Festival Feast

India is a festival country. India is full of colours I mean there are different languages, customs, traditions, religion, traditions and so and so on. It is wonderful to be an Indian. Bharatha Mata, Vande Maatarm and many more songs teach you to learn and respect. It also helps to understand, respect and love  towards our country.
We have so many festivals to celebrate and enjoy. Now it is Shravana Maasa. This is the time you get good vegetables and bunch of festivals on the  way. Where ever you are in India, the celebration goes on one or the other way. Raksha bhandhan, Thread ceremony    (Upakarma), Nagapanchami, Mangala Gowri Vrutha, Vara Mahalaxmi Vrutha (Pooje), etc etc. Even Onam is also celebrated on the same day of Varamahalakshmi Habba. So the air of celebration ringing all around and its FANTASTIC feeling. Taking part in the pooja, going around the houses to see Maha lakshmi.Praying Mahalakshmi to Bless all.
 

The feast food is a must but we should take care of our health too. So keeping in mind the thought of healthy eating here are some dishes which you can cook easily, quickly and enjoy the celebration with our near and dear ones.
Happy Vara Mahalakshmi Festival and Happy Onam to one and All.
No Onion or Garlic is used here.

1. Capsicum -Carrot Kosumbari

Things Needed :
Capsicum :1 6
Carrots : 2
Green chilly : 1
Coriander leaves : 1 Tablespoon
Curry Leaves : 4 to 6
Coconut : 1 Tablespoon
Salt : To taste
Oil : 1 Teaspoon
Mustard Seeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Urid Dal : 1/2 Teaspoon
Jeera : 1/2 Teaspoon

Carrot and Capsicum Kosumbari 

Method :
Wash and cut capsicum, green chilly into thin pieces, grate coconut and carrots. Now keep a pan and prepare Mustard splutter and add curry leaves, green chilly and cut capsicum. Fry nicely till it turn soft add salt. Put off the fire. Add grated carrots, coriander leaves and coconut. Mix it nicely and Capsicum- Carrot Kosumbari is ready to serve.
Time : 10 Minutes
Serves : 4 to 5 

2, Tonde Kai Dry Curry (Ivy Gourd Dry Curry )

Ingredients :
Tonde Kai : 1/4 Kg.
Green chilly : 1
Red chilly Powder/Rasam Powder : 1 Teaspoon
Coconut : 2 Tablespoons
Tamarind pulp/Lemon extract : 1 Teaspoon
Jaggery : 1 Teaspoon
Salt : To Taste
Mustard splutter prepared with curry leaves.

Method :
Wash and cut tonde kai. Cook them with little water till it turn soft. Now prepare the mustard splutter and add curry leaves, green chilly and cooked Tonde Kai/Ivy Gourd. Add salt, Turmeric powder, tamarind pulp and jaggery. Mix it well and let it cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Let all the moisture disappear. Add red chilly powder/rasam powder and mix it well. Add grated coconut and curry leaves and shift the ready curry to a serving bowl and serve along with other dishes.
Time : 15 minutes
Serves : 2 to 3

 3. Channa Dal + Palak + Mangalore Cucumber Chutney 

Things needed :
Channa dal/Bengal gram :  1 Tablespoon
Palak Leaves : 1 Handful
Mangalore Cucumber outer layer : 1 Cup
Raw Mangoes : 5 to 6 pieces
Red chilly : 5 to 6
Curry Leaves : 6 to 8
Coconut : 1 Cup
Salt : to taste
Oil : 1 Teaspoon
Mustard splutter with ingh and curry leaves.

 Method : 
Wash palak leaves (only the leaves), cut raw mangoes and keep it aside. Fry Channa dal and red chilly in 1/2 teaspoon of oil and add curry leaves, palak leaves, mangalore cucumber outer layer. Fry it for 2 to 3 minutes. Leave it for cooling. Add raw mangoes, salt and coconut. Grind it with little water till paste. Now shift the ground chutney to a serving bowl. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida splutter and mix it well. Serve along with other dishes.
Time : 10 minutes.
Serves : 3 to 4.

 4. Brinjal Sambar

Things Needed :
Brinjal/ Egg plants : 2 to 3 (Medium size)
Toor/Moong Dal : 1/2 Cup
Rasam Powder : 2 Tablespoons
Tamarind Pulp : 1 Tablespoon
Jaggery : 1 Tablespoon
Salt : To taste
Turmeric Powder : a pinch
Mustadard splutter : 1 Tablespoon with little asafoetida and curry leaves.

Method :
Wash and cut brinjals and soak the pieces in full bowl of water for 5 minutes. Wash and pressure cook toor/moong dal. Leave it for cooling. Cook brinjals in little water and add cooked toor/moong dal. Add salt, turmeric powder, jaggery and tamarind pulp. Mix it well and cook for 1 minute. Add rasam / sambar powder and mix it well and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Shift the curry to a serving bowl and add mustard splutter with ingh and coriander leaves. Serve with other dishes.
Note : Dry roast 1/4 teaspoon of methi seeds, 1/2 Teaspoon of urid dal. 2 tablespoons of coriander seeds, and 1/2 Teaspoon of jeera/cumin seeds and 5to 6 red chillies, asafoetida and curry leaves. Leave it for cooling and dry grind the roasted ingredients to get sambar powder. 
Time : 30 Minutes
Serves : 4 to 5 

5. Mangalore Southe Kai Majjege Huli (Mangalore cucumbr/ bannada southe kai)

Things Needed :
Southe kai : 1/2  (1 bowl)
Almonds : 10
Coconut : 1 small cup (3 to 4 Tablespoons)
Green chilly : 2
Pepper Pods : 3 to 4
Salt : to taste
Curd : 1 Cup
Coriander leaves : 1 Tablespoon
Jeera splutter with Majjige Menasu (green chilly soaked in butter milk and salt and dried it in the sun),  ingh and curry leaves.

Method :
Wash and cut Mangalore Cucumber into small pieces and cook with little water till it turn soft. Grind grated coconut, almonds and pepper. Now add cooked mangalore cucumber, salt, green chilly and mix it well and cook for a minute. Add ground coconut, pepper pods with almond mixture. Mix it well and cook for 2 minutes. Put off the fire and shift the curry to a serving dish. Let it cool (1 to 3 minutes). Add curd and coriander leaves. Add jeera splutter with curry leaves, ingh and the dry chilly. Mix it again just before serving.
Time : 15 minutes
Serves : 3 to 4 

6. Fried Sweet Potatoes

Things Needed :
Sweet Potatoes :  2 to  3
Oil : 1 Cup
Salt : to taste
Curry Leaves : Handful
Red chilly Powder : 1/2 Teaspoon

Method :
Wash and remove the skin of sweet potatoes and cut it slightly thicker. (Slice them into thick slices). Put the slices into water. (or they turn black). Keep oil in a pan on the fire. Heat it . Now remove the soaked sweet potato slices from the water. Fry them till they turn slightly brown. Fry on both sides and remove from the oil. Put them on kitchen tissue so that extra oil is absorbed. Put them in a bowl. Add salt, chilly powder and fried curry leaves. Mix it well and serve along with other dishes.
Be careful while frying. (squeeze out the water and put the slices slowly in the oil).
Time : 15 Minutes
Serves : 3 to 4

7. Vanghi Baath .(Brinjal Rice).

Things Needed :
Cooked Raw Rice : 2 Cups
Long Brinjals : 4 to 5
Bajji Chilly : 2 to 3
Vanghi baath Powder : 2 Tablespoons
Puliyogre Gojju/ Tamarind Pulp/Lemon  : 1 Tablespoon
Grated Coconut : 1 Small Cup (2 to 3 Tablespoons)
Salt : To taste
Mustard seeds : 1 Teaspoon
Urid Dal : 1 Teaspoon
Curry leaves : 1 Handful
Ingh /Asafoetida : a little
Oil : 3 Tablespoons
Ghee : 1 Tablespoon
Coriander Leaves : 2 Tablespoons

Method :
Wash and cut brinjals into small pieces and put the pieces in the bowl of water. Remove seeds from bajji chilly and cut it into small.
Keep a big pan on the fire. Heat and put oil. Put mustard seeds, urid dal. Let the mustard seeds splutter. Add curry leaves and cut bajji chilly and fry them nicely. Add brinjal pieces and fry them nicely till they turn soft. Add turmeric powder and salt. Add puliyogre gojju and mix it nicely. Add vanghibaath powder and mix it well. Let every thing cook for a minute. Mix it well and then add cooked rice. Mix it slowly. (Let the process be on low flame). Add, a table of fresh ghee, grated coconut, coriander leaves and shift the ready Vaanghi baath to a serving bowl. Serve with other dishes.
Preparation time : 10 minutes.
Mixing process : 20 minutes.
Total time : 30 minutes . ( Time to cook rice is not included).
Serves : 4 to 5 
 I have used home made vanghibaath powder. Dry roast channa dal, urid dal, coriander seeds each 2 tablespoons, 1/2 teaspoons of methi/fenugrik seeds, 1/2 teaspoon of jeera and a piece of cinnemon, (an inch), 4 to 6 cloves, red chilly (6 to 8). Dry roast and dry grind with coconut to get home made vaanghi baath powder. You can also use any brand of vaanghibaath powder you get in the market.

8. Poppy Seeds + Almonds Kheer (Gasagase Paayasa).

Things Needed :
Poppy seeds :  2 to 3 Tablespoons
Almonds : 1 Small cup
Coconut : 2 Tablespoon (1/2 cup)
Cardamom : 4 to 5 pods. 
Jaggery : 1 Cup
Milk : 1/2 Litre. (Boiled milk).

Method : 
Remove cardamom seeds from the pods. Soak poppy seeds/gasagase with little water for 10 minutes. Soak almonds in hot water for 5 minutes and remove the outer skin. Grind almonds, cardamom seeds, soaked poppy seeds and coconut with little water till paste and remove from the jar. Put 2 glasses of water and allow it to boil. Keep another pan add a glass of water and jaggery. Let the jaggery melt and boil for a while. Now remove that jaggery water in a strainer. Add the clean jaggery mix to the boiling poppy seeds mixture. Let it boil for a minute. Mix it nicely. Put off the fire and shift the kheer to a serving bowl. Let it cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Add boiled milk and serve warm or cool Poppy Almonds Kheer.
Time : 30 minutes
Serves : 5 to 6.