Onion Pakoda | Erulli Pakoda | Deep-fried Snacks |

Onion Pakoda - Erulli Pakoda

Onion/Erulli Pakoda is the most favorable snack in our family. My mom prepares this pakoda even now and it has the same lip-smacking taste, years (read decades) of practice I must say. She tries a lot of variations every now and then with the available veggies to satisfy our ever changing palate.
Recently, I prepared this dish for my husband's office potluck party. Everyone loved it and was a big hit, no doubt. My recipe for you to try and satisfy your deep-fried food craving on rainy/snowy cold winter days along with a hot java or tea, etc.

Ingredients

Onion - 1 (thinly chopped lengthwise)
Chickpea flour - 3/4 cup (also known as Besan, as required to match the correct moisture in the mixture)
Fine Semolina - 1/4 cup (also known as Chiroti Rave in Kannada)
Rice flour - 2 tbsp (also known as Akki Hittu in Kannada)
Carom seeds - 2 tsp
Green chillies - 3 (minced)
Ginger - 1 inch (grated)
Curry leaves - 20 leaves (roughly torn or chopped)
Cilantro - 2 tbsp (thinly chopped)
Mint leaves - 2 sprig (thinly chopped, optional)
Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp (freshly ground/crushed in a mortar pestle)
Cashew nuts- 1/4 cup (whole or roughly chopped, optional)
Chili powder - 1 tsp (or as per your taste)
Salt - 1 1/2 tsp (or as per your taste)
Oil - 2 tbsp (any high-heat oil of your choice, heated oil)
Oil - for frying (any high-heat oil of your choice)

Preparation

1. In a large mixing bowl add the onion and 1 tsp salt and combine well.

2. Mix in all the spices and seasonings; carom seeds, turmeric powder, coriander seeds (crushed), cashew nuts, chili powder, salt, green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, cilantro, mint leaves, into the Onion and salt mixture.

3. Heat 2 tbsp oil and add to the mixing bowl and gradually add the rice flour, fine semolina into the mixture.

4. Now add the chickpea flour or besan into the combined ingredients slowly until the onion mixture turns into a thick paste consistency.

5. Heat the oil for frying and once the oil is hot enough to fry, spoon in the pakodas into the oil. Deep fry the bite size pakodas well and untill they turn dark golden brown in color. Fry the remaining onion pakoda mixture in batches and enjoy with your favorite ketchup or sauce and a hot beverage of your choice.

Brown Rice Grits Steamed Kolakatte (Kozhukatte) / Brown Rice Grits Steamed Dumplings Recipe

Brown Rice Grits Steamed Kolakatte (Kozhukatte) / Brown Rice Grits Steamed Dumplings

Kozhukatte is an authentic Tamil Nadu recipe, adopted in Karnataka as an evening snack or a breakfast dish in many Brahmin household like ours, who did a lot of touring and staying in different parts of South India.
My grandmother prepared this dish very often with a coconut chutney and Idli powder/pudi as a side. I have altered the authentic recipe that uses regular white rice grits to brown rice grits.

Ingredients

1 cup Brown Rice Grits
1/4 cup grated fresh coconut
2 cups water
1 cup boiling water (optional)
2 tbsp extra virgin cold pressed coconut oil
3/4 tsp black mustard seeds
1/8 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp urad dal, washed and split black gram lentil
1 tsp channa dal, washed and split bengal gram lentil
1/8 tsp hing, Asafetida
4 curry leaves (optional)
4 dreied chillies broken into 1 inch pieces (optional)
Salt to taste


Method

1. Dry roast the brown rice grits in a frying pan for a couple of minutes (this step is optional, I would like to dry roast it as my brown rice grits were a little old and not freshly brought from store).

2. Place the frying pan in a medium heat with 2 tbsp of coconut and once it is hot (not smoking hot), add the mustard seeds and let it sputter. Then, cumin seeds, black gram and bengal gram lentils and fry until golden brown and add red chiles until they roast a little and then hing.

3. Soon after the hing is added mix in the coconut shreds and water along with the salt, to taste. Curry leaves could be torn and added at this time (although optional as it might get in the way while eating the dumplings, some might not like to chew the fibrous leaf).

4. Once the water reaches the boiling point add the brown rice grits and combine throughly and making sure no lumps are formed. Add boiling water incase your grits dough is too dry. It should look like Uppit / Upma consistency.

5. Mix and combine the dough and keep it to cool completely.

6. Make golf sized balls / elongated balls from the dough and keep aside the dumplings.

7. Heat a steamer/pressure cooker without the weight or an Idli cooker with some water at the bottom and place all the dumplings and steam cook for 15 minutes.

8. Serve hot brown rice grits steamed dumplings with a dollop of ghee along with a chutney of your choice/idli powder in sesame oil on the side. Enjoy as a breakfast or as an evening snack.

Kadalekalu Hittu Payasa Recipe / Kala Channa Besan Payasa Recipe

Kadalekalu Hittu Payasa / Kala Channa Besan Payasa

Kadalekalu hittu / Kala Channa Besan Payasa is a new and easy sweet recipe that could be prepared on festivals and other special occasions in a jiffy. I experimented this recipe with Kaladale Kalu hittu instead of regular kadale hittu / Chickpea flour that was published in a South Indian cooking video blog. It came out perfect and tasty everytime I made it. My family loves this payasa recipe.

Ingredients

1/2 cup Kadale Kalu Hittu / Kala Channa Besan Flour
4 Tbsp Ghee / Clarified Butter
1/4 cup Almond Flour
1 cup Milk (boiled)
1/4 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Cardamom Powder
2 Tbsp Mixed Nuts
2 tsp Dried Golden Raisins

Method

1. Place a thick bottom pan on a medium heat and add the flour and 3 Tbsp of ghee and fry untill the flour gives out a wonderful aroma and raw smell is gone.

2. Add Almond flour and fry along with the Kadale kalu flour for 5 more minutes.

3. Now mix the milk into the flour mixture and combine well to make sure no lumps are formed. Add more milk if you want a watery consistency.

4.  Add in sugar to the pan and mix well till all the sugar crystals are dissolved.

5. In a separate frying pan add the remaining 1 tbsp ghee and fry the mixed nuts on a medium heat untill they turn golden brown, than add in the raisins till they puff up a little bit.

6. Pour this nuts and raisins along with the ghee into the payasa pan and mix. Add the cardamom powder at this point and wait for the payasa to boil for a minute. Now hot payasa is ready to serve along with a dab of ghee on top. Cold payasa also tastes delicious.

Coconut rice - Easy Lunch box meal

Coconut Rice

Easy lunch or weeknight dinner recipe that could be made in a jiffy. Coconut rice is also made on festivals and other occasions served on plantain leaf as a side dish, mostly in South India. This makes a great lunch box meal along with urad dal happala (pappad) for kids too.

Ingredients

2 cups white rice
3 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup coconut milk, (optional, instead add 1/2 cup water)
1/4 cup freshly grated coconut
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 pinch of cumin seeds
1 tsp Urad dal
1 tsp Channa dal
8-10 dried red chillies
10-15 curry leaves torn into pieces
2 tbsp broken cashew nuts
Salt to taste

Method

1. Wash and drain white rice and add water and coconut milk (optional). Pressure cook untill well cooked as per your cooker settings. The dish tastes better when the rice grains are separate.

2. In a frying pan add coconut oil and place it on a medium flame, once hot add mustard seeds. After it sputters, add cumin seeds, urad dal, channa dal and fry until they turn golden brown. Add dried red chillies and fry for a few seconds. Now, to this add the cashew nuts and fry once they turn golden brown add curry leaves and grated coconut and mix well. Fry the mixture for a few minutes.

3. Meanwhile spread the rice on a wide pan or serving bowl and allow it to cool. Mix salt as per taste into the rice.

4. Now add coconut mixture to the rice and combine throughly. Add extra oil incase the rice feels dry. Serve hot with fried happala (pappad) or sandige.

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.

Besan Burfi

Besan Burfi
A quick and easy dessert that could be made with a very few ingredients found in your pantry. This burfi is a simple dish that ca be prepared on any occasion like for festivals, at a pot luck (party dessert), a quick dessert to entertain over night guests, or occasions when you crave for sweets.


Ingredients
1 cup Besan or chickpea flour
2 cups clarified butter or ghee ( or vegan butter)
3 cups milk, reduced fat or whole milk (coconut milk for vegans)
3 cups of sugar, increase or decrease to taste
1/2 cup blanched almond flour (or cashew/ any nut powder)



Method

1. Combine all the above mentioned ingredients in a pan and mix them throughly until well combined.
2. Turn on the heat to a medium flame ad continuously stir the mixture for about 15- 20 minutes.
3. By then you can observe the ghee separating from the mixture and all the contents form into one lump.
4. Continue to stir well for another 5 minutes or as much desired (to get a thick burfi consistency).
5. Pour the mixture onto a ghee greased plate and spread the burfi evenly using a cup or a flat spatula.
6. Allow the burfi to cool down for about 25 minutes and cut them into pieces. Besan Burfi is ready to be served and devoured.

Raisin Sweet Flatbread / Raisin Holige / Drakshi Holige - Habba Adige Madhwa Brahmin Dessert

Raisin Holige Recipe /  Drakshi Holige - Habba Adige Madhwa Brahmin Sweet/ Raisin Sweet Flatbread Recipe

Authentic holige is a dessert made in Karnataka, South India during festivals and special occasions. This delicacy is traditionally made with a dough filled with either bele hoorna (dal stuffing) or kobbari hoorna (coconut stuffing). I tried and tested this raisin/drakshi hoorna holige recipe and was a big hit during a recent festival celebration at home.

Ingredients for Kanaka

3/4 cup whole wheat flour or all purpose flour
1 cup fine semolina (chiroti Rave)
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp turmeric
3 tbsp vegetable oil
water, as required

Ingredients for Raisin/Drakshi Hoorna

3/4 cup raisins
5 pitted dates
1/2 cup sugar (if in a crystal form, use powdered sugar)
1 tbsp poppy seeds, dry roasted
2 tbsp mixed nuts, toasted (cashew, almonds or walnuts)
1/2 cup dry coconut shredded or powder or desiccated coconut
1/4 tsp fresh cardamom powder, if you like stronger flavor add more
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg (optional)

Ingredients to make Holige

1/4 cup ghee/clarified butter (optional)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour or all purpose flour (optional)


Method to prepare Kanaka

1. In a large mixing bowl combine the whole wheat flour, semolina, salt, turmeric and mix well.

2. Add 2 tbsp oil to this mixture and throughly blend the oil in the flour mixture.

3. Now add water and form a soft dough. Smear the remaining 1 tbsp oil in the dough and cover the dough with a damp cloth or paper towel and rest it for 2 -3 hours.

4. Make tiny balls (roughly 3/4-1 inch) out of the Kanaka dough and keep them aside.


Method to prepare Raisin/Drakshi Hoorna

1. In a food processor or a high powered blender add raisins and dates to form into a dough like consistency. Transfer it into a mixing bowl and keep it aside. If your food processor/blender accommodates all the ingredients let the raisin and date dough stay and add in rest of the ingredients and blend well making sure the stuffing is very finely blended.

2. Transfer the contents from your blender combine everything and mix well. By now the stuffing should be in a solid form. Make small (golf sized) balls out of the mixture.

Method to prepare Holige

1. Take a tiny ball of Kanaka and spread it wide with your fingers or roll it out using a rolling pin on a floured surface (use whole wheat flour or all purpose flour) to accommodate the stuffing.

2. Now keep a raisin hoorna ball at the center and cover the stuffing with the kanaka with your fingers.

3. Place the stuffed dough again on the floured surface and roll it out (like a flat bread or a chapati/roti).

4. On a preheated griddle/pan smear some ghee cook the rolled holige on one side with a tsp of ghee until small brown spots form on the holige.

5. Flip the holige onto the other side and drizzle 1 tsp ghee to cook until brown spots appear.

6. Now the holige is ready to be served with a dollop of ghee on top. Also, it tastes heavenly with a side of almond flavored milk (Badam milk).