A - Z Karnataka Recipe Series ~ R for Rave Vangi Bhath

So far in my 'A - Z' Karnataka Recipe Series,

A - Akki Halbai
B - Biscuit Roti
C - Congress Kadalekayi
D - Davanagere Benne Dose
E - Ellu Pajji
F - Field Beans / Avarekalu Payasa
G - Girmit
H - Hitakida Avarekalu Huli
I - Iyengar Bakery Style Masala Toast
J - Jolada Vade
K - Kumbalakayi Idli
L - Limbe Hannina Gojju
M - Mysore Pak
N - Nuchinunde

O - Oodhalina Bisibele Bhath
P - Panchakajjaya
Q - Quinoa Oralu Chitranna

'R' dishes from Karnataka:

'R' stands for rotti in Kannada which happens to be a very popular,  unleavened flat bread from Karnataka. There are variations depending upon the kind of flour used to make these rottis. The rice flour based ones that are made in three different ways are called akki rottis. The finger millet flour and semolina versions would be ragi rotti and sajjige rotti respectively. Sorghum flour based ones are called jolada rotti which are a staple meal in North Karnataka homes. There is also a fiery red chili chutney from that region called Ranjaka.

'R' is for ragi too which happens to be finger millet which is an important cereal grain of the state. The ground millet is traditionally used to cook various dishes like rotti, dose, idli, halbai and so on. And  most importantly, it is used in the preparation of ragi mudde which is a staple lunch and dinner item for many households across the state, especially in the southern parts. No ragi muddhe equals to no meal in these homes. Hurihittu is the popped grain that has been ground and stored to make ragi malt and laddus. 

'R' also stands for rave in Kannada. Rave, pronounced ra-way is semolina that is used in various dishes like uppittu, rave dose, rave idli, rave rotti, rave ganji / payasa, rave laadu, halbai and so on. Rave idli and rotti originated in the state though the rest are cooked through out south India.

R for rave vangi bhath:
My 'R' dish today is an authentic and tasty breakfast dish from the state called rave vangi bhath that can even double up as a comforting lunch box item. Vangi bhath powder adds spice to this version of vegetable upma. It is somewhat a cross between a uppittu recipe and vangi bhath and try it in case if you are looking to elevate the ordinary upma recipe. The bhath usually contains vegetables and is wholesome though it can be prepared without them as well making it a quick fix dish. Usually eggplants and capsicum are a part of the dish and usage of onions is entirely optional and I don't use them. Semolina can be replaced by vermicelli or a combination of semolina and vermicelli can be used as well in the recipe. In that case, the water quantity needs to be adjusted since vermicelli gets cooked in less quantity of water than semolina. 

Ingredients:

1 cup semolina 
2 small eggplants 
1/2 small sized capsicum
1 tomato
2 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. split chickpeas (chana dal)
1 tsp. skinned black gram (urad dal)
1 tsp. mustard seeds
2 tbsp. cashews
1 sprig of curry leaves
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
A handful of fresh / frozen peas
About 1.5 to 2 tbsp. vangi bhath powder
Salt to taste

Prep work:
1. Roast semolina on medium flame, continuously stirring until it starts to give off the toasted aroma and some of the grains start to change the shade to slightly brown at the bottom, about 4 -5 minutes. Remove from the stove and let it cool. 

2. Either home made or store bought vangi bhath powder can be used in the recipe. The home made version can be found here and it can be prepared in advance and stored for weeks.. 
3. Chop the stalks of eggplants and slight them lenthwise into thin strips. Discard the stem and the seeds from capsicum and chop finely. Also chop the tomato finely and keep aside. (I used about 3/4 cup of each vegetable for 2 cups semolina. One can use about 1 to 1.5 cups vegetables for 1 cup semolina.)


Directions:
* Heat oil on medium flame in a big sized pan / pot and add split chick peas, skinned black gram, mustard seeds and cashews. 

* Stir and when the split chick peas and skinned black gram start to turn reddish / slightly brown, add curry leaves, chopped vegetables, and turmeric. 

* Saute on medium flame, stirring intermittently until vegetables are about to be done, exactly about 5 minutes. There is no need to cook them until done since they are going to get further cooked in water.

* Add 3 cups of water, peas, vangi bhath powder to taste and salt. Bring the water to a boil. (One can taste test the water and check whether the spice and salt levels are as per taste. The water should taste slightly saltier and spicy. If it is not spicy enough then a little chili powder can be used if preferred rather than adding vangi bhath powder. Adding too much of vangi bhath powder makes the flavor too strong instead of making it spicier.)

* Lower the heat setting once the water starts to boil. Pour the semolina into the pan in a steady, quick stream using the non dominant hand while continuously stirring with your dominant hand, to avoid forming lumps. In case, any lumps are formed then immediately break them with the back of the spatula.
 
* Cover and cook on low flame until semolina is cooked, about 4 to 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro if needed and serve immediately.

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A - Z Karnataka Recipe Series ~ Q for 'Quinoa' Oralu Chitranna / 'Quinoa' Kayi Sasive Anna

So far in my 'A - Z' Karnataka Recipe Series,

A - Akki Halbai
B - Biscuit Roti
C - Congress Kadalekayi
D - Davanagere Benne Dose
E - Ellu Pajji
F - Field Beans / Avarekalu Payasa
G - Girmit
H - Hitakida Avarekalu Huli
I - Iyengar Bakery Style Masala Toast
J - Jolada Vade
K - Kumbalakayi Idli
L - Limbe Hannina Gojju
M - Mysore Pak

N - Nuchinunde
O - Oodhalina Bisibele Bhath
P - Panchakajjaya

A few alphabets always prove difficult when doing Indian based 'A - Z' themed culinary series as those particular sounds are not in use in local Indian languages. I had the same difficulty while planning this vegetarian recipe series from the south Indian state of Karnataka. I stumbled earlier at alphabet 'F' and had to use an English name and today, I had to again resort to some manipulation as there are no ingredients or recipes that start with 'Q' in the state's cuisine. I cooked a rice dish which is traditional and unique to the region, substituting quinoa instead, making it my 'Q' dish today. Quinoa though not local to the region is available now in India and I therefore figured out that I can go ahead with my choice. Feel free to use rice in the recipe for the age old version or even millet, in case quinoa is not available.

Today's rice dish, a onion and garlic free dish comes from the Udupi region and quintessentially a Karnataka dish as a bisibele bhath is. They are my all time favorite rice dishes, hands down.😋 The temple town of Udupi from the state is famous for it's own brand of vegetarian cuisine which has it's origins from the Astha mathas of Udupi, founded by Madhwacharya. Though it is common now to find an eatery with a prefix 'Udupi' in every nook and corner of the world, once the vegetarian Udupi restaurants were run by priests and cooks trained at the Krishna matha, following the temple tradition. 

Kayi sasive anna is a spicy and delicious rice dish made with an uncooked paste of coconut, mustard seeds, tamarind, jaggery and chilies. This main course is usually reserved for meals served during festivals and social gatherings, especially in Brahmin households. The dish is quite an easy one to prepare if one figures out how to balance the sweet, sour and the spicy flavors. Rice is cooked and mixed with the above said paste and salt, with an addition of the typical south Indian style of tempering of peanuts, curry leaves and other ingredients. 

A paste of 'kaayi' (coconut) and 'sasive' (mustard seeds) is mixed with anna (rice) and hence the name kayi sasive anna. It is also called oralu chitranna since a 'oralu', a stone grinder was used traditionally to grind the paste manually. Whereas chitranna refers to any tempered, spicy rice dish such as a lemon rice / mango rice. Usage of byadagi chillies gives the characteristic orange- red hue to the dish. I had run out of those and used the spicy variety dried chilies.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup quinoa 
Salt to taste

Ingredients for the spicy paste:
3/4 cup fresh / frozen grated coconut
1 tbsp. sized tamarind ball
1 tbsp. powdered jaggery 
5 - 6 dried, spicy variety red chillies *
1/4 tsp. mustard seeds 
2 pinches of powdered hing / asafoetida
(* Combination of spicy and byadagi chillies give the dish a beautiful color.) 

Ingredients for tadka / tempering:
2 tbsp. oil
A handful of peanuts
1 tbsp. split chickpeas / chana dal
1/2 tbsp. skinned black gram / urad dal
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
A sprig of curry leaves
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder

Directions:

* Rinse quinoa thoroughly a few times with water and drain. Add the drained quinoa and water and pressure cook for three whistles. (I added 1 + 1/4 + 1/8 cups of water.) Leave the quinoa aside for at least about 30 minutes so that the quinoa grains stand apart. 

* Soak tamarind in water for easy grinding. If not soaked ahead then nuke it in the microwave adding a little water for a couple of minutes. Drain the water and use the tamarind. 
* Thaw the coconut if using frozen one by placing it in a microwave for about a minute.
 
* Grind together the ingredients mentioned under the 'spicy paste' list, without adding any water or as little water as possible. (I did not add any.)
* Heat oil in a kadai / wide pan.  Add peanuts, split chick peas, black gram, and mustard seeds. Toast them until the dals and peanuts turn golden brown. Add curry leaves and turmeric powder at the end and turn off the stove.
* Immediately add the ground paste, cooked quinoa and salt. Break any lumps if present from the cooked quinoa using the back of a spatula and mix well. (Don't add all the paste at once if not sure whether the spice level can be handled. Add about half the quantity of the paste, mix, taste test and add the remaining paste if needed.) 
* Serve warm immediately and refrigerate any left overs. 

Notes:
1. There is no need to cook the paste.
2. The same paste can be used to make the traditional rice version. Cook a cup of rice instead of quinoa and follow the same steps. 
3. The spice level of the paste worked for our taste levels. If one is not used to spicy food, then don't add all the masala paste at once. Add little by little and do the taste testing.
4. Refrigerate any leftover rice as soon as it comes to room temperature. Raw coconut is used here and the rice easily gets spoiled if the weather is warm.

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A - Z Karnataka Recipe Series ~ P for Panchakajjaya

So far in my 'A - Z' Karnataka Recipe Series,

A - Akki Halbai
B - Biscuit Roti
C - Congress Kadalekayi
D - Davanagere Benne Dose
E - Ellu Pajji
F - Field Beans / Avarekalu Payasa
G - Girmit
H - Hitakida Avarekalu Huli
I - Iyengar Bakery Style Masala Toast
J - Jolada Vade
K - Kumbalakayi Idli
L - Limbe Hannina Gojju
M - Mysore Pak

N - Nuchinunde
O - Oodhalina Bisibele Bhath

Some of the dishes like patrode, paradi payasa and pundi gatti that come from the Mangalore - Udupi regions would have aptly suited for today's alphabet 'P'. (Of course, there are various regional versions of the same across the country.) And there are several other dishes from the state with Konkani names which I am not listing here.

* Patrode - A steamed snack of colocasia / taro leaves smeared with a spicy batter.
* Paradi Payasa - A traditional payasa from Udupi - Mangalore region. A thick batter of rice flour is passed through a perforated ladle and the droplets are cooked in water first and then in coconut milk and jaggery.
* Pundi gatti - A steamed rice based dumpling.
* Paddu - A breakfast / snack item which is typical to south India and known by other names as such as ponganalu / paniyaram.
* Anything cooked using padavalakayi (snake gourd), palak soppu (spinach) or parangi kayi (raw papaya) would have suited the purpose too. While parangi hannu is papaya fruit and perale hannu is another name for guava fruit which is usually called chepe hannu.

I opted to go with a very traditional recipe of the region called  panchakajjaya that is served as naivedya (offering to god) to Lord Ganesha. It has nothing to do with kajjaya, another traditional sweet dish made with rice flour and jaggery also called arise / athirasam / adhirasam in other regional languages. As the name indicates, panchakajjya is made with 'pancha' or five base ingredients that can be made in no time. The humble combination of coconut, jaggery, sesame seeds, cardamom and powdered split chick peas used in the recipe is delicious and somehow even my  daughter who usually stays away from sweet dishes loved it.

This rustic and delicious sweet dish can be made with split chick peas (chana dal) or moong dal or even using beaten rice flakes aka poha as the base ingredient. The sweetener can be either powdered jaggery or powdered sugar. Freshly grated coconut is obviously used since it is offered as naivedya but in case, thaw if using frozen coconut. Just nuke the frozen coconut in a microwave for a minute and you would be ready to go. White or black sesame seeds can be used in the recipe but many usually avoid black ones if using for auspicious occasions. Ghee can be skipped in case one is vegan. And chopped nuts can also be added if one wishes to do so.

Panchakajjaya cannot be stored longer since fresh coconut is being used in the recipe. However there are versions where dried coconut can be used and a syrup of jaggery is prepared to bind the mixture so that it can be stored for longer periods. I have also seen some calling a ground mixture of coconut, sugar and cardamom as panchakajjaya. The local Ganesha temple back home at my mom's place always make a yellow hued karjikayi (because of addition of turmeric to the outer dough) with that stuffing. They are called panchakajjaya there and given as Sankasthi prasada each month.

 Ingredients:
1/4 cup kadale bele / split chick peas (chana dal)
1/4 cup tengina thuri / fresh grated coconut
1/4 cup bella / jaggery powder 
2 tsp. ellu / white sesame seeds 
1/4 tsp. yelakki / ground cardamom
1 tsp. thuppa / ghee 

Directions:
* Add split chickpeas to a pan and toast on medium heat until they start to change color. Transfer them onto a plate and let them cool. When cool, grind them into a slightly coarse powder or finely.

* Toast sesame seeds on low heat until they slightly brown and let them cool. Pay attention while toasting sesame seeds since they easily burn.

* Add powdered split chickpeas, toasted sesame seeds. grated fresh coconut, jaggery powder, cardamom powder and ghee to a bowl and mix them to combine. 
* Use it as naivedya and eat it immediately. Or the mixture can be refrigerated for a couple of days.

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