Holige
Ingredients:

• Channa dal 1 cup
• Jaggery 1-½ cup
• Cardamom 1 tsp
• Maida 1-½ cup
• Turmeric a pinch
• Oil, 1 tsp
• Salt a pinch

Method:

• Cook channa dal in a pressure cooker. Drain all the water.
• Cook dal mixed with jaggery for 10 minutes.
• Grind without using water.
• Add cardamom and mix well with hand, to get a smooth mixture.
• Mix maida with turmeric, salt. Add water, oil and make dough.
• Cover and keep aside for an hour.
• Take a ball of dough and spread with hand.
• Keep a ball of chana mixture, and cover with dough and seal ends.
• Apply oil to a plastic paper or banana leaf, keep the ready ball on it, and roll like a chapati.
• Fry on a hot tawa till it is golden brown in colour.
• Serve hot with ghee.

Tarkari Saagu
Ingredients:

• Vegetable cubes, 3 cups (potatoes, beans, green peas and carrots)
• Onion 300 gm
• Tomato 150 gm
• Garlic (chopped) 50 gm
• Green chilli 15 gm
• Oil 75 ml        

For the Paste

• Coconut 2
• Roasted channa dal 1 tbsp
• Cinnamon 2 sticks
• Clove 2 gm
• Cardamom 3 gm
• Ginger 15 gm
• Green chilli 50 gm
• Coriander seeds 50 gm
• Salt to taste
• Turmeric powder 5 gm
• Coriander 200 gm

For the Tadka

• Oil 1 tbsp
• Mustard 5 gm
• Curry leaves 1 sprig

Method:

• Dry roast the masala ingredients and make a fine paste, keep aside.
• Par boil the vegetables with turmeric powder, salt and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, allow spluttering, add curry leaves, chopped onion and sauté well for eight to 10 minutes, now add tomato and cook for another few minutes.
• Add ground paste to this mixture and boil gravy well, add par boiled vegetables and cook for another eight to 10 minutes.
• Check seasoning and make a tempering with mustard and curry leaves, and mix well. Remove from fire and garnish with coriander. Serve hot.

Badnekai Gojju
Ingredients:

• Small purple brinjal 1/2 kg
• Onions (chopped) 2 nos
• Oil 2 tbsp
• Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
• Tamarind, lemon size
• Turmeric ½ tsp
• Curry leaves 1 sprig
• Salt to taste
• Coriander leaves for garnish
• Jaggery 1 tsp

Ingredients for Roast:

• Red chillies 10-12 nos
• Coriander seeds 3 tsp
• Urad dal 2 tsp
• White sesame seeds 1 tsp
• Channa dal 2 tsp
• Cinnamon 1 piece
• Coconut grated 1/2 cup

Method:

• Wash and cut brinjals length-wise into medium size pieces, and immerse in a bowl of water.
• Boil a lemon size tamarind ball in a cup water for 10 minutes. After it cools down, squeeze tamarind and remove the pulp. Strain and keep the tamarind water aside.
• Heat one tsp oil in a pan, add coriander seeds, urad dal, channa dal, sesame seeds, cinnamon, dry red chillies. Fry till they turn light brown, add grated coconut. Sauté for a few minutes on low flame.
• Remove from heat, and grind into fine powder and keep aside.
• Heat remaining oil in the same pan, add mustard seeds, when they pop, add chopped onions, fry till light brown.
• Add brinjal, fry until light brown, add turmeric and curry leaves.
• Now, add salt, tamarind juice, jaggery, ground masala powder and a cup water.
• Bring to a boil, and cook for 10-15 minutes until the gojju thickens.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.

Recipes courtesy Naren Thimmaiah, executive chef, The Gateway Hotel

Sarkkari Pongal (Sweet Pongal)
Ingredients:

• Raw rice 500 gm
• Yellow moong dal 250 gm
• Jaggery 500 gm
• Ghee 200 gm
• Cashewnut 50 gm
• Milk 500 ml
• Raisins 20 gm
• Chopped fresh coconut 50 gm
• Green cardamom powder 1 gm

Method:

• Heat 500 ml of water in another pot and add grated jaggery and simmer till it forms an even syrup, set aside.
• In a heavy bottomed pan, broil moong dal and rice till a pleasant aroma emanates from the roasting process.
• Add milk and water to the broiled rice and lentil, and cook till soft.
• Add jaggery syrup to the cooking rice, simmer gently for about 15 minutes.
• Heat half the ghee in a tempering pan and fry coconut till golden brown.
• In the same pan, add more ghee and fry cashew and raisins, mix in the rice mixture.
• Finish pongal with a sprinkle of cardamom powder and stir in evenly.
• Garnish with a few fried cashewnuts and raisins.

Recipe courtesy Leela Palace, executive chef Mir Zafar Ali

Khara Pongal
Ingredients:

• Raw rice 110 gm
• Split yellow moong dal 70 gm
• Cashewnut 15 gm
• Salt 5 gm
• Oil 5 gm
• Ghee 5 gm
• Ginger chopped 5 gm
• Jeera seeds 5 gm
• Whole black pepper 5 gm
• Curry leaves 10 gm

Method:

• Dry roast moong dal and rice separately in a heavy bottomed pan.
• Fry cashewnuts in a tsp ghee, keep aside.
• Pressure cook rice and dal with water and salt for four to five whistles, making sure it’s not too mushy.
• Heat oil and ghee, add ginger, pepper, jeera and curry leaves. Add into the dal mixture.
• Add cashewnuts and mix well.
• Serve it hot with sambar or coconut chutney.

Recipe courtesy Movenpick Hotel & Spa Chef De Partie Rajesh, Demi