DIWALI LEHYAM

We make lots of sweets and savories during Diwali.   But the most important dish is the Diwali Lehyam.   My mother in law is very particular about this.  After wearing new clothes, she will give us a small lemon sized ball of lehyam.   It is made with ginger, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, ajwain, cardamom jaggery, pepper corns ghee etc.   It is good for digestion hence it is  there always in our fridge.

She used to make this during monsoon season  and store in fridge as we get fresh tender ginger.  It is good if you have any digestive problem, gas, stomach ache etc.

So enjoy lot of sweets and savouries and enjoy the lehyam too.  If you have not made this, you can try this with little quantity.

Latha Srinivasan of Akshus kitchen had asked for the ingredients after seeing the video on You Tube.  I am sharing this recipe for her too.

diwali lehyam 1   diwali lehyam 2  watch youtube

5 CUP BURFI

5 Cup burfi is the speciality of my Mother in law. She is very fond of cooking and makes lots of items within no time.  This burfi was made by her once and I took the same to office and shared with my colleague Mrs. Vaidehi Kothari.  Now after a long period may be around 8-10 years, she remembered this recipe and asked me to post the same in the blog or send it to her for preparing the same for this Diwali.   Actually speaking, i had totally forgotten about this recipe.

Somehow I found my old book and also checked with my aunty how to make this and made it today.  Tell you it is a very delicious dish can be made within no time.

5 cup burfi is made with milk, besan, ghee, coconut, sugar and a very simple and easy sweet dish.   If you wish you can garnish with chopped dry fruits too.  You need not worry while preparing this item like the Mysore Pak.

Vaidehi, this one for you.   Thanks for reminding me of this recipe.

 Wish You all a Very happy diwali.

KARANJI, KARCHIKAI, KAJJIKAYALU

I have recently posted the recipe of Shakar para or Shankar pali it is called for Diwali.  This is another recipe which is made during diwali by Maharashtrians, Kannadigas and Andhrites.  Karanji  in Marathi, Karchikai in Kannada & Kajjikayalu in Andhra, is a dish made with Maida in half circle shape  with some filling inside.  The filling can be made in two ways.  I made  this during 90s and afterwards have not bothered to make it as you need minimum 3 people to make it if you are making in  large quantities.

Since I wanted to post the same in the blog for Diwali, I made an attempt to make it and it was real success.

watch the You tube to get an idea  8P2mF4-Ocrc
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SHAKAR PARA, SHANKAR PALI,

When  all bloggers and websites will be busy posting the ribbon pakoda, mysore pak, thenkuzhal, boondi, mixture etc. etc.  I am posting a different item here.

Shakar para or Shankar pali is a Maharashtrian dish specially made for Diwali.   It is a semi sweet fried dish can be served as snack too along with a cup of tea or coffee.    It is made out of Maida, Powdered Sugar and ghee.

Though I am too late to post the recipe for this festival, you need not worry as it can be prepared very easily.

RAVA PAK, RAVA CAKE

Varieties of sweets and savories are made during any festival, specially for Diwali.  A really different kind of  sweet dish for this year's Diwali is here for you.  It is very simple and easy to make.  Rava cake, rava pak you can name it anything is made with rava, milk, sugar and ghee.  Is bored of making the usual mysore pak, this sweet is an alternate one for you.  

KAJU KATLI, CASHEW BARFI

Whenever you make an item for the first time, must start with small quantity.  I tried making kaju katli with very less quantity of cashews and ended up in a mess.  I had to call my friend who is  an expert in all the work who taught me how to make kaju katli.  Kaju katli or kaju barfi is a very simple and easy to make sweet dish if you have the patience and willingness to learn anything and everything.

Kaju Katli is made out of kaju, sugar and little bit of cardamom powder and is very yummy.  when you can make it at home, why to run to the shop for buying it.  try with this small quantity and win the heart of everyone at home.




Let us see the recipe now:

RAVA LADOO

Rava Ladoo or semolina ladoo or suji ladoo you can call it.  I never made this in my life time till today as somehow i did not bother to try it out.  Today, one of my cousin is coming to invite us for his only Son's wedding, I thought of trying my hand out.  Otherwise also, for this Diwali, I had planned to make the same.  So why not make a trial today.  To tell you, it was really nice and came out well even though it was my first attempt.

Rava ladoo is made with fine semolina, you can use the upma rava also( but must grind to a fine powder after roasting)  with sugar, ghee.  Since I am making it for the first time, i tried with only 1 cup of semolina and the end product was awesome.

KABULI CHANA CHUNDAL, KABULI CHANA SUNDAL

Sundals are prepared with green gram or black chana or any other dried grams.  This is specially made during Navrathri festival.  For normal days also you can prepare this and have it as a snack with a dash of lime, chopped onion, tomatoes etc.

BLACK URAD CHUNDAL, BLACK URAD SUNDAL, SUNDAL RECIPES

You can make varieties of sundals.  Another variety is with whole black urad.  It is very nutritious and is recommended for diabetics.   Black urad is  very popular in the Punjabi cuisine of India and Pakistan where it is known as "sabit maash" an ingredient of dal makhani. In Tamil it is known as "ulunthu" in Telugu as "minumulu", in Kannada as "Uddina Bele", and in Oriya as "Biri Dali" and in Malayalam "uzhunnu".

PAAL THERATIPAL, PALGOVA

Paal therttipal or Palgova is made with milk and sugar.  It is an easy preparation and would be loved by everyone.  It is just reducing the milk with sugar. that is all.

BEATEN RICE CHIVDA, AVAL CHIVDA, POHA CHIVDA

Beaten rice  chivda or aval or poha it is called is easy to make if you keep the ingredients handy.  It is a nice snack, less oil and anyone can eat with tea/coffee.  Poha is dry roasted and some groundnuts and pottukadala or chuntney dal is added to this.

UKKARAI, OKKARAI SWEET CHANA DAL PUTTU, PUTTU

Ukkarai is another form of sweet puttu but made with chana dal and jaggery.  This dish is also prepared for neivedyam during Navrathri, Diwali etc.  You will agree with me if you want to eat something, any time you can make it.  Here we go with the recipe of this.

RICE PUTTU (SWEET VERSION), VELLA PUTTU

Rice Puttu or Vella puttu is made with rice powder, jaggery, coconut etc.  It is a famous sweet dish made in every household of Tamilians during Navrathri festival specially on Tuesday or Friday.  People arrange the Kolu/dolls in nine steps decorated specially for this with Idol of Durga, Lakshmi  & Saraswati, Dasavataram, Chettiyar bommai, fruits, vegetables made out of mud/clay and painted.  It is a lovely scene you must see in one of the Tamilians house.   It is also made when a girl child attains puberty, there is a small function for which this sweet is made.  It is a tedious process but the final product is really tasty.

NEI APPAM, SWEET APPAM,

Nei appam is the favourite dish of my husband. My father used to make such lovely appam for marriages and all, we can see the honeycomb type texture in it and lasts for a longer period than what we make normally.  My sister in law Uma is also expert in making soft appams.  My husband always praise her appams and whenever she makes it, a share used to reach our home for him.

Nei appam is made with rice, jaggery and coconut bits, if you like.  It is a delicious sweet variety any time, anyone can have it and can make instantly too provided you have rice powder with you.

It is made for most of the festival specially for Karthigai deepam.

CORN SUNDAL, CORN CHUNDAL, CORN SUNDAL, CORN CHUNDAL

Corn Sundal can be made with sweet corns or the dried corns soaked in water.  this can be served for snacks or as chaat with onion, tomatoes and little chaat masala or served as sundal.

CHANA DAL SUNDAL, CHANA DAL CHUNDAL, BENGAL GRAM SUNDAL, KADALA PARIPPU SUNDAL

As I already told you varieties of Sundal recipes will be featured in all the blogs and sites during Navarathri festival.   here is another varieity of sundal made with chana dal, bengal gram or kadalai parippu.

MOONG SUNDAL, GREEN GRAM SUNDAL, PACHA PAYARU SUNDAL

Green gram or moong or pacha payaru  or cheru payaru it is known as,  is rich in Vitamin A, B, C and E and also in many minerals including iron, calcium, and potassium. Not to forget it is a powerful source of vegetarian protein.

 It is considered a healthy weight loss food as it is a low fat food rich in proteins and fibre. It curbs cravings and keep us full for a long time. It detoxifies the body and benefits the metabolism as well as immune system.

 It helps to lower the high cholesterol level in the blood system. Regular intake of Green Moong reduces bad cholesterol and improves the flexibility of arteries and veins. It also regulates the blood pressure.

Green gram Sundal, Green gram Chundal is any time snack for us.  But specially when it make for neivedyam, the taste is really different.  This is another variety of Sundal i am posting for you all.

MATKI SUNDAL, MATKI CHUNDAL, MOTH BEANS SUNDAL, MOTH BEANS CHUNDAL

During navrathi, some people display kolu, golu  and invite all for tamboolam, vettilapaku. Married ladies and kanyas are served with the variety of sundals along with vettilapaku.  Here is another variety of Sundal for you.

PEANUT SUNDAL, PEANUT CHUNDAL

Peanut Sundal is another variety of Sundals (indian salad) prepared for the Navarathri festival.  This can be made for normal days also and served as snacks.

NAVADANYA SUNDAL, NAVADANYA CHUNDAL

Navadanya sundal or Navadanya chundal means nine different legumes  and lentils are soaked in water and prepared the same for neivedyam during navarathri.  I made it because 9 days - 9 danyam (legumes) mixed together ( akind of south indian salad).  This can be served as  a snack with little additions of onion, tomato, cucumber and chopped green coriander as garnish.


Ingredients:

Karamani (Red chowli, Thatta Payir, Cowpeas, Black-eyed peas, )
Chana dal (Bengal Gram)
Black chana (Black Chikpeas)
Green chana (Green Chikpeas)
Matki (Moth Beans)
Kabuli chana (Chikpeas)
Peanut (Groundnut, Nilakadalai)
Kulith (Horsegram)
White watana (White Peas)
Green Watana (Green Peas)
etc.

Seasoning:

2-3 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urid dal
generous pinch of asafoetida.
few curry leaves.

Method 1. Take any nine varieties of lentils or legumes of your choice  and soak in water for 5-6 hours. 2. Directly cook the same in water with turmeric powder and salt. Drain the excess water. 3. Heat 2-3 tbsp oil in a kadai, add 1 tsp mustard seeds, urid dal, broken red chillies, curry leaves, hing powder (asafoetida). 4. Add the cooked lentils and saute for two minutes. 5.  season with the ingredients mentioned above. Variation:  you can add chilli powder for the spice, secondly add grated coconut crushed with green chilli and cumin seeds, or only with grated coconut and  chilli powder. THANKS FOR VISITING THE BLOG.  YOUR SUGGESTIONS ARE MOST WELCOME. chana-dal-sundal-chana-dal-chundal.html moong-sundal-green-gram-sundal-pacha.html kabuli-chana-chundal-kabuli-chana-sundal.html