Bottle Gorud-Banana Sweet Rava Rotti.

We are sweet people. (we do love to have some sweet taste in our food ). I am saying this here I am preparing Bottle Gourd Banana Rava Sweet Rotti. Is not that I am saying this for this purpose, we udupians /Karnataka's southern part, prepare food that is bit sweet. Whether it is a curry or solid food there are varieties of food that have sweet taste with them.

Adding jaggery to the curry or any edible is one of the healthy point to note. Spice adds acidity and jaggery helps to reduce the acidity. Such a wonderful quality that jaggery has. They are good for quenching thirst, adding iron content to our body, helping to reduce the acidity in the food.
We visited Cambodia last December and I got two small tins of Palm Jaggery on the way to the capital city of Cambodia Phnom Penn. Lots of Palm trees in that country and preparing Jaggery from Palm fruit in traditional way.
Let us see some benefits of using PALM JAGGERY in our diet.
Palm Jaggery is an excellent substitute for white sugar. It is healthy and natural sweetener. It is the most beneficial and nutrient rich variety of raw jaggery. It is prepared from palm tree extract and is loaded with minerals and vitamins. It is loaded with medicinal properties.
Palm Jaggery is rich in iron, increases hemoglobin level when you eat regularly. It is good for treating anemia. It is a rich source of magnesium and regulates the nervous system. It is rich source of antioxidant, calcium,potassium and phosphorus. It is good remedy for constipation and helps in easy digestion. It is a good energy booster.
Let us see the recipe now :

Things Needed :

Bananas : 2 ( Small size)
Milk : 1/2 Cup
Rava/Semolina : 2 Cups
Bottle gourd : 1 Bowl ( 1/2 of 1 bottle gourd medium size)
Palm Jaggery : 2 to 3 Tablespoons
Salt : A little
Coconut : 1 Cup
Ondelaga leaves : 1 Handful ( Optional)
Oil : 3 to 4 Tablespoons

Method :

1. Wash bottle gourd and peel off the outer layer. Grate it and keep it aside.

2. Peel off banana skin and smash banana in 1/2 cup of milk. Add palm jaggery and mix it well.

3. Grate coconut and keep it aside. Wash Ondelaga / Gotu kola leaves and cut it into thin pieces.
4. Take a big bowl and put, cut ondelaga leaves, rava/semolina, salt, grated bottle gourd, coconut and banana - jaggery mix.

5. Mix all the ingredients nicely. Add water if required and mix it nicely. Let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
6. Keep a dosa pan on the fire and heat. Add a teaspoon of oil and spread it nicely around the pan.

7. Wet your hands with water and take a handful of rotti batter and spread it slowly on the hot tava. Let the flame be very low while you spreading the batter.

8. Add 1/2 teaspoon of oil on the top and cook on medium heat. ( You can use your spatula to spread the batter evenly, once you put oil on the top). cook for a minute.
9.Turn the other side and cook for another 2 minutes.

10. Now the bottle gourd - banana Rava sweet rotti is ready to serve.
11. Serve with your choice of side dish.  Add a teaspoon of ghee on the top and serve.

12. Repeat the same with remaining batter and prepare Sweet Rava rotti.

Note :

Use of Ondelaga leaves is purely optional. Use of palm jaggery is good for health. You can use normal jaggery instead. Use of milk and banana adds taste to rotti. Use of ghee instead of oil to cook rotti is optional. More / Less jaggery is optional. Use of bottle gourd is good for health. Use of medium rava is better. ( I used medium sized rava).
 Time : 30 Minutes.
Serves : 2 to 3 .

Avalakki Spicy Huggi

Avalakki/Aval/ Poha/Flattened Rice is good for health and easy to digest, quick to prepare. Here is Avalakki Spicy Huggi/Pongal that we can prepare for breakfast/brunch/snack or dinner.

It is very close to kichidi ( mixed with dal), very good for all age group. Kichidi is normally prepared for dinner so that it is very soothing and healthy. This Avalakki Spicy Huggi is bit thick and is loaded with spices and little ghee which helps to be full for a long time and it can be eaten for breakfast/brunch. It is always better to have this Avalakki Spicy Huggi in the mornings, so that it is easy to digest. I have used avalakki, moong dal, green chilly, ginger, pepper and coconut.
Let us see the recipe now.

Things needed :

To Cook :
Thick Avalakki : 2 Cups
Moong dal : 1/2 Cup
To Add :
Green chilly : 2 to 3
Black Pepper pods : 5 to 6
Ginger : 1 Tablespoon (Grated)
Turmeric powder : A pinch
 Salt : As required
Coconut : 1/2 Cup
Lemon : 1 Teaspoon
Coriander leaves : 2 to 3 Tablespoons
To Season :
Ghee : 2 to 3 Tablespoons
Jeera /Cumin seeds : 1 Teaspoon

Curry leaves : 8 to 9 leaves

Method :

1. Wash and drain water from avalakki. Wash and squeeze out lemon extract and keep it aside.
2. Wash and cut green chilly into big pieces, peel off outer layer of ginger and wash it again. Grate it and keep it aside.
3. Take a big bowl, add washed avalakki, cut green chilly,  grated ginger and required salt.
4. Mix all the ingredients with avalakki and keep it aside.

5.Grate coconut and keep it aside. Crush pepper pods and add it to avalakki.
6.Wash moong dal and drain all the water and keep it aside.

7. Keep a big pan and add a tablespoon of ghee. Add jeera/ingh and  2 to 3 pepper pods. ( Whole).
8. Add ingh/Asafoetida and let jeera turn little brown. Fry. nicely.

9. Add washed and drained moong dal and fry for 2 minutes. ( On medium flame).
10. Add a glass of water and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Be careful it may over flow. ( Better keep a big pan).
11. See that moong dal turns soft. Mix it well. Add washed avalakki,  Grated ginger and crushed pepper.

12. Mix it well and let it cook on low flame for 2 to 3 minutes. Let all the moisture disappear.

13. Mix it again and add grated fresh coconut, Lemon juice. Add remaining ghee. Mix it well again. Add cut coriander leaves.

14. Shift the Ready Avalakki Spicy Huggi to a serving bowl. Serve with your choice of side dish or a cup of curd.

Note :

Dry roasting moong dal helps the dal to evenly. ( Will not be over cooked ). Adding slit green chilly gives nice aroma to Huggi. You can use more/less of green chilly. Use of pepper pods adds aroma to Huggi and it helps the food to digest properly. Adding more less coconut is optional. Adding more/less ghee is optional. Thick avalakki must be used to get good consistency.
Time : 15 Minutes.
Serves : 3 to 4 

Wild Mango Spicy Curry /ಕಾಟು ಮಾವಿನಹಣ್ಣಿನ ಮೆಣಸುಕಾಯಿ

Ready to serve Wild Mango Spicy Curry/ಕಾಟು ಮಾವಿನ ಹಣ್ಣಿನ ಮೇಣಸುಕಾಯಿ

Wild mangoes are sweet and tangy. We have a this mango tree in our Birthimane near Udupi. We do love to eat this fruit, though it is bit tangy. Whenever I visit our home here during mango season I make a point to bring these mango fruits to prepare dishes like mango curry, jam, gojju, saasive etc.
This time I just wanted to try one of Udupi Special - Mango Menasukai/Mango curry.
Normally Menasukaayi is prepared using fresh coconut. It is full of spice and taste savoury, sweet and hot. Lots of spices are used  and the long procedure too.
I have used fresh roasted spices, mango pulp, jaggery and salt. Coconut is not added so that Mango curry can be kept for many days.
Wild Mango Spicy goes well with dosas, idli, kadubu, rotti, chapati, roti and plain rice. It is good to have with curd rice.
Let us see the recipe Now:

Ingredients :

Wild Mango Fruits : 10 to 15 ( Wild mangoes are normally small in size ).
Jaggery : 1/4 Kg.
Salt : As required.

Spices to roast :
Dry chilly /Byadagi : 10 to 15
Channa Dal / Kadale bele : 1 Tablespoon
Urid dal/Uddina bele : 1 Tablespoon
Methi seeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Coriander seeds : 3 to 4 Tablespoons. (One handful)
Jeera/Cumin seeds : 1 Teaspoon
Sesame seeds : 2 Tablespoons
Ingh/Asafoetida : 1/4 Teaspoon
Curry Leaves : One handful

Seasoning:
Coconut oil : 2 to 3 Tablespoons
Mustard seeds : 1 Tablespoon
Ingh/Asafoetida : A little
Curry Leaves : 8 to 10

Method : 

1. Wash and wipe out the moisture of mango fruits. Let it be aside for 10 minutes. ( Wipe out the complete moisture).

2. Now cut mangoes and squeeze out pulp. Put the mango peel in a glass of water and squeeze out the pulp from peels and seeds.
3. Put all the mango pulp in a big bowl and keep it on the fire. Add jaggery and mix it nicely and let it boil. Let it get thick. Add salt.

4. Dry roast methi seeds, sesame seeds, channa dal, urid dal, red chilly/byadagi chilly, coriander seeds ,jeera and  curry leaves one by one. ( Dry roast on low flame till they turn golden brown). Let it cool.
5. Powder all the ingredients once it get cooled.

6. Add little turmeric powder and let the pulp turn bit thick.
7. Add ground spice powder and stir it well. Let it cook and turn thick consistency.

8. Keep a small pan on the fire and put coconut oil and mustard seeds. Let it splutter.
9. Add curry leaves and ingh /Asafoetida and put this seasoning to the cooked mango spicy curry.

10. Shift it to the serving dish and let it cool. Put it in a airtight bottle or any other container and use it whenever you want.

Note :

It should be cooked to thick consistency. No need to add coconut to it. If coconut is added it might get spoiled. Keep the Wild mango fruit spicy curry in a fridge. ( Shelf life at least 2 months). Adding any cooking oil is optional.  Adding garlic is optional. This is one of the traditional dish of Udupi/Malenaadu. Fresh roasted spices adds to the taste.
Time : 40 Minutes
Serves : 1 Big or 2  Small bottles. 
Shelf life : At least 2 months if kept in the fridge. 

Chiku - Nendra Banana- Dates Milk Shake

The summer is usually hot and we need to take care of our body and mind from screeching hot. One should drink sufficient water to escape from dehydration. We can also have some fruit juice, milkshake, fresh cool drinks like tender coconut, jeera water or butte milk, eat mild food. etc.

Here is a Chiku/Sapota, Nendra Banana and a few soft dates and  fresh milk.

I have used above said ingredients and very little honey to add sweet.

Let us see some benefits of having Chiku/Sapota fruit in our diet.

Chiku / Sapota is rich in Vitamin A and C. Vitamin A is helps to take care of eye health and Vitamin C helps to keep us strong, take care of our skin in good condition and prevents heart disorders etc. Chiku/ Sapota helps as energy booster. It is rich in tannin. A good natural anti-inflammation curer. It is rich in fiber and good for easy digestion and good for people who suffer from irritable bowel syndrom. It helps to ease constipation problems. The fruit is good for pregnant women and good and helps to build strong bones. Sapota is good for our skin and hair also.

Instead of sugar I have added dates and honey.

Things Needed :

Chikku/Sapota : 2 to 3 (Medium sized)
Nendra Banana /Nendra bale : 1
Fresh boiled and cooled milk : 2 cups/Glasses
Cashew nuts : 2 to 3
Dates : 6 to 8
Honey : 1 Tablespoon

Method :

1. Remove pods from dates and cut into small pieces.
2. Remove banana skin and cut the fruit into small pieces.
3. Remove the outer layer of chiku fruits and remove the pods.

4. Now put all the ingredients to a mixi jar. Add a cup of milk and grind it into nice paste consistency.

5. Add another cup of milk and churn for a minute.
6. Put the ready milk shake to a bowl.

7. Add a tablespoon of honey and mix it well.

8. Put to the serving glass and serve.

9. Adding ice cubes just before serving is purely optional. (I have not added).

Note : 

Adding more water /milk to dilute the milk shake is optional. If you do add little more honey. Adding jaggery /sugar instead of honey and dates is optional. Adding more chiku fruits is optional.
Time : 10 Minutes 
Serves : 2 to 3 .