Now, looking at the title of this post, are you wondering what weird thing this is going to be? That means you have not visited the one and only, VB bakery in Bangalore, Sajjan Rao circle recently. VB Bakery makes some of the best Dumrot Halwa ever. Not only that, they make some of the best pastries, cakes, biscuits, puffs and the list can go on and on. I think I sound like an advertisement for them:-)

This CK( short for Congress kadalebeeja) Bun was a new introduction on their list, and is extremely popular in my family circuit back in Bangalore.

If I were in Bangalore, Khara Bun and Congress Kadalebeeja would be available at any corner bakery, but here, I made my own version of the Khara bun with the bread mix that is available at the local grocer’s. I added some chopped green chilies, onions, coriander leaves and dill leaves to the dough, and they tasted pretty authentic.

I have already put up the recipe Congress Kadalebeeja here http://suruchi.wordpress.com/2008/01/28/congress-kadalebeeja , So without further ado let me tell you how its assembled-

Method-

Slice the Khara Bun in half, horizontally. Toast on a tava for a few minutes. Butter both slices well( or use Olivio, if you are on a diet). Sprinkle the Congress peanuts on the bottom half. Cover, and serve. Its real easy!!

Ingredients-
1. Channa Daal- 2 cups, soaked in water for about an hour or two
2. Fresh coconut grated- 1/4 cup
3. Ginger- 1 inch piece, chopped
4. Fresh coriander- a small bunch
5. Curry leaves- a small sprig, finely chopped
6. Green Chilies- 5 to 6
7. Salt- to taste
8. Rice flour- 2 Tsp( to make the ambodes crispy)
9. Oil for deep frying

Variations( Optional)-
Cashews broken into small pieces- 2 Tbsp
Or
Pudina- 2 Tbsp very finely chopped
Or
Hithak avare beLe- 1/4 cup, cooked in salt water
Or
Onion- 1/4 cup, very finely minced

Method-
Grind the Channa daal in small batches adding very little water, to a course paste. The grate option on the blender is very helpful, if you don’t own a tabletop grinder. With the last batch, grind the coconut, ginger, green chilies and the coriander to a thick paste. Mix together with the previous batch paste, add the chopped curry leaves, salt and rice flour. Mix in the other optional ingredients if using any. Take a small amount of the paste, flatten it slightly on the palm to give it a round, flat shape. Deep fry in hot oil on medium heat, till dark golden brown. The ambodes should be crispy on the outside, and soft inside.

Ambodes taste great on their own, or can be soaked in saaru(Rasam) and eaten.

‘Nuchhina Unde’ is a very traditional afternoon snack. It was generally made in our house with the sweet Kucchida kadbu( Steamed Kadbu), for the Nagara panchami festival. The popular belief being, nothing should be fried at home that day.

Made with Toor dal, it is very simple and tastes great, and can be made any time, not only on festivals.

Ingredients-

1.Toor daal- 1 1/2 cup, soaked in water for an hour or two

2.Green Chilies- 5 to 6( more can be added if needed)

3. Ginger- one inch piece, chopped

4.Jeera- 1/2 tsp

5.Fresh grated coconut- 1/4 cup

6.Coriander leaves- a small bunch, very finely chopped

7.Asafetida- 1/4 tsp

8.Salt- To taste

Method-

Grind the daal coursly in a blender, using the least amount of water possible. The ‘grate’ button on the blender comes in handy for this. It has to be done in small batches, but the dal can grind with almost no water. With the last batch grind the green chilies, ginger, asafetida and jeera also to a thick paste. Mix the coconut, coriander leaves and salt in the end. Shape into small oval shaped balls and steam like idlies for about 10 to 15 minutes. The paste can also be filled in cooked rice flour like kadbu and steamed. Serve hot with ghee.

Finely chopped mint( Pudina), can be added to the paste to enhance flavor.

My first entry is the recipe for a very spicy peanut called ‘Congress Kadalebeeja’. It is known as Congress, because the peanut is split in half, just like the Indian congress party. It can be included in a group of snacks we Bangalore-ans call ‘ Khuruklu- muruklu’, which refers to the sound made while munching on them.

I have never found this particular type of peanut in any Indian store here. Since it is great to eat on its own, or is an essential ingredient of other fun dishes, and really easy to make, I think it deserves a place in my cookbook.

Ingredients-

Peanuts- 1 cup

Chili powder- 1/2 teaspoon

Turmeric- 1/4 teaspoon

Curry leaves- 1 sprig( dry roasted till crispy, and crushed)

Black pepper powder- 1/4 teaspoon of a coarse powder

Asafoetida- a pinch or two

Salt- to taste

Oil- 1 Tablespoon

Method-

The Peanuts have to be dry roasted in either a kadai, or on the microwave for a few minutes. After they cool, the skin easily comes off by rubbing them between the palms, in the process, they can also be split in half. The skins have to be separated from the peanuts.

The oil has to be heated and all the powdered ingredients added to the oil. The peanuts are mixed in and the crushed curry leaves are added.The mixture has to cool, to become crunchy

Spicy Congress Kadalebeeja is ready to savour. Tastes its bestest on a rainy afternoon, with a hot cup of Coffee.