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Ellu bella sweet trail mix made during the Makar Sankranthi festival. Shared with friends and family, this easy gluten-free dry mix provides a good form of jar snack.
Walking through the now back to bustling markets of Bengaluru there is sugarcane, ellu bella packs, achu sharkare etc lining the shelves. It is nearing Makar Sankarnthi. The ellu bella packs attracted my attention. This trail mix is one I am particularly fond of and loved munching on. Here is the recipe to make this simple ellu bella and a bit about it.
What is makar sankrathi?
The transition into the Zodiac of capricon is Makar Sankranthi. It marks the beginning of summer and teh end of winter. During this time the winter harvest is plenty and is a celbartion for the farming communities, thanking the natural forces for the abundance. Across indian states, these three days are celebrated as Pongal ( Read more here), Sankranthi, Magi, Makara villaku or Sokran. Each regions celebarates the local produce which is showcased in the festival foods. In Karnataka, this celebartion time is all about bonding, sharing and happiness. Kite flying, decorated animals and carts are a common site during thsi time. The family is in their best attire (new ones ofcourse) and visiting friends and fanily with ellu bella and a sankranthi thali.
“Ellu bella thindu olle maathadi”.
The Kannada saying above translates to eat ellu bella and speak no evil. It is one of the recipes (not much if it) meant purely for sharing. The actual highlight of the day is the sharing of the ellu bella with neighbours and friends. This is an excitement for the kids who are entrusted with the job. The idea of sharing this winter trail mix is to enhance the bonding between the families.
Ellu bella is not a huge deal of a recipe, but rather a simple mix of ingredients that make it a perfect winter munch. Here is what goes into making ellu bella.
Roasted groundnut: as a locally grown crop, grounds form a huge part of Karnataka cuisine. Roasted to perfection, peeled and split the groundnut anyway form the favourite munch. Added the trail mix it offers a delicious nutty feel.
Sesame seeds: the toasted white sesame seeds are used to make this recipe. The nutty flavour with a faint after-taste along with the jaggery tastes fantastic.
Roasted chickpea dal: huri kadle or roasted gram is added to the mix. This gives a powdery mouthful when bitten into.
Jaggery: traditionally jaggery or bella is the sweetness factor in this dry mix. If not sugar or rock sugar pieces will work in their place.
Dry coconut: Kobri is mature coconut that has its kernel completely dried. This is either grated or cut into small cubes. It has a slightly sweet flavour with abundant coconut oil and fibre.
The roasting of the ingredients is done on a cast iron wok called banali. This thick-bottomed wok is perfect for roasting nuts and seeds without getting them burnt. Usually, this is a hand-me-down. I got mine from my mother.
The Kobra or dry coconut is cut into squares using a nutcracker or an arumamanai. The arumamanai is a small wooden stool or plank fitted with a bent sharp blade. Sitting on the plank placed on the floor, the kobri (even vegetables) are diced into pieces. This is actually an art in itself. Sitting on that plank needs practice.
Ellu bella is a dry mix. If kept in airtight containers it stays good for up to 3 months on the shelf. However, a handful of the mix is actually a wonderful snack, so it never lasts so long in my house.
The Sankranthi thali is one of the simplest to set up. It is all about the seasonal local produce. This is an easy idea to set it up. Here are some things you want to gather
Ellu bella
Sugarcane
Mango leaves or betel leaves
Achhu sharkare (candy sugar figurines)
Banana
Ber or indian jujubes
Flowers
Additional adds
Steamed groundnut
Steamed sweet potatoes
A steel or metal platter is preferred to set this mix. Wash clean and dry the leaves. On the platter plate the leaves and arrange the other elements around them. You can keep the ellu bella in a bowl or add it directly onto the plate. Add the sugar candy last and decorate with flowers. This is your sankranthi thali.
Food served for Sankrathi
Since it is a seasonal abundance, newly harvested rice, yams, sweet potatoes,hyacinth beans, groundnuts, sugarcane etc are the main produce you see during this time. Commonly, Sweet pongal, steamed groundnuts, payasa, lemon rice, avrekalu uppitu,steamed sweet potato, ellu unde are made during this time.
If you are looking for a naivedyam thali, try this -click here for the link.
Learning about traditional cuisine takes time and guidance. Simple recipes like these are more fun to put together and bring about the festival spirit. So dress up and celebrate. Tell us about your way of celebrating with ellu bella or how you celebrate makar Sankranthi in the comments. If you are making ellu bella at home, share with us the little twists and turns. Don’t miss to subscribe and keep connected.
Happy Sankranthi!
This is an email sitting in my blog account currently to which my favourite answer this year would actually be ” lots and lots of work! ” if you are also working in an industry that goes on a peak season during Christmas, well,the Christmas-based posts are practically non-existent. There is no energy to make all those lovely goodies. Literally running on dal tadka for most nights.
At the same time, you want to make the season a bit special. So finally took a few minutes off on a quick day to pop something in the oven. Guess what the sweetest smelling whole orange cake loaf with dried cranberries.
Baking certainly gives us a lot of joy. It is the whole process that makes it special. However, when you are pressed for time, there is nothing better than having some appliances that will help you through. The blender gives a smooth paste of the liquid ingredients to which you can add the flour and pulse to mix. When baked, the blender cakes are a bit springier than the ones where you have whisked each ingredient. I love using the blender as it is one simple wash-up and not many parts.
Oranges: I swear by the navel oranges for this recipe and the orange muffins. In fact though the navel oranges are not the best when you want to have fresh, they taste best in baked goods. In fact, there is no bitterness with these navel oranges when you bake with them.
Eggs: the fluffiness of the blender cake comes from the eggs. Bring the eggs to room temperature to use. OK! There is nothing wrong with cold eggs, but the blend is better with eggs that have stayed on your countertop for atleast 2 hours or more. This whisks much better than cold eggs.
Sugar: cakes are sweet, so just granulated sugar will do perfectly.
Oil/butter: I use one tablespoon of oil just to emulsify the batter. For this recipe, olive oil or coconut oil is fantastic. If using butter, make sure it is just melted, so can mix well.
Flour: self-raising whole wheat flour is what I have used. To make your own self-raising flour that is good for cakes and muffins is actually simple. 2 teaspoons of baking soda for a cup of plain flour, is the proportion to mix for self-raising flour. You can use whole wheat flour too, if using the Indian whole wheat atta, sift it a couple of times before adding the baking soda.
Cranberry: I would love to add fresh tart cranberries to this recipe. However, I have not found any this year. The dried cranberries are what I have used, they are slightly sweetened and added as a layer in between by coating them in flour.
The recipe card below the image has step-by-step instructions to make this easy blender cake. Hope you like it and will share your feedback in the comments.
Yes, the cake batter will give you the best in a round tin and as a sheet cake.
Make sure you have a little above the halfway mark to get a lovely rise for the cake in a round tin. If using a sheet pan, reduce the timings and check for doneness using a skewer.
If you are celebrating something special with this loaf cake you will need to jazz it up to look better than a loaf cake. The simplest is to dust some icing sugar. To make a glaze, mix the icing sugar with a bit of orange juice and pour over the whole orange cake loaf. Sprinkle golden sugar or something edible or decorative to bring up the cake. This heightens the orange feel and the festive spirit.
So this slightly lazy cake, the best cranberry orange cake, is what we have for Christmas plans. However, if you are looking for that spiced plum cake, try this eggless version we made earlier. There are also some fun cookies (I highly recommend roasted almond cookies) and bakery-style funfetti cake. At any cost, enjoy the festive season, have lots of fun and go check out the Christmas decorations whenever possible (check out our Instagram as we bring you Christmas decor from Sydney).
Wish you all a fantastic festive season.
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