Ugadi Pachadi | Ugadi Chutney

*Happy Ugadi Friends*

Ugadi/Yugadi or Gudi Padwa represents a start of new year & is celebrated in Andhra, Karnataka & Maharashtra. On this day we make a chutney with 6 different taste which are called "Shadruchulu" in telugu & is offered to god.
On this day they make purnam poli or obbatu is made of channa dal & jaggrey as filling. Along with it they also make pulihora which is believed auspicious to offer yellow rice to god. 
Here I'm sharing one of my grand mom's recipe. She finishes the dish with a seasoning & definitely that makes the dish much tastier.

Ingredients
1/2Cup tamarind juice or 1Tbs Tamarind pulp mixed in 1/2cup water 
1/2Banana mashed
1/4Mango sliced to small pieces 
3Green chili's / 1/2Tsp chili powder
1Tsp neem flowers
2Tsp grated jaggery 
Salt to taste
Seasoning
1Tsp ghee
1/4Tsp mustard
1/4Tsp jeera

Directions
- In a wide vessel add all the above ingredients & mix them well. Adjust the taste if needed. 
- Heat a pan with ghee. To that add mustard & jeera. Once mustard starts jumping add it to the chutney. 

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Besan Ka Halwa

Halwa is basically a thick sweet dish & can be made with different flours & ingredients. I'm sharing a recipe for Besan ka halwa & it's is very famous in indian households. This dish contains lots of ghee & that is what flavors of this dish. To the ingredients below you can add grated coconut for twist to the recipe.

Cook Time-30mins | Yields-2 servings

Ingredients
1Cup besan
1Cup ghee / butter

1Cup milk

3/4Cup sugar (Adjust accordingly)

1/2Tsp elachi powder

6 Cashew's

- Heat a pan with butter. Add cashew & stir fry them till they change to light brown. Remove cashews from pan & keep aside.
- To the pan add besan. Stir fry it carefully. You should fry it till it changes slight color.

- Immediately add milk & sugar to the besan and mix it well with out forming lumps. 
- Keep stirring until halwa becomes thick. Switch off heat. 
- Add elachi powder and fried cashews to it. Mix them well.

- Serve it warm & enjoy.

Note:

- Reduce the ghee content to 1/2 Cup if are concerned about the fat.

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Pulihora | Puliyodhara | Chitranna | Tamarind Rice

Pulihora, a tangy flavored dish is a very well known dish in south indian states. Though it has different names based on a state, but the preparation remains almost same with little changes.The main ingredient of this dish is tamarind pulp & the seasoning we add enhances the flavor of it. This is a festive dish & is offered to god as prasad. It is also believed that offering this dish to lord vishnu is very auspicious.

Ingredients

4Cups cooked rice

Pulihora mix 
2/3Cup thick tamarind pulp

2Green chili's
1Tbs methi powder

1Tsp turmeric

Salt for taste 

1Tsp sugar

1/4Cup of oil

2Tbs mustard

4Tbs chana dal

4Tbs urad dal

5Red chili's cut equally

3Tbs peanuts or cashew nuts

1Tsp hing(Asafoetida)
Cilantro for garnish

Directions

- Heat a pan with oil & to that add mustard, chana dal & urad dal, green chili's, peanuts or cashews & red chili's. 
- Stir fry them till the dal & cooked to light brown color.Now add tamarind, turmeric, salt, sugar & hing to pan. Stir till the tamarind pulp becomes thick & switch off heat. Last add the methi powder to the mix. 
- Add the pulihora mix to rice & adjust salt if needed.
- Garnish with cilantro & serve.

Note: 

- I used a thick tamarind pulp & it took less cooking time for the mix. 

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Nimmakaya Pulihora | Lemon Rice

Lemon Rice is a most comforting & easy dish. I love to have this rice at any time of the day. Making this dish is easy & tastes very delicious too. I love this dish very much when my mom makes it. She is a good cook & I love observing her while she cooks. The simplest changes she makes to the dish do bring a lot of difference in the flavors. My mom makes this lemon rice for dinner on weekdays. She generally uses a little more of seasoning than I used here. It tastes heaven. So sharing my comfort food recipe with you all here.

Prep Time:10mins 

Cook Time:1hr {Includes cooking rice & cooling it off}

Serves:2-3people

Ingredients 

2Cups uncooked rice /4Cups cooked rice 

4Cups water

Few curry leaves 

2Tbs oil

Juice of 2 lemons

Salt 

For Seasoning

2Tbs mustard seeds

2Tbs chana dal 

2Tbs urad dal 

1/4Cup peanuts

6Red chili's cut into half

3Green chili's slit into half

1Tbs grated ginger

2Tsp turmeric

2Tsp hing

1/4 Cup oil 

Cilantro for garnish

Directions 

- To cook rice add in rice, oil, curry leaves & water to the cooking bowl. Cook rice accordingly & cool it before making lemon rice.

- Heat pan with oil. To that add channa dal, urad dal & peanuts. 
- Allow them to fry till channa dal changes a little color. 
- Add mustard seeds, ginger, green & red chili’s to pan. Once the mustard starts jumping add hing & turmeric to pan & switch off heat. 

- Take a wide pan or plate. Add cooked rice & seasoning to it. 
- Next add lemon juice & salt little by little according to your taste. 
- Sprinkle coriander & mix it well. Taste the rice & adjust taste if needed. 
- Allow rice to sit for 30mins before you serve.  
- Serve it with your favorite chutney & enjoy.

Note
- Cook rice according to your convenience. Electric cooker is my to go everyday & cooked rice according to it's instructions
- Using basmati rice will give a nice texture to the dish. I don't feel using basmati for south indian dish. Don't feel authentic.
- Allow the seasoning to cool before you touch it or there is a chance you might burn your hand. 
- Every lemon is different  & some have too much of juice. So add little by little as said above to avoid too much tanginess to the recipe.

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Gajar Ka Halwa | Carrot Halwa (Lite Version)

Happy Ganesh Chaturdi to All. Hope you all had a fun filled festival this year. Here is a glimpse of our little ganesha. 

On the occasion festival here I'm sharing a sweet delicacy "Gajar Ka Halwa". The specialty of this recipe is it consumes very less time in making & a yummy sweet will be ready soon.

Source : Tarla dalal
Yields : 2 Servings
Ingredients
2 Cup grated carrot
4 Tbs. coconut mik
1/4 Cup water
3 Tbs. sugar
3 Tbs khoa/khova (Optional)
2 Tbs. olive butter
1 Tsp. elachi/cardamon powder
1 Tbs. chopped almond
5 Cashew nuts (optional)

-In a pressure cooker add 1 Tbs. butter & to that add carrot. 

- Sauté it on low heat for 5mins. This will help in removing the raw smell of carrot. 

- Now add milk & water to carrots. Pressure cook for one whistle & switch off heat. 

- Allow the pressure to release before opening the cooker. 

- Heat a pan with butter. To that add almonds & cashew nuts to it. 

- Fry them till they change to light brown color. Now remove them on to a plate. 

- Now transfer the carrot mixture to pan along with sugar. Cook on medium heat. 

- Allow halwa to come together. It takes 5 to 7Mins to that. Add cardamon powder to halwa & switch off heat. 

- Now mix the fried nut to halwa. Allow it to cool before serving.

Serve warm along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Note: 
1. Adjust the sweet according to your requirement. 
2. Adding khova/Khoa is optional. I didn't use it in my recipe.

Kattu Pongal with Quinoa | Khara Pongal with Keenwah | Quinoa Ven Pongal

Ven pongl is a well know break fast dish in south India.It's a combination of rice & moong dal with a kick of black pepper to it.I'm gonna share a little healthy version of pongal made of quinoa & dal here.The texture looks dry & you can change it to a creamy one by adding a little extra water while cooking. 

2 Servings 
Ingredients
1 Cup dry quinoa
1/2 Cup moong dal 
1/2 Cup coconut powder
1&1/2 Cup water 
Salt 
Seasoning
1 Tbs mustard seeds 
1 Tbs Jeera
2 Tbs ghee or butter
1 Tbs chopped or grated ginger
2 Tbs black pepper powder
2 Red chili's 
2 Tbs peanuts
Few curry leaves 

In a pressure cooker take quinoa, dal, coconut & salt with 1& 1/2 cups of water. Cook it for 2 whistles & switch off heat.

Heat a pan with butter. To that add peanuts and fry them for few seconds & to that add mustard seeds, jeera, ginger, pepper powder red chilis & curry leaves. Fry them till mustard starts jumping & off heat.

Now transfer the contents directly to pan while it is hot & mix well with the seasoning.

Allow it to sit for ten minutes & serve with chutney.

Semiya Payasam | Vermicelli Kheer

A simple & easy recipe for any occasion. I have these sweet cravings at night late after 10:30PM :) I know it's weird.. But this easy peasy recipe comes to my rescue at that time. You can make it as a stove top or a microwavable version. I'm not comfortable cooking in microwave due to the radiation problems every one talk about..So today I'm sharing a stove top one here. 

Ingredients 

1Cup Vermicelli
1/2Cup sago

2Cups Milk

1/2 Cup sugar ( Adjust accordingly)

1Tsp elachi powder

1Tbs butter
Few almonds & dry fruits

Heat a pan with butter. To that add almonds & dry fruits. Fry them for 1 min & remove them on to a plate. To the same add vermicelli & roast it lightly.Switch off heat & keep aside.
In a pan take sago with 1/2 cup milk & cook them on a low heat till they are puffy and done.
Take the butter roasted vermicelli & mix it with cooked sago. To that add the rest of milk & bring it to boil. Now add sugar & stir it. Payasam is ready so switch off heat. To that add elachi powder & dry fruits.

Serve it warm & enjoy the taste .

Rasmalai

A very familier recipe which is made by many of us to celebrate happiness of our life. This recipe made me wondering why I have not posted it on my blog when I make it several times a year? So I made it for "Karthika Monday" & posted it here on my blog.

Ingredients: 

For Paneer paties

4 Cups milk (2% fat milk)

1 Big lemon 

2 Cups water 

1 Cup sugar 

For flavor milk 

4 Cups milk (2% fat milk) 

1 Cup sugar

Pinch of saffron 

1 Tsp elachi/cardamon powder 

Few roasted almonds & pistachios for garnishing

Here is a almost step by step recipe process for making paneer patties.. 

As seen in the above picture take milk in a vessel & boil it on a medium heat.Once it boils add the the lemon juice to milk & keep stirring it till the milk breaks as shown in second picture.

Once the milk separates from water stain it on a cloth.Now be carful with the staining process as the contents are very hot. Once it is cool squeeze the water out as shown in the middle picture. Run thru water to remove lemon flavor from paneer. Then it's time to put something heavy to remove the leftover water. I used my mortar to remove rest of the water as shown in the last picture.

After 1hr the paneer should been hard enough to make a smooth ball out of it. So scramble the paneer as shown in the middle and then make a smooth ball while kneading the paneer. 

Divide the paneer in to 12 equal parts or as you wish. Now make 12 patties as shown in the first picture & keep aside. 

Take water & sugar in a pressure cooker. Bring it to boil & drop the patties as shown above. (I made 11 patties & boiled them in two batches). Close the lid & cook them on medium heat with no whistle till the steam comes out  or cook for 12 mins & switch off the heat.

Remove patties & squeeze it to remove a little extra water remained in it. ( Don't squeeze too much or the patties will be tasteless). Keep them aside & start making the milk liquid.

For Milk gravy/base:

In a heavy bottomed vessel take milk,saffron streaks & reduce it to 2 cups milk. To that add sugar, patties, cardamon & almonds. Boil them for 5 mins & switch off heat. 

Serve it chilled. 

Moong Dal Sundal

We had a splendid Navratri this year.Performed all the rituals which are supposed to be done on these days, attended pooja 's at temple & last but not the least had a nice time @ "Festival of lights " celebrated in San Diego. So after a busy 9 days now I'm just waiting for Diwali to roll on.

On Navratri days we offer goddess durga prashad made of moongdal or channa dal on all 9days. I mostly make "Pulagam" which we cook rice with little of moong dal & offer it along with ghee & jaggery. For one of 9days I made moong dal sundal as prashad to offer. 

Prep Time - 1hr +5mins {Soak time + prep time}
Cook Time - 15mins
Serves - 3 to 4 people
Ingredients 
1Cup moong dal
2Cups water
1/2Cup grated coconut {Adjust as needed}
Salt to taste
Seasoning
1Tbs oil
1Tsp mustard seeds
1Tsp jeera
2Red chili's
Directions 
- Soak moong dal in water for at least an hour. After 1hr strain water & keep aside.
- In a vessel take 2Cups water & bring it to boil. To that add the strained moong dal. 
- Cook on low to medium heat for at least 10mins. Stir in once in a while. 
- Take few dal using a spoon or laddle. Check if it is cooked by pressing dal. If it is, switch off heat & if not, then cook for some more time.
- Heat a pan with oil. To that add mustard, jeera & red chili's. 
- Once mustard starts jumping add moong dal to pan along with salt.
- Mix them well. Cook till left over water evaporates. - Add coconut & switch off heat
- Serve it as it is or with rice.
Note 
- Pressure cook moong dal for 1 whistle. (We don't want the dal to be mushy). Allow it to cool for sometime & follow the sets in making it.

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Rava Ladoo

These days as mentioned in my previous post I'm just killing time without knowing what to do. Then there came a thought of making ravva ladoo's which are our favorite. So here they are as virtual treats to you all.

Ravva ladoo is a very easy to make recipe. It is one of my favorites & always in a must have list.I had a pooja coconut sitting on my counter for last one month & I was confused what to do with it. Then yesterday I came in agreeing my thoughts & made these yummy ladoo's.

But before that I arranged this deco & which I wanted to share with you all. I used the nirmalya flowers (Flowers used for before days pooja) in this deco.

Ingredients:
2 Cups sooji/ bombai rava
1 Cup sugar
1&1/2 Cups grated coconut
3 Tbs ghee or butter
1/2 Cup chopped walnuts
1Tsp elachi powder
4 Tbs milk 

In a small pan take 1tbs ghee along with chopped walnuts.Fry them for 2mins & switch off heat.
Now heat a wide pan with 2tbs ghee.Add sooji to pan & fry it till you get a nice aromatic smell. Now in process you might even burn sooji too.So to avoid it keep sautéing the pan for 3&1/2 to 4mins.Switch off heat & transfer it carefully to a heat resistant bowl. To that add grated coconut, sugar, walnuts & elachi powder.Add milk to the mixture & form them in to ladoo's. Be carful as the mixture will be a little hot.

Allow them to cool for 15mins so that they will become a little firmer & will be easy to handle. Store them in a air tight container & enjoy them.

Note:

1. Store them in a airtight container. 

2. shelf life is for 3 to 4 days.