South Indies: Gojjavalakki
Today is Krishna Janmashtami & you can have a look at my Krishna here. All the worshipping was done by my family & the eating was done by me 
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1 Cup Poha - Thick or Medium variety
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2 tsp Rasam powder - Home made or any other brand. MTR works great
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A small piece of jaggery
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Tamarind extract from a lemon sized tamarind ball
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1 tbsp seasme seeds - roasted & powdered
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1 tsp mustard seeds
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4-5 red chillies - broken
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A sprig of curry leaves
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1 tsp chana dal
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1 tsp urad dal
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A handful of groundnuts
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2 tbsp fresh grated coconut
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Salt as per taste
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Cooking oil
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In a pan, dry roast poha until slightly warm. Transfer to a mixer & pulse the poha for a couple of times so that it is crushed coarsely. Do not make it into a fine powder.
- In a vessel, take a little more than 3/4th cup of water, Add Rasam powder, tamarind extract & jaggery. Mix well & allow the jaggery to dissolve completely.
- Add this water to the poha mixture, little at a time. Mix well such that no lumps are formed. Set aside for about 15-20 mins. The poha would have soaked up all the water & should be crumbly. If there are any lumps, separate them with your fingers. It should look like Rava.
- Heat oil in a kadhai, splutter mustard seeds. Add groundnuts, red chillies, curry leaves. urad & chana dal & allo them to slightly change colour. Add poha, sesame seeds powder, Salt & a tbsp of oil & mix well.
- Keep mixing over low heat for about 3 mins.
Transfer to a bowl & serve with yogurt. Enjoi !!!
NOTE:
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I used thin variety poha today. If you are using the thick variety, you made need a little more water. But I really does not make any difference in the taste
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Grated dry coconut can be added instead of fresh coconut. But I personally prefer using fresh coconut
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A tsp of roasted cumin & pepper powder can be added towards the end. I usually do not add this.
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Gojjavalakki is a dry dish so, it pairs well with yogurt.
South Indies: Akki Rotti with Fenugreek Leaves
Akki Rotti is a unique speciality of Karnataka. It is in many ways very similar to Thalipeeth form Maharashtra.
I was wanting to post this one ever since I started with this blog. Akki Rotti is made so often at home, infact it is a very common dish at most homes in Kannada households. But I somehow never got around photographing it.
There are quite a few variations to the usual plain Akki Rotti. You could use a medley of grated vegetables, finely chopped spinach/fenugreek or methi leaves/dill leaves or even flat beans
I particularly love the ones with Methi leaves. The taste of fresh methi leaves really stands out. We made Akki Rotti for breakfast this morning, & there was quite a bit dough remaining. I was in the mood to photograph too.
Here’s how to go about it.
You Will Need:
- 1 cup rice flour ( a medium sized cup will yield about 4 rottis )
- 1/2 cup finely chopped methi/fenugreek leaves/Menthya Soppu
- 4 green chillies - chopped finely
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp grated coconut - fresh/frozen ( The more you add, the tastier it gets )
- Salt as per taste
- Oil
Method:
In a large bowl,mix all ingredients except oil.
Add enough water to make a soft dough. The dough should be softer than a chapati dough but shouldn’t be very watery. It should be form enough to make a medium sized ball out of it.
Grease a iron Kadhai /Tava with a tsp of oil.
Take a meduim sized ball, Pat it into the greased tava. The thinner you pat, the crispier it gets. Pour a tsp of oil around the center & the edges.
Cover the tava /kadhai with a lid. After about 3 mins, check with a spatula if the bottom of the rotti has turned slightly brownish. Let it cook for another minute if you want a crispier rotti.
Remove once done. Serve with pickle, chutney powder, butter or some yogurt. Enjoi …
I like mine with some fresh yogurt mixed with a pinch of Rasam powder & salt. Yes, Rasam Powder with yogurt. Do give it a try, you will love it too.
Pongal - The Humble South Indian Khichdi
In South India, two dishes that are a must have during Sankranthi/Pongal is the Khara Pongal Sweet Pongal using Jaggery also known as Huggi in Kannada.
This time around, I didnt make the sweet version as me & my husband aren’t really fond of jaggery based sweets, But, We do relish the savoury version quite often.
Khara Pongal or savoury Pongal is what I call the South Indian version of Khichdi. A mixture of rice & lentils simmered to a semi-solid consistency & tempered with cumin seeds, green chillies, ginger & pepper corns is a heart warmer. Popular in most South Indian homes as a Breakfast Dish, it can be eaten on its own or even with yogurt or spicy coconut chutney or a traditional eggplant dip, either way its overwhelming. It is way too simple to make & does not involve cutting of any vegetables, which is a blessing if one is short on time. I quite often enjoy this as supper on cold winter evenings.
Preparation Time: 30 mins
Ingredients:
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1 cup short grained rice
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1/2 cup Moong Dal
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2 tbsp grated ginger
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3 green chillies - finely chopped
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A handful of curry leaves
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1 tsp cumin seeds
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1 tbsp coarsely ground Black Pepper
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1 tsp Turmeric
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Salt as per taste
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1 tbsp Desi Ghee/Clarified Butter or Oil
Method:
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Dry roast moong dal until it starts to turn slightly brown.
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Pressure cook Moong dal along with rice along with turmeric powder
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Heat Ghee/oil in a heavy bottomed pan & add cumin seeds, once the seeds crackle, add curry leaves, green chillies & saute for a minute.
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Add cooked rice & lentil mixture & Add 1/2 cup water & mix well.
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Add grated ginger, ground pepper & Salt
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Simmer on low heat for about 5 - 8 minutes.
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Drizzle Ghee on top & enjoy with your favorite Side Dish.
Enjoi !!!
NOTE:
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The Rice:Lentil proportion could be either 1:2 or 2:1 or 1:1 whichever suits you
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Go easy on green chillies as ground pepper adds quite a bit of heat.
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You could use long grained rice too, but short grained rice works best.
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This can be made on stove top too instead of using a pressure cooker. Use Pressure Cooker to save time.
Rice Noodles / Shavige Baath
There are various versions of Shavige Baath, like This which my mom-in-law makes & there is a sweet version to it too with jaggery. But I prefer the savoury version.
The recipe for home-made rice noodles will follow later. I have made this using the store-bought ones. Hope you guys like it . . .
You Will Need:
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2 cups rice noodles - I used store-bought
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1/2 cup grated coconut - fresh/frozen
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4-5 green chillies
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1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
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A huge sprig of cilantro
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A handful of curry leaves
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A big pinch of turmeric
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A handful of groundnuts
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2 -3 tbsp - lemon juice
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Salt as per taste
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2 tsp oil
Method:
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Boil about 4 cups of water in a large vessel. once it start boiling, add a tsp of oil turnoff the stove
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Add rice noodles & cover it. Let it cook for a minute & NOT any more than that
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Transfer cooked noodles to a colander & run cold water it. Keep aside & let it cool
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Grind together grated coconut, green chillies, cilantro, curry leaves mustard seeds into a smooth paste without adding too much water
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Heat a heavy bottomed pan & add oil. Add mustard seeds, groundnuts & turmeric & let it roast well & turn off the stove
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Add the ground paste, cooked noodles along with salt to the tempering
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Add lemon juice & mix well. You can add another teaspoon of oil at this point if required
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Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Serve with Coriander Chutney . . . Enjoi !
Quick Cucumber Poha
Poha is a very common dish in most Indian homes. It is super easy to prepare & is really hard to screw up on. When I was new to cooking, I never could prepare it properly, I would always end up over soaking Poha & it would end up turning out to be very soggy.
I once went over to my cousin’s place, and my aunt had prepared this version of Poha which I really liked. She had used the thin variety poha, which meant NO soaking in water. I was really thrilled at this because, now it meant that I too could prepare Poha without worrying about it becoming soggy.
The best part about this snack is very light & since coconut is not used, its good for weight watchers too.
Here it is:
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Ingredients:
- 2 cups poha - thin variety
- 1 onion - finely chopped
- 1 tomato - finely chopped
- 3 green chillies low/medium spiced - finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups cucumber - finely chopped
- Mustard seeds 1 tsp
- Cumin seeds 1 tsp
- A pinch of turmeric
- Salt as per taste
- A pinch of sugar
- Cilantro - finely chopped
- Oil
Method:
- Heat oil in a large pan, Add mustard & cumin seeds
- Once the seeds splutter, add chopped green chillies
- Add a pinch of turmeric
- Add onions & saute till it turns transparent.
- Add chopped tomatoes, cucumber & Poha
- Add a pinch of sugar & salt as per taste
- Mix well.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro
Enjoi !!!
NOTE: DO NOT add water as there is enough water from cucumber & tomatoes to make it a little soggy
Translator
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