Kozhukattai or Moodak Recipe is the special dish for Ganesh Chaturthi

Ingredients:

Rice flour – 2 cup

Water – 1 1/2 cup

Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp

Coconut – 1 cup

Jaggery – 1/2 cup

oil – 2 tsp

Method:

1. Take little water in a tawa, heat it and add the powdered jagerry.

2. Once jaggery melts and add the coconut and mix well.

3. When it thickens add cardamom powder and turn off the stove.

Poornam or the sweet stuffing is ready.

4. Heat 1 1/2 cup water and add a pinch of salt and 2 tsp oil to it.

5. When water starts boiling, add the rice flour and mix well.

6. Allow the recently mixed rice flour to cool down a bit and start making small cups  and fill the poornam inside and close the corners.

Note: You can either close it sidewise or in the top. Just check out both ways in the pics.

7. Steam cook the prepared kozhukattai for min 7-10 mins and kozhukattai is ready.

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.

Varalakshmi Viratham or nombu is the festive celebrated in he Tamil month Aadi on Friday preceding the full moon day. This day is meant for women who welcome Goddess Varalakshmi to their house. Kalasam or a pot that is filled with rice, toor dhal, lemon, ripe turmeric and 1 rupee coin is kept ready. A coconut is dusted with turmeric and kumkum and is used to create five faces one on each side.  This is placed upside down with Mango leaves on the kalasam. Over this, the Ambaal mugam or Godess face is placed. The place is decorated with kolams. Also decorating the Goddess with silk material and gold jewellery.

It is beleived that whatever you give the Goddess will come back manifold. Also special dishes are prepared as offering to the Goddess.

The dishes prepared in our home are kozhukattai, raw rice idli, Urad vada and parupu paiysam.

Kozhukattai (kadubu or moodak) Recipe:

Ingredients:

Rice flour – 2 cup

Water – 1 1/2 cup

Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp

Coconut – 1 cup

Jaggery – 1/2 cup

oil – 2 tsp

Method:

1. Take little water in a tawa, heat it and add the powdered jagerry.

2. Once jaggery melts and add the coconut and mix well.

3. When it thickens add cardamom powder and turn off the stove.

Poornam or the sweet stuffing is ready.

4. Heat 1 1/2 cup water and add a pinch of salt and 2 tsp oil to it.

5. When water starts boiling, add the rice flour and mix well.

6. Allow the recently mixed rice flour to cool down a bit and start making small cups  and fill the poornam inside and close the corners.

7. Steam cook the prepared kozhukattai for min 7-10 mins and kozhukattai is ready.

Urad Vada Recipe:

Ingredients:

Urad – 2 cup

Green chilli – 4 – 5nos

Curry leaves – 3 tsp

Salt – to taste

Oil – to fry

Method:

1. Soak the urad dhal in water for 1 hr and get it grinded finely along with chillies and salt by adding little water. (Do not add more water else vada will absorb lot of oil)

2. Heat oil in tawa, make small flat balls, flatten them and deep fry.

3. Cook it, till it becomes golden brown.

4. Hot Urad vada is ready.

Parupu Paiyasam Recipe:

Ingredients:

Channa dhal – 1/2 cup

Moong dhal – 1/2 cup

Jaggery – 1 1/2 cup

Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp

Milk – 200 ml

Ghee – 3 tsp

Cashew – to garnish

Method:

1. Fry moong and channa dhal and cook them soft.

2. After the dhal is cooked, add grated jaggery and allow it to melt.

3. Allow it to boil until it starts thickeing.

4. Remove from flame and add cardamom powder.

5. Fry cashews in ghee and add it to the kheer or paiyasam.

6. Finally add boiled milk and paiysam is ready.

The Tamil New Year, Varsha Pirappu or Puthandu, is observed on the first day of Tamil month Chithirai, the first month as per traditional Tamil Calendar. Chithirai 1 or the Chithirai thirunal is an auspicious day for Tamil speaking people in India (Tamil Nadu) and across the world, especially in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa. In 2009, the date of Varsha Pirappu or Tamil New Year is April 14. This day is also celebrated as Vishu by Malayalis.

A major highlight of the Tamil New Year is the viewing of ‘Kani’ – meaning auspicious things. Legend has it that viewing auspicious things on this day will bring good fortune throughout the year.

The special and important dish for this day is pachchadi(as spelled as pachadi)  as it blends all tastes and signifies life. Pachadi is a mix of all tastes in life, the sweet, the sour, the bitter, the spicy and the salty. It is made with raw mango and neem flowers where neem flowers is a must.

Raw Mango-Neem Flower Pachadi Recipe

Ingredients:

Neem flower – 4 tsp

Raw mango – 1 medium size

Jaggery – 1 cup

Salt – a pinch

Green Chilli – 1

Turmeric – a pinch

Mustard – 1/2 tsp

Oil/ghee – 2-3 tsp

Method:

1. Peel off the raw mango skin and cut them to pieces, add pinch of turmeric and get them cooked.

2. Prepare jaggery syrup and add the cooked mango to it and allow it to boil a few mins.

3. Fry the neem flowers in little ghee and add it to the jaggery-mango.

4. Finally garnish with roasted mustard and green chilli.

This neem flower raw mango pachadi is ready.

Javvarisi Payasam Recipe or Sabudhana Kheer Recipe

Ingredients:

Javvarisi or Sago or sabudhana- 1/2 cup

Milk – 3/4 litre

Sugar – 1 cup

Cardamom powder – a pinch

Cashew, badam, dry grapes – to garnish

Method:

1. Add 3/4 to 1 cup water to this javvarisi and get them cooked in a cooker leaving for 1 whistle.

2. keep stove in low flame and boil the 3/4 litre milk until they become 1/2 litre.

3. Then add sugar and cooked javvarisi and keep stirring.

4. Add the cardamom powder, ghee – roasted cashew, badam and add dry grapes and serve hot.

Javvarisi payasam or sabudhana kheer is ready.

Ugadi means beginning of New Astronomical cycle. Telugu and kannada speaking people celebrate it as New Year, it falls on the first day of the month of Chaitra, as per lunar calender. Ugadi begins with oil bath, homes decorated with kolams and mango leaves strung door ways to herald positive energy.

Ugadi pachchadi(as spelled as pachadi) is very important dish for this day as it blends all tastes and signifies life. Pachadi is a mix of all tastes in life, the sweet, the sour, the bitter, the spicy and the salty. It is made with raw mango and neem flowers where neem flowers is a must.

Ugadi Recipes:

• Neem Flower pachadi
• Raw mango pachadi
• Dhal Vada
• Poli both with dhal and coconut

Neem flower Pachadi recipe

Ingredients:

Fresh neem flowers – 1 tablespoon( cleaned)
jaggery – 1 cup

Method:

1. Prepare jaggery syrup and filter it to another pan and heat it again until it starts thickening.
2. Add the neem flowers to it after frying them in little ghee.

Neem flower pachadi is ready.

Raw mango pachadi Recipe

Ingredients:

Raw mango – medium size 1
Jaggery – 1 cup

Method:

1. Peel off the raw mango skin and cut them to pieces and get them cooked.
2. Prepare jaggery syrup and add the cooked mango to it and allow it to boil a few mins.

Raw mango pachadi is ready.

Dhal Vada Recipe

Ingredients:

Tor Dhal – 1 cup
Channa dhal – 1 cup
Dry red chilli – 3
Green chilli – 2
curry and coriander leaves – 1 table spoon
grated coconut – 3 tsp
salt – to taste
Ginger – a small piece
Oil – for frying

Method:

1. Soak the toor dhal and channa dhal in water for 2 hours and get them grinded along with dry chilli, green chilli, curry, coriander leaves, coconut, salt, ginger.
2. Do not make it too fine.
3. Also do not add too much water. Make sure the mixture is thick.
4. Take small quantities from the grinded mixture and prepare small flattened vadas and deep fry in oil until they turn golden brown.

Dhal vada is ready.

Poli – Dhal Poli recipe

Ingredients:

Channa dhal – 1 cup
Jaggery – 3/4 cup
Grated coconut – 2 tsp
cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp
Maida – 1 cup
turmeric powder – a pinch
Salt – a pinch
water – little
Oil – as required

Method:

1. Add little salt, turmeric to maida and add sufficient oil, water and prepare soft dough. keep this prepared 1 hour before.
2. Cook the channa dhal and remove off the excess water.
3. Grind cooked channa dhal, jaggery, coconut and cardamom. Do not add water while grinding.
4. Add 1 tsp ghee to frying pan and add the ground paste and allow it to thicken.
5. Prepare medium sized balls with the grounded mixture after it cools down. Stuffing is ready.
6. Take a clean plastic sheet or plantain leaf and grease it with oil.
7. Make small balls with the maida dough and keep each one in the leaf and flatten it a bit and keep the stuffing.
8. Properly close the maida and flatten again using hand. (just like thin poories but little small in size)
9. Cook them in a tawa adding ghee and oil. Cook until they are cooked on both sides.(again like chappathi)

Dhal poli(parupu poli) is ready. While serving add little ghee.

Coconut Boli Recipe

Ingredients:

Coconut – 1 full(grated)
jaggery – 2 cups
Cardamom – 1/2 tsp
Maida – 1 cup
Turmeric – a pinch
Salt – a pinch
Water – little
Oil – as required

Method:

1. Add little salt, turmeric to maida and add sufficient oil, water and prepare soft dough. keep this prepared 1 hour before.
2. Grind coconut and jaggery and fry them in ghee to thicken. And stuffing is ready.
All other steps remain the same like dhal Poli.