Soft Mysorepak

Mysore Pak is one of the yummy sweet that most of us like it. 

Celebrating this sweet with festival is a divine thought too. 

Let us celebrate this Deepavali 2018 with Soft MysorePak.

There is a story about this Mysorepak How it has got its name Mysore pak.

The story goes like this.  This Sweet Mysore pak was first time prepared during Shri Krishna Raja Wadiyar Rule in Mysore. 

Shree Krishna Raj Wadiyar was ruling Mysore that time. He was fond of sweets they say. He asked his palace cook Mr. Kakasura Madappa to prepare some thing nice, tasty and delicious. Madappa just prepared the mixture of sugar, ghee and gram flour/channa flour/besan flour. The sweet turned so nice as golden colour. King Krishna Raja Wadiyar ate this sweet,  which melted so easily and it was delicious. He was curious to know the name of this sweet. When he asked Madappa, he did not know what to say/ because he never thought of the name for this sweet. He suddenly uttered Mysore pak. It is done in Mysore first time and the pak means pakam /cooking. The name Mysore pak got its name in this way.

Let us see the recipe Now :

Things Needed :

Channa flour /besan /gram flour : 1 Cup

Sugar : 2 Cups

Ghee : 2 1/2 Cups

Cardamom : 3 to 4 pods.

Method : 

1. Dry roast channa flour till the raw smell disappear. 

2. Remove the pods from cardamom and powder it.

3. Melt the ghee into liquid form and keep it aside.

4. Apply ghee to plate /tray and keep it aside.

5. Now put sugar in a big bowl and keep it on the fire. Add 1/3 of water and melt it completely.

6. Stir in between and mix it well. Sugar liquid starts to bubble. 

7. Check for 1 string consistency. Le the flame be very low.

8. Slowly add roasted besan and stir. Add ghee in between and should stir continuously. 

9. Keep on adding ghee and stirring. It slowly change its colour. Stir and put each time a tablespoon of ghee and stir.

10. Leave the stirring for few seconds and stir again. You can see the content turning golden colour.

11. Leave it for few seconds and stir again. It starts to come up. Stir and let it come up again. Add cardamom powder. 

12. Again leave it for 2 seconds and shift the Mysore pak content to a ghee spread tray /plate.

13. Cut it according to your wish when it is hot. But do not try to remove it when it is hot. 

14. Let it cool down. Now remove the pieces slowly and put it in a air tight box.

15. Soft Mysore pak is ready to serve.

Note :

Do not allow the content to get hard. The proportion should be the same as mentioned above. You can remove the ghee which oozed out from Mysore Pak while shifting it to a plate. Do not go on stir till it hardens. Just stir twice or trice after it changes its colour 

Time : 30 Minutes.

Serves : 12 to 14 Pieces. ( According to size ).

Ash Gourd - Moong Dal Bolu Huli /Curry

Ash Gourd - Moong dal Curry /Bolu Huli is one of the traditional dish from Udupi / Karnataka. I have added  tomatoes and fried moong dal. It is easy to prepare and easy to digest. One more healthy curry that you surely enjoy with all the main dishes.

Ash Gourd is filled with nutritious, vitamins and medicinal values. We do use each part of this vegetable, like the outer layer is used for preparing chutney. The vegetable is used for curry and other dishes. The inner part/pulp is used for curd curry and the seeds are dried and dry roasted and eaten.
Here I have prepared " Bolu Huli " which means curry that does not have coconut init. So the curries which are prepared with out using the coconut is called " Bolu ". ( ಬೋಳು).
Let us see some benefits of eating Ash Gourd /ಬೂದು ಕುಂಬಳಕಾಯಿ .
Ash gourd is also known as kumbalakayi. booda kumbalakayi in Kannada. The pumpkin is known as sihi kumbala.
Ash gourd is good for diabetic people. It is also good for loosing extra weight. Ash gourd juice helps to treat acidity and peptic ulcer. Ash gourd is good for people who suffer from constipation.
Ash Gourd is rich in fiber and contain Vitamin C and minerals like phosphorus, iron and calcium.
 Let us see the recipe Now :
No Onion or No Garlic is used in this Ash Gourd - Moong Dal Bolu Huli /Curry.

Ingredients :

Ash Gourd : 1 Big bowl. (250 Grams).
Moong Dal : 1 Small cup. /2 to 3 Tablespoons
Green chilly : 3 to 4
Tomatoes : 2 ( Medium sized )
Ginger : An inch
Salt : As required
Turmeric Powder : A pinch
Coriander leaves : 2 to 3 Tablespoons
Lemon : 1/2 lemon juice  /1 Teaspoon
For seasoning :
Oil : 1 Tablespoon
Mustard seeds : 1 Teaspoon
Urid dal : 1/2 Teaspoon
Curry Leaves : 5 to 6
Ingh / Asafoetida : A pinch ( A little )

Method : 

1. Wash Ash gourd nicely and remove its outer hard layer. Remove the pulp and seeds.
2. Cut the vegetable into small pieces. Keep it aside.

3. Wash tomatoes, curry leaves, coriander leaves, green chilly and keep it aside.
4. Wash and remove the outer layer of ginger and wash it again. Grate it and keep it aside.
5. Cut tomatoes, slit green chilly and cut coriander leaves. Wash and cut lemon in to halves. Squeeze out the extract from half lemon.
6. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Put oil and mustard seeds. Put urid dal.
7. Let mustard seeds splutter. Add slit green chilly, ingh and curry leaves. Add grated gu
8. Wash and remove the water from moong dal and add it to mustard seeds seasoning.

9. Fry nicely for 1 to 2 minutes. Add cut ash gourd pieces, tomatoes and put some water.

10. Pressure cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Let it cool.

11. Put cooked ash gourd - moong mixture. Add salt, turmeric powder and mix it. Add required water and let it boil for 3 to 4 minutes.. Add lemon extract.

12. Shift Ash gourd - moong dal bolu huli /curry to serving bowl. Serve with the main dish you have prepared.

Note : 

Use of pressure cooker is optional. You can cook it separately. Prepare the seasoning and add cooked ingredients and them mix it. Adding any other spices is optional. Adding more chilly is optional. Adding a tablespoon ghee to curry is optional. It adds to the taste.
Time 30 Minutes.
Serves : 3 to 4.