Wild Mango Fruit Juice

You call as panaka/juice/drink whatever it is, the fruit drink is always good to haveto keep your mind and body.

In the hot summer you need to keep your body cool and quench your thirst. The amount of water we drink is not just enough to keep our selves healthy. The fresh fruit drink refresh our mind and body and helps to take care of our health.
I have prepared wild mango (more on sweet taste) juice and  used very little spices.
Wild Mango Fruit Juice is one of the best juice to quench your thirst in summer. It also helps in keeping you fit and provide the energy that is lost during the hot summer.
Wild mangoes are plenty during summer season and we do get many varieties of these mangoes. Use of sweet mangoes are always preferable for this type of juice or else you need to add more jaggery to the juice. Jaggery helps to bring back the energy you lost when you out during the summer. It helps to cool the body and boost our energy.
Let us see the recipe now :

Things Needed :

Wild Mango fruits : 3 to 4
Water : 2 to 3 Glasses
Jaggery : 1 to 2 Teaspoons (Optional).
Salt : Very little / A pinch

Method :

1 Wash and clean the mangoes and remove the outer skin. Squeeze out the pulp to a bowl.

2. Put the mango skin /outer layer to a bowl. Put 1 glass of water and squeeze out the pulp 

completely. Add this water mixed pulp to a main bowl. 

3 Add required water. Add jaggery. Mix it nicely. Sieve this mixture to a clean bowl.

4. Add a pinch of salt and put to the serving glasses.

5. Wild Mango Fruit Juice is ready to serve.

Note :

Use of sweet wild mangoes are preferable. Use of jaggery is optional. I have used Joni Bella.( Jaggery which is bit liquid type/Organic and healthy). If you are using normal jaggery, powder the jaggery and melt it with little water, sieve it and then used it. Use of salt helps to add the taste and the loss of water/sweat in our body. Use of more mangoes are optional.
Time : 10 Minutes.
Serves : 2 to 3. 

Onion Sasive

Sasive is mustard seeds. We have varieties of dishes which are used and prepared with mustard seeds. Here is a simple and quick recipe that goes well with almost all main dishes and You will love to eat as one of the side dish.

When you are just tired and do not want to go out for buying vegetables or want to have simple meal you can try this and enjoy your food.
I have used onions, mustard seeds, fresh coconut and tamarind.
Let us see the recipe now :

Things Needed :

Fresh coconut : 1Cup
Onions : 1 (Medium sized).
Tamarind : 1/2 Marble size
Mustard seeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Ingh : A pinch
Salt : As required
For Seasoning :
Coconut Oil : 1 Teaspoon
Mustard seeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Ingh : A pinch
Curry Leaves : 5 to 6 leaves

Method :

1. Remove the outer layer of onions and cut into big pieces. Keep it aside.
2. Grate coconut and grind it with  4 to 5 byadagi chilly, 1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds, tamarind, required salt and cut onions.

3. Add required water to grind. Grind it nicely and remove it from the mixi jar to a serving dish.

4. Add coconut oil seasoning with mustard seeds, ingh and curry leaves.
5. " Onion Sasive " is ready to serve.

Note :

Use of byadagi chilly is optional. It not only adds to the taste, it adds good colour to chutney.
You can also cut onions into very thin pieces and add it sasive mixture. It taste differ.
Use of coconut oil is optional. Do not add more or big onion to grind. It does not taste good.
Time : 10 Minutes
Serves : 2 to 3 .

Huri Hittu Unde / Dry roasted Finger Millet Laddu.

Huri Hittu is Ragi flour, which is washed, dry roasted and powdered . I got this Ragi Huri hittu from my son Ravi , who buys organic packs of grains and used it for making healthy  Huri Hittu laddu/ladu/unde. One or two laddus are enough to make your tummy full and a good snack in the evening.

I do remember that, one of my friend's mother used to prepare this Huri Hittu laddu and give it to her kids after they return from school. They used to eat this laddu and come back to play with us in school compound. Those were the really golden days. We had school from 10 to 1 and break for 1 hour and then it starts again from 2 to 5. Then we used to play for an hour and then get back home.
Coming back to these Huri Hittu Unde, in those days people used to clean ragi and then wash it. Dry it in a shade. (Inside the home ). Then dry roast and it pops up a bit. When it cools down they send this roasted ragi to mill and get it powdered. They use it whenever they want it.
They used to prepare Huri hittu in this way. Take some huri hittu flour and then add little coconut and powdered jaggery. Mix it well. Add very little ghee and then give a shape as small laadu/laddu. One laddu is enough to provide energy which is lost during the day. Tummy full and happy kids go back to play for a while. This is how we used to have time in our childhood days. No comparison for these days school and the study. No time to play for the kids and they are fully tired for the day when they come back from school. Feel so sad seeing the kids and their home work and the other work. The proverb say play while play work while work. But where is the time for play these days?
Let us see the recipe now :
I have used some dry fruits like dates, figs, apricots, almonds and dry raisins

Ingredients :

Huri Hittu : 2 Cups
Almonds : 1/2 Cup
Walnuts - 1/4 Cup
Figs : 5 to 6
Apricot : 5 to 6
Dry Raisins : 1 Cup
Dates : 2 to 3 Cups.
Cashew nuts :  5 to 6
Ghee : 1 Tablespoon
Coconut/Copra : 1 Cup ( One small kobbari/Kopra)

Method :

1. Remove the seeds from dates and keep it aside.
2. Dry grind kobbari/Kopra and put it in a big bowl.

3. Dry grind dates and all the nuts one by one or together.

4. Put it in a big bowl and put ragi huri hittu.

5. Add a tablespoon of ghee and mix it well.

6. Prepare Laddu/laadu by taking handful of dry fruits mixed ragi huri hittu.

7. Arrange them in a big bowl. Let it be there for 10 to 15 minutes.

8. Store them in a airtight bottle or box and serve or eat.

Note :

Use good variety of dates. Use of any nuts are optional. Dry grinding raisins along with other nuts is optional. ( I did dry grind the raisins). It helps to bind the flour tight. Use of ghee is optional.
Time : 30 Minutes.
15 to 20 Laddus can be prepared.

Cucumber - Jaggery Dosa & Guli Appa

Cucumber/Mullu southekai as we call it, is mainly used in salads and eaten raw. We do make use of it in curries, idli, roti or dosa.

Here I have prepared Sweet Dosa, using Cucumber, Bottle gourd and the normal dosa ingredients with jaggery.

Cucumber Jaggery Dosa turns soft once it is fully fermented. Soak rice for 2 to 3 hours and grind it with cucumber and strictly no water. The batter should be thick and you can add water if needed once you start preparing dosa the next day morning or after 5 to 5 hours.
This is one of the South Canara /Udupi recipe which my doddamma and amma used to prepare. Dosa turns soft and fluffy and very nice to have them for breakfast or as snack.
Let us see some benefits of having breakfast in the morning.
Breakfast is one of the best meal for the day. It gives energy for the whole day. It helps to strengthen  metabolism and helps you to concentrate at work.Eating breakfast is good for health. It helps for better memory and concentration, lowers the bad cholesterol and helps in increasing good cholesterol.
Let us see the recipe now :

Ingredients :

Raw Rice : 2 Cups
Urid dal : 1/2 Cup
Methi /Fenugrik seeds : 1 Teaspoon
Fresh grated coconut : 2 Tablespoons
Cucumber : 2 (Very small ones or 1 medium size)
Grated bottle gourd : 1 Small bowl. (1/2 bottle gourd of medium size)
Jaggery : 2 Tablespoons./Powdered
Salt : As required
Oil/ghee : 2 to 3 Tablespoons

Method :

1. Wash and soak raw rice, urid dal and methi seeds together for 2 to 3 hours.

2. Grate coconut. Wash cucumber and cut into small pieces. Grate bottle gourd.

3. Now grind soaked rice-dal mixture with coconut,grated bottle gourd and cucumber till paste.

4. Add jaggery to the dough. Grind it for 2 minutes. Remove from mixi jar to a big bowl and add salt. Mix it well and let it ferment nicely till next morning/Overnight.

5. Mix the dough nicely.

6. Next morning see that dough is fermented well. Dough should be like normal dosa consistency.
7. Keep a pan on the fire and add very little oil and clean it with a kitchen tissue.
8. Take a ladle full of Cucumber jaggery dosa dough and pour it on the hot pan.

9. Do not spread much. Add oil on the top, cover and cook on medium flame for a minute.
10. Remove the cover and turn the dosa on the other side and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

11. Remove it from the pan. Dosa is ready to serve.

12. Serve it with a spoon of fresh ghee on the top of hot Cucumber jaggery dosa and a side dish of your wish.

Note :
The dough has to be fermented well or you will not get good dosas. So you need to see the dough is fermented well. Use of jaggery more /less is optional. Thick dosas taste better. Spreading and making it thin might tare and it will not come out of the pan. Let the flame be low while pouring the dough to the pan and then increase the flame to medium flame). I have used organic jaggery. Powder the jaggery and then add it. ( It is easy to grind powdered jaggery). Adding bottle gourd is optional. ( I have added grated bottle gourd while grinding along with cucumber). Time : Soaking the ingredients 3 hours + grinding 10 minutes and fermentation over night/6 to 7 hours.
Dosa preparation : 30 Minutes.
Serves : 3 to 4 .

You can also prepare Guli appa /guntponglu/kuli appam/paddu using the same dough. I added little grated carrots on the top of Guli appa.