AKKI HALBAI

 AKKI HALBAI

"Halbai" or halu bai is a popular sweet from the Udupi- Mangalore region of my Home State of Karnataka. Traditionally, it was made for festivals like Nagarpanchami and the like. 

This sweet can be made with Semolina (Rava), Finger Millet (Ragi) or Rice (Akki). Today's recipe is for Akki Halbai or Halbai made using rice. You can use the regular dosa rice or sona masoori rice. Today, I have used Sona Masoori Rice. 

Usually the proportion of rice to water is 1:3 ( that is, 3 cups of water is added to the ground paste made of 1 cup of rice). The measurements given in the recipe yielded about 15 pieces of halbai. 

You can adjust the amount  of jaggery depending upon your taste. The colour of the halbai will depend on the colour of the jaggery used. 

Do try this out. It calls for some effort in stirring continuously but it is well worth the effort when you eat the halbai, especially with some ghee. 

Ingredients:-

• Sona Masoori Rice, 1 cup
• Fresh Coconut Gratings, 1 cup
• Jaggery, grated, 1 cup
• Water, 3 cups
• Salt, 2 pinches 
• Cardamom Powder, made from crushing 4-5 pods of cardamom 
• Ghee, 2-3  tbsp

Method:-

Wash and soak the rice for 3-4 hours

Drain away the water

Grease a thali with ghee to spread and cut the halbai when ready 

In a mixer jar, grind together the soaked rice along with the fresh coconut gratings, and 1/4 cup of water to a smooth paste

Heat 3 cups water in a thick bottomed kadhai, on medium heat add the grated jaggery and keep stirring till the jaggery gets fully dissolved

To this add the ground paste of rice and coconut, a little salt and stir continuously to ensure that no lumps are formed

When the mixture begins to thicken, add 1 to 2  tbsp of ghee and keep stirring on medium heat

You will find the mixture becomes thick and looks glossy 

Add 1 more tbsp of ghee and keep stirring till the mixture leaves the sides of the kadhai

Add the cardamom powder and mix well

Transfer the halbai to the greased thali and spread it evenly with a spatula or a greased katori

Allow it to cool for about 30 minutes

Lastly, cut the halbai into desired shape

Serve the Akki Halbai with ghee

MASALA BHAAT

MASALA BHAAT

If you are too tired or lazy or don't want to cook a full meal for any reason , you could make do with a one pot meal. As the name suggests, in a one pot meal all the essential ingredients are combined in one pot while cooking. Today's recipe of Masala Bhaat is an example,. It is usually served with curds or raita and pappad.

For the Masala Bhaat, we cook rice with vegetables and spice powders. I made this today with ivy gourd and green peas as the veggies. I didn't add brinjal/eggplant though some like to do so. I liked the dish also because we use very little oil.

I have adapted this from Masala Bhaat by Tarlaji Dalal

Ingredients:-

• Basmati Rice, 1 cup
• Cumin Seeds, (Jeera), 1/2 tsp
• Medium-sized Onion, finely chopped, 1
• Asafoetida, (Hing), a pinch
• Ginger, grated/finely chopped, 1/2 inch piece
• Green Chillies, finely chopped, 2-3 
• Ivy Gourd, sliced, 1/2 cup
• Green Peas, 1/2 cup
• Turmeric Powder, 1/2 tsp
• Oil, 1 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Fresh Coriander Leaves, finely chopped, 1 tbsp, for garnish

For Dry Spice Powder:-

• Cumin Seeds (Jeera), 1/2 tsp
• Coriander Seeds (Dhania), 1/2 tsp
• Cloves ( Laung), 3
• Black Peppercorns, ( Kali Mirch), 6-7

Method:-

Wash the Basmati rice and soak for 20-30 minutes. Drain away the excess water and keep aside

In a small pan, dry roast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cloves and peppercorns on medium flame till they give off a good aroma
Allow it to cool and transfer to a small mixer jar. Grind the dry roasted spices to a smooth powder. Keep aside
Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add the cumin seeds, when they sizzle add the chopped onions and a pinch of asafoetida
Saute on medium flame for a couple of minutes

To this, add the grated ginger, finely chopped green chillies, rice, sliced ivy gourd, and the green peas

Mix well and saute on medium flame for 1-2 minutes
Next add, 2  and 1/2 cups of warm water, salt, turmeric powder, and the dry spice powder you have made earlier

Mix well, close the pressure cooker and pressure cook for 2 to 3 whistles

Allow the pressure cooker to cool before opening the lid 

With a fork, lightly fluff the Masala Bhaat
Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
Serve hot with curds or raita

CURD RICE

CURD RICE

While checking the blog posts recently, I realised that I had not yet posted one of the most popular yet easy to make rice items, which is Curd Rice. It is made all over South India as comfort food being called Mosaranna in Kannada, Thayir Sadam in Tamil, and Daddojanam in Telugu.

 It is often used as standard fare for a tiffin or lunch box or for travel. In most houses, curd rice is served as the last item of the meal. It is also considered good for digestion.

Like with any other dish, curd rice is made in different forms to suit one's taste. Some add milk while others prefer just curds without any milk. In my house, we don't mash it too much but many prefer it totally mashed. The garnish is traditionally done with coriander leaves but these days adding pomegranate, grated carrot or green seedless grapes is considered quite acceptable.

Do remember that white rice when cooked yields about three times the quantity. So the 1/2 cup of rice used in this recipe when cooked will yield 1 and 1/2 cups of cooked rice.

It is advisable to use fresh curds to make curd rice. However, the curds must be adequately sour. Be aware that if the curds are too sour, it will adversely affect the taste of the curd rice.

The moisture in the curd rice tends to get absorbed.  If this happens and it becomes too dry, you may like to get the consistency you desire by adding more curds or milk.

Ingredients:

• Rice, uncooked, 1/2 cup
• Curds, 1 to 1 and 1/4 cup
• Milk, 1/4 cup
• Green Chillies, finely chopped, 1-2
• Mustard Seeds, 1/2 tsp
• Urad Dal, (Black Gram Dal), 1 tsp
• Ginger, finely chopped, 1 tsp
• Curry Leaves, chopped, a few
• Coriander Leaves, finely chopped, 1 tbsp, for garnish
• Pomegranate Arils, for garnish
• Oil, 2 tsp
• Salt, to taste

Method:

Wash the rice and and cook it in a pressure cooker adding 1 and 1/2 cups of water ( three times the quantity of rice)
If you prefer the rice to be more soft, you should add 1/2 cup of water more
Cook for  4-5 whistles or till the rice is done
Allow the cooker to cool and remove the cooked rice
While the rice is still hot, mash it with the back of a spoon
Once it is sufficiently cooled, add the curds and mix
Next add the milk and mix once again
Add the finely chopped green chillies and salt to taste and mix the curd rice well making sure there are no lumps
Heat oil in a pan and when it gets hot on medium heat add the mustard seeds and when they splutter add the urad dal
Saute till the dal changes colour
Next add the finely chopped ginger and the chopped curry leaves and saute for a few seconds
Pour this seasoning on the curd rice and mix well
Finally, garnish with pomegranate arils and finely chopped coriander leaves
Serve with pickle

SPINACH & GREEN PEAS RICE

SPINACH & GREEN PEAS RICE

Whenever you have some excess cooked rice available at home, you can put it to best use by making some of these rice varieties which you will find elsewhere in this blog such as Mint Pulao, Lime Rice, and Raw Mango Rice.

Today's dish is adapted from Spinach & Green Peas Rice by one of my favourite cookery experts, the late Ms. Tarlaji Dalal. It is a fairly simple dish yet it turned out to be very tasty. I loved the flavour of the coriander- based masala which complements the taste of the spinach and green peas.

Ingredients:

• Spinach, (Palak), shredded, 2 cups
• Green Peas, boiled , 1/2 cup * Used frozen green peas
• Cooked Rice, 3 cups
• Ghee or Oil, 1 tbsp
• Large Sized Onion, 1
• Green Chillies, finely chopped, 2
• Salt, to taste

 For Making The Paste:

• Coriander Leaves, (Dhania) finely chopped, 1 cup
• Coconut Gratings, 1 and 1/2 tsp
• Green Chillies, roughly chopped, 4
• Lime, 1/2 
• Sugar, 1/2 tsp
• Salt, to taste

Method:

Wash the spinach in several changes of water and shred them. Keep aside
Thinly slice the onion and keep aside
In a mixer, grind together the finely chopped coriander leaves, coconut gratings, green chillies, lime, sugar and salt to a smooth paste using very little water. Keep aside.
Heat the ghee or oil in a broad non-stick pan, when it is hot add the onion and saute on medium flame for 1 minute

Add the finely chopped green chillies and the shredded spinach and saute on medium flame for 2 minutes

Next add the ground paste, then the boiled or frozen green peas and salt
Mix well and cook on medium flame for a couple of minutes
Lastly add the cooked rice, mix well so that the rice is evenly coated with the masala

Cook on medium flame for 2 minutes stirring occasionally

Serve hot with fresh curds or raita of your choice

** The addition of lime juice and sugar while grinding the coriander leaves to a paste helps it to retain its colour
* If you are using freshly made rice, make sure it is adequately cooled before use and that it is well spread out before use so that the grains do not stick to each other. 

CORIANDER LEAVES RICE

CORIANDER LEAVES RICE

There are times when you are left with cooked rice and you wonder how to put it to profitable use. I have found it a big time saver to make different types of rice using cooked rice which is readily available. You will find a number of recipes for these dishes in this blog including Maavinkayi Chitranna or Raw Mango Rice and Curry Leaves Rice. They are useful additions to the lunch box or a quick packed lunch.

Today, I'll share how I make another dish using cooked rice and coriander leaves called Coriander Leaves Rice. Coriander leaves are called Kothambari Soppu in Kannada. I hope you will enjoy this dish.

Ingredients:

• Coriander Leaves, 1 cup
• Cooked Rice, 4 cups
• Ginger, chopped, 1" piece
• Garlic Pods, 3
• Green Chillies, 3-4
• Oil, 1 tbsp
• Jeera, (Cumin Seeds), 1/2 tsp
• Onion, large sized, 1
• Salt, to taste
• Lime Juice, ( Juice from a small lemon)
• Groundnuts, for garnishing, 1 tbsp

Method:

Wash the coriander leaves and slice the onions. Keep aside.

In a mixer, grind the coriander leaves together with chopped ginger, garlic pods, and green chillies to a fine paste, using just the required amount of water. Keep aside.

Roast the groundnuts in a little oil, and keep aside,

In a kadhai, heat oil. When it gets hot, add the jeera and when it sizzles, add the sliced onions and saute till they are translucent

Next add the ground paste and cook till the raw smell goes and the excess water evaporates

Add the cooked rice and salt to taste

Mix well to ensure that the cooked rice is evenly coated with the ground paste and that there are no lumps formed

Squeeze the lime juice and mix well

Serve hot, garnished with roasted groundnuts

NELLIKAYI CHITRANNA

NELLIKAYI CHITRANNA

Chitranna is a generic name for seasoned rice popular in my home state of Karnataka. You will find recipes for Nimbehannu Chitranna or Lime Rice , and Maavinkayi Chitranna or Mango Rice elsewhere in this blog.

Likewise, Nellikayi Chitranna is a form of rice made with gooseberries which are called "Nellikayi " in Kannada. They are called Amla in Hindi and Avalo in Konkani, my mother tongue. Gooseberries are supposed to be rich in Vitamin C.

You can make this with either the big variety of gooseberries or even the smaller ones. Today's dish has been made with the smaller gooseberries. Some make this with red chillies, others with green chillies. I have used both and as usual I have used red chillies of the Byadgi variety.

If you are using freshly made rice, ensure it is fully cooled and that the rice grains are separate from each other and not in clumps when used for this dish.

I am grateful to my friend Kalpana for her inputs in making this dish. We enjoyed this thoroughly and I am sure you would too.

Ingredients:

• Gooseberries, 1/2 cup
• Cooked Rice, 3 cups
• Coconut Gratings, 1/4 cup
• Green Chillies, 2
• Red Chillies, roasted, 3
• Asafoetida ( Hing) , a large pinch, roasted in a little oil
• Fried Gram, ( Hurigadle in Kannada) 1 tbsp
• Methi Powder, 1/2 tsp ( dry roast the methi seeds and grind to a powder) 
• Turmeric Powder, 1/4 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Jaggery, 1/2 tsp
• Groundnuts, roasted, 2 tbsp

For Seasoning:

• Mustard Seeds, 1/2 tsp
• Red Chilli. broken into two pieces, 1 
• Urad Dal, 2  tsp
• Channa Dal, 2 tsp
• Curry Leaves, 1 sprig
• Oil, 2 tbsp 

Method:

Wash the gooseberries and de-seed them.
Chop them into small pieces and keep aside
In a mixer, using least amount of water, grind the gooseberries, coconut gratings, green chillies, roasted red chillies, asafoetida, fried gram, methi powder, and jaggery to a smooth paste. Keep aside.

In a kadhai, add oil and when it gets hot, add mustard seeds, when they splutter, add urad dal and channa dal. Fry till they become a light golden brown in colour. Add the broken red chillies, and then the curry leaves and saute.

Add the ground paste and fry for a while till the raw smell goes.
Now add the cooked rice, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well till the rice is blended properly with the ground paste.
Garnish with roasted groundnuts

Serve with curd pachadi or fried happala (a form of pappad)

CURRY LEAVES RICE

CURRY LEAVES RICE

This dish is made of curry leaves (Kaddi Patta in Hindi, Karibevu in Kannada and Karuvepillai in Tamil) which has many health benefits as detailed in this article in The Health Site.

By using cooked rice, it saves you time as well so as it can be rustled up in a jiffy, this recipe comes in handy if you are strapped for time.

Ingredients:

• Cooked Rice, 3 cups

For the Curry Leaves Powder:

• Bengal Gram Dal, 1 tbsp.
• Urad Dal, 1 tsp
• Red Chillies, 2
• Black Pepper, 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida powder, 1/4 tsp
• Coconut Gratings, 1 tbsp.
• Curry leaves, a handful

For Seasoning:

• Oil, 2 tbsp
• Mustard Seeds, 1 tsp
• Curry leaves, a few

Salt, to taste
Roasted Cashewnuts, 5-6 , broken, for garnishing.

Method:

First prepare the curry leaves powder as given below:

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a kadhai and roast Bengal Gram Dal, Urad Dal, Red chillies, black pepper and asafoetida .
Then add the curry leaves and coconut gratings. Fry for a while on low flame.
Let it cool and powder it in a mixer. Keep aside.

In the same kadhai, add oil. When it gets heated on medium flame, add mustard seeds and when they splutter add curry leaves.
Next add the cooked rice, salt and the curry leaves powder.
Stir and mix well till the rice gets well coated with the curry leaves powder.
Garnish with roasted cashewnuts.
Serve hot

TOMATO RICE

TOMATO RICE

Today's recipe is for something that can be made for lunch if you wish to have a different type of rice item.  Since it calls for using cooked rice, this can be made quite fast. I make it once in a while for a change as also when I am hard pressed for time.

Ingredients:

• Cooked rice, 4 cups
• Channa dal, 1/2 tsp
• Mustard, 1/4 tsp
• Red Chillies, 2, broken into 4 pieces
• Urad dal, 1/2 tsp
• Green chillies, chopped, 2
• Ginger, 1/2 " piece, grated
• Cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves, 1 sprig
• Garam Masala Powder, 1/2 tsp
• Chilli powder, 1/2 tsp or to taste
• Ghee/Oil, 1 tbsp
• Asafoetida, 1 pinch
• Onion, chopped, small sized, 1
• Tomatoes, medium sized, chopped, 2-3
• Salt, to taste
• Cashewnuts, roasted, 6-8
• Coriander leaves, finely chopped, 1 tbsp

Method:
In a thick-bottomed kadhai, heat oil and when it gets heated add mustard, cumin seeds, asafoetida and red chillies.
When the mustard splutters and the cumin seeds sizzle, add chana dal and urad dal
Fry till the dals change colour
Next add the chopped onions and fry them till they are transparent
Add chopped green chillies, curry leaves, grated ginger, chopped tomatoes and salt, to taste
Stir and cook on medium flame for about 5 minutes till the tomatoes are cooked
Add the chilli powder and garam masala and fry for 1 more minute
Now add the cooked rice and mix thoroughly till the masala is fully blended with the rice
Serve hot after garnishing with chopped coriander leaves and roasted cashewnuts.

NIMBEHANNU CHITRANNA or LIME RICE

NIMBEHANNU CHITRANNA or LIME RICE

This is a versatile and popular dish from my home state of Karnataka. It can be made pretty fast. as we use cooked rice for making Chitranna. Since Chitranna can be made with different variations, the one I present today is the straight forward "Nimbehannu Chitranna" in which the lime juice and turmeric stand out.

"Cooked rice" is preferably rice made earlier and sufficiently cooled. If you make fresh rice, ensure that it is sufficiently cooled before use, otherwise it will form lumps.

Here in our part of India, Chitranna is still very popular for take aways, tiffin boxes and picnics, since it is relatively easy to make.

I have presented this today with Cucumber Salad. You could choose either a salad, raitha or papad as accompaniments.

Ingredients:

• Cooked Rice, 3 cups, 
• Oil, 2 tbsp
• Mustard seeds,  1/2  tsp
• Curry leaves, a few
• Asafoetida, a pinch
• Peanuts, 2 tbsp
• Green chillies, 2 (broken into half)
• Red chillies,  2 (broken into half)
• Urad dal (Black gram dal), 1 tsp
• Channa dal (Bengal gram dal), 1 tsp
• Turmeric Powder, 1/4 tsp
• Salt, to taste.
• Juice of 1 lime
• Coriander leaves, chopped, 2 tbsp

Method:

In a little oil, roast the peanuts and keep aside
Heat oil in a kadhai on medium flame, add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds splutter, add asafoetida.
Next add the urad dal and channa dal. Stir till the dals change colour
Add the green chillies, red chillies and curry leaves. Saute for a minute.
Add the rice, making sure it is not lumpy. Then add the roasted peanuts
Add turmeric powder, salt and finally add the lime juice.
Mix thoroughly.
Garnish with coriander leaves. If you wish, you can also add coconut gratings.
Serve hot.