Mahanandi

Unripe plantain, the vegetable that belongs to banana family is a acquired taste. Like potato, plaintain cubes fried or boiled to soft taste super good. Why not, plantain is nothing but pure startch. There are several different versions of curries with plantain, as it is quite popular vegetable, particularly in South India. This curry with fresh coconut and chana dal is one of them.

Recipe:

2 raw plantains, peeled, sliced into small cubes
Fistful of Chana dal, soaked in water for about 30 mts
Half cup of fresh coconut pieces
5 to 8 green chillies
Pinch of Turmeric and 1/2tsp of salt

Preparation:

First soak chana dal in water for about 30 mts. Meanwhile make a paste of fresh coconut and green chillies by adding a pinch of salt.
Place of a pot of water on stovetop on medium heat, wait for it to boil. Meanwhile prepare the plantains (wash, pee l& cut). When water starts to boil, add these cut plantain cubes to water. Cook them for about 5 minutes on high heat, then pour them into a colander and discard the water.

Now in a big sautepan, add one tablespoon of oil, do the popu i.e (fry one tsp of mustard seeds, cumin and curry leaves), then add the soaked chana dal. Fry them in oil for few minutes. Now add the plantain cubes, turmeric, salt, coconut-greenchilli paste. Mix them thoroughly and cook them covered for about 10 to 15 minutes.

This curry tastes great with rice and Sambhar or dal. But today I prepared chapatis instead of rice. So here it is plantain curry chapatis.

During festival times, the sugar of choice at our home for Naivedyam is jaggery.

Jaggery – the pure, wholesome and traditional sweetener of India is made out of raw sugarcane juice by slowly simmering it in big pans until all the water is evaporated. The final solid product is then poured into moulds. The complete process is 100% chemical-free, prepared in natural way and no animal parts (bones) are used or added at any stage. This process is unlike the commercial sugar manufacturing, where cane juice is subjected to a potpourri of chemicals as sulfur dioxide, lime, phosphoric acid, bleaching agents & viscosity reducers.

How do I know all this? Well, some of our relatives cultivate sugarcane and produce jaggery in small scale. They do that in the fields after harvesting the sugarcane. It is quite an event with all the relatives and friends come to help and taste. The thing I always remember is the smell. The sweet smell of boiling sugarcane follows you forever.

It is the ancient wisdom and is now scientifically proven that jaggery is known for its many medicinal benefits. One thing I know is jaggery is rich in Iron. In India, people who know, even doctors advise anaemics and pregnant women to take jaggery daily to increase their hemoglobin levels.

What can I say about the taste of jaggery- there is always the sweet taste but there is something more. The taste is not a mind numbing sweetness but more subtle, much more flavorful and makes us want more. Its sweetness is quite different from that of commercial sugar, brown sugar or even molasses. Because it contains the minerals and vitamins inherently present in sugarcane juice.

In addition to using it for traditional sweets of festival times, like Undrallu, Jaggery is my sweetener of choice always, for ragi malt, vegetable curries, rasam, occasionally for tea & coffee. Compare to commercial sugar, it is not that expensive. You can buy a 10-pound block of jaggery for about 5 to 8 dollars in an Indian grocery shop, here in US.

Jaggery from India

Vinayaka Chavati Festival Sweet – Undrallu

Undrallu is a sweet, especially prepared on Vinayaka Chavithi festival. They are made with jaggery and chana dal then wrapped in dough and deep-fried in oil or ghee. The tradition is we have to prepare 9 varieties of undrallu with different fillings for this festival. My mother prepares 9 varieties for puja whenever we girls visit home. She has a saint like patience and great time management. You see we have to prepare all varities on the day of festival, by afternoon while on fasting. At least the person who does the puja and cooking must be on fasting till the puja is done. Family members would taste the festival specials only after the puja and naivedyam are done. Our customs dictate that the first offerings on festivals and special occasions must be to God, a sign of respect.

Recipe:
(For two)

For Purnam:

One cup – chana dal
One cup jaggery (pounded into tiny pieces)
6 cardamom pods, seeds separated and powdered

Wash chana dal and take them in a pressure cooker. Add the cardamom and about one cup water. Mix and pressure cook to 3 whistles, till the chana dal is firmly-soft. There should be no water left in pressure cooker. and we want a tight cooked chana dal. If there is excessive water, drain the dal using a colander and then spread the cooked dal on paper towels or on a cotton cloth to remove the moisture and to make them firm.

In a food processor (mixer), or in a stone mortar, take the cooked chana dal. Add jaggery and grind to smooth. The end product must be solid and it has to hold the shape. Make baby’s fist sized small rounds. My mother also dips the rounds in coconut gratings.

This is Purnam.

Chana Dal, Jaggery and Cardamom ~ Pressure-cooked, Mashed and Made to Small Rounds called Purnam

Preparing the Dough:

There are two kinds of wraps for the Purnam.

1. Urad dal and rice flour wrap called chovi. For it, take quarter cup of urad dal and soak them in water overnight. First thing in the morning, drain water and grind the dal in a blender to smooth adding very little water. Remove to a cup and half cup of rice flour. Mix them together thoroughly. Keep it covered for about 2 to 3 hours. This is called chovi. Purnam balls are dipped in this batter and fried in oil or ghee. Tasty and good.

2. Maida (all purpose flour) wrap: My mother’s method and I prefer this wrap.
Take one cup all-purpose flour (maida) in a bowl. Make a well in the center and add about half cup water. Mix and make a firm dough. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons ghee and gently knead the dough, until it becomes very soft and pliable. Keep it covered for about 2 to 3 hours. Preparing the maida dough is the first thing I do in the kitchen on festival day morning.

When you are ready with purnam:
Take out and knead the dough again adding ghee for about 5 minutes.
Divide the dough into marble sized rounds.
Roll out each one into a small round using a rolling pin or with hand, thin at the edges and thick in the middle.
Place a lemon sized Purnam in the middle and cover it by bringing the edges together. Place them on a plate and cover with a wet cloth, to prevent drying out.
Repeat the procedure for all the dough rounds with the purnam.

Once you are done, place a kadai on stove-top. Add and heat the oil or ghee for deep-frying.
Gently drop the rounds and deep fry them to pale gold. Offer them to God first, then enjoy.

I prepared them in two shapes, the round ones are called undrallu, and the other two are called Kudumulu in Telugu.

Preparing to do Vinayaka Puja today on Vinayaka Chavithi.
Cooking up Undrallu, a sweet, tradition on Vinayaka Chavithi.

Green Bell Peppers with Spicy Chickpea Powder:

My favorite way to cook green bell peppers is this very easy, 15 minutes from start to finish capsicum curry. The special ingredient which makes it the absolute favorite of people who tried this curry is the spicy roasted chickpea powder. Mildly sweet and spicy chickpea powder and hot bell peppers compliment each other, and the prepared curry is a tasty delight.

Recipe:

3 bell peppers, sliced thinly lengthwise, then halved crosswise
3 tablespoons of pappula podi (spicy chickpea powder)
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
For popu or tadka:
1 tablespoon of peanut oil
¼ teaspoon each – curry leaves, chopped garlic, cumin and mustard seeds

Preparation:

Place a wide skillet on stove top. Add and heat peanut oil. When oil is hot, add the curry leaves, garlic toast to pale gold. Then add the cumin and mustard seeds. When seeds start to pop, add the bell peppers.

On high heat, cook for few minutes, until the excessive moisture evaporates from them. Then reduce the heat, cover the pan partially, and cook for another five minutes.

When bell peppers are tender to touch, add the seasoning. Sprinkle the spicy chickpea powder, turmeric and salt. Mix and cook for about five more minutes. Turn off the heat. Serve the curry hot, over steamed rice and dal, or with chapatis.

Capsicum curry with rice, spinach dal and yogurt – our meal today.

Turnips (shalgam) are little bit smelly, but when cooked they almost taste like potatoes. While searching through the Internet about turnips, I learned that they are available in India, mainly in cold, North Indian regions. I didn’t know that before, I thought they are available only here. I came across a new Kashmiri recipe called Masala Shalgam, and I tried it today for lunch. I also made rotis with recently milled, fresh sorghum flour (Jonna Pindi) that I brought from India.

Very much enjoyed the combination.

Recipe:

4 small to medium sized turnips, washed, pared thinly and cubed.
4 ripe juicy tomatoes, cut or pureed.
1 onion, finely chopped lengthwise

First, saute the cubed turnips, till they leave the smell and brown a little, for about ten to fifteen minutes on low heat. Meanwhile prepare the masala.

Masala:
Make a paste of ginger, garlic, cilantro, dried red chillies, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, fenugreek, coconut and salt. Measurements of these ingredients are up to you.

In a pan on medium heat, take 1 tsp of oil, when it is hot, add the onions, saute them to soft, and then add the tomatoes, the prepared masala and browned turnips. Add pinch of turmeric and salt. Mix them once and cook them all covered for about 10 to 15 minutes. Serve the curry hot with chapati or roti.

Masala Turnips with Sorghum Roti ~ Meal Today

What an avoidable tragedy, my heart goes out for all the people who are suffering. Bush’s apathy towards his own people is mind boggling. Really how difficult it is to supply water and food to these displaced people?

Back to our life here, sort of “The Truman Show“. Like Truman character in the movie, we do realize we are never going to be satisfied here in this picture-perfect world, unlike we thought before. Few more years, that’s what we planned and that’s what we are going to do with patience. And the in-between visits to India are like pilgrimage and therapy to our souls.

For India trip – we just don’t shop, pack and leave. Like any pilgrimage, we follow a 3-month ritual preparing for our trip to India. At least 3 months before, we finalize the dates and purchase tickets (the only way, we can obtain tickets at a discount price $1300 to 1600 roundtrip). Then we would focus our total concentration on health and fitness. Our motherland is not for fainthearted and weak bellies, she tests the strength and stamina, and so we always go prepared. At first we start slowly stop eating all kinds of junk available here, try to reduce the food portions, increase our daily exercise routine and expose our body to the elements (walk daily in a park trail, from 4 miles a day gradually increasing to 8 miles). We struggle a lot during this month. Then in second month, our bodies adjust to this new routine, we do feel more energetic, lean and with positive energy. And the last month we go into yogi diet, all nuts, beans, fruits and vegetables, of course yogurt and lots of water. There is no pain or cravings anymore. Mind is in total control of the body, immune system awake and a happy heart. This is our India trip preparation.

Example of our yogi diet is this recipe with blackeye beans. Back home, during fasting and after long pujas at temples they are prepared and served as Guggullu.

I did Americanize it a bit by adding the fresh sweet corn.

Recipe:
(serves two)

1 cup of black eye beans, soaked in water overnight, drained
1 fresh corn, kernels sliced
1 red onion and tomato, diced
2 green chillies, finely chopped
Salt to taste and pinch of turmeric
Juice of half lime

In a large saucepan over high heat, combine the beans, water and one teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan and let the beans simmer until tender and drain. Or simply pressure-cook them (they cook in less time in this way, but you have to watch them closely. Turn off the heat immediately after the first whistle, otherwise they are more likely to overcook and break apart. We don’t want that).

In a saute pan, heat half teaspoon of peanut oil over medium heat. Add the corn, onions, tomato and green chilli, saute until corn is tender crisp for about five minutes. Add the black eye beans (Alasandalu) to the corn mixture along with 1/4 tsp of salt, turmeric and lime juice. Toss to mix and serve immediately.

We had guggullu and a cup of tomato rasam plus yogurt on the side for our meal today. It was a good yogi diet.

Hindu Kush mountain range touching the skies.

An impromptu party with a ‘butter cake’ from our neighbourhood famous ‘Peevis’ bakery on Brother-in-law’s wedding anniversary, amid the other BIL marraige hungama. In addition to homemade sweets like payasam etc., celebrating with a cake seems to be a must and norm nowadays, a recent happening in small towns like ours.

Preparing jangris is an art, so we hired the “Master”.

“Master” at work (Yes, master is his nickname, really, because of his expertise in making traditional sweets), finishing off preparing the last batch of jangris.
Piping the jangri batter in beautiful flower shape in hot oil.
Deep fried jangris taking a sugary soak in cardamom infused sugar syrup.

Jangri: A traditional sweet, usually made for marraiges, my favourite.

Going home for my brother-in-law’s marriage.

You know what that means, good times with family and friends and of course Kanchi Pattu sarees, jewelry and food.

Kittaya is going to be with his friends Ace and Lucky at our kind neighbour Linas’ house. Thanks Lina.

See you all in September.

Kittaya looking for his friends.

His Friends – Lucky and Ace, our neighbours’ cats.

Checkout playful Kiri and Taffy at Clare Eats Blog.

Paruppu Usili or Lentil Curry, even though it’s an old classic from South India, I never made this at home before. Shammi’s post tempted me to try it. I liked the ingredients and nutritional aspects of this curry and also the quick way it can be made.

I followed Shammi’s recipe mostly.

-Soaked two fistfuls each of toor dal and chana dal overnight.

-Grinded the dals with half tsp of salt and six dry red chillies and pinch of hing into coarse matter, without adding any water.
-Fresh green beans are the vegetable I chose to make Parappu Usli.
-I chopped beans, one medium sized onion and one garlic clove finely.

Did the popu (frying mustard seeds, cumin and curry leaves in 1 tsp of oil), then added onions and garlic, saut̩ed them for few minutes. Then added the coarsely grounded dal paste and green beans. Cooked them covered on low medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pinch of turmeric and salt to my taste, with these final touches and few more minutes on stove Рmy new favorite curry was ready for chapatis.

Thanks Shammi for showing this classic recipe.

Pappulu, Putnala pappulu or Dalia are prepared from chickpeas. Not the regular, white chickpeas but from a special variety of chickpeas specific to India and commonly sold under the name “Kala Chana or Black Chickpeas”.

The preparation of pappulu (dalia) is a fascinating process. First, the black chickpeas get soaked in water for several hours, and then after draining, chickpeas are roasted in big caldrons under controlled low fire for several hours. Until the chickpeas turn to crisp. Once the roasting process is completed, the hulls of chickpeas will be removed and each chickpea will be split into two equal pieces. This whole soaking-roasting process intensifies the chickpea flavor, and also changes them to light yellow, mildly sweet pappulu or Dalia. This process is done in special places called Bhattis. Almost every town in Andhra Pradesh would have a bhatti. People go there to buy the freshly prepared pappulu and also the puffed rice There were couple of bhattis near our home in Nandyala and we were used to buy them fresh and hot from those places.

Among all the lentil types available in an Indian store, pappulu are the only one which you can just open the packet and pop them into mouth. As kids and even now, we love to eat them as they are or mixed with murmura. They are a snack item for us, like popcorn. If you are from South India, I assume you already know the pappula taste. For those of you who don’t, you must try them at least once. They are usually sold in Indian grocery shops under the label “Dalia” in lentil section. They are really great tasting, guilt free snack.

Pappula Podi is a famous Andhra preparation. In some parts of Andhra this is also called gunpowder. We add it to season the curries and also to prepare chutneys and to spread on dosas, idly, pongali and upma. Pappula Podi not only spices but also adds a mild sweetness to the preparation. This following recipe is from my mother’s and my most valued one. If you are used to besan (gram flour) preparations, try this one instead. You will be delighted, I promise.

Pappula Podi:

1 cup – Pappulu
6 to 8 – dried red chillies, Indian variety
2 tablespoons – grated coconut or dried coconut pieces
1 tablespoon – cumin
½ teaspoon – salt or to taste
4 garlic cloves (this is optional, even without garlic this powder tastes great.)

Take pappulu, chillies, coconut, cumin, garlic and salt in a clean and dry mixer jar or food processor. Grind to fine powder. This is a dry preparation and do not add water. Store the powder in a clean, dry, airtight container. This will stay fresh as long as it remains dry.

The following are the most common ways I enjoy the Pappula Podi:

1. Add a tablespoon of Podi to fistful of cooked rice. Add a teaspoon of ghee. Mix and make small rounds. Eat.

2. Add a tablespoon of Podi to cooked rice and dal (tomato or spinach etc). Add a teaspoon of ghee. Mix and eat.

3. Prepare dosas and spread the pappula Podi on the dosa for Masala Dosa. Yum!

4. Dunk and coat the Idly, Upma and pongal morsels in Pappula Podi, and eat. My new favorite is Pappula Podi and oatmeal upma combination.

5. I also add pappula Podi to vegetable curries. Cabbage, bell pepper, green beans and Indian variety broad beans (Chikkudu kaya), the sauté style curries with these vegetables taste great spiced with pappula Podi. I usually sprinkle one tablespoon of this powder before turning off the heat.)

6. Add roasted onion, garlic and few branches of fresh cilantro to Pappula Podi, along with about half glass of water. Grind to smooth to make an instant chutney.

Pappula Podi

I don’t cook mushrooms that often. They are Vijay’s (my husband’s) division. He likes all types of mushrooms and often cooks them himself. He usually grills or dry sautés mushrooms but when he is in a mood to spend an extra 5 minutes in the kitchen, he whips up a sesame sauce to go along with his grilled mushrooms. He got this recipe from a Korean website. This sesame sauce is like an Indian version of one of the curry sauces but without the onions and other extras. I like the sauce so when he makes this, it’s a win-win for both us as I don’t eat mushrooms. Preparing this sauce is such an easy and quick task and he makes this himself most of the times without me setting foot in the kitchen.

Recipe:

Portabella mushrooms РQuickly rinse or wipe of portabellas with a paper towel. Remove the roots and make &#43(plus shape) cuts on them. After lightly covering them with sesame oil, stir-fry or grill them until they are golden and sprinkle with some salt and remove. When saut̩ing in a pan, leave space around the mushrooms, so that they brown evenly.

Sauce – Toast half cup of sesame seeds and 4 to 6 red chilli peppers. Make a fine paste of them by adding a small piece of ginger, salt and molasses or sugar, half teaspoon each or to your taste.

….

Preparation:

Heat a teaspoon of peanut oil in a pan. Add sesame sauce to the pan and also half cup of water. Simmer on medium-low heat for about five minutes, or until the sauce thickens.

Plate a grilled portabella on a serving plate. Pour a tablespoon of sesame sauce over it. Enjoy the portabella with sesame sauce.

Our meal – Rice with Portabellas in Sesame Sauce and Chappidi Pappu (Plain Lentil soup).

Buggani, the name itself makes my mouth water. A simple and common dish, prepared with puffed rice or borugulu , it’s traditionally served as breakfast in our Rayalaseema region. My mother makes the best buggani in the whole world, so I follow my mothers recipe exactly to the last words.

In Nandyala, my hometown in India, we buy freshly made puffed rice from street vendors. Here in US, in Indian grocery shops, puffed rice is available in only one size i.e. 14 OZ packets. Usually I prepare Buggani with half of that (25o g) packet for us two.

Recipe:

Puffed rice
One big onion – finely chopped lengthwise
4 green chillies – made into paste
1 tsp each of salt and oil
Pinch of turmeric
Popu
1/2 tsp each of cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal, few curry leaves and one red chilli
extras
1 tablespoon of roasted chickpea powder(putnala pappu podi)
1/4 cup of roasted peanuts
1 lime

Buggani needs hot, spiciness from green chillies. So don’t hesitate to add enough green chillies.

Preparation:

First, take a big pot, fill half of it with tap water and add puffed rice to the water. Because of lightweight, they will float. Using your hands push them under water for few seconds. Let them soak water. Exactly after 5 minutes, remove them from water by taking handfuls and firmly squeezing the water from them by pressing the hands together tightly. Remove them all from water in this way and put them in a colander.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, heat one tsp of oil and do the popu (frying the mustard seeds, cumin, red chillies and curry leaves in oil). Add onions, sauté them until light brown, then add green chilli paste, sauté it till it turns from bright green to light green colour, don’t brown it. Finally add a pinch of turmeric and salt. Stir them all once and turn off the heat.

Add this hot onion mixture immediately to puffed rice along with roasted peanuts and roasted chickpea powder. Mix them all together and add salt if needed. That’s it. Serve them as soon as you prepare them.

Just before eating, squeeze few drops of lime. We usually serve this Buggani along with few pieces of finely chopped onions (washed in water beforehand), some more roasted peanuts, and a lemon wedge.

Going to spend July 4th in beautiful Pittsburgh.

Photo by Vijay Singari