Banana Curd by Uma Shenoi

This is a healthy dessert fit for summer. Tastes good and leaves the diner contented. For kids, this is a wholesome food. Easy to make but little homework is necessary as this is done with a cold process. Gelatin is added to set the curd to an ice cream like consistency, since we are using plain curd here.

If you use hung curd, gelatin is not required. Any left over ice cream with nutty flavour or just plain vanilla flavour is suited for this in case you don't have condensed milk. Sugar is added to sweeten, if you use fresh cream.

Ingredients:
1. Unsweetened curd - 400Gms
2. Ripe Bananas - 2 medium or 1/2 cup pulp(100Gms)
3. Condensed Milk/Ice Cream/Fresh Cream - 1/2 cup
4. Sugar(Optional) - 4-5 tsp
5. Gelatin - 2 Tsp
6. Raisins - A hanful(Optional)

Method:
Peel and mash bananas to a smooth pulp.
Heat 1/2 cup water in a double boiler and dissolve gelatin by slowly stirring.
Add the banana pulp, dissolved gelatin, condensed milk or substitutes(and optional sugar if you are using cream) to the curd.
Beat well in the mixie.
Pour into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 6-8 hours to set.
Serve chilled, topped with raisins/fresh fruit chunks or as it is.
You may substitute banana pulp with any other fruit pulp like mango, strawberry, peach, avocado, lychee or chikoo.

Drumstick Leaves Sannan by Uma Shenoi

Drumstick leaves are available round the year. GSBs prepare curries, vadas and sannan with drumstick leaves. I have tasted sannan at many places but the one made by Uma is too good. It needs some magical touch and lots of love that makes a dish perfect. Uma has a passion for cooking and she cooks any dish with love.

Here is Mashinga paalle sannan or drumstick leaves sannan for you. Relish this with white rice and daalithoi. You won't ask for anything else!

Ingredients:
Rice rava - 2 Cups
Grated coconut - 1/2
Red chillies - 10-14 roasted with little oil
Tamarind - Marble sized ball
Asafotoeda - A generous pinch
Salt - To taste
Drumstick Leaves - 2 cups cleaned and chopped
Coconut Oil - QS

Method:
Wash and soak rice rava in water for 10mins.
Grind rosted chillies, tamarind and asafotoeda along with grated coconut to a fine paste.
Add the soaked rice rava.
Add the chopped drumstick leaves and salt to taste. Mix well.
Let the batter be as thick as Idli batter.
Grease idli moulds with little coconut oil and pour one handful of batter in each mould and steam for 15-20mins or till well cooked and soft.
Serve with fresh coconut oil drizzled on the sannans.

Also try: Cabbage Carrot Sannan

Marvai Pundi by Uma Shenoi

Uma called me yesterday evening and asked me if I am interested in highlighting Marvai Pundi in my blogspot. She added that if I am interested, she will send some over with Meena and also the recipe. I said "Is it something to ask? By all means send it. I haven't eaten Marvai Pundi since last 2 years!"

I know that Uma cooks any dish perfectly and also that she never goes overboard when she follows any recipe. She said, a friend passed on the recipe to her and she has prepared it for the first time.

I had a valid reason to tell her that I haven't eaten the dish since last two years. We never prepared marvai pundi at home before. I first tasted this dish at Rathna's Balmatta Road and loved eating that. I have taken parcel home at least half a dozen times from there. That was the only place I had tried marvai pundi, though Meena's friends used to give her that quite often. Of course I had tasted marvai sukkha at a few occasions at couple of local restaurants but I was not a big fan of marvai then.

Marvai(Clam) being a  shell fish, is rich in calcium. Tuluvas are adept at making marvai preparations and marvai pundi is a combo meal traditionally prepared in earthen pot with masala ground with the grinding stone and Pundi(Rice dumplings) made with red rice. Mangalorean Catholics call this Kube Mutli. We GSBs make undis that are similar to pundis but we add seasoning to them.

Video courtesy: Charishma Hegde

Opening or cleaning Marvai requires skill and is done using 'Mettu Katthi' or 'Aaddoli' as shown in the embedded video. Some just boil Marvai and use the opened ones as it is. That way, Marvai loses its taste.

Marvai Curry

Ingredients:
Marvai/Clams - 200 washed and cleaned(See video)
Grated coconut -  1
Red Chillies -  5 small, 8 long
Coriander Seeds - 5 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin Seeds -  1/2 tsp
Peppercorns - 15
Tamarind - Size of small lemon
Garlic -  5 cloves
Turmeric powder -  1/2 tsp
Onions - 2 chopped
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Salt - to taste
Oil -  2 tbsp

Method:
Dry roast red chillies, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, and peppercorns with little oil.
Grind the roasted spices with coconut, turmeric powder, tamarind and garlic to a smooth paste using just sufficient water.
Heat a thick bottomed vessel or wide mouthed earthen pot.
Reduce the heat to medium and prepare a seasoning with curry leaves and one chopped onion in 1 tbsp oil and fry till golden.
Add the ground paste, salt to taste and water or according to required consistency.
When the gravy starts to boil, add the marvai and allow to cook for few minutes.
When marvai has cooked, drop the pundis into the curry and cook till the the gravy thickens.
Add another round of seasoning with chopped onions in 1 Tbsp oil.
Let the pundis get soaked well in the gravy. Serve hot.

Pundi(Rice Dumplings)

Ingredients:
Raw rice - 4 cups
Grated Coconut - 1 cup
Coconut oil - 1 Tsp
Salt to taste

Method:
Wash and soak rice in for 3-4 hours.
Grind with coconut using little water to a thick and coarse batter.
Heat a kadai, add a spoonful of oil and pour the ground rice batter. Add salt to taste.
Keep stirring on medium flame till the batter forms a lumpy soft dough.
Keep a bowlful of water by the side, dip your hand in water, take a spoonful of the dough and make balls.
Steam the balls in a steamer for 20 mins or till done.

Mango Cheese Cake - By Uma Shenoi

This is a delicious dessert dish which can be prepared round the year wherever canned Mango pulp is available. Kids will simply love this.

Ingredients:

For the Base:
300 g - digestive / marie or any mildly sweet biscuits
1/4 cup - sugar
50 g - butter

For the Cream Cheese :
11/2 liters - milk (full fat)
11/4 tsp - citric acid crystals, dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water

For the Cheese Cake:
300 g - cream cheese
200 g - Alphonso Mango Pulp
200 g - condensed milk
100 g - fresh cream
1 packet - gelatine or 4 tsp - gelatine mixed in 4 to 5 tsp - water

Method:
Crush the biscuits evenly into crumbs.
Add sugar and mix well.
Melt the butter, and fold it into the biscuit mixture.
In a baking ring placed on a 8" cake base, line the base with the biscuit mixture evenly with the back of your hand. Press firmly.
Bake in an oven at 250 degree F for about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool.

Boil the milk.
Add the citric acid crystals (dissolved in water) to the milk and mix well, until the milk curdles.
Strain this mixture in a fine muslin cloth.
Blend the cream cheese till smooth and creamy.Mix in the mango pulp.
Gradually fold in the fresh cream, into the condensed milk and blend.
Heat the dissolved gelatine till transparent. Cool it.
Strain through a fine sieve.
Fold into the cheese mixture.  

To Arrange the Cheese Cake:
Take the chilled biscuit lined base.
Pour the cheese cake mixture over this evenly.
Chill for 2 to 3 hours. Carefully loosen and remove the outer cake ring and Serve chilled.