Mosaru Avalakki (Curd Poha)

Wanna celebrate “No Rice Day”… think of Lord Krishna’s favourite…homely, humble Avalakki (Poha). Soak it in a bowl of curd. Garnish it, taste it….hmmm…find yourself soaking in bliss. Cool dish this….for there is nothing warm about it. Consumed best in a mildly chilled and slightly sweet state, “Mosaru Avalakki” is a fitting substitute for curd rice. Typically served at the fag end of a meal, it is known to soothe the stomach, acting as a coolant especially after eating hot n spicy stuff or rich fat food.

Dish Type:  South Indian Vegetarian Rice Variety

Preparation Time:  10 min

Cooking time:  2 min

Serves:  4 persons

Ingredients

For soaking:

Poha                            1 cup (paper thin variety)

Curd/Yogurt                ½ cup

Salt to taste                 ½ tsp approx.

For seasoning:

Oil                               ½ tsp

Mustard seeds                        ½ tsp

Bengal gram dal         ½ tsp

Black gram dal                        ½ tsp

Green chilli                 1 no. chopped to circular pieces

Red chilli                     2 nos.

Curry leaves                few

Cashew nuts                2 nos. (broken to smaller pieces)

Asafoetida                   A pinch

Optional Ingredients for garnish, nutrition and taste: (Add all, some or none of these. It’s your choice alone!)

Onion                          1 tbsp. fine chopped

Carrot                          1 tbsp. grated

Cucumber                   1 tbsp. fine chopped

Ginger                         ¼” pc grated

Coriander leaves         1 tbsp fresh and fine chopped

Raisins                         1 tsp

Pomegranate seeds    1 tbsp

Fresh green grapes     1 tbsp (big size grapes can be sliced to half)

Cumin powder                        A pinch

Black salt powder       A pinch

Raw grated coconut    2 tbsps (fresh)

Directions:

Wash poha thoroughly in water – preferably twice. Drain out the water. Whisk curd well with salt. Add this to the washed poha. Mix them gently. Keep aside for just 5 min. Get ready to season it….

Heat oil in a small skillet. Add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add bengal gram dal and black gram dal. When they turn golden brown, add chopped green chillies, red chillies, curry leaves and cashew nuts. Switch off and add asafoetida. Let it cool.

Now add any or all of the ingredients listed above for garnish, to suit your taste and convenience. Finally add the seasoning that you just prepared. Mix them well and yes, gently.

Mosaru Avalakki is now ready. Serve it straight (with / without accompaniment) or chill n serve.

Tete – a - Tete

Thick variety of poha may also be used. It needs more soaking time and comparatively greater quantity of water. When kept soaked for a longer time, poha mix thickens. You may have to add more curd and also water if required. Also remember to check the taste for this revised quantity. A bit more of salt….sure you can add.

Adding veggies and fruits like onion, cucumber, grapes, pomegranate not only enhances nutrition n taste, but also prevents the mixture from becoming thick.

Store it in refrigerator if needed for later use. Add milk if curd turns sour.

If you wish to pack it for travel, mix all ingredients except curd. Store boiled and cooled milk separately with just a spoon of curd added to it. Mix it well with rest of the ingredients just before serving.

Same recipe holds good for Curd Rice too. Here, in place of poha, use cooked rice. Cook rice with rice: water ratio of 1:3. Let rice cool completely before adding curd, salt, seasoning and garnish.

Recipe Contributor: Smt. Saraswathi

Bitter Gourd Raitha

Green in colour, oblong in shape, tender skin, jagged ridges, gentle undulations, triangular teeth, warty surface, central cavity filled with pith and seeds, turns orange-red when ripe, bitter to taste...Mother Nature’s caring gift for us to be in the pink of health. Go bang the store for this veggie, Bitter Gourd, and chill out in the kitchen with this one of a kind cool dish for sweltering summer: Raitha.

Raitha (or Raita) is a popular Indian side dish that is made using curd (or yogurt) and served as sauce, salad or a dip.

Dish Type: South Indian Side Dish                                                     

Preparation Time: 10 min

Cooking time: 20 min

Serves: 5 persons

Ingredients

For sautéing

Mustard seeds            1 tsp

Bitter gourd                250 gms

Curry leaves                1 sprig

Turmeric pwd             A pinch

Salt to taste                 1 tsp approx.

Raw ingredients to keep in a bowl

Curd                            ½ litre

Onion                          1 no.

Tomato                        1 no.

Salt to taste                 ½ tsp approx.

Green chilly                1 no.

Chilli powder              A pinch

Coriander leaves         1 cup

Directions

Wash bitter gourd, tomato, green chilly, coriander leaves and curry leaves thoroughly in salt water. Transfer them to a colander to drain the water.

Chop bitter gourd into thin round slices or slit the gourd lengthwise and cut into thin 1” long slices.

Heat oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add curry leaves, bitter gourd slices and turmeric powder. Sauté for about 10 min.  Now add salt and resume sautéing for another 10 min. in low flame. Keep alternating between high and low flame while sautéing.

Meanwhile, fine chop onion, tomato and coriander leaves separately into small pieces. Slice green chilly into thin round pieces.

Take a bowl. Add curds, salt, chilli powder and the above chopped ingredients into it.

Just before serving add brown fried and crispy bitter gourd slices into it.

Bitter Gourd Raitha is now ready.

Tete – a – Tete:

Other common names for Bitter Gourd (compiled from various sources):

Bitter melon, balsam pear, balsam apple, art pumpkin, cerasee, carilla cundeamor, African cucumber, ampalaya, balsambrine, balsamine, balsamo, bitter apple, bitter cucumber, bittergurke, carilla fruit, carilla gourd, chinli-chih and many more.

Recipe Contributor: Smt. Saraswathi

  

HASI MAJJIGE (Huli) with Chayote

Sep 15th 2016
Guess what does a student like me do in Sheshadri Mokshagundam Sir’s art class….drawing or painting? Either, neither or better still, chat with my neighbour! So when dear mother of our endearing Sir, 

Smt. Lalithamma  Ramamurthy, a nonagenarian lady and an expert cook makes that special though rare appearance, and if I am lucky to be seated by her side, I waste no time in calligraphing (read: scribbling) about cooking tips, plucking leaves out of her recipe roster while brushing aside my paintings!

Music [ON]  Tip.Top. Tip…Top…Toe….[FF] >>>> 4eversmartfrmhead2toe…

Shhhh….I think Sir is coming. Hey comp, will you shut up or shall I shut you down, lest Sir shall whh..easel me out with his colour-filled wand. Hmmm… looks like he is in an excellent mood…I hear him humming n see him smiling, as ALWAYS!

Time for me to salute…..

“Thank you Sir, for aiding me add sugar n spice to make my blog space feel sweet n nice.”

Mangala’s Potluck presents to you, the first of a series of Smt. Lalithamma Ramamurthy’s signature recipes - “HASI MAJJIGE (Huli)” right below

Simple, soothing Easy Recipe that suits all seasons. Cause for the ease: Cool Curd stating “I’m in” Dhal declaring itself “Out”….cool nah? Saves Time!

(Hasi = Raw) + (Majjige = Buttermilk) = Hasi Majjige = Raw Buttermilk….ishte naa…why write one biiiiig recipe for this, right? Not right.

Known famously in Karnataka as “Hasi Majjige (huli)” i.e. “Raw Buttermilk (sambar)”, there’s more to it than just its name. It is christened so because this type of huli or sambar is made using Majjige (diluted yogurt) in its hasi or raw form and not boiled along with the vegetables. In this recipe, the slight sour taste of sambar is derived by yogurt which dethrones the typical tangy tamarind. 

Dish Type:  South Indian Vegetable Stew

Time required:  15 min

Serves:  4 persons

Ingredients

Yogurt                          125 ml

For boiling

Chayote                       2 nos. (Chayote is Seeme badanekaayi in kannada)

Salt to taste                 3 tsps approx. (2 tsps at the start of boiling + 1 tsp                                                      when you add ground masala)

Water                          500 ml

For grinding:

Red chillies                  5 or 6 nos. (byadagi variety)

Methi seeds                1 tsp

Mustard seeds            ½ tsp

Turmeric                     A pinch

Asafoetida                  A pinch

Raw coconut               ¼ of a coconut (grated)

For seasoning:

Oil                               1 tsp  

Mustard seeds              ½ tsp 

Red chillies                  2 nos.

Asafoetida                   A pinch

Curry leaves                3 or 4 leaves

For garnishing

Coriander leaves (optional) 

Directions

Wash chayote thoroughly, drain out the water and peel the skin (reuse peels for making chutney). Chop chayote into ¾” cubes and keep aside. Keep raw grated coconut ready.

Start with seasoning. For this, heat ghee in a small skillet. Put mustard seeds. When they crackle put broken red chillies and switch off the flame. Add asafoetida. Boil the chopped vegetables in a vessel along with water and salt till the vegetables become just soft. (Do not overboil)

While vegetable is kept for boiling….

You can do shallow dry frying. Heat a medium sized kadai. Dry fry methi seeds, mustard seeds, asafoetida and red chillies separately. Transfer them to a plate. Let it cool.

Grind the above ingredients along with raw grated coconut using small quantity of water and continue grinding to a smooth consistency. Add this ground mixture to the not yet fully cooked vegetable. Also add a tsp of salt. Continue boiling for another 5 min. or so. Can you feel the “Ah, wow” smell! Switch off the stove. Beat yogurt to get a smooth butter like consistency. Mildly dilute it using just enough water. Add this to the boiled vegetable. Garnish with thoroughly washed and chopped fresh coriander leaves.

Chayote Hasi Majjige is now ready. Serve with hot cooked Rice / Ragi mudde or as a side dish for Chapathis, Rotis, Nucchina Unde.

Other yogurt recipes in this blog: 
Doddapatre Thambuli (Spicy Yogurt with Coleus) 
Ondelaga Thambuli (Spicy Yogurt with Brahmi leaves)

Tete a Tete

Do not overcook vegetable.

Do not add yogurt at boiling stage.

Asafoetida can either be added during seasoning or during grinding. Choice is yours.
Chayote also known as Chow Chow, Seemebadanekaayi (in kannada)

Hasi Majjige can also be done using Cucumber / Bottlegourd / Snakegourd

Few other recipes contributed by Smt. Lalithamma Ramamurthy:

One of my sketches done in Sheshadri Sir's art class

Heralekaayi Gojju (Citron Lime Sauce)
Pulgura (Huli Soppu) or Greens Chutney
Sambar Powder
Rasam Powder
Menthyada Hittu (Fenugreek Powder)
Vangibath Powder