Kuttavalakki ~~Karnataka recipes

A Brahmin south Indian dish which is light on tummy yet amazingly tasty that can be served as a snack or as a breakfast. Kuttavalakki takes hardly 10 minutes to prepare and is loved by all age groups.

Kuttavalakki is Powdered poha and it has 2 versions one being what I have prepared here and is also called Gojjavalakki. The other version is  the dry kuttavalakki (a dish from Mysore) where the poha is powdered finely with other spices and served with yoghurt. Kuttavalakki/Gojjavalakki is prepared in many ways in different parts of Karnataka.

The recipe I have shared here is from my granny. My mom makes the similar poha only without powdering. This type of poha is made during festivals mainly on Janmashtami since this dish is little Krishna's favorite. :) It is also served as prasadam in many temples and when it is eaten as prasadam, Kuttavalakki actually tastes divine. I had completely forgotten about this dish since I moved here. When my neighbor brought me a bowl of Kuttavalakki few days back, I felt a longing for home and nostalgic. Now, I make it once in 3 days as a snack with a cup of coffee for hubby and he absolutely loves it.

I have used melted jaggery in this recipe instead of the grated jaggery. Usually grated jaggery is used in this dish by Bangaloreans. In our native and at mom's place, jaggery is used in Semi-Solid form and is stored in huge cans. They used to prepare jaggery from fresh sugar cane juice at every household and these days, only few homes do it. But Jaggery is still used in its purest form and can be bought at selective stores around North Canara. We call it Joni Bella. The jaggery blocks we buy at stores contain a lot of chemicals and I even found a dead insect once. (Blehh!!! ~X( ) So I usually melt the jaggery as soon as I buy, filter it when it is hot, cool it completely and store it in semi solid form.

Nutritional Information  (Approx) (per serving)
Energy	185		Calories
Fat	9		%
Carbohydrates	23		%
Dietary Fiber	3		%
Sodium	19		%
Vitamin A	8		%
Vitamin C	29		%
Calcium	4		%
Iron	22		%
Protein	6.8		Grams
Sugar	2.5		Grams

Ingredients
Poha/Beaten Rice	2 cups
Turmeric powder	a pinch
Rasam powder	1 & 1/2 teaspoons
Salt	to taste
Water	as required
Oil	2 teaspoons
Mustard seeds	1/2 teaspoon
Urad dal	1/2 teaspoon
Chana dal	1/2 teaspoon
Peanuts	2 tablespoons
Red chillies	2
Curry leaves(optional)	4 or 5
Tamarind pulp/paste	1 tablespoon
Jaggery melted/grated	1 tablespoon

• Grind Poha/Beaten rice to a coarse powder. Make sure the powder is not fine. It is ok if all the poha does not get powdered.
• Transfer the powder to a bowl, add turmeric powder, Rasam powder and salt. Mix well.
• Add just enough water to soak the mixture. Stir once and add a little more water. Let it rest for a minute and give it another stir. 

• Make sure you stir the mixture once or twice and sprinkle more water if the mixture gets too lumpy. 
• In a pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds. Once they start to splutter, add Urad dal, Chana dal and peanuts. Fry till they turn slightly brown. Then add cut red chillies and curry leaves.
• Add Tamarind pulp and jaggery. Simmer the flame and bring it to boil.

• Add powdered poha mixture and mix well. Adjust the salt.
• Cook under low flame for 2-3 minutes and serve hot. 

• If you like it on the spicy side, add half a teaspoon of chilli powder.
• Add fresh curry leaves if available, they taste better.
• You can serve them with a cup of thick yogurt, they make the best combination.
• If available, garnish with fresh grated coconut. It tastes extra delicious.

Oh, I had forgotten to say that I am contributing this post to the first blog hop of our lovely group. Do check out the great posts and recipes from my Blog hop friends.

• Anu's Bulgur Wheat Idli – Diabetic Friendly
• Deepa's Lehsuni Jowar Paratha (Fresh Green Garlic Sorghum Flat Bread)
• Ritu's Whole wheat Khasta Kachori with aloo ki sabji 
• Shuba's Chow Chow Bhath ---> Sweet and Savory Semolina Breakfast Combo
• Jayashree's Upma
• Vani's pea eggplant recipe (Dosa)/thuthuvalai dosai
• Piyali's BREAKFAST PERSONAL PLATTER