Thursday, August 29, 2019

Ellu Urundai | Sesame Seed Ladoo | Ladoo Recipe

Ellu Urundai, a delicious sesame seed balls sweetened with jaggery syrup. I have been thinking of posting this recipe for a very long time and yesterday when I was browsing through pinterest, I found out that the ellu urundai is one of the dishes prepared for ganesh chathurthi. 

In our family, we make kozhukattai/mothagam and sundal for ganesh chathurthi, never remember of making ellu urundai on this particular day, later when i talked to Amma, she mentioned that even in some part of tamilnadu, ellu urundai is prepared for ganesh chathurthi. 

With all that being said, thought it's the right time to post this recipe since ganesh chathurthi is just a few days away, today morning i have prepared this ellu urundai. It's such a simple recipe to make in no time during this festive season.
Now coming to the recipe, the cooking part of making this ellu urundai is so simple if you got the correct syrup consistency. When it comes to shaping them, I find it a little difficult to bear the heat. 

If you're like me who can't bear the heat and have sensitive hands(the heat from the jaggery syrup would easily burn the palm slightly, nothing to scare but still it hurts a little.), I would suggest making them as burfi instead of balls.

Once the mixture is ready, pour it on the greased plate and let it cool for mins and then you can cut into desired shape.Now let's see how to make this delicious sesame ladoo.


Ellu Urundai | Sesame Seed Ladoo

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 10 minsMakes : 8  
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ellu Urundai, Sesame Seed Ladoo, Sesame Seed Balls Ellu Urundai, a delicious sesame seed balls sweetened with jaggery syrup.
Ingredients
Sesame Seed - 1/4 cup
Jaggery - 1/4 cup
Cardamom -1 
Water - 1/4 cup

Procedure
First heat a pan and dry roast the sesame seed until it starts to burst, remove it from the heat and transfer into the plate.
In the same pan, add the jaggery and water and let the jaggery melts completely.
Strain the jaggery syrup to remove the impurities and pour the syrup back into the pan(make sure to clean the pan before using) and add powdered cardamom & bring into boil again.
Once the syrup starts to bubble, pour few drops of syrup in the water and check the consistency.
The syrup should form a soft ball consistency, that means you can take the syrup from the water and able to form a ball. That's the correct stage, add the roasted sesame seed and mix it well.
Within few seconds, it forms together a ball, remove from the heat and start making small balls.
Tada, Yummy Sesame balls/ Ellu Urundai is ready.

Related: How to make Poori Urundai / Puffed Rice Balls


Notes:
  • The syrup consistency is important to form the ball shape, so keep the flame in low when the syrup is about to reach the consistency to make sure that you don't miss the correct stage.
  • Apply a few drops of ghee in your hands, it will helps to roll smoothly.
  • You must roll them when the mixture is hot, if you can't bear the heat, simply layer it on the tray and cut into pieces.
  • Instead of white sesame seed, you can used black sesame seed also.
Continue Reading »

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Rava Coconut Ladoo | Rava Ladoo | Ladoo Recipe

Rava Coconut Ladoo, a delicious and easy to make ladoos with semolina and coconut. Rava ladoo is one of ST's favorite sweets and the only sweet he asks me to make often. So far,apart from the regular rava ladoo, I have tried quite few variations like making them using condensed milk and  sugar syrup without ghee. Each one has its unique taste & texture.

And this rava coconut ladoo is my recent favorite in this rava ladoo series. In general, I love anything with coconut in it and coconut gives nice aroma and taste to this ladoo. If you like me who loves coconut, give this method a try next time when you make rava ladoo.

While making this ladoo, make sure to roast both rava and coconut until they are aromatic, that makes a lot of difference in both taste and texture wise. So far I have made this ladoo for a handful of times and in every time, the amount of ghee needed varies slightly plus or minus 2 tsp of ghee. 

Therefore add ghee little by little and stop when it starts holding shape, even if it doesn't hold shape after using all the ghee, you can add more ghee or simply use a couple of tsp of warm milk or water. Milk actually reduces the shelf life of the ladoo, so if you're making this ladoo in large quantities, I would recommend sprinkling a couple of tsp of warm water to hold the shape. It doesn't affect the taste at all. Now let's check out how to make this delicious rava coconut ladoos.

Rava Coconut Ladoo Recipe

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 15 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Rava Ladoo, Rava Coconut Ladoo, Easy Ladoo Recipe, Indian Sweet, Diwali Sweet,Semolina Ladoo,Semolina Sweet Rava Coconut Ladoo, a delicious and easy to make ladoos with semolina and coconut.
Ingredients
Rava/Sooji - 1/2 cup
Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Ghee - 2 to 3 tbsp 
Cashew - 5

Procedure
Heat a tsp of ghee in a frying pan, add rava and start roasting the rava.
Roast until the rava is aromatic, remove from the heat and transfer to the plate, in the same plate, add the grated coconut.
Roast till it slightly started to changes to its color, remove from the heat and transfer to the plate. Now add the remaining ghee in the pan and heat it.
Broke the cashews into pieces and add into it. Roast until it becomes golden. Switch off the flame. In a mixie jar, add the sugar and powder it.
Next add the rava and coconut into it and pulse it couple of time until it all mix together.
Transfer into the bowl, add the cardamon powder and the ghee along with roasted cashews.
Mix it all together and start making ladoos. 
Yummy Rava Coconut Ladoos are ready. For more yummy sweet recipes, check out here.

Related : How to make Boondi Ladoo 

Notes:
  • No need to powder the rava, just give a couple of pulses until it all mix together.
  • The ghee should be hot, so that it holds the ladoo in shape well.
  • If the ladoo shape doesn't hold well, you can add a couple of tsp of boiled milk/warm water.


Continue Reading »

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Pepper Thattai | Milagu Thattai | Snacks

Milagu Thattai, a delicious savory snack made from rice flour with wonderful pepper flavor. I have been thinking of posting this recipe here for very long time now. 

As Krishna Jeyanthi/Gokulashtami is just around the corner and thattai is one of the popular snack prepared for this festival, thought of, this might be the right time to post here and made them last evening just to post here and of course we enjoy eating them too 😊. 
In our home ,we grew up eating varieties of home made snacks like murukku and seedai, but thattai was not in the picture when i grew up, later when i was chennai for job, i got tasted the A2B's pepper thattai for the first time and instantly love the flavor. 

Ever since i always prefer to buy the pepper thattai whenever visit A2B shop. After moving to aboard, i started to make them at home, one of the difficulties of living far away from home town, whenever you're craving for something from your home town, the only choice you have is make it on your own. 

No regrets at all, actually i see that as the opportunity to learn on how to make them otherwise i would never make them on my own. Ok, enough with my stories, coming to the recipe, today i have used home made rice flour/pacharisi maavu, but you can use the store brought rice flour too for this recipe, i had used them in the past and it worked fine. Now let's check out how to make this flavorful pepper thattai.

Pepper Thattai | Milagu Thattai

Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 20 minsMakes : 20 
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Pepper Thattai, Milagu Thattai, Thattai, Easy Thattai Recipe Milagu Thattai, a delicious savory snack made from rice flour with wonderful pepper flavor.
Ingredients
Rice flour - 1 cup
Roasted chana dal flour/Pottukadalai maavu - 3 tbsp
Chana dal - 2 tsp
Peppercorns - 1 tsp
Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves -  1 spring
Butter - 1 tsp
Salt - as needed
Oil - for frying

Procedure
Soak the chana dal in water for 10 mins. In a bowl, take the rice flour & roasted gram flour.
Add the peppercorns into the hand motor & pestle and crushed them into coarse powder and add into the flour along with salt.
Finely chop the curry leaves and add into the flour mixture along with asafoetida powder, mix it all well together, then add the melted butter and give a good mix.
Add the soaked chana dal and the needed water and make a dough. Divide the dough into small lemon sized ball.
Take a zip lock bag, cut the sealed edges and make it open, grease it with oil and  place a dough on one side of the bag and cover the top with the other side of the bag.
Using a flat bottom bowl and press the dough to flatten it out evenly. Prick on the top using fork.
Heat the oil for frying and add the pressed dough.
Let it cook in medium flame. Gently flip it for couple of times while frying.
When the "shh" sound stops and the thattai floats on the top without any bubbles, remove from the oil and place it on tissue paper. Do the same for the remaining dough.
Tasty and crispy Pepper Thattai is ready. Let it cool down completely and store them in air tight container to maintain the crispiness. 

Related : How to make Seedai

Notes:
  • Instead of hand motor & pestle, you can using mixie to crush the peppercorns.
  • Prick the top using fork helps to avoid puff up while frying.
  • The given quantity of pepper is for mild spice. Add more or less as per your liking.
  • Instead of zip lock bag, you can use any polythene bag for shaping thattai.
  • To make roasted gram flour, add the roasted gram in the mixie and grind into fine powder.If need sieve it once otherwise use them as it is.
Continue Reading »

Friday, August 16, 2019

Drumstick Poriyal | Murungakkai Poriyal | Poriyal Recipe

Murungakkai Poriyal, a delicious and quick to make poriyal with drumsticks. Actually i haven't prepared this poriyal often because whether in US/Canada, the drumsticks are not easily available, only indian stores have them sometimes. So whenever i got them, i prefer to add few pieces in sambar, karakulambu and aviyal such that it will last for 7- 10 days. 

Last time, when we went to indian store here, the drumstick was so fresh, so i picked a couple of extra drumsticks than the usual and in the same week, all of sudden we had a travel plan to other city and were out of town for 10 days because of ST's work. 

As i didn't want to waste them  before traveling, I made this poriyal for our meal along with rice and sambar. It turned out super good, the flavor was subtle and simply love this poriyal. Now let's check out how i have prepared this poriyal.  

Drumstick Poriyal | Murungakkai Poriyal

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Accompaniment | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Drumstick Poriyal,Murungakkai Poriyal,Drumstick Recipe,Murungakkai Recipe,Poriyal Recipe Murungakkai Poriyal, a delicious and quick to make poriyal with drumsticks.
Ingredients
Drumstick - 2 
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Salt - to taste
To grind
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
Green chili - 1
Peal onion - 1 nos
Garlic pods-1(small)
Cumin seed- 1/4 tsp
To Temper
Sesame oil - 1 tsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Pearl Onion -1 
Curry leaves- few

Procedure
Cut the drumstick into 1 inch pieces. Heat about 1 cup of water in a kadai, bring into boil, then add the drumstick pieces.
Cover cook until the drumsticks are tender and well cooked.In the mean time, grind the ingredients listed under "To grind" into coarse paste.
Once the drumstick is almost cooked, add the turmeric powder and salt.
Next add the coconut mixture, give a good mix and let it cook until the raw smell leaves. 
Temper the ingredients listed under "To temper" and add into the drumstick poriyal.
Tada, Delicious Drumstick Poriyal is ready.

Related : Drumstick Kara Kuzhambu / Puli Kuzhambu

Notes:
  • Depends on your preference, you can add more or less chili. The given quantity has mild spice level.
  • Sesame oil gives great flavor to the poriyal.


Continue Reading »

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Pineapple Rasam Without Dal | Pineapple rasam | Rasam Recipe

Pineapple rasam , a delicious and tangy rasam with wonderful pineapple flavor. Rasam is a integral part of south indian meal. But i have seen people running away from dinning table when they hear the word "Rasam" and also sarcastically claim rasam as visham (poison). 

For me, i love rasam like anything right from childhood, rice with rasam and thogayal is one of my favorite combo and love to have them any time now also. But so far, i stick with the my basic rasam recipe and very rarely give it a  try  on other varieties.

I have heard about this pineapple rasam a lot, hence i want to try this for a while, finally i have made it today. When i searched for pineapple rasam recipe online, all of them has dal in it, as i said earlier i like simple rasam without dal. 

Therefore i have used my rasam recipe as base and made this pineapple rasam without any dal, it turned out awesome, the flavor was so good and the mild sweetness from the pineapple really enhance the taste of rasam.  

Pineapple Rasam Without Dal | Pineapple rasam

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Rasam | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Pineapple Rasam, Rasam, Pineapple Rasam without dal, Pineapple rasam , a delicious and tangy rasam with wonderful pineapple flavor.
Ingredients
Pineapple - 2 rings
Tamarind - a small gooseberry size
Tomato - 1 (medium)
Curry leaves & coriander leaves - few
Salt - 1/2 tbsp(approx)
Ghee - 1/2 tsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Red chili - 1 
Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp
Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp
To grind
Pepper corns - 2 tsp
Cumin seed - 1 tsp
Garlic pods - 6-7

Procedure
Cut the pineapple and tomato into small pieces.
First grind the ingredients listed under "To grind" into coarse paste and keep it aside, in the same jar, add 1/2 of the pineapple and grind into coarse paste.
Next add 1/2 of tomato and grind into paste. 
Heat the kadai with ghee, add mustard,urad dal, curry leaves and red chili, let the mustard splutter, then add the pepper corn mixture, saute till it's aromatic.
Then add the chopped pineapple & tomato followed by pineapple and tomato puree.
Add 2 cups of water and the tamarind extract from the soaked tamarind. 
Add salt, turmeric powder and asafoetida powder into the rasam.
Bring into boil and finally add the chopped coriander leaves & switch off the flame.
Flavorful and tasty Pineapple rasam is ready.

Related : How to make Mysore rasam



Notes:

  • Depend on the sourness of the pineapple, you may need more or less of tamarind.
  • For extra flavor, add 1/2 tsp of ghee at the end.
Continue Reading »