Ragi Huri Hittina Unde /Ladoo

Ingredients: 

• Ragi Huri Hittu - 2 cups
• Coconut grated – 2 tbsp
• Jaggery grated – ½ cup
• Elachi (cardamom) – ½ tsp.
• Ghee – 1 tsp
• Warm Milk – 1 cup ( as needed)
• Optional: roasted nuts ( peanut or cashew)

Method: 

1. Mix everything except milk in a bowl. 
2. Gradually add  little by little milk until the mixture holds together to form lime size ladoos/balls.

Kaai vade/ Rice vade

Ingrediants:

1. Par boiled rice/kuchhige akki- 2 cups

2. white rice/Dosa rice/tindi akki-2 cups

3. Half grated coconut

4. Oil to fry

Preparations:

Soak the rice together overnight or for about 4 hrs.

Drain water and grind the rice along with grated coconut. You can add required amount of water  for grinding. Let the dough be slightly coarse. don't grind it to fine paste. It will not give that crispy bite if the dough is too fine.

Add salt to the dough . Now heat the dough over stove, turning repeatedly till dough becomes thick .

Take a clean plastic sheat or banana leaf, wipe oil on the surface.

Take the dough and make round balls and place it on the leaf and press with fingers and make round  patties.

Fry this patties in hot oil on both sides till it turns slightly red.

Serve with chutni or curry. Goes best with chicken sukka.

Mavina Hannina Sasive

Mavina Hannina Sasive is nothing but Ripe-Mango curry. It is a very common dish during summer/mango season. [Picture]

Ingredients: 

• 4 well ripped juicy mangoes
• Green chillies to your taste (2 or more)
• Jaggery/brown sugar – small piece/1 tsp
• Salt
• For seasoning: Oil, Mustard, 1 red chili & curry leaves.

Method: 

1. Wash mangoes well. Peel the mango skin and save it separately with a cup of water added to it.
2. In a think bottom vessel, put the peeled mangoes (along with the pit/seed), place it on the stove at medium-high heat.  
3. Squeeze juice from the skin and add the juice to the mangoes. Discard the skin/rind. 
4. Add slit green chili, salt and jiggery to the mangoes. 
5. Bring the mixture to boil and let it cook for ten more minutes until the mangoes are cooked. 
6. For seasoning: Heat oil, add mustard, red chili and curry leaves; Once mustard start to splatter, pour the mixture over the cooked mango gravy. 

Enjoy warm delicious gravy with rice or chapati

Boodhkumabalakayi Majjige Huli

This curry is good on a hot summer day. Also prepared when there is left over curds or butter milk.

Ingredients:

• Boodh-kumabalakayi/Ash Gourd / white pumpkin - 1/2 kg.
• Buttermilk - 2 to 3 cups
• Salt - to taste
• For masala
• Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp 
• Cumin/Jirige - 1/2 tsp
• Green chillies/Hasimensu - 3 to 4 (or to taste)
• Coriander leaves / Kothambari Soppu - a handful (washed and chopped)
• For seasoning:
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Mustard/Sasive - 1/4 tsp
• Cumin/Jirige - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves/Karibevu - 5 to 6 leaves.
• Asafoetida / Hing - pinch

Method:

1. Remove the seeds and the skin of the kumabalakayi, cut it into inch and a half cubes
2. Transfer the washed kumabalakayi cubes into pressure cooker or steamer. 
3. Add a  cup of water and salt. Let it cook for one whistle and turn it off.
4. Meanwhile grind masala with bit of water (or buttermilk) into paste.
5. Once the pressure is released, add the ground masala to the cooked kumabalakayi and bring it to boil. 
6. Let it boil for 4 to 5 minutes than turn off the heat.
7. Whisk thick curds and water together ,or add buttermilk. 
8. For seasoning: Heat oil, add mustard, cumin, red chili and curry leaves; Once mustard start to splatter, pour the mixture over the curry. 
9. Server warm with rice.

Variation:

• Small piece of ginger may be added while grinding the masala
• 1/2 tbsp soaked Kadale Bele (Bengal Gram) - may be added while grinding the masala.

Chattambade

Chattambade  a.k.a Dhal vada or Masal Vada is easy to make. It may be served as an appetizer, side dish along with rice, or goes well with evening tea. I truly enjoy hot Masal Vada with my evening tea on a rainy day :)

Ingredients:

• Kaddle Bhale /Bengal gram dhal /Chana dhal– 1 cup.
• Finely chopped onions – 1/4 cup.
• Green chillies – 7 ( or to taste) –finely chopped or paste. If you prefer Chilli powder may be used instead of green chillies.
• Crushed ginger – 1 tsp. (Optional)
• Chopped coriander – 2 Tbl.sp.
• Chopped curry leaves – 1 tsp.
• Salt - to taste
• Oil enough for deep frying.

Method:

1. Soak dhal in water for 2 hours ( Tip: if you are short on time, wash Chana dhal and with little water microwave for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove add some more water and let it soak for half an hour)
2. Drain water completely and grind to coarse paste. Say pulse the soaked lentils for 5 to 6 times in the blender. As you will notice in the picture some of the lentils are intact.
3. Add salt and other ingredients and mix it all together.
4. Make lemon sized balls, flatten slightly and deep fry in hot oil. 8 to 10 vadas may be deep fried at a time or till the oil holds depending on the size of the frying pan.
5. Serve hot with coconut or chickpeas chetney.

Variations:

• Grind red chillies, cumin seeds, hing(asafoetida and few small onions together. Mix with ground dhal paste. Add drumstick leaves and aniseed. Make vade as mentioned previously
• Finely chopped mint leaves (puddina) or dill leaves (sabsige soppu) or any other greens may be added.

PICTURE