Pulli Bajji

Pulli Bajji is a south canara name for Tamarind Chutney.  Pulli in Tulu means Tangy.  It’s a sister variety of Emli ka chutney made by most North Indians.  This chutney is little liquid in nature and is served with various south indian dishes like pundi gatti,  pongal, dahi vada, rice/rava shamige etc.

Time Required -

20 minutes

To Serve -

4

Ingredients –

1. Tamarind – handful (soak in warm water)
2. Green chillies – 2 (chop finely)
3. Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
4. Ginger – 2 inch piece (grated)
5. Jaggery - 3 inch piece
6. Salt to taste
7. Seasoning of jeera

Preparation -

1) Squash tamarind with your hands and remove its pulp.  (People who use tamarind paste can put 2 Tbsp of this paste to a vessel with 1/4 glass of water.)

2) Add turmeric powder and jaggery to the tamarind pulp and keep it in medium flame for 5-7 minutes.  Keep stirring.

3) When the jaggery melts completely and the mixture is boiling – add salt, ginger grates and green chillies.  Boil it for 2 more minutes before you remove the vessel from the stove.

4) Add a normal seasoning in the end.

Serve it hot or cold.  This tangy chutney will enhance the taste of your main dish!!

Rice Pongal

Rice Pongal - also known as “Huggi” in my native.  This dish is very healthy, easy to make and can be served as breakfast, lunch or dinner! 

Time Required –

30 mins

To Serve -

4

Ingredients -

1. Rice – 1.5 cups
2. Moong Dal – 1.5 cups
3. Coconut grates – 1/4 cup
4. Green chillies – 2 (split)
5. Pepper corns - 5 to 6
6. Jeera – 1 tsp
7. Clove – 2
8. Asafoetida(hing) – 1 pinch
9. Oil – 5 tsp
10. Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
11. Curry leaves – 10 (chopped finely)
12. Coriander leaves – handful (chopped finely)
13. Salt to taste

Preparation -

1) Cook rice and moong dal in a cooker with adequate water.

2)  To the cooker add turmeric powder, salt and mix well in low flame.  After you see the first boil, put off the flame.

3) Prepare seasoning – In a kadai, heat oil.  Once the oil is heated, add pepper corns, jeera, clove, green chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida.  Heat for 2 minutes.

4) Add seasoning to the cooked pongal.  Add coconut grates, coriander leaves and mix well.

Serve it hot with Raitha or Pulli bajji(Liquid dish made of Tamarind).  If you don’t want to make a side dish for this – add juice of one lime at the end of cooking and mix well.  I will publish the recipe for Pulli bajji soon.

Alternatively, you can make pongal out of rice flakes also.  In this case, just soak rice flakes and mix it with cooked moong dal.  Repeat all steps from step 2.

Vegetable Cutlet

 

 

Time Required –

1 hour

To Serve -

4

Ingredients -

Cutlet Dough

1. Beetroot – 1 (medium-sized)
2. Potato – 2 (large)
3. Carrot - 2
4. Beans – 10
5. Green peas – 1 cup
6. Cauliflower – 1 cup of flowerets (optional)
7. Bread crumbs – 1 cup (can use sooji/rava/semolina alternatively)
8. Salt to taste
9. Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
10. Jeera powder – 1/2 tsp
11. Oil – 1 tsp per cutlet

Coriander-Coconut Dry Chutney

1. Coriander leaves – 1 cup
2. Coconut grates – 1 cup
3. Green chillies – 2
4. Little salt

 Preparation –

1) Chop all the vegetables to small peices and boil well.

2) Stain water and smash all the vegetables with jeera powder, chilli powder and salt to make dough.

3) Grind coriander leaves, coconut grates, green chillies and salt to fine powder.  Dont add water.

4) Make balls of 2 inches from the dough.  Now, with help pointing finger, make a 1 inch hole in the ball. 

5) Fill the hole with 1 tsp of dry coriander chutney and close whole by putting the dough together.

6) Now, compress the ball between your palm to make a patty.  Repeat these steps with all the balls.

7) Heat a pan in medium flame.  Roll the patty mildly over bread crumbs and toast on both sides.  Add oil on the sides of the patty.

8) Cook till the cutlet turns golden brown. 

Serve it with ground nut chutney and enjoy!

Beetroot Sasmikayi

Time Required –

20 mins

To Serve -

4

Ingredients -

1. Beetroot – 2 (medium-sized)
2. Coconut grates – 1 cup
3. Red chillies(Byadige variety) – 5
4. Mustard seeds (sasve) – 1 tsp
5. Tamarind – 1/2 marble size
6. Jaggery – 1 marble size
7. Green chillies – 1 or 2 (optional)
8. Salt to taste

Preparation –

1)  Grind together  to a fine paste with little water – Coconut, red chillies, mustard seeds and tamarind.

2) Grate beetroot and boil it with little water.  Once it is boiling, add jaggery, salt and ground paste. (If  you like spicy food, then add green chillies) Bring it to one boil.

Serve it hot with rice

Ragi Mudde Meal :)

Being in Bangalore for more than half my life, I have adopted to a complete cosmopolitan life style.  However, what makes being a bangalorean special is getting in touch with the roots of this place.  The gowda community living in and around this city relishes the healthy and tasty Ragi meal everyday.  And I love it too… it’s just awesome!

Time Required –

For Ragi Mudde – 20 mins

For Bas Saaru – 20 mins

Soppu Palya – 15 mins

To Serve -

2

Ingredients -

Ragi Mudde -

1. Ragi – 3 cups
2. Water – 3 cups
3. Green Chillies – 1 per mudde
4. Vegetable oil – 1 tsp
5. Salt to taste

Bas Saaru-

1. Onion – 1(small)
2. Garlic flakes – 3-5
3. Coconut grates – 1/2 cup
4. Stew of green leaves and toor dal – 2 cups
5. Tamarind – 1 marble size
6. Red chillies – 5
7. Jeera – 1/2 tsp
8. Coriander seeds – 1/2 tsp
9. Coriander leaves – handful, chopped fine
10. Salt to taste

Soppu Palya -

1. Fenugreek leaves/ menthe soppu - 1 bunch (cleaned and chopped)  Any other green leaves can also be used.
2. Coconut grates – handful
3. Green chillies – 3
4. Turmeric powder – 1 pinch
5. Toor Dal – 1/2 cup
6. Salt to taste

Preparation –

Ragi Mudde -

1) In a kadai, boil water with oil and salt.

2) Once the water boils, put ragi slowly to the boiling water and keep stirring with a wooden spatula.  Putting ragi to water and stirring should happen simultaneously.  Ensure that it mixes well.

3) Cook in medium flame and keep stirring until it becomes a solid dough and the raw smell of ragi goes away.  Around 5-7 minutes.

4) Now make balls of this dough(keeping a cup of water helps) and insert one chilli into it.

5) Steam the ragi balls for 5 mins.  Raggi Mudde is ready!

Bas Saaru –

1) Grind together – coconut grates, red chillies, jeera, coriander seeds, onion, garlic and tamarind together.

2) Mix the ground paste and stew together.  Bring this to one boil.

3) Add salt and coriander leaves to the same.  Bas Saaru is ready!

Soppu Palya -

1) Keep for seasoning in a kadai.  Once the mustard seeds crackle, add boiled leaves, turmeric powder, green chillies,  salt and toor dal.

2) Cook for 2 mins and add coconut grates. 

Serve Ragi mudde with bas saaru and soppu palya!!!  This is simple to make and awesome to taste.  Ofcourse, you will also get good sleep after having this meal.  Its heavy on tummy.

Moong Dal Tadka

Time Required –

For Preparation – 1 hour

For cooking – 20 mins

To Serve -

4

Ingredients -

1. Moong Dal – 1.5 cup
2. Tomato – 1 (cut to small pieces)
3. Onion – 1 small (finely chopped)
4. Curry leaves – 6-8
5. Green chillies – 4-5 (slit)
6. Coriander leaves – 1/2 cup (finely chopped)
7. Turmeric powder – 1 pinch
8. Jeera powder – 1/2 tsp
9. Coriander powder(dhaniya) – 1/2 tsp
10. Juice of 1/2 lemon
11. Vegetable oil – 2 tsp
12. Salt to taste

Grind together -

• Tomatoes – 2
• Onion – 1 small
• Ginger – 1 inch piece
• Garlic – 5-6 flakes

Preparation -

1) Soak moong dal for an hour in water.

2) Heat a kadai and fry chopped onions, curry leaves and green chillies for a minute.

3) Add the ground paste to the kadai and keep stirring till it boils.  Once it boils, add the soaked moong dal

4) Add tomatoes, 2 cups of water, turmeric powder, jeera powder and dhaniya powder to the same and close the lid of the kadai.  Allow the dal to cook in the tomato gravy for 8-10 mins.  Keep stirring in between.

5) Once the dal is cooked –  add salt and mix well in low flame.

Garnish it with coriander leaves, lime juice and seasoning.  Mix well and serve hot with rice, chapathis or roties

Plain Avalakki Vagarne

Avalakki Vagarne is done in various methods in South India and this one is the most simplest.  It also serves as a quick snack that can be cooked in 10 minutes. 

Time Required –

10 minutes

To Serve -

4

Ingredients -

1. Rice flakes – 2 cups (the thin variety)
2. Coconut grates – 1 cup
3. coriander leaves – handful
4. Curry leaves – 5 to 6
5. Oil - 1 tsp (Coconut oil prefered)
6. Green chillies – 2 (cut into small pieces)
7. Sugar – 1.5 tsp
8. Salt to taste
9. Seasoning (refer to the seasoning page)

Preparation -

Mix all the ingredients together and add seasoning.  Mix again. 

Serve it plain or with curds

Coconut Rice

Time Required –

20 minutes

To Serve -

4

Ingredients -

1. Rice – 1.5 cup
2. Ground nuts – 10 to 12
3. Coconut grates – 1 cup
4. Vegetable oil – 3 tsp
5. Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
6. Jeera – 1 tsp
7. Urad dal – 1/2 tsp
8. Channa dal (Bengal gram) - 1 tsp
9. Red chillies – 1
10. Ginger – 2 inch (grated)
11. Asafoetida(hing) – 1 pinch
12. Green chillies – 3 (finely chopped)
13. Curry leaves – 5
14. coriander leaves – handful (finely chopped)
15. Salt to taste

Preparation –

1) Pressure cook rice and cool it. 

2) Heat a kadai and add oil to it. After a minute, add ground nuts, mustard seeds, jeera, urad dal, channa dal and red chillies and fry in medium flame until the mustard seeds crackle. 

3) Add ginger grates, green chillies, curry leaves and hing to the same and off the stove. 

4) Now add cooked rice, coconut grates and salt to the kadai and mix well. 

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot!

Masala bread sandwich

Time Required –

20 minutes

To Serve -

2

Ingredients -

1. Bread loaf – 1
2. tomatoes – 1
3. Onion – 1 small
4. Carrot – 1
5. Raw mango grates – 1/2 cup
6. Green chillies – 2
7. Tomato ketchup – 1 cup
8. Butter – 1/2 cup
9. Capsicum – 1/2
10. Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
11. Salt to taste

Preparation -

1) Cut tomato’s, onion, capsicum and green chillies into small pieces.  Grate raw mango, carrot and mix all the vegetables together

2) Add salt and chilli powder to the same mixture and mix again.

3) Apply tomato ketchup to one bread and butter to the other.  Now, sandwich the mixture between breads and toast it in a toaster(alternatively, can use tawa too).

This one is quick to make and good to eat

Tomato Dosa

Time Required –

For Preparation – 3 hours

For cooking – 1 minute per dosa

To Serve -

4

Ingredients -

1. Rice – 1.5 cup
2. tomatoes – 3
3. Coconut grates – 1/2 cup
4. Red chillies – 5
5. Jeera – 1 tsp
6. Water – 2 cups
7. Oil – 1/2 tsp per dosa
8. Salt for taste

Preparation -

1) Soak rice in water for 2 hours

2) Drain all the water from the rice and grind it with tomatoes, coconut grates, red chillies, jeera and salt.  Use as minimum water as can while grinding.  Grind to a smooth paste

3) Add 2 cups of water to the same and mix well to have a consistent dough.

4) On a pre-heated pan, put one table-spoon of batter on the tawa and spread it as thin as possible.  Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of oil around the dosa.  Close the lid and cook the same in medium flame until the whole batter looks cooked and starts steaming from between.

Serve it hot with coconut chutney!