Vella Cheedai

Vella cheedai is the challenging one for even most experienced cooks.
Ingredients:
Rice flour - 1 cup
Jaggery- 1/2 cup
Dry ginger(Chukku) powder
cardomam powderred - 2
butter - 1 tbp
Fried urid dal powder- 1tsp
Coconut grated - 1 tsp
Method:
Preparing rice flour, urid dal flour and jaggery syrup

1. Wash raw rice, soak for 1 hour and dry it in shade. Grind it in to a fine powder. Sieve it and dry roast. Do not fry too much, just heat till the aroma comes. ( When we try to make a string or line it will fall with out gap. Kolam podum padam). Sieve again for lumps 
2. Dry roast urid dal till it turns brown and make it a fine powder. Sieve it.
   
   
   
3. Add very 1/4  water to wet the jaggery. Heat and stir continuously so that the jaggery dissolves completely. Filter and keep aside.

•  Add roasted rice flour, urid dal powder, butter, grated coconut, cardamom powder and dry ginger powder. Mix well. Add the jaggery syrup and mix again. 
• Make it into small balls. Keep it for10 minutes. No need to make it perfect sphere.
• Heat the oil in a pan and drop a ball to check if it gets dissolved, Do not turn or stir. Keep it in low flame.
• If it is stable turn it around slowly. Wait till all the bubbles settles. Turn all the sides to get it cooked well. When it turns brown drain out the oil.
• Now Add 6 to 10 balls and repeat as before.
  
  
  

Tips:

For some cheedai that gets dissolved in oil:

The jaggery quantity may be too much or the water added to jaggery is less. 

The dough should be wet enough so that it does not dissolve when put in the oil. but it should not be sticky. The other reason is the balls need not be left to dry for long time.

For some cheedai which wont be crispy:

Either the urid dal powder will be more or the balls were not cooked enough. Butter should be added liberally to keep it crisp.

Odisa milagai

 Odisa milagai is like a pickle or thokku. It can be the best side dish for curd rice. We can also have with idli and dosa. It's very simple recipe to make.

Ingredients 

Green chilli -15 to 20

Tamarind -1 big lemon size

Methi seeds 1tbs

Hing- 1/4 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

Gingelly oil- 2tbs

Salt as required 

Method:

1. Extract tamarind juice.

2. Cut the chillies in length wise.

3. Heat the oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds.

4. After the mustard seeds splutter add methi seeds and roast till it turns brown.

5.Add hing and green chillies. Saute for 30 second.

6. Add turmeric powder and tamarind juice.

7 Add salt and keep it on the flame for one minute. Then lower the flame. Saute till it gets thick paste. You can add a blueberry size jaggery (optional) after switching off the flame.

Sun dried cut mango pickle or Ennai mangai.

 This is the simplest form of pickle and can be made at any time. 

Making the sun dried mango.:

• When there is mango season, get dozens of mangoes and cut them in to small pieces.
•  Mix it with salt. You may have to use more salt than usual and can be removed while making the pickle.( For 6 mangoes 1/2 cup of rock salt ) The mangoes which have more fiber or not suitable to eat raw/ripe/ mango pickle/ very sour can be used for this pickle.
• Leave it for three days. But mix thoroughly everyday.
• Dry it in the sun till it becomes very hard. No moisture should be there. You can keep it for extra time.
• Store it in a glass container.

Making the pickle:

Ingredients:

• Sun dried mango pieces - 1 cup
• Water - 1 cup
• Methi seeds -1tsp.
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Hinge - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
• Chili powder - 2 tsps.
• Gingelly or sesame oil - 2 tsps.

Method:

 

1. Take water in a vessel equal to the quantity of the mango pieces you are going to make. Say for 1 cup of mango, 1 cup of water.
2. Boil the water well and add the mango pieces.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Soak the mangoes for 7 to 8 hours. You can soak overnight.
4. Check the mangoes after half an hour. If there is some water with the mangoes then it is fine to make the pickle. If the water is very less add some more boiled water.
5. Heat the oil add mustard seeds.
6. After mustard seeds splutter, add Methi seeds and roast it till it turns brown.
7. Add hinge, chili powder and turmeric powder.
8. Take the soaked mangoes alone leaving the water behind and add to the oil.
9. Now slowly add the water and leave a small portion of the water if you think the salt in the mangoes are more. Otherwise you can add the entire pieces with the water and stir well.
10. Switch off the stove once it starts boiling.
11. If the water is excess, leave it for few more seconds to boil.
12. Store it in a glass or plastic container.

Mysore Rasam

 Mysore rasam is South Indian dish. A very tasty dish that goes well with rice. Any vegetable (fried/cooked) can be the side dish.

Ingredients: (serves 4)

Tamarind - small lemon size

Toor dal - 1 tbsp.

Asafetida - a pinch

Tomato - 2

Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp. (chopped)

Salt as required

Turmeric powder - two pinches

For grinding:

Grated coconut - 1tbap

Chana dal - 2 tbsp.

Dania - 2 tbsp.

Black pepper - 1tsp

Jeera - 1tsp

Red chili - 2

Asafetida - a pinch

Cooking oil - 1 tbsp.

For seasoning:

Ghee - tsp

Mustard - 1 tsp 

Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Asafetida - a pinch

Curry leaves - few

Method:

1. Soak tamarind in boiling water for 5 mins. Extract the juice. Keep aside. (1 cup)
2. Pressure cook Toor dal with asafetida and a pinch of turmeric powder. Keep aside.
3. Chop the tomatoes. 
4. Boil the tamarind water, half of the chopped coriander, asafetida leaves and tomatoes with salt and turmeric powder.
5. Heat the pan and add the cooking oil and heat it.
6. To the oil add all the ingredients mentioned for grinding except coconut.
7. Add raw grated coconut and the roasted ingredients and grind it to a coarse paste. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. Add the paste to the tamarind water and mix well. 
9. Smash the cooked dal well and add a cup of water. Add this to the tamarind water, mix it and bring it boil.
10. Heat the ghee and add mustard seeds, jeera, asafetida. Once the mustard seeds start splutter switch off the stove and add curry leaves then add to the rasam. Add the rest of the chopped coriander leaves.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

Thiru Karthigai pori urundai

 Karthigai pori urundai is a healthy snack which has no oil. It can be made for the festival or any other time. There are three types of pori: Arisi pori, Nel pori and Aval pori. All can be used to make the urundai, But for Thiru Karthigai, we use Nel pori and Aval pori.

Ingredients: (10 to 15 numbers)

Aval pori - 4cups

Jaggery (pagu vellam is preferable) - 1cup

Cardamom powder - 1tsp. 

Dry ginger powder - 1tsp.

Coconut ( cut into small bits like the teeth of the comb) - 1/4 cup

coconut oil - 2tbsp.

water -1/4 cup

Method:

1. Heat the pan and dry roast the coconut bits thoroughly till it turns brown. Keep aside. Grease a big plate with coconut oil and keep aside.
2. Heat the water and add the jaggery. Stir well till it dissolves. Filter for the small stones and impurities.
3. Add cardamom powder, dry ginger powder and roasted coconut bits to the jaggery syrup and heat it in the pan till we get the pagu. Check the Note below to make pagu.
4. Switch off the stove. Add the pori to the pagu and mix well. Allow it to cool a bit. Do not cool too much. With out some optimum heat you can not roll them into balls.
5. Grease your hand with coconut oil and start make the balls. Do not press too much in the beginning. Slowly throw in the air and make them into balls by catching it in different positions. 
6. Make the balls completely and spread them on a big greased plate. Slowly rotate the plate so that the balls keep moving and get harder.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Now take each ball and press tightly so that no air is trapped in between. If air is trapped the balls will slowly loose the shape when left aside.
   
   
   

Note : Making jaggery pagu:

To get the pagu, keep checking by dripping down the jaggery syrup from the ladle we use for stirring. First the thread will be discontinuous when we stop pouring. When it comes a like continuous thread, heat for one more minute and add to a cup containing very little water. when you take the jaggery from the water and try to roll it, it will come easily into a small ball. When you throw it on plate or vessel you will hear the noise as if we have thrown a stone. This is the correct texture for the pagu.

Tiffin/Breakfast variety: Upma/pidi kozhukattai

 Upma kozhakattai is a delicious south Indian break fast variety. Simple and easy to make. Healthy as steam cooked. 

Ingredients: (12 kozhakattai)

Raw rice - 1cup

Grated coconut - 2tbs

Salt - as required

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Chana dal- 1tsp

Urid dal - 1 tsp

Red chili - 2 

Hing - a pinch

Curry leaves - few

Coconut oil - 1tbs

Method:

Preparation of rice rava:

1. Soak raw rice after rinsing for 1 hr.
2.  Filter the water and dry it under fan by spreading over a towel or cloth. 
3. When the rice is dried ( when you hold a handful of rice it will stick for a while and when you leav,e it will spread out).
4.  Dry grind it in the mixer into coarse powder. It should be the size of  wheat rava. (Dalia). If the rice is not dried properly you can't get it grinded properly.

Method

1. Heat coconut oil in a big pan and add mustard seeds.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Add urid dal, Chana dal, broken red chili and Hing after mustard seeds splutters.
3. Add curry leaves.
4. Measure the rice rava and add equal proportion of water to the pan.
5. Add salt and allow the water to boil well. Add grated coconut.
6. Add the rice rava slowly simultaneously stirring continuously.
7. When it thickens switch off the stove and allow it to cool.
8. Roll them in oval balls and steam cook in idly cooker for 20minutes,
9. Serve hot with Curry leaves chutney/coconut chutney.

Making curry leaves chutney:

Grind half a cup of grated coconut with half a cup of fresh curry leaves with two green chilis and Hing. Add salt as required and season with mustard seeds, urid dal, red chili and Hing.

Pirandai thogayal

 Pirandai is a climber and can be easily grown in kitchen garden which has lots of medicinal benefits.It is good for digestion, cough, cold and lot more. Those who suffer from piles can use pirandia once in three days to get relief.

Ingredients:

Black Sesame seeds (Ellu) - 1tbs

Urid dal - 2 tbsp.

Red chili - 3

Grated coconut - 1tbs

Grated ginger - 1tbs

Tamarind - size of a goose berry (Amla)

Fresh Curry leaves -handful

Hing - a pinch

Jaggary - size of a badam seed

sesame oil/cooking oil- 1tbs

Salt as required.

Pirandai ( tender ones will be better) - two pieces with a length of 6 to 9 inches (approx. a pencil length)

Method:

1. Dry roast sesame seeds till it splutters. Remove and keep aside.
2. Add 1/2 tsp of oil and roast urid dal, hing and red chili. Remove and keep aside.
3. Wash pirandai and take the stem alone. Cut it into small pieces, Saute pirandai in the remaining oil.Remove and keep aside.
4. Saute Ginger.
5. Add Sesame seeds, urid dal, red chili, Hing, pirandai, ginger, coconut, tamarind, cleaned curry leaves, salt and grind it into a coarse paste. Add jaggery and whip once.

Pirandai thogayal is ready and can be serrved with hot rice, sesame oil and cucumber raita.