Festival delicacies
Varamahalakshmi is one of the biggest festivals for south Indians, especially Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh. According to the Hindu calendar, in the month of Shravana, we celebrate Varamahalaksmi on the second Friday of the second week. Here are some recipes to try on this special occasion.
Banana Holige
Ingredients: Big variety of banana 2, coconut gratings — 2 cups, jaggery — 1 cup and cardamom powder — a pinch.
Method: In a mixie, grind the coconut, jaggery, cardamom powder and banana to a fine paste. Transfer the contents into a thick vessel and cook till the mixture turns thick (this is hurna).
Kanaka
Ingredients: Maida — 1 cup, chiroti rava — 1 cup, oil — 2 tbsps and milk — half cup.
Method: Make a soft dough with milk and a little water. Add the 2 tablespoons of oil and knead the dough and let it rest for 2 hours. Again knead the dough well. Divide the dough into small equal balls, pat it on a greased plastic sheet or banana leaf and shallow fry it on a hot tava using oil or ghee.
Almond Holige
For the hurna: Almonds — 25 grams, blanched and peeled, cashewnuts — 50 grams, milk — half a cup, cardamom powder — a pinch, sugar — a quarter kilo.
Method: Grind the badam, cashew and cardamom powder with milk. In a vessel, add sugar and the paste and cook it till thick and cool it down.
Semolina & Wheat Flour Holige
Ingredients: Medium-sized semolina — a quarter kilo, wheat flour — a quarter kilo, jaggery — a quarter kilo, cardamom powder — a pinch and 2 cups of water
For the hurna: Boil some water and add the jaggery, semolina, cardamom powder and cook till it thickens. Wait for it to cool before serving.
For the kanaka: Make a dough with the wheat flour, oil, water and allow it to rest for a while. Divide the dough into small balls, pat it on a plastic sheet, stuff it with filling, close, roll it out and shallow fry on a tava with oil or ghee.
Spicy Dal Holige
For the hurna: Toor dal — half cup, channa dal — half cup, water — 1 cup, oil — 1 tsp and turmeric — a little.
Method: Cook the above ingredients till it thickens. Once the contents are cooled, grind it into a fine powder form. For the above mixture, add chopped green chillies,cumin, salt and mix well.