Flatbeans Curry


Avarekai or the flat beans or the Papdi lilva as known in Indian stores. One of my favourite. First dish I cooked while I was 11 years old, was avarekai curry or saaru.
Its entirely different story how a 11 year old managed to grind the masala without a blender. Imagine how long ago that would have been ;) if a middle class home had not yet seen the blender/mixer

Fresh Avarekai is a seasonal thing in Bangalore. Since Averkai gojju was always made with Pongal on Sankranti, I would know as a child when to expect Avarekai mela. During this season, its avarekai upittu, avarekai saru, gojju, avarekai vangibath, avarekai bath, its avarekai everywhere.

Recipe
Ingredients
Frozen Avarekai/papdi lilva – 1 pk (200 gms)
Potatoes – 3
Eggplant – 2 (optional)
Mustard – 1 tsp
Biryani leaf - 2
Cloves – 2
Oil – 2tsp
For Paste:
Onion – 2 medium (save 2 slices for sauting)
Tomatoes – 2
Coconut grated/powder – 2 Tbsp
Cloves – 2
Ginger – ½ inch
Garlic – 2 cloves
Sambhar powder – 2 tsp ( or more depending on your spice level)
Black pepper – 4

Directions:
Wash the frozen avarekai and keep aside.
Prepare the paste of all the ingredients above listed.

In a pressure cooker, take oil, add biryani leaf, cloves, mustard seeds, onion slices.




After onion slices turn translucent, add the washed avarekai and fry for 3 mins. Add the grinded paste, cut potatoes, eggplant and water to the desired consistency. Add salt to taste and pressure cook for 15-20 mins.

Serve hot with pongal or plain rice.




Sabbaki Payasa


While growing up, Mom made this payasa rarely, as I and my sisters would never like it. I and R saw sabbakki (sabudhana) in the grocery store and thought lets buy this. We did not have any dish in mind then. For Sankranti, we usually make Sakkare Pongal (dessert version of Pongal).

When I opened my pantry, sabbakki was staring at me. Ok don’t worry, I will try something…Let me make the payasa which I vaguely remember.
From all the payasas I remember , this recipe was born.

Recipe
Ingredients
Sabbakki – 1 cup
Shavige/Seviya - ½ cup
Ghee – 1 tsp
Oil – 1tsp
Raisins & Cashews – ¼ cup
Jaggery(Gud) – 1 ½ cup if powder(or based on the sweetness)

For Paste:
Grated coconut – ½ cup (coconut powder also ok)
Ghasa gase(Khus Khus) – 2 tsp
Cardamom – 1 whole

Directions:
. Heat a pan and add oil and fry sabbakki for 5 mins

. Bring 2 cups of water to boil in a cooking vessel and drop the sabbakki into it and cook until the sabbakki becomes translucent.

. Add the shavige/seviya and the paste and cook for 10 mins.

. In a separate pan heat ghee, add cashews & raisins and then add this to the payasa at the end.

. Enjoy this payasa hot or cold.



Pongal

Pongal - Hesaru Bele Anna
Hesaru Bele(split green gram dal) Anna(Rice) is always called Pongal on the day of Sankranti. It is the main course and other side dishes accompany this. Avare kai is available in plenty during this season and one of the side dish would be Avare kai gojju.

How I miss this festival back at home. The day starts with the oil bath and the new clothes that we get on this day. Mom taking aarati of us and showering the Yellu-bella on our heads while seated on the mat.

Main part of any of our festival is the food. Sankranti is no different. Mom's pongal always has the same taste everytime she makes it. But the best pongal I remember is when I ate at my Mom's Aunt's (ie chikka Ajji's) place. Nice aroma of ghee woke us up that morning and I can still feel the taste.

Last year my MiL was with us and her recipe is different. I will post that recipe after trying it.

Today's recipe is mostly how we used to make it every Sankranti as the Chikka Ajji's recipe is too good for cholestrol ;)

Recipe
Ingredients
Rice – 3 cups
Green gram dal – 1 cup
Oil – ½ cup
Ghee – 1 tsp
Hing – ½ tsp
Mustard – ½ tsp
Cumin seeds – 2 tsp
Black Pepper - 2 tsp
Curry leaves – 10
Cashews or Peanuts – ½ cup
Dry coconut/Kobbari pieces ½ cup
Turmeric – ½ tsp


Directions:
Wash rice and green gram and let them soak for ½ hour.
In a pressure cooker add oil, ghee.
When oil is heated add mustard, let is splutter and then add, cumin seeds, pepper, hing, cashews/peanuts, kobbari pieces and curry leaves. (total duration is 2 mins)
Immediately add turmeric and the soaked rice, green gram dal and fry for a minute.



Add enough water (6 cups of water) and let it cook in the cooker for 15 mins or 3 -4 whistles on low medium flame.






Serve the pongal with raita or chutney or avare-kai gojju (which I will post later)


Makara Sankranti

Yellu Bella

Many of us know what Makara Sankranti is. What it is called in different regions and how it is celebrated.

My memories of Sankranti starts with Yellu-Bella, Sakkare attchu(sugar figurines) and “Yellu Birodu”. Wearing the traditional dress/sometimes frocks, I was my Mom’s companion on this festival. She used to load the yellu-Bella & sakkare attchu packets, bananas, sugarcane pieces, Beetle leaves, flowers and the Kumkum in the peacock shaped box, with the head & neck being the cap for that box.

We would visit all the close relatives and friends that afternoon and she would arrange all these in a silver plate and offer to each guest and I would be the one to start the process by offering kumkum.

This year also I made the yellu-bella and the taste is very nostalgic. It’s a simple recipe.

Recipe

Ingredients:

Groundnuts/peanuts

Kobbari/Dry Coconut

Bella/Jaggery/

Huri Kadle/Fried grams

Yellu/sesame seeds

Directions:

Fry the Groundnuts on low flame but do not burn it. Remove the outer cover and split the nuts. Check the image below

Cut the Kobbari and Bella into small pieces.

Mix all the ingredients and your Sankranti starts.

Happy Sankranti

Sankranti Feast:
It includes:
4. Kosambari
4. Raita
5. Balekai Palya ( Banana)
6. Sprouted Moong curry