Balka of Bramhin's in South.

A Balka which is a Kannada word is a sun dried green chilli filled with salt and spices of different kind in various types of Balka used as a substitute for curry or vegetables since there was no time to cook or there was no vegetable and other items at home to cook curry.In the absence of these things there is always a pack of Balka to complete the meal of the day.The Balka is deep fried and mixed with steamed rice and after adding a spoon of pure home made ghee is well blended and still when it is hot it is made by hand using the fist only and making it in to small mouth full balls eaten well with the next course of steamed rice with curds and by biting a bit of Balka to give a taste to the curds with rice.The meal is quick and it fill the belly to the extent you want to fill.Such a meal is only in a Brahmins home in south India.

How to make BALKA :-

Ingredients:-

1 - Green Chillies - 1 kg

2 - Salt - as required.

3 - Methi - 10 gms.

4 - Curds - 1/2 liter.

Preparation:-

Clean all green chilli in drinking water and keep it aside.Take a 5 liter vessel pour curds and salt.Fry methi in oil and powder it and put it in curds and add 2 tbs of jeera to it.Cut all the green chillies vertically in half but do not break it.Now put all vertically separated chillies not broken in half but still open in the vessel containing curds with powdered methi and jeera.

The above chillies in curds are to be kept for 48 hours by periodically turning them every 4 hours after 48 hours. After 48 hours the green chillies are o be taken out of curds kept in open on a dry grass mat or wooden plank for sun drying.When all the chillies are dried fully it is again put in the curds made as mentioned above and again dipped in that curd mixer and sun dried.

These SUN DRIED GREEN CHILLIES NOW BROWN IN COLOR IS TO BE KEPT IN A CONTAINER TO BE TAKEN OUT AT THE RATE OF 2 PIECES PER PERSON OR MORE IF NEEDED AND TAKEN AS MENTIONED ABOVE BY DEEP FRYING IN OIL TILL IT IS DARK BROWN NOT BLACK.