Tengolu | Thengolu | Thengolalu | Thenkuzhal Murukku | Thenkol | Rice Murukku easy recipe

This is the easiest and fastest method of preparing crispy golden Tengolu. Only thing is you have to get the rice and urad dal mix grounded in a mill and keep it ready at home. This flour of raw rice and raw urad dal can be kept for a month or two without any problem. 

Take 3 measures of rice and one measure of urad dal – both raw – and get it grounded nicely in a flour mill.

Prep time                           5 minutes

Cooking time                    15 minutes

Recipe video :

Ingredients : 

Finely ground flour of rice and urad dal as mentioned above    5 cups ( 2 paavu)

Dalda for mixing                          50 gms ( 1 soutu)

Hing / Asafetida                          1 teaspoon

Poppy seeds                               1 tablespoon

Groundnut/Refined Oil for frying

Salt to taste

Procedure

• Heat dalda in a kadai  and mix all the ingredients except groundnut oil  thoroughly and then add water. This needs lot of water and constantly needs additional water as the urad dal makes the dough hard within a few minutes. So mix the dough well and soft .
• Heat the oil in a kadai.
• Take Chakkuli oralu with Tengolu bille.   
• Grease the oralu inside well with oil to smoothen the flow of tengolu into oil.

• Fill the oralu with dough and directly squeeze into the oil.
• The oil should be on full flame always.
• Keep flipping the tengolu on both sides till it turns fine golden brown.
• Remove from the heat and put it on a paper towel.
• Repeat the process for next Tengolu.
• Remember that the dough would have turned a bit hard by now. Wet your hand in a bowl of water, soften the dough, grease the oralu and press the tengolu.
• It needs some energy to press the tengolu as it consists urad atta. So soft dough and a greased oralu is a must. And better to be done by women who are from a stronger sex. Hubby can't press it. You may take his help in frying.
• 
  

I did :-D             

Nature.... My Teacher.

chitrannaa.blogspot.in

This universe, the nature, is filled with beautiful messages, only we need to have an open and receptive mind and heart to learn or enjoy. May be because of my very rural background I am extremely attached to nature and very passionate about the five elements. They cheer me up and lift my spirits. As a result the tiniest of rustic and earthly things give me a world of pleasure whereas the big worldly materials hardly entice me.

Rava Dosa

chitrannaa.blogspot.in

                                                                          

  Ingredients 

• 1 cup unroasted rava/sooji/semolina)
• 1 cup rice flour.
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour/maida.
• 4 green chilli, finely chopped.
• 3 medium onion, finely chopped.
• 10 to 15 curry leaves, chopped.
• 1 inch ginger, finely chopped (optional)
• Buttermilk as required.
• 1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves. 
• Salt as required.

For tempering

• 2 tsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• Oil or ghee as required for roasting the dosa

• Preparation:

• Take rava, rice flour, all purpose flour, green chilies, ginger, onion, coriander leaves in a mixing bowl.
• Heat 1 tsp oil in a small frying pan add mustard seeds when they stop spluttering, add the cumin seeds. Then add the curry leaves. Saute for a few seconds.
• Add this tempering mixture along with the oil to the other ingredients in the bowl and add salt.
• Pour buttermilk and make a thin batter without any lumps. The batter should not be thick or of medium consistency. If the batter becomes too thin, then add some rice flour to lightly thicken it. keep aside for 30 minutes.
• Heat the tawa or non-stick pan. Smear a bit oil with a slice of onion or paper napkin.
• With a ladle pour the dosa batter from the edges towards the center. Don't try to spread it.
• Sprinkle ¼ or ½ or 1 tsp of oil from the top.
• Let the base becomes golden and crisp. Flip and cook the other side. When both the sides are cooked, remove the dosa from the pan. 
• Serve the onion rava dosa hot with coconut chutney or vegetable sambar. Onion rava dosa has to be served immediately.

Bisi Bele Bath | Bisibelebath | Bisibele Bhath or Bisibele Rice Recipe

chitrannaa.blogspot.com

Prep Time          10 Minutes

Cooking Time  30 Minutes

Serves                  4

Ingredients :

Rice 2 cup

Toor Dal 2 1/2 cup

Tamarind 1 Lemon sized

Jaggery 1 Tablespoon – depending on the sweetness you wish

Bisibele bhath powder / Sambar/Garam masala powder 2 Tablespoon

Red Chilli Powder   1 Tablespoon

Ghee  2 tablespoons

Salt to taste

Recipe Video :

Vegetables :

The following vegetables cut in 1” length
Beans

Onion

Potato

Tomato

Finely chopped methi leaves 1 cup

Curry leaves

Coriander leaves

Fresh peas or  Hyacinth Bean - Avarekalu 1 cup ( If you have neither, then you can use peanuts. But Avarekalu tastes best. In the season if you get Jackfruit seeds, you use them. After Avarekalu, they are the next best :-) )
PS : Here I would like to mention that the choice of vegetables is entirely yours. If there is a plus or minus, it is absolutely no problem.
 

For Tadka :

Oil 1 tablespoon

Mustard seeds 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder ½ teaspoon

Hing

Preparation :

• Soak tamarind in water.
• In a cooker cook daal along with vegetables and rice in separate containers.
• For rice generally we add water at 1:2 proportion. But here, you need to put a little more water so that the rice is cooked soft.
• Once it cools down, in a thick bottomed kadai, heat oil and add mustard seed. Once they splutter, add turmeric powder and hing. 
• Squeeze the tamarind pulp in it and add 2 glasses of water and let it come to a boil.
• While it is boiling, add jaggery, red chilli powder, bisibele bhath powder, salt and curry leaves and let it boil for another 5-6 minutes till it gives some fine aroma.
• Then add the dal cooked with veggies, add water if required and boil for five more minutes.
• Add the cooked rice, mix well and taste to check if you need some more salt, chilli powder Sambar powder or jaggery. 
• Cook on low fire.
• The bisi bele bhath at this point should be quite liquid. If you make it solid at this point, later on it will turn still hard. The best option would be to get a right liquid consistency at this point and still add half a glass of water and cook for just a few seconds and turn off the gas. So even if you eat it after hours, it will remain liquid and light.
• Add ghee and garnish with finely chopped coriander and cover for five minutes.
• Serve hot with Raita, Boondi kaalu or chips.
• 
  
  
  

Dhatri - The Village resort

chitranna.blogspot.com

I had set my eyes on this destination, a rural, rustic, village resort for more than a year. It was my idea of a holiday. An escapade into the nature. I have written about my craving for nature and village life a million times, may be ad-nauseum. The regular weekend resorts with swimming pool, badminton court and table tennis, the staple North and South Indian dishes is not my cup of tea. I would rather have a village home, with its aangan, plants, flowers and fauna, birds chirping in the background and of course our very own grandma's cuisine. And Dhatri Village Resort fitted the bill to the T. So off we went. Fifteen girls from Basavanagudi Branch. But of course, why that smirk? We are as young as we feel :-D I would take you through the resort and have given the contact details at the end. I bet you would scroll to it before fully reading through the details! Hold on !!!

This is the resort and this is the type of welcome you get on arrival .....

The beauty of this destination is it is not very far off from Bangalore. It is just about 80 kilometers from Bangalore near Kyathsandra, Tumkur. It caters mainly to a full day package, from dawn to dusk. You can arrive here by morning 8 o'clock where a sumptuous treat of breakfast would be waiting for you.They are not your staple bread and butter, but delicious desi delicacies, with abundant dose of fresh desi ghee. The menu varies and on the day we went it was Ottu Shavige with gojju and ghee, Ottu shavige with Kai haalu and ghee, Ottu shavige with capsicum and chillies with ghee, Avalakki khara pongal with ghee, Ragi Hurihittu with ghee ... Yes! that's the breakfast we were offered with piping hot filter coffee!!!

www.chitrannaa.blogspot.in

And personally I feel this is the ideal season to visit the resort because it would be fresh and green everywhere, all the plants washed in rain and flowers blooming everywhere. With Jackfruits and Jamuns inviting you and peacocks flying around, you will feel as if you are in Malnad!


And the host Sri.Ravi will then engage you with innovative village games, witty and full of fun. They were so interesting and funny that we fell off our chairs unable to control our laughter :-)

He conducted one game after another, engaging us in one activity after another giving a small break in between and we were so engrossed and relaxed that we forgot everything else in the world. You will have the choice to play or just sit back and relax soaking in the beauty of the nature. Mats and pillows are arranged inside the hall for those lazy bones!



And even before that healthy sumptuous breakfast could be digested, he invited us for a light snacks and juice. Now again!?! But none could resist the tempting sihi and khara avalakki with panaka :-)

And then again back to games, so innovative were his ideas that we could not help but marvel at his ingenuity and involvement and became children again!

And the lunch at 3 PM was again healthy, tasty home cooked delicacies. Look at these snaps and watch the video because I may not be able to do justice trying to explain the dishes. and rounded off by the bananas and betel leaves grown in their farm. The hosts will then give you the option to buy their innumerable home made products.


Post lunch a tour through the farm amidst the greenery was what we needed to burn all the calories. But because it was all healthy and home grown food and included none of those sweet and fried dishes, we were all feeling rejuvenated and raring to go with the fresh air and rain drops and flying peacocks giving us company.

And along with coffee, the hosts distributed the prizes, conspicuously taking care to see that each and every visitor got a prize! And what were the prizes? All the fresh veggies grown by them!!!
And it was time to bid adieu and like the old kannada adage " Undoo hoda, kondu hoda", they gave us boiled groundnuts to munch on our return journey.


PS :
Sri. Ravi, along with his family is the host and the organiser of this resort comprising of about 5 acres, which was started three years ago. The charge is 600 rupees and it's a day package. However if you wish to stay back for the evening, they will arrange "Kai tuttu oota" for the night and rooms to stay at an additional cost. But beware of the hounding mosquitoes!
It would be usually thrice a week and you have to book in advance. He prefers a minimum group of 20 to 25 persons. If your party contains less number or if you are going just with a family, you have to wait for his date to accommodate with other party.
His contact number is  9945179936
Have a fun filled rural escapade!!!

Heerekai Huli Thovve

chitrannaa.blogspot.in

Prep time                        10 mins

Cooking time                   20 mins

Serves                             4

Ingredients : 
Heerekai / Ridge Gourd  :      1 bowl ( 2 medium sized)
Toor Dal                        :      1 Cup 
Coriander seeds             :      1 Tablespoon
Urad dal                         :      1 1/2  Teaspoon
Channa Dal                    :      1 1/2 Teaspoon
Methi / Fenugreek seeds :      1/4 Teaspoon
Jeera                             :      1/2 spoon 
Cinnamon:                     :      1/2 Inch 
Red chilli (Byadagi )        :      5 to 6
Coconut                         :      1/2 Cup
Tamarind                       :      Small marble size (Optional)

chitrannaa.blogspot.in

Jaggery                         :       1/2 Teaspoon (Optional)
Curry leaves                   :     6 to 8
Coriander Leaves            :     2 Tablespoons. 
Hing (Asafoetida)            :     a pinch
Turmeric Powder             :     a pinch
Oil : 2 Teaspoons. 
Mustard seeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Salt to taste

Corn Pulav

chitrannaa.blogspot.in

Ingredients:
Basmathi rice- 1 big cup 
Finely chopped Onions-2
Sweet corn kernels-1/4 cup
Masala grinding:
Cinnamon-1/2″
Cloves-2
Cardamom-1-2

chitrannaa.blogspot.in

Poppy seeds 1 tsp
Green chilly – 6
Ginger 1 small piece
Garlic 2 cloves
Mint leaves- 10 leaves
Coriander leaves
Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp

Sugar 1/2 tsp
Cashew Nuts   10-15
Water – 1 1/2 cups
Ghee/Refined oil - 2 tbsp

sabudana khichdi recipe | sabudane ki khichdi | sago khichdi | sabakki khichdi

chitrannaa.blogspot.com

Sabbakki Khichadi or Sabudana khees, as it's known in Marathi is the most popular dish of Maharashtra. It is specially made on Ekadashi day, along with Kadlekai unde - groundnut ladoos - as its quite filling, besides being very tasty and nutritious.

Recipe Video :

By the way have you ever wondered how and from what the sabbakki is prepared? I too was ignorant and was very very curious. It was back then when Google had not entered our homes. I have always been very inquisitive and curious about such things. There is this insatiable hunger to learn and find out. Like I wanted to know what is the difference between Maida and Wheat flour, whether sabbakki was grown or manufactured, how do the planes fly, how the ships stay afloat on water, how the data is compressed and stored in microchips ........ the list was endless.

But the sources of knowledge back then when we were kids and students were very limited. There were parents and then there were teachers. But beyond the scope of their knowledge, they were also helpless. I would go and pester my father and my teachers with my inquisitive questions and beyond a point, exasperated, they would say “ Go and find in encyclopedia.”

Alas, encyclopedia was beyond the reach of – leave alone me – even my school! When I got married and came to Bangalore and had kids, a friend of my husband had taken the agency of Encyclopedia and invited us once to his home to market them. And the price? Just 40000 rupees!! By that money, I could have easily bought a 30x40 site in Bangalore's outskirts! So we said thanks but no thanks and came back.

And then came the baap of all the knowledge, Google and Internet and fortunately the world is at my fingertips now and there is no stopping me :-)
By the way do you know how sabbakki is prepared? And what is the raw material? You would be surprised to know! Sabbakki, called Sago in English, taking its name from the tree from which it is prepared. After removing the bark of the thick trunk of the tree, the inner part is washed, cut, ground, powdered and processed! Go and check in Youtube. It's an interesting process!

Visit here for more breakfast recipes :

Rava Dosa     Rava Pongal       Pesarattu    Kerala Paratha with Mixed Vegetable Curry

Crispy Light Avarekalu Rotti      Jolada Rotti with Ennegai Palya  Soft Chapati-Roti-Phulka 

Thali Peeth


OK. After a long introduction and a lot of deviation, here is the recipe of Sabudana Khichdi / Sabbakki Uppittu. Enjoy!

Prep time                 10 minutes
Cooking time            10 Minutes
Serves                       4

Ingredients :

Sabudana                                                           6 cups
Thick curds                                                         1 cup
Roasted and coarsely powdered groundnuts           ½ cup
Groundnut oil                                                     ¼ cup
Mustard seeds                                                    1 teaspoon
Jeera                                                                 1 teaspoon
Hing                                                                  2 pinch
Turmeric                                                            ½ teaspoon
Coarsely ground green chillies                             1 tablespoon
Finely chopped Coriander leaves
Curry leaves
Salt to taste

Preparation :

• Wash the Sabudana in a sieving plate or bowl  under running water.
• This step is extremely important. Only if we wash them under running water,the powdered sabudana will be washed off and we can cook the khichdi with separated and well cooked grains. Wash till all the powder is washed off and you get the clean and clear sabudana.
• Transfer them to a bowl and soak in thick curds for at least 4-5 hours. If you are preparing this for breakfast, you can keep them soaked in the night itself.
• In the morning rub the soaked sabudana with your hands so that  they are separated and there are no lumps.
• In a thick bottomed kadai heat groundnut oil.
• Put mustard seeds and let them splutter. Reduce the gas heat.
• Add Jeera, turmeric powder, hing, ground chillies and  curry leaves.
• Pour in the soaked sabudana and add salt. Mix well and add a little water.
• Here is the trick to cook sabudana in a perfect way. keep adding very very little water, mix well and close the lid for a minute. Repeat this process till the sabudana expand fully and cooked softly. The quantity of the water, heat and mixing here is very important. Keep mixing thoroughly so that they don't stick to the bottom, nor overcooked or burnt.
• Once it is cooked perfectly, add the coarsely powdered groundnut and nicely chopped coriander leaves.
• Serve hot.

bitter gourd stir fry recipe | hagalkayi palya | karela stir fry recipe

chitrannaa.blogspot.in

Prep time                        10 mins

Cooking time                   20 mins

Serves                            4

Ingredients :

Bitter Gourd thinly sliced circles               4
Thinly sliced onions                                 3
Sour curds                                             1 cup
Sambar powder                                      2 tablespoon
Turmeric powder                                    1 teaspoon
Jaggery powder                                     1 tablespoon
Oil                                                        4 tablespoon
Mustard seeds                                       1 teaspoon
Jeera                                                    2 teaspoon
Grated coconut                                      2 tablespoon
Chopped coriander leaves
Curry leaves
Hing
Salt to taste

Preparation :

• Soak the bitter gourd slices in sour curds for 20-30 minutes.
• Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard and jeera seeds, hing, turmeric powder and curry leaves.
• Add sliced onions and fry till golden brown, stirring occasionally taking care not to burn them.
• Squeeze the bitter gourd from the curds and add.
• Also add salt, sambar powder.
• Cook on a medium flame covered with a lid and stirring occasionally.
• Add a little oil if you prefer and keep frying till the bitter gourd turn golden brown.
• Turn off the fire and add jaggery powder.
• Garnish with coriander and grated coconut. 
• Serve with rotis / chapati and rice. 

rava pongal recipe | semolina pongal | sooji ka pongal recipe

chitrannaa.blogspot.in

Prep time                        10 mins

Cooking time                   20 mins

Serves                            4

Ingredients :

Rava/semolina                 4 cups

Moong Dal                       2 cups

Salt to taste

Ghee                              3 tablespoon

Black pepper                   1 tablespoon

Black pepper powder        1 tablespoon

Grated coconut                1 small cup

Cumin seeds                   1 tablespoon

Cashew nuts                   20

Finely chopped ginger      2 tsp

Slit green chillies             10

Turmeric powder             ½ tsp

Curry leaves

Preparation : 

• Dry roast moong dal till golden brown.
• Pressure cook nicely with 4-5 cups of water.
• Dry roast rava with a little oil.
• In a kadai, heat ghee and on a low flame lightly roast black pepper, cumin seeds, cashew nuts, finely chopped ginger, green chillies, grated coconut and turmeric powder in that order..
• Add 3-4 cups of water and while boiling add curry leaves, salt and the rava and cook stirring occasionally.
• When the rava is cooked, add the cooked moong dal after mashing it nicely.
• If you prefer, add some more ghee, water, if required, depending on the consistency you prefer and put some pepper powder. Cook a little more, stirring occasionally. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Basale Soppina Huli

chitrannaa.blogspot.in

Ingredients :

Basle leaves : 1 bunch

Channa dal : 1 Tablespoon
Urad dal: 1 Tea spoon
Coriander seeds : 1 Tablespoon
Methi seeds : 1/4 Teaspoon
Red chilly : 5 to 6
Curry leaves : 5 to 6
Mustard seeds : 1/2 Tea spoon
Ingh : a pinch
Turmeric powder : a pinch
Coconut : 3 to 4 Tablespoons
Salt : To taste
Oil : 2 Teaspoons. 
Tamarind: a small marble size.
Jaggery : 1 Tablespoon