Peanut- Jaggery ladoo

First made for Janmashtami, this is an easy 2 ingredient recipe that came out really well.

1 cup peanut

1/3 cup jaggery

On a low flame, roast the peanuts till crunchy. Once absolutely crunchy (test one to check), let it cool then remove the skin. 

Add peanuts and jaggery in a grinder jar and pulse till ground to a coarse consistency- a little oil will release and it will become a mass. [do not grind for long stretches or too much oil will be released and you will not be able to make ladoos].

Take it out of the grinder, and shape into ladoos.

It can be stored outside, but will actually get consumed very fast. 

Meethi chawal

Both the Tamil and the Punjabi New Years fell today, and though I had to go to work, I intended coming home early. I let the cook take an evening off, but then got delayed at office. Not wanting to order out, I make this "meethi chawal" from Himachal. The jaggery I used was very light in colour, so the dish didn't photograph well, but it tasted much nicer than it looked.
I may not make it again (because I like Shakarai Pongal much more than I did this one), but I know I am going to replicate it with poha soon.

1 cup rice
3 tbsp cashew nuts
3 tbsp raisins
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup jaggery
1 stick cinnamon
3 green cardamom
1 tsp saunf
3 tbsp ghee
 
Method:
Soak the rice half an hour, strain the water, add fresh water, and boil till 70% coked. Use a sieve to strain out the starchy water, rinse with cold water and keep aside.
Heat 1 cup water, add fennel seeds, cardamoms and cinnamon, and allow it to come to a boil. Turn off the flame and keep aside for a few minutes for the flavours to seep in. Add grated jaggery, and stir till it mixes completely (heat the water, if required)
Heat the ghee, and saute the dry fruits and the shredded coconut, till slightly browned.
Add the jaggery water, and cooked rice to the dried fruits and mix well. Cover it with a lid and let the rice cook for 10-15 minutes on low heat (if you feel the rice is sticking to the pan, add a little more water)
Garnish with dry fruits and serve

Tilkut- til gud ladoo

Til-gud khaya, god god bola./ Have tilkut ladoos, and say only sweet things all year.
The traditional greeting on Sankranti, in my adopted state involves one of my favourite sweets. One that I have never even attempted making, because I saw no need to. Today, however, I felt like making it, and after finding that most recipes were pretty similar, picked one at random and went ahead and made it. The trick, of course, is in finding the 'end point', which I got surprisingly easily today.

1 cup sesame seeds
2/3 cup jaggary
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp cashenuts

Method:
Roast the sesame seeds in a pan on low heat till they are golden brown in colour. Keep aside.
Heat the water, add the jaggery, and simmer over low heat till it starts caramelizing and forms a ball when you add a drop of syrup in cold water. This should take 4-5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
Add the sesame seeds, broken cashewnuts and ghee, and mix thoroughly.
Let the mixture cool down a bit, then take one tablespoon of mixture in your palm and pat into a round shape.
Make all the ladoos while the mixture is still warm, and leave it to set.

Kovil Sakkarai Pongal

We have an optional holiday today, and I was in two minds whether to take a day off or not. One of the strongest things in favour of me taking a day off was that I could then make Shakarai Pongal as I had done the previous two years. The recipe I follow is my mother's, and it cannot be whipped up in a hurry. But a little bit of searching led me to a couple of recipes for "Kovil Sakkarai Pongal", which seemed much easier. I adapted them to my taste, and did come out really well. (That I ended up taking a day off is a different story altogether).

1/2 cup raw rice

3 tbsp moong dal

1/2 cup jaggery

2 1/2 cups water

3 tbsp ghee

A pinch of salt

Cashews

Raisin

Cardamon powder

Nutmeg powder

 

Method

Heat 1 tbsp ghee, and roast the moong dal till brown.

Add washed rice, salt and water, and pressure cook till the rice gets really mushy. Mash it well.

Powder jaggery, and dissolve it in just enough water to make a syrup (gently heat the water to make it dissolve).
Remove any impurities that may be floating on the surface, and add to the mashed rice. Mix well. Stir in 1 tbsp ghee, and cook on very low flame for 5 minutes.
Seperately, heat the ghee, roast cashewnuts till golden, then add raisins. Once it fluffs up, turn off flame, and keep aside.
Add nuts and cardamon powder and nutmeg powder. Mix well and serve.

Chena payash- poornima special

I made Chena payash for Sharad Poornima last year, and decided to make it again this year. I improvised slightly, and all of us really loved it.

1 litre milk

1/3 cup sugar
Few drops kewra essence

Method:
Make paneer out of 1/2 litre of milk (paneer recipe here).
While the paneer is draining, take the rest of the milk in a heavy bottomed vessel, and reduce it on a low flame till it is about half the original volume.
Break the paneer into the milk, add the sugar, and cook on a low flame till you achieve the desired consistency.
Add the essence and well.
Chill before serving.

Ashtami spread

Ashtami always meant sooji halwa, poori and kala channa, and this year too, I stuck to the tradition I set last year and made that for lunch. This, however, was a slightly different take on the regular sooji halwa, and I for one liked it much more.

1 cup sooji
1/3 cup besan
3 tbsp ghee
1/3 cup sugar
cardamon powder (to taste)
1 tbsp khus khus seeds
1 tbs melon seeds

Method:
Dry roast the sooji till it starts to turn brown.
Add the ghee, mix well, then add besan, and fry on a low flame for 2-3 minutes
Add the sugar, khus khus and melon seeds, mix well, and dry roast for a minute.
Add about 1/2 cup water, mix well, cover, and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
Serve hot.

Ashtami spread- sprouted kala channa

I wanted to make something slightly different for Ashtami this year, so instead of regular kala channa, made it with sprouted kala channa instead. The taste was very different from what it normally is (who would have guessed the act of sprouting will change the taste so much), but what it lacked in regular taste, it made up for in the health quotient.

1 Cup Kala Chana Sprouted

1 Tbsp Mustard Oil
1 Tsp Jeera (Cumin)
1/2 Tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 Tsp Jeera (Cumin) -Roasted and Powdered
1 and 1/2 Tsp – Kala Namak (Balck Salt)

Curry leaves
1 Tsp Lemon Juice

Method 

Pressure cook the kala channa sprouts for about 10 minutes. 

Heat oil in a kadhai and add cumin seeds and curry leaves to it. Once the seeds start crackling add the drained chick peas (You can use the water from chick peas for kneading the poori dough). 

Now add the black salt, the red chilli powder and Jeera powder and mix thoroughly. 

Keep it on simmer for 2-3 minutes and after that take it off fire and add 1 tsp lemon juice to it.

Ganesh Chaturti Festivals

I don't normally go so overboard during festivals, but since I did make three different kinds of sweets for Ganesh Chaturti, the least I could do after it was to take a good picture of it all!

Starring- kozakottai, fried modak and coconut ladoos, Ganesha will be pleased I'm sure.

Coconut ladoo

When I was making the kozakattai, my younger one came up to me and told me that he really loved coconut ladoo. Though there were absolutely no plans to make it, I couldn't really disappoint my finicky eater, so whipped this up. It is partially based on the coconut-jaggary ladoo I made a couple of years back, but uses sugar instead of jaggary.

1 litre milk
1/2 cup sugar (more or less to taste)
1/2 coconut grated
a pinch nutmeg powder


Method:
Bring the milk to a boil, reduce the flame and let it reduce to about 75% of original volume.
Add sugar and grated coconut, and keep reducing till the mixture comes together, and leaves the walls of the vessel.
Add nutmeg and mix well. Turn off the flame, and let it cool down partially.
Take partially cooled mixture, grease the palms, and fold into ladoos.

Fried Modak

Ganesh Chaturti is always synonumous with the regular kozakottai for me, but over the last few years, I have been seeing lots of pictures of fried modak, and was tempted to give it a try. It is much easier to make than kozakottai, and I am definitely making it again soon.

1 cup scraped coconut
1/2 cup jaggery grated
1 tsp til( sesame seed )
1 tsp khaskhas
2 pinches of cardamom powder
3 tsp pure ghee
1 cup wheat flour Oil for deep frying

Method:
Dry roast the til and khaskhas .
In a bowl mix scraped coconut jaggery, cardamom powder, til and khaskhasTake a pan heat 2 tsps of ghee and add this mix until the jaggery gets dissolved , keep mixing it with a spoon to avoid the burnt taste .
Knead wheat flour with remaining ghee and water .
Roll puris of 1.5" diameter and place the cooled stuffing at the centre and give the shape of modak . Deep fry till they turn wheat brown in colour

Kozakottai

The first time I made kozakottai, it came out really well. The next time, it was an unmitigated disaster. So it was with trepidation that I even took on the challenge this year. As it is, I was slightly rushed because I had to go to work in the morning, but once I started grating the coconut everything fell into place.
I followed a slightly different recipe this time, and it came out really well.

1 cup rice flour
1.5 cups water
¼ tsp oil or ghee
a pinch of salt

For the inner sweet filling:

1 cup fresh grated coconut
¾ cup powdered or grated jaggery (slightly less would be better)
3 to 4 cardamoms, powdered in a mortar-pestle, about ¼ tsp cardamom powder
a pinch of nutmeg powder or grated numeg
½ tsp poppy seeds
½ tsp ghee or oil

Method:
For the filling:
Heat ghee in a pan. add poppy seeds, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder. saute for a minute.
Add grated fresh coconut and powdered/grated jaggery, mix well and cook this coconut-jaggery mixture on a low flame. Keep stirring till the jaggery melts, but do not overcook, because it will then harden. Keep this coconut-jaggery filling aside.

Making the outer cover:Heat the water, with salt and oil, and let it come to a boil.
Reduce the flame and add the rice flour gradually. quickly stir and mix the flour with the water. Keep stirring till all the rice flour is mixed with the water.
Switch off the flame. remove the pan from the stove top and then cover this pan with a lid for 4 to 5 minutes. Knead the dough well for a few minutes.
Make small balls from the dough, so they are smooth in appearance and don't have any cracks.
Grease the steamer well.
Take a ball and flatten it with your fingers to a round disc or a shallow bowl shape. you can apply ghee/oil in your palms, while flattening. Place the filling in the centre
Press the edges together and shape into the traditional shape. Place on the steamer and repeat with the other balls.
Place the steamer on the water, cover, and let it steam for 10 to 15 minutes till done

Pineapple raita

I first had pineapple raita when I was a student in b-school. At time, I couldn't quite decide what to make of it, but over time I've grown to love it's combination of tastes- the sweet of pineapple with it's underlying tart complimenting the sour of curds, and all balanced with the taste of rock salt and red chilli powder. If you ask me to name a dish that is complex to comprehend, but easy to whip up, this might be the first one that springs to mind. It was, therefore, the perfect accompaniment to offer to Krishna on Janmashtami Day.

1 1/2 cups curds
1 cup pineapple chopped
1/2 tsp jeera powder (or to taste)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder (or to taste)
1/2 tsp rock salt (or to taste)

Method:
Whip the curds till smooth. Add the jeera powder, red chilli powder and rock salt and mix well.
Crush a few pieces of pineapple, and add the juice to the mixture (alternately, use a tablespoon of pineapple juice).
Add pineapple pieces, mix well, and serve chilled

Janmashtami Special- Kesar Rasmalai

Food wise, Janmashtami had been a grand occasion last year.  Grand in conception, grand in preperation, grand in magnitude of disaster of some of the items. Chastened by the experience, I kept it easy this time. Krishna grew up among the dairy farmers of Mathura, he loved milk products of every kind. Ergo, he would have loved rasmalai- one of the few dishes I manage to get right most of the time. This time was no exception.

I stuck to my tried and tested recipe for rasagolla, but since the intention was always to make rasmalai, I flattened the balls before dropping them in sugar syrup.

8-12 rasagollas
1/2 litre milk
1/2 cup sugar syrup
2-4 drops kewra essence
A pinch of saffron (or food colouring)

Method:
In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the milk till it is reduced by a third.
Add the sugar syrup, and mix well.
Soak the saffron strands in water, and add to the milk, along with a few drops of essence.
Squeeze the syrup out of the rasagollas and soak in the sweetened-thickened milk .
Serve chilled.

Manga pachadi

Manga pachadi is traditionally made in all Tam Bram households on New Year's Day. Raw mango, jaggery, chilli, salt and some neem leaves- to ensure that there is a little bit of everything during the new year. Though we had a virtually unlimited supply of neem leaves in our Calcutta apartment, my mother suddenly decided to do away with the neem leaves- she thought sweet, sour, salty and hot was enough for her, she could do without the bitter. Since I believe in balance, I wanted to add neem leaves, but since I couldn't get hold of them, had to make do with methi seeds instead.
So here's to a wonderful New Year!

1 raw mango sliced
1/3 cup jaggery
A pinch of salt

For temperingOil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp methi seeds (optional- I added in lieu of neem flowers***)
2 red chillies broken
A pinch of hing

Method:
Wash and peel the mangoes, and cut into thin medium size pieces. Cook the mangos with enough water to just cover them.
When the mangos start turning mushy, add the jaggery and salt, and cook on medium flame till the jaggery is well blended.
Heat the oil, and temper with mustard seeds, red chilli, methi leaves and hing. Pour over the pachadi, and cook for a few minutes more.
Serve hot, or cold.

*** If you are using neem flowers, fry about 1 1/2 tsp neem flowers in 1 tsp ghee, and pour over  the pachadi.

Rasmalai

While I love rasgullas, my family likes rasmalai more, so when the rasgullas came out fine, I decided to convert them into rasmalai.

1/2 litre milk
Few drops kewra essence
Food colouring
Rasgulla made using 1 litre milk
Sugar syrup reserved from the rasgulla

Method:
In a thick bottomed pan, heat the milk with the reserved sugar syrup, till it thickens.
Drop the rasgullas in the thickened milk, squeeze to let the syrup ooze out, and cook on a low flame for 3-4 minutes.
Serve chilled

Rasgullas

Rasgullas were always sweets bought from the sweetmeat shop and consumed at home. I never even thought they could be made at home, till I saw a bunch of posts on IFF, and decided to give it a try. The trick, they all seemed to say was in kneading till the wrists hurt, and that's not too difficult for me to do, is it?

While it was on my To Attempt list, I wasn't really planning to make rasgullas today. My mother always stuck to tried and tested recipes on New Years because she didn't want to take a risk with the year turning out disastrous. But I reasoned it out the other way- I would like this to be the year when I take risks. Some pay off, some not, but unless you take risks, how will you ever know. And the results were much better than expected!

Milk - 1 litre
Vinegar- 3 tbsp (I made it in two lots, and used some of the whey to start the process off the second time round)
Water - 3 1/2 cups
Icecubes - 4 to 5
Sugar - 1 1/2 cup (I used slightly less)
Cardamom 


Method:
Heat milk, and once it comes to a boil add the vinegar to the boiling milk and stir properly. Stir continuosly till the whey water clears and the milk curdles completely. Now switch off the stove, add ice cubes and allow it to melt completely.
Pour the curdled milk into a muslin cloth. Wash it well with running water to remove the vinegar. Squeeze the excess water and hang it aside for 30 mins without disturbing it.  
After 30 mins, the paneer would be crumbly in texture. Knead it well for 10mins. Once everything comes together to a smooth pilable dough, form them into smooth mini balls and keep aside. I made 24 mini balls.
Heat water in a wide bottomed vessel, then add sugar, cardamom and keep stirring till sugar dissolves completely. Ensure that the vessel is large enough to give the balls enough place to dance around. When the sugar syrup boils and starts bubbling, add the balls slowly one by one and simmer it for 3 mins. Keep in medium flame, cover, and let it cook for 10 minutes, opening the lid every 3-4 mins to ensure the syrup doesn't ooze out. After 10 mins, the balls would have roughly doubled in size. 
Take it off the fire. Cool and serve. Or make into rasmalais. 

Panagam- Ram Navami special

Despite the ease of preparation, my mother made Panagam only on Ram Navami, and I used to really look forward to the festival, so I could have it. Luckily, when she did make it, she made it in bulk, so I could really tank up on it.
This is my first attempt at it.

2 cups Water
1/2 cup Powdered Jaggery,grated
A pinch Cardamom powder
1/2 tsp Dry ginger powder
1 tbsp Lemon juice
A pinch Salt

Method: Keep all the ingredients ready. Add in the grated jaggery in a vessel containing water and let it dissolve.Now add in the dry ginger powder,cardamom powder,salt to jaggery water.
Add lemon juice. Finally filter it and serve chilled.

Neer Mor

Few coolers are more effective than Neer Mor. You can make it as easy or as complicated as you like, but whichever way you make it, it can be whipped up in a jiffy.

1/2 cup Curd
few Curry Leaves
A pinch Hing
1 tbsp Chopped coriander (I used mint instead)
1 tbsp Chopped ginger
2 Green chillies(optional)
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Water
To Temper:
1 tsp Oil til oil
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds

Method:
Mix the water with curd and prepare butter milk with thin consistency
To this add salt, hing, Green chillies,chopped ginger,curry leaves and coriander leaves.
Stir well.
Heat oil in the pan and temper the mustard seeds. Finally add the tempering into the neer moor and mix well.

Ram Navami Delicacies

Ram Navami falls in the hottest part of the year, and we Tamilians found a perfect way to commemorate the day without having to spend hours slaving over the kitchen fire. Neer Moor and Panagam were deemed the official naivaidyam to be served to Lord Rama. Can there be a better way to beat the heat than with these coolers?

 

I do think it must have been a lady who thought of it, don't you?

Tair vadai

One of my favourite snacks of all times is Tair Vadai. Nothing can come close to the tair vadai that my mother makes, but the tair vadai I made for Holi wasn't too bad.

Medu vada- recipe here
2 cups curds

1/2 coconut (grated)
1 green chill
small amount of tamarind

salt to taste

For tempering
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves


Method
Grind coconut, green chilli, tamarind and salt with a small amount of water.
Beat the curds with a little bit of water, add the coconut chutney, and mix well. Add sufficient water, since a lot will be absorbed.
Temper with urad dal, mustard seeds and curry leaves, and mix into the mixture
Reserve some of the curds, and add the vadais to the rest. Press down, and let it soak the curds in. Add the rest of the curds before serving.