Mangalore Cucumber Mustard Curry / Sasive.

Mangalore Southekai/bannada southekai/ Mangalore cucumber is handy vegetable for many people like me.
We can prepare lots of yummy dishes and it is a healthy vegetable.

I have prepared Mangalore Cucumber Mustard Curry /Sasive here. Mustard seeds are used with coconut to grind thats how it is called as Sasive. 
Let us see the recipe now:
It is easy, simple, yummy and bit spicy.
No Onion or NO garlic is used in this  Mangalore Cucumber Mustard Curry/ Sasive.

Things Needed :

To Cook :
Mangalore Cucumber : 1/2 of one medium size cucumber.
To Grind :
Coconut : 1/2 Cup
Mustard seeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Tamarind : Marble size
Ingh / Asafoetida : A pinch
To Add :
Ground Mustard - Coconut mixture
Mustard seasoning
Salt : As required
To Seasoning :
Coconut Oil : 1 Teaspoon
Mustard seeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Curry Leaves : 5 to 6
Ingh / Asafoetida : A pinch

Method

1. Remove the outer layer and the inner part/pulp completely and cut it into small.
2. Put the pieces in water and leave it for 5 minutes. ( Any bitter in the vegetable will wash off).
3. Now pressure cook this cucumber pieces for 3 to 4 mintues and put off the fire.
4.Grate coconut and grind it with Tamarind,   3 to 4 red chilly and mustard seeds.
5. Keep cooked cucumber pieces in a pan and keep it on the fire.
6. Add required salt and put water if necessary. Add  a pinch of turmeric powder.
7. Let it boil for 2 minutes. Put ground masala and mix it well. Cook on low flame for 3 to 4 minutes.
8. Shift the curry to a serving dish. Add mustard seasoning and serve with plain /any main dishes.

Note :

Cut the cucumber pieces bit small. Do not add much water to cook. Curry should be thick to enjoy with hot plain rice and ghee. Adding curd instead of tamarind is optional. Adding more coconut helps the curry to be tasty. Use of more/less chilly is optional. Use of any other cooking oil instead of coconut oil is optional.
Time : 20 Minutes.
Serves : 2 to 3

Crunchy Chakkuli ( Rice flour - Besan - Roasted Chenna).

Chakkuli/Chakli /muruku what ever you call it, it is one of the most favourite snack for most of us. It is said God Krishna, Lord Ganesha loved to have chakkuli on their festival. Varieties of chaklis available and prepared. some traditional, some twisted.

Here is Crunchy Chakkuli which comes out perfect and not to mess up your whole time.
Ganesha Chaturthy /Ganesha festival is here tomorrow. You can prepare this chakkuli for prasadam /neivedya and then enjoy eating this Crunchy Chakkuli later with festival feast.
Let us see the recipe now :
All You need is Fine rice flour, besan/channa dal flour and roasted chenna/Huri kadale/pottu kadale, some simple spices and oil to fry. 

Things needed :

Rice flour : 3 Cups
Roasted Chenna /Hurikadale :1/2 Cup
Besan/ Channa dal powder : 1/2 Cup
Butter : 2 Tablespoons
Salt : As required
Chilly Powder : 2 Teaspoons
Till/Sesame seeds /Elllu : 1 Tablespoon
Jeera/Cumin Seeds : 1 Teaspoon
Oil : To Fry : 2 to 3 Cups

 Method :

1. Dry grind roasted chenna and keep it aside.
2. Take a big bowl and add rice flour, roasted chenna flour, salt, besan.channa dal flour, red chilly powder and butter. Add jeera/cumin seeds and til/Yellu/Sesame seeds.

 
3. Mix all the ingredients nicely and then slowly add water and prepare chakkuli dough.
4.Kneed the dough nicely and divide it as small portions.

5. Wash and clean the chakkuli mould and insert the chakkuli plate inside.
6. Put a portion of chakkuli dough into the mould. Close the lid and keep aside.
 7. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Add two cups of oil and let it get hot. ( Medium flame).

8. Now press chakkuli mould straight to the pan. Let chakkuli fall slowly in hot oil and it starts to fry and turn golden brown. Turn chakkuli to the other side and fry.

10. Now remove the done chakkuli to a bowl and put them on kitchen tissue.

11. Repeat the same and prepare remaining chakkuli.
12. Store in air tight box once the chakkulis are cooled.
13.Serve Hot Chakkuli with a cup of coffee, tea, juice or any other drinks.

14. We had it with a cup of tea.

 Note :

Remember that fine rice flour gives the best result. Adding more/less chilly powder is optional. Adding more butter dissolves chakli while frying. So do not add more butter. Adding only jeera/cumin seeds or sesame seeds is optional. Adding more roasted chenna will turn chakli very soft and it cuts into very small pieces or turns into powder while frying. So be careful while adding roasted chenna.
Time : 40 Minutes.
Serves : According to your serving.  

Simple Bottle Gourd /Sorekai Dry Palya

Bottle gourd/Sorekai/Doodi is one of the healthy vegetable and it available plenty all around the year.

I have done many recipes with Bottle gourd. Here is a simple,  yummy, easy dry curry which is very quick too. 

I have used simple spices and the bottle gourd. 

Let us see the recipe now : 

No Onion or No garlic is added to this Simple Bottle Gourd /Sorekai Dry Palya

Things Needed :

Sorekai / Bottle gourd pieces : 1 Bowl.

Red byadagi chilly : 2 

Jaggery : 1 Tablespoon
Coconut : 2 to 3 Tablespoons
Salt : As required
Coconut Oil : 1 Tablespoon
Mustard seeds /Sasive : 1/2 Teaspoon
Urid dal /Uddina bele : 1/2 Teaspoon
Curry leaves :  6 to 8
Coriander leaves : 1 Tablespoon ( Optional)

Method :

1. Wash and peel of the outer layer of bottle gourd./Sorekai.
2. Cut bottle gourd into very small pieces and cook with required water till soft.

3. Grate coconut and keep it aside. Wash coriander leaves and curry leaves and cut into small.
4. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Add coconut oil, mustard seeds and urid dal.
5. Cut red chilly into two to three pieces and put it the seasoning.
6. Let mustard splutter. Add curry leaves and mix it once.
7. Add cooked bottle gourd pieces and jaggery. Mix it well.

8. Add turmeric powder (a pinch) and required salt. Let jaggery melt and mix it with the pieces.
9. Let all the moisture disappear completely. Put off the fire and add grated coconut.
10. Mix it well and shift the ready dry palya .curry to a serving dish.

11. Add coriander leaves on the top.

12. Serve with the main dish you have prepared. We had this curry as one of the side dish with our lunch.

Note :

You need to cook bottle gourd pieces till soft to get good taste. (Do not over cook).
Adding jaggery is optional. We like to add little jaggery in some of the dishes in Udupi style of cooking. Adding green chilly instead of red chilly is optional. Taste differ. No need to add more oil. Do not cook the curry after adding fresh coconut. Adding coriander leaves is optional.
Time : 15 Minutes
Serves : 2 to 3 
Purely : Udupi Taste /Karnataka /India .

Channa Dal Payasa / Kheer

Shravana the month of festival is here. It is a festival of nature. Naagapanchami , Nagara chowthi, Raksha bhandhan, Shri Krishna Janmastami, so and so many festivals in this month. It looks like almost all the days in this month people are busy with poojas, naivedya and pooja functions.

So every day you need to prepare some or the other sweet dishes for Neivedya to God/Goddess.
Here is one such sweet dish which is prepared for festivals, feast and other happy functions.
Channa dal/kadale bele payasa is one of the easiest dish which we can prepare and serve as neivedya.
I have used channa dal, avalakki/flattened rice, jaggery, cardamom and coconut
This Channa Dal Payasa is done during poojas, festivals and feast. It is cooked and then mixed with jaggery, coconut milk, cardamom, and avalakki./flattened rice. Some use cooked rice instead of avalakki.
This Channa Dal Payasa is one of the Traditional Dish from South Canara /Karnataka and we can prepare them for festivals, feast and parties.

Let us see the recipe now :

Ingredients :

Channa Dal : 1 Cup
Avalakki /Aval/Poha : 1 small cup./2 handful.
Jaggery : 3/4 Cup
Cardamom : 5 to 6 Pods
Coconut : 1 Cup
Salt : A pinch.

Method :

1. Wash channa dal and pressure cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Let it cool.

2. Grate coconut and grind it with cardamom pods. Grind it nicely. Remove coconut mixture  in a bowl. Wash avalakki/flattened rice and keep it aside.

3. Keep a pan on the fire and put jaggery. Add a cup of water and mix it. Let jaggery melt and it turns as liquid. Sieve it with a siever and keep it aside.
. Let it get cool. Strain it keep cleaned jaggery aside.

4.Keep cooked dal on the fire and put cleaned jaggery water to it. Add washed avalakki and boil.
Let it boil nicely. Add a pinch of salt.

5. Now add ground coconut mixture and mix it well. Let it boil for at least 5 minutes.

6. Shift Channa Dal Payasa /Kheer to a serving bowl.
7. Keep a small pan on the fire and heat. Put a tablespoon of ghee and fry cashews and raisins till raisins get fluffy.

8. Add this ghee fried nuts to Payasa/kheer.
9. Serve ready payasa after a lunch/dinner as desert.

Note :
Channa Dal should be cooked softly to get the best payasa. Adding coconut milk instead of ground coconut is optional.
Use of fresh coconut milk is a must to get good taste. Use of more/less ghee is optional.
Using coconut milk adds to the taste. You can use cooked rice instead of avalakki. (Optional). You can also use little raw rice grains while grinding coconut. It adds to the thickness of payasa.
Adding boiled and cooled fresh milk to Payasa , just before serving is optional. It adds to the taste. Do not add hot milk. Payasa might get curdled.
Time : 30 Minutes 
Serves : 4 to 5 
Purely : South Canara Sweet Dish.

Channa Dal - Ridge Gourd Tovve/ Dal

Tovve /Dal is one of the must dish served in the beginning of the food. tovee is full of dals and is normally with very little spices.

Tovve is eaten with ghee and it provides minerals and vitamins.
I have prepared Heerekai/Ridge Gourd with channa dal/Kadale bele and it goes well with almost all the main dishes.
Tovve is filled with proteins, because we do use lots of dal while preparing it. Adding vegetables helps to digest the food we eat.
Different types of dals can be used for preparing Tovve. Moong dal, Toor dal, Masoor dal and even pulses like pea pods, cow pea, black eyed bean and whole moong  are used preparing tovee.
Let us see some benefits of eating channa dal in our diet.
Channa dal/split bengal gram is one of the nutritious dal . We indians use this channa dal for many dishes.It is filled with nutrition and minerals.
Channa dal is low in fat and it helps to lower the cholesterol. It is good for diabetes. It has minerals like zinc, folate and proteins. It helps to boost our energy and immunity. It is good good for weight loss. It is good for people who suffer from high blood pressure. It protects from digestive problems.
No Onion or No Garlic is used in this Channa Dal - Ridge Gourd Tovve/Dal.

Things Needed :

To Cook :
Channa Dal : 1/2 Cup
Ridge Gourd : 2 ( Medium sized )
Methi Seeds : 1/4 Teaspoon
To Add : 
Green chilly : 2
Curry leaves : 6 to 8
Coriander leaves : 2 to 3 Tablespoons
Lemon Extract : 1 Tablespoon
Ginger : An Inch
Salt : As required
Fresh grated coconut : 2 Tablespoons
To Season : 
Mustard Seeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Jeera /Cumin Seeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Ingh /Asafoetida : A little
Curry Leaves : 6 To 8
Oil/Ghee : 1 Teaspoon

Method :

1. Wash and cook channa dal with required water.

2. Wash and remove the edges and the outer layer of Ridge Gourd and cut it in to small pieces.
( Use the outer layer to prepare chutney) .

3. Cook ridge gourd pieces till they turn soft.
4. Wash and slit green chilly, cut coriander and curry leaves.. Extract lemon juice from lemon. (1 lemon).
6. Wash and remove the outer layer of ginger and wash it again. Grate it and keep it aside.
7. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Add ghee/oil and put mustard seeds and jeera.
8. Let mustard seeds splutter. Add cut green chilly and curry leaves. Add ingh.
9. Add cooked dal and  ridghe gourd pieces. Add little turmeric powder. Add grated ginger.

10. Add required salt and water. Mix it well and let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add Lemon extract.

11. Shift " Channa dal - Ridge gourd Tovve to a serving dish.
12. Add little  grated coconut and coriander leaves. Serve with the main dish of your choice.

Note :

Channa dal must be cooked well. It is better to cook in pressure cooker. Do not allow it to over cook or it turns fully powdered grains.
Adding green chilly is your choice. You can use red byadagi chilly. Seasoning with ghee is optional. I have done with coconut oil and I top up the tovve with a tablespoon of homemade ghee.
Adding any other spice is your choice.
Time : 20 to 25 minutes.
Serves : 2 to  3 .

Rava - Shavige

Rava Shavige is prepared using medium sized rava/rave/semolina. It is nice and you can enjoy having this Rava Shavige for breakfast, snack time or even for dinner.

I have used medium sized rava, water and salt. You need to have the mould to prepare the shavige.
Shavige is the name for vermicelli. Shavige is normally prepared with raw rice/boiled rice or using both variety of rice.
Shavige/home made vermicelli/noodles  is one of the traditional dish of South Canara. It is one of the tough preparation in those days. In olden days there were big Shavige mane (Shavige mould). One has to wash all the parts of this shavige and then use it. Rice is soaked and ground to smooth paste. Then stirring the ground batter with sufficient water (on fire), and then turn the dough in to big balls and steam. Steamed balls are put it into the mould and then press from the top. You will have to keep a plate at the below and then put them on the plain cloth. Once it it cooled down serve with coconut milk, chutney, thick coconut paladya (vegetable and curd curry), sambar the side list goes on and on. It is one of the nice food to have them for breakfast, lunch, snack time or dinner. Coastal area is rich with coconut trees and the use of coconut is used lavishly in cooking.

Let us see some benefits of having coconut milk in our diet. 
Having coconut milk as one of the side dish with our daily food like idli, dosa, neeru dosa, sweet chapati/Holige /pooran poli, is a habit of our South Canara people. Coconut is rich in fiber, minerals and vitamins.
 Coconut milk is filled with Vitamins C, E, B 1, B 3, and B 6. It contain minerals like iron, sodiumm, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. Coconut milk contain saturated fat, antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties. It helps improves the health of digestive system and good for digestion. Coconut milk helps to relax the nerves and the muscles, control blood sugar level and lower the blood pressure and reduce joint inflammation.
Coconut milk is good for hair care and skin care.

Let us see the recipe now :

Ingredients :

Rava /Rave/Semolina (Medium sized) : 2 Cups
Water : 3  Cups
Salt : As required
Ghee / Oil : 1 Teaspoon
Shavige/chakkuli Mould

Method :

1. Keep water for boiling in a big bowl /pan. Add required salt.

2. Pour rava slowly and mix it with water nicely while the water boils. See that no lumps are formed.
3. Once the rava mixes well and it turns thick dough put off the fire.

4. Put a spoon of ghee/oil and mix the dough well.
5. Divide the dough into small portion and make them as ball shape.

6. Apply oil/ghee to idly plates and keep it ready.
7. Now take a small portion of rava dough and put it in the shavige mould.
8. Press/turn the top and put shavige into idly plate.

9. Arrange the idli plates.
10. Put some water in pressure cooker and place a small container or plate.
11. Keep the pressure cooker on the fire and let the water boil.
12. Place the idli plates filled with shavige. Steam for 8 to 10 minutes.

13. Remove the pressure cooker lid and remove cooked shavige to a serving dish.

14. Serve with the side dish that you have prepared.  We had " Rava Shavige " with coconut chutney and jaggery.

Note :

Let rava cooks well while stirring. Use of chiroti rava is optional. Do it on medium flame. The dough should be mixed well or it sticks in the mould and it is hard to press.
Time : 40 Minutes
Serves : 3 to 4 .