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.

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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.

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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!).

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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.

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Chocochip cookies

I have been baking these cookies or ghee biscuits alteast once a month for the past 25 years. Some times for my hubby and children, most of the time for my relatives and friends. Baking has always been a passion for me, there is nothing as delightful as making a car shaped cake for your kids or taking a bite off delicously melting cookies.

My mother used to make cookies in her old biscuit maker, placed on the stove with sand in the lowest campartment, biscuits in the middle and charcoal on the top. With some experience and experimentation, I have made a few changes to the recipe like using ghee instead of butter and omitting soda. Over the years many people have enjoyed these cookies that I bake. But the recipe received its ultimate seal of validation when Sunil, a chef at Taj and Anupama, his wife a professor in a Hotel management school said that my cookies are the best they have ever tasted. :DYay!!!

Choco chip cookies and Super soft idlies smeared with Mulagai podi are my entry for Anupama’s picnic event.

Ingredients

• Maida – 3 cups
• Sugar – 1 and1/4 cup
• ghee – 1 cup
• milk powder – 1 cup
• Dark chocolate chips or gratings – 1/2 cup

Method

1. Grind the sugar to a fine powder.
2. Mix ghee, sugar, milk powder and maida in a big bowl.
3. Knead for 10 minutes till it blends well to form a ball.
4. Now add the choco chips and mix well.
5. Some chocolate will combine with the dough and give a light chocolate colour.
6. Shape on your palm into 1 and 1/2 inch rounds. Place this biscuits on baking tray and bake in a pre heated oven in the convection mode at 230degree centrigrade for 9 minutes.
7. You can also shape the biscuits using biscuit cutters.
8. Store in air tight container and carry for your picnic.

Prepare idlies and mulagai podi as per the recipes.

• Click here for Idli recipe
• Click here for Mulagai Podi recipe

In a plate mix mulagai podi with til oil and spread it on both sides of the idlies. It is easy to serve idlies in a picnic.

PS: I just noticed that we have touched 100 posts and this is 101!

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