Hayagreeva

Hello folks! Its been nearly three weeks since I have last posted a recipe. Anyway, I have come back rejuvenated from our trip to our village in Katapadi, Udupi district.

While there, I enjoyed the “Teru” (Ratha Utsav) festival again. But this time I also learnt this new sweet dish “Hayagreeva” which is very easy to prepare and thought of sharing this simple recipe with you all. However, I made a slight change from the original recipe. In the original recipe, only Channa Dal is used. Instead, I used half channa dal and half Bansi Rawa. I also used organic jaggery (molasses) which is blackish in colour instead of the ordinary golden yellow one. Though the ordinary jaggery gives a better appearance but as you all know appearances are deceptive !

Hence. appearance wise, it may not look very attractive but, taste wise, I can assure you, it is really delicious. My family members will vouch for it. In fact they all had second helpings!!  In short - " Taste bhi Health bhi !"

Incidentally this photo was taken by my son-in-law.

Ingredients:

Chana Dal (Bengal gram dal)	½ cup
Bansi rawa ( Coarse Semolina)	½ cup
Crushed organic jaggery (molasses)	1 cup
Coconut gratings	1 cup
Milk	1 cup
Cardamom powder	¾ tsp
Ghee (clarified butter)	3-4 tsps
Cashew nuts (halved and roasted)	About ¼ cup
Raisins (roasted )	About ¼ cup

Method:

1. Wash and cook Channa dal (bengal gram dal) in sufficient water till soft.
2. Add Bansi rawa (semolina) to it and if necessary add a little more water and cook till soft.
3. Mix crushed jaggery to it and let the it boil on a low flame.
4. Then add milk and coconut gratings. Stir well and see that it does not stick at the bottom. Add ghee and cardamom powder. Mix well and remove from flame.
5. Garnish with roasted cashew nuts and raisins.
6. Serve hot or cold.

Note:

• This sweet dish can be served hot or chilled. The choice is yours.
• When served hot, a teaspon of ghee on top will enhance its taste.
• Cashew nuts and raisins when roasted in a little ghee will taste better.

Raw Banana Peel curry

You have read it right and it is not a typing error. The dish made from the peels of raw banana turns out so   tasty and crunchy that after trying it out once, you will never ever throw away the peels !

So whenever you buy raw bananas, after washing it thoroughly, remove the peels (slightly thick) with the knife (not with the peeler). 

And, if you are not preparing this curry immediately, then place all the peels in a bowl containing little water, cover it and refrigerate it.  It will remain fresh & crisp (without turning black) for at least 3-4 days. You can prepare it later when you are ready.

Believe me, with this vegetable you can have two different curries – one made from the vegetable itself and the other made from its peels. Two for the price of one! Besides, its healthy too – full of fibre !
 

  Raw Banana Peel curry

 Raw Banana Peels in water

 Raw Banana Peels chopped finely & soaked in water

Ingredients:

Peels of Raw Banana	from 3 bananas
Split Green gram (Moong Dal)	½ cup
Green chilies	3-4
Onion	1 medium
Garlic cloves	4-5
Curry leaves	3-4 sprigs
Fresh coconut gratings	½ cup
Turmeric powder	½ tsp
Salt	to taste
Oil	1 tbsp
Water	about a cup for soaking

Method:

1. Wash and cook the green gram dal in very little water and keep aside.
2. Wash the bananas. Remove the peels (slighltly thick) using a knife as shown above.
3. Chop the peels finely (using a knife and not a food processor) and soak them in a bowl of water to retain its crispiness and also to prevent it from turning black.
4. Chop onions and curry leaves (discard the stems) finely and keep aside.
5. Grind coconut gratings, chopped onions (use half of it), garlic, green chilies & salt to a chutney or paste. To this chutney add the chopped curry leaves.
6. Add the paste with the curry leaves to the chopped peels in the bowl. Remove the excess water (if any). Mix it well and let the chopped peels marinate in the paste for about 15 mins.
7. Then combine this mixture with the cooked green gram dal (moong dal) and keep aside.
8. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the remaining chopped onions to it and sauté till it turns golden brown.
9. Finally add the dal and peel mixture into the pan on a low flame and let it simmer for only 3-4 minutes. Do not overcook. Remove from flame.
10. Serve hot.

Note:

• This dish tastes good with chapattis.  It also goes well with rice and rasam or any “kadhis”.
• The crunchy texture of the finely chopped peels gives it a unique taste.

P.S. I shall be taking a short break (about fifteen days) from blogging and will be back 
rejuvenated with more healthy and tasty  recipes.

.

Garlic chutney (Dry)

If you love the flavor of garlic, you will love this chutney.

Garlic chutney can be prepared in two ways i.e. dry or wet using the same ingredients. Dry chutney will last longer without refrigeration whereas the wet one needs to be refrigerated. However, whichever way you choose to do, the taste will not change. For the dry one, you can also use Copra (dry coconut) instead of fresh one.

Since I had fresh coconut, I used fresh coconut gratings. For red chilies, I used “Byadagi” variety. This variety of red chilly is not very spicy but gives a good colour to the chutney.

So, if you want the chutney to be spicy, you can use more chilies.

For the wet coconut chutney, the coconut gratings need not be roasted (garlic cloves and red chilies however need to be roasted) and while grinding, add water and grind it to a smooth paste.

 

Ingredients:

Coconut gratings	1½ cups
Garlic cloves	25 – 30
Dry Red chilies	10 -12
Tamarind	marble size ball
Oil /ghee	2-3 tsps
Salt	to taste

Method:

1. Peel the garlic cloves and roast them with oil/ghee in a pan/wok till they turn golden brown. Remove and keep aside.
2. In the same pan or wok roast the dry red chilies, coconut gratings and the tamarind lump till the coconut gratings have turned into golden brown and the red chilies crisp.
3. Put all the roasted items (garlic, grated coconut, red chilies & tamarind) and salt in a mixer and grind to a fine powder without adding any water.
4. When cooled store it in an air-tight glass jar/bottle.

 

Note:

This chutney tastes good with idli, dosas, etc, or sprinkle it on a sandwich or even as an accompaniment with rice or chapattis.