Proso Millet - Moong Kheer

 

Here is a millet based sweet recipe keeping the 'Navaratri' theme in mind. It is a delicious and easy kheer / payasam prepared with proso millet and moong. I  initially pressure cooked the millet and moong in water to save time and then further cooked it in milk and sugar. The millet and moong can also be cooked in a sauce pan on low heat until the mixture  reaches a soft and creamy consistency. It can be cooked in milk without the addition of water to make it more richer. Jaggery can be substituted instead of sugar in the kheer. This yummy kheer is fit to offer as a naivedyam on festive days or enjoy as a simple dessert.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup proso millet
1/4 cup yellow moong
1 & 1/2 cups of milk

3/4 cup sugar or to taste

1/8 tsp. cardamom powder

1 tbsp. ghee

1 tbsp. cashews

1 tbsp. raisins

Directions:

* Rinse proso millet and moong and pressure cook adding 1 and 1/2 cups water, for 3 whistles.

* Transfer the cooked moong - millet mixture to a pan, preferably a non-stick one. Add milk and cook until a desired consistency is reached or for about 10 - 15 minutes, frequently stirring. Add sugar and cardamom and cook further until the sugar is dissolved. Turn off the stove.

* Heat ghee in a small pan and add cashews and raisins. Toast until the cashews turn golden brown  and raisins turn plump. Remove from the heat and add them to the kheer.

* Serve the kheer warm or chilled.

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Hurigadale Unde / Maa Laddu / Malaadu / Pappula Laddu

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi for those celebrating!

There are going to be Indian sweets and snacks' themed recipes posted this month at my space, as part of the mega marathon I am participating in. There are no recipes posted on Sundays and so there are going to be 26 recipes posted in total. The first week is about sweets and I chose to go with recipes which doesn't need any expertise to try and contains 3 to 5 ingredients at most. Most of them are commonly prepared in my mother's kitchen but I have been too lazy to post them so far. I wanted to utilize this opportunity to record them instead of trying some new or fancy ones. These are tried and tested recipes by family and mostly associated with the south Indian festive season.

The first one are laddus made with fried gram / hurigadale / pappulu - the ones commonly used to make chutneys to go along with south Indian breakfasts like idlis and dosas. These are made in some parts of southern India and are called malaadu in Tamilnadu and hurigadale unde in Karnataka. I had no idea that these were made in Andhra as well until my husband mentioned that his mother used to make them on one of the days during Dasara / Navratri festival. These make a great substitute for besan laddus if you are looking for something similar sans the stirring workout. I would however suggest to stick to besan laddus if you are a great fan of those. These melt in mouth kind laddus are quick and easy to prepare and a perfect recipe for novice cooks. There is nothing to mess up and makes a great Dasara or Diwali treat. Go ahead and try these delicious laddus for the upcoming festivals and you wouldn't be disappointed.

Ingredients: (Yield 14 laddus)
1 cup roasted gram (chutney dal)
1/2 cup (2 tbsp. extra sugar can be added if sweeter laddus are preferred.)
3 cardamom pods
5 tbsp. ghee
1 tbsp. cashew pieces
1 tbsp. raisins (optional)

Directions:
* Finely grind the roasted gram dal and sieve it into a mixing bowl. Grind finely again any coarser dal particles left in the sieve and add it to the bowl.

 * Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods. Grind sugar and cardamom seeds together finely. Add this to the bowl with the ground dal and mix well.

* Heat a tbsp. of ghee (just until hot but not to the smoking point) in a small pan and add cashews and raisins if using. Toast until cashews turn golden brown and raisins turn plump. Turn off the heat and add them along with the ghee to the bowl.
 
* Melt the remaining ghee and add it to the bowl and mix everything well with a spoon.
* Shape the mixture into laddus / small sized balls using your fist. Make sure that each laddu has raisins and cashew pieces in it. 
* Store the laddus in a tight fitting container.



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Jowar Flour Laddu / Sorghum Flour - Nut Laddus

When I recently was discussing about travel food with my daughter, she gave me a list of foods that she would prefer to eat on a trip. It occurred to me that those are our family favorites I pack when we take long road trips and I realized with surprise that unknowingly I have created a tradition of our own. My kids one day probably would get nostalgic about our trips and reminisce about how their mom would stuff any vacant space in the car with food and other paraphernalia while dad is watching with dismay. 😇. 

Anyway while we were at it, the girl requested me to make some laddus. My daughter is not big on desserts but prefers a few selected ones like these peanut laddus for instance. I carry a load of homemade spicy snacks, energy bars and other sweets to munch on, especially if we are going to be on the road for a week or two and those laddus are a must for her. She got these energy balls to try this time which we all enjoyed. These laddus are loaded with healthy ingredients like jowar flour, raisins, a medley of nuts and jaggery which all contribute equally to make these laddus delicious and rich. The laddus do not need any ghee and the moisture from the ingredients used is enough to shape them. The laddus are firm though they look moist in the images. Try these easy and quick laddus on a festival day or as a after school treat for little ones. 

Ingredients: (Yield 12 laddus)
3/4 cup jowar ka atta / sorghum flour / jonna pindi
1/2 cup mixed nuts - I used skinned peanuts, almonds, cashews and walnuts
1/2 cup grated, dry coconut
1/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup powdered jaggery
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom

Directions:
* Roast jowar flour stirring continuously, on low flame until you notice aroma, about 7 -8 minutes.
* Toast nuts on low flame for about a minute or so. (I just toasted them in a microwave.)
* Let the flour and nuts cool down.
* Pulse the nuts finely in a food processor until they start to clump if possible and transfer to a mixing bowl. Then add jowar flour, coconut and raisins to the food processor and grind them fine. Now add back the ground nuts, jaggery and cardamon to the food processor. Pulse a few times until all the ingredients are mixed thoroughly and finely ground.
* Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and make lemon sized balls from the mixture.
* Store them in an airtight container. Freeze them if wishing to save longer and thaw them before serving.

This post is an entry for Blogging Marathon #97 and BM - 'Kids' Delight' event hosted by Renu this month with 'Travel Food' theme.



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Dabbakaaya Pulihora

In Andhra, a pulihora is a rice dish prepared with any souring agent like cooked tamarind sauce, lemon / lime juice, green mango and so on. 'Pulihora' (under different regional names) has been an essential part of the travel paraphernalia for generations, for those with south Indian roots. Especially the tamarind rice that don't get spoiled for at least two days even in Indian tropical climate, a perfect and economical travel food, especially if travelling with a large group. And there are those pulihoras which can be made in a jiffy like the lemon rice or the green mango rice which make perfect travel food when there is not enough time to slave around in the kitchen. Adjust the spice levels if there are kids in the group and carry some yogurt, you will have a filling meal for the whole family. I usually pack a rice item when we are taking car trips so that an hour is not wasted for lunch at the food joints along the way. I pack food individually in disposable containers with our names labelled on the box to avoid confusions over who gets what and to avoid my daughter eating spicy food. I put a disposable spoon, glass/water bottle and napkin in each set so that no one comes bothering me to figure out the wheres and whats.

Today's rice item called dabbakaaya pulihora is one such easy item. Dabbakaya called so in Telugu is a citrus fruit, which is as big as an orange but somewhat similar to a lemon in taste and looks. It is called as heralekaayi in Kannada and if I am not wrong, narthangai in Tamil. I saw it being referred to as a grape fruit, pomelo and citron online and I am leaning more towards citron. Dabbakaaya rice goes along similar lines of a lemon rice preparation and one just need to substitute this citrus fruit juice for lemon juice. It makes a simple, quick, and flavorful dish that can be enjoyed by the whole family. It can be packed either in a lunch box, or a picnic basket. It can be carried as travel food or served as a part of a south Indian style festival meal. Just remember to cool down the rice completely if it is being packed.

Ingredients: (4 servings)
1 cup rice (I used sona masuri.)
2 tbsp. oil (I used canola oil.)
2 tbsp. peanuts
1 tbsp. chana dal (split chickpeas)
1 tsp. urad dal (skinned and split black lentil)
1 tsp. mustard seeds
3 chopped green chillies or 5 - 6 dried red chillies, broken into pieces *
1 - 2 stalks of curry leaves
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
A pinch of asafoetida powder
Salt to taste
1 dabbakaaya or 3 to 4 tbsp. juice (Adjust depending upon the sourness of the juice.)
Minced cilantro to garnish (optional)
* A combo of both green and red chillies can be used too. The number of chillies in the recipe can be adjusted according to one's preferred spice levels.

Method:
* Wash the rice in two exchanges of water and drain completely. Pressure cook the rice adding 1 and 3/4 cups of water. (Add 2 cups of water if using a rice cooker.) When the rice is done, spread it on a wide plate and fluff the rice. Or let the rice sit for a while before using.
* Once the rice is ready, heat oil in a pan / kadai. Add peanuts, split chickpeas, split black gram and mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start to sizzle and pop and the dals start to turn reddish, add chillies and saute for few seconds. Next add curry leaves, turmeric and asafoetida. Stir once and turn off the stove.
* Add rice, salt and the fruit juice and mix well. Taste the rice and adjust salt or the juice if needed. Salt and the fruit juice flavors tone down a bit after the resting period and so add those ingredients accordingly or taste the rice again after 30 minutes and adjust the quantities. 
* Let the rice sit for at least 15 - 30 minutes for the flavors to develop. 
* It can be served on it's own or serve some papad / chips along with it.
* If packing for lunches or as travel food then make sure that the rice is completely cool before packing. The rice may get spoiled quickly if packed warm.

This post is an entry for Blogging Marathon #97 and BM - 'Kids' Delight' event hosted by Renu this month with 'Travel Food' theme.


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Pongala Payasam

Google introduced me recently to the 'Ponkala' or 'Pongala' festival when I was trying to compile a list of Indian festivals celebrated during this month. It turns out that it has nothing to do with the 'Pongal' festival of Tamil nadu though it sounds similar. The Pongala festival happens to be an important religious celebration at the Bhagavathy temple in Attukal, Trivandrum in the south Indian state of Kerala. It is celebrated for 10 days during the months of February - March to pray the presiding deity of the temple, Attukal Devi. The temple is renowned for this annual celebration where a large section of women participate to pray goddess Attukul Devi, who they believe would fulfill all their wishes. In fact, 3.5 million women participated in 2009 in the celebration, thereby setting a Guinness Book of World Record for being the single largest gathering of women for a religious activity. 

Millions of women gather around the temple and prepare 'Pongala' in the open in new earthen pots to please the Goddess. Pongala (literally means to boil over) is a ritualistic offering of the sweet rice pudding prepared in the temple premises to the Goddess. This payasam doesn't use milk or moong dal as the standard sweet pongal versions do. Wiki mentions that the pongala payasam is prepared with a special payasam rice called as puzhungalari, jaggery, coconuts, raisins, nuts and other ingredients. We prepare the standard version pongal at home using those ingredients and I got curious about 'the other ingredients' there until I came across this interesting pongla payasam version. It had bananas and bay leaves in it and I therefore decided to give it a try. I am already a fan of sweet pongal but I must say that I am sold out to this version of sweet pongal. It is hard to notice the banana flavor individually in the recipe but it lends an extra layer of sweetness to the dish. If you are looking for a new version of sweet pongal, try it out. You would be glad that you did.

It is made in earthen pots on open fire at the festival though at home, a gas stove and pressure cooker would make it a quick and fuss free preparation. In lieu of a pressure cooker, it can be cooked in a sturdy or a nonstick pot, with frequent stirring. I have given the pressure cooker method below but if using a pot to cook, the amount of water need to be adjusted accordingly. It would be more than a cup. The payasam should be on a thicker side according to the original recipe. And the color of the payasam depends upon the jaggery that have been used.

Source: Here
Ingredients: (Yield 3 - 4 servings)
1/2 cup payasam rice / regular rice (I used extra large grain.)
1/2 cup powdered jaggery
1/2 cup shredded fresh coconut
1 tbsp. raisins
1 tbsp. cashew nuts
1 sweet variety small banana, cut into pieces
2 cardamom, crushed
1 bay leaf 
1 tbsp. ghee or as per taste

Method:
* Rinse the rice in two exchanges of water and drain the water. Pressure cook the rice adding a cup of water. 
* Transfer the cooked rice to a nonstick pot. Add jaggery, coconut,  ghee, and cardamom to the pot. Cook the mixture on low flame until the jaggery melts, stirring frequently.
* Tear the bay leaves into pieces and add to the mixture. Next add the banana pieces, raisins and cashews and stir well. Turn off the stove.
* It can be covered with a banana leaf, if you have access to it.
 
This goes to Blogging marathon #74, under the theme 'Festival recipes'. Check out the page to read what other marathoners are cooking.

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Beerakaaya Bajji / Ridgegourd Fritters

 
Bajji / Bhujiya are the spicy, Indian chickpea flour based vegetable fritters and today's version uses ridge gourd slices. This mouthwatering treat sans onion can be a part of either a festival platter or an accompaniment to evening tea / coffee.

Ingredients: (Yield about 16 bajjis)
1/2 cup heaped chickpea flour / besan
1 tbsp. rice flour
1 tsp. cumin seeds
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp. chili powder or to taste
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
2 pinches of asafoetida powder (optional)
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/2 ridge gourd
Oil to deep fry (I used canola oil.) 

Method:
* Peel the ridge gourd and cut into thin slices.
* Heat the oil in a deep frying pan on medium heat. Don't bring it to the point of smoking hot.
* Sieve garbanzo flour into a mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients except the ridge gourd slices to the bowl and mix to combine. Next add water and make a batter of semi-thick consistency. It should be neither thick nor watery but should be able to coat when the ridge gourd slices are dipped in it. (I used about 1/2 cup minus 1 tbsp. water.)
* Drop a pinch of batter into the oil to test whether the oil is ready for frying. If the batter sizzles and comes immediately to the surface, it's ready to fry. If the batter sinks and doesn't rise, the oil needs some more heating. Dip the ridge gourd slice in the batter so that it is coated well on both sides and drop it into the oil carefully. Repeat this step and drop as many slices as the pan could hold without over crowding.
* Fry until they turn golden brown. Remove them with a spatula and drain on absorbent towels. 
* Repeat the steps with the remaining gourd slices and the batter.
* These bajjis can be served as it is or with chutney on the side.
 
This goes to Blogging marathon #74, under the theme 'Festival recipes'. Check out the page to read what other marathoners are cooking.

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Rice Dishes ~ C for Chintapandu Pulihora / Andhra Style Tamarind Rice

It's time for the alphabet 'C' and time for the most traditional dish of my A - Z Rice series. I didn't have to think twice for the letter 'C' since this 'chintapandu pulihora' post has been long due on my blog. Chintapandu pulihora aka the tamarind rice has a significant place in Andhra cooking or south Indian cooking for that matter. Whether you call it pulihora / puliyogare / puliyodarai depending upon which part of south India you are from, this classic dish steals the limelight among the traditional rice recipes. It appears on every menu associated with auspicious occasions and festive meals. It is one of the preferred and common neivedyams (food offering to Gods) offered at hindu temples and distributed as prasadam (the neivedyam distributed among devotees). It is also one of the commonly carried items for picnics and long distance travels since it doesn't get spoiled for at least a couple of days even without refrigeration.

The word 'puliohora' literally means a sour dish, the word 'puli' coming from 'pulupu' which means sour in Telugu. The traditional version of pulihoras are made using tamarind / lemon or mango though some just refer to the tamarind rice as pulihora. The version I am posting today is a pretty common one in Andhra brahmin households though there are versions with the addition of powdered sesame seeds / mustard seeds.
 
My maternal grandmother used to make a superb pulihora and till date I haven't eaten a version that at least came closer to hers, in terms of taste and flavors. Neither my mother nor my aunts have been able to replicate her pulihora taste though they are all considered wonderful cooks and make good pulihoras. My version is usually good, better than the most of the versions sold across the temples in U.S., according to my family. I have learnt from experience that though a pulihora recipe is simple and straight forward, balancing the flavors is the most important aspect in the preparation of tamarind rice and a few trials go in mastering the recipe. It is hard to exactly give the right measurements since tamarind / chillies / jaggery from one batch to another do not taste the same and for the same reason, I held back all these years from posting a recipe. These measurements made a very good pulihora with the kind of tamarind and the very spicy variety chillies I used. And so use your discretion and the below recipe can be used as a guideline. Taste the gojju / pulihora if needed during preparation. The gojju can be prepared in advance and stored for weeks. It is convenient to have it handy when preparing a quick or impromptu meal.

Ingredients for 8 - 10 servings:
5 to 6 cups cooked rice *
1 cup tamarind puree 
3 to 4 tbsp. oil 
3 dried red chilies
1/2 cup peanuts
2 tbsp. chanadal / split chickpeas
1 tbsp. urad dal / black gram
1 tsp. mustard seeds
3 to 4 green chilies, slit lengthwise (I used medium sized, Serrnao peppers)
1 - 2 sprig of curry leaves
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
1/8 tsp. asafoetida powder
2 tbsp. powdered jaggery (or adjust as needed)
2 tsp. salt approximately or as per taste

* - A medium grained south Indian variety white rice such as sona masuri
 
Method:
* Heat oil in a kadai or preferably a non stick pan. Add red chillies, peanuts, split chick peas, black gram and mustard seeds in that order. Stir and when peanuts appear golden brown, add green chillies and saute for few seconds.
* Next add curry leaves, turmeric powder and asafoetida powder. Stir for few seconds and pour the tamarind puree into the pan.
* Cook the mixture until it thickens, with intermittent stirring. Stay near the stove at the final stages since the mixture may stick to the pan and burn, especially when not using a non stick pan. Add salt and jaggery and stir until they combine. Turn off the stove and let the mixture cool.
 

* This paste can be used immediately at this point or can be stored for later use. The mixture stays good even if left outside on a counter for few days but to be on a safer side, let it be refrigerated.
* Meanwhile, spread the rice on a wide plate. (My mother sprinkles turmeric powder on the rice and pours the cooked paste over it, instead of adding turmeric in the seasoning.) Add the cooked paste to the rice and mix well. Let it sit for few minutes for the flavors to develop. Taste and add if any extra salt is needed. Extra rice can be added if the pulihora seems spicy.
(Cook extra rice in case. You may start with 3/4th quantity of the rice and about 3/4th of the paste to begin with so that you can taste and adjust the quantities of rice and tamarind paste to suit your tastes.)
* Serve with some papad, potato chips or wadi / vadiyalu.
 

Recipes so far in A - Z Rice Dishes,
A for Achaari Chole Pulao
B for Bhuna Khichuri

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 68.

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Til Ke Laddu / Sesame Seeds Laddu / Nuvvundalu

 

Here is one more simple and easy recipe for the Sankranti festival, which is just around the corner. The combination of sesame seeds and jaggery, redolent with cardamom flavor yield a yummy treat.

Ingredients:
1 cup white sesame seeds
Scant 1 cup jaggery 
1 tbsp. ghee
2 to 3 tbsp. water 
1/2 tsp. cardamom powder

Method:
* Dry toast sesame seeds in a wide pan until they start to splutter, about 2 -3 minutes, stirring continuously. Transfer the sesame seeds onto a plate and keep it aside. 
* Keep a small plate with cold water ready by the stove to test the consistency of the jaggery syrup. Add jaggery, ghee and water to a big, sturdy, thick-bottomed vessel or a non-stick pan and keep stirring on low flame. Soon the jaggery starts to melt and concentrate.  Boil this syrup till it reaches a rollable hard ball consistency. To test, add few drops of jaggery syrup to the cold water and roll the syrup with your fingers to form a ball. It should keep its shape without melting in spite of tilting the plate.
*  Add the sesame seeds and cardamom quickly and stir well. Turn off the stove. Set aside the mixture for few minutes and shape into small balls. Store the laddus in an airtight container.

This goes to Blogging marathon #60 under the theme 'Festival of the Month'. Check the link to see what other marathoners are cooking.

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Theepi Pongali / Sweet Pongal

 
When I recently complied recipe index, I realized that many simple, common Indian festive dishes have not been posted on my blog yet though this is my 10th year of blogging. The main reason being that I usually don't cook festival dishes in advance for blog's sake since I have to cook them anyway on the festival day. However 'clicking' those dishes during festivals would be the last thing on my mind because of the hectic schedule. I picked the theme of the festival dishes this week to change that as Sankranti / Pongal is around the corner. 
Sweet and savory pongals, the south Indian style thick and creamy rice puddings take the center stage on a Makara Sankranti day in majority of the south Indian households. And they also happen to be the popular 'prasadams' distributed to devotees in temples across the region and 'naivedyam' offered to God at homes. Today's version is the one commonly prepared in our home using sugar and coconut and a favorite of mine.
 
Ingredients:
1/2 cup rice *
2 tbsp. moong dal
1 & 1/4 cup water
1 cup full fat milk
1/4 cup fresh, grated coconut
1/4 tsp. cardamom powder
5 - 6 tbsp. sugar (adjust according to taste)
1 tbsp. ghee
1 tbsp. raisins
1 tbsp. cashew nuts
A pinch of camphor powder (optional)

* Use any south Indian style white rice. I prefer to use extra long grain rice since it can be cooked to a softer / mushy consistency. Do not use Basmati rice.
 
Method:
* Wash rice and moong dal in two exchanges of water and drain. Add water to rice and dal and pressure cook until rice is almost cooked mushy.
If cooking in a sauce pan, try to go with a non stick one if you have one. Add rice, dal and a cup of water and bring it to a boil. Turn down the heat to lowest setting and cook. Keep an eye while the rice is cooking and keep adding water intermittently as needed and keep stirring. Soaking the rice in water for at least a couple of hours prior to cooking will cut down the cooking time. More quantity of water is needed if cooking in a sauce pan.
* Heat ghee in a pan and toast the cashews and raisins until they turn golden and plump respectively. Transfer them to a small bowl. Add the pressure cooked rice - dal mixture to the pan and mash it slightly using the back of a ladle. Then add milk, coconut and sugar to the pan and cook until almost the milk is absorbed. Add the ground cardamom, edible camphor if using and the toasted cashews - raisins to the cooked pongal and stir to combine. Turn off the stove and serve the pongal warm.  

This goes to Blogging marathon #60 under the theme 'Festival of the Month'. Check the link to see what other marathoners are cooking.



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Temple Prasadams ~ Pillayarpatti Modakam

Tamilnadu is known for it's century old temples and I had a hunch that probably I could find a treasure trove of traditional temple recipes if I looked at in the right place. After a few searches on the web, I ended up on a page where I found a list of popular temples in the state and the food associated with them. Yesterday's Azhagar kovil dosa was on that list too though I found it before this search. There was a mention of Karpaga Vinayagar temple of Pillayarpatti on that list, which happens to be an ancient rock cut temple, near Karaikudi. The name of the town is derived from the word 'Pillayar', a Tamil word for Ganesha and obviously the presiding deity of the temple is Lord Ganesha.
This modakam / mothagam is made and distributed as prasadam in the Pillayar temple and when I looked for the recipe, I landed at Sharmi's Place. It sounded similar to Andhra's undrallu recipe albeit a sweeter version. I halved her recipe as there was no one else to share with me and got about nine modakam. They were subtly sweet and in spite of that they were so yummy that I ended up eating a few skipping my lunch. I went by my regular undrallu making method and ended up adding more water than the original recipe mentioned. However still mine were not looking that moist as in the original recipe and I am guessing it is because of the coarser rava I used. 

Ingredients: (Yield 9 modakam)
1/2 cup rice (uncooked) / rice rava
2 tbsp. yellow moong dal
6 - 8 tbsp. jaggery
2 tbsp. fresh shredded coconut
1 tbsp. ghee + extra for greasing

Method:
* Dry toast rice for a couple of minutes and set aside. This step can be skipped if using rice rava. Dry roast moong dal until it starts to turn golden brown. When both rice and moong dal are at room temperature, transfer them to a grinder and coarsely powder them, like rava. (I used the store bought rice rava and just coarsely ground the moong dal.)

* Heat a tsp. of ghee and lightly toast the rava mixture for a couple of minutes.
*  Dissolve jaggery in about 1&1/2 cups water and strain for any impurities. (I skip this step as the jaggery I buy usually is good.) Heat the jaggery water until it starts to boil.
* Lower the heat and add the rice-moong mixture in a slow flow, continuously stirring. 
 
 
* Cover and cook until the mixture looks almost done. Add the ghee, coconut and cardamom and stir for about a minute.
* Turn off the stove and let the mixture cool enough to handle.
 
* Grease your palm with ghee and shape the mixture into lime sized balls. Place them in a greased container.
 
* Steam them for about 10 minutes and serve warm.



This is my post under 'Traditional temple Recipes'. Check the blogging marathon page to see what my fellow marathoners are cooking for BM#52.

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8th Blog Anniversary & Belagavi Kunda / Belgaum Kunda

My entry into the blogging world happened this week, eight years ago. As my husband points out often, I am the kind who looses interest in things when the initial bubble of excitement fades away. Surprisingly, blogging did not make it into that list and my love for cooking has sustained my enthusiasm in food blogging over these years. Thanks to my friends and readers (even silent ones :)) who  have been a part of this wonderful journey. 
  
Now to blogging. I am going with "North Karnataka' cuisine today and decided to go with a dessert since I am in a celebration mood. Though I lived in southern Karnataka, I have tasted some authentic food from the northern region. Thanks to one of our Dharwad friends, I first got to taste their bhakris, jhunka, authentic pedas, their special chivda and much more when I was a tiny kid. And my best friend is married to a North Karnataka guy and during my visits to India, she keeps feeding me some of their signature dishes. My choice would have been Dharwad peda for today if I had known the secret of creating the magic.

North Karnataka obviously covers the northern parts of Karnataka and is mostly semi arid with a hot climate. It includes the districts of Belgaum, Bidar, Bijapur, Bagalkote, Bellary, Dharwad, Gadag, Gulbarga, Haveri, Koppala, Raichur, Uttara Kannada, and Yadagiri. North Karnataka's history and culture date back to prehistoric times. One of the prominent dynasties that ruled the area was Vijayanagara empire, (that is considered to be the greatest medieval Hindu empire) with it's capital city as Vijayanagara, the present day Bellary. Belagavi / Belgaum is the headquarters of the present day North Karnataka.
 
Now to kunda. Kunda is a yummy sweet prepared with milk and sugar and is a specialty of the Belagavi region. I read somewhere that kunda was born accidentally. A mithaiwala who was boiling milk forgot to turn off the stove when he left the store. By the time he came back, he noticed the solidified milk and decided to add some khoya as well. He cooked it further, liked it and named it kunda. I got this recipe from a regional television show and most of the recipes I found online are similar to it and do not include khoya. The recipe is quite simple and easy, especially if you plan to prepare it when  you are taking care of some thing else in the kitchen. It involves stirring now and then and you would not notice the time if you are involved in something task. :) 

There are three steps in making kunda.
1. Curdling the milk
2. Caramelizing the sugar
3. Cooking the milk-sugar mixture to a thick consistency like halwa (The last step takes about 20 minutes but there is no need to hover around the stove.) 

Ingredients:
1 - 2 tbsp ghee
1 tbsp. semolina / rava
2 cups milk
1 - 2 tbsp. yogurt
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground cardamom (elaichi powder)
Slivered nuts to garnish

Method:
1. Melt ghee in a sauce pan, preferably a non-stick one. Add semolina and roast it until it starts to turn golden brown.

  2. Add milk to the same pan and bring it to a boil.
 

* Then add yogurt, stir and turn off the stove after a couple of minutes. The milk would have curdled by the time.
3. Take another non stick pan and add sugar to it. Do not add any water to sugar. 
 
* Heat the sugar on a medium flame in a non stick pan. Just shake the pan holding the handle. You start to notice sugar melting after a few minutes.
 
* Just keep tilting the pan instead of using a spoon to stir it. When the sugar melts and attains a good amber color, turn off the stove.
 
4. Now add the caramelized sugar to the milk pan in step 2. 
 
* Cook the mixture on slow flame keep stirring the mixture  intermittently until it thickens and comes to a halwa consistency.
5.  Add cardamom powder, stir and turn off the stove.
 
 6. Garnish with nuts before serving.

Notes:
1. A tbsp. of edible gum powder was also added in the original recipe. If using it, add it to the ghee before semolina and toast it.
2. It thickens a little after cooling and so cook accordingly.
3. Using a non stick pan makes the preparation easier and mess-free. Otherwise there is a possibility of mixture getting stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Check what other marathoners are cooking during this marathon.

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