Pongal

Hope everyone had a wonderful Pongal/Makara Sankranti this year. This year Pongal was extra special for me as I celebrated Sankranthi/Pongal with my daughter, son-in-law and my wonderful little grand daughter. I have finally become a patti..a title that gives me immense joy and happiness.

A few points about Makara Sankranti/Pongal..Makra sankranti marks the transition of the sun into Makara rashi, sankranti meaning the transition from one rashi to the next. Makaram rashi is especially considered very auspicious. We call this day Uttarayanam, as this is when the sun moves from south to north, north direction being most auspicious. In TamilNadu, where I am from, we cook rice with milk in a vengala pannai (vengalam- an alloy of steel, pannai- pot) and allow the rice to overflow a bit. The significance is that just like the pot overflows, we pray that our lives overflow with good health, prosperity and happiness. In rural areas, they typically cook on an open flame outside, to pay homage to the Sun God.

Now, onto the preparation of the pongal. There are two dishes we typically make, sweet (chakara) pongal and savory (ven) pongal. For both these pongals, we need to cook rice with moong dal and milk.

Rice – 2 cups

Moong dal – 1/2 cup (slightly roasted)

Milk- 2 cup

water – 3 cups

Cook rice with dal and milk until its well cooked and can be easily smashed.

Chakara Pongal

Ingredients

• 
• jaggery – 1 – 1.5 cups of powdered jaggery
• water – 1 cup
• Cardomon/Elaichi – Powdered – 1 tsp
• Raisins (or dried cranberries) – 2 tbsp
• Cashew –  2 tbsp
• Ghee – 1/2 cup
• Nutmeg – 1 tsp (optional for extra taste)

Method of preparation:

1. In a saucepan, heat jaggery and water together until the jaggery dissolves. Filter this sauce for even consistency.

2. Boil the sauce until it forms a thick syrup. Te test the readiness of the sauce, you can take a little between your thumb and index finger and slowly move the fingers apart. A single string should form, which means the sauce is ready.

3. Add half of the rice that was cooked with moong dal and milk to this and stir until well combined.

4. Add  most of the ghee, increase the heat, let it cook well – about 10-15 minutes, so that the rice incorporates the jaggery flavor well. The pongal will now look a rich brown color and give a heavenly aroma.

5. Once its done, turn off the heat and keep aside. Separately, heat rest of the ghee, add cashews, wait until it has turned golden brown. Then add raisins (or dried cranberries if you don’t have raisins) and fry slightly.

6. Add the fried cashews, raisins, elaichi (cardamon) powder and nutmeg powder to the chakara pongal.

7. Chakara pongal is ready! bhesh bhesh 🙂

Ven pongal

Ingredients:

• Ghee- 1/4 – 1/2 cup
• peppercorns – 2 tsp
• jeera – 2 tsp
• curry leaves – 4 0r 5
• ginger – 1/2 inch
• cashews – 5
• asafodita powder – 1 tsp
• salt – to taste

Method of preparation:

1. Dry grind the peppercorns and jeera into a semi-coarse mixture and keep aside.
2. In a saucepan, heat ghee, add cashews and fry until golden brown. Then add curry leaves, asafodita powder, ginger and the pepper-jeera powder and fry each for a few minutes. You can add a few whole peppercorns as well, if you don’t mind the spiciness of biting into a whole peppercorn. Some people don’t like that, that’s why we grind it.
3. Add the remaining cooked rice-dal and mix it well so that the moong dal’s shape is not visible and everything is well combined. 
4. Add salt and the remaining ghee and the dish is done!
5. Tip: Cooking the rice with milk gives an extra creaminess and richness that is makes the pongal very yummy to taste. So definitely try to cook with the milk.

I hope you will try out the Pongal..its very simple to make and tastes so good. Its one of my go to comfort food. Do let me know how it turns out. I would really appreciate comments and feedbacks from you.

Fruit smoothies

It is summer and being in Chennai (Madras), I have really been feeling the heat. An easy way to cool down the body as well as have something healthy is to have fruit juices. You get hydrated as well as the nutrients from the juice will help keep your body cool and happy.

Here are some ideas for fruit juices, substitute with any fruits that you might have.

Watermelon Juice

watermelon (cut and peeled) – 1 cup

lemon juice – 1 tbsp

sugar – very little for taste (optional)

Method:

In a mixie or juicer, grind the cut watermelon with lemon juice. If the watermelon is not very sweet, you may want to add 1 tsp of sugar for taste. This is optional. You can add little water if you want a juice type consistency.

Chill in fridge or add some ice cubes and drink up. You are nourishing your body as well as quenching your thirst 🙂

Protein rich strawberry (or any berries) smoothie

Strawberry – 1 cup (washed and leaves removed)

Blueberries or Blackberries – 1/2 cup (optional)

Orange – 1/2 cup (peeled)

Banana – 1 (optional)

Protein powder – 1 scoop

Yogurt – 1/2 cup ( if you have greek yogurt available, that is preferred).
(you can also substitute with flavored yogurt for yummier taste, but those have extra sugar in them)

Honey – 1 tsp – for taste

Method:

Mix all the fruits, yogurt, protein powder and honey and grind in mixie or juicer until it has a smooth consistency. Add little water and ice cubes if needed.
No need to add sugar, the sweetness of the fruits with a little honey should be sufficient.

Note:

– The protein powder is optional, you can skip it if you don’t have it or prefer to have just the fruit juice.

– Blue or black berries are rich in antioxidants, so if they are available where you live, definitely try to use them

Vazhakkai (raw banana) podimas

Vazhakkai podimas is a super-easy, tasty and healthy recipe that is a wonderful accompaniment to any spicy sambhar or kuzhambu. This is a staple at my house and I make this very often. My husband and daughter both love his curry for its simple taste and yummy flavor. With coconut, tanginess from lemon juice and a little spiciness from the red and green chilles, this is a non-oily and healthy side-dish. Next time you make any kuzhambu, sambar or even chapatti, try this recipe.

Ingredients

•  Raw/Green banana – 2 medium size

• Coconut – 1/2 cup
• Coriander leaves – 1/4 cup finely chopped
• Lemon juice – 2 tsp

For seasoning

• Oil – 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds – 2 tsp
• Channa dal – 1 sp
• Asafodita – 2 pinch
• Urad dal – 2 tsp
• Ginger – 2 tsp chopped finely
• Curry leaves – 3-4 leaves
• Green chilli – 1-2 split lengthwise
• Dry Red chilli – 2

Method of Preparation

1.  Cut the two bananas into two halves (with the skin) and cook for 10 min in a small cup of water.
2. When the banana is half-cooked, remove from stove and peel the skin of the bananas. The banana should still be thick and not soft and pasty. If its too soft to grate then it has cooked too much.
3. Grate the bananas and keep aside.
4. Take a saucepan and add 2 tsp of oil. Add mustard seeds when oil is hot and once it splutters, add channa dal, red chilles, green chilles.
5. Add the grated raw banana and little salt. Cover and cook for few minutes.
6. Add little asafodita and the grated coconut and cook again for just a few minutes.
7. Turn off the stove and squeeze some lemon juice and mix well.
8. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and Bheshbhesh! vazhakkai podimas is ready.

Video of Preparation

Orange Peel Vathakuzhambu (puli kulambu)

Vathakuzhambu is a spicy, tangy gravy that is really popular in south of India. Usually, it is made with vegetables or vathal (or dried vegetables). But, today I want to share with you a twist to the usual vathakuzhambu by using orange peel. We have been making this type of vathakuzhambu in my home since I was a little girl in madurai.   The unique flavor of the orange peel, along with the tangy taste of the tamarind goes beautifully and makes for a unique dish.  The key is in choosing the right orange. Cementines are in season at my daughter’s place, where I am at now so I used those. Any mandarin/clementine where the outer orange skin can be easily separated from the fruit inside is okay to use. In south India, we have a variety called kamala oranges (my namesake!) which is perfect for this dish. So, here’s the recipe.

More Char (South indian yogurt raita)

One of the best ways to cool down the heat is to have yogurt. Yogurt has amazing healing, cooling powers as well as being yummy to taste. More (waterty yogurt) char is a really quick way to make a simple side dish for rice.

Ingredients:

Yogurt  – 1 cup

Turmeric – 1 tsp

For Seasoning:

channa dal – 1 tsp

mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Omam/ajwain – 1 tsp

Lemon salt (optional)- 1 tsp

salt – to taste

Method:

1. Mix 1 cup yogurt with water well.

2. Add a pinch of turmeric and salt. Add a pinch of lemon salt if the yogurt does not have a tangy taste.

3. Season with mustard seeds, ajwain, channa dal and a pinch of asafodita powder. Optionally, you can add 1 red chilli as well for a little spice.

 

A really quick, easy dish to make. You can make this one day instead of raita and have it as a side to rice or chapattis.

Upma Kozhakattai

Happy Vinayagar/Ganesh chathurthi to all. This is the day when we make kozhakattai/modhak as an offering to Ganesh. Speaking of kozhakattai, today I thought I would share the recipe on how to make Upma kozhakattai. This is a yummy breakfast dish but you can also make it for evening tiffen/snack.  Everyone in your family will love it.  Kids will especially love the suprising sweetness of jaggery filling inside the kozhakattai. If you have rice flour at home, this is a fairly quick and easy dish to make.  Do try it and let me know how it comes it!

Ingredients:

• Boiled Rice – 2 cups (this is not steamed rice, this is a type of rice like basmathi rice).
• Jaggery/gur/vellam – 1/2 cup
• Green chilli – 2
• Red chilli – 2 or 3
• Mustard seeds – 1 tspn
• Urad Dal/Ulutham parupu – 1 tspn
• Shredded coconut – 4 tbls (or Chopped coconut pieces)
• Salt to taste
• Coconut oil – 2 tsp
• Water – 2 cups

Method of Preparation:

1. Soak 2 cups of rice in water for atleast 4 hours and grind the rice into a paste. Try not to grind to a super smooth paste, grind until it is very slightly coarse. If you do not have time to soak the rice, you can just grind it

2. Add about 2 cups of water and some salt to the rice flour. Mix thoroughly.

3. Cook the rice paste on an open stove top and keep stirring throughly till the dough is cooked atleast 3/4th. The paste will not stick if you take a little in your hand.Keep aside.

4. Take a non-stick pan or tawa, heat  2 tsp coconut oil. Add mustard seeds, let it splutter, then add urad dal and the chopped green, red chillies.

5. Add seasoning, coconut to the rice paste  and mix thoroughly. Taste the paste to be sure there is enough salt.

6. Now, take 3-4 big spoons of the cooked rice paste and mould it into an oval ball with your hand. Stick a few pieces of jaggery in the middle of this ball. Mould the rest of the rice paste into similar oval shaped balls. You can make few kozhakattai balls with the jaggery and a few without to have some variety.

7. Steam cook these rice balls in the pressure cooker for about 20 min. I place these on idly plates.

8. Upma kozhakattai is ready! It is best eaten hot. Team it with some chutney and Bhesh Bhesh!!

 

Saravana Bhavan sambar ( or tiffen sambar)

For people hailing from tamil nadu or in fact any where in India, the tasty and cheap middle class restaurant Saravana Bhavan is very well known. I remember going to its many restaurants in chennai with my family. Imagine my surprise ( and relief) when I went to visit my daughter in the US. They had branches even there!

Growing up, my daughter’s favorite was the 14 mini idlis and sambar that they used to serve at SB. The right way to eat it is to let the mini idlis swim in the pool of sambar and eat it all while its still hot! She used to love it so much that even when we came home, she would pester me to make that sambar and idlis. I tried to recreate the sambar at home and here’s my version on it. I have shared this recipe with you and I hope you will give it a try someday. If you have little ones at home, I can guarantee that they would love it. Or if you are away from our motherland and you want a taste of nostalgia, this one’s for you.

Ingredients

1. Moong dal/Pasi parupu (1/4 cup)
2. Toor dal/tooram parupu (1/4 cup)
3. 3-4 green chillies
4. tamarind- 2 tblspn
5. Onion- 1
6. tomato- 1
7. Rasam powder – 1/2-1 tbsp

Method of preparation

1. Cut onion and tomato into medium sized pieces.
2. Take a small vessel and add the cooked dals, 1/2 of the cut onion and 1/2 of the cut tomato, 3-4 green chillies, salt and a little turmeric powder. Add 1 cup of water and cook in pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles. ( if you are cooking a larger quantity, use a 1/2:1 dal to water ratio to measure how much water you need to add).
3. While that’s cooking, take a vessel and heat it on the stove. Add 1/2 cup water , tamarind and salt. Let the water boil for about 10 min.
4. Add 1/2-1 tbsp rasam power and let it boil a little bit.
5. Add the rest of the cut onion and tomato and let it cook until onion is tender. You can add a little more water if needed.
6. meanwhile, when the dals mixture is cooked, cool a bit and grind the cooked mixture in a blender or food processor.
7.  Now  combine this mixture to the tamarind water/onion/tomato mixture that is cooking on the stove. Stir well and let it boil for a few minutes.
8. Check for salt and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
9. BheshBhesh! Authentic (or close) Saravana Bhavan sambar is ready 🙂

This is not the typical sambar that you eat with rice but it goes great with any tiffen item like idlis, dosas, vada, pongal etc. Vada soaked in this sambar for a little while will be super yummy.

Inniya tamil puthhandu nal vazhthukkal and Kasa Kasa Payasam

Happy Tamil new year! Today, a lot of different cultures around the Indian subcontinent are celebrating their new year. As part of our Indian culture, it is customary to welcome the new years with some dessert. Today, for tamil new year’s day, I made kasa kasa (poppy seeds) payasam (kher). Kasa kasa, in limited amounts lends a slight nutty flavor to food and goes great when mixed with coconut. It is a very good coolant and helps bring down your body temperature.

Ingredients:

– Kasa kasa/Poppy seeds – 2 tblsp (don’t add too much, unless you want to sleep really well 🙂 )

– Grated coconut – 2 tblsp

– Jaggery/Gur/Vellam- 1/2 cup – finely grated or powdered with no lumps

– Rice – 2 tblsp

– Milk – 1 cup

Mothod of Preparation:

1. Soak 2 tbsp kasa kasa overnight. In a separate bowl, soak the rice as well.

2. Grind the kasa kasa to a smooth paste. Add as little water as possible.  The reason to grind the poppy seeds first is because the poppy seeds are so fine that if you try to grind it with other ingredients, it won’t grind very well.

4. Now add the grated coconut  and then the soaked rice and grind finely

5. add to a bowl and add 1 -2 tumbler water, keep it on the stove and bring it to a boil. You should keep stirring without stopping.

6. Don’t let the mixture burn, it will boil and bubble. Once it gets a little thick, add the finely grated jaggery and reduce heat.

7. Keep strring frequently and let it boil for 10 min, until the fresh smell of the jaggery goes away.

8. Add 1 -1 1/2 cup of milk and let it boil on low heat.

9. Once done, switch off the heat and add elaichi powder, sone fried cashews (optional) before serving.

Bhesh bhesh, yummy, easy to make payasam ready!

Olan Recipe and Happy Vishu!

When you think of Kerala, its the lush greenery, world famous auyurveda treatment and its backwaters come to mind. Its stunning scenery and untouched natural beauty is why it is called ‘The garden of the Gods’.

Kerala dishes are known for their simplicity and their use of coconut. Olan, a dish made with pumpkin, coconut and black eyed peas is a typical kerala dish. It is very commonly made in weddings and feasts. Here’s how you make it..

Ingredients:

Yellow pumpkin (not too ripe, consider getting  pumpkin slice that is a little hard to touch)- cut the pumpkin into small, thin slices

Black eyed peas – 1/2 cup – soak overnight

Green chilli- 1 or 2

Coconut milk – 3/4 cup or grated coconut- 1/2 cup

Coriander leaves – 3-4 stalks, chopped finely

Method of preparation:

1. Boil the black eyed peas in a pressure cooker. Once done, keep aside

2. Boil the cut pumpkin with 1 green chilli and a little salt.

3. When the pumpki is soft, add the boiled karamani. Let is boil well.

4. If you have coconut milk, just add the coconut milk now. Otherwise, if you have grated coconut, just grind the coconut with 1 green chille and add the paste to the boiled pumpkin and black eyed peas.

5. Keep the stove at minimum and don’t let the mixture boil. Let it simmer for a few minutes and turn off the stove.

6. An authentic taste of kerala is never complete without the taste of coconut oil. So, add 1-2 tsp coconut oil to a small saucepan. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and some curry leaves.

Add this seasoning to the olan and some chopped coriander leaves  you are done.

Serve hot with white rice, pickle and Bhesh Bhesh!

Parupu Usli

Growing up, one of my daughter’s favorite dish was Parupu usli. It still is one of her favs and whenever I go to visit her, out of the long list of requests, this one will almost always be on the top.

Parupu usli is a light, flavorful Lentil crumble which can be eaten as is or combined with almost any veggies.  It especially goes great with more kuzhambu , jeera rasam or vetha kuzhambu. This is quintessential tamil brahmin comfort food.

Ingredients:

Toor dal – 2 cups

Channa dal – 1/4 cup

Asafodita – a pinch

curry leaves – 3 or 4 leaves

Red chilles – 3-4 or as per spice level

Green chille – 1-2

any vegetable of your choice – cut and cooked separately with a little salt. You can pretty much use any vegetable although green beans, cabbage, or vazhapoo- the flower from the banana plant usually goes best.

Method of preparation:

1. Soak the toor and channa dal for atleast 4 hours

2. Grind the soaked dals with 2-3 red chilles, 1-2 green chilles, little salt and a pinch of asafodita. Try not to add much water, use as little water as possible to make a coarse paste.

3. Now usually I take a saucepan/kadai, add a little oil and then add the dal paste and cover and cook for a few minutes.  If you want a slightly quicker and healthier option, you can spread the dal/parupu paste on a plate and microwave for about 5-6 min. Do make sure to check on it every 2 min to make sure that you spread out any lumps etc. This will dry out the extra moisture and cook the dal.

4. If you have a blender with the ‘WHIP’ option, then add the paste into the blender and whip it for a few minutes. What this will do is fluff the mixture so that there are no lumps. If you don’t have the whip option, then you can fluff it using a fork or by hand as well. You will see how fluffy and light it gets. Keep it aside.

6. Cook any vegetable of your choice separately. Today, I tried it with cabbage.

5. Take the kadai, add a little oil. Once the oil is hot, add some mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves. Add the cooked vegetable and the ground dal.  Saute for a few minutes.

6. Yummy parupu usli is ready! Bhesh Bhesh, Hope you enjoy it!

I will try to add the recipe for more kuzhambu (yogurt-based curry) and jeera rasam (soup) very soon.