Poli or Obittu

Stuffed sweet rotis made using maida or wheat or all purpose flour.

Ingredients:       

For outer Cover:

Maida or All purpose Flour or Wheat flour - 1 cup

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Gingely Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt - 1 tbsp

Water as required

For Pooranam:

Bengal Gram Dal - 1 cup

Jaggery - 2 cups

Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp

Grated Coconut - 1 cup

Method:

Make a dough using maida just like chappati dough. But this should be a bit elastic in texture. Rub the dough with gingely oil and cover it with a muslin cloth and set aside for a while. In the mean time make the Pooranam. 

Pressure cook Bengal Gram Dal. Let it cool. Grind it along with cardamom powder. Make a syrup of Jaggery using 1/2 cup of water and when it boils add grated coconut and bring it to a boil in medium flame. Add the ground bengal gram and mix well. Saute well till all the jaggery is absorbed and it becomes thick. Remove and let it cool. 

Make thin chappatis from the dough. Make a ball of big gooseberry size of the bengal gram mixture. Place it in the middle of the chappati. Pull the sides of the chappati and cover the pooranam thoroughly. Flatten it again. Heat a tawa and put the poli. Pour a tbsp of oil around it to help in cooking.  Ensure both the sides are golden brown in colour. Remove from the tawa and spread ghee on both the sides. Serve hot. 

Note: The Poli will come out well and will also taste very good if the outer cover dough is let to set for atleast 2 to 3 hours the best result can be obtained when it is let to set for about 6 hours. 

Dates Honey Pongal, a sweet Pongal with a difference

Dates Honey Pongal is the regular sweet pongal added with dates and honey. The quantity of dates can be increased or decreased according to one's taste. Can make it as a different Pongal recipe for Aadi Pandigai, Chitra Pournami or Chithirai varuda pirappu.


Ingredients:
Raw Rice - 1 cup
Moong Dal - 1/2 cup
Milk - 2 cups
Water - 4 cups
Jaggery Powdered - 1 1/2 cups
Dates - 12 nos
Honey - 4 tbsp
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Dry Ginger powder (sukku powder) - 1 tsp
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Cinnamon Powder - 1 pinch
Cashew Nuts - 12 nos

Method:
Fry Moong dal a bit till it emits a nice aroma. Add jaggery to 1/2 cup of water and mix it thoroughly till all the jaggery dissolves. Drain it through a thin seive to remove all the impurities.

Wash rice and soak it along with Moong Dal for about 20 to 30 mins. Drain thoroughly and add it to boiling water. After adding the rice dal mixture add water and 1 tbsp of ghee. Close the cooker and pressure cook it for about a whitsle or for about 10 to 15 mins in low flame.

Let it cool, open and add jaggery water. Blend and simmer. Add chopped dates and honey and mix well. Add cardamom powder, dry ginger powder and cinnamon powder. Fry the cashewnuts in remaining ghee and add it to the Pongal.

How to make Karthigai Pori Urundai

Ingredients:
Aval Pori or Nel Pori- 3 cups
Jaggery - 1 1/2 cup
Sukku (Dry ginger powder) - 1/2 tsp
Coconut - 1/2
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 cup

Method:
Clean the Pori to remove the husk. Ensure that is crisp enough. Spread it on a plate.

Mix jaggery to water and bring it to boil and ensure that the jaggery dissolves completely. Strain it through a seive to remove the impurites.  Cut the coconut into small pieces (about 1/4 cup of coconut pieces are enough for 3 cups of pori). Bring the jaggery mix to boil and bring it to a syrup consistency. Add the coconut pieces, dry ginger powder and cardamom powder. Bring it to a one string consistency.

Pour the syrup over the pori using a laddle little by little. Ensure all the pori is covered with syrup. While pouring the syrup, ensure it is mixed thoroughly. Better use a wooden laddle.

Smear ghee in hand, shape small balls. Ensure it is not pressed very hard because if done so, it will get too hard when cold. Roll them in the palm of your hands.

Note: In general rice flour is used while making balls, but ghee is used to give a shine to the urundais.

While adding the jaggery syrup for the nel pori do it little by little so that the crispness of the poris dont go off.

Mixed Dal Sweet Sundal

Ingredients:
Bengal Gram Dal - 1/4 cup
Moong Dal - 1/4 cup
Cow peas (Brown) - 1/4 cup
Cardamom - a pinch
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Jaggery - 150 gms
Ghee - 4 tbsp

Method:
Wash and pressure cook the dals. Strain the excess water if any. Grate or powder jaggery Heat a hard bottom shallow pan and add jaggery. Let it dissolve thoroughly. Add the grated coconut and cardomom powder and when it comes to a boil add the cooked dals.

Add ghee and mix well. This makes a great neivedhyam for Navarathri.

Vella Cheedai

Sweet Seedai or Vella seedai is another dish that is made for Krishna Jayanthi/ Gokulashtami/ Janmashtami neivedhyam.


Ingredients:
Processed rice flour - 4 cups
Urad Dal flour - 1/2 cup
Coconut - 1/2
Sesame seeds - 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Jaggery - 2 cups
Ghee - 1 1/2 cups
Oil to fry

Method:
Fry the processed rice flour till it turns slightly red in colour. Measure the flour and for every cup take equal cup of water in a hard bottom pan and bring it to boil. Add the jaggery to it and keep stirring till it dissolves completely.

Grate or cut the coconut into small pieces and add it to the boiling water. add cardamom powder and bring it to boil again. Add the processed rice flour slowly and make it to a dough form.

Remove from flame and spread it on a shallow plate. Add urad dal powder and sesame seeds to it and mix thoroughly. Make gooseberry sized balls of the dough and fry it in oil. Remove from flame when it is between golden brown and dark brown in colour. Drain the excess oil.

Sweet Poha

Ingredients:
Poha - 1 cup
Jaggery - 3/4 cup
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp

Method:
Soak poha for about an hour. Drain all the water and separate it with the back of the laddle. Add ghee, cardamom powder, grated coconut and jaggery to it and mix well.

Kapparisi - A must during Punyakavachanam

During the naming ceremony of a new born, this is made by the aunt of the baby. After the baby is named, this is distributed to all.


Ingredients:
Raw rice - 2 cps
Roasted Peanuts - 1/4 cup
Processed Channa Dal (Pottukadalai, Dalia)-1/4 cup
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Finely chopped coconut pieces - 1/2 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp

Method:
Wash and soak rice in water for about 15 mins. Strain and spread over a clean cloth. After 15 to 20 mins roast it in a dry pan till it turns light pink in colour. Roast peanuts and processed channa dal in a dry pan, till it becomes slightly golden in colour. In 1/2 tbsp of ghee fry the coconut pieces till the aroma is released.

Grind the rice to 1/2 (do not over run the mixer and make it a powder). This can also be made even without making the rice to rawa consistency. Mix peanuts, processed channa dal, coconuts, cardamom powder in a shallow bowl.

Make Jaggery syrup and pour it on top of the mixture and mix thoroughly. Cool and store it. This can be stored for about a week.

How to make Jaggery syrup for Jaggery based sweets

Ingredients:
Jaggery (Pagu vareity) - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup

Method:
In a deep pan add 1 cup of water and jaggery and keep stirring till sugar dissolves completely. Bring it to a boil. When it boils remove from flame and strain to remove all the impurities. Boil again till either one string or two string consistency is reached.

How to check one string or two consistency?
   When the jaggery syrup is dropped from a height, it have to flow freely like a string and should not fall down as a lump.

   Two strings should fall down for two string consistency.

For making groundnut balls or broken gram balls or Karthigai Pori Urundai or Kaaparisi the following consistency have to be reached:
   The syrup should be the consistency of a ball. It should make a sound when dropped into a plate, or when dropped into a cup of water, it should not stick to the bottom.

If candy thermometer is used, the measurement should read around 240 to 250 deg F.

How to make Thiruvathirai Kali

Thiruvathirai also known as Arudra Darisanam is celebrated in Tamilnadu. It falls in the month of Margazhi on the Thiruvathirai star day. The main neivedhyam is Thiruvathirai Kali and 7 kai kootu.

Ingredients to make Thiruvathirai Kali:
Raw rice - 1 1/2 cups
Moong Dal - 1/2 cup
Bengal gram dal - 1/4 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Cashew nuts - 10 to 12 nos
Cardamom - 6 nos
Ghee - 1/4  cup
Water - 3 cups (Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups while cooking if needed)

Method:
Fry rice till it becomes golden brown in colour. Fry both the dals separately till they become golden brown. Grind them together till they reach rawa consistency (this can be done at home in mixer itself). (The dals can be powdered to a fine powder consistency too).

Fry the cashew nuts in a tbsp of ghee and set aside. Grind the cardamom to fine powder and keep it ready. In a hard bottom pan add 1 cup of water and when it boils add the jaggery and let it mix well to form a syrup. Drain the jaggery so that all impurities get cleared.

Wash the pan and add the jaggery water to it and bring it to boil. Add the grated coconut and cardamom powder to it and when it boils add 2 cups of water and  the rice and dal mixture and mix it thoroughly without forming any lumps. Mash lumps if there are any. Close the pan with a lid and reduce the flame. Keep mixing it in between so that it doesnot get settled at the bottom of the pan. While stirring add ghee to it slowly. When the rice gets cooked add the fried cashew nuts and mix thoroughly.

Remove from flame and after neivedhyam serve it with 7 kai kootu.

How to make sweet sundal for Navarathri

Though spicy sundal is the main neivedhyam for Navarathri, whole moong dal, Karamani dal, Bengal gram dal can be made as sweet sundal using Jaggery. (It is better not to use sugar).

Ingredients:
Broken Channa Dal (Bengal Gram Dal), Moong dal or Karamani - 2 cups
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder - 2 pinches (or made from 4 to 6 nos)
Jaggery - 1 cup

Method:
Soak the dals (except broken channa dal) over night. Pressure cooks the dal. In a pan add 1/5th cup of water and jaggery. Make thick jaggery syrup. Filter it and pour it back again to the pan after washing it. Add the cooked dal. Allow the extra water to evaporate. Add grated coconut and cardamom powder and mix well.

Sweet sundal is ready for Neivedhyam

Recipe for Rice Pittu - Neivedhyam on fridays during Navarathri

It is very auspicious to make Pittu during Navarathri Fridays.

Ingredients:
Processed Rice Flour - from 4 cups of rice (you will get 2 to 3 cups of rice)
Jaggery - 4 cups
Coconut - 1 no. Big
Cashew Nuts - 20 nos
Thoor Dal - 1/2 cup
Ghee - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Cardamom - 10 to 12 nos


Method to make Pittu:
In a pan dry roast processed rice flour till it turns slight red in colour. Seive the flour and ensure that there is no lumps formed.  Transfer the bowl to a big shallow basin. Heat 2 cups of water along with salt and turmeirc powder. Let the water be warm.

Grind the thuvar dal to a fine powder. Mix it well with the rice flour. Add the water slowly to the rice flour and mix the entire rice flour slowly. It should be mixed thoroughly by hand ensuring that no lumps are formed. Transfer the entire content to a thin cloth and steam it in cooker. Once done, transfer it to a flat basin. Grate the coconut and mix it well with the steamed rice flour. Grind the cardamom into fine powder and add it to the rice flour. Cut cashew nuts into small pieces. Fry it in a tbsp of ghee till golden brown. Add it to the steamed flour.

In a pan add 1/5th cup of water and jaggery. Make a double string consistency jaggery syrup. Add the syrup little by little to the steamed rice flour. Rub the flour thoroughly with the back of a flat laddle and mix it completely.

Add half cup of liquidified ghee to it. Mix everything thoroughly.

Note:
If the Jaggery is not sweet add 1 or 2 more cups and if it is sweeter reduce 1 cup.

Recipe for Paanakam - Neivedhyam

Though we make this Paanakam for Srirama Navami or on Fridays, this is a great drink for summer. In south India this is given as an after food during Sumangali Prarthani along with Neer More and Sukku Vellam.

Ingredients:
Lime juice 1 cup
Jaggery powdered well 3 cups
Dry ginger powder 2 tsp
Cardamom powder 2 tsp
Pepper powder 2 tsp (optional)

Method:
Heat jaggery with 2 cups of water to dissolve. Strain, boil to honey consistency. Add all powders, cool & add lime juice. Refrigerate. Dilute to required consistency, adding plain or ice water whenever required.

Add Pepper powder if and only if there is a slight cold and cough. Better to avoid it, if one need to relish and enjoy the taste of Panakam.

Appam

This is one of the method I make and it turns out really good.

Ingredients:
Wheat flour - 1 cup
Maida flour - 1/2  cup
Rice flour - 1 cup
Jaggery - 2 cups
Coconut grated - 1 cups
Cardamom powder - from 7 to 8 nos
Ghee - 1 1/2 cups

Method:
In a vessel add warm water and jaggery. Keep stirring untill all the jaggery dissolves. Add all the flour one by one to the jaggery water and keep stirring continuously without forming any lumps.  Add the grated coconut and cardamom powder. Make a batter thicker than idly batter and it should be free flowing too.

It is always better to use Kuzhipaniyara maker to make appam so that it comes in full round shape and intakes less oil/ghee. If it is fried in oil use very less oil in a shallow and small pan. Use a small round laddle to pour the batter into the oil. Fry both the sides untill golden brown.

Sarkarai Pongal - A sweet recipe for any festival

This is one recipe which is made very often at home especially on fridays of the Tamil month of Thai and Aadi. This is also one Pongal that is made during the festival of Pongal.

Ingredients:
Rice - 2 cups
Moong Dal - 1/2 cup
Jaggery - 1 1/2 cups
Milk - 4 cups
Cardamom - 2 pieces (grind it to fine powder)
Cashew nuts - 10 to 12 pieces
Ghee - 1/2 cup
Raisins - 12 pieces

Method:
In a dry pan fry the rice and moong dal separately till a nice aroma is emitted. Pressure cook the rice and dal together with 2 cups of milk and 5 cups of water. Cook for almost 5 whistles. Mash it thoroughly when the rice is warm. Heat the remaining 2 cups of milk in a solid bottom vessel or pan and add the mashed rice to it and mix thoroughly. Slice the jaggery and add it to the rice and milk and mix thoroughly. Add cardamom powder and mix again.

Fry cashew nuts and raisins in ghee and add it to the cooked Sarkarai Pongal.

Athirasam, Ariselu (Ugadi Special)

The dish which is called as Athirasam or Adirasam in Tamilnadu is known as Ariselu in Karnataka and Andhra. On Ugadi, this dish is made as a special dish.

Ingredients:
Processed Rice Flour - 4 cups
Jaggery - 3 cups
Oil - For frying
Cardamom Powder - 2 pinch
Sesame seeds - 1/4 cup (this is must if Ariselu is made for Ugadi)
Water - 1 cup

Method:
In a thick bottom pan add water and when it boil add grated jaggery and when it dissolves remove from flame and drain to remove the impurities. Keep the jaggery mixture again in flame, add cardamom powder and let it boil till it forms a syrup (if a drop of the syrup is put in water, it should settle well in the bottom).

Add the rice flour slowly and keep stirring without forming any lumps. Remove from flame and when warm make balls and spread them in the shape of puris. Dab the puris with sesame seeds.

Heat the oil in a pan and fry these puris in low flame till they turn golden brown. Store these in air tight container.


Sesame seeds can be added directly to the jaggery before adding the rice flour.

Munthiri Kothu

Whenever I read Ramani Chandran's novels, I have come across one particular dish named Munthiri Kothu. I had an impression that it is made of cashewnuts. But later I found out that the entire preparation is totally different and it is very tasty too. Here is the method to do it.

Ingredients:
Moong Dal - 1 Cup
Jaggery - 1 Cup
Maida - 3 Tspn
Rice Flour - 1 Tspn
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 Tspn
Cardomom Powder - 1 Pinch (or powder made of 4 to 6 cardomoms)
Oil - To Fry

Method:
Fry moong dal till it becomes red in colour. Pressure cook it. Make jaggery syrup and when it comes to a ball like consistency, then add the cooked and mashed moong dal to it. Make them into a reasonable sized balls.

Mix maida and rice flour along with turmeric and cardomom powder in water and let the batter be in the consistency of dosa batter. Dip the moong dal balls in this batter and fry them in oil.

Tasty Munthiri Kothu is ready.