Karadaiyan nombu adai

Karadaiyan nombu is a festival celebrated by Tamil Iyers around the world. The story behind it is an interesting one. Savitri was a very brave and intelligent princess. Since most kings were intimidated by her valor and intelligence, her father was unable to find a groom for her. He asked her to find a groom for herself and thus she set off to find a partner. She found herself the perfect partner - Satyavan - in a remote jungle. However, she was warned by the sage Narada that Satyavan would only live for a year after their wedding. She decided to marry Satyavan despite the warning. They lived in the jungle for a year. The pre-ordained day of his death arrived. Savitri fasted all day. She offered karadai to God, and asked that her husband should be with her always. Yama, the God of death arrived and took Satyavan's soul away with him. Savitri followed him. Pleased with her love for her husband, Yama said that though he could not release Satyavan from the clutches of death, he would grant her 3 wishes. The clever Savitri asks that her father should be blessed with a hundred sons, that her blind father-in-law should regain his eyesight and that she and Satyavan should be blessed with a hundred sons. Pleased with her intelligence, Yama grants her boons and brings Satyavan back to life.
Iyer women and girls continue the tradition of offering karadai while praying for the long lives of their husbands or in the case of unmarried girls, for good husbands. A yellow thread with a flower strung on it is tied around the neck and the adai with a blob of butter is offered to God. This festival usually falls in March (the end of the Tamil month of Masi and the beginning of Panguni). In our family, we offer sweet and salt adai as neivedyam along with butter. This is usually eaten as dinner on the day of the vratam.

What you need:
For vella adai/sweet adai
Rice flour - 1 cup (double roasted)
Jaggery - 1 cup, powdered
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Karamani/cow peas - 2 tbsp., soaked in water overnight & cooked
Water - 2.5 cups

Heat water in a thick bottomed pan. Add jaggery to it and heat until the jaggery melts completely. At this point, if there are impurities in the jiggery, you can filter it out. Lower the flame. Add cardamom powder, cooked cow peas and the rice flour, stirring continuously and briskly so that no lumps are formed. Keep stirring until the water is completely absorbed and the mixture thickens to a dough. Keep aside to cool. Once it is cool enough to handle, make small lemon sized balls and flatten them into thick discs with a hole in the center. Place this in a steamer/idli pan in a single layer and steam for 10-12 minutes or until the adai looks glossy.

For uppu adai/salt adai
Rice flour - 1 cup (double roasted)
Oil - 1 tbsp.
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - a generous pinch
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Water - 2.5 cups
Salt - to taste

Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard and urad and roast until the seeds pop. Add water, asafetida, salt and grated coconut. When the water starts to boil, add the rice flour, stirring briskly and continuously. Cook till moisture is absorbed and mixture thickens to a dough. When cool enough to touch, make lemon sized balls, flatten them into thick discs with a hole in the center and steam in a single layer for 10-12 minutes or until shiny.

This is my second post for Week 4 of Blogging Marathon #78 under the theme Festival foods.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM# 78

Lime pickle

BM # 74 Week 1
Theme : Festival recipes
Recipe : Lime pickle/Cherunaranga achar/Elumpimichampazha oorga

When we think of festival dishes, we often think of sweets or main courses that are usually made to celebrate any festival. However, a little-mentioned yet very important role is played by the condiments which are usually served as an accompaniment to any meal.
In Kerala, the cherunaranga (lime) pickle holds an important place in any sadya. Vishu/Onam and even weddings see this bitter-sour-spicy pickle make an appearance. The traditional method of making this pickle is time consuming. However, if  you've been following my blog for a while now, you know that quick, easy and no-compromise-on-taste are mantras that I follow. This recipe is one that was shared on a Food Group that I belong to. It is a One Pot One Shot recipe that has been developed by Mr. Ramakrishnan and is being shared here with his permission. The terms OPOS and One Pot One Shot are registered trademarks owned by Mr. Ramakrishnan.

What you need:
Lime - 6, cut into 8 pieces each (approx. 3 cups)
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Pickle masala - 2 tsp (optional - If not using, add another tsp of red chilli powder)
Sesame oil - 5 tsp
Salt - 3 tsp
Asafoetida - a generous sprinkle

Add oil as the bottom layer in a pressure cooker. Spread the limes evenly over this. Add the salt, red chilli powder, asafoetida and pickle masala. Cover and cook for two whistles. Once the pressure settles, open the pan and mix well. The mixture will seem quite watery, but will thicken as it cools.
In a separate pan, heat a tsp of sesame oil. Add a tsp of mustard seeds and some curry leaves. When the seeds pop, pour this over the pickle. When the pickle cools completely, transfer to a glass jar and refrigerate.
This pickle is ready for consumption almost immediately, but the flavor deepens with time. It is initially quite bitter, but after about a week, the bitterness reduces and the flavor is intensified.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#74

Parippu Kanji

BM # 74 Week 1
Theme : Festival recipes
Recipe : Parippu kanji

I was talking to a friend a few days back about how interesting it is that we have such a huge list of fasting foods in our culture. We never truly go hungry, because even when we are 'fasting', we are actually 'feasting' on the delicacies that are prepared specifically to be eaten during the fasting period.
This kanji is one such dish that is prepared during Sivaratri in Kerala Iyer households.

What you need:
Split yellow moong dal - 1/2 cup
Jaggery - 1/2 cup, powdered
Milk - 2 cups
Cardamom powder - a pinch

In a pan, dry saute the moong dal over a low flame until it turns reddish. Add 2 cups of water to the roasted moong dal and cook in a pressure cooker until it is well cooked and mushy. Mash it well with a ladle. Add the jaggery powder and cardamom to the cooked dal and keep stirring over a low flame until the jaggery is completely melted. Switch off the heat and stir in the milk.
Serve warm.

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Rava kesari

BM # 73
Theme : Festival Recipes
Recipe : Rava Kesari

I may have mentioned a few times many times in my previous posts that my mother is a wizard in the kitchen when it comes to sweet making. She has perfected the art of making Indian sweets and is a master at it. Kesari, though one of the relatively easier sweets to make in her repertoire, is one that she makes exceptionally well and with great ease. She generously adds ghee and cashews to her kesari and doesn't measure any of the ingredients. She puts in a bit of this and a pinch of that, the aromas rising tantalizingly all the while, but the best part of it is when she ladles out some of this hot kesari into a plate and hands it to you. While I don't possess her finesse or prowess in the kitchen, I still can make a decent kesari.


What you need :

Rava/Sooji/Semolina - 1 cup
Sugar - 1.5 cups
Water - 2.5 cups
Food color(Yellow/Orange) - a few drops

Cardamom powder - a pinch
Ghee - 3 tbsp.
Cashews and raisins - a few, to garnish

In a large saucepan, heat 1 tbsp. of the ghee and roast the rava in it over a low flame. The rava should not start to brown. When it gives out a good aroma, remove from heat, transfer it to a plate and leave it aside to cool.
Heat a teaspoon of ghee and roast the cashews and raisins separately in it until golden. Set aside to cool.
Heat water, sugar and the food color in the saucepan until the water starts to boil. Add cardamom powder and the roasted rava, little by little, stirring carefully all the while, to avoid lumps. Let it cook over a medium flame, stirring every now and then, until thick. Add in the rest of the ghee. Stir well and switch off the heat when the kesari looks shiny. Mix in  the roasted cashews and raisins.
In my family, we usually eat kesari by the spoonfuls. So we don't bother to cut it into squares, but if that's how you like it, you can choose to pour this out onto a greased tray and then cut it into squares.

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Cabbage thoran - a Kerala sadya staple

A sadya (feast) in Kerala without a thoran(stir-fried vegetable) is unimaginable. It is simple dishes like these that make a feast memorable and complete.

What you need :
Cabbage - a small one, chopped fine
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Salt - to taste
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Green chilli - 2
Curry leaves - a few
Red chilli - 1
Oil - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Heat oil in a pan. Add the urad dal, broken red chilli and mustard seeds. When the seeds pop, add the chopped cabbage, turmeric powder, salt and just enough water to cover it. Cover and cook on a low flame.(*) Grind the coconut, chilli and curry leaves coarsely without adding any water. When the cabbage is almost done, add the ground mixture to it, stir well and cook uncovered until well cooked and all the excess water has evaporated. Serve hot.

Note : * The process of cooking cabbage can be quickened by cooking it in the microwave or steaming it in the pressure cooker.
Check once in a while to ensure that there is sufficient water for the cabbage to cook in.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#45

Janmashtami bakshanam

Tomorrow is Janmashtami. Here are some recipes that are traditionally made on this day.Please click on the name of the dish to go to my earlier post which has the recipes.
Uppu cheedai
Vella cheedai
Neyyappam

Diwali Savouries 2 - Omapodi

This diwali treat is very, very addictive. Like a popular ad says, no one can eat just one.......

What you need:
Besan - 3 cups
Rice flour - 1 cup
Water
Salt
Butter
Omam/ajwain - 1/4 cup
Oil - enough to deep fry

Soak omam in just enough water to cover it for 20 minutes. Grind this in a mixie and extract the thick juice. Repeat this process 4-5 times and keep the juice aside.
Sift together the besan and rice flour. Add butter and mix well until you get a crumbly mixture which holds its shape when pressed in your hands. Mix in the omam extract, salt and water if necessary and knead to a smooth dough.
Take a little bit of dough in your murukku maker. The mould/achu to be used is the one with lots of tiny holes. Press directly on to hot oil to make a large, circular shape. When both sides are golden brown, drain excess oil and remove on to absorbent paper.
When cool, store in an airtight container.

This is my second entry to Purva's Diwali Dhamaka.

Kozhakattai - food for the Gods

Vigneshwara or Ganapathy as he is more popularly known is the remover of all obstacles. Chathurthi is his special day and people pray to him and offer him several goodies which they then proceed to relish. I am not very big on the fanfare associated with festivals, but I happened to go out the day before Chathurthi and saw the streets so full of people buying clay idols of Ganesha, different kinds of garlands to deck him up in, umbrellas to place on the idol.....and so many other things which I couldn't even fathom a use for. Watching the huge crowds of people thronging the streets, making last minute preparations to please Ganesha, did what nothing else could - it infused the spirit of the festival in me. I actually bought some of those garlands that I saw in the market (something that I've never done before), and then stopped at a store on the way to pick up some rice flour and jaggery - the key ingredients for making kozhakattai.
Now, even though I am not a huge fan of all the ceremonies associated with each festival, the food is something that I always enjoy.
Kozhakattai, in my parents' home is made not only during Chathurthi, but any time my grandma decides that Ganesha has to be propitiated. So, if there is a marriage in the family, a birth, a celebration, admission into a new college, a new job in the offing....well, you get the idea....anytime any one of us embarked on anything new, my grandma would promise the lord a certain number of kozhakattais. Depending on the importance of the new venture, the number would range anywhere from 101 to 1001. When DH and I got married, my mother and grandma made 1001 kozhakattais and distributed it in the neighbourhood.
To make kozhakattai you need:

For the outer cover
Rice flour - 1 cup mixed into a smooth paste with one cup of water
Water - 1.5 cups
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp

Heat the water and let it come to a rolling boil. Add oil, salt and the rice flour +water mixture. Reduce heat to low and keep stirring until it gets cooked and forms a smooth dough.
Set aside to cool.

For the therattipaal (inner filling)
Fresh grated coconut - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 tsp (optional)

Add a little water to the jaggery and heat until it melts. Add the grated coconut to this and keep stirring until all the moisture evaporates and the mixture starts leaving the sides of the pan. Stir in the ghee and mix well. You can also add some cardamom powder at this point, if you'd like.

To make kozhakattai
Take a small lemon sized ball of the rice flour dough. With your fingers, shape it into a thin, flat circle with a dip in the middle. Spoon some of the filling into this and then close the edges. Do this until you've used up all the dough. Steam for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!!!(Kozhakattai, vadai, chundal and therattipal rolled into small balls -for Ganesha)

Karthigai pori

What you need:
Pori (puffed rice flakes) - 4 cups
Jaggery - 1 cup
Water - 3/4 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Thin slivers of fresh coconut - 1/3 cup

Remove the husk, if any, from the pori. Take jaggery in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add water and heat over a medium flame until completely melted and then stir intermittently until it reaches a soft ball consistency. To check if it has reached this consistency, drop a little bit of the jaggery into a bowl of water. You should be able to gather it between your fingers and form a soft ball.
Switch off the heat. Quickly stir in all the ingredients and whisk briskly for a few minutes until it is well mixed together. Store in an airtight container once it is completely cooled.

Happy Onam

Have a wonderful Onam. Regardless of whether you celebrate Onam or not, I hope you have good food and good luck today and on the days to come.

Happy Vishu

Our Vishu Sadya

Here's wishing you all a very happy Vishu....