Kaashi Halwa | Ashgourd Halwa | Vellai Poosanikai Halwa

 This is a traditional sweet made using Ashgourd | Ilavan | Vellai Poosanikai | Safed Bopla | Petha. This sweet is served in Palakkad Iyer Marriage on the Muhurtam day for breakfast.

Video Recipe is here :-

Rajgira Halwa | Amaranth seeds halwa | Keerai Vidhai Halwa

Hare Krishna!

A sweet start for this year!

Rajgira - in Marathi means Royal Grain Raj - Royal Gira - grain Rajgira - Marathi English - Amaranth Seeds (Amaranth means immortal) Tamizh - Keerai Vidhai (கீரை விதை) A sathvic Halwa that can get consumed on Ekadashi day by to hose who don't follow complete fasting. Since it is not a whole grain, it is allowed in Ekadashi recipes.

This grain has highest content of calcium, rich in iron, phosphorus, magnesium. This is the only grain that has Vitamin C. Easily digestable. It reduces hunger pangs and is believed to improve eyesight. I used Jaggery. In case if you want to use sugar, then you may use upto 3/4 cup of sugar replacing jaggery.

Video Recipe is here :-

Ingredients :-

• Rajgira flour - 1 cup
• Jaggery - 1 Cup (If sugar, use 3/4 cup)
• Ghee - 1/2 cup (melted)
• Water - 2.5 cups
• Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Procedure :-

• In a vessel add the jaggery and water. Heat it till the jaggery dissolves.
• Filter for removing impurities.
• Heat a wok
• Add the melted ghee
• Add the flour and roast "ONLY IN LOW FLAME", till golden brown (approx 5 to 7 minutes)
• Add the filtered jaggery water, keep stirring without lumps.
• In medium flame cook, till it thickens and start leaving the sides.
• Switch off gas. Add the cardamom powder and mix well.
• Delicious and healthy Rajgira Halwa is ready to be offered or relished.

You may check the video recipe given above.

Hare Krishna!

Kada Prasad | Atte Ka Halwa

Kada Prasad | Atte ka Halwa is the Prasad made using whole wheat flour and is distributed in the Holiest Gurudwara - Darbar Sahib situated in the Holy City of Amritsar. Also known as Golden Temple.

The best flour to be used is "Whole Wheat Flour" that is freshly ground as it enhances the flavour. The Flour should be coarse so that it gives the exact texture as given in Gurudwara. However, we can also use the normal Whole Wheat Flour, that we use for making chapatis. Only the texture differs.

It is a simple recipe as only Four ingredients are there and also there is no sugar syrup consistency required. Only care is on roasting the Flour to right colour.  

 A video is also published in "Mira's Akshaya Patram". So you may also check there.

Ingredients  :-

1. Whole Wheat Flour - 1 Cup
2. Ghee - 1 Cup [Clarified Butter]
3. Sugar - 1 Cup
4. Water - 2 Cups

Procedure :-

• To a vessel, add sugar and 2 cups of water. Heat and dissolve the sugar. Just bring it to boil. No Syrup consistency required. Once it starts boiling, switch off the gas.

• Heat a wok and add Ghee [Clarified Butter] to it. Once the ghee has melted, add Whole wheat flour and keep stirring till it changes light brown in colour.

• Keep in low heat only as the color changes quickly once it reaches golden color and it may get burnt. So keep in low flame and keep stirring and watching the colour. 

• Once the light brown color comes, add the sugar water and keep mixing. It will quickly start thickening. Keep mixing in low flame only. 

• The moment you see ghee start oozing out lightly on the sides, immediately switch OFF the gas and transfer it to a plate. (No need to grease the plate).

• Delicious Kada Prasad | Atte Ka Halwa is Ready!

Notes :- If you are trying it for the first time, you can switch OFF the gas once the light brown colour is achieved during roasting of flour in ghee. Then add the sugar water, mix it and then switch ON the gas again. Start cooking in low flame only.

Chakka Varatti Jackfruit Preserve Jackfruit Jam Phanas Halwa

Hope you are enjoying the sesaon of Mangoes and Jackfruit like me!  Jackfruit is one of the fruit in the fruity trio. 

The sesaonal items make me go to the weekly market...... the sight of various country grown veg and fruits are a feast to eyes!  While I was pushing myself through the crowd, an aroma floating in the air drew me torwards a cart selling Jackfruit :p They were fresh and a beautiful yellow in color. I couldn't resist buying so  1/2 kg ripe jackfruit pods made their way into my shopping bag, this friday.  I planned to make some traditional recipes using it.... There are traditional recipes using the raw jackfruit, ripe jackfruit and also its seeds.....

My FIL is an ardent fan of the chakka varatti (Jackfruit Preserve). Hence, I decided to make that for him this week. I realised I haven't shared the recipe here, so here it is .......

Our ancestors had a unique way of storing seasonal items to make them availale in some form to the taste buds through out the year. Sharing with you one such traditional preserve recipe using Jackfruit which is called "Chakka Varatti" / Chakka Varatiyadhu / Chakka Jam.........  Chakka Pazham means Jackfruit in  Malayalam, 'Pala Pazham' in Tamil Nadu and in  hindi it is known as 'Phanas'.

Ingredients :-

1. Jackfruit paste - 1 cup
2. Jaggery - 1 cup
3. Clarified Butter (ghee) - 1/4 cup
4. Water - 1/4 cup

Method :

• Deseed the jackfruit pods, wash and drain them. 

• Pressure cook Jackfruit pods adding little water, for two whistles. Let them cool and then blend them well to make a thick paste. 

 

• Boil jaggery adding water and let it dissolve completely. Filter the impurties and transfer the jaggery syrup into a thick bottomed deep pan / Kadai / wok.

• Bring it to boil till it comes to one thread consistency.  Lower the flame.

• Now add the Jackfruit paste, mix till they blend well with each other, on slow flame.

• Now on medium flame cook till it thickens (stirring in between).

• Once the gravy becomes thick (dropping consitency), add the ghee little by little and keep stirring till the ghee is absorbed and the mixture becomes thick and start leaving the sides.

• Let it cool. Transfer to a clean container. This you can store outside or in fridge and use a clean spoon for every use. For long life, you can even freeze them.

• I have taken it a stage earlier as it was small in quantity, which will be finished quickly. For long storage, keep stirring it till becomes dry and thick.

• This preserve can be used like a jam spread, can be dissolved in milk for making a flavoured milk, can use in making Payasam (Pradhaman) along with coconut milk. or it can be used as a stuffing in the traditional Elai Adai (a steamed sweet).

Elai Adai - Steamed rice sweet

Elai Adai is a Traditional sweet snack (Steamed sweet dumplings) wrapped in a banana leaf. Elai (leaf), adai (dumplings). Specially made in God's own country - Kerala (Keralam). 

In most of the homes especially the tamizh speaking brahmins settled in Kerala, it is a common snack item.  Banana leaf and coconut are easily available.

This beautiful looking steamed snack nicely parcelled in a green banana leaf is too inviting.

I remember, in my childhood days, when amma makes them, the flavour gently floated & reached my nostrils, made me drool badly.  I eagerly waited for her to open the traditional steamer and take out the parcels and handover to me.

When my first milk tooth fell, i was at my aunt's home. Those days, it was a practice that the elderly lady in the family will help extracting the shaking milk tooth. After it was extracted, the pain and blood scared me. She was making elai adais, that day. To cheer me up, she laughed and handed over a parcel to me saying "when a tooth is extracted, elai adai is made. Remember this day and everytime when your milk tooth falls ask amma for elai adai". Yes, elai adai, indeed made me forget all that pain and I had a sweet tooth then to relish those glossy looking yummy sweet adais.  Everytime when a tooth fell, I remembered that sweet incident.

The traditional recipe calls for ingredients viz., jackfruit, coconut, jaggery for the poornam (stuffing). Ladies were (and are!) so smart that they found a solution to make a seasonal stuff available in one form or the other, throughout the year (off seasons), which made them invent pickles and preserves.

During the season, fresh jackfruit pods are finely chopped and added to the coconut poornam (pooran). During off season, the preserve is used. 

There are some quick versions too available now a days which uses coconut, cardamom powder and sugar. But the flavour of jackfruit, jaggery and coconut can never be beaten. That is the power of authentic recipe!

Whatever the ingredient for Poornam (Puran) is, the banana leaf is the most important thing for 'eali' adai making, on which it is made and packed before steaming. The leaf give the adais a drool worthy look, yummy flavour & taste.

Let us get into the elai adai making.

you will need :-

1. Banana Leaf (Plantain leaf) - 3 Nos.
2. Raw Rice : 1 Cup
3. Grated coconut - 1.5 Cups
4. Jaggery - 1 Cup (or as per taste)
5. Jack fruit Pods - 4-5 Nos. (If you use preserve, use 2-3 tbsp)
6. Ghee - 1 tbsp

Preparation :-

• Soak the raw rice for 2 hours and grind to a smooth paste. The consistency of the batter is thick but pouring (like a batter for Bajji )

•  Wash the banana leafs and pat them dry. Switch on the gas and very lightly toast them on flame, so that they don't tear while folding. It becomes easy to handle.

•  Dissolve jaggery in water (less than 1/4 cup of water), filter the impurities. 

• Heat a wok, add the filtered jaggery water, grated coconut, jack fruit pieces (or preserve) and cook till the mixture thickens.  [If you are using the preserve, add the preserve to the coconut).

• Add a tbsp of ghee (clarified butter) and mix well. Switch off the flame.

• Pour water in a steamer and bring the water to boil

Elai adai making :-

• Take a piece of plantain leaf (banana leaf/vazhai elai) and lay it flat on a working surface.

• Take a laddle of batter, pour some on the leaf and spread it like a dosa (pancake)

• Take a tbsp of poornam (prepared coconut stuffing) and place it on the middle. Very gently spread them a little.

• Now fold the leaf carefully once and place them on the steamer

• Close the steamer and steam the parcels for 10 minutes 

• Open, let it cool a bit and serve the sweet along with the parcel.

 Sit back and relish the flavourful steamed sweet adais.

Modakam | odak

 OM GAM GANAPATHAYE NAMAHA

Modakam / Modak - a steamed sweet dish made with rice base (outer part) and coconut pooran (stuffing) offered to Lord Ganesha on chathurthi days.  The pooran represents the gyan - which symbolically says that man must find his inner self.

Yesterday was Sankashti Chathurthi, so made some modaks for my favourite God. Sankashti Chathurthi falls on the fourth day after a full moon. This day many holds upvas which is believed to clear all obstacles & worries from one's life. However, I didn't keep any upvas or vrath but just offered pooja after making modaks.

Modaks are done in two methods. 1. Steamed 2. Fried. I am now sharing with you the steamed version.

Video Recipe is here:-

Ingridients :-

1. Processed* Rice Flour - 1 cup
2. Water - 1/2 cup
3. A pinch of Salt
4. Ghee or oil
5. Jaggery - 3/4 cup
6. Coconut grated - 1 cup
7. Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
8. Ghee for pooran - 1 tbsp

* Use raw rice or basmati rice. Soak it for 1/2 hour. Drain completely, spread on a clean cloth & let it dry for 10 minutes under fan. Powder it nicely in a mixer. Sieve and use.Or you can buy store brought processed flour also.

Procedure :-

Making pooran

• Dissolve jaggery adding very little water, strain to remove impurities.
• In a pan add the filtered jaggery syrup, cardamom powder, grated coconut, ghee
• keep stirring till the mixture thickens. Let it cool.

 making the rice flour base for outer shell

• Heat a kadai, pour water. Add a pinch of salt and oil / ghee. I used coconut oil as we like that flavour and is also traditional too.
• when the water boils, add the rice flour mix lightly, cover and keep it aside for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, open the lid, knead the dough (dip your hand in water and knead if required) well divide into equal portions

• to make modaks, you can do it traditionally using hands (it needs lot of practice, so don;t give up. Try & succeed. Or you can use the moulds available in the market)
• Keep a  small cup of water + few drops of coconut oil mixed ready to dip your fingers to moist the dough while making modaks.
• Take a ball of flour, make a depression in the centre, and keep pressing till it takes a cup form.

• pinch the sides at equal intervals
• place a spoon of pooran inside. 
• gather the sides to the centre, press and slightly twist to get the modak shape. (this you will easily attain with practice)

• steam it for 10 minutes
• Yummy modak is ready

Tips :

If you don't get a perfect shape, don't give up. You can flatten the ball like a thin disc, keep the pooran and gather the ends to the centre, press, twist. If you don't get the perfect fan shape, you can use the fork, place it on the top sides all around of the prepared modak and then steam it.

Ganpathy Bapa Moriya
Mangal Murti Moriya

Appam / Nei appam

Appam is a spherical sweet dish made using rice flour and Jaggery. This sweet takes a most important place in the house of Tamil speaking Brahmins who hails from Kerala.  It is also known as neiyappam as ghee is mixed along with oil to give it a nice flavour (pure ghee will make it hard hence mixing with oil). For marriages in seer this sweet dish also takes an important place.

Many gets confused between an aapam and appam. Aapam is not a sweet and it is shaped like a dosa.  There is also a dish called vellai appam  (white appam) from kerala. Whereas appam / nei appam is a sphere shaped and is a fried sweet dish.

Special mould - a vessel with depressions is used to make the appams. If you don't have it, then prepare the batter to dropping consistency and drop in hot oil in a kadai, and deep fry.

Ingridients :- (to make 15 - 20 appams)

1. Raw Rice - 1 Tea Cup
2. Jaggery   -3/4 tea cup
3. Small Banana - 1 No.
4. Cardamom - 4-5 nos
5. Ghee - 2 tbsp
6. Coconut pieces - 1 tbsp
7. Coconut Oil - 1 Tbsp (frying coconut pieces)
8. Oil for frying

Procedure :-

• Soak Raw Rice for 2 hours & drain. 
• Grate jaggery. 
• In a mixer grinder, grind the soaked rice, jaggery, cardamom and small banana together into a nice paste.  Small elaichi banana softens the Appam and also gives nice flavour.
• Allow it to ferment for minimum 6 hours or leave it overnight.
• Before making Appam fry coconut pieces in coconut oil (you can add even without frying). Frying enhance the flavour and taste.
• In the appam moulds (appa kaaral) pour little ghee and oil into each depression, heat it. 
• Pour a small laddle of batter into it. When it rises, becomes fluffy and you see the ends turn colour into nice golden brown & crispy, with a sharp spoon  or a skewere turn it and let the other raw side cook till it is done.
• yummy appam is ready.

Notes / Tips :-

• Boiled rice can also be used instead of raw rice.
• Banana will help you to get a soft appam & nice flavour. If you don't have small elaichi banana, you can use half robusta banana or the golden kela.
• If you still find your appam hard for any reason, you can add a pinch of baking powder.

Panchamrudham / Panchamruth / பஞ்சாம்ரிதம் / पंचामृत

पंचामृत

You will need :-

1. Small Sweet ripe banana - 3 to 4 Nos
2. Jaggery - 1 tbsp
3. Ghee - 1 tbsp
4. Raisin - 8-10 nos.
5. Dates  - 3 Nos (chop finely)
6. Honey - 1 tbsp
7. Sugar Candy - 1 tsp
8. Cardamom - 2 Nos.
9. Pachai karpooram - a pinch (optional) - edible camphor

Cardamom - 2Nos.

Procedure :-

• Cut the bananas, add jaggery and chopped dates. Put them in a bowl. 

• Mash the bananas lightly. Add rest of the ingridients and mix well till the Jaggery dissolves and blends well. 

• Delicious panchamrutham is ready! 

• If you let it stand for one or two hours, the flavour of the ingredients also blends well and gives a sweet fruity flavour.

If you prefer less sweet, then you may reduce the quantity of Honey, Sugar candy and Jaggery to suit your taste preference.

Mysore Pak - Low calorie Microwave version

This is a low calorie microwave version, shared by my friend. Came out well. Also saved from the labour of continous stirring on gas top.

1. Besan - 1 cup
2. Sugar - 1 cup
3. Ghee - 1 cup 
4. Milk - 1 tbsp

Procedure :-

• Powder sugar. Sieve besan without lumps. mix both powdered sugar and besan and microwave (medium) for 2 minutes. Mix well and MW for 1 minute. 
• Add 1 cup ghee to the mixture and mix well without lumps and microwave for 3 minutes (450w) then mix in 1tbsp milk.
• mix the mixture well and microwave medium heat till bubble appears, stirring it occasionally in between.
• When the mixture becomes thick, and bubbles well and leave sides, pour it on a greased plate
• leave it to cool. when it is thickens, make slices using cutter or the flat dosa laddle used for flipping dosai.

Variation :
you can add grated coconut to give it a additional flavour
can reduce sugar and ghee slightly further to make it even more low in calories.

Chirote

This was a sweet snack recipe which i collected from my friend long ago. She got it from a recipe book. Easy to make. I made some changes to it to give it a good flavour.

Ingredients :-

Maida - 1 tea cup
Salt     - 1 pinch
Sugar - 1 1/2  tbsp
Cardamom - 3 - 4 nos.
Ghee -  1 1/2 tsp
Corn flour - 2 tsp
ghee for frying
Liquid edible Food colours of your choice



Procedure :

• Mix Maida & salt and sieve. Adding water little by litte, knead the dough
• Mix ghee & cornflour to a smooth paste. If you feel the ghee is not sufficient add few more drops to get the consistency.
• Divide the dough into equal portions as per the colours you are going to use. keeping one part plain.

• Mix each of the liquid  food colour to each part of dough and mix & knead well

• Flatten each coloured ball & plain one on a dusted board with rolling pin like a chapathi.
• Applly cornflour paste on the plain one, place a coloured one on top and apply cornflour paste on it. Do like this for all the coloured chapathis.

• Apply the paste on top chapathi and roll them together into a cylinderical shape.
• cut 1/2" thick slices, flatten them with rolling pin into thin puris.

• Heat ghee and fry them in low flame till crispy, turning the sides.
• Place on an absorbent sheet.

 

• Powder sugar along with cardamom.
• In a plate, arrange the colourful chirotes, sprinkle powdered flavoured sugar lavishly & serve.

 

Boondhi Laddu

BHOONDHI LADDU

This is a traditional recipe made for giving as 'seer' during functions viz., Engagement, Marriage, Seemandham, Naming ceremony, etc. in our family.

Serves : 15-20 Lemon sized laddus
Ingredients :

• Besan (gram flour) - 2 cups
• Sugar                    - 2 cups
• Cloves (lavang)     - 10 nos.
• Elachi                   - 8 nos.
• nutmeg powder    - 1 pinch
• yellow food colour - 1/4 tsp
• oil / ghee for frying
• water                   - 1/4 cup for sugar syrup
• Sugar candy crystals - 1 tbsp
• Cashew & raisins - 1 tbsp (roasted in ghee)
• Laddle with holes for making bhoondhi

Procedure :

• Mix sugar and water and make a syrup to 1 string consitency
• Mix besan, food colour and make a batter (dosa batter consistency)
• Crush lavang, elachi and mix with nutmeg powder.
• Heat oil in a wok, pour the batter on the laddle with holes. the batter will fall through the hole like drops and makes the bhoondi. once they are crispy, strain them and put them on absorbent sheet to remove excess oil. 
• Transfer them into the sugar syrup, sprinkle the lavang mixture on top. add roasted cashew & raisins,  sugar candy crystals and mix well - keep it aside to cool slightly. 
• With a heavy pounder, mash the boondhis lightly so that you can make rounds easily out of them.
• when it thickens a bit, start making the laddus. keep it for few hours to set (if you find them losing the shape then again press them tightly and they will set soon)
• Your boondhi laddu is now ready to serve

GAJAR KA HALWAA

Pink Carrot is available during winter here. Unlike the normal carrot, this one is juicy and sweet too. It suits more to make halwaa.

GAJAR KA HALWAA

Ingridients-

1. Grated Carrot (Gajar) - 1 cup
2. Melted Ghee               - 2 to 3 tbsp
3. Sugar                          - 3/4 cup
4. Khoa (unsweetened)   - 2 tbsp
5. Cardamom powder     - 1/2 tsp
6. Milk                            - 1/2 cup
7. Greased plate/bowl

Procedure :-

• Boil milk and add grated carrot to it. when carrot is cooked, add sugar and stir well. 
• When sugar melts and bind with it, add cardamom powder.
• Add Khoa and mix well. 
• Now add ghee little by little till it is abosorbed into the halwaa. 
• When ghee starts coming out of the halwaa and doesn't stick to sides, pour it on a greased plate or bowl. 
• Hot & yummy Gajar ka Halwaa is ready to serve.

Paanagam & Nei Paayasam

Ram Navami, is celebrated through out the nation today.  I made these two neivedhyams and sharing the prasad with you all.

Paanagam

Paanagam

Ingredients :-


Water     - 1 tumbler
Jaggery   - 1 1/2 tbsp
Dry Ginger powder - 1/4 tsp
Pepper Powder - 1 pinch
Cardamom powder - less than 1/4 tsp
Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp


Procedure :-

• Dissolve Jaggery in water and filter it. 
• To this filtered jaggery water, add rest of the ingredients. 
• Mix well and keep it aside for half-an-hour. Panagam is ready. 
• This drink is very refreshing and good for digestion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nei Paayasam


a special payasam made on special festive occassions

Nei payasam

Ingredients :-

1. Rice - 1 Cup
2. Jaggery - 1 Cup
3. Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp
4. Ghee - 4-5 Tbsp
5. Dry Ginger Powder - 2 pinches (Optional)

Procedure :-

• Cook the rice till it is really soft & mash it slightly. 
• Dissolve jaggery by adding little water, filter and pour it on a thick bottomed pan. 
• When it starts boiling, add the cooked rice, keep stirring till its slightly thicker in consistency. 
• Add the Cardamom Powder, Ghee and stir for two to three minutes. 
• Nei Payasam is ready. 

Rawa Kesari

RAWA KESARI

Its a traditional south indian sweet which is easy to prepare.

Ingridients

• Rawa - 1 cup
• Sugar - 1 cup
• Elachi powder - 1/2 tsp
• Melted Ghee - 1/4 cup
• Orange food colour - less than 1/4 tsp
• Water - 2 cups (this may vary as per the variety of rawa so keep a cup of Hot water ready)

1. Heat a wok, pour a tbsp of ghee, roast rawa till the raw small goes. remove and let it cool.
2. Heat a kadai, add two & a half cups of hot water to it, add the food colour mix well
3. Pour 1/4 cup ghee into the hot water, add the rava slowly little by little while you keep stirring (to prevent form lumps)
4. When it is almost dry and forming just bubbles and the rawa is cooked, add sugar and mix well.
5. Keep it covered for 15 minutes.
6. Yummy hot kesari is ready. You can garnish it with cashews and raisins (optional)