Kharabath - a South Karnataka delicacy

My parents hail from northern part of Kerala - North Malabar. My mom is from Kasargod. Being from the Kerala-Karnataka border, a lot of their food habits have both Kerala and Karnataka influences. Also, mom and dad studied at Mangalore/Bangalore respectively. They love Kanadiga cuisine. So do I. :) Like every other part of India, Karnataka's cuisine also varies across its different regions.

Last day, as I was blog hopping, I got to Prathibha's blog (The Chef and Her Kitchen) - an awesome blog consisting of a lot of Kannadiga dishes among many others. I was in love with her Kharabath in an instant. And could not resist giving it a try. And my dears, it was just mindblowing. "A" loved it so much that he finished all of it at once. :D Well, it was competition on who finishes the most!! :D Try it out, you will love it.. Thank you so much Prathibha. :D

Ingredients

• Sooji rava / Semolina - 1 C
• Water - 4 C
• Onion, chopped - 1
• Green chillies, chopped - 2
• Ginger-garlic paste - 2 t
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 t
• Red chilli powder - 1/2 t
• Garam masala - 1/4 t
• Coriander, chopped - 3 T
• Lemon, squeezed - 1 T
• Coconut, grated - 2 T
• Cashew nuts - 5 - 10
• Curry leaves - a bunch
• Ghee/oil - 1 T
• Salt - to taste

Vegetables for the kharabath

• Tomato, chopped - 1
• Carrot, grated - 1
• French Beans, chopped - 8-10
• Egg plant, chopped - 1
• Capsicum, chopped - 1/2
• Green peas - a handful

For tadka

• Mustard seeds - 1/2 t
• Cumin seeds/Jeera - 1/2 t
• Chana dal - 1 T
• Split urad dal - 1 T
• Ghee/Oil - 3 T

Method

• Dry roast semolina/rava.
• You will know that rava is well roasted when the nice aroma starts and also the rava turns a light brown in color.
• Keep this aside.
• Fry cashew nuts in ghee till they turn a golden-brown and keep aside.
• Heat the same pan with ghee/oil.
• Add mustard seeds.
• Once they crackle, add jeera, chana dal and urad dal and fry until they turn light brown.
• Add green chillies,curry leaves and fry for few seconds.
• Add onions and fry until they turn a light brown.
• Add egg plant and fry it for a couple of minutes.
• Add beans, capsicum, peas, tomato and cover cook for 3-4 min.
• Next add the ginger-garlic paste and cook until the raw smell leaves.
• Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt and garam masala to it and stir well for a minute.
• Meanwhile boil water in a separate container.
• Once you start seeing bubbles in the container, add the vegetable mix into it and allow it to boil.
• When the water bubbles, add semolina/rava by continuously stirring.
• Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes on low flame until semolina/rava is completely cooked.
• Add lemon juice to it and mix well.
• Garnish with coriander, coconut and cashew nuts.
• Yummy kharabath is ready to be served.
• To add to the taste, pour a tbsp of ghee on top before serving.