Adhirasam \ Ariselu

Adhirasam or Ariselu, a traditional South Indian Sweet is one of the mandatory sweet included in the "Seer Bhakshanams" during marriages. "Seer Bhakshanams" are the sweets and savouries made by the bride's side and sent to the groom's side along with the bride after marriage. Also, its also made during some festivals too.. I made this Adhirasam \ Ariselu on the day of "Kartika Pournami" for prasadam. Though its my first try, it did not disappoint me at all and to my surprise, the Adhirasams did not drink that much oil too....Though i know the actual traditional method of making Adhirasam \ Ariselu, I wanted to make the process simpler this time. So I tried using Swad Rice Flour instead of  following the traditional way. This was a huge success to me as all the Adhirasams got over the next day itself, and my kids loved the Adhirasam and grabbed few on their own. After making these yummy Adhirasams, I realised that its a "No Big Deal" sweet surely and we can make and enjoy them at any time.

Ingredients

Rice Flour - 2 Cups

Jaggery - 1 Cup

Cardamom Powder - 2 tsp

Sukku Powder \ Dry Ginger Powder -  1 tsp

Oil - To fry the Adhirasams

Method

• Fry the rice flour for few minutes and keep it aside.
• Add the jaggery pieces or powdered Jaggery which comes to 1 Cup into a vessel and add a cup of water. Make the Jaggery Syrup carefully. The consistency of the jaggery Syrup decides the final outcome, so this process needs more attention.
• While making the Syrup, check to see whether the string consistency has arrived. Take a small amount and drop it on water in a container. It should float and you would be able to make a small ball out of it.
• Take out the syrup from the stove. Add the cardamom powder and Ginger powder to the syrup and mix it well.
• Slowly add the rice flour into the Jaggery Syrup without making any lumps. Mix the rice flour thoroughly with the Jaggery Syrup and keep it aside.
• After 3-4 hours, heat oil in the frying pan. When the oil gets heated, take a small ball of the Adhirasam dough, make a small round using your hand itself or on a plastic paper and slowly drop this into the heated oil.
• Allow the Adhirasam to get fried on both side equally. Then, drain the excess oil if any and keep the Adhirasam on a tissue paper.
• Continue the same process for the rest of the Adhirasam Dough. At a time, I dropped 4-5 Adhirasams into the oil and drained them. It depends on your kadai size and speed. You can drop more too if you have a bigger frying pan.
• Finally, arrange all the fried Adhirasams\Ariselu on a plate for Neivedhyam.

Tips \ Variations

Instead of rice flour, you can follow the traditional method of making the rice flour by soaking raw rice in water, drying them on a cloth and then grinding the semi wet rice into rice flour. By following this method, the Adhirasams would be much softer and tastier.  Next time, I am planning to adopt this method and try them out.

If you make the Jaggery Syrup as I mentioned above and take it out of the stove at the right time, these Adhirasams also would be a definite hit.

Vathakuzhambu

Vathakuzhambu is a traditional dish from South India which is served with white rice, papads. This tangy, sweety, spicy gravy tastes good with a side of any fry or pappads. I have been eating this Vathakuzhambu since childhood and enjoyed this dish with my favorite baby potato fry or Bindi fry. Mostly my mom and my grandma prepare this dish in the same way and their versions are unbeatable. I was fortunate to taste my grandma's Vathakuzhambu even at her 85th age. Recently she passed away after having suffered terribly in the bed for more than 2-3 years. Somehow this dish reminds me more of her.  I love my Grandma and this is my tribute to my lovely special Grandma, my Patty.

Ingredients

Thick Tamarind Extract  -  2 Cups

Small Onions \ Shallots -  10

Oil - 2 tbsp

Gingelly Oil - 1 tbsp

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Sambar Powder - 2 tbsp

Coriander Powder - 1\2 tbsp

Red Chilli powder - 2 tsp

Jaggery - 1 small piece

Salt - To Taste

Water  - 1 cup

Mustard Seeds - 3 tsp

Jeera \ Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Hing \ Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Thoor Dal \ Thuvaram Paruppu \ Kandhi Pappu - 1 tbsp

Dry Red Chilli - 1 or 2.

Curry Leaves - 1 stem.

Method

1. Make a thick Tamarind Extract and keep it ready. Cut the small onions and keep them ready too.
2. Keep all the ingredients handy before starting the preparation.
3. In a round thick bottomed vessel, add oil first. ( Not the Gingelly Oil now). When its heated, add Hing, Mustard Seeds, Cumin Seeds, Thuvar Dal , Dry red chillies, Curry leaves in the order and fry them.
4. When its done, add the small sambar onions and fry them till they turn golden brown.
5. On a low flame, add all the required powders to the contents in the vessel and fry them along with the contents well.
6. Now add the extracted tamarind juice, jaggery, salt and water. Mix everything together and allow them to boil on a medium flame for few minutes with the lid covered.
7. Open the lid and check to see whether the gravy is completely set with no raw smell of the tamarind juice.
8. Finally you could confirm the completion by noticing some oil oozing out of the gravy and the gravy would have become thicker in consistency.
9. Now the tangy, spicy Vethakuzhambu is ready to eat with hot white rice.

Tips \ Variations

Try to make the Vethakuzhambu with some dried Vathals like "Manathakkali Vathal , Sundaikai Vathal, etc." It tastes good with real Vathals. This time I tried using small onions.

Don't forget to add a small piece of Jaggery which is the taste maker to the Kuzhambu.

If you are making this for a festival or for special occasions, you can gracefully add little more Gingelly Oil to make it more delicious and flavourful.

Egg Masala / Muttai Masala

Egg is a powerhouse of disease fighting nutrients, has high amount of protein along with good fat, iron, vitamins and minerals.  Egg Yolks are one of the greatest source of riboflavin, B12 and choline which helps in brain development and protect us from age related memory loss. Combination of eggs with some good fat is an excellent breakfast for kids. Though I am not an eggetarian, I make different varieties using eggs for my kids. Out of that, this dish "Egg Masala" was introduced by my mother-in--law and loved by my family...This dish would help mostly during travel time.

Ingredients

Boiled Eggs -- 7 or 8

Onion - 2 Medium

Tomato - 1 Big or 2 Small

Green Chilli - 2 Medium

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Red chilli powder - 2 tsp

Garam Masala Powder - 3 tsp

( This powder is homemade, made by my mother-in-law using fresh spices like Cinnamon, Cloves, Other masala spices. You can use the regular garam masala powder you use at home otherwise).

Coriander Powder - 1 tsp

Salt - To Taste

Jaggery - 1 small piece.

Coriander Leaves - To Garnish

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp

Curry Leaves - 1 Stem

Thick Tamarind Juice - Half a cup

Oil - 2 tbsp

Hing \ Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Method

• Hard boil the eggs and peel the outer skin and keep them ready. Cut the onions, tomato, green chilli and keep them ready too.
• In a kadai or any non-stick vessel, add the oil. When it gets heated up, add the Hing, mustard seeds, jeera, curry leaves.
• After tempering is done, add the Ginger Garlic Paste first and fry them till the raw smell completely goes off.
• Add the cut onions, green chilli into the kadai \ vessel and fry them till the onions get golden brown. Add the tomato pieces along with the other powders and cook them well.
• Cover the lid on a low flame for few minutes so that the powders get well mixed and would be forming a semi gravy.
• Add the tamarind extract now along with salt and a piece of jaggery.
• Cook them well for few minutes. Then, add the boiled eggs into the gravy and allow them to cook inside the gravy for few minutes with the lid open.
• Finally when the gravy is set, garnish the dish with coriander leaves and serve them with hot rice or rotis.

Tips \ Variations

You can fry the Hard boiled Eggs before adding them into the gravy. This enhances the taste of the Egg masala.

Try to make a perfect , semi solid gravy first and then add the eggs. Don't add the eggs in the beginning stage itself.

According to your taste buds, you can increase or decrease the chilli powder, garam masala powders as well.

Paneer Butter Masala

Paneer Butter Masala, a rich creamy gravy dish is a very popular North Indian Side dish. Fresh Paneer cubes inside the rich, creamy tomato gravy makes the dish more exotic and the wonderful flavours of the Indian spices add more flavour to the dish.  I tasted the same "Paneer Butter Masala" in various places like "Sagar.." hotels in Bangalore, in trains, in many good restaurants in South India and in various restaurants in New Delhi, etc., Every version of this dish has its own taste and preparation style. I am sharing my version with all of you, though many of you would be preparing and enjoying this dish in your own way.  As its my daughter's favourite, I make this often for her.

Ingredients

Fresh Paneer Cubes - 2 Cups

Onion - 1 Big

Tomato - 2 Medium

Green Chillies - 1 Medium

Cashew Nuts - 1 Handful ( Optional ) ( You can substitute this with Almonds )

Turmeric Powder  - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp

Garam Masala Powder  - 3 tsp

Coriander Powder - 2 tsp

Sugar - A pinch

Salt - To Taste

Ginger Garlic Paste -  1 tbsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Butter or Ghee - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds ( Jeera ) - 1 tsp

Fresh Cream - 2 tsp ( Optional )

Coriander Leaves - To Garnish

Method

• In a big non-stick vessel \pan, shallow fry the Paneer cubes with 1 tsp of oil and keep them aside.
• Cut the onions, tomato and green chili and fry them on the same vessel with little bit of oil and make a smooth paste of those using a mixer grinder by adding a handful of Cashew nuts to this mixture. If you don't like to use cashews, substitute this with a handful of almonds and make a fine, smooth grounded paste.
• In the same vessel, add butter or ghee and the remaining oil. When it gets heated up, add the cumin seeds first.
• Then, add the Ginger Garlic paste into the oil and fry them on a low flame till the raw smell completely vanishes.
• After its done, add the grounded paste into the non-stick vessel. Add all the powders as mentioned above along with Salt and a pinch of sugar.
• Mix everything well and let them cook on a medium flame for sometime. When the oil gets separated from the mixture, its an indication that the tomato gravy is almost done.
• Add the fried paneer cubes into the gravy now and close the lid. Let it cook for a minute.
• Switch off the flame and finally add the fresh cream to the Paneer Butter masala and mix it well.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and add few drops of fresh cream on the top just before serving.
• It goes well with roti, chappathi or with any variety of  rice pulav.

Tips \ Variations

If you fry the tomatoes and onion before grinding, the preparation time for making the gravy is lesser.

You can always substitute Cashews with Almonds and also the fresh cream at the end is totally optional. Add fresh cream only if its made for a party or for a larger crowd. Fresh cream adds richness, sweetness to the side dish.

You can increase or decrease the spice powder levels according to your taste buds.

Badam Halwa / Almond Halwa

Badam Halwa / Almond Halwa is a very rich sweet which is generally made in marriages or during special occasions. Halwa in general is made with the nutty paste, ghee and sugar syrup. Taste of any Halwa would be delicious if its slightly warmed before eating. A pinch of saffron strands would definitely enhance the taste of this rich halwa and also its flavour. Though it takes good amount of preparation time, the final output is really worthy for that time. My sister gave me a tip to fasten the process. With her experience, she told me that the almond paste made with water takes lesser time to get cooked and come to the Halwa consistency than the paste made with milk and water. Amount of ghee to this Halwa is not more if its added at the end of the process. So, I can confidently say that the process can never go wrong and also its not eating so much ghee. So happily we can enjoy few spoons of Almond Halwa during this festival time.

Ingredients

Almonds - 2 Cups

Sugar - 1 Cup

Ghee - 3-4 tbsp

Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp

Yellow / Kesar Orange food colour - 1 pinch

Saffron - A pinch in luke warm water.

Method

Blanching Almonds

Soak the Almonds in water overnight and peel the skin off the almonds the next day. This is the regular method which we generally follow for blanching. You can also soak them in warm water or hot water and peel their skin off after few hours. Follow any method whichever is simpler and easier for you.

Making Almond Paste

Grind the blanched almonds using a mixer grinder to a fine, smooth paste by adding little water. I don't add milk while grinding the almonds at all. Keep the almond paste ready.

Making Sugar Syrup

In a thick bottomed vessel, add 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 a cup of water and make a thick sugar syrup. Add a pinch of food colour to the sugar syrup.

Making Saffron Syrup

In a small cup, add 2 tsp of hot milk and add a pinch of saffron strands. Leave them for few minutes. Then you would see the saffron strands melted and the colour of the milk would have turned kesar yellow/orange. Keep this syrup ready.

Halwa Preparation

• Transfer the Almond paste into a thick non-stick kadai / round pan. Cook the paste by closing the lid for sometime and stir the paste constantly.
• Add the sugar syrup into the paste and mix them well. Stir the mix continuously so that the almond paste thickens and come to the Halwa consistency. This would take some good amount of time. So, patiently stir the mixture in the kadai. You can fasten the process by closing the lid and cooking them on a low flame. This would thicken the paste to some level and then stir the mix again by opening the lid for sometime.
• Add the powdered Cardamom powder and the saffron syrup into the Halwa Mix.
• Check the consistency of the Almond Halwa now. If its almost closer to the Halwa consistency, add 3 tbsp of ghee into the Halwa. Stir them again for sometime and finally the Almond Halwa would come in shape with good aroma and taste.
• Switch off the flame. Transfer the Halwa into a suitable container and sprinkle some fried cashew nuts if required. Also, you can sprinkle few saffron strands just before serving...

Variations

Instead of cooking and stirring the Halwa mix in the stove, you can microwave the Halwa mix and fasten the process too.

Curd Rice / Perugannam / Dhadhojanam

Without curd rice at the end, any good meal is not complete totally..In South India, curd rice is mostly eaten at the end in any regular meals or in any special occasion thalis. With a side of a spicy pickle, it concludes the meal with greater satisfaction. Taste of the curd rice totally depends on the curd culture, sourness and the rice texture. To me, preparing curd rice is a special art as I have tasted the best curd rice as well as the worst curd rice in my life. I am just writing down the method I follow for making our traditional Dadhojanam ( curd rice ).

Ingredients

Cooked rice - 1 Cup

Salt - To Taste

Pomegranate Seeds - 2 tbsp

Coriander Leaves - To Garnish

Fresh Curd - 2 -3 cups.

Milk - As required. ( Optional ).

Grated Ginger - 2 tsp

For Tempering

Oil - 3 tsp

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Mustard Seeds - 3 tsp

Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu / Mina Pappu - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chillies - 2

Green Chillies - 2 Small

Curry Leaves - 4 or 5

Channa Dal - 1 tsp

Method

• Cook the rice in the pressure cooker for 4-5 whistles. Let the cooked rice be well cooked but not pasty. Open the rice vessel after its cooked and transfer the rice into a big mixing bowl or vessel.
• Finish the tempering by adding all the ingredients and pour them over the cooked rice.
• Add grated ginger, little coriander leaves, salt into the mixing bowl. Mix everything nicely and slightly mash the rice while mixing. Now the rice would be loaded with the flavours of Hing, Ginger and other ingredients.
• Now slowly add the fresh curd into the mixing bowl and and mix it thoroughly with the rice. Keep adding curd to the rice till you get the desired consistency.
• Add little milk to the curd rice if the curd is little sour. Garnish with remaining coriander leaves and now the curd rice is ready with lots of freshness, flavour and taste.

Tips

• Don't cook the rice like how we make for Puliogare. The rice should be well cooked and little mashy.
• Try to add fresh curd only if you are going to eat the curd rice immediately. If you are making it for lunch, then try to use as much luke warm milk while mixing and add 2 tbsp of curd only and keep it. During lunch, it will be all set and the curd rice wont be sour at all. Of course, little sourness would give a good punch to the curd rice.

Variations

• You can add grated carrots, finely cut onions, cucumbers into the curd rice if you wish.
• Also, you can add tiny pieces of cashew nuts as well.

Happy Diwali



Omapodi, Paramannam ( Sweet Pongal ), Madras Mixture, Rasamalai, Kova kajjikaya, Badam Halwa, Andhra Puliodara

Wishing you all a very Happy, Prosperous and colourful Diwali..We had a colourful blast in our Indian temple, utah with professional fireworks display, fantastic Indian music and yummy Indian Thali too...
A very special diwali in the mid of a chilling weather outside.

Hope you all would have enjoyed very well too...Soon, I will be posting my Diwali recipes in my blog...