Favourite among the kannadigas, the Vegetable Saagu is  best served with Puris, Set Dosas or Rava Idli. Mom would make this on Sundays and we would just love it. She learnt most of the  South Indian dishes from her childhood friend Sandhya who is also a great cook. Do make this on weekend and relish every bite!

Here’s how you can make hot puris!

Puri
Image Credit: Mujahid Khaleel

Ingredients

• Wheat flour – 2 cups
• Water – enough for making the dough
• Oil – 2 tsp for kneading + for deep frying
• Salt as required

Method:
Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add water little by little to form a medium soft dough. Mentioning it as medium soft, as the dough should not be too stiff or soft. The secret of soft puris lies in the way you knead the dough. Add 2 tsp of oil and continue kneading till the dough is smooth and has the right softness. Keep aside covered for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into lemon sized balls. Roll these balls till they are smooth and make sure there are no cracks. Roll them into circles using a rolling pin. Let the circles be of medium thickness which helps in making puffy puris.

Heat oil in a wok enough for deep frying on medium flame. Deep fry the puris one at a time, pressing it under oil with a slotted spoon until the puri puffs up. Turn and cook on the other side. Serve hot with any side dish of your choice.

Delicious Vegetable Saagu 🙂

Ingredients:

• Chopped onion – 1 medium sized
• Chopped tomato – 1 medium sized
• Beans, carrot, peas, cauliflower, cabbage, chowchow/ chayote, potato – 1/4 cup each
• Fried gram – 2 tbsp
• Grated coconut –  2 tbsp
• Green chillies – 2 tbsp
• Coriander leaves – 1 cup
• Ginger – 1/2 inch piece
• Cloves – 2
• Cinnamon – 1 small stick
• Coriander powder – 1/4 tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
• Oil – 2 tbsp
• Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Urad dal – 1/2 tsp
• Chana dal – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – as required

Method:

• Grind together all ingredients from Fried gram to cinnamon with very little water.
• Heat oil in a Kadai. Add mustard seeds, after they splutter add urad dal, chana dal and curry leaves.
• Add onions and sauté on medium flame till translucent.
• Add tomatoes and cook until soft.
• Add the ground masala, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt as required and fry well for sometime until raw smell goes.
• Add all the vegetables and fry. You can add vegetables according to your choice. Mom used to say not to omit chowchow/ chayote as it gives a very good taste to the Saagu.
• Add water and cook until the vegetables are done. For faster cooking, use cooker and cook for 2 quick whistles. Make sure not to over cook the vegetables.
• Serve hot with Puri , Set Dosa or Rava Idli.