Karchikai

Happy Gowri -Ganesha Festival to you all. Karchikai is a sweet dish and many sweet dishes are prepared during festival time. Karchi Kai, Karjikai or Karanji will be a perfect sweet dish which can be prepared for prasadam. Karchikai is prepared using Maida (all purpose flour), rava (used medium sized), jaggery, copra (dry coconut), poppy seeds and cashew nuts. And the twist I gave is adding an apple while mixing jaggery and coconut.

Here is a recipe of " KARCHIKAI " which will be liked by all the age group and every member of the family. You can also take them for picnic and outings. You can pack them in your kids munching box as snack.

Things Needed :

Maida : 1 Cup
Rava (Semolina) : 1 Cup (used medium sized rava)
Jaggery : 3/4 th cup
Apple : 1
Poppy Seeds : 2 Table spoons
Cardamom : 5 to 6 Pods
Cashew Nuts  : 10 to 12
Salt :  a pinch
Cooking Oil : 2 Cups ( to fry ).

Method :

1. Dry roast Maida  and Rava for 2 to 3 minutes. Leave it for cooling.

2. Cut cashew nuts into small and keep it aside

3. Dry grind the coconut along with cardamom.

4. Put maida and rava in a big bowl. Add  pinch of salt and a table spoon of ghee. Mix it well. Add water (little by little) and prepare dough. (Poori consistency). Cover the dough and keep it aside.

5. Now keep a pan on the fire and put jaggery and little water. Let it melt completely. Now sieve melted jaggery and keep it aside.
6. Now keep the sieved jaggery on the fire and add dry ground coconut, cardamom mixture. Mix it well.

 8. Grate apple (with skin) and add it to the coconut mixture.Add cut cashew nuts to the mixture.

7. Add poppy seeds (no need to roast) and mix it again.

9. Stir it till the mixture is thick. Now remove the mixture from the pan. Let it cool.

10. Take the prepared dough and divide them into small balls.

11. Roll them as pooris and place the sweet mixture in the middle and bind the edges with fingers. Prepare the same with the remaining dough.

12. Keep a pan and add oil and heat. Fry ready Karjikaion low flame till they turn brown on both sides.
13. Remove from the oil and put it on kitchen tissue, so that it absorbs extra oil.

14. Arrange them on a tray and serve them as Prasadam.

Note : 

Roasting maida and rava will help to get the crispness and also you can use less oil or ghee while preparing the dough. It does not absorb much oil. It stays crispy for 2 days.

Jack Fruit -Rava Sweet Idli

Jack fruit or halasina hannu ( in Kannada) is a seasonal fruit. Most of us love Jackfruit and especially we from Dakshina Kannada, do prepare many many dishes out of Raw Jack Fruit and Fruits when they ripe. Not only enjoy eating Jack Fruits we prepare Payasa (Kheer), Halwa, Kadabu (Idli), papad (from half ripe and fully ripe fruits), sweet pakodas etc. Eating roasted Jackfruit Papad is fun during the rainy seasons. Childhood memories are always sweet when remember that, you feel really missing something now. Though you can not bring back those moments, you just think and cherish the good time. Oh where am I heading to? Hmmm This Jack fruit took me back to my childhood days where I loved and lived in my Doddamma's (my mother's elder sister) house those days. Let me tell youthe process and preparations and what are the benefits we get from Jack Fruits.

Llets see some benefits we get from Jack fruits.
Jack fruit is a sweet and delicious fruit with many health benefits. It contains high amount of carbohydrate and calorie. It is rich in antioxidants and protect us from ageing and degenerative disease.It increases eye vision and protect from cataract. It is a good source of potassium. It also improves bone and skin health. It contain high amount of Vitamin C and it increases immune system function to protect from infections. It also helps to maintain the blood pressure and improve the digestion. Jackfruit contain potassium. Jackfruits is rich in dietary fibers.

Here is a recipe of "JACKFRUITS RAVA SWEET IDLI."    It is tasty, healthy and easy to prepare. We can have these Jackfruits idlis are really good for breakfast for the people who like sweet taste. Very nice dish for evening snack and we can have them for dinner too. Since it is steamed food its good for all age group. We can pack Jackfruit Idli for lunch box or snack box for a change.

Ingredients : 

Jack Fruits : 4 Cups
Rava (Semolina ) : 3 Cups (Medium Sized)
Jaggery : 1/2 Cup
Pepper Pods : 8 to 10 Pods
Jeera : 1 Tea spoon   
Coconut : 1 Cup or more
Eno Salt : 1 Tea spoon (Heap)

Method :

1. Grate coconut and keep it aside.
2. Now grind coconut, pepper pods, jeera till coconut is soft and nice.

3. Add Jackfruits and grind nicely till they are soft.
4. Add jaggery and grind till they mix well with dough.

5. Now take a big bowl and pour ground jackfruit mixture to the bowl.
6. Add rava and mix it nicely .
7. Keep a pressure cooker or idli cooker on the fire and put some water at the bottom of the cooker.
8. Apply oil or ghee on each mould of the idli plate.
9. Add Eno to the Rava Jack Fruit mixture and mix it well.

10. Put a spoon of this Eno mixed mixture in the idli plate and arrange the plates.
11. Keep this plates in the pressure cooker, cover the lid and steam for 15 minutes.

12. Put off the fire and open the lid and check idli to know its cooked well.

13. Remove idli from the plate and put it in a serving bowl.

14. Serve with ghee on the top of idli.

Note : 

You can use raw rice instead of Semolina. Rice should be soaked in water for 2 hours and ground with coconut and jackfruit. ( If using rice). Using Rava is a healthy and it is light when eaten. You can use more jackfruits. Adding Eno is optional. Remember if you use more jackfruits do not add Eno. Adding more or less jaggery is also optional.
Time : 30 Minutes
Servings : 6    

Spicy Awalakki (Beaten or Flattened Rice).

Spicy Awalakki (Flattened or beaten rice) can be made quickly and it is easy too. Awalakki is prepared in different ways. We can have gojju awalakki , awalakki uppittu (upma), awalakki bisibele baath, awalakki kichidi, Kheer, Unde and halwa also can be prepared from Awalakki.
Awalakki is also known as Aval in Tamil and Malayalam, Atukul in Telugu, Pohe in Marati, Pauwa in Hindi and Chira in Bengali.

Let us see some benefits of using Beaten (Flatten) rice.(Awalakki).
Awalakki (Beaten rice) is packed with iron. Adding beaten rice in our daily diet regularly can prevent anaemia since it contain iron. Poha is a good source of carbohydrates. It is low in gluten. It is good for diabetics. Poha is considered to be a great meal option for diabetics as it prometes slow release of sugar into the blood stream. It also keeps you full for longer time.

Here is a recipe of Spicy Awalakki and we can have this for break fast or as snack in the evening.

Things Needed:

Thin sized Beaten Rice (Awalakki) : 2 Cups
Green Chilly : 1
Rasam Powder or chilly Powder : 1/2  tea spoon
Jaggery : 1 Table spoon
Fresh coconut : 1/2 Cup
Salt : as required
Onion : 1 (optional)
Mustard seeds : 1/2 Tea spoon
Urid dal : 1/2 Tea spoon
Curry leaves : 5 to 6
Coriander Leaves : 1 Table spoon
Coconut Oil : 1 Table spoon

Method :

1. Clean the beaten rice and keep it aside.
2. Grate coconut and keep it aside.
3. Wash curry leaves, coriander leaves and green chilly and cut them in to small. Cut onion also into small pieces.
4. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Put oil, mustard seeds and urid dal. Let the mustard seeds splutter.

5. Add curry leaves and green chilly and put off the gas.

6. Take big bowl add cut onions, coconut, rasam powder, jaggery, salt and mix it nice with your hand.

7. Add Awalakki (Beaten rice) and the mustard splutter to the onion mixture and mix it nicely.

 8. Add coriander leaves and mix nicely and serve Spicy Awalakki with a cup of coffee or Tea.

Note :

Use a thin size Awalakki (well flattened poha) to get the good result. You must add fresh coconut. You can also add grated carrots to the mixture. Adding onion is purely optional. (You can prepare Awalakki with out onions). You can use any cooking oil instead of coconut oil.  You can also add chat masala, fried semiya and turn this awalakki in to Chat Awalakki.
Time : 10 minutes.
Serves : 4

Jack Fruit Spicy idli. ( Plate Idli ).

Now it is the season for Jack fruits. You can see Jack fruits every where in Karnataka or in whole of India. We love eating jack fruits and in Dakshina Kannada side ( that is South Karnataka) people make use of this Jack fruit or raw jack for cooking. Many dishes like kadabu, dosa, appa,(muluka - a fried item), payasa, Halwa Burfi, chips, Happala and other sweet dishes can be prepared using jack fruits. Jack fruits are turned in to Halwa consistency and kept for using when this fruit is not available. (When the season gets over). As I said before lots and lots of items are prepared using Raw jack or the fruit Jack.

Lets Know some benefits  that we get from using Jack Fruits.

Jack fruit is rich in dietary fiber. Jack fruit has small amount of Vitamin A. It is a good source of antioxidant Vitamin C. It is rich in Vitamin B complex and Vitamin B 6.Fresh fruits are rich with minerals like potassium, manganese, magnesium and iron.

Here I have tried some thing from the same thing. One must be wondering, what is that new derived from the same thing..I appreciate my self some times when I get  an idea to prepare some thing new from the same ingredients. Zara hatke. I do go ahead to prepare some dishes and I am 100% sure the try will never go waste. It is also an assurance.

Jack Fruit Spicy Idli is a main dish and we can have them for breakfast, as snack in the evening or for dinner. It is soft and spongy and healthy because I have used Rava (Samolina) instead of rice. I am sure all age group will surely like this dish and the jack fruit lover will surely agree to take Jack fruit idli for his lunch box. It can be packed for Kids in their lunch or snack box.
I have used 2  stainless steel deep plates to prepare idli instead of idli plates.

Ingredients :

Medium size Rava : ( Semolina) : 3 Cups
Jack fruits : 1 Bowl
Jeera : 1 Tea spoon
Pepper Pods : 1/2 Tea spoon ( 10 to 12)
Green chilly : 1
Coconut : 1 Cup
Ginger : An inch
Coriander leaves : 2 to 3 Table spoons
Curry Leaves :1 Hand full (10 to 12 )
Salt : to taste.
Eno Salt : 1 Tea spoon

Method :

1. Grate coconut and cut jack fruits in to small.

2. Now grind coconut, curry leaves, ginger, green chilly, jeera, pepper and coriander leaves with little water.
3. Add jack fruits and grind till the mixture is smooth. Add salt and grind for 10 seconds.

4. Put rava in a big bowl.

5. Add ground mixture to the rava bowl and mix it well and leave it for 10 minutes.

6. Apply oil or ghee to the plates and keep it aside.

7. Keep a pressure cooker on the gas stove and put water and a bowl. ( Keep the bowl upside down).
8. Now add Eno salt to the rava jack fruit mixture and mix it well.

9. Pour this mixture to the ready plates and keep in side the pressure cooker and cover its lids.

10. Let it cook for 15 to 20 minutes. (Steaming). Put off the gas.
11. Take out the idli from the plate and put it in a serving bowl. (Cut them into small pieces).

 

 

12. Serve Jack fruit Spicy idly with a side dish you have prepared.

13. We can have them without the side dish too. Put a spoon of ghee on the top before serving.
14. We had this for breakfast and ate with honey and ghee. It was delicious.

 Note:

 You can use idli plates instead of stainless steel plates. You can also add more jack fruits while grinding. Do not add any jaggery to the mixture. Adding Eno salt is optional. ( Adding more coconut and jackfruit helps the idli to be soft). To check whether the idli is completely cooked, pierce a knife edge or spoon. ( if it is not cooked well, inserted spoon or knife edge will be sticky.) Make sure it is cooked well. Idli cooker can be used instead of pressure cooker.
Time : 40 Minutes
Serve : 6

CHANNA - TOOR -COCONUT -HOLIGE

Channa dal - Toor Dal Coconut holige is a sweet dish and normally prepared during the festival, feast and celebrations. Holige is a traditional dish and can be prepared in different ways, using different kinds of dals, coconut, nuts, jaggery and sugar too.

Dal or lentil is a staple food of India and most Indian vegans and vegetarians get protein from it. 30grams of raw dal gives 7g of protein. Dals have resistant starch which acts like fibre in the body and helps to control blood sugar levels, clears bowels and aids in weight loss etc

Toor Dal is a very popular and preferrred dal in India. It is light and yemmy. Apart from protein and fibre it contain folic acid  which helps prevent anaemia and very important for pregnant women. It is low in calories, It also helps control blood sugar levels.

Channa Dal is rich in B- Vitamins. It is full of fibre which helps diabetics to control their blood sugar levels. It has potassium and folic acid. the fibre in it helps lower cholesterol levels and prevent heart problems.

Jaggery the benefits of jaggery include its ability to cleanse your body, act as a digestive agent, sweeten your food in a healthy manner. It provide good amount of minerals. It provides energy and works as digestive agent.

Poppy seeds are anti oxidants. They also contain disease preventing and health promoting properties.
the seeds helps to lower LDL or bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol levels in the blood. Poppy seeds outer coat is a good source of dietary fiber. Poppy Seeds contain good levels of minerals like iron, copper, calcium, potassium, manganese, zinc and magnesium.

Holige is also called as Obbattu in Karnataka and its known as Pooran Poli in Maharastra. The outer layer is called as Kanaka and the inner stuffing is called as Hoorana.

Here is a recipe of Channa - Toor Dal Coconut Holige. Normally Holige is prepared using Maida flour. I have tried this Holige, using wheat flour and little maida (all purpose flour), used jaggery instead of sugar, and very little oil. Total all, this is a healthy Holige and all age group will surely njoy eating this holige.

Things Needed :

Channa Dal 1/2 Cup
Toor Dal 1/2 Cup
Wheat flour : 2 Cups
Maida flour : 1 Cup
Coconut : 1 Cup (1/2 of small coconut)
Jaggery : 1 Cup (grated)
Poppy Seeds: 1 Table spoon
Cardamom : 5 to 6 Pods
Oil : 1/2 Cup
Salt : a little

Method :

1. Mix flours and salt nicely, prepare dough (chapati) using only water and put a table spoon of oil and keep it aside.

2. Wash and pressure cook dals for 8 to 10 minutes and leave it for cooling.

3. Grate coconut and jaggery. Remove the seeds from cardamom pods and keep it aside.

4. Dry grind coconut and cardamom together till powder and keep it aside.

5. Dry grind cooled cooked dal  and keep it aside.
6. Now keep a pan on the fire. Put dry ground coconut, ground dals and grated jaggery.

7. Stir till it get slightly thick. Add raw poppy seeds and leave it for cooling.

8. Now take the chapati dough and mix it well and divide into small balls.

9. Divide the sweet dal mixute and keep it aside.

10. Take a ball of wheat -maida mixtue and  keep the sweet mixture inside and cover the dough completely.

11. Just roll on dry wheat flour and roll it and flatten with the chapati roller.

12. Prepar holige in round shape and cook on tava.

13. Sprinkle oil on the top of Holige and turn the other side to cook for 10 to 20 seconds.

14. Repeat the same with remaining dough and the sweet mixture.
Holiges are ready to serve

Note :

Cook dal till soft. Must grind nicely or it is too soft you can smash the dal by hands. Drain the extra water from cooked dals and it can be used for prepare Rasam. Smash the dal when it is warm.
Use more oil if you like it oily. Using wheat flour instead of maida is an option. You can use only maida to prepare Holige.
Serve Holiges with ghee on the top. Prepare holges on low and medium flame. I did not grind the dal, Just smashed the dal with hand.
Time : 1 Hour. (The whole procedure).
20 Holiges can be prepared.