Mentya Hittu / Menthe Hittu

Mentya Hittu this recipe takes me back to my childhood, I remember my grandmother used to feed me mentya hittu anna at the beginning of the meal and say that it would make me strong...and tell me some stories, those were golden days. I love the taste of Mentya Hittu even today and is a must in my kitchen as my dad and husband both love to have Mentya Hittu at the beginning of the meal even today...

In kannada - Menthe/Mentya means Fenugreek & hittu means Powder, so it basically means Fenugreek Powder . But don't worry this powder does not taste bitter at all, and in fact it is basically a healthy mixture of Lentils & grains. We don't add large quantity of Fenugreek in this recipe, the addition of small quantity of the roasted fenugreek brings a distinct aroma to the powder which just smells heavenly .

This healthy powder is usually served to kids in the beginning of the meal, a spoon of this powder is mixed with hot rice, little salt and some ghee.

There are many recipes in which we use Mentya Hittu too, its a multi purpose powder in a way, its a simple recipe and the aroma and taste basically depends on how well you roast the ingredients. So lets get started...

Ingredients

Chana Dal – 1 Cup

Urad Dal – ¾ Cup

Whole Wheat – ¾ Cup

Rice – ½ Cup

Fenugreek seeds – ¾ Tsp

Cumin seeds – 1 Tsp

Turmeric Powder- 1 Tsp

Asafetida – ½ Tsp

Method

Step 1

Dry roast chana dal & urad dal on low flame, separately till they become golden brown and keep it aside.

Dry roast whole wheat on low flame till it changes color to golden and starts to pop, keep it aside. Now dry roast rice on low flame till it changes color and keep it aside.

Step 2

Dry roast fenugreek & cumin on low flame, till they turn aromatic & brown in color, keep it aside and let it cool

Step 3

In a blender add all the roasted ingredients, along with turmeric powder & asafetida, make it into a fine Powder.

Mentya hittu is ready to serve with some hot rice, ghee and little salt

Notes

Store Mentya hittu in a airtight container to keep the aroma as fresh as the day prepared.

You can add salt while blending to powder, but I personally like to add salt while mixing it with rice.

Prepared Mentya hittu can be used to prepare gojju or just can be added to avalakki/poha chivda to enhance the taste of chivda (my grandmother used to do this & I love this too).

You can add red chillies or pepper cons to make this little spicy. I have not used it as I have shown the authentic recipe of my grandmother (she used to prepare it for us when we were kids so its basic non spicy version).