Dry fruit ladoo ( Aantu Unde)

I invite all visitors to see the janmashtami round up. Just click on Balakrishna’s picture for that! To know about the event for Ganesh chaturthi Click on Ganesha.

Aantu unde or dryfruit laddoo is a famous sweet in karnataka! This nutritious laddoo is a must be in the diet of young mothers, three months after delivery. This surely helps new mothers to recover back to their original health.

I have tasted this unde many times but never bothered to prepare at home. But now I learnt the method for Asha’s RCI karnataka!Thanks Asha, I have learnt so many new authentic karnataka recipes because of you!

On thursday when all the people were shopping for Gowri, Ganesha festival, I went around searching for aantu or cooking gum used in this Laddoo. It is available in Granthike Aangadi in Sampige road, Malleshwaram.

All ingredients used in Aantu Unde

Cooking gum or Aantu after dryroasting.

Ingredients

• Cashew – 1 cup
• Badam- – 1 cup
• Dry grapes – 1cup
• Dates – 1 cup
• Dessicated coconut – 1 cup
• Cooking gum (Aantu)- 1 cup
• Sugar – 1 cup
• Ghee – 1 cup
• Cardamom – 6 nos

Method

1. Chop the badam, cashew nuts, dates and dry grapes to small pieces.
2. Dry roast the cooking gum in a heavy bottomed pan, on a low flame till it puffs up as shown in picture. Crush a little when cool.
3. Roast the badam and cashew with 1 table spoon ghee till light golden.
4. Powder the dessicated coconut, sugar and cardamom.
5. Melt the ghee and combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
6. *Make into 2 inch radius balls and store in an air tight container.

The most difficult part is to make the undes. Chopping the dry grapes and dates to fine pieces helps in binding.

You can use sugar as per taste.

You can add any other dry fruit of your choice.

Can be stored for months.

Update: Since dry grapes (raisins) are indispendable for the making of these laddoos I am sending this to Swapna of Swad of India for AFAM – Grapes. “A Fruit a Month” (AFAM) is a monhtly event that rounds up recipes of a particular fruit.

Advertisements

Read Full Post »

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 »

Green Tomato Spring Onion Chutney

Give any dish, any recipe to a person from north karnataka and he or she will make groundnuts go with it. I have many fond childhood memories of living in Hubli and Bidar and I attribute my soft corner for food that is groundnutty to this influence.

North Karnataka is a semi arid region with sparse rainfall during the monsoons. The region is largely uncovered by irrigation although a few border areas of Raichur have canals under the Tungabhadra Project. For a land so severely parched, in rural areas agriculture is the main occupation although in habitations close to the taluk one does find people engaged in quarries or factories. Crops grown include jowar, groundnuts and sunflower.

A couple of years back I spent a month travelling to many villages in north karnataka on an assignment that involved visits to several villages. Couple of random lines from one of my journals from that visit :
“The heat bites into the skin…vast areas of dry black land scattered around stony hillocks greet you as you enter this quarter. Slate houses dot the area where people spend a large part of their lives fetching water. Like most hinterland this area, formerly a part of the Nizam of Hyderabad’s province, witnesses its people fight a relentless battle against poverty everyday.Though stricken by poverty, people are remarkably hospitable. I of course been treated to the standard sugary chaya at every house that I stopped by. Managing the chaya here has been relatively easy so far, mostly because it pretty hot and my bladder has thankfully been nice. Coming as a student from Bombay seems to make the familiarity even more striking – most people migrate annually for a few months for contruction work and arrive only when its time to cultivate the next crop. ”

I am any day game for a lunch of Jolada Rotti with Gojju over a conversation in smattering Mumbaiya Hindi and Kannada.

You must have guessed that Green Tomato Spring Onion Chutney is a recipe from North Karnataka; Amma learnt this from her friend Nirmala Mallinath.

Rave Idli with Green Tomato Spring Onion Chutney makes a heavenly combination. Rave Idli is a classic Kannadiga dish which is served with a lot of love and generous amounts of Ghee at MTR, Lalbagh Road, Bangalore. My amma (Latha) tried multiple times to replicate the taste and texture of mouth watering Rave Idlis that one gets at MTR before achieving perfection in this recipe that both of us have cooked over a zillion times. You wake either of us in the middle of the night and ask us for Rava Idlis; we’ll get a plate ready in 10 minutes 🙂 . Rave Idlis aren’t just delicious but also sinfully simple – so simple that I’d hammer you on your head if you refused to attempt this recipe.

One pack of Rave Idli with Green Tomato Spring Onion Chutney for spirited Asha of Foodie’s Hope as my #2 entry for RCI-Karnataka.

Ingredients

• Green Tomato – 1
• Onion – 1
• Spring Onions – 1/4 cup (finely chopped)
• Coriander – 2 twigs
• Curry Leaves – 4
• Green Chilly – 1
• Groundnuts – 2 tbsp
• Jeera – 1tsp
• Salt to taste
• Sesame Oil – 1/2 tsp
• Oil for cooking

Method

1. Roast the groundnuts for 15-20 seconds in the Microwave on high. Set aside to cool.
2. Quarter the Onion and Green Tomato and saute in a pan with Curry Leaves and 1 tsp oil. Add roughly chopped coriander to this. Set aside to cool.
3. Grind the roasted groundnuts and jeera in a blender to a fine powder. Add the sauted onion-green tomato with salt and grind to a fine paste. Transfer to a bowl.
4. Add 1/2 tsp Sesame Oil to the finely chopped spring onion and add this to the paste.

Note: Regional Cuisines of India is an online food event started by Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine. This month the event focusses on Karnataka. Head over to Asha’s to check out details for submission and deadline.

Read Full Post »

Ground nut Poli(Shengai Holige)From North Karnataka

This nutritious oil free holige or poli is my 2nd entry for RCI Karnataka hosted by Asha of Foodie’s Hope.

I learnt this from a dear friend Nirmala Mallinath. Thanks Nirmala!

Ingredients

For the filling

• Groundnut – 1 cup
• Sesame seeds or til – 1 table spoon
• Jaggery – 3/4 cup
• Cardamom – 2 nos

For the cover

• Maida 1 cup + 1 table spoon for rolling
• Ghee – 2 teaspoons

Method

1. Dry roast the ground nut in the MW for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring after every minute for even cooking.
2. Dry roast the til for 2 minutes in a kadai(In MW til will crackle and spread all over). Grind the roasted til to a fine powder.
3. Skin the groundnut and grind coarsely. You can grind with skin also. Powder the jaggery well.
4. Mix the powdered Til, Groundnut, jaggery and cardamom.
5. Sprinkle a table spoon of water, mix well and keep aside. This is used as the filling.
6. Make a soft dough with maida, adding ghee and required amount of water. It should be like chapathi dough.
7. Make 8 balls out of the filling and 8 balls with maida dough.
8. Roll out the dough, place the filling, cover and roll again to a thin poli, using the flour for easy rolling.
9. Heat a tawa on a medium flame and cook both sides of the polis, Till brown spots appear.
10. You can serve with or with out ghee.

Karnataka Kasuti Is a famous hand embroidery of North Karnataka. Work done on my saree by my close friend Maduri Dawane can be seen in the background.

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 »

Srijayanthi( Krishna jayanthi or Janmashtami or Gokulashtami) and Recipes

Tanjore Painting of Lord Bala Krishna made by Latha Narasimhan (me!!) Update: Thanks SeeC, for suggesting that I put a web optimized image with a copyright.

This year (update: refers to year 2007) Srijayanthi also known as Gokulashtami/Janmashtami/Krishnashtami falls on 4th September.As always I am posting the details and important recipes (prasaadams or offerings) of Krishna jayathi or Janmashtami or Gokulashtami, a few days ahead of the festival. This is for people who come here looking for these recipes.

The following recipes have been posted on The Yum Blog, click through for the recipes.

1. Navaneetham
2. Sukkuvellam
3. Thattai
4. Seedai
5. Vellaseedai
6. Kodubale
7. Paal cake

Lord Krishna’s Birthday is celebrated by Hindus all over the world! In the North this is celebrated as Janmashtami. In the South, the Iyers call this festival Janmashtami or Gokulashtami and the Iyengars celebrate as Srijayanthi or Krisnajayanthi.

In Karnataka, Iyengars place the idol of Lord Krishna in a mandapam and decorate him with the Bhakshanam (Snacks and Sweets in Tamil) they prepare for the festival. Garlands and thoranams are made out of Murrukus and Kodubales!

A few decades earlier back the children in the household used to decorate a chaparam(mandapam that can be carried on your shoulders), place the image of Lord Krishna in it and carry it around the streets. As a child I remember we too built these chaparams for the lord. My father as usual performed a Aaradanai (a poojai performed for Saligramam which is a divine stone considered to be a manifestation of Lord Vishnu) and a variety of Bhakshanams(sweets and snacks) were offered as prasaadam. These days children do a lot of craft work for their school project, but there is no inclination to build a chaparam for the lord.

For children Srijayanthi definitely means a lot of snacking and jolly time for the sweet tooth. Snacks prepared usually have rice flour as main ingredient. Minimum five varieties of fresh fruits are offered. Naval pazham (Syzygium cumini , Skeels, Myrtaceae) the lords favourite fruit is definitely included. To know the medicinal properties of this fruit please visit this link.

Navaneetham and Sukkuvellam are two items that are prepared only for this festival.

The pooja is performed in the late evening as Krishna was born at midnight. Generally most of the sweets and savouries are prepared on that day only. The front yard is decorated by drawing a kolam (rice flour drawings on ground), called ezhakoolam. This is done using soaked rice ground to a fine paste and mixed with lot of water. A white cloth is used to soak the paste and make the drawing. Krishna’s feet is drawn from the front yard to the pooja room, indicating that the lord is entering our home. In my home my son has been performing the pooja for the last 5 years. We do the Srikrishna Ashtothra Naamavali (chanting of 108 names of Lord Krishna) for the Pooja.

We are hosting a virtual food event for the festival, and I am sure all my blogger friends will send their entries in great numbers. So while I prepare a huge array of sweets and snacks, I will post only a few in the coming days. My blogger friends will bring out the best of their culinary skills and post other great recipes which are prepared for this festival. :). Click here for details of the event.

Read Full Post »

Dumroot Halwa / White Pumpkin Halwa

Dumroot Halwa is Karnataka’s version of Lauki/ Doodhi/ Sorakaaya made out of Pooshnikkai (in Tamil) or Ash Gourd. This is the microwave version of Dumroot Halwa. A couple of random tidbits:

1. I followed my Appa’s recipe. My Dad’s fetish for experimentation in the kitchen is rather entertaining, though it means a lot more work for my Amma. His culinary adventures as a norm follow unconventional methods, but thankfully there are times when these do lead to yummy dishes. This is one of those recipes, he discovered over a decade ago while playing with his “newest found kitchen toy” – the microwave.

2. I made a sweet for the first time in over a year and half of cooking. With my Paatti and Amma around I never ever thought I’d cook sweets for myself!!! I am a spoilt granddaughter – any sweet or karam that I named was prepared at any time I wanted by my Paatti. My Paatti is a typical Iyengar Mami with ivory skin, big red pottu and shiny Madasaru (a style of wearing the nine yard saree). She is without doubt an exceptional cook – but what makes her even more exceptional is her ability to gauge “what stage a sweet is at” with just her sense of smell. My Paatti has never had good eyesight – she’s blind in one, and the other has a power so high that she sees nothing beyond dark shadows. Yet as though by magic she weaves her culinary skills to produce the best tasting food I have ever had. She somehow just knows when the sugar syrup is just right for putting in flour, or when the Mysoor Pak is just done enough to transfer to a plate. It took my mom quite a bit to match her. Of course I have to concede that Amma has inherited her cooking genius.

Here’s the recipe:

Dumroot Halwa

Cooking time: 15 minutes, Preparation: 5 minutes, Serves: 3 (as a dish on the side)

2 cup Pooshanikkai (Ash Gourd or White Pumpkin – grated and packed)
3/4 Sugar *
3/4 cup Fresh Cream
3 tbsp Broken Cashewnuts

Step 1. Build Muscles
Grate the White Pumpkin. Transfer to a Microwave Safe Glass Bowl along with the water content. Note: Do not drain water from the grated Pumpkin.

At the end of this step, you’ll be left with an aching hand and hopefully with some arm fat converted to muscles.

Step 2. Cook Grated Pumpkin and Get Rid of all the Water.
**Microwave on high for 8 minutes. Stir after the 5th minute to check water content. After the 7th minute stir again and check the water content. After the beep at the 8th minute, check the water content again and keep for an additional minute or so if required.

At the end of this step, you’ll be left with grated pumpkin that is cooked, reduced in quantity and has no water other than the wetness in it.

Step 3: Cook with Sugar
Stir the cooked Pumpkin well and add 3/4 of a cup of sugar. Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Stir after the 2nd minute and check for consistency, remove from microwave if it is fairly thick. Note: About 50% of the cooked pumpkin quantity is a good measure of how much sugar is needed.

At the end of this step, you will be left with grated pumpkin in a thick sugar syrup.

Step 4: Make the Halwa Fattening.
Add 3/4 cup of cream and stir well. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir well after the beep and check for consitency. Keep for an additional minute or so if the halwa is not thick enough.

At the end of this step, you will have halwa that is ready to eat but just needs some toasted nuts.

Step 5: Make the Halwa Nutty
In a Microwave Safe Bowl or Plate, toast the cashewnuts on high for about 30 seconds. Keep for an additional 5 to 10 seconds if the cashewnuts are not golden. Add this to the Halwa.

Step 6: Eat and Enjoy.
Note: If you are food blogger, you might need to substitute this with the “photo session” aka “snap taking ceremony”. But if you are a lazy food blogger like me, you’ll just take a few with your mobile in not more than 30 seconds.

*Alter to taste. About 50% of the cooked pumpkin quantity is a good measure of how much sugar is needed. I used a little over 1/2 a cup for 2 cups of grated Pumpkin.
**Timings may need adjustment depending on the water content of the Pumpkin. Since this varies, do use your discretion while cooking.

This is my entry for Srivalli’s Microwave Easy Cooking Series

And for Asha’s RCI Karnataka started by Lakshmi K of Veggie Cuisine (#1 entry mind you, there are many more on their way).

Read Full Post »