Hunise gojju or Puliyogare gojju - a homemade gojju to make that authentic Puliyogare

Hello all, sorry I went AWOL once again since the last post. But in my defense, I have not been too far away from blogging or food, on the contrary have been cooking up almost a storm especially during the long Memorial day weekend we had recently. If you follow me on fb or like sattvaa page you would have seen all the drool worthy pictures of elaborate meals that was going on in my kitchen. And those of you who visit here often and are generally familiar with what goes on in my life, yes you guessed it correctly, DD was home for the long weekend and hence all the extra cooking and eating. It was a last minute trip and she was happy to be home as we were to have her home. Other than a few small outings, three days went by in a flash and all three of us resembled a sloth after it has eaten a good meal, slower to talk, slower to walk.. you get the picture :-). We are now trying to become active in an attempt to lose part of those abundant calories we hoarded up in a matter of 3 innocent days:-) and hoping that they don't like us too much and make a permanent home in unwanted places.

To that end and also to celebrate our first summer weekend without rains, we hit the trails yesterday and today. It felt wonderful to be back amidst the lush greens, beautiful mountains and scenic lakes. It definitely helped in reducing the guilt feeling of eating all that unnecessarily extra calories last week :-) although it would take many, many honest hikes before it ever begins to even out. Weather is cool and skies are not blue yet, I can only imagine how much more gorgeous this view will be when summer is truly here but I am thankful for the cooler temperatures as I huff and puff up the mountain. This picture doesn't even come close to what it looked like or felt like from atop the ridge but that is the best an electronic gadget can do, enjoy.

So last weekend, one of the pictures I posted was that of the ever popular rice dish from Karnataka - Puliyogare. Also known as puliyodharai, puli sadam, pulihora or tamarind rice in other parts of south india. I made the gojju at home as I sent some of it off with DD so she can mix it any time with rice. The response and request for the home made gojju has been overwhelming ever since I posted the teaser on fb. I had no plans of writing a blog post because I am sure there isn't much in this simple hunise gojju (aka tamarind gojju) as we called it at home. Also, there were no pictures of the 'making of gojju' at all and a blog post is not a blog post without the step-wise pictures, agree? But here I am writing about it a week and half later partly as a way to record it on the blog and partly to help all of you who requested for the recipe. And yes, I did make another batch earlier today so I could take some pictures of the process for visual aid purposes :-).

If you are a South Indian, you will start nodding your head at precisely this point. All of us south Indians (bear in mind that there are exceptions to the rule always, but majority is what I am talking about here :-)) are in love with tamarind rice, no matter what it is called in local dialects. This tangy, sweet, flavorful rice is a staple at home, temples, weddings and all other occasions. It is easy to put together and always has an appeal whether you are making it for lunch box or for a get together. Some of the best tasting puliyogare are available in south Indian temples, not just in south india but here in US. Go visit Pittsburgh temple if you haven't and you will agree with me on this :-). The instant pickle and puliyogare in that temple kitchen have a way luring you to the temple as does the deity.

Temple puliyogare is very saatvik, devoid of too many spices, almost always hot rice mixed with a tamarind+jaggery paste and scantily dressed with a seasoning of peanuts, mustard and some dals. It always tastes divinely delicious. While this is one end of the spectrum, there is the other end with artisan puliyogare where purists scoff at you if you were to add peanuts directly into the rice, they handcraft this coveted rice recipe with roasted, deskinned, and halved peanuts before they are approved to go into the rice :-), and again this tastes delicious too. The one place I stand clear of puliyogare is at Indian restaurant lunch buffets, they just can't get it right. Some versions (especially Andhra Pulihora) have a low/no sesame seeds and adds green chilies to the seasoning, this is more of a 'make it today and eat it now' variety while nammamma's version always had freshly roasted and powdered sesame seeds. Sesame seeds in puliyogare is an association that my neurons have made and without that, puliyogare is not puliyogare for me :-). Puliyogare and mosaranna (curd/yogurt rice) is what you need to have if you are trying to befriend a true blue south indian, there is no going back after eating this made in heaven match.

Growing up, I can't remember a time when this gojju was out of stock in our kitchen. I remember it even from the days when there was no refrigerator and the gojju was packed in a dry box and kept in a cool, dark corner of the kitchen. Instructions were clear not to dip any wet spoons into it so we didn't spoil it. It was a very sought after dish not only to whip up a yummy puliyogare on a whim but also doubled as a side dish for hot chapati/roti or served as a lip smacking side with a bland pongal/huggi. It was omnipresent and omnipotent, we only had to be creative to use it in all the different ways and there was no dearth of creativity where food was concerned :-). Eat it with some cool mosaranna in summer and you will be a life time fan of this delicious combination. Nammamma used it as a quick go to when the vegetable basket was empty or one of us needed a lunch box and she was running late. All she had to do was mix it with some cooked rice and viola.. a delicious  puliyogare would be ready to go.

Now I said earlier  it was a simple hunise gojju right? A little explanation is needed as to why I called it 'simple' while you can make an exotic puliyogare with it. In its bare, bare form hunise gojju is literally that - a gojju (semi solid gravy) made with tamarind, salt and jaggery. Obviously this doesn't make a puliyogare as we all know. So the gojju needs other spices and flavors added to it. Many people I know make and keep just the thread bare gojju as its shelf life is longer but nammamma usually added the spices and flavors into the gojju itself as it would also serve as a side dish. Also the point of making the gojju is to have this instant mix on hand and if you have to spend time on roasting and grinding spices later, it is not much of an instant mix, is it? My quantities are much less than what she made and usually gets over in a few batches of puliyogare, so i am not too worried about the shelf life. I will point out where to stop if you are planning to make just the hunise gojju. You can add the spice powder just when you are mixing it with rice.

Since I made it to send it off with DD for her lunches, I made the full blown version but packed the seasoning separately so the peanuts and dals retain the crunch when mixed with rice. While store bought mixes serve the purpose, home made version always is tastier because of the love that went into preparing it, definitely devoid of preservatives and is more flavorful.

Keep a container of this gojju in the refrigerator and I promise you will reach out for it for uses you wouldn't have thought of. Puliyogare is always a preferred travel food as it not only stays good for a couple of days but gets better as it ages :-). BH's favorite way of eating puliyogare is with a side of tangy yogurt and I put the blame/credit for this way of eating on Bengaluru Kadamba (a restaurant famous among other things for their puliyogare) which he frequented during his early working life. I sometimes like to eat it with some chopped onion or just a bowl of seasoned yogurt rice.

What do you need to make Hunise gojju?
125gms tamarind (I used half of the 250gms package I get from store)
6-7 cups water
1/2-3/4 cup grated jaggery (adjust the amount based on the tang from tamarind and your own liking for sweetness)
3 Tbsp saaru pudi
1 Tbsp Red chili powder
3/4 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
2 Tbsp oil
1/4 Tsp turmeric powder
6-8 curry leaves
Spice mix:
1 Tbsp chana dal
2.5 Tbsp sesame seeds (I prefer to use black sesame just for the enhanced color, you can use polished if this is not available)
1 Tbsp coriander seeds
1/2 Tsp fenugreek seeds
1 Tsp black pepper corn
1/2 Tsp cumin seeds
2 small dry red chilies (optional, ok to skip)
2 Tbsp grated dry coconut (Kobbari)

Seasoning (quantities depend on how much rice you are mixing with gojju):
1 Tbsp oil
chana dal
Urad dal
Peanuts
Curry leaves

Pots & Pans: 
Use a thick pan made from non reactive metal. You do not want to use cast iron or iron pans for making tamarind gojju. Use dry spatula to enhance the shelf life of the product.

How do you make gojju?

• Remove seeds and any thick veins from tamarind and loosen up the block. Tamarind I get here is very hard and made into a block to make exporting easier, so I like to open it up a little before soaking in water. If you get freshly dried tamarind, go ahead and use it as is. 
• Put the cleaned tamarind in a bowl, add about 6 cups of water and let it soak for atleast 6 hours. I always soak it overnight. 
• When it is soaked and soft, using the power of your finger and hands, squeeze the life out of tamarind and collect all the juice. I like to squeeze it over a sieve so the clear juice can be collected. 

• Add another cup of water and make sure you get all the juice possible :-). 
• Discard any remaining pith, seeds etc. 
• In a seasoning pan, add chana dal and start to dry roast it. Give  it a head start and once it starts to turn light pink, add the remaining ingredients except for sesame seeds and dry coconut. 
• Once the dal turns golden and you can smell the aroma of fenugreek & coriander, add sesame seeds and roast. Make sure you are stirring frequently. 

• Once sesame seeds start to pop (takes about a minute or less depending on the heat), switch off, add dry coconut and mix. Let this mixture cool on the side completely before making a powder of it. 

• Now pour the strained tamarind juice into the pan and heat it on medium heat. 

• Let it come to a boil before adding turmeric powder. 
• Let it keep boiling until the liquid reduces by half, thickens and loses the raw tamarind taste. It took me 20mins to get to this stage. 
• If you want to stop with a simple hunise gojju - version 1, add salt here, switch off and let it cool before storing. If you are following along to make spicy puliyogare gojju, read on.
• Add saaru pudi, salt and jaggery at this stage and let it cook for a few minutes. 

• You have reached hunise gojju - version 2 here, you can switch off, let cool and store. This version is great with chapati/roti etc as well. 
• If you are continuing as I did, add the powdered spice mix and mix it in. 
• As the mixture would have thickened, this is the stage where bubbles pop in and out of the pan, be careful around them and reduce heat. 
• Once the mixture reaches a dropping consistency, add oil, mix it in well and let it cook for 1-2mins before switching off. 

• Gojju usually thickens as it cools. Cool completely, store in a dry, airtight glass or porcelain container. If refrigerated, it lengthens the shelf life and also retains the flavor. 

How do you make Puliyogare?
Below instructions are for 1 cup cooked rice:

• Cook rice with a couple drops of oil so the grains are separate. 
• Spread cooked rice in a wide plate so it cools down. 
• Add 1 Tbsp gojju (adjust the quantity based on taste, it depends on the quality of saaru pudi and other spices you have used). I like to add gojju on the hot rice so the flavors release into the rice. But do not mix at this stage. 

• Add seasoning on top of the gojju, and let rice cool down completely.  

• Mix everything together with gentle fingers. Let it sit for an hour atleast before eating. 

• You may need to adjust/add salt as you add rice. Taste test and decide. 
• Puliyogare tastes best the next day. 

Notes: 

• Quantity of tamarind above makes enough gojju to serve puliyogare for 18-20 people or 3 people 5-6 times.
• I used my home made saaru pudi (linked above), you can use a store bought one or your favorite. Fresher the powder better the taste. 
• I added Kashmiri red chili powder which has a vibrant color but not very spicy. Adjust the amount of this or skip it altogether if you wish. 
• Jaggery is entirely your taste, we like our puliyogare to be sweet, sour and flavorful all at the same. Puliyogare is never spicy hot. 
• Don't worry too much over the consistency of the gojju, key is to make sure there is no raw tamarind smell and to make sure it doesn't burn at any stage. 
• If it gets slightly over cooked or gojju turns hard, nuke it in the microwave for 20-30secs before adding to the rice.
• I like to add a couple spoons of grated dry coconut while mixing the rice. This is optional and can be skipped.  
• I always make seasoning on very low heat so that dals retain their crunchiness for longer time after mixing in with rice. 
• Long storing can impact the flavor of puliyogare, if you feel your gojju is slightly lackluster, bring it to life by adding freshly ground sesame seeds. Dry roast a tbsp of sesame seeds, powder it and add it while mixing puliyogare. 

Halbai or Halubayi - Mother's day, parenting and more

A very happy Mother's day to all you lovely mammas and motherly ladies out there, hope you all had a wonderful day in the company of your loved ones and enjoyed your special day!! 

My wishes are probably reaching most of you after the mother's day. I was debating whether or not to publish a post this time for Mother's day at all. I waited till the day was almost over writing, erasing, rewriting the post as I tried to make it acceptable to myself, hopefully I am able to make it not all personal. The silver line definitely is the wonderful recipe today, do try it sometime. I sincerely wish you all had a wonderful day and hope you were lucky enough to have had a chance to wish your own moms and mom-equivalents in person, over phone, via email etc. For many years now, ever since I realized there was a special day for mothers, I have wished my mom atleast by phone if I wasn't physically with her either in India or here. The first mother's day without my mom, without even a chance of being able to call her up and talk to her has been tough to say the least. A day of celebration that brings a lot of pride and happiness as a mom is also a day where the heart aches for the one special person I can never again celebrate this day with. As some of you may have noticed, I break my 'no personal pics on the blog' policy only for the mother's day posts, here is an old pic of my mom with me in her arms, needless to say one of my favorites :-)

I miss her asking me if I had lunch/dinner no matter what time of the day I called, I miss her asking how I was doing first before asking how BH and DD were doing making me feel just a tiny bit more special, I miss our conversations mostly about the grand child, less about me and the SIL, I miss the tenderness in her voice if I ever complained of a minor head ache during our calls, I miss the uncanny 'mom instinct' that caught any hint of cold/cough/uneasiness without me ever opening my mouth, I miss her contagious laugh as it trickled through the wire of the wireless communication across the continents, I miss her nostalgic memories of days past, I miss her dreams of the future for her children and grand children. Most of all I miss the love that laced every spoken and unspoken syllable in those conversations. It is especially hard as with her exit I lose the comfort of parents, the go-to source for all of life's bruises - minor and major alike. On the bright side, I recognize the legacy she has left behind with countless people - cousins, relatives, friends and others fondly remembering her and sending a kind word, showing a kind gesture which has made the last 9 months easier than it would have been otherwise.

My child didn't come with a manual, neither did my mom's. Infact the 5 children she raised are all such different individuals that they would have had to come with custom manuals every time they popped out if she had relied on written words, with no possibility of cross reference. Instead she drew her wisdom from elsewhere, while guiding and shaping us constantly but also knew well to let us be ourselves, fall and get up on our own. Considering the limited resources they had, I continue to be amazed at the wonderful job my parents did with all of us especially at how we all turned out (for most part and for most of the time atleast :-)). I got literally chewed up by some of my college classmates the other day on a related topic of letting kids be kids and not try to fill every moment of every waking day with an activity in preparation of the the unknown evil/extremely competitive world :-). It is almost like you want to hold the pencil in your child's hands every time they do the homework so you can turn the pencil the right way and not have them stumble. I know parenting is a very 'individualistic' approach and what works for me and my kid may not even be suitable in your situation, so I let it go without making the argument unnecessarily longer. But I am secretly glad my parents didn't have access to such articles or highly opinionated peer parents so they could use 'benign neglect' as they parented us :-). For that and everything else, all I can say is an honest, "I Love you" to both of them.

I keep going back to my mom's condition and how severely and quickly she deteriorated since the official diagnosis 3 years ago. In my own totally non medical way, I have read/watched every material (fiction, non-fiction, scientific, unscientific, personal and non personal) about Alzheimer and dementia ever since it hit so close home in an attempt to make sense of what I was experiencing with my mom. While I am still no smarter on what she would have thought/remembered in her most lucid moments, something that cast a line of hope was this gem by Lisa Genova, neuroscientist and author of 'Still Alice". She concludes one of her TED talks on how to prevent Alzheimer with, "You don't lose emotions, you only lose memories with Alzheimer and you are more than your memories". Knowing that my mom was in touch with her emotions even as dementia stripped her bare of her memories and other senses makes it a teeny bit easier. We all have our ways of dealing with life, and this is mine. I didn't mean to make this post blue and gray with personal grief, I hope this helps someone in a similar situation.

Here is my mother's day recipe for today, it couldn't have been anything outside nammamma's kitchen, right? This is a special dish she had totally mastered and dished out just perfect every single time she made it. Once while washing clothes in the backyard in Mysore, she fell down on the slippery floor and fractured her right arm. Her primary concern was whether she would ever be able to make halbayi and mysore pak again (as they need constant stirring), talk about priorities :-). I like to think that this is a Kannadiga dish because I haven't seen anything similar in other cuisines. I had posted a quick (cheat) version of it a while ago here but nothing beats the real deal as you can imagine. Let me know if any of you are familiar with a similar dessert, I would love to learn the details.

Halubayi or halbai (as it is called in colloquial Kannada) is a coveted sweet dish made with humble ingredients. It is a labor of love as there is no way you can hurry it up but have to just let it take its natural course and end up on that deliciousness. For the minimalistic ingredients used, there is just one cardinal rule while making this recipe, do not use dessicated coconut, if you don't have access to fresh or atleast frozen coconut, please put off making this recipe until you can get some :-). There is really not much to the actual process except to let the liquid content evaporate and get to that non sticky mass consistency. I give the details of the consistency in the steps below as well as in the cheat version, this is soft, malleable and unlike the more solidified, harder fudgy burfis from India and that is the specialty of this dish too. We called it 'emme naalige (~translated as buffalo's tongue)' but I have no idea why since I have never touched a buffalo's tongue to see how it feels, it must have been one of those childhood idiosyncrasies is all I can say :-)

I made this twice in the last month, once when a cousin visited home and the second time when we went to visit DD. I can confidently say that the recipe works perfectly and whether you have previously been a Halbai fan or not, it will satisfy your sweet tooth and give you that very homely feeling. I have a feeling my mom would have approved this one herself.

Go ahead and try this recipe and let me know how it turned out. Love to hear from you all as always.

What do you need for making Halbai? 
1/4 cup rice (I use sona masoori)
1 tightly packed cup grated coconut (fresh is best, if using frozen thaw it before using)
1 loosely filled cup grated jaggery (See notes below)
3-4 green cardamoms
6 cups water
1 Tsp ghee (clarified butter)

Utensils:
Thick bottom wide pan
a sturdy flat mouthed spoon for stirring
A fine mesh/sieve for straining melted jaggery
A steel plate or a baking sheet to spread halbai

How do you make Halbai? 

• Wash rice twice and soak it in 1/2 cup of water for 6 hours (soak it overnight if you have time)
• Take soaked rice along with coconut and cardamoms (I put whole cardamoms as they get ground fine) into a blender jar and grind into a very fine paste. 
• Add water from the 6cup reserve as needed for grinding.
• The paste should feel smooth when you run it between fingers with no trace of rice, cardamom pods or the coconut gratings. 
• Mix all the reserved water to the ground paste and keep it ready.

• Optional:  
• Take grated jaggery into the pan, add 1/4 cup water and let it melt. 

• Switch off the stove, sieve the melted jaggery through a fine mesh and discard any dirt that is found in some store bought jaggery. 
• Smear the plate/sheet with a little bit ghee all over the surface including the side edges if any. 
• Clean the pan and return it to the stove. 
• Add the ground mixture, cleaned jaggery into the pan and bring it to boil on medium high flame taking care to stir frequently. 

• Once it starts to bubble gently, reduce the flame to low and keep stirring the mixture until it thickens. 
• It took me 70mins to get the thick mass in the pan with the quantity I started. 

• When you see a glob in the pan, add ghee to it and continue stirring until it stops the bubbles completely (an indication that all the water content is gone) and gets a nice shiny top coating.
• Wet your fingers and hold a small amount of the mixture between them, if it is not sticking to the fingers, you are ready to pour it in the plate. 
• At this stage, transfer the contents to the prepared plate/sheet and immediately flatten it to the desired thickness. 

• Take a butter knife and draw marking lines to your desired shape/size and let it cool. 

• Cut the pieces with a knife and enjoy. 

Notes: 

• Do not hurry this dish, it needs to be done with patience
• I use Indian jaggery and have not made it with brown sugar, so cannot vouch for its replacement confidence.
• Adjust jaggery to required sweetness by tasting the mixture after adding the ground paste together. 
• Soft, light colored jaggery is best but any good quality jaggery works too.
• Color and quality of the jaggery determines the ultimate color of the finished halbai, it is generally between light golden and dark golden. 

Kuttida avalakki - a home made mix to make a delicious gojjavalakki in minutes

Long, long ago, there were two friends. As kids they grew up together, went to school together. One was called Sudhama and the other was named Krishna. They stayed in a boarding school (Gurukula) with their teacher and his family along with other students. The two of them bonded very well over the course 7 years of schooling. They were inseparable and could be spotted together in all activities in the school. Years pass, schooling comes to an end, they graduate and are both very excited to go out in to the world and start their adult lives. As it happens at every graduation, both Krishna & Sudhama are sad to be going separate ways, hug each other and promise that they will keep in touch always. And as it happens in most cases, they both become busy in their lives and the friendship, staying in touch takes a backseat.

Krishna goes back home and becomes very successful at what he does while Sudhama faces hard times and struggles to even feed his large family. Krishna's fame extends all over the kingdom and one day reaches Sudhama's little town on the other side. Sudhama's wife is worldly wise, a mother bent on making ends meet and taking care of her family. She talks to her husband and asks him if he would visit his rich friend and get something to help them get over their difficulties in life. Sudhama who is very proud tells her that he would never go begging from his friend. The wife doesn't give up easily and keeps telling the husband about how things could change if only he would do as she said and finally Sudhama relents and sets out on his journey to meet Krishna.

It is a long journey, Sudhama's wife comes up with a couple of handfuls of humble avalakki (poha) so the husband doesn't starve on his long journey. She puts it into an old cloth piece, ties up a knot and gives it to her husband. With no mode of transport to carry him quickly to his destination, Sudhama walks all the way, for many days and finally reaches Krishna's home town. It is a much bigger city, one he has never been to and is dazzlingly beautiful. Krishna being who he is, everyone knows exactly where he lives, so after finding out the address, Sudhama makes his way hesitantly towards the palace. The guard stops this dirty looking, travel weary person at the door and questions his intention. Not believing his story of knowing Krishna from childhood, the guard is suspicious though he goes in to report a visitor.

Krishna is relaxing in the afternoon sun with his wife Rukmini after a heavy lunch and orders the guard to bring the stranger in. Sudhama by this time is already scared and is thinking of the shame that awaits him as the guard pushes him into the inner chambers where Krishna is sitting. As soon as Sudhama enters, Krishna jumps out of his seat, runs towards him and embraces him in a bear hug. At that moment, there is no line between the poor & rich, successful and not-so-successful, they are both two good friends who had shared many, many memories together.

Krishna playing the host, washes the feet of his guest, makes him comfortable, gives him food to eat and when they sit down after food to catch up where they had left off years ago, Krishna asks Sudhama what he had brought for his friend as he was visiting him after many years. Sudhama is very ashamed and tries to avoid the question as he has nothing to offer. Krishna is insistent and playful and says that even if Sudhama had forgotten his friend, his wife would never send him empty handed and snatches the old thaili (cloth bag) that Sudhama is carrying. Inside it, he finds another small cloth tied into a knot. Krishna eagerly opens it up and squeals with joy when he sees the remaining couple of morsels of dried up avalakki (which was Sudhama's journey food) and greedily pops some into the mouth. His eyes close contentedly as he remarks, "Well dear friend, are you so selfish that you wanted to hide this delicious avalakki from me and eat it all by yourself"?. As he puts his hand for another morsel, Rukmini gently tells him, "hasn't there been enough already, my Lord?". Krishna, smiles and puts the thaili away and goes back to chatting with his old friend.

Sudhama has a great time with Krishna, as if they had never been away, enjoys the hospitality but never feels up to asking Krishna for help. After a couple days of stay, he bids farewell and heads back home. His heart is full having seen his old friend and he doesn't remember the poverty back home or the reason for his visit. As he approaches his home, he is shocked to see a palatial home in the place where his shack stood and even more surprised when his wife and children run towards him, well dressed and looking well fed and happy. He realizes Krishna's magic and is thankful for the friendship.

I don't know how many times I have listened to this story from nammamma and anna growing up. It was a story that had all the emotions in right proportions, there was friendship, there was surprise, there was happiness and joy. The charm never fades away and depending on your age and stage in life, you can interpret it at different levels. I am sure many of you would recognize this very popular story from the great epic. I have listened in rapture to these stories when little, read many versions of them myself as I grew up, questioned a number of times, and have gone back to re-tell them to my daughter when she was a kid. It is an endearing story of two friends and how nothing can come between a true friendship. For me, it also is a story that establishes the power of humble avalakki, eating a handful of which made Krishna shower all the riches on his poor friend. Ok, I am a little totally biased here :-).

Avalakki (also called poha or beaten rice or flattened rice) is such a versatile ingredient and makes many delicious dishes. It is also considered as something that can be consumed while you are fasting unlike regular rice. Avalakki also happens to be one of the most preferred travel companion in many south indian homes, as it stays good and is non messy to carry while on the road. One of my doddamma (mom's elder sister) always had this mix in her bag when she traveled as she had many self imposed restrictions on what she would/could eat and always fell back on her trusted avalakki mixture. I loved it so much even in its dry mix state that I would beg her to give me a couple spoons. Once the spicy, tangy, sweetish mix popped into the mouth, I would be the happiest girl in town :-).

Last week I was traveling on work and was away from home for the entire week. While I have become good at spotting vegetarian choices during lunches & dinners and have learnt to successfully stay cheerful on an overload of salads, bread and potatoes, I love to start my day off with something that reminds me of home as the delicious taste, the familiar smell helps me live off of it for the rest of the day. Today's recipe is something we as a family always carry while travelling on longer trips.


As usual, I made the mixture last weekend before heading out, packed a small ziplock bag and left some at home for BH. While I was perfectly fine eating the bf at the hotel for the first 2 days, I was craving for something other than cereals and fruits by day#3 :-). I mixed a few spoons of the avalakki mixture in a cup in the room when I got up and by the time I got ready 30mins or so later, fluffy, aromatic avalakki was ready for me to dig into. Just for fun, I took a picture of my bf on a whim and posted it on my personal fb the other day. I was thrilled to see so many friends writing in to say how this is their travel companion too. And there were many recipe requests that made me make another batch today and post it on the blog. We are not traveling this week but the mix will be eaten up more than happily for bf in the coming days :-), I have a big fan following for this recipe at home.

So what is special about this recipe? It is a dry mix that can be carried easily and made into a yummy treat just by soaking it in water for a short while. Kuttavalakki or kuttida avalakki refers to the process of pounding the avalakki and the rest of the ingredients together to make the mix. I don't use the old world gadgets anymore and nor do I hand pound the mix, rather it goes into my blender. So may be I should rename this as 'mixavalakki' or 'blendavalakki', what do you think :-)?. Whatever the name maybe, this is one delicious dish for sure, so go ahead and give it a try and take it with you on the go. Instead of soaked oats, you can enjoy soaked avalakki for a change. I list curry leaves below but I didn't have them today so you will not see them in my pictures.

What do you need to make kuttavalakki? 
Makes about 5 cups of mix
3 cups medium thick avalakki/poha/beaten rice
3/4 cup lightly packed grated dry coconut/kobbari (can be replaced with desiccated unsweetened coconut)
2 Tbsp crushed jaggery (can be replaced with brown sugar)
1 Tbsp salt (adjust to taste)
1/8 Tsp asafoetida/hing

To roast: 
2.5 Tbsp chana dal/kadle bele/split bengal gram
2 Tbsp sesame seeds (use either polished or unpolished white sesame and not black)
1 Tbsp urad dal/uddina bele/split black lentils
1 Tbsp coriander seeds
1/2 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tsp cumin
1/2 Tsp fenugreek seeds
1.5 Tbsp (or a key lime size) tamarind
3-4 dry red chilies (I use a mix of mild Byadagi and spicy guntur varieties for a balance of color and heat)

Seasoning: 
1/4 cup oil
1 Tsp mustard
1 Tbsp chana dal
1 Tbsp urad dal
2 Tbsp peanuts (more or less as you like)
1/4 Tsp turmeric powder
1-2 dry red chilies (optional and can be omitted)
8-10 curry leaves chopped small

How do you make kuttavalakki? 

• Pick avalakki for any dirt and keep aside
• Pick seeds, pith and strings from tamarind and make small flat pieces. 
• Heat a heavy bottom pan and add chana dal from the 'To roast' list. Give it a minute head start on medium-low heat and add urad dal. 
• Roast the dals, stirring frequently until they turn light golden in color. 
• Add all the remaining ingredients listed under 'to roast' and stirring frequently roast them until you get a nice fragrance of the spices. Take care not to burn any of them. 
• Add hing and grated coconut (reserve a Tsp for later) into the pan, stir it once and switch off. 

• Let the roasted ingredients cool completely. 
• In a mixer jar, take all the roasted ingredients and grind into a fine powder. 
• Add salt, grated jaggery and give it another run of the blender. 
• Take this into a wide mixing bowl or plate. 

• Add avalakki/poha to the blender (in batches if you need to) and make a coarse powder. 
• Add this to the same mixing bowl/plate. 

• Heat oil in a seasoning pan, add all the ingredients listed under 'seasoning' and roast on low heat (lower the heat and longer the the roasting time, the dals and peanuts retain their crunch better) until mustard starts to pop and the dals turn golden pink. Add reserved coconut gratings. 
• Switch off and pour it over the ground mixture. 

• Let it all cool completely before mixing in (use your fingers and hand) to make a homogeneous mixture. 
• Once cool, you can either make it into gojjavalakki (see below) or store it for later use in a dry ziplock bag or container. 

How do you turn the mix into gojjavalakki?

• Take 2-3 Tbsp of the dry mixture into a bowl (or a cup or glass depending on where you are). 
• Add quarter cup of water, thumb rule is to add enough water to form a thin layer on the top surface of the mix and every grain of the mix is soaked. 

• Do not mix and touch it for about 15mins (thicker the avalakki variety, takes longer to soak but no longer than 30mins). 
• After the soak time, using a fork, fluff it up all around and enjoy. 
• If you have access to some home made yogurt, add a dollop on the side or mix it up right in and enjoy. 

Notes: 

• Tamarind I get here is usually very dehydrated and does not contain moisture, warming it up in the hot pan makes it softer and easier to grind. If you have wet tamarind, ensure you spread it out to make it a little dry. 
• While grinding the spice mix, take care to not run the blender for long, pulse it if you need to and get a dry powder. Running the blender continuously makes sesame seeds give out their oil and turns the mixture wet. 
• Amount of jaggery, salt, and tamarind is mainly to taste here. Experiment and find your balance. Remember that the dry mixture taste gets diluted once you add water, so accommodate your quantities for that. 
• Color of your gojjavalakki depends on the chilies and turmeric used, you can see the difference in colors between my two batches in the pics above. Not a big deal unless you are very particular about the aesthetics :-)
• The dry mixture stays well for a couple of weeks and longer if you refrigerate it. 
• Make sure the mixer/blender jar is dry and devoid of any moisture before you make the powders. 
• Do not use the thin variety of avalakki for this recipe, it just makes it all lumpy and mushy. 
• Nammamma used to spread avalakki in the sun to freshen it up but since I don't make her 'huge' quantities, I use it directly from the packet.
• I am very liberal with dry coconut as it enhances the taste :-), reduce the quantity if you wish to.

Kuttavalakki wisdom: 

• Thicker variety of avalakki absorbs more water and takes a few minutes longer to fluff up.
• If you make a very fine powder of poha, the final product turns soft and mushy instead of fluffy.
• After the soak time is up, make sure you fluff it up with a fork completely (from the bottom up) so it is homogeneous. 

Phodi - A desi version of Italian eggplant parmesan (no parmesan though) :-)

It has been a long time since I shared the books on my night stand and the movies I watched, I thought of doing this as part of today's post especially because I am back to reading this new year and also have been watching movies fairly regularly. And timing can't be better with Oscars 2017 just a few hours away, right?. Well, I was writing the draft of the post (as you can imagine) earlier this afternoon and got to posting the final version only now (after watching the Oscars) :-). Did you watch it? Any favorites? I have only seen 'Arrival' so far this year, the others 'Hidden Figures', 'Moonlight', 'La La Land' and ofcourse 'Fences' are on the list, will get to them slowly, may be on the tube if not in theaters. But I am glad to be back to reading books at my old pace. Two of the things that make me really happy in this life - a pile of good books and a pantry full of raw materials. Books to help me in and out of any situation and pantry grounds me to the current moment, focus on the basics. I currently have a bagful of books on my nightstand and two of them are by the same author recommended by a friend. I also recently watched a wonderful movie on the recommendation of another friend. Both suggestions were spot on and I loved both the books and the movie :-).

A dear friend who is also a published author recommended William Trevor to me recently. I am always partial to short stories, I feel like a well written short story has the potential to make a greater impression in a few short pages than a long, elaborate novel. While novels provide a wide space and a broad brush to slowly and deliberately introduce characters, build the story line and express emotions, short stories do not offer any of this luxury but infact demand that the writer be totally convinced about what (s)he is trying to convey in the tight space. Only a very able writer can do justice to paint a lingering image within a span of a few pages of his/her writing. A well written short story can be very powerful while a badly written one can fall flat on its face. William Trevor makes reading short stories a pleasure and I am hooked into his style of writing and the characters he brings to life with his narration. Having finished both 'A bit on the side' and 'Cheating at Canasta', I am on a waiting list for his 'Collected Short stories' next :-). Thanks J for the recommendation, not sure how I never got to his books earlier.

Another friend S mentioned Helen Mirren's "Woman in Gold" on Netflix to me. With HM in the lead I didn't need additional push in the direction and watched it last weekend when I was home alone while BH was busy at some conference. Based on a true story, the movie deals with the recovery of a piece of art with a very intimate personal connection. As any work with the Nazi Germany, this movie has the power to put a knot in your stomach but I enjoyed watching the movie. It is still on Netflix and definitely a watch worth its time. Again, thank you S for the lovely chat and the movie reco :-)

Do you have books or movie recommendations? Something that you enjoyed spending time with? Share them in the comments.

Moving on to the recipe today, here is a deceptively simple and delicious snack, appetizer, side dish made with eggplants. Depending on your mood, you can serve this as a starter or main course. I first tasted this a decade+ back at one of BH's colleague's home when we went there for dinner. His parents were visiting and as R & wife had two young kids that demanded the parents's time and attention, aunty had taken charge of the kitchen. They are originally from Gokarna, the beautiful northern karnataka temple town and aunty's food was everything I had read and imagined from that region. The ease and skill with which she rolled out soft akki rottis and served them hot off the griddle for the ten of us while making it all look so effortless is something I can never forget. I most definitely remember calling nammamma that night and telling her all about aunty's cooking :-). After all these years, I don't exactly remember the entire spread (it certainly was a spread) but one dish that became an instant hit with us was this 'phodi'. She had made them with eggplants and potatoes and kept them ready even before we reached their home and served it along side the akki rottis for dinner. Yumm!!

Eggplants and I have a long history, it started with me completely hating the vegetable and staying miles away from it to decidedly ignoring it when it made its way to my plate to falling in love with nammamma's vangibhaath to enjoying the delicious gojju to totally changing sides with amma's stuffed vankaya. I am sure many of you can relate with this, it is not a vegetable that has universal appeal of the spuds but everyone in my family with the exception of DD loves this simple, nutritious and healthy vegetable. The only way DD eats this vegetable currently is in the form of this phodi and sometimes the stuffed version. I exploit that shamelessly and make this often so she gets to eat the vegetable and hope that someday she will be a convert just like her own mom :-). BH on the other hand can eat this phodi all by itself and call it a meal, such is his love for the humble eggplant.

Being an ardent Olive garden fan, DD called this Indian eggplant parmesan since it resembles the Italian dish in looks :-) but the name is misleading as the ingredients and taste is very different as is the cooking method. If you love eggplants and like the texture of tenderized/shrivelled eggplants and are trying to skip cheese and Italian seasoning, this is a perfect dish. Go ahead and give it a try.

What do you need for Phodi? 
1 medium sized eggplant
3 Tbsp oil
Spice mix: 
3/4 cup upma rava/sooji
1 Tsp red chili powder
1 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp coarse crushed black pepper
1/4 Tsp asafoetida
1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder

How do you make Phodi? 

• Wash and pat dry the eggplant, cut both the stem end and the opposite end.
• Cut the eggplant in discs of about 1/4 inch thickness and keep them immersed in a bowl of water to avoid discoloration.

• Heat a heavy (preferably cast iron) griddle on medium heat and let it heat up (a sprinkle of water should immediately sizzle)
• Take a wide plate, add all the ingredients listed under spice mix and mix them uniformly. 
• Taste test a pinch and adjust salt, chili powder or black pepper to suit your taste.

• Make sure the pan is hot, drizzle a couple of drops of oil and smear it all around the pan and reduce heat to low. 
• Take an eggplant disc from water, shake away all the water and dredge it in the dry spice mixture to form a thick & even coating on both sides. 

• Lay the eggplant disc on the hot griddle and repeat for as many pieces as your griddle can hold. 
• Drizzle drops of oil on and around the eggplant discs, cover and cook for 2mins. 

• I use a glass lid for this so I can see the progress of cooking from outside without having to lift it multiple times :-)
• Once the top layer is moist and the disc looks a little shrivelled, gently lift each one and turn it over. 

• Let it cook for another minute and half, add a drizzle of oil on top. Do not cover while cooking the second side. 
• Take the discs off the griddle when both surfaces have reached your desired color and crispiness. 
• These taste delicious hot off the griddle and equally yummy when they cool down making it an easy lunch box item or a make ahead item for a party. Just warm it up before serving. 

Notes: 

• Eggplant tip: Select one that feels heavy for its size. Also look for seedless varieties of eggplants. Get one that is dark purple in color and is not squishy.  
• You can use potato slices, sweet potatoes instead of eggplant
• Cooking time varies with the heat and the thickness of the discs
• Always cook this dish on low heat allowing the vegetable to cook thoroughly and not burn the outer surface. 
• Covering while cooking ensures moisture is captured and the vegetable cooks in its own juices. 
• It is important to keep the spice mix as dry as possible until you are done. Avoid water drops falling into it too much, if you are making a large batch, I suggest you take out handfuls of the mixture into a separate plate and replesnish as you need.  A wet mixture doesn't stick well on the vegetable. 
• Do not skip asafoetida or turmeric as it brings a distinct flavor to the dish.