Maddur Vade

Maddur is a small town on the way to Mysore from Bangalore. Most passengers travelling by train or bus, will buy the vade sold here. I like the Maddur vade sold at MTR and Woodys in Karnataka.

I have the habit of talking to chefs at hotels and marriages to learn some useful tips. I got this recipe from one of the chefs when I attended a marriage.This is my next entry for RCI karnataka,hosted by Asha of foodieshope

Ingredients

• Rice flour – 1/2 cup
• Rava – 1/2 cup
• Maida – 1/2 cup
• Salt to taste
• Ghee 2 teaspoons
• Hing – 1/4 teaspoon
• Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon
• Finely chopped curry leaves and coriander leaves – 2 tablespoons
• Finely chopped Onion – 1/2 cup
• Oil – 1 and 1/2 cup for frying

Method

1. Combine all ingredients except oil in a bowl. Add enough water and mix to a stiff dough.
2. Heat oil in a kadai on a medium flame.
3. Divide the dough into 20 ball. flatten the balls on your palm to form thin circles (around 1/8 cm thickness)
4. Check the temperature of oil by dropping a small piece of dough into the oil.If it rises immediately the oil is ready for frying
5. Fry the vades in medium to low fire around 4 at a time.
6. You can flatten all the vades and keep them on a plate before you start frying.
7. Serve with sauce or coconut chutney. It can be stored for 3 days.

Read Full Post »

Oil free Groundnut snack.

Groundnut is rich in proteins and is extensively used in recipes from North Karnataka. This my favorite snack for Hima of Snackorama !

Ingredients

• Groundnuts – 1 cup
• Besan( Gramflour, kadalaimaavu) – 1 tablespoon
• Rice flour – 1 tablespoon
• Ghee – 1 teaspoon
• Chilli powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• salt to taste

Method

1. Wash and soak ground nuts for 10 minutes and drain well.
2. Add all the ingredients to the groundnuts and sprinkle little water in mix to a stiff consistency.
3. Now all the groundnuts will be coated with the flour.
4. Spread the groundnuts on a microwave safi plate, dividing into bite sized balls. Each ball should have 3 or four groundnuts only.
5. MW high for 4 minutes, stirring after every minute for even cooking. Timing will differ depending on the quantity and wattage of your oven.
6. Now your snack is ready.Allow to cool and store in airtight containers( if anything is left out in the plate!).

Read Full Post »

Thattai

Thattai is another must be item for Srijayanthi! Do use freshly ground flours (Rice and Urad dal) whose recipes have been posted earlier.

Ingredients

• Rice flour – 2 cups
• Urad dal flour – 1/4 cup
• Grated coconut – 1 tablespoon
• Channa dal 2 teaspoons
• Moong dal – 2 teaspoons
• Curry leaves – 2 twigs
• Ghee – 1 table spoon
• Pepper powder – 1teaspoon
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying
• Broken Cashew (Optional)

Method

1. Soak the channa dal and moong dal for 10 minutes.
2. Mix the flours , coconut, salt , pepper powder, chopped curry leaves, soaked dals and ghee in a large container.
3. Add water and knead to a smooth dough. The dough should be soft so that it does not break or crack while flattenning.
4. Knead well for a while. Take lemon sized balls and flatten the dough to a round of about 4 inch diameter on to a white cloth. If the thattai cracks or breaks, just add some more water to the dough.
5. To make the thattais you can also grease your fingers with little oil.
6. Finish making the rounds with all the dough.
7. Heat oil in a deep pan and Check the oil temperature by dropping a small piece in to the oil.
8. If it rises up immediately then the oil is ready for frying. Start frying around 6 thattais at a time, Frying the dried ones first.
9. Always keep the flame between low and medium. Turn the thattais to cook the other side.
10. Once the sound subsides, drain well and remove on a kitchen napkin.
11. Your thattais are ready for the neivedyam.

Read Full Post »

Vella seedai- Sweet marbles

Vella seedai is a must for janmashtami! Quite a simple snack! Use the fresh rice flour and urad dal flour prepared for these snacks (follow this link for instructions on flour preparation).

Coconut pieces for Vella Seedai

Ingredients

• Rice flour – 2 cups (follow link for instructions on Rice Flour preparation)
• Urad dal flour – 1 table spoon (follow link for instructions on Urad Dal Flour preparation)
• Jaggery – 1 and 1/2 cup
• Cardamom – 2 nos
• Coconut cut into small pieces – 2 tablespoons
• Ghee – 1 table spoon
• Oil – 1 cup for deep frying

Method

1. Mix the flours, cardamom powder and the coconut pieces in a container.
2. In a kadai mix jaggery with 1 cup waterand boil on a medium flame.
3. Once jaggery melts, pass through a filter to remove the dirt.
4. Clean the kadai and boil again.
5. Keep the flame low and add the ingredients mixed together.
6. Stir well, this will form a ball. add 1 tablespoon ghee and mix. leave to cool for a while.
7. Make 1 inch balls with the dough.
8. Heat oil in a kadai, on a medium to low flame fry a few balls at a time till they are brown.
9. Drain well and take out on a kitchen paper. The vella seedai is dark brown and slightly broken.
10. Your vella seedai is ready for the neivedyam!

Read Full Post »

Kodubale- Crunchy rings

This is a famous snack of Karnataka! I have learnt many versions of this snack. I am posting the recipe that I liked most. This is my entry for Asha’s RCI Karnataka.

Ingredients

• Rice flour – 2 cups
• Maida – 1/2 cup
• Wheat flour – 1/2 cup
• Pottukadalai or chutney dal(Urikadale)- 1/2 cup
• Dessicated dry coconut (Kopra) – 1/2 cup
• Ghee – 1 table spoon
• Hing – 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt to taste
• Chilli powder – 1 teaspoon
• Oil – 2 cups for deep frying

Method

1. Grind the pottukadalai and kopra to a fine powder.
2. Lightly roast the wheat flour and maida together on a low flame till it turns light golden.
3. In a large bowl mix the rice flour, ground pottukadalai and the roasted flours.
4. Add ghee, salt, hing chilli powder and water and knead to a thick dough.
5. Heat oil in a kadai on a medium flame.
6. Take a little dough and shape into rings (Thickness of a pencil)
7. Fry a few rings at a time on low to medium flame, stirring occasionally.
8. When the sound subsides, drain and take out on a kitchen paper.
9. Store in air tight containers.

Tips

The oil should be on medium heat while dropping the rings and reduced to low till it gets cooked.

Update: I am sending this to Asha of Foodie’s Hope for RCI- Karnataka.

Read Full Post »

Uppu Seedai- Crunchy marbles

Uppu seedai is a must for Srijayanthi! This snack is some thing you can do in a leisurely way. You can mix the maavu, sit in front of the TV and watch a programme of your choice, white rolling the seedai balls on to a white cloth. Or you can listen to music while preparing these. A relaxed atmosphere will make cooking a pleasure! Use the flours prepared as per previous post. Click here for the flour recipe.

Ingredients

• Rice flour – 2 cups
• Urad dal flour – 1/4 cup
• Ghee – 1 table spoon
• Jeera – 2 teaspoons
• Hing powder – 1/4 teaspoon
• Grated coconut – 1 table spoon
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying – 2 cups

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients except oil and make a soft dough using water.
2. Make small balls around 3/4 cm in diameter( smaller than a marble) and leave to dry on a white cloth.
3. After you finish with all the dough, Heat oil in a deep kadai and start frying the seedais a handful at a time.
4. Keep the flame in medium throughout and stir in between for even cooking.
5. Once the sound subsides totally, lower the flame, drain the seedais well and remove on a kitchen paper.
6. Store in airtight containers.

Update:

Since many people inform me that Uppu Seedai is a mini terrorist who causes explosions in the kitchen here are some tips to avoid explosions:

• The scientific reason for bursting seedais will be water trapped in between or small rice grains. Roll the seedai well.
  
• To avoid Knead the dough very well. Seive the flour before roasting.

Read Full Post »

Srijayanthi-Maavu(flour) for all the Bhakshanams (Festival Snacks)

The Rice flour and Urad dal flour for Seedai, Thattai, Vella seedai (Traditional Tamil Festival Snacks) are the same. You can prepare the flour in one go. To make lovely coloured and crunchy snacks this is the best maavu (flour).

If you are grinding in a mixie, make one kg maavu. If you are grinding in a flour mill you can grind more.

Rice flour

Method

1. Wash and soak the required amount of rice for 30 minutes.
2. Drain well and spread on a white cloth to dry for 10 minutes.
3. Grind little rice at a time a sieve to get soft flour.
4. Repeat with all the rice.
5. Alternatively you can grind in a flour mill.
6. Lightly dry roast the flour on a low flame till the flour becomes hot and slightly yellowish. This is to remove the moisture.
7. You can make this a day before and store in an air tight container.

Urad dal flour
Method

1. Dry roast 2 cups urad dal till golden.
2. Allow to cool and grind to a super fine powder.
3. Store in an air tight container.

Read Full Post »