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!!