Sunday, November 30, 2014

KARTHIGAI DEEPAM RECIPES


Karthigai Deepam is celebrated on full moon day on the month of Tamil month Karthigai.This year it falls on 5 Dec 2014.
On the day of Karthigai the whole house is decorated with oil lit lamps.Every year we used to get more oil lamps and decorate it with paints and pearls.Typically gingelly oil is used to lit the lamps.
Kids used to burst crackers as well (We used to save some for Karthigai when we buy crackers for Diwali).

Karthigai Deepam is celebrated predominantly in Shiva temple especially at Arunachaleswar temple at Thiruvannamalai.Thiruvannamalai is also known as Agni (Fire) sthalam.Barani Deepam is lit on that day

Thiru Karthigai Recipes

Parupu Payasam
Nei Appam
Pori Urundai
Godhumai Appam

Thursday, July 17, 2014

PAYASAM RECIPES FOR AADI VELLI



All fridays in the tamil month of Aadi is considered auspicious. Payasam is prepared in the evenings as offerings to Devi. Below are some of the payasam recipes for Aadi Velli

Sunday, July 13, 2014

PUDHINA THOGAYAL | MINT THUVAYAL

Thogayal is a staple in our home and Pudhina thogayal is my all time favourite. Pudhina thogayal can be served with hot rice or as an accompaniment for idli/dosa.

Pudhina Thogayal


Sunday, June 29, 2014

THENGAI BUN | COCONUT BUN

Almost every Indian will have some childhood  memories associated with Coconut buns. Right from Bakeries in the cities to the Laalaa Kadai (Mobile shop in a tricycle) in villages, coconut bun used to occupy a special place. I wanted to try these buns for a long time and came across this eggless recipe from Mahi's kitchen.The recipe is quite simple. I have a love and hate relationship with baking with yeast. But luckily so far all my attempt with  Thengai buns has been good.

Coconut Bun


Wednesday, June 11, 2014

CORIANDER RICE | KOTHAMALLI SADHAM

My son loves anything that has coriander in it and he loves coriander rice. Usually I mix kothamalli thokku or thogayal with rice for an instant version of kothamalli rice. I came across this flavorful recipe here and I have been making coriander rice only this way since then.The author (Nags) has mentioned that the original recipe called for mixed vegetables. However I think the recipe goes well only with green peas as tried by her.The ingredients might sound simple but the flavor and taste of the rice was great.

Coriander Rice


Sunday, June 1, 2014

EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Both my kids love chocolate chip cookies and it is one of the recipes that they are always willing to help me out (so that they can gobble few chocolate chips).I came across this recipe here and immediately tried it with my kids.The cookies turned out to be great. I have tried other recipes for chocolate chip cookies before and I would say this recipe is the best so far.The recipe is quite simple for beginners as well.

Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies

Monday, May 19, 2014

CHAKKAI APPAM | UNNI APPAM from PALAKKAD CHAMAYAL

I was so delighted yesterday when we had our first cute little guests at our new home.A Robin had built a nest on a tree near our porch with 4 cute torquise colored eggs! Yes first guests are always special and is more close to heart when the special guest brings a smile in you.

And today I am much more delighted to have my first guest in my blog. I have made quite a few friends through blogging world and Kaveri was one among them. I have always admired her traditional recipes that are explained in detail with beautiful pictures and her effort in keeping up our tradition. I have also tried a few recipes from her blog (Pulishery, Vegetable cutlet to name a few- I am yet to post them). When I requested for a guest post, she immediately accepted and sent me this wonderful recipe. Thanks Kaveri!

Please welcome my first guest Kaveri from Palakkad Chamayal.
And click here for an elaborate list of Palakkad special recipes from her blog!


Hello, I am Kaveri and blog at Palakkad Chamayal.  When Shylaja asked me to do one, I agreed immediately. Thank you Shylaja for letting me share a post at your space. Shylaja has a lovely space called Amuthi’s Kitchen where she has shared many traditional recipes and others too. I found it really difficult to come up with a recipe to share as she has shared most of the traditional recipes. So do check out the amazing recipes at her space
Now, I had a box of Chakka Varatti/Jackfruit preserve, which my mom had sent from India. I had wanted to make something out of it and this unniappam came to my mind. I had tasted this a long time back at one of friend’s home in Bangalore.


So here is the recipe:
Makes about 28 to 30 small appams

What you’ll need
Raw Rice/Sona Masoori – 1 cup
Chakka Varatti/ Jackfruit Preserve – ¾ cup
Jaggery – ¼ cup
Scraped Coconut – ¼ cup
Cardamom Powder – ¼ tsp
Salt – pinch

Method
  1. Wash and soak the rice in water for 4 to 5 hours.
  2. Then, drain in colander until the water is completely drained. You can spread on a kitchen towel and allow drying in shade for about 10 minutes. The rice should not become completely dry and brittle.
  3. In a mixie jar, add the rice and grind it without adding any water, until the rice is ground to a fine powder.
  4. Now add the jaggery, coconut and grind, until well mixed. Also add the chakka varatti and grind.
  5. Add about ¼ cup of water grind the batter to a smooth paste. If you find the chakka varatti is not getting mixed and is in lumps, then mix with hands and squeeze the chakka varatti, and then grind again.
  6. Transfer to another vessel, add salt and cardamom powder and mix well.
  7. Adjust the consistency of the batter to dosa maavu padam/or pouring consistency.
  8. Heat a appa karol/Kuzhipaniyaram pan, with oil in each of the grooves.
  9. Pour a small ladle full of the batter into each groove and cook on medium heat for a minutes. Flip the appams to other side and cook for couple of minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
  10. Serve warm.

Note:
  • The consistency of batter is important; if the batter is very thick appams will be hard.
  • You can add half oil and half ghee in each groove for frying.
  • You can use fresh ripe jackfruit pieces instead of the varatti. Use about 2 cups of Fresh fruit bulbs, grind into a smooth paste along with rice. Adjust quantity of jaggery depending on the sweetness of the fruit.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

SEMIYA KESARI

அனைவருக்குà®®் இனிய தமிà®´் புத்தாண்டு வாà®´்த்துக்கள்.

Happy Tamil New Year to all my readers. 

Rava Kesari is one of my favorite sweets and perhaps that was the very first sweet that I learnt from my mom.I have tried various versions of kesari using aval and semiya. Both these versions are relatively easier than Rava kesari. They do not form any lumps.

Enjoy this delicious Semiya Kesari for this New Year



Monday, March 24, 2014

VEGETABLE PULAO

This is a very simple pulao that I learnt from one of my friends.Whenever I feel like having a one pot meal but still lazy enough to make biriyani, I prepare this vegetable pulao in pressure cooker.It is quite easy to prepare with handy ingredients and goes well with paneer side dishes or just with plain raita.

Vegetable Pulao

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

PEANUT LADOO | GROUNDNUT LADOO

Some recipes are too simple to prepare but tastes great. Peanut ladoo is one such recipe. When my mom does not have any time for preparing after school snack, I used to eat roasted peanuts with a piece of jaggery.My Grandma once saw this and suggested to make peanut ladoos instead. My grandma is an expert in making such delicious ladoos with her pounding stone.

Peanuts/Groundnuts may aggravate Pita. So do not take more ladoos at a time.
Peanut Ladoo

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Serves: 12 small bite sized ladoos

Sunday, January 26, 2014

MILK HALWA

I got this recipe from one of my cousins Mrs.Lakshmi.Though I haven't got a chance to taste her food, her culinary creations that she shared on FB made me drool.When I requested for the recipe she replied me promptly, well six months before and finally got a chance to try it now (Thanks to midwest weather which makes us almost house arrest during winter!). Though the recipe takes more than an hour to prepare, it is really worth it. But the good news is it takes little less time than the traditional Thirattipal/palkova recipe.


Milk Halwa

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

POORI PAYASAM

I usually make poori payasam whenever I have left over pooris. This is a very tasty and rich payasam.My mom prepares this often for me as I get to eat more pooris with this payasam. The almonds and the other nuts adds more nutrition to this delicious payasam. 


Poori Payasam

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

KADAI PANEER

Kadai Paneer is one of my favourite paneer side dish that goes well with Chappathi or roti.It is very easy to prepare if we have the paneer handy.Chop the vegies, grind the kadai masala and fry everything together for a few minutes and there you have the colorful and vibrant Kadai paneer.This is a kind of semi dry side dish.


Kadai Paneer