Tambdo phovu is very easy to prepare and inexpensive. The biggest expense would be the coconut and in the Konkan, every family would have their own coconut trees. You could mix as little or as much as you’d want. It doesn’t spoil, though the phovu may soften a bit.

The key ingredient here is the phova piTTo (powdered spice mix). Earlier, this would be made in every home, but now families simply buy it in the market. Phova piTTo from Kumta is famous! On every visit to Kumta I pickup a pound to bring here, and also for my aunts and cousins living in Mumbai (who are too lazy to travel to Kumta). Shilpa of Aayi’s Recipes has a recipe for the Kumta phova piTTo!

After much pestering, Manashi has developed a taste for it and now makes delicious tambdo phovu. I get it at least once on the weekend! I count my blessings, else I’d have to make do with chemical laden, starchy mush called cereal!

Ingredients

• Phovu (thin puffed rice, 2 cups)
• soyi (grated coconut, 1/2 cup; we use the frozen variety, microwaved to thaw)
• Kotumbari (coriander seeds, 1 tbsp)
• Jirae (cumin seeds, – 1/2 tsp)
• Tambdi mirsang (dried hot red peppers, 4 medium sized)
• Saakar (sugar, 1 tsp)
• MeeTh (salt, to taste)

Method:

• Roast the coriander and cumin seeds; then the red peppers separately in a wee bit of oil.
• Collect in a steel bowl, along with the soyi, poha piTTo, sugar and salt.
• I use a pestle (of mortar and pestle) to first crush the seeds, the red peppers and then crushingly mix with the phova piTTo, soyi, sugar and salt.
• Mix in the phovu in small amounts.
• Moisture from the soyi should be sufficient to soften the phovu, but you can sprinkle a few drops of water.
• Serve with some sev on the side.
• Bon apetit!

• Shilpa has a slightly different, but equally delicious recipe for the red phovu.
• You may like another of my Konkani Favorites: Kadgi Chakko!

and my favorite Kumta related posts:

• Kumta: Jewel of the Konkan
• Kumta: Field of Dreams
• Kumta: Main Street
• Kumta: School Kids
• Or you can see all my posts in KUMTA category

Eat Healthy! Live Long! Run Far!

I recently saw two recipes for Raagi Roti (or Bhakri) and convinced M to give it a try.We followed two similar recipes; one by Latha from Yum Blog! and the other by Asha of Foodies Hope. There are slight variations, so go ahead and check them out.The bhakri had a nice earthy taste and was slightly gritty. The red onions and chillies gave it a nice zing and did not need any chutney to go with it. It did dry my mouth, and I gulped a couple of glasses of water and juice. I quickly chomped down two bhakris and was surprisingly full for the rest of the day. It sits strongly in your stomach. This ability to fill you must be an important reason why raagi is a staple amongst the poor laborers in Northern Karnataka. This would be a great snack to power you on a long hike.

Ingredients (essentially from Latha’s post)

• Raagi flour – 1 cup; see making Fresh Raagi Flour
• Cilantro, finely chopped – half bunch
• Red onion, 1/2 of medium sized, finely chopped
• Green chilly pepper, 2 finely chopped
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Mix ingredients in the least amount of water and knead into a smooth soft dough.
• Set aside for 15 minutes.
• Spread a few drops of oil on a hot tava (pan), place a ball of dough and pat it to a pancake. Try to get it as thin as possible.
• It helps to rub oil on your fingers to prevent them sticking to the dough
• Roast covered over medium heat
• Flip and roast other side as well.
• Don’t crisp, but leave soft.

A little background: Raagi is also called African millet or red millet, and was introduced into India four millenia earlier from Ethiopia. In Maharashtra it is called Nachani and in Konkani, we call it Nanchano. The raagi crop grows well in arid lands making it popular amongst farmers in parts of the dry Deccan plateau. The seeds once harvested are also resistant to insects and spoilage and another reason raagi has become a staple of farmers. And it unusually brings vital amino acids to an otherwise starchy diet.Give it a try! Eat Healthy!

Have to confess, M looks through a few food blogs every day to figure out what new dishes to conjure up every evening to tame her impatient, ravenous husband. Yes, I am well fed!

As I have elaborated before, food blogs have an important advantage, they are not written by celebrity chefs mixing ingredients in designer kitchens for TV fans. These are written by your average householders, who are always time-challenged to cook something delicious yet simple and healthy for their loved ones – their own spouses and kids. Yes and in their cooking you find the most precious spice of ‘love’.

But how do you track the seemingly millions of food blogs out there? Over the last several months I have tracked several Foodies and listed them in my Food to Live For blogroll on ArunShanbhag.com

A useful trend amongst foodies is to organize a ‘Round-up’ based on an ingredient or festival. Contributors post recipes on the theme and an organizer rounds-up and links the recipes in a large post.

Asha of FoodiesHope, recently organized a Round-up of “Regional Cuisines of India: Karnataka.” Foodies from around the globe recreated traditional dishes in modern kitchens and also conjured up new recipes with locally available ingredients.

Asha, received 368 contributions and has painstakingly sorted and summarized it in four posts. If you even remotely like Karnataka Cuisine, this is verily food nirvana:

1. Appetizers and Snacks
2. Breakfast and Brunch. (Includes a dazzling variety of dosas!)
3. Dishes for the Main Course
4. Spicy Powders, Desserts and Else.

So take a few minutes to visit her posts, identify the recipes you like, click through for the complete recipes. Since some of the contributors were already on my Food to Live For blogroll, we have tried several of these dishes at home. Yumm! No doubt I have not had a chance to post – coz we were busy eating )

Last year on my return from the Kailash Manasarovar yatra, I had a severe case of acid reflux which was affecting my throat and vocal chords. Apparently, eating foods cooked in an unknown quality of oils and lying in sleeping bags (without pillow) can cause this. Of course, my intense running also brings up stomach acid and aggravates it. In addition to medications and other dietary changes, my doctor recommended that I stop drinking coffee! I could not imagine starting my day without a double shot of espresso. But I loved running more. So for several months I drank green tea in the mornings (and yawned at my desk). I came upon Masala Milk Mix in the grocery store and loved its refreshing taste. My mother noted that it was easy to make the powder at home and that got me started on grinding my own Badam Pista Milk Mix.

Now, I start my day with a warm cup of Badam Pista Dudh. I still drink about half a cup of coffee after lunch. My acidity problems have been essentially resolved and I feel great.

Easy to make.

Here is the recipe:

• 1 cup almonds (roasted, unsalted)
• 1 cup shelled pistachios (roasted, unsalted)
• seeds of 30 cardamom cloves (about 2 teaspoons of seeds)
• 1 teaspoon kesar (saffron)

To prepare:

• Grind almonds, pista and cardamom seeds, separately in a dry grinder
• Add kesar at the very end by simply crumpling it with fingers
• Mix well and store in a dry cool place.



To make Badam Pista Milk:

• 1/2 teaspoon of powder
• 1 cup of milk; 1% low fat!
• microwave for 2 minutes.
• For sweetening, I use a teaspoon of kolhapuri jaggery, instead of sugar. Jaggery thickens the milk, and has a lower glycemic index. Thus you avoid the sugar high and is particularly good for diabetics.

Early mornings as I sip the badam milk, I do my floor stretches. Rejuvenated, I am ready for the day!

Health benefits of Almonds and Pistachios:
Everyone touts the health benefits of almonds, but I was pleasantly surprised to find good scientific data indicating these nuts do indeed improve cardiovascular health. A daily snack of almonds is effective in lowering Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) the bad cholesterol, by upto 16%. Pistachios increase High Density Cholesterol (HDL) the good cholesterol; and both these nuts lower total cholesterol. I have provided links to a few references below.

References:

• Effect of Pistachio Nuts on Serum Lipid Levels in Patients with Moderate Hypercholesterolemia
• Pistachio Nut Consumption and Serum Lipid Levels
• Nuts and Plasma Lipids: An Almond-Based Diet Lowers LDL-C while Preserving HDL-C”
• Effects of Plant-Based Diets High in Raw or Roasted Almonds, or Roasted Almond Butter on Serum Lipoproteins in Humans
• Critical Review: A Systematic Review of the Effects of Nuts on Blood Lipid Profiles in Humans

Life is Beautiful! Live it the Fullest!

And they made one of my favorites, Dill Idlis (Dill is called Shaepi in Konkani). These idlis represent the marriage of the South Indian staple idli with the aromatic Dill, popular in coastal Maharashtra. Dill Idlis are primarily made along the northern coastal Karnataka (Konkan).

In making these idlis, the key is to retain the subtle taste and gentle aroma of dill, which is later complemented by warm tuup and honey while eating. So here is the brief recipe and a few pics.

Fresh Dill


Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped fresh dill
• 1 cup jaggery
• 1 cup beaten rice
• 1 cup grated coconut
• 1 cup cream of wheat
• 1 tsp salt

Kadgi (a variant of the jackfruit), is a small round-ish fruit with a bumpy thick skin. Much like the jackfruit, but not as spiky. The meat inside is white, the seeds and rest are all edible. Chakko, is a typical coconut-based 'sukka' (dry) masala. The spices are delicate and don't cover-up the kadgi taste. Its gritty and fibery texture goes well with the basic rice and dhal. I like it with chapattis. Important to get the deep red color of the chakko. Keeping Kadgi Chakko in mind, during our recent visit to Kumta, we picked up a bag of “baedgi mirsang” red peppers – known for their bright color and delicate spice.

Recipe: (with my own variations and editorializing)
Ingredients
Note: You need an appae kaili. Looks like a circular muffin pan, made of heavy cast iron with semi-circular cavities the size of ice-cream scoops. The kaili (pan) is heated on a regular stove top. If push-comes-to-shove, you could use a muffin tray in the oven for 20 min at 375 deg C.

• 1 cup wheat flour (currently using Sujatha brand wheat flour – stylized as authentic chakki atta.)
• About 3/4 cup jaggery (lumpy brown sugar, before any refining or crystallization steps)
• 1/4 grated coconut (we used 1/2 cup grated coconut, frozen)
• 1 tbsp tuup – homemade clarified butter (or use regular butter)
• pinch of salt
• 10 cardamoms (elaichi)- powdered with a mortar and pestle

Method:
Blend the wheat flour, jaggery, salt, crushed cardamons and grated coconut. The dough needs to be the consistency of cookie dough. You can add water, or as we did, a few tablespoons of milk.

Heat appae kaili on a stove top and dribble some tuup in each cavity. When hot, scoop out a tablespoon of dough into each cavity. Load the center last, as it's the first one done! Add another dribble of tuup over the dough. Cook covered on low heat for 7-10 minutes. The edges will get crusty and dark brown. Use a spoon to scoop the 'appo,' turn it over and add another dribble of tuup. Cooked covered for another 5 minutes. Wallah! All done!

Not yet!

M arranged a few appams in a plate (see pic), placed it in front of our home shrine and said a small prayer thanking Ganapati for our blessed lives. Then we feasted! Appams and milk!

Its been decades since I had any good mhoramba. A few weeks ago, one of my aunts asked for a recipe and that got me thinking: why not make it myself. Actually I had tried it several times in the past here in the US. The pineapples here are just too sour and if you add too much sugar, the whole thing carmelizes and you’ll need an axe to hack it.

Finally a stoke of genius – BTW, I get about a 100 of these per day Why not try it with Canned Pineapples? I put together a recipe and it worked just great. Lets just say, I don’t complain about dinner anymore – I just reach for the chapattis and mhoramba, breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even for a snack. It is not to runny and not to dense. Not too sugary – when it zings the teeth; and not too sour. Heaven! Svarga! this must be it. Since I am not a sadist, I am including a simple recipe as well. Try it and let me know what you think.

Pineapple Mhoramba:

• 1 medium can (375 -450 gms) of crushed Pineapple in its own juice (not “in syrup”).
• 1 medium can of Pineapple “chunks” in its own juice.
• Open the cans and pour out about half of the juice.
• Pour remaining in a medium non-stick saucepan (saves you the cleaning)
• Add two cups of sugar on top – don’t have to worry about mixing it.
• Simmer for about 45 minutes. You should just see some bubbling.
• Use a wooden spatula and stir if you want to feel involved and hard working. I just twirl the saucepan. Its not going to burn because the heat is on very low.
• Separately use a mortar and pestle to crush about 20 seeds of cardamon (elaichi; the seeds from about three cloves, peeled). Add to the simmering stuff.
• Add three cinnamon sticks broken in half
• About ten strands of saffron (kesar)
• A fifth of a nutmeg freshly grated straight into the pot. Be careful – some folks find this too strong.
• Let it simmer for another 45 minutes, with gentle mixing or twirling. You should see the color change to a light brown and the pineapples condensed to about half. You can let it simmer for a little bit longer if you want it a bit thicker.

That’s it! You did it!

If you made it, you get to try it out when it is still warm. If you don’t have chapattis, try it with whole wheat bread. Yumm!

I spoon it to a clean jar when it is still warm, allow to cool on the counter overnight and then cap tightly. No need to refrigerate – we always leave it in the pantry. If you are doing the cleanup, count your blessings. You get to lick the spoon clean.

By mixing the crushed and chunks of pineapple, I get a nice mix of spreadable mush and some chunks.

Any comments, or suggestions for improvements, or what to eat it with are always welcome.
Enjoy!