taste of Mysore: January 2009

Chutney for Buttermilk ~ Keep it Ready-Kitchen Essentials

If Oggarane is one of the essentials of South Indian kitchen, buttermilk is something we all love to drink after a major meal. Buttermilk is thinned down plain 'no-flavor' yogurt. A little chutney is added to this thinned down yogurt and allowed to stand for 10 mins and served chilled :)

We are recovering from avarekalu mania (though not yet ended) and mango mania has started! aah..mangoes slurrp! Totapuri Mango (Magnifera indica) is a must buy for us when we were in schools. The 50 paise pocket money (I think this had some value around 4 decades ago..) would be spent on buying one totapuri mango, candied watch on the wrist (strangely I could find them in front of Mysore Maharanis college during my recent trip to India, which I thought was obsolete) and if something remains ..then it would be for 'kallu batani' ..those were the days we really enjoyed them.

Amma made this instant pickle which used to be lipsmacking. Have it with rice (with uddinahittu) or as an accompaniment to your curd rice, chapathi , dosa anything almost but you must be an ardent lover of sour pickle with a hint of sweetness...and you will love this totapuri mango pickle. It is instant and can be refrigerated and preserved upto a month so with much merriment I bought them. It had a name at home 'kandurbindi' don't ask me the meaning as I don't know it either :D

You need the following to make Instant Totapuri Mango Pickle :
CAUTION : Experiance says 'not recommended for any other variety of mango' however you can be adventurous

Totapuri Mango : 1 (1 mango yields little more than what is shown in the picture)
Oil : 6 tbsp (Gingely oil recomended, any other can be used. I used SF oil)
Mustard Seeds : 1tsp
Asafoetida/Hing : 1 big pinch
Turmeric Powder : 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds : 4
Red Chilli powder : 2 tbsp (I used 1spoon spicy+ 1spoon less spicy varieties)
Jaggery Powder : 4 tbsp (it may require more, depends on the sourness of the mango)
Salt

Method :
Wash, pat dry mango. Peel it and cut into irregular 1/2" *1/2" thick (half by half) pieces
Heat oil, pop mustard seeds, add asafoetida powder, fenugreek seeds. Fenugreek seeds should turn red and this happens in few seconds after this add cut mango pieces and sautee mango on low flame till mango is cooked. When you pierce a fork inside the mango, the fork enters mango easily which indicated done!
Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, jaggery and salt.
Stir to mix and cook till oil separates. Switch off the stove and check the pickle, adjust flavors and re-heat again to mix the contents well. Take it off the stove and let it cool.
Store in your pickle container :)

MAJA MAADI with mosaranna ;)

Sending this red pickle to CLICK RED event hosted by J&B of Jugalbandi

Yellow Pumpkin Palya

Few days back when I saw Rak's Pumpkin curry here and Madhu's Pumpkin Curry here I got tempted to make this right away because there was pumpkin in the refrigeator. I did little changes to the recipe to suit our taste and delicious palya was ready for chapathis. Here is how I did it :

You need the following :
Yellow Pumpkin : 2 big wedges (gave me approximately 35 1*1" thick pieces)
Red Bell Pepper : 1 (optional, I used them coz I had them on hand)
Yellow Bell Pepper : 1 (optional, I used them coz I had them on hand)

For grinding :
Uraddal/Uddina bele - 1/2 tbsp (roasted on a tawa/pan)
Chanadal/Kadalebele - 1tbsp (roasted on a tawa/pan)
Wet Coconut - 2tbsp
Dry Red Chillies - 4 (it was spicy!, you can reduce it)
Coriander seeds - 1tsp
Salt

Grind all the above ingredients to a smooth paste with little water and keep it aside

For Tempering :
Oil : 1-2 tsp
Curry leaves, hing and little turmeric

Heat oil in a pan, add asafoetida, turmeric and curry leaves.
Throw in chopped peppers and sautee for 4 mins or till they are little soft. Add chopped pumpkin pieces and stir to mix well. Sprinkle water, cover and cook till pumpkin pieces are half cooked.
Pour in the ground paste, mix well and cook till pumpkin pieces are well cooked and still retain their shape.
Check salt etc and adjust the flavors according to taste.
Serve hot with chapathi.

DOSe / DOSA -Mysore Masale Dose, Set Dose

Almost every south indian household uses oggarane/tempering/seasoning in many dishes. From saaru/sambar to kosambari/salad oggarane adds aroma and enhances taste. By keeping this oggarane 'ready to use' not only saves time but it also saves the oil that goes in everytime.

What do you need to do?
Just make this mix ahead of use and store it in a airtight container. It can be stored for 2 weeks! Here is how I do it..

Oil - 1tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1tbsp
Cumin-1/2 tbsp
Fenugreek Seeds-1/2 tsp
Red Chillies- (4 broken)
Curry leaves-20 leaves (chopped)
Hing/Asafoetids - 1tsp (powdered)

Heat Oil. Pop Mustard seeds. Add cumin, and fenugreek seeds. Once enugreek seeds turn red add red chillies, hing and curry leaves and mix well. Switch off the stove and let it cool down. Once the whole mixture comes to room temparature, store it in a airtight container. Use it whenever you want :)

Fruit Salad; Gong Xi Fa Cai

It is raining tangarines here...A gift to us during Chinese New Year are tangarines. Peel an orange and just keep the whole orange inside your mouth and enjoy the sweetness of Tangarines......in the past 5 yrs I have not eaten a sour tangarine. I used them to make yummilicious fruit salad.

You need the following to make Fruit Salad :
(Recommened to refrigerate all the fruits for 24 hrs and then use them)
Apple : 1
Tangarines : 4
Pear : 1
Blueberries : 1tbsp (dried)
Almonds : 5
Figs : 4 (dried)
Golden Raisins : 2tbsp
Green Raisins: 2tbsp

Salad Dressing
Orange Juice : 5 tbsp (I squeezed juice from tangarine oranges)
Lemon Juice : 1tsp
Honey : 1tbsp
Cinnamon Powder : 1/2 tsp
Mix everything and keep it ready to mix.

Method :

Cut apple, pear, into 2" cubes. Peel oranges and separate them. Pound almonds just to break them don't break them completely.
Cut figs into half. Add in blueberries, raisins. Pour the dressing on top of the salad and toss.
Serve chilled or immediately.

Since this salad can be made in 15 mins I will be including this in SWC-Salads. Enjoii this refreshing salad.

Kumabalakayi Mosaru Gojju/Pumpkin in spiced up yogurt

I get carried away whenever I see cute mini pumpkins. Probably you will agree with me if you see it's picture here.......isn't it cute enough to pack it away in your shopping bag ? :P

So, in greed I carry atleast one of them promising myself to cook something tasty. In Kannada we call Pumpkin as 'kumbalakayi'. Recently I made mosaru gojju/mosaru sasive/salad(?) so I thought of posting it when I remembered FIC Yellow and the salad event at Cooking Station. The mosaru gojju I made here with little alteration can be made as a salad. If you are a pumpkin lover you will like the salad or mosaru gojju. Mosaru gojju is a thinner version of salad which is served as an accompaniment for rice.

Now back to the recipe of Kumbalakayi Mosaru Gojju, here is how I learned to make it from my amma.

You need the following :

Pumpkin : 1 big wedge / 1 mini pumpkin

Curd (Yoghurt) : approx100 ml

Green Chillies : 1 (use 2 for a spicier version)

Fresh Wet Coconut : 1.5 tbsp

Cumin/Jeerige : 1 tsp

Coriander leaves : 2 tsp chopped

salt

Method :

Cut pumpkin into 2" pieces and cook till done. So not overcook it unless u want it that way.

Grind greenchillies, coconut, cumin and salt to a smooth paste using little yoghurt and water.

Spoon this ground paste to yogurt and mix well.

Add cooked pumpkin cubes and mix gently. Set aside for 15 mins before you serve.

You can choose to season it. Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in kadhai, add mustard seeds when it stops spluttering add curry leaves, broken red chillies and hing mix well and add this to yogurt pumpkin mixture. Mix gently.

For Salad : Time taken is 15 mins.

Pumpkin : 1 big wedge / 1 mini pumpkin

Curd (Yoghurt) : approx 2 tbsp

Green Chillies paste:1/2 tsp

Cumin/Jeerige Powder: 1/4 tsp

Coriander leaves : 2 tsp chopped

Method :
Cut pumpkin into 2" pieces and cook/microwave till done.
Add yogurt, chilli paste, cumin powder and salt and mix gently. Chilll and serve.

Sending this yellow mosaru gojju to Sunshinemom's FIC Yellow and it will also be posted at SWC-Salads under 15 minutes on Cooking Station.

Edited to add :
Priti of Indian Khana has passed me Lemonade Award. Thanks Priti for showering your priti(means love in Kannada) towards me. I would like to pass this award to Ashakka, Raks, Sushma, Smitha, Ashwini Kenchanna, Mangala Bhat, Rekha, Sujatha, Banana Blossom, Roochi. Enjoy them girls! Make a cool lemonade for yourselves and chill out :D

Godhi Rave Idli/Cracked Wheat Idlis

We were very impressed by these wheat idlis. I did not believe that cracked wheat can be used to make idlis, so I kept postponing this despite constant reminders by my sister who had successfully made them in her house and had gained praises from her MIL. It made a very good breakfast to diabetics at her place and they could eat them with less guilt.

Godhi Rave Idli/Cracked Wheat Idli

you need the following:

Godhi Rava/Cracked Wheat/Daliya - 1.5 cups (1 cup holds 100ml of water)
Uddinabele/deskinned Blackgram - approx 2-3 fistfuls
Menthekaalu/fenugreek seeds-5 seeds

NOTE : if you feel daliya or cracked wheat is too thick to be used, powder the cracked wheat in your grinder to make it like rava/granular cracked wheat and use it along with bran for maximum health benefits.

1.Soak deskinned blackgram and fenugreek seeds for 3hrs.
2.Dry roast/fry cracked wheat on hot tava/pan till it turns golden brown and nice aroma wafts the room. Let it cool before you add.
3.Grind blackgram and fenugreek to fine paste with little water. Spoon thebatter to a airtight container.
4.Add salt, and roasted cracked wheat to the blackgram paste and mix well. You may little water if you feel that batter is very tight. Close the lid and keep it aside for 7-8hrs for fermentation.
5.Oil the idli plates, spoon the batter into the individual wells of idli plates.
6.Transfer these plates to pressure cooker/idli cooker. If you are using pressure cooker don't forget to remove the weight before you close the lid.
7.Steam the idlis for 8-10 mins. Start counting down once you see steam escaping from the nozzle.
8.Enjoy hot idlis with your favorite accompaniment.

ENJOI MAADI.......

Vothu Shavige/Rice Noodles

Another classic dish from my MIL. We were greeted with a full plate of ottushavige/ rice noodles at my sister's place in Bangalore and my MIL made ottushavige/ rice noodles before we flew to Singapore. These two plates are for me to stare at whenever I miss home, kind of storing it for my future nostalgia ..for next 1 year or more.
Making these noodles at home means we always make podis few days ahead, as shavige making takes more time . Here is a plate which was made by my sis and her family for us..

From Left to Right : Cup 1 : Gasagase Payasa (poppy seeds payasa/kheer), Cup 2: Ellu podi (sesame & jaggery powder, Lemon Shavige, Plain Shavige

Here is how my MIL and sis makes Rice Noodles at home .. :

You need the following :
1 seru akki hittu (1 Seru = 1Kg of Rice Flour ....er...serves about 8 to 10 adults )
8 tumblers of water ( the usual calculation is 1 cup rice flour : 2 cups of water )
Salt

1.Bring water and salt to boil in a thick bottomed wide pan.
2.When water starts bubbling add rice flour and cook on low flame for about 45 mins. Do not mix flour with water. Flour just floats and gets cooked . (You can close the pan, but make sure you leave some space for the steam to escape or else you will end up having overflowing water all around the pan. )
3.After 45 mins, switch off the stove and mix flour with water. Leave it aside closed till it cools down.
4.Knead the flour well and remove any lumps etc and make them into cylindrical balls. These balls should measure one palm length or less than that.
5.Take these balls in a vessel/idli plates and steam cook them for 20 mins.
6.Carefully transfer each ball to shavige mane/noodles making machine. Press them to make noodles.
7.You can use chakli making press/machine to make small quantity like 2 people for breakfast which I sometimes do it here in Singapore.
8.Properly steamed and cooked noodles will not stick to upper flour of your mouth. Eat a noodle and check, it is sticking, steam the balls for another 10 mins before you press them.

Here is a picture of freshly pressed noodles :

A closer look.......

Let these noodles cool down. Now make lemon shavige /sevai just like how you make lemon rice..

Sesame and Jaggery Powder (Sweet)

You need :
White Sesame : 50 g (roast and powder and then measure)
Jaggery :1/2 cup or more according to taste

Roast sesame seeds on low heat in a thick bottomed pan till it turns golden brown.
Break down jaggery into pieces before you put it into your mixer grinder
Grind both to mix. It may turn little pasty as sesame leaves oil if you grind to smooth powder. Keep it a bit coarse. Scoop it out and break down the lumps and spread it over a plate and leave it for 30 mins before you pack them in airtight containers.

You can use roasted peanuts and jaggery to make sweet peanut powder

Gasagase Payasa recipe can be found here

Lemon Shavige
Oil : 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds : 2 tsp
Peanuts : handful
Kadalebele/chanadal : 1 tbsp
Uddinabele/uraddal : 1tbsp
Turmeric : 1tsp
Green Chillies : 20 (slit vertically)
Curry Leaves : from 4 lines

Heat oil. Add mustard, when it stops popping, add peanuts when Pnuts have turned half brown, add dals and let them turn golden brown. Add turmeric, slit green chillies and currleaves and switch off the stove.
Pour this over plain shavige and add salt, lemon juice, grated fresh coconut, chopped coriander leaves and mix well and serve.

a plate of lemon shavige and Mysore Pak from my dear MIL..

Sending the predominantly yellow dishes on the first plate to FIC yellow hosted by Sunshinemom of tongueticklers blog

Sakkare Achu/Sugar Figurines for Sankranti

Sankranti or Sat Kranti which means 'good movement' is the transimigration of sun from one zodiac to another. Most of us celebrate this as a harvest festival too.Whoever celebrates it as the harvest festival should thank Earth for blessing us with fertile land so that we can sustain ourselves.

A little prayer to Bhu Devi (godess Earth) :

Samudhra vasane devi, parvatha sthana mandithe,

Vishnu pathni namasthubhyam pada sparsam kshamasva mae.

which means...

Salutations to you consort of Lord Vishnu,

Who is clothed by oceans,

And is adorned prettily by the mountains,

Pardon me mother, for setting my foot on you.

In Karnataka people celebrate it by exchanging sesame & jaggery  mixture along with sugarcane and

banana. Sugar Figurines are made and packed along with sesame & jaggery mix.

As children we enjoyed 'ellu beerodu' (exchanging sesame & jaggery mix) and the making of

sakkare achchu. We were rewarded with a sakkare achchu if we kept quite till mom finished her work.

We lined up and sat obediently without asking questions.

It was a joint effort of my mother and uncle in making lovely, yummy figurines.

Sakkare Acchu For Sankranti

A festive treat for your loved ones

Blog: www.tasteofmysore.com Author: Lakshmi Grandhim

Preparation time : 1hr Total Time Taken : 1hr

Ingredients:

200g : Sugar

2tbsp: Yogurt*

2tbsp: Milk

A drop: Food Color

Sakkare Acchu wooden moulds or you can use aluminium mini muffin moulds too.

Method :

1. Add just enough water to sugar and soak sugar for 12 hrs.

2. Bring this sugar solution to boil. Add 2 tbsp of yogurt and 2tbsp of milk. Continue to boil for next 30 sec to 1 min

3. Filter this solution using a clean muslin cloth.

4. Take 2 big spoons of this filtered sugar syrup in a thick bottomed pan. Bring this to boil. Reserve the rest of the syrup.

5. Once the syrup starts boiling, reduce the heat and keep stirring it. Stage 1- you see a lot of bubbles, Stage 2- When the bubbles reduce and starts getting thicker. Keep stirring.

6. We need a muthu (pearl) paaka here. A drop of sugar solution in water would come out clean like a pearl when picked.

7. At this stage, remove the pan from the stove and mix well. Pour them into wooden moulds.

8. Use a tooth pick to de mould sakkare acchu. Let them dry before you pack them off!

Notes:

1. Paaka(Syrup) stage is very important. If the mixture hardens in the pan, add little more sugar solution which is reserved. Make small batches at a time.

2. Soaking sugar makes a soft n melt in mouth sakkare acchu. Do not skip this step.

3. Soak wooden moulds in water for 2-3hrs before making sakkare acchu.

This is no party food. Jolada Mudde (Sorghum flour rounds, click to see recipe) and udaka are simple or comfort food. With little khara chutney (spicy chutney) your blocked senses gain more oxygen supply :D

Udaka is well mashed togaribele/split pigeon peas with little kharachutney and lemon juice. No tampering business...Dip hot hot joldada mudde in udaka and in khara chutney (if you dare to do it..I just show it ) and gulp it down... again no chewing please....just gulp in down! Everything should be made and eaten hot hot..so no left overs also

ಖಾರ ಚಟ್ನಿ/Spicy Chutney
Caution : Very hot chutney....

You need the following :
Green Chillies : 2 cups (washed, dried, snapped into 3 pieces and fried in a tsp of oil)
Coriander leaves : 1 cup loosely packed (washed, dried and chopped)
Garlic : 1 fistful
Cumin : 1 tsp
Lemon Juice : 3tbsp
Salt
Wash green chillies, pat them dry on a kitchen towel. Break each chili into 2-3 pieces. Heat a wok/pan and add these chillies with a tsp of oil and fry them till chillies get white blisters. Cool them and then measure.
Grind everything to a coarse paste in a mixer grinder. Store in a clean container in your refrigerator. Can be stored up to a month if refrigerated.

ಉದಕ /Udaka
You need the following :
Togaribele/split pigeon peas/toordal : 1/2 cup (1 cup holds 100 ml of water)
Water : 1 cup
Pressure cook with a pinch of turmeric. Remove water from the pressure cooked dal and mash it with a hand blender to make a smooth paste. Add a tsp of spicy chutney, salt and lemon juice. Mix well and dilute it with reserved dal water. You may want to adjust salt after adding water. Taste and adjust the flavors.
Best when served and eaten hot.

SWC-Salads under 15 mins

Fresh Vegetables and Fruits are treasure cove of many building blocks of life. Adding more of these to your regular diet is a healthy way of living life. I have decided to focus on 'weight reduction and healthy living' this year, so I thought of taking this theme for SWC. I am sure that all my SWC bloggers will actively participate and keep themselves and me healthy :D A eating plan is devised which I am going to try this year. I said 'try' la...let me see how far I am going to succeed. A baby step towards this is SWC-Salads.

Plan a good salad for lunch box or even to eat at home. It should involve less work and be tasty also ..errr.. a bit greedy eh? Never mind la..let me see if I can succeed or not ...

Few things to keep in mind while participating :

1.Use fresh veggies and fruits to make salad

2.Avoid heavy dressings like whipped cream etc even if you are buying low calorie products

3.You can use sprouts in your salads

4.The salad should be made under 15 mins. 15 mins involve peeling, chopping, tossing.

5.You can blog tips for making good salad if you don't intend to make a salad

6. A non SWC member is also welcome to participate

7. Your entries (blog name, URL of the post) should reach me on or before 9th Feb 09. Email to lakshmi at tasteofmysore dot com

No logo la..., just link back to this announcement also can....if you are not interested to link back... also can la...

All I want is your quick and tasty salad recipe ma... Come back to see the round up after 9 Feb 09.

Soppukadale Chitranna/Fresh Chickpeas in Lemon Rice

Soppukadale/Kadalegida is my all time favorite. It had been ages since I feasted on them. Winter vegetables like fresh peas, avarekaalu, soppukadale etc are cooked in different ways in each household of Karnataka. A housewife has to be creative to create as many dishes as she can out of them. Although avarekaalu (hyacinth beas/surti papdi) are available through out the year these days, the crop harvested in winters are most flavorful (sogadu tumbida kaayi as we say in Kannada)

Mom and MIL makes kosambari/salad, chitranna and adds these fresh chickpeas to upma also. We love all three. Here is Chickpeas Lemon Rice for you. The recipe for lemon rice is very simple.

You need the following to make Chickpeas Lemon Rice :
Chickpeas : 1 cup (Variations: cooked Avarekaalu/Fresh Peas)
Cooked Rice : 2 cups (left over rice is also suitable)
Green Chillies : 4 chopped length wise (or adjust according to your hotness levels)
Kadalebele(Chanadal) : 1tsp
Uddinabele (Uraddal) : 1tsp
Mustard : 1/2 tsp
Turmeric : 1tsp
Curry leaves: 8
Coriander leaves : 1tbsp (chopped)
Lemon Juice : 1 tbsp (or adjust according to your taste)
Oil : 2 tbsp

Method :
If you are using hot rice, spread the rice on a wide plate and let it cool
Heat oil in a wide pan. Add mustard seeds and let it crackle.
Add chanadal, uraddal and let them brown
Now goes curry leaves and chopped green chillies. Give a good stir.
Add turmeric and fresh chickpeas. Stir well again. Lower the flame and cook them with lid covered on the pan. Add little salt to avoid dehydration of freshchickpeas. Chickpeas get cooked very fast. It may take around 1-2 mins for them to get cooked. Swith off the stove.
Add rice, remaining salt, chopped coriander and lemon juice. Mix well. Serve hot.

Variation to the above recipe which is already blogged on Taste of Mysore :

Sprouted Green Chana Rice Where dried green chickpeas were used.
Sprouted chana usli - a stirfried vegetable
Longbeans and sprouted kadalekaalu palya - a stirfried vegetable

Also Check Out SWC-SALADS Under 15 mins on Cooking Station

Event Participation:
Soppukadale Chitranna goes to JFI-Chickpeas hosted by Sometime Foodie . JFI was a brainchild of Indira of Mahanandi blog.
My Legume Love Affair was started by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook. Also this goes to Srivalli's My Legume Love Affair-7th helping.

Trip down the memory lane.....

Missing home, winters and delicious food cooked by my sisters and mother-in-law everyday in our name......we are back here and back to routine as well. Month long holiday gave me some energy, atleast I was away from my normal office-kitchen-teach(Akash)-office mode. Days ran like seconds! and a month seemed too short for vacation :D

Everyday was a Sunday. I woke up with the wonderful aroma of avarekalu dishes and others which are my favorite and miss them in Singapore.

I thought of sharing few pictures of our trip ........

Shringeri is the abode of Godess Sharada Devi. The temple is on the banks of river tunga....

Akash enjoyed feeding these giant catfishes on the banks of river Tunga in Shringeri...

We enjoyed temple prasadams/annadanams and hot steaming idli, vada sambar through out our trip..

Chennakeshava Temple, Belur an architectural beauty. Belur and Halebeedu temples were built by Hoysala ruler Vishnuvardhana.

Akash tried to pose as shilabalike (stone carved beauty) and we all enjoyed his poses......one of them..

A shilabalike inside Chennakeshava temple in Belur

Hoysala emblem :

Chennakeshava Temple, Belurin brief...

Kapila Tirtha, Tirupathi

Before we flew to Singapore we quenched our thirst with fresh, cold tender coconut at uncle's coconut farm..

They grew maize in the year 08. Akash enjoyed playing on the maize . He happily went around the coconut farm picking little coconuts which fell down, jumped and played. He knows little kannada and little telugu but the farm workers knew only kannda yet he communicated with them in his English-Kannda-Telugu mixed language. They happily carried him on their back and showed him the whole farm..