South Indies: Balaka/Majjige Menasu - Marinated Sun Dried Green Chillies
When the sun is at its peak, why not make good use of it?? Atleast this is what my grandmom believed in. Of all the things that my grandmom made during summer, I particularly love Balaka - sun dried green chillies.
Though these are readily available in most stores, there is something very charming about home made stuff .. Go ahead & make good use of the sun.
These are usually made in bulk & are stored for over more than a year. And, these are fairly simple to make as compared to papads & the like. Though, a time consuming process, its totally worth the wait. These are perfect for monsoons, when one craves for something fiery & spicy.
You Will Need:
-
50 Green Chillies
-
3 cups Sour Buttermilk
-
3-4 tsp Salt
How To:
-
Wash & pat dry green chillies. Make slits halfway along, such that the chillies remain intact & do not open up. You could use a toothpick or a small knife for this
-
In a huge bowl, mix buttermilk & salt
-
Immerse the slit green chillies in the buttermilk-salt mixture. Keep them in the mixture for 3 complete days. Keep stirring the chillies atleast twice a day.
-
Now, take a wide plate or spread a huge plastic sheet & sun dry the chillies. At the end of the day, transfer the chillies back to the buttermilk mixture.
-
Repeat the procedure for about 3 days.
-
Throw way the sour buttermilk & sun dry the green chillies for another 4 days until the chillies lose all moisture & are completely dry.
-
Store in a air-tight container.
-
Fry them for a few seconds, until golden brown.
Enjoi with a simple Dal Tadka , Majjige Huli or Curd Rice . . .
NOTE:
-
You could also use these chillies to temper plain Dal Tadka & Green Mango Dal in particular.
-
Those of you who are not used to spicy food may find this very fiery. So first, take a small bite to see if you can take the heat
Beware! Cheating case at Manipal Hospital
From: Ravikumar
I would like to get one of the incident happened this weekend to your notice.
One of my co-brother met with an bike accident and expired on Friday night.
This accident happened around 6.30 PM near whitefield and initially he got admitted to a hospital called Vydehi near Whitefield. Later it was proposed by Vydehi doctors to take him to either Nimhance or Manipal. So we took him to Manipal around 8.00 PM since NIMHANCE is very far and also by considering traffic at that time. Read more
Bhinda Ni Kadhi
have never been to Gujarat, But I think, it must be a Food Paradise. I love love Gujju Food The Dhoklas, Khakhras, Theplas, Handvo, Khandvi … I just can’t get enough of them. I had quite a few gujju friends in Mumbai, & as a South Indian, I was quite amazed to see the amount of farsans each Gujju household stocked.
I often did lunch at a Gujju friend’s house, & her mom made this yummy kadhi with okra. Many years later, I had this sudden urge to eat Bhindi /Okra kadhi. This was my lunch yesterday.
You Will Need:
-
200g Okra/Bhindi - cut into 1 inch pieces
-
2 tbsp chickpea flour/Besan
-
2 cups yogurt
-
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
-
1 tsp grated ginger
-
1 stick Dalchini/cinnamon
-
2 cloves/Laung
-
1 tsp mustard seeds
-
1 tsp cumin seeds
-
A generous pinch of Hing
-
A few curry leaves
-
3-4 broken red chillies
-
2 tsp sugar
-
Salt as per taste
-
2 tbsp cooking oil
Method:
-
In a large bowl, whisk together chickpea flour & yogurt such that no lumps are formed
-
Meanwhile. in a skillet heat some oil & fry okra until it gets soft & set aside.
-
In the same skillet, add some more oil, splutter mustard & cumin seeds, add hing, cinnamon sticks, cloves, grated ginger, curry leaves & red chillies.
-
To this, add the chickpea flour-yogurt mixture & about 2 cups of water & mix well
-
Add turmeric, sugar & salt. Stir continuously & bring it to a boil
-
Add some more water if the mixture is too thick
-
Add cooked okra & simmer for about 15 minutes
Serve HOT with Khichdi or plain steamed Rice. Enjoi !!!
NOTE: The apparent difference between & Punjabi Kadhi & its Gujarati counterpart is the addition of Pakodis. Also, Gujarati kadhi is on the runnier side & is slightly sweeter in taste because of sugar, You can add more sugar of you wish, I just struck to adding a couple of tsps as we aren’t that fond of sweets.
We ate this with Rice, But it tastes best when teamed with arhar dal ki Khichdi. Remember to serve this with a Dollop of Ghee !!
South Indies: Dry Cabbage Curry/Palya
Palya is a vegetable/ mixed vegetable stir fry typically served as a side dish with anna-saaru or chapatis, in most kannada households.
Cabbage makes way into my kitchen very often because, whenever I send my husband to buy vegetables, he comes back holding a large head of cabbage. Not that cabbage is his favorite, its just that he really finds it convenient to buy them. He wouldn’t really need to test it for its tenderness. Just pick it up, weigh it, pay for it, & he’s done with vegetable shopping.
So I find myself making this palya quite aften as accompaniment with some simple anna-saaru. And, it sure does make an awesome comination with saaru. Simple & homely food that is.
You Will Need:
-
2 cups cabbage - finely shredded
-
1/2 cup grated fresh coconut ( Optional )
-
2 tsp mustard seeds
-
2 tsp cumin seeds
-
A handful of curry leaves
-
4- 5 green chillies - chopped finely
-
1 tsp urad dal
-
1 tsp chana dal
-
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
-
2 tsp cooking oil
-
Salt as per taste
Method:
-
In a heavy bottomed pan, cook shredded cabbage with about 1 cup of water. Add turmeric powder & a little bit of salt while cooking. Cover with a pan, & cook on medium flame, till the cabbage is soft. Add more water if the water has already dried up. But DO NOT add too much water as cabbage leaves additional water while cooking.
-
Or simply, cook cabbage in the microwave. gets done pretty quickly.
-
Once the cabbage is cooked yet crunchy, Add grated coconut. Temper with mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, chana dal & urad dal.
-
Check for salt, Mix well
Serve HOT with steamed rice/chapatis .. Enjoi !!!
NOTE: You can even do without adding grated coconut. If you do not like the taste of coconut, or if you are calorie counting, give it a miss. It will taste as great.
Management GURU C.K. Prahlad dies at age 68
Source: IndiaWest
Coimbatore Krishnarao “C.K.” Prahalad, whose management expertise was much valued by corporations, Indian American entrepreneurs and students, died April 16 in San Diego, Calif., after a brief illness. He was 68 years old. His family was with him at the time of his death.
Read more
Translator
-
Chatseva Visitors
