Thambittu ( Wheat-Jaggery Dumplings)

One more authentic Karnataka recipe for you guys today..... Thambittu is a sweet dish that is usually made during festivals - Shivratri, mainly. Mostly prepared in the Bangalore/Mysore regions of Karnataka, Thambittu can be made with different ingredients - like wheat flour, rice flour, urad flour etc.... Godi/wheat thambittu being the most popular one among them all.

As a kid, I disliked thambittu, and my mom had to do a lot of forcing - scolding - yelling to get me to even taste it!! I'd try my best to avoid it...I'd cry and make a big fuss, I'd make a pitiable face with tears in my eyes and hope that Amma would just let me go... But nothing really worked, I HAD to eat at least one small dumpling! Slowly, I developed a liking towards thambittu.. thanks to my mom!!! I guess its the kind of taste that's acquired over a period of time.... Whatever, I love thambittu now!

Couple of other reasons I like thambittu..... Its super easy to make... It takes hardly about 10-12 mins!! And, its healthy too!! Very little (negligible, you can say) fat... wheat-which is anyway healthy... some jaggery- which is again better than sugar!! I can have a decent serving of thambittu without any feeling of guilt within me... what more can one ask for?!?!?! :)

Ingredients:

1 cup Wheat flour / Godi Hittu

1 cup Jaggery

1/2 tsp Ghee

1/2 tsp Elaichi / Cardamom powder

Optional :

1 - 2 tbsp Desiccated Coconut / Grated Copra (Kobri/Kobbari)

1-2 tbsp Raisins- Chopped nuts mixture

Method:

1. Dry roast the wheat flour for a couple of minutes, or until the raw smell disappears; Saute continuously.... the flour would get burnt otherwise; The flour should turn light brown in color. Remove from stove and keep aside
2. Take about 1.5 cups of water; Add few drops of ghee, jaggery and boil well until all the jaggery has melted. Adjust sweetness according to taste.
3. Reduce heat to low; Add the elaichi powder, nuts and mix well;
4. Add the roasted flour little by little; Mix continuously so that no lumps are formed;
5. Remove from stove immediately and let it cool; After it cools, grease your hands with a few drops of oil/ghee and shape them into laddus/ laadus. Store in airtight containers and enjoy. It's shelf live is about 3-5 days.

Note: Thambittu is usually a little soft and not as hard as other laddus. Its consistency is somewhere between halwa and laddus.

Prep time: About 10-12 mins

Makes: About 8-10 laadus

Recipes relished and devoured!!!

Hey folks! Hope alls well at every ones end. Been a while since I put up my last post.... I've been in these weird moods in the past few days, and I feel like doing nothing, but sleep!  Cooking has been taking a back seat too. I have been making only the simplest of recipes that don't take more than 30-40 mins of time. Here are some of them that I picked from different blogs. I have tried the dishes myself, and enjoyed them thoroughly! Hope you guys like them too!!

1. Nupur's Khichdi-Kadhi: This is indeed a comfort food!!! Just perfect for the times when you want something soothing and not to spicy.... It is just perfect for all occasions!! I really loved the way Nupur describes the authentic and traditional way of making Khichdi.... I HAD to try this one!! This one also goes out to my reader and friend,  Sonal, who has been asking me for this recipe since a long time....Enjoy!!
2. Latha's Potato Stir Fry: Well, this one was exactly what I wanted.... Something simple, yet very different!! The white sesame seeds (Til in Hindi- Ellu in Kannada) added a unique flavor to this stir fry. A great accompaniment with rice-rasam or curd rice!!
3. Manjula's Batate Song: Batate means Potato in Konkani, and Batate Song is an authentic mangalorean Konkani dish. The aroma of coconut oil blended with onions and potatoes brought back old memories... I made this with Akki Rotti and it was a great combo!!
4. Nav's Taro Root Curry: Taro Root (called Kesavina Gedde in Kannada) is a new veggie to me. Somehow my mom never made anything with it anytime.... Or maybe she did, and me being very picky about food, just chose to ignore it and never bothered to taste.... :D. Anyway, one of my friends was mentioning about taro root and it was only then that I noticed this veggie in the market. I picked up a couple of them and tried this curry. It was indeed good.... Tangy and sweet!!! Goes really well with rice...
5. EC's Jeera Aloo: As you all know, aloo is very versatile and one of the easiest veggies to cook. So, I ended up choosing one more aloo dish and it turned out yummy too!! You can barely go wrong with such simple and yummy recipes... Tastes great with rotis or even just rice.
6. Ashakka's Brussels Sprouts Fry: This one was super easy... and tasted great too!!! I had made rasam to go with it and it was a splendid combo!! But for this recipe of Ashakka, I would never have tried Brussels sprouts.. Thank you!! :)

Well, I don't have any pictures to go with the recipes, but the authors definitely have them on their posts and that should help.... Thanx again dear bloggers for sharing such lovely recipes!

Huggi / Sweet Pongal

Most kids love sweet dishes... and I was no different when I was one. My mom tells me that when I got back from school daily, I would stand at the gate of our house and ask my mom, "Amma, en sweet maadidiya nange ivattu?" Meaning, what sweet have you made for me today? I believe I used to enter the house only after she told me what she had made for me that day :D..... Such was my love for sweet dishes....Huggi was one of my favorites( Huggi!! Yes, that's what sweet pongal is called in Kannada). I loved the taste of melted dollops of ghee on the sweet rice and dal dumplings!!

One more reason why I loved huggi so much was.....My mom used to often tell me a story called "Huggi ya holay" (meaning, a stream of huggi). It was about a woman who tried making huggi with a stolen magic pot, and how she forgot the mantra that would stop making huggi .... The pot started overflowing and slowly the the whole village was filled with delicious huggi and blah blah blah....

And every time I ate huggi, I imagined I was eating it out of the magic pot from the story... and that made me like it even more!!!! Silly, I know.. But hey, I was still a kid !! :) Anyway, coming back to the recipe.... I am posting this on the request from one of my readers and also a good friend, Vimala. I hope you like it!

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Btw folks, I have recently added the Star Ratings option below every post... So, go ahead and feel free to rate the recipes!! Thanx :)

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Ingredients:

1 cup Yellow moong dal

1 cup White rice

1-2 tbsp Dry/Desiccated Coconut, grated/powdered ( Kobbari / Copra)

1.5- 2 cups Sugar OR Jaggery (OR as per taste)

1/2 tsp Elaichi/Cardamom powder

1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, coarsely crushed (optional)

2 cups Milk (optional)

1 tbsp Cashews and Raisins

1-2 tbsp Ghee/ Clarified butter

A pinch of turmeric

Method:

1. Dry roast yellow moong dal for a couple of minutes, or until it slightly changes color and the raw smell disappears; Do not let it turn brown, though.
2. Wash white rice under running water, a couple of times and combine the roasted dal, crushed pepper and turmeric; Add about 3.5-4 cups of water... At this point, you could substitute half the quantity of water with milk (i.e about 2 cups of milk and 1.5-2 cups of water);
3. Pressure cook the rice dal mixture until done ( It takes about 4 whistles in my cooker); Do not worry if it gets over cooked.... the dal and rice blend well when they are a little overcooked.
4. Take the sugar/jaggery in a pan; Add enough water to JUST cover the sweetener. Boil on low-medium heat until all the sugar/jaggery is dissolved. Note: I personally prefer using sugar bcause it gives a pleasant color, but the jaggery version tastes great too!
5. Add the dal-rice mixture, copra and half the ghee; Mix well and remove from stove.
6. Heat 1 tsp of ghee and roast the raisins and cashews until golden brown; Add to huggi and mix well.
7. Transfer into separate bowls and serve hot, topped with a generous dollop of ghee!!!

Prep Time: About 30-40 mins.

Serves: About 3-4 people.

Sowthekai Dose (Cucumber Dosa)

A quick post for Srivalli's Dosa Mela!! phew... I made it just on time, thank God!!! :D

Mangaloreans are famous for the numerous varieties of dosas they make. Give them any veggie or greens, and they can come up with a dosa!! Healthy, you say?? Yes, indeed!!! And the best part is that, most of the dosas they make need no fermentation!!! Soak...grind... and make dosas immediately!! Sowthekai/Southekai (cucumber in English) dosa is one such mangalorean dosa variation.... This dosa brings out the mild flavor of cucumber, blended with fresh coconut and rice! This one is going out to Srivalli from Cooking for all Seasons for the Dosa Mela event. Thanx Srivalli for hosting :). And btw people,

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Ingredients:

1 cup White rice (Washed and soaked in water for 5-6 hours OR overnight)

2 tbsp Grated coconut, fresh/frozen

1/2 of big sized Cucumber, peeled and cut into 2" chunks

2-3 tbsp Grated cucumber (optional)

Salt as per taste

2-3 tsp oil

Method:

1. Grind the soaked while rice, grated coconut and the cucumber chunks to a smooth paste.
2. Add salt, water and mix well; Add enough water to make it a watery mix, with similar consistency as butter milk or Uppu Huli Dosa / Neeru Dosa batter.
3. Heat a non stick tava on medium heat; Sprinkle a few drops of oil over it; Once hot, take a ladle full of dosa batter and spill all over the tava little by little. Tilt the tava to spread 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.
4. Spread some grated cucumber from the top; Sprinkle few more drops of oil on the dosa and cook covered until done; It might take a couple of minutes.
5. 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 any chutney/saagu or side dish of your choice.

Note: You can even keep the batter thick and spread the dosa with the back of the ladle, like how you would do for ordinary dosas with urad dal. But I prefer making the batter watery... Dosas turn out thinner and softer this way!

Makes: About 6-8 dosas;

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

Idli Masala/Idli Chaat (With the Arusuvai surprise ingredient) & Muchore

" Shall I make this??!!?".... "How about making that dish?!?!"... "Maybe I could make this with my arusuvai ingredient".... "That old recipe might go good with my arusuvai ingredient, don't you thing?!???"....

Yes... Arusuvai ingredient has been the only thing on my mind for the past 10-12 days! All I could talk about was Arusuvai!! Like I had said in my earlier post about Arusuvai ingredient, Vanamala from My Kitchen World sent me "Chutney Pudi" as a surprise!! As you all know, Chutney Pudi is a versatile ingredient and can be put to use in many ways. It can be had with dosas, idlis, sandwiches or just hot rice and ghee!! So, after a lot of thought process and "discussions" with Naveen.... ( Yeah!! I bugged him so much, that he was forced to take interest and give his suggestions :D... ) I decided to make "Idli Chaat"! I had very little hopes with this recipe, but surprisingly it turned out quite good!!! It was just perfect as an evening snack with a hot cup of coffee or tea. Thanx VM, for sending across such a wonderful ingredient!! :)

Continuing the Arusuvai chain, I will be sending surprise ingredients to Kamala from Mom's Recipes and Swathi from Sanjeevani. While Mom's Recipes is a food blog, Sanjeevani is a general blog where Swathi writes about various topics like travel, her snow experience and some recipes too!! Thanx for offering to continue the chain, girls!! I will be sending across the ingredient in a couple of days...I hope you both enjoy being a part of the chain as much as I did!!!! Will move on to the recipe now.....

Ingredients:

3-4 Left over Idlis

1/2 - 3/4 Onion, medium sized (chopped finely)

4-5 Dates/Kharjura (de-seeded)

1-2 tsp Chutney Pudi

2 tbsp Curds, beaten

1 tbsp Sev

5-7 Papdi , crushed coarsely

1-2 tsp Butter/Ghee

3-4 strands Cilantro, chopped finely

Salt as per taste

For the Tamarind Chutney:

1/2 - 3/4 tsp Tamarind paste OR 1 big lemon sized pulp soaked in warm water

1 - 2 tsp Jaggery

1/2 tsp Red Chili powder

1/2 tsp Jeera powder

Salt as per taste

Method:

1. Heat butter/ghee in a pan; Keep aside a few spoons of chopped onions for garnishing and add the rest to the pan; Saute for about a minute. Note that the onions need not be cooked completely. I added onions at this point because they blend better this way with the idlis.
2. Crush the idlis coarsely with your hands or the back of a spoon and add to the pan; Mix well and saute until the idli is coated well with butter.
3. Add chutney pudi and mix well; Add salt and chili powder, if required.
4. Remove from stove and transfer into separate plates; Add few pieces of crushed papdi.
5. Pour few spoons of tamarind chutney and curds all over the idli; Garnish with remaining onions, cilantro, sev and serve immediately.

Tamarind Chutney:

1. Soak dates in 1/2 a cup of warm water for about 10-15 minutes (If you are using tamarind pulp, you can use the same tamarind juice for soaking dates)
2. Add tamarind paste, jaggery and microwave for about 2-3 minutes OR until the dates become soft and the jaggery melts.
3. Blend the mixture to a smooth paste with a blender; Add chili powder and jeera powder and mix well.
4. Boil further for another minute to get the desired consistency.

Note: If you are too lazy make this elaborate tamarind chutney, you could just add some sugar, chili powder and jeera powder to the tamarind juice and boil for a minute. Though not as good as the traditional chutney, this one is a pretty decent work around!! :)

Prep Time: About 10-15 mins (excluding idli making time)

Serves: About 2 pople

Muchore (Mu - cho - ray)

One of my readers mailed me the other day asking me if I had any information about muchore.... Well yes, I do... Here is a quick recipe! I do not have any pictures to go with it, but I guess that okay... :)

Muchore is very similar to chakli. The difference is in one of the ingredients that goes into them! While urad dal is used in making chakli, yellow moong dal is used in muchore. So, if you have the muchore mix ready, all you have to do is

• add a couple of spoons of ghee/butter and knead it into a thick dough using water. Adjust salt and chili powder according to taste.
• Press into circles using the usual chakli press.
• Heat oil and deep fry muchore until crisp and golden brown.

Traditionally, the "bille" (the circular, detachable bottom portion of the press containing perforations, through which the dough oozes out) used for muchore contains three star shaped perforations, while the bille for chakli contains only one.

Avalakki Mixture / Poha Chivda

A tea time snack for you guys today! Avalakki/Poha (known as "Flaked/Beaten Rice" in English), as most of you would know, is used to make different varieties of snacks in India. Chivda (more popularly known as "Mixture" in Karnataka) is one of many such varieties. As the name suggests, this snack is a mixture of many ingredients and there is no hard and fast rule as to what goes into the snack ! Here is my version of the recipe... Feel free to make variations according to your taste and choice. Enjoi!

Update: I am sending this dish to EasyCrafts for the Fun 'n Sun event that she is hosting this month.... "Avalakki Mixture" is a perfect snack to munch on and to be carried with you during all your summer outings and travels!!! Thanx EC for hosting... :)

Ingredients:

1 cup Thick Avalakki/ Poha / Flaked,Beaten Rice

1/4 cup Raisins/Kishmish

1/4 cup Whole Cashews/Almonds

1/4 cup Peanuts/Groundnuts

1/4 tsp Hing/Asafetida

5-7 Dry Red Chilies broken into pieces

2-3 strands Curry leaves

1/2 tsp Haldi/Turmeric

1/2 - 3/4 tsp Red Chili Powder (optional)

Sugar as per taste

Salt as per taste

Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan; Once the oil is hot, add poha and deep fry for a couple of seconds; Make sure not to brown the poha.
2. Remove poha from oil and drain into paper towels to absorb excess oil.
3. Fry the cashews/almonds, peanuts, raisins, red chilies and the curry leaves in a similar manner and drain into paper towels; Let cool for a while.
4. Mix all the ingredients and the dry powders; Toss well; Adjust the ingredients according to taste; Store in air tight container and relish with hot tea/coffee or just as a snack!

Prep time: About 10-15 mins

Masala Puri (Masaalpuri)

Anyone who's been in Karnataka and has been to the chaat centers there, has definitely come across this name!!! Masala Puri (to be pronounced as Masaalpuri), as most of you would know, is a kind of chaat that is everyone's hot favorite in Karnataka. Though chaats originated in the northern parts of India, people from every nook and corner of the country have relished and devoured these delicacies. And it wasn't too long before people from different regions started bringing about variations to these heavenly delicacies and calling it their own!!!! :)

Masaalpuri is one such variation from Karnataka, that is one of the most sold chaat items in every big/small time chaat shops across the state!!!

Okay.... I just cooked up this whole story about the origin of Masaalpuri and stuff!!!!!! I just wanted to write something here before actually heading to the recipe... And I did succeed in getting your attention for a while, didn't I?!?!? :) Though I am not exactly sure about the origin of Masaalpuri, I'd like to believe that my assumptions are right.... It's nice to associate a story with the dishes we relish, isn't it??!?! But hey, Masaalpuri is indeed a speciality of Karnataka and I'm definitely not fibbing this time.... :)

I am posting this recipe on the request from one of my readers. I am sorry about the delay Mamatha.... I had the recipe in my drafts for quite some time, but I forgot to take pictures when I made it last time... really stupid, I know! So I had to wait till I made it again, to take pictures.... Enjoi!

Ingredients:

12- 14 Flat Papdi

1 Potato, medium sized (Peeled, boiled and mashed coarsely)

1/2 cup Dries Peas (soaked in water for about 6-8 hrs)

1 Big Onion, chopped finely ( I prefer red onions)

1 tsp Oil

1 tsp Jeera

1 tsp Red chili powder

1/2 - 3/4 tsp Garam Masala

1/2 - 3/4 tsp Chaat Masala

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

1 tsp Tamarind paste OR Lime sized tamarind pulp soaked in warm water

1 tbsp Jaggery

2-3 strands Cilantro

1-2 tbsp Thin Sev

1 Tomato, small sized (chopped finely)

Salt as per taste

For the green chutney:

1-2 tsp Jeera

1.5" piece Ginger

5-6 strands Cilantro

2-3 Green Chilies

3-4 Mint leaves (optional)

Method:

1. Add enough water to the soaked peas and pressure cook until done; It usually takes about 2-3 whistles.
2. Meanwhile, grind the ingredients for the green chutney to a smooth paste with some water.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add jeera seeds; Keep aside 1-2 tbsp chopped onions for garnishing and add the rest to the oil and saute for a couple of minutes or until done.
4. Add the peas and the boiled & mashed potatoes to the sautéed onions and mix well; Add enough water to bring it to a watery- bhaaji consistency.
5. Add tamarind, jaggery, salt, green chutney and the rest of the dry masalas and boil for a couple of minutes; Add more water if the masala thickens. Adjust the sweetness and masalas according to taste.

To Serve:

1. Take about 5-7 papdi per plate and crush them coarsely with your hands; Spread the papdi around the plate.
2. Pour a generous amount of masala all over the papdi; Top with sev, finely chopped cilantro, onions and tomatoes. Serve immediately.

Things to keep in mind:

1. When you pour the masala on the papdi, the papdi might absorb some of the water content and the masala might become a little dry and thick.... So, keep that in mind while deciding on the consistency of the masala. You might wanna make it a little more watery than you actually want.
2. Instead of combining all the masalas together, you could even make the green chutney and the tamarind chutney separately and pour them over the peas and potatoes while serving.
3. You could also add roasted peanuts as a topping; Some people also add a couple of spoons of beaten curds.
4. Masaalpuri tastes best when the masala is hot; So, make sure you heat the masala well, just before serving.

Serves: About 2 people

Prep time: About 40-45 mins