I. BITTER ORANGE CHUTNEY ( KAIPULI PAJJI )

Ingredients:

• ½ Teaspoon 4-pods of garlic
• ½ Teaspoon jeera
• ¼ Teaspoon methi
• 1 onion slightly roasted to a brown colour on open flame ( ground fine )
• ½ tea cup jaggery syrup

Seasoning:

• 2 Tablespoon cooking oil
• ¼ Teaspoon mustard seeds
• 2-3 curry leaves crushed 2-3 flakes garlic
• ½ Onion cut fine.

Method:

• Place a deep pan on the heat
• Add the oil add the mustard on the oil getting hot.
• Slowly add one by one the ingredients for seasoning.
• Then add the ground masala and toss for 1minute.
• Add the roasted pulp. Mix well.
• Next mix the salt and jaggery and let cook for 1 minute.
• Check for taste.

II. BITTER ORGANGE RAITHA VARIETY

Ingredients:

• 1 Bitter orange
• 1 onion
• 4 flakes of garlic
• ½ Teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 Tablespoon ground coconut
• 1 dry red chilly
• 2 curry leaves
• 1 Tablespoon oil
• 1 cup curds
• 1 Teaspoon sugar

Seasoning:

• Peel the orange of skin and white pith.
• Hold the orange in the left palm and slit the orange on the outside or rather the back of the pod and with the knife try to remove the insides on to a bowl.
• Take away the seeds.
• Add ½ teaspoon salt and a green chilly slit, mix and keep aside.
• Ground coconut with the orange and the masala.
• In a shallow pan heat the oil and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chilly and slightly crushed garlic.
• Remove on spluttering and pour over orange mixture.
• Add the sugar and taste for salt and pungency. Then add curds.
• Goes well with ghee rice / pulao etc.,

Method:

• Place a deep pan on the heat
• Add the oil add the mustard on the oil getting hot.
• Slowly add one by one the ingredients for seasoning.
• Then add the ground masala and toss for 1minute.
• Add the roasted pulp. Mix well.
• Next mix the salt and jaggery and let cook for 1 minute.
• Check for taste.

CHICKEN CURRY

• 1 kg chicken
• 2 onions sliced
• ½ coconut ground
• 1 teaspoon ground garlic
• 1 teaspoon jeera powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 2 green chillies ( ground with the coconut )
• 4-5 red chillies
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice or 2 tablespoon tamarind pulp
• 2 tablespoon cooking oil
• 700ml water

Method:

• Clean, cut, wash the chicken.
• Mix with salt and turmeric and keep aside.
• Heat the oil in a deep pan.
• Add the ground garlic and onions.
• Add the ground coconut, jeera powder and coriander powder.
• Add the chicken and fry till the chicken is brownedon all sides.
• Add the water mix well, cover and cook till the chicken is done.
• Uncover cook till the gravy is slightly thick.

Serves 4 persons

FISH FRY AND FISH CURRY ( MEEN MASALA CURRY AND MEEN BARTHAD )

• 1kg.Fresh fish, sliced into thicker pieces for curry and thinner slices for frying.

Mix fish with the following :

• 1 Teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 Tablespoon salt
• 1 Teaspoon chilly powder
• 1 Tablespoon of ginger garlic paste
• 1 Teaspoon lime juice or kachampuli

Step 2: Ingredients:

• 1 Teaspoon jeera
• ¼ Teaspoon methi whole
• 1 Teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1/4 Teaspoon mustard seeds
• 3-4 Tablespoon Coconut scrapped
• Roast all the ingredients except coconut. Then grind all the ingredients together.

Keep aside

Step 3: Ingredients:

• 1 Teaspoon ginger and garlic paste
• 1 big onion sliced
• 2 green chillies sliced
• 2 Tablespoon coriander leaves chopped
• 1 Tablespoon tamarind pulp or chopped tomatoes
• 1 Teaspoon limejuice / kachampuli
• 2 Tablespoon cooking oil

METHOD: FISH FRY

• For frying the fish, the step 2 items, except the coconut to be roasted and ground.
• Mix to the fish and roll onto rice flour and shallow fry in oil on both sides till reddish brown .
• Serve with lemon wedges and cucumber.

METHOD: FISH CURRY

• Now for the fish curry, keep a deep pan on heat.
• Add the cooking oil, season with mustard seeds, ginger and garlic paste, add the onion slices and then the green chillies.
• Saute till onions turn transparent.
• Then add the ground masala and sauté till an aroma arises.
• Now add the chopped tomatoes if so desired and toss for a minute.
• Add 1-1 ½ cup of water to the masala over medium heat, mix well and let it come to first boil.

Lower the flame.

• Add the thick tamarind pulp and let boil again.
• Then slowly add the fish pieces for curry, keep side the remaining water in plate.
• Then hold the pan on both sides with a thick cloth and gently toss the fish so that the it mixes with the gravy without breaking up.
• Cover and cook for another 3 minutes.
• Again do the same procedure of mixing gently cover and cook for another 4 minutes,
  uncover and taste for salt and sourness if desired.
• Open and cook for another 2 minutes and put off the flame.
• Cover and let be without removing lid for 5-7 minutes.
• Pour on to serving dish and garnish with chopped coriander leaves and a split green chilly.
• Serves well with hot steam rice

RICE ROTIS (OTTI)

• 250gms raw rice
• 750ml water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 250gms rice flour

Method:

• Cook rice in the water with salt.
• Spread the cooked rice on a kneading plate or thali.
• Knead the rice with the rice flour, adding little at a time.
• Make into dough.
• Roll on a little flour to prevent sticking.
• Make small balls and flatten in a chapatti press between two plastic sheets wiped with a little oil to prevent sticking.
• Remove the roti, put it on a hot tawa for about a minute.
• Turn the roti over and keep for little longer.
• Turn it over again, remove and place the roti on direct heat/flame.
• The roti will puff out well. Careful not to burn.

Approximately 12-14 rotis
Rice rotis go well with all curries, especially bamboo shoot curry.

THALAYA PUTTU ( PLATE IDLY –COORG STYLE )

• ½ K.g. Rice
• ½ cup cooked rice (soft)
• 250 gm.urud dhal
• ¼ Teaspoon methi seeds
• 1Tablespoon sugar
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Wash and soak rice, urud dhal, methi for 5-hrs.
• Do not throw away the soaked water but use it during the grinding process.
• Add the cooked rice to the grinding and make a fine paste.
• Stir well. Add the sugar, cover and keep in warm place overnight.
• Next morning stir again and add 2 Teaspoon salt .
• Also ¼ Teaspoon cooking soda blended well with little hot milk and add to the ground paste.
• Mix it well and pour out into greased thalis and keep for steaming in the rice cooker /
  SHAKALA ( a very south Indian copper/steel or aluminumrice cooker similar to the Chinese variety ).
• Keep to steam for 35-40 minutes or till knife leaves clean.
• The cooker ought to be warmed up before keeping the puttu for steaming.
• If cooker is not available then use cooker like for idlys.
• The plates will have to be kept one on top of each other with the help of sticks placed criss-cross on the plates.
• Can make 3-5 plates depending on thickness.

BAMBOO SHOOT TIPS FRY

• ¼ kg bamboo shoots
• 3 tablespoon cooking oil
• ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
• 3-4 curry leaves
• 2-3 whole red chillies
• 8-10 flakes garlic chopped
• 1 teaspoon Ghee

Method:

• Heat oil in shallow pan.
• Season with mustard seeds, curry leaves, chopped garlic and red chillies.
• Add onions and fry with the roasted ground masala.
• Put in the bamboo tips and toss well for 1-2 minutes.
• Turn off the flame add the ghee, cover and keep.
• Serve hot.

ALBAI (RICE HALWA)

Ingredients:

• 2 coconuts (only whites grated)
• 1 cup white rice
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
• sugar to taste

Method:

• Soak rice for 8 hours and grind fine.
• Separately grind the coconut and sieve the coconut milk.
• Mix 2 cups of water with the ground rice and sieve it.
• The sieved rice is mixed with the coconut milk.
• Add sugar and cardamom powder.
• Keep stirring on medium flame with wooden ladle constantly.
• Keep adding water little at a time.
• The mixture has to cook on slow flame (typically how it is done for any halwa).
• This process should take between 30-45 minutes.
• Test the halwa by dropping a small piece into a cup of water.
• If the halwa holds firm and does not dissipate, then pourthe mixture into a greased plate.
• Let it cool, cut into pieces for serving.

BAMBOO SHOOT CURRY

Ingredients:

• ½ Kg bamboo shoot sliced
• 2 tablespoon rice flour
• 2 onions sliced
• 6-8 garlic flakes cut up
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• ½ teaspoon jeera powder
• 2-3 tablespoon ground coconut
• 2 red chillies
• ¼ teaspoon mustard seed
• 3-4 curry leaves
• 2-3 tablespoon cooking oil

Method:

• Heat oil in deep pan.
• Put mustard seeds and curry leaves to splutter in hot oil.
• Add garlic and red chillies.
• Add onions and keep frying.
• Put the rice powder and mix with the rest of the masala in oil.
• Fry the masala for a little longer on medium heat before adding the bamboo shoots.
• Add the ground coconut and mix well.
• Add 1-2 glasses of water, mix and cover for few minutes.
• Remove the cover and cook for little longer, till gravy is slightly thick. Check for salt and pungency.

KULEPUTTU ( STEAMED JACKFRUIT CAKE)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pulp of jackfruit or banana (very ripe fruit)
• 1 cup broken rice rava (Bansi variety)
• 2 cups jaggery liquidized
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder p.s(cup measure to remain constant in size)
• 50-80gms coconut cut up into small bits
• ¼ teaspoon cooking soda
• banana Leaves cut into 6′x 6′ pieces

Method:

• Wash the rice rava.
• Run the pulp through a sieve.
• Mix the rice rava and soda with the pulp and keep aside for 1 hour.
• Later mix this well with jaggery, salt and cardamom.
• Pass the banana leaves over a flame for a few seconds on both
• sidesto make it more pliable.
• Onto each leaf pour 4 Tablespoons of the rava mixture and garnish with coconut bits.
• Fold the banana leaf over the mixture and fasten with toothpicks.
• Like wise with the remaining pieces of banana leaf.
• Pile up the folded leaf strips filled with rava mixture in a shallow vessel and steam for 30-40 minutes.
• Serve with the banana leaf.
• Apply a little ghee before eating.

KADMBUTTU (STEAMED RICE DUMPLINGS)

Ingredients:

• 250gms fine rice rava
• 750ml water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon sugar

Method:

• Wash rice rava and mix with the measured water.
• Put this into a deep vessel and cook on medium flame.
• Add salt and water, stir with a wooden spoon.
• Continue to stir all the time till the mixture resembles a soft dough, making sure not to burn the dough.
• Turn off the flame and cover for 5 minutes.
• Spoon out a little of the dough on a plate.
• In a small bowl of water add 2 drops of oil.
• Dip finger into this mixture and rub onto both palms.
• Take approximately 1 tablespoon of the hot dough and roll into a smooth round ball.
• Do the same with the rest of the dough.
• Place the Kadambuttus in a vessel and cover with muslin cloth and steam for 20-25 minutes.

Makes approximately 20-25 Kadmbuttus.

Kadmbuttus go well with Pandhi Curry