Samosa Chole Chaat, ShivaRatri Thali, Bitter Gourd Gojju, Dosa with Okra Gojju, Tomato-Masoor Dal Rasam/Broth

I bet you all had a wonderful Valentine's day!
More than gifts and outings, hope you spent quality time with your loved ones, that's what we had this year. Snowy and cold weather in several states here is more conducive to quiet time at home than the usual weekend driving around the town is a blessing in disguise! :)
Well......nothing much to write really, so let's have some Samosa Chole Chaat and other goodies, shall we? Hey, I watched an interesting movie this weekend btw!

Samosa Chole Chaat:
No, I didn't make and fry these Samosas. We went to a Indian store last weekend and I saw these frozen pack of mini Punjabi spicy Potato filled Samosas which I picked up. I baked them at home and made some spicy tangy Chole (Chickpeas gravy), topped with Tomatoes, green chutney, sweet chutney, onions and Cilantro, made a mini meal out of it. Of course, there was a hilarious movie to watch while having a bowl of this too. Curiouser and curiouser? :D

Store bought mini cocktail "baked" Samosa:
Bake these right out of the frozen state as instructed until crisp and let them cool a bit. Place 6 Samosas on a plate, add a cup hot Chole on top of Samosas. Top with chopped Videlia sweet onions, chopped Cilantro and chopped Tomatoes. Drizzle hot green chutney made of mint, green chillies and Cilantro or use from store bought jar and sweet and tangy chutney which is made of dates and Tamarind juice, salt. Sprinkle Chaat masala, chilli powder, Amchoor or whatever you have on hand and serve immediately. YUM!
Colorful Samosa Chole Chaat is going to Asankhana's "Let's play with colors-Holi" event. Thanks girl, enjoy mine too! :) Here are few other snacks and appetizers I have posted before in my blogs.

Chole/Chickpeas Gravy:
I used 2 canned Organic Chickpeas which are smaller in size, less gassy (:P) and tastier than regular canned Chickpeas. Drain all the water out of the can thoroughly, rinse the beans before using. Here is the quick version of Chole I made for Samosa Chaat.

To make Chole:
1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan, add 2 tbsp grated or ground ginger (fresh ginger is better, not ready made from the jar), saute. Add 1 medium onion, finely chopped, 1/2 tsp sugar, pinch of salt, saute until slightly reddish.
2. Add 1 tbsp Coriander powder, 2 tsp Cumin powder, enough chilli powder and salt, 1 cup Tomato sauce, mix and simmer until Tomato sauce is thick and shiny.
3. Add 1 cup water, 2 cans of rinsed Chickpeas, 1 tsp Pomegranate powder or Amchoor to taste, mix.
4. Simmer until sauce is thickish, adjust the spices. Add 1 tsp of good quality Garam masala, chopped Cilantro, mix and serve hot.

Here is the link to other side dishes I have posted already.

SihvaRatri Thali:
I know! ShivaRatri is supposed to be celebrated in fasting and praying but we, as usual, EAT to celebrate and pray a little too!!:D I made Whole Wheat flour Obbattu with Coconut-Jaggary-Cardamom filling, served with Chana dal/Kadalebele Payasa/Porridge, which is kids fave dessert to have, Carrot and Drumsticks Saaru, Dill Rice and Okra Gojju on the ShivaRatri day, a simple but traditional meal compared to this I made in 2007 and in 2009! Here are the rest of Festival/holiday posts. Here are some Indian desserts/sweets.
My Family's favorite thali is going Shama's "Family's Favorite Food" event, Enjoy! :)

Obbattu/Holige/Poli with Atta flour with Kayi Hoorana(sweet Coconut filling):
Method to make this Obbattu is same as here but I made them with 1 cup Whole Wheat flour instead of plain flour, 2 tbsp of sugar powder and 1 tbsp ghee this time, stuffed with the coconut filling. Kneaded the dough with lot less oil than usual, made them just like stuffed Parathas.
Filling: Mix 2 cups grated fresh coconut, enough fine brown sugar or powdered Jaggery, 1tsp Cardamom powder, 2 tbsp Mava/Khoa if you have it (optional), heat in the microwave until melted and thick, cool, make balls and stuff in the rolled dough like Parathas and cook. Serve with any Payasa.
Chana Dal Payasa/Porridge:
1. Take a glass bowl, add 1/2 cup Chana dal, 1 cups water, cook until soft and almost mashed.
2. Add 1/4 cup Jaggary or more to taste, 1 tsp Cardamom powder, 1 cup or more of milk, pinch of Saffron for color, mix. If you want smooth textured Payasa, run it thru' in the mixie for few seconds. You can thin it with more milk.
3. Heat again until Payasa is thickish, pourable consistency. Serve with Obbattu.
Dill Rice:
This is a super easy rice to cook. When you are cooking 2 cups of rice with water, add 1 cup of chopped Dill leaves, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp ghee and cook as usual, mix well when done.
Carrot-Drumsticks Saaru:
I added Carrots and Drumsticks to this Sambhar I have posted before. Here is my grandmother's recipe for Mysore style freshly ground coconut masala saaru, she always used fresh grated coconut, dry coconut will do too. Here are more Sambhar/dal recipes.

Bendekai/Okra Gojju with Uddinabele/Urad dose:
I had leftover Okra Gojju next day, so I served the healthy Gojju with nutritious fermented Urad dal-brown rice Dosas. Loved it with dosas too, make it spicy if you are making this for dosas. Gojju is any veg. side dish with little spicy and tangy gravy in Karnataka similar to subzi/Bhaji in the North.
Here are more Dosa and Idli dishes I have posted before.

Okra Gojju:

1. I used frozen Okra. I thaw them overnight and next day, I saute them in a wide mouthed non-stick Wok with 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp salt until they shrink and reddish with all the gooey things gone. Cool.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil, add 1 tsp each Mustard seeds, cumin seeds, few curry leaves, pinch of hing. Add 1 onion, finely chopped, 2 garlic chopped, 1/4 tsp Turmeric, saute until reddish.
3. Add 1 cup water, 1/4 tsp Tamarind paste, salt and ground masala powder. Simmer and add sauteed Okra, cook and adjust the spices, add 1 tsp ghee and garnish with Cilantro.
Roast and powder these:
2 tbsp Coriander seeds, 1 tsp Urad dal, 1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds, 1 tbsp Chana dal, 2-3 dry red chillies, 2 tsp raw Rice grains, 1 tbsp Poppy seeds, 3 tbsp dry Coconut, 1" Cinnamon, 2 cloves.
Okra Gojju with Urad dal Dosas goes to Sudeshna and Radhika's "Food for 7 stages of life-Tiffin box (35-55yrs)" event, enjoy mine as well!

Haagalkayi/Bitter Gourd Gojju:
I bought 2 Bitter gourds last weekend. Usually, I do the same stir fry every time I have these but this time I decided to experiment a little and added some Besan flour to it. It tasted delicious.

To make Haagalkai Gojju:
1. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a non-stick, add peeled, seeds scooped, finely chopped Bitter gourd pieces (if it's too bitter, soak the chopped pieces in salted water for an hour and squeeze out the water, let it dry) with pinch of salt and fry until they are reddish. Keep aside.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil again, add 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds, few curry leaves, 3 tbsp chopped onion, 1 tbsp ginger-Garlic paste, stir for a while. Add 1 tbsp Besan/Chickpea flour, 1/4 tsp chilli powder, salt, stir.
3. Add 1/4 cup Tomato sauce, 2 tsp each of Dhania-Jeera powder, 1 tbsp or less Jaggary powder to balance the bitterness, simmer until thick and shiny, add fried Bitter Gourd pieces.
4. Mix well and cook on low heat until oil shows up on top, garnish with Cilantro.
This Bitter Gourd Gojju is going to Yasmeen's "Bitter Better Health" event. Have fun with mine too, Yasmeen! :)

Tomato-Masoor Dal Rasam/Broth/Soup:
After reading the hilarious saga of Charu by sra's this post, I couldn't resist making some tasty, healthy and low calorie Rasam or Masoor Dal and Tomato soup. Nothing like sipping a cup of thin, hot, spicy broth on a cold, cloudy and snowy day. I made this delicious soup in the Microwave too! Here are more Microwave dishes I have posted.

To make this:

1. Take a deep glass bowl, add 1/4 cup Masoor dal, 1/4 tsp Turmeric, 2 cups of water, 1 tsp ghee and microwave this for 15 to 25mins at 100% power or until dal is cooked and completely mashed. Keep checking every 10mins.
2. Add 1/2 cup Tomato sauce, 2-3 tsp Rasam powder, salt, 1 tbsp dry grated Coconut, 1 tbsp chopped Cilantro, mix it and heat again for 4-6mins or until raw smell of Tomato sauce is gone, soup smells good. Take the bowl out and adjust the spices. Heat again if needed.
3. In a separate bowl, add 1 tbsp oil, heat in the microwave for 2-3 mins or until very hot. Add 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds, few chopped curry leaves, 1 dry red chilly, heat again for 2 mins or until seasonings are crisp.
4. Take the bowl out, add a pinch of Hing (optional) to the cooked Rasam and mix.
Rasam powder: You can use ready made MTR Rasam pd which has the best taste without being too spicy or you can use any Homemade Rasam pd.
Tips:
If Masoor dal is soaked for 2 hrs before cooking, they cook faster in the microwave.
You can use Chana dal, or Moong dal as well instead of Masoor dal. Tuar dal is harder to cook in MW but doable if you soak Tuar dal first, cook it for a long time with lots of water.
You can also add few chopped Spinach leaves to the soup while cooking to make it even healthier.

Tomato-Dal Rasam goes to Usha's "Healthy inspirations-Soups" event and since I made this in the Microwave, it's also going to Srivalli and Sara's "MEC-Soups" event as well. Thanks to all of you.

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Movies I watched:

"Coco Before Chanel" or "Coco Avant Chanel" :
A beautiful French movie with English subtitles. It's about the life of Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel (Yes, that Coco Chanel, a name famous for fashion and perfume empire), who was abandoned as a child by her father in an orphanage, grew up in struggle as a mistress to a rich man but never married until she died and built up a huge fashion empire, with a sweet love story thrown in there too. I love Audrey Tautou, beautiful and very talented actress! Watch it if you can. Here are some quotes by Coco Chanel.

"3 Idiots!".
Surprise!!! I watched the latest Bollywood sensation. It was more of a pleasant "Chamatkar" than a "Balatkar" to watch this movie! Hahaha!!
It's a hilarious movie with a good message but with little "making fun of a NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) or making them look and act silly" bit thrown in there! I am taking about Kareena's fiance and his tantrums about $200 watch and the other guy showing off his good looking wife, million dollar house and his Lamborghini car after living few years in US! :P Why..oh..Why? Must they show us, ie NRIs, like we are all some kinda ridiculously retarded snobs but ultra rich people with wads of money in our pockets and with just air in our heads?! Most of us are not like that at all, we do work very hard to earn our dollars. May be very few are braggers like those caharacters in the movie but not all of us behave like that!

Anyway, I will take all that with a pinch of salt. Other than that, this movie really has some good teaching moments to young Indian kids/students/generation and their parents. It tells you to be proud of who you are, think for yourself and asks parents to let kids grow up and become what they want to do or like to do and not hang on to the old convictions like "you must do what I say" and "you go where I ask you to go" etc. A great movie to watch with good message for future and past generations in a fun way and with beautiful songs too! I wish they won't show "getting drunk silly" is a fun thing to do in the movies, sends a wrong message to young people. But ALL IZ WELL that ends well! ;D

Last Saturday, we decided to visit our daughter in college and had lunch with her in a newly opened "Royal Dhaba" restaurant nearby. After a lovely Makki da roti and sarson da saag lunch, we stopped by a Indian store to buy some Indian veggies and groceries. After I paid for it, she says "you can pick up 2 DVDs over there at the video store for free". I thought they probably give me some old movies, went there anyway. They had copies of "3 Idiots" and "Paa" (yet to watch) and I did a "Yippee!!" and got both of them! :D

V Day:
We had a few Chocolate Truffles, glass of Champagne on Sunday evening for V day with a bunch of beautiful Roses sitting pretty on the coffee table and watched "3 Idiots" together (yes, that's a miracle! :D), loved it. That's what I call "quality time" and cherish it!
That was my weekend, see you all next week.

Shivaratri Thali: Togari Bele Obbattu, Kayi Payasa, Obbattina thili Saaru,Tenginakayi Saaru, Kadale bele Kosumbari, anna,Tuppa, Uppinakayi, Happala!

I know that above long title is all "Greek" to you if you don't speak Kannada but I wanted to keep it authentic, will explain it all below! ;D

I am sure most of you all had a wonderful time celebrating Shivaratri last Monday. We don't fast or do any religious rituals much in our home but do a quick "Namaste" to Shiva, will definitely cook up a pure vegetarian feast as you can see! I know! I know! We are a sorry excuse for a Lingayat/Shaiva family but hey! Something is better than nothing!! :D

What's Shivaratri? Navita's blog post has beautiful explanation and stories about Shivaratri festival, do read if you are interested! Here is another of my Shivaratri platter I posted before.

Anyway; for this year's Shivaratri, I decided to make my paternal Mysore grandmother's (sweet, quiet and kind lady whom I LOVED, who is no longer with us) style Tuar dal Obbattu (which most south Indians are familiar with of course) with coconut-Cashews Payasa/porridge/dip and Obbattu saaru which I haven't posted at all in my blogs until now and I also made an authentic Coconut saaru which my ajji used to make which I don't make often here. Chana dal-Cucumber Kosumbari/salad is another one of my ajji's recipe as well. I miss her always and this is my tribute to her. My kids were not thrilled to see yet another vegetarian thali but they were understanding and ate without a fuss because they know it's ShivaRatri day! :)

Here is my Shivaratri thali: (Habbada Oota!)
Obbattu (Kanaka/pastry stuffed with Hoorana/sweet Toor dal dumpling), Coconut-Cashews-Saffron Payasa (porridge/dip), Obbattina thili saaru (dal broth or Rasam), Coconut Saaru, Basmati rice, Chana dal-Cucumber-red onion Kosambari (salad), Happala/papad, Nimbe Uppinakayi/Lemon pickle and Tuppa/Ghee.
Obbattu with Coconut-Cashews-Saffron Payasa as a dip first:
To make the Kanaka/pastry covering:
1. Take 1 1/2 cup of plain flour, 1 tbsp sugar powder, 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder,1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 3 tbsp oil and enough water to make a firm non-sticky dough and knead well for 5 minutes. Brush the dough with oil and cover it to rest the dough for an hour. I use KitchenAid to make the dough and traditionally, lot of oil is the added to this dough which you don't need to but we never ever add flour to roll out Obbattus, always use a bit of oil if needed!!

I am sending this photo to Gayatri of "Just Urs" blog's "Magnificent click contest" event! Thanks for hosting Gayatri! :)

How to make Obbattu stuffing/Hoorana:
1. Cook 1 cup of Tuar dal with 3-4 cups water, 1/2 tsp oil in a pressure cooker until just cooked, dal should be soft, still somewhat whole but not mashed up or cook in the microwave for better control over how much to cook without getting the dal in a mush. Drain the cooked dal thru' a sieve and save all the water for making Rasam/thili saaru later, let the cooked dal cool.
2. Add 3/4 cup more Jaggary or dark brown sugar to dal, 1 tsp Cardamom powder and run thru' a blender without adding a drop of water, keep pushing the dal down until you get a sweet and aromatic mass of thick dal. In India, they pound or grind all these in a stone mortar and pestle called "Oralu Kallu" until they are thick and well mixed. Divide into equal (Golg ball) sized portions and keep aside.
3. Divide the dough into equal pasrts as well, roll out each to 4" circle (can use a bit of oil but NEVER use flour to roll!), place a sweet dumpling in the middle, cover as shown, flatten and roll out again gently to 5-6" circle.
4. Heat a tava/henchu,pan, cook these both sides until golden adding a bit oil again.

Serve hot or warm with plain ghee or coconut Payasa to dip.

Coconut and Cashews Payasa:

I made this traditional Payasa a bit thicker than the usual Payasa, so my kids can dip a piece of Obbattu in it to make it easy to eat since they don't or never learnt to eat with their hands like we Indians do. Traditionally, Payasa is thinner so we can pour some on the Obbattu to smother it and eat that literally finger licking good dessert! :)
This is how I made it:
1. Take 1/2 fresh coconut, separate the shell, scrape out the brown skin, cut the white flesh/pulp into small pieces about a cup or more, add it to blender (Sumeet makes the best smooth texture for Payasa) along with (as much as you like) Jaggary or dark brown sugar, 1 tsp Cardamom powder, 2 tsp rice grains, about 8-10 Cashewnuts. Blend all these to smooth paste with 1 cup (or more if you like thinner Payasa) of Milk.
2. Adjust the sugar and milk as sweet, thin or thick you want. Heat this mixture on low heat for 1/2 an hour. Coconut will split and separate if you cook it on a medium or high heat! I Microwaved it on 30% power for about 6-8 mins, got to be very careful. It thickens as it cooks and cools.
3. I just sprinkled some Saffron threads on top, it will dissolve in the heat. This Payasa should be white or creamish, so don't add too much Saffron, just few just for that festive aroma!

To make the rest of these thali dishes:

Obbattina thili saaru:
Title literally means "thin Dal broth", a Rasam as Tamilians would call it. After we drain the cooked dal, we save the nutritious broth and make a simple thin dal to top the rice it or to drink as it is in a cup.
Here is how:
1. Heat 1 tsp ghee in a pan, add 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, few curry leaves. 1 dry red chilly, pinch of Hing. Add 2-3 chopped garlic, stir it until soft.
2. Add 1/2 tsp thick Tamarind paste mixed with 1/2 cup water, 2 tsp any Saaru/Sambhar/Rasam powder you have at home, 1/4 tsp chilli pd, 2 tbsp chopped Cilantro, salt, 1 tbsp grated dry or fresh coconut, boil for 2 minutes. You can add 1/4 cup Tomato sauce to it, but it's optional.
3. Add dal water/broth, adjust the salt and heat, simmer for few minutes and it's ready!

Tenginakayi Saaru/spicy Coconut gravy:

This recipe comes straight from my ajji's home. Since my late grandparents and Uncles live in a coconut and Sugarcane farm few miles from Mysore, coconut and homemade sugarcane Jaggary is used almost everyday in every dish they cook. here I use the coconut, may be twice a week in dishes and I use Jaggary whenever I cook traditional Indian desserts which gives a unique taste, aroma and golden color to Indian desserts which always reminds me of home and Indian festivals! :)
You need:
1/2 fresh coconut, grated or cut into very small pieces, 1/4 onion, 1 garlic, 1/2 tsp turmeric, few curry leaves and few cilantro, 1/2 to 1 tsp thick tamarind paste, enough salt.
Roast each of these spices sepaarately without oil and cool before grinding:
2 or more red chillies, 1 tbsp Poppy seeds, 1 tbsp coriander seeds, 1 tbsp Cumin seeds, 2 tsp Chana dal, 2 tsp Urad dal, 1 tbsp yellow roasted chana/Dalia/chutney dal until they are all crisp and cool these.
To grind: Add these spices to a blender along with all the "you need" ingredients given above and grind to a very smooth paste adding enough water. You are making a thickish gravy, so you can always add more water later.
Temper to make the Saaru first:
1. Heat 1 tsp ghee and 2 tsp oil in a pan, add 1 tsp Mustard seeds, few curry leaves, 1-2 red chillies, let them get a some color. Add 1/2 cup minced onion, 2-3 garlic, minced, let it get some color.
2. Turn down the heat to simmer, add 1/2 cup cold water and then add the ground coconut masala. Simmer on low heat for 1/2 an hour, stirring often. Never let it boil on medium or high heat, it might separate.
3. Adjust the salt, tamarind and chilli pd to your taste. Once it's cooked, you will smell the aroma and you can reheat in the microwave easitly too. Tastes better the next day, you can make in a day advance and keep it in the fridge.

Chana dal-Cucumber-red onion Kosumbari:
I always loved this salad, it's simple to make and delicious to eat, not to mention nutritious too. You can replace the Chana dal with Moong dal, rest of the ingredients are the same.

1. Wash and soak 1/2 cup Chana dal for 4 hrs in hot water, drain all the water until dal is dry and add to a bowl. Peel and chop 1/2 a Cucumber into small cubes, chop 1/2 of small red onion to small cubes, add to dal.
2. Squeeze 2 tbsp or more fresh lemon juice, enough salt, 1 green chilly chopped roughly, 1 tbsp minced cilantro and mix well. over and keep it aside to marinate for an hour. It's ready to serve!

Another look!
Serve all the above with fragrant Basmati rice, South Indian style Lemon Pickle. Papad which we call Happala in Kannada and of course with Tuppa/ghee which makes everything tasty!! My son loves ghee in everything while my daughter will not touch it with barge pole! :P

That's all for this year's Shivaratri!
Last year, I completely forgot the Shivaratri date and didn't make anything for us or post here because it was too late by the time I realized it's Shivaratri day! This year, I marked it on the calender so I can remind myself!! :P

Now, I really really want to post a non-veg post after three vegetarian posts in a row!!!!! :D

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Tried and tasted from other blogs, thanks to all of you for posting these delicious dishes:

Kollu Rasam, from Indosungod.

Eggplant pickle, from Ranji.

Brinjal cooked shallot coconut sauce, from Nagu.

Movies I watched:
The visitor
Changeling
W.

Here is my post on ULTRA Grind and Pride if you are interested in buying one of those. YES!! I bought both, call me crazy! :D

Oh, one more thing before I go!
I am having a hard time commenting in few blogs, either because of too many widgets flashing which don't let me load properly or the "Word verification" words don't show up even after several attempts or some other reason! I keep trying, get frustrated and after sometime I just give up! Except on the weekends and holidays, I do want to say hello to you in your latest posts whenever I can! Help me comment easily and quickly in your blogs please or else you won't see me there in your blog homes and you can't blame me!!

Have a great weekend! :)

SHAIVA CUISINE!! :))

Hope you had a good Shivaratri, that is whoever celebrated last Friday! :)

What's ShivRatri?
Maha Shivaratri is one of the most important religious festivals for Shaivas, (Shiva's followers) which was celebrated this year on Friday,the 16th of Feb. ShivaRatri literally means the "Night of the great Lord Shiva",this festival brings around the best time to express our devotion and prayers to Lord Shiva and seek his blessings.Devotees of Lord Shiva observe a fast or Upavasa (didn't happen in my house nor did we spend the night awake reading the "book"!!) during this day and recant stories (Shiva Purana) of Shiva the whole night ,called Jagarane!

Ahem!! However,when they break the fasting and gone through all the stories the whole sleepless night,they are ready to feast the next day!! AHA!!! Now we are talkin'!!:D Here is the feast we had, sans fasting and sleepless night but we DID say a little prayer to Shiva before we ate! Good enough,don't you think?!

Here's a beautiful and majestic picure of Lord Shiva taken by Mahek at Murudeshwara Temple, barrowed from Mahek's blog with her permission of course.Thanks friend!:)

Well..these dishes are very traditional Karnataka festival food as they make in my Grandparents' home.Of course,being a big family and with the help of cooks, they make it more elaborate than mine of course! We are just four people in my family,so I had to cut down many of them and chose a few which we like most.These dishes are familiar to many South Indians,nothing special but these are my versions!:))

All vegetarian Shiva Ratri feast:

Menu: Bajjis/Fritters,Raita,Beans stir-fry,Carrot-Moong dal salad, Bisi Bele Bhath/rice,Mosaranna/Yogurt rice, Chiroti with Badami milk/Almond milk.Here are the recipes for all of these.

Let me start with the appetizers:


From right to left: Green Bell Pepper,Onion rings,top;Plaintain/Balekai Bajji,bottom;Cabbage and Tortilla Bondas, Cubanos Peppers Bajji.

How to:


Batter for Bajjis: 1 cup Besan/Chickpea flour, 2 tbsp Rice flour,1 tbsp Corn-starch,chilli pd,salt,1/4 tsp baking soda,(my secret ingredients but not any more!),ground 1 tsp cumin seeds,2 cloves,1/2" cinnamon,1/4 tsp Ajwain,1/2 tsp Fennel seeds,1 tsp coriander seeds to coarse pd,2 tsp finely chopped cilantro,turmeric.Mix all these with 1 tbsp hot oil first and then enough water to make a thick enough batter to just cling onto the veggies.


Don't make it too thin,if it is add some Besan to thicken.Adjust the salt and spice.Heat oil to deep fry at 375F or medium hot.Now take each of bell pepper,Cubano Pepper,Plantain,peeled and sliced halfway first then across to 4-6 long slices as shown in the picture,slice 1 onion in to thick round slices.Sprinkle some salt and lemon juice on everything.





Dip each and deep fry until golden and drain on the paper towels.If any leftover batter,add chopped onion,cabbage,Tortilla pieces, jalapeno, cilantro or any veg. in the fridge and drop blobs of batter and fry.These Bondas were tastier than the Bajjis!:D


Now on to a very popular Karnataka Entree` Mysore Bisi Bele Bhath.This is my grandmother's recipe!
Bisi Bele Bhath literally means "hot Dal-Rice" in Kannada and is a classic Karnataka dish.I make the gravy a day before unlike my grandmother ,so all good spices and vegetables get seeped and marinated overnight.I add the cooked and cooled rice few hrs before serving and really cook down the gravy in the microwave to make it thicker.This dish tastes even better on the third day!

You Need:
2 cups Sona Massori rice cooked separately, 1 cup Tuar dal, tamarind juice, jaggery,2 red ripe tomatoes,3 cups mixed vegs. like Green beans,Carrots,Green peas,cooked separately.No fleshy or soft vegs like cabbage,Potatoes or Cauliflowers!!

Roast and grind:


BBB powder:
8 tbsp coriander seeds, 4 dry red chillis, 1 tsp pepper corns, 1 tsp fenugreek seeds, 2 tbsp chana dal, 8 cloves, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1" cinnamon (dalchini), 2 tsp poppy seeds, 10 curry leaves, 3 tbsp dry coconut,roast all this until reddish and powder with 1/2 tsp turmeric.



Note: I have given the above amount to make BBB Pd about a cup and also to store for future use as well. Use only as much powder as you need to make this recipe BBB, you won't need the whole amount. Use the rest for Sambhar/bele saaru.

Season: 2 tbsp ghee, 1 tsp mustard seeds, few curry leaves, 2 red chillis, 2 tbsp peanuts, 2 tbsp cashew nuts, 2 big onions sliced.

How To:
Cook Tuar dal until soft.Heat ghee in a huge dish and add all the seasoning ingredients with onions and fry until onions are soft and reddish.Add cooked dal with at least ten cups of water, tamarind juice, salt, jaggery, all the cooked veggies, tomatoes and ground masala powder.

Boil until you see the oil specks on top, add more water if necessary to make it thin. Keep it overnight in the fridge. Next day,boil the gravy again.Cook 2 cups rice and cool in a wide pan nad add to the gravy,simmer until thickish. Adjust the Salt.It's ready to serve.Cut down the amount to half since this serves 8 people!I love leftover BBB! ;D

Mosaranna/Yogurt Rice:
Since Bisi Bele Bhath is quite spicy,I always serve with Yogurt rice and Yogurt Raita.


Click here for the recipe which is already in my post.

Next are two delicious Salads and a stir-fry:


A cooling yogurt,cucumber and Tomato Raita/salad, a classic Mysorean tangy Carrot and Moong dal Kosumbari/salad and my personal favorite Green Beans Stir-fry!YUM!

Here is how to make them one by one:

Carrot and Moong dal Kosumbari/Salad:



Soak 2 tbsp Moong dal in water for 2hrs and drain(raw,no cooking).Add to 2 cups of grated Carrots and mix with 1 tsp lemon juice,salt,few cilantro.Heat a tsp oil,add a 1/2 tsp mustard seeds,2 curry leaves,1 chopped Green chlli.Add to Kosumbari and mix well.





Green Beans Stir-Fry:


Chop Green Beans about 2 cups,microwave it with salt and water until little soft(not soggy but should still crunchy) and drain.Heat 2 tsp oil,add 1 tsp each chana dal,Urad dal,1/2 tsp each mustard and cumin seeds,curry leaves,2 red chillies broken.Add 1/2 finely minced onion,fry until reddish.Add cooked beans and fry for a second,mix in 1 tbsp dry coconut,salt and mix well to serve.





Yogurt-Cucumber-Tomato Raita:



Mix 1 cup each Yogurt,cubed Cucumber and cubed Tomatoes with salt,1/2 tsp cumin seeds pd,cilantro and chill until it is ready to be served.






Finally,the big Finale! Dessert!! What is it?! One more classic Karnataka dessert!

Chiroti with Badami Halu/Almond milk!!
No Kannadiga weddings are complete without Chirotis soaked in sweet aromatic Almond milk! Chirotis are Tortilla like circles or layered into shapes made of flour and semolina and deep fried in to delicious flaky dessert served with sweetened Almond milk!It's most delicious dessert and can be made simple to complicated ways.Some of you have posted Chirotis in your blogs,try mine as well!:)

Simple one is just rolled out into circles and fried,sprinkled with cardamom flavored powdered sugar.
Second way is to fold into shapes like I have done and served with Almond Milk.
Third and a elaborate way is to make several circles,stack 5-6 on top of each other with butter in between,rolled like a tube,cut into little circles again,rolled out and fried and served with Payasa/sweet porridge.Phew!!This one was tiring just to write.Okay,let's do second one with my short cut way,shall we?:)

How To: Makes about 6-8


Take 1/2 cup Plain flour,1/2 cup Chiroti rava(Fine grained Semolina),1/4 tsp Salt,2 tbsp powdered sugar,Clove powder 1/4 tsp,Cardamom powder 1/2 tsp,2 tbsp Ghee or butter,mix all these with enough water to make firm pliable dough,keep aside.Heat oil to deep fry.





Divide the dough to 6-8 portions,roll out each into thin circle,cut into a square by cutting the edges and join all four pointy edges in the middle lightly and stick a tooth prick thru' four corners to hold the shape in oil.Repeat with the others and deep fry until golden and drain on paper towel.Take out the tooth picks.







Quick Almond Milk: Pour 1 12oz can unsweetened Evaporated milk in a bowl.Soak the 1/4 cup Almonds in hot water for half an hour.Peel the skin as much as you can to get a white milk and grind into smooth paste,add to milk with 2-3 tbsp powdered sugar,1/2 tsp Cardamom pd,pinch of Saffron,heat until thick.That's it!Or boil 2-3 cups of Fat-Free half and half milk until reduced to half and make it in the same way.



To serve: Place a Chiroti and pour the Almond Milk and sprinkle some toasted, crushed Almonds on top.
Chirotis taste best when they are crisp and serve as soon as they are fried rather than keeping them for half a day!My kids who don't like anything with cardamoms but love Vanilla flavor usually,LOVED this dessert and had second helpings!:)

Well...That was about it for me this time around! Hope you try some of these and enjoy.As far as I am concerned,I am done with all these festivals until next Deepavali!PHEW!! See you all next week with JIHVA Potato!!:)