Tag: Desi Ghee

Bengali Khichuri | Bengali Style Khichdi | Bhog er Khichuri

Bengali style khichdi or khichuri, filling and satisfying – Bhog er Khichuri
10/09/2016 8:06:47 PM vindhyadesai

Today was Durgasthami and I made a big Bengali spread for the occasion. It included, aloo posto, Bengali style tamatar chatni, rosogullas and bhog er khichuri. This khichdi is one of the many versions of khichdis one can find in the Indian cuisine. From Pongal to huggi to plain khichdi to mixed veg khichdi there are so many varieties. Every state has at least one of its own versions. This khichdi has roasted mung dal in it with some vegetables. It has some aromatic spices like laung, elaichi, dalchini. They add nice flavour to the khichdi. This is a special dish from the Bengali cuisine and is specially made during festivals like Durgasthami and Saraswati Puja making it ‘Bhog er Khichuri’. It is made with a special type of rice called GobindoBhog chaawal. Any fragrant rice like jeera or basmati rice can be used or even our good old sona masuri rice can also be used to make this khichuri. I have adapted this recipe from a blog which has some nice recipes from the Bengali cuisine. Try other Bengali recipes. ... “Bengali Khichuri | Bengali Style Khichdi | Bhog er Khichuri”

Gasa Gase Payasa | Khus Khus Kheer | Poppy Seeds Payasam | How to make gasa gase payasa?

Cooling, easy on the stomach gasa gase payasa
10/04/2016 9:48:35 PM vindhyadesai

Gasa-gase or poppy seeds or khus-khus are pungent oil seeds which give a very unique flavour to dishes. It can be added to breads, to gravies or in our very own Karnataka cuisine it is made into a payasa (liquid sweet). It is not as thick as usual payasa/payasams/kheer. It is liquidy and can be consumed as a beverage. Gasa-gase payasa has unique cooling properties, along with the gasa-gase seeds, it has jaggery (bella/gur), cardamom (elaichi), coconut milk (or grated coconut) and milk. It is a must have dessert during festivals in Karnataka. Along with bisi-bele-bhaat this is a delicacy and is consumed warm/cool as a beverage during or after lunch. This dish has a special mention in wiki under Indian cuisine. This is frequently made by my MIL and I learnt this recipe from her. She generally adds desiccated coconut (kobbri/copra), here I have added coconut milk. Sometimes I add grated and ground coconut. The little raisins pop in the mouth when drinking this unique payasa and it tastes great! This is a light sweet for ongoing Navratri festivities. ... “Gasa Gase Payasa | Khus Khus Kheer | Poppy Seeds Payasam | How to make gasa gase payasa?”

Haalbai | Akki Haalbai | How to make haalbai?

Soft, fudgy rice and coconut milk barfis
9/05/2016 4:27:39 PM vindhyadesai

Ganesha Chaturthi is a 3 or 5 or 10 day long festival for some people. If you celebrate Ganesha Chaturthi for more than one day, it is mandatory to make at least one sweet dish as offering/naivedya to Lord Ganesha. After making sweets like holige (poli), kadubu or other traditional ones from sweets list one will need a recipe that is simple, easy and light on the stomach. Haalbai is one such recipe, soaked rice ground into a thick batter with coconut milk lightly flavoured with elaichi it is a super easy sweet to make. It does not need resting time after preparing. Just plan to soak rice a few hours before making this sweet. Only water can also be used in place of coconut milk but coconut milk adds a subtle taste and makes haalbai pliable because of the oils in it. If you want to keep this vegan use vegetable oil in place of desi ghee. ... “Haalbai | Akki Haalbai | How to make haalbai?”

Bele Obbattu | Bele Holige | Puranpoli | How to make holige?

Filling and delicious sweet dal stuffed poli/holige for festivals
09/01/2016 06:27:09 PM vindhyadesai

Bele Holige or obbattu is one of the most filling and delicious sweets. It is a sweet dal stuffed poli/holige. During a festival or a function we all look for one dish that can feed a big crowd which is also filling. Sweets generally are accessories in a big spread. Yes, preparing bele holige or obbattu is effort but when you have mastered the process of making the dal filling then preparing bele holige or obbattu will be easy especially if you have a few people to assist/work with you.
I have used whole wheat flour/atta for the outer covering dough whereas generally all purpose flour (maida) and chiroti rava (fine rava) are used to prepare the dough along with a pinch of turmeric. I prefer whole wheat flour(learnt it from my mother), holige turn out to be soft and do not become stretchy and chewy when they are kept for a while.
*Updated with new pictures for Ugadi 2019. Try more holige recipes:
Kayi Holige/Coconut Holige
Dry Nuts Holige
 ... “Bele Obbattu | Bele Holige | Puranpoli | How to make holige?”

Kuchida Kadubu | Khara Kadubu | Sihi Kadubu | Steamed rice dumplings with fillings

Steamed traditional rice kadubu/dumplings wih spicy and sweet fillings
08/07/2016 2:04:13 PM vindhyadesai

A special dish for Naga Panchmi. Traditional rice dumplings with both spicy and sweet fillings. Spicy filling is a mixture of ground dal with different spices and masala. Sweet filling is made from grated coconut and jaggery with elaichi as the flavour. Outer covering is made using rice flour or ground rice paste. Here I have used rice flour. These kadubu/dumplings are very filling and makes a very good dish to make for a festival. The kadubu/dumplings are made and then steamed for a few minutes covered in leaves. I have used parchment paper as I cannot procure banana or turmeric leaves easily around here. ... “Kuchida Kadubu | Khara Kadubu | Sihi Kadubu | Steamed rice dumplings with fillings”

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”

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”

Lauki Halwa | Sorekayi Halwa | Sorekayi Dumrotu

A simple homemade halwa for the sweet tooth
06/21/2016 9:56:35 PM vindhyadesai

A simple homemade halwa is very satisfying. Flavours added just from aromatic elaichi/cardamom and smooth creaminess added from milk. Lauki or bottle gourd is like butter and this halwa has an almost melt in the mouth texture. A quick fix sweet when guests are coming over. The best part is, it can be served at room temperature or even a little warm. It is soothing to the gut especially if you have eaten spicy food or feeling acidic. I have not added khoya/khova to this halwa. Dumrotu(special halwa of Karnataka) is generally made using white ashgourd but both vegetables are very similar in texture and their halwa is similar. ... “Lauki Halwa | Sorekayi Halwa | Sorekayi Dumrotu”

Haal Kesari | Milk Kesari

Fudgy, melt in the mouth sweet, oozing with ghee and kesari flavour
04/21/2016 9:34:35 PM vindhyadesai

Made with ordinary ingredients found at home, it makes for a very satisfying sweet or dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth. It is made with fine cream of wheat, cashews, raisins, milk, ghee and sugar with saffron enhancing the flavour & colour. Most importantly it can be served warm, at room temperature and you can even make it ahead of time. The classic South Indian breakfast combination of upma & kesari together is called chow chow bhaat. ... “Haal Kesari | Milk Kesari”