Wheat Flour Halwa

Let me warn you this is rich both in ghee and sugar. It is very appetising to me. I have always relished it to the fullest. I have seen people in love with it like myself, my mom and daughter ! You can call it heridity ;) and my husband just not a fan of this halwa. During our recent trip to India I learnt my cousin does not like it either. So there are few who may not like the amount of ghee it calls for.

My aunt is an expert in cooking and this was her go to "instant sweet" when we craved for dessert as kids. I wonder how could she make this as her "go to" dish. May be this is what is passion. According to me this is time consuming and need a lot of patience. I wont deny I have thoroughly enjoyed cooking and eating this. I was always told this sweet dish orginated from a very famous hotel called Taj Mahal in Karkala Town. There are different versions or may be same as this all over India but for me this will always be "karakala halwa". 

Huggi

This is my grandmother's signature dish. I can probably never match the taste with what she prepared during my childhood.

This is very similar to pongal which is prepared in Bangalore/Tamil Nadu with moong dal and rice. A one pot meal. Can be served with tamarind chutney. Thats how I grew up eating and even now its a must for my husband. He will not eat Huggi without the chutney. Tangy taste with a tinge of jaggery makes it drool worthy.

Surnali / Dosa

Surnali is a very simple dosa. With just very few ingredients you can have spongy dosas for breakfast. I feel this is a very versatile batter. We can add jaggery and make sweet dosas or just make regular ones and serve with chutney. You can even add cucumber or magge (mangalore sautekayi) to it. If you are adding cucumber it is better to avoid adding poha. Adding both will make the dosa too soft.

Magge is a special cucumber which is called as Mangalore Sautekayi in Bangalore. I am not sure if this is used across India or if this is a South Indian specific vegetable. I remember my Uncle growing this in his farm. This has a longer shelf life and we use this only in different types of gravy and dosas. We do not eat this raw.