Adi Pandigai Meal

Today is Adi Mada Pirappu which is celebrated as "Adi Pandigai" by people of Tamil Nadu. Adi is important for lot of poojas and rituals ; "Aadi Perukku" and "ThiruvAdi Pooram - the ThiruNakshatram of Choodi Kudutha Chudarkodi - our Dear Kodhai/Andal". This month marks the begining of lot more festivals in line.....  I guess Tamizhars all over the world would have celebrated the day and since it happens to be a Saturday..I am guessing the people in Western Hemisphere would have also celebrated it with a festive meal.

Thinking of it...do you not feel the word Adi is used exhaustively in our Tamil Film Industry ...coming to think of it...there are so many songs with the word 'Adi' ....not sure, how this word 'Adi' captivated Tamil Film Industry...I just pointed out to say how important this month is!!

There is a popular saying that "Adi masa katru ..Ammi Kal Parakkum"...i.e, it means that this month gets so windy that they say "that even the Ammikal (traditionally used stone grinder) flies too...

Back home the custom of making Adi Pal (with coconut milk, jaggery, cardomom). But I made something different for the sweet part!!....This is the meal I whipped up for Adi Pandigai... Morekuyambu (my patti's recipe), Pooshani Mullangi Poricha Kootu (my fav - this recipe I got from my cousin), Vendakai, Vada and Walnut Halwa (born out of interest after having this in a restaurant in Chicago...couple of years ago)....will post the recipes in another couple of days....

Hope the readers of my blog enjoyed a nice meal too...

(This plant was a gift from my son...looks like it was a Mother's day project for him at School ....)

Morekuyambu

This is a tried tested recipe from my patti....I am not a morekuyambu person hence I do not make it often (probably once in two months or so). I still follow her recipe though I learnt a couple of new ways to make it from my friends.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Buttermilk

1 Tsp Toor Dhal Soaked in water

1 Tsp Urad Dhal

1 Tsp Channa Dhal

1/2 Tsp Methi (vendayam)

2 or 3 Green Chillies

1 Tsp Mustard

2 Tsp Coconut

Oil

1/2 Tsp Turmeric

Curry Leaves

Vegetable - any one or two of these - chow chow, vedaikai, pooshani (ash gourd) or sundakai

Hing

Salt

Take buttermilk in a vessel and add turmeric powder and salt to it. Keep it aside.

Take a tsp of oil and fry urad dhal, channa dhal, methi seeds, green chillies, coconut and after it cools down grind it with the toor dhal soaked in water.

Take oil in a pan add the mustard, vegetables, hing powder and curry leaves. Saute it. After the vegetable is cooked add this to the buttermilk. Bring it to a boil. You should not boil the morekuyambu for a long time it tends to get bitter.

Pooshani Mullangi Poricha Kootu  (Ash gourd & White Radish Poricha kootu)

This is one of the recipes I always wanted to try out. My cousin makes it so well. I tried this once when I was pregnant but somehow did not get it well that time. Yesterday when I made it...it turned out pretty good (It might not be as good as what my cousin makes.... but I should say it was close to it!!). During my last trip to India I was planning to ask her make it and enjoy but did not have time for that. She sent me the recipe for it couple of months ago but pooshani (ash gourd) was hard to find in the Indian Stores. Luckily after a long long time my husband got it last week....it turned out pretty good. You guys must try this out...it is different and tastes yummy...my son enjoyed it too....

Ingredients:

2 Cups  Pooshani Kai

2 Cups  White Radish
Any other vegetable 2 Cups - Green Peas, Beans, Carrots, Potato and any other green veg as per your taste

(Note: Vegetables must be cut thin and lengthwise)

2 Cups Cooked Toor dhal and nicely mashed (Soak the toor dhal in hot water for an hour and later cook it...it gets nicely cooked that way)

Olive Oil and Coconut Oil (coconut oil enhances the taste for this kootu)

1 Tsp Mustard

Hing

1 1/2 Tsp Methi (vendayam)

2 Long Green Chillies (you may add one more chilly if you tend to eat spicy food)

Curry leaves

Lemon Juice

Take the oil (both) in the pan. Add mustard, hing, methi, curry leaves and green chillies.

Add the pooshani kai, radish and mix and then add carrots, beans, potato and of course peas in that order. Add turmeric powder and salt. Mix them well and saute them (you may add water and cook them). When they are 3/4th's done.

Add the mashed dhal to the veggies. Let the veggies and dhal get cooked for a little while. Squeeze fresh lime. I have a small note about using lemon juice - "always add lemon juice when it completely cools down". If you try heating any food again (to the one where lemon juice was add when it was hot) it turns to get bitter. If you are not planning to finish the entire stuff that you made then add lemon juice to the quantity that you are going to use for serving. This is different and yummy....try it and let me know...

Walnut Halwa

I had walnut halwa at a restaurant called "Jompdi/Village Hut Passage to India" in Chicago. We loved this vegetarian restaurant. We have been there 3 to 4 times and with every visit we enjoyed it more than the previous one...heard they had to close this restaurant an year ago...here they used to serve walnut halwa with bajra roti...that was their speciality. But we ate it as a desert. Since then I wanted to make it but never found time to do so....since yesterday was adi pandigai I thought of trying it out (instead of our same old thirukanamudhu and chakkari pongal). I tried adapting my recipe for badam halwa with walnuts...It turned out pretty good (I liked it more than badam halwa).

It was kind of a correct timing....last year when I posted my first recipe H posted a comment where is badam halwa....nearly after a year of posting that comments...I made walnut halwa!!

Ingredients:

1 Cup Walnut

1 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Ghee

Kesari food color - a pinch

Saffron strands

Milk

Water

Soak Walnuts in water for couple of hours. Grind it with enough milk.

In a heavy bottom pan add the sugar and little bit water and dissolve it. After the sugar is dissolved completely. Place it on the stove. Bring it to one string consistency.

Now add the walnut paste to it and let it get cooked completely (the raw smell should go off).

In about 10 to 15 minutes they start getting thicker.

When it starts sticking to the bottom ...keep stirring it and starting adding the ghee to it.

When it has almost come to the halwa consistency pour it out of the pan. Your yummy halwa is ready...if you have a sweet tooth....go ahead and have it with rotis and dine in style!!

Lemon Pickle

I had been to my H's cousin's house during my trip to California and had the lemon pickle made by her (and that too organic)..it was awesome...learnt organic produce are easily available and at a lower cost too over there...I have made ready made raw mango pickle but nothing lemony. I have always heard from my friends that lemon pickle comes out very well....Thanks to my cousin for inspiring me to make it....she rekindled my spirits to try it out.

Actually both of us are not lovers of lemon pickle ...that was also a primary reason for me not making it. But H and I love the pickle served at Aurora Balaji temple....we love it...never miss it when we go!! When my husband tried out what I made "he said it tastes the way it is made in Aurora'...I was so happy....that means it is "par excellence"!!

Here goes the recipe for making it....

6 Lemons (they were so big about the size of mandarin oranges)
2 1/2 Tsp's Salt
2 Tsp Red Chilly Powder
1 Tsp Fenugreek Seeds (Vendayam)
1 Tsp Turmeric Powder
1 Tsp Mustard
3 Green Chillies Slit lenght-wise
Water
2 Tbspn Sesame Oil
Hing

Cut the lemon into 1 inch pieces. Place the lemon pieces in enough water with salt and 1/2 tsp turmeric.
I presurre cooked with just one whistle (you may alternatively cook them directly on the stove until they are 3/4th done).  Cover the vessel and keep it aside for a day. Do not throw the water away.

Back home they lightly fry methi seeds and turmeric pieces (referred as varali manjal in tamil) and grind them together. But I did not do all that....went with the simpler version of it by using the turmeric powder!!

Fry the methi seeds in dry pan and keep it aside. Grind it into a fine powder after it is cool down.                Take Sesame oil in a pan. Add mustard and green chillies. Let it splutter. Add the turmeric powder, hing (perunkayam) and red chilly powder. Add the cooked lemon along with the water. Let it cook until the water is absorbed. Store pickles in glass jars. You can store this in refrigerator for few months. Enjoy!! This is just a start.....wait for me to post the recipe for my fav mangai thokku in another couple of months.....

Pesarattu with Upma

I had called my friends home for dinner last night. One of my friend's in laws were leaving to India and I wanted to call them for dinner before they left. I wanted to do something different and not the same stuff that we have at home all the time namely rasam, sambhar, roti.... I also wanted it to be simple, easy ..yet different! My first thought was Adai with Avial....but this we make at home often...this is a famous Tamil Nadu dish...so I put my thinking cap on and their comes the idea of making Pesarattu with upma.

This was the menu I prepared "Papdi Chaat" for starters, Main Course - "Pesarattu with Upma" and "Rasam and Cabbage (incase kids wanted to go for it)"....we were 14 of us in all including kids..

Pesarattu with Upma was a great hit among the kids too....My friends helped me in making the pesarattu. So it was a breeze for me....I just went around and served it when they were making it!! I can proudly say that I have a great set of friends who are always there to help!!

The kids a great time....playing with the cars, building blocks and running here and there (I should say we did not have that much of a place to run around since we live in an apartment)...but it was fun to watch them play. I was glad everyone enjoyed ...

Ingredients for Upma

1 Cup Rava
1 Medium size onion
1 Green Chilly
1 Inch Ginger
6 Whole Cashews - broken into small pieces
1/2 Cup Peas Frozen
Oil
1 Tsp Ghee
Salt
Water
For Tadka - mustard, urad dhal, curry leaves and channa dhal

Take the oil and ghee and heat it. Add the ingredients mentioned for tadka to the oil. Add Green Chillies, Ginger, Cashews and saute it. Add the onions and fry till it is slightly brown. Add the Rava and fry it for  a while (In the mean while boil the water for making upma).  Turn off the gas and add the water to the rawa. If it gets too sticky you can add little ghee to it. The upma is ready to be served along with Pesarattu...now lets get to the next step of making the yum pesarattu....

Ingredients for Pesarattu

1 Cup Whole Moong dhal (pachai payaru)
1 Hand full Rice (oru kai pidi)
2 Red Chillies
2 Green Chilles
1 Inch Ginger
1 Medium Size Onion
Coconut (you can use this too...but I did not)
Salt to Taste
Oil for making Pesarattu

Soak the Moong dhal, Rice and Red chillies for 8 to 10 hours. Set the water aside (that was used for soaking). Use this water to just sprinkle while grinding the mixture (you do not want to make the mixture watery). Grind it along with green chillies, Ginger, Onion and Coconut. Add salt to the grinded mixture. This mixture will be coarse and thick. Do not make it watery.

Take the Tawa and pour the mixture on the tawa in the middle. Make the Pesarattu (just the way you do the dosas). Pour the mixture in the center and using a laddle spread it the way  you do the dosas. Poke a little whole in the center. Pour little oil around the pesarattu and into the whole in the middle. Turn it on the other side and cook. Flip it again. Keep the upma and fold it the way you want (just the way you do masala dosas).

I learn that the pesarattu is served with upma during my visit to Hyderabad. We were invited to a friend's house and that Aunty had made this for break fast...I can still remember the hot pesarattu and upma she served us with ginger chutney. I loved it. This was 4 years ago....Yesterday I made it for my friends and I was happy every one loved it ....including the kids!! Do remember to serve it with Ginger Chutney!!

Ginger Chutney

This chutney is from our neighbouring state 'AP'. It is well known in that region and tastes yummy. I had made this as a side for Pesarattu with Upma...turned out really well. Everyone liked it a lot!

Ingredients:
2 Tsp Urad Dhal
2 Red Chillies
3 Inch Ginger Chopped
1 TBSPN Thick Tamarind Paste
1 1/2 TBSPN Grated Coconut
Little Jaggery
Salt to Taste
Oil

Take little oil in a pan and saute urad dhal, red chillies and ginger. Allow it to cool. Grind this along with coconut. Add the tamarind paste, jaggery and salt.
Take a little oil in a pan and mustard (let it splutter),add urad dhal.
Add this tempering to the ginger chutney. The yummy chutney is ready to be served with Pesarattu.

Onion Tomato Chutney

I made this as a side for Pesarattu since kids love onion tomato chutney a lot. It goes well with Idli and dosas too. I made this when I had called friends home for dinner and it was a great hit! Hence, sharing with you all....it is very simple and easy to make....

Ingredients:

1 Big Onion Chopped
4 Small Tomatoes Chopped
3/4 Tsp Red Chilly Powder
Salt to Taste
Oil
Mustard and Urad dhal for tempering

Take a little oil and heat it. Add the onions fry till it turns slightly brown. Add the tomatoes and cook. Allow it to cool. Grind this into a smooth paste.
Add salt and red chilly powder to the grinded mixture.
Take a little oil in a pan and mustard  (let it splutter),add urad dhal.  Add this to the Chutney.

Pineapple Melony Punch

I have been missing in action right for a while...that's because we went to California...it was a dream vacation for me...I have never visited this beautiful state....it was awesome!! We all had a great time visiting Sea World, Disney, Golden Gate bridge and topped it all with a visit to my H's cousin's house...the kids had a whale of time. Unlike in India we hardly get to meet our close relatives and friends...hence, I felt it was extra special....my son is looking forward to meet his cousins soon at our place.
Take a glimpse of the photos from our trip!!

I regaled all that had happened when I was missing in action....it is a week since we got back but I am still trying to get things settled at home (or should I say...am trying to come back to my world of kitchen after a week long sojourn of eating out and enjoying....I should say am still relaxing and taking things little bit slowly....the trip was truly enchanting!!!)....

I wanted to post something about the trip last week itself but that would have been a treat for your eyes.. I wanted to top it with something mouth watering...hence I drag myself from the couch (should I say couch potato) to make something to boost my energy....I love watermelon hence....this drink to "rev up my energy"!!

Take a bowl of cut water melon, 1/2 a Tin of Canned Pine-apple, 2 Tbspn Sugar and water. Blend it together....it really gets you going....

I am sure this zing drink will wake me up from the world of dreams (slumber) ....looking forward to doing much more interesting recipes soon....and do you guys know...July 14, 2009 was the day I posted my first recipe....It is almost an year.....with the wishes from viewers like you I would like to step into year two...I realized that is not so easy to keep the blog going.....I enjoy doing it but really tough, time consuming to keep it alive and happening....kudos to all the bloggers ...not sure how they manage doing it!! Thanks to all you guys for your continuous patronage!