Vegetable Saagu

I started my career in Bangalore as a computer teacher in a small school. I worked there for one academic year. I learnt many things during the course of the year. Once we had a teacher’s get together, and all the teachers had made some dish and brought it to school. They were all Karnataka specials like Madhur vade, bisi bele bath, avrekaayi playa etc. One of the teachers had got Chapathi and to go with it another had brought saagu. When I tasted the saagu I took an instant liking to it. Just loved it. Since then I have tried saagu in many restaurants, though all taste good but first taste is always special isn’t it. I immediately went to the teacher who had prepared it and got the recipe from her in a sheet of paper. I still have that sheet with me as her remembrance, though I know the recipe by heart. I tried it out the next day itself and everybody at home just loved it since it was new to them as well. From then on I have prepared this recipe umpteen number of times and we never get bored of it.

So I decided to start my blogging marathon under the theme curry under 30 mins with my favorite side dish Saagu which gets ready in about 20 minutes. Saagu is a side dish famous in Karnataka, served in almost all restaurants as an accompaniment to Poori, Set Dosa, Rava Idli etc. But it tastes equally good with chapathi. It is a medley of vegetables flavored with mild spices and coconut. So here comes the recipe:

What you need: (Serves 4)

1. Mixed Veggies – 2 cups (Chow Chow, potatoes, carrots, beans, green peas)
2. Salt to taste

For the Masala

1. Grated coconut – ½ cup
2. Roasted Channa Dal/ Pottu Kadali – 1 tbsp
3. Green Chillies – 2
4. Black pepper – 5 to 6
5. Coriander Seeds – 2 tsps
6. Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
7. Green Caradamom – 2
8. Cloves – 2
9. Cinnamon – 1 small piece

For tempering

1. Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
2. Hing – a pinch
3. Curry Leaves a few
4. Oil – 1 tsp

Method:

Chop all the veggies into small cubes. Pressure cook the veggies and keep aside. In a small frying pan, dry roast coriander seeds, jeera, black pepper, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon till a nice aroma comes out.
Allow to cool. Grind these with roasted channa dal, coconut and green chillies into a fine paste adding little water.
Now, remove the veggies from the cooker, add salt to taste and let it boil for a few minutes. Next add the ground paste and mix well. Let it simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes.
Heat a small frying pan with a tsp of oil, add mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add the hing and curry leaves. Pour this tempering over the saagu.
Delicious Saagu is ready. Serve it with poori, chapathi or set dosai.

Note:

1. Do not add too much of whole spices as the garam masala taste will dominate and saagu won’t taste good.
2. Add pepper according to your taste, this curry is generally not too spicy.


Now let's check out my fellow marathoners in BM

#5 and see what they are cooking today  

Curry in a hurry under 30 min:
Aarthi, Divya, Jayashree, Jayasree, Kaveri, Pavani,

Seven Days of Indian Sweets:
Gayathri, Priya Suresh,
Seven Days of Microwave Meals: Monika,
Seven Days of Regional Specials: Cool Lassi(e), Harini, Vaishali, Suma

Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: Kalyani

Summer Coolers: Kamalika, Srivalli

Mixed Fruit Milkshake

Summer must be at its peak in most parts of the country by now. I am glad to be in Bangalore at this time of the year. Bangalore, I should say is heaven on earth when it comes to its climate. Chilly mornings, warm afternoons, rainy evenings and breezy nights – what more does one want. Even when I am typing this post its getting cloudy here. But still it is in these summer months that one craves for the ice creams, cool refreshing drinks and shakes. So here is a delicious and healthy milkshake to beat the heat this summer.

What you’ll need:

1. Ripe Mango – 1 big
2. Banana – 2 small
3. Apple – 1 medium
4. Sugar – 3 to 4 tblsp
5. Milk – 500 ml
6. Vanilla Essence – few drops

Method

Peel and cut the mango, banana and apple into small pieces. Blend all the fruits with sugar until smooth. Now add the milk and the essence and blend for another 15 to 20 seconds. Transfer into a vessel. Chill for 2 to 3 hours before serving.

Yummy Fruit Milkshake is ready

Sending this to Fun n Sun hosted by Radhika, Srivalli Kid's Delight Hosted By PJ, Show me your Summer Cooler, Only Coolers and Mocktails hosted by Nayana started by Pari

Manga Chammanthi/ Raw Mango Chutney

Hello Friends,
It feels great to be back to blogging after a break of 10 days. Had been for a vacation to Mysore. It feels really good, my energy levels are up after the much needed vacation.

My H and his entire family are lovers of mango, mangoes in any form – be it a puliserry or a simple mangai curry. Mangoes are a part of our daily meals from the beginning to the end of the season. MIL makes many different kinds of dishes with it. Mangai chammanthi is one of her favorites.
This is a traditional Kerala dish. It is a real quickie and can get ready in less than 15 minutes. This spicy and tangy chammanthi goes very well with Molagootal, Molagushyam, and curd rice. It is also an excellent combination for Dosa and Idly, but apart from all these it is best had with Kanji. So here is the recipe for this summer special Manga Chammanthi.

What you will need:

1. Raw mango – (cut into pieces) 1 cup
2. Grated fresh coconut – 1 cup
3. Asfoetida – a small piece
4. Dry Red Chillies – 5 – 6
5. Salt to taste
6. Jaggery – a little (optional)
7. Mustard Seeds – ½ tsp
8. Oil – 1 tsp

Method:

Heat a small frying pan with ½ tsp of oil. Fry the asfoetida and red chillies. Now grind the raw mangoes, grated coconuts, asfoetida, red chillies and salt into a thick paste adding very little water. Add a little jaggery and pulse for a few seconds more. Transfer into a bowl. Heat a little oil, add mustard seeds. Once they splutter pour over the ground paste. Mangai Chammanthi is ready.

Note:

1. Adjust the quantity of coconut depending of the sourness of the mango. Use more coconut if the mango is very sour.
2. Addition of jaggery is optional, adding a little though helps in balancing out the spice and tang.

Aam Ka Panna

With the mercury rising, markets are getting loaded with mangoes. Mangos are loved by children and adults alike. Once the season starts, mangos would sneak their way into our daily menu in some form or the other, be it chutney, kootan, pachadi , a simple manga curry or even better just slice them into wedges and sprinkle some salt and chilly powder. Wow the thought of these mango wedges makes me nostalgic. I am taken back to the days when, all of us cousins would get together at some relatives place for the summer vacation and in the afternoon, while the elders are busy napping, we would raid the kitchen of the mangoes and other goodies. Those were some of the golden days of my life.

Green mangos have myriad health benefits. They are rich in vitamins and minerals. They are also excellent coolants which help to cool our body.

Today’s post is on Mango Panna or Aam ka Panna. This is a popular north Indian drink made especially during summers to beat the summer’s heat. This serves as an excellent mocktail during parties, as it can be prepared beforehand in large quantities and refrigerated. I personally prefer homemade drinks like lassi, chhachh, lemonade etc to the store bought drinks and colas. Now to the recipe

What you will need:

Small round green mangoes – 2
Sugar - 1/2 cup (or according to your taste)
Salt - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds – 2 tsps
Water
Turmeric powder – a small pinch

Method:

Peel the mangoes and cut out the flesh from both the sides of the mangoes. Cook the mango pieces as well as the seed with a pinch of turmeric powder in a pressure cooker, till soft and mushy. Allow to cool. Now squeeze out all the pulp from the seed and put the entire thing into a blender. Pulse it for a few seconds till the pulp is blended well. Now add sugar and salt according to the sourness of the mango. Pulse it for a few more seconds. Transfer this into a vessel. Add about 3 big glasses of water. You can add more water if the panna is too sour. Check for sweetness. Then refrigerate for 4 to 5 hours.

Roast cumin seeds and powder it coarsely. Add the cumin powder to the panna and stir well. Pour into glasses and serve chilled.

Note:
Some people like to add Kala Namak or Rock salt also. I did not add as I don’t like it’s taste.
Always keep the prepared panna refrigerated else it will get fermented by the end of the day.
Adjust the quantity of sugar, and water depending on the sourness of the mango.

Sending this to Radhika's Fun n Sun, Kuriji's - HRH Healthy Summer
Also sending this to Pari's only Coolers and Mocktails event hosted by Nayana

Set Dosa

Living in Bangalore has introduced me to many dishes native to this region. Any person, who has lived in Bangalore even for a very short span, would be familiar with its popular darshinis. Darshinis are fast food outlets dishing out crisp Dosas, soft Idlis, Poori Sagu, Medhu Vadas, with a piping hot filter coffee. They are characterized by their tall round steel tables with people generally standing around and having their food. The first time I had Set Dosas was in one of the Darshini’s near my place. The moment I tasted these I became a big fan of these soft, spongy and non greasy dosas. They are generally served as a set of 3. It is a satisfying breakfast severed along with coconut chutney and Sagu. Later, I learnt the recipe for this from a very good friend of mine who is a native of Bangalore.

Ingredients

1. Raw Rice – 2 Cups
2. Urad Dal – 1 Cup
3. Fenugreek/ Methi Seeds – 1 tblsp
4. Bengal Gram Dal/Channa Dal – 1 tblsp
5. Aval/ Flattened Rice Flakes/ Poha – 1 Cup
6. Salt to taste
7. Oil for cooking

Method

Soak Raw rice, Urad dal, Channa Dal, and methi seeds for 4 to 5 hours. Soak Aval separately in enough water. Grind rice and dals together till smooth. Grind Aval separately and mix it with the ground rice and Dals. Add salt to taste. Mix well. Transfer this into a vessel and allow it to ferment for 8 to 10 hours.
For preparing the dosas, heat a tawa, pour a ladle full of batter and spread into a slightly thick dosa. Drizzle with a tsp of oil. Cover with a lid and cook for few mins. Remove lid, flip it and cook on the other side.
Serve with a Chutney of your choice or Sagu or vegetable kurma.

Linking these yummy dosas to Aipi and Priya’s Bookmarked Recipes as well as Srivalli’s Breakfast Mela.