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!

Kanchal Gojju

Time Required –

30 minutes

To Serve -

Once made this can be preserved and kept for multiple uses.  Will last upto 20 – 25 days when stored in a dry and cold place.

Ingredients -

1. Hagal kayi/Kanchal (Bitter gourd) – 2 (Deseed and cut into small pieces)
2. Tomatos – 3 (cut into small pieces)
3. Thick Tamarind juice – 1 cup
4. Water – 1/2 cup
5. Jaggery grates – 1 cup
6. Green chillies – 5 (slit into two)
7. Curry leaves – 5-6
8. Oil for frying
9. Ginger paste – 1 tsp
10. Jeera powder – 1/2 tsp
11. Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
12. Rasam powder – 1 tsp (refer here for recipe)
13. Salt to taste

Preparations -

1) Deep fry cut bitter gourd in oil.  Strain it and cool it on tissue paper.

2) Heat a kadai in medium flame and cook tamarind juice, jaggery, water and bring it into one boil. 

3) Now add tomatos, turmeric powder, jeera powder, salt, ginger paste, curry leaves and keep stiring for 2-3 minutes.

4) Add fried kanchal and rasam powder and bring it to boil for one final time.

Serve it hot with rice…

Herekayi Palya

Time Required –

20 minutes

To Serve -

4

Ingredients -

1. Here kayi (Ridge gourd) – 2 (Cut into small pieces)
2. Coconut grates – 1 cup
3. Salt to taste
4. Oil for seasoning
5. Hing for seasoning
6. Curry leaves for seasoning
7. Jaggery – 1 marble size
8. turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
9. Green chillies – 3 (slit into two halves)

Preparation -

1) Keep for jeera seasoning in a kadai.

2) After two minutes add cut ridge gourd to the same and fry it lightly. 

3) Add 1/4 glass of water, turmeric and close the lid of the kadai.  Cook for 5-7 minutes in medium flame until the vegetable is cooked.

4) Now add green chillies, salt and jaggery to the same and cook again for 3 minutes in low flame

5) Add coconut grates and mix well. 

Serve it hot with rice or chapatis…

The same can be cooked using various vegetables like beans, carrot, snake gourd, halsande, mangalore cucumber(southe), white pumpkin, boiled channa or boiled green gram.

Stuffed Idly

Time Required –

45 minutes

To Serve -

4

Ingredients -

1. Semolina (Rava/Sooji) – 200 grams
2. Green Peas – 1 cup
3. Potato – 3 big
4. Green chillies – 2-3(chopped into small peices)
5. Coriander leaves – 1/2 cup (finely chopped)
6. Ghee – 1 tbsp
7. Cooking soda – 1 pinch
8. Curds – 1/2 litre
9. Salt to taste

Preparation -

1) Boil green peas and potatoes.  Smash the peeled potatoes, peas, salt and green chillies together and keep aside.

2) Heat ghee in a kadai and fry it until Semolina truns golden in colour. 

3) Add cooking soda, corriander leaves, salt and curds to the rava and mix it well.  Just ensure that the mixture is not too thick, it should be semi liquid. Add very little water if required to ensure the same.

3) In the greased idly stand -  Put a little bit of rava idly batter, potato stuffing and close again with rava idly batter.

4) Cook it in the cooker for 15 minutes. Do not keep the weight of the cooker. The idly has to be only steamed.

Stuffed Idly is ready to be served. Serve it hot with coconut chutney