Banana Sheera ( Banana- Semolina Pudding)

Banana Sheera is a very popular sweet dish in South India. It is commonly offered to the god during Satyanarayana Pooja. We call it as Sapath. I got this recipe from my mother.

I love this sheera very much. The good thing about it is- its very simple and can be made within 15-20 minutes. Its really very hard to go wrong. Do try making this whenever you are in search of a recipe to finish off the ripe banana :-)

Ingredients:

• Semolina/Sooji/ Rava- 1/2 cup
• Milk - 1 cup
• Sugar- 1/4 cup
• Ripe Banana, big sized - 1
• Cardamom pods- 4
• Ghee* (clarified butter)- 1/4 to 1/2 cup

*More the ghee, better it tastes. Adjust according to how rich you want it.

Procedure:

Heat the milk on a medium heat.

While the milk is getting heated, peel and chop the banana into bite size pieces.

Now prepare the semolina mixture. Heat ghee in a pan and add the semolina. Fry until you get a nice aroma (don't turn it brown).

Once you get the aroma, pour the hot milk little at a time and mix vigorously (Care should be taken while pouring the milk. Otherwise you will get lot of lumps).

Then add the banana pieces.

Mix well and allow the semolina- banana mixture to cook in the milk. Once the milk evaporates completely, add the sugar.

Mix well and continue heating the mixture until all the sugar is absorbed. Then turn off the heat. Finally add the cardamom powder and mix well. Banana Sheera is ready!

Serve it hot/warm. Above measurement serves 2-3 people.

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Avale Kadi (Pickled Gooseberry Soup)

Avale Kadi is a very old Konkani dish. In Konkani, avalo means gooseberry. Gooseberry is seasonal and hence people store them in salt water, so that it can be used throughout the year. I got this recipe from my mother.

This is one of my favorite dish and had been ages since I had it. So I brought some frozen gooseberries and kept them in salt water. The spiciness of the kadi is well balanced by the sourness of the gooseberries. The garlic seasoning makes it even more tastier. Try making this unique dish and enjoy :-)
You can as well try making Avale Chutney, which I posted few months back.

Ingredients:

• Brined Amla (Gooseberry), large sized*- 4-5
• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen- 2/3 cup
• Roasted Red chillies- 3-4
• Salt- To taste
• Oil- 1-2 tsp
• Garlic pods- 5-6

*The amount of brined amla depends on the the sourness of the amla as well as how much sour you want. So adjust it accordingly.

Procedure:

How to Brine: Wash the amla (fresh and frozen both works) and then place them in a glass jar. Add couple of spoon of salt. Then add water till the top. Close it with its lid and let it sit for more than a month. This is how mine looked-

Then remove the brined amla from the jar and wash them. This is how they look.

Break them open and discard the seeds (you can as well leave them in cold water, to remove the excess salt)

Now grind the brined amla pieces along with grated coconut, roasted red chillies along with little water to get a fine paste. 

At this point, check for the salt, sourness as well as spiciness (I like it more on the sour side). If everything is good then transfer it to a pan. 

Adjust the consistency, by adding water. I kept the consistency not too thick/ thin. Start heating it and bring it to a boil. Once it starts boiling, continue heating for a minute and turn off the heat.

For Seasoning- Heat oil and add crushed garlic. Fry it until it turns golden brown. Add this to the mixture and mix well. Avale Kadi is ready!!

Serve it hot as a side dish to rice. Above measurement serves 2-3 people.

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Oats- Rava Idli With Veggies

Oats - Rava Idli With Veggies is a recently learnt recipe. I found the recipe in a FB food group (posted by Aparna). I made slight variations to suit our taste buds. 

This idli is a simple, healthy and 'easy to make'. The idlis turned out super soft and I was totally in love with its texture. This is a good way to sneak oats in our diet. Trust me the idlis were so tasty that we finished them at one go, though we were full. Now you know how it might have tasted :-)
You can as well try making the plain version, which I had posted few months back.

Ingredients:

• Quick cooking Oats- 3/4 cup
• Rava/ Semolina- 3/4 cup
• Yogurt/ Curd- 3/4 cup
• Carrot, small sized- 1
• Cilantro/ Coriander leaves- 5-6 sprigs
• Frozen Peas- Handful
• Grated Ginger- 1/4 tsp
• Cashew nut pieces- As desired
• Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
• Green Chilli- 1-2
• Eno- 1 tsp
• Salt- To taste
• Oil- For greasing idli mould

Procedure:

Dry roast the oats and rava separately, for 2-3 minutes or until you get a nice aroma. Then transfer them into a bowl. Mix well. 

Then add in the yogurt, chopped green chillies, turmeric powder and salt. Then add little water at a time to this mixture and mix well, to get a thick (of dropping consistency) batter. I used little more than 3/4 cup of water. Allow the batter to set for 10- 15 minutes.

Meanwhile grate the carrot, ginger and chop the cilantro.

Now add the grated carrot, ginger, Cashew pieces, chopped cilantro and peas to the prepared batter. Mix well. Now the batter is ready.

Now grease the idli moulds using oil. Finally add eno to the batter and mix well. You will see that the batter starts to rise. Pour the batter in each mould idli mould, half way through.

Then steam them in a steamer or pressure cooker (without whistle) for 15 minutes. 

Then allow it to cool for 2-3 minutes. Look how fluffy it is :-)

Oats- Rava Idli With Veggies is ready!!

Serve it hot with coconut chutney, sambhar or any other side dish of your choice. I served it with Pudina Chutney. Above measurement makes 12 large sized idlis.

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Chaas (Spiced Yogurt)

Chaas is a very popular healthy drink. This requires only few ingredients and can be made within 5 minutes. I got this recipe from a good friend of mine. This recipe is really good for summer. There are many variations available in different blogs and this is my friend's version.

I was introduced to this drink, two years back. Our friend used to make this for us. This is my husband's favorite and make it often. The roasted cumin powder really takes this drink to a different level. Try making this humble drink in summer and enjoy.

Ingredients:

• Yogurt/ Curd- 1/4 cup
• Water- 1 cup
• Roasted Cumin powder- 1/4 tsp
• Ice Cubes- 3-4
• Salt- To taste
• Mint- For Garnishing (optional)

Procedure:

Take all the ingredients mentioned under 'Ingredients' in a blender and blend it until everything comes together resulting in a frothy mixture. Pour it into a glass and garnish it with mint leaves and cumin powder. Chaas is ready!!

Serve it immediately. Above measurement serves one.

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Charmure Upkari (Spicy Puffed Rice)

Charmure Upkari is a very popular street food in Udupi- Mangalore region. It is very simple yet delicious. Usually it is sold in cone shaped packets made out of old news paper. 

Try making this humble snack. It doesn't require much effort and time. It is a well balanced quick snack :-)

Ingredients:

• Puffed Rice- 3 cups
• Grated Carrot- 1/4 cup
• Chopped Onion- 1/4 cup
• Grated Raw mango- 1/4 cup
• Cilantro/ Coriander leaves- 6-7 sprigs
• Tomato, small sized (deseeded) - 1
• Lemon juice- As required
• Roasted peanuts- 2-3 Tbsp
• Coconut Oil- 2-3 tsp
• Red Chilli powder- To taste
• Salt- To taste

Procedure:

Grate the carrot and raw mango. Then chop onion, cilantro and tomato. (Remove the seeds from the tomato so that the excess moisture is removed). Dry roast the peanuts until they turn pale brown and then remove the skin. 

Check the puffed rice. If it is not crispy then dry roast for few minutes.

Once the basic preparation is done, then take a large mixing bowl. Add all the ingredients mentioned under 'Ingredients' in the bowl. Mix it well (taste it and add salt, red chilli powder or lemon juice, if required). 

Now add the puffed rice and mix well. Charmure Upkari is ready!!

Serve it immediately (if not it will turn soggy). Above measurement serves two people.

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Ragi Chakkuli/ Chakli

Ragi Chakkuli is a very popular snack. Ragi/ Finger millet is very healthy and I make ragi balls, dosa etc. I wanted to make chaklis but didn't have a recipe. I was thoroughly searching and finally found a good recipe here. I was very happy to see the recipe. I made slight variations in the measurement of the original recipe, to suit our taste buds.

My husband is a great fan of ragi as well as chaklis. Even I enjoyed eating them. Don't go by its looks. They do taste awesome. 

Ingredients:

• Ragi (Finger millet) flour- 1 cup
• Rice flour- 1/2 cup
• Chickpea flour/ Besan- 1/4 cup
• Red Chilli powder- 1- 1 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds/ Jeera- 3/4 tsp
• Sesame seeds- 1 tsp
• Asafoetida- 1/4 tsp
• Hot oil*- 3 Tbsp + extra for deep frying
• Salt- 1 tsp

*Original recipe called for 6 Tbsp. 3 Tbsp worked fine for me.

Procedure:

Put all the ingredients in a bowl listed under 'Ingredients', except oil.

Mix well and then add the hot oil. Mix it using a spoon (as the oil is hot). After a while start mixing using your hand until oil is distributed all over.
Then add water gradually, in small amounts to get a soft yet firm dough.

Now keep the oil for heating on a medium-high. Now take the chakli making press. I used the plate having one hole.

Now divide the dough into two parts. Keep one part of the mixture closed (to avoid drying) and the other part in the mould. Now start rotating it in clockwise direction and make small/big chakli (the free end of the chakli should be sealed. otherwise there are chances of  it opening up). The dough is very delicate. So do this process carefully.

You can make chaklis on a parchment paper/ Aluminium foil/ Plastic sheet (as required for one batch. Don't make too much of them in advance. It will dry and fall apart while frying). I made 4-5 per batch . 
Then transfer it to hot oil carefully.

Fry them evenly on both sides, until they turn crispy (another indication of the end point is- the bubbles stop forming). Take it out and drain the excess oil on a paper towel.

Ragi Chakkuli is ready!!

Allow it to cool and then store them in an air tight container.

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Rulaoa Paaysu (Semolina/ Sooji Paayasam)

Rulaoa Paaysu is a popular South Indian dessert. In Konkani, rulao means semolina. Rulao Paaysu is nothing but semolina porridge. This recipe requires only few ingredients and can be made within 15 minutes. I got this recipe from my mother.

I have lot of memories attached to this dish. My mother used to make this for me whenever I requested her to make something sweet, to satisfy my sweet tooth. As a kid, I really enjoyed it. I really miss those days.

Ingredients:

• Semolina/Sooji/ Rava- 1/4 cup
• Milk*- 2 cups
• Sugar- 1/4 cup
• Saffron strands- Few
• Cardamom pods- 3
• Ghee (clarified butter)- 1-2 tsp
• Cashew nut and Raisins- 1 Tbsp each

*I used 1 cup water and 1 cup milk.

Procedure:

Measure the milk (mine was a mixture of water and milk).

Heat the milk along with saffron, on a medium heat.

While the milk is getting heated, prepare the semolina mixture.

First heat ghee in a pan. Then fry the cashews and raisins separately until it turns slight brown. Then transfer them into a bowl.

In the remaining ghee, add the semolina and fry until you get a nice aroma (don't turn it brown). 

Once you get the aroma, pour the hot saffron milk little at a time and mix vigorously (Care should be taken while pouring the mixture. Otherwise you will get lot of lumps).

Let the mixture boil for a minute or two. Then add the sugar and mix well. Then turn off the heat. Finally add the cardamom powder and mix well. Garnish with roasted cashews and raisins. Rulaoa Paaysu is ready!!

Serve it warm or chilled. Above measurement serves 2-3 people.

Note: As Paayasam cools, it starts to thicken. Add more milk to get the desired consistency.

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