BASSAARU

Bas saaru is a very authentic dish of mandya and mysore. It is very popular in villages.
As I am from mandya district It is a regular dish in my mothers place. It is non oily and very healthy dish to eat,loaded with lot of leaf greens ,pulses,dals and vegetables .it is a good combination to raagi mudde.

The South Karnataka or old Mysore region also known as Bayaluseeme or the plains including the present day Kolara, Bengalooru, Mysooru, Tumakooru, Mandya, Haasana, Chamarajanagara is more often then not synonymous with Karnataka cuisine though culinary traditions else where in Karnataka can be significantly different from this one. Ragi and Rice are the most important staple grains, Jowar and Bajra are also cultivated and consumed in the drier parts of the region. The first meal of the day is the break fast which is quite substantial. Regular meals consists of Ragi mudde or steamed dumpling made from ragi flour,a curry to roll bits of the dumpling often called Saaru, Rice and Yogurt. Optional accompaniments include a salad called Kosambari, vegetable side dish called Palya and assorted pickles.

Ingredients:

Hara moong (Hesarukalu)-1cup

Toordal(togaribele)-1/2cup

Garlic-1 whole big(1/2 for roasting and 1/2required as raw)

Onion-1big(same as above)

Tamarind-lemon size

Coconut freshly grated-1/2cup

Curryleaves(karibevu)-2sprig

Sarinapudi-1tbsp



For tadka:

Ghee/oil-2tsp

Onions finely chopped-2tsp

Garlic cloves-4-5(as many as you wish)

Mustard-1tsp

Method:

First cook dal and moong in a cooker with sufficiant water for 2 whistles,then leaveit to cool. Now roast 1/2 onion and 1/2 garlic along with skin, in a open flame on a hob with skewers.After roasting remove the skin and chop roughly.Now grind coconut,tamarind,1/2raw onion and garlic,1/2roasted onion and garlic,1tbsp of cooked dal and moong, sarinapudi into a fine paste by adding little water.Separate the water from cooked dal and moong and keep aside.Now put tadka of ghee, mustard, onion ,garlic untill little black, then add grind masala to tadka and fry for 2 minutes, then add curryleaves along with stem(this gives nice aroma to saaru).After 2 minutes add dalwater and allow to boil for 10minutes in sim flame, add salt to taste. Boil for 2minutes(don't over boil)now it is ready to enjoy with ragimudde or rice.

For cooked dal and moong mixture put tadka of oil, mustard, red chillies,little onion and fresh coconut,serve as a side dish to bas saaru.



You can prepare bassaaru with different combinations of vegetables,dals and pulses.

Some are listed below:

1. Cabbage and toordal

2. Hurulikalu(horsegram)only

3. Beans (hurulikayi) and toordal

4. Vaalbeans (avarekalu)

5. leafgreens like dantinasoppu and toordal

6. Dill greens ,beans and toordal

7. Blackeyebeans and toordal