Our holiday snaps

We had been on a holiday to Delhi, Agra, Nainital and Kausani.

Here is a picture I have loved the most.

HACHID AVALAKKI

Like I have said in my earlier post METHKUT OR MENTHE HIT has a lot of uses. One of kid's favourites is HACHID AVALAKKI in Kannada. In my college days (that is the only time I have studied in Karnataka) my friend Savitri used to swear that she had an additional stomach to eat HACHID AVALAKKI.

The difference in Dadpe Pohe, as it is called in Marathi is that METHKUT OR MENTHE HIT is not used nor is CHATNIPUDI.It is more like Chivada.

The proportions I am giving are approximate you can mix it anyway you want. Please feel free to add/leave out some more ingredients (only let me know so that I can try them out).

For 1 cup of thin avalakki/pohe(the kind you use to make chivda) add 2 tsp of methkut or menthe hit 2tsp of chatnipudi add salt to taste, a little say ¼ tsp chilli powder.

Put a tblsps of oil to heat and add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds when they splutter add ½ tsp of hing/asafoetida, add curry leaves. If you wish to add nuts now is the time, traditionally peanuts or groundnuts and phutani are added and stirred a little till they become a little reddish. Cool the mix a little. It's a good idea to make this phodni/vagarni first and then make the mix of avalakki.

You can keep this mixture in a container till you need or put in some diced cucumber, freshly grated coconut, tomatoes, capsicum, coriander, lime, sev, farsan. Mix all the ingredients together and serve.

It tastes very good so good in fact that I don't think I will ever be able to post a photograph in fact I am hungry now and I have fished all the avalakki/pohe so I have to hunt for something else to eat.

METHKUT OR MENTHE HIT

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Hot rice, ghee, salt a dash of lime, papad and methkut or menthe hit.

This is one of my favourites.

Methkut as in Marathi and Menthe hit as in Kannada is considered healthy and boy is it versatile.

In Karnataka it is used in almost anything rice, pohe/ awalakki (the thin variety), churmure/churmuri, in curds as an accompaniment.

This is how you make the powder.

Ingredients:

2 cups Channa dal/ split chick pea

A small bit of asafoetida/hing (if you are using powder use 1 tsp)

1 cup urid dal/ split black lentil

A few seeds Gahu/ wheat (optional)

Turmeric powder

1 tblsps Jeera /cumin seeds

Little less than 1 tblsps Dhania /coriander seed

Few seeds menthe/fenugreek seeds

1 tsp rice

Method:

1. Wash the rice remove all the water and pat dry.

This is the important part don't lose patience and raise the flame!!

2. On low flame dry roast till light brown, the chana dal/ split chick pea.

3. Then dry roast the urid dal/ split black lentil, again till light brown.

4. If you are using wheat dry roast them till they splutter.

5. Dry roast the asafoetida/hing, Dhania/coriander seeds, jeera/cumin seeds, and menthe (for an added flavour my mom used to put one red chilli) till they you get an aroma, individually.

6. Lastly dry roast the rice grains till they are pinkish.

7. Add the turmeric and cool all the ingredients.

8. Dry grind in the mixer to a fine powder.

9. Sieve the powder use the fine powder as METHKUT OR MENTHE HIT.

Store in an airtight container on your kitchen shelf. Remember to use a dry spoon.

Eat with rice,salt and a dash of lime mixed together with papad and pickle.

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P.S. The coarse stuff left over in the sieve can be mixed with finely chopped onion, tomato and curds as an Accompaniment (you can use the powder also). You could also add phodni/vagarni of oil, mustard, asafoetida/hing and green chillies and coriander. Serve with chapatti.

BIRYANI

I made Biryani!!

You may wonder what is so big about it, every woman makes it sometime or other but you see it was something everyone has liked. That is something!! Yes!! No complaints only questions as to why I made so little.

So how did I hit on the right mix?

It began with the tomatoes which were ripening and spoilt by the end of the day. So I decided that I will make an onion tomato paste and stick it in the freezer.

1) I made a crush of 4 large onions in the mixer.

2) In between I decided to add some

a) green elichi rinds that I have been hoarding for God knows what say about 10 skins,

b) 2 green elichi/cardamom (optional),

c) 1 inch piece of cinnamon/dalchani,

d) 2 cloves/laung,

e) 5-6 peppercorns/miri,

f) 2 teaspoons of kacha masala,

g) 1/2 tsp of Goan masala (optional),

h) 3-4 green chilies,

i)3 tblspn ginger garlic paste

i) A large teacup heaped coriander leaves, a handful mint leaves 3-4 holy basil/tulsi leaves and grind away.

3) Now add 3 tblsps of oil add all the crush above and

microwave for 3 minutes.

4) In the meanwhile crush 4 tomatoes in the mixer.

Since I had some ½ cup of very old cashew nuts pieces I added them and crushed them.

5) Add this to the onion paste stir well and microwave for another 2-3 minutes. Cool and freeze. This paste you can use in any of your Punjabi gravy dish or a quick fix for any vegetable depending on your taste.

6) In another bowl mix chopped vegetables like cauliflower , carrots, green peas with 1 ½ cup of curd, turmeric, 1 tsp chilli powder,2 onions sliced lengthwise and fried in oil golden brown, salt to taste. Keep aside for 2-3 hours. (I used only green peas as vegetables, because of the girl's mutiny and threat, that they will not eat if I use the cauliflower etc. and left it in the fridge overnight).

7) Next day cook 1 cup rice with only 1 cup of water.

8) While the rice is cooking add to 1 cup of the onion paste mixture that you have marinated and cook for 1 minute in the microwave. (As I was feeling quite disappointed with the amount of vegetable I decided to add paneer cut fine. So I mixed the paneer and microwaved for 1 minute).

9) Then arrange one layer of rice then add one layer of vegetables gravy repeat with rice in a thick bottomed pan. Since my quantity was small and pressure pan quite big I was done in 3 layers.

10) Add 1/2 cup of milk in which you have soaked saffron on top of the rice layer. Cover.

11) Return the pan on the stove on low flame. Since I use the pressure pan I use the gasket and do not use the weight /whistle on top. My test of the biryani done is when it starts gently steaming on the top.

12) Serve with tomato, cucumber, boondi raita.