Recipe world

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Cluster beans (gorikaayi / chavalikaayi ) is one of the all season vegetables available in Bengaluru. It's rich in proteins and fiber. It's seeds are dried and powdered and used in preparations of ice-creams,sauce etc..

To be honest, cluster bean is less used in my kitchen! My sister prepares it's curry whenever she buys. This curry is a good combination for rice, roti and chapati.Also it's easy to prepare. Here is the recipe learnt from my sister.

Ingredients:

Cluster beans - 25-30

Tomato - 1 medium size.

Sambar powder - 3/4 tsp or according to taste.

Shredded coconut (optional) - 1/2 cup.

Finely chopped coriander - 2-3 tsp.

Sugar / Jaggerry - 1/4 tsp.

Water - 1 1/2 cups.

Salt to taste.

For seasoning: 2-3 tsp oil, 1tsp urad dal, 1tsp mustard seeds, 1/2tsp jeera, pinch of turmeric powder and a strand of curry leaves.

Method:

Chop cluster beans and tomato into small OR medium pieces.

Heat a fry pan and add the seasoning ingredients one by one.

When mustard seeds splutter, add sambar powder and stir well.

Now add tomato and coriander leaves and stir for 2 minutes.

Add chopped cluster beans, 1 1/2 cups of water and mix well. Let it cook for 10-15 minutes covered in medium flame. Stir twice in between.

When beans are cooked, add salt and cook for 5 more minutes.

Now you can add fresh coconut and cook for 2 minutes.

Tasty cluster beans curry is ready to serve!

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Normally, the season for Jack fruit starts by the mid or end of summer in rural areas. People will be busy preparing chips, papad and other preserves from raw jack fruit during summer. During rainy days, they will enjoy sweet dishes like Jack fruit Kadubu (Idli). These days, people started preserving jack fruit pulp in refrigerator and use it whenever required. Even I enjoyed this kind of Kadubu after the jackfruit season this year :)

Sometime back, I had prepared Jack fruit Kadubu in our home. I actually wanted to post the recipe here and clicked some picks too..but couldn't take a picture of the final product that day! Last week, when my mom was preparing Kadubu, I told her the same and she insisted me to continue the recipe by taking some photos here. I did the same thing and now, able to post the recipe finally!

Its the common procedure adopted these days is to prepare the Kadubu using Idli moulds. Traditional way is to cook it using plantain leaf covers. Kadubu cooked in plantain leaf wraps will be tastier than Idli kind of Kadubu.

One more thing I wanted to tell with all my blogger friends.. I am not able to visit any of yours blogs these days. The reason is that I have got shifted to my mom's place now. Usage of internet is very limited and even I am not able to check my mails regularly. This may continue for few more months till I am back to my routine life. But whenever time permits, I will keep posting new recipes.

Here is the recipe of Jack fruit Kadubu for you..

Preparation Time:

Servings: 3 - 4

Ingredients:

Jack fruit pulp - 1 1/2 cup

Akki kadi (coarsely powdered rice) - 3/4 cup (See Tips)

Thick jaggery - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 2 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Cardamom powder - a big pinch

Cooking oil (preferably coconut oil) - 1 tsp

Method:

Combine jack fruit pulp, jaggery, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.

Once the jaggery is diluted fully, add Akki Kadi and mix it nicely.

Finally add cooking oil and cardamom powder and mix well.

Kadubu batter should be little watery than dosa batter. If the batter looks too thick, you can add some water to dilute it.

You can cook it like either as Idli or as Kadubu. If you want to cook them as Idli, pour the batter in idli moulds and cook it like idli. It takes at-least 30 minutes to cook them in idli cooker. If you are cooking them like Kadubu, it takes a minimum of an hour to cook.

Cook the Idli / Kadubu till it is done nicely. Pour a spoonful of ghee on hot Kadubu and taste it!

Kadubu once prepared will last for 2 - 3 days. Here is one more way to enhance the taste of Kadubu..mash the Kadubu using your hands after its completely cool. To this, add 4 - 5 tsp of fresh ghee, 1 - 2 tsp of sugar and few strands of saffron (purely optional). Heat it on low flame in a heavy bottom pan for around 5 minutes. Serve it hot!

Tips:

Akki Kadi means, coarsely powdered rice. It looks like Idli rava. This can be substituted with Idli Rava also. If using Idli rava, add around 1 to 1 1/4 cup of Idli rava for 1 1/2 cup of jackfruit pulp. Also, its better to roast the Idli rava slightly before mixing with pulp.
Adding the oil to the batter makes the Kadubu light. Also, it helps for easy digestion of Kadubu.

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Bitter gourd is a well known vegetable. But Madahagala (Moodahagala) is less known. It belongs to the same bitter gourd family, but is not bitter in taste. It is a creeper and grows from the root whenever it gets plenty of water as in monsoon season. Even now, in a thick forest near my grand mother's house we can find these creepers grown naturally! Many villagers get the roots from the forest and grow them in their backyards.

It was almost 4-5 years I haven't seen this vegetable around our area vegetable market. Last week when I was shopping near Jayanagar area, I saw this in a vegetable shop. I felt very happy looking at it. And now I am sharing with you a tasty recipe using moodahaagalakayi.

Preparation time : 35 minutes

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

Moodahagalakayi - 1 1/2 or 2

Shredded fresh coconut - 3/4 cup

Curd - 3/4 cup or 1 cup

For seasoning: oil- 2tsp, red chilli -1, udad dal - 1tsp, mustard seeds -1tsp, green chilli -1

Salt to taste.

Method:

Chop the vegetable into small pieces.

Heat oil in a fry pan for seasoning. Add red chilli, udad dal, mustard seeds and chopped green chilli. When the mustard seeds splutter, add the chopped moodahagalakayi pieces, salt and mix it. Fry this mixture in simmer for around 20 minutes stirring in between to avoid burning. Then let it cool.

Grind the coconut finely using little water.

Now, add the ground mixture and curd to the fried mixture. Add little more salt if you want.

Hashi is now ready to be served with hot rice!

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

This recipe is one of my latest experiments using Hyacinth beans. I had heard that Avarekalu (Hyacinth Beans) Sambar will be very tasty, but never had a chance to taste it anytime! While checking avarakalu recipes, found this Sambar recipe in an old Kannada magazine. I had frozen avarekalu with me and tried this Sambar the same day! We tried it with both rice and roti, it tasted awesome. The next time I get avarekalu, I am going to prepare this yummy curry again :)

Here is the recipe of Avarekalu Sambar for you. It goes well with rice, roti as well as chapathi.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Servings: 3 - 4

Ingredients:

Cooked Avarekalu (Hyacinth Beans) - 1 1/4 cup

Cooking oil - 5 tsp

Cinnamon - small piece

Dry red chillies - 2 (adjust according to spiciness)

Fenugreek (Methi) seeds - 1/4 tsp

Coriander seeds - 1 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Poppy seeds - 1 tsp

1 medium size onion

Garlic - 2 cloves

Grated coconut - 4 tbsp

Raw tamarind - 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Jaggery - 1 1/2 tsp or to taste

Water - 2 to 2 1/2 cup

Method:

Cut the onion into 2 halves. Chop one halve into big pieces and chop the other halve finely.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a heavy bottom pan. Add cinnamon piece, red chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and poppy seeds and roast them nicely. Switch off the flame and allow them to cool.

Roast the onion (big pieces) and garlic in 1 tsp oil for 3 - 4 minutes and switch off the flame.

Grind all the roasted ingredients along with grated coconut, 1/4th cup of cooked avarekalu and raw tamarind into fine paste.

Heat 3 tsp of oil in a heavy bottom pan. Add finely chopped onion and roast it for a minute. Then add Avarekalu (Hyacinth Beans) and roast them for 3 - 4 minutes.

Add the ground paste to the avarekalu mixture and saute them for 2 minutes or till the raw smell is gone.

To this, add 2 to 2 1/2 cup of water, according to the consistency you need. Add salt and jaggery for taste and boil it for 10 minutes.

Enjoy this delicious curry along with rice, roti or chapathi!

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.

Last month, we had a great family get together here in Bangalore. My cousin was the host this time and I wanted to prepare some special sweet for all of them. Long back, one of my Andhra friends told me about 'Kaja', a famous sweet from her region. Just checked with my hubby and finalized on this sweet for the occasion!

There are 2 - 3 different varieties of Kaja which are famous in Andhra. I went with Kakinada Kaja this time which tastes bit similar to 'Saate' which we prepare in Karnataka. Kaja can be served as sweet as well as snacks!

Preparation time: 1 - 1 1/2 hour

Time required for the dough to set: 1 hour

Yield: approx. 45 pieces

Ingredients:

All purpose flour / Maida - 400 gm (plus little more for dusting)

Ghee - 3 to 4 tbsp

Pinch of salt

Water to prepare the dough - 150 ml approx.

Sugar - 400 gm

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Mix all purpose flour and ghee in a mixing bowl. To this, add pinch of salt and sufficient water to prepare the dough.

Prepare a non sticky dough ball from the mixture. Dough should be slightly harder than regular roti / chapathi dough. Let it rest for at-least 1 hour before preparing Kaja.

In the meanwhile, mix sugar with little water and bring to boil. Once it reaches one string consistency, switch off the flame. Add the cardamom powder and close it with a lid.

Now, make a big ball from the dough and roll it into a big rectangle on a clean surface using a rolling pin. You can use generous amount for dry flour for dusting.

Roll it as thin as roti / chapathi and cut the edges.

Roll the chapathi tightly like a stick (as shown in the pick) and cut it into pieces of 1 1/2 cm each.

Flatten the cut pieces slightly using the rolling pin.

Bring the oil to medium heat on a heavy bottom pan. Deep fry the flattened pieces on low flame in batches. For me, it took around 15 minutes to deep fry each batch of Kaja.

Transfer the deep fried Kaja onto a tissue paper to absorb excess oil. Then, soak them in sugar syrup for 5 minutes.

Allow them to get dried after taking out from sugar syrup for 5 - 10 minutes.

Delicious Kaja is ready to serve now! Store them in an airtight container and can use up to a week.