Baked Banana flower(Vazhaipoo) vadai

I love vadai and hate vazhaipoo. So, the right thing to do is to make vazhaipoo vadai. And if it is healthy, what else you need from a snack? Ta da! Here is a recipe for Baked Vazhaipoo vadai. A simple and easy recipe which is healthy and at the same time doesn't compromise on the taste. Most of the time, if you say that a dish is healthy, you would surely have to compromise on taste. But, this is different. You have taste and you can take care of your health.

Here comes the recipe for Baked Vazhaipoo Vadai (Banana Blossom), a healthy twist on the traditional deep fried version.

Ingredients:

Vazhaipoo / Banana blossom - 1 - Cleaned

Chana dhal - 1 small cup - Soaked for 2 hrs

Onion - finely chopped - 1 cup

Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Cilantro/Coriander leaves - a handful

Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cumin powder- 1 tsp

Coriander Powder - 2 tsp

Green chilies- 1 finely chopped

Red chilies - 3

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Salt - to taste 

Oil - 1-1/2 tbsp

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 F/200 C. 

Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil and spray with oil. 

Either steam the cleaned banana blossom until soft or you can cook them in  boiling water for 2 to 3 min.

Grind the soaked channa dhal in a blender with red chilies,  fennel seeds,cumin and coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt. 

Do not add water and grind it to a coarse mixture.

Add the cooled banana blossom to the  blender and pulse until everything is combined. 

Transfer the mixture to a big mixing bowl and add the onion, green chilli, garlic, chopped cilantro and oil. Mix well. 

Take a tablespoon or two size mixture and make balls.

Place over the foil and flatten it. 

Place all the balls with 1 inch gap between them.

Bake in oven for 30 to 40 mins, flipping once in between.

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Hot and Spicy Masala Vada

Can you believe Chicago's weather? It was in its 70's last week and now it is in 40's and 50's and raining too. With such a weather, it is really very difficult to get up early in the morning. I have to cuddle for some more time before getting up. This makes me sleepy throughout the day. Not only this, but it also makes me crave for snacks and hot tea/coffee. Nothing can match the feeling of sitting in the balcony, watching the rain and having snacks and tea.

You might have already guessed what I made by seeing the title. Yes! I made the famous, scrumptious Masala Vada to go with a hot cup of tea. The smell of Masala vada is unbeatable. In India, roadside shops makes this vada and when you pass by that street, you will be tempted and lured in buying some, even if you are a neat freak. It is that much tempting. Why buy outside when you know how to prepare it at home. Lets enjoy some delicious and hygienic Masala vadas!

Ingredients:

1 cup Channa Dal

3-4 Whole red chillies

2 Cinnamon stick

2 finely chopped green chillies

2 tsp cumin seeds

1 finely chopped onion

few finely chopped curry leaves

1/2 cup finely chopped coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Oil to deep fry

Method:

Soak the channa dal for 6 hours.

Grind the dal coarsely along with Salt,red chillies,cinnamon stick and cumin seeds.

Now mix all the other ingredients.

Take small amount of the mixture, make a ball and press it to become flat with the help of your hands.

Deep fry in oil till golden brown.

This is a very crispy vada when ate hot. You can store it in an air tight container for 5-6 hours to maintain the crispness.

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Vegetable Burger - Easy and quick method

For the past few weeks, I have been craving burgers. I do not like to eat burgers outside mostly because they use meat and cheese in the preparation. I wanted to try out a simple vegetable burger at home which is less in calories and also more tasty. To start with, the first thing that came to my mind was Potatoes. So I prepared Potato cutlet to go in between the burger buns.



The Potato cutlet is a very easy recipe. But the problem with my cutlet was, it was not stiff enough. Though I used bread crumbs and squeezed out excess water from the vegetables, the cutlet was not stiff enough to hold its shape while eating. Who cares? I am not serving a party. I was completely satisfied with the taste. So if you are trying out this recipe for a party or to serve someone else, do take care to be sure that the cutlet would hold its shape. If anyone knows any tips for this please share it.

Ingredients:

2 Burger buns
1/2 cup chopped lettuce
1/4 cup length wise chopped onions
4 thin slices of tomatoes

For the cutlet:

2 medium potato, boiled and peeled
1/4 finely chopped onions
1/4 cup finely chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp chilli powder
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
Oil to shallow fry

Method:

In a bowl, mash the boiled potatoes.

Add all the other ingredients and mix well with hands.

Make small balls with this mixture and make flat round shape.

Roll this on the bread crumbs.

In a pan, add some oil and shallow fry these cutlets until they are cooked.

Place 1 half of burger bun, add some lettuce, onions and tomatoes on top.

Place the cutlet on top of it and add some more lettuce.

Cover it with t he other half of the burger bun and serve with ketchup.

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Pani Poori - The King of Indian Chat

Pani Poori - This is one of the most famous Indian Chat recipe that many die for. I really can't explain the taste of this recipe. You must experience it. The combination of sweetness and sourness makes this recipe unique and stand out from rest of the crowd. It is made differently in each part of India. For example, the Gujaratis make this more sweeter.



Ok now you may ask me where can I eat this? The best place to eat this is from roadside shops in India. Oh! of course we cannot find road side shops in other countries,especially in the US and UK. So here is a homemade recipe of Pani Poori to satisfy your cravings. You must give this a try. The best chat I have ever eaten! I know many will join me in this statement.

Ingredients:

To make Poori:

1 cup of suji(Semolina) (makes more than 50 pooris)
salt to taste
1 1/2 tsp of all purpose flour
warm water
oil



To make Pani:

Cold water
1 cup tamarind juice
1/2 tsp Black salt or chatt masala
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp of cumin powder
salt to taste
1/2 tsp of pepper power
1/2 tsp of red chilli powder
1/2 tsp of sugar
few cilantro and mint leaves - crush them in a blender

For stuffing:

Boiled chick peas
chopped boiled potatoes
Boondi
Yogurt




Method:

To make Poori:

In a bowl add the suji(Semolina) and salt. Mix well.

Add warm water and mix.

Add the AP flour and mix well.

Knead the dough for at least 10 minutes.

The dough must be a tight dough.

Add few drops of oil to the dough and knead for 4-5 min and rest it for 15-20 minutes.

In a table/where you are going to roll the puri, apply oil and take dough and roll it to a very thin dough.

Take a bottle cover/cutter which cuts the dough into small round shape.

In oil, deep fry these pooris. They have to puff like balloons.

To make Pani:

In a bowl, add cold water and the tamarind juice. Add all the other ingredients required for making pani.

Mix well.

How to eat Pani Poori:

This is the best part. I bet when you start eating you can never stop.

Take 1 poori, crack open so that you can add the fillings.

Add 1 tsp of all the stuffing ingredients mentioned.

Dip the Poori into the Pani and immediately take it to your mouth.

Eat each poori as a whole to get this recipe right.

Repeat this process till you are out of Pooris.

Writing about this makes me drool. Do let me know if you have tried this recipe at home.

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Spinach Rolls - A quick healthy snack

When it comes to spinach and kids I can say that they are like the little red riding hood and wolf. Oh! you know what I mean. They don't get along, even if we try tricking the kids to eat spinach. This is the case for cooked spinach. So, how about raw spinach leaves? no way! Can you make them to eat raw spinach? oh yeah! I got a pretty interesting recipe which I believe would be a great hit among kids too.



Spinach rolls are very simple and easy to make. Very healthy and is full of protein and fiber needed for kids as well as pregnant women. No oil, no sugar is used throughout this process, which adds value to this food. You can make this like a little cooking project and do these rolls with your kids. This is real fun. I know you can't wait any more and so here is the Spinach rolls recipe. Do let me know if it made your kid eat raw spinach.


Ingredients:

10 Spinach leaves (preferably big ones, which we can roll)
1 cup of cooked beans (I used Red kidney beans, Moong sprouts and chick peas)
Salt to taste
2 tsp of honey
1 tbspn of powdered nuts
10 toothpick





Method:

Soak the beans for 4-5 hours and pressure or steam cook them by adding required amount of salt.

Now, take a spinach leaf and cut out the stem.

Coat the leaf with honey. This serves 2 purposes

1. It makes the spinach leaves taste sweet
2. It helps the nuts to stick to the leaf

Spread few powdered nuts on this.

Now place a tsp of cooked beans inside it and roll it.

Use a toothpick to hold the roll. Serve hot or cold, either way they taste great. The beans are chewy and the nuts are crunchy making it to taste just perfect.

You can do many variations with this recipe. Kids love something which can be eaten in one bite and also loves food which they can hold in their hands. Bingo!

You healthy Spinach rolls are ready! Easy and quick and makes a perfect evening snack for your kids and pregnant women so this is going to my eat healthy during pregnancy event. Do let me know if this recipe suits any other event, I would love to send it.

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Granular Oats Muffin - Healthy choice!

I always wanted to try Muffins and Cupcakes. I did try cupcakes a couple of weeks back but Muffins, very recently. I always got confused with muffins and cupcakes until recently found their difference (you can find it in my classical cupcake recipe). So Muffins huh? What else can I add with the regular muffin dough? May be oats! Granular oats!



I just wanted to make my muffins healthy. Already I did not use Butter in its preparation so now adding oats gave me a satisfaction that it is healthy someway or the other. I poured only 1/2 of the pan, so my muffins didn't come out fluffy but it tasted real good.

Ingredients:

1 medium egg, beaten.
2 cups of flour
3/4 cup of milk.
1/2 cup of granular oats
1/2 cup of sugar.
1/2 cup of oil, if you want you can use butter too
3 teaspoons of baking powder.
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
1/8 teaspoon of salt.



Method:

Mix together the egg, milk, oil and vanilla extract.

In another bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder,salt and granular oats.

Since the granular oats has raisins, it comes out with good taste.

Mix the two mixtures.

Fill 3/4 of a muffin pan with the dough and bake at 390F for about 15 minutes.

Allow it to cool and serve with tea/coffee for breakfast.

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French Fries - Mc Donald or Burger King?

When it comes to French fries it is always McDonald for me. I have tried making french fries at home and have never been successful in making something atleast close to the original recipe. May be we have to spy and get the original recipe. Do you know some one who works for them?OK. I am crossing the line here. Tell me, which is your favorite w.r.t french fries, McD or Burger King?

Last weekend I craved for french fries. whats with this craving and me? It is like daily I get an urge to eat something different but all from restaurants, no home cooking.Hmm... this either means that I am becoming lazy or the restaurant people have bribed me. Clearly the second option is ruled out. So we land on me being Lazy again! Duh! But finally prepared French fries at home!



Now for the Homemade French Fries. BTW does anyone knows why these are called french fries? please enlighten me!

Ingredients:

3 potatoes (The kind of Potatoes which are for baking/frying)

1 tsp of chilli powder(optional)

A pinch of salt

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Cut your potato into any shape you want.

Wash them and dry them with paper towels.

In a pan, heat oil and fry these potatoes at 355- 360 deg F.

Toss them with salt and chilli powder if you want and enjoy!

Note: I have tried the same method with the normal potatoes but dint turn out well. So I guess the secret is using the potatoes especially meant for baking/frying.

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Bhel Puri - The famous Indian Chat recipe

I still remember my school days where we five (we were like the Famous five in our school) stand in queue to get the Bhel Puri served in the shop near our school. Usually this will be after the swimming classes that took place during weekends. We used to have loads of fun in the swimming class and the minute we get out of the class we all will be standing in this shop. We would be so hungry and this Bhel Puri would taste awesome. I still remember the taste. Y-U-M-M-Y!



I have tried many versions of this famous Indian chat, but nothing could match the taste of the Bhel Puri from the street shop. Hmm...what to do?, may be they have some secret ingredient...anyways I prepared this bhel puri last Saturday during snack time and here is the recipe.


Ingredients: (For 2 people)

For the bhel

2 cups of puffed rice
½ cup sev, which can be prepared from this omapodi/sev recipe
½ cup of papads broken (You can use any kind of chips)
1 onion finely chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 cup boiled chopped potatoes
2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
salt to taste

Green Chutney

2 cups coriander leaves
1/2 cup mint leaves (optional)
5-6 green chilies
1 tbs lime juice
Salt to taste

Grind the above items to a fine paste by adding required water

Tamarind Chutney

3/4 cup tamarind water (lemon size tamarind soaked in water)
1/2 cup dates deseeded
3/4 cup jaggery
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp salt

In a pan add the tamarind water, seedless dates, jaggery, cumin powder, and salt. Bring them to boil and cook for 8- 10 minutes. Cool the mixture and grind it.


Method:

Mix puffed rice, sev, and broken papadi in a large bowl.

Add onions, tomato, boiled potato, add required green and tamarind chutney.

Mix well and garnish with sev and cilantro leaves. Serve immediately :)

Note:

These chutneys can be stored (refrigerated) for 2 days in an air tight container.

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Mixture - A easy and quick snack for Diwali

I used to think that Mixture is tough to make. Mainly because, there are a lot of items in a mixture like Boondi, oma podi, aval ect. But after trying it, I can say for sure that it is one of the quickest snack I have ever made. Though the recipe calls for oil for deep frying, I think you can compromise on your diet for a festival like Diwali, which comes only once a year.



Even though store bought mixture has its own taste, homemade mixture is more scrumptious and relatively healthy as we can use fresh unused oil for deep frying. I am sending this and my other Diwali sweets and snacks to Pallavi's YFF - Diwali. With no further delay, let me share the recipe with you.

Ingredients: ( Makes 2 cup of mixture)

Gram flour/Besan - 1 cup
3 garlic flakes, minced (optional)
Ground nuts - 1/4 cup
Few fried Cashews
Flattened rice or Aval- 1/4 cup
Few curry leaves
salt to taste
1 tsp of chilli powder
Oil to deep fry



Method:

Follow this method to make Boondi.

Follow this method to make Omapodi.

Fry Aval, curry leaves, groundnuts and cashew nuts in oil. You can shallow fry these if you want to avoid oil.

Now in a big bowl, mix boondi, omapodi,groundnuts,cashews,curry leaves and toss them.

Add salt and chilli powder as per your spice level.

Mixture is all ready to eat! Enjoy.

Happy Diwali 2008 to you! Check out my other recipes (Sweets and Snacks) for Diwali.

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Navaratri series - Sweet and Sundal, Day 8

Navaratri is nearing its end. My husband is feeling sad because from tomorrow he won't be getting sundal and sweet daily. It has been like a feast for him every day. After coming from office, the first thing he asks me is 'What have you prepared today?'.

Tomorrow is Saraswati pooja. The one thing I used to love and am still loving about the day is keeping all the books in pooja! Hurray! No studying tomorrow! Only watching TV! As a kid, I bet all of us would have had this thought! Anyways people in US have to wait for another day to enjoy Saraswati Pooja!

Today's Navaratri Prasadam is Corn Sundal and Rava Ladoo.

Corn Sundal:

1 cup Frozen/fresh corn
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp of urad dal
1 tsp of channa dal
2 Dry Red chillies OR Green chillies
Few curry leaves
2 tsp of oil
Salt to taste
1 tsp mustard
A pinch of Hing



Method:

In a pan, add oil, mustard seeds. When it pops add hing powder.

Add the urad and channa dal and saute. Add curry leaves and Red/green chillies.

Add the onions and salt. Saute for few seconds.

Now add the frozen corn. If using fresh corn, cook the corn before adding.

The Corn sundal is ready!

I am sharing the Rava Ladoo as today' Sweet.



Check out my other Navaratri series recipes

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Navaratri series - Sundal and Sweet, Day 7

As told in my yesterday's post, here is the golu from my friends house. She is my college mate and like my sister! I love her so much. Her name is Madhura!







Treat for your eyes is over! Now coming to treat for your tongue! Today's Navaratri special is,

Payaru/Whole gram dal sundal:




Ingredients:

1 cup Payaru/Whole gram dal
1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)
1 tsp of urad dal
1 tsp of channa dal
2 Dry Red chillies OR Green chillies
Few curry leaves
2 tsp of oil
Salt to taste
1 tsp mustard
A pinch of Hing

Method:

Soak the Payaru/whole gram dal for 4 to 5 hours. Pressure cook it for 1 hisses.

Add a pinch of salt while pressure cooking. Do not over cook.

In a pan, add oil, mustard seeds. When it pops add hing powder.

Add the urad and channa dal and saute. Add curry leaves and green chillies.

Now add the cooked payaru and mix well.

Now add the shredded coconut and check for salt. If needed add some more salt.

The Payaru/Whole gram dal sundal is ready!

And the sweet is Rice pudding/Arisi Payasam




Checkout my other Navaratri special recipes

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Navaratri Series- Sundal and Sweet, Day 6

I really miss Golu! So I asked my cousin to send a picture taken from his golu and here it is.



It has 5 steps and usual dolls. The Dasavatharam, Kalyana set (my fav) and also Ashta lakshmi dolls. These dolls will mostly be sitting in the steps of golu in almost all the houses. Then comes the god and goddesses dolls.

Decorating the golu with small light bulbs, serial lights is also very famous. It gives a very rich look! Now for my today's Navaratri Sundal and Sweet,

Tomorrow I will share Golu pictures at my best friend's.

Rajma Sundal (Red Kidney Beans) :




Ingredients:

1 cup Red kidney beans/Rajma
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 tsp of urad dal
1 tsp of channa dal
2 Dry Red chillies OR Green chillies
Few curry leaves
2 tsp of oil
Salt to taste
1 tsp mustard
A pinch of Hing

Method:

Soak the Rajma for 4 to 5 hours. Pressure cook it for 2 hisses.

Add a pinch of salt while pressure cooking Rajma.

In a pan, add oil, mustard seeds. When it pops add hing powder.

Add the urad and channa dal and saute. Add curry leaves and green chillies.

Now add the cooked Rajma/Red Kidney Beans and mix well.

Now add the shredded coconut and check for salt. If needed add some more salt.

The Rajma/Red kidney beans sundal is ready!

Now for the sweet, I am sharing Beetroot Halwa for today as Navaratri special sweet recipe.



Checkout my other Navaratri special recipes.

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Navaratri Series - Sundal and Sweet, Day 4

Yesterday it was all about Golu competition. Today, I would like to share about the most interesting part of Golu, the park. Usually, kids plan for months together for setting up the park. They also have competitions among their friends and brag about their park/zoo.

Everytime it has to be different and unique, so we keep the theme as a secret. No body should copy our idea. If someone kept the same theme for park, then undoubtedly it is a copy, even it was their original idea. Kids! ok I know what you are thinking, even I was like that.

We have many themes like zoo, cricket match, park, village set up etc. Mostly boys will go for the...cricket duh! Girls will opt mostly the zoo or the village. Sometimes we also set up volcano and pouring lava. We mix some colour water and pour it inside the volcano. How it comes out, god only knows! It was the geeky department, we have people to work on that! Oh network!Our friends elder brother's friends brother.. it goes on.but we have someone to help us out! Cool na!

Enough of memories. Now coming to today's Navaratri special prasadams.

Payatham parupu/Gram dal Sundal:



Ingredients:

1 cup Gram dal/Payatham parupu
1/4 shredded coconut
2 dry red chillies
1 tsp channa dal
1 tsp ural dal
A pinch of hing
Salt to taste
1 tsp oil
Few curry leaves

Method:

Be careful when cooking the gram dal. It gets easily mashed if it is over cooked. So I would suggest you to cook Gram dal/Payatham parupu by boiling it with some salt in a pot/pan, till it is cooked right.

In a pan, add oil, mustard and when it pops add the urad, channa dal,curry leaves and hing.

Add the chillies. You can also use green chillies instead of red. Wither way it gives a great taste.

Now add the cooked dal and mix well.

Add the shredded coconut and serve hot. Actually you can omit coconut if you are health conscience. It tasted great without it too.

Today's Navaratri special sweet is Mysore Pak.



A traditional sweet which is great for any festival.

Do check out my other Navaratri series recipe.

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Navaratri Series - Sundal and Sweet, Day 3

If you had read my yesterday's post on Navaratri, I was telling about Golu contest. Let me write in detail now. This happened say around 6 years back. My parents stay at Nanganallur, which is a very famous place in chennai for temples. Usually, there will be Navaratri celebrations and the winning picture of the Golu will be posted in Nanganallur times, if I am right.




Photo by: Manvendra

Actually the Golu contest is not judged by the number of steps you keep, but the presentation and also how many new dolls you have kept this year. Each participant had to explain about their Golu and how it is special every year. I have not judged but I have witnessed few judging occasions. It will be real fun and informative to watch.

Usually the participant will be questioned by the judges and sometimes it will be hilarious too. When taking about Golu, how can I forget the parks created by children (mostly)? I will write more about the Parks tomorrow. Now coming to today's Navaratri special in my blog.

Kadala Parupu/Channa Dal/Lentil Sundal :



Ingredients:

1 cup channa dal
1/4 cup shredded coconut
2 dry red chillies
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp mustard
A pinch of Hing
Salt to taste
1 tsp of Oil
Few currey leaves



Method:

Pressure cook the Channa dal for 2 hisses. Make sure you do n ot over cook it. It is very important to add salt when pressure cooking.

In a pan, add 1 tsp of oil and mustard. When the mustard pops, add urad dal, hing and curry leaves.

Now add the red chillies and saute.

Add the cooked Channa dal and mix well.

Now add the shredded coconut and mix well.

Your Kadala Parupu/Channa Dal/Lentil Sundal is ready. You can also use green chillies but I personally feel that red chillies add a flavour to this sundal.

Now coming to the Sweet, I am sharing Kaju Katli, A famous North Indian Sweet.



Do check out my previous Navaratri series recipe.

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Navaratri Series - Sundal and Sweet, Day 2

The thing that I love about Navaratri is the arrangements of dolls in steps, called as Gollu. I know people love to participate in Gollu competitions. It is really fun to watch. Once happened in my colony in India. We had Navaratri celebrations and Gollu competition was the highlight. Judges will be going from house to house checking for the Gollu arrangements. I will write more about these competitions tomorrow.



Photo by public.resource.org

Now coming to day 2 of Navaratri. Today we worship Badrakali, another form of Durga. Remember? the first three days of Navaratri are about Durga! Today's prasadam or neivedyam is Pattani/Peas Sundal and Ladoo.

To make Pattani/Peas Sundal you will need,

1 cup of Pattani (Fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup of shredded coconut (fresh or frozen)
1 tsp of urad dal
1 tsp of channa dal
2 Dry Red chillies OR Green chillies
Few curry leaves
2 tsp of oil
Salt to taste
1 tsp mustard
A pinch of Hing



Method:

If you are using fresh peas, then pressure cook it for 2 hisses. If you are using the frozen peas then boil it for 2 min.

Both ways add a pinch of salt while cooking t he peas. Do not over cook the peas.

In a pan, add oil, mustard seeds. When it pops add hing powder.

Add the urad and channa dal and saute. Add curry leaves and green chillies.

Now add the Peas/Pattani and mix well. As the peas is already cooked you need not cook the peas at this stage.

Now add the shredded coconut and add check for salt. If needed add some more salt.

Your Pattani/Peas Sundal is ready.

This sundal is famous in Indian Beaches. They add some finely chopped mango to this and also add red chilli powder to spice it up . I am literally drooling just by this thought! It is called Thenga (coconut) Manga(Mango) Pattani (Peas) Sundal!

Now for today's sweet. I am proudly sharing the king of sweets, Ladoo as today's Navaratri special sweet.



Check out my Day 1 Prasadam/Neivedyam for navaratri.

Catch you tomorrow with more Sundal, sweet and Navaratri gossips!

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Navaratri Series - Sundal and Sweets, Day 1

Navaratri or Dasara is a very fun festival in India, especially for kids. In the evening, when that day's pooja is over, the kids go to each house for collecting Prasadams. They also sing to the god. I remember my childhood days carrying polythene cover to collect all the sundals. Fun!

Navaratri is celebrated for nine days. This year Navaratri started on 30 Sept 2008 and will run till Oct 8th 2008. Oct 9, 2008 will be Vijaya dasami. There are a lot of websites sharing information about this festival. Learn more about Navaratri 2008.

Navratri is divided into sets of three days to adore three different aspects of the supreme goddess. Today being the first day, we worship goddess Durga, in order to destroy all our impurities.

As today's Navaratri special, I would like to share Groundnut sundal/ Verkadalai sundal recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup groundnuts
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp channa dal
1 tsp mustard
2 green chillies
2 tsp oil
A pinch of hing
Salt to taste
1/4 cup onions (optional)



Method:

Pressure cook the ground nuts until you get two hisses.

In a pan, add oil, mustard. When it pops add a pinch of hing.

Add urad and channa dal and saute them.

Add the onions and saute.

Add Green chopped chillies and salt.

Now add the ground nuts and mix well.

Ground nut sundal is ready!. It is tasty even when not hot.


Navaratri special sweet :



Today I would like to share Rava/Suji Kesari.

Happy Navaratri to all readers!

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Ribbon Beda recipe - Ribbon?

Are you wondering why this snack is called Ribbon Beda? If so, just take a look at the picture.



May be my picture is not that good. But,Isn't it looking like ribbons? The shape of this snack is like that of ribbons. A spicy ribbon. I love this snack and this is my last in the Vinayaka chaturthi series of snacks and sweets. This very easy to prepare snack is also done with the Muruku maker. You just have the insert the right impression to get the shape of ribbons.



Ingredients:

1 cup of Rice flour
1 cup of Besan flour
1 cup of powdered channa dal (Odachakadala in Tamil, If anyone can tell me the english name, plz!!!)
1 tsp seasme seeds
1 tsp Hing
Salt to taste
2 tbsn Ghee/Clarified butter
1 tsp chilli powder

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Make the dough with all the above ingredients.

The dough must be a little loose so that we will be able to press it via the muruku maker easily.

Use the corresponding impression to get the Ribbon shape.

Hold the Muruku maker on top of oil and press it. The Ribbon beda will come out and deep fry it in oil till they become light brown.

Allow it to cool and then store it in an air tight container.

With this recipe my snack series for Krishna Jeyanthi/Vinayaka chaturthi is over. Check out my other snack recipes in my recipe index.

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Manopu - A rice flour snack

This is yet another snack we do for krishna jeyanthi. This recipe is also made with rice flour like cheedai but the shape is different. We add some more ingredients to give a different flavor to it. We make this recipe with an instrument which is used to make these snakes. Check out my other snacks made for krishna jeyanthi/Vinayaka chatirthi in my Recipe Index. Basically to get the desired shapes we use this instrument. I do not know how it is called in English but you can have a look at it to get an idea. Here is the picture.



Don't go searching it in the US. I guess we get it only in India or in Indian shops. I got them from my recent India trip. There are different impressions for making different recipes.



Now coming to Manopu recipe,

Ingredients:

2 cup rice flour
1 cup of fried and powdered Moong dal (Green gram)
1 cup of fried and powdered channa dal (Gram dal)
1 tsp of seasme seeds
1 tbsp of Ghee/clarified butter
Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying



Method:

Make the dough with all the above ingredients.

The dough must be a little loose so that we will be able to press it via the muruku maker easily.

Use the corresponding impression to get the manopu shape.

Hold the manopu maker on top of oil and press it. The manopu will come out and deep fry it in oil till they become light brown.

Allow it to cool and then store it in an air tight container.

Though these are high calorie snack, we can treat ourselves occasionally! I do it this way. It makes me stay more committed to my diet.

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Cheedai - Tiny Rice flour balls

I really didn't know how to call Cheedai in English and ended up calling them as tiny rice flour balls. Cheedai is a south indian recipe made for Krishna Jeyanthi (Birthday of Lord Krishna)/Gokulashtami. It is a very famous snack made from deep frying rice flour balls.

Making of cheedai has always made be nostalgic. Every time when my mom prepares cheedai, she will prepare the dough and give it to me and my dad. We both take partnership in making tiny balls out of it. We always end up fighting that the balls are out of shape or it is bigger. My mom never gets satisfied with the shape we make.



This snack is very easy to prepare. Though first time makers must be careful, because there are a lot of chances for the balls to pop when deep fried. But I have found out a easy technique to overcome this.

Tip: Make a hole with a toothpick on each ball before deep frying. It will help the balls from popping.


Ingredients:

1 cup of rice flour
1-2 tsp of Urad dal powder (Fry Urad dal in a pan without oil & powder it using blender)
Salt to taste
1 tsp of fried seasme seeds (fried in a pan without oil)
1 tbsp of ghee/clarified butter (optional), for preparing the dough

Oil for deep frying


Method:

Prepare the dough mixing all the above ingredients in a bowl. The dough must be semi solid.

Take small amount of dough and make tiny balls like shown in below picture.



As told before, use a tooth pick and make a hole in each ball.

In a pan, heat the oil.

Now put these balls and deep fry them till they turn light brown.

Allow them to cool. Store it in an air tight container and enjoy!

Note: They become crispy only after they are cooled to room temperature so do not hurry!

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Kara Kozhukattai/ Spicy Rice flour Dumplings

This is one of my favourite snacks. This very quick and easy to prepare recipe is also called Uppu urundai in Tamil. Kozhukattai is a snack made from Rice flour. You can make this is as a sweet or savoury. Check out the Sweet Kozhukattai Recipe. I am sure you will love it.

This uppu urundai/kara (spicy) Kozhukattai is a rice flour dumpling made for special occasions. But in my home, it is a regular snack. You can eat it with your favourite Mint Chutney.



I made this Spicy rice flour dumplings for Vinayaka chaturthi celebration. As this is a steemed dish, it is more healthy compared to other snacks. This is also called Modak or Modakam.

This recipe serves 10- 12 dumplings and takes 15 mts to prepare.

To make this Spicy Rice flour dumplings/Kara kozhukattai, all you need is



1 cup rice flour
2 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp channa dal
1 green chilli, chopped
1 broken red chilli
1/2 cup of chopped onion
Salt to taste
1 cup of water

Method:

In a pan, Add oil and mustard. When it pops, add urad,channa dal and saute.

Now add onions, red chillies and green chillies and saute them till the onion becomes light brown.

Add salt and water.

When the water boils, add the rice flour in little quantities and mix well.

Be careful not to form lumps.

Stir till it is mixed well and the rice flour is half cooked.

Remove it from the stove and make small balls of the mixture.

Steam cook these balls for 8 to 10 min.

Serve hot.

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