Vaangi Bhaath / Eggplant Rice | Karnataka Cuisine | One Pot Meal | Vegan | Gluten Free

Hello!!

It’s been raining here and I’m more than happy to see that. Monsoon..a beautiful season, in which the sun plays hide and seek behind the clouds. The kids play in puddles and the trees are green, shining with the pearl drops sitting on their leaves. The cool breeze, the thundering, the sunless days..everything is so beautiful!!! My kid loves to go out and stand in the rains with his umbrella and listen to the pitter patter of the falling rain drops…they seem to travel so much distance before they hit the ground, he loves looking at them!!

I love to cook when it’s raining. It’s beautiful to see the rains through my kitchen window, while I cook. Mostly I cook elaborate meals but sometimes I indulge in a one pot meal and then while it rains, cuddle inside the comforter and cherish memories of my childhood.. when after getting drenched in rainwater, me and my brother were pushed to have a bath and then we would cuddle inside the comforter and sleep. Childhood was so much fun!!!

On one such day I made this vaangi bhaath.. ‘Vaangi’ means eggplant and ‘Bhaath’ means rice. Recently during our veggie shopping, we had got hold of the beautiful light green, long eggplants and I picked them instantaneously as S loves them. This variety of eggplant  is perfect for this ‘bhaath’  preparation as there are less seeds and the eggplant has succulence plus great flavor. Also I had challenged S that I can cook better bhaath than one of his relatives, whose preparation I had hated as it was dry and bland. I normally do not criticize any one’s food, as what matters to me is the love with which it gets served, but this particular preparation I would never forget in my life time as I was drinking water after every bite, just to swallow it..Nevertheless, I cooked it and cooked it to perfection, to an extent that DH said it’s restaurant material!!!

Talking of restaurant’s I would like to inform my readers in India that now whenever you are bored of cooking  or have not carried lunch box to the office, you can order food online in three easy steps from Foodpanda. Their services are currently available in 12 cities, of which the major ones are Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Jaipur, Pune, Mumbai, Chandigarh and their satellite towns. Once you are logged into the site, select the city and area where the food needs to be delivered. One has a choice to select the restaurant cuisine wise also. There are offers and discount vouchers available too from certain restaurants. After selecting the restaurant, check the menu and order the food. The delivery time is about 50mins but varies from restaurant to restaurant and the best part, there are no delivery charges. I simply love the idea of ordering food through www.foodpanda.in , do check it out  and order for food this weekend.

Coming back to my recipe.. I served the bhaath with curds and khari boondi (spicy) and it was a great combination indeed. This bhaath can be a big savior in case you have many guests coming in. One can make the curry(palya) cooked in advance and then mix it with the rice just before serving. The only precautions you should take while making the  curry for this bhaath is, to put more oil, spice and salt, as it gets mixed with the rice. If one can balance the flavors there, the bhaath is a sure hit. That reminds me, my dad loves this bhaath too..

 

Preparation Time: 30mins | Cooking Time: 20mins | Serves: 4-5 | Difficulty Level : Easy

Ingredients

17-18 long, light green variety Aubergines, cut into thin slices

4-5tbsp homemade Palya Pudi (Karnataka style spice mix for making curries)

7-8tbsp oil

2tsp mustard seeds

salt to taste

1/2tsp turmeric powder

3/4 cup peas ( I used frozen)

6-7cups cooked rice

 

Method

Heat oil in a pan (karahi) and add mustard, let it splutter.

Simmer the flame and add turmeric powder followed by eggplant slices, add salt, mix thoroughly. Cook covered till half done. Salt enables the eggplant to release juices and cook faster.

Add the palya pudi and peas and mix. Cook till done.

To one portion of rice and 1/4 - 1/3 portion of the curry and mix thoroughly, serve.

Addition of clarified butter (ghee) adds nice taste and flavor to the rice but that is optional.

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Avarekaalu BissiBele Bhaath..a nice twist to the regular Bissi Bele Bhaath, Step Wise

 

Hi All!

I’ve already mentioned my husband’s love for the Avarekaalu/Hyacinth beans. Whenever I get hold of these beautiful beans, they definitely make it to my kitchen. Earlier I would always buy them in bulk at Bangalore and stock then it in the freezer. But now, since it’s available here, I buy the fresh pods and peel them and over the period I’ve mastered quick peeling too..

This time when I got the beans I decided again to experiment it with the regular bissi bele bhaath, where instead of adding all the veggies I added the beans and I must tell you, it was very tasty. The beans with it’s prominent flavor made the bhaath delicious and worth the try. Earlier too I’ve experimented with these beans  and made Ambode using Oats and an Upma using Barley. Other than these two experiments, the akki rotti , uppittu and saaru using these beans are the commonly made dishes at my place.

If you have the Avarekaalu/ beans peeled, this preparation is a breezer, gets ready in 30mins. It’s a perfect meal for lunchtime and even for giving in lunch box as it can be made easily in the morning…

Avarekaalu Bissi Bele Bhaath

Preparation Time: 10mins

Cooking Time:15mins

Serves:3-4

Difficulty Level: Easy

 

Ingredients

1cup rice (soaked for 10mins)

3/4cup pigeon peas/tuvar daal (soaked for 10mins)

2cups avarekaalu/hyacinth beans

1tsp turmeric

2tbsp homemade sambhar masala

15-20 curry leaves

6-7tbsp oil ( I used Fortune rice bran oil)

1 to 1-1/2tbsp tamarind paste

2tsp mustard seeds

about 8cups of water

Method

Heat oil and add mustard seeds, splutter them.

Add the curry leaves followed by the washed beans/avarekaalu, mix.

Add the soaked rice and lentils and mix.

Add tamarind paste, turmeric powder, sambhar masala and salt to taste and give a thorough mix.

Add the water and chopped coriander.

Put the lid and once the pressure comes, reduce the flame and cook for 6-7mins.

Let the pressure drop, serve hot with curd/raita and potato chips/pappadams/fryums. A dollop of ghee on top adds more taste to this preparation, so do not hesitate to add but that’s completely optional.

 

This post is a part of Healthy & Tasty Recipe Contest with Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil & BlogAdda.com .

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Jeerige Kattu- Version I ( Traditional Karnataka Style Jeera Daal)

 

Hi!

Today I’m posting a traditional Kannadiga preparation which is very popular at my place. It is an excellent accompaniment with spicy curries and is S’s and my elder son’s favorite. In recent days now that the elder son was around, I made this several times for him.

It’s an easy lentil preparation has a strong aroma and flavor of Jeerige (cumin seeds/ Jeera). The word kattu in Kannada means daal from which all the excess water has not been removed, basically it is the excess water in which the daal has been cooked. Ideally it should be a thin lentil preparation which resembles a lot to the rasam but my family likes it a little thick. I made it along with Alasande Palya and Aloo Gadde Hurda Uperi which are again  family favorites and  I’ve posted them earlier. This daal can be just had in a bowl in the winter as a soup too.

Ingredients

2 katori cooked tuvar daal

1/2-3/4tsp turmeric

2tsp cumin seeds

3-4 green chillies finely chopped

1tsp ginger chopped

1tbsp coriander leaves chopped

1tsp cumin pwd

salt to taste

oil for cooking

Method

Cook tuvar daal in a pressure cooker with a pinch of turmeric and a drop of oil. Both turmeric an.d oil help cook daal faster.

Let the pressure drop, remove the daal and mash it.

Heat about 2tbsp oil in a pan and once it is hot, lower the flame and add cumin seeds. This prevents the cumin from burning and turning black in color.

Once the cumin has spluttered add chopped green chilies, chopped ginger, coriander and saute for a few seconds.

Now add the cumin pwd, cooked daal and mix properly. Season the daal with salt and add about 1-1/2cups water.

Bring the lentil/daal to a boil and simmer.

Let it boil for 7-8mins.

Serve hot garnished with ginger juliennes.

I personally love this daal with a dash of lime.

Sending this to my event ‘Only’ Vegan Cooking hosted by PJ at Seduce Your Tastebuds and to Home Maker’s Diary e Giveaway sponsored by Cuponation.

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Maavinkaayi Touvve...a Lentil Preparation From Karnataka

Hi all!!

This is a very tasty and traditional preparation from Karnataka, which is very commonly seen in summers on any festive occasion, when the complete spread of food is served on a banana leaf. During my recent visit to S’s hometown, where I attended my nephew’s thread ceremony, in one of the elaborate meals, this version of touvve was also served.

Touvve is nothing but a thick daal which is tempered with mustard seeds and Bengal gram. The addition of the word Maavinkaayi to the Touvve simply indicates the addition of raw mango to the cooked lentils. The raw mango adds a nice tang to the preparation.

S, loves the touvve and so do I. A regular daal when is served thick tastes much better and the best example to that is the touvve.

The city where I live in, getting raw mango with a good sourness is a tedious task. What’s usually seen is the ‘Totapari’ Mango. On one such rare occasion, I got hold of really sour raw mango and I decided to make Panha, green chutney and the touvve. My kids love the sour taste and they had a great feast eating these simple delicacies using the raw mango…

While making the touvve the lentils after cooking are not completely mashed and the grainy texture is retained, however, I had completely mashed my lentils, but I can assure you, there was no compromise on the taste!!! S, loved the preparation to the core and finished a bowl of it without any rice or chapati.

Maavinkaayi Touvve

Preparation Time:10mins

Cooking Time:30mins

Serves:4

 

Ingredients

1 cup Grated raw mango (adjust as per the sourness)

6-7green chilies,finely chopped

1/4tsp fenugreek seed/ methi dana

2-1/2cups cooked pigeon peas/ toor daal

1/2tsp turmeric pwd

2-3tbsp bengal gram/chana dal

2tsp chopped coriander stem

a pinch of heeng /asafoetida (optional)

4-5tbsp oil

1tsp mustard seeds

salt to taste

Method

Heat oil and splutter mustard seeds.

Reduce the flame and add the fenugreek seeds and Bengal gram, else they burn easily. Once the color deepens, add the green chilies and heeng.

Add the raw mango and saute.

Add the cooked lentils,turmeric and adjust the consistency with water. This preparation is a semi dry version.

Add coriander stem  and cook. Season with salt.

Serve hot with rice or chapati.

Sending it to my event ‘Only’ Mango, guest hosted by Anu.

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Jhunka - Chapati..DH’s favourite breakfast, from Karnataka

Hi All!

Today again I’m sharing another favourite of S. This is easily the easiest way of making DH happy. He loves this preparation a lot and now me too.

When I tasted this preparation for the first time I had a major discussion with DH. When my MIL informed me that she was making Chapati-Jhunka for the breakfast, I had visualised roti and a dry besan curry, as in North and Central India chapati means the ‘basic phulka’ or ‘roti’ and Jhunka in Marathi means ‘dry besan curry’. Actually there’s always a confusion with those terms too, because in all Maharashtrian homes, Jhunka is dry besan (chickpea flour) curry and Pithala means a  thick curry with besan. But if you have ever visited a Jhunka-Bhakar Kendra in Maharashtra, they actually serve the Pithala (wet version) with Bhakari.

In all this confusion in my mind, I was extremely surprised, when the preparation was actually served to me,  as the Jhunka made was quite like the Maharashtrian Pithala (wet version and not dry) though very different in taste and Chapati was quite like the Paratha but the texture was very different. The Chapati, is much more softer and thinner than the regular Paratha. It is quite similar to ‘Ghadi chi Poli’ made in Maharashtra, though not quite the same as the layers (papudara) are not separated.

I loved the preparation to the core and it tastes best when served hot. I learnt the preparation when it was made the next time again and ever since then it frequents my kitchen. It can be served as a breakfast, lunch or dinner item. We are always eager to eat it, no matter when it’s served.

The soft Chapatis and the naturally flavoured Jhunka just compliment each other and together they play music in your mouth. It’s a preparation that anyone would love and it so happened that I sent it in S’s lunch box and the dish was liked by all. In fact  S was surprised that they had not heard of the dish and asked him how it was made..

I’m posting the recipe of Jhunka here, for understanding, how the Chapati is made, please check here in my other blog Kitchen-Basics.

JHUNKA

Preparation Time:10mins

Cooking Time:15mins

Serves:3

Ingredients

4-5tbsp oil

1tsp mustard seeds

1tbsp mix of urad-chana daal

4heaped tbsp besan (chickpea flour)

1/4tsp turmeric pwd

4green chillies finely chopped

1”piece ginger grated

2sprigs curry leaves, finely chopped

2tbsp coriander, finely chopped

3-4tbsp sour curds

about 2glasses water

salt to taste

Method

Heat oil and add mustard seeds, once they splutter, add the mixed daals and fry till golden in colour.
Add the green chillies, curry leaves and half the coriander, sauté.
Add the chickpea flour and turmeric and roast lightly.
Lower the flame and add curds.
Mix properly and add the water gradually, stirring continuously to avoid lumps.
Keep the curry a little thin as it thickens fast on cooking and further on cooling.
Add salt to taste and remaining coriander and bring it to a boil and simmer cook for 5mins.
Serve hot with Chapati.

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Aloo Gadde Hurda Uperi..Karnataka Style Stir Fried Potatoes

Scene1

It's her first day after marriage in her new home and she is midst a new family  where every one is trying to make her feel comfortable and saying nice things to her. There are kids playing in the house and MIL and her co-sister cooking breakfast in the kitchen assisted by her own co-sisters. FIL is watching news on TV and inspite of such normal activities happening around her she is feeling lost and left out. She sits in a corner observing everyone and suddenly notices that her younger brother in law is sitting on a sofa chair with a chopping board and knife and next to him are almost 6-7 kg of potatoes soaked in water. He would remove a potato, clean and wipe it and then meticulously cut thin slices. She wonders, why is he spending so much time cutting thin slices at such a slow pace with so much of patience. Hesitantly, she asks him why are you cutting them? The reply she gets was a simple sentence 'for making Hurda Uperi'.

She is not able to understand the word and with a confused face looks towards her MIL for an explanation, the explanation comes but from MIL's co-sister. The new bride is informed that the dish is a family favorite made using the potatoes and all family members fight, so that they get to cut the potatoes. The bride is satisfied to an extent but not completely. She relishes the preparation during lunch  along with rice and Jeerige Kattu and her husband explains her later on that Aloo Gadde means Potatoes, Hurda means fried and Uperi means slices in Kannda. After given an explanation, she keeps wondering, how difficult the preparation would be...?

Scene 2

It's about a month after her marriage, the new bride has been learning regularly the Karnataka cuisine to reach her husband's heart. She finally asks her MIL to teach the 'Uperi'. This is the only word that she is able to recollect and her MIL keeps wondering what the DIL is trying to say. The DIL then explains that it's the family favorite made with potatoes. The kind hearted MIL understands finally and tells the new DIL that the preparation is way too simple and can be made quickly, the only time consumed is in cutting the potato slices evenly and thin.

The DIL takes the challenge of cutting the slices and since she is still not adept with her knife skills, she fumbles many times while cutting but finally sails through. The MIL makes the preparation in front of her in the next fifteen minutes and the new DIL is delighted to see that the preparation is way too simple and yet the result is so very tasty.

Scene3

The husband gives his wife  a list of the items she must cook before she leaves for her Mom's place, and topping in the list is Aloo Gadde Hurda Uperi. The wife smiles, cooks all his favorites and refrigerates them before leaving for her husband to savour them later on in the coming week.

By this time I'm sure you must have realised that this DIL was none other than 'ME' and it is S's favourite preparation which I did cook before I left on vacation . 

It is now my turn to share this family favorite recipe with all of you. I can say that I've mastered this easy preparation in all these years and I cut the slices pretty fast now :). 

Aloo Gadde Hurda Uperi

Serves:3
Preparation Time:15mins
Cooking Time:15mins

Ingredients
about 500gms potatoes,sliced
3tbsp Saaru/rasam pudi
1tsp chilli pwd
3/4tsp turmeric pwd
salt to taste
1tsp mustard seeds
5-6tbsp oil

Method

Wash the potatoes and remove the dirt. Let them dry and then slice as thin as possible. I always use potatoes without peeling as the skin is rich in minerals, but if you want you can peel and use.

Heat oil and mustard seeds, once the seeds splutter, tip in a few slices of potatoes along with turmeric and chilli powders, this prevents burning of spices.

Add all the potato slices, salt and rasam pudi. Mix thoroughly and cook on a medium flame without covering the pan.

Cook till done. Serve hot with rice and Jeerige Kattu.

Tips:

This recipe needs more oil for cooking.

For making a good stir fry, ensure that the potatoes are dry and have no excess water.

This preparation tastes best when made a little spicy as it is to be mixed with rice.

Sending this to my event 'Only' South Indian hosted here.

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Avalakki Bissi Bele Bhaath..A Quick Fix With Beaten Rice

Hi!

I'm kick starting contributions to my event 'Only' South Indian, hosted here at Foodelicious, with a very tasty preparation from the state of Karnataka, which is S's native state. I have reiterated several times that my MIL is an excellent cook and is my guide and tutor to Karnataka style cooking or in more romantic word's she has guided me clearly on the correct path to my husband's heart who is fond of good food and especially his Mom's food.

Bissi Bele Bhaath is an all time favourite at my place and my husband call's it 'concrete food' as it sits in the stomach and makes you feel heavy and drowsy. I normally make it on weekend for lunch so that after eating  we can have a sound sleep. Avalakki Bissi Bele Bhaath or Bissi Bele Huli Avalakki, is a simpler and easily digestible version of Bissi Bele Bhaath and it translates to Hot Dal/Sāmbhar With Beaten Rice. This preparation makes use of beaten Rice (Poha) and Yellow Moong dal, both of which are easy to digest and quick to cook. My MIL had made this preparation for all of us during one of our  recent visits and every one had relished it. I asked her that time, how she had made it, but forgot to pen it down.

Last month, I suddenly remembered this preparation and wanted to try it, so I called my MIL but she was unavailable. Then I called up my elder co-sister R and asked her if she knew how to make it, and I was disappointed with her 'No'. I was almost ready to give up and half heartedly called  up my younger co-sister P, she brought an instant smile on my face by saying a 'Yes' and gave me the recipe. I tried the recipe that day itself and it was a huge hit in the family, so I decided to make a more healthier version and tweaked the recipe a little and to my delight it was liked even more by the two of them. The kid happily took it in his lunch box and finished it too. Tomorrow is P's birthday, so I thought it's an apt time to post this recipe.  Can't thank you enough dear 'P'  for this excellent recipe.

It’s a one pot meal and can be made very quickly.

Avalakki Bissi Bele Bhaath Preparation Time:20mins Cooking Time:20-25mins Soaking time:15mins Serves:4 Ingredients 4 hands full beaten rice/ Poha, thick variety ( I used the red version to make it more healthy) 3/4-1 measuring cup roasted Yellow Moong Dal 1small carrot cubed 1/2cup peas 1medium potato cubed 6-7 French beans cut into 1cm pieces 5-6tbsp Sāmbhar Masala 1/2tsp red chilli pwd 1/2tsp turmeric pwd 2tsp coriander pwd 3/4-1tsp cinnamon pwd about 6-7 cups water coriander stems chopped about 1-1/2tbsp tamarind paste salt to taste For tempering 2-3tbsp oil 1tsp mustard seeds 2-3 dry red chillies 2sprigs curry leaves 1/2chopped onion small hand full of peanuts 1/4tsp good quality asafoetida (heeng) Method Wash the poha 4-5 times in water and keep it aside for 15mins to soak properly. The red poha absorbs a lot of water and needs more time for soaking than the regular white poha. Dry roast the lentils till a nice aroma is smelt. Add 3cups water to the lentils and bring it to a boil. Simmer and cook till half done. Add all the vegetables and coriander stems now. Cook covered till the vegetables are done and the lentils cooked. Add 3more cups of water and add Sāmbhar masala, red chilli-turmeric-coriander-cinnamon powders. Add the soaked Poha and salt to taste. The red poha needs more spices than the regular poha, so adjust your spices accordingly. Mix properly and cook covered for 10 more minutes. If you feel that the consistency of the bhaath is too thick, add more water. Pour the tempering and mix. Serve hot with curds or raita and some potato wafers to go along. For Tempering Heat oil and add the mustard, once it splutters add the peanuts and red chillies, fry. Now add the onions and sauté. Tip in the heeng and curry leaves and pour it over the bhath.

Sending this to Rasi's I'm Star Event 




Note-
One can add their choice of vegetables to this bhaath.
Cinnamon and heeng are a must as they add a good flavour to the preparation.
One can completely replace all vegetables and use only one vegetable in more quantity and make this preparation.
Adding onions is optional.
The quantity of water provided here can vary based on the quality of beaten rice used. So be observant and follow your instincts while adding water.

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Avarekaalu-Oats Ambode…Field Beans-Oats Fritters, the Indian Way

Hi!

As I’ve mentioned earlier too that I was introduced to Avarekalu just before my marriage as these beans are very popular amongst Kannadigas. S, has always loved the beans and today, so do I. As I have already mentioned in my post on Avarekalu Uppittu, we make it a point to source the Avarekalu  from S’s hometown and whenever we visit or someone visits from there, we get the stock of beans. Peeled beans are a little expensive but so much easy to use. I do not mind shelling out a few pennies extra for my convenience. I freeze the beans and use them whenever I require.

Before anyone questions me, I’m apologising, sorry I deep fried again. I just could not resist the temptation of trying this combination and I’m so glad that I made these because it is just too good. Before frying I had promised myself that I’ll just taste one and make the rest for the family but the glutton I’m and the delicious the preparation is, I  had to keep reminding and castigating myself not to eat more and I still ate three…I bet ‘No one can eat just One’!! The exquisite taste of the beans, the crunch of oats and the sourness of curds makes an excellent blend of flavours which is very difficult to resist.

If you have the beans available with you, these Ambode’s are perfect to treat guests and family. These can be made really quick and it’s my personal recommendation that one should try these once and let me know how they turned out.

Avarekalu- Oats Ambode Serves-3 Makes:12 Preparation Time: 10mins Cooking Time: as much required for frying Ingredients 1-1/2cups Avarekaalu/Mochai/Surati Papdi/Field Beans 5-6green chillies 3-4tbsp fresh coconut 3sprigs curry leaves 3tbsp rolled Oats 2tbsp sour curds 3-4tbsp rice flour 1/4tsp heeng/asafoetida of good quality salt to taste Oil for deep frying Method Wash the Avarekalu and strain. Mix the Oats with the curds and keep aside for 5mins. Grind together the green chillies, curry leaves and coconut, coarsely. Grind the Avarekalu coarsely. Mix the Avarekalu, soaked Oats, grinded chilli mixture, salt to taste and heeng. Adding heeng is very essential as it not only gives good flavour but reduces the formation of gas in the stomach, for which the beans are so famous,LOL. Add the rice flour gradually. The Ambode mixture has to be moist enough that it can be easily patted and not break while frying (It should have a mashed potato consistency). Heat the oil and keep it on a medium flame. Take lemon size portion of Ambode mix  and pat it to a 3/4cm thick disc and deep fry till brownish-golden in colour. While frying keep the disc on the slotted spoon and using that slide the disc gently into oil. Remove on an absorbent paper or kitchen towel to remove excess oil. Serve the crunchy and crispy hot Ambode with sauce or chutney.

Sending this to my event ‘Only’ Oats ending on 29th Feb, so rush in your entries.
Surabhi's Holi Hai Event.

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300th Post - Holige.. A traditional sweet from Karnataka & Two Cookbook Giveaways

Hi.

They say slow and steady wins the race and today as I post my 300th post I definitely find myself a winner. I’m a winner because, not only have I managed to post 300 recipes in the last 2-1/2yrs but also I’ve managed to make a small niche for myself in the big world of food blogging. I’ve recently started book reviewing and both my recent reviews- Master Chef India Cookbook & Southern Flavours have had a good readership.

The world of food is like an ocean and we the food blogger’s are like droplets that form it. There’s so much to learn and absorb that  even if I try to be at my best all the times through out my life, I guess I’ll be able to fill a jar full of knowledge for myself.

In all the learning, there were up’s and downs too in this period and I had to be away from blogging but I would gather myself again and re-start. And during these ups and downs, those encouraging words from my readers and fellow bloggers, kept me going. Thanks so much for all your love and support.

Coming to today’s recipe… Recently my MIL was visiting us and she used to get bored at times. At 75yrs she likes to keep herself  very active. She is extremely fond of cooking and once during a general chit chat,  mentioned casually that she had not made Holige in recent times as it’s readily available in the market but she would love to make it for her grandson. And after she said that, how could I leave the golden opportunity of learning the traditional dish..

I’ve grown up eating my Mom’s Puran Poli and I can challenge that I have not tasted a Puran Poli as good as hers and will share her version sometime here. Puran Poli is a sweet Indian Bread made in Maharashtra using a filling of Bengal gram. It is made on festive and happy occasions. Similarly, Holige is a preparation from Karnataka and though Puran Poli and Holige are considered synonymous to each other, I find that there’s quite a difference.

The first big difference is that Holige is made by using both pigeon peas and Bengal gram but Puran Poli is only made with Bengal gram. The dough made for Holige is quite different than Puran Poli and Holige is made using jaggery but Puran Poli can be made either with jaggery or with sugar. Both versions of Puran Poli taste very different from each other. The Holige traditionally is made on an oiled banana leaf but today it is even rolled out, and to the best of my Knowledge, Puran Poli is always rolled out. Holige is a yellow coloured flat bread, the yellow colour is due to the addition of turmeric while no turmeric is added in making Puran poli. Holige is rolled very thin, while Puran poli is surely thicker than it. The amount of filling filled in Holige is the same as the size of the dough, while in Puran poli double the amount of filling is filled as compared to the dough size.

Ingredients

(makes 15-18)

For The Dough

1-1/2cups whole wheat flour

1cup APF (maida)

pinch of turmeric

pinch of salt

water for kneading dough

5-6tbsp oil

For The Filling

1cup pigeon peas (tuvar daal)

1/2cup Bengal gram (chana daal)

250-300gms jaggery (gur)

1/2tsp turmeric

water for cooking

1tsp cardamom powder

1tsp nutmeg powder

Others

Rice flour for rolling

oil for cooking

ghee and milk for eating

Method

To make The Dough

Mix both the flours, salt and turmeric and using water, knead a dough much softer than the regular chapati dough. Soak it in oil for half-one hour. Keep the dough covered.

For Filling

Soak the lentils in water for half an hour (this quickens the process of cooking).

Add turmeric and add just enough water to cook the lentils.

Once the lentils are cooked either grind them to a smooth texture or pass it through a Puran making machine so that there are no grains left.

Take the lentils in a pan and add crushed or grated jaggery. Once the jaggery melts, one needs to be careful. If there was lot of water in the lentils the mix can keep splashing, so one needs to be careful at this stage. As the moisture will reduce the splashing comes down. (I prefer to wear full sleeve cloth while cooking the mix).

Cook both together as long as the it starts to leave the sides of the pan. Keep stirring through out.

My mom’s trick to understand the right consistency is to push the ladle in the centre of the mix, if it falls, the mix is not ready, if it stands, it’s ready to be used. (see pic above)

Let the filling cool. Mix in cardamom and nutmeg powders.

How To Make Holige

Heat a heavy bottom tava/griddle for roasting Holige.

Take the dough less than  the size of lemon and spread it to a flattened disc using fingers.

Fill the disc with the same amount of filling as the size of dough and close from all sides and seal well.

Use oiled hands to fill the filling, this prevents sticking of the filling on the hand and fingers.

Using rice flour roll out the flat bread else grease a plastic sheet and roll over it or pat it thin on a greased banana leaf.

Transfer gently on the hot tava/griddle.

Cook on either sides using light oil. Use all the dough to make Holige like this.

Serve hot or cold with ghee and milk.

Coming to the giveaways. Since it is my 300th post, I thought of making it really big. There are two cookbook giveaways for this post. The first is a new book released in 2011 by the very famous Monica Bhide and is called Modern Spice:Inspired Indian Flavours For The Contemporary Kitchen. It’s a book that’s been in my wish list for a while and hopefully I will have it soon. I am truly honoured and obliged that Monica agreed to sponsor this book as a  giveaway and since she lives in  the USA the book will be shipped only there. So this giveaway is open for all US readers and bloggers and anyone who wants to gift their friends living in USA.

       

I am also giving away a cookbook  to all my readers and blogger friends in India and will be shipped anywhere in the country. Any one can be a part of it as long as you can provide an address in India, you can also gift this book to your friend or relative. This is the second book that has been in my wish list  and it’s called Anjum’s New Indian and is authored by Anjum Anand. To read more about the books click on the links or pictures. The giveaway ends on 19th Feb’12 at 11:59hrs IST.

There are very simple rules to the participate in the giveaways, since I’m working towards making my blog more interesting and appealing, I do need your feedback. Let me know through your comments-

-Which country you belong to and which giveaway/aways you have opted for.

-What do you like/dislike in my blog.

-Which is your favourite recipe in my blog and what kind of posts you would like to see in future.

Since I want to make this giveaway a big event, please help me in spreading the word through your space and in case you are doing that do let me know by leaving  a separate comment for that, thus increasing your chance of winning the giveaways.

I would surely appreciate that if you like my space please be a fan of my page on face book and if you are new blogger or you are visiting my blog the first time, please follow me publicly or leave a link to your blog, so that I get an opportunity to reach your blog and learn from you. (Following my blog is not a condition that I’m throwing on you, it’s completely my selfishness, as I get to have a permanent link on my blog to go to your profile and then to your page).

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