Awarekai Rasam (Saaru)

Awarekai or the field bean has the best quality to accomodate any type of dishes, like curry to mixing with rice, fried item to sweets. Karnataka people enjoy using this pod in their daily dishes. Whether its breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner time,  The dish is prepared with Awarekai I can bet. The people are very fond of this Awarekai and will be waiting for Aware Kai  season. People dry this pod in the sun and keep some for using during the rest of the year.

Awarekai is like other pods, is full of nutrients, vitamins and defenitely good for winter season. It is full of proteins.
Here is a recipe of Awarekai saru. Its simple and with minimum things you can prepare this saaru, when you are tired it really helps you to refresh. Awarekai Saru or Rasam can be eaten with Hot rice, idly or with dosa too. We can also serve Awarekai saru as a starter for a change and I am sure the whole family members will defenitely love to have Awarekai Saru.

Ingredients :

To Cook :

Awarekai : 1 Cup

To Grind
Rasam Powder : 2 to 3 Teaspoons
Coconut : 2 Tablespoons
Cooked Avarekai

To Add :
Tamarind Pulp : 2 Table spoons
Tomatoes : 2 (Medium size)
Turmeric Powder : a pinch
Ingh : a pinch
Coriander leaves : 2 Table spoons
 Salt : As per taste (less or more)
Water: 3 to 4 Cups
For seasoning
Oil : 1 Teaspoon
Mustard seeds : 1/2 Tea spoon
Ingh : a pinch
Jeera : 1/2 Teaspoon

Method : 
1. Wash and pressure cook Aware kai for 8 to 10 minutes and leave it for cooling.
2. Wash and cut tomatoes, green chilly, curry leaves, coriander leaves. Grate coconut.
3. Soak tamarind in hot water for 5 minutes and squeeze out the pulp and keep the pulp aside.
4. Grind coconut, rasam powder, Cooked avarekai (1/2 The portion of cooked averekai).

5. Keep a big pan on the fire and put remaining avarekai, tamarind pulp, tomatoes, methi/fenugrik seeds, turmeric powder and salt.
6. Let it boil nicely. Now add ground coconut mixture and boil the saaru for 2 to 3 minutes. Add water required.
7. Now keep a small pan on the fire. Heat and put oil.
8. Put mustard seeds. Let mustard seeds spurt. Add jeera.
9. Add curry leaves and ingh  and put this mustard mixture to Awarekai Saru.

10. Put a spoon of fresh ghee and shift the Saaru to a serving bowl.
11. Now serve Awarekai Saaru with Hot rice, idly or dosas
12. Add a spoon of ghee to Avarekai Saaru and serve.

Note :

 Awarekai should be cooked well. You can also use garlic and onions while grinding  or while seasoning. It gives a different taste. You can also use more chilly if like it spicy. Adding jaggery also is optional.   You can also try prepareing the same saru with Peas or any other vegetalbs like beetroots. Using any brand of rasam powder is optional. I have used home made rasam powder. Adding methi seeds help to reduce the cholesterol content.

Servings : 3 to 4 
Time :30 Minutes.
Just try this method for home made rasam Powder:
Dry roast, 1/4 teaspoon of methi/fenugrik seeds, 2 tablespoons of coriander seeds, 5 to 6 red chilly (byadagi), 1/2 teaspoon of jeera/cumin seeds and 4 to 5 grains of mustard seeds. Dry roast or use a spoon of oil to roast. Add curry leaves (handful) at the end and little ingh and dry grind it. Your home made rasam powder is ready to use.

Raw Banana Palya & Samosa

Raw Banana (balekai in kannada) is a popular vegetable in the veggy circle. It is used in curries, raithas, for fried items like bajji and pakodas and even in Tikky or cutlets.
This is my new idea to prepare this dry curry and to use the same Dry curry or Palya in the sttuffing and preparing Samosa.

Let us know some good benefits of using Raw Banana. The green banana is best eaten cooked, either boiled or fried. Nutritionally, the green banana is a good source of fiber, vitamins and minerals and contains a starch that may help control blood sugar, manage weight and lower cholesterol levels.
Here is a recipe of Raw Banana Palya (dry curry), and using this dry curry I have prepared Samosa one of the favourite dish of the whole family I can say.  Dry curry can be eaten with Hot rice, chapati, Poori or dosa.

Samosa can be eaten at any time of the day , it goes very well with a cup of tea or coffee or even with fruit juice and it is favourite food for kids, youngsters and even elders too. Samosa's favourism has grown world wide.

Banana Dry Palya

Things Needed :
Raw Bananas :2

Green chilly :2

Jeera : 1/2 Tea spoon

Mustard Seeds : 1/2 Tea spoon

Red Chilly Powder : 1/2 Tea spoon

Oil :  2  Table spoon

Methi seeds (Fenugrik Seeds) : 1/4 Tea spoon

Coconut : 2 Table spoons (Optional)

Salt : to taste

Curry leaves : 5 to 6

Coriander leaves : 2 Table spoons.

Haldi (Turmeric powder) : a pinch

Method :
1. Wash and remove the outer skin of raw banana and cut it into small pieces. Put these pieces in a big bowl of water.

2. Wash and cut green chilly, curry leaves andcoriander leaves.
3. Now keep a pan on the fire. Put oil and heat.
4. Put mustard seeds, methi seeds and jeera. Let mustard seeds spurt.
5. Add cut green chilly and curry leaves.
6. Remove the Cut banana pieces from the water and add it to the mustard mixture.
7. Fry it nicely for 1 minute.
8. Add 1/4 of water and mix it well. Add turmeric powder and cook on low flame.
9. Add salt and mix it when it is half boiled.
10. Add red chilly powder and mix it well and stir till the water disappear from the palya.(curry).
11. Now add coconut and cut coriander leaves and put off the gas. 12.
12. Shift this dish to a serving bowl. Serve with hot rice or chapati.

Note: You must cook this dish on low flame. Do not add much water. You can also fry them in more oil if you wish. Do not over cook. You can add other spices according to your wish. Example , chutney powder, vanghibath powder or even garam masala. All spices go very well with Raw banana dry curry. As I said before adding coconut is purely optional. You can use onions if you wish. Just fry onions before adding raw banana piece.
Time : 20 minutes.
Serves :  2 to 4

Raw Banana Samosa:

Things Needed: 
Raw banana dry Palya : 1 Cup
Maida (All Purpose flour) : 1 Cup
Wheat flour :1 Cup
Jeera : 1 Tea spoon
Ghee : 1 Table spoon
Salt : To taste
Oil : To Fry
Chilly Powder : 1/2 Tea spoon

Method :
1. Dry roast Maida for 2 to 3 minutes. Leave it for cooling.
2. Dry roast wheat flour for 2 to 3 minutes. Leave it for cooling.

3. Now take a big bowl. Add maida, wheat flour, chilly powder, jeera and salt.

4. Mx this mixture nicely and then add ghee and rub the flour mixture nicely.

5. Add water little by little and prepare chapati dough. ( It should be thick)

6. Kneed this ready dough nicely and divide them in to small balls.

7.  Take a ball and roll it with the chapati roller and make chapati.

8. Cut this chapati in to half.
9. Take the 1/2 chapti and give a shape of triangle.

10. Fill  a spoon of ready palya inside the samosa and close the edges tightly.

11. Repeat the same procedure and prepare samosas and keep it in a plate or tray.

12. Now keep oil in a pan. Heat oil.

13. Fry Samosas on low flame on both sides till golden brown and remove from the oil.

14. At time you can fry 2 to 3 samosas
15.Crspy Samosas are ready to serve

15. Serve these Hot Samosas with Ketch Up or  Khara - Sweet chutney.

Note : Remember the dough should be thick as poori dough. Or it absorbs lot of oil while frying samosas. Also remember not to add any cooking soda. To make more samosas increase the quantity of flours and the dry curry. I have added chilly powder and jeera to give a spicy taste. You can avoid this or even you can add spice as per your choice. Garam Masala, pav bhaji masala etc.
You can prepare:
10 Medium size Samosas
20 Small size Samosas.
Time : 
Preparation time : 10 minutes
Frying Procedure : 30 minutes
Total time : 40 Minutes.

Samosas Just taken from the pan