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.