Thenkuzhal

I am not sure as to why on Earth this karumuru stuff got a name synonymous to that of a sweet..."then"kuzhal!! Kuzhal is a wind instrument (like nagaswaram)....likewise when you break the thenkuyal you can see that it is hollow....and "then" (do not read this word the way you do in English though) it is Honey ( தேன்). The word "Kuzhal" always reminds me of the kural - "kuzhal inidhu yaazh inidhu enbatham makkal mazhalai sol kelaadhavar"... true isn't it...

This was the first karumuru my son had and he loved it. When my friend came back from her India trip she brought back thenkuzhal made by her patti...since I never game my son store bought namkeen he had never tasted these.... he loved the thenkuzhal and enjoyed the ones that my friend got for him...He was around 16 months or so at that time....I made the same for Diwali last year but somehow did not get it right....I made it yesterday and it turned out pretty good....Hence wanted to post it... this might come in handy for my friends to make Sri Jayanthi Bakshanam which is falling on Sep 1, 2010.

Ingredients

2 Cups Raw Rice Flour
1 Tbpsn Urad Dhal Powder (Dry roast urad dhal and grind it. Sieve it and then use)
1 Tsp Jeera
1/4 Tsp Hing
3/4th Tsp Salt
1/4 Stick Unsalted Butter
Water
Oil for frying

Take the Rice Flour and mix the urad dhal, salt, jeera, hing and butter. Mix well by sprinkling water from time to time. You may add the oil that you have heated to bind it well. Make it into a soft dough.
Heat the oil. You need the Murukku Press to make these. Spread the oil that is getting heated in the press. Take small balls put in the press. Make thenkuyal by squeezing the press (achu) over the oil. Take it out when the noise stops (the salasala satham of oil). Some people say that thenkuzhal has to turn brown.....but I would say the authentic ones have to stay white in color (the trick for that remains in making the urad dhal!) ....Enjoy the karumuru thenkuzhal!

Readymade Kootu Podi

Whenever I visit India...I bring lot of podis back with me...they are simple and easy to make...but still it is always nice when someone does it for you, packs it and gives it to you...ready to be used when you get back here. They are so handy. Though I like to use my own podis which are fresh...I tend to get lazy about it...mostly I end up using the kootu podi I get from India. Since they grind it in the mill they have a very good texture to it rather than what we grind using a mixie/blender. For my non Tamil speaking friends who peep into my blog...kottu means vegetable and dhal cooked together with spices added to it.

Ingredients:

Urad Dhal 1/2 Cup
Kadala Paruppu (Bengal Gram) 3/4 Cup
Red Chillies 5 - 7
Milagu - 5 Teaspoons (25 Gms)
Hing

Dry roast the above ingredients and grind it in a mixie in the form of powder. You may dry roast the coconut and add it along with the other ingredients and grind it for making kootu podi. You can store it in ziploc covers/airtight container in the freezer for months together!

Note: If you are using the componded hing (not the powder one)..then roast it in oil and then add it while grinding.

PS: The measure shown in the photo does not depict the exact quantity as set out in the ingredients section. It was just done for the photo.

Urad Dhal Vadas

We cannot imagine a festival without Vadas right!! My mom always says that we have to make that can be fried on festival days...it is a norm according to her (she keeps telling me ella pandigaikum yennai vechi yedavadhu pannu ....is a statement that I hear from her all the time!)...my son is a big fan of vadas....I must say he has taken a liking to anything that is fried!! I was talking to him about the menu that I was going to prepare for the Tamil New Year and the only thing that he picked from the list I gave him was vada and started asking me everyday till I made it for him.... that is the long story short about the vadas...Is there a rhyme or reason to make it??........!!

As I sit on my couch writing about this...feel like making it today too since it is starting to rain.....

Ingredients: ( You get about 20 Vadas)
1 Cup Urad Dhal

3/4th Teaspoon Salt

1 1/2  Green Chilly

1 Inch Ginger

1/2 Tsp Whole Pepper (optional)

Curry Leaves

Cilantro

Pinch of Turmeric

Oil for frying

Soak the Urad Dhal for an hour. Do not over soak it ...will take more oil while frying the vadas. Grind the Dhal with green chilly and ginger. Do not add the salt while grinding the batter...it makes the batter to get watery. So always add it after grinding it. You can also grind it and refrigerate in an air tight container to be used for the next day...especially when you whipping up a meal for a big party this comes in handy.

After grinding the dhal. Add the turmeric, curry leaves, salt and cilantro. I did not add the pepper since my son will find it difficult to eat it...you may add it if you want.

Keep your palm scooped up. Put a little bit of water. Place a ball of the batter on your palm and make a whole in the middle (it is a norm to make a whole in the vadas but I guess it is more for making it cook well inside!). Immerse them in the hot oil. Take them out when they are cooked.

The yummy vadas are ready to be served.