Paala Undrallu and Kudumulu - Vinayaka Chavathi Naivedyam

Today is Vinayaka Chavithi aka Ganesh Chaturthi festival, dedicated to Lord Ganesha, God of Wisdom and Prosperity. It is celebrated on the Suddha Chavithi day (the fourth day after the no-moon day) of the lunar month Bhadrapada maasam (August/September).

Lord Vinayaka is said to be fond of “Undrallu” which is mainly prepared from rice flour. Hardly any ghee/oil is used to prepare undrallu as they are prepared by way of steaming which makes them low fat unlike most festive foods which are high in calories. Different varieties of undrallu both savory (kudumulu) and sweet ones are prepared and offered as naivedyam/prasadam to Lord Vinayaka.


Paala Undrallu are sweet flavored and prepared from rice flour, milk, grated coconut, seasame seeds and sugar. Very simple to prepare with a subtle sweet flavor.

Paala Undrallu Recipe :

Cooking Time: 30 mts

Cuisine: Andhra.



Ingredients:


-> 1 cup rice flour

-> 2 1/2 cups water

-> 1 cup sugar (you can reduce the quantity)

-> 1 cup grated coconut

-> 1 cup milk

-> 1/2 cup seasame seeds (dry roast for a mt and grind to a coarse pwd)

-> ¼ tsp elachi pwd (cardamom)
Method :

1. Bring 2 cups of water to boil and add the rice flour and immediately cover it with a lid without stirring and reduce heat. Let it cook for 4-5 mts. Turn off heat and cool. Make small balls and keep aside.
2. In another vessel add the sugar and water and bring it boil. Reduce heat and add the grated coconut and stir for a few seconds. Add the rice flour balls and mix.
3. Add the milk and let the balls cook in this syrup for 3-4 mts. Now add the ground seasame seeds pwd and combine well. The consistency should be a slightly thick syrup. Turn off heat. Sprinkle ground elaichi pwd.

Kudumulu or Undrallu are savory rice balls made from rice ravva and bengal gram dal. Very simple to prepare and absolutely healthy as its steamed.



Undrallu/Kudumulu Recipe :


Cooking Time: 15-20 mts other than soaking rice and grinding to a coarse pwd

Cuisine: South Indian.



Ingredients:

-> 2 cups raw rice, washed, dried completely and ground to a coarse pwd similar to sooji

-> 4 cups water

-> 1/4 cup Bengal gram / chana dal (soak in water for 5-10 mts and drain)

-> ½ tsp cumin seeds (optional)

-> 1 tsp ghee
Method :

1. Heat ghee in a pan and add the soaked channa dal and fry the dal for a second or two.
2. Immediately add water and salt, bring to a boil. Once it reaches boiling point, immediately add the ground rice ravva and stir continuously ensuring that no lumps are formed and once all the water is absorbed and appears like a big lump, cover and cook for 4-5 mts. Turn off heat and cool.
3. Once cool, make big lemon sized balls of the cooked mixture. Undrallu are ready to be offered to Lord Ganesha as naivedyam.

Note:

These days rice ravva is available in most stores and all you need is to add this ravva to boiling water instead of the tedious process of soaking and grinding the dried rice.

Bellam Gaarelu - Jaggery Flavored Vadas

Bellam Garelu - Jaggery Flavored Vadas




I’m not sure if many of you have heard of sweet flavored ‘vada/garelu’. Dear reader, I’m talking of bellam (jaggery) garelu where deep fried crisp vadas are sweetened with jaggery syrup, a traditional sweet in our parts. Sometimes, during festivals or special occasions, when garelu are prepared, if there is any left over urad dal or garelu batter, sweet flavored vadas are prepared and usually served during tea time. I can eat them at time of the day, though..:)


No onions or green chillis go into this vada batter - just whole urad dal soaked in water, drained, ground to a fine paste with salt, beaten till fluffy and white, shaped into vadas, deep-fried till crisp and golden brown and dropped immediately in warm jaggery syrup till they absorb the syrup. The resultant vadas are absolutely delicious with the first bite having that hint of crispiness when eaten hot and puffy off the stove.

The sweet richness of jaggery countered by the earthiness of urad dal, leaves a pleasant mouth-feel, very earthy and sweet - a fine balance of flavors. Best eaten hot when the crust still retains the crispiness and believe me, savoring these teepi (sweet) garelu is pure pleasure guaranteed!

Bellam (Teepi) Garelu Recipe

Prep & Cooking: 45 mts, Soaking time: 2 hrs

Makes: 12-14 vadas

Cuisine: Andhra.



Ingredients:

-> 1 cup whole urad dal (black gram dal, minappappu)

-> salt to taste

-> oil for deep frying

-> 1 cup grated jaggery, add water, cook to prepare a syrup that is sticky on touch

-> 1 1/2 cups water
method :

1 Soak whole black gram dal in water for 2 hours.
2 Strain the water, and grind the dal to a paste sprinkling little water and salt. Use small portions of dal to grind batch wise as its easier to grind into a soft paste. Beat till fluffy.
3 Heat water, add the jaggery and let it melt and form a syrup which is sticky to touch. While the jaggery is forming a syrup, deep fry the vadas.
4 Take a deep frying vessel, add enough oil and heat till piping hot.
5 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.
6 Slowly drop the vada into the hot oil carefully and fry it on both sides on medium heat to a golden brown color. Deep fry 4-5 vadas per batch depending on the size of the vessel.
7 Immediately dip these fried vadas into the jaggery syrup. Let them sit in this syrup till the next batch of vadas are deep-fried. Remove them onto a serving plate and drop the next batch of vadas into the syrup.
8 Drizzle some left over syrup over vadas before serving and serve hot while the crust is still crisp.
Note:

Add a pinch of cardamom pwd to the syrup or for a savory touch to this sweet, add a pinch of freshly ground pepper pwd to the syrup. Its your choice. Ensure that the jaggery syrup doesn’t become thick, it should just melt and feel sticky. You will know when the vadas have absorbed the syrup and done as they will be heavy. Be careful they don’t become too soggy.

Krishnaashtami Special - Palpayasam

Ashtami Rohini also known as Gokulashtami or Sri Krishna Jayanti or Janmashtami, is the birthday of Lord Krishna. The birthday of Lord Krishna is celebrated with great importance on this day. It is held in the month of Chingam (Aug- Sept). Devotees visit the Krishna temples where special Pooja and cultural programs are held. Appam and Palpayasam (cakes of rice paste and jaggery) are considered to be Lord's favorite food .The houses are also decorated with special care. Patterns of small feet, drawn with rice flour are made, leading from the house entrance to the puja room, where the idol of Lord Krishna is kept. This symbolizes the baby Krishna coming to his devotees' house to bless them and leaving behind his footsteps.




Method:

Add 3 cups of Whole milk to a vessel (avoid non-stick pan) and bring to boil. To this add ¾ cup of sugar and bring to boil. Now add ½ cup of red rice or raw rice washed into the milk. Add crushed cardamom to it and mix it well. Cook in a medium heat until the rice is cooked. It will take 30- 40 minutes, so be patient and keep mixing once in few minutes, the end results are worth waiting. When it is almost cooked, take a small pan, add 4- 5tsp of ghee and sauté cashews and raisins and add them to the payasam. Once the rice is cooked turn off heat and serve hot.

Palak Paneer - Indian Cheese-Spinach Curry

Palak Paneer is a delicious, hearty North Indian dish prepared with spinach and Indian cheese. This traditional greens based vegetarian dish is a rich, smooth, creamy curry where paneer cubes are cooked in a onion-tomato-spinach based gravy which is moderately spiced with Indian spices.


I have tried various variations of the Palak Paneer curry and one of my favorites has been this particular recipe given to me by a dear Punjabi friend, Darshan.

The smooth and creamy consistency, melt in the mouth paneer cubes and the simple ingredients which go into making this dish give it a delightful subtle sweet flavor that is sure to keep you satisfied. This curry makes a great accompaniment with rotis, naan or hot steamed rice.


Palak Paneer Recipe

Prep & Cooking: 45mts

Serves 5-6 persons.



Ingredients:

-> 250 gms paneer (cubed and lightly fried till brown in a tsp of ghee)

-> 3 big bunches spinach (discard the coarse stems) – blanch in hot water for 2 mts and make a paste and keep aside

-> 1 ½-2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

-> 1 tsp cumin seeds

-> 2 onions finely chopped

-> 2 green chillis slit length wise

-> 1 tsp ginger garlic paste

-> 1 tsp red chilli pwd

-> 1 tbsp coriander pwd

-> 2 big juicy tomatoes (blanched in hot water, peeled and pureed)

-> 1 cup water (use the water in which spinach was blanched)

salt to taste

-> ½ tsp garam masala pwd (make a pwd of 2 cloves, 1 cardamom and 1” cinnamon stick)

-> 1 tbsp malai (top of milk)

-> ¼ tsp kasuri methi (optional)

1 Add ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel and add cumin seeds and let them splutter. Add the onions and green chillis sauté them till light brown. Don’t burn them.
2 Add ginger garlic paste and fry further for 3 minutes. Add red chilli pwd and coriander pwd and combine well.
3 Add the tomato paste and let it cook for 5-6 mts on medium heat. Add the palak paste and let it cook further for another 4-5 mts.
4 Add the fried paneer cubes and combine. Cook covered on low heat for 3 mts. Add the palak water and salt and cook on medium heat for 10-12 mts.
5 Add malai, garam masala pwd and kasuri methi and mix well.
6 Reduce flame, cover and cook for 2 mts.
7 Serve hot with rotis or white steamed rice or rotis.




Note:

You could also add paneer directly (without frying in ghee) to the cooked spinach. Another variation you could do with the spinach is coarsely chop the spinach and stir fry in a little ghee instead of pureeing it and add it ( instead of the palak paste). But to get the creamy consistency, you have to blanch and puree the palak.

Semiya Payasam

Ingredients:

Milk 1 litre
Sugar 1/2 Kg
Vermicelli (Semya) 1/2 Kg
Ghee 4 tbsp
Cashewnut 10 nos(adjust as u wish)
Cardamom 5 nos(adjust as u wish)
Dry Grapes 10 nos(adjust as u wish)


Procedure:
1. Heat the Ghee in a pan and roast the cashews for about 1min. Remove and set aside.
2. In the same Ghee fry Vermicelli/Semya and roast until they start turning brown.
3. In a Milk Pan, heat the milk. When the milk starts to boil add the roasted vermicelli.
4. Cook for 4-5min or until the vermicelli is soft and well cooked. The mixture starts thickening.
5. Add the Cardamom powder and mix well.
6. Turn off the heat and add the powdered sugar. Mix well until the sugar dissolves.
7.Garnish with roasted nuts and raisin.

Raagi Rava Dosa

We all have eaten crunchy, paper like rava dosa. I wanted to make something different, which was quick, easy and also healthy. Did you know that Raagi contains high protein. Raagi flour has advantages of slow digestibility and high calcium content as well.

So, I changed the recipe for rava dosa quite a bit. Tried this twice at home and each time it was a super hit. So, here comes the recipe for Raagi-Rava dosa.

Ingredients:

1 cup Raagi flour - Raagi hittu
1 cup Rice flour
1/2 cup Rava -
1/2 cup Besan flour or Kadale hittu
1 tsp Jeera
2 finely chopped green chillies
salt to taste
1 onion finely chopped
Method:

Mix all the above ingredients 1-7 with water except onion. Make sure there are no lumps at all in the dosa batter. The consistency should be as watery as Lassi or Neeru majjige. Heat a non-stick pan or tava. I didn’t use a non-stick pan; used a normal Iron tava. I saw this trick in youtube by VahRehVah chef. The chef there puts onion first on the Tava, and then sprinkles dosa batter on the Tava. It wasn’t easy for me to do that, so I did pour the dosa batter the normal way, but didn’t spread the batter on the tava.

So, first and foremost sprinkle onion on the tava As shown below. This is optional and you can leave it if your are making this on days during which you don’t eat onion.

Next, pour the batter as thin as possible on the pan, and add oil on top and sides of the dosa. Don’t spread the batter at all. See the image below:
Once the dosa is done on one side, turn over and let it cook on the other side as well. Serve with pickle, chatni or even better my daughter’s favorite Jam. Enjoy crunchy Ragi-Rava dosa.

Egg fried Rice

This is a very simple and easy way of preparing Egg Fried Rice....It takes just 15 minutes to do this, once the rice is cooked..I just love the aroma you get from the Basmati Rice when it is cooked...You can also try using Long Grain Rice.

Ingredients:
1 Cup Basmati Rice
2 Large Eggs
2 Tablespoon Milk
2 Drops Vanilla extract (Optional)
4 Green Onions chopped
1/2 Cup sliced Mushrooms
1 Green Chilly (Jalepeno)
2 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
Soy Sauce
Salt
Pepper Powder(Little)

Preparation:


1. Cook the rice....There are 2 ways of cooking rice....For convenience i cook the rice in my rice cooker with 1 1/2 cups of water... Another way of preparing rice is to bring about 4 Cups of water to a boil in a vessel...Add the rice and stir it until the rice is cooked..Drain the rice through a sieve and rinse it with lots of cold water...Drain the water completely.

2. Take a small bowl and beat the eggs and milk...I add 2 drops of vanilla extract to it...But it is optional.

3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the green onions, chilly (jalepeno) and the sliced mushrooms...Fry it for about 5 minutes.

4. Add the beaten eggs to the frying pan and stir it around to scramble them.

5. Now, add the rice to the pan and stir fry it for about 5 minutes, until the rice is heated...Later, add 3-4 drops of soy sauce, salt and pepper and stir it.

6. Egg Fried Rice tastes good when served hot.