This week, celebrity chef Sujatha takes you on a food journey from North Karnataka to Maddur in the South and introduces you to two authentic regional dishes from the state: Ennegayi and Maddur Vada, as part of Deccan Herald and Prajavani’s Cuisines of Karnataka series presented in association with Freedom Refined Sunflower Oil.
Maddur Vada
Maddur vada, a tasty teatime snack, derives its name from the town where it was first made by Ramachandra Budhya, who sold idlis and pakoras at the Maddur Railway Station, in 1917. When a train arrived before its scheduled time, in a hurry Ramachandra ended up preparing these vadas instead of pakoras.
Ingredients
One cup semolina (medium upma rava)
One cup maida
Quarter cup rice flour
Eight to ten cashew nuts (crushed)
Six to seven green chillies (finely chopped)
Two teaspoon curry leaves (finely chopped)
One teaspoon ginger (finely chopped)
One teaspoon roasted sesame seeds
Two onions (sliced)
Two tablespoon groundnuts (crushed or powdered)
Salt (as per taste)
Freedom Refined Sunflower Oil
Recipe
In a bowl, take semolina, maida, two and a half tablespoon rice flour, crushed groundnuts, green chillies, sliced onions, crushed cashew nuts, roasted sesame seeds, chopped curry leaves, chopped ginger and salt as per taste.
To this, add two tablespoons of heated oil, and give it a nice mix. Add water little at a time and mix them well. The dough should be similar to that of pakora dough. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
Grease your palms with some oil. Take small balls from the dough and flatten it on your palms.
Deep fry the vadas on medium flame. Enjoy Maddur vadas with coconut chutney.
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Ennegayi
One dish that is synonymous with North Karnataka is Ennegayi. This dish made from stuffed brinjal is best had with Jowar Roti. A staple in the northern districts, it is considered a specialty in other parts of the state.
Ingredients
For curry
Ten round (purple) brinjals
One teaspoon mustard
Curry leaves
Half tablespoon fenugreek seeds
One onion (diced)
Quarter cup tamarind juice
One tablespoon crushed jaggery
Fresh coriander leaves
For filling
Two tablespoon sesame seeds
Half cup dried coconut (kobbari)
Quarter cup groundnuts
One teaspoon chilli powder
One teaspoon niger seeds (ramtil)
Salt as per taste
For puree
One onion (diced)
Two tomatoes (diced)
Half teaspoon ginger (finely chopped)
Half teaspoon garlic (finely chopped)
Half teaspoon turmeric powder
Half teaspoon chilli powder
One teaspoon coriander powder
Half teaspoon cumin powder
Half teaspoon garam masala
Salt (as per taste)
Freedom Refined Sunflower Oil
Recipe
First dry roast sesame seeds. Next slightly roast niger seeds until it starts popping. Then roast groundnuts. Switch off the stove and in the same pan warm dried coconut.
Transfer the roasted ingredients to a mixer grinder, add chilli powder and a pinch of salt and grind. Make two slits in the brinjal (keeping the stalk intact) and stuff them with the powder.
In a pan, heat some oil and shallow fry the brinjals till they change colour to dark brown colour.
In another pan, heat some oil, and add finely chopped ginger, garlic and diced onion. Saute it for a while and add diced tomatoes.
Once it turns mushy, add coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala, chilli powder, a pinch of turmeric powder and salt as per taste. Give it all a good stir and turn off the stove after a while.
Once it is cooled, grind it in a mixer grinder to obtain a puree.
For the tempering, take some oil in a pan, add some mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, one diced onion, and saute it.
To this, add curry leaves, followed by the masala puree. In the end, add some tamarind juice and salt, if required. Once it starts bubbling, add the fried brinjals. Finally, add some jaggery to neutralise the sour taste and let it cook for some time. Garnish it with coriander leaves.
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