Pulihora (Tamarind Rice)

Ingredients:

Ponni rice- 2 cups
Tamarind pulp-4 tablespoons
Green chillies-4
Curry leaves-a few
Gram dal- 1 teaspoon
Urad dal-1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds-1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds-1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder- 1 teaspoon
Salt-2 teaspoons
Dry chillies-4
Ground nuts or peanuts-2 tablespoons
Grated jaggery-1 teaspoon (optional)
Asafotida- a pinch
Oil-3 tablespoons


Method:


1. Cook two cups of ponni rice (not too soft) with 5 cups of water. Allow it to cool and add ½ a teaspoon of turmeric powder, one teaspoon of salt, fresh curry leaves and one tablespoon of oil.
2. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a vessel and add the dry chillies, urad dal, gram dal, ground nuts or peanuts, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, a pinch of hing or asafotida, slitted green chillies, a few curry leaves, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon salt and fry until a nice aroma spreads.
3. Add tamarind pulp, grated jaggery and boil it on a low flame until the oil separates from the sides.
4. Now add this to the rice and mix well.
5. Keep it covered for ten minutes till all the spices have been absorbed by the rice and serve.

Chema Dumpala Pulusu

Ingredients:

Taro roots (chema dumpalu)-10 to 12
Chopped onions (ullipayalu)-2
Green chillies (pachi mirapakayalu) cut into halves-4
Dry red chilli powder or endu karam-1 teaspoon
Salt (uppu) to taste
Tamarind pulp (chintha pandu gujju)-2 table spoons
Garam masala-1 teaspoon
Ginger-garlic paste (allam-vellulli mudda)-1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder (pasupu)-a pinch
Oil (nune)-2 tablespoons

Seasoning Ingredients:

Red dry chilly pieces (endu mirapakayalu)-4
Urad dal (minapa pappu)-1/2 teaspooon
Gram dal (pachi sanaga pappu)-1/2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds (jeelakarra)-1/4 teaspoon
Mustard seeds (aavalu)-1/4 teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds or menthulu-1/4 teaspoon
Curry leaves (karivepaku)-a few

Chema dumpalu or Taro roots…

Method:

1. Wash and boil the taro roots till they become soft enough to peel off.
2. Let them cool and peel off the skin, Cut into pieces.
3. Heat the oil in a pan and add red dry chilli pieces, urad dal, gram dal and fenugreek seeds.
4. Let them fry until they turn brown and add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and curry leaves.
5. Add the chopped onions, green chillies, ginger-garlic paste and fry them until they become transparent.
6. Now add the cut taro pieces and fry for two minutes.
7. Add the turmeric powder, chilly powder, salt and tamarind pulp.
8. Cook them on a low flame, after adding two cups of water, for five minutes.
9. When it attains desired thickness, add garam masala and cook for 1-2 minutes.
10. Turn off the stove and serve it with plain rice. You can replace the garam masala powder with sambar powder for a variation.

Ravva Kesari (Sooji Halwa)

Ingredients:

Sooji-1 cup
Sugar-1 ¼ cup
Water-3 cups
Ghee-3 tablespoons
Cashew nuts-4-6
Cardomam powder-a pinch
Lemon food colouring-4 drops

Method:

1. Heat one tablespoon of ghee in a pan and fry the cashew nuts on a medium flame until they turn brown in colour.
2. Keep them aside and fry the sooji in the same pan until it turns light brown in colour.
3. Transfer the sooji into a plate and add three cups of water and sugar.
When the water starts boiling, add lemon food colouring and lower the flame.
4. Add the sooji and stir continuously to make sure that lumps are not formed.
Add the cardomam powder and the remaining two tablespoons of ghee.
5. Stir well and once the kesari is done, transfer it into a greased plate.
Cut them into desired shapes and garnish with cashew nuts on top.

Happy Sree Rama Navami!

On Sree Rama Navami, we make panakam, vada pappu and pulihora (tamarind rice) or mango rice. Bhadrachalam has a famous Rama Temple which is close to our place. For more details, please visit the following site:

http://temples.newkerala.com/Temples-of-India/Bhadrachalam-Sri-Rama-Temple-Temples-of-Andhra-Pradesh.html

Panakam:

Add a pinch of black pepper powder, one crushed cardomam (optional) and four tablespoons of grated jaggery to two glasses of water and mix thoroughly.

Vada pappu:




Soak 1 cup of splitted moong dal (without skin) in water for fifteen minutes. Remove the water from the dal and add four tablespoons of grated jaggery to the dal. Mix it well.

Mango Rice



Cook two cups of ponni rice with 5 cups of water and let it cool. Heat three tablespoons of oil in a vessel and add the dry chillies, gram dal, urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds each of one teaspoon. Fry them until they turn light brown in colour and add curry leaves, four slitted green chillies, one teaspoon of turmeric powder, a pinch of hing, one cup of grated mango and cook it on a medium flame. Add one teaspoon of sugar and one tablespoon of salt. Turn off the stove and add this to the rice and mix it well. Mango rice is ready now…

Kakarakaya Karam (Bitter Gourd fry)

I am going to share my mother-in-law’s bitter gourd recipe with you.

This is my submission for ‘The Vegetable of the week’ hosted by Pooja of http://creativepooja.blogspot.com/2008/02/vegetable-of-week-with-some-revised.html#rules


Ingredients:

Bitter gourds-5
Curry leaves-a few
Garlic-4 cloves
Red chilli powder-1 tablespoon
Salt-1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder-a pinch
Oil-4 tablespoons

Method:

1. Wash and cut the bitter gourds into thin rings and put them in salt water for ten minutes.
2. Grind the garlic cloves, curry leaves, salt and chilli powder into a course paste.
3. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the bitter gourd pieces on a medium flame until they turn brown in colour.
4. Add the grinded paste and turmeric powder and fry it for 1-2 minutes on a low flame.
5. Turn off the stove and serve it with hot rice with rasam or sambar. Kakarakaya karam keeps for one week, if we store it in a dry air tight container.

Ugadi Subhakankshalu

Happy New Year to Kannadigans, Maharastrians and Sindhis too!

The Telugu people celebrate the festival with great fanfare; gatherings of the extended family and a sumptuous feast are de rigueur. The day, however, begins with ritual showers (oil bath) followed by prayers, and then the eating of a specific mixture of -
Neem Buds/Flowers for Bitter
Raw Mango for Tangy
Tamarind Juice for Sour
Green Chilli for Hot
Jaggery for Sweet
Pinch of Salt for Salt
This mixture with all six tastes, called "Ugadi Pachhadi" in Telugu symbolizes the fact that life is a mixture of different experiences (sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise), which should be accepted together and with equanimity. Later, people traditionally gather to listen to the recitation of the religious almanac (Panchangam) of the coming year, and to the general forecast of the year to come. Ugadi celebrations are marked by literary discussions, poetry recitations and recognition of authors of literary works through awards and cultural programs.
For more details, please visit the following web site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugadi


Ugadi Pachadi

Ingredients:

Raw mango-1
Neem flowers-1 tablespoon
Tamarind pulp-1 teaspoon
Salt-a pinch
Red chilli powder-a pinch
Grated jaggery-1 teaspoon


Method:

1. Wash the mango and cut it into small pieces.
2. Wash the neem flowers carefully and keep it aside.
3. Chop the chilli into small pieces.
4. Take a big bowl and add the mango pieces, neem flowers, chilli powder, tamarind pulp, salt and jaggery.
5. Mix well. Now the ugadi pachadi is ready…

Dosa with Sooji and Urad Dal

Dosa…everybody’s favourite from children to elders. I have observed so many Non-Indians enjoying dosas in Indian restaurants. Usually for ravva dosa, we mix sooji, rice flour and maida. But I came to know of a different ravva dosa through a friend which is made with sooji and urad dal…it tasted so yummy and crispy... Now let's see how to make it…:)



This is my submission for Dosa Mela hosted by Srivalli of
http://cooking4allseasons.blogspot.com/2008/03/announcing-dosa-mela-with-celebration.html


Ingredients:

Sooji or Bombay ravva-3 cups
Urad dal or black gram-1 cup
Green chillies-3
Ginger-a small piece
Grated carrot-2 cups
Chopped coriander-2 tablespoons
Cumin seeds-1 teaspoon
Salt-1 tablespoon
Oil-1 cup

Method:

1. Soak the urad dal for three hours and wash it thoroughly.
2. Grind it with ginger, cumin seeds, green chillies and salt into a smooth paste and transfer into a big bowl.
3. Wash the sooji with water and add it to the batter.
4. Mix the ingredients into a thick batter by adding a little water if necessary and keep it aside for 3-4 hours.
5. Heat the dosa pan on a medium flame and pour a ladle of batter.
6. Spread the batter into a circle and add one tablespoon of oil to the edge of the circle.
7. Add one tablespoon of grated carrot and chopped coriander leaves on the top of the dosa.
8. Heat it until the edge of dosa comes up or till the dosa turns light brown in colour.
9. Fold the dosa into half and transfer it to a plate.
10. Serve hot with any pickle or chutney of your choice. I served it with ginger pickle and sambar.