Simple Hituku Bele and a Visit to the Avare Bele Mela!

Simple Hituku Bele and a Visit to the Avare Kai Mela!

I have already blogged about Avare Kaalu (or Hyacinth / Lilva / Navy Bean??) in this post a few days back. Here is yet another Avare post, to share the excitement of the Mela (Festival) in Bangalore, as well as a very simple and tasty dal (lentil) we have at home.

My experiences of Melas in general – whether it’s the village Santhai at Valiapatti, or the Farmer’s Market at Portland, are a flood of stalls and vendors spread out in large open areas! So little did I imagine that the famous Avarekai Mela at Bangalore, would be confined to a mere crowded shop at Sajjan Raw Circle, and few pavement sellers! My initial disappointment was quickly replaced by excitement, as I entered the shop with my husband and Yosee. As we wended our way through the avaricious crowds, we could glimpse through the multitudes of preparations, packed and stacked in rows and rows of shelves. Nipattu, Chakli, Mixture, Avalakki, Ladoos, Chikkis, and many more snacks were available, where avare bele was liberally thrown in.

The spicy fried avare bele was the only chaste avare preparation, as it was not corrupted with any other ingredient. Avare Kai enthusiasts seemed to be pouring in on and on but no one seemed to leave at all. As the crowd kept swelling, we came out of the shop after a few purchases. There were chefs cooking a dozen dosas at a time on large tavas on the one side and efficient hands were rolling out delicious obbattus on the other side. Hot Uppittus and even Bhel Puri was being sold. The flavoursome Avarekai Saru accompanied the ‘hot hot dosas' which were embedded with cooked avare bele and minced onions. Masala Vadais were also selling like hot potatoes, or should I say, like avare beles! The unusual sweet Avarekai Payasa was another attraction for children.

My husband who is the honorary photographer for the blog went bersek with so many Avare Kai dishes around him. He alternated between buying and clicking and finally we made our way to Yosee’s place, fully loaded with parcels of Avare Kai dishes. After enjoying a buffet tea of the dishes, we thankfully washed it down with a hot cup of filter coffee offered by Yosee. Back at home as we sat loading the pictures into the computer, a sense of fulfillment over took us.

HITUKU BELE or SQUEEZED OUT AVARE BEANS

I have shared what is ‘Hituku Bele’ and how the beans are squeezed out of their membraneous skins in the earlier post here. Lakshmi shares the technique here. Squeezed Beans are readily available as well, if you want to skip this laboursome task.

INGREDIENTS:
Hituku bele - 2 cups
Turmeric powder – 1 pinch
Asafoetida powder – 1 pinch
Salt – ½ tsp
Juice of one lime
Oil – 2 tsps
Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp
Green chillies - 2
Fresh coriander leaves – a few

METHOD:
1. Boil two cups of water in a wide pan and add the lentil.
2. Add turmeric powder and asafoetida and cook till tender but not mushy.
3. When the bele is cooking, mash one portion of the bele with the back of the ladle inside the cooking pan..
4. This will give a consistency to the bele.
5. Stir well and add salt and cook for two more minutes.
6. Blend in the lime juice and switch off flame.
7. Heat oil and add mustard seeds.
8. After it splutters add the chopped green chillies.
9. Pour the seasoning on the dal
10. Garnish with fresh corriander.

Relish the simple, light and delicious hituku bele with rice or rotis.

This post goes to Srivalli's My Legume Love Affair-7th helping. My Legume Love Affair was started by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook.

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Express Tomato Sambar for idly/dosa & Rava Onion Oothappam

This is not a regular sambar. As the name suggests, it can be made in a jiffy using very few ingredients. It goes great with idly/dosa and I am sure you will like it. I learned it from my neighbor.

Ingredients:
To pressure cook with water until done(5-6 whistles):
Thur dhal-1/2 cup
Chopped Tomatoes-5(medium) or 6(small)
Garlic-4 pods

To tamper in 1 tbsp oil:
Jeera-1 tsp
Red Chillis-5

Other ingredients:
Salt
Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:
Pressure cook the ingredients mentioned above.
Tamper jeera and red chillis in oil. Add it to the cooked dhal+tomato mixture. Add salt.
Mix well. Using a hand blender, blend the mixture to a smooth and creamy paste. The consistency should be like that of a soup. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with dosas/idly.

Note:If you don't have a hand blender, you may dry grind red chillis, then do the tampering in oil and add it to tomato dhal mixture. Smash the mixture well with back side of a ladle.

Some friends emailed me and asked if they have to add sambar powder. No. Do not add sambar powder. It will alter the taste.

Since we are not adding tamarind, we use lots of tomatoes in this recipe.

This goes to Susan and Srivalli's My Legume love affair-seventh helping event. Isn't the logo cute? I love the colors.

Let's move on to the next dish. Bindiya visited my blog recently and posted her comment. As usual, I was curious to check out her kitchen. Her rava masala oothapam caught my eye. I made it today without making any changes to her recipe. It was a hit. Oothappams were crispy on the edges and soft on the inside. Yummy!

Ananda Tandava,The Tao of Physics, and Thiruvadirai Kali

Ananda Tandava,The Tao of Physics, and Thiruvadirai Kali

The month of Margazhi (Tamil Calendar) or the Dhanur masa is dawn in Heaven, and the day breaks for its celestial inmates. Waking up the omnipresent Lord every morning by chanting the Suprabatha (Good morning!) is a very exhilarating experience for a staunch devotee. Since Margazhi is dawn to the Lord, praying and chanting during this month acquires greater religious fervour.

Lord Sri Narayana opens the doors of his abode Vaikunta for his devotees and blesses them on Vaikunta Ekadashi day. Similarly, on the day when the star Adhirai (or Arudhra) falls on the full moon day of the Margazhi Masam, Lord Shiva blesses his devotees with his blissful Cosmic Dance performance - the Dance which creates, sustains and destroys the entire universe. Thiruvadhirai is supposed to be the birth day of the Lord who is beyond births and deaths. Fritjof Capra draws a parallel between Shiva’s Ananda Tandava (Blissful dance) and the dance of the sub atomic particles in his book – The Tao of Physics, which was published in 1975. It explains the very faint line between modern physics and the age old mysticism. Therefore whether you are a scientist or a mystic, whether you are a theist or an atheist, Thiruvadirai is the day to celebrate Lord Shiva’s Cosmic Dance.

On Thiruvadirai day, we wake up early in the morning and offer our prayers to Lord Shiva. A sweet dish – Thiruvadirai Kali – is prepared and offered to the Lord along with Yezhu Kari Koottu, which is prepared with all the vegetables which are harvested during the season.

THIRUVADIRAI KALI
INGREDIENTS:
Rice – 1 cup
Jaggery – 1 cup
Cardamom – 4
Cashew nuts – 10
Raisins – a few
Ghee – 4 tbsps
METHOD:
1. Dry roast rice until it becomes pink in colour.
2. Dry grind the roasted rice till it becomes like fine semolina.
3. Dissolve jaggery in 3 cups of water and add 1 tbsp of ghee.
4. Bring the jaggery water to a boil, and add the roasted and broken rice.
5. Stir well and cook until it becomes a lump.
6. Add 3 tbsps of ghee and blend well.
7. Heat the remaining ghee in a ladle, and fry the cashew nuts to a golden colour.
8. Add the raisins and fry till they bloat, and add to the prepared Kali.
9. Mix in the cardamom powder and offer it to the Lord.

Relish the hot prasadam with a dollop of butter, and Yezhu Kari Koottu on a cold Margazhi morning. The recipe for Yezhu Kari Koottu is given here.