Coarse Wheat grain pudding (கோதுமை ரவை கருப்பட்டி பொங்கல் )

Coarse Wheat grain pudding 

 ( கோதுமை ரவை கருப்பட்டி பொங்கல் )

Ingredients:

Coarse Wheat grain /Wheat rava (கோதுமை ரவை )  - 1 cup

Moong Dal ( பாசிபருப்பு )  - 1/4 cup

Palm Sugar ( கருப்பட்டி )  - 1 1/2 cup (pounded)

Ghee  ( நெய் )  -  4 tbsp

Cashew nuts ( முந்திரிபருப்பு ) - 6 to 8 ( halved )

Steps:

Heat 2 tbsp of ghee in a pan. Fry the cashew nuts and keep aside. In the same ghee, roast the wheat rava and the moong dal separately until fragrant.

Transfer the wheat rava and moong dal to a container, add 3 cups of water. Close the vessel and place it in a pressure cooker and cook well.
Once cooked and still warm, mash the wheat rava and dal together. keep aside.
Add one cup of water to the pounded palm sugar. Heat and allow it to melt completely. Strain to remove the impurities and bring back it to boil. Boil for 3 to 4 min.
Add this syrup to the cooked wheat rava and mix well. Add in the remaining 2 tbsp ghee and cook in a low medium flame for another 3 to 4 min.
Finally add in the fried cashew nuts and serve this as a starter for a lunch or as a dessert.

My Notes:

Way back in mid '90 s, my Mother got the recipe of  wheat rava venn pongal ( savory pongal with pepper and cumin) from one of the cookery show in Doordarshan channel, Pothigai and used to prepare that as an alternative healthy version and also when we get bored with the rice venn pongal. Later on, we felt why not the sweet version as well instead of the regular rice sakarai pongal.

In the last few years, I have substituted the jaggery for palm sugar as the later is more healthy and gives an authentic flavor.

I prepare this often as an offering for Shridi Sai Baba at the temple as well as to our satsangh. Food with wheat products are specially offered to him.

It is a hit at one of the Lalitha Sahasranamam Parayanam session at a friend' place.

It is easily cooked and liked by all. 

I include moong dal mostly in my sweet pongal recipes so as to have the protein part in the dish and also it enhances the pongal' taste. 

The seasoning - cardamom and camphor which is synonymous with sweet pongal is not used here as I feel that both over powers the unique flavour of palm sugar. So this dessert is relished with the simple yet striking flavour of palm sugar. But it is a personal choice. If you feel, an Indian sweet is incomplete without cardamom , just go ahead and add. 

Elephant foot Yam Fry ( சேனை கிழங்கு சாப்ஃஸ் )

Elephant foot Yam Fry  ( சேனை கிழங்கு சாப்ஃஸ் )

                                

Ingredients:

Elephant foot Yam ( சேனை கிழங்கு )  - 200g
Dry red chilli  ( மிளகாய் வற்றல் )  - 2
Coriander seeds  ( தனியா )  - 1 tbsp
Garlic ( பூண்டு ) - 3 cloves
Turmeric powder ( மஞ்சள் தூள் )  -  1tsp
Tamarind  ( புளி )  - a small portion
Fennel seeds  ( சோம்பு )  - 1 tsp
Curry leaves ( கறிவேப்பிலை )  - 1 twig
Coconut oil ( தேங்காய் எண்ணெய் )  - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste ( தேவையான அளவு உப்பு )

Steps:

Peel, wash and slice the yam into thin small squares .
Boil water in a pot, add the tamarind shredded into pieces followed by turmeric and yam.
Add salt and let it cook.
Half boil the yam, remove from fire, drain the water.
Dry roast red chillies, coriander seeds and garlic. Allow it to cool, grind to a fine powder.
Coat the yam slices with this powder. Mix well and allow it to stand for 10 min.
In a pan add coconut oil and season with fennel seeds and curry leaves.
Add the marinated yam. Fry until golden brown.
Serve the finger licking Yam fry with steam  rice and sambar. It goes well with curd rice or just snack it ;)

My Notes:

Elephant foot yam' skin is thick and  muddy. Slice off the thick skin, wash well.

Grease your palm with oil and then clean the yam. This is a precaution to avoid itchiness one may experience while cleaning and slicing.Also after slicing, soak in salt water for few min before boiling.

While boiling yam, tamarind is added to get the tangy taste.

There are many recipes related to this yam. Mostly it is prepared with onions, tomato and spices added to it.
The coconut oil used in this recipe gives an added flavour to the fry. Yam and coconut oil is a great combination.
Frying is alternatively done on a hot tawa ( flat griddle pan ) for uniform roasting.
I learnt this simple, tasty version from my friend.
I remember tasting such at my aunt' place in Chennai though haven't learnt the recipe from her.

Horse gram steamed cake ( கொள்ளு இட்லி )

Horse gram steamed cake

கொள்ளு இட்லி

Ingredients:

Parboiled rice ( புழுங்கல் அரிசி )  -  2 cups

Horse Gram  ( கொள்ளு )              -  1/2 cup

Fenugreek seeds  (  வெந்தயம் )   - 1 tsp

Salt                                                     - 3 tsp

Steps:

Horse gram will have impurities like small stones. Clean and soak it separately for minimum 3 hours.

Wash and soak the rice as well. It needs minimum 2 hours but no harm in soaking an additional hour.

In a wet grinder, grind the horse gram first together with the fenugreek seeds to a very fine paste. 

You will get a fluffy texture similar to the urad dal batter.

Remove and then grind the soaked rice until a fine texture. This is done as you would do for normal idli batter.

Add salt and mix both horse gram and rice batter into an uniform consistency.

Mixing well plays a part to get  soft idlis. 

Leave the batter undisturbed to let it ferment overnight or minimum 6 hours. 

grinded horse gram 

horse gram & rice batter

Mix the fermented batter to get an uniform smooth consistency. Scoop out and pour in the mold ( idli plate) and steam . The time taken to cook is the same as normal idli, around 4 to 6 min. 

Serve the hot horse gram idli, as the steam cake is called in tamil, with sambar and coconut chutney.

My Notes:
Horse gram is a protein rich healthy lentil.
The steam cake is slightly dull in colour not as white as the normal idli. A slight differ in taste as well.
It is an excellent breakfast together with sambar ( lentil curry ) and coconut chutney.
Eat while it is hot.

Red Radish Avocado Salad ( சிவப்பு முள்ளங்கி அவகோடா சாலட் )

Red Radish Avocado Salad ( சிவப்பு முள்ளங்கி அவகாடோ சாலட் )

Ingredients:

Red Radish  - 1

Snow Peas  - 8 to 10

Avocado -  1/2

Cabbage leaves  - 2

Carrot  - 1/2

Almonds  - handful

Garlic  - 5 cloves

Butter  - 1 tbsp

Salt & pepper  -  to taste.

Steps:

Wash all the vegetables.

Slice the radish thinly.

Peel and fine chop the garlic cloves.

Remove the strings along the edges of snow peas and trim at ends.

Cut the carrots and almonds into thin strips.

Cut half of the avocado into bite sized pieces.

In a skillet add butter. 

As it melts, saute the snow peas for 1 to 1 1/2 min until it is crisp tender.

Transfer the snow peas to a plate and using the same pan roast the garlic. 

Roast until fragrant and toss in the radish pieces. 

Saute for a min. Remove from fire. Mix with the other ingredients . Add pepper and salt.

In a serving bowl, spread the cabbage leave and add in the salad.
A hearty salad is ready.

My Notes:

Snow pea is eaten fresh as a whole with the pod when it is still unripe. It's an excellent source of dietary fiber loaded with vitamins and minerals.It is used in stir fry recipes as well.

The raw flesh of radish has a crisp texture with a pungent and peppery flavor. Radishes owe their sharp flavor to the various compounds produced by the plant like glucosinolate, myrosinase and isothiocynate.

Avocado is not sweet, but it is distinctly and subtly flavored and has a smooth texture. It is popular as a dessert but also used in savory  dishes.  It has a high calorie count but is balanced with high healthy monounsaturated fats and thus can be consumed in moderation.

My memory of avocado brings me back to my teenage days where I remember tasting it in Kodaikanal(Tamilnadu) back when i was 15. It was referred to then as the butter cup fruit.