SOORNALI

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of raw rice

1/2 grated coconut

1/2 teaspoon methi (fenugreek) seeds

1/2 cup grated jaggery

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Soak rice and methi (fenugreek seeds) for two to three hours. Grind rice, methi seeds, and coconut together with little water. The batter should be thick. Add salt and grated jaggery. You may add more jaggery if you want the soornali to be sweet. Let it ferment for a while and then make thick dosas or soornalis.

Rava Dosa

Ingredients:

1 cup fine rava (semolina)

1/2 cup rice flour

2-3 cups butter milk or curd

1 teaspoon finely chopped coriander leaves

2 green chillies, chopped

1 tablespoon oil

salt to taste

Method:

Mix all the ingredients (except oil) together in a bowl and set aside for 10-15 minutes. If the consistency is thick add more buttermilk or curd to make a thin batter.

Heat a nonstick tava and grease it with a little oil. Now pour the batter and make thin crispy rava dosas. This can be served with coconut and onion chutney.

Sesame Chikki

A few days back while watching television I came across this recipe. I tried this recipe and it came out good. Since it is easy to make and takes only 3-4 minutes to make this dish, I would like to share it with you.

Ingredients:

2 cups roasted til or sesame seeds

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ghee

Method:

Prepare the kitchen counter surface or a portion of the table by cleaning it well and applying a little ghee to it. Apply ghee to the rolling pin also.

Heat a thick-bottomed saucepan or a kadai and add the sugar and ghee to it and stir continuously until the sugar melts completely. Once the sugar is caramelized, quickly add the roasted sesame seeds and chopped peanut (optional) and mix well

Pour it on to the prepared surface and roll it immediately with the greased rolling pin. Cut into desired shape when the chikki is hot. Once it is cool, you may break the pieces and store them in an airtight container.

PHENORI (SWEET PURIS)

Ingredients:

2 cups maida

200 gm of dalda or ghee

3/4 cup of powdered sugar

4-5 cardamom

2 teaspoon corn flour

1 cup water

Method:

Heat 1 tablespoon dalda and rub it into the maida. Add sufficient water to make a soft dough. Roll out into thin chapattis. Brush dalda on one chapatti and sprinkle some corn flour. Take another chapatti and keep it on the first one and spread dalda over it and sprinkle some corn flour. In this manner, make a thick sandwich of four to five chapattis. You start folding it from one end and fold it into a tight roll. Now cut the roll into thin slices. Roll the slices into small puris.

Heat rest of the dalda or ghee in a pan and fry the puris or phenori over moderate heat. When it is hot, roll it in sugar and cardamom powder. Store it in an airtight container. This sweet dish is normally made on festival days. It is not too sweet as we are only coating the puris with the sugar powder.

Buns

This is one Konkani dish that I do not prepare very often because my daughters do not like it much. Since I had guests last week I had prepared this snack, which is very good. They liked it very much. Hope you like it too.

Ingredients:

1 Banana

1/2 cup curd

Maida or plain flour

3-4 tablespoon sugar

A pinch of salt

Cooking soda

Oil for frying

Method:

Mix banana, sugar, salt, and cooking soda in a pan. Add curds and mix well. Now add sufficient maida or plain flour to make a smooth and soft dough without adding water. Leave the dough to ferment for at least 5-6 hours. Make small thick puris and deep fry them in hot oil. The puris should be fried in a moderate heat so that the buns get cooked inside. It can be had with sambar or chutney. It is a great evening snack.

Chakuli (Crispy rice snack)

My mother at 65 is an expert at Amchigale khaan (Konkani snacks). This is her age old recipe for Chakuli. This is a dish I regularly make for Diwali. Its a great evening snack. Tea and chakuli is heavenly on a nice warm evening with an interesting book.

Ingredients :
2 cups Rice flour
1 cup Gram flour
1 tbsp Til seeds (sesame seeds - Soak the seeds in water for 20 minutes.)
3 tsp Chilli powder
½ tsp Heeng (Asafoetida)
2 tbsps Butter
Oil as required
Salt to taste

Method:

Mix both rice and gram flour, add chilli powder, asafoetida, butter and salt. Add the soaked til seeds to the flour mixture. Add water and knead into a soft dough. Put small quantities of dough in a Chakuli mould, hold it over a deep frying pan with hot oil and press chakulis into the oil. Remove chakuli from kadhai when brown and crisp.

Mangalore bajji or goli bajji

This is an evening snack made with chickpea flour and maida. Today Amma reminded me about this recipe. I will be making this for my daughter in the evening. Hope you will try this simple recipe and enjoy the goli bajji.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chickpea flour
1/2 cup plain four or maida
1 green chillie finely chopped
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1 teaspoon cut curry leaves
1 teaspoon chopped coriander leaves
1 cup curds
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Method:

Mix all the above-mentioned ingredients (except oil of course) into a thick batter and keep aside for two to three hours. Heat oil. Make round goli bajjis out of the batter and deep fry them until golden brown in color. Serve hot with coconut chutney.