Harvested in hearty morsels

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.
— Recipes courtesy Naren Thimmaiah, executive chef, The Gateway Hotel

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

For the Paste
Coconut 2 nos
Roasted channa dal 1 tbsp
Cinnamon 2 sticks
Clove 2 gm
Cardamom 3 gm
Ginger 15 gm
Green chilly 50 gm
Coriander seeds 50 gm
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder 5 gm
Coriander 200 gm

For the Tadka
l Oil 1 tbsp
l Mustard 5 gm
l Curry leaves 1 sprig

Method
l Dry roast the masala ingredients and make a fine paste, keep aside.
l Par boil the vegetables with turmeric powder, salt and keep aside.
l 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.
l Add ground paste to this mixture and boil gravy well, add par boiled vegetables and cook for another eight to 10 minutes.
l Check seasoning and make a tempering with mustard and curry leaves, and mix well. Remove from fire and garnish with coriander. Serve hot.

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

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.