Nalagri/Yennegai/Vegetable "bath" Powder

The way my mom makes "Nalagripudi" distinguishes it from the Sambhar powder of many homes. This is a versatile multipurpose powder. One could use this powder to makeIyengar style Nalagri which is like thicker form of rasam, eaten with rice. This powder could also be mixed with Yennegai, a side dish eaten with rice or chapati. It could also be mixed into vegetable "bath" rendering it a nice classy touch when compared to the regular "Chitranna".
Here I will post the recipe for making 400 gms of Nalagripudi, enough to last for some months.

What you need to make Nalagripudi

• Kadlebele (Split yellow chickpeas) - 100gms
• Uddinbele (Black gram)- 100 gms
• Dhania - 100 gms
• Curry leaves - 1/2 cup
• Copra (Dry Coconut) - 1 cup
• Cinammon - 2 sticks of 2 inches length
• Gasgase (Khus-khus / poppy seeds) - 3 tsp
• Red Chillies - 15 - 20 depending on how spicy one prefers it
• Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

Preparation to make Nalagripudi

• Wash curry leaves and dry thoroughly in the sun. It should not have any moisture in it.
• Place a heavy bottomed vessel on the stove with the flame low. Do all the roasting in this vessel.
• Roast curry leaves, cinnamon sticks, asafoetida and gasgase together. Take care not to burn it. Keep aside in a container to cool.
• Roast kadlebele till light brown. Pour it into the same container to cool.
• Roast uddinbele till light brown. Pour it into the same container to cool.
• Roast dhania till light brown. Pour it into the same to cool.
• Grate the dry coconut.
• Roast the dry coconut till light brown. Take care not to burn it. Pour it into the same container to cool.

Method to make Nalagripudi

• Once all the ingredients are cooled, dry grind all of them to a fine powder.
• Spread out the powder into a large plate and allow to cool.

My fundas

• Keep the Nalagri powder in an air tight container at all times.
• I had posted a recipe for making Nalagri. This recipe was about making instantaneous Nalagri powder. The variation to this recipe inorder to use this powder would be to just do the same as one would do for Rasam plus add 2-4 tsps of Nalagri powder.
• I will post a recipe for Yenagai soon and update this post on how to use this powder for that.
• I will also post a recipe for Vegetable "bath" and update this post on how to use this powder for that.

Chutney Powder

I am languishing away at my parents' home currently with all the time and laziness in the world. Today I decided to thwart the laid-backedness and post some recipes for basic everyday use powders. Basically my mom is the chef and I am the "helper" while she makes these delights to pack off to my brother's home. But since its my mom, who is anyway behind most of my recipes, I take the liberty to blog about it as if mine :)

"Chutneypudi" as it is called in our homes is a tasty side dish in South India for many snacks like Idli, Dosa, Rotti or even Uppit. It adds to the taste of whatever is eaten along with it. Its lip smacking for its khatta-meetha flavour.

Here I will post the recipe for making 250 gms of Chutneypudi, enough to last for atleast a couple of months.

What you need to make Chutneypudi

• Kadlebele (Split yellow chickpeas) - 100gms
• Uddinbele (Black gram) - 100 gms
• Red Chillies - 10
• Tamarind - small ball of 1/2 inch diameter
• Copra (Dry Coconut) - 75 gms
• Curry Leaves - 1/4 cup
• Jaggery - small ball of 1 inch diameter
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1 and 1/2 tsp or to taste

Preparation to make Chutneypudi

• Wash curry leaves and dry thoroughly in the sun. It should not have any moisture in it.
• Place a heavy bottomed vessel on the stove with the flame low. Do all the roasting in this vessel.
• Roast curry leaves till dry and crackling. Take care not to burn it. Keep aside in a plate to cool.
• Roast kadlebele along with half the red chillies till light brown. Pour it in a separate container to cool.
• Roast uddinbele along with half the red chillies till light brown. Pour it into the same container as kadlebele to cool.
• Grate the dry coconut.
• Roast the dry coconut till light brown. Take care not to burn it. Keep aside in the same plate as curry leaves to cool.
• Heat oil in the heavy bottomed vessel with the flame still low. To this add turmeric, mustard seeds, asafoetida and tamarind (stranded) and fry till the mustard seeds splutter.
• Switch off the stove.
• Now add the roasted dry coconut and curry leaves to the fried ingredients and mix well. Keep aside the entire mixture to cool.

Method to make Chutneypudi

• Once the kadlebele, uddinbele and red chillies are cooled, dry grind all the three to a coarse powder.
• Add the fried and cooled mixture to this and grind some more.
• Add salt and grind.
• Spread out the powder into a large plate and allow to cool.

My fundas

• Do not make the powder too smooth. Its nice to eat when a little coarse.
• Keep the chutney powder in an air tight container at all times.
• I love mixing this powder with sugar and eating it with dosa. You could try it too!
• Another great way to eat this would be to slice an Idli like a burger, apply ghee inside and sprinkle chutney powder. Idli burger :)
• T even eats this with rice with a little ghee to mix well. Loves it.

Majjige Huli (Morkolamb in Tamil)

I havent posted here in a very very long time and believe me I really havent done any much cooking in the past 4 months. Yes, you heard it right. I have been taking my time to adjust to a newcomer in my life who is currently rolling around in me!
Today though necessity overwhelmed lethargy and I got down to the brass knacks and turned up a dish dear to T.

Majjige Huli is a great mix of the tangy, spicy and sweet. Its a curd based dish in which curd is the last ingredient to be added :)

What you need to make Majjige Huli

• Many choice of Veggies including Pumpkin, Cucumber, Brinjal, Ladies Finger, Chayote(Seeme badnekayi in kannada), Ivy Gourd (Thondekayi in kannada), Beans etc
• Kadlebele (Split yellow chickpeas) - 1 cup
• Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
• Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
• Coconut - 1/2 cup
• Green/Red Chilly -3-4
• Salt to taste
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Curd - 2 tbsp

Preparation to make Majjige Huli

• Soak the kadlebele for atleast half an hour or till it becomes soft to the touch and breaks easily.
• Grate the coconut
• Grind soaked kadlebele, cumin seeds, turmeric, coconut and chilly to a paste with a little bit of water.

Method to make Majjige Huli

• In case you are using Pumpkin or cucumber then cook in a vessel with water till soft. Add 1/2 tsp of salt while it cooks.
• In case you are using Ladies Finger then fry it till the stickyness is gone. You could put a spoon of curd to fasten the process.
• In case you are using Brinjal then fry it till cooked.
• In case of other vegetables like you could pressure cook them

Once the vegetables are cooked, add the ground paste and allow it to boil. Add water as necessary to make it a thick gravy.

Add salt as required.

Allow it to cook till all the ingredients blend well.

Remove from flame.

To season, heat oil and add mustard seeds to it. Once it splutters remove from flame and add it into the gravy. Mix well.

Allow the gravy to cool completely and then add 2 tbsps of curd and mix thoroughly.

My fundas

• Majjige Huli tastes best with Pumpkin. Ladies finger also is very good in it.
• Makes for a soothing side dish with rice on a hot summer's day