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Menthesoppu Avarekaalu Bhath

 Menthesoppu Avarekaalu Bhath = Menthesoppu -Fenugreek, Avarekaalu=Hyacinth Beans/Surti papdi, Bhath= Rice

We celebrated Sankranthi with our fellow Kannadiga friends here in Singapore. It was a pot luck party and everyone brought something or the other to share with the rest of the crowd. My contribution was Jolada Rotti. Me and hubby together made 45 jolada rotti and gatti soppu for the party. While all dishes were excellent, we loved menthesoppinna bhath made by  dear Anuradha. A collage of food we shared...

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 on menu : Ellu Bella, Sakkare Acchu, Bisibelebhath, Lemon shavige, Coconut shavige, Chapathi, Tondekayi palya, Joalada rotti, Gatti soppu, Capsicum enngayi, Mosaranna, Kadalebele Vade, Gulab Jamun, Sweet Pongal, Khara pongal, Vegetable Saagu, Menthesoppu Batani Bhath, oops..forgot few others :D

I re-created it in my kitchen and it was fantastic..Anuradha says it is a variation of vangibhath; however, I don't prepare vangibath Anuradha's way so it was totally a new recipe to me. Here is how she made this tasty bhath..

You need the following to make M.A.B:
menthesoppu=fresh greens of fenugreek
Frozen menthesoppu/methi or finely chopped fresh methi : 1 packed cup (1 cup holds 100 ml water)
Chopped potato or avarekai or 1 additional cup methi : 1 cup peas (1 cup holds 100 ml water)
Rice : 1 cup (1 cup holds 350 ml water)

Seasoning :
urad dal -1 tblspoon
chana dal - 1 tbl spoon
mustard - 1/2 tea spoon
oil - 2 tbl spoon ( i use less for my cooking, for party i was liberal)
2 pinch hing

Other ingredients:

pulp of lemon sized tamarind
1 small piece jaggery
curry leaves few
5-6 dry red chillies
1 big spoon chopped coriander
2-3 table spoons  grated dry coconut
2-3 tables spoons MTR vangi bath masala/Vangibath Powder
Salt to taste

Avarekaalu in Singapore.......
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Method
Cook Rice. Rice grains should fall apart. Spread hot rice in a wide plate, let it cool.
1. heat oil in a kadai and pop/add mustard
2. when the mustard splits, add hing
3. immediately add chana dal + urad dal, red chillies. fry for few seconds.
4. Add curry leaves
5. add methi and other veggies.
6. fry for 2-3 min
7. add masala powder
8.after a min add tamarind water, jaggery and salt, coconut
9. boil for some time. add coriander leaves.
10. the mixture quickly solidifies and when oil separates, switch off.

This mixture is cooled off a bit and then mixed with ready made rice. Rice has to be cold too if you are making this for lunch box or picnic. Break the rice well into separate grains before mixing.

Notes:
1. dont skip jaggery, the unique taste in this recipe is because of the right combo of tamarind + jaggery
2. This is the way we prepare most of the vegetable bath, you can make this with any combination you like. some popular ones are capsicum+potato+peas, carrot+beans+potato, cabbage+peas, green tomatoes, brinjal, avarekai. Most yummiest one is methi with avarekai.
3. use kobbari/dry coconut if you plan to keep this for long
4. veggie mix can be stored for few days in fridge, can make fresh rice and mix it.
5. dont make the tamarind water too thin, by the time it evaporates veggies get too soft.

This was my re-created bhath.......tasty tasty..

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Do not forget to send in your entries to AFAM Jack Fruit which is going on in this blog. Last date to send in your entries is 3 March 09.

20 comments:

notyet100 said...

lovely collge of food,..everythin looks delish ,..this is new for me,..;-)gng to publish tody idlis,..

Ashwini said...

wow Singapurnalli Avarekallu sigutha..Namage illi sigolla..:(..Nanna fav menthya avare bath..Bayalli neeru surithayidhe..

Kannada Cuisine said...

Yen oota ri! I wish I were there... 45 jolad rotti na? Hegmadidri astondu? my goodness...
The bhath looks yummy. if it means combining two of my most favorite ingredients it is welcome any time. never quite got the idea to make it this way.. should try it. cool idea Lakshmi

FH said...

If she adds Vangi bhath pd, it will be like Vangi bhath without Vangi! :)

I love MTR vangi bhath pd btw, add to make Badanekai side dishes too. MAB looks yummy.

You made 45 Jolad rotti? WOW! You have a good husband. Mine does the coffee for me on weekends(only because he doesn't like the coffee I make!) and that's it. He is mean! :D

Lakshmi said...

@ Asha,

Ya it is like Vangibath-vangi..but it still tasted little different than vangibath because of the veggies used...also tamarind and jaggery etc is not something I add to vangibath, so it was different :)

Cham said...

The bhath sounds very delicous and love the collage and load of food!

Savi-Ruchi said...

Very nice presentation Lakshmi..
what a coincidence!!
I prepared menthya soppu avarekalu bhath yesterday night & took pictures to publish & here you go :)
My mom had sent me bhath powder & avrekayi, I used that & I really got that "Maa ka Khana" taste.

Rajee said...

Wow, yummy and delicious array of foods cooked by u and ur friends. Introduce me to ur friends, Ok. I dont even know that methi with avarekai is great combination of bhath. Let me try it but we cant find avarekai here too. Fresh veggies and fruits are available in my favourtite shop little far away from there to the bus stop in Little india there. That shop owner's working with his wife and are known to us. I used to buy there and also amul milk.

Unknown said...

wow simply superb looks so mouthwatering and the spread look s so tempting.bookmarked

Anonymous said...

;-) thanks....
Mangala

Raks said...

Very new to me,where you get this averekalu in Singapore?little India market!!

Madhu's cooking gallery said...

Nice collage! I love this variety bhath! looks delicious! too good !

vidhas said...

Lovely spread of food, i should say feast. I wilsh i clpould get that plate.

Unknown said...

methi rice looks yummy..nice recipe and healthy too..food spread looks great..
I have never tried avarekaalu..where do you get them from?

Priya Suresh said...

Bhath looks delicious, nice spread of wonderful delicious dishes..makes me hungry???

Lakshmi said...

@ Smitha,
same nandu ade kathe ..two fav ingredients in one dish :)

@Sush,
:) I know staying away from mummy and her cooking...once in a while when u make sambar from the powder sent from home..it makes you feel so happy!

@Rajee,
oh,,man u ex-singapore resident meh!...nice to know u la.. ;)

@Raks,
We bought avarekaalu from Mustafa :) 1Kg at 6 or 8$ I think

@Sowmya,
You get avarekaalu in mustafa dear

Finla said...

Why didn't you invite me over for the party :-)

Adlak's tiny world said...

pretty and lovely collage of awesome dishes.. yummy bath.

Paru ... said...

Ivattu nimma recipe try madde,,everybody enjoyed this at home..Tumba thanks for posting this ri..

Lakshmi said...

@Paru,
Thanks for letting me know that you all enjoyed bhath. We loved it too :)