Mane Adige turns ONE!! And... The Arusuvai surprise ingredient!!!

Friends, its been a year since I put up my first post on Mane Adige!!!!

When I started Mane Adige last year, I didn't really know how I wanted it to be... in fact, I had no plans at all for Mane Adige. But within a few weeks, I had a clear picture of what I wanted out of Mane Adige. Back then, there were hardly any bloggers from Karnataka and even fewer blogs/web sites dedicated to Karnataka/Kannada food. So, I decided to make Karnataka/Kannada food the theme of Mane Adige and I guess I have been sticking to the theme as much as possible!! Of course, lot of other beautiful blogs and web sites have come up with Kannada cuisine in the past year and I am happy to say that Kannada cuisine is now getting all the well deserved attention!!! :)

A big THANKS to all my readers and fellow bloggers who have made Mane Adige such a sweet success!!! All you beautiful people out there have made Mane Adige possible.... without whom, I would have given up a long time ago!! It feels wonderful to receive notes of appreciation from my readers every now and then... recipe requests... supportive comments from readers and fellow bloggers... I can't thank you guys enough!!! Mane Adige has had about 41,000 visitors and 92,000 page views till date, with an average of 275 visitors per day... Though not a huge number, I am happy that I could reach out to those many of you... and that, those many of you have actually appreciated Mane Adige in some way or the other!! Hoping to receive the same amount of support, appreciation and love from all of you in the days-months-years to come.... Cheers!!!

Coming to the Arusuvai surprise ingredient...... The surprise ingredient has finally arrived!!! I had initially decided not to be a part of the Arusuvai chain, because of my current busy schedule... But I finally gave in to the temptation!! Its too hard to resist when almost everyone in the blogging world is into it, you know!!:)

Anyway, Vanamala from My Kitchen World sent across some home-made "Chutney Pudi" as a surprise ingredient!! The aroma of the pudi was so good that I wanted to gobble it up right away!! She has also sent across a book and a chocolate bar to me as a gift!! Thanx a lot, VM.. that's really sweet of you!! :) Will post later about how I put the chutney pudi to use...

Meanwhile, if there's anyone who lives in the US and is interested in receiving the Arusuvai surprise ingredient from me, please leave a comment on this post or mail me at mane.adige@gmail.com

Read more about Arusuvai friendship chain here

That's all for now... take care and happy cooking!!!

Thovve/ Kattu Saaru/ Daal Tadka

Thovve (also known as Kattu Saaru) comes right on top of the comfort foods list in Karnataka. Thovve is like a must, during all festivities and is served at the beginning in every festive meal. Its very simple dish and takes very few ingredients that are usually available in any Indian pantry. While I prefer to make my thovve with toor daal (thogari bele, in Kannada), some people also use moong daal (hesaru bele). The thickness or the consistency of the thovve depends on personal choice. I am posting this on the request from one of my readers.... I hope you like it!

Ingredients:

1 cup Toor dal or Moong Dal

2-3 Green chilies

1-2 Dry red chilies

4-5 curry leaves

1/2 tsp Sugar

1/2 - 3/4 tsp Ginger, grated/finely chopped

1 tsp Lemon juice

1-2 tsp oil

1/2 tsp each of Mustard & Jeera seeds

2-3 strands Cilantro

A pinch of Hing

Salt as per taste

Method:

1. Wash dal in cold water a couple of times;Add about 2 cups of water and the slit green chilies to the dal and pressure cook until completely done; I like my dal mashed completely, and it takes about 3 whistles on medium heat in my cooker.
2. Add the chopped/grated ginger, salt and sugar to the dal and boil well on stove; Add water to get the desired consistency.
3. Heat oil in a small pan and temper with mustard, jeera, hing, red chilies and curry leaves; Add to thovve.
4. Add lemon juice, chopped cilantro and mix well just before serving; Serve hot with rice/ rotis and enjoi!

Prep Time: About 30-35 mins

Serves: About 2-3 people

Picture of "Quintessential Metal" and an award!!!!

I made it on time to Jai & Bee's Click: Metal event, finally!!!!!!! I so badly wanted to participate in each of the previous CLICK themes, but never made it on time.... When I read about the 'Metal' theme for the month of March, I gave up immediately thinking it was a too challenging and I'd never be able to come up with anything decent. I did not even bother to think about it after that. But when I was blog hopping today, I found a metal picture in almost everyone's blog.... I picked up my camera and hurried through the kitchen looking for something that I could shoot! And look what I came up with.... The pic shows a set of steel spatulas and I call it 'quintessential' as I think that these metallic sculptures are a necessity in every Indian kitchen!! Hope you guys like it....And the judges too!! ;)

Also, guess what??!!?! My Blog has been rated "Excellent"!!! Thanx to Vanamala from My Kitchen World....I'm honored!!! Thanx to all my readers and fellow bloggers for making Mane Adige a sweet success!!!

Taking the award ahead, I'd like to rate the following blogs as "Excellent"...

Cookery Corner by Laavanya

Live to Eat by Sig

Masala Magic by Latha

That's all for now, people... Happy cooking and browsing!! Keep visiting...

Maavina Hannu Rasaayana / Aamras

One of the many things about India that I miss here in the US is the sweet and juicy mangoes!! Almost every time I see mangoes in the stores, I pick up a couple of them hoping that atleast some time they might turn out to be good.... But I am disappointed every time :-(. I'm sure many of you have been through this too!! But that doesn't put my spirits down.... I still go ahead and make my favorite dishes with these "not so sweet and not so juicy" yellow beauties by adding some extra sugar!! Here is one such famous mango dish, called Rasaayana (pronounced as Rasaaina) in Kannada or more commonly known as Aamras all over India. Here is the recipe... Enjoi!

Ingredients:

2nos Mangoes (medium sized)

1/2 cup Milk

1/2 tsp Powdered Cardamom/Elaichi

8-10 Cashews soaked in warm water for about 30 mins

1/2 tsp Ghee/Clarified butter

1-2 tsp mixed nuts(cashews/almonds) and raisins

Sugar, as per taste

Method:

1. Peel the skin off the mangoes and chop the pulp into very tiny pieces;You could even mash the pulp coarsely with your hands; Add sugar, elaichi, mix well and keep aside.
2. Heat ghee in a small pan and add the nuts and raisins. Roast them for a minute and add to the mango mixture.
3. Grind the soaked cashews to a smooth paste with some milk and add to the mango mixture; Cashews give thickness and richness to the rasaaina.
4. Just before serving, add the milk and mix well; Make sure NOT to add milk much ahead of time... The milk would curdle if the mangoes are very sour.
5. Pour into individual bowls and serve with pooris/chapatis or as a dessert.

Variation:You could even add coconut milk instead of ordinary milk. This gives it a completely different flavor and taste.

Prep Time: About 10 mins

Serves: 3-4 people

Other Mango dishes on Mane Adige...

Mango Something!

Mango Ice Cream

Raw Mango Rice

Menaskai

Carrot Halwa

This one needs no introduction, I'm sure!! There are several ways of making carrot halwa. The one that I follow is the simplest and the most basic version, but the end result is quite good and has never disappointed me. I'm posting this on the request from one of my readers....Enjoi!

Ingredients:

5-6 Grated Carrots

2-3 tbsp Ghee/Clarified butter

1.5-2 cups Milk

1.5-2 cups Sugar

1 tsp Powdered Elaichi/Cardamom

1 tbsp Raisins

1 tbsp Cashews/Almonds

Method:

1. Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pan; Add grated carrots and saute for a minute or until it is coated with ghee.
2. Add milk to the grated carrots-ghee mixture and pressure cook for about 2 whistles or until done; The quantity of milk should be enough to just cover all the grated carrot. If you are using a separate vessel within the cooker, make sure to cover it with a lid/plate.
3. Once done, transfer the carrot-milk mixture to a heavy bottomed pan and boil on low to medium heat; Saute regularly.
4. When the mixture is reduced to half, add sugar and mix well. Continue to boil until all the milk evaporates and the ghee starts separating from the pan; This might take about 50-55 mins on the whole. Saute frequently towards the end to avoid burning or sticking of halwa to the bottom of the pan.
5. Heat a tsp of ghee and roast the raisins and cashews for a minute; Add elaichi, roasted cashews and raisins to the halwa and mix well.
6. Remove from stove and pour into separate container; Garnish with chopped nuts and serve hot.

Sabsige Soppu Bhaat ( Fresh Dill Rice)

 

Sometime last week, I came across this article on the Internet talking about N.A.D.D. It stands for Nerd Attention Deficiency Disorder. The author says, it is a kind of deficiency in which people are always multi-tasking. Everything that the author was talking about, sounded so familiar to me!! I found myself nodding my head in agreement to everything he had written in the article :).....I figured that Naveen is hit with NADD too!!!! :D

Naveen is the kind who is always restless. He cannot sit idle even for a minute, without his laptop or the TV or his CD player or a book.... After returning home from work, the first thing that people would normally do is drink coffee, waste a few minutes doing nothing.... But the case is a little different in our house. The first thing he does is, logs  into his laptop, opens his Google reader and starts browsing through his list of blogs/mailbox/news!! While he is waiting for one of the pages to load, he takes his shoes and jacket off!!!! :D And while he is waiting up on something else next time, he remembers to ask me for a cup of coffee and something to eat!! :) Its sometimes fun to watch them hurrying with everything around, trust me.... Well, this isn't all... I only told you the fun part! On the other side, you can never win an argument against people with NADDs...they seem to have a solution or answer to anything you say, with proof and supporting documentation!!!!!!  :)))

THINK.... before you say anything in front of  NADDs. You might end up making a fool of yourself in front of someone who has a good reading habit and would, in all probability, have read about what you are talking!! ;)

Here's the link to the article I was talking about Rands In Response - NADD

Wondering what NADD has to do with Fresh Dill Rice??! Well, nothing!!!! I'm just yapping... :P

Will head straight to the recipe now.... Enjoi!!

Ingredients:

1 cup Basmati Rice/Long Grain rice (washed and soaked in water for about 30 mins)

1/2 - 3/4 bunch Fresh Dill leaves, chopped finely

1/2 cup Peas/carrots, fresh/frozen (While using dried peas, soak overnight and pressure cook until done)

1-2 tsp Ghee/Butter

1/2 tsp Red chili powder

1/2 tsp Haldi

1 tsp Lemon juice

Salt as per taste

Dry Masala:

1 tsp Jeera

1 tsp Coriander seeds

1 tsp Saunf

2" Cinnamon stick

5-7 cloves

1-2 Bay Leaves

10-12 Black pepper corns

1-2 Elaichi/Cardamoms, de skinned

Method:

1. Powder all the ingredients for the dry masala in  a blender and keep aside; Make sure NOT to add any water while powdering.
2. Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pan; Add jeera and allow it to splutter. Drain out the water from the soaked rice; Add rice to the pan and saute for minute or two.
3. Add the dry masala powder, peas and carrots and the chopped dill leaves; Pour about 1.5 cups of water, salt and mix well. Bring to boil and then cook covered on medium heat for about 10 mins or until done.
4. Switch off the stove; Pour lemon juice and mix well. Serve hot with raita and enjoi!

Prep time: About 20-30 mins (excluding soaking time)

Serves: 2-3 people

Golibaje (Mangalore Bajji) and Onion Pakoras

Hey folks, here's wishing you all a very happy Shivratri!!

I woke up to a very sweet mail from one of my friends/readers this morning. Her mail said.... "Ramya, I am in this crazy mood of eating onion pakoras and mangalore bajjias.... the mangalore snacks kinds... So, could you please post the recipe on your blog??!! My baby is waiting!!!!"

This friend of mine is pregnant right now  and I could actually sense in the mail, how eager she was to have them right away :)!! So, I had to push her request right on top of the request list and post it right away.... I hope the rest of you understand!! Will get to your  requests soon.

Onion Pakoras need no introduction.... People from all regions and backgrounds in India are familiar with it and it happens to be the traditional dish of every region in India!!! 

Golibaje, commonly known as Mangalore Bajji  is a traditional Mangalore snack that is made with maida and curds. They are usually eaten with coconut chutney.

Onion Pakoras

Ingredients:

1/2 Big Onion OR 1 Medium Onion (Chopped into think strips of 1" length)

5-6 tbsp Besan/ Kadle Hittu/Gram flour

1 tbsp Rice flour (optional)

2-3 strands Cilantro (Coriander leaves)

1 tsp Red Chili powder

1/4 tsp Baking soda

A pinch of hing

Salt as per taste

Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Combine onions, chopped cilantro and salt in a mixing bowl; Mix well with hands and let stand for about 20-30 mins until the onions shed out some water.
2. Add all the dry ingredients and mix well to form a thick batter; Note: Do not add any water while mixing the dry ingredients. The thicker the batter, the better.... Add a few drops of water only if the moisture from onions is not enough to bind the dry ingredients together.
3. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan; Scoop out the batter with a spoon (you can use your hands too) and drop into hot oil.
4. Fry on both sides on medium heat;Pakoras are done when they turn golden brown in color.
5. Remove from oil and place on paper towels to drain excess oil. Serve hot with ketchup or any chutney or your choice. Enjoi!

Prep Time: About 40-45 mins

Makes: About 8-10

Golibaje (Mangalore Bajji)

Ingredients:

1 cup Maida

1/2 cup Sour curds

1 tsp Jeera

1-2 Green chilies, finely chopped

1-2 strands Cilantro, finely chopped

1" Ginger, finely chopped

1/4 tsp Baking soda

Salt as per taste

Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl such that no lumps are formed. The batter should be thicker than the usual bhajia or dosa batter, but thinner than chapati dough.
2. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan; Scoop out small portions of the batter with your hand and drop into oil.Cook on low to medium heat.
3. Golibaje is done when then turn golden brown in color. Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve hot with coconut/green chutney or any other chutney of your choice. Enjoi!

Prep Time: About 20-25 mins

Makes: About 8-10

Uppu Huli Dose ( Spicy-Sour Dosa)

Never heard of such a dosa, huh??!?! Nor had I until I had it at my in-laws place after wedding.... I loved it when I had it there for the first time. This is a Mangalore speciality dish and is very similar to Neeru dosa.... While neeru dosa (recipe for neeru dosa is here) is plain and mild, Uppu-Huli dosa is spiced up with red chilies, jeera, ginger etc. This dosa can be had without any accompaniment as it is spicy by itself. I am posting this recipe on the request from one of my readers... Enjoi!

Ingredients:

1 cup Raw white rice soaked in water for about 4-5 hrs or overnight

2-3 tbsp Fresh/frozen grated coconut

3-4 Dry red chilies

1/2 tsp Paprika

1-2 tsp Coriander seeds

2 tsp Jeera

1/4 tsp Tamarind paste

1" Ginger

Salt as per taste

Method:

1. Grind the soaked rice and grated coconut to a smooth paste in a blender; Add water as required.
2. Add the remaining spices and pulse a few times so that the spices are ground coarsely.
3. Add enough water to the batter to make it watery and pourable; The batter should be of the consistency of neeru dosa batter. Add salt as per taste and mix well.
4. Heat a girdle/tava and pour a few drops of oil all over it. Take a ladle full of batter and spill it all over the tava, little by little. You can even tilt the tava to spread the batter evenly. However, you will NOT be able to spread the batter with the back of the ladle like the usual dosa batter as it is very watery.
5. Cook covered for a minute for two; Once done, fold the dosa into half and then to another half to form a triangle. Note that this dosa is to be cooked only on one side.
6. Remove from stove and serve hot with ghee/butter, curds or any chutney of your choice. Enjoi!

Prep time: About 30--35 mins (excluding soaking time)

Makes: About 7-9 dosas.