Hayagreeva - Split Bengal Gram Dal Halwa

Hayagreeva Recipe - One pot meal (dessert)

Hayagreeva (Haya - Horse, Greeva - Halwa made out of Jaggery). Saint Sri Vadiraja Theertha was offering Hayagreeva to Lord Vishnu, who came to take the offering in the form of a Horse.  This is a very authentic and a famous dish made during many festivals and occasions in our Madhwa community. Mainly on occasions and celebrations like Madhwanavami, Madhwa Jayanthi, Vadiraja Theertha Aaradhane, etc.
Hayagreeva is delicious dessert which is high in protein. Children will love this dish when served with lots of ghee, fried nuts and raisins as a topping.

Ingredients

3 cups Channa dal or Split bengal gram dal
1 cup Ghee or clarified butter
1 1/2 cups Jaggery (powdered)
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
3 tbsp poppy seeds (toasted)
1/2 cup assorted nuts
2 tbsp dried raisins

Method

1. Add 1/2 cup ghee into a pot kept on medium flame add channa dal, (throughly wash the channa dal before adding it to the pot, only if dirty) and fry for a couple of minutes until fragrant.

2. Add 3 cups of water to the pot and pressure cook the channa dal for 3 whistles.

3. Once the pressure cooker cools down, remove the excess water from the cooked channa dal and set the pot on a low to medium flame. Pour out the excess water into a bowl and use it to make south Indian style rasam or saaru.

4. Add a tablespoon of ghee and powdered jaggery into the pot and mix well. Cook until all the jaggery is melted. If the jaggery is dirty. In a separate pot add the jaggery and a tablespoon of water and melt the jaggery and then filter it through a sieve and remove the dirt.

5. Add the toasted poppy seeds into the pot and mix well.

6. In a small frying pan add the rest of the ghee and place it on a medium flame. Once the ghee is hot add the mixed nuts and fry until they turn pinkish brown and add the raisins. Fry until the raisins puff up a little. Pour this onto the Hayagreeva pot and mix well.

7. Once combined throughly, Hayagreeva is ready to serve. Serve it hot as a dessert on a festival or eat it alone as a morning breakfast or as an evening high protein snack with a dollop of ghee on top. You could also enjoy with extra fried nuts and raisins as garnish.

Huggi / Khara Pongal / Spicy Lentil Rice / Spicy Split Mung Dal Rice

Huggi (Pronounced as "Hoo-Ggi") / Khara Pongal / Spicy Lentils Rice / Spicy Split Mung Dal Rice Recipe

Huggi (a kannada word meaning - fun and celebration time) is a very special dish prepared very commonly in most of the Brahmin households in South India. This is a staple main dish during Sankranthi, a festival of harvest celebrated every year on January 14th throughout South India. Also celebrated in other parts of India (with different names for the festival).
Huggi is prepared with freshly harvested rice, lentils and other spices grown by our farmers. Its a very special time in all the villages in India.

I make this one pot meal, which is a healthy and filling main course for weeknight dinner. Huggi could also be a great lunch box meal.

Ingredients

2 cups white rice, washed and soaked for 5-10 mins
1/2 cup split mung beans, washed and soaked for 5 mins (optionally replaced by whole mung beans when you don't find the split mung beans)
1/4 cup freshly grated coconut
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
8-10 whole black peppercorns, (optional)
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp hing or asafoetida
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 tbsp finely chopped green chillies (optional)
1 tbsp finely chopped curry leaves
1 tsp salt or to taste
4 tbsp ghee or clarified butter
1 tbsp cashew nuts, chopped
a pinch of mustard seeds
a pinch of hing or asafoetida

Method

1. In a rice cooker pot wash and soak the rice for 5-10 minutes.

2. Into the pot add the washed split mung beans, grated coconut, ground black pepper, black peppercorns, turmeric, cumin seeds, hing, grated ginger, chopped green chillies, curry leaves and 2 tbsp ghee.

3. Mix everything throughly and cook the rice on the white rice setting on your rice cooker.

4. Once the rice cooker indicates your rice is done. Bring the pot outside and give the rice a good mix, gently.

5. In case you are using a pressure cooker, mix everything and place the pot into the pressure cooker and wait for 5-8 whistles on the cooker (depends of your pressure cooker size/quantity),

6. Once the pressure is down open the pressure cooker and bring the pot outside and gently give the rice a good mix.

7. After the rice is ready. Heat a pan on and add 2 tbsp ghee and once ghee is hot add the cashew nut pieces. Fry until it turns pinkish brown. Now add a pinch of mustard seeds (wait for it to splutter) and then add hing.

8. Pour the above seasoning on top of the Huggi / Spicy Split Mung Dal Rice and mix gently. Serve the dish hot with a dollop of ghee and a side dish of sweet and sour gravy (called "Gojju" in Kannada) or with coconut chutney or as desired.

Spinach Curry / Palak Palya / Soppina Palya / Madhwa Recipe

Spinach Curry / Palak Palya Recipe

A tasty and spicy curry, a vegan / vegetarian side dish to go along with rice or any Indian flatbread. Enjoy the delicious curry for lunch / dinner.

This is a very authentic curry commonly made with Amaranth leaves in almost every Madhwa Brahmin household. Due to the unavailability of fresh Amaranth leaves in the nearby groceries. I regularly make it with the spinach leaves which is easier to find in almost all the grocers near my place.

The same curry could be made with any type of fresh green leaves available to you like, fresh dill, mountain spinach leaves, fenugreek leaves, linseed leaves, drumstick leaves etc.

Ingredients

4 cups throughly washed and chopped spinach

3/4 cup toor dal or pigeon peas spilt dal (soaked for 15 mins and pressure cooked)

1/2 cup freshly grated coconut

5 dry red chillies

2 green chillies

1 sprig of curry leaves

1 tbsp jaggery or brown sugar

1/4 cup water

salt to taste

For seasoning,

1 tbsp vegetable oil or coconut oil

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp urad dal

1/2 tsp channa dal (split chickpeas)

1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds or Methi seeds

1/4 tsp hing or asafoetida

Method

1. Heat a pan over a medium flame and add oil. Once the oil is hot (not fuming hot) add mustard seeds and after it sputters add cumin seeds, urad dal, channa dal, fenugreek seeds and hing. Make sure the seasoning doesn't burn.

2. Add the curry leaves, green and red chilies into the seasoning and fry for a a minute. Mix in the chopped spinach into the pan and sauté. 

3. Sprinkle water over the spinach and cover it 3/4 with a lid and cook for 10-15 minutes over medium heat. 

4. Once spinach is wilted and cooked well add toor dal into the pan and mix well.

5. Add the jaggery and freshly grated coconut into the pan and combine well.

6. Now add salt to taste. Mix it throughly. Spinach curry or Palak palya is ready to serve. Tastes best with hot rice or Indian flatbreads like roti, phulka or chapati with a dollop of ghee on top of the curry or as desired.

Akki Rotti / Akki Roti / Rice Flour Savory Flatbread / Mung Bean Akki Rotti

Akki Rotti Recipe / Rice Flour Savory Flatbread Recipe / Spicy Gluten Free Flatbread Recipe / Mung Bean Rice Flour Roti / Avarekayi Rotti

This a very common dish made is almost every household in Karnataka, South India. There are several varieties of this flatbread made with different grains, spices and vegetables. Avarekayi / Avarekalu or European Flat-beans Rotti is a very popular rotti along with regular plain akki rotti.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups white rice flour
1/2 cup green mung beans (or flat-beans, Indian name Surti Papdi Lilva)
1 cup water
1/2 cup shredded fresh coconut
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup grated cucumber
1/4 cup grated bell pepper (any color bell pepper will do)
1/2 cup coconut oil or any vegetable oil of your preference
2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
1 tbsp finely chopped curry leaves, optional (found in most Indian stores)
2 tbsp finely chopped green chilies (Thai or Indian chili), optional
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp hing or asafoetida
1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste

Method

1. Wash and soak the 1/2 cup mung beans in a cup water for 4-5 hours or refrigerate overnight. The next day, drain the beans and reserve the soaking water (you could water the plants). This step is completely optional, in case you are allergic to mung beans or don't like the taste or didn't find the ingredient. 

2 In a mixing bowl, combine the rice flour, mung beans, cumin seeds, green chili, asafoetida, cilantro, curry leaves (optional, but gives a great flavor to the dish), shredded fresh coconut, shredded carrot, grated cucumber, grated bell pepper and salt. Gradually add the water, mixing well with your hands to form a soft workable dough. Use only as much water needed.

3. Shape the dough into balls about the size of a tennis ball. Set aside. 

4. Grease a cool pan/griddle with 1 tbsp (more or less depending on your calorie intake) oil and place the dough ball and start to flatten the dough with your fingers on the griddle and spread evenly, distributing the dough all around the pan/griddle into a thin flatbread. Grease your hands with oil incase the dough is sticking to your fingers. 

5. Turn on the heat and cook the rotti by covering 3/4 of the pan/ griddle and let the steam out (drizzle some oil if your rotti turns out dry on the top).

6. Flip the rotti onto the other side when the rotti turns golden brown on the bottom, takes about 3-4 minutes on a medium flame.

7. Repeat with the remaining dough, adding a tbsp of oil to the griddle for each rotti. Serve hot with a dollop of ghee or clarified butter or chutney of your choice or with pickles.

Notes - When cooking the rotti, allow the griddle to cool down slightly before cooking the next one. You can also use two skillets, alternating between the two.