Chitra's Food Book

Avarekalu season is started in Bangalore. Every year I never forget to try some interesting avarekalu recipes during this season. My School moms friends are the biggest inspiration & source for my Karnataka recipes. This year they suggested me to try Avarekalu uppittu & avarekalu mixture recipe. Avarekalu mixture is an yummy South Indian mixture recipe prepared with the combination of deep fried avarekalu(Hyacinth beans / Flat beans/ Indian lilva beans in English, Mochakottai in Tamil, Surti papdi in Hindi), poha, peanuts, nuts and raisins. One can find it easily in most of the snacks and savory shops in Bangalore at this time. In many places, people make this mixture only with avarekalu. But I like to add all the other ingredients to yield more quantity and taste. Hitikida avarekalu (Skinless beans) works well for this mixture recipe. It was so good and crunchy to taste. I am sure kids and adults would love to munch it during tea time. It would be ideal for their snacks box as well. Even though its high in calories, its a very tasty indulgence. You can also make this mixture with dry avarekalu/ dried beans by soaking overnight in water. Do try this yummy mixture recipe in this avarekalu season. You will love it. Ok, lets see how to make Avarekalu mixture recipe with step by step pictures.
Check out my other Avarekalu Recipes below

Avarekalu mixture recipe

How to make South Indian style mixture recipe with avarekalu / Mochai / Hyacinth beans

Cuisine:South Indian

Category:Snacks

Serves:Serves 4

Prep time:5 Minutes

Cook time:15 Minutes

Total time:20 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml

Hitikida Avarekalu / Skin less Field beans / Hyacinth beans / Pachai mochai kottai - 1 cup
Thick poha - 1/2 cup ( Use 1/4 cup for less poha)
Peanuts – 2.5 tbsp
Fried gram dal - 1 tbsp
Cashew nuts - 5 nos (Break into two)
Dry grapes/ Raisins - Few (Optional)
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Curry leaves – few
Cooking oil – to deep fry
Salt - as needed
Sugar – 1/4 tsp (optional)
Dry coconut pieces – Few (Optional, I din’t use it)
Hing / asafetida – A big pinch

HOW TO MAKE AVAREKALU MIXTURE

Wash and soak avarekalu in water overnight or for 6 hours.
Peel the skin and keep it ready.
Spread them in a cloth. Pat it dry.
Heat oil and deep fry avarekalu in batches. Cook till bubbles cease.
Remove them in a paper towel. Deep fry poha, peanuts, cashews, dry grapes and fried gram dal one by one and add to fried avarekalu.
Add salt, red chilli powder and hing. Mix well.

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash and soak avarekalu in water overnight or for 4 to 6 hours. Peel the skin by pressing the avarekalu between your thumb finger and pointer finger. Skin comes off easily. Collect them in a bowl. You can also split them into two halves if you like. Refer the picture below.
Spread the peeled avarekalu in a cotton cloth and pat it dry to remove its moisture completely. Make sure its dry. Do not rest the avarekalu in the cloth for long time. It will become hard to eat after frying. So its enough if you just pat it dry nicely.
Heat oil in a kadai to deep fry. Fry avarekalu in 3 batches. When you put the avarekalu in oil, it settles down in the bottom of oil with lots of bubbles. Once its cooked and becomes crispy, it will float on the top of oil without bubbles. You can remove them at this stage. Cook in medium high flame and keep tossing gently till its crispy else the entire mixture will become soggy the next day. So please be patient while frying avarekalu. Each batch takes nearly 5 minutes but its color won’t change.
Drain the oil and Remove the avarekalu in a tissue paper. Now deep fry poha till crispy and add to fried avarekalu. Then deep fry peanuts, cashews till golden and remove them.
Collect them in the avarekalu bowl.Deep fry dry grapes till puffy. Remove and add to the mixture. Lastly fry the fried gram dal just for a minute and remove it. Fry curry leaves and add it.
Mix all the fried items in a wide bowl. Add salt, red chilli powder, sugar and a pinch of hing. Toss it to coat well. Serve with hot coffee/tea. Enjoy !
Store in an air tight box after it comes to room temperature. Enjoy up to a week!

Note

For variations, you can roast Kellogg's corn flakes in 2tsp oil and add to the mixture instead of poha.
Frying the avarekalu properly is the key to make perfect crispy mixture.
If you rest the avarekalu in the cloth for long time, it loses all the moisture and becomes very dry. So it will taste hard once you deep fry. So it is enough if you just pat it dry.
Adjust the quantity of chilli powder as per taste.
For variations, you can also add 2 pinches of chat masala powder and black salt.

Try this easy, yummy, crispy Avarekalu Mixture and enjoy with tea/coffee !

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Kormolas is a Goan special Christmas sweets recipe. Traditionally the Christmas goodies, called kuswar are specially prepared by the Catholics in Goa and are distributed to neighbors, friends and relatives during Christmas. It is very similar to Kulkul/ Gala Gala in ingredients and the method of preparation. But its shape is different. Authentically Kormolas is prepared with all purpose flour, sugar, egg, semolina and coconut milk. But I tried an eggless version following the recipe of Hilda’s Touch of Spice. It came out really well with a crunchy taste even without egg and tasted mildly sweet. Though I couldn’t make proper shapes, we loved its taste very much. Friends do try this easy, yummy Kormolas recipe during this Christmas. I am sure your family members would enjoy it to the core. Lets see how to make this Goan special Christmas sweet recipe – KORMOLAS with step by step pictures.

Check out my Kerala special Achappam/Rose cookies recipe andGoan KULKUL/KALKAL too.

Kormolas Recipe - Eggless Version

How to make Goan special Christmas sweet KORMOLAS without egg

Cuisine:Indian

Category:Sweet

Serves: 30 nos

Prep time:15 Minutes

Cook time:20 Minutes

Total time:35 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml , 1 tbsp - 15ml , 1 tsp - 5ml

All purpose flour/Maida - 1 cup (Levelled)
Sugar - 1/3 cup ( Powder the sugar)
Melted butter – 1.5 tbsp
Salt - a pinch
Vanilla Essence - Few drops
Cooking oil - to deep fry

METHOD

Powder the sugar and keep aside. Take a wide bowl and add maida,salt and powdered sugar.( If you powder 1/3 cup of sugar, you will get around 1/2 cup. Use all the sugar.) Mix well and check for taste.If sweetness is less,add more powdered sugar as per your taste.

Melt the ghee and let it become warm. Add it to the maida mixture and make a crumbly mixture. Ghee should spread all over the maida.

Now add milk little by little( I used 2 tbsp) and make a dough like a thick, non-sticky roti dough. Let it rest for 10 minutes.Keep it covered.( Suppose if you have added more water,add little maida and correct the dough)

Divide the dough into 2 balls. Take one ball and dust it lightly with maida. Roll it thin to a circle. Trim the edges to bring square shape. Cut into small squares. Make shapes immediately. Do not dry it for long time.

Take one square and join one of the opposite edges. Pull the other two edges in the opposite direction and join them. Make a twist at both the ends to give a bud like shape. If you don’t twist it properly, it will open up while frying. Please refer the pictures below to get the idea.

Heat cooking oil and test it by dropping a pinch of dough.It should rise on top immediately.( If you are a beginner,make a trial by frying 1-2 before you put them in batches.Check whether it breaks in oil.If it breaks in oil,add little more maida and make the dough.)

Lower the flame completely and drop a batch of kormolas at a time.Flame should be low to medium.Let them cook for few minutes till one side turns light golden brown.Flip it and cook the other side till light golden brown. Don’t wait for all the bubbles to cease because kormolas will cook even after removing from the oil. So remove it as soon as it turns golden. While you take out from the oil,it looks & tastes soft. But when it cools down completely,it will become super crunchy and becomes dark in color too.So please wait till it cools down to enjoy its best taste.Cook the remaining kormolas in batches.Adjust the flame from low to medium whenever needed.

Store in an air tight box after it cools down completely.It stays good for a week or two.Enjoy this crispy and yummy snack with your family !

Note

Suppose if you add excess milk and make the dough very sticky,add some more maida to it.
If you add more ghee,Kormolas will break in oil.So add the mentioned amount.
If the heat of oil is more,the color of kormolas turn golden brown quickly without cooking inside.So deep fry them in low to medium heat oil for uniform cooking.
Kormolas will absorb more oil if you fry them in low insufficient heat.So deep fry in proper heat.

Enjoy this crispy Goan special Christmas sweet at home !! Merry Christmas !

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Recently I got a packet of Millet Ven Pongal Mix / Siruthaniya pongal mix & Millet Sambar rice mix from Native Food Store. I tried Pongal mix for my weekend breakfast as I got up late. Its so easy and quick to make. Our breakfast got ready under 15 minutes. This millet pongal mix is a combination of roasted moong dal, varieties of millets, pepper corns, jeera, salt and cashews. I just followed the instructions given in the pack. All we need to do is to add the mentioned amount of water and cook this mix in a pressure cooker. We can also season it with curry leaves and hing in ghee at the end to make it more flavorful. It came out very soft, flavorful & tasty just like homemade ven pongal. Sendhil & Myself loved it very much. We enjoyed it with coconut chutney. Friends, Native food store products are available online and they deliver their products all over India. I would strongly recommend to buy this pongal mix from them. I am sure you will love its taste and buy it often. Ok, now lets see how to make Millet ven pongal using Native food store’s millet pongal mix.
Check out their varieties of millet products & rice mix, cold pressed oil in their website.
Also find my post on Millet Noodles .

Millet Pongal Using Pongal Mix

Millet Ven Pongal recipe using Pongal mix from Native food store.

Cuisine:South Indian

Category:Millet Recipes

Serves:Serves 2-3

Prep time:5 Minutes

Cook time:20 Minutes

Total time:25 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml

Millet Pongal Mix - 1 packet ( 200gms)
Water - 4 cups

To season

Ghee - 1 tbsp
Curry Leaves - Few
Chopped Ginger – 1 tsp
Hing - a pinch

METHOD

In a pressure cooker base, take the millet pongal mix.
Add the mentioned amount of water given in the pack.
Cook for 2 whistles in very low flame.
Open the lid after steam is released. Mix well.
Season curry leaves, ginger and hing in ghee. Add to pongal.
Mix well and serve hot with coconut chutney !

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Take 1 cup of pongal mix in a pressure cooker. Add 4 cups of water, mix well. Close the lid.
Pressure cook in very low flame for 2 whistles. Remove the lid after steam is released. Mix well. Its consistency would be just right. Heat ghee & temper ginger bits, curry leaves & hing. Add to pongal, mix well.
Serve hot immediately with coconut chutney. You can add a tsp of ghee while serving If you like. This pongal tastes very soft & flavorful !

Enjoy !

Try this healthy, yummy, quick millet pongal with pongal mix. You will love it.

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Orange skin/peel kuzhambu has become my most favorite dish among all the orange skin recipes I had tried so far. Yes, for the last 2 weekends I shared recipes using orange skin like orange peel sweet pachadi and orange peel spicy pachadi. Today I thought of sharing this yummy vatha kuzhambu recipe with orange skin. I am yet to post orange skin pickle and orange juice rasam recipes. I will try to do it in this weekend. The method of preparation of orange skin kuzhambu is very similar to Brahmin style vatha kulambu without onion and garlic. When I tried this kulambu, I was doubtful whether it will taste bitter. But to my surprise, it came out really tasty without much bitterness. I loved it a lot with plain rice topped with sesame oil. My MIL also liked it very much and told that she will be making it regularly at home. Friends, do try this orange peel kuzhambu next time when you buy oranges. I hope you all know about the amazing health benefits of orange skin. So do not discard the skin. Try this orange peel kuzhambu, you will love it for sure. So lets see how to make kuzhambu using orange skin with step by step pictures.
Check out my other orange recipes below :

Orange peel / Orange Skin kuzhambu for rice

How to make gravy with orange skin

Cuisine:Indian

Category:Orange peel recipes

Serves:Serves 4

Prep time:5 Minutes

Cook time:10 Minutes

Total time:15 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml

Orange skin – 1/4 cup
Tamarind – a big gooseberry size
Sambar powder – 1 tbsp
Jaggery – 2 tsp
Salt - as needed
Water – as required ( I used 1 cup)

To temper

Sesame Oil / gingely oil – 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Methi seeds - 1/8 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Green chilli - 1 no
Red chilli - 1 no
Curry leaves - Few

METHOD

Wash and chop orange skin into small pieces.
Heat oil in a kadai. Temper all the ingredients given under “To Temper”.
Saute orange skin for a minute. Add sambar powder and mix well in low flame.
Add tamarind extract, salt, turmeric powder, jaggery and boil till gravy thickens & oil floats on top.
Serve hot with plain rice adding sesame oil.

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash and chop orange skin into small pieces. Set aside. Soak tamarind in warm water for 15 minutes and take the extract with 1 cup of water. Keep it ready.
Heat oil in a kadai.Splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds, methi seeds, urad dal, pinched red chilli, slit green chilli, curry leaves. Add the orange pieces. Saute for a minute till it becomes soft.( Actually I forgot to add orange pieces along with seasoning.So I sautéed it separately and added to tamarind extract.Hence the stepwise pictures distract from the instructions).
Add sambar powder, saute in very low flame for few seconds.Quickly add 1 cup of tamarind extract, turmeric powder, salt and jaggery. Mix well, check for taste. Add more water, sambar powder if needed. Roll boil the kuzhambu till orange pieces cook and oil starts to float on top. Remember, this kuzhambu thickens once it cool down completely. So do not boil till too thick. Remove when its semi gravy.
Transfer the kuzhambu to a bowl and serve hot with plain rice. Top with sesame oil for more flavor and taste.

Enjoy !

Note

Adjust the quantity of sambar powder as per the tanginess of tamarind.
Do not add more orange pieces, it may make the gravy bitter in taste.
Adjust the quantity of water based on the consistency you like.

Try this easy, yummy Orange skin kuzhambu just for a change and enjoy with plain rice topped with sesame oil. Serve with any kootu and papad !

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Collection of 11 Rava Kesari varieties / Sheera Recipes.In this new year 2018, I wanted to start with a sweet post. So here I made a collection of different types of rava kesari recipes from my website. Kesari is basically an Indian sweet dish prepared with semolina, sugar and ghee. People in South India and North India call this yummy dessert recipe in different names like rava kesari, Kesaribath, Sheera, Halwa etc. We love to make Rava Kesari / Ksheera at home for all the festivals and occasions. Even today I made kesari bath for new year celebration. Kesari is basically a beginners sweet. Its so easy to make and takes less time to prepare. Even though its considered as a beginners sweet, many of us doesn’t get it right in texture. Sometimes it becomes hard, chewy, dry or with lumps. To prepare hotel style, soft and ghee dripping kesari must be the dream of many. Me too not an exception. When I was a beginner, I struggled a lot to make perfect kesari. So my MIL taught me some useful tips about the ratio of water and rava, perfect cooking of rava/semolina without lumps and much more. From then, I started to make good kesari every time and I got the confidence to explore different types of rava kesari recipes like milk kesari/ Paal kesari, pineapple kesari, mango kesari, Karnataka style kesaribath, microwave rava kesari, other kesari recipes like Vermicelli kesari, Aval kesari/Poha kesari and some North Indian Sheera recipes like suji ka halwa/ suji sheera, Atta ka sheera and Moong dal dal sheera. I am yet to try banana sheera and fruit kesari recipes. I will add them in this list once I do that. Now lets see the collection of 10 Kesari recipes from Chitra’s Food Book in this New Year 2018 as my first post Happy

I thank all my readers and followers of my website for your unconditional love and support. I am really blessed to have you all Love Struck

. Hoping to get more and more support, encouragement and love from you in this new year as well. Ok, lets move on to the post !

Kesari Varieties - South Indian, North Indian Sheera Recipes

11 Kesari Varieties– Different types of South Indian & North Indian Sheera Recipes

Cuisine:Indian

Category: Kesari Recipes

Serves:Serves 3-4

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time:15 Minutes

Total time: 25 Minutes

Rava Kesari Recipe

Kesaribath recipe

Microwave Rava Kesari

Milk Kesari / Paal Kesari

Pineapple kesari

Mango Kesari

Semiya kesari

Poha kesari/ Aval kesari

Sooji halwa

Moong dal halwa

Atta halwa

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Green chutney recipe can be prepared in many ways based on the requirement. Today I have shown how to make green chutney for chaats with simple ingredients. I prepared this chutney using Preethi turbo chop I received recently for a review. When I got a request to review this product, I accepted it happily as Preethi is one of my favorite brands for kitchen appliances. I have been using Preethi products for more than 10 years and it would be my first choice for mixer grinders.

USES OF PREETHI TURBO CHOP
Preethi Turbo Chop is a handy, electric vegetable chopper that perfectly chops the vegetables very finely in no time. It has a 450W powerful motor and sharp blade. So it takes less than a minute to chop onion, tomato and other veggies finely. It also helps to grind chutneys, dips, sauce and puree tomato, onion and coconut masala for gravies. Its an ideal gadget for Indian cooking. Basically Indian cooking needs lots of chopping works. This useful gadget makes our job much easier. Chopping gets done in one touch operation which saves lot of time. Working women, bachelors and people who wants to spend less time in chopping during busy morning hours would find this gadget very helpful. Price is also reasonable. As I already have Philips Chopper and blender, I could easily compare both the products. Preethi turbo chop is easy and fast to use than other brands.

You can find this product in PREETHI KITCHEN APPLIANCES WEBSITE, WITH A DISCOUNTED RATE ATAMAZON& FLIPKART.

PARTS OF PREETHI TURBO CHOP

Washable and food grade Lid
Transparent, food grade Bowl with measurements
One Sharp blade
A Motor unit
Plug and instruction manual.

FEATURES OF PREETHI TURBO CHOP

Powerful Motor
It has 450 Watts powerful motor in this category
One Touch Operation
It does operations like Chopping, Puree, and Grinding in less than a minute
Quality
The blade is made up of food grade stainless steel - Laser sharp blades gives superior chopping performance
It is a food grade material
Blade is a stainless steel material for longer life
Reliability
Easy View - Transparent bowl enables us to have complete control over chopping process
1 Year Warranty
Life Long Free Service

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Model No. : Turbo Chop

Voltage: 230V AC 50 Hz
Power Consumption: 450 Watt
Capacity: 0.7 Ltr Bowl
Warranty: 1 Year

WHERE TO BUY THIS PRODUCT

You can find this product in PREETHI KITCHEN APPLIANCES WEBSITE&WITH A DISCOUNTED RATE ATAMAZON& FLIPKART

PROS & CONS

PROS

Preethi turbo chop looks small & handy. So it occupies less space in kitchen counter.
Chops the vegetables very finely in less than a minute.
Chops the nuts too.
It works really great if you want to grind masala to a coarse paste.
Perfect for making salsa.

CONS

You should do it only in batches if you are chopping in large quantity.
For smooth paste, it takes more than a minute to grind. At that time, the motor body gets heated slightly.
It would have been better if the product has a wiper/whipping blade for whipping curd & milkshakes.

In the picture below, you can find finely chopped onion, tomato and boiled kabuli chana paste for making chana masala.

Green chutney for Chaat

How to make green chutney for chaat

Cuisine:Indian

Category:Chutney Recipes

Serves:Serves 4

Prep time:5 Minutes

Cook time:2 Minutes

Total time:7 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml

Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
Mint leaves - 1/4 cup
Green chilli - 2 nos
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
Garlic cloves - 2 nos
Ginger - Very small piece ( Quarter inch)
Salt - as needed

METHOD

Wash & Chop coriander leaves & mint leaves roughly.
In the Preethi turbo chop, take all the ingredients given above.
Grind to a smooth paste adding required water.
You should wipe the sides and grind at regular intervals to make a smooth paste.
Remove in a bowl. Dilute with little water while making chats.
Store and refrigerate in a clean bottle. It stays good for a week in refrigerator.

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash and chop coriander leaves, mint leaves roughly. Take all the ingredients given in the list. Take the Preethi turbo chopper bowl and fit the blade. Add all the ingredients to it. (You can use mixie instead of turbo chop and grind to paste.)
Cover with the lid and grind it without adding water. Wipe the sides, add required water and grind for a minute. Wipe the sides again and grind if needed.
After the chutney becomes smooth, transfer to a bowl. Store in a box , refrigerate and use clean spoon every time. You can dilute the chutney adding little water while adding in chaats.
Stays good for a week to 10 days in refrigerator.Enjoy !

Try this easy, yummy Chaat chutney at home and use it for making bhel puri, papdi chaat, pani puri etc.

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Orange peel pickle is one of the easy and yummy pickle recipes that can be prepared instantly. It doesn’t need any soaking or setting time. You can taste it immediately. When my MIL prepared this instant pickle recipe with orange skin, I never expected that it would taste so good with curd rice. We loved it a lot. Actually we prepared orange skin pachadi and orange skin pickle at the same day. Even though both tasted good with its own taste, my vote is for this pickle. I must thank my MIL for teaching me this easy pickle recipe.You too give a try and let me know how you liked it. Ok, lets see how to make orange peel pickle with simple and easy ingredients.
Check out my other orange recipes :

Orange Peel Pickle Recipe

How to make Instant pickle recipe using Orange skin

Cuisine:Indian

Category:Pickle recipes

Serves:1/4 cup

Prep time:10 Minutes

Cook time:20 Minutes

Total time:30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml

Orange Skin - 1/4 cup
Red Chilli Powder – 1.5 tsp
Powdered Jaggery – 1 tbsp
Small sized Lemon - 1/2 no
Roasted Methi seeds powder – 1/8 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Water – 1/2 cup
Hing – 1/4 tsp
Salt - A needed

To Temper

Cooking oil or sesame oil – 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

METHOD

Wash and chop orange skin into small pieces.
Pressure cook in high flame for 2 whistles adding little water.
To the cooked orange pieces, add red chilli powder, hing, turmeric powder, methi powder, jaggery and salt.
Boil in a kadai adding water. Switch off the flame and add lemon juice. Mix well.
Temper mustard seeds and add to the pickle. Store in a clean box after pickle cools down.
Stays good for a month when stored in a refrigerator.

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash the orange skin and chop into small pieces. Pressure cook it adding little water in high flame for 2 whistles.Open the lid after steam is released. Drain the excess water if any. Keep the cooked orange pieces in a bowl.
Dry roast methi seeds till it starts to turn golden brown. Powder it using a mortar and pestle and set aside.
Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, hing, methi seeds powder, crushed jaggery and salt.Mix well.
Add this mixture to a kadai and add 1/2 cup of water. Mix well and boil in low flame for few minutes till the raw smell of spice powders vanish. Add little more water if pickle looks too thick while boiling. Check for taste and add more red chilli powder, jaggery or salt if needed.
Switch off the flame when the pickle looks semi solid because it thickens when it cools down. Switch off the flame and add the juice of half of a small lemon.
In a small kadai, temper mustard seeds in oil and add to the pickle. Mix well and let it cool down.
Let it cool down and store in a clean glass bottle. Use clean spoon every time while you handle. It stays good for a month if refrigerated.
Enjoy with curd rice !

Note

Adjust the quantity of red chilli powder as per your taste..
You should cook the orange pieces before adding spice powders else it will become chewy and hard while cooking.

Try this yummy orange skin pickle and enjoy with rice ! Don’t forget to check out my other orange peel recipes.

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Mangalore buns recipe @ Banana poori served with coconut chutney as side dish is one of the most popular breakfast combo in Karnataka. I have tasted this few times in hotels like Anna Kuteera, SLV etc. Mangalore buns is a kind of Poori/ puri made with all purpose flour, banana, sugar and curd. As this poori tastes soft, spongy with a mild sweet taste, its called as buns. Mangalore buns cannot be prepared instantly.Its dough should be fermented for at least 4 to 6 hours or overnight to get the best results. Recently I prepared it for our breakfast along with coconut chutney by watching few YouTube video. It came out very well. We liked it very much. Its a unique, Karnataka style breakfast recipe. Friends, do try this banana poori / Mangalore buns at home. You will love it for sure. Ok, lets see how to prepare Mangalore buns recipe with step by step pictures. Video is under editing. I will update it tomorrow.

Do check out my collection of 10 Poori varieties& 20 Side dish for Poori.

Mangalore buns recipe - Banana Poori

Mangalore buns recipe with coconut chutney as side dish. - Karnataka special breakfast recipe

Cuisine:Indian

Category:Breakfast

Serves:6 to 8 no.

Prep time:6 Hours

Cook time:5 Minutes

Total time:6 Hours 5 Mins

INGREDIENTS

For Mangalore buns
1 cup - 250ml

All Purpose flour - 1 cup
Ripen Banana - 1 no ( I used 2 small yelakki banana)
Sugar - 1 tbsp (Add 1.5 tbsp for more sweetness)
Curd - 1.5 tbsp (Add 2 tbsp if needed)
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cooking soda / baking soda – 1/4 tsp
Cooking oil - To deep fry

Coconut chutney

Grated coconut – 1/2 cup
Green chillies – 3 to 5 nos (Adjust based on spice level)
Tamarind – a small pinch
Curry leaves – 3 leaves (optional)
Fried gram dal – 1 tbsp
Garlic cloves – 4 nos
Salt & water – as needed

METHOD

In a wide bowl, mash the banana with a fork.
Add curd, sugar, salt, all purpose flour and mix well
Make a dough without adding water.
Cover and keep it aside for minimum 6 hours.
Knead it well and make thick, round poori.
Deep fry it both the sides till golden brown.
Remove in a tissue paper. Serve hot with coconut chutney.

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

In a wide bowl, mash the ripen banana with a fork or hands. Do not grind in a mixie.
To this, add salt, sugar, cooking soda, cumin seeds and curd.Mix well to make a paste.
Add all purpose flour gradually and mix well to make a dough. Do not add water. Add little curd if needed. Knead for few minutes. Dough should be thick. Cover the dough and rest for minimum 6 hours or overnight.
Grease your hands and knead the dough for few minutes. Make small balls of uniform size. Dust the ball with maida and roll it to small, thick poori of palm size. Arrange in a plate.

Heat oil and drop a pinch of dough. If it rises to the top immediately, drop one poori. Splash oil over the puri and press gently. It will become puffy. Flip it and cook the other side till golden brown. Remove in a tissue paper and drain it.
Grind all the ingredients given under “Coconut chutney” to a smooth paste adding required water. You can temper the chutney if you like. Serve hot poori with coconut chutney.

Enjoy !

Note

You can add more sugar if you like more sweet taste.
Do not use water to make the dough.Add little more curd if needed.
Resting time of minimum 6 hours is needed. Overnight is also fine.
If you rest the dough for lesser time, Poori will come out hard and chewy.
For variations you can add equal quantity of wheat flour and maida. But poori comes out bit dense in texture.

Try this yummy, Karnataka special Mangalore buns with coconut chutney for your breakfast.

Tastes Yummy !

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Iyengar style sweet pongal / Sakkarai pongal recipe was in my try list for long time. Recently I bought a cookbook named “Iyengar Pandigai Samayal “ from Kumbakonam. All the Iyengar specialty recipes are discussed in that book according to the festival. I found a traditional Sakkarai Pongal recipe prepared using a pot ( bronze pot/ Venkala paanai). When I saw that recipe, I immediately called my school friend Sumi who is the only source for my Tamil Iyengar Recipes in my website to confirm the recipe and ingredients. She shared all the most important tips to get perfect Perumal temple style Sakkarai Pongal. Thank you so much Sumi. I became very happy and tried it for my Thursday Guru Pooja Neivedyam yesterday. It came out finger licking good. But for your help, this post would not have come up today :). My friend told me to prepare this pongal in a bronze pot to get the authentic flavor and taste. But my pot is too big to make small quantity. So I used a pressure cooker to ease my job. My job was done in less than 30 minutes. Friends, I have shared all the tips shared by my friend Sumi if you like to try the authentic version like temples. If you wish, you can prepare in a bronze pot like temples or use your cooker to make it quickly. Choice is yours ! But taste wise pot pongal is the best. Next year during pongal festival, I will try to buy a small pot and make a separate & detailed post. Now lets see how to make Iyengar style sakkarai pongal recipe / Sweet pongal recipe with step by step pictures. I will post a video tonight.

POINTS TO NOTE

To make temple style pongal, you should cook the rice & dal in an open pot, preferably in a bronze pot as it helps to retain the heat longer & maintain the consistency of pongal.
Addition of Pachai karpooram/ edible camphor is a must in Iyengar Pongal.
They also use freshly made ghee from butter to roast the cashews and add to pongal for neivedyam. They do not use the ghee used for regular cooking. So the taste & flavor of fresh ghee matters a lot.
Never use boiled rice. Always use good quality Sona masoori rice for best taste.
Do not use basmati rice as well.
Roasting moong dal is an optional step. Some people add it as such.
My friend told me to soak rice & moong dal in milk & water for 15 to 30 minutes to cook quickly. But I din’t soak it as I used pressure cooker.
Milk should be used in Iyengar pongal. Some people cook the rice only with milk. But I have used a combination of water & milk as suggested by my friend.
The quantity of milk may vary based on the consistency of pongal. So reserve some boiled milk and add it while serving if needed.
I have used rice & jaggery in the ratio of 1: 2. Some people use 1:1.5 for mild sweet taste. It all depends on your taste buds.

Iyengar Sakkarai Pongal - Sweet Pongal recipe

How to make Iyengar style sweet pongal recipe / sakkarai pongal with milk & jaggery.

Cuisine:South Indian

Category:Iyengar recipes

Serves:Serves 3-4

Prep time:5 Minutes

Cook time:20 Minutes

Total time:25 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml

Raw rice - 1/2 cup ( Good quality Sona Masoori rice)
Yellow moong dal - 2 tbsp
Boiled milk - 1 cup
Water - 1.5 cups
Powdered Jaggery - 1 cup
Water- 1/2 cup ( to melt jaggery)
Ghee - 2 to 3 tbsp ( I used 2 tbsp butter to roast nuts)
Cashew nuts - Few
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Edible camphor / Pachai karpooram - A pinch

METHOD

In a pressure cooker base, heat 1 tsp ghee. Roast moong dal for a minute.
Add raw rice to it and roast for another minute. Wash them.
Add water + milk to the cooker along with a pinch of salt.
Pressure cook in very low flame for 2 whistles.
Mash the cooked rice & dal. Boil and melt jaggery adding water and strain the syrup.
Add jaggery syrup, 1 tbsp ghee to the mashed rice. Mix well and boil till semi solid in consistency. Switch off flame.
Add cardamom powder, a pinch of edible camphor and cashews roasted in ghee.
Mix well and remove from flame. Garnish with more cashews if you like and serve hot !

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

In a pressure cooker base, heat 1 tsp of ghee. Roast yellow moong dal for a minute. To this, add rice and roast for one more minute. Remove the cooker and wash the rice + dal. Drain the water and keep it back in flame.
Add milk + water to the washed rice, dal mixture. Add a pinch of salt as well. Mix well.
Pressure cook in very low flame for 2 whistles.Open the cooker after steam is released. Mash the rice and dal very well with a ladle or masher. Make sure rice + dal is mashed properly. Add more boiled milk or water if needed. Mix well. Keep the cooker aside.
In a kadai, boil and melt jaggery adding water. Strain the syrup in a wire mesh.
Add the syrup to the mashed rice and mix well. Add little more hot water or milk if the pongal is too thick at this stage. Add 1 tbsp ghee to avoid sticking of rice to the bottom of cooker.
Mix well and boil till pongal comes to semi solid in consistency. Do not cook till too thick. It will harden as it cools down. So make it semi thick. Remove from the flame.
Roast cashews in the remaining 1 tbsp ghee and add to pongal. ( I used fresh butter, melted to make ghee and roasted the cashews as suggested by my friend.) Add cardamom powder, a pinch of edible camphor and mix well. Add 1 tbsp more ghee and few more roasted cashews for garnishing. Serve hot !

Enjoy !

Note

The ratio of rice & water depends on the quality of rice. Old rice takes more water. For pongal festival, we buy new rice ( pudhu arisi).So it takes less water. I used 1:5 ratio of rice and water. You can also use 1:4 or 1:6 based on the rice.
Similarly the quantity of jaggery depends on the type of jaggery. If you use paagu vellam, you can add 1:1.5 ratio of rice & jaggery else use 1:2 as I did to get nice color and taste.
If you feel the sweetness is more, you can add more boiled milk or hot water to reduce the sweetness.
Edible camphor is the most important to get temple flavor.
You can also add powdered nutmeg and roasted cloves if you like.
Do not reduce ghee than the mentioned quantity. You must add more ghee to get ghee dripping pongal else pongal looks dry.

Try this easy, yummy Iyengar style Sakkarai pongal for this Pongal festival at home and enjoy !

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People in Tamil nadu prepare Pongal kuzhambu on Pongal festival day adding 5 or 7 vegetables. We call it as 7 kai kuzhambu or kootu in Tamil. There are many versions for Pongal kuzhambu. It differs based on their custom. In Chettinad region, people make it without adding any dal or coconut. But this version is a no onion, no garlic Arachu vitta sambar kind of Pongal kuzhambu I learnt from my friend Shalini. But the quantity of dal and coconut used is very less for this kuzhambu. It is prepared with freshly roasted & ground spices. So its too flavorful just like Brahmin’s style arachuvitta sambar. Shalini told me to use 5 vegetables. So I blindly followed her recipe and came up with this version. If you are making on a normal day, you can skip all these vegetables and use yellow pumpkin alone. This pongal festival sambar tastes good with white pongal / Paal pongal, rice, ven pongal andidli,dosa. Friends If you are planning to make Pongal kuzhambu with mixed vegetables in sambar taste, you can follow this recipe. You will like it for sure.Next year before Pongal festival, I will try to share Chettinad Pongal Kuzhambu Recipe. Now lets see how to make no onion, no garlic pongal festival kuzhambu with step by step pictures.
Check out my Brahmin style Thalagam kuzhambu recipe too !

Pongal Kuzhambu - Mixed vegetable sambar for Pongal Festival