Bisi bele huli anna

This is the real recipe for Bisi Bele Huli Anna as perfected by my mum and grandmum. It contains no vegetables and is a good idea on days when there are no vegetables at home. So, this is a recipe that serves four. This dish uses poppy seeds (known as khus-khus) and adds considerably to the taste of the dish.

Ingredients
Rice - 1.5 cups
Toor Dal - 3/4 cup
Tamarind - size of a small lemon
Dhania (Coriander seeds) - 2 tbsps
Fenugreek seeds (Methi) - 1/2 tbsp
Red Chillies - 15-20 nos. (varies depending on your taste)
Bengal Gram Dal (kadalai paruppu) - 1 tbsp
Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
Poppy seeds (khus khus) - 1 tsp
Cloves - 6-7 nos.
Cinnamon - 2 inch piece
Grated Coconut - 4 tbsps
Salt to taste
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Gingelly Oil (Sesame Oil) - 1 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves

Preparation time: 1.5 hours (approx.)

Method

1. Cook the rice and toor dal together (until the consistency is almost semi-solid) in a pressure cooker.
2. Soak tamarind and extract juice and keep aside.
3. Heat a deep frying pan, and roast the coriander, fenugreek and red chillies with a little bit of oil. Powder the roasted ingredients and keep aside.
   
4. In the same pan, roast the Bengal gram dal and the Urad dal with some oil. Remove from fire and put in a blender or food processor. Grind to a powder and keep aside.
   
5. Then roast the khus khus, cloves and cinnamon and add to the food processor. Grind these ingredients too and keep aside.
   
6. Dry roast the coconut and keep aside.
7. Heat a thick-bottomed deep dish casserole and heat half of the sesame oil in it. Add the mustard and let it splutter. Once the mustard splutters, add the asafoetida powder and the curry leaves.
8. Finally, add the tamarind juice, turmeric and salt to taste and boil until the raw smell of the tamarind disappears (about 5 mins).
9. Add the powdered coriander, fenugreek and red chillies and bring to a boil. Add the cooked rice and dal and stir well.
10. Now, add the powdered Bengal gram dal and urad dal and stir well. Add the grated coconuts and remove from fire.
11. Add the powdered khus-khus, cloves and cinnamon and mix well. Heat the remaining sesame oil separately and add to the rice. You can substitute the sesame oil at this stage with ghee(clarified butter) if you prefer. Transfer to a serving bowl.
12. Serve hot with appalams, chips or vegetables.
    

Lemon and Chilly Pickle (North Indian Style)

About 10 days ago, I tried making Lemon and Chilly Pickle, with mustard. I was not sure about the outcome until a couple of days ago, when I first tasted it. Having tried it on myself, I now feel confident about letting my readers in on the recipe. So, here goes.

Ingredients

Medium sized lemons - 25-30 nos.
Green Chillies - 1/2 kg
Salt - 1 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 cup
Fenugreek seeds (methi) - 1/2 cup
Mustard Oil - 200 ml
Gingelly oil (Sesame Oil) - 300 ml

Preparation time: 1 hour

Method

1. Wash the green chillies thoroughly and pat dry. Slit them vertically, taking care not to cut the chillies completely.
2. Wash and cut the lemons into eights.
3. In a food processor or blender, powder the fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds and salt.
4. Add this to the chillies and lemon.
5. Mix well.
6. Add the mustard oil and mix again.
7. Now add the sesame oil (the Indian untoasted variety) to the mixture.
8. Transfer the pickle to a bottle and set aside for at least a week.
9. Remember to mix the pickle well at least once a day to avoid fungus formation. The lemons will absorb spices and oil should begin to rise above the mixture in about a week. If you find that the pickle is too dry after a week, you may add some more sesame oil.
10. Serve with rice or chapathis once the spices are fully absorbed by the lemons and chillies.

Banana Stem More Koottu

Ok. So, after much debating between Paal Paayasam and Badam Halwa, I finally decided to break the tradition of starting with a sweet. My mother's delicious vaazhathandu more kootu is largely responsible for this change of heart. It is something that I have always found interesting, largely because my mother adds stuff that none of the others I know do. Anyway, here we go.

Ingredients

Banana Stem (Vaazhathandu) chopped into tiny cubes - 2 cups
Curd (unflavoured yoghurt) - 4 tbsps
Dried Red Chillies - 3 to 4 Nos.
Fenugreek (venthayam/methi) seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad Dal (white lentils) - 1 tbsp
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds (jeera) - 1 tbsp
Green Chillies - 2 nos.
Curry leaves - 5 to 6 leaves for seasoning
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Coconut Oil - 1 tsp
Sunflower oil (or other odourless cooking oil) - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Preparation time - 15 to 20 minutes

Method

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in a pan and roast the red chillies until they turn a darker shade of red. Remove from fire into a mixer grinder or food processor.
2. Add the urad dal and roast until golden brown. Remove into the food processor. Then, add the fenugreek seeds and roast. You can add some more cooking oil if you find it too dry. Remove that too into the food processor.
3. Grind the ingredients together and keep aside.
4. Add the grated coconut, cumin seeds and green chillies and grind to a fine paste. Keep aside.
   
5. In a saucepan, boil the chopped banana stem in 3 cups of water with salt to taste. Cook it until the stem is tender, but not soggy.
6. When the stem is cooked, add the grated coconut paste and red chilly powder and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes.
7. Remove from fire and transfer to a serving bowl.
8. In a pan, heat 1 teaspoon of coconut oil and add mustard seeds. Leave it in the oil until it sputters. Remove from fire. Add the curry leaves and season the koottu.
9. Once the koottu cools, add the yoghurt and mix well.
10. This can be served with hot rice.
    

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