28 Awards from friends

I would like to thank all my friends who have shared these lovely awards with me. It really feels great getting it from friends :)


Sunshine Award from Deepti of Panchamrutham
,Priyaraj of Ensamaiyal, Sara of Sara's Corner
,Jyoti of Panch pakwan





Honest scarp award and these


lovely awards from
Prasu of Food lovers and Mrs. Menagasathia of Sashiga
Also from Sashi of Sashi's Tasty Bites.

These from
Babli of Khana Masala



Thank you award from Shama of Easy 2 cook Recipes


and also this from Shama


I would like to share these all with each and everyone of you. So please pick it up friends :)

Read more of "Awards from friends"

49 RAVA VADAI

Recipe Shared in by my aunt Gomathi.

Recently when I was talking to my Athai( Aunt) who lives in Toronto, Canada on phone which I do very often, she mentioned about this recipe using rava and moong dhal in vadai. She was mentioning that when she was going through my Recipe list A - Z to look at the snack list then she found that I had not posted a famous snack of our native. I just asked what special snack. She said of course our Rava vadai. I asked if it was Maddur vadai, of course I knew that is not our native special as we come from South Tamilnadu and Maddur vadai is a special dish very famous from a place near Bangalore . She again said No and it was the one which we do with moong dhal and rava. I had the least idea about it and replied no of course lacked the knowledge of some authentic recipes. She immediately gave me the list of ingredients and the procedure. Thought to myself one day very soon should try it out. Just after few days saw a mail from her with the pictures of the vadai. So here I am posting the recipe and photo sent in by my aunt. Is also very simple to make and you can get very good crisp vadas. A perfect protien filled snack to have in the evening with a cup of coffee or tea.

Next will be posting an other interesting recipe from her. She is really an excellent cook and does a lot of catering in and around Toronto and of course lot of her snacks are highly in demand. But now due to some reasons she has reduced all those a bit and does only on special requests. We personally love her Sodhi, Parotta, boondi ladoo and many more.

Now lets go on to the recipe
Yellow Moong dhal( Paasi/pacha paruppu) - 1 cup
Rava/Ravai/Sooji - 1 cup
Onion - 1 small chopped fine
Ginger - 1 inch chopped fine
Green chillies - 4 or 5 chopped fine
Curry leaves - 6 - 7 chopped
Coriander leaves - few chopped
Salt as needed
Oil for deep frying

Wash and cook moong dhal in very little water. It should not become mushy, just see to that it splits open may be will take just 5 minutes. Remove and drain water( can use the water in any curries or soups). When it is still hot, mix well with a spoon and add rava. Stir to mix well and leave them aside for 20 - 30 minutes. Next add chopped onions, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, coriander leaves and mix well.

Heat oil for deep frying. Take a small ball size of the vadai mixture. Use a cloth/paper towel or plastic bags and with the help of your fingers press to spread them as thinly as possible. Carefully drop them in oil and deep fry till crisp. Repeat until you are done with all the mix and enjoy them as a snack anytime or with a cup of coffee or tea in the evening.

Read more of "RAVA VADAI"

32 BUTTERMILK AND PAANAKAM

Spiced Buttermilk( Neer Mor) and Paanaka and Kosambari for Ramanavami.

These 2 drinks and the salad are usually made on Ramanavami and served as prasadam. They are also a perfect summer refreshing drink( best thirst quenchers).
Check my friend Gayathri's Devotional blog for more details about this festival.

Last year had posted the steps to make Paanakam here. But posting it again for now.


Jaggery - 1/2 cup grated or crushed
Lime/Lemon - juice of 1 or 2 small
Water - 3 cups
Dry Ginger- powdered - 1/4 inch
Cardamom powder - a pinch or 2
Salt - a pinch

Dissolve jaggery in water and strain. To it add dry ginger powder, cardamom powder, salt and lime juice. Mix well and serve chill. Increase the amount of jaggery if you need more sweetness.


Spiced Butter milk
Curd/Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Water - 2 - 3 cups
Salt - 1/4 tsp or as needed
Green chillies - 3 slit
Ginger - 1/4 inch crushed
Curry leaves - 3 or 4
Coriander leaves - 3 small piece
Cumin powder - crushed coarsely - 1/4 tsp


Beat curd with a cup of water in a mixer or churner until you get a nice froth on top. Add salt and remaining water. Also add the remaining ingredients. Store in a clay pot ( if you have) or keep in a refridgerator and serve chilled.
Can also temper the butter milk with a teaspoon of oil. To it add few mustard seeds, a pinch of hing and the remaining ingredients and pour . Can strain and serve or as it is. As a variation instead of green chillies use jalapenos. It tastes good.
For cucumber kosambari. Check the link here.

Read more of "BUTTERMILK AND PAANAKAM"

37 OBBATTU / OBBATTINA SAARU - 2

Obbattu/Obbattina/Holige Thili Saaru Version II



This is a very famous dish in Karnataka, usually made with the water that is used for cooking dhal for making Obbattu filling called as poornam/Hoorna and also using 2 - 3 balls of the stuffing.

Is usually made on the day of preparation of obbattu or the next day. The curry usually goes well with rice and they say this tastes more good after few reheats, that is it tastes more good a day after its preparation( If you have any leftovers).

I have previously posted a different version of this preparation which I do like my Bassaaru. This one is just like the way I do my Thi saaru. It just tasted too good and even my friends loved this a lot. The other simple is to make it just like rasam preparation, instead od using dhal water can dilute the stuffing with a cup of water and add to your rasam.


The combination of spice, tamarind and jaggery gives this curry a very unique taste which I love a lot.

Onion - 1 small chopped fine
Tomato - 2 small chopped fine
Garlic - 3 flakes sliced thinly or crushed
Tamarind - 1 small lime size
Obbattu stuffing - 2 - 3 balls
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Red Chillies - 2 broken into halves
Hing/Asafoetida- 2 pinch
Curry leaves - few
Mustard seeds and urad dhal - 1/4 tsp each
Coriander leaves - few chopped
Salt as needed
Thili saaru powder - 2 tsp
( I usually use home made thili saaru powder, will post the recipe when I make them fresh again as an alternate can use MTR Brands Rasam powder or if not regular sambar powder)

Soak tamarind in a cup of water for 20 mts and extract a dilute pulp.


Heat ghee in a pan and add mustard seeds, urad dhal, hing, red chillies and curry leaves. Wait for few seconds and add chopped onions. Fry till transculent. Add garlic and saute for a minute. Next add tomatoes and fry till the skin peels out. No need to cook till they are mashed. Just fry till a part of the skin comes out. Next add tamarind pulp and also another 1 - 2 cups of water. Reduce flame and cook till they are frothy. Now add in the stuffing and mix well so they do not have any lumps. Add salt and saaru powder. Cook together for 4 - 5 mts. Remove and garnish with some coriander leaves.
Serve with hot rice.

Read more of "OBBATTU / OBBATTINA SAARU - 2"

27 OBBATTU / SWEET PURAN POLI - Version II

Bele Obbattu/Sweet Puran Poli/Paruppu Boli/Holige - Version 2

Maida/ All purpose flour - 1 cup
Aata/chapathi flour - 1 cup
Channa dhal - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup grated or powdered
Cardamom powder - 2 - 3 pinch
Nut meg powder - 1 pinch
Freshly grated coconut - 2 - 3 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - a pinch
Ghee - as needed

Take the flours in a mixing bowl. To it add add salt, oil and turmeric powder. Mix well and add water and prepare a a very soft dough of loose consistency. Apply few drops of oil on top and set it aside for 2 hours or more. The more the better as it gets very smooth.

Wash and cook channa dhal adding water just little above it leverl. Cook till they are 3/4th cooked on stove top or in a pressure cooker for 1 - 2 whistle. Remove and drain the water keep the water aside( The water is used for an other preparation along with the saved 2 - 3 balls of stuffing - that is a very famous dish prepared in Karnataka called as obbattu/obbattina saaru). I have already posted my first version of it. But will be posting the second version in my next post.

Mash the dhal well and add them in a pan along with jaggery and cook till they are mashed very well and mixed well and until you get a thick consistency. Keep stirring and once they are thick enough add grated coconut( which is just optional can always add it if you like them) and cardamom powder and nutmeg powder. Mix well, then switch off flame and allow it to cool. If you want to make obbattu immediately then keep the stuffing in the fridge for 10 mts to make it little hard and take them out. Make small balls of it and keep it ready for stuffing.



Take a small ball of the dough and press with your fingers such that the ends are thinner than the middle part. Place the stuffing ( channa dhal and jaggery) and pull the ends together to cover them. Then with your fingers press them to spread as thin as possible. If the cover breaks then seal it with a piece of dough.

Place the rolled ones on a heated tawa and cook both sides until golden brown. Add few tsps of ghee and remove. Serve hot.

Read more of "OBBATTU / SWEET PURAN POLI - Version II"

46 UGADI FEAST

Wishing you all a " Happy Ugadi".

ugadi ( yuga + aadi, yugaaadi means start. The start of an era) is the New Year's Day for the people of the Deccan region of India. The people of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh use the term Yugadi/Ugadi for this festival.

The day, however, begins with ritual showers (oil bath) followed by prayers, and then the eating of a specific mixture of six tastes (Shadracahlu), called Yugadi Pachhadi in Telugu and Bevu-Bella)in Kannada, which symbolizes the fact that life is a mixture of different experiences (sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise) , which should be accepted together and with equanimity.

Ugadi Feast at home


Here are some pictures of my Ugadi Feast which I prepared and celebrated with my friends.
Don't get tricked that these are real Banana Leaves :)( They are paper ones that mom got me when she visited us last time.


Salt
Snake gourd Fry
Vaazhakkai Fry ( Ver 2) Check here for Ver 1
Beans Fry
Zucchini Thokku
Obbattu ( Version 2) or Check here for Version 1
Semiya Payasam
Obbattu/Obbattina Saaru( Ver 2) Check here for Ver 1
Black Channa Curry
Kara Bonda/Pakoda
Carrot Kosambari
Vegetable Palav
White Rice
Ugadi Pachadi
Also made Nei Urundai - Not in the picture.


Will post the recipes that have not been linked here very soon and update this post.

Read more of "UGADI FEAST"

34 UGADI PACHADI

Ugadi is a New year festival for Telugu and Kannada people. Also called as Gudi padva in Maharashtra.

Option 1 of making pachadi. See below for option 2.


Ugadi pachadi is a combination of 6 tastes/flavors( Shadrachulu) each standing for a special character a man experiences in life. That is salty, spicy, tangy, bitter, sour and sweet. The significane of making this pachadi is for us to understand that life is a mixture of all emotions, good /bad/happy/sorrow and we have to face each one equally.


In Karnataka it is called as Bevu Bella where fresh neem leaves are mixed with jaggery pieces.

1.Salt - 1/2 tsp - For Saltness( Uvarppu)- To represent scareness
2.Red chilli powder/or Black Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp( Spicy/Hot) ( Kaaram)- To represent Angry
3.Raw Mango - Few cut into small pieces - For Tanginess( Pulippu)- To represent excitement.
4.Neem flowers(or can use Methi seeds) - 2 tsp - For Bitterness( Kasappu)- To represent sorrow.
5.Tamarind( or can use Lemon Juice) - One small lime size- For Sour( Thuvarppu) - To represent Mischieveness.
6.Jaggery(or can use Honey or Sugar) - 2 - 3 tbsp - For Sweetness ( Inippu)- To represent Happiness.

Soak tamarind in water for 20 minutes and extract a dilute pulp . Mix in jaggery until it melts. Add mango pieces, salt and chilli powder. Mix well and add neem flowers. Mix and have a tbsp or 2 .

Option 2 of making pachadi.


The other way is cooking this like a thokku/pickle.With the same above ingredients we need additionally a tbsp of oil preferably gingelly oil. Few mustard seeds and curry leaves and a pinch of hing/asafoetida.


Heat oil in a pan and add mustards seeds, curry leaves and hing. When it crackles add the tamarind pulp and allow it to boil and reduce in volume. Add mangao pieces and cook for sometime. Next add salt and chilli powder and mix. Then add jaggery and stir in for few minutes until it gets little thick. Finally add the neem flowers( First dry roast seperately and then add).
If you do not have neem flowers, then add few methi(fenugreek) seeds in the oil itself before pouring in tamarind pulp.


Usually my mom sends in a batch of dry neem flowers mainly to prepare neem flower rasam. So it comes in handy anytime I want to make use of it.

Tomorrow is Ugadi( New year for Telugu and Kannada people). Will post in my Ugadi feast pictures tomorrow.

Read more of "UGADI PACHADI"

24 OMA WATER

Omam in Tamil. Carom Seeds in English. Ajwain in Hindi.


Using oma water is a simple home remedy in many households to relieve us from stomach pain. Normally this water was given to us on a regular basis no matter if we had a pain or not. Though it has a strong smell and flavor it is very good to have and really soothes us very soon.

To know more about these seeds click here.


Omam is a seed which looks very similar like cumin seeds, but little short and flat. Has a very good aroma. These seeds are good to have to when we have stomach pain, or suffer from acidity and heart burn. Relieves and soothes from the pain.

Ajwain seeds - 2 tsp
Water - 1 cup

Dry roast the seeds in a pan or microwave until you get a very nice aroma. I used the microwave and set it just for 45 seconds.

Take the seeds and water in a sauce pan and boil it well till it reduces to half the amount. Leave it alone and strain the water using a tea filter.


Take a tbsp of water whenever needed when you are having severe stomach pain, acidity/ heartburn due to indigestion.
Can be given to kids and adults. Back home they also used to give to babies above 9 months.

Sending this to Ruchika cooks event for Home remedies started by Muskaan and Sadhana of A2Z Vegetarian Cuisine.

Read more of "OMA WATER"

35 CAPSICUM DHAL

Capsicum( Bell Pepper) Dhal( Paruppu/Pappu)


Dhal - 3/4 cup (can use toor dhal or masoor dhal)
Onion - 1 medium chopped fine
Capsicum - 1 big chopped into thin stripes
Garlic - 3 flakes sliced thinly
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Kitchen king masala - 1/4 tsp
Salt as needed
Oil - 1 - 1 1/2 tbsp
Lemon/lime juice - 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves chopped - for garnishing
Mustard seeds/ urad dhal and cumin seeds - very little of each
A simple dhal with capsicum. Goes well with rice and or chapathi.


I like masoor dhal a lot so have used masoor dhal. Wash and cook dhal till soft. Keep it aside. If using toor dhal then cook in a pressure cooker for 2 - 3 whistles.


Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, urad dhal and cumin. Wait for few seconds and add chopped onion and fry till light brown. Next add sliced garlic and fry for another 2 - 3 minutes. Next add capsicum slices. Fry well for another 3 - 4 mts. Add all the powder and mix once. Immediately add the cooked dhal along with salt. Add water if needed according to thickness needed and cook till it comes up to a boil. Reduce flame and cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Remove and add lime juice and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Read more of "CAPSICUM DHAL"

45 UNDRALLU

Undrallu/Rice Balls/Kozhukattai - Spicy/Savory Version


Each family has a their own version and a name of cooking a dish and this is my grandma's/mom's way or native special of making undrallu. Most of you might know that it can be made like a sweet just like kozhukattai or modak or even adding the balls in coconut jaggery mixture. This recipe is a savoury version using the same rice balls called as undrallu in my home language. Can be had as a snack or breakfast/tiffin.


Boiled Rice - 1 cup
Salt as needed
Oil - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dhal - 3/4 tsp
Hing/Asafoetida - a pinch
Curr leaves - few
Coriander leaves - few chopped
Onion - 1 chopped fine
Green chillies - 5 chopped or slit long
Ginger - a small piece chopped or grated
Coconut grated - 2 tbsp


Was and soak the rice for 4 - 5 hours and later grind to a very smooth paste in a grinder/mixer. Can also add little salt while grinding. Transfer the ground paste in a thick vessel add a tbsp of oil and cook by stirring all the time till it is thick enough to get a dough conistency. Cover with a lid. Apply oil to your hands and take a small amount of dough and roll between your palms to a round small marble like. Repeat the same with the remaining dough. This dough is just like the preparation of my Idiayppam dough.

The other way to make the dough is using the rice flour. Take rice flour and little salt. Heat water until it boils and bubbles up, add salt in the same. Now pour the hot water and mix with the help of a long spoon/ladle. Rest for a while and use your hands to knead to a soft dough. Make small marble sized balls and keep aside.

At home they use boiled rice version with soaking and grinding to make this as we get very soft and smooth balls though the later one is much simpler and easy.


Cooking the balls.

Place them all in a plate or vessel and steam on high in a pressure pan or idli cooker for 12 - 15 mts. Check them and cook for another few minutes if it is not done.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, urad dhal wait for few seconds and add hing and curry leaves. Immediately add chopped onions and fry till light brown. Next add green chillies, ginger, salt and fry for another 3 minutes. Then add the cooked/steamed rice balls and mix well. Also add grated coconut and mix and fry again for 2 - 3 minutes. Remove and serve as it is or with any chutney.

Read more of "UNDRALLU"