A- Z Andhra Recipes ~ C for Chiyali
Here comes a new day and the time for a 'C' dish as part of this month's A - Z Andhra cooking journey of mine. After the past two days' calorie-fest, here comes chiyali. A totally guilt free, nutritious breakfast / snack option from the traditional Andhra cooking. I don't know why but my first and only preferred choice for the alphabet 'C' had been chiyali. It is a old world kind of dish from the state and not a familiar one to many. My mother tells me that it also used to be sold as street food in olden days. Chiyali is prepared along similar lines as idli upma where moong dal batter is steamed, crumbled and tempering is done. The moongdal can be steamed ahead and stored in a refrigerator or freezer for a quick meal option. This protein packed dish also makes a great meal option for diabetics. And don't let the long list of ingredients in the recipe bother you since most of them go into tempering.
Now let's move to the 'C' list.
Fruits / Vegetables:
Cheena pandu - a citrus fruit
Chama gadda - Taro root
Chilagada dumpa - Sweet potato
Chintachiguru - Fresh, tender tamarind leaves
Chukka koora - Sour leafy greens
(Carrot, Cauliflower, Cabbage (called kosugadda in Rayalaseema) with no regional names)
Chutneys / Pickles / Podis:
Chintakaaya pachadi - Raw tamarind Pickle
Chintapandu pachadi - Tamarind chutney
Chintapandu allam pachadi - Tamarind & Ginger Chutney
Chintachiguru podi
Ingredients:
Chakkera - Sugar
Challa - Majjiga / Butter milk
Dishes:
Challatlu - Atukula dosa, Beaten Rice flakes & Buttermilk pancakes
Chamagadda Koora / Vepudu - Taro root curry / fry
Charu - Rasam
Chinta chiguru pappu - Lentils cooked with tender leaves of tamarind tree.
Chukkakoora pappu - Lentils cooked with leafy greens
Chintapandu Pulihora - Tamarind Rice
Deep fried snacks
Chegodi, Chillu / chilli garelu, Chitti budagalu, Chakli aka Chakralu / Chakkilalu, Cut mirchi
Sweet dishes:
Chakra pongali - Rice pudding usually made with jaggery
Chakkera paramannam - Rice pudding made with sugar
Chandrakanthalu - Traditional sweet made with moong dal
Chalimidi - Traditional sweet made with rice flour and jaggery
Chimmiri - Laddus made with black sesame seeds and jaggery
(I have posted already most of the above dishes on my blog. Type in the name of the specific recipe you are looking for in the search box, on the left side of blog's main page to get to the recipe.)

Ingredients:
1 cup moong dal / pesara pappu (Yellow colored moong dal)
1 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. chana dal / split chickpeas / pachi senaga pappu
1 tsp. urad dal / black gram / minapappu
1 tsp. rai / mustard seeds / aavalu
1 tsp. jeera / cumin seeds / jeelakarra
2 green chillies, chopped fine along with the seeds (or adjust as needed)
1/8 tsp. haldi / turmeric powder / pasupu
2 pinches of hing / asafoetida powder / inguva
Few kadi paththa / curry leaves / karivepaku
One onion, finely chopped
Salt to taste
Minced cilantro / kothimeera to garnish

Method:
* Wash and soak moong dal in water for about 90 minutes or until then when moong is breakable between two fingers.
* Drain the water completely from moong. Add the drained moong (and salt if preferred) to a blender / food processor and grind to a paste without adding any water.
* Grease a plate with edges that can fit into the steamer / pressure cooker or grease some idli plates. (I used plates that are used to make plate idlis.) Pour the mixture into the prepared plates and place it in a prepared steamer, idli cooker or a pressure cooker. Close the lid and steam cook until the mixture appears cooked and dry. Do not put the whistle on if using pressure cook for steaming.
* Remove the steamed mixture from the steamer and let it cool a bit. Then crumble the mixture using a blender / fingers to a coarse powder or into tiny pieces.
* Heat oil in a kadai / pan. Add split chickpeas, black gram, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When the chickpeas and black gram start to turn reddish, add green chillies. Saute for few seconds and then add curry leaves, asafoetida and turmeric powder. Stir and add onion. Fry until onion turns golden brown.
* Then add steamed and crumbled moong dal, cilantro and salt as needed. Mix thoroughly, cover and cook on low flame for few minutes. Some lemon / lime juice can be squeezed before serving if preferred.
So far on A - Z Andhra Cuisine,
A for Alasanda Vada
B for Bellam Garelu
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63

