South Indies: Gojjavalakki

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Today is Krishna Janmashtami & you can have a look at my Krishna here. All the worshipping was done by my family & the eating was done by me :)

Krishna

I made Gojjavalakki for Janmashtami today .. Its mandatory that you make a dish out of Poha today as Lord Krishna loves Poha. And, did you know, out of superstition, most people never say No, when you offer them poha as, it may displease Lord Krishna :)

Gojjavalakki/Huli Avalakki is crushed poha spiced with Rasam powder & tempered with groundnuts & red chillies. This is very easy to put together. You just have to wait for the poha to soak up the spiced water. I usually soak the poha in the spiced water at night & set aside. The next morning, all I have to do is some tempering. That way, it just takes abut 5 mins.

Though Gojjavalakki is prepared during festivals, it makes a great breakfast dish.

Gojjavalakki

You Will Need:
  • 1 Cup Poha - Thick or Medium variety
  • 2 tsp Rasam powder - Home made or any other brand. MTR works great
  • A small piece of jaggery
  • Tamarind extract from a lemon sized tamarind ball
  • 1 tbsp seasme seeds - roasted & powdered
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 4-5 red chillies - broken
  • A sprig of curry leaves
  • 1 tsp chana dal
  • 1 tsp urad dal
  • A handful of groundnuts
  • 2 tbsp fresh grated coconut
  • Salt as per taste
  • Cooking oil
How to:
  • In a pan, dry roast poha until slightly warm. Transfer to a mixer & pulse the poha for a couple of times so that it is crushed coarsely. Do not make it into a fine powder.
  • In a vessel, take a little more than 3/4th cup of water, Add Rasam powder, tamarind extract & jaggery. Mix well & allow the jaggery to dissolve completely.
  • Add this water to the poha mixture, little at a time. Mix well such that no lumps are formed. Set aside for about 15-20 mins. The poha would have soaked up all the water & should be crumbly. If there are any lumps, separate them with your fingers. It should look like Rava.
  • Heat oil in a kadhai, splutter mustard seeds. Add groundnuts, red chillies, curry leaves. urad & chana dal & allo them to slightly change colour. Add poha, sesame seeds powder, Salt & a tbsp of oil & mix well.
  • Keep mixing over low heat for about 3 mins.
Transfer to a bowl & serve with yogurt. Enjoi !!!

NOTE:
  • I used thin variety poha today. If you are using the thick variety, you made need a little more water. But I really does not make any difference in the taste
  • Grated dry coconut can be added instead of fresh coconut. But I personally prefer using fresh coconut
  • A tsp of roasted cumin & pepper powder can be added towards the end. I usually do not add this.
  • Gojjavalakki is a dry dish so, it pairs well with yogurt.

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