Coriander chutney

There are so many different ways of making coriander chutney. This is one recipe that I tried recently, which is adapted from mint chutney recipe in 'Dakshin' cookbook with some minor changes. It is a very good combination with idli, dosa or even rice. The amount of chilies in this recipe can be adjusted to suit individual taste. I prefer this chutney to be on the spicier side

Ingredients:

Coriander leaves - 1 small bunch
Grated fresh coconut - 2 tbsp
Dry red chili - 1
Green chilies - 3
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Roasted peanuts - 1 tbsp
Tamarind extract - from a marble sized piece
Oil
Salt - to taste

Seasoning:

Mustard seeds
Urad dal
Curry leaves

Method:

- Fry green chilies and chopped coriander leaves in half a tsp oil for couple of minutes
- Keep this aside and then fry urad dal, mustard seeds, red chili and hing in the same pan
- Grind the fried ingredients with coconut, peanuts, tamarind and salt
- Season with urad dal, mustard seeds and curry leaves

Badanekai gojju

Ingredients:

Eggplant (Badanekai) - 1 big sized
Onion - 1 small sized
Green chilies - 4
Tamarind pulp - from a small lime sized piece
Salt - to taste
Cilantro - for garnish

For seasoning:

Oil
Mustard seeds
Cumin seeds
Hing
Curry leaves

Method:

- Roast the eggplant on flame/grill/oven. If you are in a hurry, just pressure cook it, even though it doesn't get the roasted flavor
- Peel and mash the cooked eggplant
- Add chopped onion, salt, tamarind pulp and chopped green chilies
- Add seasoning and garnish with cilantro
- Best if served fresh with chapathi or rice since raw onions are added in this dish

Beetroot palya

Ingredients:

Beetroot - 3
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste

For seasoning:

Oil

Urad dal - 1/4 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves

Method:

- Clean and pressure cook the whole beetroots

- Once cooled, peel and chop them into dices. Precooking the beets makes this easier and faster

- Heat oil in a pan and add seasoning except curry leaves

- When the mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves and chopped beets

- Add salt, turmeric and chili powders. Mix well and let it heat thoroughly

- Serve with chapathi or rice

Sorekai Kadubu

Sorekai (bottle gourd) kadubu or kottige is a traditional breakfast menu item from south kanara in Karnataka state. Here is how my mom always made it in our home. This kind of kadubu is usually steamed in banana leaves, but I have used nonstick aluminum foil since we don't get banana leaves here.

Ingredients:

Bottlegourd (Sorekai) - 1 medium sized
Sona masoori rice - 4 cups
Salt - to taste

Method:

- Wash and soak rice in water for about 4-5 hours
- Peel the bottlegourd and grate or make thin juliennes using a mandoline slicer
- Grind the rice into a thick smooth paste. This should not be watery
- Mix in the bottlegourd and salt
- Place water in a steamer (or dhokla cooker) and let it heat
- Meanwhile, take a rectangle pice of nonstick aluminum foil and pour 2 small ladle of batter and fold it from all the 4 sides
- Keep it inside the steamer. Repeat with remaining batter
- Steam for about 30 mins in high heat
- Remove foil covers from kadubu pieces
- Serve hot with ghee, grated jaggery and red chili chutney