sakkarai pongal!

Hi All,

Now we are going to prepare sakkarai pongal! Hahaa, I know you all are wondering why it is necessary after the celebration of Pongal!  No, it is not like that. You can cook Pongal especially sakkarai pongal any day! Because we love it!

Now the ingredients for sakkarai pongal for 4 persons

one cup raw rice

half cup Moong dal (yellow)

Milk with fat half a litre.

Jaggery powder  2 to 3 cups(according to your taste. if it is from sugarcane then the taste is assured)

Cardamom powder one full teaspoon

ghee 200 grams

cashewnuts, kishmish or dried grapes, raisins

if you like the aroma then you can add edible camphor and nutmeg powder.

Now take a kadai and heat it in the stove. First add the Moong dhal and fry till it turns to fragrant. Remove it and keep aside. Then add the Raw rice and fry it for 2 minutes and remove it and keep it in another vessel.

Now take a thick bottomed vessel. I used to cook in bronze metal /gun metal pot. But it is not used by youngsters now-a-days. So if it is convenient for you to cook in a cooker take a cooker. First pour the milk and two tablespoons ghee. Wash the moong dal and put it in the cooker. Do not pressure cook! After the dal half cooked wash the rice and add it! Put a bowl full of water on the cooker and cover it.  It will become hot slowly.  Add that water little by little whenever it is necessary! After it is fully cooked add the jaggery powder! Let it cook for another 20 minutes. The consistency will become thick and begin to bubble up well. Now off the stove. In a small kaday Heat the remaining ghee and add cashewnuts, raisins one by one. Add them to the pongal. And add the cardamom powder along with the edible camphor powder and nutmeg powder(if necessary) Serve hot pongal to the members of your family.

If you want to pressure cook then add the moong dhal and rice add 3 cups of water and cook for two whistle or till it become soft. When the pressure is down remove the lid and add the half litre milk and let it cook for another 10 minutes or till the mixture is mashed well. Now add the jaggery and cook for another 20 minutes! Or you can take another pan and make jaggery syrup and add it to the pongal. Blend them well till the bubbles come up well. Rest is like what is written in the previous paragraph!

Taste your pongal  and enjoy!




Pongal celebrations 2015 January

Thiruvathirai Kali & Kuzambu

Hi All,

It is a long time since we last met! Now the festival season started and I was too busy concentrating my ill health and I am improving slowly. So just thought about to write one or two seasons foods recipe. Here in India it is Margazhi i.e. Margasirsha month and it is very much auspicious for Lord Shiva and Maha Vishnu! The Star Ardhra  the sixth one falls on a full moon day in this month.This is very auspicious and our Rishis told Lord Shiva's cosmic dance was danced by him before Pathanjali and Vyagrapadha on this day! It was said that the Universe was created by Lord Shiva on this day. As Pathanjali and Vyagrapatha performed their penance in Thillaivanam, now called as Chidambaram, they were enlightened to see Lord Shiva's Cosmic dance. It is called anandha thandavam. It was a full moon day and the stars which were seen as fire sphere was Arudhra stars.

So every year in Chidambaram the Ardhra Darshan is being celebrated in a grand manner. The Ardhra Star group is connected with the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva. People made Kali and Kuzambu for nivedhanam. Here I gave the recipies of Kali and Kuzambu!



Photo Courtesy: Google via You tube

Ingredients for Kali and kuzambu are as follows.

soak one cup rice in water for atleast 2 hours. Filter the water from the rice completely.

Heat the Kadai in the stove and fry the rice till it become golden brown. Let it cool for half an hour and grind it in a mixie jar like rava.

for one cup rice take one cup jaggery powder

cardamom powder half teaspoon

thur dhal soaked one tablespoon (soak the dhal for an hour before preparing kali)

ghee one table spoon and cashewnuts broken, fresh coconut grated or shredded coconut powder

Heat two to three cups of water in a non stick kaday or aliminium kaday. Here I used to make in (venkala uruli). wash the soaked dhal and remove water and add it to the boiling water. Add the jaggery powder. Let the jaggery dissolve completely in the water. Let it boil for some more time atleast 2,3 minutes. Then add the rice powder and stir well with a long spatula. cook it for 10 minutes till the rava become soft.

Now heat the ghee in another kaday and add cashewnuts till it become golden brown. Remove it and add it to the kali. Now fry the coconut powder in the same heated ghee in the same kaday. Add it to the kali. Add the cardamom powder and stir well. Serve hot with the kuzambu and butter.


Kali kuzambu



Photo Courtesy: Google via Sashiga's kitchen

Baingan one

Raw banana one

Avarai kay and kothavarai kai  10 to 15 numbers each

sweet potato (if available) one

Parangi kay  one small piece

poosani kay one smaal piece

senai kizangu (there only frozen is available)

If you like you can add beans and carrot also. Do not add potato or Arvi(sepangizangu)

Thur dhal cooked one cup

Tamarind leman size. soak it and extract juice

salt to taste

Hing one small piece or powder half tea spoon

cooking oil one table spoon

For frying (masala)

Red chillies  4,5 numbers

Dhania two table spoons

Channa dhal two teaspoons

hing powder

Methi half teaspoon

urad dhal half teaspoon

Kala mirchi (pepper) half teaspoon

raw rice one teaspoon

coconut powder  one table spoon

Tempering

Coconut oil if available or any cooking oil

Mustard seeds, one red chilly, Kadi paththa(for frying)

Fry all the ingredients in oil except coconut powder and grind to a paste or powder adding coconut powder.

Boil the vegetables and cook them first. Add turmeric powder and salt for the vegetables only.

While the vegetable half boiled add the tamarind juice, and the required salt for tamarind only. If you are confused in adding salt, then let the vegetables cooked without adding salt and add the required salt while adding tamarind juice.

Let it boil for 5 to 10 minutes and add the boiled and smashed thur dhal along with the grinded masala.  Let it boil for 5 more minutes. Temper with Mustard, kadi paththa and red chillies. Add the freshly chopped coriander leaves while serving.