Sandige Huli/Lentil dumplings in tangy gravy

Sandige huLi reminds me of my cousin’s wedding held in Bangalore recently. The excitement of all cousins getting together under one roof after many days was a good feeling :). Coming from a family with traditional values, was lucky to get a glimpse of conventional kannadiga wedding with a deliciously mouthwatering vegetarian dishes :)! {highlight of the wedding:-p}.

Sandige here refers to dumplings and huLi means a spicy lentil preparation. Sandige huLi typically is prepared on the Devara Samaradhane or Naandi Day (Custom followed to ensure the Blessings of God so that the marriage takes place without any interruptions) of the wedding ceremony. Still many families do follow the authentic dishes being prepared and served during particular occasions like the one I have mentioned above.

Here let me try and explain the scene of our Maduve mane oota (wedding meal)….

A traditional Kannadiga Oota (Kannadiga meal) comprises of the following dishes in the order specified and is served on a banana leaf : 2 types of Kosambari ( protein rich salad), Pickle, 2Palya( vegetables), Gojju(vegetable or fruit preparation with some tamarind and palm sugar and some spice), Raita, Payasa (Kheer), Thovve (yellow dal), Chitranna (lemon rice), Uddina Happala (urad dal papad) Rice and Ghee. After serving the Ghee one may start your meal. Yes, it is a tradition to start your meal with a dessert i.e Paaysa.
Next follows the series of soup like dishes such as Saaru (widely known as rasam), Majjige Huli(vegetable preparation with yogurt and chana dal), sandige huli (lenthil dumplings in tangy gravy) which is eaten with hot rice. Gojju or raita is served next; two or three desserts are served; fried dishes such as Aambode( fried dal item) or Bonda are served next. The meal ends with a serving of curd rice.

Well…am sure you guys must be drooling hehehe…will try and give you a few of our maduve mane (wedding meal) recipes of my version during the coming weeks. My cooking also would be experimental and may not be as perfect as our professional adige avaru i.e the cook :-p. Now the first recipe from me would be Sandige huLi ( lentil dumplings in a tangy gravy) again recipe I got googling my mom :d

Ingredients
For making the sandige (dumplings) : Makes around 15 dumplings depending on the size

Togari beLe/ Toor dal – ¾ cup
KadaLe beLe/Chana dal – 3/4cup {** ¼ cup of both the dals together would be used for the gojju or tangy gravy}
Fresh grated coconut – ¼ cup
Asafetida – pinch
Curry leaves – 4 strands of leaves
Cilantro – ¼ cup
Green Chillies – 3 to 4 ( medium spice)
Ginger – 1tbspn
Salt to taste

For making the Gojju/ tangy gravy

Tamarind – ½ cup of raw tamarind ( extract the juice by soaking in water)
Palm Sugar – ¾ to 1cup ( depending on the tanginess of the tamarind)
Fresh grated coconut –½ cup for the gojju
Mustard seeds – ¼ tspn
Asafetida – pinch
Cilantro – ¼ cup
Dried red Chillies – 4 to 5 (medium spice)
Togari beLe + kadaLe beLe – ¼ cup **
Salt to taste

For Tempering

Oil – 4tspns
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tspn
Pinch of asafetida

Method

Making of Dumplings :

• Soak togari beLe (toor dal) and kadaLe beLe (chana dal) for 3hours. Later drain the water and keep aside. {** here remember to save ¼ cup of lentil for gojju/tangy gravy}.
• Grind together both the lentils with green chillies, freshly grated coconut, cilantro, ginger, asafetida and salt to a slightly coarse paste. Note that no water should be added to grind the mixture.
• Shape this paste into round dumplings and keep aside.
  
  
  

Making Of Gojju/tangy gravy:

• Grind the lentils kept aside earlier along with dried red chillies, mustard seeds, freshly grated coconut, cilantro, asafetida and salt to a fine paste.
• Mix this paste into the extracted tamarind juice. To this add palm sugar and salt.
• Now bring this gravy to boil on low-medium flame. You can add little water if required.
• Later on reduce the heat to low and add the prepared dumplings to this gravy slowly. The dumplings settle at the bottom as you drop them.
• Let the dumplings be cooked well. (Note that when the dumplings are cooked they tend to float up – this is the indication that they are cooked).
• Once this is done, heat oil in a pan and make tempering with mustard seeds and asafetida and add it to the Sandige huLi/ lentil dumplings in tangy gravy.
• Now the Sandige huLi/ lentil dumplings in tangy gravy is ready to be served with hot rice and home made ghee :).
  
  Hope the method is clear and created a scene of Maduve Mane Oota yuuuuuuuummmmmmmmyyyyyyyy……..though for me here Sandige huLi tasted gr8 on porcelain plates over BaaLe Ele i.e the banana leaf.
  Not to forget that again it’s a wholesome meal with high levels of protiens which makes a well balanced human food!!
  Ciao again with another variety next week…Have a cheerful weekend :)!!