Menthya Gojju/ Fenugreek seeds cooked in Tamarind & Jaggery sauce

          

What is the best part of pregnancy, you ask me?? Well, its definitely the pampering and all the fuss around me, by everyone in the family :) Nothing I say is ever put off! I now indulge gracefully in all my cravings, without the least bit of guilt :D. Ramya wants to go to DQ's for a Sundae, late in the night, and so the entire family goes along without any objections!!! Mom picks and chooses all my favorites dishes and makes them for me.... Some of them, I had almost forgotten they existed. I'm loving this phase of pregnancy!! :) I have also been feeling the baby moves and kicks for over a month now. It feels wonderful! I had confused them for hunger pangs, initially, but learned to differentiate in a few days. The first trimester was terrible with all the morning sickness, and I am already dreading the huge belly that I'm gonna be carrying in the thirst trimester.... The second trimester is the golden phase, as everyone says, and I'm enjoying it while it lasts! :)

Here is a simple and quick recipe that takes very few and common ingredients that are usually present in any South Indian pantry. People who relish bitter gourd (Karela) will definitely love this one. This is a bit of an acquired taste and you might have to try it a couple of time before you actually like it...

Ingredients:

2 tsp  Fenugreek/Methi/Menthya seeds

2 tsp Chana Dhalia/Hurigadale/Putaani

1 tsp Tamarind paste

1 tbsp Jaggery

1.5 tsp Rasam powder

1 tbsp Grated coconut fresh/frozen (optional)

2 tsp Oil

3/4 tsp Mustard seeds

3-4 Curry leaves

A generous pinch of Hing

A pinch of Turmeric

Salt as per taste

Method:

1. Dry roast the fenugreek seeds until them turn lightly red in color; Make sure not to burn them.
2. Add half a cup of water and pressure cook until done; It takes about 2-3 whistles in my cooker.
3. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan; Temper with mustard seeds, curry leaves, hing and turmeric.
4. Add the cooked fenugreek seeds, rasam powder, jaggery, tamarind paste, salt and boil well for about 4-5 mins; Add a little water if required.
5. Meanwhile, coarsely powder the chana dhalia using a blender; Add chana dhalia and grated coconut to the boiling gojju and mix well; Add water to get the desired consistency; Adjust ingredients according to taste and boil further for a minute or two;
6. Remove from stove and serve hot with hot steamed rice/ dosas/rotis and relish.

Prep Time: About 30-40 mins;

Serves: About 2-3 people;

Theingolu/ Theingolalu\TeingoL (Deep fried,rice and urad flour snack)

        

A deep fried snack for you guys today! Theingolalu is a deep fried snack that's very similar to chakli. While chakli is more widely known and is relished by everyone all over India, this one is more authentic and known only in the Mysore - Bangalore regions of Karnataka. The process involved in making Theingolalu is tedious and time consuming, but the end product is delicious! And you know how moms are.... they wouldn't mind going through all the pains, as long as their little one relishes it. Yes, my mom made this for me and brought it along while coming here to visit us! :) I would never have gone through the trouble of making it myself :P Here is how she made it...

Ingredients:

1 cup Urad Dal/ Urad flour

3 cups Uncooked White rice

1 tbsp Butter

1/2 tsp Hing

1 tsp Jeera/Cumin seeds

Salt as per taste

Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Wash and drain the rice and Urad dal separately; Spread on paper towels and let dry for about 2 hours.
2. Dry roast the rice until it turns mildly warm- Make sure not to over roast.
3. Powder the rice and Urad dal separately in a blender; DO NOT add any water while powdering. Note: If you are using Urad flour, you could skip step 1; Follow step 3 for rice only and continue with the next step.
4. Mix both flours, melted butter, salt, cumin seeds and knead into a dough- Add water as required; The dough should be of the same consistency as of the poori dough, or slightly thicker than the chapati dough.
5. Stuff the dough into the traditional chakli press/maker; Press into circles of desired shape.
6. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan; Drop them one by one and fry on medium flame until they turn lightly golden in color.
7. Drain on paper towels and let cool; Store in air tight containers. Relish with tea/coffee or just as is.

Tip:

• If you have enough time in hand, make the rice and urad powders and set them aside for a couple of days before you proceed with making Theingolalu. The color and texture turns out better this way.
• If you have access to to any flour mill, it would be a good idea to get the urad dal and rice powdered at the mill instead of using the blender.... You would have a finer and smoother powder this way.
• The Urad-Rice mixture can be made well in advance and stored/frozen for almost a year; So when you have guests over, all you need to do is knead it into a dough and then deep fry; Theingolalu would be ready in just a few minutes!
• Theingolalu can be stored in air tight containers for up to 3-4 weeks!
• Traditionally, the "bille" (the circular, detachable bottom portion of the chakli press containing perforations, through which the dough oozes out) used for theingolalu contains three medium sized circular perforations, while the "bille" for chakli contains only one star shaped perforation. Every Chakli press comes with multiple "bille"s of various types and perforations, So you could choose whichever suits you best.

Makes: About 25-30 Theingolalu;

Prep Time: About 60-90 mins, excluding soaking time;

Aviyal

Aviyal, as most of you would know, is a Kerala speciality dish. Dakshina Kannada (Mangalore-Udupi) cuisine is highly influenced by Kerala cuisine because of its proximity to Kerala. Aviyal is one such adaptation. While Aviyal is made thick and "sabzi/palya" kinds in Kerala, it is more of a gravy in Karnataka. With a whole lot of veggies, this dish is healthy, nutritious and quite easy to make! Serve with some hot steamed rice and it makes a wonderful comfort food.

Ingredients:

2 cups Mixed veggies, chopped into 1" pieces (green beans, carrots, tindora, potatoes etc)

1/2 cup Grated coconut, fresh/frozen

1 cup Yogurt/Sour curd

2-3 Green Chilies, low to medium spiced

1 tsp Jeera

1-2 tsp Oil

1 tsp Mustard seeds

4-5 Curry leaves

A pinch of Hing

Salt as per taste

Method:

1. Boil the veggies with some salt and water until tender and cooked; Drain the cooked veggies and retain the excess water.
2. Grind coconut, jeera and green chilies to a smooth paste with some water.
3. Add the masala paste to the cooked veggies and boil for a minute; Add salt and mix well.
4. Switch off the stove and add yogurt; Add some of the retained water from the cooked veggies to get the desired consistency; Mix well and adjust ingredients according to taste.
5. Temper with mustard seeds, curry leaves and hing; Serve with hot steamed rice and relish.