Nellikai Chitranna Mix

Mom was not well a couple of months ago and was advised some bed rest. Since she stays quite far off and with my work schedule, I cannot visit her often. So when I went there on weekends, I’d make some ready to eats, and mixes and dosa/idli batter and stock up the refrigerator so that my sis could manage with little effort in the mornings.
This was one of the items I made. Of course, learnt it from mom only! Sis did all the pitting and chopping and grating work and I got the mix ready which was then stocked up in the refrigerator. This mix stays well in the fridge for 2-3 weeks and if using dry coconut, for longer. When you want to have, all you need to do is make some rice and mix with this for a delicious serving of tangy, spicy rice.

Nellikai Chitranna Mix – Gooseberry Rice

Preparation time : 15 min
Cooking time : 10 min

Ingredients:
Gooseberries / Nellikai - ~20 pitted and roughly chopped
Grated coconut - ½ cup
Green chilies - 10-12, as per taste
Asafetida / hing - a generous pinch
Salt - 1 tsp or as per taste
For tempering:
Cooking oil - 1-2 Tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Bengal gram dal - 2 tsp
Urad dal - 2 tsp
Peanuts - 2 Tbsp
Curry leaves - 1 Tbsp
Turmeric - a pinch
Salt - ½ tsp or as per taste

Method:
• Grind the gooseberries, chilies, asafetida, coconut, and salt, in a mixie to form a coarse mixture. Do not add any water
• In a skillet heat oil, add mustard seeds and allow to splutter
• Add groundnut seeds and fry for a few seconds
• Add Bengal gram dal and urad dal and fry till golden
• Add curry leaves and turmeric and fry for a minute or two till all the ingredients are crisp
• Add the ground mixture and mix thoroughly, with the heat on
• Saute it well till the wetness is gone and then turn off the heat; don’t make the mixture too crumbly
• Cool it and store in airtight container in fridge for about 2-3 weeks

Serving Instructions:
• Make rice and spread it so that the grains do not stick to each other
• For every cup of uncooked rice, about 1 Tbsp of the mix should be enough
• Mix well and serve

Notes:
• Dry coconut can also be used, in which case the mix will last longer.

Instant Gojjavalakki Mix

Do you travel a lot? Or less? Travel with kids, fussy with food? Or do you get bored of eating out continuously and crave for some home food? Or do you have to leave your kids and travel and want to make sure you keep some ready, healthy mixes for them?

Here is one such instant-food that you can make in bulk and store for a couple of months. When hungry, all you have to do is take a small portion in a bowl, pour some water, hot, warm or even cold and sit for 10 minutes. A bowlful of delicious, homemade flavorful Gojjavalakki is ready!
Mom used to make this for me when I had to travel on work to Seoul before marriage. And it would serve as my breakfast almost on alternate days! It lasted almost the entire two months and still I’d not got bored! And of late I make it for our long nature/birding trips where we need to be outdoors from 5-30 or six in the morning and break for a formal breakfast only by 9 or 10. When our tummies are growling our heads and legs and everything else doesn’t work too!! So we carry small portions of this, soak it with some water and in 10 minutes, we’ll be hogging on it to grab some energy!
I’ve shared it with a lot of friends too and it is always a hit. You must try it, if you want to stock up some ready-to-eats, home-made and with no preservatives.

Instant Gojjavalakki Mix

Preparation time : 15 min
Cooking time : 20 min
Serves : 5-6

Ingredients:
Avalakki/Poha/Beaten rice - 4 cups (Use thick variety)
Tamarind - 1-2 lemon sized ball
Rasam powder - 2 tsp, vary as per your taste
Jaggery - 1 small lemon sized ball
Salt - 1 tsp, vary as per taste
Desiccated coconut, grated - ½ cup

For powdering:
Fenugreek / methi seeds - ½ tsp
Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
Sesame seeds - 2 tsp

For tempering:
Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Groundnut seeds - 1 tbsp
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
White Sesame seeds - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 2-3 sprigs
Red chilies - 1
Turmeric - 1 pinch

Method:
• Dry roast all the ingredients under ‘For Powdering’ and when slightly cool, grind to powder and keep aside
• Take the avalakki in a mixie jar and pulse it a couple of times, just enough to break it into very coarse powder. Do not over do this
• Dry roast tamarind on low heat till the moisture is gone. Once cool, grind it to powder in a small mixie jar
• Scrape the jaggery into fine powder
• In a wide bowl, mix tamarind powder, jaggery powder, salt and rasam powder
• Add the broken avalakki, spice powder prepared above into the bowl and mix thoroughly
• Let it sit for sometime, so that the flavors blend well
• Once done, in a big skillet, heat oil and make the tempering:
o Add mustard seeds and allow to splutter
o Turn the heat low, add groundnut seeds, and stir
o After the groundnuts are half-done, channa dal and urad dal
o Add curry leaves and red chili pieces and stir for half a minute till all the ingredients are properly roasted.
o At the end add sesame seeds and turmeric powder
• Add the tempering to the avalakki mixture, add grated coconut and stir well to combine
• Check and adjust the taste if necessary

Serving instruction:
• In a bowl, take dry gojjavalakki (once soaked, it almost doubles, so take just half the volume of what you need finally)
• Add water (warm or cold) till it is immersed fully, and covers about 1 cm above the surface of the avalakki
• Gently mix it once, and let it rest for 15 minutes. At the end of 15 min, all the water would be absorbed, and the gojjavalakki will be of desired consistency. Mix thoroughly and eat.
• Enjoy!

Notes:
• Use very good quality of avalakki, as you will not be washing it here