I have been absent from the blog for a bit now but now, you know that I was “still” working on the blog behind the scenes. You should start seeing my posts soon. Before that, I have this lovely guest post by my good friend and fellow blogger Chinmayie of Love Food Eat, who also happens to be from Bangalore. On her blog, she writes about simple and super easy vegetarian recipes. Let the simplicity not mislead you to believe otherwise about taste though. When you visit her blog, don’t miss these gems – Guava Fudge, Pickled Black Pepper, Tender Jackfruit in Rice and her local vegetable dishes like Sweet Sticky Purple Long Beans and Indian Winged bean Salad. I’m sure you’ll love them, her recipes reflect her personality – simple, honest and down to earth.
In today’s guest post, Chinmayie aka “Chin” as I like to call her, takes us on a step-by-step tutorial of making this faint sweet South Canara dish that happens to be her childhood favorite! All yours Chin..Genasaale – Steamed rice cakes stuffed with coconut and jaggery
I still remember seeing Radhika’s blog ‘Just Home Made’ for the first time. I spent a long time browsing recipes and was glad I found such an amazing blog with great recipes and even better photography! I wrote to her on twitter telling her how much I loved her blog and got a very cheerful reply back. We immediately connected as we both are from the same city. I have been in touch with her ever since and it’s been so great knowing her. I enjoy each and every post of hers and I am a huge fan of her amazing photography and styling. I love her detailed recipes with all the required notes. Her posts clearly reflect the amount of research and thought she has put into each one of them.
Whenever I see curry leaves I remember her ‘Curry plant’ post and ‘Sakkare Acchu’ had never looked better than her’s! I have made her ‘Bisibele Bath’ and I can confidently say that’s it’s been the best out of all the dozen variations I have tried. I am completely honored to be guest posting for her incredible blog today.
Radhika asked me if I could share a childhood favorite recipe of mine and it took me almost a month to finalize on one recipe! I just couldn’t think of something special enough to be on her blog and I am still quite nervous about coming up with good enough photos to match her standard. After a lot of thought I picked ‘Genasaale‘ for my guest post.
There are several foods from our childhood which are more dear to us now than before. While growing up we never realize how special they are. But later on when we look back, we can see the amount of care, precision, labour and love went into it when our mothers made it and suddenly it becomes a childhood favorite! ‘Genasaale‘ is one such recipe. It was made on special occasions and loved every time.
Genasaale like most other Indian special delicacies is time consuming and labour intensive. But it’s very simple in it’s own way. A sweet coconut filling is wrapped with a ground rice batter and steamed covered with banana leaves.There are two variations of this recipe. One where finely chopped fresh jackfruit with fresh coconut and jaggery is used as a stuffing. This is a seasonal speciality and is extremely delicious with deep fruit flavors.
The other variation is made when jackfruits are not in season. I am making it in the second style where just fresh coconut and jaggery is used as the filling. These sweet cakes are simply steamed with banana leaves which lend their aroma into it. These steamed sweet rice cakes are gluten free, vegan and very healthy! They are best eaten piping hot fresh out of the steamer. Sometimes they are made for dinner and leftovers are served for next day breakfast at room temperature. I am sharing my recipe for Genasaale with all of you today. Hope you enjoy it.
Genasaale Recipe
makes 10-12
Printable Recipe
Things you’ll need:
1 cup rice
1 cup + 1/4 cup freshly grated coconut
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup powdered jaggery
3-4 banana leaves
How it’s done:
Soak the rice in water for 3-4 hours. Drain all the water and grind it with 1/4 cup coconut, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 cup water. Make the batter smooth and grain free.
In a bowl combine fresh coconut with powdered jaggery and mix it well. You can taste the mixture at this point and add more jaggery if you want it sweeter.
To prepare the Banana leaves, separate them from the stalk in the center. Place it on the fire/stove for a few seconds on each side. This will prevent the leaf from breaking while folding it later on.
To assemble, place a piece of banana leaf on a flat surface. Spread the rice batter into a round shape with a spoon. Make sure it’s not too tick. Now place the coconut jaggery mixture on one half of the circle. Fold it over into half and then fold the edges to seal it completely. Place it upside down into your steamer. Continue till all the rice batter and the filling is used up.
I used my mono steamer to steam them. You can use any steamer or even a pressure cooker without the weight. Steam them for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve them hot with a dollop of ghee (optional).
dassana@vegrecipesofindia.com says
great web design radhika. the genasaale are reminding me of patholi which my mother makes – the only difference being its steamed in turmeric leaves. as always great photographs by chinmayie.
Radhika says
Thanks Dassana..
So glad you like it..
Interesting.. Think, turmeric leaves are also used as a variation, if I am not wrong..
dassana@vegrecipesofindia.com says
generally in the goan and konkani cuisine, the patholi is always made with turmeric leaves. the turmeric leaves have a heavenly sweet fragrance. whilst steaming the rice batter absorbs the aroma and flavors of the turmeric leaves which gives the patholi a unique taste. turmeric leaves are seasonal, but i guess some folks also make the patholi with banana leaves.
The Blissful Adventurer says
This is my first real deep look at your site. Saveur magazine should hire you 🙂 Great stuff and I want to eat this now
Radhika says
Thank you..
Hope the magazine editors are listening.. 🙂
The Blissful Adventurer says
they should be. Please keep up the great work. I see tons of recipe blogs and your succeeded at making me hungry
Veena says
Lovely lovely post, thanks Chinmayie and Radhika! This post makes the point for me yet again that Karnataka cuisine is so varied and we have so much to share. What part of S Canara is genasaale from? It reminds me so much of tamales. I grew up in Bangalore, and I’ve never had genassaale. I’ve missed out. I also love the idea of the jackfruit variation. Time for another trip to India!
Radhika @ Just Home Made says
Totally agree with you Veena!
Each part of karnataka has a different kind of cuisine to boast of. Living in one city we might not know so many! Genasaale was a new to me as well!
South Canara / Malnad cooking is truly fascinating even in its simplicity..
Swathi says
Lovely recipe…love the food of south canara and surrounding areas..so simple and yet so flavorful!
My mom makes something similar for Ganesh Chathurthi and is called kozhakattai in tamil!
Radhika says
Swathi, we make something similar as well for Ganesh Chathurthi and it is called “Modaka” in kannda, we make Koshakattai at home too for Deepavali though 🙂
(For all practical purposes, both are same, just the shape would differ..)
Notyet100 says
U always come up with such unique recipes,.this one looks delicious
chinmayie @ love food eat says
Thank so much for the opportunity Radhika! Glad you liked my recipe 🙂
Radhika @ Just Home Made says
You are most welcome, Chin..
I can imagine myself polishing off a whole bunch, when made with added jack fruit in it..
Can’t wait to make this myself! (except, I don’t get fresh jack fruit here..)
Kadhyaa says
Hey First time here and very very nice blog and the time i hv seen your blog is just perfect coz this is one of my traditional dishes in my home town..and my all time fav..lovely pics step wise pics..
Namitha says
This is making me so nostalgic ! We make the same thing in Kerala and we call it ‘ada” or ilayada”. It’s been almost 2 years since I had this 🙁 I hate the jaggery that we get in the Indian stores here
Brooke says
These look beautiful as usual, Chinmayie! Fairly simple recipe (my favorite kind) I’ll have to see if I can come across any banana leaves around here…
Prerna@IndianSimmer says
Oh wow, this sounds delightful! I am ashamed to say that I have never heard of or tasted it before but that needs to be changed soon. Bookmarked! 🙂
planetmaria007 says
Yum…thank u so much for sharing such a delucious recipe and so beautifully…u r obviously a humble person…as yr blog was so well done…great and helpful images…hope hear much more from u xx
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
YUMMY! I grew up enjoying similar genasaale!! I hope to find some fresh banana leaves here in Florida, soon 🙂
BTW, the blog looks fab, Radhika 🙂
Deeps @ Naughty Curry says
this is a regular at home during ganesh chaturti, an all time favourite. mom uses turmeric leaves which give them a lovely fragrance… this looks delecious
Vegetarians says
Very few simple ingredients, very simple dish, yet very much special with the way it is being made. The photos made it really interesting for me to give it a try. But if jaggery is not readily available, can we replace it with regular brown sugar or muscovado sugar?
chinmayie @ love food eat says
I am sure you can replace it with muscovado sugar though the flavor will never be the same as jaggery 🙂
Shirish Shiroor says
This is called genasale in Havkaya. One can use the banana leaf/turmeric leaves or Cinnamon leaves .
Cinnamon leaves have repeated use. One can take these leaves anywhere in world.