Ugadi Feast and Madgane

Ugadi or Samvatsar Paadvo or Gudi Padwa is the festival to mark the beginning of Hindu Calendar year. The festival is celebrated with Neem and Jaggery as symbolic representation of bitterness and sweetness are part of life and we must have both equally in every day life to be happy and successful.

Bibbe Upkari

Chana Ghashi

Daalithoi

Kadgi and Jeev Kadgi Podi

The festive feast in any typical GSB house hold contains white rice with daalithoi, chana ghashi with raw jack, Mango sweet Upkari, Bibbe(Tender cashewnut) Upkari, Deevi Gujje(Bread Fruit) podi and a sweet dish, mostly Madgane, a chana daal payasam with tender cashew in sweetened Coconut milk.

Typical Kudpikar Combo Meal

Our Kudpi family has a unique combo meal that my mother used to prepare for Ugadi every year. The three main items that accompany rice are Daalithoi, Bibbe Upkari, Aambe Upkari and Aambuli Chutney, the Spicy Raw Mango Chutney that I had posted a few days ago.

Ugadi Pachadi Video courtesy: vahrevah.com

Nisha Baliga Shenoy has the recipe for Madgane, the sweet dish specially presented for this Ugadi for the viewers of Garam Tawa.

Ingredients:
1 cup Chana daal
1 tbsp Rice
1/4 kg Jaggery
1 big Coconut
3 Cardamoms powdered
20 Tender Cashews
2 tbsp Raisins
1 tbsp Ghee
A handful of Dry Fruits like almonds and dried dates(Optional)

Various steps in making Madgane

Method:
Soak the rice in water for half an hour and grind into a smooth paste.
Soak the tender cashews in water and peel them.
Cook for about 10 minutes and keep aside.
Roast the chana daal in little ghee and pressure cook till soft.
Grate and grind the the coconut.
Extract thick and thin milk and keep aside.
If jaggery has impurities, you can make a syrup and pass it through a strainer. Otherwise you can use jaggery powder.
In a thick bottom vessel, add the cooked chana daal.
Add little thin coconut milk and bring to a boil.
Add the rice paste and stir continuously, taking care to see that no lumps are formed. 
Now add the jaggery syrup to taste.
Continue stirring, add cashews, thick coconut milk and bring this to a boil.
Finally add cardamom powder, raisins and dry fruits fried in ghee.
Traditionally madgane is served with crisp rice vadas but we also eat it along with Rice Khotto(Idlis in Jackfruit Leaves).

Madgane ready

Chibbad/Muskmelon Rasaayan(Harshaale) by Nisha Baliga Shenoy

Start of spring season marks the arrival of many seasonal fruits into the market. You can find fruit vendors stacking their racks with Chibbad/Muskmelon. These have cooling properties and either eaten with sugar and milk flavoured with cardamom powder or as Rasaayan or Harshaale that is made with coconut milk and jaggery, again with a dash of cardamom powder.

There's nothing like mom's recipe to make this rasaayan. I am oriented in Bangalore and local markets are loaded with muskmelon. North Kannadigas call this fruit Banaspatri.

Muskmelon is available almost 6 months in a year. Sometimes we get imported ones in the market as well. We GSBs mix in plain poha and eat it with rasaayan. You can also make rasaayan with bananas or mangoes but chibbad/muskmelon is best suited for this.

Ingredients:
Muskmelon - 1
Coconut milk - 1 liter or little more
Powdered jaggery - 1/2 cup or to taste
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Remove the skin and deseed muskmelon. Cut into 1/2" cubes.
Mix jaggery powder in coconut milk to sweeten.
Add the muskmelon chunks and cardamom powder.
Serve chilled, along with plain thin poha.

Note: You may sweeten the coconut milk also with sugar as per taste but traditional way is to add jaggery for that unique taste.

Birinda Juice(Kokum Juice) by Nisha Baliga Shenoy

The tropical fruit Birinda or Kokum grows abundantly in the coastal Karnataka, Kerala and Goa. Some people dry the kokum skin in the sun and use that in curries and cool drinks.

Yet, fresh kokum juice is unique in taste and flavour. Its cooling properties are instant and now is the season to relish fresh kokum Juice.

Got some kokum fruit from my mom's native place and prepared the juice which was liked by even small kids!

Ingredients:
Fresh Kokum - 25
Sugar - 250 Gms
Water - 2-3 Litres

Method:
Cut the kokum and collect the seeds in a bowl.
Add sugar to the seeds, mix and keep for 15 mins.
In a vessel, take a liter of water and rub the inside of the skin to obtain red tangy juice of kokum.
Repeat the process till maximum juice is extracted.
Squeeze out the pulp from the seeds and add that along with the melted sugar and the seeds to the tangy juice of kokum collected in the vessel.
Mix well and strain the juice and discard the seeds.
Add water sufficient to get a thin but sweet and tangy kokum juice.
Chill and serve garnished with mint leaves.

Note: Some people chop the Kokum skin and mix that with sugar to obtain thick syrup. That way, the juice may taste slightly bitter.
 

Ubbati/Pooran Poli/Kadle Bele Holige by Nisha Baliga Shenoy

Wishing the readers of Garam Tawa, "Happy Holi!"

Holi the festival of colours is never complete without the sweet snack Pooran Poli. This is the Maharastrian tradition but many follow this all over the South today. We GSBs call this Ubbati and some may call this Sweet Chapathi. We make ubbati with cooked mashed channa dal and jaggery/sugar for the stuffing. This ubbati is very tasty and should be made fresh, consumed hot with melting ghee.

Making ubbati is an art but is not that complicated as many may assume. I am showing you step by step how to make ubbati. The embedded video by Anuradha and Maya from Faltu Productions in Konkani with subtitles in English should guide the readers and also keep them amused.

Holi hai!

Thanks to: Anuradha and Maya showing
'How to make Pooran Poli/Ubbati'

Ingredients: 

1/2 kg Maida 

1/2 kg Jaggery/Sugar

1/2 kg Channa daal
 A pinch of turmeric powder
 Salt to taste
 1 tsp cardamom powder
 1 cup oil
 Ghee to relish

Method:
Cook Channa daal in pressure for 1 whistle, then simmer it for 15 minutes and turn off the flame.
If you find impurities in the jaggery, make a syrup of the jaggery by boiling the jaggery in 1/2 cup of water and when it is cool, pass it through a sieve.
When the pressure cooker is cool, take the cooked chana daal out and grind it in a mixie to a smooth paste.
Transfer the Chana daal paste in thick bottom kadai, add the jaggery syrup/sugar (You can add less or more acc to your taste ) and keep on stirring the contents till you get a thick lump enough to form a ball.
Add cardamom powder and combine.
In a big bowl add some water, pinch of turmeric powder, salt and mix.
Add the maida flour and mix well.
You can add little water and maida and knead into a very soft dough .
Then add some oil and knead till the dough is soft and elastic but not watery.
Smear little oil on the dough and keep aside covered for 2 hours.

How to make Ubbati:
Make big lemon size balls of the Chana dal stuffing and keep aside.
After standing for 2 hours, the Maida dough should be of smooth texture.
It must stretch like chewing gum when pulled.
Take a small lemon size ball of the Maida dough, apply some oil on your palms and spread this dough evenly on your palms.
Place the ball of stuffing in the and bring all the ends together to fuse and roll with your palms into a firm ball.
Dust with maida/rice flour and roll out the Ubbati, preferably placing the ball between two plastic sheets.
Roast this on hot chapathi tawa on both sides .
Ubbati must puff like phulka if the formula is right.
Relish the hot ubbatis with fresh Ghee.

Dudhi Saannan(Sweet Idlis) by Nisha Baliga Shenoy

Dudhi Sannan is a popular steamed breakfast snack developed by the GSBs. These sweet idlis are energising, full of flavour and a sure hit with kids. Traditional cooking involves soaking the rice, grinding it with other ingredients, fermenting the batter and then steaming the idlis. Some may follow easier method by using idli rava but I always like to make it the traditional way.

Dudhi Saannan

Dudhi saannan is in a way steamed version of Surnali, the sweet dosas that we GSBs make for breakfast. Try this and you will feel like preparing this often.

Ingredients:
Dosa rice - 2 cups
Powdered Jaggery - 2 cups
Grated Coconut - 2 cups
Beaten Rice(Phova) - 1 cup
Methi seeds - 1 tsp
salt - To taste
Buttermilk - Enough to soak rice
Turmeric powder - A pinch
ENO fruit salt - One packet
Raisins and Cashew bits - A handful each(Optional)

Step by step method

Method:
Soak the rice along with methi seeds in buttermilk for 4 hours.
Grind it to a grainy consistency  along with coconut, jaggery and soaked phova.
The batter should be of idli batter consistency.
Add a pinch of turmeric powder, mix well and keep aside to ferment overnight.
Next morning add salt to taste and a packet of ENO fruit salt, Mix the batter well.
keep aside for 2 minutes, meanwhile keep the steamer ready for steaming the idlies.
Grease the idli moulds.
Pour the batter into the moulds and steam the idlies.
You can add some raisins and cashews whiling steaming
Serve Hot with fresh butter or ghee!

Yam Fritters by Nisha Baliga Shenoy

Yam is a rich source of carbohydrates and minerals. It is available round the year. Yam is used in curries mainly but I formulated my own yummy recipe to make fritters. The cold winter season calls for such chatpata treats. Enjoy the cold weather with Yam fritters.

Ingredients:
Yam (Suran ) cut lengthwise - 500 Gms
Chilli powder - 2 Tsp
Coriander powder - 2 Tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 Tsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 2 Tsp
Lemon juice or Tamarind paste - 1 Tsp
Salt - To taste
Corn flour - 1 Tsp
Oil - For deep frying

Method:
Wash and apply salt to yam. Keep aside for few minutes. Squeeze out extra water.
Make a paste of the above mentioned masala powders and pastes.
Apply this to the Yam. Check for salt.
Heat oil in a pan and deep fry these till crispy .
Serve hot with Tomato Ketchup.