Monday, April 6, 2009

Vishy's dal Al dente

NO one can better this.

What do you call it? Elastic batter made from flour, sugar, poppy seeds, cardamom and cooking soda, flattened on an inverted round mould with a damp cloth and deep-fried in oil. The sugar in the batter makes us to put it under Entrements (Sweet’s), yes of course its sweet, but it can also be served for breakfast - Thanks you Amaravishy.
We the badugas call it Enne Hittu, almost all the badugar knows what Enne Hittu is all about and I’ll call it a dish to represent our culture, a real gastronomy, the uniqueness of this dish lies in converting the sticky batter into a near circle shape with wet hands on an inverted round bowl, The badugas make it more perfect than anyone else. Enne is Oil and Hittu is food, so does,Enne Hittu means Oil food? – I do not know. Here is another one, Enne is Oil and Hittu is, to throw, so throwing the sticky batter in oil? – still I do not know, and I do not want to know the etymology of Enne Hittu, I want your taste buds to explore the tasty Enne Hittu, served in as many courses as possible.
Any badugar village will have more than a couple of festivals in a year, and in all the festivals the common, unavoidable food is Enne Hittu, I have tasted it all through my life, in various occasions, either with tea/coffee, or plain or sometimes with vermicelli payasam , not bad, it goes with any combination. But last Sunday my palate sensed the real taste, it’s seven seventeen in the morning and I’m in Amaravishy house, and for the breakfast. Its vishy’s favorite Dal cooked Al- dente with potatoes and Enne Hittu, I couldn’t resist the taste and the numbers multiplied, when its food at Amara’s place, I’m always filled with food in stomach and happiness in heart.
The day continued with a long drive up and down, a wedding, a good meal, a couple of juices and etc and Etcetera, but still the tasty Enne Hittu and vishys dal al dente lingers in my mouth/ mind, and my heart awaits for next Sunday, because its festival (mari habba) in Manjitha. but sure i'll miss Vishy's Dal al dente

(many a times i have felt the meaning of Half empty stomach, but in Amara's place, the way the food is served, the quality, quantity, the kindness - no one can better this, i wont call this hospitality because The word hospitality derives from the Latin hospes, which is formed from hostis, which originally meant a 'stranger' and....oh no more history of words. if not hospitality, what to call... it means more that words could ever say.)
Al dente- cooked enough to be firm but not soft.
Enne Hittu is also called thupathittu - and here thuppa is - ghee, & Hittu - Food. I do not know
Recipe
Maida-½ kg
Sugar-¼ kg
Water-3-4 cups (very hot)
Salt to taste
Poppy seeds 150 gm
Oil for frying.
Method
Mix sugar, poppy seeds and cardamom powder in hot water, sieve together flour and salt add to the sugar mixture, mix with your hands to make a elastic batter, The batter should extend when pulled. Now take about a ladle of the batter in your left palm and pat it with your right fingers and deep fry in oil. Use water to pat, as the batter could be sticky.

2 comments:

Dechen wangmo said...

Thanks for the recepie... ll try out..

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