Gojju Avalakki/ Hot-Sweet-Sour spiced Poha

Gojju avalakki/Hot -sweet n sour spiced poha has remained one of my favourite poha preparation ever since I had tasted it at my best friend S's place during my childhood days. I used to think this dish is really difficult to put together, coz it has all the flavours so well balanced, and the poha has just enough amount of moistness to it ;) This heavenly taste was long forgotten until recently I stumbled upon the same dish/recipe at Ramya's blog http://maneadige.blogspot.com/ My joys knew no bound, without wasting much time I just jotted down the recipe and prepared it the very next day for breakfast. S liked it a lot too :) it goes without saying that this recipe will be a treasured one for me :)

Thanks to Ramya.

here's the recipe link from Ramya's blog:

http://maneadige.blogspot.com/2008/06/gojjavalakki-huli-avalakki-crushed-and.html

Here is the recipe for reference:

Gojju Alavakki/ Hot-Sweet-Sour spiced Poha

Ingredients:

Thick quality beaten rice (Aval/Poha)- 2 cups

Peanuts- fistful

Coconut grated- 2-3 tbsp

Rasam powder- 2-3 tsp (I used MTR)

Tamarind pulp-1-2 tsp( you could add more or less to suit your taste)

Crushed Jaggery- 1-2 tbsp

Fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tsp

Black/White sesame seeds- 2 tsp

Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Mustard seeds-3/4 tsp

Chana dal- 1 tsp

Urad dal- 1 tsp

Red chillies- 2, halved

Oil- 2 tbsp

Asofetida-1/4 tsp

Method-
1.Take small amounts of beaten rice and coarsely powder it by pulsing the mixie a couple of times, Make sure you don't powder it finely.

2. Wash the coarse powder once or twice in running water,drain the excess water and keep it aside for a few minutes and allow it to soften.

3.For the Hot-Sour-Sweet tasting Water or Gojju in Kannada:

In a vessel take about a cup of water add rasam powder, Jaggery, salt, asfetida, turmeric powder. Check for the balance of taste. Now this is ready.

4. Put the washed Aval/beaten rice in a wide mouthed vessel and pour in the prepared hot-sour-sweet tasting waster little by little to it. STOP WHEN NECESSARY, DO NOT MAKE THE MIXTURE TOO SOGY. Mix well and allow it to set for sometime.

5.Meanwhile, dry roast the fenugreek seeds and sesame seeds till it gives out nice aroma. cool it well and powder it and set it aside.

6. Make tempering: In a kadhai/wok heat oil and add mustard seeds, chanadal, urad dal,curry leaves, hing, red chillies and peanuts once its done pour it over the poha. Add the fenugreek-sesame powder to the seasoned poha and mix well.

7.Garnish with grated coconut and coriander leaves.

Chocolate Pudding with Banana and Crackers

Chocolate is one of S's and my favourite indulgences. The July edition of "Prevention' magazine had a very easy chocolate pudding. The picture on the recipe page was so attractive that I had to make it that very day! so here goes the recipe....

CHOCOLATE PUDDING WITH BANANA AND CRACKERS:

Ingredients

3 Marie/digestive biscuits crushed

1 ripe banana, sliced

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tbsp cornstarch

1/8 tsp salt

3 cups skimmed milk

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1&1/2 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips( I used crushed bitter chocolate bits)

Method

1. Crush the biscuits and divide the biscuit crumbs evenly among 6 custard cups. Press into bottom. Top with banana slices and press again gently. Reserve a few banana slices for garnish.

2. Mix sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in a large saucepan. Stir in milk little by little and whisk over medium flame until pudding thickens and comes to a boil.

3. Cook one minute longer. Remove from heat an stir in vanilla essence.

Pour into the prepared custard cups. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for atleast 2 hours. Top each serving with some chocolate chips and garnish the reserved banana slices.

Batate Song/ Potatoes cooked in spicy and tangy sauce

Hellllllllo Gals, Good to see you all and ur wonderful recipes. I am so glad many of u wrote that I'll be missed dearly :) :) Thanks dearies.

Now lets get to foodie-business ;) Today's recipe is a spicy tangy potato curry(I made it yesterday for lunch ). It's called 'song' ...LOL yes u read it right. In Konkani it's called Batate(potato) Song. It's one of the most loved dishes in the Konkani household after/along with the Dali Thoy. My hubby dear is a bong ...he loves the Konkani cuisine but finds the names of the dishes very amusing/funny :)

I'd like to share a funny incident that occured about 2 years back. My parents had invited both of us for lunch. Among the variety of dishes Amma had made, the batate song impressed S, Amma saw that S had polished off the song within minutes of serving...she told me to serve some more song to him. S was a little surprised and whispered to me..."is Amma asking me to sing a song or something?!" ....I couldn't hold myself and burst into laughter :) :) everybody was curious to know the reason...when I told them about the 'sing a song ?' thingie, all had a hearty laugh...

even to this day whenever I make batate song, we exchange a nostalgic cute little smile :)

So here's the recipe that could make u sing a .......batate- SONG!!

Ingredients:

* 4 medium sized potatoes, cooked, peeled, cubed.

* 1 large onion, finely chopped.

* 1 1/4tsp chilli powder ( use more or less to suit ur taste).

* 1 small lemon sized tamarind ball soaked in a bowl of water, after it softens squeeze the tamarind to get a thin consistency tamarind water/pulp.

*2-3 tbsp oil

*salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil in a kadhai or any cooking vessel, add onions and fry till slightly

golden brown.

2. Turn off the gas and add the tamarind pulp, chilli powder, salt, potato cubes and mix well.

3. Turn on the flame and simmer for sometime, taste and adjust the salt and chilli powder if necessary.

4. Add a little water if you want more gravy, cover and simmer for sometime, stir occassionally.

5. The song is ready to be served with rice/roti

Break!!

Hi Friends,
I'm taking a break for a couple of weeks . All's fine donworry :) it's just that there are lot of eventful things happening in the coming weeks(read family functions and relatives visiting) so I wont be able to do justice to blogging half heartedly so the break :P.Though I wouldn't be able to visit your blogs as regularly as I used to , I'll try to give an occassional sneak peek :)
Hope u miss me ;) I'll definitely miss u all :P

Happy Blogging! Take good care of yourselves and stay happy!!!

Until we meet next time...
bye!! :)

Chow Chow bajji and Simple Dal

Chow chow or chayote bajji is a simple dish which can be had as a side dish or eaten with rice alone.

Ingredients

• 2 small chow chow/chayote, peeled, cubed and pressure cooked
• 2 green chillies
• 1/2 cup grated coconut
• small piece of tamarind
• 1 tsp jeera
• salt to taste

For tempering

• 1tsp oil
• 4-5 curry leaves
• 1 tsp mustard
• A pinch of asafoetida

Method:

• Grind the cooked chow chow pieces with grated coconut, green chilies, cumin seeds, salt, tamarind with very little water.
• Once it's ground to a fine paste transfer it to the serving bowl and set it aside.
• Heat a 1 tsp oil in a tempering pan add mustard seeds, curry leaves as it begins to pop throw in the asafoetida, then immediately pour it over the ground paste and mix well. Taste and adjust the salt if necessary.
• Serve with rice/roti.

Simple Dal: Dali Thoy -version 2

This is one of the simplest versions of dal that I've come across. The Konkani households make their dal in two versions, the difference is only in the tempering. In one version tempering is done with garlic and red chilies, and the other is with mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves.

I've posted the garlic and red chilies tempered dal sometime back. Let's see the other one.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Toor dal
• ½ tsp Turmeric
• Salt to taste

For the tempering:

• 5-6 curry leaves
• 2-3 dry red chilies, halved
• A pinch of asafoetida

Method:

• Wash and clean the toor dal and drain the water
• Pour 2 cups of clean water into the dal
• Add turmeric powder and stir
• Pressure cook it for 2-3 whistles
• Now mash the pressure cooked dal using a whisker
• Add salt to it and heat it on a low flame, stir occasionally
• While the dal is heating prepare for the tempering.

Tempering:

• Heat oil in a skillet, add mustard seeds and curry leaves wait till it begins to pop
• Now add the red chillies and fry for 2-3 seconds, add asafoetida
• Take it off the flame and pour it on the dal.
• Stir well, switch off the flame when the dal comes to a boil. Serve it hot with rice.

Tiramisu...a delightful dessert

Tiramisu is one of S's favourite desserts and something that I had been wanting to prepare at home from a very long time. Upon googling I found this detailed and easy to follow recipe(I'm making it for the first time :)) It turned out pretty good. *Special thanks to Manju of blog mirchmasala for the inspiration :)

Ingredients:

4 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup water

4 eggs yolks

4 ounces cream cheese

6 ounces mascarpone cheese

1 tbsp marsala/port wine (I used vanilla essence)

8 ounces heavy whipping cream

2 cups of expresso or strong coffee( I also added 1 tsp sugar )

1 ounce dark rum (I skipped this)

2 tbsp sugar

24 lady fingers

2 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tbsp grated semi sweet chocolate grated

Preparation:

Cook sugar and water together till it all the sugar dissolves well. set it aside to cool.

Prepare egg mixture by whipping the egg yolks on high speed until pale yellow and thick, then slowly pour the sugar syrup while mixing on high until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add cream cheese and and whip on medium speed until smooth.

Add mascarpone cheese and marsala wine (I used vanilla essence) mix until incorporated . Fold in whipped cream . Refrigerate.

Assembling the Tiramisu:

Dip the lady fingers in the coffee decocotion and place a layer on the bottom of a serving platter.

Top with one layer of chilled cream mixture. Repeat it with the rest of the lady fingers and

cream alternatingly. The top layer should be that of cream.

Sift cocoa over the top layer and refrigerate atleat for 5-6 hours.

Sprinkle with grated chocolate and serve.

Two for a Company with Bitter gourd and Okra

Bittergourd and okra have been two of my favourite vegetables over the couple of years and greens of course or else they’d feel left out ;) . There are a few typical of dishes/recipes which come to mind when we think of karela and bhindi. Looking for different recipes apart from the usual ones has become a habit now. So that’s what I did….before I begin here’s something I’d like to tell all of u… I am bit by the blog bug too!! ;) I read many posts from my fellow foodie friends saying that blogging has become an obsession. Recipe inventions while travelling and thinking spice round the clock…actually even in dreams :) has become “normal” I thank God for this as am not alone :)
In this context, while hunting for something which hasn’t been made in my kitchen I found 2 recipes which fitted the tag of zara hatke :). Not only did I love the way these two very different dishes tasted but also admired the way it looked resting in the serving bowls. Without much ado, let me proceed to the recipes ….Read on

Sliced Okra Bathed in Buttermilk/Bhindi Kadi
Recipe source: 660 curries

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh okra, rinsed, dried, ends trimmed and cut into 1” length
4 cups buttermilk
2 tbsp chickpea flour/besan
2 tbsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp red chilli powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds/methi
2 tbsp ghee/melted butter/oil
1 tbsp ginger-chilli paste ( I added this to balance the dominant sweet taste)
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves with tender stems
10-12 fresh curry leaves

Method:

Whisk the buttermilk, chickpea flour, sugar, salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, and ginger-green chilli paste together in a medium sized bowl avoiding any lumps. Stir in coriander leaves and curry leaves.

Heat ghee/butter/oil in a large saucepan over medium- high heat. Sprinkle the cumin and fenugreek seeds into the pan and cook until they sizzle and turn reddish brown and fragrant.

Immediately add okra/bhendi and stir fry till they acquire light brown colouration and their ridged sides, 8-10 minutes

Pour in spiced buttermilk mixture and stir once or twice to deglaze the pan. Lower the heat to medium and simmer uncovered, until the okras are fork- tender and the curry has thickened slightly. 10-12 minutes.
The colour transforms from a pale cream coloured curry to a robust sun-yellow. This is the sign of doneness. Switch off the flame and serve hot with rice/ roti.


Gujarathi Karela Sabji
Source: googled and arrived at http://simplysensationalfood.blogspot.com/

Ingredients :
3 medium Bitter gourds, peeled and cut into 3 pieces each
1 small onion, sliced
1 tomato, diced
½ tsp coriander leaves to garnish

For the stuffing:
½ tsp salt
½ tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp chickpea flour/besan
1 tbsp crushed jaggery
1 tbsp oil
½ tsp coriander leaves, chopped

For the gravy:
1 tsp oil
½ tsp garlic paste
½ tsp salt
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp jaggery
½ tsp mustard seeds

Method:
Cut a slit into each bitter gourd piece and remove the seeds

Mix the stuffing ingredients with a little water and make a thick paste

Stuff each bitter gourd piece with this paste and steam it for about 20 minutes or till cooked and tender.

Heat oil in a shallow frying pan add mustard seeds, once it starts to pop add garlic paste, onions and fry till translucent.

Add the tomatoes, spices for the gravy. Cook till tomatoes soften and thicken the gravy.

Add the steamed bitter gourd and toss gently to bind in with the gravy.Cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Once done, take it off the flame garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice/roti