Kadubu

Dear Reader,

Wish you a Happy Ganesha and Gowri festival.

This is a wonderful, mouth watering snack. This is also suppose to be favourite snack of Lord Ganesha. Recipe looks easy, but is not so, in reality.
The point of stumbling is, it might not turn out to be real crispy, escpecially because of the very property of jaggery and coconut.
Try this method, I am sure you will succeed.
For the Hoorna
1. Put 1 measure of freshly grated coconut and 1 or less than 1 measure of jaggery in to a pan and start frying at medium flame, till the jaggery melts and mixes with fresh coconut. Add elachi powder
2. keep stirring till the mixture starts leaving the side walls of the pan. When you take it in your hand, you must be able to form a soft ball.Turn off the flame and allow it to cool completely.

For the dough(outer covering)

1. Mix
60% chiroti ravey (for example if you take 1 measure, 60% of it must be chiroti ravey)
40% maida flour
a pinch salt
a pinch turmeric
2 spoons ghee
3 spoons heated oil
little water
Mix well and make a hard dough. Knead thouroughly.
Remember: If you make the dough soft, the kadubus will not come out crisply, it will be very soft like a cloth and will be uncomfortable to eat.

Take small balls of dough. Roll it in to a round shape(like chapati)
Place 1 spoon of the prepared hoorna. Dip your fingers in water and just apply around the edge of the dough and fold it i to half. Seal the edges. Due to presence of water, maida will stick and makes like a sealing.
Deep fry in oil, in low flame.

Store it in a tight container, only after it is completely cooled.

To summarize, for getting crisp kadubus:

1.Keep the jaggery quantity less
2. Make the dough little hard
3. Fry it in a low flame
4. Store after it cools completely

Hope you enjoyed this reading..See you again soon..

Till then....Bye

Obbatt Recipe

Hello Reader,

Happy Ugadi. Ugadi is a NewYear for Kannadiga's. We at our Sweet home, celebrated the festival, rejoiced the food and just thought of posting this recipe..
Preparation of this sweet "obbatt" is quiet challenging sometimes. My Grandma was the real expert. I always wish i could reach to her Culinary skills. Now, I would tell you how to prepare obbatt, ofcourse many of you might be well versed at this. suggestions are Welcome too.

This recipe looks lengthy, but it is not actually, I have ellaborated on some tips which am sure will be handy.

1. Pressurise 1/2 cup thoor dhal+1/2 cup Kadale bele in a cooker.
2. Spread the cooked and softened pulses in a broad vessel with holes, so that all the water will be drained out. Perhaps leave it for 15 minutes
3. Mix 1.5 cups of maida with pinch turmeric, pinch salt, sufficient water and make a soft sticky dough. Now start adding oil and mix well and beat it for 3 minutes. Place in a vessel, pour little oil around the dough,close it tight and leave it undisturbed for 3 to 4 hours. That means right immediately after your breakfast you can prepare the dough, so that you can make the obbat by noon
4. Grate 1.5 cups of jaggery(avoid lumps, it should be powder like). Grate 1/2 cup fresh coconut.
5. In a mixer grind the pulses+coconut+jaggery part by part until it is smoothly ground. Do not add water. If  unavoidable, add few drops. Finally add the elachi powder. This is called Hoorna or filling
6. If you find the Hoorna to be watery ( pick some hoorna and make a ball. It should easily form a ball without sticking. This is the right consistency), just transfer it to a thick bottom pan or kadai and fry in low flame until it starts bubbling. Now try forming a ball, if its perfect, turn off the flame and allow it to cool.
7. Take a plastic sheet. Apply oil. place a small ball of the maida dough. Place another transparent plastic sheet above it. Spread the dough, while patting over the second sheet. Remove the second sheet, place a lemon sized hoorna. Cover the hoorna all around with the dough. Place back the second sheet. Now start spreading the hoorna ball in to a chapati like size. It should neither be thick nor thin. Try out one or two. YOUR experience is the best Teacher. Just follow it.  Once done remove the second sheet and put the first sheet along with the dough upside down on a tawa and cook on very low flame. Change the side. Dont apply oil on either sides, rather when 1 obbat is done, apply oil and then put the second one.

Serve hot with Ghee.

Kashaya - A liquid made of herbs

Dear Friend, I would like to give here a simple recipe which helps you through tough times, when your daily routine bogs down. This is escpecially when you are having a running nose, sore throat, cold and cough.

1. Boil 2 glasses of water.
2.Once it starts bubbling, add 1 lavanga, 2 pepper corns(menasau kaalu),little jeera,tulsi leaves around 6 to 8,1/2 beetel leaf (Veelyadeley), dhodpathery leaves 2 or 3, 1/2 spoon turmeric and 1 spoon dhania seeds.

Boil well for atleast 3 to 5 minutes. Filter it out and drink as hot as your taste buds can withstand.

This gives an instant relief

Note: If any of the above is not reachable for you, it is fine. Just go ahead with the available ones, as each of them has its own medicinal Value and does not really rely on other ingredients to cure you!!

Fenu greek Dosa (menthyadha Dosey)

This dosa is very good for health, though it gives a bitter taste for your palate. This will be served for the new moms escpecially after the baby is born that is during the postpartum phase.

1.Soak all the below ingredients for 6 to 8 hours under room temperature
3 cups or measure dosey akki
1 measure uddhina bele(black gram)
1 fist: Fenugreek(menthya seeds)
1 fist avalakki(beaten rice)

Grind to a fine paste. Prepare dosas. Serve it with coconut chutney or just fresh butter and Ghee.

Home made Rawa Idlis

This recipe was shared by my close friend.I used to always buy the readymade rawa idli mix. But this time I tried the original home made recipe and it turned out to be a shock..Well, I mean, you can come somewhere close to the taste of hotel kind of rawa idlis..

1.Roast 1 big glass of upma rawa until light brown
2.Grind 4 or 5 green chillies
3.Heat oil. Add mustard,kadale bele,grind chillies,hing, longitudinally chopped cury leaves,sufficient cashews,grated ginger,salt and soda (is a must, else your idlis will sleep cosily in the cooker:--))
4.Mix this with roasted rawa.
5.For 1 cup or measure of rawa, take 2 measure of curds and mix well.
6. Keep aside for sometime and steam the idlis in regular way

Hey listen! Try to buy the Indolium kind of idli stand. Idlis really come out in a big, bulgy way.

kanjeevaram Idlis

Prerequisite: Save the idli batter from the previous day

1.Cut coconut into small rectangular , edible pieces.
2.Chop lots of coriander leaves to small pieces.
3.Grate 1 inch ginger.
4.Add all the above to the idli batter, along with salt.
5.Steam the idlis in the regular way.

Serve hot with coconut chutney!!

Pasta in Red tomato sauce

1.Boil penne pasta[pasta that is tubular in shape wih ridges] in sufficient water until it softens. Drain the water and place it aside.
2.Heat olive oil. Add the cut capsicum,beans,brocolli,zuccini,carrot etc.Fry until it softens. Add little salt while you fry.Do not add water. Try to fry in oil. This gives crispness Once done, put the vegetables aside
3.Mix 1 big spoon of corn flour in cold water and place it aside
4.Heat oil. Add Italian herbs (easily available these days in Bangalore too) ,red chilli flakes and finely chopped tomatoes.
Let is cook on medium flame until it becomes like a tomato puree. You can add few drops of water, but not much, inbetween.
5.Now, add the corn flour mix,stir-fried vegetables,salt, sugar and mix well
6.Add the Pasta and mix very gently.
7.Add tomato sauce and serve hot

Believe me, you would not miss any restaurants or Pizza huts...