Beetroot Chutney

Often it so happens that one beetroot will remain unused in the fridge. All its companions would have been used for a palya or so, but somehow this one would be orphaned! And in a house with 5+ people, making palya or so with one beetroot is pointless! So usually this one little thing stays abandoned for days.....
This is one item that can be prepared without much effort and still serves 4-5 with just one beetroot. It tastes great with rice as well as a side dish. And it is way healthier than the full coconut chutney.....

Beetroot Chutney

Preparation time : 5 min Cooking time : 5 min Serves : 4-5 Ingredients: Beetroot - 1, medium sized Coconut - 1 Tbsp, grated Green chilies - 5-6, depending on taste Fried gram dal - 2 tsp Curry leaves - 2 sprigs Coriander leaves - 1 Tbsp, chopped Cooking oil - 2 tsp Jaggery - a small pinch (optional) Tamarind - a small marble sized ball Salt - ½ tsp or as per taste For Tempering: Cooking oil - 1 tsp Curry leaves - A few sprigs Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Asafetida - a pinch, powdered Method: • Peel and chop beetroot • Roast green chilies, curry leaves and asafetida in a tsp of oil • Add chopped beetroot and cook slightly (for 4-5 min) • Let the beetroot cool slightly • Grind the above with all other ingredients, adding a little water if needed • Transfer the ground chutney to a serving bowl For tempering / tadka: • Heat the oil in a pan, add mustard and allow to splutter • Add asafetida and curry leaves • Garnish the chutney with tadka Tips n Tricks: • Do not make the chutney too smooth – a little coarse consistency will give a better taste

Instant KodubaLe - Crispy, spicy deep fried rings

‘KodubaLe’ is a traditional Karnataka snack that requires a lot of preparation for the flour, and an elaborate process. It requires precise quantities of ingredients, lest you mess it up!
However, this version presented here is an instant one, and is quite different from the traditional one. It has a sour tinge in taste, due to use of curd. I t can be prepared easily, without much process and preparation..... And it gets over fast too!

Instant KodubaLe

Preparation time : 15 min Cooking time : 20 min Makes : 25-30 Ingredients: Rice flour - 2 cups Split moong dal - ¾th cup Sour curd - 2 cups Water - 2 cups Coriander - 1 Tbsp. finely chopped Green chilies - 5-6, finely chopped Salt - ½ tsp, or as per taste Cooking Oil - to deep fry Method: • In a heavy bottomed pan, boil water • Add salt and curd and let boil • Add chopped coriander, green chilies and split moong dal and let the moong dal cook slightly • Now add rice flour and continuously stir, avoiding lumps • Cook for a couple of minutes more. The resulting dough should be similar to that of papad dough - soft, but non sticky • Take a small portion of the dough and knead slightly. Take small lemon sized balls and roll a stick out of it. Use oil to smear your hands with, if it feels sticky • Now close in the rolled stick into a circle, to form a small bangle sized ring • Repeat the same with rest of the dough • Meanwhile heat oil in a skillet and deep fry 8-10 at a time in medium heat • Turn it over a couple of times, ensuring the rings are evenly done into golden brown color • Remove from oil, drain on a kitchen towel and serve hot/warm • If you want to store it for later, keep it open and allow to cool completely, before you put it into an airtight container Tips n Tricks: • To avoid your palms getting burnt while kneading the hot dough, fill it in thick polythene and cover it in a towel / thick cloth and knead it over it. This way a smooth and soft dough will be ready in a jiffy Variations: • Chopped onion, ginger can be added to the dough; but this variant cannot be stored and should be consumed on the same day or the next

Mangalore Banana Buns

Seeing my blog, an aunt of mine who had come home got inspired to teach me some of her specialties that I didn’t make earlier, like the famous Mangalore buns.

These Mangalore buns were something that I had wanted to make from quite sometime. Every time I travel to the south-western part of Karnataka, I don’t miss tasting these buns in the hotels. What surprises me is that they are not at all oily in spite of being deep fried! Initially I had assumed that these were some baked-stuff. It isn’t a big deal to make it at home... try it out when there are over ripe bananas lying in the kitchen, abandoned!

Mangalore Buns

Preparation time : 15 min Cooking time : 15 min Serves : 5-6 Ingredients: Over ripe long bananas - 2 Maida - 2 cups + for dusting Curd - ¾th cup Sugar - 1 Tbsp Salt - ½ tsp Soda / baking powder - 1 pinch Cooking Oil - to deep fry Method: • In a wide bowl mash bananas with salt and sugar • Add curd and beat it with your fingers for 5-6 minutes. Let there be small little lumps of banana • Mix in the flour and baking powder and knead it into a soft dough • Keep it covered for at least 30 minutes. The dough would have got a little soggy after the resting time. • Take small lemon sized balls and roll it into small pooris using more flour for dusting • Meanwhile heat oil in a skillet and deep fry one at a time in medium heat • Turn it over a couple of times, ensuring even browning of the buns • Remove from oil, drain on a kitchen towel • Repeat the same with rest of the dough • Serve hot with chutney of your choice. Pudina-coconut chutney tastes great with these hot buns Tips n Tricks: • Use well ripened bananas for best results • Let the dough rest, to get good puffed up buns

Pudina-Coconut Chutney

Chutneys are must-have accompaniments with most of the breakfast items. And there are specific variants of chutneys for specific items. Each slightly different from the other, with a couple of ingredient different form the other, makes a great number of variants. And trust me, the tastes would be so entirely different from one another!

This Pudina-coconut chutney tastes best with Idlis/Mangalore buns. Also goes well with normal urad dal dosas. This time it was specially made for Mangalore buns.

Pudina-Coconut Chutney

Preparation time : 5 min Cooking time : 5 min Serves : 4 Ingredients: Coconut - 1 cup, grated Mint leaves/Pudina - 1 cup, picked and washed Green chilies - 5-6, depending on taste Fried gram dal / hurigadale - 2 tsp Coriander leaves - 1 Tbsp, chopped Cooking oil - 1 tsp Jaggery - a small pinch (optional) Tamarind - a small marble sized ball Salt - ½ Tsp or as per taste For Tempering: Cooking oil - 1 Tsp Curry leaves - A few sprigs Mustard seeds - 1 Tsp Asafetida - a pinch, powdered Method: • Roast green chilies and mint leaves in a tsp of oil till the mint leaves change color • Grind the above with all other ingredients, adding a little water if needed • Transfer the ground chutney to a serving bowl For tempering / tadka: • Heat the oil in a pan, add mustard and allow to splutter • Add curry leaves • Garnish the chutney with tadka Tips n Tricks: • Do not make the chutney too smooth – a little coarse consistency will give a better taste

Aam Panha

I first got to know about this drink from Dee’s blog. That was when we had ‘seen’ each other formally and were yet undecided about deciding! :D
And then a very close friend of mine, who is called a search-engine, offered to fish out some info about this guy, and got me his orkut profile (I was then not on orkut, and had hardly used it!), some pics from some site, and yippee.... two of his blog urls!!

I instantly fell for him, seeing that he has a blog and written about places, photography, etc. I knew the decision was made that moment from my side!

Well, coming back to Panha story, this was one of the things that I read in his blog that day, which he had written when he was in Bombay..... This panha always reminds me of those sweet memories.... and that stage of life.....
Ok..... here’s the recipe....

Aam Panha

Preparation time : 10 min Cooking time : 30 min Makes a jar of the concentrate Ingredients: Raw Mangoes - 3-4 medium sized, preferably sour ones Sugar - 1cup Salt - 1-2 Tbsp Cumin Seeds - 1 Tbsp, optional; roasted and finely powdered Water Method: • Peel and cut the mangoes into ½ inch pieces • In a pan, cook it in little water till it is soft. It will take bout 10-15 minutes • Let it cool a bit, and grind it to a fine paste • Sieve the ground pulp to retain only smooth paste • Transfer it to a pan, add sugar, salt and bring to boil, continuously stirring • Add the cumin/jeera powder and continue boiling for another 10 minutes • Allow it to cool and store away in a dry container in refrigerator • Mix a spoonful of this Panha concentrate to a glass of chilled water and serve, with a couple of mint leaves as garnishing. Variations: • Jaggery is used in the authentic panha, but it gives a darker color