Sakkara I Pongal

 Sakkarai Pongal 

Even though the name suggests sakkarai meaning sugar this dish is prepared using jaggery. 

This dish is a must for the festival Shankranthi which is known as Pongal in Tamil Nadu 

Ingredients:

1. Raw Rice : 1 cup 

2. Moong Dal : 1/8th. Cup (half of 1/4th cup) additionally 1 table spoon of Channa dal can be added. This  is optional 

3. Jaggery : 1and 1/2 cup 

4. Ghee :  4 to 6 table spoons 

5. Milk  : 1 cup 

6. Cardamom  6 to 8

7. Nutmeg : little

8. Cashews: 10 to 15

9 . Dried grapes (kismis) :  about 20. 

Method:

Roast Moong dal ( with little ghee) in a kadai ( add the channa dal if using)  

Once it turns light golden switch off stove add the rice and turn it well 

Clean the rice and dal and pressure cook it with 1 cup of milk and 2 and 1/2 cup water ( total 1: 3and 1/2)

Once cool remove from pressure cooker add little ghee and with a thick spoon make the cooked rice mushy.

Take a hard bottomed vessel add the jaggery (powder it and add) and a little water.  Once it starts boiling filter it for any impurities . Keep the filtered liquid jaggery on stove and add the mushy rice and add the remaining ghee. Do this in a low flame and let the jaggery and rice mix well. Keep mixing it with spoon

In a separate kadai roast the cashews in ghee till light golden color.  Switch off stove and add the dried grapes. Mix it well and keep it separate.

In the same kadai roast the nutmeg ( very small quantity) in ghee and powder it and keep it separate.

Powder the cardamom after removing skin.

Once the mixture of cooked rice and jaggery starts boiling ( slow fire) and is in a homogeneous Pongal consistency , add the cashew and dried grapes and also the nutmeg powder and  cardamom powder.

Sakkarai Pongal is ready 

Serve it hot. 

Ven pongal

 Ven pongal

This is a breakfast dish very commonly prepared in Tamil Nadu 

Ingredients:

1. Raw Rice : 1cup

2. Moong dal : 1/8 th cup ( half of quarter cup) 

3. Black Pepper :  1 t spoon

4. Jeera/Cumin seeds :  1 t spoon

5. Ginger : one small bit (approximately 1” cube) 

6. Curry leaves : little

7. Ghee :  3 to 4 table spoons 

8. Cashew : about 10 or more 

9. Salt to taste 

 Method:

Finely chop ginger into small pieces after removing the skin.

Coarsely powder the pepper in a stone mortar and pestle.

Roast Moong dal in little ghee for few minutes in hot Kadai. 

Switch off stove  

Add rice and turn it for few minutes along with the moong dal in hot kadai 

Wash the rice and moong dal. add water I : 3 and  half  proportion  and pressure cook it by giving 3 or 4 whistles 

Once cool take out from pressure cooker add salt and little ghee and make it mushy with a thick spoon   

Add little ghee in kadai and roast the cashew till they are golden brown.   keep it aside  

Add some more ghee in the kadai  Roast the broken black pepper and jeera in ghee and add the finely chopped ginger and curry leaves.  Add the mushy rice and mix thoroughly  add the remaining ghee and also the roasted cashew nuts.  

Remove from stove

Serve the Pongal  hot with chutney or Sambhar  

Keerai masiyal/ spinach side dish

 Ingredients:

1. Spinach :  One bunch 

2. Moong dal : 1/4 cup

3. Coconut gratings : 1 Plus Table spoon 

4. Green chilies : 1/2 or 1 depending on the variety (‘karam’ spicy)

5. Jeera / Cumin seeds : one T spoon 

6. Salt to taste

7. Garnishing things 

Method 

Soak the Moong dal for half an hour

Clean and cut the spinach into very small bits.

Pressure cook the spinach and moong dal together ( one whistle)

Grind coconut, chilies and jeera to a paste

Open the cooker once the pressure is down, add the ground masala and salt to taste.

Give one boil

Keerai is ready 

Give ‘tadka’ (garnish)  with mustard seeds, jeera and urad dal in ghee or coconut oil. 

Carrot Kheer

 Ingredients:

Carrots. 1/2kg 

Sugar 3/4 cup. ( according to taste)

Milk 1/2 litre 

Cashew nuts  10

Almonds (Badam). 20

Cardamom powder 1 t spoon 

Saffron 2 or 3 strands 

Method 

Soak Almonds in hot water.  ( It is preferable to soak either overnight or few hours before  preparation for best results ) peel the skin 

Soak cashews in water This can be done just before starting  

Boil milk and keep aside.

Peel the skin of carrots and cut it into pieces of about 1 inch cube and pressure cook it by adding little water.

Take a Blender add soaked cashews ( drain water) and soaked and peeled almonds ( drain water) add little water while blending to make it into paste consistency .  The water used to pressure cook the carrots can be used here.  Add cooked carrots and blend everything to a  smooth smoothie consistency. 

You can peel cardamom and add the seeds while blending the almonds etc , if you don’t have cardamom powder. 

Keep a thick bottomed vessel on stove (medium to low flame) pour the carrot smoothie into it. Keep stirring. In five minutes add Sugar.  Once this starts boiling add hot milk and keep stirring. After few minutes,  Switch off stove. Now add cardamom powder and the saffron. 

Have it either hot or chilled kheer kept in the fridge  depending on the weather 

Tomato Juice/Tomato Popsicle

Very easy to prepare
Ingredients
Ripe Tomatoes. ( not the Roma Variety). 10
Sugar 1 or 2 Table spoons
A pinch of Salt
Water 1 or 2 cups
Method:
Wash and cut the tomatoes.
Add sugar and salt and blend it in a blender or Juicer.
Filter and keep the juice aside
Again  blend the remaining portion on top by adding little water
Filter and add it to the juice kept aside
Add water according to taste
Juice is ready chill it and drink
Fill up the juice (without water) in the popsicle containers / stand and freeze it
Tomato Popsicle is ready

Poories

                                                                 Poories 


Ingredients:
 Wheat flour.     2 cups
Water  about 1/4 cup
Oil. 1 table spoon 
Salt to taste 
Oil for deep frying 

Method :
Make a tight dough with wheat flour water salt and oil. Add water little by little and just add enough to make the dough tight  ( This should be harder than the dough prepared for making rotis/ chapathis) 
 This need not have to sit for long just make the dough about 15 minutes before you deep fry the poories 

Heat oil oil a thick bottomed frying pan 
Take small quantities of dough and roll them into round flat poories 
Keep little oil in a cup and use it to knead the dough into flat poories 
Test the oil if it is ready
put a very little/small  piece of dough ball into hot oil and if it comes up immediately the oil is ready for deep frying 
Slowly put the flat poori into oil ( slide it carefully from the side) ( we use ladle  called Kannu  Chattuvam in Tamil meaning a ladle  with lot of eyes) 
Using the ladle just gently touch the poori's surface in the oil. Slowly the poories start  to pop up. Gently turn it using the ladle. When it turns light brown remove it and keep it out on a kitchen tissue.   Deep fry one by one the poories and be very very careful  while deep frying as the oil,will be very hot. 
Eat it with alu masal  curry 

Vangibath

This Vangibath is usually done with eggplants. It can be done with Bellpeppers(Capsicums) also


Ingredients:

1. Egg plants 3 or 4 if long ones ( take 10 if it is baby eggplants, if Big Eggplant is used take one ) or Bell Pepper  1 big 
2. Potatoes 1 big ( optional) 
3. Oil 1 table spoon.
4. Chilli powder 1/2 t spoon
5. Green chilli. 1 small
6. Ginger. One small bit
7. Curry leaves 
8. Mustard seeds 1 t spoon
9. Urad dal 1 t spoon
10. Channa dal 1 t spoon
11. Turmeric powder 1/2 t spoon
12. One onion 
13. Salt to taste

Ingredients for masala powder to be added

1.  Channa dal  1 tspoon
2. Coriander seeds 2 t spoon
3. Urad dal 1 tspoon
4. Cinnamon  a small piece
5. Red chillies 3 
6. Black pepper 4 or 5
7. Jeera /cumin seeds 1 tspoon
8. Copra or dry coconut 2 table spoons

Method:
Dry fry the ingredients  till golden brown for masala in a thick bottomed 'kadai' except for dry coconut .
Fry coconut separately till it is golden brown
Powder  all the ingredients together  in a blender and keep aside.
This powder can be made in larger quantity and kept in fridge for multiple use.
( for this quantity approximately 2 to 3 table spoon s of powder is required)

Cut the Bellpepper into small pieces.
If  Eggplants  is used cut it into lengthwise pieces.
Peel the skin of potato and cut into length wise rectangular cubes.
Cut onions into length wise pieces.
Cut the green chilli in the middle and  ginger into small bits

Take a thick bottom 'kadai'. Add oil.
Add mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add urad dal and channa dal
Once golden brown add the green chilli, ginger curry leaves and onions. .
Onions have to turn light brown.
Add the  cut Bell Pepper  or Eggplant.
After few minutes add the cut potato , turmeric powder, chilli,powder, salt to taste.
Turn it well and keep it covered. .
Cook it on a slow flame.
Once the Bell Pepper /Eggplant  and Potatoes  are cooked. Add the masala powder.
Mix thoroughly and switch off stove in few minutes.
One t spoon ghee can be added for flavour.
Add cooked plain rice to the ' curry' and mix well. ( quantity of rice can be altered depending on taste)
If cooked Basmathi  rice is used it will taste better.  But any cooked rice can be used for this dish