30 3rd Blog Anniversary

Padma's Recipes celebrates its "3rd Blog Anniversary" today(November 26th). On this very special day which is for me and my blog, I wish to thank all of you my readers and friends for following and encouraging me from day one until now( and to show the same in future :D). Your kind words as well as compliments are always welcome as they enlighten me and give me the energy to share my passion to you all. On this day I am not posting anything but just want to thank each one of you for your support again. Thank you so much! 
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11 BREAD HALWA

Bread Halwa/ Pudding


I Know recently that I have not been very active in posting/blogging/blog hopping, reason being many  ( kids busy schedule, get togethers). Will be back in action soon. But, today did not want to miss posting anything as it is my Wedding Anniversary. Though I did not make this sweet today, just felt like posting a sweet which I had prepared few weeks back.
This is a very simple sweet that can be prepared in a jiffy or when you feel there is some unused bread at home that had to be consumed very soon. Can prepare it when you have unexpected guests as the time for preparation is very very less compared to other halwas.

Ingredients:-
Bread Slices - around 10 to 12( Use unsalted bread or plain bread)
Milk - 3 cups
Sugar - 1 cup( more or less as desired)
Ghee - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - 2 pinch
Cashew pieces - few
Almonds/Pista - few crushed(optional for crunchness)


 
Remove the crust of the slices and tear into small pieces.
Heat ghee in a pan and add cashew pieces, when lightly brown remove and keep aside. 



In the same remaining ghee add bread slices and fry till golden brown and crisp. 
(An other form of frying is remove the crust and apply butter or ghee and shallow fry on tawa or in a toaster and then cut or break into pieces. OR can fully deep fry in ghee for super taste :D) 

Immediately add milk and reduce flame. Let it to boil and cook. Wait till the bread is soft and melted. Add in more milk if it thickens or if not add sugar and cook. Wait for 5 minutes, also add cardamom powder and crushed almonds and pista. Mix well. Finally add fried cashew pieces. Mix and serve.
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16 NAVRANG MIXTURE / Mixed dhal/lentil Mixture


Navrang/ Navadhanya/ Mixed Dhal/lentil/Pappu/Paruppu Mixture



For this Diwali I made Rawa Laddoo, Milk Peda, Murukku, Ragi Murukku and Navrang Mixture. Navrang(9 Colors) mixture is nothing but a mix of of mixed/multi dhals/ lentils soaked seperately, dried and then deep fried. Then mixed with some spices and served. This can be stored in an air tight container for longer use. I prepared all the sweets and snacks in large quantity and distributed to my friends staying nearby and faraway places. My friends after tasting and liking all of them were praising particularly for this navrang mixture and their immediate request was to post it soon in my blog.



 


I used different types of dhals/ lentils and soaked. Later dried it up by spreading and then deep fried each seperately in small batches until crispy. Quantity can use any of these as per your requirement. To make in small batch can soak each of these by using a handful or by cup measurement use 1/4th cup of each




Dhals/Lentils that I used
Green Gram Dhal /Pasi Paruppu / Moong dhal
Green Whole Moong/ Pasi payiru
Dry Peas( Vatana) / B(P)attaani
Cow Peas/ Black Eyed Peas / Karamani
Red Chori / Thatta Payuru
Raw Peanuts
Channa / Konda Kadalai / Garbanzo Beans
Whole Masoor
Rajma / Kidney Beans


For seasoning/mixing:-
Salt, pepper powder, chilli powder, black salt( few pinch), chat masala( few sprinkles) - all as needed or per taste


Rinse and soak Whole Moong, Dry Peas, Black Eyed Peas, Red Chori, Channa, Whole Masoor and Rajma seperately for 6 - 8 hours or overnight.
Soak Moong dhal for one hour.
Next drain the water from alland spread each seperately in a cloth or plate to dry them out to loose out moisture.
Heat oil for deep frying and add each one of them in small batches( I added each variety seperately in small batches as each of them takes different cooking time) and deep fry till crispy until the sizzling sound stops. Remove and transfer to a mixing bowl.
As for precaution I used splatter screen just to avoid any popping and splashing out which I faced for some of them. So be careful in frying. Also wait for the oil to heat before you add in the next batch for frying.



 


Remove everything and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add salt, chilli powder, pepper powder, black salt and chat masala. Mix well and allow it to cool. Store in a air tight container and serve and when needed.
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12 Happy Diwali!!!

Wishing you all a very Happy Diwali/Deepavali. Enjoy the Festival of lights with lots of sweets and savouries with Family and Friends. Stay safe.



Here is my Diwali Platter



Wishes
Padma from Padma's Recipes
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6 DIWALI RECIPES - Sweets and Snacks

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5 ATHALAKKAI IN TAMARIND GRAVY

Athalakkai or Kaasara Kaaya in Tamarind Gravy/ Puli Kuzhambu / Pulusu

Athalakkai in Tamil(Momordica cymbalaria- botanical name) / Kaasara Kaaya in Telugu, Karsikayi in Kannada, Kattupaval in
Malayalam and in Marathi it is known asKadavanchi, Kuduhunchi.


Athalakkai looks very similar to small bittergourd but, both are very different in shape and taste. These are less bitter in
taste. South Indian recipes like Poriyal(stir fry), fry, pulikulambu( tamarind gravy) and vadagam can be prepared with this vegetable. Check this wikipedia link to know more about this vegetable here.




I had posted making Athalakkai Vathal here. You can use that vathal after frying in oil as a condiment with rice or use in curries or gravies. Can make this puli kuzhambu /pulusu/ Tamarind gravy using fresh and or dry vathal. Tastes good with rice.

At my house this gravy / kuzhambu / pulusu are made in 2 ways( Both Mom's recipes):-

The first method:-

Athalakkai - Fresh or dry vathal a handful
Small onions - 5 or 6
Sambar powder - 2 tbsp
Tamarind - one small lime size(soak in water and extract pulp)
Coconut - 1 cup grated
Oil(preferably gingelly oil) - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - few count
Urad dhal dhal - few count
Curry Leaves - few count
Garlic - 3 or 4 flakes
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Jaggery - a small piece

Heat 1 1/2 tbsp of oil and add athalakkai. Fry till they pop out and crisp. Do not let it to darken. Add tamarind pulp and sambar powder. Allow it to boil. Reduce flame and let it to cook for 10 - 12 minutes.
In the meantime grind coconut with garlic and cumin seeds. Add this paste along with salt and turmeric powder. Allow it to cook till the raw smell leaves. In a different small pan heat the remaining oil and add mustard seeds, urd dhal and curry leaves. Once the splutter out add the small onions(roughly chopped) and fry till brown. Next pour it on the gravy and mix well. Serve with rice.




Second method:-

Athalakkai - Fresh or dry vathal a handful
Small onions - 10 to 12(roughly chopped) or red onion - 2 medium chopped fine
Tomato - 2 small chopped fine
Tamarind - one small lime size(soak in water and extract pulp)
Coconut grated - 1 cup
Sambar powder - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Jaggery - a small piece
Mustard seeds - few count
Urad dhal - few count
Curry leaves - one sprig
Asafoetida - 2 to 3 pinch
Oil - 2 tbsp( preferably gingelly oil)


Heat oil add athalakkai fry till they are cooked or if using dry vathal fry till they pop out and crisp but not darkened.

Remove and keep aside. In the same oil or add if needed more add mustard seeds, urad dhal, curry leaves, asafoetida - wait till it pops out and add chopped onions. Fry till golden brown and add chopped tomatoes. Mash and cook till pulpy and oil floats on top. Add tamarind pulp along with sambar powder and turmeric powder. Allow it to cook for 10 - 12 minutes. Next add coconut paste and cook till the raw smell leaves. Also add salt and jaggery.

In this method you can skip using coconut .
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9 ATHALAKKAI VATHAL / VADAGAM

Athalakkai in Tamil(Momordica cymbalaria- botanical name) / Kaasara Kaaya in Telugu, Karsikayi in Kannada, Kattupaval in
Malayalam and in Marathi it is known asKadavanchi, Kuduhunchi.

 

Athalakkai looks very similar as small bittergourd but, both are very different in shape and taste. South Indian recipes like Poriyal(stir fry), fry, pulikulambu( tamarind gravy) and vadagam can be prepared with this vegetable. Check this wikipedia link to know more about this vegetable http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momordica_cymbalaria

This vegetable is very much common in our native. When we were kids my grandparents and few other close relatives used to send the fresh ones to us or bring it to us if they are visiting and some parts were cooked in salt water and sun dried and later used as a vathal/vadagam and had with rice and gravy or these sun dried vadagams itself were used in gravies or stir fry's.
So next time you see this fresh veggies, try to cook it fresh or sun dry them as vadagams and use it in your favourite fry's or gravies.


I will update this post with some picture of the fresh vegetable later but you can have a look at how the fresh vegetable will look like from this link https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Momordica_cymbalaria_fruits.jpg




Athalakkai - 1 kg
Water - enough for immersing
Salt - a handful

Clean and wash the fresh athalakkai. If needed can also trim the edges though not necessary.

Take a wide pan/vessel with lots of water and salt. Bring it to a boil. Add this veggie and half cook till they are soft.

Drain water and spread on a cloth or steel plate. Place under direct sun and sun dry for 1 - 2 days or check if they are crispy and fully dry or keep again for another day. Remove and store in a air tight container for late use.

Usually for sun dry items salt is added more than needed so that it does not get spoilt and can be used for many days. So when preparing any dish with it adjust salt accordingly.
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1 ebook-100 Yummy Diwali Recipes by Indus Ladies


The eagerly awaited eBook - "100 Yummy Diwali Recipes" is available for download @ http://www.indusladies.com/100diwalisweet.

 
"IndusLadies has compiled an eBook for this Diwali consisting of "100 Yummy Sweets & Desserts recipes", contributed by various Food Bloggers! Go ahead and download it @ http://www.indusladies.com/100diwalisweet.


You can see my "Ukkarai" recipe in this ebook.

Feel free to share it with your family & friends.

Have a wonderful Diwali!!"
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18 PUDINA ALOO BATH / MINT PALAV

Pudina(Mint) Aloo(Potato) Bath( Rice Variety) / Mint Palav or Pulao
 

Who does not love the aroma of some freshly plucked leaves right from our own garden and preparing it right away. I just love the smell of mint in anything and especially the smell that we get from frying the leaves, it just fills in the air.
This rice is so simple to prepare, all you have to do is just cook the rice seperately and mix in with the masala. You can make the masala way ahead and just mix in as and when needed. Can be had right away or leave it aside for 10 to 15 mts for the rice to absorb the flavor fully. Can be served with just chips or kosambari.


Basmati Rice - 1 1/2 cups
Mint Leaves - 1 1/2 cups
Onion - 1 Large
Green Chillies - around 6( increase if u need more spice)
Garlic - 6 - 8 flakes
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Coconut - 2 piece or 3 - 4 tbsp
Lime Juice - 3 - 4 drops
Potato - 1( boiled)
Fresh Peas - 1/2 cup(cooked)
Fennel Seeds - 1/2 tbsp
Salt as needed
Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp


Wash and soak rice for 15 mts, next add 2 1/2 cups of water with little salt and cook till done. Once done cool.

Heat a tsp of oil and add the cleaned and washed mint leaves. Fry till the leaves shrink completely. Remove and keep aside.

For grinding:-
Take the fried mint leaves grind along with fennel seeds, garlic, ginger, green chillies and coconut to a fine paste. Keep aside.

Heat the remaining oil and add the onions( for extra flavor before adding onions can add a small piece of cinnamon, 2 clove and 2 cardamom and a tsp of cumin seeds - all optional). Fry till nice brown. Next add the cubed potatoes(cut the boiled potatoes into thin cubes) and fry for 1 - 2 minutes, then add the ground masala with very little water and saute till the raw smell leaves. Also add the cooked peas and salt. Once the masala looses the raw smell and has thickened remove from stove and cool. Just before removing add lime juice and mix( or can even add lime juice after mixing the rice). Add the cooked and cooled rice and mix gently. Leave aside for 10 - 15 minutes and serve.




Note:- You can also deep fry or shallow fry the cubed potatoes and add in the end, gives out a very good taste.
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26 GOOSEBERRY THAYIR PACHADI

Goose Berry / Amla / Nellikkai / Usirikaya Thayir(Yogurt/Curd) Pachadi

Gooseberries are an excellent source of vitamin C, and a good source of vitamin A,
calcium, iron, and phosphorus.




Gooseberry - 4 or 5( fresh or frozen)
Coconut - 1/4 cup grated
Green Chillies - 4 ( as spice needed)
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Curd/Yogurt - 1 1/2 - 2 cups
Salt as needed
Mustard seeds - few by count
Urad Dhal - few by count
Asafoetida - 2 pinch
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Oil - 2 tsp






Wash and grate gooseberry. Heat a tsp of oil and add the grated gooseberry and fry for 3 - 4 minutes. Add coconut paste( grind coconut, green chillies and ginger(can also add a tsp of cumin seeds)). Saute for another 2 - 3 minutes. Remove and cool. Next add salt and yogurt and mix well.
Heat remaining oil for tempering and add mustard seeds, urad dhal, asafoetida and curry leaves. Pour on the pachadi and mix.

If the pachadi is too sour, then add small piece of jaggery or few pinch of sugar and mix( this will reduce the sourness).

Serve with rice or chapathi/rotis. 


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2 Indus Ladies Diwali E-Book

Indus Ladies Diwali E Book

For the upcoming Diwali on October 26th, 2011,  Indusladies are compiling an E-Book called “100 Yummy Diwali Sweet Recipes”


They are collecting sweet/dessert recipes from various bloggers to be featured in their E-Book.

This E-book will be made available as a free download to their community's 1.3 Lakh+ members. In addition, they will also be
making this E-Book available to their 9000+ Facebook fans and Twitter followers. It's LOTS and LOTS of exposure to those food blogs entering the E-Book!! They believe this would be a nice way to get the word out about a wonderful blog to the entire membership of IndusLadies!!

Those bloggers interested in submitting a recipe for this E-Book...all you need to do is as follows:
 Send a link from your blog for a sweet / dessert recipe. It should also include the picture of the sweet/dessert. Your
recipe, food picture, recipe URL as well as the entire blog URL will get featured in the E-Book.
Send one sweet/dessert recipe link from your blog to partners@indusladies.com by Oct 8th, 2011.
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22 CHANNA DHAL PAYASAM - My 550 Th Post

Channa Dal(Bengal Gram) Kheer / Kadalai Paruppu Payasam/ Senaga Pappu Payasam/ Kadale Bele Payasa

  
A sweet post to celebrate my 550th Post and also to reach Eight Lakh + Hits(8,00,000).
Thanks to all my Friends, readers and Family for helping me reach this milestone and please continue your support.

Channa dhal payasam is one of my favourite, I prepare this most of the time for any celebration or festival at home as this
is also a favourite among my Family members. To celebrate 2 events in my blog today I am posting a sweet dish.


 


Channa Dhal - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup( or a little above if more sweetness is required)
Coconut Milk - 1 - 1 1/2 cups( Thick milk)
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Cardamom Powder - few pinches
Cashewnut - few broken pieces
Coconut Pieces - few chopped thinly(optional)


 

Wash and pressure cook channa dhal with enough water for 3 - 4 whistles. When pressure is down remove open the lid and mash the dhal lightly with a masher. Add jaggery and coconut milk and bring it to a boil. Reduce flame and allow it to boil for 4 - 5 minutes. Add cardamom powder and remove. In a small kadai/pan heat ghee and add broken cashewnut and chopped coconut pieces and fry till light brown. Pour this on the payasam. Mix and serve hot or warm.

Adding coconut pieces is purely optional, you can always skip this part.
Adding coconut milk gives a very good flavor to this payasam. You can also skip this and substitute with regular milk.

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29 BASALE SOPPINA BHAJJI

Basale Soppu / Bachali Kurakku / Kodi Pasalai /Vine or Creeping or Climbing or Malabar Spinach Bhajji/Bajji/Fritters.

 

These leaves are slightly thicker than regular spinach and more intense in flavor. This variety produces dark green leaves and vines and the stem are either green or violet in color. This plant was grown right in our garden at home( Mom's place in Bangalore), as kids we used to play with these leaves and especially the fruit. They were green and violet in colors and we used to remove and press to make colors and squeeze on others for fun or draw on ground.
After many years had the chance to cook with these leaves, my neighbour friend grows these leaves in her garden and every summer she shares them with me and now her mom who is visiting her has given me some more recipes using the leaves and stem( typical Mangalorean dishes) which I am yet to try.



Making bhajjis is not something new to me. My mom used to make this bhajjis on most evening for snacks. Bhajjis were served in varieties  with some onion, potato and some greens or veggie bhajjis. These leaves were plucked right before making, washed and cleaned and prepared as bhajjis. They were just irresistable and the taste is simply superb. The leaves will be lightly crisp and the taste just awesome. Do try it out, you will definitely agree with me.

 
Basale soppu/ Climbing Spinach Leaves - around 15
Besan/ Chick pea flour/ Kadalai Maavu - 1 cup Heaped
Rice Flour - 1 tbsp
Salt - as needed
Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp( or more if needed)
Cumin powder - 1/8 tsp(optional)
Hing/Asafoetida - 2 or 3 pinch
Oil for deep frying
 
Wash and pat dry the leaves. Keep aside.
In a bowl mix all the ingredients except oil , see there are no lumps. Can also add few sprinkles of pepper powder. Add water
little by little and mix into to right dipping/dropping consistency. Heat oil for deep frying. Dip the leaves in the batter
and drop in oil. Deep fry intil golden brown and crispy. Remove and serve with coconut chutney or tomato ketchup.

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25 SEMIYA BIRYANI

Semiya / Vermicelli Biryani.



I often make many dishes using semiya and this biryani is one such and a big hit among my friends, also they have tried it out many times and told me that it has turned out perfect. This can be made as a substitute to rice and enjoyed during lunch or at dinner.

The flavor got from the spices added to this biryani gives out a good taste with the vermicelli cooked to the right texture.

You can cook vermicelli right with the masala or cook seperately and later add to the cooked masala and mix.

If making in small batch I cook it together and will cook seperately if I am making it in a big batch to reduce cooking time and to retain the texture.

Vermicelli - 2 cups
Onion - 1 larged chopped
Tomato - 1 medium or 2 small chopped
Green Chillies - 2 slit long
Vegetables - Mixed veggies - 1 cup(or little more if needed)
Ginger and Garlic Paste - 3/4 tbsp
Chilli powder - 3/4 tsp( as spice needed)
Garam Masala(or Biryani Masala)powder - 1/2 tsp( or as spice needed)
Mint Leaves - a handful
Coriander Leaves - few chopped
Lime Juice - 3 - 4 drops
Salt as needed
Oil or ghee - 1 - 2 tbsp
Spices  - clove -2, cinnamon - 2 small, cardamom -2, bay leaf - 1, cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
 

Dry roast semiya/vermicelli in a wide pan or pressure pan till light pink/brown. Remove and keep aside.
In the same pan add oil or ghee and add the spices , wait for few seconds and add chopped onion. Fry till transculent and add green chillies. Saute and add ginger and garlic paste. Saute till raw smell leaves for around a minute and add chopped tomatoes. Mash and cook till pulpy and water leaves out.next add the cleaned veggies and saute till it is 3/4 cook(can skip this part and partially cook the veggies in a microwave or steam them separately and add). Next add cleaned and washed mint leaves and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well for a minute and add the powders. Stir well and water( for every cup of vermicelli add 1 and half cup of water). Also add salt and allow it to boil and bubble up. Reduce flame and add the roasted semiya /vermicelli and lime juice and cook till is soft. Cover with a lid and wait for 10 minutes. Remove and serve with raita or pickle or salad.

If adding cooked semiya :-

Boil enough water in a vessel. Add few drops of oil and little salt and wait for it to bubble up. Add roasted vermicelli and reduce flame. Cook till done. Take some cook semiya in hand and press to see if it is cooked. If they are hard cook for another 2 - 3 minutes or drain water and run cold water on the cooked semiya to reduce stickiness( just the way we cook noodles). Add this after adding the powders along with lime juice and you are done with making your delicious semiya biryani.

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19 KAMBU SADHAM

Pearl Millet - English, Kambu - Tamil, Sajje - Kannada, Sajjalu - Telugu, Bajra - Hindi

Kambu Sadham, Kambu(sajjala) Koodu, Pearl Millet Rice

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is the most widely grown type of millet. It is also a staple food for farmers around the country.  Is highly nutritious and gluten free.

Recently have been getting requests to post some authentic village recipes, recipes with millets and this is one among them. I have seen my grand ma make this many times at home, my mom and dad love this dish - but when we were kids never even went near it or tasted. But now want to note down the recipes the way they cooked along with the tips so it is saved here and available for future reference and also for people who want to try this highly nutritious dish.


At home we call this as Kambu or Kambula Koodu.

Pearl Millet - 1 cup
Water - 3 - 3 1/2 cups
Salt - as needed
Butter Milk - 1/4 - 1/2 cup
Or instead of buttermilk use pullillu ( * look for details below)


* Pullillu is a name of the excess drained out water used for cooking rice( normal cooking/eating rice) in my home language.
When rice is cooked on stove top along with water and rice, once soft and cooked the vessel is covered with a plate and the excess water is drained out. This water is collected and stored for couple of days. As days go by the water turns sour but consumable. Back in my native this water was used instead of buttermilk. This is the what my mom said and that people now their don't know what it is now. She grew up hearing this water and its usage.


 

Wash/rinse pearl millet once or twice and pound in stone or mixer. Run in till is coarsely powdered( not too fine, but like rawa/sooji consistency). There is no need to soak, but you can for 15 - 20 mts to powder it if the mixer is not good enough to powder.

Take a broad vessel or pressure pan add water and salt. Add the ground mixture and cook for 20 - 25 mts stirring now and then to avoid any lumps. It will start to thicken and reduce the stickiness. Dip a spoon or finger in water and touch to see if it is sticky. If it does then have to cook for another 5 mts. Next add buttermilk( or the pullillu water) and cook for again 5 mts by then it will start to get thick. Remove and cool. Serve as it is or prepare balls and serve with some spicy gravy or with just some small onions and green chillies to bite in the side.

The reason they add the pullillu water is that is stays good for 1 - 2 days out in normal temperature and also to get some sour taste.
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20 SEEDAI

Seedai / Uppu Seedai / Crispy Rice Balls / Palakayalu - Version 1

 
Uppu(salt) seedai is one of the savory snacks prepared for Krishna Jayanthi also called as Janmashtami. These are like mini rice balls that are crispy and one cannot stop eating with just one or two. Seedai can be made savory called as uppu(salt) seedai and or sweet called as vella seedai made with vellam(jaggery).




My mom says if you are not able to make any dishes for the celebrations just keep butter and aval( flattened or beaten rice/rice flakes) as offerings to Sri Krishna which are his most favourite.

There are different versions of making seedai and this version is a bit elaborate, but the result is very good and is very tasty and delicious.

Recipe and tips from my Mom and Grandma.

Boiled Rice - 2 Cups
Urad Dhal - 1/4 cup
Dalia/ Pottu Kadalai/ Hurigadale/ putnala powcder - 1/4 cup
Asafoetida powder - 1/2 tsp
Sesame seeds( white or black) - 2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 2 tsp
Butter - 1 tsp
Grated Coconut - 5 - 6 tbsp
Salt
Oil for deep frying.

  
Roast urad dhal in medium flame until light brownd and nice aroma comes. Remove and cool and powder finely. Sieve through a siever to get a fine powder. This also helps in reducing bursting of the balls while frying.

Wash and soak rice for 4 - 5 hours. Grind in a grinder until soft using as little water as possible. Remove and transfer to a wide vessel or mixing bowl. To it add urad dhal powder, dalia powder, salt, sesame seeds, cumin seeds, melted butter, grated coconut and asafoetida. This will come to a thick dough like consistency. No need to add water while mixing as water while grinding rice is more than enough. Add only if it cannot be mixed that too few drop by drop while mixing. Also if the dough is too watery, you can more of dalia/pottu kadalai powder and mix.

Next take small portion of the dough and from that pinch in a small bit and roll as mini balls. Do not put much pressure in rolling, just roll between the palms and spread in a wide plate or a cloth to dry them out( so the moisture is let out).
Repeat until you are done with all. Let it sit out for 20 - 30 minutes.

Heat oil for deep frying. Then reduce flame and add a bunch of the rolled balls in hot oil in one go, next increase the temp to medium and deep fry until golden brown. Repeat the same for all.




Tips from Mom and Grand Mom.

1. Dry the rolled balls in a plate or cloth to remove moisture,as the water in the balls would make the balls to burst in oil.

2. Important do not make very perfect round balls. While rolling, first gently roll between the palms and immediately give a
light pressure just like squeezing( can do this holding between two fingers- just give a light push). This will help the air bubbles to release. My mom says that the shapes should not be too round as this makes the balls to burst in oil while frying, just roll and press once gently this will help not to burst and even while frying it will retain its shape and come out good.

3. After rolling all the balls, poke through a needle a pin but inserting in one of the sides in each and every balls - just a small poke just like pricking.

4. Most important do not add the balls one by one while frying, the tip is to add the rolled balls in one bunch while frying.

5. You can also make seedais out of rice flour or processed rice flour and follow the same steps instead of soaking and grinding.

6. Adding grated coconut reduces the shelf life, instead to make it more soft add few tbsp of pottu kadalai powder/dalia powder and mix.

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18 Vara Mahalakshmi Vratham

Varalakshmi Vratham is an important pooja performed by women in the States like Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and also in some parts of Orissa and Maharashtra.. It falls on the second Friday in the month of Shravan alias Saavan.Those who cannot perform it on that day, can do it on any other Friday in that month. Goddess lakshmi the goddess of wealth and prosperity is worshipped on this day by married women. Vara means 'boon' literally meaning boon granting by goddess Lakshmi. Lakshmi on this day is equivalent to worshipping Ashtalaksmi – the eight goddesses of Wealth (Dhana lakshmi), primeval force( Aadi  lakshmi), Courage( Dhairya Lakshmi), Wisdom/education( vidya Lakshmi), Children/family ( Santhana Lakshmi), Food ( Dhanya Lakshmi), Success ( Vijaya Lakshmi), Strength( Gaja Lakshmi).

Learn more about the festival from here.

 

Today I made 5 kind of offerings (Payasam, semiya kesari, Black Channa Sundal, Masala Vadai and Tamarind Rice) as neivedyam and 3 different kind of fruits and offered it to Goddess Lakshmi.





Vara Mahalakshmi celebrations at my Mom's place.


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