Shira

Shira

ಶಿರಾ 

This is a traditional sweet, common to many communities. Havyakas have slightly variant version of the recipe. Shira can be prepared in minutes, if all the ingredients are available.

Traditionally Ghee is used. However unsalted butter works equally well and it is handy too. 

Prep time:              5 min

Cook Time:          15 minutes

Servings:                6 (size: ½ cup, 100 grams)

Nutrition info:      400 calories per serving (140 unsaturated fat calories!).  Smaller portion is better.

Ingredients

Ingredients

         Cream of  wheat (Sooji-coarse)                      3/4 cup

·         Butter (1/2 cup, unsalted) or Ghee              3/4 cup

·         Milk                                                                     3/4 cup

·         Sugar                                                                   3/4 cup

·         Banana (mashed)                                             1/2 cup (optional)

·         Salt                                                                      pinch

·         Saffron                                                               1/8 tsp

·         Cardamom powder                                          1/2 tsp

·         Cashews and/or raisins:                                  1 tbs (optional)

Method:

1.  Melt the butter/ghee in a medium size  vessel.
2. Add the cream of wheat, stir and roast for about 3 to 5 minutes on medium heat.
3. In a separate pot, add saffron to milk and simmer it.
4. Add the hot saffron-milk to the roasted sooji, mix well and cover. Let it cook for 4 minutes on  low heat.
5. Add sugar, mashed banana, pinch of salt and cashews.  Stir to mix.
6. Cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Now mix the cardamom powder, mix and remove the vessel from the stove.

Shira is ready to serve. Since Shira is rich in saturated fat, smaller portion may be better.

Step5

Step2

Step6

Variations

Pineapple Shira:  Crushed pineapple (1/2 cup) is used instead of mashed banana.

Mango Shira :  Mango pulp (1/2 cup) is used in place of Banana.

Satyanarayana Puja Prasad:  Use Ghee. Don’t use cashews, cardamom and saffron.

Cranberry Uppinakai (Pickle)

Cranberry Pickle (Uppinakai)

 Havyakas who grew up tasting appemidi uppinakai, with a unique pickle masala, will never compromise with any other pickles. Here in US, one may not get the appemidi, but can make something similar. Pickle masala is made the same way and is common to all pickles. One can add the appemidi from  ‘MTR’S’ pickle (cut them into small pieces) to get close to our traditional pickle. Another way is to substitute marinated unripe plums or cranberries to the pickle masala.

 Cranberry is available in the month of November and December. Unripe cranberries are slightly sour and blends well for the Indian style pickle. Byadagi red chili is recommended, but here instead, available red chili powder is used.

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 40 minutes

Cut and salted

Ingredients:

Cranberries (Unripe)           400 g. (5 cups) cut into halves and pieces.

Salt                                          40 g. to marinate cranberries

Salt                                          1 cup (260 g) to make salt water saturated.

Mustard                                  ½ Cup (80 g)

Red Chili Powder                  50 g.

Cumins                                   1/8  cup (20 g)

Pepper-(Kalumenasu)-        ½ tsp (4 g).

Ingu (Asafoedida)                 ¼ tsp (1 g)                              

Cloves (lavanga)                    ¼ tsp (1 g)

Menthe (fenelseeds)             ¼ tsp (1 g)

Olive Oil                                  75 mL

Coconut oil                             2 tsp

PREPARATIONS:

Note: Maintain dry conditions, use dry spoons etc.

Cranberries: Chop the Cranberries into halves, lightly using the food processor. Pour into a glass bowl and then sprinkle 10 grams of salt, mix well and cover it.  Repeat this for every 12 hours to add a total of 40 grams of salt in about 48 hours. This will marinate the cranberries.  Unlike mangoes or plum, this won’t shed much water.

Salt water:  Simmer  1 cup salt in 3 cups of water;  keep it aside to cool for few hours and then decant it. (mainly you are preparing a saturated salt water).

Method: 

1. In a large pan, place little coconut oil (1 tbsp), and add,  cumins, white or black pepper, Menthe, Cloves, and ingu. Lightly roast them.  Later add Mustard and stir it warm. Don’t  roast the mustard. Puree them using portion of salt water. To get a thick smooth paste.
2. Separately, lightly warm the chilli powder while stirring. (Ventilated place).
3. Use the salt water and blend the chilli powder.
4. Later mix all of them to make a paste. Pickle masala is ready.
5. Seasoning: Season the pickle masala , with mustard and hing frying in coconut oil.
6. Add the marinated cranberries to the pickle masala and mix. Add the olive oil to thin it out. (Don’t use coconut oil, it solidifies in cold weather).

Mixed. step 6

 
 Transfer the pickle into dry glass jars with airtight lids. Uppinakai can be preserved for months in the refrigerator.

 Plum pickle: One can add marinated unripe plums (in summer) to make plum pickle (step #6)

Appemidi pickle: MTR or Bedekar’s appemidi pickle has somewhat good appemidi dipped in watery salt water masala. One can take out these midi, dry them, cut them to small pieces and mix with above pickle masala (step #6) to make appemidi pickle.