CURRY LEAVES POHA/ FLATTENED RICE UPMA

 

 

 

 

 Flattened rice is my healthy,go-to breakfast option. I have tried and posted seven different breakfast options involving poha/flattened rice on this blog.This time,I wanted to try something new.  This upma is akin to curry leaves rice.In  place of rice,I have used poha.This powder comes in handy, while preparing ,kuzhambu and vegetable curries as well. Hence,whenever there is abundant curry leaves,you can make this powder and stock it inside the refrigerator.Don't add coconut if you want to prolong the shelf life of the powder,as it will turn rancid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS FOR CURRY LEAVES POWDER

 

CURRY LEAVES- 4-5 SPRIGS

 

URAD DAL- 4 TSP

 

GRAM DAL- 4 TSP

 

PEPPERCORNS- 1/2 TSP

 

CUMIN SEEDS- 1/4 TSP

 

RED CHILLIES- 2-3 NOS

 

TAMARIND- SMALL PIECE

 

SESAME OIL (FOR ROASTING)- 1 TSP

 

DRY COCONUT / COPRA- 2 TBSP

SEASONING INGREDIENTS

 

SESAME OIL- 3 TSP

 

URAD DAL SPLIT- 1 TSP

 

MUSTARD- 1 TSP

 

ASAFOETIDA- 3/4 TSP 

 

GROUND NUTS- 4 TSP

 

OTHER INGREDIENTS

FLATTENED RICE-  2 CUPS

 

WATER- 2 CUPS

 

SALT TO TASTE 

PROCEDURE

1. Wash,rinse flattened rice in running water to remove impurities thoroughly. After washing,soak flattened rice in 2 cups of water for twenty minutes. If you are using thick variant,then this quantity of water will be appropriate.

2. In a pan add a tsp of oil and roast the lentils,peppercorns,red chillies,cumin seeds till the ingredients become crisp.

3. In the same pan,fry curry leaves till it slightly changes colour and shrinks in size. A nice aroma pervades the house as the curry leaves gets fried.

4. On cooling,grind roasted ingredients,curry leaves and dry coconut to a fine powder using a blender.

5.In a pan heat sesame oil. Splutter mustard seeds,then add urad dal,groundnuts,asafoetida.

6. Add softened flattened rice over the seasoning and mix well.

7. Add salt with the ground powder and mix well. Now add the same over the flattened rice and blend well.

NARTHANGAI PACHADI

 

 

 

 Narthangai is Tamil word for Citron. Citron is also called wild lime and belongs to citrus family. It is a rich source of vitamin C and excellent remedy for treating indigestion,morning sickness and acidity. My neighbor has a huge citron tree, and she always shares bountiful harvest, among her neighbors. I have prepared heralekkayi gojju-  a tamarind based gravy involving citron prepared in Karnataka,multiple times. This time, I decided to try out pachadi-  a tangy gravy similar to gojju popular in Tamilnadu. 

 

Besides the fruit,the citron leaves are also used in making pickle. I really love veppilai katti - A wonderful dry pickle made by combining citron leaves,red chillies,salt and asafoetida.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS TO ROAST & GRIND

 

CORIANDER SEEDS- 5 TSP

 

RED CHILLIES- 7-8 NOS

 

FENUGREEK SEEDS- 1/4 TSP

 

SOLID ASAFOETIDA- SMALL PIECE

 

INGREDIENT TO DRY ROAST

 

WHITE SESAME SEEDS-  2 1/2 TSP

OTHER INGREDIENTS

CITRON- 2 MEDIUM SIZE

TAMARIND- LEMON SIZE

TURMERIC POWDER- 1/4 TSP

GREEN CHILLIES- 1

POWDERED JAGGERY- 2 TSP

SALT TO TASTE

SESAME OIL- 6 TSP

CURRY LEAVES- 2 SPRIGS

SALT TO TASTE

 

RICE FLOUR- 3 TSP

FOR SEASONING

 

MUSTARD- 1 TSP 

PROCEDURE

1. Wash,wipe and chop citron to small pieces with skin. In a pressure cooker,add the chopped pieces and salt and cook for three whistles and switch off. Don't add water. The juice is in the citron is enough for steaming. The steaming method,helps in reducing bitterness in citron. You can even try this method while preparing instant lime pickle.

2. In a pan add 2 tsp of sesame oil and heat it. Roast coriander seeds, red chillies,asafoetida and fenugreek in the oil till crisp and switch off. Soak tamarind in warm water and extract syrup

 

3. Dry roast sesame seeds separately. Grind roasted sesame seeds along with other roasted ingredients to fine powder.

 

4. In the same pan, add remaining 4 tsp of remaining oil and heat it. Splutter mustard seeds. Add in chopped green chillies,curry leaves, and steamed citron.

5. Pour the tamarind syrup over the steamed citron. Add salt,turmeric powder,jaggery and boil till the raw smell of the tamarind evades completely.

6. Add the ground powder to syrup and simmer in mild heat for couple of minutes.

7. Mix rice flour with water and add it to the boiling pachadi . Rice flour is used as thickening agent in pachadi.

BRINJAL MASALA CURRY : METHOD 3

 Brinjal /eggplant is one of my favourite veggies. Hence,i love any kind of dish involving this veggie. My mom always incorporates shallow fried brinjal in puliyogore.Inclusion of the veggie,escalates the flavour of puliyogore. Hence,I always prefer badanekayi gojju chitranna to plain version. Gojju chitranna implies puliyogore /tamarind rice in Kannada. This particular curry goes well with plain rice,jeera rice,chapati /phulka. I  have the habit of mixing and eating any kind of vegetable curry or palya,  with plain rice and then proceed with sambar and rasam.I really loved this curry with plain rice with a dollop of ghee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS TO GRIND

 

COCONUT GRATINGS- 1 1/2 CUP

 

SHALLOTS- 4 NOS

 

FENNEL SEEDS- 1 TSP

 

PEPPERCORNS- 3/4 TSP

 

CASHEW NUTS- 5-6  NOS

GREEN CHILLIES- 2 NOS

GARLIC CLOVES- 5 NOS

GINGER- 1/2 INCH

CORIANDER LEAVES CHOPPED- 1 1/2 TBSP

 

CLOVES-2 NOS

 

CINNAMON- 1 STICK

OTHER INGREDIENTS

BRINJAL- 500 GRAMS

TURMERIC POWDER-1/4 TSP

CHILLI POWDER- 3/4 TSP

SALT TO TASTE

OIL- 2 TBSP

 

CUMIN SEEDS- 1 TSP

PROCEDURE

1. Wash,wipe and slit brinjal length wise and keep it aside. You can use any variant of brinjal ; but,i feel the slender variant,colloquially called the ujala brinjal suits well for this gravy.

 

2. Grind all the ingredients cited above in raw form and keep it aside.

 

3. Heat 1 1/2 oil and add in the slit brinjal,half of amount of salt and fry well. At last ,add turmeric powder and check if the veggie is cooked.

 

4. Add 1/2 tbsp oil in a pan and splutter cumin seeds.Add the ground paste,remaining salt and fry well till the raw smell evades completely.

 

5.Transfer the sauteed paste over the cooked veggie and fry well in mild heat for a minute and switch off

6. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

SABUDANA KHICHDI

Sabudana,translates to Sago in Hindi. During fasting,in North India, people resort to sabudana kichdi as it is high carb food and provides immense energy.

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS

 

SAGO- 2 CUPS

 

WATER- 2 CUPS FOR SOAKING

 

SALT  TO TASTE

 

POTATO- 2 NOS

CHOPPED CORIANDER LEAVES FOR THE GARNISH

 

COCONUT  GRATINGS- 2 TBSP

CHOPPED GREEN CHILLIES- 3 NOS

GINGER GRATED- 1 TSP

FOR THE SEASONING

OIL- 1 TBSP

GHEE- 3 TSP

MUSTARD- 1 TSP

CUMIN SEEDS- 1 TSP

ASAFOETIDA- 3/4 TSP

CURRY LEAVES- 2 SPRIG

ROASTED,CRUSHED GROUNDNUTS- 1/2 CUP

LEMON JUICE- 3 TSP

PROCEDURE

1. Wash and rinse sago thoroughly to remove the starch content from it.

2. Soak sago in 2 cups of water for 4-5 hours. After soaking time,you can notice that the pearls have     enlarged in size and becomes soft.

3.Pass the soaked sago through a colander and drain the water completely. Normally boiled chopped potatoes is used in this dish,but I shallow fried the same for the crunch.

 

 

4. In a pan heat oil and ghee. Splutter mustard seeds,cumin seeds and then add asafoetida,chopped green chillies,ginger gratings,curry leaves.

5. Transfer the sago over the seasoning after adding salt and mix well.

6. Add crushed groundnuts,coconut shavings and mix well in a very mild heat for a minute and switch off the stove.

7. Add lemon juice over the kichidi and mix well.

8. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve.

VERMICELLI MINT UPMA

I find vermicelli to be a versatile staple ; as it takes in the flavour of any ingredient incorporated into it. In one of my posts,I have elucidated the method of preparing vermicelli puliyogare. This time,I tried a simple masala paste involving mint leaves and made masala upma. I always prefer the MTR brand;the reason being- vermicelli strands are of uniform size and it has an inherent flavour.

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS

 

VERMICELLI-  2 CUPS

 

WATER- 3 CUPS

 

SALT TO TASTE

 

CUMIN SEEDS- 1 TSP

 

TURMERIC POWDER- 1/4 TSP

 

OIL- 1 1/2 TBSP

 

ONIONS- 2 NOS

 

TOMATOES- 2 NOS

 

FENNEL SEEDS- 1 TSP

 

CHOPPED CORIANDER LEAVES FOR THE GARNISH 

 

GHEE- 1 TSP

 

CURRY LEAVES- 1 SPRIG

FOR THE MASALA PASTE

MINT / PUDHINA LEAVES- 4 SPRIGS

 

CORIANDER LEAVES CHOPPED-  1 TBSP

GARLIC CLOVES- 4 NOS

GREEN CHILLIES- 3 NOS

GINGER- 1 INCH

 

FENNEL  SEEDS- 1 TSP

PROCEDURE

1. Dry roast vermicelli and keep it aside.

2. Grind mint leaves,garlic cloves,ginger and green chillies,coriander leaves,fennel seeds to fine paste and keep it aside.

3. Heat oil in a pan add splutter cumin seeds. Add in chopped onions,curry leaves,salt and fry well till it turns translucent.

4. Add chopped tomatoes,turmeric powder and fry till the tomatoes turn mushy.

5. Add the ground paste over the sauteed ingredients and fry well till the raw smell evades.

6. Boil 3 cups of water and pour it over the masala paste.

7. Slowly transfer the dry roasted vermicelli to the boiling water .

8. Keep stirring in mild heat till the vermicelli takes in all the water and gets cooked.

9. Switch off and add a teaspoon of ghee over the hot upma.

10. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve.

MOSARU AVALAKKI

Mosuru Avalakki is an authentic dish from the Karnataka cuisine, involving flattened rice. Mosuru is Kannada word for curd and avalakki means flattened rice. Normally,flattened rice dishes are  easy to prepare ;as it doesn't require elaborate cooking procedure. During Naga Chathurthi- a traditional day of worship of snake gods,different varieties of avalakki dishes are prepared in Karnataka.  

 

 

 

 INGREDIENTS

FLATTENED RICE- 2 CUPS

CURD- 2 1/2 CUPS

SALT TO TASTE

COCONUT GRATINGS- 2 TBSP

 

CHOPPED CORIANDER LEAVES

FOR THE SEASONING

GHEE- 3 TSP

MUSTARD- 1 TSP

URAD DAL- 1 TSP

GREEN CHILLIES- 2 NOS

GINGER GRATED- 1 TSP

CURRY LEAVES- 2 SPRIGS

ASAFOETIDA- 1/2 TSP

PROCEDURE

1. Wash and rinse flattened rice thoroughly to remove impurities. 

2. Add water to the washed rice and soak for twenty minutes.

3. After twenty minutes,drain the water and keep it aside.

4. To prepare seasoning- Heat ghee in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds. Add in all the lentils,asafoetida,curry leaves,ginger gratings and fry for a minute till the lentils get roasted.

5. Add the seasoning to the softened flattened rice and mix well.

6.Add salt to the curd and whisk it. Now add the whisked curd to the flattened rice and mix thoroughly.

7. Add coconut gratings,chopped coriander leaves and mix it again.