Paruppu Urundai Kulambu / Dal Dumplings

My grandma(Dad's Amma) used to make this Kuzhambu and my Dad likes this a lot. I want to mention about the eating style of this kulambu, you have to break up the dumplings and mix it with the rice along with the gravy and enjoy it. This is not those melt in mouth dumplings, dumplings are meant to be little denser, but that is what makes it so delicious. And another important thing you should keep in mind is never add too much water to the dumpling mixture while grinding because if it is too loose and watery they may dissolve in the gravy once you add it. Try this and let me know how it turned out for you.

Ingredients:

• Oil - 1 tsp
•Mustard Seeds / Kaduku - 1 tsp

For Gravy :

• Tamarind Water - 2 Cups
• Salt - As needed.
• Turmeric Powder - A Pinch
• Sambar powder - 2 Tbsp

For the Dal Dumplings:

• Kadala parippu/ Gram Dal - 1 cup
• Coconut - 2 tblspn Grated
• Dry Red Chilli - 1
• Salt to taste

Method:-

•Take Gram Dal and start to roast it on a dry pan for 5 mins till they turn golden. Remove them to a bowl and wash them well.
•Now take them in a blender along with other grinding ingredients for dumplings and make into a smooth paste, it need not be so smooth.
•Don’t add too much of water to this. Now form balls out of this and set aside.
•Heat a kadai. Add a tsp of oil and crackle some mustard seeds.
•Pour the Tamarind Water into this along with Salt, Turmeric Powder
•Cook till it reaches to a boil. Add the sambar powder and allow it to boil.
•Now drop the dumplings on the boiling area one by one.
•Let it cook on high heat for 5 mins. Don’t stir too much.
•After 5 mins simmer the flame and cook for 10 to 15 mins.
•Now switch off the flame and serve it with rice.


Notes:-

The "For Gravy" part can be substituted with the below also:-

•Coconut - 1 cup grated
•Dry red chilli - 3
•Cumin Seeds / Jeerakam - 1 tsp
•Turmeric Powder / Manjal Podi - 1 tsp
•Salt to taste

Take the above ingredients in a blender and make into a smooth paste by adding some water.

Thalakom

Thalakom... This is my Grandma's masterpiece and my Dad loves this soo much...

Ingredients:

• Ladies finger - 2 nos
• Pumpkin - 1 small piece
• Potato - 1
• Carrot - 1
• Raw Banana (Vazhaikai) - 1/2
• Tamarind - 1 lemon size
• Salt - To Taste

For Grinding:

• Red Chillies - 8
• Raw Rice - 2 teaspoon
• Thurdhal - 2 teaspoon
• Sesame seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Grated Cocunut - 1 cup
• Oil - 2 teaspoon

For Seasoning:

• Oil - 1 teaspoon
• Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Fenugeek seeds/Vendhayam - 1/2 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - few

Method:

• Cut the vegetables for the thalagam as we cut for the sambar.
• Soak the tamarind in the water and extract the juice and keep it separately.
• Heat the oil in the pan and fry the thurdal, sesame seeds, red chillies in the oil.
• Once the dhal becomes light golden color add the grated cocunut and fry it till it becomes light brown color and grid all these into a fine paste in a mixer along with the raw rice.
• Cook the vegetables in the pan , and when the vegetables are half-cooked, add the tamarind extract and salt and let it boil for sometime.
• Finally add the ground paste and allow it to boil.
• Season the thalagam with mustard, fenugeek and curry leaves.
• Thalagam is ready for serving

Thiruvathirai Kali

Thiruvathirai Kali is prepared on the auspicious occasion of Thiruvathirai. Cendanar of Naukoor, a disciple of Paddinattu Adigal, used to eat only after feeding some Saiva devotees. Due to a constant bad weather he could not get together all the essentials for a proper meal. He had no option but to mix water with flour and prepare a mashed paste. Lord Siva understood his predicament. He wanted the people to know how sincere his devotee was to him. Therefore he disguised himself as a Siva devotee and visited Cendanar’s hut and enjoyed what was given to him as food. The temple attendants saw the premises scattered with the mashed paste the following morning. Inquiries led to an understanding of Cendanar’s piety and he was thereafter bestowed with all due respect. This incident took place in a Markali Thiruvathirai. This is why Thiruvathirai Kali forms an important prasad on this holy day.

Ingredients:

• Raw Rice - 1 cup or ground rice powder - 1 Cup
• Grated Jaggery - 1 1/2 Cups
• Water - 3 Cups
• Moong Dhal - 2 table spoon
• Cardamom - 6
• Grated Cocunut - 4 table spoon
• Cashew nuts - 6
• Ghee - 2 tablespoon
• Salt - A Pinch

Method:

• Wash the raw rice in a water and rinse it. Immediately after rinsing put the rinsed rice in a Kadaai and fry it until the rice becomes golden brown color.
• Grind the Raw Rice in a mixer and the rice powder should be like Rawa. Take the contents in a bowl.
• Put the moongdhal in the kadaai and fry it till it becomes golden brown color and pour one cup of water to cook the dhal. It will take approximately 5 minutes to cook. The dhal need not cook completely. It should be in half boiled consistency. If you take one of the dhal and press it with your fingers, then it should get smashed. This is the right consistency.
• While the dhal is getting cooked, you can prepare the jaggery juice in parallel.
• Heat another pan, add water (till the jaggery immersed in the water completely) and add grated jaggery. When the jaggery dissolves completely in water, strain it to remove dust and sand particles. Keep the strained jaggery juice in a separate bowl
• Once the dhal is almost cooked, pour two cups water, strained jaggery juice and a pinch of salt.
• When the jaggery mixture begins to boil, add the powdered rice and stir well to avoid bumps. (like we do for the preparation of upma)
• Powder the cardamon and add it along with the grated coconut.
• Fry the cashews in the ghee and add to the kali. Add the remaining ghee to the kali and stir it one.

                  

Thattai

Ingredients:-

• Rice Flour - 2 Cup
• Fried Gram (Odachakadalai) Flour - 1/2 Cup
• Red Chili Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Hing - 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt - To Taste
• Coconut sliced pieces - 2 teaspoon
• Fried Gram (Odachakadalai) - 2 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves – few
• Oil - For Frying
• Butter - 1 table

Method:

• Take a pan, add rice flour, fried gram flour, salt, red chilli powder, hing, sliced coconut pieces, curry leaves, fried gram, butter and mix it well. Sprinkle water and mix all these ingredients to make it a thick dough.


• Take a piece of plastic paper, spread oil in the paper, make small ball of the flour, and keep it in paper.


• Grease the fingers with oil and press the ball to flatten it.


• Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan.


• Slowly turn the plastic paper over your palm. The greased plastic will enable flattened thattai to slip on your hands easily


• Turn them to cook evenly until golden yellow/ deep brown


• Drop them on a paper towel to drain excess oil


• Once cooled, store them in an air tight container.


• The delicious Thattai is ready for neivedhyam and for serving.

Vella Seedai

Ingredients:

Rice - 2 cups
Grated Jaggery - 1.5 Cups
Sesame Seeds - 1 handfull
Chopped Cocunut - 3 tablespoon
Cardamom - 1/2 teaspoon

Method:

• Soak the rice and rinse it in water for about 30 mins and then spread the rice in a towel till it becomes dry. Usually it will take only about 10 mins for the rice to dry.
• Soak the sesame seeds in water for 30mins
• Now grind the rice in a mixer to a nice powder.
• Add jaggery in a pan with 1/2 cup of water and when it dissolves, strain the jaggery water to avoid sand
• Again boil the jaggery water along with cocunut and sesame seeds and keep stirring it until the jaggery comes to one string consistency. When we take a drop of jaggery juice in a finger and rub it with another finger, it should form like a string. This is the correct consistency for the jaggery juice.
• Now remove the jaggery juice from flame . Pour the jaggery juice into the rice flour and mix it well along with cardamom powder.
• Keep this mixture aside for atleast one day
• The next day, heat the required oil in a heavy bottomed pan
• Make gooseberry size small balls of the vella seedai mixture and drop around 5-6 balls once the oil is hot.
• Deep fry the seedai till it becomes golden color. Repeat the process for the rest of vella seedai flour.
• The Delicious Vella Seedai is ready for Neivedhyam for krishnajayanthi as well as for serving.

Uppu Seedai

This is something that my Mom makes superbly. But i don prefer this seedai as i love the Sweetening one more..

Ingredients:-

• Urad Dal Powder – 1 Ladle
• Raw Rice – 2 ½ Cup
• Butter – 1 Tbsp
• Grated Coconut – 2 Tbsp
• Salt, Hing – To Taste and As Needed
• Oil – For Fryng

Preparation:-

• Soak the rice in water for 30mins.Soak the gram dal in water. Rinse and drain the water after 30 mins and spread it in a thin towel to absorb the wet. (for about 10 mins)
• When the rice is dry, take it from the towel into a mixer and grind it to a nice powder. Strain the ground rice flour at least twice to take smooth flour. We will be getting around 11 ladle of rice flour. Heat a pan, add the smooth rice flour and dry fry it for a while till the rice flour becomes hot. The rice should not be fried till red/brown color. Now mix the rice flour with 1 ladle of urad dal flour along with hing, salt, grated coconut, butter and gram dal
• Mix all ingredients and sprinkle water to make it a dough. Do not add more water. The dough should be tight. Water should be used very minimum, just to keep the dough tight. 
• Take 1 teaspoon of oil in a plate. Grease the palm with the oil and make tiny balls out of the seedai dough. Place the tiny seedai balls in a paper to dry it. Heat oil in pan. Take one tiny ball of seedai and drop it in the hot oil. When the seedai immediately rises up in the hot oil, then this is the right stage to start the frying of seedai balls.
• Take 2 handfull of seedai balls and drop it in the oil and keep the flame very low. Allow the seedai to fry well to cook completely inside. When the bubbles and frying sound starts decreasing, take the seedai using a fry ladle and place it a fry basket to remove excessive oil
• Now the yummy uppu seedai/Salt seedai is ready for neivedhyam

Note:

• The rice flour and urdal flour should be very nice. This will prevent breaking of seedai while frying in oil. Sometimes if the flour is wet or if it is not smooth, there may be chances of bursting of seedai while frying in oil which is very dangerous. So we should be cautious while doing seedai.
• This quantity of ingredients will make 2 bowls of mouth-watering uppu seedai. 

Sweet Appam

Ingredients needed

Raw rice - 3/4 cup
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder -1/4 tsp
Grated jaggery - 1 cup
Wheat flour - 1/4 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp
Oil for deep frying

Preparation

Soak raw rice (pacharisi) for 1 -1 1/2 hours.(not more than that)

Method 

Drain the water completely and grind the rice first in a mixie.Then add little water, grated coconut, cardamom powder and grind it to a smooth paste.You can rinse the mixie with 2 tbsp of water and add to the batter.

Add grated jaggery to it and mix well till it dissolves.

Then add wheat flour and mix well .The appam batter should be of dosa batter consistency, so adjust accordingly. (see picture above)

The batter need not ferment, you should make appams immediately after grinding it.

Heat oil in a small kadai, keep it in medium flame, take a small amount of batter in a table spoon or small ladle and drop it gently into the oil.

When it puffs, turn over and cook the other side also till golden brown. Drain the oil using a slotted ladle and take it out from the kadai. Deep fry one appam at a time.

Repeat the same process for the rest of the batter.

Sweet appam is ready to be served. It can had as a tea time snack.

Karthikai Adai

In Brahmin familes Adai also one of the neyvedhyam for thirukarthigai. As per the mythological story a princes has to leave an elephant which she considered as her brother when she gets married and move to her husbands place. So for every Thirukarthigai/Karthigai deepam occasion, elephant lamp(Gajalakshmi vilaku) and she will prepare tender coconut, elephant leg size milagu Adai, and few more dishes and keep them as neivedhyam for this festival.

Ingredients:
Raw rice - 1 cup
Urdhal - 1/4 Cup

Gram dhal - 1 handfull
Thur dhal - 1 handfull
Pepper - 1 teaspoon
Salt - To Taste
Hing - A pinch

Grated coconut - 1 table spoon

Curry leaves - few

Method:

• Soak the rice and dhals in water for 2 hours
• Drain the rice and dhals and grind it in mixer along with pepper and salt and hing
• The adai flour should not be very smooth.
• Add curry leaves and grated coconut.
• Heat the thawa and pour 1 ladle of flour and spread evenly and cook the adai on both the sides till the adai is crisp
• Serve the tasty adai along with Jaggery

Moong Dal Chundal

Ingredients:

Payitham Paruppu (Moong Dhal) - 1 Cup
Green Chilli - 1
Salt - to Taste
Grated Cocunut - 1 teaspoon

For Seasoning:
Oil - 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves - Few
Hing - A pinch

Method:

1. Heat the pan, and add the dhal and add water till the dhals are soaked and add salt and allow them to cook till the dhal becomes soft but not sticky
2. Take the cooked dhals and keep it aside
3. Now heat the oil in the pan, and add mustard seeds and when the mustard seeds begins to sputter add curry leaves and a pinch of hing
4. To this add the cooked Payitham Paruppu (Moong Dhal) and mix it thoroughly
5. Finally add the grated cocunut and then mix it well

The delicious Moong dhal Sundal(Payitham paruppu sundal) is ready for neivedhyam for Navrathri as well as for Serving

Corn Chundal

Navaratri festival is celebrated for nine days.We prepare different sundals on each day on these nine days.In this blog you will find different types of sundals ranging from plain to kara sundal to sweet sundal recipes.This sweet corn sundal is the most easiest of all sundal recipes and can be prepared in a jiffy. It is also a favorite among kids.Today we will learn how to make sweet corn sundal following this easy recipe.

Ingredients needed

Sweet corn kernels- 1 cup
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
Salt needed

For the seasoning

Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal (split) -1/2 tsp
Red chilli - 1
Hing - a pinch
Green chilli - 1 finely chopped
Curry leaves - few

 Preparation

Wash and boil sweet corn in very less water adding salt. Drain off excess water if any. Alternatively you can also steam it with a little salt.

Method

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add urad dal, red chilli and hing.

When dal turns golden brown, add green chilli and curry leaves. Saute for a few seconds.

Add corn and mix well. Check for salt.

Add grated coconut, mix well and switch off the flame.

Sweet corn sundal is ready to be served.You can add a few drops of  lemon juice if preferred.

Peas Chundal

Sundal is a very healthy and tasty snack prepared with legumes. Thangai mangai pattani sundal is a very popular sundal sold in Chennai Marina beach. In South India, sundal is prepared everyday during the Navrati festival.Sundals can be given to children after they come back from school or can even be packed in their snack box as it is highly nutritious and filling.Today we will learn how to prepare green peas sundal following our easy recipe.

Ingredients needed

Dry green peas -1/2 cup (pachai pattani)
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Raw mango -1/4 cup (chopped)
Salt as required

For the seasoning

Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Split Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli - 1
Hing - a pinch
Curry leaves - few

Preparation

Soak peas over night or for 5-6 hours. Wash peas well and pressure cook for 3 whistles adding very less water and salt.

Peel the skin and chop mangoes into small pieces.

Method

Heat a tsp of oil, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add urad dal, red chilli, hing and curry leaves.

After dal turns golden brown, add cooked peas and saute for a few seconds.Check for salt.

Add grated coconut, mango pieces and switch off the flame. Mix well and serve.

Sweet Payar Chundal

Ingredients needed

Green gram/ pachai payaru - 1/2 cup
Jaggery - 1/3 cup
Cardamom powder - a generous pinch
Grated coconut - 2-3 tbsp
Salt - a pinch

Preparation

Soak green gram overnight or for 5-6 hours. Pressure cook for 1-2 whistles using less water. Do not add salt as this is sweet sundal recipe. Drain off excess water and keep it aside. The green gram should be soft but not mushy.

Method

Mix jaggery with little water (just enough to soak it), melt it and filter it to remove any impurities.

Heat jaggery, add cardamom powder and a pinch of salt, when it starts boiling well, add the cooked green gram and mix it well.

Cook till all the water evaporates. Add grated coconut and toss it for a few more minutes.

Sweet sundal is ready to be served .

Variations - You can do the same using karamani also.

You can add small coconut pieces fried in ghee instead of grated coconut.

Pacha Payar Chundal

Sundal is an important dish prepared everyday during Navratri festival. It is rich in protein and can also be had as an evening snack. Today let us learn how to prepare green gram sundal using our easy pachai payaru (green gram) sundal recipe-

Ingredients needed

Green gram - 1/2 cup
Grated coconut - 2-3 tbsp

For the seasoning

Mustard - 3/4 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Green chilli - 1 finely chopped
Red chilli - 1
Curry leaves - few

Preparation

Soak green gram for 5-6 hours or overnight. Wash and pressure cook with less water, salt needed for 1-2 whistles.The green gram should be soft but not mashed up. Drain any excess water.

Method

Heat a tsp of oil in a kadai/pan, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add hing, urad dal, red chilli, curry leaves and green chilli. Toss till dal changes to golden brown in colour.

Add the cooked green gram, grated coconut and mix it well. Check for salt and remove from flame.

Kadalai Paruppu Chundal

Sundal is type of South Indian Salad made using legumes and split dal. It is very nutritious, easy to prepare and also very filling. It can be had as an evening snack with tea.

Ingredients needed

Bengal gram/Kadalai paruppu -1/2 cupGrated coconut - 2 tbsp
Lemon juice - few drops
Oil - 1 tsp

For the seasoningMustard - 3/4 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Green chilli - 1 small finely chopped
Red chilli - 1
Curry leaves - few

Preparation

Soak bengal gram dal for 1 hour. Pressure cook dal with needed salt and less water for 1 or 2 whistles. The dal should be soft but not mushy. You can even cook in a pan. If there is water, drain it and keep it aside.

Method

Heat a tsp of oil, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add hing, urad dal, green chilli, red chilli and curry leaves.

Then add the cooked kadalai paruppu/dal and mix it well.

Add grated coconut, mix and switch off the flame.

If you like sour taste, squeeze few drops of lemon juice for a different taste.

Karamani Chundal

Navaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated for 9 days. During Navaratri, sundal is prepared everyday for 9 days. Different types of sundals are prepared from legumes.Today I prepared peanut sundal which is very easy,tasty, healthy and needs less ingredients. It is quite filling and can be had as an evening snack.

Ingredients needed

Karamani -100 grams
Grated coconut -2 tbsp
Oil - 2 tsp

For the seasoning

Mustard -1/2 tsp
Hing/asafoetida - a generous pinch
Red chillies - 2
Curry leaves - little

Preparation

Soak karamani in water overnight, drain the water and pressure cook with salt for 3 whistles.
(Keep it in a vessel and pressure cook.)

Method

Heat oil in a kadai/pan, add mustard seeds, when mustard splutters, add hing, red chillies and curry leaves, then add cooked karamanis.

Saute for a few seconds and add grated coconut. Mix well and remove from flame.

Peanut Sundal

Navaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated for 9 days. During Navaratri, sundal is prepared everyday for 9 days. Different types of sundals are prepared from legumes.Today I prepared peanut sundal which is very easy,tasty, healthy and needs less ingredients. It is quite filling and can be had as an evening snack.

Ingredients needed

Peanuts -100 grams
Grated coconut -2 tbsp
Oil - 2 tsp

For the seasoning

Mustard -1/2 tsp
Hing/asafoetida - a generous pinch
Red chillies - 2
Curry leaves - little

Preparation

Soak peanuts in water overnight, drain the water and pressure cook with salt for 3 whistles.
(Keep it in a vessel and pressure cook.)

Method

Heat oil in a kadai/pan, add mustard seeds, when mustard splutters, add hing, red chillies and curry leaves, then add cooked peanuts.

Saute for a few seconds and add grated coconut. Mix well and remove from flame.

Channa Sundal

Sundal can be done with any bean seed of your choice though chickpeas is very commonly used.A snack which is low in fat, high in proteins ,very healthy and also filling. After kids come back from school, you can give them any sundal as a snack.You can have it as a tea time snack also.

Ingredients needed

Chick peas /channa /garbanzo beans -1 cup
Raw mango finely chopped or grated- 1/4 cup (optional)
Coconut - grated 1/4 cup

For the seasoning

Mustard - 1 tsp
Urad dal -1 1/2 tsp
Red chillies -2 broken into pieces
Hing/ asafoetida - 2 pinches
Curry leaves -little
Oil -2 tsp

Preparation

Soak chickpeas in water overnight. Rinse well, add fresh water and pressure cook with required salt till soft.The channa/chickpeas should be soft but not mushy. Drain the excess water and keep aside.

Method

Heat oil in a pan/kadai, add mustard seeds when it splutters, add urad dal, red chillies, hing and curry leaves. Fry till urad dal turns golden brown.

Add raw mango and saute for a few minutes.

Then add cooked channa, salt and grated coconut and give it a nice stir.
(add less salt as we have already added to the chick peas/channa while cooking)

Channa sundal is ready to be served.

Ammini Kozhukkattai

We make Sweet Kozhukattai (Vella kozhukattai) with coconut and jaggery filling, Uppu Kozhukattai (with ulundhu poornam/lentil filling) and also ammini Kozhukattai with left over modak rice flour dough. Ammini Kozhukattai can be served as evening snack. It is healthy as it is steam cooked and only rice flour is used to prepare these Mani Kolukattais.

Ammini Kozhukattai/Mani Kozhakattai

Ingredients needed

Raw rice - 1/2 cup
Sesame seed Oil - 1 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Water - 1 cup

For the seasoning

Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds -1 tsp
Asafoetida/Hing – pinch
Red chilli - 2
Green chilli - 1
Curry leaves - few
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Salt as per taste

Preparation of the dough  

• Soak rice for 4-5 hours. Grind it finely with little water from the 1 cup of water.

• Boil the rest of the water, add 1 tsp oil, a pinch of salt, simmer and add the grounded paste. Stir continuously to prevent formation of lumps.

• Cook till all the water evaporates and the dough leaves the sides of the pan. After it cools, grease your hands with oil and knead it well. Cover it with a damp cloth and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Make marble size balls out of the dough and steam cook for 10-15 minutes. Leave it to cool.

Now we will do the seasoning

Heat oil, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add hing, red chilli, green chilli and curry leaves. Add the steamed balls, grated coconut, needed salt and mix well. Serve hot.

Mani/ Ammini Kozhukattai is ready to be served. If you want it spicy, sprinkle idli milagai podi/gun powder on it and mix it well. Serve hot.

Sweet Kozhukkattai

Vinayaga Chaturti /Ganesh Chaturti is the birthday of Lord Ganesha which is celebrated in a grand manner in India. It is a Hindu festival and also my favourite festival and Lord Ganesha is my favourite god. I love him so much that I have a wide collection of Vinayagar idols in terracotta, ceramic and what not. I still love buying the idol make of clay and the colorful umbrellas. You can see some of my collections in the pictures.

Kozhukattai is a favourite dish of Lord Ganesha. It is made with rice flour, coconut and jaggery stuffing. My mom makes varieties of kozhukattais and I am sharing the one I love most.

I am also sharing with you the method to prepare the rice flour for making Kozhukattai.The kolukattai will be hard if you use store bought rice flour. Either you have to prepare it at home or you must buy rice flour sold specially for making kolukattais.

How to prepare rice flour for making Kozhukattai/Kolukattai

Wash and soak raw rice for 2 hours. Drain the water well, spread it on a cloth for 15 minutes and grind it to a fine powder. You can give it to the rice mill or powder it in the mixie/food processor. Dry it well in the sun or shade. Sieve it and store it in an air-tight container and use whenever required. Now rice flour for kozhukatti is ready. (You do not have to fry the rice flour as you do for idiyappam.)

Ingredients needed

Rice flour -1 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup
Coconut -1 cup grated
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Ghee -1 tsp

Method

Now heat 1 cup of water, add a tsp of oil to it and then add the prepared rice flour stirring continuously so that it does not form lumps. Cook for 5 minutes.

Knead it into a soft dough. ( mix little water with a tsp of oil and have it besides you). If needed your can sprinkle that water and knead the dough well.

Cover it with a wet cloth and keep it aside.

For the stuffing

Melt the jaggery in half a cup of water and filter to remove impurities.

Heat jaggery and when it starts boiling, add grated coconut and a tsp of ghee. Cook till it leaves the sides of the pan. Add cardamom powder and mix well. Now your stuffing is ready. When it cools a little, make small balls out of it and keep it aside.

Now your jaggery stuffings are ready. 

Preparation of Kozhukattai/kolukattais
 

Now take the rice flour dough and make small balls. Grease your palms with oil, keep the dough and flatten it into round shape with the other hand.

You can dip your fingers in the water+ oil mix if needed to make it easier. Now place the jaggery ball on it and close it.

Repeat the process for all the rice flour balls. If you have excess jaggery balls/stuffings, do not worry, you can eat it as such. I love it

Arrange all the prepared Kozhukattais on a greased idli plate and steam cook for ten minutes or till done.Wait for 10 minutes to cool down and then take it out. Delicious Kozhukattais are ready.
Enjoy Vinayaga Chathurti with delicious Kozhukattai/kolukattais. You will get around 12-15 kozhukattais for this measurement.  

 

 

Olan

Olan is an important part of Onam Sadhya dishes and also one of the most simplest recipes. It tastes delicious with a nice fragrance of coconut oil. Olan can be prepared with or without the red cow peas. 

 Ingredients:-

Ash gourd -1 cup chopped
Yellow pumpkin - 1 cup chopped
Green chilli - 2 (slit ) 
Arbi/Chemb - 5/7
Carrot - 2Cooked Cow peas - 2 tbsp
Coconut oil - 2-3 tsp
Curry leaves - few
 

Coconut milk -
 
Thin coconut milk - 1/2 cup
Thick coconut milk - 1/2 cup 

Preparation

Peel and chop both ash gourd and pumpkin into medium sized pieces. 

Boil the Arbi and Carrot separately in Water till they are 3/4 th cooked

Extract coconut milk from half a coconut or use ready made coconut milk.

Method

Cook both ash gourd and pumpkin in thin coconut milk with green chilli and salt required.

After it is cooked, add Arbi, Carrot along with first coconut milk, cooked cow peas (vanpayar), heat a little in low flame and switch off. (Do not boil too much after adding 1 st coconut milk)

Add curry leaves and drizzle raw coconut oil on top.

Yummy Olan is ready to be served.



   

Note

If you want to use cow peas (vanpayar), then soak it overnight (or 7-8 hours), pressure cook with a little salt and add to the olan. Do not over cook vanpayar. It should retain its shape.

If you want a slightly thick Olan, then add only 1/4 cup thick 1 st coconut milk.