I have always associated bele holige with Mahashivratri.Many madhva households do this delectable dish on this holy day.And this festval is special to me as it was on shivratri of 2009 that I attempted to do holige for the first time and by lord Shiva's grace, they turned out to be extremely good, edible so to say. Well, count on lord's grace for miracles to happen in your life :-)

I was very nervous the first time I attempted to do holige, was bombarded with visions of me unable to roll the dough after stuffing hoorana, that it could all crumble on griddle, the jaggery in hoorna would separate and some out etc......but fortunately nothing went wrong....it was definately an uplifting experience.

Ingrediants :

For hoorana or stuffing

• Kadle bele / chana dal : 1 cup (Toor dal can also be used instead of chana dal or toor dal and chana dal in equal measures can be used)
• Jaggery : a little more than 1/2 cup or as per taste
• nutmeg powder : 1 tsp
• cardamom powder : 1 tsp
• badam powder : 1/4 cup (optional)

For kanaka or dough

• Maida : 1 cup
• Chirote rava : 3 tsp
• Turmeric : a pinch

Method :

• Mix maida, chirote rava, a pinch of salt and turmeric with water to make a soft dough.Smear oil (or pour oil covering half or entire dough.Doing this is optional) and keep it aside till hoorana is prepared.The dough should be softer than the normal chapati dough.
• Presurre cook chana dal to 10 whistles, so that dal is mushy.Drain water completely and crush dal with your hand to make a fine paste.If you still see the lumps, grind it.
• Mix dal well with jaggery.the mixture becomes watery due to jaggery.Heat the mixture to make it dry, constantly stirring to avoid mixture burning out at bottom of the pan. Add cardamom powder and badam powder. When the water starts to evaporate, the mixture forms a lump.Circle the lump with a spatula few times and if you are able to make a dough like thing out of the mixture, then the hoorana or the stuffing is ready.
• Take it from the stove and cool it, covering the vessel with lid.Once cooled, if you feel it is too dry, add a spoon of ghee and knead it to moisten it, so that it spreads nicely when you start rolling the holige.Take some hoorana and make small balls.
• Dust the surface where you will roll with maida.Take some dough, size of a small lemon, roll it to a size of the puri.Stuff hoorana in the middle, close the edges tightly such that hoorana does not come out, pat it to flatten it and roll it gingerly.(The size of dough should be half the size of stuffing / hoorana.As maida is elastic, it stretches to hold more stuffing.And when holige is done, you will find stuffing at rim of holige too, else it would be concentrated at center) Start rolling from middle and go upto the edges.Heat it on the griddle like a regular chapati.
• Holige or obattu is ready to make any festival special and memorable.
• Savour it hot as-is or mix it with lukewarm milk and ghee and mash it.......it is heavenly any way you eat it :-).. hats off to who ever has come up with this dish. 

As a child, I had wondered why elders prepared this dish only during major festivals like dasara or shivratri or on magala gowri pooja or sri varamahalakshmi pooja or on birthdays.I never asked anyone the reason, telling myself that as it is a holiday during festivals and that there is plenty of time, so holiges are prepared.

But now after listening to few bhajans and pravachanas, I think I know the reason......holige is an auspicious dish as many haridasas have compared holige to lord's name in their hymns.As per my knowledge, I can only quote these two instance :

1) Sri Jagannatha dasaru, in Sri Harikathamrutasara(in Bhojana rasa vibhaga sandhi, 10th verse) , has said Lord Vishnu, in form of Sankarushana, is patron deity of holige.

2) Sri Prasanna Venkata dasaru, in one of his bhajans, has sung, "....ninna nama holige..." which translated means your name is holige, meaning lords name is as sweet as holige.

I have seen many families prepare holiges whenever their daughter visits them along with her husband....that is indeed a festive occasion which commands preparation of holiges / puran polis / obbattus.

Hachida avalakki is a quick snack  (if already prepared and stored), which would always be available in almost all my relatives homes.

My mom makes sure this is always available at home as my dad has this every evening watching evening news, its almost a ritual for him :-).... Whenever me and my bro have visited our usha maushi's home in Hubli for evening walk or to take break from studies during exams, she had, most of the times, given us this avalakki mixed with freshly  grated coconut, finely chopped cilantro, a bit of sugar and lemon juice...wow the feeling was exhilarating :-)..I miss those days so very much :(

 Another memory I have of this avalakki is from  weddings....a packet of avalakki, chakli and undi would be given to all relatives as they are about to leave after the wedding....someone would hurriedly come and tell the hostess that this particular family is leaving, and a flurry of activities would follow.......hostess would stop what she was doing, call the family, give them presents(usually saree for aunties and shirt-pant pieces for uncles), and then frantically search for that big bag(usually a big white bag with its contents written on it, boldly) which would have had packets of avalakki,chakli and undi, give it to aunty and thank them for gracing the occasion and wishing them a happy journey, asking them if they want a dinner or lunch packed , and finally requesting them to call as soon as they reache home :) ........I vividly remember this from all my cousin's weddings.....one of my favourite times during wedding......oh boy, how much I miss those times....I do not remember what it was like during my wedding :(

Ingredients

• Thin Poha : 6 cups 
• Putani or Roasted Gram : 1 cup
• Ground nuts : 1 cup
• Finely chopped curry leaves : approx 10, but more the better
• Finely chopped green chillies : 15 or as per taste
• Sugar : to taste (optional)
• Salt to taste
• Menthed-hittu : 1 1/2  tsp (optional)
• Cashew nuts (optional)
• Raisins (optional)

For tempering :

• Oil : 10 tsp (I usually eyeball it)
• Mustard seeds : 5 tsp
• Jeera : 5 tsp
• Hing : 1/2 tsp
• Haldi :1 1/2 to 2 tsp

The right quantity of tempering is important as it is mixed with avalakki.

Method :

• Heat the pan and pour oil. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds, jeera, haldi, hing,curry leaves, roasted gram(putani), raisins, cashew-nuts and ground-nuts.Lower the flames and simmer for few min. Keep the pan aside.
• Microwave thin poha for 45 sec or heat them over low flame till they are crisp (which usually takes 5-6 min)
• Spread poha on a large plate and pour the tempering. Add salt and sugar.Mix them well.
• If poha appears oily, heat more poha and add it to the mixture and adjust salt and sugar to taste.If you are short of tempering, prepare it and add to mixture.
• Keep adjusting, either adding poha or making tempering, till you find the avalakki
  tasty :-)
• Then add methed-hittu and mix well.

It is a well followed custom that if someone offers you this type of avalakki, you do not refuse it....you take at least a spoonful of it. The reason being the story of Krishan and Sudhama. Krishna and Sudhama were classmates in the ashram of Sandipini, also best friends. After the completion of their education, they went their ways. One day, Sudhama, a poor brahmin, was forced by his wife to seek Krishna's blessings to rid them of their poverty. Legend has it that, Sudhama took along with him this type of avalakki and Lord Krishna took two fistful of them, thus blessing Sudhama with riches. So if you refuse it, whenever you are offered, you know what you will be deprived of.  

I have not yet got control over measure of avalakki or poha Vs the tempering so I keep adjusting, either making more tempering or adding more avalakki, till I am happy with the taste and look of poha.When poha is ready, eat it as-is or add finely chopped raw veggies like tomatoes,  cucumber, onion, onion leaves, simla mirch(capsicum)  etc and finally garnishing with freshly grated coconut and cilantro.

Vaggarani Avalakki (vaggarani means tempering and poha is avalakki)  is my comfort food.This simple snack sometime is also our dinner. If my husband and I are bored of having our usual dinner, our unanimous choice is vaggarani avalakki, and this definately brings smile on our faces. Only one main ingredient --- poha, with the rest of them being the usual ones required for temepring and garnishing.  Adding lots of vegetables(optional) ups the yumminess of this dish.

Ingrediants :

• Poha : 1 cup
• 3 finely chopped curry leaves
• 4 tsp of finely chopped cilantro
• pinch of sugar
• salt and lemon juice to taste
• 3-4 finely chopped green chillies
• 1 tsp of grated ginger
• grated coconut to garnish (fresh coconut adds to the taste)
• 1 tsp putani powder : optional

Vegetables : half of each vegetable, diced(you can add any vegetables of your choice)

• Cucumber
• Potato
• Green peas
• Carrot
• Simla Mirch (capsicum)
• onion

For tempering :

• Oil : 4 tsp or eyeball measure
• 1 tsp of mustard seeds, jeera, urad dal
• pinch of haldi and hing

Method :

• Wash poha and keep it aside. Drain poha completely of water.
• Cook the veggies of your choice.Do not make them mushy.
• Heat the pan. Pour 4 tsp of oil. Again like bread uppit, more the oil, the better. Using more oil prevents poha from drying and sticking to the pan.If you are capable of  sprinkling the right amount of water over poha for it to cook and not make it a lump, then use less oil.My mum prepares poha this way. Am not experienced and take the short-cut  ...  I use more oil :-D
• Add mustard seeds, jeera and urad dal.When you see urad dal turning brown, add jeera, haldi,hing, finely chopped green chillies, grated ginger and curry leaves.
• Add cooked vegetables and saute them.
• Now Add poha. Cook it for 5 min on a very low flame. Poha usually cooks faster.
• After it is cooked, add salt, sugar, lemon juice and cilantro and mix well.
• Mixing fine putani powder to poha in the end is optional.It absorbs extra oil or water from poha.

We have it with a dollop of yogurt if we are having it for dinner. And later we always have this "wow we just had a sumptuous spread" kind of expression on our faces. I beleive this is what your comfort food should do for you :-)

P.S :  The above image shows no vegetables. The only vegetable I had used was onion.

"Hot cross buns, hot cross buns, one ha penny, two ha penny, hot cross buns....." goes the popular nursery rhyme.I love listening to nursery rhymes and grew up listening to them sung by Preeti Sagar.I have lost that cassette, but the song still rings in my ears. Maybe this is the reason why I love to eat bread.Bread toasted with ghee on both sides,  sometimes sprinkled with chutney-pudi(chutney powder), or plain bread-butter-jam or a veggie sandwich, or bread uppit or just hot masala tea and bread :) ..... I can have bread in any form.

If you have an old bread which is turning hard, making uppit out of it is a simple way not to waste it.....preparation does not take more than 10 min.I make a fresh bread uppit and then keep it in oven for 5 min so that it is crispier and does not stick to your teeth while eating (this one is my hubby's idea :-). Also dear hubby noticed that if you cut the bread into small pieces with a knife, instead of breaking them into small pieces with hand, they get crispier faster in oven. As the popular saying goes, old habits die hard, and I usually end up using my hands :-D. 

Ingrediants :

• 7-8 slices of bread 
• Half finelly chopped onion
• 5-6 finely cut green chilles (adjust the number of chillies to your taste)
• 3 finely cut curry leaves
• finely chopped cilantro (to your taste)
• pinch of sugar
• lemon juice to taste 

For Tempering : 

• 5-6 tsp oil or eyeball it
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp jeera
• a pinch of hing and turmeric(haldi)

Method :

• Heat the pan, pour oil.More the oil, the better, as uppit does not get too dry.Do not use water to soften the uppit.I use olive oil for cooking as it is supposed to be healthier than regular vegetable oil....hence I make generous use of oil here, but I make sure uppit is not oily.
• Add mustard seeds, jeera, curry leaves, green chilles,hing and haldi. Once they start spluttering, add finely chopped onions and sprinkle little salt over it. Salt cooks onion faster.
• After few min, maybe after 5 min(onion need not be wholly cooked...it is nice if you get a crisp chuck of onion in your bite....it tastes good to me), add bread pieces and  mix it well.Lower the flame to very low at the time of adding bread pieces.
• Sprinkle little sugar, add salt and lemon juice to taste.Garnish with finely chopped cilantro. Keep it in pre-heated (350) oven for 5 min and serve.

I remember reading some funny things about bread which surprised me .....that offering bread and salt to a guest is a sign of Russian welcome....that some Europeans believe that if a boy and a girl eat from the same loaf, they fall in love.....that whoever eats last piece of bread has to kiss the cook  :D :D.....so next time you eat bread, remember you are eating a very romantic snack !!! Bon Appetite.

I first had this dish at my Parimala atya's home in Bangalore, on an ekadashi.This dish is quite filling and definitely good idea to prepare on days of fasting. And since my marriage, I have been preparing this dish only on ekadashi :-)

Ingredients :

• Thick Poha or Avalakki : 1 cup
• Moong dal or Hesaru bele : 2 cups (Toor dal can also be used, but many madhava households do not use it on ekadashi)
• Green Chilli : 2 or as per taste
• Red chilli powder : 1 tsp or as per taste
• Turmeric powder or haldi : a pinch
• Salt : to taste
• Tamarind paste/water : a little over quarter  a cup or to taste
• Bisibele Bhaat powder : to taste
• Cumin and Mustard seeds : 1 tsp
• Oil : 2 tsp
• Asefotida or hing : a pinch
• Cilantro or Kotambeer : 1/4 cup
• Jaggery or sugar : 1/2 tsp
• sev : optional 
• a cup of cooked vegetables : I add potatoes, peas and carrot.

Method : 

• Wash and pressure cook hesaru bele to 3 whistles.
• Wash and keep aside avalakki or poha.Drain avalakki completely of water.
• In a pan, prepare the tempering or tadka.Heat pan, add oil, cumin and mustard seeds, hing, haldi and finely chopped green chilles. Mix them well.
• Add tamarind paste or water, red chili powder, bisibele-bhaat powder, jaggery and salt.
  Mix them well and simmer for few minutes, till you get a nice aroma of all the spices.
• Pour a cup of water, and adjust taste of spices.When it boils, add vegetables and  hesaru bele and boil for 5-6 min.
• Add avalakki.Mix it well with bele and spices. At this point, when avalakki and bele combine, it tends to thicknen.Add water to desired consistency, adjust the spices cover pan with lid and cook for 5 min.
• Remove the lid, allow it to settle for a min, mix it and serve, garnishing with cilantro, sev and a dollop of ghee.

Ekadashi is a day where one is expected to observe austerity, instead it has become a day where I plan what to prepare so as to keep our stomachs from gnawning....I get an urge to indulge in variety of snacks, like that ever lovable, fictional Subbamma, immortalized in this song, "aache maneya subbammanige Ekaadashi upavaasa, ello svalpa tintaarante uppittu avalakki payasa ......" 

Listen to the full song here(8th song from above in the list) and enjoy Ekadashi....if we are able to prepare and have as many snacks as listed in this song, Ekadashi will be the most sought after day !!

Rice Idllis have been my favorite as far as I can remember.When me and my brother were growing up, fluffy steaming idllis was our regular breakfast :). It was only after my marriage that cooking interested me and I began trying out the dishes I knew (and did't knew). And the first time when I tried rice idlli, they were hard.Cooking over a year has made me realise that kitchen is an experiment lab, and we have to observe and remember how the dish was made and if the end result is not what we had expected, well, improvise the dish on trial and error basis.After many attempts, my idllis are turning out to be soft and fluffy.....just the way my mom use to do :)

Ingrediants :

1) Urad dal : 1 cup

2) Idlli Rava : 2 cups

Urad dal and Idlli rava are in 1:2 measure.

Method :

1) Wash and soak urad dal and idlli rava for 8 hours.Soak them separately.

2) Just before you grind urad dal,wash and rinse idlli rava with cold water.Drain the rava totally of water.

3) Grind urad dal to a very smooth paste with as little water as possible. Adjust the water needed for grinding as you grind. The amount of water added to urad dal while grinding is one of the factor that decides the quality of idllis.Do not add so less water that you can not grind urad dal(sometimes if the quantity of water is less, you see fumes coming out of the jar when you open the lid) or more water that the batter is watery.

4) Mix urad dal paste and idlli rava thoroughly.

5) Pour batter into a container and ferment overnight or 12 hours in a warm area.(Ipreheat the oven to 200 F for just 5 min and then keep the batter inside.). If the batter has risen and appears to be double the size, and if you are able to smell a light sour smell, then the fermentation is complete. Sometimes it takes more than 12 hours for me to ferment.

6) Pour the batter into the idlli stand and cook them exactly 10 min.(this is my magic minute.I have found that my idllis are not cooked if it is a min less and becomes hard if it is min more).Do not use the weight if you are using a pressure cooker which cooks rice. How long idllis are steam cooked is another factor which determines quality of idlli.

7) Remove the stand and allow it to cool for a min.Take a spoon and dip it in water and take the idllis from the stand.

8) Relish the hot, soft and fluffy idllis with any chutney.

P.S : I usually soak urad dal in morning and grind it at night.Sometimes, if I am not able to grind it, I keep urad dal and idli rava (both soaking in water) in fridge and grind it the next day, after it has come to room temperature(getting it to room temperature is important, otherwise urdal dal paste will be jelly-like).

After fermentation, when you cook idllis, they will be just as good. Bon Appetit :-)