Roasted Mung Dal | Huride Hesrubele | Roasted Moong Dal

Bakery style crisp roasted mung dal
08/06/2016 10:52:47 PM vindhyadesai

Hurigaalu (roasted pulses and seeds) like peas, mung dal(hesaru bele), chana dal(kadale bele), chick peas, mung beans, avre kaalu(hyacinth beans) etc. are signature snacks of a typical Bangalore-Mysore (South Karnataka) bakery or condiment store. A special mention must go to ‘Subbamma Stores’ an old and famous condiment store in Bangalore, they make the most amazing crisp and traditional snacks (kurukulu tindi). Their hurigaalu is one of the best one can get. I have always wanted to make hurigaalu at home and mung dal particularly is my favourite as they are small, crisp and the masala coats really well. There are 3 cooking techniques involved in making this, soaking, blanching, roasting. Follow the times correctly for each process. ... “Roasted Mung Dal | Huride Hesrubele | Roasted Moong Dal”

Madike kaalu usli | Matki usal | Moth bean sundal

Hot, spicy and nutritious madike kaalu usli/matki usal/moth bean sundal
08/06/2016 10:05:09 PM vindhyadesai

Moth beans or madike kaalu or matki beans are rich in protein, easy to cook and digest. Matki usal forms the base of Misal a popular street food dish from Maharashtra. In Karnataka, especially in the Northern parts, this is very famously served during festivals. It is cooked with groundnuts, grated coconut and a quick squeeze of lemon juice on top gives it a super flavour punch. The water in which it is boiled is highly nutritious and is very tasty. ... “Madike kaalu usli | Matki usal | Moth bean sundal”

Nellikayi Chutney | Amla Chutney | Gooseberry Chutney

Coarsely ground tangy nellikayi/amla chutney
08/06/2016 7:48:30 PM vindhyadesai

All of us would have heard about the various benefits of amla/nellikayi/gooseberry especially for hair as it is rich in Vitamin A. But on occasions when we do procure nellikayi/amla during season we might not find many dishes to make out of it. It is actually quite a versatile berry used to make sweet, spicy and savoury dishes. It can be made into pickles, jam, a flavourful bhaat, pies, chutney etc. Here’s a recipe of a chutney which my mother makes in a jiffy. The stone ground version of it will be very tasty. ... “Nellikayi Chutney | Amla Chutney | Gooseberry Chutney”

Mango Lassi | How to make mango lassi?

Thick creamy mango lassi
08/05/2016 8:11:12 PM vindhyadesai

Chilled mango lassi on a hot afternoon sounds too good. Lassi is a very thick yogurt based drink with lots of cream/malai floating on top. Instead of adding thick full fat yogurt I have added very thick buttermilk and a little yogurt/curd for flavour. It will taste very good especially with mango and there is no compromise with flavour. Try other mango recipes! ... “Mango Lassi | How to make mango lassi?”

Tambittu | Puthani Unde | How to make tambittu for Naga Panchmi

Tambittu/Puthani unde/ladoo for Naga Panchmi
08/04/2016 11:24:32 PM vindhyadesai

Another sweet for the line of festivals coming up. This sweet is also from Karnataka and is made for Nagara Panchmi as offering/naivedya to Nagappa (snake god). It is made from roasted gram dal/fried gram/puthani/huri gadale/kadale pappu/daria/chutney dal, whew! a lot of names for one ingredient. I learnt this recipe from my mother and is mainly made in North Karnataka. In South, another type of tambittu similar to ‘sajjige‘ is made. This is a very easy ladoo/unde to make. You can even cut them into barfis but for Nagara Panchmi they need to be in the shape as shown in my hand below. I am not an expert in making that shape for unde/ladoo like my mother. Add cashews, almonds if you want. ... “Tambittu | Puthani Unde | How to make tambittu for Naga Panchmi”

Hayagreeva | Hayagreeva Maddi | Kadalebele payasa

Festive and authentic hayagreeva maddi
08/04/2016 11:02:37 PM vindhyadesai

Hayagreeva maddi is a payasa/payasam dish from Udupi region. I made this for Bheemana Amavasya but it can be made for many festivals. It is simple to make, the only detail to pay attention to is when you are cooking gram dal/chana dal/kadale bele. Before we begin the recipe, I would like to mention a little *story/legend* associated with the origin of ‘Hayagreeva Maddi’, I read in a book.
Once there was a sculptor who was trying to make an idol of Lord Ganesha, however all his efforts in making the sculpted idol turned into the head of a horse. He finally gave up and sculpted the idol into the shape of a horses’ head and stashed it away. One night, the Lord himself appeared in the scluptors’ dream and blessed him and asked him to donate the horses’ head idol that he had sculpted to Sri Vadirajaru. The same night Sri Vadirajaru also dreamt about the idol. The next day the sculptor brought in the idol and Sri Vadirajaru established the idol in Sonda in Sirsi, Karnataka. Everyday he started worshipping the idol and as offering/naivedya he made Hayagreeva Maddi a payasa made of gram (horses’ favourite food) and jaggery. Make this authentic and traditional dish from Karnataka for an upcoming festival 🙂 ... “Hayagreeva | Hayagreeva Maddi | Kadalebele payasa”

Puliyogare | Puliyogare Gojju | Pulihora | Puliyodarai | How to make puliyogare?

Traditional Iyengar puliyogare with homemade gojju
08/02/2016 5:46:18 PM vindhyadesai

Tangy, sweet, spicy and even slightly bitter, all tastes in one dish. Puliyogare has to be one of those dishes. Traditional Iyengar Puliyogare made at home is an excellent dish for festivals. You can make the gojju ahead of time and store it and make puliyogare quite easily for your lunch box or even for a quick picnic. It is just mixing in gojju evenly with cooked and cooled rice. Cooked rice should not be sticky and you can eat the most wonderful puliyogare at home. The prasada/offering they give at temples has a unique taste. I would say this one will come quite close and it’s homemade, so no complaints. There are a few steps to make the gojju. I have segregated them to make it easy and each stage can be done separately. ... “Puliyogare | Puliyogare Gojju | Pulihora | Puliyodarai | How to make puliyogare?”

Sajjige | Sajjge | Bellada Sajjige | How to make sajjige hoorna

Super quick and easy, sajjige or jaggery rava sheera
08/01/2016 10:33:03 PM vindhyadesai

The festival season is here. Shravana masa for year 2016 starts in 2 days. Tomorrow is the big festival/habba ‘Bheemana Amavasya‘. Celebrate festivals with fervour yet with simplicity. It will make the festivals more enjoyable. Here’s a quick sweet recipe. Sajjige is made in different ways, I learnt this recipe from my MIL. Simple and super quick to make. ... “Sajjige | Sajjge | Bellada Sajjige | How to make sajjige hoorna”

Dil Pasand | Tutti Frutti Stuffed Bread

Childhood favourite, colourful, fruity, dil pasand, tutti-frutti stuffed bread
07/31/2016 1:43:40 PM vindhyadesai

The most sought-after, after school treat of the 90’s. Dil Pasand along with Dil Kush were the two types of special stuffed breads available in bakeries. Old style Iyengar bakeries still do sell them. I love the tutti frutti pieces along with the coconut filling inside the bread. The outer cover is a soft and layered sweet milk bread. It tastes so good when eaten warm directly out of the oven. It truly is one of my ‘dil pasand’ (liked) snacks. There are quite a few steps to make this, plan your recipe well, I have given some pointers to make, baking dil pasand a joy! ... “Dil Pasand | Tutti Frutti Stuffed Bread”

Turai | Ridge gourd gravy

Easy ridge gourd/turai/heerekayi side dish for rotis/phulkas
07/30/2016 4:47:50 PM vindhyadesai

A simple gravy made with turai/ridge gourd/heerekayi. There is something about turai, I love the earthy smell and taste of turai. Here’s a simple North Indian style gravy to highlight the simplicity and taste of turai. I had tried this recipe from ‘Everyday cooking from Nita Mehta’ years ago and I love this recipe everytime I make it. An easy lunch box idea with rotis/phulkas or chapathis. ... “Turai | Ridge gourd gravy”