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!