Sabudana Vada ( Sago Vada )

Preparation Time : Approximately 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 minutes

Number of Serves : 15


Ingredients.

1. Sabudana (sago) - 2 cups

2. Boiled and mashed potatoes - 4 (large)

3. Roasted peanuts - 1/2 cup (crushed)

4. Finely chopped onions - 5 (medium sized)

5. Coriander leaves - 1 bunch (medium sized)

6. Finely chopped green chillies - 6

7. Grated ginger - 1 table spoon

8. Salt - To taste

9. Oil - For deep frying


Method.

1. Soak sabudana (sago) in water for 2 hours.

2. Boil potatoes, peel the skin and mash.

3. When sago becomes soft, sqeeze out water thoroughly and transfer into a deep bowl.

4. To sago add mashed potatoes, chopped onions, chopped green chillies, grated ginger, chopped coriander leaves, roasted and crushed peanuts and salt.

5. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly.

6. Place a deep frying pan on medium flame and pour oil into it.

7. When oil becomes hot, take a lemon sized ball of the batter, flatten it and slowly immerse in oil from the side of the pan. Repeat the procedure for a few more balls of the batter. At a time, only a few vadas should be fried. The number of vadas fried should be in proportion with the oil used for deep frying.

8. Fry vadas on both sides until they turn golden brown.

9. Remove from oil, and place them on tissue paper.

10. Repeat the same procedure for rest of the vada batter.

11. Serve hot with mint chutney.

Milagu Thattai (peppered rice crackers)

Preparation time : 45 minutes

Cooking time : 45 minutes

Number of serve : 15

Ingredients :

1. Raw rice - 4 cups

2. Whole urad dal (ulundu) - 1/2 cup

3. Roasted chickpeas (pottu kadalai) - 1/2 cup

4. Cumin seeds - 2 teaspoons

5. Pepper corns -  1 tablespoon (crushed with mortar and pestle)

6. Sesame seeds (white variety) - 2 teaspoons

7. Asafodita powder - 1/2 teaspoon

8. Oil - (a) For mixing the flour - 3 table spoons

            (b) For deep frying

9. Salt - to taste

10. Hot water - enough for mixing

Method :

1. Soak raw rice in water for about an hour. Drain and dry rice on a cloth under shade. When rice becomes dry, grind it in a mixer to a fine powder. If the rice flour is coarse in texture, sieve once or twice until the final product is a fine powder

2. Place a thick bottomed pan on medium fire and add rice flour. Fry lightly so that the flour becomes dry and devoid of moisture content. Transfer flour into a big plate and cool. Now this flour is ready for making the thattais.

3. Heat the pan once again and dry roast urad dal stirring continuously. When lightly brown, transfer into another plate and cool. Then grind it in a mixer grinder to a fine powder and keep aside.

4. Grind roasted chickpeas to a fine powder and keep aside.

5. In a bowl, add 4 cups of rice flour, 1/2 a cup of urad dal powder and 1/2 a cup of chickpea flour.

6. To this add sesame seeds, cumin seeds, crushed peppercorns, asafodita powder and salt.

7. Heat 3 tablespoon of oil in a pan and add it to the flour.

8. Mix all the ingredients throughly.

9. Boil approximately 3 cups of water in a vessel. When hot, add it to flour and mix with a ladle to make a thick dough. 

10. Take a small portion of the dough and make into lemon sized ball.

11. Flatten the ball by pressing with fingers to give it a round shape.

12. Repeat the same procedure for rest of the dough.

13. Place a kadai/pan on the fire and add enough oil for deep frying.

14. When hot, transfer 4 or 5 rounds of dough into oil. When one side becomes brown, flip and cook till the other side also becomes brown. 

15. When fully done, remove from oil. Repeat the same procedure for rest of the dough. Do not fry more than 4 or 5 at a time.

16. Now thattais are ready to be served.

Aloo Bhujia

                                  

                            

     

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 40 minutes

Number Of Serves : 15

Ingredients :

1. Chickpea flour - 4 cups

2. Boiled and mashed potatoes : 6 (medium sized)

3. Red chilli powder - 3 teaspoons

4. Garam masala powder - 1 teaspoon

5. Chat masala powder - 1 teaspoon

6. Asafoetida powder : 1/2 teaspoon

7. Dried and powdered mint leaves - 3 teaspoons

8. Salt - to taste

9. Water - enough for making a soft dough.

10. Oil - 4 cups for deep frying.

Method of preparation

1. Boil potatoes, deskin and mash.

2. To the mashed potatoes, add chilli powder, garam masala powder, chat masala, asafoetida powder, dried and powdered mint leaves and mix.

3 To the above mixture, add 4 cups of chickpea flour, salt and mix thoroughly.

4. Pour enough water to make a soft dough. Small lumps that may be formed while making the dough should be removed to enable free flow of dough while passed through the bujhiya maker. 

5. Place a frying pan on medium flame and heat 4 cups of oil.

5. Into the bhujiya maker, insert the plate which has small round shaped wholes.

6. Make medium sized balls of dough. Take one portion of the dough, stretch and load it into the bhujiya maker.

7. When oil becomes hot, slowly press the bhujiya maker and spread the bhujiyas into the hot oil. When one side turns golden brown, flip and let the other side also get cooked.

8. When bhujiya is done, remove from oil and place on a tissue paper to remove excess oil.

9. Repeat the same procedure for rest of the dough.

10. When bhujiya reaches the room temperature, crumble and store in airtight container.

Konda Kadalai Sundal (Stir Fried Chana)

Cooking time : 30 minutes

Number of serves - 5

Ingredients :

1. Konda kadalai/Chana (Black and White variety) - 1 cup

2. Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

3. Split urad dal - 1/4 teaspoon

4. whole red chillies - 4

5. Curry leaves - 1 sprig

6. Freshly grated coconut - 1tablespoon

7. Asafodita powder - 1/4 teaspoon

8. Oil - 2 teaspoons

9. Salt - to taste

Method : 

1. Soak konda kadalai /chana over night in water for 8 hours.

2. Pressure cook in the same water with salt until soft. Drain water from chana and keep aside.

3. Heat a kadai/pan and add about 2 teaspoons of oil.

4. When oil is hot, add mustard and allow to splatter. Then add split urad dal, whole red chillies, asafodita powder, grated coconut and curry leaves. Keep stirring till urad dal becomes golden brown and grated coconut starts releasing its aroma.

5. Add cooked chana/kadalai and mix with rest of the ingredients.

6. Transfer the contents into a serving bowl and serve as an evening snack.

Ellu Kozukattai/Kozhukattai (Rice Dumplings Filled With A Mixture Of Toasted SesameSeeds And Jaggery)

         

                                                                Kozukattais

Step - 1

Toasted sesame seeds.

Step - 2

Sesame seeds mixed with jaggery.

Step - 3

Rice dough ready for making kozukattais.

Step - 4

Kozukattai being filled with sesame jaggery mixture.

step - 5

Kozukattais are cooked and ready to be served.

Preparation time : 30 minutes

Cooking time : 15 minutes

Number of serves : 6

Ingredients :

1. Raw rice -1 cup

2. Sesame seeds -  1/2 cup

3. Powdered jaggery - 1/2 cup

4. Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

5. Boiled water - about 2 cups

6. Salt - a pinch

7. Oil - 2 tsp

Method :

1. Soak raw rice in water for about an hour. 

    

2. Drain water, spread the rice grains on a cloth and dry under shade.

3. When rice grains are partially dry, transfer into a blender and grind to a fine powder. Pass the flour though a sieve to get rid of any coarse particles of rice.

4. Place a frying pan on medium flame and transfer the flour into it. Keep stirring the flour with a ladle till it becomes devoid of water content. Transfer flour into a plate and cool. Now this flour is ready for making kozukattais.

      

5. Again place a pan on medium flame and add sesame seeds and toast till they start crackling. Remove pan from fire and transfer the contents into a plate and cool.

6.Transfer the toasted sesame seeds into a blender and blend till the seeds are coarsely ground. Then add powdered jaggery, cardamom powder and blend once again to get a pulpy mixture. This will be the filling for the rice dumplings.

7.Take a cup of rice flour in a vessel and add a pinch of salt and 2teaspoon of oil and mix well.

8. Boil water in a container and pour it into the rice flour and mix well till it forms a thick dough.

9. Take a lemon sized portion of rice mixture and spread it on a plastic sheet.

10. Place a teaspoon of sesame jaggery mixture in the middle and cover it by folding the rice mixture. Stick the ends by pressing with fingers.Repeat the same procedure for the rest of the dough. Now the dumplings are ready for steaming.

                            

11. Steam the dumplings in a steamer for about 10 minutes.

12.  Remove dumplings and transfer into a serving bowl.

                                         

           

Variation :

Sesame seeds stuffing can be replaced with any other stuffing.

              

Pooran Poli

 Ingredients :

  

For Pooran (Filling) :

                              

1. Chana dal ( chickpeas ) - 1 cup

2. Grated coconut - 1/4 cup

3. Powdered cardamom - 1/4 teaspoon

4. Powdered jaggery - 3/4 cup

5. Ghee ( clarified butter ) - 1 tablespoon

For making Poli dough :

                           

1. Refined flour - 3/4 cup

2.  Wheat flour - 3/4 cup

3. Refined oil - 1 tbsp (for mixing dough ) and enough oil for making polis

                                                                                                   

4. Water - for mixing dough

Method :

1. Mix refined flour and wheat flour with a tbsp of oil. Make a soft dough with enough water and keep aside covered.

2. Pressure cook chana dal with enough water. When dal is cooked, drain water and cool.

3. When cool, blend it in a blender to a fine paste with 1/4 tsp of cardamom powder.

                           

4. Place a thick bottomed shallow pan on medium flame and add ghee.

5. When ghee becomes hot, add grated coconut and sauté till it starts to give out it's flavour.

6. Then add chana dal paste and keep stirring till the whole mixture thickens and forms a lump. Cool.

7.  Pooran is ready for stuffing.

8. Take a lemon sized dough, and roll it with a rolling pin to give it a small round shape.

9. Place about 11/2teaspoon of  pooran in the middle and close it and once again roll it out into big round. Use wheat flour while rolling out to avoid dough sticking on to the rolling board.

10. Place chapatti pan on the medium flame and place the rolled out dough on the pan.

11. Reduce the flame and cook on both sides by smearing oil  till the polis are golden brown.

                                  

12. Repeat the same procedure for rest of the dough.

13. Enjoy eating this Pooran poli with ghee smeared on it.

Pidi Kozukattai

                                                                                                                                                               

This dish is usually prepared on auspicious days like ganesh chathurthi and varalakshmi viradham. Even though there are several ways of preparing this dish, I have found this method to be the easiest.

Preparation time : 10 minutes

Cooking time : 20 minutes

Ingredients :

1. Coarsly broken raw rice flour - 1 cup

2. Powdered jaggery - 3/4 cup

3. Ground cardamom powder 1/4 tsp

4. Ghee / Clarified butter - 1 tbsp

5. Water - about 3 cups

         

Method :

1. Place a thick bottomed vessel on the burner and heat about half a cup of water.

2. When water starts boling, add powdered jaggery and bring it to boil. Switch off the burner and pass the jaggery liquid through a sieve to filter the dust particles. Keep it aside.

3. Place a pan on medium flame and add ghee. When ghee is hot, add the coarsely broken rice flour and roast it for a while. When the mixture of ghee and flour start to give out their aroma, switch off the burner. Transfer into a plate and cool.

4. Boil about 21/2 cups of water in the same pan. When water starts to boil, slowly start adding the flour into water and keep stirring with a ladle while doing so.

5. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on low fire. Stir it once or twice to avoid the flour sticking to the bottom of the pan.

6. If required, 1/2 a cup of boiled water can be added to it. When fully cooked, it should be of Upma consistency.

7. Add the jaggery liquid and cardamom powder. Mix thoroughly and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes.

8. Remove from fire and transfer into a big plate and cool.

9. Take lemon sized portion of the dough in the palm of the hand and slightly press with folded fingers. The impression of the fingers should fall on the dough.

10. Repeat the same procedure with rest of the dough.