Curried Brown Chickpeas - Chana Upkari | Happy Ugadi

Every Friday when I was in school, I would wake up to the sound of fresh pepper being ground in the traditional Indian style spice grinder. No modern pepper mills for my mother.. even now its the same. The pepper would then be added to a seasoning for cooked brown/black chickpeas - kaala chana - along with a handful of coconut gratings to make Konkani style chona upkari. 

Every Friday it was a ritual to include chickpeas in the menu. No idea why this was but most Konkani homes followed this tradition on Fridays and also festival days as well.This continues even today and come Thursday night, I will soak chickpeas (black /white) or rajma or other dried beans (being little experimental).

Ugadi or New Year for Konkani, Kannada and Telugu communities falls today and is being celebrated with traditional rituals and food. A New Year for me means Khotte/Ittu along with my mom's special coriander chutney, lemon pickle (nonche), chana ghhasshi and upkari.  Every Konkani festival this was my breakfast. Though ofcourse marriage changed all this. Its good to have a spread when your mom is cooking, but when you have to do it, then its a bit tough...ahem !! 

Anyways today being Friday and also Ugadi, I thought I would share the simple chana upkari with you all. Khotte/ Ittu being a distant dream due to lack of jack fruit leaves and inability of yours truly to turn the leaves magically into a basket.. Oh.. the Goodness of mothers..

Ingredients:

Brown Chickpeas : cooked 1 cup  (any chickpeas will do)

OR 

Soak 1/2 cup chickpeas overnight and cook it in a pressure cooker next day  or 1 hour on stovetop adding little salt.

Seasoning:

Mustard: 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds/Jeera : a very small pinch 

Curry Leaves: 5-8 

Dried Red Chillies: 1-2 

Fresh grated Pepper : 1/2 tsp +/- (adjust the chillies and pepper )

Salt: as per taste

Fresh coconut gratings: handful /as per your taste

Preparation:

Wash and pressure cook the soaked chickpeas adding little salt. Once done drain the cooking water. You can keep this water for later use like to make rasam or whatever you want as its good healthy lentil water. You can even use canned chickpeas after draining off the water.

Heat oil in a deep pan. Add mustard. When it sizzles add cumin ,red chillies, curry leaves and fresh grated pepper. Let these sizzle till you get a nice aroma from the pepper. Add in the cooked chickpeas and saute well to mix everything well.

Mix in the coconut gratings and let it cook for 1-2 minutes on low flame so that water if any is remaining will be absorbed by the coconut and we get a dry curry. Adjust salt and garnish with more coconut if needed before serving.

Serve as side to whatever you like - idli, khotte/ittu, dosa, puri ,roti/breads or even rice.. Goes well even as a teatime snack... be creative and be traditional.

Wishing all a healthy & prosperous Ugadi and wonderful year ahead..

Pineapple & Broken Wheat Payasam | Festivals Galore

Today is celebrated as Onam in Kerala, Varamahalakshmi Pooja in Karnataka and for select communities its also the 'thread changing day' or 'suthaam punnav' or avani avittam. Whatever way you celebrate its the foods that show the festive spirit. And obviously the sweet desserts which come at the end of the meal but linger on till next year. 

I tried a simple fruit payasam or kheer with  healthy broken wheat, split yellow lentils and pineapple. The recipe from a magazine is pretty much traditional except I replaced the rice in the traditional avatar with healthy and easy cooking ingredients.

Ingredients:

Broken Wheat /Dalia : 1 cup

Split Yellow Lentils: 1/4 cup

Pineapple chopped/grated: 1-2 cups or more as per your preference

Jaggery Syrup : 2.5-3 cups 

Thin coconut milk/ Third extract: 6-8 cups

Medium thin coconut milk/ Second extract: 2-3 cups

Thick coconut milk/ First extract: 1 cup

Powdered Ginger /Sonth : 1/2 tsp

Powdered Jeera/ Cumin : 1/4-1/2 tsp

Preparation:

On medium heat bring to boil the thin coconut milk/ third extract and add in hte broken wheat and lentils. Let these cook on low -med heat until almost done.

Add in the chopped/grated pineapple and continue cooking till most of the liquid is absorbed.

Add in the second extract/medium thick coconut milk and jaggery syrup and continue cooking stirring periodically so that this doesn't get burnt.

Once the mixture thickens a bit or reaches your choice  or the right payasam consistency, stir in the thick coconut milk and powdered spices. Stir well and take it off heat. It will thicken upon sitting. 

Serve warm or at room temperature in bowls garnished with more pineapple.

You can use or add other fruits incase you are not a fan of pineapple, but its good for me. You can cook with rice or oats or mix of lentils and grains if you wish to experiment.You can even add cashew nuts or raisins along with pineapple. I kept it simple .. just the pineapple.

I am a pineapple fan and for your kind info , if you happen to visit Kerala in hotter months(!?) make sure you visit the area called ' Muvattupuzha'- its the heart of pineapple cultivation. Though it is available all year round, pineapple flourishes in hot season. By May you can feel the pineapple in the air as they perfume the air when they ripen. Imagine loads of pineapples... Its a feeling I have enjoyed.Hope you do too. You can even see several truck loads of pineapple being transported to markets etc...

Meanwhile enjoy the payasam... healthy delicious and obviously festive..

Banana & Lentil Dessert - Kellya Ambat

Yesterday was Ugadi or Yugadi .A festival usually celebrated in few regions of India as the beginning of a new Year or Yuga(year) aadi(beginning).Normally festivals means lots of food and food and food... This was also not so different. You take oil bath,do the pooja as per your traditions and rituals and sit down for a very traditional lunch.

Traditionally on Ugadi day, Konkanis serve a variety of food and one most prominent combo is that of Hittu/Khotte and Kellya Ambat. The former is a breakfast dish while the later is a dessert or rather the dessert of the day.One of my aunts actually love ugadi because she loves the combo. Hittu/khotte is made with jackfruit leaves and if you cannot find them or cannot make the baskets(called khollis) with the leaves (like me) then you settle for normal idlis. Well, I am not an idli person and did not have khotte/baskets ,but still yesterday I tried my hand at the dessert and here is my version.

Ingredients:

Ripe Firm Banana (preferably Kerala Nendran variety): 1.5 cup to 2 cups chopped 

ChickPea Lentils or Chana Dal: 1/2 cup cooked

Jaggery or Jaggery syrup: 4 + tbsp as per taste and sweetness of bananas

Coconut gratings: 1/2cup or 1-2 handfuls

Dried Red Chilly :1

Haldi/Turmeric Powder: 1/4 tsp

Seasoning: 

Oil/Ghee : 1tbsp

Mustard: 1/2 tsp

CurryLeaves: few fresh

Cumin Seeds: 1/4 tsp

Preparation:

Slice the peeled banana and chop each piece to get crescent shaped pieces. Cook chana dal in a pressure cooker or stove top till soft.Add the banana pieces to the dal and cook till tender,making sure they still hold the shape. 

Add jaggery grated or syrup and mix well and let it simmer for  few minutes. Meanwhile check for sweetness. If not as sweet as you want it ,add more jaggery or syrup.

Grind together coconut gratings,turmeric and red chilly to a fine paste and then add it to the simmering dessert. This gives it more colour and thickness and adds a kick to the sweetness. Continue simmering till the rawness of the coconut paste is gone and the flavours mingle well- all for a few more minutes.

Prepare the seasoning by heating oil in a kadai/pan. Add mustard and when it splutters add cumin and curryleaves. Allow it to splutter and add the seasoning to the dessert saving few seeds and leaves for garnishing.

A simple yet comforting and very festive dessert. It is also made during other festive occasions, but as I said the combo of Khotte/Idli with Ambat is supposed to be superb. There is even a prominent restaurant in Willingdon Island,Kochi that serves this combo on Ugadi day -ie apart from from regular Konkani hotels. You can get an idea about hittu from Ranji's post here.

I presume, the sweetness of bananas,with the spiciness of the red chilly and comfort of the lentils, indicate that it will be a mixed year and you should enjoy as you get it. 

Jaggery & Rice Flakes -Goda Phovu

This is a simple Konkani style sweet dish made using jaggery syrup and rice flakes and this is a must for festive occassions especially engagements and Diwali.'God(e)' means Jaggery and 'Phovu' is rice flakes. I also made it for Diwali but before I could post this, my system crashed. Once it was up I got lazy and you know, I have not posted since last Wednesday.So despite  few weeks after Diwali, I am pushing myself to post this especially this being an easy dish.

Ingredients:
Jaggery: 1/2-1 cup grated
Water: as needed to just soak or cover the jaggery

Rice Flakes: 1-1.5 cup
Fresh Grated Coconut : 1/2-1 cup

Cardamom: powder: as per taste

Ghee: 2-3 tbsp
Chana Dal: Split Chick Peas: 2 tbsp
Moong Dal: Split Green Gram: 2 tbsp
Sesame Seeds: Black and/or White : 1-2 tsp

Sugar: for garnish

Preparation:

Put the jaggery and enough water as needed (to cover it) in a deep pan on medium heat. Stir well and let it melt to form a simple syrup. Remove from heat and strain it. This helps remove any dirt/dust or unwanted particles. 

Return to the pan on medium heat. Stir well and let it cook for a 1 or more minutes to thicken it a bit and it should turn a bit sticky -sort of 1 string consistency,but it also depends on how you want and how quickly you want it done. There is no hard and fast rule that it should be 1 or 2 string consistency.

Once you feel it has thickened a bit, add in powdered cardamom and coconut -1/2 cup at a time- and mix well.Saute for a minute and add in the rice flakes slowly and mix well. Remove from heat and keep aside.

In another small pan, heat ghee and saute the dals/lentils and the sesame seeds till a bit crunchy. Add these along with the ghee to the rice flakes and jaggery mix and mix well. 

Serve as a snack. We usually make this the previous evening of Diwali and have it first thing in the morning after the ritualistic Diwali oil bath and prayers/pujas. While serving garnish with little sugar which contrasts well with the brown colour of the dish.You can even use the ghee sauteed dals and sesame seeds as a garnish.

Variations:

This is a mix of traditional and modern ways of making the phovu. Traditionally, while the jaggery syrup is being thickened, we mix together the rice flakes and coconut till they turn soft and then proceed with the recipe.

Also you can roast the rice flakes -either dry or in ghee- before adding in to the jaggery syrup and this makes them crunchier and not soft.

You can increase or decrease the amount of coconut depending on ho soft you the dish to be. More coconut means a bit softer dish. Make sure coconut is not more than the main ingredient - rice flakes :).

A Train Journey & Cutlets

Trains have always been a part of middle class Indian Life.They are the ones that bridge the vast distance between South,the North,Central and the West.Right from installation of the first passenger train between Bori Bunder Thane in Bombay, till now they have been the major source of travel for people.The long waiting list,the reservation to be done prior to months if we are planning a vacation,er the dirty railway station and er the stinky loos (unbearable) and the mass of people (we feel the whole India is waiting for a train) and the variety of foods - especially these days where we have special trains with their own restaurant compartments- endear the trains to us.It has become a part of life that we want to avoid but we find itself in it.It is also a place where we meet different kinds of people,share food and stories especially if it is a long distant train that spans several days.Ladies Coupe or Ladies Compartment has been associated with a train - passenger as well as long distant trains -a compartment specially for ladies or "Ladies Only" has been a good idea especially in a place like India where several atrocities has been committed against women and are still rampant.It has become a place where ladies sit and talk together share stories and food,and even chop veggies.

Ladies Coupe,a novel by Anitha Nair, tells us the story that happened in a ladies compartment of Bangalore Kanyakumari Express about six ladies who met for the first time and shared their life stories.Sometimes we feel perfectly normal when we share our fears,life and secrets to perfect strangers.The story begins with ,Akhila,who forgot to live her life for the sake of siblings but was left alone when the siblings flew away to their own nests.She starts the journey from Bangalore and meets up Prabha Devi,Janaki,Margret Shanti,Marikulanthu and Sheela and opens up her mind and listens to them.Each feel their is a sad story till they hear the other. Akhila searchs within herself and others whether a woman needs a man to feel complete.While reading the story we feel we can identify with these characters.Foodwise there are some references and recipes but the general railway food comes into our mind.FYI,the author talks about Appam and stew when the train stops at Palakkad.Appam and Stew is one the signature dishes of Kerala and has been a popular food from Palakkad (erstwhile Palghat)railway station.

Anyway the novel full of food reminds me of the cutlets that I used to get while travelling on the Southern Railways.A mix of several vegetables and batter fried(shallow or deep) it is a perfect example of different classes and mindsets sitting together and travelling to a common destination,er stomach in case of cutlets.The greasy cutlets with in Southern Railways were always a popular evening snack though I prefer much healthier shallow fried version my mom makes.The ingredients are basically potato,carrots and beets,though we can add whatever leftover veggies we like or cooked beans cheese(paneer) etc.

Ingredients:

Potatoes,Beets and Carrots(cooked,peeled and mashed/grated) : 1-2 cups
Onion: 1 small,finely chopped
Green chillies: 1-2 as per taste,chopped into long pieces
Ginger: 1 small piece
Pepper & Red chilli powder : pinch (optional)
Tomato: 1 small finely chopped
Semolina/Bread Crumbs: 1/4 cup +/-

Bread Crumbs : 1/4 cup + (Breading)
Vegetable Oil: for shallow frying

Preparation:

Cook the potatoes,carrot and peeled beets.You can cook them altogether or separately or can even grate the carrots and beets.Chop the onions,tomato and green chillies and grate the ginger.

Heat little vegetable oil in a pan,add the chopped onion and grated ginger and chopped green chillies and cook till soft.Add chopped tomatoes,little salt ,optional pepper and chilli powder and saute for a few minutes.If you are using any uncooked vegetables or even grated beets and carrots then you can add at this point and saute till they are cooked.

Add the mashed potatoes and semolina/bread crumbs,mix well and cook for a few more minutes.The semolina is used as a thickner or it absorbs any extra liquid in the mix of vegetables keeping it moist at the same time.Check for salt and add more if needed.Let the mix cool till it can be shaped into balls.The potatoes also act as a binder.The quantity of spices and chillies is guestimate and adjust as per your taste and choice of vegetables.Chilli powder and pepper are completely optional,but if you do not have/like chillies then you can use this more.Crumbled paneer can be added as well.Tomatoes can be replaced with tomato paste/puree as per availability.

Once cooled the veg mix which looks rose in colour due to beets can be shaped into balls or kababs.

Bread the balls in bread crumbs or matzo meal or crushed oats.I have used cheesy bread crumbs. Shake off the excess if you like.

Shallow fry the cutlets on a non stick pan for a few minutes on both sides adding a few drops of oil.If you want to deep fry these,then you can first dip them in yoghurt or a thin batter made of all purpose flour and water and then dip them in bread crumbs and deep fry.But,give me shallow frying anyday.

The cutlets will have a brownish crust when cooked.Serve with spiced yoghurt and or tomato sauce and optionally with salsa cruda as in train.

The cutlets are hearty and perfect snack for everyone.Lets see who all boarded the Ladies Coupe in the BookClub train and are travelling to the perfect destination - "Climbing the Mango Trees ' by Madhur Jaffery next month.

*BREAKING NEWS *- I am at present on a vacation and has neither been able to visit yummy blogs nor comment on the wonderful dishes.I was a bit busy earlier and could not even inform about this thanks to limited net connection.The current situation will continue till the first week of Jan 2010 though some of my scheduled posts will appear if blogger works properly ie. :D

ADVANCED NEW YEAR WISHES TO ALL THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE WHO TAKE TIME TO VISIT THIS BLOG.

!! HAPPY NEW YEAR &

HAPPY HOLIDAYS !!

Carrot Kosumbari

Koshimbir/Kosumbari/Kosamalli are salads made from raw veggies and lentils and are healthy snacks as themselves.These are basically Kannada speciality and Konkani too.Traditionally they contain raw or sprouted lentils and are made from carrots/cucumber and with an optional tadka or seasoning.There are several variations or versions for this though.As for me, I grew up with a version that is similar to a raitha , though comparatively this raw version is easier.Still I have diverted from the traditional version and added finely chopped/grated red onions to it and have avoided the seasoning and also the raw lentils.

Ingredients:

Carrots: 2-3 peeled & grated finely

Onions: 1 small peeled and finely chopped/grated

Coconut: 2-3 tbsp

Green Chilly: 1-2 as per taste.

Lemon juice: 1-2 tbsp or more

Cilantro/Coriander Leaves: for garnish and optionally mixing.

Preparation:

Peel and grate the carrots finely.Similarly grate the onion.Chop the green chilly and few tbsp of cilantro.The ingredients on first look (except cilantro)...

In a bowl mix together carrot,onions,coconut grated and few tbsp of cilantro and chopped green chilly.Add in salt and squeeze in lemon juice and mix well.Garnish with more cilantro.

Lemon juice will soften the onions and sort of take away the raw taste of them.Serve as a salad with rice or as per choice.The salt will bring out the water in carrot and onion and the salad will be moist and fresh no matter at what time you have prepared it.The mixing of cilantro depends on taste.I sometimes,avoid mixing cilantro and use it just as a garnish.Traditional or additional inclusions are washed and soaked/lightly cooked moong dal,moong ,sprouts,cucumber,pom seeds,ginger,grated raw mango or whatever you wish like peanuts,cashews etc. You can even replace the carrot and use beet to get a beet kosumbari.

The basic recipe of kosumbaris is same and sometimes they stand out due to the ingredients used.Other spectacular kosumbaris I have found:

Raaga's Carrot peanut kosambari

Divya's Sprouted moong kosumbari

Red Chillies Cucumber Moong Dal Kosambari

and a very different one made with fried yam pieces from here: Yam Kosumbari

Another version similar to a raitha with yoghurt and mustard seasoning is Carrot Raita.

The simplest salad made quickly from the root veg carrot is on way to NCR:Root Vegetable at Lisa's. Hope she enjoys this salad.

Yam Kosumbari

This is like a salad or dry side dish with rice.Kosumbari is actually healthy side dish and can be made with carrots,urad dal,sprouts etc.This one is made with yam pieces.

Ingredients:
Yam pieces:1/2 cup
Salt:as per taste

Roast &Grind
Coriander seeds:1tspn
Red chilli:1
Green Chilli:1
Tamarind :1/4 berry size

Garnish
Coconut scrapped:1/2tspn

Preparation:

Cube the yam pieces. Mix with salt and keep aside.

Heat oil in a frying pan and deep fry the salted yam pieces.Squeeze them first and the put into oil.Keep aside and let them cool.

In a kadai,dry roast tamarind,coriander seeds and red and green chillies.You can also use tamarind concentrate for this.Grind/powder the roasted ingredients and mix this powder with the fried yam pieces.Garnish with coconut scrappings or roasted shallots/small onions.

Serve as a dry side dish with rice.

Beet Sukke

This is a Konkani dish .Sukke means 'dry' in Konkani.This is one of the easiest dishes to prepare and goes as a dry curry with rice.

Ingredients:
Beetroot:1 cup
Coconut scrapped:2tspn
Red Chilli flakes:1tbspn
Salt:as per taste
Chana dal:1 tspn
Mustard:1/2 tspn

Preparation:
Peel,wash and grate beetroot in a bowl. Add coconut scrapings,red chilli flakes and salt to the grated beet.

Heat oil in a pan.Add mustard.As it splutters,add chana dal,saute till it starts to brown,add the beet mixture.You can add a little or no water to this as beet when mixed with salt gives out water.Cover and cook for few minutes.Serve as a dry side dish with rice.