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Wednesday, November 25, 2015

POTTUKADALAI URUNDAI


INGREDIENTS:

Pottukadalai (Roasted gram) - 2 cups
Crushed Jaggery - 1 cup
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp.

Water - 1/2 cup
Ghee - to grease the hand




METHOD:

Keep pottukadalai in sun until crisp. 


Heat a pan, dissolve the crushed jaggery in water, strain without any impurities. Pour the jaggery water in the pan, and make a soft ball consistency syrup. (Check here for the sugar syrup consistency) . Add cardamom powder and pottukadalai to the syrup. Mix well. Switch off the stove. Grease your hand with ghee and shape to equal-sized balls when warm. Scoop with a tablespoon to get equal-sized balls. Crispy pottukadalai urundai is ready for offering to deepalakshmi.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

EASY AND QUICK DEEPAM ARRANGEMENTS FOR KARTHIGAI - VIDEO



For a very quick. easy and hazzle-free deepam arrangement during karthigai festival, see the above video which is self-explanatory. A quick note again.
1. Make a semi-thick paste of chandan and kumkum and keep ready. Keep 2 ear-buds ready.
2. Dip the wicks in oil, squeeze lightly and keep ready.
3. Dip ear-buds in the paste and apply chandan, kumkum for the lamps.
3. Place 2 wicks in a lamp, pour little oil in each lamp.
4. Your lamps are neatly ready to be lit without any spilling.

Some more tips:
1. Soak new earthen lamps in water for about 5 to 6 hours two days before and dry it.
2. Cut small squares from newspaper and keep under the lamps. 
3. Dry roast pori to get crispier urundais.
4. Keep butter paper between each layer of pori urundais to avoid sticking to each other.

HAPPY KARTHIGAI :)



Saturday, November 7, 2015

COCONUT LADOO

How to make coconut ladoo, coconut ladoo recipe, Coconut ladoo with condensed milk


While cleaning my book shelf, I found this easy-to-make coconut ladoo recipe. About 33 years back, I had preserved a small pamplet from milkmaid with some interesting recipes in it. This ladoo needed only 3 ingredients, dessicated coconut, milkmaid and ghee. But I added cashew powder and cardamom powder to my choice. It takes only 5 minutes to make this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

Desiccated coconut powder - 250 gms (I used grated coconut - 2 1/2 cups)
Condensed Milk (Milkmaid) - 1 tin (400 gms.)
Ghee - 1 tsp.
Cashew powder - 2 tablespoons
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp.

METHOD:

Powder cashews. Grate coconut.

Dry roast grated coconut in a kadai without browning. You can skip this if using dessicated coconut. (Reserve 2 tablespoons of this coconut, mix with cashew powder and keep aside to coat the ladoos.)

Add condensed milk and cardamom powder. Mix well. Ensure medium flame and keep stirring until it forms a dough. Switch off the stove. When warm, grease your hands with ghee and shape into equal-sized balls. Roll the balls in coconut-cashew mixture. Coconut ladoos are ready. Store in an air-tight container.

NOTE:

If the mixture cools, it will become sticky and it will be difficult to shape. So shape while warm. Grease your hands with ghee while shaping.

MICROWAVE PALKOVA / MICROWAVE THIRATTIPAL / CONDENSED MILK THERATTIPAL

MICROWAVE PALKOVA. MICROWAVE THIRATTIPAL, CONDENSED MILK THERATTIPAL
Picture courtesy: My daughter

Thirattupaal / Therattipaal is a tasty sweet passed down through generations. Some families have a tradition of making therattipaal for diwali. This is an easy way of making it with condensed milk, in a microwave oven. It will be ready within 10 minutes. The traditional method of making therattipal with step-wise instructions can be hovered in the headers. 

INGREDIENTS:

Condensed milk (Milkmaid) - 1 tin
Thick curd - 2 tablespoons
Ghee - 2 tsp
Saffron - few strands
Warm milk - 1 tsp.

METHOD:

Soak saffron in a teaspoon of warm milk.

Mix condensed milk and curd in a large microwaveable glass bowl (NOT micro-safe plastic bowls) (I use borosil bowls). Microwave high for 3 minutes. Take out stir well, add saffron with milk and ghee, mix again and MW high for another 2 minutes. Take out, stir well and MW high again for 2 minutes. Give a standing time of 5 minutes and mix well.

NOTE: The timing differs depending on one's MW oven, so the mixture becomes grainy in 1 or 2 minutes extra or soon. Stir each time you take out and MW to get the desired consistency. 

Monday, November 2, 2015

NIPPATTU

NIPPATTU, HOW TO MAKE NIPPATTU, CHEKKALU

NIPPATTU, HOW TO MAKE NIPPATTU, CHEKKALU

Nippattu is a spicy and crunchy snack of Karnataka. Rayalaseema and Karnataka are famous for Nippattu. This is slightly different from Thattai of Tamil Nadu and Chekkalu of Andhra Pradesh. There are many variations of nippattus. Try this for Deepavali and enjoy the festival.

INGREDIENTS:

Rice flour - 2 cups
Skinned peanuts - 1 tablespoon
Coarsely powdered skinned peanut - 2 tablespoons
Roasted gram (Pottukadalai) - 1 tablespoon
Powdered pottukadalai (roasted gram) - 1/3 cup
Dry red chilly (coarse flakes) - 2 tablespoons
Curry leaves - few
Asafoetida - 1/8 tsp.
Salt - to taste
Oil - to deep fry

METHOD:

Powder chillies coarsely and soak in a ladle of water. Chillies can be added according  to your spice levels.

In a wide bowl mix all the ingredients, add a spoon of  hot oil and mix well. Add water little by little and knead to form a soft pliable dough.

Shape into equal sized balls. Grease a plastic sheet with oil, place a  ball in it, cover with another greased plastic sheet and press with a flat bottomed cup. Flatten it to slightly thick circles. Do not flatten it too thin. Flatten all the balls like this. You can also flatten the balls with your hand OR roll the dough to big circle and cut with a dabba lid to get even sized nippattus. 

Heat oil in a kadai, and slide the flattened balls gently in oil. Now ensure medium heat of oil. Flip on both sides and deep fry until golden brown. Drain in a paper towel. When cool store in an airtight container. 


Spicy and crunchy Nippatus are ready.