UGADI OBBATTU/HOLIGE

Coming from Karnataka,Ugadi/Yugadi is a very special festival as it is "Kannada New Year".

UGADI date for 2014 is March 31 and the samvatsara is " SRI JAYA NAMA SAMVATSARA".

                                                                 Neem Tree

                                                                      Neem Leaves

Mango Buds

Yugadi a Sanskrit word which means  yuga-era adi-begining.Yes it marks the begining!

Its spring and India is ready for Ugadi.

This is how I used to celebrate ugadi as a kid or back in India.

Its morning,get ready with new clothes.

Pray to God,eat bevu-bella(a mix of neem flowers and jaggery-concentrated sugar cane juice).

Get the blessings of elderly people by touching their feet.

.Every TV channel will have some Ugadi shows,Ugadi songs.

Next most awaited part is "traditional feast".A delicious lunch served on Banana leaf ! !(Believe me it adds the taste).

Ugadi is never complete without OBBATTU/HOLIGE/PURAN POLI.A sweet bread stuffed with lentils,brown sugar,coconut.


I was telling my husband Ugadi festival is on March 31st ,He goes.....Hey ! ! I'm ready for Obbattu.

OBBATTU RECIPE
 

Fried Moong Dal Chaat- Bangalore hesarubele masala

Its evening!!!!!!,My DH enters home and he goes...Um....I think I am hungry.I go,How abt some cereal bars,bread,biscuits....He stops me midway nodding his head and says how about some....... chaat!:-)

This is the push behind remembering all the Bangalore street chaats trying to guess the recipe  and enjoying the evenings:-)

I usually have  fried moong dal in my pantry,I get this big pack from indian grocery in US.Miss those fresh ones from Bangalore bakeries!

This recipe is damn easy to make if you have chutneys(tamarind chutney ,green chutney) ready.

Fried Moong Dal(readily available in stores)......1.5 cup
Tomato finely chopped....................................... 1
Grated carrot........................................................2 Tbspn
Onion finely chopped..........................................2 Tbspn
Coriander leaves chopped....................................1 Tbspn
Green Chutney(mint and coriander)....................1 Tbspn(click here for the recipe)
Sweet Tamarind Chutney.....................................1 Tbspn(click here for the recipe)
Chopped green onions(optional)..........................1 Tbspn
chaat masala......................................................... 1 tspn
chilly powder........................................................1/4 tspn( u can skip if ur green chutney is spicy)
salt to taste


Lets add everything other than the moong dal and mix well.

Now add the moong dal,mix it,adjust the chutneys and oo lala enjoy your easy to make & tasty chaat.
 

Crispy Onion Cashew Vada -Evening snack

When it comes to weekend evenings,you wanna eat something crispy,deep fried,tasty rite?

Its Friday evening and wanted  to make some special variety of vada for tea time and it turned out to be good.This is onion n cashew vada made with rice flour and semolina/sooji.

Ingredients

Rice Flour................................................6 Tbspn
Semolina..................................................2 Tbspn
onion chopped fine...................................1 medium
roasted cashew nut pieces.........................1.5 Tbspn
grated ginger..............................................1/2 tspn
chopped curry leaves.................................1 tspn
green chilly finely chopped.......................1
salt to taste
Oil for deep fry

Process

Lets combine everything and add very little water at a time and make a medium tight dough.The consistency of dough is like the thalipeeth dough.

Wet your palm and make a thin pattice(If its thick then it will not be cooked properly inside)

Heat oil in a deep bottom vessel/kadai and drop them when it is medium hot oil.It should not turn brown as soon as u drop them otherwise reduce the heat.

In 1 2...10 heatness scale I used 4 initially for 3 min then increased to 6

Once the vadas turn golden brown take them out and enjoy .

No one can eat just one!Its one stack

I had to remake the dough again for the second round

 

Maha Shivratri special recipes

 

 

 

Upcoming is the Mahashivaratri festival on 27th Feb."HAPPY  MAHA SHIVARATRI".Its a A hindu festival celebrated every year in reverence of Lord Shiva.

 

Its morning and  shiva temples get really crowded as they perform special abhisheka with panchamrutha and many other auspicious and special poojas.Devotees usually keep fast . Now when I say fasting,there are a variety of it!

 

Strict fasting where people don't eat any solids,some eat just fruits,some eat fruits and no rice items but they take upma,poha,juice.People with diabetes,blood pressure and other medical problems are growing these days and not everbody can fast strictly.Sometimes rules are not required to celebrate festivals,its the ' bhakti' in mind!

 

So sticking with the last option this year and making some Upma (no onion- festival version),rasayana,kosambari and some juice .And don't forget to make some panchamrutha for Lord Shiva!

 

Devotes follow the tradition of jagarane which is staying awake for the whole night.Usually communities hosts musical nights and fun events for the whole night.You can even go to temples where they arrange some events and poojas.I usually try but end up sleeping;-(

 

 

Check out the shivaratri recipes below .

 

PANCHAMRUTHA FOR ABHISHEKHA AND PRASADA

 

UPMA RECIPE FOR FESTIVALS

 

BANANA RASAYANA

 

KOSAMBARI

 

REFRESHING DRINK

 



Upma - festival version

Upma,uppittu-A wholesome healthy meal option.

Very popular for breakfast in south indian homes.

Packed with nutrition and keeps u energetic for the whole day.

My mom makes varieties of upma and each tastes so very different.One of my favourite upma is the dry variety made with peas and no onion added.So this is usually made on festivals like Shivaratri.

Ingredients

semolina/rava ................... 1.5 cup
water..................................3 cup
green peas frozen/fresh......3/4 cup
grated coconut....................1.5Tbspn
green chilly.........................2
curry leaves.........................2 string
oil.+ghee.............................4 Tbpsn + 2 Tbspn
mustard seeds......................1/2 tspn
cumin seeds.........................1/4 tspn
urad dal................................1/2 tspn
chana dal..............................1/2 tspn
grated ginger........................1/2 tspn
salt to taste

Process

1)Fry the semolina in medium hot flame with 1 tspn ghee till u get nice aroma.Dont make it brown!Keep stirring it  often as it burns soon.

2)Take oil in a deep bottom pan when hot add mustard seeds,cumin seeds,when it splutters add urad dal and fry till  light golden brown,add curry leaves.Then comes the ginger,fry for few seconds and add the green peas.Lets fry it for 2 min .

3)Add water ,salt, 1 Tbspn ghee & coconut.Cover it and let it boil for 8 min or till the peas is cooked.Peas doesn't take too long.

4)Bring the flame to low minimum.Keep stirring continuously in one hand and in the other hand add semolina slowly.You should do both the work together.This is because u don't want any lumps in upma.

5)Now add 1 Tbspn ghee cover it and let it sit in low flame for about 10 min.

6) Hot upma is ready to enjoy .

 

Jaggery Mint Refreshing Drink(panaka)

South Florida is blessed with hot sunny days in winter.Its February and weather today is 86F feels like 91F.The snow states are suffering from storms and crazy weather but this paradise is shining gold ;-).

Wanted to have some indian drink.Tried this recipe for the first time and it was too very refrehing,healthy n tasty too...

Even in cold/snowy weather you need this energizing drink as the air becomes dry.

Mint leaves(pudina),ginger,jaggery provides our body with lot of health benefits.

Mint leaves,ginger are widely used in ayurvedic medicine.

This drink helps in digestion,refreshes your whole system!

Good for pregnants...as it helps in digestion and boosts your iron level which is very important.

Here is what u need

water .............................6 cups
jaggery powdered...........10 Tbspn
salt.................................1/4 tspn
pudina............................2.5 Tbspn
grated ginger...................1 tspn
amchurpwdr...................1 tspn

How to make

1)Blend pudina with 2 Tbspn jaggery and half cup of water .Run it under the sieve and keep it aside.

2)Lets  mix all the remaining ingredients with blended mint juice.Stir till jaggery completely melts.

3)Adjust extra sweetness with sugar or jaggery.

4)Serve chill....

Note:You can replace amchur powder with lemon juice.But amchur powder makes the drink very different ;)

Gulab Jamun Kofta Curry

One of my favourite item in the restaurant menu is Malai Kofta Curry-'Fried vegetable koftas in rich creamy gravy'

Always wanted to find some easy way to do my favourite dish.

Gulab Jamun mix is always stacked up in the pantry..a classic indian dessert!
I have always enjoyed eating the fried jamuns before dropping them in sugar syrup with some ketchup!Everybody says..oops crazy!

Thought of dropping gulab jamun in rich gravy to make some easy milky kofta curry.Also thought stuffing vegetables will be a better option.It turned out to be very easy and  very tasty.

Stuffing
1 cup boiled mashed potatoes
1/4 cup boiled frozen/fresh peas
1 Tbspn  grated carrot
1 Tbspn chopped cashews
1/4 tspn coriander powder
Salt to taste

Let's combine and mix well

Koftas

1) Add milk and make dough(little stiffer than regular jamun) and leave it  covered for 15 min.
2)Knead the dough and fill in the stuffing about 1 tspn and close.Make sure its properly closed.
3)Drop them in little less than medium hot oil and fry just like gulab jamun otherwise it will not be cooked inside.

Gravy

2 Big Onion diced
2 Tomatoes diced
2 garlic pod
2 Tbspn presoaked cashews
2 Tbspn oil

whole garam masala for gravy
1 bay leaf
4 cloves
2 inch cinnamon


1)Heat oil in a kadai(I use non stick).Add  whole garam masala fry for few seconds then comes the diced onion,garlic.Fry till 3/4th cooked then add tomatoes and fry for 2 min.

2)Grind the onion tomato mix with presoaked cashews to a very very smooth paste .


 Kofta Curry

1 Tbspn oil
1 tspn ginger garlic paste
1/4th tspn turmeric
1 tspn coriander powder
1 tspn garam masala
1 Tbspn kasuri methi(crush it in hand to enhance flavour)
2 Tbspn heavy whipping cream
1 Tbspn cashew pieces(shallow fried in ghee/butter)
1 tspn honey
salt to taste
prepared koftas and gravy


1)Heat oil in a pan add 1/4th tspn turmeric,1 tspn ginger garlic paste and fry for few seconds.

2)Add the gravy along with coriander and garam masala powders.Adjust water if too thick  and allow it boil for 5 min.Now add honey and allow 2 min to boil.

3)Lets add the koftas and cook it in medium for 4 min.

4)Add the cream and mix well,finally add the fried cashews and enjoy with some rice/poori/roti..Love the pieces of cashews in the creamy gravy!I usually make it  with poori and love the combo.

Note:I used half of the 200g  jamun mix.If you boil milk regularly and store the cream of milk(called kene in kannada) which u get on the surface of milk,you can grind & add that too.