Bas saaru and Bas palya

This is my last entry for RCI Karnataka! I know all of you will be wondering , why so late! I could get the authentic recipes for these preparations only now!:)) The main ingredient used is Urali Kaalu ( horse gram)

Bas Saaru

Ingredients

• Horse gram – 1 cup

• Turmeric powder – 1/8 teaspoon
• Onion – 1 medium
• Tamarind – 2 inch piece
• Tomato – 1 medium
• Garlic – 2 pods
• Curry leaves – 1 twig
• Pepper corn – 1 teaspoon
• Jeera (cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon
• Red chillies – 2 nos
• Oil – 2 teaspoons
• Grated coconut – 1 tablespoon
• Salt – to taste
• Coriander leaves – 1 twig

Method

1. Wash and pressure cook the horse gram with 2 cups water and turmeric powder.
2. Cut the onions and tomatoes roughly. Heat oil in a kadai, fry the red chillies.
3. Add the onions and tomatoes and keep stirring on a low flame.
4. Add curry leaves, garlic and grated coconut and fry for 2 more minutes. Allow to cool.
5. Grind this mixture with tamarind, peppercorns and jeera to a fine paste.
6. Add 1 cup water to the pressure cooked horse gram. Strain the water(stock) in to a MW safe container. The whole cooked gram will be used for the palya.
7. To the horse gram water(Stock) add salt and the ground paste and MW high for 5 minutes.
8. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice and ghee.

Bas palya

Ingredients

• Cooked horse gram after stock is strained for the saaru.
• Onion – 1 medium Finely chopped
• Grated coconut- 2 table spoons
• Green chillies – 2 nos finely chopped
• Salt- to taste
• Oil- 2 teaspoons
• Curry leaves – 1 twig
• Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon

Method

1. Heat oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds. When it crackles add onions, green chillies and curry leaves and saute on a low flame.
2. Add coconut and saute for 1 more minute. Add the cooked horse gram and salt and saute for 2 more minutes on a medium flame.
3. Your bas palya is ready.

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Ragi Rotti

Ragi Rotti is another unleavened bread made in Karnataka. For previous ragi recipes from Karnataka refer to Ragi Mudde and Ragi Dosa.

Ragi Rotti with Uchellu Podi

Ingredients

• Ragi flour – 2 cups
• Fresh Sabakki Soppu (Dill) or Fresh Coriander – 1/2 cup (finely chopped)
• Onions – 1/2 cup (finely chopped)
• Water
• Green chilly – 2 finely chopped (optional)
• Salt to taste
• Oil

Method

1. Mix all ingredients except the Oil and knead into a smooth soft dough. The dough is a softer than Wheat flour Roti dough. Divide the dough into 2 inch diameter balls and set aside.
2. Spread a plastic sheet/ banana leaf on a smooth surface. Grease with a drop of oil. Take a ball of the dough and pat into a round pancake of 6 inch diameter. Use a little oil to aid in patting the roti.
3. Transfer to a skillet and cook both sides over a medium flame until the roti turns brown in colour.
4. Repeat for the remaining dough.

Serve hot with Uchellu Podi, Green Tomato Chutney, Vethal Kozhambu or Gojju.

Asha, Ragi Rotti for RCI Karnataka.

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Kezhvaragu Dosa (Ragi dosa/ Finger Millet Pancakes)

Long before the Green Revolution supplanted traditional crops with paddy and wheat across India, there was Ragi, Jowar and Bajra. Ragi, Jowar and Bajra were traditionally cooked up in a likes cakes, pancakes or unleavened breads especially in places whose natural constitution made only one crop of a water sucking variety like rice in a year possible. They constituted the much needed dietary fibre content in the Indian spread.

Ragi or Finger Millet is associated with the labour classes – in a typical feudal set up the lady of the master’s house prepared ragi based foods for the farmers who worked on their lands.

As a baby, I was a snob at the other end of the spectrum – I hated canned cereals preferring traditional Kanji or Porridge. No I wouldn’t settle for anything less than Ragi Malt – a concoction of Ragi, Jaggery and Milk that I was fed daily.

Fortunately, a generation after the Green Revolution made ragi “unfashionable”, the grain seems to be picking up pace as a health fad. Elaboration of Ragi’s goodness cannot be missed in modern media – superior in mineral and fibre content as compared to rice, a health grain for the diabetic, food that digests slowly, food that can be grown with environment friendly practices, food that is cooling – ragi is now being heralded as the “wonder grain”.

Kezhvaragu (in Tamil) or Ragi Dosa is a preparation from Kongunadu’s cuisine. Describing Kongunadu is difficult but you can vaguely think of it as the stretch from Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Pollachi to Erode, Salem and Dharmapuri.

These Ragi Dosas are medium sized ones. You could pour batter to make larger dosas.

Here’s the recipe:

Preparation Time: 20 minutes (includes soaking), Cooking time: 5 minutes, Yield: 10 – 12 Dosas/ Pancakes

Ingredients

• Ragi # – 2 cups
• Grated Coconut – 1 cup
• Salt – 1 tsp
• Fresh Coriander – 3 twigs
• Curry Leaves – 4
• Green Chilly – 1 no.
• Jeera/ Cumin – 1tsp
• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Water – 4 1/2 cups (approximately, this will vary with how much water the flour soaks)

*cups= 225ml, approximately 8 oz

# Ragi flour doesn’t stand for long – so I suggest buying in fresh small quantities for best results.

Method

1. Soak Ragi flour (Millet flour) in some warm water for 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Grind the Coconut, Green Chilly, Coriander, Curry Leaves, Jeera and Salt in a blender.
3. Add this to the soaked Ragi flour (Millet Flour) and mix well. Add water to bring to Rava dosa batter consistency. Note: This will be somewhere between butter milk and dosa batter or fresh cream consistency.
4. Dust a broad skillet or tawa with 1/2 tsp oil and heat it for 30 seconds. On a high flame pour the batter from outside towards inside to form a round. Cook on a high flame. Turn and cook the other side on a high flame. Reduce flame to low and turn and cook for a minute. Take out dosa on to serving plate.
5. Repeat for remaining batter. Refer to Rava Dosa making technique to get lacy, crispy dosas.

Alternatively, one could make these like soft Uthappams

• At step 3, mix water enough to bring to to dosa batter or fresh cream consistency.
• Pour a ladle full in the center of a tawa on a medium flame. Cover and cook for 30 seconds on a medium flame. Repeat for remaining batter.

This recipe was handed down to me by my mother in law, Vasantha Ayyaswami – who makes many other dosas of Kongunadu in varying styles – having lived in Coimbatore for many years. So technically speaking, I have been introduced to this as part of Kongunadu’s cuisine.

But then I don’t see why people on the Karnataka side of the border would not be indulging in this Ragi delicacy. After all when I mixed the batter together, I was greeted by a very prominent almost musty smell of Malnad – if you have ever treated your nostrils to the fresh dew on earth from a mild early morning drizzle, you know what I am talking about. I must warn you that it’s a smell that refuses to go. 🙂

To further the argument, if you look at the ingredients closely, its almost like neer dose or pan pole. I can almost imagine obscure homes in remote bits of Shimoga cooking this up. For the record, google led me to one more person who seems to think of this as Pan Pole – Manjula at Dalitoy!!!

So Asha, do you think this could pass off as Ragi Pan Pole or Ragi Neer Dose?

Coming to think of it, I am sure your “toothless” Thatha must have savoured these besides the standard Mudde. 🙂

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Hulianna

Hulianna

Hulianna for me is similar to puliyogere. There is a slight difference in preparation. Aaruni’s recipe goes like this.

Ingredients

• Rice – 2 cups
• Tamarind – 2 lemon sized balls
• Coriander seeds – 1 table spoon
• Channa dal – 1 table spoon
• Urad dal – 2 teaspoons
• Jeera/ Cumin – 1 teaspoon
• Methiseeds – 1 teaspoon
• Hing – a small piece
• Red chillies – 4 nos + 2 nos for seasoning
• Groundnuts 2 tablespoons
• Curry leaves – 2 twigs
• Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon
• Sesame oil – 2 table spoons
• Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt to taste

*cups= 225ml or 8oz.

Method

1. Wash and cook the rice with 4 cups water so the the grains are separate.
2. Soak tamarind in warm water and squeeze adding required amout of water to make 1 and 1/2 cup thick pulp.
3. In 1 teaspoon oil roast coriander seeds, channa dal, urad dal, jeera, hing, redchillies and methi seeds till golden.
4. Grind the roasted ingredients to a fine powder.
5. In a kadai heat 1 table spoon oil and add the mustard seeds.
6. When it crackles add red chillies cut into small pieces.
7. Once the redchillies is brown add curry leaves and fry for a minute.
8. Add the tamarind pulp and cook for a few minutes on low flame till the oil rises up.Add salt and turmeric powder and cook for 1 more minute.
9. Roast the ground nuts in the MW or in a kadai and remove the skin.
10. In a shallow dish, spread the cooked rice and sprinkle the remaining oil. Add the powder, tamarind pulp and groundnuts and mix with a *thuduppu with out breaking the rice grains.
11. Serve with sandige (papads/ vattals) or aloo chips. Good dish to take for travel and picnics.

* Thuduppu is a flat laddle used to turn dosas.

For Mysore Style puliyogere

If we use sesame seeds and dry coconut and leave out jeera/ cumin the same recipe will be Mysore Style puliyogere.

Asha was desperately waiting for this recipe! I hope this matches her expectations. This is my next entry for RCI Karnataka!

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Jolada rotti with Uchellu podi (Jowar Roti with Niger Seeds Powder)

Jowar or Sorghum is widely grown in dry areas with scanty rainfall. It is used in many parts of India to make rotis or unleavened bread following different methods. I am posting the method followed by Kannadigas that Aaruni shared with me. Jolada Rotti or Jonna Rotte is a zero oil bread cooked extensively in Northern parts of Karnataka.

Niger seeds are called Uchellu in Kannada and are used to make a powder used as an accompaniment to all the breads.

Niger Seeds – Uchellu

Uralikaalu (huralikaalu) or Horse Gram is combined with Niger seeds to make the powder.

Uralikaalu or Horse Gram
This is my next entry for RCI Karnataka hoted by Asha of Foodie’s Hope.

Jolada Rotti/ Jowar Roti/ Sorghum Roti with Uchellu Podi (Niger Seeds Powder)

For the Uchellu podi (Huchellu Podi)

Ingredients

• Uchellu (Niger Seeds) – 1/2 cup
• Urulikaalu (Horse Gram) – 1/2 cup
• Red chillies – 12 nos
• Curry leaves – 3 twigs
• Jeera (Cumin) – 1 teaspoon
• Salt – to taste

Method

1. Dry roast the urulikaalu (horse gram) on a low flame you smeall an aroma. Add jeera and roast for a minute more and take out on a plate.
2. Roast the uchellu (niger seeds) on a low flame till it crackles. Take out on the same plate with roasted urulikaalu (horsegram).
3. Roast the red chillies it it turns dark brown. Take out on the same plate.
4. Wash and wipe the curry leaves and dry roast till dry.Tranfer to the plate.
5. When all ingredients are cool, add salt and grind to a fine powder in a mixie.
6. Store in an air tight container. Tastes good with all rotis and dosas.

Patting to form the Jolada Rotti/ Jowar Roti/ Sorghum Roti

For the Jolada rotti (Jowar Roti)

Ingredients

• Jowar flour – 2 cups+ 2 tablespoons for rolling
• Salt – a pinch
• Water – 2 cups

Method

1. Bring water to boil in a heavy bottomed pan.
2. Add the salt and sprinkle the flour evenly . After a minute stir and mix well.
3. Once the flour absorbs all the water take off the flame and knead to form a ball. Divide into 2 inch balls.
4. On a plate sprinkle some flour, take a lemon sized ball and press to form a round. Start pressing with your palm moving the roti in a circular direction to form a thin round like chapathis. You could alternatively roll using a rolling pin.
5. Remove excess flour on the rotti with a cloth and cook both sides on a medium flame in a tawa. An evenly made thin roti puffs up.
6. Serve hot uchellu podi and avarekaalina (field beans) saaru (lentils gravy).

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Akki Rotti (Rice Roti)

There are two ways of looking at Akki Rotti – you can think of Akki Rotti as unleavened bread made out of rice flour or as spicy pancakes.

Personally, I prefer “Sada” Akki Rotti (plain rice flour bread) to the many different the masala ones which have onions, grated vegetables, cumin and green chilly. Sada or Plain Akki Rotti is a zero oil bread much like the phulka and is super soft and fluffy like the Gujrathi rotlis. It is typically served with uchellu podi and ennegayi or gojju.

While one can find nifty workarounds for getting the masala ones, the sada ones aren’t that amenable to cheat sheets. The masala akki rotti has been a saviour once – when absent mindedly I made naan dough out of rice flour. Amma and I converted it into some kind of masala akki roti – dosa 🙂 – rich in milk and absolutely yummy.

Yet, nothing can beat the divine taste of plain akki rottis which I have been wanting to try for quite sometime. I faithfully followed Aaruni’s (introduced in the earlier post) recipe and method and I am glad to say the results have been fantastic for a beginner like me. I was quite delighted when the rotis puffed up. Yay, yay!!

Akki Rottis (Rice Flour Rotis) folded into a quarter

A Closer View

These are a wee bit thicker than they are supposed to be and though round, have tapered edges (booo hoo!!!).

Here’s Aaruni’s recipe that I faithfully followed:

Preparation Time: 5 minutes , Cooking Time: 30 minutes , Yield: 6 Rotis (these are slightly bigger than wheat flour rotis)

Ingredients

• Rice Flour – 2 cups
• Water – 2 cups
• Salt – 1 tsp

*cups=225ml or 8 oz measures.

Method

1. Bring salt and water to boil in a heavy bottomed cooking pot on a medium flame.
2. When the water starts bubbling, reduce flame to low and throw in the flour evenly. Do not stir. Keep on a low flame for a minute.
3. With the back of the ladle whisk the contents into a smooth paste. Remove from stove and keep aside for cooling.
4. Knead into a dough. The more you knead, the less you sweat while making the rotis. Divide into 6 parts and shape into balls.
5. Keep aside a little rice flour for dusting. Wipe a flat board/ roti rolling surface with a clean wet cloth. Wipe your belan/ rolling pin with the wet cloth.
6. Take one ball of dough and roll in the flour. Flatten the ball into a round. Roll into a round with the belan/ rolling pin (exert very little pressure), continuosly moving the roti in a circular direction. The roti should be rolled out thin. Dust off the flour and wipe the roti with a wet cloth.
7. Heat a tawa. Slip the roti in the tawa. Cook on a medium flame. When you see about two or more air pockets bloat up, turn and cook the other side. The roti would have started puffing. Turn again and cook for a few seconds.
8. Repeat for all the other balls of dough. Remember to clean the rolling board and belan/rolling pin and wet them with a cloth for each roti.

One pack of soft fluffy “a wee bit thick” Akki Rottis packed off to Asha for RCI-K.

You might want to check out few other versions of plain Rice flour breads:

• The Coorgi version from Asha’s Foodie’s Hope.
• Chavlachi Roti from Koli cuisine (Maharashtra) from Anjali’s Anna Parabrahma
• Ari Pathiri (Kerala) from Aparna’s Bhakshanam
• Tandla Pita from Shilpa’s Aayi’s Recipes and Tandlya Roti from Raaga’s The Singing Chef (Konkani)

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