Iyengar Puliogare

One big incentive of going to Venkataramana temple is getting the yummy puliogare prasadam at the end of the Pooja.  In Devgiri temple (Banashankari) they give you a big heap of Puliogare in your hand, there is no other taste in the world which can equate to that!  slurrrrp! :D

My mother uses the regular sambar powder to make the puliogare, which has a nice taste but not like the temple one. So, after many trial and errors i've come up with this recipe. Its a little tedious to do it, but the gojju has a long shelf life, so many a times it is my aapat-bandhava!

What you need:

For the main Masala:
4 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp pepper
8-10 Red Chillies
4 tsp white sesame seeds (Ellu)
3 tsp cumin seeds (jeerige)
1-2 tsp methi/menthya seeds
(Some people simply use Sambar powder instead of adding all these!)

For the Gojju:2 tsp Cooking oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 cup thick tamarind juice or 8 ounces tamarind paste
1 lemon sized Jaggery
1 tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste

Seasoning 1:
1 cup grated dry coconut OR dessicated coconut gratings
4 tsps peanuts

Seasoning 2:
3 tsp Cooking oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
few curry leaves
3 tsp Urid dal (black gram dal)
3 tsp Channa dal (bengal gram dal)
3-4 Red Chillies
A generous pinch of hing(asoefetida)

Making the gojju:

1) Roast the Coconut grating, Roast the peanuts, get rid of their skin and powder them together, keep them in a air tight box so that the aroma doesnt escape.
2) Roast the masala ingredients one by one on medium heat till you get the aroma and then grind coarsely.
3) Take oil in a heavy bottomed pan, put mustard seeds. When the seeds start crackling, add tamarind juice, jaggery, turmeric and salt to taste .
4) Let it boil properly on medium flame.

5) Now add the powdered masala, mix well and simmer till you get a viscous mass.
6) After it cools thoroughly, you can store it in a air tight container. You can use the gojju for almost a months time if you store it properly.

Making Puliogare:
1) Cook Rice separately and let it cool.
2) In a small pan, prepare the seasoning with all the ingredients listed under Seasoning 2.
3) Add the seasoning to the Rice and one spoon of Puliogare gojju and mix well.

PS: Chithu, this is for you :) Sorry for taking so much time! :D :P

Ghee Rice

What you need:
One cup Basmati/sona masoori/Regular white Rice
Green Peas
2 Cardamom/Elaichi/Yelakki
2 Cloves/Lavang/Lavanga
1 Onion,
1 inch ginger
1-2 cloves of Garlic
3 Green Chillies
5-6 tbsp of Ghee
1 cup Milk or Coconut Milk
Salt to taste

How to make:
1) Grind green chillies+Onion+Ginger+Garlic into a fine paste
2) In the Cooker, heat Ghee and then add Elaichi and Cloves
3) now add the ground paste into the cooker carefully and then immediately add Green Peas.
4) Add salt and allow it to fry for another 3-4 minutes.
5) Add one cup Rice followed by one cup Milk(or coconut Milk) and one cup of water.
6) Allow it to cook for 3 whistles for a khushuvala ghee rice :D


It tastes best when you have it with: Vegetable Kurma
Enjoy madi :)

Khara Pongal

I never could get the consistency in pongal right. My mother is from Mangalore and there, people are not used to eating/making pongal. After she moved to Bangalore, she'd learnt the recipe from her friends but somehow it wasnt all that great. At Hero's house, his mom makes pongal every 3 days once for breakfast. So, I got a good hold of it :)

what you need -

1 Cup Rice

1/4th cup Moong Dal (Hesaru bele)

few Cashew nuts

1 tea spoon Jeera
1 tea spoon pepper

1 tea spoon chopped ginger

a few curry leaves

a pinch of asafoetida

salt to taste

How to make:

1) Take Rice + Dal + 3 3/4th cup of water (3 times that of rice and dal together) along with salt in the cooker and allow it for 3-5 whistles. [it should be a little more soft than the regular rice].

2) Heat ghee in a pan, then add jeera, pepper, cashew nuts and hing.

3) When the cashew nuts start turning golden brown, add chopped ginger and curry leaves.

4) When the curry leaves are roasted, take away the heat and add this onto the cooker and mix well.

Pongal is ready and you can eat it along with coconut chutney.