KALAN, YAM CURRY WITH YOGHURT AND COCONUT MASALA

Kaalan is a traditional dish of Kerala.  Mostly, this is prepared during a feast or festival like Onam.  Normal days also it is made and had with steamed rice or Kanji.  Only one vegetable viz. Yam or elephant foot or chenai it is called, or Nendran kaya the one which is available in Kerala for making chips.  Its tastes awesome if you like little bit of tanginess in your curry.  It is a thick curry and sour than the Avial.

PEARS PICKLE

Pears pickle is easy to make.  You should have very firm pears.  I love pickle of any kind and keep on trying it with anything and everything.   I happened to purchase green apple which was very very sour and no sweetness at all.  everyone at home refused to eat it.  I cannot waste the same, so made pickle out of it.  Like that i tried this one too and was liked by all. Here is the recipe of apple pickle.

If you have guests and do not have pickle, you can make this immediately provided you have this at home.

Pears pickle.

Cow Pea leaf subzi

Cow pea leaf subzi is made very simply with curry powder and grated fresh coconut.  My mother makes this very often and I used to eat it with Curd rice.  for that matter, any leafy vegetable, i prefer to eat with curd rice.

ZUNKA

Junka is made with besan, gram flour, chickpea flour as main ingredient with onion, green chilly etc.  It is an accompaniment for the Bhakri which is a popular bread of Maharashtra.  Bhakri is also served with thecha a kind of green chilly and peanut chutney.

Junka

JOWAR BHAKRI

Bhakri (भाकरी bhākrī or Dhebra) is a round flat unleavened bread often used in the cuisine of western and central India, especially in the states of Rajasthan,Gujarat, Maharashtra, Malwa, Goa, and northern Karnataka. It is coarser than a roti.

Being a staple bread, bhakri is served with curd, chutney, vegetables, and rice. It is made mostly from wheat flour, jowar flour, bajra flour, nachni (or finger millet) flour, and even rice flour (in the Konkan region). Bhakris are made primarily with hot water, and flour. It has traditionally been the farmer's food  which would be carried to the farm to  make up for both breakfast and lunch.  It is also served with chutney or thecha (made out of green chillies and peanuts).  It is also served with Junka.  junka_29.html

Let us have a look at the recipe now.

Junglee rolls

Junglee rolls is very easy to make if you have dosa/idli batter with you.  left over batter can also be used.
what you need is grated veggies viz. carrots, beetroot, cabbage, chopped onions, sweet corns and coriander leaves and little chaat masala and chutney.  A healthy and diet friendly.  If you are not worried about your health, you can garnish with some grated cheese too.

Normally, kids do not eat all the vegetables.  By adding vegetables in these kind of dishes, we can make them to eat.  They will definitely enjoy.

Snake gourd chutney, padval chutney, podalangai chutney, padavalanga chutney

Chutneys are accompaniments for dosa, idli, chapati, dal rice, curd rice and can be spread on bread for making sandwiches too.  varieties of chutneys are made.  Here i am presenting Snake Gourd chutney which is very easy to make.

Snake gourd chutney

GUD POHA, SWEET AVAL,

Today is Janmashtami and everyone will be busy in making Muruku, cheedai, vella cheedai, aval puttu, doodh poha etc. etc. (chakli, savoury rice balls, sweet rice balls).  But one of the most  liked one is makhan, butter how can we forget to keep the same for neivedyam.  Coming to the recipe of gud poha, poha is cooked in jaggery with coconut and cashews.  But here i have made little changes and my version which i liked it is given below:

Gud Poha, Sweet Aval, sweet beaten rice

 I wanted to post this recipe today itself because the Kanhe I have got it from my friend is most beautiful and was featured in the DNA newspaper last year  on 4th August 2012 with Aval Puttu,   Janmashtami joy on a platter.  Link below:

http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=23856&boxid=9222&ed_date=2012-08-04&ed_code=820037&ed_page=3 right click on this and go to open link in new window.

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The charming face of this statue, mesmerizing eyes Oh Krishna, Jagat ki raksha karna

BLACK WATANA SUBZI, KALA WATANA SUBZI,

 Kala watana subzi or curry is made like we make normally make the black chana curry, chole etc.  It is a good side dish for roti, chapati served along with sliced onion,pickle etc.  Sometimes, I mix up all kinds of masalas and its taste is awesome.  In this case, i have mixed up the masalas like pav bhaji and garam masala.

SHEERA

Sheera is made out of suji/rava with milk and sugar.  It is a very good dish  for breakfast as well as evening snacks.   My daughter on every Thursday, she takes the same in the tiffin box and I happily make this being the day of Krishna and Sai Baba for Prasad too.   Normally, it is made for the Satyanarayana Pooja and we all love to eat the same with bananas and lots of dry fruits in it.

MAA LADOO, CHUTNEY DAL LADOO, POTTUKADALAI LADDO

Ingredients:

1  cup chutney dal (pottukadalai, dhalia)
1  cup sugar
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/4  tsp dry ginger powder
handful of cashews  (break into small pieces)
ghee 1/2  cup

Method:

clean the chutney dal, remove the dust if any.
mix together the dal and sugar, cardamom powder, dry ginger powder and grind to a fine powder in the mixer.  Transfer the same to a large bowl.remove it to a large bowl.

heat one teaspoon ghee and fry the cashews and keep aside.
heat the remaining ghee in the same kadai and pour half the quantity of ghee in the  bowl.  Mix well with the sugar, chutney dal powder, cashews .  Do not pour the ghee at a time.

  take handful of mix in your hand and press hard and see whether it is binding or not.  If it is possible to bind the ladoo, the consistency is ok.  If not, then you have to add the ghee little by little.

 Make laddo out of the mixer and serve. 

Note:  too much ghee will make them soggy.  the consistency should be able to make ladoos without breaking. that much ghee only should be used.

Normally dry ginger powder is not used. I used it because any kind of dals will produce gas.  ginger powder helps in digestion.

KAMAL KAKKADI CHIPS, LOTUS STEM CHIPS

Lotus stem chips is very easy to make.  This chips is slightly sweet and i had it as it is.  If you wish you can add little bit of chaat masala, chilli powder, black pepper powder, black salt or normal salt.  can be served with rice varieties or just can be had it with over a cup of hot tea/coffee.

Lotus stem chips

Guava Cheese, Amrud cheese, Perakka cheese, Koyapazham cheese

Guavas are rich in fibre, vitamin A,B, C & E.  The vitamin C content is more in Guava than oranges.  It helps in regulating high blood pressure, cholesterol and good for diabetic people also. The leaves are boiled in water and strained and consumed for cough and cold.

KULITH RASAM, MUTHIRA RASAM, HORSEGRAM RASAM, KOLLU RASAM

Rasam is a watery dish served after having sambar rice in Southern States.  It is a good appetiser too.  Various types of rasams are made viz. tomato rasam, mysore rasam, milagu rasam etc.  recently one of my cousin visited our house.  she is also equally interested in cooking like me so she shared the recipe.


Rasam is one of the  dish we really enjoy. myself and my elder brother is very fond of it.  my mami used to make goddu rasam or kottu rasam.  we love to eat rice with this rasam and nothing else is required.

muthira rasam, kulith rasam, horsegram rasam

HORSE GRAM CURRY, MUTHIRA KOOTU

Horsegram is or kulith or muthira it is called, is  rich in B-complex vitamins,  proteine and  highly nutritious. 

It is  commonly prescribed in ayurvedic medicine for conditions like difficult breathing, cough, gastric problems, ulcers, worm infections and excessive perspiration. Some alternative medicine experts even consider horse gram as a good remedy to control joints pain. It can be also used as a natural health tonic.    It tones up the digestive system and prevents acidity and flatulence. 

People suffering from spleen enlargement, colic and weak liver can also benefit from this plants medicinal properties. People with kidney stones, hypertension, gall stones also benefit from its intake.   
Let us have a look at the recipe now

Various dishes are made out with Kulith or horsegram or muthira.  One of the dish is presented here for you.

horsegram curry

RIBBON PAKODA, PAKODA, NADA,

Normally, ribbon pakodas are made with rice flour and gram flour.  But my friend Jayashree shared some pakodas made by her and it was very crispy.  when i checked with her how she made it, she shared the recipe with me which i am sharing with you all.

BANANA FLOWER THORAN, BANANA BLOSSOM THORAN, VAZHAPOO THORAN, BANANA FLOWER STIR FRY

Banana flower thoran is made of banana flowers finely chopped, cooked and garnished with grated coconut or crushed coconut with green chilli and cumin seeds.  It is a nice side dish for sambar rice, rasam rice, dal rice, chapti etc.

banana flower subzi thoran

BANANA FLOWER SAMBAR, VAZHAPOO SAMBAR, KHEL PHOOLCHI SAMBAR

Banana flower sambar is made like the normal sambar you make.  either you can use the ground masala or sambar powder instead.  

Banana flower sambar

Banana flower  preparation  is liked by me very much be it a thoran, sambar, pachadi, raita, vada or usli.  It is quite healthy, tasty and easy to make any thing out of it.   Here i am presenting the Banana flower sambar.  Normally I make the sambar without tamarind.  Yes, you must be wondering how to make sambar without tamarind..  Instead of tamarind, we can add amchur powder, tomato, kokum etc.  but i do not use anything of this frankly speaking but still it is tasty. 
banana flower sambar      banana flower sambar

KASHMIRI PULAO

Kashmiri pulao i tasted when we went to Srinagar around three years back.  Mr. Abdul who was our driver was kind enough to make us eat kashmiri pulao and  drink the famous Kava (a kind of tea they drink),  we liked very much and brought some tea packets which i still  have and enjoy once in a while. shall post the recipe soon.

This pulao is slightly sweet with mild spices, can be prepared easily.  The fried onions and nuts and fruits  adds more taste and flavour to this pulao.  It can be served with  onion, tomato, cucumber raita or lauki yakhni.  Lauki is called Al in Kashmiri and  Yakhni is a curd based sauce.  The lauki roundels are shallow fried and added to the  curd sauce which goes well with this pulao.  No garnish is made in this but for the photo, I have added coriander leaves as I like the same with the raita very much.

HEALTHY SALAD

Salad is part of every Indian meal.  Salads are made wth raw vegetables like cucumber, radish, beetroot, onions etc.  This salad i am presenting is slightly different.  You can make it within 5 minutes if you are fast in cutting veggies. It is slightly sauted and only salt and black pepper powder is added.  You can eat it just like that or can serve with roti, pulao etc.

Healthy salad

RAVA DOSA, SUJIDOSA, SEMOLINA DOSA

Rava dosa is instantly made without much hassles.  What you need is rice flour, suji/rava/semolina and little bit of maida mixed with green chilli, ginger, coriander leaves, cumin seeds, curry leaves if you wish.  While preparing this dosa, you have to be very patient as it take some time to cook properly unlike the normal dosa.   My mother used to temper with mustard seeds too in this. It can be served with chutney/sambar/pickle/curd/gunpowder and oil etc.  I love to eat the same with curd and lime pickle.

Rava dosa

BAMBOO SHOOT PICKLE

Bamboo shoot pickle is made out of bamboo shoots with kpra masala (ready made).

Since childhood, i have seen preparing bamboo shoot subzi but never bothered to look at it even though it was available plenty in our backyard.  one of my relative used to make something with the bamboo rice (mula ari in malayalam) i remember faintly.  after coming to Mumbai, years together i used to see the stuff in the market but never bothered to buy it.  But since for the past few months, I want to taste this stuff so thought of buying it last week.

JAGGERY DOSA, VELLA DOSA, SWEET DOSA, GUD KA DOSA, CREPES

Vella dosa, jaggery dosa, sweet dosa is one of  the favourite dish of my son.  My mother in law used to make them for him and he love this.  Whenever i ask him what you like of Thattimas's dishes (he used to call grandmother Thattima), he would say, one is vella dosa and another one is appalam kuzhambu.  he love the kuzhambu with chapati.

Today when I asked him what to make for breakfast, he said Kuch Acha that is his usual dialogue.  He never specifies what he wants to eat.

In fact, in search of Kuch Acha (something good), i took interest in cooking and today i am with my blog in front of you.  Tomorrow, one of you must be coming out like this.  Some one is behind your success. that is true.  Now coming to the recipe.

THATTAI, FLAT RICE CRISPIES

Thattai or flat rice crispies are made out of rice flour, urad dal flour with chilli powder and salt.  It is a very nice snack item too with a cup of tea or coffee.  During festival season viz. krishna jayanti or gokulashtami or ashtami rohini is called, Kai murukku, thattai, cheedai, vella cheedai etc. are the main dishes prepared in every household.


Normally, my mother in law make the Murukku, cheedai, thattai etc. with the same dough which is made for the murkku.  only variation is that in cheedai, we add black pepper, coconut grated and in thattai we add bengal gram.  I always follow her method as it is the perfect one for me.


She never  wait for any festival to come.   whenever she feels like make it, without any hesitation and laziness, she prepare the same for my children.

Now let us have a quick look at the recipe

SHEPUCHE VADE, DILL LEAVES VADA,

Shepuche vade (Dill leaves vade) is made out of dill leaves or shepu in local language with chana dal,urid dal and with some onions chopped.  It is a nice tea time snack during the winter and monsoon.

Dill leaves are very good for health.   helps in digestion and prevents acidity.  See other posts of Dill leaves

health-benefits-of-dill-shepoo.html

dill-leaves-dosa.html

WATER MELON CURRY, TARBOOSE KI SUBZI, THANEER MATHAN PACHADI

Water melon curry is made with the white portion of water melon,  coconut, tamarind pulp or curd and spices.  This has the similarity of normal pachadi we make with red pumpkin, vellarikka etc.  

It is a best out of waste recipe and goes well with rice and chapatti.  View more   recipes made with  the white portion of water melon.

BANANA STEM CHUTNEY, VAZHATHANDU CHUTNEY, KELE KI DANDAL KI CHUTNEY

Banana stem chutney is made with the the cooked stem or sauted stem, coconut and chilli.  It is a nice chutney goes well with dosa, idli, and a a side dish for some mild curries like dal, molagootal and curd rice.  Since it has got medicinal values, i make it a point to include the same atleast once in a week as it is available through out the year.

BANANA STEM THORAN, VAZHATHANDU THORAN, BANANA STEM STIR FRY, VAZHATHANDU PORIYAL

Banana stem thoran is made with finely chopped banana stem, coconut etc.  It has got medicinal value. see the post of Banana Stem soup for more details of health benefits.  It is a simple and easy recipe to make and goes well with samabar rice, dal rice, curd rice, chapati etc.

BANANA STEM SOUP, VAZHATHANDU SOUP, KELE KI DANDAL KI SOUP

BANANA STEM SOUP/VAZHATHANDU SOUP/ KELE KI DANDAL  KI SOUP

Banana stem soup is made with  banana stems and little  barley.  Banana stem and the barley has got various medicinal properties.  Banana stem juice consumed in the empty stomach in the morning cures kidney stone. Barley water is given when fever is there and helps in flushing out the toxins from the body through urine.

KAVLECHI BHAJI, KAVLA SUBZI, ODABIRNI SUBZI

 Kavla is a leafy vegetable available in Maharashtra, Konkan &  Bengal. 

dry subzi is made out this with Onion, moongdal, tuvar dal  or chana dal with coconut and all.  It has a bland taste but I liked it hence posting the recipe today.

 It is a seasonal vegetable i.e. available during monsoon.  I had no clue about this vegetable till such time I went to the market and found this.  when I checked with the lady who was selling this, she said, subzi is made out of this and the name is Kavla.  She was not aware of the Hindi name.  When I checked with my servant, she said that it is an important vegetable during Rishi Panchami day that they have to make subzi out of it.  I thought in my mind that I picked up a very important leafy vegetable.  It has got some medicinal values as per the information available in the net.

WATER MELON DOSA, TARBOOSINI DOSA, DOSA

Water melon dosa is made with the white portion of water melon.  We have to separate the red portion and the green skin.  The white portion is grated, water is squeezed out from it.  The water is used while grinding the rice.  I found the same very tasty hence i posted it.  Hope you will also enjoy.  It is a best out of waste dish too.

WATER MELON HALVA, HALVA, TARBOOSE KI HALVA, THANNEER MATHAN HALVA

Water melon halwa is made out of the white portion of the water melon between the green skin and the red fruit.  It resembles somewhat like the Lauki/doodhi/bottlegourd halva but is really tasty withe the milk, dry fruits added in it.

water melon halva

BANANA STEM SAMBAR, VAZHATHANDU SAMBAR, KELE KI DANDAL

Banana stem sambar is made with tuvar dal, sambar powder or arachuvitta masala  (whole masalas fried and ground with coconut).  We can make thoran a stir fried subzi made in South, Pachadi, raita etc. with this.    This is also used to make karuvadams(kurudai).   

We used to make cart out of the stem when we were small, a picture of the same is shown below.   

Bananas are rich in vitam C, A, B6 & B12, iron potassium, mangensium as well.  It cures the heartburn, anemia etc. 

Banana stem

There are various varieties and shapes and sizes of bananas. It has been found that bananas have curative properties both scientifically and traditionally. Birds and animals - especially monkeys and elephants love bananas.

There are many healing and medicinal properties of bananas.

Banana Stem:

When a bunch of bananas is harvested, the stem/tree is cut away. The tender inner stem is used as food and has many medicinal properties as well.

Layers of hard outer stem are peeled away and only the tender inner stem is used. It is very fibrous, so the thread fiber has to be cleaned. The stem is chopped into small bits and soaked in buttermilk or diluted yogurt for half hour. In Southern parts of India, it is cooked as a vegetable and eaten along with rice.

The banana stem has fiber – this is very beneficial for those on a weight-loss program. It is also a rich source of potassium and vitamin B6 which helps in the production of insulin and hemoglobin. Eating banana stem once a week keeps high blood pressure in control. Banana stem also maintains fluid balance within the body. It is a diuretic and helps detoxify the body. The popular belief is that eating banana stem is very good for kidney stones.

 Let us have a look at the recipe now:

The sambar can be made in two ways 

1) with sambar powder  

(2)  arachuvitta sambar

 ARACHUVITTA SAMBAR ( GROUND MASALA WITH COCONUT)

Ingredients
Banana stem  (finely chopped) - 1 cup
Thin Tamarind pulp - 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Tuvar dal boiled - 1/2 cup
Salt
Water

For sambhar masala 

  1tsp Coriander seeds
2 Red chilli (spice adjust according to your requirement)
2-3 Pepper corns
1/2 Grated coconuts (i use dessicated coconut) (without coconut also you can make it)
  very little  Fenugreek seeds
 very little  Cumin seeds
1 Green Chilli
Curry leaves
Asafoetida

Method

First cut the outer layer of the stem and use only the inner parts.

cut the round pieces first. then cut juliens of it and then chop them finely.

if you are chopping very finely, can directly cook or else you have to pressure cook the same.

 Remove from the cooker and transfer the same to another vessel.
Add tamarind pulp and boil. (if not using tamarind pulp skip this)
When the raw smell of tamarind is gone, add the ground masala, tuvar dal and boil.
Temper with mustard seeds, curry leaves and serve hot with rice or chappati.

 WITH SAMBAR POWDER

while boiling the stems, you can add sambar powder.  after cooking the same, add the tuvar dal and repeat the remaining process.

Cart made out of banana stem

banana-stem-chutney-vazhathandu-chutney.html
banana-stem-thoran-vazhathandu-thoran.html
banana-stem-soup-vazhathandu-soup-kele.html

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GAAJAR KI HALVA, CARROT HALVA

Gaajar halva is a favourite dish of my daughter and sons.  Normally, during winter, we get plenty of Delhi carrots and never miss the halva, payasam as sweet dish in our home.  My mother in law takes the pain to grate it and make the halva for the children with lots of dry fruits in it.

Gaajar ki halva is made of fresh carrots or gaajar with sugar, milk and lots of dry fruits.  We get two varieties of  Gaajar here one is Delhi carrot and the other one english carrot.  I made the same with english carrot now as my daughter was asking for it since last few days.

Gaajar ki halva

Let us look at the recipe now:

AVAL PUTTU, BEATEN RICE PUTTU, POHA PUTTU

Aval puttu is made for Janmashtami.  Another variety of sweet made with the beaten rice or aval or poha.  When Kuchelan (sudama) went to see Krishna, he carried some beaten rice, poha to offer him.  So one of the neivedyam offered to Krishna is aval with  vellam or sugar or milk.

Le us look at the recipe now:

VELLA CHEEDAI, SWEET RICE BALLS, SWEET JAGGERY BALLS

Vella cheedai is  one of the Bhakshanam made during the Janmashtami along with Murukku, Uppu Cheedai, Appam etc.  It is made out of Rice flour, jaggery, cardamom powder,coconut, sesame seeds etc.   Now gokulashtami, janmashtami is few days away, I am posting this recipe.

Vella cheedai can be relished at any time not necessary that you have to make during Janmashtami only.  The combination of rice, jaggery, ghee, coconut , sesame seeds  and cardamom is very flavourful and tasty.

In our village, we used to sit and roll the balls while our elders starts frying them in batches.  It was the childrens job to sit and make (cheedai uruttarathu) the uppu cheedai and vella cheedai and we used to enjoy.

Let us look at the recipe now:

CHEEDAI, UPPU CHEEDAI, SAVOURY CHEEDAI, FRIED RICE MARBLES

Gokulashtami is two weeks away.  I am sure everyone willl be busy with their preparation of making cheedai, vella cheedai, murukku, thenkuzhal etc.

 Most people in India celebrate Krishna Janmashtami based on Lunar Calendar but few temples and some regions in South India observe Krishna Janmashtami based on Solar Calendar. In most years these dates don’t differ by one or two days but in some years Janmashtami date based on Lunar Calendar and Janmashtami date based on Solar Calendar might differ up to one month.

In Kerala, Tamil Nadu and in some parts of Karnataka, Krishna Janmashtami is popularly known as Ashtami Rohini and is observed based on Solar Calendar.

Two famous temples, Udupi Sri Krishna temple in Karnataka and Guruvayur Guruvayurappa temple in Kerala celebrate Krishna Janmashtami as Ashtami Rohini based on Solar Calendar.

Ashtami Rohini is also known as Sri Jayanthi and Gokulashtami which falls on 28th of this month.  (kannan pirantha naal) and uri adi i.e. gopalakala, dahi handi is on 29th August 2013.

Let us look at the recipe now:

TRICOLOUR DOSA, TIRANGA DOSA

TRICOLOUR DOSA, TIRANGA DOSA


Four days ahead of Independence day, I am posting tiranga dosa or tricolour dosa.  We can make various items viz. idli, dosa, rice, halva, sabdudana, burfi, dhokla etc.

this dosa is made with normal dosa batter by adding tomato for orange colour, coriander for green colour.  you can use carrots, gun powder and dill leaves, palak also.  I have uploaded this recipe in you tube http://youtu.be/ZqqxveRkcJw

Last year, i had shared with www.simpleindianrecipes.com more tiranga varieties recipes.  

Let us see the recipe now

NEEM FLOWER PACHADI, VEPAMPOO PACHADI

 I remember six year old, we were going to Madras (now Chennai).  I was fed up of sitting in the train for a longer hours and asked my mom when are we going to reach?  my mother said tomorrow.  I said i want to get down and go home to which my mother said, i will allow you to get down at the next station and you go home alone.  I got scared and kept quite.  After reaching Madras, we were playing,  that time,  my mom told me and my cousin to go to terrace and collect the neem flowers.  when we went to terrace, i could not believe,  such a lot of fresh flowers were lying like a carpet. we collected plenty of it in a bag and brought down.  Since that age, i am familiar with the rasam, pachadi.  In the beginning i felt it bit bitter, but we used to have karela, bitter gourd subzi, i liked these dishes also very much.

Neem flower pachadi, rasam is made during the Tamil New Year which falls mostly on 14th April.  This flowers are also available at that time, very fresh.  This pacahdi is made with mango, jaggery, chilli powder. You can use tamarind instead of mango.  Use the mangoes which are not ripe but not raw which will have a sweet and sour taste.  If you are using raw mango, ensure that less sour one is picked.

Neem flower pachadi

  Vepampoo pachadi has got five unique flavours viz salt, bitterness (neem flowers), sweetness (jaggery, vellam, sarkara), mango (sour), spice (red chilli powder).
neem-flower-rasam-vepampoo-rasam-rasam,   neem flower raita  watchyoutube : neem flower pachadi

NEEM FLOWER RAITA, VEMPAMPOO RAITA

You will think that the neem leaves are bitter so as the flower.  yes it is bitter but when you fry them in ghee, you will not feel much of the bitterness.  the flowers are usually available in the month of April during the beginning of the year i.e. New year (Varsha Pirappu) and the cuisines like vepampoo rasam, pachadi and raita are made.  if you cannot get fresh flowers, dried flowers are also available in the market.

neem flower rasam, vepampoo rasam
neem flower pachadi

SHEER KURMA (SEVAI KHEER)

Sheer kurma is made with vermicelli i.e. semiya, milk, sugar and dry fruits and dates.  Today is Ramadan, Ramzan and it is the special dish today made in every household.  It is a delicious kheer one can enjoy any time. This has got the similary to sevai kheer  or semiya payasam.  in semiya payasam, we do not add dates.  we can add kishmish also in both but my daughter does not like it hence I have not added the same.

RICE MARBLES, RICE BALLS, AMMINI KOZHUKKATTAI, MANI KOZHUKKATTAI, RICE DUMPLINGS

AMMINI KOZHUKKATTAI, MANI KOZHUKKATTAI, RICE BALLS, RICE DUMPLINGS

 
Ammini Kozbukkattai, mani kozhukkattai, rice balls, rice dumplings, you name it anything, it is a nice snacks for everyone.  This is loved by all at home as my mother makes it very easily.  You can also make it,  provided you have rice flour at home. You can make it plain, spicy and put in yoghurt like we make dahi vada.

LOTUS STEM PICKLE (kamal kakkadi pickle), tamarakizhangu urugai

Kamal kakkadi, lotus stem, thamarai kizhangu is the root of Lotus flower.   I was knowing only about the Tamarakizhangu vattal until such time, one of my colleage brought the pickle and one of my friend gave me the curry made along with potato. 

Crunchy, delicate flavored lotus root is an under-water edible rhizome of lotus plant. Since centuries, the lotus rhizome has held high esteem in oriental regions, especially in Chinese and Japanese cultures. Almost all the parts of the plant: root, young flower stalks, and seeds are being used in the cuisine.

It is good source of vitamin C and dietary fibre.  In addition, it contains moderate levels of some of valuable B-complex group of vitamins such as pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), folates, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, and thiamin.

kamal kakkadi pickle

lotus seed pickle

SEASAME RICE, ELLU SAADAM,

Ellu saadam or sesame seed rice is one of the Chitrannams (varieties of rice preparation) made during Pathinettamperukku.  On Saturday,  this rice is made and offered to Shani Bhagwan.  If it is given to the crows also, Shani bhagwan bless us because the Vehicle (Vaahanam) of Shani is Crow, is the belief.

Apart from the above, it is a flavourful rice, I love to eat.  Since I forgot to click the picture separately on the day of Pathinettamperukku, shall post the picture later on.

chitrannams

BISI BELE BHATH l BISI BELE HULIANNA l MASALA BHATH

Bisi bele bhath is a spicy, rice-based dish with origins in the state of Karnataka, India. Bisi bele bhath, which translates to 'hot lentil rice dish' in Kannada language, is a wholesome meal. It is said to have originated in the Mysore Palace and from there spread across the entire state.
  
I love this dish  as one of my neighbour used to give me this.  It is a dish which includes the dals and vegetables along with rice.

I have used the masalas of my version and not the original one.  If anybody is not finding time to prepare the authentic masala, then they can opt for my method of preparing it.

I shall give below the original version also.

I love to eat this rice along with Pappadams, Appalams, Karuvadam and Onion Raita.

Bisibele Bhath

When I was carrying my daughter, I was craving for this dish.  I told one of my colleague to make it because she was from Karnataka, she said she does not know how to make it.  Finally, before my delivery, I  happened to be to my  family Doctor's house in the night when she was ready to eat her dinner.  She just asked me casually, Raji, Bisibela bhat khayegi, before she could finish the sentence, I  ran to her kitchen, pulled out a plate and took out some rice out of the cooker.  She gave me some karuvadam, vadiyum, papad etc. to eat along with it.  Piping hot from the cooker, I really enjoyed it.

When I checked with her the recipe, it was a long process.  Today, I wanted to make it as I was running short of time and everyone was hungry.  So I decided to make it and the recipe is here.  I adopted a simple method and it was lovely.

If you see the ingredients of the recipes in any of the sites, you will get a long list.  All those ingredients are included in the Garam masala except one or two.    So I decided to make  this way.

While preparing in the cooker, must ensure that it does not get burnt from the bottom.  or you can cook the same directly on a thick bottom vessel which you can check very often.


Let us look at the recipe now:

                                      
                                     Bisibele Hulianna l Bisibele Bhat

                                  Broken wheat Bisibele bhat l Lapsi Bisibele Bhat

BITTER GOURD PICKLE, PAVAKKA PICKLE, KAIPPAKKA URUGAI, KAIPAKKA UPPLILITATHU, KARELA ACHAR

Bittergourd or karela or pavakka or kaipakka  is a vegetables that is low in calorie but rich in many nutrients. It is an excellent source of vitamins B1, B2 and B3, Vitamin C, magnesium, folic acid, zinc, phosphorus, manganes, iron, calcium, beta-carotene and has high dietary fiber.  a hypoglycemic effect called charantin. It also has polypeptide, an insulin like compound that is good for diabetic patients.  in take of juice in the empty stomach helps in reducing the diabetic.

MYSORE PAK

Mysore Pak

Today is my daughter's birthday.  When i asked her  what should i make for her, she said Mysore Pak as she loves it.  Mysore pak is made with gramflour, sugar and ghee.  You can use generous amount of ghee in it but keeping the health factor, i have used only the required quantity and not more.

Mysore pak is a sweet dish made specially for Diwali and occasions like wedding, engagement etc.  It is a mouth watering rather meling in the mouth item and i love this.  I have seen my father making this but that time did not bother to  learn.  After coming to Mumbai, I attended a wedding there they served this mouth watering dish. Let me tell you, it melted in mouth so I decided to try my hand on it.

BIITER GOURD FRY, PAVAKKA FRY, KARELA FRY, KAIPPAKKA FRY - DIET FRIENDLY

BITTER GOURD FRY, PAVAKKA FRY, KARELA FRY, KAIPPAKKA FRY - DIET FRIENDLY

Karela or bittergourd or pavakka or kaipakka is bitter in taste but has got medicinal values as well as quite tasty if prepared well.  For diet friendly people, this method is quite ok with them as i have not used oil at all in this preparation.  I have already posted one recipe which is fried in oil.  Considering the health conscious people, i have made this in microwave oven and is cent percent diet friendly.  I could have very well  included the same in the same post but it will not serve the purpose much as people will think about frying them in oil only.

SARKARA PONGAL, VELLA PAYASAM,

SARKARA PONGAL, VELLA PAYASAM

Sarkara pongal is made for almost all the festivals. This pongal is part of Pongal festival too.   Rice, roasted moongdal with jaggery, roasted cashewnuts and the ghee, we all love the payasam.  I also like to fry the coconut bits in ghee and the kalkand (sugar candy) to put in.  This is made for neivedyam and is a part of the feast. (Sadya).  The taste of temple sarkara pongal is awesome.