Puranpoli March 13, 2008
Ingredients
300gms. channa (yellowgram) dal
300 gms. jaggery (molasses)
1 tsp. cardamom powder
150 gms. plain flour
1 tbsp. ghee
warm water to knead dough
ghee to serve
Method
- Boil dal in plenty of water till soft but not broken.
- Drain in a colander for and keep it aside for 10-15 minutes.
- Grind using a grinder till all dal is grated.
- Mash jaggery till lumps break. Mix well into dal. Put mixture in a heavy saucepan and cook till a soft lump is formed
Take care to stir continuously, so as not to charr. Keep aside. - Mix ghee, flour, add enough water to make a soft pliable dough.
- Take a morsel sized ball of dough, roll into a 4″ round. Place same sized ball of filling in centre, life all round and seal. Reroll carefully to a 6″ diameter round. Roast on warm griddle till golden brown.
- Repeat other side. Take on serving plate. Apply a tsp. of ghee all over top and serve hot.
Happy Sankranti January 16, 2008
Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious day for the Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all parts of the country in myriad cultural forms, with great devotion, fervor & gaiety. Lakhs of people take a dip in places like Ganga Sagar & Prayag and pray to Lord Sun. It is celebrated with pomp in southern parts of the country as Pongal, and in Punjab is celebrated as Lohri & Maghi. Gujarati’s not only look reverentially up to the sun, but also offer thousands of their colorful oblations in the form of beautiful kites all over the skyline.
Makar Sankranti is the day when the glorious Sun-God of Hindus begins its ascendancy and entry into the Northern Hemisphere. Sun for the Hindus stands for Pratyaksha-Brahman – the manifest God, who symbolizes, the one, non-dual, self-effulgent, glorious divinity blessing one & all tirelessly. Sun is the one who transcends time and also the one who rotates the proverbial Wheel of Time. The famous Gayatri Mantra, which is chanted everyday by every faithful Hindu, is directed to Sun God to bless them with intelligence & wisdom. Sun not only represents God but also stands for an embodiment of knowledge & wisdom.
In Andhra Pradesh, it is celebrated as a three-day harvest festival Pongal. It is a big event for the people of Andhra Pradesh. The Telugus like to call it ‘Pedda Panduga’ meaning big festival. The whole event lasts for four days, the first day Bhogi, the second day Sankranti, the third day Kanuma and the fourth day, Mukkanuma. And chakkara pongali is one of the sweets which is made on this day! So here goes the recipe.
Chakkara pongali~~
Ingredients
1 cup rice
1/2 pesara pappu (Moong daal)
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup ghee
2 cups sugar
2 cups milk
2 cups water
1 tbls.cashews nut pieces
1 tbls.of raisins(kismis)
1/2 ts.cardamom powder
Method
- Fry rice and pesara pappu without ghee/oil. Fry coconut pieces till brownish and keep aside. Fry cashews and kismis in 1 ts.ghee and keep aside.
- Cook rice and moong daal together in a pressure cooker pouring 2 cups milk and 2 cups water.Cook little more than the ordinary rice (4 whistles)
- After the rice is cooked properly, remove the pressue cooker lid and ddd fried coconut pieces,sugar and mix well. Start stirring otherwise it starts burning from the bottom. Keep adding ghee while stirring.
- Add cardamom powder,raisins and cashews. Stir well and remove.
- Chakkara Pongali is ready to eat.
There is also another version of the pongali- the spicy one. Pressure cook rice and dal with four cups of water. Fry peppercorns, inguva, curry leaves, jeera and salt and add this popu in the cooked rice and dal and mix well. The spicy version is ready.
Banana Walnut Cake January 1, 2008
Well..its a brand new year and I thought of starting it off with a great but simple cake. Initially I thought of a baking a chocolate cake..but it takes a bit more time so i decided I will make banana walnut cake. Its best to use ripe bananas in this recipe. There is one interesting thing which i want to share about banana..may be its a known fact but i figured out quite late. I usually buy at least a bunch of bananas. Once I was in usual hurry and pulled out a banana leaving the stalk. After a while it started giving out some odour and some black insects started flying around. I still dont know how those insects came in..but i totally freaked out and threw the bunch away. But now, i have realised one thing, as long as you break the banana along with the stalk..no odour will be released hence..no insects. I was somehow very relived after this experience…thats why i wanted to share this experience. I feel US homes are loaded with invisible fungus…lol but anyway back to my banana walnut cake recipe..you can top it with chocolate syrup and it tastes delicious.
Ingredients
1 cup brown Sugar
1/2 cup Butter, unsalted
3 Eggs whiles
11/2 cup All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup milk
1tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 Mashed Bananas
1 cup Chopped Nuts (walnut)
half cup raisins
1 pinch Salt
Method
- Pre-heat oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit (175 degree Celsius).
- Grease and flour the cake pan.
- In small bowl mix together flour, baking soda and salt. Separate the egg and keep aside.
- Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla extract beating well.
- Mix in the mashed bananas and add milk.
- Add flour mixture alternately with the milk to the creamed mixture. Mix only to combine, and not too much.
- Stir in the nuts. Pour the batter into the pan
- Bake at 350-degree Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until test done.
- Remove from oven and cool it.
Note: For testing use a toothpick. Pierce toothpicks into the cake if it comes out clean without sticking. It means cake is done
Kajjikayalu or gujiya November 12, 2007
Its festival time and best time to eat kajjikayalu or gujiya. Here is the recipe
For the filling -
Ingredients
1 cup shredded cococnut
1/2 cup jaggery
1/4 cup water
2 tbs ghee
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 cups kismis
For the outer cover
Ingredients
1 cup maida
water
ghee
salt to taste
Method
Add salt and mix maida with little water and knead well. Apply some ghee on the dough and keep it aside
Take a small pan and melt jaggery in water so that it has syrup like consistency. Sprinkle cardamom powder.Add coconut and let it cook for few minutes and keep it aside.
Now make round balls of about half an inch diameter. Roll the dough into small circle and add the stuffing in the center. Now close the circle in half and twist the sides. the shape is a semi circle shape. Now deep fry it in oil and your tasty kajjikayalu are ready!
Happy Deepawali! November 8, 2007
Happy Deepawali
Here is a quick coconut sweet recipe!
Coconut Sweet
Ingredients
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup sugar
1 cup rava
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 cup nuts – cashewnuts, kismis, pistachio
1/2 cup milk
ghee
Method
Take a pan and add little ghee and fry rava till it becomes golden brown. Add coconut and fry again for a while. Add sugar and mix well till it melts. Now add milk, nuts and cardamom powder and mix well. Now transfer the whole mixture into a flat plate and spread and let it cool. Cut it into squares and enjoy!!
Lakshmi Puja November 7, 2007
Lakshmi Puja
Lakshmi was the daughter of the sage Bhrigu and took refuge in the ocean of milk when the gods were sent into exile. Lakshmi was reborn during the Churning of the Ocean. As soon as the gods saw Lakshmi, they all fell in love with her beauty. Shiva claimed Lakshmi as his wife, but since he had already taken the Moon, her hand was given to Vishnu, whom Lakshmi herself preferred.
Lakshmi is the goddess of light, beauty, good fortune and wealth. While Laxmi is generally worshiped to achieve success, she does not reside long with anyone who is lazy or desire her only as wealth.
Steps of Lakshmi Pooja
Spread a new cloth on a raised platform: Place a handful of grains in the center and, on this, place a kalash (pitcher) made of gold, silver, copper, or terracotta. Fill three-fourth of the kalash with water and place a betel nut, a flower, a coin, and some rice grains in it. Arrange five kinds of leaves or mango leaves in the kalash . Place a small dish on the kalash and fill it with rice grains. Draw a lotus with turmeric powder ( haldi ) over the rice grains and place the idol of goddess Lakshmi over it, along with coins.
Place the idol of Ganesha: In front of the kalash, on the right (South-West direction), place the idol of Ganesha. Also place ink and books related to your business or occupation on the platform. Light a lamp and begin the puja by offering haldi, kumkum, and flowers to the platform on which the kalash is placed. Then offer haldi, kumkum, and flowers to the water that is to be used for the puja. Invoke the river goddesses to be part of this water.
Invoke goddess: Lakshmi by reciting the Vedic mantras addressed to her. One can also recite the mantras mentioned in the Puranas or simply take some flowers in your hands, close your eyes, and think of goddess Lakshmi being showered with gold coins by two elephants standing on either side of Her and chant Her name. Then offer the flowers to the idol.
Place the idol of Lakshmi: Place the idol of Lakshmi in a plate and bathe it with water, panchamrit (a mixture of milk, curd, ghee or clarified butter, honey, and sugar) and then with water containing some gold ornament or a pearl. Wipe the idol clean and place it back on the kalash. Alternately, you can just sprinkle water and panchamrit on the idol with a flower.
Offerings: Offer sandal paste, saffron paste, perfume ( itr ), haldi, kumkum, abeer, and gulal to the goddess. Offer a garland of cotton beads to the goddess. Offer flowers, especially the marigold flowers and leaves of Bel (wood apple tree). Light an incense stick and dhoop. Make an offering of sweets, coconut, fruits, and tambul. Make an offering of puffed rice and batasha. Pour some puffed rice, batasha, coriander seeds, and cumin seeds over the idol.
Aarti: Finally, perform the aarti for goddess Lakshmi. Always remember that She abhors loud noise. So the aarti should be accompanied only by a small bell. Do not clap hands, as is the practice when performing aarti for other gods. A peaceful and sublime atmosphere should prevail during the pujan.
Double ka Meetha (Bread Pudding) November 6, 2007
Its festival time and a time to indulge into tempting sweets. I miss the usual shor sharaba of my favourite shopping street..sarojini nagar..in south delhi. The entire market is decorated and almost every evening its jampacked with..people going here and there…shopping and eating at the same time! Then there is our good old green park which is quite famous for its sweets..specially Kaju burfi. Hyderabad is famous for its biryani and wide variety of sweets. One of them is double ka meetha. Traditionally, lot of ghee is used in making indian sweets, but I have limited the amount of ghee this time…
Ingredients
White bread 5 slices
milk 1 cup
sugar 1cup
cashew nuts 10 gms
kismis 10gms
cardamom powder pinch
ghee 1 tsp
water 1/2cup
Process
Take the slices of bread and roast them in the toaster. Take a pan put sugar and add 1/2 cup of water and make a single string syrup. Fry cashewnuts and kismis in gheeon low heat and keep aside.
Now take the slices of bread and make them into small pieces and put them into the syrup. Mix well and add the boiled milk to it.Top it with fried cashewnuts and kismis. Serve hot.
