Rava Kesari or Sooji ka Halwa

This is one of the easiest , fastest and tastiest sweets to make. Kesari gets it's name from the word Kesar which means Saffron.

Ingredients Required:

• Rava - 1 cup
• Sugar - 2 cups
• Water - 2 cups
• Ghee - 3/4 cup
• Cashewnuts - a few
• Saffron - a few strings (soak in a tbsp of milk)
• Raisins - a few
• Orange/Red food colour - 2 drops (mix in a tsp of milk)
• Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Cooking Method:

• Add 1 tbsp of ghee in a frying pan


• Add rava to the pan and roast until golden brown.


• Boil 2 cups of .


• Take a heavy bottomed pan and add water and then add roasted rava to this, all of this in medium flame stove.


• Mix constantly so that rava does not form balls.


• Add sugar to this and stir continously.


• Add food color to this after mixing in a tsp of milk.


• Add the saffron soaked in milk.


• Slowly start adding ghee little by little and stir until the mixture solidifies.


• Add cardamom powder, stir again and switch off the flame.


• Add chopped cashew nuts and raisins fried in ghee.


• Serve hot.


• If kids like it, you can even pour this on a plate and cut into their desired shapes.
  

Thenga Burfi or Coconut Burfi

I like this sweet personally because it needs very less amount of ghee and the ingredients required are mostly readily available at home and the time it takes to prepare is minimal.

Ingredients Required:

• Fresh grated coconut - 1 cup (I always prefer the fresh one, but if you do not have it you can use the frozen one or even the coconut powder)
• Sugar - 1 cup
• Cardamom powder 1/4 tsp
• Ghee - 1 tbsp

Cooking Method:

• Take a nice pan that is heavy at the bottom.
• Add sugar and a little water and wait until the sugar dissolves.
• Add the grated coconut to this and mix well.
• Keep stirring for a while in medium or slow flame.
• Add cardomom powder.
• Keep stirring until the mixture dries up.
• Grease a nice plate with ghee.
• Add the mixture prepared above and spread it or shake the plate until the mixture spreads evenly.
• Cut into diamond shaped pieces after letting it cool for 10 min. Make sure the knife used for cutting is also greased with ghee.

Vellai Appam

Ingredients Required:

• Raw rice-2 cups
• Udad dhal : 1/2 cup
• Salt-According to taste
• Green Chillies - 2-3 cut into small pieces
• Ginger - 3/4 inch Grated finely
• Baking soda -Just a pinch
• Oil to fry

Cooking Method:

• Soak rice and udad dhal together for 2 hours.
• Grind in the grinder like grinding for medu vada.
• Add green chillies and grated ginger to this mixture.
• Add salt and baking soda.
• Add oil in pan and heat in medium flame.
• Make small balls out of the batter and fry in oil.
• Turn over and fry again.
• Serve hot with any tomato onion chutney or ketchup.

Akkaravadisal

This receipe is posted as requested by brother-in-law, this is for you Bharath :-)

Akkaravadisal is a typical Iyengar receipe. People often think that sakara pongal are the same. Read more and you will find the difference :-)


Ingredients Required:

• Rice - 1 cup


• Whole Milk - 5 cups


• Moong dhal or greem gram dhal - 1/4 cup


• Chana Dhal - 1 tbsp


• 1 cup grated jaggery or you can use Sugar or Kalkandu


• Ghee - 1/2 cup (Yes this is the full fat version :-)


• cashew,raisins - A few


• Saffron Strings - About 10


• Cardamom pdr-1 tsp
  

Cooking Method:

• Lightly roast moong dhal and rice.
• Add saffron string to this.
• Place the above in cooker for pressure cooking after adding 5 cups of milk.
• Do not add water as milk will be used instead.
• Remove from cooker and mash it up nicely.
• Add jaggery and stir until the mixture solidifies.
• Add cardamom powder.
• Fry Cashews and raisins in all of the ghee and add to the above.
• Serve hot with extra ghee.

Pal Gova (Microwave method)/ Doodh koya (sweet)

With Diwali just coming up you can add 1 more easy receipe to your list of sweets that you plan on making and that too just in 5-6 min, you can have nice yummy pal gova ready.

Ingredients Required:

• Condensed milk - 1 can
• Curd - 1 tbsp
• Ghee - 2 tbsp

Cooking Method:

• Open the can of condensed milk and empty in a microwavable glass container ( I prefer glass to plastic always as glass is always safer).
• Now add 1tbsp of curd to the condensed milk.
• Stir well and keep it in the microwave for 2 min
• Remove and stir again.
• Add 2tbsp of ghee to this and microwave again for 3 min.
• Remove from microwave and check the consistency, if very loose, keep in microwave for a min or 2 again .
• Serve hot with some nice bajjis :-) or mixture.

Badusha - Diwali special

Ingredients required:

• Maida - 2 cups (You can use Allpurpose flour for this too)
• Baking soda - 1 tsp
• Curd - 1 cup (Use Danon's plain yogurt if you are in US)
• Ghee or Dalda - 1 cup ( I personally prefer ghee as it tastes better :-)
• Vanilla essense - Just a few drops
• Oil to fry the badushas.
• Sugar - 3 cups
• Water - 1 - 1 1/2 cups

Cooking Method:

• Blend together Maida, curd, baking soda , a pinch of sugar and ghee(or dalda) with a blender or with your hands to make a nice dough.
• Keep this aside for about 15 minutes covered with a cloth.
• Make small balls out of the dough and press or flatten them.
• Press the centre of the above flattened balls so that it forms a depression. This will help the badusha to absorb sugar better.
• Now prepare sugar syrub by adding sugar and water in a bowl and heating it. Add the vanilla essence to this.
• Let it boil until you get the consistency of one string (Pagu should be 1 string pagu).
• Now heat oil in a pan and start frying the badushas.
• Pl note that the flame should be in medium or sim, otherwise the badushas will not cook properly.
• Wait until the badusha turns golden brown. It does take time as you are setting the flame to medium or sim.
• Now add the badusha into the sugar syrup and let it abosrb sugar for about 10 min.
• Take out the badusha and place in a large plate.

You can garnish the above with coconut strings or tutty-fruitty or other nuts.

Ukkarai Receipe

Ukkarai is a sweet that we definitely make for diwali. It is really tasty and here is the receipe for it. Enjoy!!

Ingredients Required:

• 1/2 kg Bengal gram or kadala paruppu
• Ghee - 6tbsp
• Jaggery - 400 to 500 gms
• Cahewnut - a handful cut into small pieces
• Cardamom seeds - 4-5 finely powdered
• Salt - a pinch
• 1 cup of water

Cooking Method:

• Soak the kadala paruppu or chana dhal in water for 2-3 hours.
• Clean and drain the water.
• Now grind this into a thick paste with very very little water.
• Add jaggery in a pan, add some water and prepare a syrup thick (but not too thick, just 1thread in consistency).
• Add the ground paste and keep stirring.
• Add ghee little by little until the mixture does not stick to the pan.
• Add cardamom powder.
• Add cashew nuts.
• Try to hold a little of ukkarai in hand and it should not stick to your hand when pressed.
• Serve hot or cold as desired.

Onion Poha (Kandhe chi pohe)

Ingredients Required:

• Beaten rice or Poha - 2 cups
• Onion - 2
• Green chillies - 2-3
• Potato - 1
• Green peas - A handful
• Oil - 3 tbsp
• Salt - According to taste
• Mustard seeds - tsp
• Urad dhal - 1 tsp
• Groundnuts or peanuts - a handful
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - a few
• Coriander leaves - chopped finely
• Lemon juice - from 1 medium sized lemon

Cooking Method:

• Place poha in strainer and wash it nicely.
• Keep this aside.
• In a pan add oil, add mustard seeds, urad dhal, groundnut (pea nuts) curry leaves, green chillies , turmeric powder.
• Once these are fried add chopped onions, potatoes and fry for some more time in sim heat.
• If necessary close the above and keep for the potatoes and onion to cook well.
• Add poha, salt and stir for a few minutes. Cover the pany with the lid for a few minutes and reduce heat.
• Boil the green peas in water until soft or microwave until soft
• Add this also to the poha. You may wish not to add green peas.
• Remove the lid, and add coriander leaves and lemon juice and serve hot.

Aval Puttu (Beaten rice, Poha )

It is considered very auspicious to prepare puttu on Navarathri friday and distribute it to women who come and see Golu. This Aval Puttu is so simple to make and just can be prepared in 1/2 hour . You will like it so much that you will start making this frequently even not during Navarathri days. Children will love to eat this as an evening snack.

Ingredients Required:
Poha or aval - 2 cups
Jaggery - 1 cup
Cashews - 10-12
Raisins - 10-12
Cardamom - 2-3(powdered)


Cooking Method:

• Fry Poha in a pan until golden brown. Remember to keep stirring else, it will become black.
  
• Heat water in a bowl separately.


• While heating water grind the fried poha in the mixie so that it is in the consistency of fine rava.


• Transfer poha to a large plate.


• Add hot water slowly and start mixing poha and water. Do not put too much water. Poha will start absorbing water and try to separate it out in such a way that it forms crumbs.


• Let this settle for sometime.


• Take a pan and put the jaggery and a little water and start making a thick syrup (pagu).


• Now add the poha to the jaggery and start stirring until it solidfies. Initally it will appear to look like liquid. But keep stirring and as soon as all the water is absorbed, you will find puttu well mixed in jaggery syrup which will appear in powder form.


• Now add Cardomom powder to this.


• Fry cashew and raisins in ghee and add to the puttu.


• Let is cool for sometime and serve .

Karamani Sundal (kidney beans white small)

Ingredients Required:

Karamani (chowli or white small kidney beans) - 2 cups
Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dhal - 1 tsp
Salt - According to taste
Red Chillies - 2 or 3
Green chillies - 1 or 2
Curry Leaves - a few
Coriander leaves - a little
Grated Coconut - half a coconut or 4 tbsp
Asafoetida - just a pinch

Cooking Method :

• Soak the kideney beans for half hour in water.
  
• Wash the soaked beans in water.


• Pressure cook the beans adding water and just keep for 3 whistles.


• Strain away the water in a strainer.


• Add oil in frying pan and add mustard seeds, urad dhal, slit green chillies, red chillies broken into 2-3 pieces, asafoetida.


• Add curry leaves and stir fry again.


• Add the cooked beans and stir again for a few minutes.


• Add salt to taste.


• Add some grated coconut and add coriander leaves.


• Serve hot or pack it for Vethalai pakku :-)

Pattani sundal(green peas sundal)

Ingredients Required:

• Green Peas - 2 cups
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
• Urad Dhal - 1 tsp
• Salt - According to taste
• Red Chillies - 2 or 3
• Curry Leaves - a few
• Coriander leaves - a little
• Grated Coconut - half a coconut or 4 tbsp
• Asafoetida - just a pinch

Cooking Method :

• Soak green peas overnight to be ready the following day.
• Wash the soaked peas in water.
• Pressure cook the green peas adding water and salt and just keep for 3 whistles. Adding salt will prevent it from getting mashed up.
• Strain away the water in a strainer.
• Add oil in frying pan and add mustard seeds, urad dhal, red chillies broken into 2-3 pieces, asafoetida.
• Add curry leaves and stir fry again.
• Add the cooked green peas and stir again for a few minutes.
• Add some grated coconut and add coriander leaves.
• Add some more salt if required as we strained away the water after the peas were cooked.
• Serve hot or pack it for Vethalai pakku :-)

Kadala Paruppu Sundal ( Chana dhal sundal)

Ingredients Required:

Channa Dhal - 1 cup
Salt - 1/2 TO 3/4 tsp
Green chillies - 2 or 3 (slit and cut into small pieces)
Curry leaves to garnish
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Udad dhal - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tablespoons
Grated coconut - 4 tablespoons
Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Cooking Method:

• Wash the channa dhal in water.


• Pressure cook in the cooker. This is very important. The water kept for pressure cooking should be just so much that it dips the dhal. Keep only for 2 whistles.


• Filter out excess water and let it remain in the strainer.


• In a frying pan add oil and fry the mustard seeds, curry leaves , asafoetida, udad dhal , asafoetida and green chillies.


• Add the strained dhal andd stir for a few minutes.


• Add salt and stir again.


• Finally add grated coconut .


• Hot sundal is ready for a snack or for vethalai pakku :-)


• This is really a very healthy protein rich snack.

Kothu Kadalai (Kabuli chana)Sundal - Navarathri receipes

Ingredients Required:

Chick Peas - 2 cups
Fresh coconut - half (if not available, you can use grated coconut which is readily available or the dry coconut powder)
Salt - According to taste
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dhal - 1/2 tsp
Green Chillies - 3
Asafoetida - a pinch
Curry Leaves
Oil - 2 tablespoons

Cooking Method:

• Soak the chick peas one night before in water. Make sure you have enough water because chick peas absorb a lot of water.


• Pressure cook this in the cooker after cleaning a couple of times and after adding some salt.


• Fiter out the water.


• Pour 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, urad dhal, green chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida.


• Add the cooked chick peas and fry for a few minutes with constant stirring.


• Add the coconut (grated) and mix well. Add some more salt if necessary. Cook for a few more min .


• Hot yummy sundal is ready to be packed and given to people who visit your golu or ready to be eaten as a snack.

Sakara Pongal (Sweet Pongal)

Sakara pongal is my favourite. I make this whenever I have to make any prasadam for god. It is easy to prepare and very very yummy to taste.

Ingredients Required:

Rice - 1 cup
Moong dhal - 1/4 cup
Jaggery - 2 cups
Ghee - As much needed
Cashews and Raisins - As much as needed.
Milk - 2 cups
Saffron- 5 - 6 strands
Cardamom seeds - 1 little

Cooking Method:

• Add rice, moong dhal, 2 cups milk, 1 1/2 cups of water, saffron and pressure cook this. Wait for 3-4 whistles.
• Meanwhile grate the jaggery .
• Fry the cashews and raisins in ghee and keep it separately.
• After the rice is done, take a pan and add jaggery to it. Add a little bit of water and start stirring this mixture until pagu comes or until the mixture thickens. Make sure it is not too thick too.
• Add the rice mixture which was cooked to this and constantly keep stirring until it becoems thick.
• Every few minutes add some ghee. I do not add much ghee. I personally feel that ghee can be added by people who need it while Sakara pongal is being served.
• Add Cardamom seeds powder to this.
• Add Cashews and serve hot.

PS: Some filks in tamilnadu prefer to add pachai karpooram (camphor) at last. This really makes the receipe even mosre tasty.

Venn Pongal

Pongal is a tamil receipe and is very tasty. In the month of December (Margazhi masam), people prepare pongal almost everyday early in the morning and offer it to god. In hotels pongal is offered with coconut chutney and sambar. It really tastes good. You can even make gothsu for this which I will cover later.

Ingredients Required:

• Rice - 1 cup
• Moong dal (Passi paruppu) - Qaurter cup
• Ginger Fresh - 1' - 1 1/2 ' inch piece chopped finely
• Salt - As per your taste
• Pepper(black) - 2 teaspoons or
• Pepper powder (1 tea spoon)
• Cumin seeds(Jeera) - 2 teaspoons
• Pinch of Hing or asafoetida
• Lot of Cashews
• Some curry leaves
• Ghee - as per your wish (the more the better tatse :-)

Cooking method:

• Cook rice and moong dhal together in the pressure cooker.
• Add extra water as pongal is supposed to be like a paste rather than regular rice.
• Fry Cumin seeds, Ginger , curry leaves , hing & pepper (or pepper powder)in ghee.
• Mix the above with the cooked rice and dhal.
• Add salt to taste.
• Add fried curry leaves
• Add fried cashews to serve as a garnish.
• Serve really hot pongal with nice coconut chutney and sambar.
• Serve more ghee to people who like it :-)

Puli (tamarind paste) Upma

Ingredients required:

• Rice Flour - 2 cups
• 4 red chillies
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1 tablespoon udad dhal
• Pinch of Asafoetida
• 2 green chillies if required
• Curry leaves
• Salt to taste Big
• Lemon sized measure of tamarind

Cooking Method:

Soak the tamarind in 2 cups of water and get out all the essense. Add the salt to this water. Add the 2 cups of rice flour and mix them into a nice paste.Add 5 tablespoons of oil in the fryingpan or kadai and fry the mustard seeds and Udad dhal. Add the green chillies and the red chillies and fry them all together. Add some curry leaves. Now add the paste prepared above and start stirring this in the pan , until the mixture is well cooked. Simmer the stove and let it cook for some more time , close the pan in order for the mixture to cook well. Serve hot in a nice plate. If necessary you can add a little coconut oil at the end to make it taste better.

Rava(Semolina) Upma

Ingredients required :

• Rava (Semolina) - cup
• 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
• 1 tsp Urad Daal
• 1 piece Ginger grated
• 1 chopped Onion
• 3 Green Chillies slit sideways
• Salt to taste
• 4-5 tablespoons Oil
• Curry leaves and Coriander leaves to garnish

Cooking Method:

• Roast the rava in a dry pan without the color changing, remove and cool.
• Peel and chop onion and ginger fine.
• Cut the green chillies.
• Boil water.
• Heat oil, fry the mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves.
• Add the green chillies , onion, ginger and fry for a few minutes.
• Pour 4 cups water and bring to boil.
• When the water starts boiling, add the rava in a flow.
• Stir continuously to avoid lumps of rava.
• Cook for a few more minutes stirring all the while.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with chutney or sugar.

Note: Cashew nuts can be added if required. Fry them and add them to the upma and add some ghee for better taste if required.

Batata Wada

Ingredients

• Potato - 1/2 kg


• Besan - 200 gms


• Salt to taste


• Pinch of baking soda


• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder


• Coriander leaves - finely chopped


• 1 piece of ginger


• Few cloves of garlic (5-6)


• Oil to fry

Cooking Method:

• Make a batter from Besan, baking soda and salt . The batter should be esily flowing.


• Boil the potatoes


• Mash them up and keep aside.


• Add ginger, garlic and chillies finely chopped.


• Add salt to the above and mix with the potatoes along with the turmeric.


• Slow heat oil in a pan .


• Make little balls from the potato mixture.


• Now dip them in the batter prepared and fry these balls in oil until golden in colour.


• Place them on a paper towel to strain off extra oil.


• Serve hot potato wadas with PAV and mirchi chutney or just the wadas with Tomato ketchup or green chutney.