Sweet Kichidi +Theel godd

Happy Sankranthi!!!

The first festival of the year!
Technicaly, accoording to Hindu calender, it isnt new year until April, but now that I have all the time on my hands , I just need a reason for a celebration.
Theel Godd, also known as 'yellu bella' in kannada is shared among the family, neighbours and any visitor coming home today which means spreading sweetness around you. Apart fron the ingredients listed below, back home, it is a tradition to give molded jaggery and cut up sugarcane pieces. Sweet kichidi and pan polo is traditionally cooked today in Konkani homes.
If u look closely, all festivals celebrated serves the same purpose... making food and sharing. In the end, it's all about food!



Sweet kichidi
rice 1 cup
split moong dal 1 cup
coconut 1cup
coconut milk 1 cup
jaggrey
ghee 3 tbsp
cahewnuts and raisins
Elaichi 1 tsp

Dry roast moong dal. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker, roastcahewnuts and raisins. Add rice, roasted dal, jaggrey, elaichi and coconut + coconut milk and 3 cups of water. Cook till done. While serving,(for unknown reasons)it is is garnished with chopped kadali bananas.Yumm!


This the the dry uncooked Theelgodd that are mixed together and served as a prasad.
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup jaggrey, Chopped into Pieces
1/2 Cup copra,chopped into small pieces
1/2 Cup Groundnuts
1/2 Cup roasted chanadal, putani
1/2 Cup white til

Method:
dry roast Groundnuts, til and putani
Mix all the ingredients together and share the sweetness.

Bisibele Baath

This recipe is from my cousin sis, Shaila akka, who is an awesome cook. Most of her cooking is by guessing the amount of ingredients and the food I ate made by her has always tasted awesome to me...be it sungata pannaupkari, pathrodo or bisibele baath. During her visit here in spring last yr, for Mayank's b'day she made a big batch of this for us and all of us relished and ate it like there's no tomorrow.
Pics of the awesomeness to be posted soon!

For the masala
Coriander seeds- 3 tsp
jeera -2 tsp
chana dal-2 tsp
urad dal 2 tsp
cinn 1"
till 2tsp
garlic 6
onion
coconut 2 tbsp
curry leaves
green ch 3
red chh 10-12
methi 15
pepper 1/2 tsp
clove 2
ginger 1"pc
roast all of the above with a little oil
(I roasted all the ingredients together)
grind with the 4 ingredients below
1.tamarind paste 2 tsp
2.coriander leaves- about 25 stems.
3.turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
4.hing 1/2 tsp

For the seasoning
onions 2, chopped
tomato 2, chopped in big chunks
garlic 2 crushed
mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
urad dal 1/2 tsp
jeera 1/2 tsp
curry leaves 2 sprigs
red chillies 4, broken
cashew nuts and raisins about 10 each

Mixed vegetables about 3 cups- beans, carrots, cauliflower,potato, peas.
Basmati rice 2 cups
tuvar dal 1 cup
water to cook the above- 8 cups

Have the ground masala, vegetables, rice and tuvar dal ready.
In a pressure cooker heat 4 tbsp ghee, add all the ingredients for seasoning and saute. Add rice,dal,vegetables, ground masala, water and salt. cook till rice is done, which should take about 30 mins. Serve with ghee.

Egg Biryani

Egg is my family's all-time favorite. Although, according to my husband, biryani is not Biryani until it has meat in it...but, everytime I make this, I don't need to endorse my cooking to bring him to the table.....biryani does the trick!

Ingredients
6 eggs

2 large onion
6 green chilies
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp dhaniya jeera powder

coriander leaves and mint leaves, finely chopped
few strands of saffron, soaked in 1/4 cup of warm milk

3 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Basmati rice 2 cups
water to cook rice 3 cups
ghee 3 tbsp
bay leaves 2
cinnamon 1" pc
elaichi 2
cloves 2
salt

cashew nuts and raisins

Method
. cook eggs for exact 6 mins from boiling point. This ensures that the yolks are cooked but are still bright yellow.
.Cook rice with 3 cups of water,ghee, bay leaf, cinnamon, alaichi, clove and salt. This should cook the rice halfway through which is perfect for biryani.
.In a kadai, heat oil and fry the onions to golden brown, remove half of the onions and reserve for garnishing.In the same kadai, add cashew nuts, raisins,ginger-garlic paste, green chillies and masala powders and saute till the rawness of masala is cooked. Add salt, . Remove half of the mixture and set aside.
. Now layer half of the cooked rice , then layer the reserved masala mixture on top of the rice, chopped cilantro and mint leaves and sliced eggs. Do the same order for the remaining rice and sliced eggs. Garnish the top with the reserved fried onions and pour saffron milk by the spoonful in different corners and cover with aluminium foil and place it in a 300F oven for 25-30 mins.

After the biryani has been layered and set in the oven, it is best if left undisturbed until it is time to be served since the rice and eggs are cooked to perfection and overturning the dish may ruin its effect...take it from a foodie...u cant go wrong here!

Puliyogare

This recipe is passed on by my Tamilian friend who always has this chutney, refrigerated, ready to mix up make Puliyogare in a jiffy. This chutney is good for 3 months under good regrigeration.

Ingredients for the chutney:
1 cup thick tamarind pulp
1 cup peanuts
4 red chillies
3 green chillies cut into small pieces
Mustard seeds
hing
1 Tbsp Sesame seeds
1 Tbsp Urad daal
Curry leaves
Jaggery
Salt

Cooked rice

In a heavy bottom pan, heat oil on medium heat. Add mustard seeds until it crackles.
Next add the curry leaves, hing,red chillies,green chillies,peanuts, urad daal and mix until the peanuts and urad daal gets roasted.
Add the tamarind pulp. Mix well and allow to boil.
After it thickens add salt and jaggery and continue to cook. Keep aside.
To make the rice, add required quantity to the rice and enjoy. Little chutney goes a long way.

Chitranna

I always loved any dish made out of rice....puliyogere,mango rice,bisibele baath, chitranna and the list goes on.............
Bottom line, I can eat rice for any meal.
Typically we make this dish when we have leftover white rice and when served would tease Mom by asking whether someone missed their dinner last night.I especially love the one with mango peices and would request to add extra mangoes for me.
Since no one in my family here eats this, I make it when I have some leftover White rice or when I don't feel like making a curry to go with it. ........and of course to relish my childhood taste.


Ingredients
cooked Rice 2cups,
Lime juice 2tsp
Mustard seeds 1tsp
cumin seeds 1tsp
Urad dal 1tsp
Channa dal 1tsp
Curry leaves 1 sprig
Red chillies 3-4
A small piece of ginger, finely chopped
Turmeric powder 1/4tsp
Peanuts 8-10
oil 1tsp
Salt as required
Coconut grated
cilantro


Heat oil and add dals,mustard seeds,curry leaves,cumin seeds,red chillies,peanuts and ginger.

When the dals turn brown,add the turmeric and ginger.Fry for another minute till the mustard crackles.

Now add the lime juice and reduce heat.Heat through and remove.Mix this with rice as required and add salt to taste.

Garnish with cilantro.