Bendakaya Perugu Pachadi / Andhra Style Okra Raita

Today's recipe is a perugu pachadi made with bendakaya / okra. A perugu pachadi is a spicy raita, Andhra style. It is not made with fresh yogurt as the north Indian, chilled and creamy raitas. It is made with sour yogurt and usually contains a cooked vegetable added to it. The other common vegetables used in the preparation are eggplants / snake gourd. A perugu pachadi is usually eaten as a dip to go with rice and mudda pappu, cooked lentils just seasoned with salt. Or as  a side dish to go with rice.

Ingredients for tempering:
1 tsp. oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds (optional)
1 pinch of asafoetida powder
Few curry leaves
A pinch of turmeric powder
Ingredients for pachadi / raita:
1 tbsp. oil
10 to 15 okra / lady fingers
1- 2 spicy chilis + 1/2 tsp ginger roughly crushed
2 cups sour yogurt
Salt to taste
Minced cilantro to garnish

Directions:
* Heat a tsp. oil and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add curry leaves, asafoetida and turmeric. Stir them once and turn off the stove. Keep it aside.

* Rinse and wipe dry the okras. Trim the edges and chop them thin, crosswise.

* Heat a tbsp. oil in a wide pan and add the okra pieces. Toast them on low medium flame until the pieces are cooked. (I toasted them in an air fryer instead.)
* Grind the chili and ginger finely adding a little yogurt if needed.
* Whisk yogurt, green chili - ginger paste and salt together in a bowl and add the cooked / toasted okra pieces. Add the tempering and minced cilantro. Mix well and serve.

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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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A - Z Andhra Recipes ~ T for Theepi Dibba Rotte / Theepi Minapa Rotte

I have a traditional Andhra snack for today's recipe. For those who are joining me late, I have been posting Andhra recipes this month, in an alphabetical order and today is the turn for the alphabet 'T'.  

I am posting a sweet version of dibba rotte. Dibba rottes are Andhra version dense pancakes made with rice and black gram / urad dal batter. Either the fresh or fermented batter can be used to make dibba rottes. The commonly known version of dibba rotte is the savory one while there is a sweet version too which is not that popular. Jaggery and coconut are also ground into the batter in this version and it makes a great evening snack for kids. It is not overtly sweet and I enjoy this sweet rotte with chutney like the savory one. 
 
There are plenty of recipes online, referring to dibba rotte as dibba rotti or dibba roti. The correct name would be the first one since 'rotti' / 'roti' are not Telugu words. They are Kannada and Hindi words respectively. Theepi dibba rotte literally means sweet, dense pancakes / flat-breads in Telugu. 'Theepi' means sweet whereas the word 'dibba' is used in reference to the thickness of these pancakes and literally means dense. The first part 'di' in the word 'dibba' is pronounced as 'thi' in the word 'this'. And coming to the part 'rotte', 'ro' is pronounced as in the word 'rose' and 'tte' as in 'tay' with a stress on 't'. Dibba rotte are also called minapa rotte, a reference to the black gram used in the recipe. And this sweet version is also called bellam minapa rotte, because of the bellam / jaggery used in the recipe. The color of these sweet rotte depend upon the color of the jaggery used.
 
Freshly ground batter can be used to make these rotte and there is no need to ferment it, making this recipe a convenient one for it to be an evening snack. These pancakes are so dense that people, especially kids would be full eating just one or two slices. The flip side is dibba rottes are time taking even though you don't need to hover around the stove until it is time to flip the pancakes, which happens around 15 minutes mark. They are meant to be cooked leisurely on slow flame to ensure that they are cooked thoroughly through out. Because of the thickness, each rotte takes anywhere between 20 to 25 minutes to cook. Hurrying and trying shortcuts like cooking it on high flame or in shorter times only ruins the rotte. The inside would be under cooked though it appears well browned on outside. If in a hurry, the batter may be used to make thick dosas instead of the denser ones.

 

Traditionally, a banali / kadai, a round bottomed pan is used to prepare dibba rotte. Usually I go that route but I used a small sized non stick pan this time. When cooked leisurely, the rotte making wouldn't be difficult even when a iron kadai is used. Novice cooks can use a non-stick pan to ensure mess-free rottte making.

Ingredients:
1 cup rice / biyyam
1/2 cup black gram / minapappu / urad dal
1/2 cup jaggery powder / bellam
2 handfuls of shredded fresh coconut / pachi kobbari
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. water
Oil to make rottes

Preparation:

* Rinse and soak urad dal and rice together in water, for at least 3 hours.

* Drain the water. Grind urad dal, rice, jaggery and coconut together into a smooth, thick batter, adding water only as much as needed to facilitate the grinding. (I had to add a little over 1/2 cup as mentioned in the list above.) Don't make the batter runny. The batter should be very thick like idli batter. Transfer the batter to a container.

* Heat a round bottomed pan / kadai and pour about 2 tbsp oil into the middle of the pan. Next add about 2 cups of batter into it. 

 

* Cover and cook on low flame until the bottom side turns golden brown, about 15 minutes. Lift the pancake at one end with a spatula to see if it has turned golden brown on the bottom side. If it has, flip it carefully using a spatula. 

 

* Cook for a few minutes more until the other side cooks too. Remove and transfer the rotte onto a plate.

 

* Repeat the process with the remaining batter. 

* Slice into wedges and serve with your choice of sweet or savory condiment.

  
'T' Ingredients' list

From Pantry:
Telagapindi - Residue left while preparing the sesame seed oil
Thati bellam - Palm jaggery  

Produce:
Taati munjelu - Toddy palm fruit
Taati pandu -  Ripened toddy palm fruit
Tenkaaya - Coconut
Tella gaddalu - Vellulli / Garlic
Thamba kaaya - A broad and lengthy green bean variety vegetable 
Thegalu - Tender Palm shoots
Thotakoora - Amaranth greens

Some recipes that start with 'T':
Thentharlu & Thapala chekkalu - snacks
Thaati pandu kudumu - Sweet 
Thokkudu laddu / Bandaru laddu - Sweet 
Thotakoora pappu - Amaranath greens dal
Telagapindi koora - Curries using telagapindi
Theeya pulusu - Sweet and tangy vegetable stew
Theeya kooralu - Sweetened curries
Taddinam vanta - Dishes cooked on death anniversaries
Tomato charu - Tomato rasam
Tomato pachadi - Tomato chutney
Tomato pappu - Tomato dal

So far on my 'A - Z' Andhra Cuisine,
A for Alasanda Vada
B for Bellam Garelu
C for Chiyali
D for Dondakaaya Kaarapu Kaaya
E for Endu Kobbari Podi
F for Fine Biscuits 
G for Gongura - Mamidikaya Pappu
H for Halwa Holigalu
I for Idli Karam Podi
J for Janthikalu
K for Kobbari Koora

L for Lauzu
M for Matikkaaya Kaaram Koora
N for Nimmakaaya Kaaram
O for Ottotti
P for Perugu Vadalu  
Q for Qubani ka Meetha 
R for Ragi Sangati
S for Satyanarayana Vrata Prasadam

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Perugu Vadalu / Perugu Garelu / Aavadalu

I am doing 'A - Z' recipes based on Andhra cuisine this month, presenting dishes with regional names in an alphabetical order and it's time for the letter 'P' today.

This 'aavadalu' was supposed to be my first post of this marathon but my husband's favorite alasanda vadalu aka black-eyed pea fritters came in between and this was pushed to today's 'P' post. I prepare these perugu vadalu at least once a year, especially on my husband's birthday since these are one of his favorite fritters. His birthday is next month but these got made two months in advance this time. Perugu is Telugu word for yogurt / dahi and these perugu vadalu also called as perugu garelu or aavadalu are the spicy, Andhra version of the north Indian dahi vadas. While 'Perugu vadalu' is the most common term used in the state, 'Aavadalu' is a term used mostly in the upper coastal regions. I had noticed during our vacation in the Godavari districts that these aavadalu are served as a breakfast even in the small food joints there. It may be a form of recycling leftover vadas, I guess.

What are perugu vadalu? Urad dal / Black gram fritters are freshly made and then allowed to soak in a spicy, yogurt sauce for few hours. No sweeteners go into the recipe as I had noticed some non regional bloggers were mentioning. Instead, one uses fresh yogurt which naturally is subtly sweet, at least in our circles. These are served alone and no condiments go with them usually since the ginger - chillies in the yogurt sauce lends the spice factor to the dish. Where as the north Indian versions of dahi vadas / dahi bhallas go with load of embellishments like chutneys and as such.  The yogurt sauce here is yellow in color, thanks to the turmeric used in the recipe.

The perugu vadalu are prepared only spicy enough that one can handle. It is not like they are overtly hot and you need a glass of cold water besides you to enjoy them. The spice level of the yogurt sauce can be customized according to one's preferences. And one more difference between the north Indian and this version is the vadas are allowed to slightly cool after the frying and are directly dunked into the yogurt sauce. In north India, they are dunked in water before dropping them into yogurt so that they soak the flavors well and quickly. Perugu vadalu are instead allowed to sit for few hours for the flavors to mingle, before savoring them.

Traditionally, perugu vadalu were prepared on festival days. It can be a part of party meal too since it can be prepared in advance and actually tastes better after sitting for a while. It is a great savory treat and can be enjoyed any time. And if you have left over vadas, they can be recycled too by just preparing the yogurt sauce.

Some 'P' culinary terms: 
Palahaaram - Breakfast / Snack
Paalu - Milk
Pachadi - Chutney / Pickle 
Pachi - Raw
Pakam - Syrup of sugar / jaggery
Pandu - Fruit
Perina neyi - Unmelted ghee
Perugu - Yogurt
Podi - Powder / Spicy powder condiments
Pindi - Any flour / batter
Pulupu - Sourness

Pantry / Produce:
Pachi Senagapappu - Split chickpeas / chana dal
Pallilu - Peanuts
Pappulu - Roasted split chickpeas
Panchadaara - Sugar
Pelalu - Popped rice grains with husk (Popped Vadlu)
Pesalu - Green Moong 
Pesarapappu - Moong dal

Paalakoora - Spinach
Pachi Mirapakaaya - Green chillies
Panasa Pandu - Jack fruit  
Pandu mirapakaya - Fresh red chillies
Paayalaaku - Purslane leaves
Pampara Panasa - Grape fruit variety
Perugu Thotakoora & Ponnagantaku - Variety of Greens
Potlakaaya - Snake gourd
Puchakaaya - Watermelon
Pudina - Mint

Everyday kind dishes:
Pesarattu, Pullatlu & Pullatakulu - Breakfast dishes
Pappu / Pappu Pulusu - Lentil based dishes
Patoli - Vegetable and Lentil preparation
Perugu Pachadi / Perugu Pulusu - Stews based on sour yogurt
Panasapottu Koora - Raw jack fruit curry
Pindi Miriyam - A spicy stew made with lentils 
Pulusu - Sweet and tangy stew, made with or without lentils
Pulusu Koora - A sour and spicy preparation using greens

Sweet dishes:
Paala thalikalu, Paanakam, Pakam garelu, Panasa thonalu, Panchadaara Chilukalu, Panchamrutham, Payasam, Pheni, Poli, Pootharekulu

Savory dishes:
Pakodi & Punukulu - Deep fried snacks 
Paalakaayalu - savory snack
Pelala vadiyalu - Popped husked rice grains wadi
Pannaram - Soaked moong dal with basic seasoning of salt
Pulihora - Rice preparation

Ingredients: (yield 20 - 22)
1 cup urad dal / split black gram / minapappu
1 tsp. grated ginger
2 - 4 green chillies (depending upon the spiciness of the chillies)
1 tbsp. oil
2 tsp. mustard seeds
20 curry leaves
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
5 cups fresh and thick yogurt 
Salt to taste
Oil to fry

Making Vadas:
* Wash and soak urad dal in enough water to cover it, for about two hours. Drain the water after the soaking period. Grind urad dal adding salt and a little water, to a soft and thick batter.  
* Heat oil in a deep frying pan until a pea sized batter dropped into it comes to surface immediately. 
* Keep a bowl of water beside the stove. Wet both hands, take a lime sized portion of the batter and flatten it on a greased banana leaf / plastic sheet or your palm. Make a hole in the center and carefully slide the vada into the hot oil. Repeat the steps, make vadas and drop as many as the frying pan can fit.

* Fry the vadas in batches on low flame, until they are cooked golden brown through out. Transfer them onto absorbent paper towels and let them cool a bit.

Preparing the yogurt sauce:
* Add the yogurt and salt to a mixing bowl and gently whisk the yogurt.
(* Traditionally ginger and green chillies are ground and mixed into the yogurt at this point. That is how my mother and aunts prepare it too. However I would like to saute ginger and chillies in hot oil so that people who don't like to eat chillies can discard them while eating.)
* Heat oil, add grated ginger and saute. When it starts to turn golden brown, add mustard seeds, curry leaves and finely chopped green chilles. Saute for few seconds, add turmeric powder and turn off the stove. Let it cool. Add this tempering to the yogurt and mix well. (If you haven't added the ginger and chillies to the tempering and preferred to add the ginger - green chillie paste, add that as well to the yogurt and mix well.) 

* Taste the yogurt mixture and adjust the salt quantity if needed. If it is spicy, fix it adding some more fresh yogurt. Add the fried vadas (not hot ones) to the yogurt mixture and  stir them properly with a spoon so that they get soaked well properly in the yogurt sauce.
* Cover and let it sit for at least a couple of hours for the vadas to soak up the flavors. 
* Any leftovers can be refrigerated and consumed with in two days. any period further, the yogurt gets sour and vadas do not taste good.

So far on my 'A - Z' Andhra Cuisine,
A for Alasanda Vada
B for Bellam Garelu
C for Chiyali
D for Dondakaaya Kaarapu Kaaya
E for Endu Kobbari Podi
F for Fine Biscuits 
G for Gongura - Mamidikaya Pappu
H for Halwa Holigalu
I for Idli Karam Podi
J for Janthikalu
K for Kobbari Koora

L for Lauzu
M for Matikkaaya Kaaram Koora
N for Nimmakaaya Kaaram
O for Ottotti

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63.
 
An InLinkz Link-up

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A - Z Andhra Recipes ~ N for Nimmakaya Karam

With yesterday's post, I passed the mid-mark of my A - Z journey. Now another half way to go. For those, who are joining me late, I am doing 'A - Z' recipes based on Andhra cuisine this month, presenting dishes with regional names in an alphabetical order and it's time for the letter' N' today. I chose to go with one of the commonly used ingredient, 'Nimmakaya' aka lemon for my today's recipe. Like any south Indian home, a nimmakaya is used to make rice, charu or pickle in Andhra kitchens too. Or it can be used as a souring agent in lieu of tamarind in a pappu (thick dal) recipe. 

Even better, lemons can be used in this super quick and easy karam which can jazz up any meal of the day. It is an instant version that uses only the lemon juice and takes up about five minutes to prepare. This is also one of the pickle options that may appear in Andhra brahmin households on a death anniversary day. Each household will have a certain set number of chutneys/pachadi served on that day, anywhere ranging from 2 to 4 and this karam is one of the quick options. I prepare it without a miss on my MIL and FIL's anniversaries, along with another variety of chutney.

My mother doesn't prepare this regularly but my husband's family does. My husband had brought a small bag of juicy lemons from his nephew's backyard in California, a couple of weeks ago and those are the ones pictured here. It was a heartening moment to see home grown fruit, at least to me, who live in a place where sunshine is expected for only 4 to 5 months max per year. It is time then to grow something in backyard and I end up with barren trees and twigs, the rest of the year, providing a perfect gloomy background. Surprisingly, the skin of those lemons was an almost orange tint though they look yellower in pictures. Right now, they are sitting in a jar, marinating on their way to being get pickled. :)

'N' Ingredients:
Nalla Senagalu - Black Chickpeas
Nannari Verlu - Dried, aromatic roots used in making coolant drinks
Nuvvulu - Sesame Seeds
Neyi - Ghee

Produce:
Narinja - Orange
Neredu - Jamun (Hindi), Black Plum
Nimmakaaya - Lemon
Nalleru - A creeper that is grown as weed
Nethi Beerakaya - Silk Squash

Pickles / Spice Powders:
Nallakaram Podi - Spicy Powder
Nalleru Pachadi
Nimmakaya Pachadi - Lemon Pickle (Recipe here.)
Nuvvu Pachadi - Sesame Seeds Chutney
Nuvvula Podi - Sesame Seed Powder

Some 'N' Dishes: 
Nannari Lassi (Recipe here.)
Nannari Sherbet (Recipe here)
Nethi Beerakaaya Koora - Silk Squash Curry
Nethi Beerakaaya Pachadi - Silk Squash Chutney
Nethi Beerakaaya Pappu - Silk Squash Dal
Niluva Pachallu - Pickles with long shelf life
Nuvvu Pettina Koora - A curry using sesame seed powder
Nimmakaya Charu - Lemon Rasam
Nimmakaya Pappu - Lemon Dal
Nimmakaya Pulihora - Lemon Rice
Nuvvullundalu - Chimmiri, Sesame Seed Laddu

I must admit that I was taken aback the first time I noticed the lemon and lime varities in the U.S. stores. In India, lemons range from green to yellow, indicating their stage of ripeness and people prefer to pick the ripe, juicy ones and their size usually is similar to or smaller than the green colored limes we see in U.S.  These limes are thin skinned as the Indian variety lemons. Where as the lemons we see in U.S are yellow in color and almost are as bigger as small sized oranges in India and have a thicker skin. Now when that is off my chest, let us proceed to the recipe which uses lemons. I prepared this twice in the past month but both times I forgot to note down the quantities. (The quantities I gave below are what I could recall think approximately were used and will update the post once I prepare it again.)

Ingredients:
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
A couple of pinches of asafoetida powder
1/4 cup lemon or lime juice
4 tsp. red chili powder
1 tsp. salt (slightly more may be needed.)

Method:
* Heat oil in a small pan (and no need to bring it to smoking point). Add mustard seeds to the hot oil and when they start to crackle and pop, turn off the stove. Add turmeric and asafoetida and stir once. Let it cool.
* In the mean time, squeeze the juice from the lemons / limes or even can use the bottled juice. Combine the juice, salt and chili powder in a mixing bowl well. Add the tempering from above step  (that is at room temperature) to the juice mixture and stir well. It slightly thickens after sitting for few minutes.
* Serve with hot steamed rice and ghee or to jazz up your breakfast / any meals. 

So far on my 'A - Z' Andhra Cuisine,
A for Alasanda Vada
B for Bellam Garelu
C for Chiyali
D for Dondakaaya Kaarapu Kaaya
E for Endu Kobbari Podi
F for Fine Biscuits 
G for Gongura - Mamidikaya Pappu
H for Halwa Holigalu
I for Idli Karam Podi
J for Janthikalu
K for Kobbari Koora

L for Lauzu
M for Matikkaaya Kaaram Koora

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63.

An InLinkz Link-up

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A - Z Andhra Recipes ~ L for Lauzu / Kobbari Lauzu

I am doing 'A - Z' recipes from Andhra cuisine this month, presenting dishes with regional names in an alphabetical order and it's time for the letter 'L' today. It is one of those alphabets that got me stumped, when thinking in terms of finding recipes with a Telugu name. When I mentioned about the same to the other adult at home a couple of months back, the following conversation ensued.

Him: Finished planning all the recipes for your marathon?
Me: Any ideas for the alphabet 'L'?
Him (glaring at me like I am going bonkers): Laddu??
Me: is not south Indian
Him: (looking at me this time like I have really gone batty) Not south Indian? They are in the region for generations and people prepare it for every special occasion.
Me: So? 
Him: Who told you that you need to post recipes which are specific to the region? Sometimes neighboring states share the recipes.
Me: The laddus are made all over India.
Him (trying to convince me some more): O..K.. How about Tirupati Laddu?
Me (Sitting straight now): They have a recipe for it?
Him: You are the blogger. Go look for it.
Me: I don't think so. I think they may have a secretly guarded recipe or something like that. On second thoughts, they might not, looking at the quality of the laddus they are churning out lately. I don't even want to try it.
Me (reminiscing some more): I used to love those, that used to be made decades ago and now I hate the quality and now I don't even feel like trying them.
Him: O.K, then. You have lehyam.
Me: What ??? Like that ayurvedic paste? They prepare it at home ? Your mom did?
Him (looking at the new crazy me): Why would she?
Me: Why would I ?
Him: You are the blogger and you need the post.
Me (sheepishly checking all over the web): All I see are posts by Tamilians
Him: So, now lehyam becomes a Tamilian recipe? Cook something with lavangalu (cloves) then.
Me: What was I thinking, asking you for ideas?
Him: Was trying to help here. 
Me: I had cooked the dish already. Was just checking to see if you had any better ideas.
Him: 😕

Obviously, the laddu my husband was referring to would be a glaring choice to any Indian and that idea instantly pops when looking for 'L' recipes. Not any laddus but the delicious, succulent ones prepared using chickpea flour and sugar syrup aka boondi laddu. The same when prepared with a fine sieved ladle would become mothi choor laddu. And the laddus made at Tirumala Tirupathi Temple in the state of Andhra Pradesh is the epitome of the kind. And of course my husband was on the right path and indeed I was going to post a laddu recipe though not the boondi one. Obviously I had to let go the option for the above mentioned reasons and look for the other Andhra variety laddus. The available choices were thokkudu laddu, sunnundalu and chimmiri undalu which have been done already to death on my blog. I think I have posted already 4 varieties of sunnundalu and 3 to 4 varieties of chimmiri here. 

And so I went with the remaining and obvious choice of kobbari lauzu which is also called lauzu, in short form. The freshly shredded coconut and jaggery are cooked until they hold shape and made into balls or laddus. The color of the jaggery used determines the color of this laddus. Usually the variety of jaggery I get locally is very pale in color and so my laddus are light colored. This one makes a quick and yummy dessert, redolent with cardamom flavor and comes handy when you have extra coconuts to use. Sugar can be substituted for jaggery in the recipe. We call the cooked mixture of coconut and jaggery lauzu but it seems in some areas it refers to not the laddu but the burfi and so I have provided the recipe for it too. 

Ingredients: (Yield 7 Laddus )
1 cup fresh / frozen shredded coconut
3/4 cup powdered jaggery or sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

Method:
* Add all ingredients to a thick bottomed pan or a non-stick pan and start cooking on medium low flame until it thickens and is rollable. Keep stirring continuously to avoid the coconut mixture sticking to the bottom of the pan / getting scorched. Also do not let the mixture brown.
* Let the mixture cool. Grease your palms with ghee and make into balls. This lauzu can be refrigerated and stored for at least a couple of weeks. 
* If burfi need to be made, continue cooking the mixture until it starts to leave the sides of the pan. Grease a plate with edges and pour the mixture onto the plate. Flatten the mixture with the back of a spatula. Score into squares while the mixture is warm. Break down into pieces when cool and store it in an airtight container.

So far on my 'A - Z' Andhra Cuisine,
A for Alasanda Vada
B for Bellam Garelu
C for Chiyali
D for Dondakaaya Kaarapu Kaaya
E for Endu Kobbari Podi
F for Fine Biscuits 
G for Gongura - Mamidikaya Pappu
H for Halwa Holigalu
I for Idli Karam Podi
J for Janthikalu
K for Kobbari Koora

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63

An InLinkz Link-up

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A - Z Andhra Recipes ~ J for Janthikulu

I am on alphabet 'J' today, in my journey of A - Z Andhra cuisine. My initial idea was to check whether I could prepare at home 'Jeedi / Jeellu", supposedly one of the older kind street foods from the state that I had heard about. I have never seen or tasted it but it seems that both my parents and my husband have fond memories attached to this old world treat. Going on by my husband's and my mother's descriptions, I realized that it is made with jaggery and is really gummy. My enthusiasm however plummeted after seeing a couple of videos like this & this and on how it is prepared. I though got to understand how and why the consistency of the treat is so. 

Next I hopped onto the savory land to prepare this deep fried snack, janthikalu which would be a good accompaniment to evening coffee or tea. Besides, a savory in my home means that I could happily pass on the extra calories to the other adult, without me taking the guilt trip. These kind of crispy rice and bean flour based savory spirals are popular through out India and go by the common name 'chakli'. However the word 'chakli' is just an umbrella term considering the various regional names and the different methods of preparation, through out the nation. 

In Andhra, a chakli would be generally called chakralu, chakkilalu, kaaralu or murukulu. And of course there are specific names for some specific preparations as I have mentioned below. Rice flour is the common factor among all varieties and a bean flour is added in a particular ratio to it. Usually the ratio of rice flour would be more compared to the bean flour. The kind of bean flour added and the ratio of flours in the recipe decide the variety of chakli we are going to end up with. A few examples are given below.

* Manugu poolu, which is famous in some of the Andhra coastal areas are made using rice flour and powdered roasted split chickpeas. (Pappulu used to make chutney for south indian breakfast.) 
* Senagapindi kaaralu and Vampoosa / Vampodi kaaralu are chickpea flour based ones and these recipes are an exception where chickpea flour ratio is more to the rice flour used.
* Janthikalu and thentharlu are both made using rice flour and split black gram flour, the latter being milder compared to the janthikalu.
(I have recipes for most of them on my blog and have provided the links. Just click on the words.)
 
The recipe I provided here is a standard one for janthikalu though I have seen other versions online, a common anomaly owing to the regional variations. This is what we make at home and I still had to confirm with my mom to make sure that the recipe being provided here is the correct one for janthijkalu. It yields crispy, crunchy janthikalu that one would enjoy munching anytime of the day. One can make these janthikalu as big as the pan size in which they are fried or smaller ones. And don't bother if you don't get perfect circles. I certainly don't since I start to feel like I am succumbing to arthritis whenever I press down the chakli flour through the gadget. The perfect circled chaklisu you see on my blog are courtesy of my husband. ☺

'J' ingredients in Andhra Kitchen:
Jaajikaaya - Nutmeg
Jaama pandu / Jaama kaaya / Jaampandu- Guava 
Jeedipappu - Cashew nut
Jeedimamidi - Cashew fruit
Jeelakarra - Cumin seeds
Jonnalu / Jonna Pindi - Jowar / Sorghum grain and flour
Junnu paalu - Colostrum milk of a cow / buffalo

'J' dishes:
Jaava - Porridge
Jeedipappu pakodi - Cashew - Chickpea flour fritters
Jeedipappu patti - Cashew burfi
Jeedipappu upma 
Jeedi / Jeellu - A gummy street snack made with jaggery, a treat for kids in the bygone days.
Jonna rotte - Jowar / Sorghum flour rotis
Jonna sangati - Balls made with jowar flour and rice
Jilledukaayalu - Surprisingly kudumulu / steamed modak are called so in northern coastal areas. (For us, it is the fruit of a widely grown weed. When the plant leaves are plucked, a milk like liquid oozes out which is said to be harmful if it comes into contact with eyes.)
Junnu - Dessert made using junnu paalu

Ingredients:
3 cups rice flour 
3/4 cup urad flour / black gram flour
1 to 1.5 tbsp. chili powder
Salt to taste
2 tbsp.white sesame seeds
2 tbsp. cumin seeds 
2 tbsp. softened butter 
Water (I had to add about 1 & 1/4 cups + 2 tbsp. water.)
Oil to fry (I used canola oil.)

* Store bought rice and urad flours will perfectly work.
* The quantity of chili powder can be reduced if mild janthikalu are preferred.
* Piping hot oil can be substituted for butter.
* Carom seeds can be used instead of cumin seeds.

Method:
* Combine the flours, chili powder, salt, sesame seeds and cumin seeds in a mixing bowl. Next add the butter and rub it into the mixture. Add about a cup of water to the flour mixture and mix well with hand. Then work the dough adding water in small increments as needed to form a soft dough. The final dough should not be watery or very hard, somewhere in between. 
* Heat oil in a small wok / deep frying pan. When the oil is hot enough to fry, turn down the heat to medium flame. The oil doesn't need to smoke. To know whether the oil is hot enough, do this little test. Put a pinch of the dough in the hot oil. If it sizzles and come to the surface of the oil immediately, then it is ready. If the dough stays at the bottom, then the oil is not hot enough. During chakli making process, when the heat appears to have reduced, increase the heat setting. (You may need to adjust the heat setting through out the chakli making process as needed since frying them faster would not toast them properly and may also burn. Maintaining the same temperature through the process ensures uniformly colored janthikalu.)
 
* Usually the chakli press is sold along with several plates which are interchangeable. For janthikalu, use the plate with bigger perforations than a sev one or simply, the one with plain, big holes than the pin-prick sized ones. After fixing the plate, take a small portion of the dough and fill it into the chakli press and in a circular motion, press out the dough into the oil. The coils of dough would form a concentric circle. This dough is easy to work with and you can make two to three separate circles at a time or a single big one that fits your pan size. Don't worry even if you don't get perfect circles. (The dough can be pressed directly into the kadai or if not comfortable, shapes can be made on the back of a ladle and dropped slowly into the hot oil.)
* Fry on low flame until they attain a dark tan color on both sides, flipping them intermittently. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towel covered plates.
* Repeat the same process with the remaining dough and fry them in batches. Cool and store in an airtight container. They stay fresh for weeks.

So far on A - Z Andhra Cuisine,
A for Alasanda Vada
B for Bellam Garelu
C for Chiyali
D for Dondakaaya Kaarapu Kaaya
E for Endu Kobbari Podi
F for Fine Biscuits 
G for Gongura - Mamidikaya Pappu
H for Halwa Holigalu
I for Idli Karam Podi

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63.

An InLinkz Link-up

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A - Z Andhra Recipes ~ I for Idli Karam Podi / Karappodi

 
For people who are joining me late, I am on a culinary journey this month, exploring the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. I am posting recipes in an alphabetical order and it is turn of 'I thru N' this week. Today I am in the land of 'I', a tricky alphabet again yielding just a couple of recipes with regional names. 

To begin with, there are no fruits or vegetables with regional names starting with 'I'.  The only ingredients that would be in Andhra kitchen pantries that start with the alphabet 'I' are 'idli rava' (to make idlis) and 'inguva' which happens to be asafoetida. Inguva is a flavoring agent that aids in digestion but never is a star ingredient of any recipe. It is used in minuscule quantity and when overdone, it ruins the flavor of the dish instead of enhancing it. The dried gum derived from the plant source is sold commercially both in block and powder forms. The block is more stronger in flavor than the powdered form. Inguva is generously and commonly used in all dal preparations including charu aka rasam, pulihora variety rice dishes and even some curries in Brahmin households. I got to see online some recipes for 'inguva pettina charu' which literally means that a tempering of asafoetida has been used for the rasam preparation. That title would be a perfect example of redundancy.
 
I had the option of 'iguru' even though I have never heard anyone in our families using the word. The iguru recipes I saw online were mostly non vegetarian that were semi gravy and the vegetarian dishes I saw on television shows were dry sautes. A dry saute would be called koora or podi koora in our homes. I am assuming 'iguru' is not a word associated with Brahman style cooking, if I am not wrong. My mother and my husband had to stop and think when I asked them about it. They arrived at the same conclusion as me that the word iguru comes from 'igirinchadam' meaning 'evaporating'. The vegetables are sauteed until all / any water content present evaporates, if we are right. Besides I couldn't just call the dish iguru. I have to put the name of the vegetable (with which the curry is being prepared) before the word iguru. For example, a dry saute of thotakoora (that is amaranth greens) would be called thotakoora iguru. There are no vegetables starting with 'I' except Ivygourd, which again would have been an English name.

The best 'I' option of course would be idli - a healthy, steamed breakfast common to all south Indian states. Traditionally idlis used to be called 'iddenlu' in Telugu. People no longer use the word but it also starts with I. I would have posted the idli recipe if not for my misplaced memory card. It does not mean that I could not have taken pictures again. I make idli frequently and in fact, even today idli was our breakfast but the day I clicked them, I had more side dishes prepared and did not have the patience to cook them all again. 

And so I went with the next best thing. I chose 'Karappodi' which also goes by the name 'Idli Karam Podi' because the condiment is usually associated with idli. This podi also is fed to new mothers in our families, for a month or two because of the healthy properties of garlic. During lunch and dinners, at least the first morsel would be this podi annam (This condiment mixed with rice and ghee). I was the only new mother in our families who got away without eating it because of my aversion towards garlic. I don't eat garlic even now but seeing my husband's love for this podi, I can say that this is a flavorful podi for garlic lovers. Sprinkle some ghee over the podi and enjoy with idlis / rice.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup skinned black gram / urad dal
1/4 cup coriander seeds
1/8 tsp. fenugreek seeds
8 dried red chillies
Salt to taste
1 tbsp. sized tamarind ball
3 to 4 garlic cloves, finely minced

Method:
* Heat oil in a pan, add black gram and toast it until it starts to turn reddish. Next add coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, red chillies and tamarind and continue to toast until the dal turns reddish and coriander & fenugreek seeds turn a few shades darker. Take care to not burn them. Each ingredient can be toasted individually if you are not comfortable toasting them together.
* Transfer the toasted ingredients onto a wide plate to cool. 
* To the same pan, add the minced garlic cloves and toast for a minute or two on low flame and let them cool too.
* Grind all the ingredients finely.
* Store it in a air-tight container and eat with idlis, upma or rice &
ghee.
 
So far on A - Z Andhra Cuisine,
A for Alasanda Vada
B for Bellam Garelu
C for Chiyali
D for Dondakaaya Kaarapu Kaaya
E for Endu Kobbari Podi
F for Fine Biscuits 
G for Gongura - Mamidikaya Pappu
H for Halwa Holigalu

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63.

An InLinkz Link-up

 
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