Ragi Malt | Ambali

For this week theme on BM I'm presenting "All about Millets". Enjoy the dishes & don't miss the update. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 42.

Ragi Malt or Ambali is a nutritious summer drink. It is preferred to have for breakfast, but you can also enjoy it in the summer afternoon's, in place of your tea or coffee. This is a very filling drink & also releases energy slowly in to your body, while keeping you active & keeping the craving under control. 
Ragi Malt is made of a millet called " Ragulu" or "Finger Millet". This millet is rich in fibre, calcium, iron & also known for it's nutritious values. There are various dishes you can make with ragi flour, few are Ragi Idli, Ragi dosa, Ragi malt {Sweet}, Ragi ladoo's, Ragi mudda & many more. 

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- Ragi Rava Ladoo

Prep Time-5mins | Cook Time-20mins | Serves-2people 
Ingredients 
1Tbs ragi flour 
1Cup water 
1/4Cup yogurt
3/4Cup water {as needed} 
Pinch salt {adjust as needed}
1Tsp lemon juice {optional}
1Tbs finely chopped onions {optional}
Few curry leaves for garnish {optional}

Directions
- In a vessel, take ragi flour & mix it with 1Cup water.  Whisk it well & make sure there are no lumps left out. 
- Cook it on low heat for 15mins, while stirring it in between. Once it becomes thick & dark in color as shown below, switch off heat & allow it to cool. Ragi java is ready.
- Mix yogurt, water, salt & lemon juice in a glass. 
- To that add 1/2Cup of ragi java or ragi paste to the yogurt mix & whisk it well. 
- Finally add onions & curry leaves. 
*** Serve it cold.
Note
- Ragi paste should be cooled off completely before adding the yogurt mix. 
- You can remove all the ingredients that are optional from the list for a original ragi malt.
- Always cook on low heat for a perfect ragi malt. 
- I always add less of ragi java or ragi paste to the yogurt mix & that's how I like it. Change it according to your taste.
- You can make ragi java ahead of time & refrigerate it for later use. 

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Bharwan Bhindi | Stuffed Okra Curry | How to Make Bharwan Bhindi

Bharwan Bhindi or Stuffed Okra Curry is mildly spiced with a combination of spice powders & garnished with cilantro for added flavor.  The spice powder can be customized as per your taste buds. You can replace okra's with brinjal's, simla mirchi, karela/bitter gourd or any other veggie you like.

You might also like:

- Donkaya Karam Pettina Kura | Stuffed Tindora Curry | Tindora Sabji

- Gutti Vankaya Koora kaaram Petti | Stuffed Brinjal Curry | Baingan sabji

Prep Time-15mins | Cook Time-30mins | Serves-2people 

Ingredients

14 Bhindi / Okra
1Tbs + 2Tsp oil

Cilantro / Coriander leaves for garnish

Stuffing Powder
1/2Cup besan
1Tbs ginger garlic paste
1Tsp chili powder
1Tsp cumin-coriander powder
2Tsp sesame seeds
1/4Tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
1&1/2Tbs oil
Directions
- Wash & towel dry the bhindi's. Keep them aside.
- Heat pan & add besan to it. Fry for 2 to 3 Mins while stirring occasionally.
- You can feel the nice & aromatic smell while you are frying. Switch off heat & allow it to cool.
- In a bowl add besan, ginger garlic, chili powder, sesame seeds, cumin-coriander powder, salt & 2Tbs oil.
- Mix them well & you can feel the stuffing powder getting together.
- Now cut off the edges on 2sides. Slit okra as shown above & stuff them with the powder.
- Heat pan with 1Tbs oil. To that add the stuffed okra & arrange them with out sticking together. Cook on low heat.
- Close with lid & cook for 5mins. Then reverse the okra & cook with a closed lid for another 5mins.
- By now the okra are cooked & perfectly done.
- Add the left out stuffing powder to pan along with sliced coriander leaves.
- Add 2Tsp oil & on medium heat for 2 mins, while stirring once in a while. Switch off heat & curry is ready to et.
***Serve hot with rice, roti & chapati.
Note
- You can customize the stuffing powder as you like.
- Wipe off okra's with a dry towel before slitting & stuffing.
- Use tender okra's, which are small to medium in size.
- Add a additional spoon of oil for frying if needed.
- You can add 1Tsp amchur powder to the filling to add a little tanginess to the dish. 

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Pineapple Gojju

For this week theme on BM I'm presenting " South Indian Meal Dishes-Karnataka Cuisine". Enjoy the dishes & don't miss the update. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 42.

Pineapple Gojju is a well known traditional dish of Karnataka cuisine. Gojju means gravy & pineapple is cooked in this gojju to make this flavorful dish. This dish is sweet, spicy & tangy, making this dish a perfect one. If you are a fan of pineapple, then you don't want to miss this dish. You can customize this dish by replacing pineapple with your choice of vegetable. Using ghee in cooking in this dish does makes this dish much flavorful.

Prep Time-10mins | Cook Time-30mins | Serves-3people
Ingredients
1Cup pineapple
2Tsp tamarind pulp / 1Tsp size tamarind  {Adjust as needed}
*2Cup water
1Tsp jaggery powder  {Adjust as needed}
1Tsp ghee
Salt to taste
To Grind
2Tsp channa dal
2Tsp urad dal
1/4Tsp methi seeds
2Tsp sesame seeds
1Tsp jeera
5Red chili's {Adjust as needed}
1/2Cup grated dry coconut
1/4Tsp turmeric
1Tsp ghee
Tempering 
1Tbs ghee
1/2Tsp mustard 
1/2Tsp jeera 
3Red chili's cut equally 
1/4Tsp hing {Asafetida}
Few curry leaves 

Directions 
- Heat pan with ghee & add ingredients to grind {leaving coconut flakes & turmeric}. 
- Fry them evenly till they are turned to light brown in color. Switch off heat & allow them to cool. 
- In another pan add 1tsp ghee & to that add pineapple pieces.
- Fry them for few seconds. To that add water, tamarind pulp, salt & jaggery. Bring them to boil. 
- Meanwhile grind the roasted ingredients along with coconut & turmeric.
- To make it a smooth paste add little water to the grind ingredients. 
- Add the paste to pineapple & cook them for 10mins on low heat, till it is perfectly thick. Adjust salt, jaggrey & tamarind if needed.
- Heat pan with ghee for tempering. Add mustard , jeera & red chili's to pan. Once the mustard starts jumping add curry leaves & hing to pan.
- Add seasoning to gojju & cook on low heat for 2mins. Switch off heat & gojju is ready to serve. 
Note
- You can use oil instead of ghee.
- If using tamarind, then soak it with *water mentioned above. Leave it for 30mins & squeeze the tamarind juice for cooking. 
- Use "Byadagi" red chili if available or use those are available at that time. 

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Chutney Podi | Chutney Powder

For this week theme on BM I'm presenting " South Indian Meal Dishes-Karnataka Cuisine". Enjoy the dishes & don't miss the update. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 42.

Chutney Podi/ Chutney Powder is a karnataka style spice powder, which perfectly goes with breakfast dishes & rice. This powder is packed with flavors from dal's, tamarind, red chili's, coconut & also sweetness from jaggery. 
I followed a online recipe while making it, but changed the measurements & few ingredients as needed. One of those ingredient is red chili's. The recipe was asking for both Guntur & Byadagi chili's. I replaced them with mexican red chili's, which I have in hand.
This is my first time making this powder & it was heavenly good. The coarse grinding left this powder with crunchiness in every bite. 
Give this powder a try...

Adapted from-Big Apple Curry
Prep Time-5mins | Cook Time-15mins | Serves-4people
Ingredients 
1/4Cup urad dal 
1/4Cup chana dal 
2Tbs toor dal 
1/4Cup grated dry coconut
13Red chili's
1/4Cup curry leaves 
1Tbs grated jaggery
1Tsp size ball of tamarind
1/2Tsp + 1/2Tsp oil
Salt to taste
Directions
- Heat pan with 1/2tsp oil. To that add urad dal & fry it till
- Keep stirring the dal. Fry till it changes to light brown color. Remove on to a plate. 
- Repeat the same with chana dal & toor dal too. 
- Now to same pan add grated coconut & fry it for few seconds or till they are little crisp. Remove it on to a plate. 
- Add 1/2tsp oil to pan. To that add red chili's, tamarind & curry leaves. 
- Fry them till curry leaves are crisp & red chili's are puffed up. Switch off heat & remove them on to a plate. 
- Allow all the fried ingredients to cool down before grinding. 
- Now grind all the fried ingredients along with jaggery & salt. 
- Grind it to coarse powder. Adjust salt if needed.
***Serve this powder with a dollop of ghee. Goes well with rice, idli, dosa & also you can serve as you wish***
Note
- You can replace jaggery with sugar or if you want to you can totally remove them from recipe.
- I used non-stick pan to fry dal's & used very little of oil.
- Store powder in a air tight container & refrigerate it. 

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Mysore Rasam | How to Make Mysore Rasam

For this week theme on BM I'm presenting " South Indian Meal Dishes-Karnataka Cuisine". Enjoy the dishes & don't miss the update. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 42.

Mysore Rasam is a appetizing Karnataka dish. There are many recipes to make a rasam, but this version of it is flavorful & has a kick to it. Rasam powder or paste is very much different from the usual one we make. Coconut flakes in rasam powder will add a delicious flavor to rasam. I got this recipe from mom & she was praising how good this rasam has tasted. So it tempted me to give it a try & at the end we {me & hubby} loved it.

You may also like
- Rasam | Charu | Saaru | How to Make Rasam
- Pappu Charu | Toor Dal Rasam
- Ulava Charu | Horse Gram Rasam | Hurali Saaru | Kollu Rasam

Prep Time-5mins | Cook Time-30mins | Serves-5people
Ingredients 
1/4Cup toor dal
1/2Cup water
2Small tomatoes chopped 
3&1/2Cups water
1Tbs tamarind pulp / 1Tbs size tamarind ball{Adjust as needed}
1/4Tsp turmeric
2Tsp jaggery {Adjust as needed}
Few curry leaves 
Salt to taste 
To Grind
1Tbs coriander seeds {Dhaniya}
1Tsp jeera {cumin}
4Red chili's 
1Tbs + 1Tsp channa dal
1/4Tsp methi seeds 
1/2Tsp black pepper
2Tbs grated coconut
1Tsp ghee
Few curry leaves 
Seasoning 
1tbs ghee/oil
1/2Tsp jeera {cumin}
1/2Tsp mustard
2Red chili's equally cut
1/4Tsp hing {Asafetida}
Directions 
- Pressure cook toordal with 1/2cup water for 2 whistles. Switch off heat & allow the cooker to cool. 
- Mean while in a large vessel mix tamarind pulp along with 3&1/2 cups of water. {If using a tamarind then clean it with lots of water first & then soak tamarind in 1Cup of water. Squeeze some the tamarind juice as needed.}
- Add chopped tomatoes, curry leaves, turmeric & enough salt to water. 
- Bring it to boil & cook it till the tomatoes are cooked soft.
Grind 
- Take ghee in a pan & to that add all the grind ingredients other then coconut.
- Fry them till channa dal changes it color to a darker yellow. Switch off heat & add coconut to pan.
- Grind them along with little water to a smooth paste. 

Making Rasam
- Add cooked dal, spice paste & jaggery to cooked tomatoes.
- Bring it to boil & adjust salt, tamarind if needed. Cook for 5mins on medium heat & switch off heat.
- Heat a pan with ghee, to that add red chili's, jeera & mustard. Once the mustard starts jumping add hing to pan & switch off heat. 
- Mix the seasoning with rasam.
***Serve it along with rice & dollop of ghee. Also serve some papadam's as a side.
Note 
- If you feel the rasam paste is too much,adjust it as needed for you. I added the whole paste to rasam & it was awesome.
- You can add garlic in the seasoning, instead of hing. 
- You can replace replace ghee with oil, but ghee add's lots of flavor to rasam.

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Rasmalai {Version 2}

For this week theme on BM I'm presenting "Festival Special-Krishna Janmashtami". Enjoy the dishes & don't miss the update. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 42.

Rasmalai is a much known dish to all. Today I'm sharing a almost instant version of this recipe, which is much easier to make for larger group of people. 
At first I decided on getting Haldiram's rasgulla and making the same as below. The only difference is they are round in shape and rest all the same. To my surprise I found a Haldiram's rasmalai at the store I visit & picked it without a second thought. Enjoy this easy to make dish !!!

Cook Time-40mins | Serves-4to6people
Ingredients
1Can of haldiram's rasmalai {12count}
Milk{Full fat}
1/4Cup sugar
1Tsp cardamon powder
Few saffron strands
Few almonds chopped
Few pistachios chopped 
Directions
- Bring milk to boil & then add sugar & saffron. 
- Reduce milk on low heat till it gets thick. 
- Mean while remove patties from sugar syrup & press a little to squeeze the sugar juice out. 
- Add cardamon powder & patties to milk. 
- Cook on low heat for 5mins & switch off heat. Add almonds & pistachios to rasmalai.
- Refrigerate it for few hours or till the rasmalai is chilled. 
- Serve chilled.

Note
- You can replace Haldiram's rasmalai with Haldiram's rasgulla.
- Haldiram's rasmalai patties are dipped in a sugar syrup & they are too sweet.
- I avoided milkmaid to control the sugar level in the sweet.
- Flavor up the milk with your favorite ones for a much more deliciousness. 
- Add a 2Tsp of corn powder to reduce time in thickening milk. {I won't try this because, at the end milk might taste & smell like corn powder}

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Gopalkala

For this week theme on BM I'm presenting "Festival Special-Krishna Janmashtami". Enjoy the dishes & don't miss the update. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 42.

Gopalkala is a Janmashtami special dish, made of poha, curd & some seasoning to it. Apart from being a festive dish it is a cooling dish for summer days. This is a simple dish, which takes very few minutes of time in making it & tastes delicious. This dish is similar to south indian "Dadojanam" or curd rice & the only difference is we make this with beaten rice or poha.

Prep Time-15mins | Cook Time-2mins | Serves-2People
Ingredients 
1Cup poha
1Cup curd 
1/2Cup grated fresh coconut
2Green chili's chopped
1Tsp finely chopped ginger
1Tbs ghee
1Tsp jeera 
Salt to taste
cilantro/coriander leaves for garnish
Directions
- Add poha to a sieve & wash them with water. Allow poha to sit for 10mins. 
- Mean while heat pan with ghee & to that add jeera, green chili's & ginger. 
- Fry them for few seconds & switch off heat. 
- Add curd, coconut, salt & the fries seasoning to poha. 
- Mix them well & garnish with coriander. 
Note
- Using a sifter will filter the leftover water from poha. 
- You can add chopped cucumber at the end before adding coriander.

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Makkhane Ki Kheer

For this week theme on BM I'm presenting "Festival Special-Krishna Janmashtami". Enjoy the dishes & don't miss the update. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 42.

Phool Makkhana / Fox nut is a popped lotus seed & is used in Indian cooking widely. This nut is rich in proteins & carbs. This nut helps in detoxifying & easily digestible to all ages. 
Makkhane ki kheer is creamy & tasty dish. It is also a healthy dish & is made for fasting days. This kheer is thick & I used vermicelli along with the makkhana to make it much delectable. This version of kheer is little different than the other's out there.

Cook Time-5mins | Serves-2People
Ingredients 
1Cup Phool makhana
1/4Cup Vermicelli 
1&1/2 Cup milk {2%fat}
3Tbs sugar
1/2 Tsp Cardamon Powder
1Tbs Ghee
Few raisins
Few cashews
Directions
- Heat vessel with ghee. To that add raisins & cashews. 
- Fry them for few seconds & remove them on to a plate. 
- To the same vessel add vermicelli & phool makhana.
- Fry them for few seconds & milk to the vessel.
- Bring it to boil & add sugar, cardamon powder to milk. 
- Cook on low heat for 10mins & switch off heat. Adjust sugar if needed.
- Mix the fried raisins & cashews to kheer. 
Note
- You can skip vermicelli from the recipe & cook it for a little longer time to get the thick consistency.
- Instead of ghee fried cashews & raisins, you can add blanched almonds to kheer.

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Hurali Chutney | Ulavala Pachadi | Horse Gram Chutney

Hurali / Horse Gram chutney is a Karnataka dish, which is nutritious & tasty. This chutney can be paired up with rice or any South Indian tiffin you like. 
Horse Gram is well know as a staple for cattle & because of the same reason many hesitate on consuming this bean. This bean has medicinal values that can help in reducing insulin & it is also very good for weight management too.
The very familier recipe using this bean is a Andhra delicacy "Ulava Charu". Though you won't use the bean as it is, but we use the water of boiled beans in making this rasam. But this chutney has the full flavor & nutrients of this beans in it.  

Prep Time-10mins | Cook Time-10mins | Serves-3people

Adapted : Vegetable Platter

Ingredients
1/2 cup horse gram dal {Ulavalu}
1Tsp jaggery {Bellam}
2Tbs coconut grated
1Tbs tamarind pulp
2Tsp oil
7 Red chili
2Tsp jeera {Cumin}
1/2Tsp coriander seeds {Dhaniya}
1/2Tsp hing
2Garlic pods

Few curry leaves

Salt to taste
Seasoning 
1Tbs oil
Few curry leaves
2Red chili cut equally
1Tsp jeera
1Tsp mustard seeds
1/2Tsp hing {Asafetida}
Directions
- Dry roast dal for 1min or till you get a good aroma from the roasting. Switch off heat & transfer on to a plate.
- Heat pan with oil & to that add red chili's, jeera, garlic, coriander seeds, curry leaves & hing. Fry them till jeera turns little brown. Switch off heat & allow them to cool.
- In a blender add dal & fried spice mixture, tamarind pulp, jaggery, salt & coconut. Blend them coarsely by adding little by little water. Adjust taste if needed.
- Transfer chutney to a bowl.
- Heat pan with oil & to that add mustard, jeera, red chili, curry leaves & hing. Once the mustard starts jumping switch off heat & add it to chutney.
- Serve with rice along with ghee.
Note
- Garlic is optional in this dish.

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