Masargayi

Masar kai or Masargayi is basically dried chilly which can be fried before eating. It is typically eaten with curd rice.

Ingredients:

25 Long and spicy green chillis, 1/2 cup + 1 tea spoon cumin powder (for stuffing and curd), 1 table spoon + 1 tea spoon hingu (asaphotida powder), 2  tea spoons+ 1 tea  spoons salt, 1 tea spoon sugar, 1/2 litre sour and soft  curd or thick butter milk and oil for frying.

Process:

• Make longitudinal slits in the chills.
• Mix 1/2 cup cumin powder(jeera powder), 1 tea spoon hingu (asafoetida) and salt.
• Stuff the chillis with this mixture.
• Add 1 tea spoon salt, 1 tea spoon cumin powder, 1 tea spoon hingu powder and 1 tea spoon sugar to the curd and mix well.
• Transfer the stuffed chillis in this curd and keep those for soaking in the curd overnight.
• Remove the soaked chillis from the curd and dry in hot sun by spreading on plastic sheet, for 2-3 days till they are crisp and dry.
• Store in plastic or glass container.
• Deep fry in hot oil in kadai just before you want to eat it.

Tips and Tricks:

• The soaked chillies could be dried in microwave oven too). 

Typically Served With:

Curd rice and other rice dishes or sweet dishes like holige, payasam etc

Bharta (Baigan Barta)

Bharta is made with grilled, mashed eggplant – badnekai. It is usually made during Sankranti. It is my brother’s favorite recipe!

Ingredients:
Baingan (badanekai) 250 gms, carrots 100gms, fresh green grams, green chillis, til, gural powder ,cumin seeds and salt.
Process:

• Roast til and cumin seeds and powder it.
• Also roast green chillis in oil.
• Apply oil on the brinjal and roast on low fire.
• Steam carrots after cutting into small pieces.
• Mix all the ingredients and mash to coarse consistency.
• Mix gural powder, cumin and sesame(til) powder.
• Add salt to taste and mix well.

Typically Served With:

Chapati, rotti, Sajji rotti, katak rotti etc

Kusubi huggi

Kusubi huggi is a specialty of Haveri. Padma attewaree (my daddy’s elder sister) always has this when we visit her place. It is made of kusubi seeds or saffolla (safola) seeds. This is a salty preparation and is also called akki huggi sometimes. This salty kheer is served during a feast, specially feast of wheat payasam (ghodi huggi) or holige, before serving the sweet feast.

Ingredients:

Rice 1 cup, saffola (kusabi) seeds 1/2 cup, salt to taste.

Process:

• Soak saffolla seeds overnight or atleast for 4-6 hours.
• Grind in a blender with 2 cups of water and filter through cheese cloth.
• Grind the pulp once or twice more with 1 cup water, filter and  keep aside the milky part.
• Discard the pulp.
• Cook rice in pressure cooker to soft consistency.
• Transfer the cooked rice to a thick bottom vessel.
• Add the kusabi milk and salt to this, mix well and cook well on low fire for 30 minutes, with intermittent stirring to get white and tasty kheer.

Lima beans

Lima beans is my mom’s favourite “kaal” and again it is another high protein recipe. Here goes the recipe

Ingredients:

Fresh or frozen lima beans1 cup, 1 finely chopped medium sized onion, 1 tea spoon ginger garlic paste, 1/2 table spoon ground green chilli paste,1 table spoon garam masala, 1/2 cup grated fresh coconut, 1/4 cup finely cut fresh coriander, 1 tea spoon lemon juice, 1 tea spoon sugar and salt to taste, 1 table spoon veg oil and cumin seeds for seasoning.

Process:

• Heat oil in a vessel.
• Add cumin seeds and chopped onion.
• After 2 minutes, add ginger garlic paste and green chilli paste.
• Cook for 2 minutes.
• Add fresh or thawed lima beans, green chilli paste, garam masala, salt and sugar and cook for 5 minutes.
• Now add grated coconut and mix well with a spoon.
• Then add 1 cup of hot water and lemon juice and cook for 5 more minutes.
• Garnish with fresh chopped coriander (cilantro).

Typically Served With

serve hot with chapati, fulka or puri.

Kadle Kalu – brown or green whole grams or harbhara usal

Kadli kaal as it is pronounced in Dharwad is basically the same as chana masala sabji from the north. We make it a little differently.

Ingredients:

Kadle kaalu 1 cup, 1 medium sized onion chopped into small pieces, 2-3 cloves of garlic chopped and pounded, 1 table spoon cooking oil, red chilli powder or green chilli paste 1 tea spoon, cumin powder 1 tea spoon, dhania powder 2 tea spoons, mustard and cumin seeds and  asaphotida (hingu) for seasoning ,lemon juice  1 tea spoon, jaggery or brown sugar powder 1 tea spoon, salt to taste.

Process:

• Cook kadle kalu in pressure cooker by adding 3 cups of water, for 10 minutes after attaining high pressure.
• Remove the watery part.
• Heat oil in a vessel.
• Season with mustard, cumin seeds and asphotida.
• Add chopped garlic and then onion and green chilli paste or red chilli powder and heat till garlic turns brownish.
• Add cumin powder and  dhania powder.
• Transfer the cooked kadli kalu to this.
• Now add salt, lemon juice, jaggery and little water, mix well and cook for 5 more minutes with lid closed.

Typically Served With:

Chapati or Rotti

Hurli kattin saaru

Kattin saar is basically a curry made of the “kat” or stock obtained by cooking lentils like chana dal, black eyed peas (alsandi) or even hurli! Did you know that? So anytime you make hurli or alsandi kaalu, you can make kattin saar. Doesn’t always have to be in conjunction with chana daal preparation.

Ingredients:

Hurli kattu (watery part), curry leaves, turmeric powder, 2-3 cloves of garlic chopped and diced, 1 table spoon cooking oil, masale khara 1 table spoon, cumin powder 1 tea spoon, dhania powder 2 tea spoons,  mustard and cumin seeds and  asaphotida (hingu) for seasoning, tamarind paste 1 tea spoon, jaggery or brown sugar powder 1 tea spoon, salt to taste. 

Process:

• Heat oil in a vessel.
• Season with cumin seeds, mustard seeds, asaphotida and then garlic.
• When garlic turns brown, add turmeric powder, cumin and dhania powder and curry leaves.
• Then add 2 cups water containing 1 tea spoon tamarind paste and heat to boil.
• To this add 1 tea spoon jaggery or brown sugar, 1 tea spoon masale khara or chilli powder, salt to taste and boil for 5 minutes.

Tips and Tricks:

You can garnish with fresh chopped cilantro (coriander) if needed.

Typically Served With:

Rice

Hurli kalu – Horse gram ( hulge or kulith)

Hurali kaal or horse gram is another high protein recipe. It is said that this is fed to race horses so they get a lot of strength!

Ingredients:

Hurli kalu 1 cup, 1 medium sized onion chopped into small pieces, 2-3 cloves of garlic diced and crushed, 1 table spoon cooking oil, masale khara 1 table spoon, cumin powder 1 tea spoon, dhania powder 2 tea spoons,  mustard and cumin seeds and  asaphotida (hingu) for seasoning, tamarind paste 1 tea spoon, jaggery or brown sugar powder 1 tea spoon, salt to taste.

Process:

• Cook hurli kalu in pressure cooker by adding 3 cups of water, for 10 minutes after attaining high pressure.
• Remove the watery part from the cooked hurli (this can be used to prepare tili or hurli kattin saroo i.e.  curry).
• Heat oil in a vessel. Season with mustard, cumin seeds and asphotida.
• Add diced and crushed garlic and then chopped onion and heat till it turns brownish.
• Add cumin powder, dhania powder.
• After 2-3 minutes, add 1/2 cup water and bring to boil.
• Put tamarind paste, jaggery and salt in boilng mixture.
• To this transfer the cooked hurli, add masale khara and boil for 5 more minutes with lid closed.

Tips and Tricks

• The liquid that is drained after cooking the lentil can be used to make curry (saaru). This “kat” gives higher density and acts as a vegetarian stock
• The hurli kalu can be also prepared by sprouting hurli and following the same recipee. For sprouting, hurli should be soaked overnight and tied in cheese cloth and kept warm( around 37 degree C) for 24 to 48 hours

Typically Served With:

Hot chapatis or rotti

Madki (Matki) kalu

Sprouted lentils or bean sprouts are called Madaki or matki kaalu. It is also called usali or usal. The process of sprouting takes about 2-3 days. These days you find sprout makers in the grocery stores but I’ve never used that. The idea is to create an environment where germination takes place and the sprouts appear. There are two types of usali:

Type 1

Ingredients

Sprouted madki 1 cup, 1 table spoon soaked ground nut seeds, cut green chillis 2 or 1 tea spoon red chilli powder, 3-4 finely cut and pressed garlic cloves, 1 finely cut medium size onion, 1/2 tea spoon cumin powder, 1 tea spoon dhania powder, 1 table spoon vegetable oil  and cumin seeds, mustard seeds, turmeric powder  and asaphoetida (hingu) for seasoning, jaggery and salt for taste. 

Process

• Heat oil in a vessel.
• Add cumin, mustard seeds and after the mustard seeds crackle, add hingu and cut garlic to hot oil.
• When garlic turns brown, transfer chopped onion, turmeric powder and green chilli pieces or red chilli powder and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Now transfer the sprouted madki kalu, soaked ground nut seeds, salt  and jaggery, mix well, close the vessel  and allow to cook for 5 minutes.
• Add 2 table spoons of hot water and cook for one more minute if more gravy is desired.

Type 2

Ingredients

Sprouted matki 1 cup, 1 finely chopped medium sized onion, 1 tea spoon ginger garlic paste, 1/2 table spoon ground green chilli paste,1 table spoon garam masala, 1/2 cup grated fresh coconut, 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh coriander (cilantro), 1 tea spoon lemon juice, 1 tea spoon sugar and salt to taste, 1 table spoon veg oil and cumin seeds for seasoning.

Process

• Heat oil in a vessel.
• Add cumin seeds and chopped onion.
• After 2 min, add ginger garlic paste and green chilli paste.
• Cook for 2 min.
• Add sprouted matki, garam masala, salt and sugar and cook for 2 minutes.
• Now add grated coconut and mix well with a spoon.
• Add 1 cup of hot water and lemon juice and cook for 5 minutes on low fire.
• Garnish with coriander (cilantro).

Tips and Tricks 

You can get sprouted madaki in Indian grocery stores. So you can save the time to do it at home. To sprout it at home, soak matki overnight in water and tie in cheese cloth and place in warm place in a closed vessel for a day – i e 24 hours. Sprout makers too are available in market.

Typically Served With

Chapatis, Phulka or Rottis

Alsandi Kattin Saar

Tili saaru or kattin saaru is typically made when we make holige, kadabu or any of the desserts with chana dal. However you can also make it with alsandi kattu or hurali kattu. The liquid that you drain out after cooking alsandi or hurali kaalu is used as “kat”. This is a kind of vegetable stock that makes the curry denser.

Ingredients:

Alsandi kattu (watery part), curry leaves, turmeric powder, 2-3 cloves of garlic cut and pounded, 1 table spoon cooking oil, masale khara 1 table spoon, cumin powder 1 tea spoon, dhania powder 2 tea spoons, mustard and cumin seeds, asaphoetida (hingu), tamarind paste 1 tea spoon, jaggery or brown sugar powder 1 tea spoon, salt to taste

Process:

• Heat oil in a vessel.
• Season with cumin seeds, mustard seeds, asaphotida and then garlic.
• When garlic turns brown, add turmeric powder, cumin and dhania powder and curry leaves.
• Then add 2 cups water containing 1 spoon tamarind paste, add a spoon of jaggery , salt to taste and bring it to boil.
• To this boiling mixture, add alsandi water(kattu) and 1 spoon masale khara and boil for 5 minutes. 

Typically Served With:

Serve hot with rice and ghee.

Alsandi (chavli) kalu – Black eyed peas

Alsandi kaalu or black eyed peas is another of my favourite kaalu’s and here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

Alsandi kalu 1 cup, 1 medium sized onion cut into small pieces, 2-3 cloves of garlic cut and pounded, 1 table spoon cooking oil, masale khara 1 table spoon, cumin powder 1 tea spoon, dhania powder 2 tea spoons, mustard and cumin seeds, asaphotida (hingu),tamarind paste 1 tea spoon, jaggery or brown sugar powder 1 tea spoon, salt to taste.

Process:

• Cook alsandi kalu in pressure cooker by adding 3 cups of water, for 10 minutes after attaining high pressure.
• Remove the watery part from the cooked alsandi (this can be used to prepare tili or alsandi kattin saru i.e.  curry).
• Heat oil in a vessel.
• Season with mustard, cumin seeds and asphoetida.
• Add cut garlic and then onion and heat till it turns golden brown.
• Add jeera (cumin) powder, dhania (coriander) powder.
• After 2-3 minutes, add 1/2 cup water and heat to boil.
• Put tamarind paste , jaggery and salt in boing mixture.
• To this transfer the cooked alsandi, add masale khara and boil for 5 more minutes with lid closed.

Tips and Tricks

You can use the water drained after boiling/cooking the kaal (lentil) to make saar.

Typically Served With

This is typically served with hot chapatis or rottis.