Yet another recipe from my mom’s kitchen. As a child I always wanted guests to visit our home just to have pulao 😉 My mom prepares this pulao at least once in a week. But we always have complaint that she adds some special ingredient when guests come home;) No other pulao can beat my mom made pulao in my case 🙂 so whenever I visit home, I have this for 3 course 😉 love you amma :-*

Here comes the recipe of pulao

Ingredients:

• basmati rice- 1 cup ( I used sona masuri as I did not had stock of basmati rice)
• mixed vegetables- carrot, beans, green peas, potato, cauliflower
• onion- 1 cut into thin slices
• garam masala power- 11/2 tbsp ( I used MDH brand )
• green chilly- 2 small
• coriander leaves- small bunch
• garlic- 3 pods
• shredded coconut- 3-4 tbsp
• ghee- 3 tbsp
• cashew nuts- 2 tbsp
• ground nut- 4 tbsp
• bread slice- 2 ( toasted till light brown)

Method:

• If you are using basmati rice, wash and soak rice for 30 minutes. Others skip this step.
• Grind together coconut, green chilly, garlic, coriander leaves and garam masala to a fine paste and keep aside.
• In a sauce pan heat ghee and fry onion till light brown in colour. Now add ground nut and fry for another 4 minutes till it becomes crispy and splutters.
• Add ground masala and fry for another 5 minutes till its raw smell disappears.
• Add chopped vegetables and mix well.
• Now add rice and 4 cups of water, salt and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat to ,medium high and cook till done. It takes approximately 15 minutes.
• Finally add cashew nuts and toasted bread slices and close the lid.
• serve hot with mixed raita:)

Mangalore, namma Kudla is famous for its sea foods. If you see a name board in Tulu language anywhere in the corner of the mega cities, you will get verities of South Kanara or Udupi sea foods.     However, since I am a pure vegetarian, I can deal with this dishes and I know only what I taste.

Mangalore… namma kudla J even though we eat roti and other dishes on weekends with our friends, finally we land in Udupi restaurants. In Hyderabad Taj Mahal, Caffe Nandini, Kamat serves authentic udupi style cuisines. Before going to the respective restuarent our order is ready in mind 😉 we have vada sambar, masala dose, plain dose, rava dose or goilbaje. I do not know why goibaje is called as mysore bajji 😦

Well, everyone knows Mangaloreans use lot of oil that too, coconut oil in their dishes.  Without coconut and its bye-products we cannot survive even a single day. The taste of coconut in our dishes and fried items in coconut oil has got its own taste which cannot be beaten by any other dishes.

Our breakfast includes dosa, sajjige bajil, idli, rice noodles ( semige/semiya), kadubu/pundi to name a few.

Lunch and dinner includes boiled rice, sambar, playa, pickle, buttermilk, papad.

Though we are not famous sweet eaters like North Indians, our sweets do not contain only coconut oil and dhals.  Some of the famous sweets of this part of the State are:

• wide variety of halwa likely kashi halwa, papaya halwa, godhi/ whole wheat halwa, carrot halwa, beetroot halwa etc
• payasa such as semiya sabakki (semiya sabudana), hesaru bele( moong dal)payasa, kadle bele payasa (channa dal), akki payasa, carrot payasa, hal hittu payasa ( kheer made with rice batter)
• other sweets such as jilebi, satu, holige, athirasa, badam puri, hayagreeva

Our snacks includes- chakkuli, tukkudi, vada, pakoda, aloo bonda, kodbale.

well, without wasting much of time I am giving the recipe of mangalore special palya

Ingredients:

• tondekai- 1 cup
• cashew nuts- 1/2 cup
• coconut oil-1 tbsp
• shredded coconut-1 tbsp
• mustard seeds- 1/4tbsp
• broken red chilly- 1 samll
• curry leaves-few

Method:

• wash and cut tondekai lengthwise and keep aside.
• cook tondekai and cashewnut separately adding little water and salt in a pressure cooker for 2-3 whistles.
• In a pan heat coconut oil, add mustard seeds, dry red chilly and curry leaves. When it splutters, add cooked tondekai and cashew nut and fry for a minute. Now add shredded coconut and cook till water content is evaporated and palya is dry.
• tondekai palya is ready 🙂
• 

When I was browsing for new breakfast recipes I suddenly found this Idli.. Idli has always been one of my favorite breakfast. But I could not prepare soft idlies for a long time. It always turned out to be hard. Somehow after trying for 3-4 times, I succeed 🙂 Now I have the confidence of preparing idli 🙂 so when I know the regular idli, thought of trying this version. After having neer dosa for a week, wanted to have something else badly 😦 so then I prepared this Idli. I must tell you the taste of ginger,cumin and pepper gives a great taste to Idli.

Well, It originated from the town ‘Kanchipuram’ in Tamilnadu and hence the name. I prepared sambar to add with Idli. You can have it with any side dish of your choice.

Ingredients:

• Idli rice- 11/2 cup
• regular rice- 1/2 cup
• Urad dal- 11/2cup
• cumin seeds- 1/4 tbsp
• grated ginger- 1/ 2 tbsp
• crushed pepper- 1/4 tbsp
• ghee- 1/2 tbsp
• oil
• salt

Method:

• Soak rice and urad dal in water for 5-6 hours. wash 4-5 times, grind to a coarse paste adding little water.
• Add salt to the batter,mix well and keep aside overnight.
• Morning in a bowl take 1 cup of batter and add crushed pepper powder, whole cumin seeds, grated ginger, ghee,1/2 tbsp of oil and mix well. Meanwhile prepare steamer and grease Idli plate with little oil and pour the batter. When the steamer is ready, transfer the idle stand and steam for 20 minutes.
• wait for 5 minutes, remove from steamer. Transfer Idli to a plate and cut into V shape.
• Kanchipurm Idli is ready to be served 🙂

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY 🙂 rice kheer is a very well known one… which needs no introduction. I love this kheer just as any other kheer 😉 this kheer is very easy to prepare and tastes awesome 🙂 As it is a holiday, thought will prepare something which is easy and not time consuming.. at that point of time this kheer came to my mind. Today I cooked rice along with milk in a pan. You can even cook rice well in advance then add to milk which saves time too… but today i tried this method to get the aromatic smell of basmati rice. 

Ingredients:

• basmati rice- 1/2 cup
• milk- 4 cup
• sugar- 1 cup
• cardamom powder- a pinch
• cashew nuts- few
• raisins- few

Method:

• Soak rice in water for half an hour, in a mixer just give a turn to cut the rice into small.
• In a heavy bottomed pan add milk and rice. Cook in medium flame stirring occasionally till milk reduces to half and gets creamy texture. This takes approximately 20-25 minutes.
• Now add a cup of sugar and mix. Cook till you get the right consistency.
• Add roasted dry fruits and serve hot or chilled.

 

From August it is the time for festivals…. followed by sweets:) I enjoy having sweets. Hence, every week i prepare sweets which is easy to prepare yet tasty. We use whole wheat in preparing roti…puri…try this halwa too…..but I must apologize for the fact that it consumes lot of ghee 😦

Health benefits of whole wheat flour:

• Whole wheat flour has been associated with reversing the weight gain process. The consumption of these high-fiber foods helps in boosting the metabolic rate and thus, contributes to keeping the body weight under control.
• Consuming whole wheat flour in foods has been proven to protect the body against the risk of insulin resistance, which can otherwise lead to visceral obesity, low levels of protective HDL cholesterol, and high blood pressure.
• Daily consumption of these foods has shown a decline in the increasing blood sugar.
• source :http://nutrition.indobase.com/articles/whole-wheat-flour-nutrition.php

Method:

• whole wheat flour- 1 cup
• sugar – 1 1/4 cup
• water- 1 cup
• milk-1 cup
• ghee- 1/4 cup
• cashew nuts and raisins

Method:

• Heat ghee in a pan and fry cashew nuts and raisins till light golden brown, keep aside.
• Add whole wheat flour and fry in low flame for 5 minutes in low flame.
• Add milk and water and mix. Now add sugar and mix with the help of beater.
• This will help in avoiding any lumps in halwa. When the mixture becomes thick and forms a size of ball, add fried cashew nuts and raisins and mix well.
• Grease a plate with ghee and spread and cut into desired shape.
• You can serve it as it is in small ice cream cups.

Halbai is a very mild sweet which looks like burfi and tastes like halwa. Even though it consumes lot of time and energy in preparing, it is worth. I prepared with rice this time. Halbai is prepared with wheat and ragi too.. once it goes inside your mouth it just melts down 🙂 

Ingredients:

• regular rice- 1 cup
• jaggery- 11/2 cup
• grated coconut- 1 cup
• ghee- 5 tbsp
• cardamom powder- a pinch

Method:

• soak rice in water for 4-5 hours or overnight.
• Next morning grind rice and coconut to a very fine paste adding required amount of water.
• Add 10 more cups of water to the batter and keep aside. Increase water according to consistency of batter. The batter has to be very watery.
• In a non stick pan add grated jaggery and a tablespoon of water and bring to boil. When the jaggery is melted completely, add rice and coconut batter and stir continuously. It takes nearly half an hour 😉 
• Add ghee in between and keep stirring till it comes to ball shape and assembles in middle of pan.
• Now add cardamom powder and mix well.
• Grease a plate with ghee and transfer the mixture to plate spreading evenly.
• Wait till it comes to room temperature, cut into cubes or diamond shape.
• Garnish with cashew nuts or almonds.

Note: 

• Tip by my mother in law: you can grease a plate and steam the same batter for 20 minutes. Here you are saved from a heavy exercise 😉 
• It lasts only for 2 days…. so you have to finish it soon 🙂

Dal tadka is a Panjabi cuisine which is served with palin rice or roti.  Dal Tadka is made with yellow lentis or combination of lentils and tempered with simple spices. I prepared this dal to prepare dal parata which I can even use for dinner tonight with plain rice and papad 🙂

Ingredients:

•  toor dal- 1 cup (washed and soaked for 30 minutes)
• turmericpowder- 1/2 tbsp
• red chilly powder-1/2 tbsp
• hing-a pinch
• garam masala powder- 1/2 tbsp
• chopped garlic-2 pods
• mustard seeds
• dry red chilly-1
• cumin seeds
• curry leaves

Method:

• Pressure cook dalalong with a pinch of hing and turmeric powder till very soft, whisk till smooth.
• Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan, add cooked dal and fry for a minute.
• Add turmeric powder, red chilly powder, garam masala powder, salt, 1/4 cup of water and bring to boil for 5 minutes in medium flame.
• In a small pan prepare tempering / tadka with mustard seeds, garlic, cumin seeds, broken red chilly, curry leaves.
• Transfer tadka to dal. 

SORRY COULD NOT TAKE PIC OF DAL TADKA AS I WAS BIT BUSY PREPARING FOR PARATA 😦 

When my friend said she is preparing dal parata for dinner I was quite surprised, as that was the first time I heard one more variety of parata 😉 I wanted to give my hand to this version so I tried today for lunch… Trust me you will love this… I had with cucumber raita and mango pickle.

Health benifits of toor dal/ togari bele

• Toor dal contains folic acid, an important vitamin for all women, especially those planning to become pregnant.
• Toor dal are an excellent source of nutrients and plant protein, and they also contain dietary fiber.
• Toor dal is an excellent source of carbohydrates, which your body needs for energy. When we eat food containing carbohydrates, our body breaks them down into glucose, or blood sugar. Blood sugar is then used to provide energy to your brain, body and nervous system.
• source:http://www.livestrong.com/article/549835-what-are-the-health-benefits-of-toor-dal/

Ingredients:

• wheat flour- 2 cup
• red chilly powder- 1/2 tbsp
• turmeric powder- 1/2 tbsp
• salt- 1/2 tbsp
• oil-1/2 tbsp
• dal tadka (https://sumanapbhat.wordpress.com/2013/08/12/dal-tadka/)

Method:

• Combine all ingredients together except dal tadka and mix well.
• Add dal tadka little by little and form a smooth dough.
• Cover with wet cloth and keep aside for minimum 10 minutes.
• Prepare lemon sized balls of dough and roll like regular roti.
• Apply ghee on both the side and cook till light brown in colour.

Expecting any guests at home?? want to prepare easy yet tasty dessert?? here is the solution. Carrot kheer is a very tasty pudding which takes approximately 30 minutes with minimum ingredients. This is the first time I prepared and I must tell you it was too good!!!!!! From this blog I will add some health benefits of the main ingredients. 

Health benefits of carrot:

• Carrots are loaded with beta-carotene, a compound that is naturally converted to vitamin A when consumed. 

• Sweet and succulent carrots are notably rich in anti-oxidants, vitamins and dietary fiber; however, they provide only 41 calories per 100 g, negligible amount of fat and no cholesterol.

• source:http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/carrots.html

Ingredients:

• carrots- 3 medium (peeled and chopped)
• sugar- 10-11 tbsp ( adjust according to the sweetness of carrots)
• milk- 1 1/2 cup
• almonds, cashew nuts- few
• ghee- 2 tbsp
• cardamom powder- a pinch

Method:

• Pressure cook carrots with a cup of milk for 5 whistles.
• Once the carrots come to room temperature, transfer to mixer jar along with sugar and make a fine paste.
• Transfer the puree to sauce pan, add milk, cardamom powder and bring to boil in medium flame. Reduce the heat and cook for 15 minutes.
• In another pan heat ghee and roast almonds and cashew nuts till light golden brown. Transfer the dry fruits to kheer.
• Carrot kheer is ready to be served.
• Serve hot or chilled!!

We prepare so many dishes with onion in our D.K and udupi districts, but many of us do not know about onion paratha. Its considered to be very good for health too. Have raw onions sliced everyday along with carrots, cucumber for good health. Raw onion encourages the production of good cholesterol (HDL), thus keeping your heart healthy. I made onion paratha today for lunch. This tastes good with just yoghurt or you can have with any raita. Today I added onion to wheat flour and prepared dough. But one can also add this as stuffing the way aloo paratha is prepared.

Ingredients:

• Onion-1 medium chopped finely
• Green chilly- 1
• Whole wheat flour- 1 cup
• Salt
• Turmeric powder- a pinch
• Red chilly powder- 1/ 4 tbsp
• Garam masala powder- ¼ tbsp or less
• Oil= ½ tbsp
• Refined butter/ ghee-1 tbsp

Method:

• In a big bowl add all the above ingredients and kneed well adding required amount of water.

• Cover and keep aside for 30 minutes.
• Roll over into thick discs and transfer to tava.
• Add ghee both the sides and cook till golden brown on both the sides.

These white peas are often used in preparing Ragda. White peas contain a very good source of cholesterol lowering fiber and help in blood sugar problems. So with so many good things in it, I tried a simple curry as a side dish for onion paratha.

 

Ingredients:

• White peas- ½ cup ( soaked overnight )
• Onion – 1 medium
• Tomato- 2 medium
• Ginger- 1 inch
• Garlic- 3pods
• Cumin seeds- ¼ tbsp
• Bay leaf
• Garam masala powder- ½ tbsp
• Dry mango powder/amchur powder- ¼ tbsp
• Kashmiri red Chilly powder- ½ tbsp
• Turmeric powder
• Salt- ½ tbsp
• Oil- 2 tbsp
• Coriander leaves – few

 

Method:

• Pressure cook the soaked peas with little salt for 4 whistles, drain and keep aside.

• Meanwhile finely chop onion and tomato, keep aside. Retain 2 tablespoons of onion and tomato for garnishing.
• In wok heat oil, when hot, add cumin seeds and bay leaf, fry for a minute. Add finely chopped onion and sauté till they become transparent. Now add ginger, garlic and fry for minute.
• Add chopped tomato and cook till mushy. Now add turmeric powder, red chilly powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, and dry mango powder, salt and mix well.

• Add cooked peas, water and cook in medium flame for 5 minutes.
• Finally add lemon juice and cover.
• Just before serving add chopped onion, tomato and coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with plain roti or paratha.