Mint Flavored Mango Rice/Pudina Mavinkayi Chitranna

Ingredients:

Sonamasoori Rice : as needed (cooked grains apart)

Enne/Oil, Sasive/mustard, Karibevu/curryleaf Shenga/Peanuts, Kadalaebele/Chanadal, Uddinabele/Uriddal, Harishina/Turmeric for Oggarane/Seasoning

Chutney:

Pudina/Mint Leaves: 1 small cup or a fistfull

Grated fresh coconut: 4 tbsp

Green Chillies : 5 or according to your taste (Thanks to a reader for reminding me :D)

Raw Mango Pieces from 1 medium sized mango

Salt

Blend the above ingredients without water to make coarse paste. Keep it aside

Method:

1. Heat oil in a skillet, add mustard. When mustard stops popping, add peanuts. Fry peanuts till crisp, add chanadal and Urid dal, when they start turning red, add curry leaf, turmeric and chutney. Mix well. Fry chutney for a min or two. Switch off the stove and add little sugar if mango pieces are very sour.

2. Add cooked rice and mix well.

3. Serve warm.

A simple and uniquely flavored rice dish for your new year celebrations. Enjoyy..

Gulapavate/Golpapdi - wholewheat sweet dish



Ingredients:

Godhi/Wheat - 2 Paavu (approx 500g)

Bella/Jaggery - 1.5 Paavu

Tenginakayi/Coconut Shreddings: from 1 medium size coconut

Dry Coconut shreddings : 1 big cup (for dressing)

Method:

1. Wash whole wheat, drain water and fry it on a thick pan. Blend it to a coarse powder in the blender

2. Mix shredded coconut with powdered wheat and keep it aside

3. Add half cup water to jaggery and bring to boil. Filter jaggery in a muslin cloth. This step is necessary esp if your jaggery has lot of dust.

4. Bring this filtered solution to boil again till you get a loose 1 string syrup (a drop of syrup pulled btw your thumb and index finger gives you a firm 1 string). If you understand kannada, go ahead with next step when you get gejjepaaka. Switch off the stove and mix in the wheat coconut mixture.

5. Make small balls out of the mixture and flatten them between two palms.

6. Dip this flattened Gulpavate in dry coconut and keep it aside.

7. A day old gulapavate tastes yummy than the fresh one. Enjoy!! this healthy sweet.

Awards Time :

Vanishri Bhat of Veggie Flavors and Indrani of Recipe Junction has showered me with 'One Lovely Blog' and 'Sunshine Award' to me. Thanks girls for thinking of my blog for being lovely and spreading little sunshine :D.

Baby Corn and Paneer

We absolutely loved this curry with chapathi. Try it if you like...

You need :
Baby Corn : 10 numbers (soak in hot water)
Paneer: 100g cubed (soak in hot water)



Tomato: 2 medium sized, washed and chopped into small pieces
Onion: 1, chopped into small pieces
Ginger garlic paste: 1tbsp
Kasuri Methi: 1/4 tsp
Tomato sauce: 1tbsp
salt and sugar to taste
Almonds: 10 (soak in hot water)


Other Masala:
Coriander Powder: 3/4 tbsp
Redchilli Powder: 1tbsp
Kitchen King Masala: 1tsp
Jeera : 1tsp
 
Oil
 
Method:
1.Heat oil in a wok and add jeera, gg(ginger garlic paste) and fry till the raw smell dissappers
2. Add kasuri methi, onions and sautee till onions turn pale and transcluscent
3. Add tomatoes and fry till they are mushy. Add in salt, sugar and tomato sauce with 1/4 cup water.
4. Blend this mixture along with 10 almonds to a smooth paste.
5. Take 1 tbsp oil and add mustard, jeera and hing. When mustard stops cracking and jeera is red, add the masalas (coriander powder, chilli and Kitchen King) followed by a pinch of turmeric. Add corn and fry for a 1 min. Pour in tomato paste with almonds and mix. Throw in paneer pieces. Bring it to boil on medium heat. Check salt and add if required. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.
 



Aditya at 8 months

Growing up fast and keeping me busy....

Take a look at Baby Corn and Panner Curry on Cooking station



Tomato & Chickpea Rice ~ simple and quick

A quick, simple and tasty rice..

Ingredients :

To make powder:

Coriander Seeds : 1tbsp

Jeera: 1/4 tsp

Fenugreek Seeds: 4 seeds

Chanadal: 1/2 tbsp

Uriddal: 1/2tbsp

Redchilli: 4 (adjust according to your taste)

Cinnamon: a small pice ~ for flavor

Dry roast/fry all the above and powder. Keep it aside.

For Rice:

Rice

Oil

Tomato, Onion, cooked chickpeas (kabulkadalekaalu) curry leaf and Coriander

Turmeric, Hing

Method:

Heat oil in a pan, add hing and turmeric followed by Mustard. When mustard stops crackling, add onion, curry leaf and sautee. When onions become soft add tomato pieces and fry till tomatoes become soft but not mushy, now add cooked chickpeas and stirr well. Switch off the stove and add the spice powder. Mix well. Add required amount of rice, salt and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with yogurt or raita.

Sri Gurupaduka Stotra

Facing both God and my guru

Whom should I bow to first?

I first bow to my guru because he's the one

who showed me the path to god

- Kabir

Sanskrit, english script : http://www.chinmaya-chicago.org/BV/Guru%20Paduka%20Stotram.pdf

Youtube Video :





Kannada text is my attempt to translate(using google transliteration online tool), so please refer to original text also if needed

ಅನಂತಸಂಸಾರಸಮುದ್ರತಾರ ನೌಕಾಯಿತಭ್ಯಾಂ

ಗುರುಭಕ್ತಿದಾಭ್ಯಾಂ    

ವೈರಾಗ್ಯಸಾಮ್ರಜ್ಯದ ಪೂಜನಾಭ್ಯಂ 

ನಮೋ ನಮಃ ಶ್ರೀ ಗುರುಪಾದುಕಾಭ್ಯಾಂ

ಕವಿತ್ವವಾರಶಿನಿಶಾಕರಾಭ್ಯಾಂ
ದೌರ್ಭಗ್ಯದಾವಾದವಾಂಬುಧಮಾಲಿಕಭ್ಯಾಂ

ದೂರಿಕ್ರಿತಾನಮ್ರ ವಿಪತ್ತಿದಭ್ಯಾಂ 

ನಮೋ ನಮಃ ಶ್ರೀ ಗುರುಪಾದುಕಾಭ್ಯಾಂ

ನತಾ ಯಯೋಹೋ ಶ್ರೀಪತಿತಂ ಸಮೀಯಂ 

ಕದಚಿದಾಪ್ಯಾಶು ದರಿದ್ರವರ್ಯಾ 

ಮೂಕಾಶ್ಚ ವಚಸ್ಪತಿತಂ ಹಿ ತಾಭ್ಯಾಂ    

ನಮೋ ನಮಃ ಶ್ರೀ ಗುರುಪಾದುಕಾಭ್ಯಾಂ

ನಾಲೀಕನೀಕಾಶಪದಹ್ರತಾಭ್ಯಾಂ
ನಾನಾವಿಮೋಹಾದಿ ನಿವಾರಿಕಾಭ್ಯಾಂ
ನಮಜ್ಜನಾಭೀಷ್ಟ ತತಿಪ್ರದಭ್ಯಾಂ
ನಮೋ ನಮಃ ಶ್ರೀ ಗುರುಪಾದುಕಾಭ್ಯಾಂ

ನೃಪಾಲಿಮೌಲಿವ್ರಜರತ್ನಕಾಂತಿ
ಸರಿದ್ವಿರಾಜತ್ ಝಸಕನ್ಯಕಾಭ್ಯಾಂ
ನೃಪತ್ವದಾಭ್ಯಾಂ ನತಲೋಕಪಂಕೆತ್ (pankateh)
ನಮೋ ನಮಃ ಶ್ರೀ ಗುರುಪಾದುಕಾಭ್ಯಾಂ

ಪಾಪಂಧಕಾರರ್ಕ ಪರಂಪರಾಭ್ಯಾಂ
ತಪತ್ರ್ಯಾಹೀಂದ್ರ ಖಗೆಶ್ವರಾಭ್ಯಾಮ್
ಜಾಡ್ಯಾಬ್ಧಿಸಂಶೋಣ ವಾಡಾವಾಭ್ಯಾಂ
ನಮೋ ನಮಃ ಶ್ರೀ ಗುರುಪಾದುಕಾಭ್ಯಾಂ

ಸಮಾದಿಷಟಕಪ್ರದವೈಭಾವಭ್ಯಂ
ಸಮಧಿದಾನವ್ರತದೀಕ್ಷಿತಾಭ್ಯಾಂ
ರಮಾಧಾವಾಂದ್ರಿಸ್ತಿರಭಾಕ್ತಿದಭ್ಯಾಂ
ನಮೋ ನಮಃ ಶ್ರೀಗುರುಪಾದುಕಾಭ್ಯಾಂ

ಸ್ವರಚಪರಾಣಾಮಖಿಲೇಷ್ಟದಾಭ್ಯಾಂ
ಸ್ವಾಹಸಹಾಯಕ್ಷದುರಂಧರಾಭ್ಯಾಂ
ಸ್ವಾತಾಚಭಾವಪ್ರದಪೂಜನಾಭ್ಯಾಂ
ನಮೋ ನಮಃ ಶ್ರೀಗುರುಪಾದುಕಾಭ್ಯಾಂ


ಕಾಮಾದಿಸರ್ಪವ್ರಜಗರುಡಾಭ್ಯಾಂ
ವಿವೇಕವೈರಾಗ್ಯನಿಧಿಪ್ರದಭ್ಯಾಂ
ಬೋಧಪ್ರಧಾಭ್ಯಾಂದುತಮೊಕ್ಷದಭ್ಯಾಂ
ನಮೋ ನಮಃ ಶ್ರೀಗುರುಪಾದುಕಾಭ್ಯಾಂ

Bombshell ~ our favorite snack

Wanna a eat bombshell?? ... :D

Years flew like minutes... We had lovely 10 years of companionship and we wish many more like that. Now, what has this statement got to do with bombshell? This was my dear husband's favorite snack. He invented(sounds so scientific!! take it in a lighter note) and christianed it 10 years ago. Anytime of the day he was ready for it and never got satisfied even after sending down 6 of them! Alas! all sinfully rich and delicious things are unhealthy :-( .

Oh ya!..this was a tasty alternative for samosas for us, as we never got crispy outercovering..ehehee..

To sum up bombshell, is a spicy potato stuffed in bread and deep fried to make it rich and sinfull :D

What you need :

Your style potato stuffing. It can be as simple as potato palya stuffing you make for dosa. You can consider adding garam masala powder to make it fragrant. Spice it up as you like.

Wrap :

Bread slices few with edges trimmed.

Dip: Plain flour slurry (1 tbsp of maida/plainflour mixed with 1/8 cup of water, a runny batter just to coat the bread)

How to make:

1.Dip your hands in water and press the bread by placing it between two palms. Repeat till bread is slightly wet from all sides.

2.Make small oval shaped balls of the stuffing and place it in the middle of the wet bread slice.

3. Seal the edges in oval shape. You can consider shaping it in your own way.

4. Coat this seal bread with maida slurry.

5. Deep fry in hot oil till you get golden brown bomb shells.

6. Serve hot with Tomato Ketchup.

If you are looking for a low calorie version visit Jayasri for Bread Cutlets

Deepavali and Vegetable Dum Biriyani

Trust you all had a wonderful deepavali. We had a feasty and colorful deepavali too. Sharing few deepavali moments with you all..

Diyas before we lit them...

Our Altar with Lakshmi, Ganesh and Shiva for Lakshmi pooja..

Now, after offering prayers to god, it is time to pray your growling stomach, so here is what we had :

We did not arrange it for picutre as we were already hungry so just took the picture the way I had served it for my husband. from left to right on top : Raw banana palya, badusha, gulpavate, chakli and ghatia sev, cucumber, down we have vangibath and plain rice with ghee. Bele saru and Yogurt accompanied the meal too.

Next day we made Vegetable Dum Biriyani with some left over sweets. Biriyani was tasty and thought of blogging it.

I was tempted to try it after seeing it in almost every blog. Everyone has their own version. On a recent visit to grocery stores, I picked up Shaan Bombay Biriyani Masala packet. Not sure why I chose to buy it, but it was a hit at home. Tips from many blogs helped to make this preparation much better. Here is my version..

Recipe Source: Various

Ingredients :

Mix Vegetables : 150g (mixture of carrot, french beans, peas, cauliflower-washed and cut into 1" pieces)

Potato : 3 medium sized (washed, peeled and cubed into 1.5" pieces)

Ginger Garlic Paste : 1/2 tbsp

Tomato : 3 juicy medium sized tomatoes (washed and cut into small pieces)

Onion : 2 small (peeled, washed and cut into small pieces)

Onion : 1/2 (cut length wise and deep fried for granishing)

Safron Strands : few soaked in 1 tbsp of milk

Orange food color : a pinch

Basmati Rice : 350g

Chapathi dough for sealing

Method:

1.Soak Basmati Rice. Soak saffron strands in hot milk. Cut vegetables and keep them aside. Cube potatoes. Boil vegetables till they are half cooked in water. You can combine potatoes with them too. Potatoes should be bigger pieces than rest of the vegetables. Pick half cooked potatoes, pat dry them and deep fry till they turn golden brown color.

2. Half cook rice, drain the water. Scoop put 2 small cups of rice and mix orange food color and keep aside.

3. Take oil in a pan, add onions and ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell dissappears. Add tomatoes to it and cook till tomatoes are juicy. Add in shaan vegetable biriyani masala, salt and cooked vegetables and mix well. Switch off the stove.

4. Take a non stick pan which has a secure lid. Coat the pan with oil. Layer rice and vegetables alternatively. Start with a rice layer and end with a rice layer. When you spread vegetables, dont forget to put in few pieces of fried potato. Close the lid and seal the edges of the lid with chapathi dough. Cook on a very low flame for 10 mins. Electric rice cooker (not a pressure cooker!!!) works BEST for this.

5. Remove from the stove and garnish with saffron strands, fried onions and serve with raita of your choice.

This is the simplest DUM biriyani recipe I could come up with which was tasty enough to crave for more.

Other Dum biriyani recipes you can look for :

Sushma's Hyderabadi Biriyani

Jayashree's Hyderabadi vegetable biriyani

Viki's Kitchen Hyderabadi vegetable biriyani

and many more such recipes which actually tempt you to make !!!

Sending our lamps, altar and festive food to decorate the blogs of Rekha &Sharon (Diwali Dhamaka), Blogadda ( Diwali Moments) and Emreen (It's festival time)

Happy Deepavali

 ಸರ್ವರಿಗೂ ದೀಪಾವಳಿ ಹಬ್ಬದ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು

Wishing all readers and visitors of Taste of Mysore a very happy and prosperous Deepavali



Pistachios Burfi/Pista Burfi

A simple and delicious pista burfi to celebrate deepavali with your loved ones..

Pista Burfi

Recipe Source : Various, modified to suit our palate
Ingredients :
Pista Powder : 1 cup
Blanch and peel out the skin of pista. You can put them in warm water to blanch. Wipe them with clean towel. Fry/Roast these blanched pista till crisp. You can use Microwave, stove top method to fry/roast them. Let them cool down. Powder these crispy pista to get chunky powder.
Nutmeg Powder : 1 big pinch
Cardamom Powder : 1 big pinch
Saffron Strands : few
Ghee: 1tsp
Sugar: 3/4 cup

Method :

1. Mix nutmeg powder, saffron strands, cardamom powder with chunky pista powder
2. Grease a flat plate and rolling pin with little ghee and keep it ready
3. In a heavy bottomeed pan, take 3/4th cup sugar and very little water and bring it to boil.
4. Boil sugar syrup till you get 1 string consistency. A frim string is formed when a drop of syrup is pulled between two fingers.
5. Add a tsp of ghee, and mix
6. Reduce the flame and start adding pista powder slowly, while folding it with sugar solution.
7. When the mixture starts leaving the base and comes together like a ball, transfer it to a greased plate.
8. Roll it with greased rolling pin. Cut into desired shapes when it is hot. You can decorate it with saffron strands and pista.
9. Our burfi was so tempting that we did not think of decking it up before we happily submerged it in!
Indulge and celebrate deepavali ............

Sweet Potato Halva

Is your sweet potato sweet enough?

If your sweet potato is not sweet enough try it out! Umm....the sweet potato I bought was sweet enough to have it as a snack, but I thought of making halva as I got reminded of it :D. Enough reason to indulge ;) isn't it? ehehee.. 

You need :

Sweet Potato : 2 (wash, cook till it is soft and peel the skin)

Brown Sugar/Jaggery/Palm Sugar : 1 tbsp (if the sweet potato is sweet, if not increase the qty)

Ghee/Clarified Butter : 1tsp

Raisins : Few

Fresh grated coconut: 2 tsp

1. Fry raisins in ghee and spoon raisins to a plate. Continue to use the same pan for making halva

2. Add powdered jaggery, coconut, and 2tbsp water or just enough to dissolve jaggery.

3. When jaggery has dissolved add mashed sweet potato and mix. Mix to make it hot and it will not take too much time for all this. Remove from stove and garnish with raisins and start eating!!

Sending this Simple Sweet to Preeti of Khaugiri for "Only" Festive Event started by Pari of Foodelicious

Lemon Pickle/Nimbekayi Uppinakayi

Pickles are tempting, irresistible and slurrpp.....

For a international reader who requested for lemon pickle recipe...

Pre Notes:

All things which are used for pickle making should be washed and dried including your hands :D

Knife, cutting board, pickle mixing bowl, Measuring spoons and bowl, Jar with a tight lid to preserve pickle are few things which have to be washed and dried.

What you need :

Lemon : Wash, wipe with a clean dry towel. Quarter them with a knife which is precleaned and dried. Try to deseed the lemon as much as possible.

Salt : Iodine free salt

Red Chilli Powder : Buy from Indian stores. These days there are many brands which sell red chilli powder.

Seasoning Ingredients :

Oil (I have used sunflower oil), Mustard and Asafoetida (Mustard and Asafoetida are available in Indian/Asian Stores)

Method:

Same measuring cup should be used to measure all ingredients.

Step 1. 3 Cups of Quartered Lemons = 1/2 cup salt +1/4 cup redchilli powder + 1/2 cup of lemon juice

This is the standard measurement for pickles that I use. Spiciness of the pickle depends in the redchillipowder used. To have good color, add kashmiri red chilli powder. You can use 1 tbsp of kashmiri red chilli powder for this measurement.

Step 2. Mix Lemon and salt and lemon juice in a container and let it stand for 2-3 days. Keep mixing once in 12 hours. Keep the container closed. At the end of 3rd day you can see that salt has dissolved and mixed with lemons.

Step 3. Add red chilli powder and mix well. Transfer to pickle storing jar.

Step 4. This pickle takes atleast 6 -8 weeks to be ready to eat. Mix the contents of the jar twice a week.

Step 5. At the end of Week 8, Spoon the pickle and cut the edge of the lemon. If the pickle is done, you should be able to cut the lemon with minum force. You can feed the softness. Taste the lemon slice you have cut, it should NOT be bitter! Now the pickle is ready to use.

Step 6. At this stage, the consistency of the pickle is thick. To thin it down, we use boiled and cooled water. Water should be luke warm. Scoop out as much pickle as you want to another dry and sterile container which you want to use everyday. Add luke warm water and mix to the desired consistency.

Step 7. Heat a tsp of oil. Add asafoetida, after 30 seconds add 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds. Once mustard stops popping, switch off the stove and pour this seasoned mustard over the 'thined down' pickle and mix well. This pickle is ready to be served!

To increase the falvor and aroma : Dry roast 1 tsp mustard with 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds separately. Powder them together. Add this powder at stage 3 along with red chilli powder and mix well.

Chutney Pudi Toast

Chutney Pudi is something one should have all the time in the kitchen. Here is a quick and tasty toast with chutney pudi.

This simple toast needs :

chutney pudi : 2tsp
bread slices: 2
butter: 2 tsp

Lightly toast the bread without butter. Sprinkle chutney pudi on the surface of  one bread. Top it with another slice, apply butter on the surface and fry both the sides till it is crisp and brown. Do not forget to enjoy it with a cup of coffee.

Green Tomato Vangibhath

I can see that Vangibath powder is one of the popular post in my blog. Here is green tomato vangibath for you all. It is different from Brinjal VB and tastes yummy too.

Recipe Source: Anuradha Kashi, Singapore

What you need :

Green Tomato : 1 big (you can add more if you like)
Wash and cut into small pieces.
Oil : as required

Sasive/Mustard: 1/4 tsp
Kadalebele/Chanadal: 1.5 tsp
Uddinabele/Uriddal: 1.5tsp
Curry Leaf few leaves
Turmeric: 1 big pinch
Tamarind paste : 1 tbsp if green tomatoes are very sour, you can vary this as per your taste
Jaggery, salt as per taste
Vangibath Powder as required
Rice : 1 pavu akki anna (approx 250g)

Method:
Cook rice (grains apart). Pour the rice on a big plate and let it cool. Use a fork to spread the rice.
Heat oil and add mustard. When mustard stops popping add kadalebele, uddinabele and fry till they turn golden brown color. Add curry leaf, turmeric, green tomato pieces.
Fry tomato pieces till they are little soft. They are still crunchy but soft too at this stage. Add tamarind juice, jaggery, salt and bring to boil. Add Vangibath powder and switch off the stove.
Add rice and mix well. Check taste and adjust as required. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Rangoli, Pattada Gombe Alankara for Navaratri - Review Article

Navaratri starts from 8 Oct 2010 and ends on 17 Oct 2010. This post is like a review article which gets published in any scientific journal. A collection of all links, posts, related to Dasara Habba or Nada Habba as we call in Karnataka. Most of the women will be busy in the preparations for navaratri, so I thought this review may be useful to me and to my readers.

Rangoli
Rangoli is an art of drawing intricate designs with bare hands by female member of the family. Rangoli is drawn using rice flour or lime stone powder. Having rangoli in front of the homes is considard auspicious and they say it brings good luck to the house. Everyone wishes to have rangoli (bir or small) during these festive days.

An interesting link about Rangoli/Kolam..click on it to read more..
Kolams are decorative geometrical patterns that adorn the entrances of households and places of worship especially in South India.
Small rangolis, easy and quick to draw :
Photo and Site Courtesy : http://bookslinksandmore.blogspot.com/2009/04/kolams-geometric-art.html

2. Few more everyday rangolis: http://www.kuzhalmannamagraharam.info/articles/kolam.html

3. Are you interested to teach your children? then check this out
Photo and Site Courtesy : http://www.pitara.com/activities/craft/online.asp?story=19

Few Rangolis for Prayers :

Hrudaya Kamala Padma :

Photo and Site courtesy : http://kolangal.kamalascorner.com/search/label/Puja%20Kolam

Check Our Kamalas blog for many more rangolis. She has splendid collection of rangolis for you.

4. i-Kolam is a fantastic webpage with huge collection of rangolis. They also have interactive rangolis these days. Check them out at http://www.i-kolam.com/

5. Little maths about rangolis : http://sunsite.ubc.ca/Djun/thesis/java/cutseq.html

6.  Border desings for rangolis : http://kolams.blogspot.com/2004/10/some-border-and-corner-designs.html

7. Lakshmi Sarathy's simple kolam designs : http://www.sysindia.com/kolam/index.html

8. Interesting designs from Kamats : http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/rangoli/index.htm

9.  Another rangoli blog  at http://www.kolam-sathya.blogspot.com/

10. http://bookslinksandmore.blogspot.com/2009/04/kolams-geometric-art.html

11. http://kaminidandapani.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/12/the-science-of-the-kolam.html


Dressing Up the Dasara Dolls

Most of us who keep the doll house at home also would like to dress up the pattada gombe (royal dolls) at home. Here is how a forest arrangement and Doll decoration is made...

Check out It's Life blog at http://www.itslife.in/ for a detailed tutorial on these two topics.

Forest Arrangement :

Dressing Up Pattada Gombe

Music and Spiritual

Also if you read kannada, take a look at navaratriya ombattu dinagalu at Sampada

For Pooja vidhana, stotrams/stotragalu in Kannada visit Pooja Vidhana blog

A note to bloggers and readers :
If you want to send me any tutorial for making doll house, or any preparative article for Navaratri/Dasara Celebration please send them to lakshmi@tasteofmysore.com

Arya Vysya Customs and Traditions - Wedding/Maduve

After writing about Seemantha, I had many requests from readers to write about many rituals. I just thought of recording Arya Vysya wedding procedures which will be usefull to me and others who are from this community. Among Vysyas traditions differ so I would like to say that this is 'our house tradition'/'namma maneya paddathi' for wedding.

Probably every Indian wedding starts with preparing the bride/Groom for the occassion. It may be haldi function in northern region or devara karya or harishina kuttuva shastra (turmeric breaking ritual) in our community in south.

Devarakarya/harishina kuttuva shastra/Chapparada Pooje

Preparations:

1. You need one oralu kallu (wet grinder)

2. 2 onake/long sticks to pound trumeric

3. 1 fistful of Uddinabele hittu. 1 new cloth or kerchief.

4. 1 panakada chombu (1 new glass/tumbler to hold sugar water)

5. 50 veelyada ele (Paan ke patte or u may even call them betel leaf)

6. Fruits

7. Flowers (bidi hoovu)

8. 8 holi colors

9. 10 buckets of warm water

10. Castor Oil or Coconut Oil

11. Pearls and Corals with few grains of togaribele(toordal), hesarubele(moongdal) and akki (rice) tied in a cloth which is predipped in turmeric and dried.

12. Decorative items to decorate oralu kallu/grinder and Onake

13. Chappara hakisuvudu on the day itself in the morning. Decorate chappara.

14. Soak moongdal, cut cucumber into small pieces, make green chilli paste to make kosambari for the guests who come on that day

15. Invite your neighbours, make a list of relatives who come on that day

16. Decide upon a menu and get the caterers deliver the food on time. Some people like to cook at home. Holige oota is a must for Atte (father's sisters) on that day so keep holige adige ready.

17. Tambula to all invitees

18. Hasidara (cotton thread which is used to make garlands) tavaru mane tali ponisalikke. Taali bottu, karimani(black beads), turmeric, should be readily kept in  front of the godess.

Early Morning around 6 AM: Enne(oil) shastra (ritual)

This is a ritual where by the bride and their parents are applied oil. All members at home will pour turmeric water on the bride. Buckets are filled with different colors along with two buckets of turmeric water. All elders at home pour this water on the bride and bless her. The bride/groom are not sent outside the house after this ritual till wedding completes. Bride and her parents get ready for next ritual.

Gowri Pooje , Venue : Prayer room of the house.

Pour sugar and water in a big new tumbler. Dip 5 betel leaves in the water like the petals of a flower. The tip of the leaf faces you in this arrangement. This is called kalasa.  Make gowri with turmeric and place it in front of this Kalasa. Worship gowri.

Place 5 turmeric cloves with corals and pearls in the oralu or grinder. Every married lady (relatives) at home will pund the turmeric with the pounding stick for 3 times. In the end, the pounding stick is placed in a vesseld having little milk in it. These pounding sticks are not to be kept inside the grinder or on the flour anytime during this process which means the process should be contineous.

Most of the time these turmeric cloves don't break, so they are taken outside and powdered. This turmeric powder is mixed with store bought turmeric powder. Make a paste. This paste is applied to the brides cheeks, hands and legs. Arathi is given to the bride.

 

Mix uddinabele hittu (Uriddal flour) with water and divide it into 5 batches. Color each batch. A new cloth is placed in front of the gowri and sandige is placed on the cloth. 5 married ladies will place these sandige. One color per lady.

 

All these 5 ladies (inlcudes brides mother) will sit together and stitch the taali bottu. They just link the beads to the turmeric clad thread. This thread is kept in front of the godess gowri and prayed by everyone. Arathi is given to the godess. Sing as many devotional songs you know during the whole procedure. Music creates a feel good atmosphere. I am sharing few pictures

Ladies busy preapring turmeric gowri.

Wet grinder clad in saree..ready to pound turmeric in it.

 

The next ritaul is to pray the chappara. All ladies at home, including bride pray to chappara with vermilion, trumeric, flowers and arathi. The cloth which holds pearl ,coral and dhanya is tied to the arm of the stick which holds chappara (you can see in the picture below). Walking inside the house we pray the threshold and enter the house.

Bride's father's sisters are fed with holige oota (lunch) and given madilakki (a ritual where by the lady is given rice, coconut, jaggery, turmeric etc) on that day. Distribute panaka(juice) and salad to all those who have gathered for the function before they disperse for lunch. Do not forget to given them taamboola (betel leaf with a fruit or coconut) before they leave the house.

Decorated Chappara..

P.S. Many terms stated here may not have english translation. Pardon my English. Non Kannada readers please bear with me :) Thank you for your co operation.

Lakshmi@tasteofmysore



Unde Majjige Huli/Lentil dumplings in yoghurt sauce

English Translation to majjige huli was bit difficult. But just thought of putting it up as it may help non kannada users to understand the title.

My little one is now 4 month old and he rolls over :) Ever since he learned this new activity he has been practising it very well to master this activity.

Coming back to the recipe, please refer/click on majjige huli (click on this to get the recipe) to get basic majjige huli recipe.

Bele unde/Lentil dumplings

Togari Bele/Toor dal: Kadale Bele/Chana dal:Hesaru Bele/Moong dal: Together should make 1 cup
Hasiru Menasinakayi/green chilli: As required / Ruchige takkastu
Eerulli/Onion: 1 medium size (chopped finely)
Kottambari Soppu: 2 tbsp (chopped finely)
Jeera: 1/2tsp
salt

Soak all lentils/bele for atleast 3hrs. Blend all lentils with green chillies, jeera and salt to a coarse paste.
Transfer to a bowl and add chopped onions and coriander. Make them into desired shape and steam them like idlis for about 15 -20 mins or till they are done. Dip them in Majjige huli and bring to boil. Serve with hot rice and enjoy them.

Lakshmi@tasteofmysore

Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi

Got this recipe from Monsoon spice. H.D.Bhindi was delicious. Thank you Sia and Chatkhor.

( Serves 2 people)

Ingredients and Procedure :

Bhindi : 12 no's (Wash, wipe and cut into 1" pieces)

Cut Bhindi and fry in little oil. Keep it aside.

Make paste of the following:

Almonds/Cashewnuts : 10 (Soaked in milk/water for 1hr)

Fresh Coconut : 1tbsp

Dry Masala:
Kasoori Methi : 1 big pinch
Kitchen King Masala : 1& 1/4 tsp (Garam masala can also be used)
Red chilli Powder : 1 tsp

Amchoor Powder : 1inch

Coriander Powder : 1/2 tsp

Turmeric : 1 big pinch

Other Ingredients :

Onion : 1 big cut into small pieces

Tomato : 1 big cut into small pieces

Ginger Garlic Paste : 1 tsp (if u don't like GG paste like us, grate ginger and garlic and put water into it. Mash it to releaUs into water. Use this water to have a mild flavor of GG)

Yogurt/Curds : 3tbsp

 Tampering Ingredients

Oil, Hing, Jeera and curry leaf

 Heat Oil in pan. Add hing and jeera. When jeera is red add Onions n curry leaf and sautee. Sautee till onions are transcluscent. Add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell dissappears.
Add all ingredients listed in 'dry masala' and mix well. Reduce the flame or you may burn the masalas.
Add in tomatoes and mix. When tomatoes start releasing the pulp add almond coconut paste. Mix well and stirr for a minute.
Pour in curds and mix well. Keep stirring for a minute or two.
Add salt to taste and a pinch of sugar and stir well. Depending on the thickness of the gravy required you can add 1/2 to 1 cup water and bring to boil on a low heat. Check salt and adjust if required. Add in fried bhindi pieces and mix well. Boil for a minute before you transfer to serving dish. 
Enjoy with your choice of flat bread.

Tomato Tovve

Ingredients :
Tomato: 3 medium size
Togari bele/Toovar dal/Toor dal: 1/2cup (1/2 cup holds 50ml of water)
Bellulli/Garlic: 3 big cloves (about 3 tsp minced/chopped garlic)
Red chilli powder: 2tsp
Tamarind juice : 1tsp
Jaggery-1/2 tsp

To be roasted and ground:
Jeerige/Jeera: 1.5 tsp
Sasive/Mustard: 1tsp
Menthe/Fenugreek: 1/2 tsp
Dhania/Coriander seeds: 2.5 tsp


For Seasoning
Oil-2tsp, mustard
Method :
1. Cook togaribele/Toor dal with water and a pinch of turmeric
2. Cut tomato and garlic  into small pieces
3. Heat oil for seasoning and add mustard. wait till it pops, add garlic and fry. Add tomato, salt and stir. Cook till tomato till it is juicy.
4. Add ground powder, red chili powder,tamarind juice and jaggery. Mix well
5. Mash cooked togaribele and add to the above mixture. Bring to boil and taste before you serve. Adjust salt if necessary.
6. Add a teaspoon of ghee mix and serve. 

Dosa Pan giving trouble? -Keep it Ready- Kitchen Tips

Hi there,

It's been long long time since I updated this blog. I am back with another wonderful kitchen tip. If you are a dosa fan and often use a single pan to make dosa and chapathi you might have experianced difficulties making dosa. Here is a tip!

Make dosa tava hot. Cut a potato/Onion into half. Rub potato on the hot pan. Now sprinkle some oil on it and rub again. Start making dosas. Voila ! it works

Readers Request - Mantras which helps you to concieve

Few of my readers have requested mantras which may help them to concieve/get pregnant. A good friend of mine had given me a book titled "Vishnusahasranama vishistha stotragalu" written by vidya vachaspati Sri Aralumallige Parthasarathi. Read more about Dr.Parthasarathy on Wikipedia. This book has mantras which addresses specific problems. Belief is everything! If you believe and trust Vishnu Sahasranama do chant this.

Buy a copy of this book if possible.

Source : ವಿಷ್ಣು ಸಹಸ್ರನಾಮ ವಿಶಿಷ್ಟ ಸ್ತೋತ್ರಗಳು
             Vishnusahasranama vishistha stotragalu
Author : Dr. Aralumallige Parthasarathy

"Shubhango Lokasarangaha
sutantustantuvardhanaha
Indrakarmaa mahakarmaa
krutakarmaa krutagamaha"

The book also reccommends to chant vishnusahasranama everyday for good results. May god bless you all.

Sabbakki(Sago) Chitranna

Sabbakki/Sago chitranna for sago lovers.........

Sabbakki/Sabbemu/Sabudana/Sago - 1 cup (take big pearl sago for this preparation)
Huli Majjige/Sour Buttermilk  - 2 cup
Hasirumenasinakayi/Green Chilli - 2
Eerulli/Onion - 1 small
Hurgadale Pudi/Roasted chanadal powder - 1tsp
Kottambari soppu/Coriander leaves - 2tsp
Enne/Oil - 2 tbsp
Sasive/Mustard - 1/4 tsp
Karibevu/Curry leaves
Kadalebele/Deskinned split black chickpeas/Chanadal - 1tsp
Uddinabele/Deskinned split black lentils/Uriddal - 1/2 tsp

Method:
1. Wash sago well. Soak sago in sour buttermilk for 8hrs. Drain sago and spread it on a clean towel to remove the excess moisture.
2.  Wash, green chilli, deskin onion. Cut chillies and onion lengthwise
3. Heat oil, add mustard. When mustard stops popping add chanadal and uriddal when they turn red add green chilli, curry leaf and onion. Mix. Let onions turn pink and soft then add turmeric and salt, mix well. Add sago and reduce the heat. Add hurgadale pudi and mix everything. Let the mixture be on stove till it gets warm. Add coriander leaves and serve hot.

Tambittu Arati for Kanyakaparameshwari/Sri Vasavamba

It is Vasavi Jayanti today. Vasavi Jayanti or Vasavi Kanyaka Parameshwari Jayanthi is the birth anniversary or first appearance day of Goddess Vasavi, also known as Goddess Vasavi Kanyaka Parameswari. Vasavi Jayanthi is observed on Vaishakha Shukla Dasami, tenth day in bright fortnight in Vaisakh month. We A.Vysyas are treated with good lunch in Vasavi Temples followed by various entertainment programmes.

Arathi for vasamba is made with Tambittu. This is a very tasty arathi that someone can have :) Here is the recipe for this tambittu from my sisters mother-in-law.

You need the following to make tambittu:

Akkihittu/Riceflour - 1 cup
Hurgadalehittu/Pottukadalai Flour/roasted chanadal powder- 1/4 cup
Shengapudi/Powdered peanut- 1/4 cup
Bella/Jaggery/Palm sugar- 3/4 cup or 1 cup
Ellu/Sesame Seeds- 2tsp
Hasikobbari/Grated Fresh Coconut- 1.5 cups
Onakobbari/Grated Dry coconut -  2 tbsp
Tuppa/Ghee- 2tsp

Method:
1. Powder hurgadale/pottukadalai/roasted chanadal and keep it aside
2. Roast peanuts, deskin and powder them
3. Dissolve powdered jaggery in 1 cup warm water and filter it. Bring the jaggery water to boil
4. Fry sesame seeds till brown.
5. Mix roasted chanadal powder, powdered peanuts, sesame seeds and rice flour
6. Add fresh coconut to boiling jaggery powder and cook coconut till it browns or takes up the color of jaggery
7. Reduce the heat and put the flour mix to the above mixture little at a time. Mix well after you add to prevent the formation of lumps. Finish off adding all flour mix to get tambittu. Switch off the stove.  Close and keep till it cools down.
8. If you dont want to make arathi then enjoy your tambittu.