Annada Kesari Bhaat / Sweet Saffron Rice

         

Hey folks! All well at your end, I hope.... Things have been good at my end,apart from the cough and cold that everyone in our house is falling prey to. The weather out here in Bengaluru has been pretty gloomy and rainy. Probably that's the reason why everyone around seems to be falling sick so often.

My Ajji- Taata are here with us since a couple of weeks and I am getting to learn a whole lot of traditional dishes from  my Ajji! One such dish that I learned from her was "Annada Kesari Bhaat". This dish happens to be one of my favorites, and I love it even more after having learned how easy it is to make :) Have a surprise guest at home? You could put this together in just 10-15 mins!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Cooked white rice ( I like mine to be mushy and well cooked)

1 cup Sugar (Adjust quantity according to taste)

1/4 cup Ghee/Clarified butter

8-10 Saffron strands

1-2 tsp Warm Milk

1 tbsp Raisin-Cashew mixture

1-2 drops Food color (optional)

 

Method:

1. Soak saffron strands in warm milk and keep aside.
2. Heat a pan on medium flame and add 1/4 cup of water to it.
3. Add all the sugar and stir until it dissolves completely and forms a thread like consistency; Note:Add just enough water to dissolve all the sugar.
4. Add half the quantity of ghee to the pan and stir until it dissolves.
5. Add the cooked and mashed rice, food color and remaining ghee; Pour the milk with saffron strands over it and mix thoroughly.
6. Roast the cashews and raisins in 1 tsp of ghee and add to the Kesari Bhaat; Serve hot and relish!

Nimbekai Uppinakai/Lemon Pickle

         

 

Hey folks, I'm back! I have been off blogging for over a month now, haven't I ??!?! Time flies here in India... really!! :) August has been a busy month for Naveen and me. We landed in Bengalooru on the 24th of July... The first few days went by in deciding on my doctor and hospital, getting the Internet connection up and running, getting a SIM card for each of us and other such immediate necessities. I have decided to go ahead with Columbia Asia, Hebbal for my delivery.... Any suggestions/experiences/opinions regarding Columbia Asia, Hebbal are more than welcome! :)

After the major task of choosing my doctor and hospital, I was at my in-laws place for a couple of weeks at Mangalooru. Rainy season that it is in India right now, it was pouring cats and dogs in the coastal city of Mangalooru (or Mangalore, as it was known till recently).... Not that it helped in cooling down the weather in any way!!! Despite the heavy rains and the high temperatures, I managed to have a wonderful time out there... hogged on all the traditional south canara dishes, stalled the famous "Pabbas" ice cream parlor almost daily, met up with all our good friends! My in-laws had also arranged for a traditional  and elaborate "Seemantha" ceremony for me. Got done with all that and returned to Amma's place in Bangalore last week. And now that even Naveen is back to work in Mangalore, I seem to have a lot of free time in hand. I am also enjoying all the pampering while it lasts :)

Both, my Ajji (Mom's mom)  and amma, make amazing pickles. This traditional recipe for lemon pickle is theirs too. Glad that I was with amma when she was making it last time.... I got a chance to take a few pictures and learn the procedure. Though very easy to make, I must warn you before hand that this one is a very time consuming procedure and it takes a lot of patience . But once you get to taste this pickle, you will never like any of the store bought ones.  So, all you folks who love home made pickles and have the patience to wait, should definitely try this one!!

 

Ingredients:

10-12 Fresh lemons, medium sized

15-20 Dry Red Chilies, low to medium spiced

2 tsp Methi seeds

1 tsp Hing

Salt as per taste and requirement

Method:

1. Wash and chop each lemon into 8 pieces and keep aside.
2. In the jar that you will be using to store the pickle, drop 8-10 pieces of chopped lemon; Sprinkle a generous amount of salt all over; Continue the process for the remaining pieces as well; Close the lid of the jar tightly and keep aside for 4-5 days. Note: Make sure you pick a jar/bottle with a lid that closes tightly.
3. Open the lid of the jar and mix thoroughly with a steel spoon; You will see that the lemons would have given out enough water because of the salt.
4. Close the lid of the jar tightly and keep aside for another 20 days; Remember to mix thoroughly, once in every two days.
5. Dry roast red chilies, methi seeds and hing until you smell the fresh aroma of the masalas. Powder the roasted masalas in a blender without adding any water.
6. Add the powdered masalas to the salted lemons and mix thoroughly; Keep aside for 2 days.
7. Relish with dosas, rotis, parathas, idli, curd rice or just some hot steamed plain rice!

Prep Time: About 30-40 mins, excluding storage time;

Makes: Enough to fill a 500ml bottle;

Baalekai Chips/ Banana Chips

       

With just about a week left for our move, mom and I are busy emptying our pantry and making sure we don't end up wasting too many groceries. In the process, we ended up making Mangalore special -Banana Chips last week.... Here goes the recipe

Am sending this across to "RCI-Udupi & Mangalorean Cuisine" event hosted by Sia of Monsoon Spice. Thanx to Lakshmi for having come up with the RCI event concept, and thanks to Sia for hosting this month's event!!

Ingredients:

1 Raw Banana (preferably the long and thick ones, called "nendra baale" in Kannada)

2-3 tsp Salt

1/4 cup Water

Oil for deep frying (Coconut oil, preferably)

Method:

1. Wash and peel the raw banana; Peel deep enough, such that only the white pulp remains.
2. Slice the banana into very thin circular slices. You could use a slicer for this purpose.
3. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan; Meanwhile, dissolve salt in some water and keep aside.
4. Drop a handful of banana slices into the  hot oil carefully.
5. Pour a tsp or two of salt water into the oil; The oil will sizzle a little, so make sure you maintain a distance.
6. Saute regularly so that the slices do not stick to each other and they are cooked all over.
7. The chips are done when they turn golden yellow in color; Remove from oil and drain on paper towels; Let cool completely and store in airtight containers.
8. Repeat the whole process for the remaining banana slices.

Note:

• While adding salt water to subsequent batches, keep in mind that the oil would already have some amount of salt in it. So, you might want to add lesser quantity of salt water every time.
• You could even add a pinch of turmeric and hing to the salt concentrate, for  good color and taste.
• Using coconut oil gives it the authentic mangalorean taste, but feel free to go ahead and use any vegetable oil of your choice.

Prep Time: About 30-40 mins;

Serves: Makes enough for 2-3 people;