KOBRI CHATNIPUDI../SPICY COPRA CHUTNEY POWDER

LATHA'S MAGIC series

Author: Latha Murthy


 I would like to start with a simple and tasty chutney powder recipe. This is a perfect side dish for hot rice, dosa, idli and chapatis...Simple and yummilicious. I give here the measurements for one cup of copra. It can be doubled as per requirement.

      KOBRI CHUTNEYPUDI

Ingredients:
The ingredients are simple and available at home usually.

Grated Copra          -  1 cup

Garlic cloves           -  5 to 6 ( optional)
Red chilli powder   - 1 tsp
( Byadigi red chilli can be used 2 or 3 red chillies in that case)      Tamarind                -  small marble size
Jaggery                  -   1 tsp 
Salt                         - to taste

METHOD

1. Dry roast the grated copra, till the remaining moisture evaporates, Keep aside.
2. Garlic is optional but adds to the taste.
3.  Peel and dry roast the Garlic cloves to take out the slight moisture in it so that the Powder can be stored for long. 
4. Turn the heat off and add the red chilli powder ( dry roast the red chilli if you are using the chillies instead of powder) and salt to the garlic and let it stay for a while. 
5. Dry Grind together Copra, Garlic, salt and chilli powder.
6. Add the jaggery and Tamarind and grind again till it mixes well. 

 Your Kobri Chutney powder is ready.

Enjoy with food of your choice...

AvarekaLu (flat bean/surti lilva) Saagu and Akki Rotti (Rice flour Chapati)

AvareKaLina Saagu (Surti lilva/ Flatbean Curry)
This simple tasty gravy is the hot favourite during winters. Saagu an usual accompaniment with regular chapatis, pooris this particular saagu goes very well with Rice flour rotis.

Ingredients:


Avarekalu  or Surti lilva/flat bean seeds  - about 1/4kg (Boiled with a pinch of salt and turmeric.
1 potato- Finely chopped (just to add to consistency, can be omitted)
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Jeera /cumin seeds
salt to taste 
Curry leaves  -  a sprig
1tst fresh cream (variation)


For grinding:
Green chillies -  2 (according to your taste)
Jeera/cumin seeds - 1tsp
Pinch of asafoetida
Grated coconut-11/2  cup
Onions- 2 large onions
Garlic pods - 6
Coriander leaves - 2 spoonful (chopped)
Ginger -  1 inch piece
Grind all the above ingredients into a fine paste and keep aside.


Method:
Take  a quarter of the boiled AvarekaLu (surti lilva papdi) and grind it to a coarse paste. 


Heat the oil in a  thick bottomed pan. Add the mustard when it splutters add the cumin seeds and curry leaves . Add the cut potatoes and let it rest for a minute. Then add the ground paste and let it cook till the raw smell of garlic , ginger and onions leave the paste. There is a delicous aroma just when the gravy starts to cook, then add a little water and salt to taste.Add the ground AvarekaLu paste and the rest of the AvarekaLu and let it boil. Add some fresh cream (variation only).


Serve with roti, rice, chapati anything.
This AvarekaLu gravy is excellent with rice flour rotis. 


Akki Roti /Rice Flour Rotis


Having had this rotis innumerable times at my good friends place I finally decided to start making it right at my kitchen. This morning I browsed for it and found the perfect recipe here. Mine turned out great. The pictures in that site are best teachers..I write the recipe here too.
Ingredients:


 Fine rice Atta – 1 cup

 Water or milk – 1 cup

 Cooking oil – 2 Teaspoons

Salt – to taste

METHOD

Sieve rice atta in the atta siever with salt.

Place a wide bottomed bowl or a non-stick Kadai on the flame with 1 glass of water and add 2 teaspoons fresh cooking oil to it. When it starts boiling simmer the flame and add Rice atta slowly to it and keep stirring till it turns to the consistency of chapathi atta.

 Switch off the flame and keep it closed for about 5 minutes so that the vapors fall into the cooked atta and turns easier to knead and roll.

After a while pinch out the required quantity of atta, dust it in rice atta itself and roll it on a thick plastic sheet to the required thickness

Place a flat roti tawa on the flame and when heated place the roti on it. 

Just when when heated it looks a bit cooked flip it and just dry roast the other side as well.

Flip it the other side and press it with the the edges of the spatuls and it starts puffing. 

Transfer it into a serving plate and enjoy with any chutney, specially Avarekalu saagu in the season.

Onion chutney  goes great with this roti. 


ciao for now. 


Have a great weekend.

Simple Guacamole..

I have been thinking of  doing a series with alphabetical order... I do keep seeing them in so many other cooking blogs... and decided to join the bandwagon .So here it begins with A


A for Avocados


I used to see them in the market, but didn't know it was so good and tasty .A friend of mine brought me lovely Avocados, I had heard of guacamole and loved the taste ,but I tried it for the first time .It turned out really yum and girls loved it with almost everything crackers, tortilla chips and toasted bread.

Here is the recipe I came up with after browsing lots of recipes , I did not have Jalapenos so used chilly flakes instead , got the review that this tasted much better.. 

Guacamole Recipe

This is a simple dip, which does not have any cooking process in it..

Ingredients:
1 ripe Avocado (test that it is soft in and the tip comes off easily)
2 white onions (spring onions or shallots also serve just fine)
one spoon of dry chilli flakes  or  Indian green chilli or a chopped jalapenos
One small firm tomato, chopped fine
Juice of half  a limeChopped fresh coriander leaves Salt and pepper to taste.


Method


Cut the lime and squeeze the juice into a bowl


Chop the onions/shallots and add them to the lemon juice , add some salt and let it rest.


Chop the tomato and add to the above mixture.

Cut the Avocados with a knife all around the seed... It will split into half  when you gently twist the knife (cut  length-wise).  Remove seed, scoop out the green/pale yellow flesh with a spoon and place in a bowl. Mash well with a spoon or a fork.


Mix with onion /tomato mixture and salt and pepper. Add lime juice if necessary

Serve with tortilla chips, toasted bread pieces or a chapati....


Isnt that easy way to make a dip so yummy.... Ciao.

Nucchinunde and Majjige huLi ( steamed lentil dumplings)

Nagarapanchami is a festival dedicated to God Ananta ( the snake god). It is celebrated on the fifth day of the Shravana month people worship snakes , usually now -a- days a serpent made of silver is worshipped at home. Then, all the ladies will wait for their brothers to visit them. Once brothers are home the sisters wash their brother's back with milk..(bennu toleyuvudu) a little mud is rubbed on the wet back with the idea that the sisters pray to Nagaraja to keep their brothers cool in temper and with abundance and with peace of mind like the cold milk,and the mud from the mound asking Nagaraja to protect their brothers from all harm and providing complete protection.
After this little ritual, the sisters give brothers a gift of cash or kind, usually clothes.This is followed by a sumptuous lunch. The festive meal of this particular day does not have any fried dish. So most of the dishes are steamed...( so healthy ).

The festive spread generally has two salads (kosambari), to vegetable dry curry ( palya), a sweet dish (payasa) and many others to fill the leaf and tummy.




NUCCINUNDE /NUCCHINA UNDE : Steamed Lentil Dumplings:

my sister in law made Nucchinunde (tuvar dal steamed dumplings) which I had not had in a while. She gave me the right proportions and today I did make them successfully. Here's the recipe for you..Ingredients
1 cup of Tuvar dal/Yellow Lentils (Togri Bele)

1/2 cup of Chana dal/Bengal gram

½ cup Freshly grated coconut

two tbsp of chopped Coriander leaves (Cilantro)

4 Dry Red Chilies (or to taste)

2 green chillies

a pinch of Asafoetida (Hing/Ingu)

1/4 cup finely chopped dill leaves (optional Sabbasige soppu)

Salt to taste

Method:
Wash tuvar dal and chana dal 3 to 5 times and soak for 5 to 6 hours.Add the dry red chillies to the water and let it soak.Drain the soaked dal and grind 3/4ths of it coarsely without adding water . Grind the rest of the dal into a paste with coconut, red chillies,green chillies ( ginger can be added for a different taste). In a bowl add the paste and other ingredients . Mix well. Make egg shaped balls with your fingers and steam for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Eat them sizzling hot with ghee, coconut chutney and Majjige huli ( a delicacy with butter milk).

Majjige huLi:This is a delicacy made out of simple butter milk.Literally meaning a gravy with butter milk this is a treat with hot steamed rice and of course with Nucchinude it makes a super hit combination.Made out of almost all vegetables of the gourd family , usually cucumber, ash gourd, snake gourd,chow chow this dish is as tasty with Okra, Eggplant , peas and fresh greens.simple to make this is an excellent dish for a rainy day.

Ingredients:
1 cup of chopped vegetables

2 cups of butter milk

2 spoons of Ghee or oil

1 spoon mustard seeds

curry leaves a sprig...

two dry red chillies
Ground paste of :

2 tbsp of fresly grated coconut,

2 tsp of soaked chanda dal or 2 tsp of Besan ( Kadle hittu)

2 green chillies

spoon cumin seeds

1/4 spoon of mustard seeds

a pinch of Asafoetida( hing)

1/4 spoon of turmeric powder (haldi)

few strands of coriander leaves

Salt to taste.

Method:

In a wide pan boil the cut vegetables with turmeric powder, salt and water till they are firm but cooked. Add the ground paste to the cooked vegetables and boil with some more minutes adding little water. Add the butter milk, mix well and let it get to one more boil.In a small pan heat oil, add mustard seeds when they splutter add curry leaves and dry red chilies..
serve with the above Nucchinunde or hot steamed rice.

AvarekaLu Bhath (revisited) and Sabsige Palya

Summer holidays is on and so is the Mango season. We are enjoying a few variteties at the minute.I enjoy all the seasonal fruits and vegetables but I was surprised to see that these days AvrekaLu has no season these days. I found them yesterday in the market and so todays menu at my place was AvrekaLu bhath and Sabsige palya (Sauteed Dill leaves). With girls being home it is a not easy to have a traditional menu of this sort.

Sabbasige or Dill leaves is a herb which has a typical aroma. The is used in cooking for aroma and taste. I use it with rice flour... for Akkirotti, in Dal.. with Moong or Arhar dal. These leaves add a lot of taste to Ambode (dal vada or lentil dumplings).

This is known for Anti -Gas property and so used as a mouth freshener and digestive ,It is also known to enhance lactation in mothers.. so given to mothers as post natal diet.

Avarekalu Bhath is quite simple .

Please do find the recipe in here .


Sabbasige palya (Sauteed Dill leaves with Onions)

This particular palya is a simple one with just two main ingredients... Onions and Dill leaves .

Ingredients:

2 fresh bunches of abbasige soppu (dill leaves)

1 Onion (finely chopped)

dry red chillies - 2
jeera/cumin seeds -one spoon
sasive/mustard seeds - 1 spoon
Ingu/asafoetida - one pinch
turmeric powder - one pinch
curry leaves - a sprig
oil to saute
and salt to taste.

Method:
Wash and chop the dill leaves very fine, strain and keep aside. In a pan, heat the oil and add mustard seeds. When they sputter add jeera, red chillies, asafoetida, turmeric powder and curry leaves. Add the chopped onions and saute for a few minutes. Then add the chopped Dill leaves , saute for a few minutes. Add salt to taste and mix properly.
Add a dash of lemon to enhance the taste. Serve with Rotis or Rice. Goes well with both.
I am sure you will like it too.

JHATPHAT SAMBAR

December has crept in and already second week is on. It has been a bit busy month with lots of travelling , loads of dishes to try and taste.

Idli ,usually is served with traditional sambar, one or two chutneys. I like it with Onion chutney.

A quick recipe of sambar which I had heard from a friend long back helped me today as I didn't have coconut to make the usual combo of idlis.

Jhat phat sambar as I call it is quick to make and perfect accompaniment for Idlis, specially when there is a constraint of time and resources.

Jhat pat Sambar :

Ingredients:
1 cup masoor dal

2 spoonful tamarind juice

2 tomatoes finely chopped

1 spoon grated coconut

two onions finely chopped ( one cup full peeled sambar onions (shallots))

sambar powder to taste ( I used MTR)

salt to taste

Oil - 1 tsp

mustard 1/2 tsp

cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

one or two dry red chillies

curry leaves - a sprig

a pinch of asafoetida

coriander leaves for garnishing.

Method:

Make a coarse powder of the masoor dal in the mixer- grinder. Add grated coconut,tamarind juice or paste, sambar powder and some water to make a fine paste and keep aside .
In a deep pan add the oil, let it heat and then add mustard let it splutter add the cumin seeds ( jeera ) curry leaves , dry red chillies and asafoetida. Then add the cut onions and tomatoes . Add desired vegetables which cook quickly like brinjal and carrot, but they should be sliced thin to cook quickly.When the vegetables are sauteed well add the ground paste and salt and let it boil. Add water for the required consistency . Yummy Sambar is ready in minutes , garnish with the coriander leaves and a dash of ghee.
Enjoy this dish with Hot Idlis and filter coffee.

Enjoy the Christmas season and have a wonderful New year 2010.

Waiting for the New year which I hope will bring prosperity to all of us.

Onion Chutney

I have not been able to update since a long time.Well better late than never... I thought of doing a series on the vegetables, which we use in our everyday lives.We know their common names but not their binomial or medicinal properties (other than nutritional value )of the vegetable as well. With election fever going on in India. thought I might as well get some poll opinion if I should continue this series. Please do vote in the poll created.
First of the series...Allium cepa

Allium Cepa... when I say this I guess half the people will keep wondering what this alien vegetable might be... Well this is the Binomial name of our very own .. ONION.. which makes me CRY when I have it ( the or i don't have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!( I cant cook many dishes without onions)Onions, one of the oldest vegetables known to humankind, are found in a large number of recipes and preparations spanning almost the totality of the world's cultures. They are nowadays available in fresh, frozen, canned, pickled, powdered, chopped, and dehydrated forms. Onions can be used, usually chopped or sliced, in almost every type of food including cooked foods and fresh salads and as a spicy garnish. They are rarely eaten on their own but usually act as accompaniment to the main course. Depending on the variety, an onion can be sharp, spicy, tangy and pungent or mild and sweet says wikipedia.
Medicinal uses of the onion can be found here
Other uses:
Onion can be a sting soother... just cut it in half and rub on sting. Helps a lot.
Mosquitoes do not like the taste of onion... if you have enough place in the window sill place a few onion plants and see that mosquitoes will not be around your house...
Onion cleans the tawa very well right after the masala dosa... the oil gets cleared and smears to the onion.. chop the onion to half and stick it to the end of a fork and use happily.
Onion Chutney:
Today visited my aunt L's place.Amazing cook that she is... today she served me with fantastic fresh onion chutney, had not had anything like that in a long time,recipe will follow before that it was amazing to see the amount of fresh onions....she got them from a friend who said this particular variety tasted better raw than cooked.I was transported back to Galati (Romania).Again I was where I saw onions arranged like plaits and hung to a nail or hook.Every kitchen has a bunch of well stacked onion and garlic bunches. Lovely sight they made.Today when i saw so many we sat together to make a bunch of our own and wow it looked great....here is the picture . This way the onions have a longer life. They need to be away from water and kept in a place with air circulation.

Onion chutney:
this is very simple chutney and can be a excellent accompaniment for bhakri/ jowar rotis. It tastes as good with chaptis ,rotis / rice.
Ingredients:
4/5 small onions
2/3spoons of fried gram dal (phutana)
salt and red chilli powder to taste
very little tamarind
and 3 spoons of freshly scraped coconut (optional).
Method:
Chop the onions .Grind all the above ingredients together to a coarse paste. yummy chutney is ready in a jiffy.
If you feel the onions are very pungent saute them a little in the oil before grinding. Coconut is optional. It is to our taste.

This has to be consumed fast or refrigerated.stays for two to three days. If you want it to last longer the just heat two spoons of oil in the Kadai. Add one spoon of mustard and a pinch of hing. Saute the above chutney for some time till the raw smell vanishes. Now , the chutney is ready to be bottled for a week or two.
The other raw onion chutney I make is great for fried items like samosas,pav bhaji and pakodas. A great accompaniment along with mint chutney.

Ingredients:
3 onions, chopped
1 tbsp lime juice(freshly squeezed)
2 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Method
Mix the red chilli powder and salt with the lime juice.Add this to the chopped onions and mix well.This chutney does not keep well for long. It's best when eaten fresh.

TRIVIA:we cry when we slice an onion isn't it.. . due to some chemical action of the enzymes which escape when the onion is chopped... , amino acid sulfoxides form sulfenic acids which quickly turns into volatile gas.



The gas reaches your eyes and reacts with the water that keeps them moist. This changes the chemical's form again, producing, among other things, a mild sulfuric acid, which irritates the eyes. The brain reacts quickly to dilute and the lachrymal glands are activated producing tears..
Oddly enough, this volatile compound is also responsible for a lot of the great taste in onions, as well as the pleasant aroma when you cook the vegetable.



Ciao,, will wait for the poll results to continue the series.Yugadi festival is round the corner.. Can have some good recipes with Mango then.

Saaru, Palya.. a simple filling meal.

A simple meal after a long journey is something i would die for. after a Long flight... and having the privilege of hearing,..sorry we don't have a veg meal left.. i was dying to have a most simple filling meal , Hot rice, ,saaru ( lentil soup )and one sabzi... Palya as it is known very simple , just slightly steamed of cooked vegetables with some salt and garnished freshly grated coconut.
Nothing can match the hot rice, ghee, tomato Saaru and Palya combination for me.
Simple to make and nutritious as well.It is a well balance meal, with carbohydrates, fibre, proteins and fats all in it. Here is the recipe for the most simple palya (sabzi) and Saaru..
Tomato Saaru:

Tomato Saaru:
Ingredients:
Tuvar Dal - 1 cup,
tomatoes 2 - 3 (medium),
Saarina pudi / Rasam powder - 2 tablespoons,
salt to taste,
tamarind juice - one small bowl
and turmeric - ¼ tea spoon
For seasoning:
Ghee - 2 teaspoons,
mustard seeds ½ teaspoon,
hing/asafoetida- ¼ teaspoon,
curry leaves few springs
and chopped coriander leaves for garnishing
Method:
Pressure cook Tuvar dal .cook tomatoes in water.squeeze the tomato pulp and separate out the skin.To this tomato puree, add turmeric, salt, rasam power tamarind paste and cook till aroma is all over the house!!!.Add the cooked tuvar dal and boil for another five minutes with some more water.
In a small kadai heat the ghee .(pure ghee is always a tasty option. Oil can be used but then the aroma is definitely better with ghee., so is the taste). Add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, hing and season the cooked saaru. Add chopped coriander leaves and serve hot. It can be served as appetizer as well. Tastes as good to sip as it is to eat with hot rice.

chapparada avrekayi palya (Broadbeans Palya/sabzi)

Ingredients
Broad beans/Chapparada Avrekayi: 1/4 kilogram

Green chillies - 1 or 2

Freshly grated coconut:1/4 cup

oil - two tea spoons

Mustard seeds - a spoon

Jeera/Cumin seeds - a spoon

turmeric power - a pinch

salt to taste

method:
Wash and chop the broad beans.. In a deep bottomed vessels or kadai.. heat the oil. Add mustard seeds when it splutters add jeera , turmeric, and slit the green chilly.Add the cut broad beans and saute a little. Add half a cup of water and salt. Let it cook till the beans cook thoroughly.. and water is drained completely. Garnish with freshly grated coconut.simple isn't it?

Enjoy this these two simple dishes with plain hot rice...a wholesome meal.

Ciao....

LAUKI KE KOFTE/Bottlegourd dumplings in spicy gravy

I was not aware of Doodi / lauki /Bottle Gourd/ Sorekayi { in Kannada} for long time as it was not used in the house at all..It was kind of not bought/brought home I am not sure why??? It seemed so delicious a dish when I first ate it.Well.. it was my good friend Sunitha who made me lick my fingers whenever she made lauki ke kofte... got hooked to it when she was around..I never tried it though.
Soon forgot all about it , was happy trying out new things.This week when i spotted Lauki in the Indian store, all memories rushed back and I ended up making Kofte with what I remembered she had told me about the procedure and ingredients..

We enjoyed it with some Takda dal and Coriander Naan ( I bought them) , made some Matar pulav too.

Lauki Ke Kofte ( dumplings in spicy tomato gravy)

Ingredients

To make Koftas
Half a kilo (500 gms) lauki peeled and grated

2 table spoons besan / gram flour

2-3 green chillies

grated ginger

Salt to taste
1 tea spoon red chilli powder
Finely chopped few coriander leaves

Ingredients for gravy

2 medium sized onions

3 medium sized tomatoes grated / puree
2 green chillies

1 inch ginger

2-3 flakes garlic
Few chopped coriander leaves

salt to taste

1 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp jeera powder

1 inch dalchini / cinnamon

1-2 bay leaves / tej patta

1 big cardamom / badi elaichi
3-4 cloves/laung

oil for frying

Juice that is extracted from lauki and kept aside

and water if required.

Method

Grate the lauki,sprinkle some salt and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Now squeeze out water from it completely. Store the extracted water/juice in a bowl separately.
To this grated lauki add grated ginger, chopped green chillies, chopped coriander leaves, salt, red chilli powder and mix well. Add besan/gramflour to bind it well into round or oval balls..
heat the Oil in a Kadi or Deep pan. Deep fry these koftas simultaneously to golden brown colours. Keep the flame medium as the koftas get cooked outer side very fast and the centre will remain uncooked...Store the deep fried koftas on to a tissue paper..

To make Gravy:

Heat 2 table spoons of oil in a kadai or heavy bottom pan. Grind Onions, ginger, garlic together to a fine paste...
Put dalchini, crushed elaichi, tej patta, cloves let it splutter in oil then add green chillies, garlic, ginger, onions and cover the pan for few minutes on medium flame, Now add the ground paste and let it cook till the raw smell of garlic is gone and onions turns to a pinkish colour. Now add tomatoes or tomato puree salt and turmeric, red chilli, jeera, coriander powders and mix well.

Keep stirring for sometime and check if the gravy is even and well blended add the extracted water from lauki now. Let the gravy boil for about 5 to 8 minutes...
Sprinkle garam masala.
The gravy should neither be too thick nor too thin but medium.
At the time of serving heat the gravy, transfer in serving dish add the koftas now and garnish with coriander leaves.

This gravy dish goes very well with Rotis ....

Have a great week ahead...