Ellaru Maduvudu Hottegagi

Badanekayi Ennegayi / Engayi/ Stuffed Brinjal

Tastes close to the one you get in Kamat Hotels along with Jowar Roti (joLada rotti)..

What you need:
Round Brown Brinjals (eggplants) - 10, washed and slit till half (see the picture below)
Roasted peanuts - 4 tbsp (If you have raw peanuts, you can roast them in low flame till the skin gets a little brown and then peel off the skin later by rubbing the peanuts between your palms)
Channa Dal (Kadale bele) - 1 tbsp
Urid Dal (Uddina bele) - 1 tbsp
Sesame seeds (Ellu)- 2 tbsp
Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp
Tamarind paste (Hunase hannu) - 1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder (Harishina)- 1 tsp
Jaggery (Bella) - 1/2 tbsp
Red Chilli - 7-8 (depending on your spice level)

Coriander powder (Kottambari/Dhaniya) - 1 tsp

Oil - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds (Sasive) - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds (Jeera/Jeerige) - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 strand
Pinch of Hing
Salt - to taste

How to make:

1) Fry sesame seeds in a small pan and grind it together with Roasted peanuts (without water).
2) Take 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and add Jeera.
3) When Jeera starts to change color, add channa dal and urid dal.
4) When they are turning slightly brown, add red chillies, hing and curry leaves.
5) When the chillies are fried, switch off the stove and wait for it to cool down. Then you add this into the mixer along with peanut+sesame powder, Grated coconut, Coriander powder, Tamarind Paste, Turmeric, Jaggery and Salt. Even now add very little water so as to make a thick paste.
6) Now stuff this masala into the brinjal in the following fashion. Make sure you have little bit of masala left aside.

7) In a big pan, add 2 tbsp oil and mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start crackling, carefully place the brinjal into the pan one by one.

8) Leave them open for around 2 mins while occasionally stirring them gently.

9) Now add half a cup of water to the left over masala and add them into the pan. Close the lid and let it cook in low heat for around 5mins.

10) Now slowly turn over the brinjals taking care not to break them. If the gravy looks very thick, you can add a little bit of water and close the lid for another 3 mins. Switch off the stove when you feel brinjals are cooked (turn soft).

It tastes best with Akki rotti, Ragi rotti, Jola rotti or Chapati.

Try it out and let me know any suggestions/tips :D

Mavinakayi Chutney (Mango Chutney)

Learnt this recipe from Pammi Aunty... She makes this usually in the mango season and with hot rice it is lipsmacking! You can have this even with Dosa, Idly, akkirotti etc...

What do you need:
1 medium size Raw mango (gini muuti/totapuri/uppinakayi mavinakayi)
5 tsp grated coconut
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp methi (Fenugreek seeds)
6-8 Red Chillies
1 tsp cooking oil
Pinch of Hing
Salt to taste
Jaggery - Optional

How to do:
1) Peel off the mango skin and cut it into small pieces.
2) In a small pan take oil, add mustard seeds, hing, methi and red chillies.
3) When the mustard start crackling, switch off the stove.
4) Grind Coconut and fried Masala first. Then add Mango peices and Salt. Only if the Mango is more tangy, you can add Jaggery to adjust the taste.
5) Make sure you dont make the chutney too very smooth, it is good if its a little coarse.

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

Tomato Gojju/Tomato chutney

What you need:10 Tomatoes
1-2 tsp Red chilli powder
half tsp Methi seeds/Fenugreek seeds
3 tsp Groundnut/Vegetable/Sunflower oil
half tsp Mustard seeds
half tsp Hing/Asafoetida
few Curry leaves
salt to taste

How to do:1) Grind all the tomatoes together to a fine paste.
2) keep the tomato puree on the stove to let all the water evaporate.
3) Meanwhile, add 1 tsp of chilli powder and 1 tsp of Salt and mix well. (after all the water evaporates, you can check the salt and chilli powder and adjust them)
here is what you should get:

4) Now, switch off the stove and keep the tomato aside.
5) In a small pan, take oil, put mustard seeds, methi, curry leaves and hing.
6) When the mustard starts to splutter, remove from heat and add it to the Tomato. Mix it once and immediately close the vessel for 5 minutes. Let the aroma of hing get absorbed by the gojju.
You can store it in a airtight container and preserve it for around 15 days. You can use this with Rice, Chapati, Idly, Dosa, akki rotti etc... Usually when I invite anyone for lunch, they ask me if I have this chutney to eat with anything and everything :-)

Mangalore Buns

You enter any hotel in Mangalore/Udupi, you are sure to find 'Buns' in the menu. It is kind of a banana flavoured sweet bread/puri made of maida which can be eaten with Chutney. Sweet with chutney?? ha ha ha it does taste amazing... Trust me!

This post is dedicated to Pooja, who was after me for Mangalore Buns... Here you go Lady...

What you need:
1 cup maida/All purpose Flour/Self raising Flour,
1 ripe Banana, mashed,
3/4th tsp soda,
4 tsp Curd,
1 tsp Jeera,
6 tsp sugar,
1/2 tsp salt,
Oil for frying

How to make:
1) Mix all the Ingredients together (except Oil) for the consistency of Chapati dough.
2) Knead well and keep aside for 8 hours or overnight.[You can keep a wet cloth to cover it, or smear a thin layer of oil over the dough, so that it doesnt get dry]
3) Now make lemon sized balls from the dough and press like poori (you can do with your hands as well). The thickness can be of 2-3 times that of poori. You can use oil or a little bit of maida while pressing if needed.
4) Deep Fry them just like poori until golden brown. Remember to press them a little for them to fluff up more.
5) Place them on paper towels for the excess oil to drain.
6) Serve hot buns with Coconut chutney :D

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 :)

Vegetable Kurma

This is a side dish which you can eat along with Chapati, Poori, Ghee Rice, Jeera Rice, etc.

What you need:5-6 Green Chillies
Vegetables such as Potato, Green peas, Beans, Carrot , Tomato (1) and Onion(1)
one cup grated coconut
Coriander/Dhania Powder 1.5 tsp
Groundnut/vegetable Oil 5tbsp
2 Cardamom/Elaichi /Yelakki
2 Cloves / Lavang /Lavanga
salt to taste

How to make:

1) Cook all the vegetables except Onion and Tomato and keep aside
2) In a pan, fry the green chillies without oil (stand a little away from it)
3) grind the green chillies along with grated coconut and keep aside
4) Heat Oil in a big pan. Add Elaichi, Lavang and let them fry.
5) Next, Fry the Onions and when they get slightly golden brown, add the ground paste.
6) after 3-4 minutes of adding the paste, you can add Tomato and boiled vegetables.
7) Immediately, you can add dhaniya powder and salt and mix them well.
8) keep mixing it time to time for another 5 minutes in medium heat
Your dish is ready :)

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.

Coconut Chutney

A side dish which you can eat with idly, dosa, poori, upma, shavige bath, actually.... anything :D

What you need:

1 cup grated coconut

2 table spoons of hurigadale (kadale pappu/Dalia split)

1/4 inch of ginger

4 green chillies

very smal piece of tamarind

1 tea spoon of oil

1/2 tea spoon of urid dal

1/4 tea spoon mustard seeds

few curry leaves

salt to taste

How to make -

1) Grind the coconut, green chillies, ginger, tamarind, hurigadale and salt with some water.
2) In a small pan, heat the oil, add mustard seeds and urid dal and curry leaves together.

3) When the urid dal is golden brown, take away the heat and mix it with the chutney.

Some Variations:

- you could add coriander leaves along with the above ingredients while grinding.
- you could add onion/garlic and reduce the coconut.
- you could do plain coconut chutney without adding hurigadale into it.
- if you are worried about cholestrol, you can totally avoid the coconut and make this chutney with more of hurigadale alone.
I've tried and tested all of them :)

Ginger Tea

One of my biggest addictions in life is Tea. I can NOT survive without at least 2-3 cups of Tea a day. I wasn't having any plans of posting the Chai making steps here, but my sweet friend insisted it should be my first post. so here it goes :)

what you need -

3/4th cup milk
1/4th cup water
1.5 tea spoon of sugar
1.5cm length ginger
1 tea spoon tea powder

How to make -

In a small vessel, take milk, water and sugar and allow it to boil. Once its done, you can add Tea powder along with ginger (chopped into small pieces) and simmer it for 2-3 minutes and allow it to absorb the flavor. Then you increase the flame and let it boil once again. Now you can drain the tea powder and serve hot hot Tea :)

Cheers bit!....muah!