Puri Unde - Nammamma's signature dish, handcrafted with love

My last post was sometime in August and here we are in October. A season changed on us, trees are now ablaze in the Autumn colors and it looks pretty all over. I am an 'Autumn' lover as I have said so many times in the past but somehow it hasn't been easy to enjoy the colors and the beauty this time as much as I have in the past. Someone said, "Autumn teaches you how beautiful it is to let go", and the same autumn is making it harder for me to let go..This blog, the readers, friends that have become and visitors are all very close to me and I want to share that I lost my mother a month back. Nothing in the world prepares you for a loss like this, it just comes and hits you smack in the face. With her gone, it feels like the roots of life are gone and a scary realization that it is me and my generation that are the roots for the younger ones.

I have heard every reaction from, "How old was your mom?" to "were you close to your mom?" to "Sorry about your loss" from friends, acquaintances and family in the last 30+days. Does it matter how old she was? Does it matter where I am in my life? Hard truth is, amma is irreplaceable, period. Was I close to her? yes, I was, she was all we had after my father passed on 15 years back and we hung on to her for double duty. She delivered both roles with much love, grace and aplomb until her last breath with no demands of hers ever slowing down our busy lives. Now that she is gone, it feels like my 'room to grow up' has vanished suddenly, definitively and completely.

What I saw and realized in the last month is that I am surrounded by generous people - family, friends, colleagues, strangers that have put a shield of love and care that is beyond I could have ever imagined, one I could have only hoped for. In addition to people that know us, people who hardly knew nammamma and people who hardly know me have both come forward to say a kind word, a prayer, a blessing that has made the pain bearable. For that, I am most grateful. Hope I will have the kindness, love and generosity to pass this on and share with others.

She left on a Monday of the week and the following Wednesday (Sep 21) was the official world Alzheimer's day. I sat there stupified looking at all the information coming to me on the topic that entire week and not even able to appreciate the irony of it all. Here was the world trying to raise awareness on Alzheimers and Dementia and we as a family were mourning the loss of a mother who suffered through that same diagnosis for close to 3 years. It stripped her off of her impeccable 'memory' (nammamma never forgot a person, a name, a picture or a place that she had seen and could recite pages of poems and stories that she had read in her childhood without any help) and reduced the strong person that we knew to someone helpless and lost at times in the last 3 years. The single most painful thought for me since her diagnosis has been about how many lucid moments would she have and how much will she remember about herself and the rich life she had led until that point? I don't know the answer to that question and I always hoped with all my might that she was granted the loveliest of her memories in those moments.

She remained courageous and a fighter until her last and taught us that no matter what life dishes out, we can still handle it with dignity if we made up our minds. Love you amma.

I hid behind work (there was plenty to do) for the last month and didn't give myself time to sit or think. But I realize that kind of escapism is not going to do any good and have decided to instead remember her with my actions, routines as part of celebrating the dear soul. I do want to get back to what makes me happy and this blog is one of them. Nammamma was very proud when I started this, she didn't understand what a blog was at that time and was not a tech savvy person to explore it on her own, she would love to have me read different posts and the stories behind the recipes when we were together. She would also tell me additional nostalgia moments that I had missed or omitted from putting up publicly on the blog and we would laugh at those memories together. She had a long and rich life with many moments of pure joy, raw pain and everything in-between. She loved to read and instilled that love in all of us from a young age. She appreciated good music and always encouraged all of us to explore our own interests with the arts. She was not someone that enjoyed cooking like I do, but her food never even gave a hint of that. She cooked with her heart and made dishes that are beyond comparison for me. She loved to feed people, one striking memory I have of her is sitting down in our big kitchen back in Mysuru and cooking, she would have no qualms about making tens of akki rottis or huge vessels of uppittu or grind number of coconuts for the obbattu as long as there were people to eat and enjoy. I always wondered if she cooked because she enjoyed feeding people rather than the act of cooking itself.

I do not want this to be all about loss, pain or hurt, I like to think she is in a happier place with all her memory intact and keeps on looking over us. I would rather it is around celebrating her memories, the ones that we built together. I am going to present some of her signature dishes for a week from today (from mundane to exotic, plain comfort food that makes you think of home, from sweet to spicy) that I loved every time she made it. This is my small effort at showing gratitude to a lovely human being I had the good fortune to call 'amma'.

I am going to start with Puri Unde (Balls made with puffed poha and jaggery). I am not sure how many house holds still make this at home, it is one of those old world delicacies that is getting lost with that generation. This used to be a frequent summer snack of childhood and also made during Navaratri as part of the gombe arati. Nammamma would make a hundred or so (yep, we were hungry kids :-)) as it stays well for a couple of weeks and used to get shared generously with all the monkeys (aka the elementary school kids) that would spend long summer afternoons in our big yard. My little brother would stuff his pants pockets with a few undes before he dashed out of the front door always.

This was also one of the dishes that nammamma recruited us kids as part of the task force. And we were glad to be called into the kitchen and be part of the process from start to finish. Who wouldn't want to start eating the crisp, bland puri with pieces of coconut and graduate to dipping fingers into the warm, sweet jaggery syrup as it was poured on the mixture, and get blissful eating handfuls of sweet mixture even before the unde could be constructed? The gas stove would come down from the platform and we would all sit around with a small plate of rice flour and a tiny bowl of water each.

The process is not tedious but one needs to be very attentive. Split seconds matter for the puri unde to turn out just perfect or become a tasty but shapeless mixture :-). It is all in the paaka (or the jaggery syrup) consistency you see!!. So nammamma would have already chopped tiny pieces of the dry coconut (kobbari), dry roasted, skinned and halved the peanuts, picked any dirt from the roasted chana, grated the jaggery and keep it ready for the syrup and warmed up the puri itself in the hot sun to make it crispy. We thought nothing of all this time consuming prep work on such a large scale because she made it look all effortless. We went into the kitchen when the real action was about to start and had eyes on how much we could gobble up while sitting there :-).

Nammamma would start the syrup, jaggery invariably contains dirt and sandy particles that need to be removed. So the first step is to boil the jaggery, let it melt and strain it with a fine cloth or a sieve to get a clear liquid. She would do this for the multiple Kgs of jaggery and keep that clear liquid ready. Then she would mix all the dry ingredients in a big vessel. Due to the peanut, kobbari being heavier, they tend to get to the bottom of the vessel and settle there, if you are not alert and keep them mixed evenly, when you make the unde there will not be any homegeneous spread, some unde will have only puri while some may have a lot of kobbari or peanuts, and that is a no-no. So we did have a responsibility to make sure the mixture stayed well mixed always and ready for the the syrup. This was the opportunity to put handfuls of mixture into the mouth even before the syrup was poured in.


The syrup making takes some time, a long time infact when you do it in large scales that nammamma did. She would keep checking for the consistency and as it got closer, she would say, "Ok, innenu aaytu (almost done)" as a note to be alert and ready. And when she was ready to pour the syrup, she would say, "kai tegeeri, (take out your hands)" so we could stop eating the mixture for a while and save our tiny hands from the hot syrup. She would hold the hot vessel and deftly pour the syrup on top of the mixture before returning the syrup vessel back to the stove for next batch. We were still not supposed to touch the mixture and here is where family comes together. Anna would hold a spoon and mix the syrup evenly, take a small orange sized mixture and make the first round form. He wouldn't press but would just give it a shape to hold. We would dip the tiny hands in the rice flour and hold them expectantly to anna, he would drop the loose ball in it and it was upto the tiny hands to work and make a firm, round ball from that mixture before placing it unwillingly into the big plate holding all the puri unde. The process repeated until all the mixture soaked in the syrup was made into balls but it lasted only a few minutes. If the mixture cools down completely, you wont be able to make the balls so everyone had to move with speed and accuracy. Before the next batch started, anna would scrape down the big paraata (a steel vessel with deep edges) with a steel spoon and give us all the sweet, crumbly mixture to eat :-) which was the primary reason we went in there as helpful elves.

I remember doing this year after year for many years. As you got older, you would be graduated to handle the mixing of hot syrup as well. When I make it, it is not even a fraction of the quantity nammamma made but the process is same and the excitement similar. For me, it is as if a piece of Mysuru kitchen has traveled with me.

What do you need for making puri unde?
Makes about 12 small orange sized puri unde
3 cups of avalakki puri (this is not the same puffed rice used for churmuri, see notes below for details)
2 packed cups of grated jaggery
1/4 cup small pieces of dry coconut
1/4 cup roasted chana/kadle
1/4 cup roasted, shelled peanuts
1/2 cup water
1/8 Tsp cardamom powder (optional)
1 Tbsp rice flour (to dip your hands while making unde)

How do you make puri unde?
Prep steps (all of this can be done previous day if you want not do a marathon and gain some time):

• Roast peanuts on a low heat without any oil until the nuts get a brown spots on the skin and start to splutter
• Remove them from the stove, let cool and remove the outer skin (see notes for tips to remove skin)

• Check roasted chana for any dirt and pick them out. 
• Slice dry coconut into thin strips and chop them into small pieces. 

• Grate or pound jaggery in a mortar and pestle, keep the powder ready. 

• In a dry skillet, on a very low heat, warm the puri for 2-4 minutes or until they turn crisp. Stir continuously to avoid burning. 
• Take a wide plate (with edges), add all the dry ingredients and mix them uniformly. 

Making of puri unde: 

• Add 1/2 cup of water to a thick bottom pan, add powdered jaggery and let it melt on medium high heat. 
• Once all the jaggery has melted, take it off the stove and strain using a sieve or a clean, thin white cloth to get a clear liquid. This is important to remove any dirt particles usually found in jaggery. 

• Rinse the pan, pour the clear liquid back into it and return to the stove. 
• On a low heat, keep stirring the syrup until it gets a thread consistency. See notes for tips on how to check for the syrup consistency. 
• Once the syrup is ready, add cardamom powder if using, switch off the stove and pour it over the dry mixture in the plate. 

• Mix everything together with a sturdy spoon so it comes together in a lump.
• While the mixture is still hot, dip your palms into the rice flour (this prevents the heat from touching your skin directly) or into cold water, pinch off a portion of the mixture and using both hands, give it the shape of a ball. 

• Set aside and working quickly, make balls out of the remaining mixture. 

Notes: 

• How to remove roasted peanut skin - roast peanuts on a slow and low heat for best results. Once cool, put them in between 2 layers of a kitchen towel and rub the top layer gently to peel off the skin. pick the skinned peanuts and use them in the recipe. You can also put the peanuts in a ziplock bag and do the same thing. 
• How to get the right consistency of the paaka (syrup): It is essentially a thread consistency. For the quantity above, it took me 15 minutes to get to the right consistency. Keep a bowl of water next to the stove. When you lift your spoon above the syrup, the drops tend to get back to the spoon in a thin, flimsy thread. put a drop of this syrup in the bowl of water, if it spreads immediately and dissolves in the water, you have ways to go. If the syrup drop stays in one place and after a second, you can scoop it up with your fingers into a soft ball, then you are ready to move :-)

• Difference in the puri: Nammamma (and most Kannadiga homes) made this puri unde with a special puri called avalakki puri. This is made with poha unlike the one made with rice. The texture is different and it looks more 'ridgier' than smooth. I have seen folks from Tamil nadu making puri urundai with the regular puri, if you don't have easy access to avalakki puri, go ahead and use the regular puffed rice. The one on the right is what I use for this recipe, the one on left is used for all snacks like churmuri. The packet had the name as 'Bhajke Poha' or 'Puffed poha'.

• Keep a handful of mixture in a separate plate and use that as your 'trial gunea pig' to test the syrup consistency. Put the syrup on this plate and try to make the balls, if it is coming easily, you can do the rest of it. Remember that you need to work quickly. 
• If you have good, hot sun, spread the puri on a clean plate in single layer and let it crisp up naturally for 30-45 mins. If not, use the stove top method above. It is important to start with crispy puri so the final product is juicy and crispy, otherwise you will end up with 'hard on the teeth' kind of puri unde :-)
• Make small quantities to start with until you feel comfortable with the consistency and the process. Always, ask for a second pair of hands in the kitchen, it is fun and makes it all easier :-)
• I lost my syrup consistency the first time around as I was getting excited about taking pictures for the blog :-), but this is easier to rectify as all you have to do is to add a couple spoons of water and return the vessel back to the stove and stir until the syrup gets the consistency again. So no harm done. 

Badam Poori - A melt in the mouth, heavenly desert from Mysore for all celebrations

The other day I went to the public library after quite some time and just picked up a random book from the display. As with anything random in life, random books picked off the shelf can either make a great read filling you with warmth and contentment or leave you unsatisfied completely. This one fell somewhere in the middle - had a topic that would catch and sustain your attention and the story telling itself is good but the subject was too chilling for me to enjoy on a Saturday. It has been a while since I have found the time to sit and read books at a stretch, mostly it is a little bit every night and I have an assorted set of books on my bed stand from fiction to spiritual to DIY to cookery books all lining up there. Either I am multi tasking (pros and cons of this for another discussion ;-)) or pressed for time or really tired and ready to crash by the time I pick up the book, so it doesn't really go a long way.

This weekend, the weather wasn't conducive to any outdoor activities as it has been raining since Friday and BH was home sick with a stomach bug he caught. So, being cooped up at home with a husband who was mostly indulging in therapeutic sleep, left me with ample time to cuddle up with my book. 'The Hours really count' is an eerily chilling historical fiction related to the infamous Rosenberg couple who were subjected to death penalty in the 1950s for espionage. The writing is gripping and makes you not put the book down half way through (yes, I did a marathon and finished it at 1am last night) but it is not a subject I would recommend for a read on a cozy, rainy day, something more cheerful maybe.. Next time, I will spend some time before picking up a book for my reads :-). If you have some good reads, please go ahead and recommend.

Other than that, the weekend seemed to just fly by and we are almost at the point where I will start preparing our lunch boxes for tomorrow :-), well a few more hours anyway..

Indian festivals are countless really. If you enjoy celebrating festivals, every day on the Indian calendar can give a reason and excuse to do so :-).  Looking at it I feel that our ancestors truly embraced the concept that life itself is a celebration and everyday is an occasion to be thankful for. While I love the 'being thankful for' everything in life idea, due to practical constraints, I pick and choose the most significant festivals to celebrate. Here 'significance' only refers to what I have been exposed to from childhood and I what I can relate to even today. In India, festivals are both spiritual and cultural. The spiritual side of the celebration tends to be quiet and peaceful while the cultural angle emphasizes on sound, colors, and ofcourse food :-). Every Indian festival is laced with loads of food which I agree is the easiest way to have people participate willingly. The world of food blogging is no stranger to this concept and I really admire the effort of fellow bloggers that goes into cooking, clicking and blogging about the innumerable sweets and savory dishes for every festival. I personally don't make that many varieties every time so my contribution to the festival cooking craze is usually very light.

What I lack in numbers, I try to make up in quality. Badam poori is a typical Mysore sweet made during Dasara or Deepavali as it is easy to pack and distribute and extremely delicious. This used to be a childhood favorite at home and nammamma made them in bulk always. I am not sure why it is called badam (almond) poori when it actually doesn't have any almonds in it. I had asked nammamma about it long time back and her response was that the color of the fried poori should resemble peeled almonds (light golden). Not sure how far this is true but you have something to go on :-). This is succulent as the syrup not only is coated on the outer surface but the entire poori soaks up the sugar as it rests.

I actually made this sweet during Dasara a couple of weeks back, took a whole tray to my Balvihar classes,  sent a bunch to DD and took some to work. The resounding feedback from everyone who ate it was similar and positive. Though I missed posting it for Dasara, here it is in time for Deepavali (Festival of lights) coming up early next week.

This time when I went to India, I got a few real treasures from akka in the form of organic saffron powder and some edible camphor. I know these are not rare and you will get it if you go to the right shops in India. What made the gift from akka special was that the 2 tiny bottles I got are atleast 2 generations old (about 70+ years) and home made. As you can imagine, I use them both very carefully and with lot of respect. The saffron powder is so potent that a sprinkle will add lot of flavor and color to any dish. If you want to, use saffron strands soaked in a Tbsp of warm milk instead of the powder.

What do you need to make Badam Poori? 
Makes about 25 pieces 
1 cup All purpose flour
1 pinch baking soda
1 Tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
pinch saffron color
2 Tbsp yogurt
water to make a stiff dough
Sugar syrup: 
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 Tsp fresh cardamom powder
Others:
oil to deep fry
2-3 Tbsp grated kobbari (dry coconut or desiccated coconut)

How do you make Badam Poori? 

Preparing the dough for poori:

• In a wide bowl, sieve all purpose flour and baking soda together so there are no lumps. 
• Add saffron color and ghee and rub the flour with gentle fingers to incorporate the ghee. 
• When the dry flour gets coated with ghee and becomes crumbly, add yogurt and mix together. 

• Add water little by little to make a stiff dough (just like the regular poori dough). 
• Knead for 3-4 minutes to get a smooth surface, cover and let it rest for atleast 30 minutes. 

Preparing sugar syrup: 

• In a deep and wide sauce pan, heat the water until warm. 
• Add sugar and mix, let it dissolve. 
• Let the mixture boil for about 10-12 minutes or until the syrup thickens - there is no string consistency for this recipe. The recipe has to get slightly thicker so it coats well on the pooris. 
• Add cardamom powder, lower the heat to minimum and keep it warm until ready to use. 

Making badam pooris: 

• Take the rested dough and knead it a couple times. 
• Pinch off small balls (marble sized) from the dough and shape them into roundels. 
• Take a ball of dough and make a round roti using a rolling pin. 

• Fold the roti in half and then into quarters (this is to get layers), press the edges together so they hold the shape without opening up. 

• Gently roll out once to flatten it further. This is the size of your badam puri, adjust the dough ball to any desired size you want. I left them at single server/bite sizes.

• Take a fork and poke gently on the surface of the pooris to prevent them from completely puffing up when dropped in oil. 
• Heat oil on medium heat, test by dropping a small piece of dough into it. If the dough comes up sizzling then the oil is ready. 
• Prepare as many pooris as your oil can hold - (KEEP a MOIST paper towel on the prepared pooris and also the remaining dough to prevent drying)
• Slide the pooris one by one into the hot oil and let it cook until the underside is golden in color. 

• Flip each of the pooris over and let the other side turn golden too.

• Take the pooris out with a slotted spoon onto a paper tissue laden plate and let it rest for a couple of minutes. 

• Now drop the pooris into the warm syrup, turning them over so they get an even layer of syrup all over. 
• Take the sugar dipped pooris onto a plate and sprinkle some grated dry or desiccated coconut on top. 

• Repeat the process for remaining dough. 

Notes: 

• Make the pooris as thin as you can when you first roll out so the final product doesn't become too thick or bulky. 
• Make sure yogurt used for the dough is not sour, this is to give the softness in texture and not to act as a leavening agent. 
• Do not let the pooris sit in the syrup for more than 30-45 seconds. 
• The syrup should be warm and not hot or cold. 
• Badam poori tends to soak up the syrup as it cools down and becomes succulent. 
• I find the water to sugar ratio is perfect for us, if you prefer a much sweeter version, use 1:1 for the syrup. 

Avalakki payasa (or pongal?) - kheer made with flattened rice

I made this avalakki payasa yesterday for a celebration and was about to write the post when I caught up with the news and saw the devastation in Nepal. Totally lost my taste for the sweet payasa and got up to do something to distract my mind. All my prayers to the people affected by this wrath of nature, hope us humans are able to stand support and help them rebuild their lives.

After a day of deliberation, I figured I would write this post anyways because it is special for more than one reason. First, it was my father's favorite payasa (or rather his favorite deity's favorite dish :-)). This is a popular offering from the Udupi math, very simple to make, extremely delicious and homely, at the same time perfect fit for any occasion. Second reason being that we were indeed celebrating a milestone yesterday. The baby is ready to fly the nest and experience life without her parents by her side, this is a bitter sweet moment for us as parents and as proud as we are of our little bundle of joy that has grown up into a fine young woman ready to move out of the safety net of home, we are at the same time trying to choke back the heavy feeling in the throat. Can't imagine coming back home in the evenings that would be devoid of the chirpiness characteristic of our little girl, or getting to work without that warm arms around the neck wishing a Good Morning and everything in between. But that is another 3 months away and I won't think about it until then as there is lots to do between now and then :-)

DD finalized her college choice yesterday and is excited about beginning a new life on campus while we are torn between feeling elated and anxious at the same time. I have been thinking of my father and wishing he was with us still to share the joy and also offer those ever ready shoulders of his when I needed to lean on and anchor myself. I have never spoken of my father except in passing on this blog, even after all these years (time doesn't fill certain voids in life) it is not easy for me to talk about what he meant to me and the rest of his children. He would have been one proud & supportive grandpa for all his grand children cheering them on at every one of their achievements and offering the best practical advice when they needed some.

Avalakki payasa is a thicker form of payasa or kheer made especially on Janmashtami or Krishnashtami as avalakki is known for its popularity with the Lord Krishna. I make this any time we feel like eating a quick sweet since it hardly takes time. Given avalakki's innate thickening quality, this payasa tends to resemble the sweet pongal rather than a flowy payasa :-). You don't have any lentil and so it doesn't officially quality for being called a pongal. If you really didn't care about the name, then this is a perfect cup of dessert to dig into as part of any celebration - big or small.

I love sweets with jaggery more than white sugar. You can substitute jaggery in this recipe with white sugar if you prefer, that retains a bright white color in the payasa. I add ground coconut (ground to a fine paste almost resembling thick coconut milk), you can use coconut milk instead or make it with regular milk.

So here is my humble avalakki payasa as we get go through a happy life changing event. Being a weekend, I made poori, saagu and green apple tokku for brunch and we ate our avalakki payasa to finish off a perfectly sleep inducing brunch :-).

Note: If you notice the color or hint of saffron strands in a couple of pictures and wonder why I didn't call out that ingredient in the list, please note that it is not an essential ingredient. BH was helping me out in the kitchen on this said morning and he loves to open my cupboards and pantry and keep adding stuff into the pots and pans on the stove :-). Adding saffron was one of his experimentation (nammamma would feel very proud of the SIL since she loves to sprinkle the expensive saffron into most of the sweets too :-)). I don't discourage you from adding saffron but it is not needed.

What do you need to make Avalakki payasa? 
1 cup avalakki/poha/flattened rice (use the medium variety)
3/4 - 1 cup jaggery powdered (based on your preference for sweetness)
2 cups milk
1 cup grated coconut
2 green cardamom
2 cloves
1 Tsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 Tsp raisins
1 Tsp cashews

How do you make Avalakki payasa? 

• Take a heavy bottom pan and heat it to warm up. 
• Pick any dirt from avalakki and pour it into the pan.
• Roast it for 2-3 minutes until it crisps up slightly and loses the raw smell. 
• Take it out onto a plate. 
• Add jaggery pieces/powder to the pan along with 2 Tbsp water and let it dissolve.
• Jaggery starts to bubble up once it mixes with water, at this stage add the roasted avalakki and mix it in. 

• Make a smooth paste of coconut, cardamom and cloves with 1/2 cup milk in a blender. 
• Let avalakki cook in the jaggery syrup for 5 minutes or until it becomes soft. 

• Add the coconut paste at this stage along with the remaining milk. 

• Mix and let it come to a good boil on medium heat. Take off heat. 

• Heat ghee in a small pan, add raisins and cashews and roast until raisins plump up and cashes turn golden brown. 
• Add this to the payasa and give a mix. 

• Serve it warm or cold. 

Notes: 

• You can use thin or paper avalakki in which case just rinse it under water and add it to the melted jaggery. 
• If you are using white sugar instead of jaggery, bring 1/2 cup milk to boil, add sugar and let it dissolve. Continue with the rest of the process as above. 

Pineapple pudding pops (Pineapple sajjige) - Old wine presented in a new bottle :-)

When I say Pineapple sajjige or pineapple kesari bhaath, I know many of you will nod your head to indicate you understood exactly what I was talking about. Which is indicative of the fact that, you all have either an Indian root or a frequent foot in an Indian kitchen. What if I had to introduce a dish to a group of friends that may not know what sajjige or kesari bhaath is, how do I explain it to a first timer trying this decadent, delicious dessert? I just packaged my old wine (aka, pineapple kesari bhaath) in a new bottle (measuring spoons) for presentation and global acceptance :-). My tiny effort at bringing this fast shrinking world together.

Here is the story from the very beginning(I know you are all eager to hear it), with holidays fast approaching, we have an annual holiday party at work to celebrate, share and enjoy good food and company. Infact we had it last week and as part of the celebrations, there was a dessert contest. I being the enthusiastic foodie (and the blogger), wanted to take a dish but ruled out all the typical holiday cakes, cookies etc since there are other very talented cooks on the floor. Thought I would introduce an Indian sweet to this very diverse and open group of people I work with and the first one that met the criteria (not on the blog already :-), easy and quick to make on a weekday night and stays fresh the next day) was the pineapple kesari bhaath. Since the name was a mouthful, I put my entry in as pineapple pudding pops (no idea where the 'pops' popped from) but then had to keep true to the name and so ended up presenting them as small blobs shaped by measuring spoons :-). Surprise, surprise, here is how the contest ended :-)

When I sent the above picture to DD & BH, their first chorus reactions was, "What? you got a prize for the kesari bhaath? and they called it a creative entry?", There is nothing wrong in that reaction since sajjige of the banana kind or the pineapple kind has been our regular Saturday morning dessert (all in the name of offering to the God) for many years now and DD is a die hard fan of this soft, decadent, fruity dessert. I stick to it because of its simplicity and ease of making the dish. So, they were both non believers when I said my humble kesari bhaath/sajjige won a prize in a dessert competition. When I came home, DD was like, "mom, if anyone should be given a most creative dessert for this dish, they should go and find a grandma atleast 4 generations back, she is right, I didn't invent it :-).

On the other hand, it is perfectly normal that it was named the most creative dish in a sea of entries made of the regular chocolate cookies, red velvet cakes and other such seasonal desserts. What can I say? the judges were blown away by this delicious dessert and I am just glad I got recognized :-)

This is not a common dish from nammamma's kitchen like most of my traditional dishes are. Instead, I learnt it from a cousin sister in law who had made this when we stopped over at their place in Chikmagalur many years back. Not only did she feed us until we were ready to fall over, she also packed a big, steel box full of ghee oozing, saffron flavored, pineapple kesari bhaath when we headed out on our way to Sringeri. I remember we had enjoyed the delicious kesari bhaath for over two days (it keeps well even outside refrigerator if the weather is mildly cold). This is many moons ago, I was in college and it was a very rare trip we had taken up as family and my father had taken us kids to our native village (I carry the initials as part of my name but never had visited the place until then). All great experiences and memories. It is a trip I will never forget for many reasons and the kesari bhaath made the memories all the more sweet.

We are not a family of sweet people :-), ok, what I actually meant is this - we are not a family of people that LOVE sweets. There are only so many sweets that actually entice us and this simple, homely yet deliciously fruity dessert is very close to our hearts and we invariably go back to it all the time. Hope you like it as much as I do. 

What do you need to make pineapple kesari bhaath? 
1 cup upma rava/sooji
1.5 cups water
1 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar (adjust based on the sweetness of pineapple)
1+1/4 cup chopped pineapple
7-8 strands of saffron
4 Tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 Tbsp cashew nuts
1 Tbsp raisins

How do you make pineapple kesari bhaath? 

• Clean pineapple of any thorns and chop into small bits. I like making this with fresh pineapple. 

• Bring 1/2 cup water to a gentle boil with sugar and when the bubbles start to form, add the chopped pineapple along with any juice. 
• Cook for 2 minutes, switch off, cover and keep aside until ready to use.

• Soak the saffron strands in a Tbsp of warm milk and keep it aside to infuse flavors.
• In a deep pan, add 1/2 Tbsp ghee and heat it. 
• Add cashews and raisins and roast them until raisins plump up and cashews turn golden brown. 

• Take them aside into a plate. 
• In the same pan, add another 1/2 Tbsp ghee, add the rava/sooji and start to roast it on medium heat, continuously stirring for uniform heat distribution. 
• Add another Tbsp of ghee after 3-4 minutes and continue to roast. 
• The roasting will take about 7-8 minutes depending on the amount of heat, it is good to do it on low/medium heat and not burn the sooji. 

• As it roasts, the sooji turns lighter (you will feel it when you turn it over with the spoon) and starts to give out a nice roasted aroma. 
• When the sooji turns light golden and loses the raw smell, turn the heat all the way to low, add the pineapple & sugar syrup. 
• Keep stirring the mixture continuously not to form lumps and immediately add the remaining water and milk and mix it well. 
• Add the saffron along with the milk it is soaked in. 
• Add the remaining ghee on top, turn the heat up just a little, cover and let cook undisturbed for 10 minutes.
• When you open the cover, the entire mixture should be a fluffy, soft mass and smell delicious. 

• Switch off, garnish with the roasted cashews and raisins, mix and serve warm or cool. 

Notes: 

• You can use canned pineapple if you prefer but make sure, you wash it a couple of times in running water to rid of the juice and preservatives. 
• You can add pineapple & sugar directly into the roasted sooji but this sometimes leaves a very faint bitter taste as pineapple doesn't cook completely. 
• You can add a pinch of powdered cardamom towards the end for flavor, I like to keep saffron & cardamom separate in my desserts and give them their own individual space. 
• I always add milk to my kesari bhaath to make it rich and tastier, if you prefer, just use water. 
• We like soft kesari bhaath and the 1:2.5 ratio of rava:liquid works fine. 
• Use upma rava (coarser variety) for the kesari bhaath, the finer varieties make it pasty.