Paramannam

Annam Payasam aka Paramannam (Food of the Gods) is prepared with raw rice, milk and jaggery or sugar. Rice is slowly simmered in milk and combined with jaggery, flavored with aromatic cardamom and garnished with toasted cashew nuts and raisins. Simple to prepare, comforting and delicious

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Ingredients:

1/2 cup raw rice washed and drained

1/2 cup grated jaggery

1 cup water

1/2 lt low fat milk

pinch of salt

1/4 tsp cardamom pwd

1 tbsp ghee

10-12 cashewnuts

1 tbsp raisins

1 Heat a pan, add a tbsp of ghee and toast the cashew nuts and raisins till golden brown. Remove from pan, keep aside.
2 Heat a vessel, add grated jaggery. Let the jaggery melt over slow flame till its sticky on touch. Don’t over cook it, it should basically completely melt. Strain the jaggery and cool.
3 In a separate vessel, bring milk and water to a boil. Lower heat and add the rice to the milk. Cook until the rice is soft and the mixture turns thick. Remove from heat and cool.
5 Once cool, add the jaggery syrup to the cooled cooked milk and combine well. Add the cardamom pwd, salt and toasted cashews and raisins. Serve warm or refrigerate until chilled. It tastes good both warm and chilled.

Kitchen Notes – Do not add the jaggery syrup while the rice is being cooked. Ensure the flame is off and the cooked rice is slightly cool when adding the jaggery syrup. For a rich taste, use whole milk.

Pornam Boorelu

It’Boorelu, one of the most popular sweets prepared in the homes of Andhras, symbolic of joy and festivity, completely embodies the idea of a traditional Andhra sweet to the hilt  festival time!,  time for indulgence, good food, new clothes and lot of fanfare. 

This perennial favorite is a deep-fried sweet ball, the filling of which is prepared from bengal gram, jaggery or sugar, coconut and cardamom powder being the flavor enhancer, which is dipped in a batter made from black gram dal and rice and deep-fried to a golden brown color. Here is how to make these delicious treats with a golden hue and redolent with cardamom flavor to indulge yourself this festive season.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cup black gram dal/urad dal/minappappu

1 cup rice

1 cup bengal gram/channa dal/sengapappu

1 cup sugar or 1 cup grated jaggery (adjust according to your choice)

1/4 cup fresh grated coconut (optional)

3/4 tsp cardamom powder

salt to taste

oil for deep frying

1 Drain water from the black gram dal and rice and grind to fine paste adding very little water. It should be like a thick dosa batter. Add a pinch of salt and mix well. Leave aside covered.

2 Cook bengal gram with just enough water to cover the dal. The dal should be just cooked and hold shape. Drain any left over water from the dal after its cooked. Add jaggery or sugar to the dal and use a masher to mash them together till it blends well.

3 Take a heavy-bottomed vessel and add the ground dal paste and cook till it appears like a thick paste, stirring continuously as the dal tends to stick to the vessel. Turn off heat and cool.

4 Add grated coconut, cardamom powder and mix well. Shape small bite sized balls like shown in the picture above.

5 Heat enough oil in a wide heavy bottomed vessel for deep frying the balls. Dip each ball in the batter and let it coat evenly and place in the oil and deep fry till golden brown and crunchy. You can deep fry a batch of four to five balls depending on the size of the vessel.

6 Serve warm. Store in an air tight container as they last for at least two days.

vada

Vadas – light and fluffy on the inside with a crisp exterior, packed with flavor, make for a perfect offering to Goddess lakshmi. This special Vada recipe is basically a classic South Indian breakfast fare served with sambar and chutney.

Make sure the Vadas are cooked to crispy perfection till a beautiful golden shade is achieved and always serve them warm. Its the crisp exterior that makes the Vadas unique and delightful to savor with hot sambar.Ingredients:

1 cup whole urad dal/skinned whole black gram dal/minappappu

1/2 tsp cumin seeds, lightly crushed

salt to taste

oil for deep frying

1 Soak whole black gram dal in water for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
2 Strain the water, and grind the dal to a paste sprinkling very little water. Use small portions of dal to grind batch wise as its easier to grind into a soft paste. Add salt, crushed cumin seeds  and beat till fluffy.
3 Heat oil for deep frying in a heavy bottomed vessel and heat till piping hot. Reduce flame to medium.
4 Wet your hands with water, take a lemon-sized ball of batter and flatten it into a vada on a greased sheet or banana leaf. Make a hole in the centre of the vada so that it cooks evenly all over.
5 Slowly drop the vada into the hot oil and fry it on both sides on medium flame to a golden brown color. Deep fry 4-5 vadas per batch depending on the size of the vessel.
6 Remove the vadas onto a serving plate. Serve warm while the crust is still crisp and serve warm with chutney and sambar.

Kitchen Tips:

If urad dal or whole skinned black gram dal is soaked for over 8 hours, the vadas absorb less oil and are tastier than the vadas prepared from dal which is soaked for only 2 hours.

Nimmakaya Annam ~ Lemon Rice

 One of the dishes Amma prepared for varalakshmi vratham as part , was lemon rice. Goes by the name Nimakaya annam in parts of Andhra.

Ingredients:

1 cup raw rice, cook rice with each grain separate

8-10 curry leaves

juice of 3 lemons (approx 6-7 tbsps) adjust

3-4 tbsps roasted peanuts

salt to taste

Tempering/Poppu/Tadka:

1 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 1/2 tsps urad dal/minappa pappu/split gram dal

1 tbsp channa dal/senaga pappu/bengal gram

2 dry chillis, tear and de-seed

pinch of hing

1/2 tsp grated ginger

2 green chillis, slit

1/4 tsp haldi/turmeric pwd/pasupu

1 Heat oil in a vessel, add the mustard seeds and as they begin to sizzle, add the dals and allow them to turn slightly red, add curry leaves, green chillis, grated ginger, red chillis and stir fry for few more secs. Add asafoetida and turmeric pwd, roasted peanuts and combine. Turn off heat.
2 Add salt to taste and 3/4th of the lemon juice and combine well. Add the seasoning and combine that it coats the rice well.
3 Taste and if you feel that it needs more tang, add more lemon juice accordingly.
4 Serve with any curry of your choice, yogurt and appadam.

Kommu Senagalu Talimpu ~ Tempered Black Chickpeas

High protein salad for the Gods!  One of the dishes Amma prepared for varalakshmi vratham as part, was boiled black chickpeas (Kala chana) tempered with spices. Goes by the name ‘Guggulu’ in parts of Andhra. We at home call it ‘Talimpu Senagalu’.Aromatic curry leaves make a great pair with chick peas. “Less is more” – drizzle of oil, dash of asafoetida, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, split gram dal, green chillis and a sprig of curry leaves is all it takes to match the nutty flavor of boiled chick peas.

Ingredients:

1 cup black chickpeas/kala channa/kommu senagalu

salt to taste

Seasoning/Tadka/Poppu:

1 1/2 tsps oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp split gram dal/minappapu/urad dal

1-2 chopped green chillis

1 sprig fresh curry leaves

1 Pressure cook chick peas till soft. Add salt and combine.

2 Drizzle oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let them pop, add the urad dal and as it turns red, add the asafoetida, chopped green chillis and curry leaves. Saute for 15-20 secs. Add the cooked chick peas and combine. Adjust salt and turn off heat.

Note: Grated coconut is optional. Add 2 tbsps of grated coconut and combine.

Mango Rasam

Today I’m posting one my favorite comforting soup made with raw mango pulp. Mango rasam! Light on the stomach, easy to make and absolutely flavorful. In many telugu speaking households you will find home cooks whipping up a variety of raw mango recipes other than the famed avakai (mango pickle) and its likes including pachadi, pulusu, pappu (dal), curry and rasam.

Down South, in Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Karnataka especially in the Mangalore region, mango rasam is prepared during the mango season. Appe huli (mango rasam) is a traditional Mangalorean delicacy served at weddings and special occasions. Mango rasam is called maavina saar or saaru in kannada, mamidikaya chaaru in telugu and pacha manga rasam or mangai rasam in tamil. With minimal ingredients yet high on flavor, mango rasam preparation is almost similar across all regions with slight variations in terms of tempering and the use of rasam powder. This particular mango rasam recipe does not call for the use of rasam podi

Ingredients

• Raw mango - 1, medium size, peeled and chopped
• Jaggery - 1 tbsp (can increase if mango is too sour)
• Green chilies - 1, slit
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
• Salt to taste
• For tempering:
• Oil - 1/2 tbsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Urad dal - 1/2 tsp (split gram dal)
• Red chilies - 2, tear and de-seed
• Curry leaves - 1 sprig
• Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

Method

1. In a vessel, add 1 1/2 cups of water, turmeric, one green chili, salt and the raw mango pieces. Bring to a boil and simmer with lid. Cook till the mango pieces turn soft. Allow to come to room temperature. Once cool, grind the mixture to a fine paste or mash with a ladle.
2. In another vessel, add the ground mango paste and enough water (approx 3-4 cups) and mix well. It should be of watery consistency.
3. Add jaggery or sugar and bring to a boil. Simmer for 7-8 mts. While the mango rasam is simmering, prepare the tempering.
4. In a small pan, add oil. Once the oil turns hot, add mustard seeds and allow to splutter. Add urad dal and allow the dal to turn red. Finally add curry leaves and asafoetida. Turn off flame and pour the tempering into the hot mango rasam.
5. Turn off flame and place lid. Allow the flavors to meld for a few minutes and then remove to a serving bowl. Serve warm with white rice or serve as a warm soup.

Tips

• You can pressure cook the whole green mango along with skin in a cup water and pressure cook till soft. Once cool, you can extract the juice and discard the peel.
• Tempering can be done in ghee or oil.
• You can add a tsp of rasam powder while the rasam is simmering.
• You can add 1/3 cup of mashed yellow moong dal for a variation.

Bhindi Masala Recipe

Ladies finger or orka (bhindi) is a staple in Indian cuisine and a much loved vegetable in our home. I am maintaining an organic garden which is giving me good harvest of okra, eggplants, tomatoes, chilis, ridge gourd, ivy gourd, greens and more. You can see how green, vibrant and tender the home grown bhindi are from the image below. Last week, I made a popular restaurant style North Indian okra fry that makes for good side for chapathi, roti and rice. I have already blogged a Punjabi style bhindi masala recipe and today’s bhindi dish is a slight variation without garlic.

My grandmother cooked okra to perfection with minimal ingredients where the flavor of bhindi would shine through be it a simple stir fry, stuffed bhindi dish or a yogurt based okra curry. My most favorite form of okra is in an easy dry saute made with less oil, minimal ingredients, fuss free, healthy and addictive.

Many home cooks have issues while cooking bhindi because of the slimy texture it gives off on sauteing. The key is to choose tender green okra and when you snap the pointed end, it should break off effortlessly. This bhindi masala requires less oil and not high in calories as we are not deep frying the okra. Roasting on low flame with a tablespoon of oil is good enough and it brings out the flavor as well as reduces the slime. Adding a tsp of lemon juice or yogurt also helps reduce slime. Also ensure that you wash the okra and pat dry with no trace of moisture before your chop them.

Ingredients

• Bhindi - 1/4 kg (okra/bendakaya), wash, dry, trim the ends and cut into 1" pieces
• Onions - 1, large, finely sliced
• Tomato - 1, finely chopped
• Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
• Ginger green chili paste - 1 tsp
• Sugar - 1/4 - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Red chili powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander powder - 3/4 tsp
• Garam Masala powder - pinch
• Kasuri methi - 1/2 tsp
• Lemon juice - 1/2 tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Cooking oil - 2 tbsps
• Coriander leaves - for garnish (optional)

Method

1. Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in a cooking vessel, add the bhindi and saute on low to medium flame for 12-15 mts. Remove from the vessel and keep aside.
2. In the same vessel, add the remaining oil. Once hot, asafoetida, sliced onions and saute for 4 mts. Add the ginger green chili paste and saute for 3 mts. Add red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and kasuri methi and mix.
3. Add chopped tomatoes and saute for 6-7 mts on low to medium flame with lid.
4. Add the okra and sugar and mix well. Cook without lid for 15 mts. Add salt to taste, garam masala powder and lemon juice and mix. Turn off heat.
5. Remove onto a serving bowl and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve warm with rice or rotis.

Tips

• Kasuri Methi is an optional ingredient.
• Ensure you wash and dry the okra before chopping it. Do not place lid while cooking bhindi.

Tricolour Idli

On the occasion of independence day tried a different way to make idlies in a tricolour tiranga janda..My kid liked it the most.

Ingredients

• Idli Batter - as required

For Orange Color

• Tomato - 1 big
• Red Chilies - 2

For Green Color

• Cilantro/Mint - 1 cup
• Green Chilly - 1
• Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp

• Tricolor Idli/Dosa Batter

  Take the required portion of the idli batter and divide it into three equal parts. Keep one part as such for the white color of the tiranga idli.

  For Orange Colour

  1. Chop the tomatoes into chunks.
  2. Saute the tomatoes and red chilies for just a couple of minutes for the raw taste to go.
  3. Cool it and grind it to a smooth paste.
  4. Mix it with one portion of the batter to make the orange color of the tiranga idli.

  For Green Colour

  1. Chop the cilantro (or mint leaves) roughly.
  2. Saute it with the green chilies for just a couple of minutes to remove the raw flavor.
  3. Cool it and grind it to a smooth paste.
  4. Mix it with the third portion of the batter to make the green color of the tiranga idli.

  To make the tricolour Idlis

  • You can make separate idlis with the three batters and arrange it in tri color.

Pesara Pappu Payasam – Moong Dal Payasam

With some very basic ingredients usually available at home, you can whip up some comforting simple lentil based sweet dishes that are not high in calories yet delicious. One such traditional Indian dessert is Pesara pappu payasam prepared from good quality yellow moong dal, jaggery and milk. This humble earthy sweet dish was part of our Saravanam masam festival and what I really like is its subtle sweet flavor leaving you with a pleasant mouth feel.

Cooked moong dal is simmered in milk and melted jaggery till well blended and flavored with cardamom powder and ghee toasted cashewnuts and raisins providing that crunch. Try it and you are assured of an absolutely delectable treat. Can be served either warm or chilled.

Pesara Pappu Payasam Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lt milk

3/4 cup split yellow moong dal

1 cup jaggery (adjust)

1/2 tsp cardamom pwd

2 tbsps cashewnuts

1 tbsp raisins

1 tbsp ghee

1 1/2 cups water to pressure cook dal

1 1/4 cup water to prepare jaggery syrup

1 Heat a pan, add a tbsp of ghee and toast the cashew nuts and raisins till golden brown. Remove from pan, keep aside.
2 In the same pan, add the moong dal and roast it for approx 4 mins till a nice aroma emanates the kitchen and it turns a light brown shade. Remove from pan and pressure cook the dal till soft and mushy.
3 Take a cooking vessel, add jaggery and water and boil till the jaggery melts (remove scum). Turn off heat.
4 In a heavy bottomed vessel, boil the milk (1 1/2 lts), stirring once in a while and once the milk is boiled (it should reduce to a little over one litre), add the cooked mushy dal and combine well.
5 Next, add the jaggery syrup and go on stirring on low flame till well blended for at least 12-15 mins.
6 Add the cardamom pwd and toasted cashews and raisins. Serve warm or refrigerate until chilled. It tastes good both warm and chilled.