RCI: Udupi & Mangalorean Cuisine Round-up

From simple stir fries to complex curries, from aromatic rice dishes to delicious desserts, from sinful appetizers to refreshing drinks, from delightful sea foods to tantalising pickles…we have it all!!!

A warm welcome to tantalising round-up of RCI: Udupi & Mangalorean Cuisine.

I know I am quite late in posting this round-up. The house moving stress along with mountain load of work at office kept me away from blogging and my other loved hobbies. Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay and a big thank you for all my dear blogger friedns for participating. I hope you enjoy this flavourful journey of delicious food cooked by over 55 bloggers around the world. So are you ready to taste test over 90 delicious meals of beautiful temple city Udupi and coastal city of Mangalore?

Appetizers and Snacks

Keerthana from Kitchen Vibes : Chakkuli
Archy From Archy's Recipe Book: Golibaje
Pavithra Kodical from Pakashale: Jackfruit Appa
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Phodis
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Boiled Banana
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Kele Phodi
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Surna Phodi
Lata Raja from Flavours & Tastes: Goli Baje
Sumana from Sum’s Cuisine: Halasina Mulka
Sumana from Sum’s Cuisine: Goli Baje
Jyoti V from Panch Pakwan: Goli/Mangalore Baje
Nupur from One Hot Stove: Medu Vada

Refreshing Drinks

Jaya Wagle from Jaya’s Space: Sol Kadhi
Deesha from Vegetable Platter: Kokum Tambli

Breakfast & Tiffin

EC from Simple Indian Food : Haalubai
Pavithra Kodical from Pakashale: Patrode
Meera from Enjoy Indian Food : Nanchanya Khadi
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Udidh Rulava Polo
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Bachanga Polo
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Masala Dosa & Potato Bhaji
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Sheeth ani Mooga Bette
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Pan Polo with Red Chutney
Meera from Enjoy Indian Food: Patrode
Varsha Prabhu from Vegan Treats: Sanna Polo (Spicy Yam Dosa)
Jyoti V from Panch Pakwan: Rava/Manipal Idli
Meera from Enjoy Indian Food: Dhoddak
Sumana from Sum’s Cuisine: Neer Dose
Arch from The Yum Factor: Paan Pole
Vani from Mysoorean: Taushe Doddak
Lata Raja from Flavours & Tastes: Neer Dosa
Shri from Tasty Touch: Neer Dosa
Keerthana from Kitchen Vibes: Soutekai Dosa
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Patholi
Vanita from Nan Prapancha: Kendadadya
Prathibha from The Chef and Her Kitchen: Mysore Masala Dosa
Lata Raja from Flavours and Tastes: Shavige
Ramya from Shadruchi: Masala Dosa
Sushma from Savi-Ruchi: Heerekayi Dose
Pratibha Rao from The Indian Food Court: Jackfruit Idlies
Asha Latha from Oceanic Hope: Halasina Hannu Hittu
Asha Latha from Oceanic Hope: Halasina Hannina Dose
Asha Latha from Oceanic Hope: Mangalore Idli
Archana from Paaka Shastra: Arasina Ele Kadubu

Vegetarian Side Dish

Miri from Peppermill: Udupi Sambar
Ramki from One Page Cookbooks: 10 Simple Udupi Curries
Rekha from Plaintain Leaf: Daali Thoy
Rekha from Plaintain Leaf: Sorekai Bolu Kodhel
Sushma from Savi-Ruchi: from : Sevu Bajji(Kesuvina Gojju)
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Ambe Sasam
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Ambuli Chutney
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Keerlu ani Valache Ghashi
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Chane Gashi
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Ambe Upkari
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Kosambari
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Keerla Neeli Sukke
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Kadgi Chakko
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Batato Alambe Song
Arch from The Yum Factor: Tomato Saar
Pavithra Kodical from Pakashale: Balekayi Ale Bajji
Sushma from Savi-Richi: Punarpuli Saaru
Ashwini from Konkani Foodie: Dhavve Adsaaney aani Magge Koddel
Ashwini from Konkani Foodie: Alsandey Upkari
Yasmeen from Heath Nut: Kosambari
Jaya Wagle from Jaya’s Space: Sol Kadhi
Pari Vasisht from Foodelicious: Sour & Spicy Bendekayi Gojju
Deesha from Vegetable Platter: Kokum Tambli
Preeti Nilesh from Khaugiri: Udupi Saaru
Smitha from Kannada Cuisine: Spinach Tambli
PJ from Seduce Your Tastebuds: Keerla Sukke
Pavitra from Pakashale: Gulla Kodhel
Deepika from Less Sugar, Please: Virsa
Abhirami from Soulful Creations: Udupi Sambar
Nags from Edible Garden: Mixed Vegetable Saagu
Jayasree from Kailas Kitchen: Bittergourd Palya
Lata Raja from Flavours and Tastes: Udupi Sambar
Pratibha Rao from The Indian Food Court: Ivy Gourd Gojju
Pratibha Rao from The Indian Food Court: Sprouted Moong Usli
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Gajbaje

Non-Vegetarian Side Dish

Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Raja Phanna Upkari
Arch from The Yum Factor: Mangalorean Style Fish Curry (Surmai Amshe Tikshe)
Shama Nagarajan from Easy 2 Cook Recipes: Egg Curry-Mangalorean Style
Veena from Mangalorean Cuisine: Chicken Ghassi

Sweets & Desserts

EC from Simple Indian Food: Haalubai
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Madgane
Mrs. RV Singh from Kriatv Vasari: Kashi Halwa
Jayasree from Kailas Kitchen: Keera Halwa
Preeti Nilesh from Khaugiri: Hayagreeva
Ashwini from Pakashastra: Kai/Coconut Holige

Spice Powders

Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Sara Pitti/Rasam Powder

Pickles & Chutney

Aarthi from Aarthi’s Kitchen: Mango Pickle
Aparna Prabhu from Aps Kitchen: Red Chutney
Deepika from Less Sugar, Please: Cumin-flavoured Coconut Chutney
Divya Kudua from Easycooking: Loshney Pitti Chutney/Garlic Dry Chutney

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Soutekai Rotti: From Coastal Town...

Soutekai Rotti

As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it.
~Buddy Hackett

And it was the same for me, well, most of the times! My Amma’s principle was very simple when it came to eating; respect the food that has been cooked for you. If you don’t like what is cooked for whole family then you as cook something yourself or go hungry! She would gently but firmly ask us to try every vegetable or fruits before saying no to them. Well, when I think of it now I can’t help but agree to her point as many a times what I thought to be uneatable turned out to be one of the tastiest foods I have ever tasted! Yeah, yeah… Mothers know best!

In spite of being stubborn and fussy eater for most of my childhood, my parents always made sure that my fussiness remained within four walls of our home as I was expected to behave and eat properly when we visited our friends and family! My Amma is known for her wonderful culinary skills among our family and friends. Her kitchen is a magical wonderland where she churns one pot of delicious food after another with ease and, of course, love! While everyone licked their plates clean, praising my amma’s culinary ingenuity, I for some strange reasons preferred and liked whatever my aunts or mom’s friends cooked! For me the simple dal or rasams cooked by them would always taste better than my amma’s cooking! As wise people rightly say “Ghar ki murgi dal barabar”, for some of us everything tastes better that is not home cooked!!!

And the saga would have continued if not for moving away from home and staying at hostel. First few days of hostel life was wonderful… if you don’t like what’s cooked in hostel mess, just hop to nearest restaurant and order your favourite food! Samosas or pizzas for breakfast? No problem… Big tub of ice cream for lunch? Go ahead… Gol gappa, Bhel puri or cups after cups of Cappuccinos for dinner? Who is stopping you????

Except, my stomach who stopped me and went on a strike after I put it into series of tortures! That was when I realised the true value of home cooked meals, especially the ones cooked by my mother. I learnt my lesson soon and started appreciating everything cooked by our loved ones. So my dear readers, if you are one of those lucky ones who are blessed to enjoy home cooked meals, especially cooked by your mother or loved ones, enjoy while you can! Trust me, nothing in this world can ever come close to the lovely food cooked by your mother or loved one that not only tastes delicious but is high in nutrition and love which is good for your health, heart and soul…

Apart from mom's cooking, other thing I missed after coming to UK is some familiar vegetables that are exclusive to Indian cooking. One such vegetable was Yellow Cucumber, also called as Dosakai in Telugu and Soutekai in Kannada. Few months back one giant Asian supermarket was launched in close by town and we have been fortunate to find some authentic south Indian vegetables and fruits on fresh vegetable and fruits section. Although these yellow cucumbers cost a bomb, I feel fortunate to get them fresh and readily available whenever my heart desires to eat something I grew up eating (and sometime hating!!! Now I know better!). These yellow cucumbers are generally spherical in shape and have shades of yellow & green coloured skin. It is commonly added in Sambar (Thick lentil soup with vegetable), Daal (Lentil soup) and also in making Pickles and Chutney. There is one another recipe from my native that makes the best use of this cucumber and it is called Soutekai Rotti.

Soutekai Rotti

The following recipe for Soutekai Rotti comes from my mom-in-law who makes one the best Soutekai Rotti which is quite different from what my Ajji and Amma make back at home. While my Ajji and Amma would grate the cucumber, my Atte grinds them along with rice soaked in water along with some spices. Lightly dry roasted coriander seeds, cumin seeds add heady aroma to the Rotti when cooked and the dry roasted red chillies gives this rotti a spicy twist. Handful of fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped red onions and curry leaves lends some crunch, aroma and flavour to this already delicious rotti and ground fresh coconut simply enhances the flavour and takes the taste level to new height! If you are lucky enough to get hold of this yellow cucumber, give this recipe a try and see your heart, stomach and soul falling in love with this simple, delightful recipe! This goes to RCI: Udupi & Mangalorean Cuisine hosted by yours truly.

Soutekai Rotti drizzled with Honey

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Soutekai Rotti (Spiced Yellow Cucumber Flat Bread)
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 4-6 mins per Rotti
Makes: 12-15
Recipe Level: Medium
Spice Level: Medium to hot
Serving Suggestion: Usually it doesn’t need any accompaniment but you can serve with Honey or any Chutney of your choice
Recipe Source: MIL

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Ingredients:
1 medium Yellow Cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into rough 1 inch cubes
2½ cups Rice, washed, rinsed and soaked in water for 4-6 hours
½ - ¾ cup fresh/frozen grated Coconut
½ golf sized Tamarind Pulp or ½ tbsp Tamarind Paste
1 large Red Onion, finely chopped
¼ cup Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
2 springs Curry Leaves, cut into thin stripes
Salt to taste

To Dry Roast:
1½ - 2 tbsp Coriander Seeds
5-7 Dry Red Chillies, stalks removed and cut into 1 inch pieces (Adjust acc to taste)
½-1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds

Other Ingredients:
Little Ghee/Oil for frying

Special Utensils:
Preferably cast iron tawa or you can use non-stick tawa/griddle
Lid to cover tawa/griddle
Spatula

Sliced Yellow Cucumber

Method:
For Rotti Batter:
Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds and dry red chillies on medium flame till the spices turn light golden red in colour, about 2 minutes. Let it cool slightly.
Transfer soaked rice, roasted spices, tamarind pulp/paste and cucumber cubes into a food processor or mixer grinder and grind them to thick batter (consistency should be that of an Idli batter) adding little water at time. Do this in 2-3 batches for better result. Transfer the contents into a large vessel and leave it covered on a warm place over night for the batter to ferment.
Next morning, grind coconut to fine paste adding very little water and add this to the prepared, fermented batter and mix well.
Also add finely chopped onions, curry leaves and coriander leaves along with salt to taste and mix them well. Let it rest for 20-30 minutes for the flavours to blend well before proceeding to make Rotti.

Proceed to make Rotti:
The best type of griddle or tawa for making this rotti is cast iron as it not only gives crisp texture to the rotti but also gives it a distinct taste. If you don’t have cast iron tawa then you can use normal non-stick griddle or pan.
Heat cast iron tawa/griddle on medium to high flame. Drizzle a tsp or two of oil and grease the tawa well. To grease the tawa, fold the paper towel into a wad and dip it into a bowl of cooking oil. Gently squeeze the wad to remove excess oil and rub it all over the griddle to grease it. Or, cut peeled onion in half. Pour a tsp of oil in the centre of griddle and use halved onion and rub it all over the griddle. Back in my native, we use dried yellow pumpkin stem to grease the griddle.
When tawa is hot enough reduce the heat to medium. Take about ¾ cup of batter in a ladle and pour it on the centre of tawa. Spread this batter into thick circle, of about 6-7 inch in diameter and about ¾-1 cm thick, with back of the ladle.
Cover the griddle with lid and let cook undisturbed for 3-4 minutes.
Open the lid and drizzle a tsp or more of oil/Ghee on the surface of Rotti and also around its edges and let it cook for another minute till its upper surface is cooked well (it should look cooked and shouldn’t be soft or runny).
Using wooden (for non-stick griddle) or metal (for cast iron griddle) spatula, carefully remove the Rotti from griddle and flip it. Ideally, the cooked surface should have turned golden brown in colour and crisp. Allow other side to cook for a minute or two after flipping.
Once cooked on both sides, transfer the Rotti to clean and dry plate.
Repeat the same procedure to make Rotti. Grease the griddle (if using cast-iron tawa), pour the batter, spread it in circular motion, cover and cook, drizzle oil/ghee, flip and cook and serve!
Serve this spicy and delicious Soutekai Rotti as it is as it usually doesn’t require any side dish. I like to dip in little honey and eat or you can also serve some chutney of your choice and enjoy!

Soutekai Rotti

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Notes:

It is best to serve Soutekai Rotti immediately as soon as they are taken out from tawa to enjoy the crisp and delicious Rotti.
You can also make a stack of Rotti and serve later, just like pancakes. Just ensure to keep the Rottis warm till you serve them in a closed dish. However, these Rottis will not be as crisp as the ones you serve immediately.

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Reminder for RCI: Udupi & Managlorean Cuisine

After exploring many states and regions around our beloved motherland, this month I am honoured to take you all to my native land to sample and devour one of the finest cuisines. The RCI for the month of July’09 is RCI-Udupi & Mangalorean Cuisine! Let's explore the hidden gems of beautiful temple town of Udupi and gorgeous coastal city of Mangalore all this month.

Deadline: 31st July, 2009

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and also in your e-mail while sending your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish, Type of Dish and Perm Link of the entry along with the gorgeous Photo of final dish.

Click Here or on the logo to find out more information on this event.

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Haagalakai/Bitter Gourd Palya: Bitter is Better...

Haagalakai/Bitter Gourd Palya

… Said smiling grandmother to her little grand daughter who, as usual, was perched on kitchen counter as she watched her Ajji chop bitter gourds for that day’s meal. ‘Bitter’ isn’t something that little girls liked and her feelings were painted clearly on her face when she twitched her nose in distaste and deep frown was formed between her dark brows. “Think of it, it isn’t for bitter you would never have appreciated the sweetness of one’s life”, said grandmother with knowing look on her serene face.

A wise word from a wise person who had experienced many highs and lows in her seventy five years of life and yet eager to embrace all life had to offer to her! That was my Ajji, an anchor in my life who showed me to slow down, look around, think and learn before diving into next adventure that life offered! Thanks to her guiding light, I have grown to face every bitter or sweet thing that life has to offer and appreciate the lessons they teach and not to shy away from them.

Astounding isn’t it? Even bitter gourd can take me down the memory lane! Is it just me or I am fortunate to have some company here? It’s simply amazing to see how food is interwoven in our paste, present and even future! And you needn’t be rocket scientist to guess we have bitter gourd recipe in today’s menu.

Haagalakai/Bitter Gourd Palya

I learnt this recipe of Bitter Gourd or Hagalalakai Palya from my mom-in-law during our last trip to India. Since soon after our wedding I moved to UK, I hardly got any time to spend with my in-laws. So it is during our month long trip to India every year I try to learn as many recipes as possible in brief period of time as my dear MIL cooks one delicious dish after another. Every year I look forward to a month long of relishing all delicacies cooked by my Amma and Atte. Well, doesn’t it feel great to be pampered and spoiled by your loved ones? And what better than food, which IMHO, is the best way to shower someone with all that love and affection!

Coming back to recipe part, I was surprised to see how simple this bitter gourd recipe was and when my MIL mentioned she cooked it in microwave, I couldn’t wait any longer to learn it and try it. The main attraction of this recipe is its simplicity and, of course, its taste. Yes, you heard it right. You many be surprised at how good bitter gourd can taste when cooked right with right ingredients. The roasted spices and coconut is nothing short of cherry on top of already amazing cake. I don’t have to stress the importance of bitter Rasa/taste in Ayurveda and the medicinal benefits of bitter gourd is better than any sinful cakes/chocolates for your well being. Since the ingredients used as Satvik in nature, they are not only good for your body but excellent for your taste buds. While jaggary adds sweetness, tamarind pulp gives it a sour note. Selected aromatic roasted spices with dry red chillies gives the curry heady aroma and hint of spicy taste and coconut simply takes this curry to next level of flavour sensation! And the best thing is yet to come. Since the spices are roasted along with coconut and the bitter gourd is cooked with tamarind and jaggary, this curry can be refrigerated for over a week without any fear of it getting spoiled. Remember to consume this curry in moderation as bitter gourd taken in overdose may result in heartburns.

Bitter Gourd for Haagalakai/Bitter Gourd Palya

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Haagalakai/Bitter Gourd Palya (Bitter Gourd Fry with Tamarind, Jaggary and Coconut)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 25-30 mins
Serves: 4-6
Recipe Source: MIL
Recipe Level: Basic/Beginner to Medium
Spice Level: Medium
Serving Suggestion: With steam cooked Rice

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Ingredients:
2 medium Bitter Gourds, sliced length wise, seeds removed and cut into 1 cm cubes
1 medium lime sized Tamarind Pulp, soaked in ½ cup of hot water and juice extracted
2-3 tbsp Jaggary/Palm Sugar
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste

For Roasted Spices & Coconut Paste:
1-1½ tbsp White Sesame Seeds
½ tbsp Urad Dal/Split black Lentils
1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
2-4 Dry Red Chillies, halved (Adjust acc to taste)
½ cup fresh/frozen grated Coconut

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 Dried Red Chilli, broken into 1 inch pieces
A big pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
Few Curry Leaves
½ tbsp Oil

Roasted Spices & Coconut for Haagalakai/Bitter Gourd Palya

Method:

Preparing Bitter Gourd:
Take chopped bitter gourd pieces in a colander and mix well with about 1 tsp of salt. Place a bowl of water (that fits well in colander) on top of colander containing bitter gourds. Keep this aside for at least 30 mins near sink. This way some of bitter juices from bitter gourd will be released.

For Roasted Spices & Coconut Paste:
Heat a pan and add urad dal, white sesame seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and dry red chillies on medium to low flame till nice aroma of roasted spices comes and dal turns golden red in colour, about 3 mins. Transfer these roasted spices to clean and dry plate.
In a same pan dry roast fresh or thawed frozen coconut till it turns light golden, about 1-2 mins, on medium-low flame. Transfer these contents to roasted spices and let them cool slightly.
Next transfer all these roasted spices and coconut into a food processor and grind them to smooth paste without adding any water. Keep it aside till needed.

Roasted Spices & Coconut Powder for Haagalakai/Bitter Gourd Palya

Cooking Bitter Gourd in Microwave:
Take bitter gourd pieces along with jaggary, tamarind extract and salt to taste in a microwave safe bowl with lid. Add about ¼-½ cup of water and close the lid. Cook this in microwave for 10 mins.
Open the lid and mix all the ingredients and cover and cook for another 5-10 minutes till the bitter gourd is almost cooked.
Now add ground roasted spice and coconut paste and mix well. Cook uncovered for another 7-10 minutes till all water evaporated and the palya looks dry.

For Tadka/Tempering:
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When mustard starts to pop and splutter, add dry red chilli, hing and curry leaves. Sauté it for around 30 seconds and transfer the contents to Bitter Gourd Palya. Mix them well before serving it hot or cold along with a bowl of freshly steam cooked Rice and enjoy this bitter goodness!

Haagalakai/Bitter Gourd Palya

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Notes:

Since the spices are roasted along with coconut and the bitter gourd is cooked with tamarind and jaggary, this curry can be refrigerated for over a week without any fear of it getting spoiled.
Remember to consume this curry in moderation as bitter gourd taken in overdose may result in heartburns.

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Breadfruit Song/Saung: Sing Along...

Breadfruit Song/Saung

“Akka, look at the sun I made for you”, said my kid brother who had lost his first milk tooth just few days back, smiling radiantly with deep dimple on his right cheek. There it was, bright orange sun with bunny teeth that almost resembled like amoeba I was drawing in my science homework book.

“That’s beautiful. Thank you dear… Amma…” I screamed, “Have you seen my maths homework book? I can’t find it in my bag”.

“Akka, see I drew your picture too”, said my brother, pointing to the stick figure with two ponytails with gaudy red ribbons. I looked at it in horror, no not because of gaudy red ribbons, but it was my maths homework book which I had been looking for since half an hour which now looked like M.F. Husain’s canvas with amoebas, sea weeds, and skeletons dancing around. The tears were welling in my eyes, and it was tears of blood. It didn’t take too long for little devil to realise what he had done. It was not the first time he was knee deep in trouble for displaying his artistic skills in his two elder sister’s class notes and homework books. Unlike my little sister who never thought twice to send him back with red finger prints on his back, I was Gandhiji’s follower when it came to punishing my brother. And importantly I didn’t want to be grounded for one week for hitting defenceless, poor little siblings even when they drew moustache on my face with permanent marker while I slept. Well, I did take full revenge by sticking long, bushy tail to their skirt and shorts but for now we shall keep this secret between us, OK? I tell ya, it’s not easy being an eldest in the family of major trouble makers.

So there was this amoeba, oops, sun with bunny teeth, stick portrait of yours truly with gaudy ribbons and few butterflies and birds suspended from God-only-knows-what-things; all artistically drawn using Camlin crayons, my own crayons which my dad had gifted for my birthday. Now not only I was left with my homework book full of my brother’s drawings but also broken crayons. It was no ordinary 12 coloured crayons but beautifully packed (yellow box I think) 48 different coloured crayons which I had proudly showed (more of a show off) to my class and enjoyed watching them twist their nose with envy. I didn’t know what hurt me more, ruined homework book or crayons. And the fact that my math teacher who adored my brother to bits didn’t help either. I knew she would simply accuse me for not being careful with my books and she wouldn’t like me pointing finger at this little fella who without any iota of doubt could beat Sherlock Holms hands down when it came to solving the case of hidden, out-of-your-reach, big-no-no books of mine!

That was the day where I almost lost my temper and was overpowered by violent waves urging me to spank the little devil responsible for my colour blindness. He too must have got the whiff of devil in me waking up as by the time I could lift my hand he had dashed out the room at lightening speed. For next half an hour I searched every nook and corner of the house; under the bed and tables, inside the cupboards, inside dark pantry and kitchen cabinets, every possible place where 4 year old guy could easily hide. It took me another quarter of an hour to search every bush and pots in our garden but I couldn’t find my brother anywhere. By then I almost forgot the reason for my anger and was getting panicky about my missing kid brother. The headlines on next day’s news paper and news channels were flashing in my mind, “4 year gone missing due to abusive and malicious elder sister”. I closed my eyes and prayed to every possible 3 millions of God and Goddess and also began with “Hail Mary’s and Our Father” by crossing my fingers for extra prayer effect and looked up at the sky to see if God was listening to my prayers. And yes, he was there and listening to all my prayers! No, not God but my 4 year old kid brother perched on top of Breadfruit tree, with toothless grin. Holly molly!!! I have no idea how 4 years old managed to climb the tree, and I made a mental note for my next science article on Darwin’s “Theory of Evolution”.

After another quick thank you’s to all 3 million Gods plus Jesus and Virgin Mary, I promised my brother that I will not beat him to purple. Yet, it didn’t look like he had any plans of climbing down, not because he didn’t want to but simply he couldn’t. Although he had successfully managed to climb the tree without breaking his leg or hurting himself, little brat had no idea how to get down. After few minutes and after good earfuls of scolding from my panicky mother and father, my brother was at last standing on ground in one piece. The tight hug with sloppy kisses from him was the one that stopped everyone screaming at each other and spread the smile of relief…. And if you are thinking they lived happily ever after, then think again!!! It was one of the thousands of panic attacks that our parents had to go through because of us, three toofani siblings.

And if you are wondering about my brother’s budding artistic talent then let me tell you that it took good long 8 years for my brother to finally restrict his handiwork to his own drawing books. At last my homework and note books along with every wall in our house could take a breath of relief from inches of crayons that suffocated them for years. And it took us quite sometime to get used to the clean walls and books without colourful pictorials that covered every inch, except for ceilings (thank God for that!).

I don’t have to explain this sudden gush of childhood memories that had flooded this post. Whenever I see a Breadfruit or Gujje (DeGujje in Tulu), my mind automatically switches to the day when my 4 years old kid brother had climbed the Breadfruit tree that we had in our small garden. My heart begins to sing the songs of wonderful, mischievous childhood. And to complete that song with a delicious dish today I am posting the recipe from my native, Mangalore. This is Breadfruit Song/Saung… This fiery, utterly delicious dish is usually made using Potatoes. But Breadfruit which is very common in my native is also used when it’s in season. Rubbery Breadfruit transforms into a melt in mouth delight when cooked in mouth watering gravy of chillies, coconut, tamarind and spices. You can’t help but lick your fingers clean when you taste this. If you don’t get breadfruit, try it with potatoes and they will taste equally delicious. So come along and sing a Song with me….

Breadfruit Song/Saung

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Breadfruit Song/Saung (Buttery Breadfruit cooked in fiery Coconut and Tamarind Gravy, a Konkani Delicacy)

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 25-30 mins
Serves: 4-5
Recipe Source: Home Spices

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Ingredients:
¼ of large Breadfruit, peeled, cored and diced into 1-1½ inch pieces
1 large Onion, finely chopped
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
1-2 tsp Jaggery/Brown Sugar (Adjust acc to taste)
Salt to taste

To roast and ground to smooth paste:
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
½ tbsp Coriander Seeds
6-8 Dry Red Chillies (Adjust acc to taste. Preferably Byadagi/Kashmiri Chillies)
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
1 large Garlic clove
1+ ½ medium marble sized Tamarind Pulp or 1-1½ tsp Tamarind Paste (Adjust acc to taste)
¾ cup grated Coconut, fresh/frozen

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 Dry Red Chilli, halved
A big pinch Hing/Asafoetida
2 springs of Curry Leaves
½ tbsp Oil (preferably Coconut oil)

Breadfruit Song/Saung

Method:

Cook bread fruit with ½ marble sized tamarind pulp, jaggery, turmeric and salt to taste, in enough water till it is cooked through, about 10-13 minutes.
Meanwhile, dry roast cumin seeds, coriander seeds, dry red chillies and hing till the spices turn light golden red and are aromatic, about 1 minute, on medium flame. Let it cool completely. Now add this with 1 marble sized tamarind pulp, coconut and garlic clove and grind to smooth paste adding little water at time.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When mustard starts to pop and splutter, add cumin seeds, hing, broken red chilli and curry leaves. Sauté till cumin turns golden brown.
Now add finely chopped onions and sauté till it turns golden brown, about 2 minutes, on medium flame. Mix in ground masala-coconut paste and keep stirring till it becomes little dry, about 3-4 minutes.
Now add ½-1 cup of water and cooked breadfruit and mix well. Simmer and let it cook for another 10 minutes so that all the flavours blend well. Add little more water if you need more of gravy and adjust the seasonings.
Serve hot with plain Rosematta rice or white rice or with Chapatti and enjoy. It tastes better next day.

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Notes:

Replace breadfruit with potatoes and follow the same ingredients and instructions.
If over cooked, breadfruit can become mushy. So keep an eye on it while cooking.

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Banana Appam: Sweet Treats for Festival of Lights

Sweet Banana Appams

First and foremost,
Wishing you all a very happy Deepavali.
May this festival of lights bring happiness and prosperity to you and your loved ones.

I hope you all are having a wonderful time celebrating Diwali with your friends and family. As for us, it’s another working day with deadlines to meet and usual grind. So we are enjoying quite Diwali with long day at office and simple dal and rice for lunch and dinner :) These days by the time I reach home I feel physically and emotionally drained after staring long and hard at the jumble of codes on screen and breaking my head in trying to figure out that small bit of code responsible for creating havoc in the main system. No wonder I prefer to snuggle under the blanket with warm bowl of soup and toast than actually stand in front of stove for hours together cooking an elaborate meals for the festival. Ahem, it’s not like I used to cook elaborate meals before ;) No wonder weekends have become real luxuries for us and are spent either reading books or watching some movies and sleeping till noon. When it comes to kitchen part, we have been cooking very simple food these days and we have been cooking everything in bulk which lasts for 3-4 days. It helps a lot when you come home exhausted and want to eat some home cooked food immediately.

I had no plans of cooking anything for Diwali this time. But somehow I got caught with the festival spirit while I talked to my Amma, Atte and sister who were busy making their menu for this festival of lights. I made up my mind to make something as long as it doesn’t exceed half an hour of cooking time and first thing that came to my mind was the sweet Appams that my mother makes. Last summer during our short trip to India, I had purchased the non-stick Appam pan which I had tucked on top shelf and it has been acquiring dust since then. With in a minute I washed and soaked two cups of rice in water for an hour and went on to finish few chapters from the novel I was reading. Then it was just the matter of using two poor looking bananas which were on the last stage of their life, a cup of powdered jaggery, few pinches of cardamoms to ground rice paste and voila, the smooth batter for Banana Appams was ready with in few minutes. With small ladle of batter poured on every hole of appam pan with a touch of Ghee for flavour, I was left with two dozens of small, sweet Banana Appams to enjoy for this Diwali. The aroma of sweet jaggery, bananas and cardamom wafting from my kitchen sure made me feel festive and transported me back to my home back in India. And off this goes to four events, Sweet Vegan hosted by Vaishali where Ghee can be substituted with oil, JFI-Festival Treats guest hosted by dear Valli, Sweet Celebrations at Aparna’s space where she is celebrating her first blog anniversary and WYF-Party Foods hosted by EC.

Sweet Banana Appams

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Banana Appams (Sweet Rice Cakes with Banana, Jaggery and Cardamom)
Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Makes: 20-25 small Appams

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Ingredients:
2 cups Rice, washed and soaked in water for 1-2 hours
1 cup Jaggery (Adjust acc to taste)
½ cup fresh/frozen Coconut
½ tsp Green Cardamom Powder
2 very ripe Bananas, peeled and roughly chopped
A pinch of Salt
Little Oil or Ghee

Sweet Banana Appams

Method:

Grind rice to smooth paste adding very little water in which it is soaked. Now add jaggery, grated coconut, bananas and cardamom powder, pinch of salt and pulse the mixer till all the ingredients blend well.
Let this batter rest for at least 15 minutes for all the flavours to blend well before you proceed to next step.
Now either you can deep fry or use Appam pan to make these Banana Appams. If using Appam pan, grease the Appam pan with little ghee and heat it on medium flame.
Pour the batter into each hole and cover the pan with a lid and let it cook on low-medium heat on both sides till it turns golden brown and cooked through.
Serve it hot with any spicy Chutney or hot Tomato Ketchup or as it is and enjoy.

Sweet Banana Appams

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Notes:

If deep frying, make sure the paste is thicker. And if using Appam pan, the batter can be little thinner, of pancake consistency.
I used non-stick Appam pan and it hardly required any oil of ghee due to coconut used which releases its natural oil when cooked. If using iron pan, make sure that you grease it properly.

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Banana Blossom Palya & Nostalgia...

Banana Blossom Palya

Wearing a long silk skirt with matching blouse, little Gowri was playing with her friends. Trying to push back the curls escaped from her thick, long braid and lifting her skirt little high to tie it tight on her narrow waist, this 8 year old was busy concentrating on catching a butterfly fluttering around. Little did she know that it would be her last day where she was allowed to play on street with her friends!!!

Just when she was about to catch that colourful butterfly, she saw her mother rushing towards her. To her annoyance her mother had come to take her back home. “Come with me little darling. You are getting married next month. You can’t play on streets anymore”, said her Amma. And to top it her friends started clapping their hands and chanting “Gowri is getting married. Gowri is getting married”. Large pearls of tears threatened to appear on her large beautiful black eyes which she tried hard to hide from her mocking friends. “I don’t want to get married Amma. I want to play”, she shouted and ran to her house.

Mother tried to console her daughter with a promise of getting her new set of gold jewellery and new Kanchipuram silk saris of her favourite colours for her wedding. With in few weeks her wedding took place with 14 year old boy whom she had never seen or met before. Sitting on a wooden plank next to her soon to be husband in brightly decorated Mandap, little Gowri was more interested at looking colourful flower decorations around her. With never ending marriage ceremony with hundreds of Sanskrit sholaks and chanting, she started to doze off in between her wedding ceremony. She didn’t realise when she was lifted from wooden plank and placed on her father’s lap and she was hardly awake when her husband tied sacred yellow thread around her neck. She was not a girl anymore but a married woman and became Gowramma from Gowri.

That’s the story of my Mudi Ajji (translates old grandma:) or great grandmother which took place in late 19th century. It was a time when child marriage was accepted norm in Indian society and children were married before they reached puberty. My great grandmother was one of those child brides and before she reached mid-twenties she was widowed with a small daughter on her lap. Still she managed her home and property with little help from her only brother. She was indeed one remarkable lady whom my mother and her siblings shared a very strong bond while growing up.

All I remember of her is a small woman with heavily wrinkled hands and face and moving slowly around big house with bended back. Little did I know about her strong determination, integrity and courage to survive in all men’s world!!! I do remember those shining, twinkling eyes which would compete with small diamond earrings she wore and toothless grin which would brighten the room. And I still remember her love and passion for cooking and you could taste her love in every mouthful.

One of her favourite recipe to cook was Banana Blossom Palya which is nothing but a simple stir fry served along steamed rice, simple Rasam and big dollop of her love in a form of Thuppa/Ghee. With many banana trees in a backyard Banana Blossom would make regular appearance through out the year. Mudi Ajji would sit on a wooden plank containing razor sharp crescent shaped blade and chop this creamy banana hearts into very small pieces. “Shruck, shruk, shruk….” the rhythmic sound coming from chopping the vegetables on that blade was fascinating to me. With in few minutes she would have finished chopping dozens of Banana Blossoms and take it to dark, steamy kitchen where magic was created every time she cooked. And within few minutes, heady aroma of spices from the curries would waft from big copper Kadais/woks placed on a wood burner stove. This Banana Blossom Palya mixed with perfectly cooked, steaming rosematta rice in its stock called as Ganji/Congee with big dollop of Ghee melting on top and big tender mango pickle in the side was one delicious memory which I relish even today. Crunchy onions and banana blossom taste are heightened with spicy chilli, tangy tamarind and crisp, aromatic tadka. Memories, sweet memories… make me nostalgic whenever I think of her…

Banana Blossom

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Banana Blossom Palya (Banana Blossom Stir Fry)

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Serves: 3-4
Recipe Source: Great Grandmother

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Ingredients:
1 Banana Blossom
1 small Onion, finely chopped
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
1-2 cups Sour Buttermilk or ¾ cup sour Yogurt mixed in a cup of cold water
2-3 Green Chillies, slit (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Tamarind Paste
1 tsp Jaggery/Brown Sugar
¼ cup grated Coconut, fresh/frozen
Salt to taste

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tbsp Oil, preferably Coconut Oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tbsp Chana Dal/Split Bengal Gram
½ tbsp Urad Dal/Split Black lentils
1-2 Dry Red Chilli, halved
A Pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
Few Curry Leaves

Banana Blossom Palya

Method:

Apply a tbsp of coconut oil to your palm and rub well. Applying oil to your palms help in preventing the sticky sap oozing from banana blossom sticking to your hand which leaves nasty black colour for few days. Remove the outer tougher covering and discard, till you see the creamy part which is called as Banana Blossom Heart. Don’t discard the florets. The mature florets will have black stigma and transparent covering which needs to be taken out before chopping. No need to remove the stigma and transparent covering on the tender ones. Now chop this banana heart and florets into very fine pieces. Place these chopped pieces in a bowl containing sour buttermilk till required. This helps in preventing discolouration.
Heat oil in a pan/wok and add mustard seeds to it. When mustard starts to pop and splutter, add channa dal, urad dal and halved red chillies. Sauté till dals turn golden brown. Now add hing and curry leaves and mix well.
Mix in finely chopped onion and sauté on a medium flame till they turn light golden brown, about 2 mins. Add slit green chillies and turmeric and mix well.
Drain butter milk completely and add these chopped banana blossom to the pan. Add tamarind paste and jaggery and mix well. Stir fry continuously for another 7-10 minutes at medium flame till banana blossom is cooked well.
Mix in salt to taste and grated coconut and cook for another 3-5 mins. Serve this delightful stir fry hot with rosematta rice, rasam and ghee and enjoy.

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Banana Blossom Patrode: Try Something New and Delicious!

Banana Blossom Patrode

Mangaloreans love two things, one coconut and another curry leaves. Between these two there is another vegetable/fruit which is indispensable to us and it's plantain or banana. Most of the houses in South Canara, even with small garden, will have one coconut tree and a banana tree along with wildly grown Curry plant swinging to cool evening breeze. I grew up with three banana plants in the backyard and hundreds of them in our estate. So it is no surprise that I have tasted almost everything cooked from its stem, fruit and even its flower/blossom using banana leaves as organic and bio-degradable plates.

I have had tasted many recipes using Banana Blossoms ranging from simple stir-fries to delicious Chutneys cooked by my Amma, aunts and Ajji. Our recent summer trip to India I was first time introduced one very novel dish by my mother in law and that dish is Banana Blossom Patrode. Last year during casual chat with my MIL she mentioned about making Patrode/Patra using Banana Blossom and like any foodie I was totally intrigued and couldn’t wait to try it. In spite of being really busy with the last minute wedding preparation of my BIL’s, my Atte managed to cook this for me. And to my surprise it turned out to be one of the very best foods I have ever tasted. I have been craving for this Patrode ever since we came back from India but never got around to make this as Banana Blossom is not easily available at my neck of woods and I was not very sure if I will be able to manage chop them in a right way and cook without any problem.

During our recent trip to down under (nope, not Aussie ;) I couldn’t resist from buying two banana blossoms in hope of making patrode. And boy, did I manage to cook it beautifully or what!!! Traditionally Patrode is made using Taro/Colacasia Leaves by spreading spicy paste on their surface, rolling and then cooked to perfection using a steamer. Same spicy batter is used here but banana blossom is used in place of taro leaves and no rolling is involved. This was the first time I have ever used Banana Blossom in cooking without any help from my mother or MIL and I was really proud with the end result. Except for laborious cleaning and chopping of banana blossom, this is really a very simple recipe and can be cooked very quickly. To top it all, it can be simply stored in a freezer for months together. Banana Blossom Patrode is spicy with mild note of sweet and tanginess from dry red chillies, tamarind, coconut and jaggery used; a taste which is hard to resist and even harder to forget. Without further delay let me give you step by step instructions on how to make Banana Blossom Patrode and please make sure that you go through the instructions carefully before cooking it. I am sening it to this week's Weekend Herb Blogging guest hosted by Zorra & initiated by dear Kalyn.

Banana Blossom & Florets

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Banana Blossom Patrode (Steam cooked & Pan fried Spicy Rice Cakes made using Banana Blossoms)

Prep Time: 15-20 mins
Cooing Time: 20-30 mins
Serves: 4-6
Recipe Source: MIL

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Ingredients:
1 Banana Blossom
1 large Onion, finely chopped
2-3 tbsp Oil, preferably Coconut Oil
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
10-12 Curry Leaves, finely chopped

Grind to thick Batter (Dosa batter consistency):
2 cups Rice, washed and soaked overnight for about 8-10 hrs
½ packed cup Coconut, fresh/frozen/dried
1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
½ -¾ tbsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
Medium lime sized Tamarind Pulp (Adjust acc to taste)
6-8 Dry Red Chillies (Adjust acc to taste)
1 inch cube Jaggery
Salt to taste

Banana Blossom Patrode- Before Steaming

Method:

Drain water from rice and grind it to smooth batter by adding water and all the ingredients listed above. Make sure that you have little thick batter than that of dosa batter consistency. Adjust tamarind, chillies and jaggery according to your preference.
Now comes the little tricky bit of chopping the banana flower. First apply 1 tbsp of coconut oil to your palm and rub well. Applying oil to your palms help in preventing the sticky sap oozing from banana blossom to your hand which leaves nasty black colour for few days. Remove the outer tougher covering and discard, around 2-4 outer tough skins. In my case I had to remove two outer skins. Don’t discard the florets. Now chop this banana flower and florets into very fine pieces.
Usually these chopped pieces are soaked in very sour butter milk to prevent from discolouring. In spite of doing so it discolours to some extent. So you can simply skip this step as we will be mixing them in the prepared batter.
Add 2-3 tbsp of Coconut oil and mix them well. This way you can easily separate layers which otherwise would be sticking to one another.
Now add this chopped banana flower, finely chopped onion, turmeric and chopped curry leaves to the ground batter and mix well.
Here comes the important step of steaming. You can either use usual Idli stand or flat bottomed vessel and steam cook them in a streamer or pressure cooker without putting its weight. Or another best way is to wrap it in banana leaves and steam cook it, same way as Genasale. I have used Tatte-Idli Stand. Grease the plates with oil and pour the batter with ladle into each plate. Place each plate back in the stand and steam cook in pressure cook or Idli steamer or Steamer for about 20-30 minutes till cooked properly.
Let it cool for 5 minutes before opening the lid. Remove cooked Patrode from plates and cut them into desired shapes. You can serve it with Ghee/Coconut oil or proceed to next step.
Heat tawa/griddle and place cut Patrode pieces on it. Add a tsp of Oil/Ghee for each piece and cook on both the sides for about 2 minutes till nice brown spots starts to appear on the surface.
Serve it immediately with or without any chutney or plain tomato ketchup and enjoy. It tastes best when roasted with Ghee/Coconut Oil.

Banana Blossom Patrode- After Steam cooked and Pan fried

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Notes:

Banana Blossom or Banana Heart grows on the end of long stem holding cluster of Bananas and this deep cherry red blossom is id considered as one of the delicacy in southern Indian states, both when cooked or eaten raw. Banana blossom has layers of tightly packed reddish flaps which wrap around rows of creamy florets with black stigma. Usually this black, hard stigma and transparent covering on every floret is removed as they are difficult to cook. I skipped this step as the steaming process helps in cooking them thoroughly. You can go ahead and remove them or just leave them as they are.
Try to stick to the amount of Tamarind and Jaggery used as they helps in mellowing the bitter taste of Banana Blossoms and spicy red chillies. If using old tamarind, reduce the quantity by ¾ th of the original quantity.
To steam cook, add about water depending on the size of pressure cooker you use. In my case I had to add about 2½ cups of water (about 1½-2 inches). Place the Idli stand and cover the lid without putting its weight and steam cook for about 20-30 mins.
The left over Patrode pieces can be stored in zip lock bag once they are completely cooled and can be frozen for about 1-2 months in freezer. When needed heat then in microwave (don’t thaw) and then roast them on tawa with ghee/oil and serve.

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Carrot, Beans & Channa Dal Palya - For Simple Food Lovers

Carrot-Beans-Channa Dal Palya

For all the rants, ramblings, and grumblings you read in my blog, I won’t be surprised if you think I am very social and chatty person in real world!!! But people who know me very well in real world would laugh out laud if someone even suggests that. I am one of those people who hate the lime-lights and small social talks and are comfortable when I am with few people who are very close to me. To be frank, I shy away from moments like that. So it is great surprise to my family and friends who read my blog how out spoken and chatty I am while posting recipes and how easily I share my feelings or memories with total strangers. You see, it took them quite long of time and lots of patience to know and understand me ;) Many people I met still believe I have major attitude problem where in reality they fail to notice how difficult I find it when it comes to small talks. Life is full of contradictions and after all we are just humans!!! So that’s why I have many friends but very few close friends.

Likewise, I have many favourite recipes but very few which I like to eat every other day. These recipes are simple and homely, just like me ;) One such recipe which I cook very often and eat is Palya or simple vegetable stir-fry. Vegetables stir fried with a tempering of nutty channa and urad dal and mustard with a hint of spice from chillies, both dry red and fresh green, and sweet note of jaggery, with minimal oil what makes it healthy, quick and utterly delicious side dish. This time I made it bit different from usual vegetable stir fries. Usually my Amma made Carrot-Beans Palya where small pieces of Carrots and French Beans are stir fried with few spices. In the end she would squeeze few tsp of fresh lime juice giving it a little sour note. Addition of channa dal as one of the main ingredient is inspired from Sailu’s Kobbari Senaga Pappu Kura recipe. So please do refer to her blog for another healthy way to eat your vegetables and lentils and to see beautiful photos. I used Runner Beans, which I have become very fond of, instead of French Beans. What I loved the most is the nutty taste of cooked Channa Dal. The Palya was so delicious I ended up eating it as lunch and later at night I served it as side dish with Phulkas and simple Tadka Dal. I am sending this bowl of Carrot-Beans-Channa Dal Palya to dear Pooja for her Theme-Independence Day event and also to Anisheetu who is guest hosting SWC-Karnataka.

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Carrot-Beans-Channa Dal Palya (Stir Fried Vegetables with Lentils)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 25-30 mins
Serves: 4-5
Recipe Inspiration: Sailu’s Food

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Ingredients:
½ cup Channa Dal/Split Bengal Gram
1 cup Carrot, peeled & cut into 1 cm cubes
2 cups Runner Beans, cut into 1 cm pieces (alternately you can use French Beans or other beans of your choice and availability)
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Jaggery (adjust acc to taste)
2 Green Chillies, slit
1-2 tbsp grated Coconut, fresh/frozen
1-2 tbsp Fresh Lime Juice (adjust acc to taste)
Salt to taste

For Tadka/Tempering:
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Urad Dal
1 tsp Channa Dal
1-2 Dry Red Chillies, halved
Big pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
Few Curry Leaves
½ tbsp Oil

Carrot, Runner Beans & Channa Dal

Method:

Wash dal, 2-3 times, in clean water till the water turns clear. Place it in a pressure cooker or any thick bottomed vessel with lid. To this, add turmeric powder and few drops water. Cook covered in 1½-2 cups of water till it is cooked thoroughly, stirring in between. Make sure the dal should not turn mushy and should retain its shape. I cooked using thick bottomed pot and it took around 15-17 mins to cook. If using pressure cooker, cook for 8-10 mins or just one whistle. Drain water and keep it aside till needed.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. Once mustard starts to pop and splutter, add urad dal, channa dal, broken dry red chillies, curry leaves and hing. Sauté till dals turns light golden yellow. Now add jeera and sauté for few more seconds till it turns light brown.
Mix in chopped carrots, runner beans, slit green chilli, salt to taste and jaggery. Add about tbsp of water and cook covered for about 5 mins on medium to low flame. Open the lid and mix cooked channa dal and mix well. At this stage add another tbsp or two of water and mix well. Cook covered for further 5-10 mins on medium to low flame, stirring in between to make sure vegetables doesn’t stick to the pan.
Mix fresh/frozen grated coconut and fresh lime juice and switch off the flame. Serve this hot with Rice/Chapatti/Phulka and Rasam/Dal or serve as evening snack.

Carrot-Beans-Channa Dal Palya

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Note:
Same dish can be prepared using other vegetables like Cauliflower, French Beans, Potatoes, and Capsicum/Bell Peppers.
Vary the quantity of carrot, beans and channa dal used according to your preference and taste.

Other Palya recipes blogged so far

• Tondekai/Tindora Palya
• Tender Jackfruit Palya
• Masala Badane/Eggplant Palya
• Fried Bendekai/Bhindi Palya
• Bell Pepper-Carrot Palya
• Sweet & Sour Badane/Eggplant Palya
• Green Peas-Cauliflower Palya
• Uppu Mavinakai (Mangoes in Brine) Palya
• Tondekai/Tindora-Cashew Palya
• Green Peas-Cabbage Palya

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Reminder for JFI-Soya:

I invite you all to celebrate Jihva for Ingredients with this month’s theme JFI-Soya. Choice of Soya products, the recipe, ingredients, method etc is entirely left to you. I would greatly appreciate if you can send me any Vegan or Vegetarian recipes but I leave it to your choice. Soya foods include tofu, tempeh, textured vegetable protein (chunks, mince etc), miso, soya sauces, soya oil and margarine, and soya dairy alternatives.

Deadline: 31st August, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and also in your e-mail while sending your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish, Type of Dish and Perm Link of the entry along with the gorgeous Photo of final dish.

Click Here or on the logo to find out more information on this event.
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Another Milestone and Another Palya: Tondekai Palya

Tondekai Palya

Did you know I was and I am busy these days? If not, now you know;) I have been and I am extremely busy these days. What with new project I started working on which takes most of my time and attention, it feels like I am walking on some tight rope balancing home in one hand and office in another! And strangely I am quite enjoying myself! Oh, I can be wild and crazy sometimes and I do surprise myself many a times.

The main agenda of this post is to let you know my infrequent blog hopping these days. As much as I love to visit your blogs and leave my very "valuable" feedback(he he he;), I am simply not able to do it because of my work schedule. You see my boss won’t be impressed when he comes to know I am spending more time by reading blogs instead of working on meeting my deadlines. And with this shooting inflation and drowning job market scenario I don’t think it will be wise on my part to blog-hop and then en up job-hopping ;) And another reason was I wanted to quickly reach another milestone of making 200th post. I had to choose between either spending time in leaving comments or making my 200th post and selfish me opted for the latter. And horrors of horrors I just realised that I had crossed my 200th post without knowing!!! Now you know how busy I have been. In fact this is my 204th post!!! Now raise your glass and toast for reaching 200 mark ;) Thank you, Thank you…

Ok, I won’t bore you with my rants. As much as I like to rant I know I should stick to main purpose of this blog which is food. Today I am posting one simple recipe from my home town. Yes, another Palya or stir-fry recipe which is one of my favourite. This time it is Tondekai Palya or Ivy Gourd/Tindora Stir Fry. Crunchy Ivy Gourd is stir fried with fresh Coconut and very few spices. What you end up having is one delicious stir fry of crunchy tindora with light note of spices used in tempering and sweet touch of coconut. I usually like to have it with Rosematta Ganji/Kanji with a dollop of Ghee (Indian clarified butter). You can also serve this Palya with Chapatti and Dal or just warp it in Chapatti for picnics and light meal. Less fattening, less time to cook and tastes delicious, what more we can ask for!

Tondekai Palya

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Tondekai Palya (Tindora/Ivy Gourd Stir Fry)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 10-15 mins
Serves: 4-5

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Ingredients:
20-25 Tondekai/Tindora/Ivy Gourds, washed, dried and cut into ½ cm discs
½ cup Coconut, fresh or frozen
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
1-2 Green Chillies, slit (adjust acc to taste)
½ tbsp Jaggery (adjust acc to taste)
Salt to taste

For Tadka/Tempering:
½ tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Urad Dal/Split Black Gram
1 tbsp Channa Dal/Split Bengal Gram
1 Dry Red Chilli, halved
Few Curry Laves
Pinch of Hing/Asafoetida

Tondekai/Tindora/Ivy Gourd

Method:

Heat oil in a pan or wok and add mustard seeds. When it starts to pop and splutter, add channa dal, urad dal, halved dry red chilli, hing and curry leaves. Sauté till channa and urad dal turns golden brown in colour, about 1-2 mins.
Mix in tindora discs, turmeric powder, slit green chillies and jaggery. Stir fry it on medium flame for 3-5 mins till tindora starts to turn light brown on edge.
Now add salt to taste and about ½ - ¾ cups of water and mix well. Cover and cook for another 3-5 mins till tindora is almost cooked. Open the lid and let it cook for another minute or two till all the water is absorbed and tindora is cooked but retains its crunch.
Switch off the flame and mix grated coconut. Serve it hot with Chapatti, Rosematta rice or any other rice or your choice and enjoy.

Tondekai Palya with Rosematta Rice

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Note:
Other Palya recipes blogged so far can be found HERE.
Other Tindora recipes blogged so far on Monsoon Spice

• Huli Menasina Kodhel
• Tindora-Cashew Palya

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Reminder: WBB-Summer Feast

For this edition of WBB, your challenge is to cook anything with summer fruits and vegetables. Yes, the theme is WBB-Summer Feast. Go to your town/city’s Farmer’s Market and pick fresh season’s produce and make your favourite breakfast or brunch and join in the Summer Feast.

Deadline: 31st July, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and mail when sending me your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish you cooked, Perm Link of the entry along with the gorgeous Photo of final dish.

Click Here or on the logo to find out more information on this event.

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A Block & A Palya: Tender Jackfruit Palya

Gujje Palya

There are times when I come back from work and wonder “What will I blog about today?” Suddenly I feel I have nothing left to write and panic strikes me. Just the thought of running out of blog contents is one horrifying experience for me.

But usually everything turns out all right when I reach home and read the comments on my current and previous posts (yeah, yeah… I do read my archived posts and comments), I get ideas and often inspiration to write my next post. But today here I am sitting cross legged with my lappy on my lap and staring blankly at one of the photos I took last week and I have nothing write about it!!! I have lot to share about this particular recipe which takes me down the memory lane whenever I cook it but I just can’t seem to put it into words. I can think about it but I simply can’t seem to write about it.

Yeah, this is one of those days where I don’t see any ‘bloggable’ (hell, that’s not even a word!!!) thoughts to share with you all. This is one of those days where I would like you to write to me about your thoughts about my blog. While going through all those comments I couldn’t help but wonder why people visit my blog? Is it because of all that lengthy prefaces (I seriously can’t imagine people reading my rants), or recipes (hmm…most likely as I am still getting few recipe requests), or photos (really?), or god knows what (that will be really interesting thing to know)!!! I would love to know why you visit Monsoon Spice, what makes you spend your precious time going through my posts? What is it that makes you come back again and go though my posts (hopefully if you are not put off by my rants and lengthy posts). So tell me whatever you want to say… I am all ears ;)

Here is the recipe for Gujje Palya/Tender Jackfruit Stir Fry which is one of my childhood favourites. Gujje is a Tulu word for Tender Jackfruit which is often used in South Canara in cooking savoury dishes. My all time favourite is Gujje Kodhel and Gujje Palya. Me and my siblings would always end up having competition as who got highest number of ‘eyes’ which are nothing but tender jackfruit seeds. This stir fry is one of best example of delicious Udupi-Mangalorean cuisine as very ingredients are used to bring out the true taste of this sticky vegetable/fruit. This almost bland tasting tender jackfruit transforms into delicious side dish or simple snack when cooked with crunchy red onion with enough heat from green chillies. I used canned tender Jackfruits here which tasted really good but it tastes best when cooked with fresh ones.

Print This Recipe

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Gujje Palya (Tender Jackfruit Stir Fry)
Prep Time: 5 mins (When using canned ones)
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Serves: 2-4

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Ingredients:
3-4 cups fresh or 1 can Tender Jackfruit, drained and rinsed
1 medium Red Onion, finely chopped
2-3 Green Chillies, slit (adjust acc to taste)
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tbsp Jaggery (adjust acc to taste)
¼ cup fresh/frozen Coconut
Salt to taste

For Tempering:
1 tsp Black Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Urad Dal
2 tsp Channa Dal
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
1-2 Dry Red Chillies, halved
Few Curry Leaves
1 tbsp Oil, preferably Coconut Oil

Gujje Palya

Method:

Chop washed canned young jackfruit pieces into small pieces (about ½ cm slices) and keep them aside. If using fresh ones, then cut them into big chunks and cook them covered with little salt , turmeic powder, jaggery and 1-1½ cup of water till tender. It will take around 10-15 mins if using pressure cooker and little longer if cooking in a vessel. Once they are cooked and cool enough to handle, cut them into ½ cm slices and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they start to pop and splutter, add channa dal, urad dal, broken red chillies and hing. Sauté it till dals turn golden brown.
Now add chopped onions, curry leaves and slit green chillies. Sauté it for a minute or two till onion turn transluscent.
Now add chopped tender jackfruit, turmeric powder, jaggery and salt to taste and mix well. Add ½ cup of water and cover and cook for about 10-12 mins till all the flavours blend well and jack fruit is cooked properly. Make sure to check in between so that the Palya doesn’t stick to the bottom of pan.
Cook uncovered for another 2-3 minutes till all the water is evaporated. Switch off the gas and mix in fresh/frozen coconut. Serve it hot with Rosematta Rice or any rice of your choice or Chapatti or simply serve it as a snack and enjoy.

Gujje Palya

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Reminder: WBB-Summer Feast

For this edition of WBB, your challenge is to cook anything with summer fruits and vegetables. Yes, the theme is WBB-Summer Feast. Go to your town/city’s Farmer’s Market and pick fresh season’s produce and make your favourite breakfast or brunch and join in the Summer Feast.

Deadline: 31st July, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and mail when sending me your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish you cooked, Perm Link of the entry, Perm Link of original recipe along with the gorgeous Photo of final dish.

Click Here or on the logo to find out more information on this event.

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