HABBADA ADIGE / FESTIVAL FOOD

Festivals form an important part of a Hindu life. Festivals are occassions to pray, rejoice, celebrate, bond with family and friends, wear new and/or festive clothes, and most importantly partake a sumptuous festive meal. Be it Ugadi or Deepawali, Navaratri or Janmashtmi, each festival has atleast one thing in common i.e. "Habbada Adige", which literally translated means festive food.

Food preparation in households during festival is an elaborate effort and involves prior planning and careful pre-work. What comprises of a standard meal during festivals remains common among most madhwa households, however you will find variations based on regional differences and some household specific customs and practices. Further, each festival may also require some dishes specific to that festival.

A standard meal will comprise of these dishes

• Kosambari, 2 types
• Dry Vegetable Palya, 2 types
• Chitranna
• Anna
• Kootu/majjige paldya
• Saaru
• Tavve
• Payasa
• Bhaksha -special sweet
• Some fried item: ambode etc
• Mosaru

Some points to be noted:

1. Standard veggies for palya include French beans, chayote(chow-chow), kohlrabi (nool kol), cluster beans(govardankayi), Indian flat beans (chapparada avarekayi), ridge gourd, raw banana, potato, yam, okra/ladies finger. These palyas can be included in Naivedya . However vegetable like cabbage, carrot, capsicum, etc can’t be offered for naivedya.
2. Vegetables like onions, drumstick, brinjal, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, beetroot, etc and Leafy vegetables cannot be used in any form during any festivals.
3. In case short on time, one can make just 1 palya with 2 vegetables
4. Above applies for kosambri too.

IDLI

Ingredients

Urad dal (gola): 1 cup
Idli rice: 3 cups
Poha/Beaten rice: 1/4 cup
Fenugreek seeds: 1 tsp
Salt: as required

Preparation

1. Soak all ingredients separately for 3 hours.
2. Grind Urad dal, fenugreek seeds and beaten rice together.
3. Then grind rice.
4. Mix all and grind once.
5. Add salt to the prepared batter and store in a bigger container/vessel, so that there is enough space for the batter to rise.
6. Leave it covered over night for fermentation. Once risen, the batter will be ready for making soft idlis.

Notes

• In case of unavailability of Idli rice, you can use idli rava or small grain boiled rice.
• You get best results when grinding in a grinder, proportions mentioned above also refer to the same. However if grinding the batter in a mixer, then use about 3tbspn udad dal in addition to get results similar to that of Grinder.
• The batter will rise after fermentation in normal warm Indian conditions, but in regions of cold climate or during winters you can leave the batter in used microwave/oven for warmth.
• Above mentioned proportions yields enough batter to have breakfast for 4 people over 2 days and the leftover batter for the 3rd day, can be used to make dosas.
• For making dosas out of this batter you can add a little water to bring the batter to a slightly thinner consistency. Also add 1 tspn of sugar and 1/4 cup of rice flour to the batter just before using it. This results in crispy dosas.

DOSA MOLAGA PUDI / IDLI-DOSA CHUTNEY POWDER

Ingredients

Urad dal: 1 cup
Chana dal: 1/4 cup
Til/sesame seeds: 1/4 cup
Chilli powder: 1/4 cup
Hing: 1 tsp
Salt: As required

Preparation

1. Dry roast both the dals and til separately. Take aside in a plate and add hing, salt and chilli powder when still hot and mix well.
2. After it cools down coarse grind it in a mixture.
3. Store in air tight container.
4. Enjoy (by adding til oil/gingelly oil to the pudi) with idli, dosa, rava dosa.

Notes

• The prepared Molaga pudi can be stored for more than 2 months.
• Instead of chilli powder you can use whole red chillies. In such a case, take 1/2 cup Guntur chilli and 1/4 cup byadige chilli, roast (dry roast if roasted in microwave or use 2 drops of oil if in stove, to avoid burnt smell) them separately and grind it together with the other ingredients.
• Brown til is traditionally used for Molaga pudi, if unavailable one can use white til instead.

PANEER PARATHA (STUFFED)

Makes 5-6 medium sized parathas

Ingredients

Wheat flour: 1/2 cup
Multi grain atta: 1/2 cup
Salt: as required
Oil: 2 tsp
Water: as required, for making dough

For stuffing

Paneer: 1/2 cup, grated
Garam masala: 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Salt: as required
Corriander leaves: 2 tbsp, chopped



Preparation

1. Mix all the ingredients under stuffing, make small paneer balls and keep aside.
2. Make soft dough by mixing wheat flour, multi grain atta, salt, oil and water.
3. Make balls of dough and stuff it with paneer balls.
4. Dust it with dry flour and roll into chapatis.
5. Roast chapatis  on hot griddle by applying oil and/or ghee on both the sides.
6. Serve hot with pickle or tomato chutney and curd.

Notes

• Using Multi-grain atta just makes the parathas more healthier. You can use just Whole wheat flour instead.

PANEER CAPSICUM MASALA

Ingredients

Capsicum, large: 1 no.
Tomatoes, medium: 3 nos.
Onion, medium: 2 nos.
Paneer: 10 cubes
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Ginger: 1/2 tspn
Coriander powder: 1 tbspn
Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder: 1.5 tsp
Garam masala: 1/2 tsp
Salt: As required
Oil: 1 tbsp
Ghee: 1 tsp
Cream: 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves: 2 tbspn chopped

Preparation

1. Cut all vegetables and keep aside.
2. Grind onion, tomatoes along with Coriander powder, turmeric powder, chilli powder and garam masala.
3. Take a pan, add oil n ghee. When cumin seeds splutters add the ground paste, cook it till oil leaves the pan and the mix doesn't stick to the pan.
4. Now add capsicum,salt and little water, cover and cook for 5-7 minutes till capsicum becomes little soft.
5. Add paneer and cream, mix well. 
6. Garnish with coriander leaves.
7. Serve with Rotis, Chappatis, Poori, Kulcha or Naan.

BISIBELE BATH POWDER

Yields: 5 tbsp

Ingredients

Dhaniya: 3 tbsp
Chana dal: 1 tbsp
Methi seeds/fenugreek seeds: ½ tsp
Guntur Chilli: 5 nos
Byadige chilli: 3 nos
Dalchini/cinnamon: ½ inch
Marathi moggu/kopak buds: 4 nos
Tej patta/bay leaf: 1 no.
Kalpasi/kalhuvvu: 2-3 no.
Hing powder: ½ tsp
Curry leaves: 10-12 nos

Preparation

1. Dry roast all ingredients separately, as each ingredient requires different temperature to get roasted.
2. Dry roast the coriander seeds, kalpasi and tejpatta slightly till a nice aroma of roasted coriander seeds arises.
3. Roast chana dal and methi seeds till it is light brown in color. Dalchini, marathi moggu and curry leaves can be roasted along with dal. After roasting add hing powder, while still hot.
4. Use a little cooking oil while roasting the red chillies, to avoid burnt smell. If roasted in microwave, oil is not required. 
5. Cool and grind into fine powder.
6. Grind ¼ cup of fresh coconut along with the bisibele bath powder and the paste is ready to prepare Bisibele bath.

Notes

• You can roast and grind dry coconut too along with the above ingredients. However, bisibele bath powder prepared with coconut does not store well, hence it is advisable to use it soon. Alternatively, if you plan to prepare the powder in advance and in larger quantities then you can grind fresh coconut with the powder and use it for preparing bisibele bath as and when required.
• You may skip Kalpasi/Marathi moggu/Dalchini/Tej patta if you do not like its flavour, which makes it a plain sambar powder.
• There are two types of chillies used in the powder. Guntur chillies add spice/heat whereas Byadige chillies add colour. Chillies can be used of your choice and taste.

INSTANT KULIPANIYARA (PADDU)

Ingredients

Bread: 1 slice, crumbled
Poha/Beaten rice: 1/2 cup, soaked for 1/2 hr
Curd: 1/2 cup
Rice flour: 2 tsp
Rava/Semolina: 2 tsp
Ginger, grated: 1/2 tsp
Green chilli, finely chopped: 1/2 tsp
Salt: to taste
Onion, finely chopped: 2 tbsp
Carrot, grated: 2 tbsp
Coriander leaves: 2 tbsp

Preparation

1. Grind the bread pieces and soaked poha in a mixer.
2. Mix all the ingredients and make a batter of a consistency thicker than idli batter. Add water if required to bring it to the desired consistency.
3. Grease paddu vessel with oil n pour batter in it and cook both sides, about 4-5 minutes each.   
4. Serve hot with coconut chutney.

KHAMAN

Ingredients

Besan: 2 cups
Citric acid: 3/4 tsp
Sugar: 5 tsp
Salt: as required
Oil: 6 tbspn
Fruit salt: 1 tsp

Mustard seeds: 2 tspn
Hing: 1/2 tspn
Green chillies, chopped: 2 tbspn
Corriander leaves: 1/2 cup chopped
Fresh grated coconut: 1/2 cup
Water

Preparation

1. Take a big open-mouthed vessel or a wide cooker, add water to it, and switch on the stove. Keep a greased plate over a smaller vessel of water in the cooker. The vessel/cooker should be pre-heated and ready to use by the time the batter is prepared.
2. Add 3 tspn of sugar and required amount of salt to Besan and mix it.
3. Slowly add water to it and make a batter of idli batter/pancake consistency.
4. Add 2 tbpsn oil and citric acid to the above batter and mix it for about 1-2 minutes till the citric acid dissolves, stirring the batter in only one direction.
5. Add fruit salt to the batter and mix it by stirring in the same direction for about 1-2 minutes till the batter rises.
6. Pour the batter in the greased plate and keep in pre-heated cooker/big vessel and steam cook it for about 15-20 minutes till done.
7. Prepare seasoning by adding the remaining 4 tbspn of oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. When the oil heats up, add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds starts spluttering add green chillies. Once green chillies are cooked, add hing powder, 2 tspn of sugar and 1/4 cup of water, bring it to a boil. Cook the solution for about 2-3 minutes till the water reduces a little.
8. Meanwhile cut the prepared khaman into pieces(traditionally square). Pour the seasoning on the khaman pieces such that it soaks the seasoning.
9. Garnish the khaman with corriander leaves and fresh coconut.
10. Serve with Green Chutney or enjoy it as it is.

GASAGASE PAYASA / KHAS KHAS KHEER

Yields : 4-5 cups

Ingredients

1. Rice: 1 tbspn
2. Chana dal: 1 tspn
3. Khas khas/poppy seeds: 1 tbspn
4. Almonds/Badam: 8-10 nos
5. Grated coconut: 2 tbspn
6. Grated jaggery: 1-1.5 cups
7. Milk: 2 cups
8. Cardamom powder: 1/4 tspn
9. Cashew & Raisins: 8-10 each
10. Ghee: 1 tspn
11. Saffron: 3-4 strands (soak in warm milk)

Preparation

1. Soak ingredients listed under 1-4 above for 1-1.5 hrs.
2. Grind coconut along with soaked ingredients.
3. Cook the above mixture with 1 cup of water for about 10-15 minutes.
4. Once cooked, add jaggery and bring it to a boil. Switch off the flame.
5. After 2-3 minutes add milk and soaked saffron and bring it to a boil.
6. Fry Cashew and Raisins in ghee and garnish the payasa with it.

WATERMELON JUICE

Yields : 2 glasses

Ingredients

Watermelon, cubed: 2 cups
Sugar: 5tspn
Ice: 5-6 cubes
Water: As required
Salt and pepper powder: as required

Prepararion

1. Blend the Watermelon pieces with sugar in a mixer/blender.
2. Add water as required to adjust the consistency.
3. Sprinkle some salt and pepper powder to enhance the taste.
4. Garnish it with mint leaves
5. Serve chilled by adding ice cubes.(optional)

MUSK MELON JUICE

Ingredients

Musk Melon: 1 medium sized
Jaggery, powdered: 5tbspngredi
Ice: 5-6 cub
Water: As required

Preparation

1. Peel off the skin of the musk melon and remove the seeds.
2. Blend the musk melon pieces with the jaggery in a mixer/blender.
3. Add water as required to adjust the consistency.
4. Serve chilled by adding ice cubes.

Notes

1. One can also use Sugar as a sweetener, but in my experience Jaggery adds a different flavour to Musk melon juice.
2. You may increase or decrease the amount of jaggery to suit the sweetness required.

PAANAKA - NEER MAJJIGE

Paanaka: Serves 2

Powdered Jaggery : 4-5 tbspn
Water: 2 cups
Dry Ginger powder: 1/4 tspn
Cardamom powder: 1/4 tspn

Mix it all together.

Note:

1. Alternatively some households use rock sugar instead of Powedered Jaggery. (About 50gms of sugar will give the same sweetness of powdered jaggery above.)
2. I have seen some temples use musk melon juice in the Paanaka as a staple ingredient.

Neer Majjige: serves 2

Curd: 1/2 cup

Water: 1.5 cup

Salt: According to taste

Curry leaves: 2-3

Asofoetida (Hing): a pinch 

Preparation:
Beat the curd. Add water and asofoetida to it. Tear the curry leaves with your fingers, pinch it with salt and add the mixture to the curd.

Note:

1. Alternatively one can grind together curry leaves, ginger powder and corriander leaves and add to the majjige

RAW MANGO RICE /MAVINKAI CHITRANNA

Ingredients

Grated Raw Mango: 1 cup
Rice (uncooked): 1 cup
Ghee: 1 tbspn
Grated Coconut: 1/2 cup


For Tempering:
Oil: 1 tbspn
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tspn
Chana dal: 1 tbspn
Udad dal: 1 tbspn
Groundnuts: 2 tbspn
Green chillies: 4-5 nos. chopped.
Hing: pinch
Curry leaves 10-12

Corriander leaves: one handful
Salt

Preparation

1. Cook the rice (with lesser water than usual) and keep aside.
2. Prepare the tempering, add grated mango and a little salt to it and fry for about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add cooked rice to the above mixture
4. Add salt to the rice mixture
5. Pour Ghee over the rice, spreading it evenly to coat the rice.
6. Mix it all together.
7. Garnish it with grated coconut and corriander leaves.

Notes

1. You can replace groundnuts with cashewnuts to give it a richer flavour
2. Alternatively you can add turmeric powder. However I prefer to do without it, to retain its distinct green colour.
3. However one can grind together the raw mango and green chillies and add it to the tempering instead of adding them directly.

OATS COOKIES

Who doesn't love cookies? And what if we give a healthy twist to the cookies. Oats cookies is your answer to dilemna of balancing health and taste. Packed with the goodness of oats these homemade oats cookies are easy to make and serves as a quick and filling snack.

Ingredients

Dry ingredients:
Oats: 1/2 cup
Maida: 1/4 cup
Wheat flour:1/8 cup
Brown Sugar: 1/4 cup

Wet Ingredients:
Honey: 1 tbsp
Softened Butter: 55gm
Water: 1 tbspn

Baking soda: 1/2 tsp

Preparation

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Mix the wet ingredients in a pan and bring it to a boil. Switch off the flame immediately.
3. Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients bowl and add the baking soda over the hot butter mixture.
4. Mix it all together and form a dough.
5. Shape it into cookies and bake it in a preheated oven for 170° for about 14-15 minutes.
6. Once done rest it in the oven for 30-45 minutes.
7. Relish your cookies with a hot cup of tea and see it all disappear in no time.

CHANA DAL KOSAMBARI

Chana dal kosambari is yet another essential dish on every festival and forms an important part of "Habbada Adige"- (Festival food). However it is not as popular as its cousin, the Moong dal Kosambari.

Ingredients

Soaked chana dal: ½ cup

Oil: 1 tsp

Mustard seeds: ½ tsp

Udad dal: ½ tsp

Hing: a pinch

Curry leaves: 2-3 nos.

Green chilly: ½

Grated coconut: 1tblspn

Corriander leaves: 1 tblspn

Lemon Juice: 3-4 drops

Preparation

Similar to Moong dal kosambari

1. Soak the chana dal for about 1/2 hour - 45 minutes. Drain off the water. Keep aside
2. Prepare tempering with all the other ingredients except the grated coconut and corriander leaves.
3. Once the tempering cools add it to the soaked chana dal.
4. Add grated coconut, lemon juice and corriander leaves for added flavour and taste.
5. One can add grated carrot to this kosambari too.

Notes

1. While the chana dal in this recipe needs no cooking, some people do not like to eat just raw chana dal. In such cases, one can cook the chanadal in cooker and then continue with the rest of the preparation as described above.
2. I have cousins who prepare sweet chana dal kosambari, Here instead of the tempering, one needs to fry the soaked, drained and dried chana dal(add a pinch of baking soda while soaking), and add sugar, cardamom powder and coconut and mix well.
3. While one has to essentially prepare two types of kosambaris on festive occassions, in order to cater to picky eaters or to save on time one may also mix up both the moong dal and chanadal together to make one kosambari.

MOONG DAL KOSAMBARI

Moong dal kosambri or hesara bele kosambri as we call it in Kannada is one of the essential menu items on any festive occassion, especially Rama Navami. A festival menu comprises of two type of kosambaris (namely Moong dal Kosambari and Chana dal Kosambari) among other dishes.

It essentially is a lentil salad and is a simple preparation made by adding tempering to soaked split green gram. While this dish in all its simplicity is prepared mostly on festive occassions, it can also be served as a quick fix healthy light snack by adding a few grated vegetables like cucumber and carrot to it.

Ingredients

Soaked moong dal: ½ cup

Oil: 1 tsp

Mustard seeds: ½ tsp

Udad dal: ½ tsp

Hing: a pinch

Curry leaves: 2-3 nos.

Green chilly: 1-2 (finely chopped)

Grated coconut: 1 tbsp

Coriander leaves: 1 tbsp

Lemon juice: 3-4 drops

Preparation

1. Soak the moong dal for about 45 minutes to an hour. Drain off the water. Keep aside
2. Prepare tempering with all the other ingredients except the grated coconut and corriander leaves.
3. Once the tempering cools add it to the soaked moong dal.
4. Add grated coconut, lemon juice and coriander leaves for added flavour and taste.

Notes

1. One can add grated cucumber to enhance the taste.
2. On occassions like Ugadi and Rama Navami, it is a tradition to add grated raw mango to the kosambari. (Avoid adding lemon juice in such instance).
3. While one has to essentially prepare two types of kosambaris on festive occassions, in order to cater to picky eaters or to save on time one may also mix up both the moong dal and chanadal together to make one kosambari.

PALAK PARATHA/ROTI (SPINACH PARATHA)

Palak paratha is a classic variation to eating just plain roti/paratha. It is a quick fix recipe and serves well as either breakfast, lunch or dinner and acts as an excellent lunch box idea for kids as well.

Yields : 5-6 nos

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour: 1.5-2 cups

Oil: 1 tblspn
Spinach: One bunch (washed)

Corriander leaves: Handful

Grated Ginger: 1 tspn

Chilly powder: ½ tspn or acc to spice level greenchillies

Salt: to taste

Sesame seeds: 1-2 tspn

Preparation

1. Grind together all the above (except flour and sesame seeds) with some water and keep aside.
2. Take 1.5-2 cups of whole wheat flour, add some sesame seeds to it. Add 1 tbspn of oil and salt and mix well. Pour in the spinach mixture and make a dough. Use water additionally if reqd. Let the dough rest for about half an hour.
3. Make chapatis out of the dough like usual.
4. Serve it hot with any sabji, tomato chutney or just plain curd and pickle.

Notes

1. You may use multi-grain flour instead of whole wheat flour to make the paratha more wholesome and healthy.
2. You can add Garam Masala to the flour if you so prefer.