Mandalu Oggarane/ Puffed rice Upma...

BYE FOR A FEW WEEKS FRIENDS

My stay in this place coming to an end.. a new place to visit , new people to meet and new life to build. It is not easy but is quite exciting.Every town has its own flavour to offer and who knows what new colour is waiting to be added to my nomadic life ,, which is already as coloured as a rainbow.
I am off for more than 8 weeks ,, so adieu till i settle again and get time to try more food and update the block.. till then enjoy this time tested and tasty recipe.


Mandalu oggarane/Uggani/puffed rice

A few day sago while browsing i came across the name murmure ki biryani.. tempted by the name i read the recipe which was nothing other than what my mother and grandmother made very regularly as breakfast known as Mandalu Oggarani.. dae out of normal puffed rice and definitely tasty and light . In my town ,Yemmiganur,a small town in Kurnool district this is a truly poor man's biriyani.
The dish is easy to make and quite low in fat. This is made a little different in Rayala seema side of Andhra pradesh.. which is served with mirchi bhajji...That is so yummy .. I always make it a point to get some for one of the roadside joints.. it has a unique taste.

Mandalu oggarane

I tried it once or twice but it wasn't the same taste , husband and kids were not delighted.. Last week I tried it out again by asking her again for the recipe ... luckily for me it was great and girls absolutely loved it...
so here's the recipe for you all...

Oggarane/soosala

Ingredients:

Puffed rice (Murmure)- about a cup per person.

One big onion - finely chopped

green chillies - finely chopped

1 tsp of salt

two tsps of oil

Pinch of turmeric

1/2 tsp of jeera(cumin)

1/2 tsp of rai ( mustard seeds)

1 spoon of urad dal (black gram dhal)

1 spoon of chana dal (bengal gram dhal)

A sprig of fresh curry leaves

finely chopped coriander leaves

1 tablespoon of roasted gram dal powder (putani pudi /phutana powder)

two spoons of lemon juice.

freshly grated coconut or desiccated coconut (optional, for the variation)

Method:

Soak the Puffed rice in a large pan of water for not more than 6 to 8 minutes. Squeeze and let it stay in a colander.

In the mean time, heat two spoons of oil in a kadai , add rai, cumin, urad dal, chana dal, turmeric powder,curry leaves, green chillies and onions.When the onions are cooked and get soft,add the squeezed puffed rice mix thoroughly. Add the phutana powder, salt and mix well.

Turn the heat off and add lemon juice and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.Serve and eat hot.

It is very tasty with some fresh plain yogurt too.

Variations..

My grandmother was not keen on using onions in this dish she just used freshly grated coconut in the end.. it would turn out as delicious.
I add potaoes and capsicum both finely chopped and peas to the above recipe. It tasts amazing and visually the green peas adds a lot of colour to the dish.

Well hoping to be back in action as soon as possible...

Pofta buna

Baby corn Pakodas ( babycorn fritters)

The best part of summer in England is that we get to see Sun for at least few days a week. This weekend was one of the hottest we had this season.. with temperatures 26 it was an ideal day to enjoy at the beach..

Bournemouth is one the cleanest beaches in England. Our drive was more than 2 hrs but was worth it ,, it was like almost half of England has come to sunbathe. Kids enjoyed in the sand , which was so fine . Fun time.

The best parts of my trip are

Floating in the air in a Helium balloon to about 500 feet in the sky and have a complete birds eye view of the town from the balloon. It is my desire to ride a hot air balloon too.

Seeing the smiles on the faces of all the children enjoying the waves,building sand castles just to break them....

While we were returning my younger daughter suddenly remembered baby corn... she wanted me to make baby corn Manchurian again. Not that it needed a lot of work and since we had just returned I was not really in a mood to make that effort too.. But she made a pout so had to give in and managed to make another dish Baby corn Pakodas. They turned out really delicious and crispy.Now I am sure it will be a regular dish at my house.

Crispy Baby Corn Pakoras

Ingredients:

12 - 15 baby corn cobs

2 spoons of Rice flour

2 spoons of Gram flour

1 spoon of all purpose flour

1 spoon of cumin seeds

salt to taste

1 spoon of Red chilli powder ( rasam powder is tastier)

1/4 spoon baking soda

Oil to fry.

(optional - use any food colour to enhance the presentation)

Method

Cut the baby corn cobs longitudinally. If you are using frozen , thaw them and then use slit them longitudinally.

Add all the other ingredients other than oil and mix on the baby corn pieces till all the pieces are smeared with the flour. Do not add water. Sprinkle if necessary.

Heat the oil in a kadai/ pan. Deep fry the corn cobs till they are crispy. Serve hot with tomato sauce or mint chutney.

One of the easiest dishes to make and tasty too.

I am off for a few weeks now.. will not be updating for those days.. hopefully will keep things ready and keep adding as and when possible in the next few months.

Bye for a few weeks friends...

SABOODANA KHICDI

Tapioca is essentially a flavorless starchy ingredient, or fecula produced from treated and dried cassava (manioc) root and used in cooking.

Saboodana is made of this Tapioca and is used extensively in the food cooked during Fast ( like Ekadashi etc) . Making the saboodana khichdi is very tricky exercise. I lingered on to the taste from my childhood. My grandmother made most amazing khichdi and she called it sabbakki Khees (Saboodana khichdi..).

I got this recipe from a friend who made this exceptionally tasty... here it is for you all.

SABOODANA KHICHADI (SABAKKI KHEES)


Ingredients

One cup (Saboodana) sago dry
One cup Roasted Peanuts powdered
1/4 cup coconut scraped/dessicated
3 green chillies chopped
One boiled potatoes and chopped
2 tbsp coriander chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 tsp mustard
1/4 tsp Chana dal (bengal gram dal)
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp lime juice
1 tbsp ghee
A sprig of curry leaves


METHOD




Wash the saboodana thoroughly but gently. Drain the excess water and leave the sago on the drain.. Keep aside for about two to four hours. Mix the crushed peanut powder and leave it for half an hour.Heat oil in a non-stick saucepan add mustard, cumin, curry leaves , chana dal , green chillies ,potatoes and stir fry till tender. Add coconut and stir. Sprinkle water and close the Pan for a few minutes.When the sago grains become transparent and soft, add coriander.Add the ghee and lemon juice.Serve hot.