Ingredients:

Unpolished Rice – 2 cup

Coconut milk – 1 cup

Ginger – small piece

Green Chilli – 3

Murungai Keerai or drum stick leaves – 2 cup

Coconut oil – 2 tablespoon

Mustard – 1/2 tsp

Urad dhal – 1 tsp

Raw Ground nut or peanut – 1/2 cup

Asafoetida – a pinch

Grated Carrot – 1 cup

Salt – to taste

Water – 1/2 cup

Method:

1. Break the rice to rava consistency in the mixie.

2. Grind ginger (peel off skin) and green chilli to a fine paste.

3. Now take a thick bottom pan, heat coconut oil and add mustard, urad dhal and groundnut and saute.

4. Add asafoetida, ginger-chilli paste, cleaned drumstick leaves and saute.

5. Now add the grated carrot and allow it to cook for few seconds and add half cup water and coconut milk. Allow it to boil.

6. Add broken rice and mix well and add salt and allow it to cook for few mins.

7. When the mixture thickens turn off the stove and allow it to cool.

8. Now make small kozhukattai’s and steam cook it.

Our Murungai keerai Kozhukattai is ready.

Note: Unpolished rice is rich in fibre, protein and B-complex. Drumstick leaves are very good for anemic people. Hence you serve your family with a healthy balanced diet.

Ingredients:

Vazhai poo or plantain flower – mediun size 1 or cleaned and chopped 2 cups

Toor dhal – 1 cup

Channa dhal – 1 cup

Red chilli – 2

Green chilli – 2

Onion – 2

Oil – for frying

Curry leaves – 4 tsp

Salt – to taste

Method:

1. Soak the toor and channa dhal in water for half an hour.

2. Grind it lightly along with red chilli, green chilli and curry leaves.

3. Now add chopped plantain flower, onion, salt and grind.

4. Do not make it to a fine paste. Also need not add water.

Note: If required sprinkle water.

5. Heat oil in a pan and take small portions of the prepared batter and flatten it and slowly drop it into the heating oil.

6. Allow it until golden brown.

This vazhai poo vadai will be very tasty even if served with rasam.

Gokulashtami or Janmashtami is the Hindu festive celebrated in a grand manner all over North India. This day normally falls on the eighth day after Aavani Avittam ie, ashtami thidi of Tamil month Aavani. This day marks the birth of Lord Krishna.

In the evening of this day, we decorate the entrance with kolams and drawing the baby Krishna’s feet imprints that mark the entrance of the Lord to our house.

Lord Krishna is said to be fond of butter and sweets and this day we prepare all sweets that are Lord Krishna’s favourite. At our home, we prepare Seedai – Uppu Seedai (Salted flavour) and Vella Seedai ( Sweet), Appam, Aval (rice flakes) – Vella aval and Puli aval, Aval Payasam.

Uppu Seedai Recipe:

Ingredients:

Raw Rice – 2 cups

Urad dhal – 3 tsp

White sesame seeds – 1 tsp

Grated coconut – 1/4 cup

Butter – 3 tsp

Asafoetida – a pinch

Salt – to taste

Oil – for frying

Method:

Take Raw rice and soak in water for half an hour, dry it and get it grinded to a fine powder.

1. Take a dry tawa, fry the rice flour for few mins.

2. Take the urad dhal fry in a dry tawa until they turn mild golden brown. Leave them for few mins and get them grinded to a fine poder.

3. Now take a bowl, add 3 cups rice flour, urad dhal powder, salt, asafoetida, butter, sesame seeds and slowly sprinkle water and start preparing thick dough. Do not add too much water else it will splatter when deep frying. Also make sure the consistency is like chapati dough.

4. Once the dough is ready, make small balls and leave them in a clean cloth for few mins so that excess water is absorbed.

5. Now take small portions and get them deep fried in oil.

Uppu Seedai or Salted savory balls is ready.

Vella Seedai Recipe:

Ingredients:

Rice flour – 3 cups

Urad dhal powder – 2 tsp

Chopped or sliced coconut – 1/2 cup

White Sesame seeds – 1 tsp

Jagery – 2 cup

Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp

Oil – for frying

Method:

1. Prepare jaggery syrup, adding little water to the jaggery and heating it until the dust settles down and thick syrup stays above.

2. Take a dry tawa, fry the rice flour for few mins.

3. Now take a bowl, add rice flour, urad powder, sesame seeds, coconut, cardamom and prepare thick dough adding the jaggery syrup.

4. Once the thick dough is ready, prepare small balls and can be fried directly.

5. Allow until golden brown.

Vella or Vellam(Jaggery for sweet) seedai is ready.

Appam Recipe:

Ingredients:

Maida – 1 cup

Rice flour – 1/2 cup

Cardamom – 1/2 tsp

Jaggery – 1 cup

Grated coconut – 1/4 cup(grind them finely and keep it)

Oil – for frying

Method:

1. Prepare jaggery syrup and transfer it another bowl slowly leaving away the dust particles.

2. Now mix maida, rice flour, cardamom, grinded coconut and slowly add the jaggery syrup and stir well.

3. The consistency should be like that of the dosa batter.

4. Now heat oil in a tawa, take small amount of this batter and pour one by one into the oil.

5. When you pour, the batter would go to the bottom and as it starts cooking it will come to the top and then you can trn it to the other side and get it cooked.

Sweet appam is ready.

Puli Aval Recipe:

Ingredients:

Tamarind – a small lemon size

Aval or rice flakes or poha – 1 cup

Urad and channa dhal – 2 tsp each

Dry Red chilli – 4

Mustard – 1/2 stp

Oil – 3 tsp

Turemric, asafoetida – a pinch

Curry leaves – to garnish

Method:

1. Soak rice flakes in water for few mins and squeeze off the water and keep it aside.

2. Add little water and extract tamarind juice.

3. Now take a tawa, heat oil add mustard, urad and channa dhal, red chilli and allow it to turn golden brown.

4. Now pour the tamarind juice and add asafoetida, salt, turmeric and allow it to boil.

5. Finally add the aval and mix well.

6. Allow it for few mins and it will turn out like upma.

7. Garnish with curry leaves.

Puli aval upma or was called traditionally puli aval is ready.

Vella Aval Recipe:

Ingredients:

Aval – 1 cyp

Jaggery – 1/2 cup

Grated coconut – 1/4 cup

Cardamom – 1/4 tsp

Cashew – 8

Method:

1. Soak rice flakes in water for few mins and squeeze off the water and keep it aside.

2. Prepare jaggery syrup and transfer it to another vessel leaving behind the impurities.

3. Heat the syrup in low flame and add coconut, cardamom, aval and stir well.

4. As it thickens, the aval flakes will loosen and look like upma.

5. Now garnish with roasted cashews if interested.

Sweet Aval is ready.

Aval payasam Recipe:

Ingredients:

Aval – 1 cup

Heated Milk – 1/2 litre

Sugar – 1 1/2 cup

Cashew – 8

Cardamom – 1/4 tsp

Ghee – 2 tsp

Method:

1. Soak aval or rice flakes in water for few mins and squeeze off the water and keep it aside.

2. Now take the aval and add little milk and get them cooked.

3. Once cooked, add remaining milk, cardamom and sugar and mix well.

4. Finally garnish with ghee roasted cashews.

Aval payasam or kheer is ready.

Ingredients:

Finely chopped onion – 1 cup

Corn -1 cup

Potato – 4

Green Chilli finely chopped – 1 tablespoon

Chilli powder – 1 tsp

Pepper powder – 1 tsp

Tomato sauce – 3 tsp

Bread crumbs – 1 cup

Oil – to fry

Salt – to taste

Method:

1. Cook the corn and potatoes and keep aside.

2. Fry onion until they turn pale pink and keep aside.

3. Mash cooked corn and potatoes separately.

4. First take the mashed corn, add salt, pepper powder, fried onion, tomato sauce andm ix well and make small balls.

5. Take another bowl, add the mashed potato, chilli powder, salt, mix well and take small portions and make a cup like shape and stuff the corn balls prepared.

6. Close the stuffing and dust the bondas with bread crumbs and fry till golden brown.

Serve hot with tomato sauce.

Ingredients:

Wheat flour – 250 gms

Green Peas – 1 cup

Carrot – 1/2 cup chopped

Grated Cheese – 1 tablespoon

Green chilli – 4

Grated ginger – 1 tsp

Turmeric – 1/2 tsp

Jeera – little

Salt – to taste

Oil – little

Coriander leaves and water

Method:

1. First take wheat flour and prepare soft chapati dough.

2. Leave it for a minimum of 15 mins so that parathas will come out soft.

3. Now take a pan, heat oil, add jeera, green chilli, ginger, green peas, chopped carrot, turmeric and salt.

4. Mix well and keep it closed and allow it to cook in low flame for 5 mins.

5. Allow it to cool and grind it without adding water.

6. Mix this mixture with grated cheese and chopped coriander and keep the stuffing ready.

7. Take small balls of the chapati dough and make small cup size shapes and stuff the mixture and seal the dough properly.

8. Prepare chapatis and cook by adding oil on either side.(Do not try to flatten too much as the stuffing will come out)

This Peas stuffed paratha goes well with pudhina green chutney.