Saturday, September 22, 2007

Beetroot Palya - RCI Karnataka


I have had the delight of eating Authentic Kannadiga food prepared by loving friends and their families. Maybe that is why I was very shocked to hear a friend of mine say that she doesn't like Kannadiga food, because it is tooooo sweet esp. the sambar! I was shocked! And then I started laughing... Loud!

See, this is the friend who asks me to prepare sambar every single time she comes to my place... She has asked me the recipe for my sambar and also asks for my sambar powder often. Little did she know that my sambar powder is an authentic Karnataka sambar powder. It was given to me by a friends mom who is a Kannadiga Brahmin from Bangalore and the recipe was her family recipe! (Note: I understand that there might be another thousand authentic varieties too.) Then she realized she ate at 'ONE' restaurant in Bangalore and didn't like it. :) Anyway, to her credit, she regretted her assumptions and asked me a few Kannadiga recipes - to which I pointed out the blogs of lovely Asha and Seema. She spent the next hour and a half drooling at all those recipes. I also told her about RCI:Karnataka and she's all enthusiastic to try out the authentic kannadiga recipes.

Well, It's been ages that I've participated in any food events. Though I wanted to, something or the other cropped up and it always dawned on me after the end date. I let JFI:Jackfruit, Ginger, and Rice - all of which I so much wanted to participate, slip by... This time, I couldn't let RCI Karnataka pass by, esp. after having tasted the real goodness of that cuisine. My favorites from Karnataka are mysore butter chakli, mysore masala dosa, mysore bonda (do you see a prejudice here? All because of those luscious silk sarees from that region I guess!) neer dosa, menthittu, kojju and there's this special type of poli made using roasted channa dal powder (will post the recipe soon) and a no-oil mango pickle that is oh-sooooo-good! and ofcourse that yummy sambar made from aunty's sambar powder recipe, that made me like sambar.

I wanted to make Mysore Butter Chakli, which I relished in Pune. It was easily available in many grocery shops and was very tasty. You can finish one full packet at one go. I looked for the recipe online and asked my kannadiga friends but none knew what I was looking for. And lovely Asha came to the rescue. The recipe requires urad dal powder, which I'm out of, right now. So, I made Beetroot Palya (skipping the urad dal, ofcourse) for RCI Karnataka. I promise to make the chakli for Diwali. :)




Recipe here.
It was very tasty and very different from my usual beetroot dishes, Thanks Asha!

And before I forget, let me boast about something. I've been given an award, oops awards! heheeeee... Awards for a blogger who has become way-too-slow these days. But I'm taking it! :) LOL

The Thoughtful Blogger Award is for “those who answer blog comments, emails, and make their visitors feel at home on their blogs. For the people who take others’ feelings into consideration before speaking out and who are kind and courteous. Also for those bloggers who spend so much of their time helping other bloggers design, improve, and fix their sites. This award is for those generous bloggers who think of others.”


The Power of Schmooze Award is for bloggers who “effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogosphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don’t limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well. They are the ones who engage others in meaningful conversations, refusing to let it end at a mere hello - all the while fostering a sense of closeness and friendship.”

Thanks Indo! I think you are so sweet to have passed it on to the slow-snail-blogger me! (hey, anybody giving me an award for being the 'slow-snail-blogger-of-the-year'?)

I can think of so many bloggers whom I can pass these 'Thoughtful blogger Award' and 'The Power of Schmooze Award' to.

Indira of Mahanandi
RP of My Workshop
Priya of Sugar and Spices (Hope everything is ok with you, dear!)
Shilpa of Aayi's Recipes
Krishna and Arjuna of Krishna and Arjuna's world
Saffron of SaffronHut (I miss you!)
Ashwini of Food For Thought
Garam Masala of Spice is Right (I miss you!)
Trupti of The Spice who loved me
Shyam of Food, In the Main

And of course, to all wonderful bloggers who have already been awarded and to all who make me smile! Thanks guys for being so thoughtful and schmoozey! :)

I'm going on a break and won't be posting much until Nov 1'rst. We're off to a much needed vacation to India, this weekend. :) Our parents are eagerly waiting to meet their granddaughter (first granddaughter on both families!)

Leaving on a jet plane!
So long, dear friends! See you in November!

20 comments:

amna said...

looks lovely!

indosungod said...

Kay, you did participate in the RCI applause to you, Beets Palya looks good. I am still trying to find a dish that would make Asha happy!

Have a great trip!

FH said...

Kay, thank you so much for taking time for me, I am honored!:))
Beetroot Palya is perfect for RCI. Enjoy the award and have a great trip to India. See you in November and check out the round up if you can. Hugs,have a great time!:))

mnamma said...

Have a nice vacation Kay! Enjoy your time at India!

Sharmi said...

hey thats a lovely looking palya. have to give a try. nice entry.

Kavitha said...

Kay,
Enjoy your time in India..

Kavitha said...

Kay,
Enjoy your time in India.

Anonymous said...

Be back soon Kay, Have a nice time !!

www.monaafzal.wordpress.com

Mansi said...

hey, congrats on the award, and hope to see you back soon!! have loads of food and fun in India...

The beetroot chutney looks delicious and pretty!!

Anonymous said...

Dear kay i had come earlier( when i started reposting in mine) to your blog,but seeing no comments & feeling shy to be the first to comment,i ran away!!:)Then it struck me that since you are away,perhaps you are not able to publish them & so came here once more to say, "Have a nice time in India Kay:)& thank you for the numerous comments on my mine,really appreciate it a lot":))
paati

Rina said...

Hi Kay,

How is your trip going there. I know you must be having great time. You must be busy too with your daughter's B'day celebrations. Catch you up in Toronto.

Kay said...

Thanks Nags, ISG, Asha, mnamma, Sharmi, kavitha, mona, mansi, Paati and Rina. :)

Paati, I have a mental image of you being a very outgoing persona... Can't imagine that you shied away from being the first poster.

Asha, would love to come and visit the great round up... Wow! this RCI is so huge.

Anonymous said...

Beets palya looks great Kay.

Thank you for the lovely award. (I totally missed this post, so the late comment. Sorry.)

First time with daughter, that must have been exciting. Hope you had wonderful time visiting family and friends.

Kay said...

You are welcome, Indira... :) Yep, we had a great time there.

Soul Cocina said...

Sounds great.

I just made beetroot halwa for the first time this year and I plan to write about it soon.

I've never heard of palya. Great to learn something new today.

Do you know what this Indian veggie/ fruit is:
http://soulcocina.blogspot.com/2007/12/whats-this-round-3.html
Thanks

FH said...

Thank you for your sweet comment Kay!:))
I felt the pressure and had to back off for a while. I am okay now, just will change the way I blog!:))

Revathi said...

Hey Kay
Come back soon!!

Anonymous said...

Hi,
your recipes looks lovely, yummy and mouthwatering.Beautiful photographs.

Shilpa said...

I don't know how I missed this post :(. Better late than never.....
Thank you so so much. Coming from you, it means a lot for me.

Kay said...

soul cocina, I have no idea!!

Asha, you are welcome! :)

Revathi, sure! :)

Thanks, gowri!

Shilpa!!!that was a much deserved award. :) Enjoy!

sorry guys, I missed out replying to your msgs when I was away. Back again!