Millet & Pineapple nutty pudding ( சிறு தானிய அன்னாசி பழ கேசரி )

Millet & Pineapple nutty pudding 

( சிறு தானிய அன்னாசி பழ கேசரி )

Ingredients:
Millet ( சிறு தானியம் - திணை/ சாமை) -  1 cup
Pineapple ( அன்னாசி பழம் ) - 1 cup of bite-size cubes
Sugar (சக்கரை )  -  1 1/2 cups
A mix of Cashew, Almond & Pista nuts (முந்திரி பாதாம் பிஸ்தா பருப்பு)  - 1/2 cup
Raisins ( உலர் திராட்சை )  - 2 tsp
Clarified butter/ Ghee ( நெய்  )  -  3 tbsp
Yellow/ Orange food colour ( கேசரி பவுடர்)  - a pinch
Cardamom ( ஏலக்காய் )  -  4 pods
                                                                         
Steps:

In a heavy bottom saucepan, heat a tablespoon of ghee and fry the nuts.

Transfer nuts to a plate, add raisins to the hot nuts. Mix well.

Coarse grind the millet 

Heat a tablespoon of ghee and roast the millet until fragrant.

Add the pineapple pieces. let the juice of the fruit mix well with the millet.

Add three and a half cups of water and a pinch of the food color.

 Stir continuously and cook on low-medium flame

Add the remaining ghee. Cook covered on a low flame.

Once the millet is cooked, add sugar and cook for 2 more minutes.

Switch off the flame. Add the nuts, mix well. Give a standing time of 5 minutes before serving hot.

My Notes:

I prefer this type of pineapple flavoured Kesari with lots of nuts to the normal Kesari.

Usually, this sweet, kesari, is prepared using semolina. Since the introduction of various millets in our diet, I have tried this and it is yummy. Try and enjoy this dish.

Apple can be used as an alternative to pineapple.

I prefer not to fry raisins in ghee as they lose their sweetness by doing so. It is a personal choice.

Though cardamom is in the list, didn't use as I wanted everyone to relish the original pineapple taste and not hindered by the cardamom flavour. Didn't go for artificial flavoring ( pineapple essence) either.

Add a pinch of salt to enhance the flavour and sweetness of the dish.

Recently on Chitra Pournami which fell on a Thursday, I prepared this as an offering for Shridi Sai Baba.

Pirandai Thuvayal / Veldt grape Chutney ( பிரண்டை துவையல் )

Pirandai Thuvayal / Veldt grape Chutney   

( பிரண்டை துவையல் )

Ingredient:

Veldt grape/ adamant creeper / Pirandai (பிரண்டை)  - 7 to 8 sticks

Dry Red Chili (மிளகாய் வற்றல் )  -  3

Channa Dhal (கடலை பருப்பு)  - 1tsp 

Split Black Urad Dhal (உளுந்தம் பருப்பு தோலுடன்)  - 1 tsp

Tamarind (புளி)  -  a small amount ( according to the preference)

Asafoetida (பெருங்காயம்)  - 1/6 tsp 

Salt ( உப்பு) - to taste

Sesame Oil ( நல்லெண்ணய்)  - 2 tsp

Steps:

Wash and clean the stem. Remove the leaves and tendrils.

Break into manageable lengths and by doing so remove the veins. You can also use a knife or peeler to remove the veins along the ribbed edges.

Heat a teaspoon of sesame oil in a pan. Roast the red chili and remove. In the same oil, roast the channa dhal and urad dhal separately. Add asafoetida to the hot dhal kept in a plate.

Add a tsp of oil to the same pan and stir fry the veldt grape pieces. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes until it becomes soft. 

Dry grind the chilli and dhalls first to a powder. Later add the stem vegetable.

Grind without or with less waster. 

It is served with hot steamed rice and clarified butter.

It is a good side dish for dosai / Indian pancake.

.

My Notes:

The name pirandai thuvayal sounds interesting, isnt? That's how I felt when my cousin sister gave me some of this edible stemmed vine. It was grown at her Mother in law' terrace garden at Chennai and had brought back on return from holidays. It is available in some Indian shops and some wet markets in Singapore.

It also goes by the name adamant creeper as it grows well and creeps to occupy a major portion of your garden with less care. 

I have never cooked pirandai before. Asked her the preparation and added an ingredient - black gram lentil to enhance the flavour.

Grease your palm with oil before you start to clean and chop the pirandai. Other wise you may feel itchy.

Tamarind is also used in this recipe for the same reason, to remove the itchiness while eating. But not all pirandai are itchy.Not to take any chance, add tamarind and saute well in sesame oil.

This chutney is palate tickling with all its ingredients. I didn't get any itchiness.   

Pirandai combined with sesame oil is good for women. Also believed to alleviate knee problem and aids in digestion.

Try this with hot rice and ghee.

Well suites with dosai or idli. 

Can be refrigerated and used within a week. 

Surprisingly my younger son liked it.

It is  somewhere close to the fresh coriander thuvayal.

Try it out and enjoy the taste and its benefits. ;)

Tamil New Year Special - Lentil Beetroot fritters

Tamil New Year Special     

                  

       

Raw Mango  -  3 tbsp ( finely chopped)

Neem  flowers  - from 2 twigs / 2 tsp

Jaggery  - 2 tsp ( shredded )

Mix the above three ingredients and is consumed first thing in the morning of Tamil New Year.

The bitter, sweet ingredient in the dish signifies the same that we encounter in life and reminds us to to accept them equally. 

The raw mango chutney/pachadi, a dish prepared on tamil new year day, recipe of which is posted in this blog earlier. It is a cooked dish taken with rice.

Sweet Pongal

I have posted this recipe before.So just picture of the steps. I had used the new bronze pot bought for me by my friend from Kumbakonam. 

Suggested to use rice+dhall and water in a minimum proportion of 1:5 

Lentil beetroot fritters

Ingredients:

Channa dhal  -  1 cup

Toor  dhal - 1/5 cup

beetroot  - 1/2 of a big one or 1 small sized                                 

Small onions  -  10

Dry red chili  - 5 

Asafoetida  - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves  - 1 twig

Salt to taste.

Oil for frying

Steps:

Soak both the dhals for 30 to 45 minutes. 

Peel and fine chop the onions.

peel and grate beetroot.

Coarse grind the dhal without adding water. 

Add onions, beetroot, asafoetida, salt and curry leaves. Mix well. 

Pinch a small portion, roll into a ball and flatten without pressing hard. Fry in hot oil.

Serve hot.

My Notes:

Masal vadai has various versions, with the basic ingredient channa dhal in all. But it is an awesome snack. Relished hot or cold. 

I have not included ginger or fennel seeds commonly used in this preparation as wanted to taste the flavour of beetroot. The color was so attractive and the taste was simply delicious.  

          

                

                           Pumpkin Erisseri

I had prepared the Kerala style pumpkin Erisseri today. Shall post the recipe in a separate post.

Chinese Rojak

Chinese Rojak

Ingredients:
pineapple  -  1/4 from a medium sized pineapple
Green apple - 1
Cucumber - 1 medium size
Turnips   -  1/2
Bean sprouts  -  a handful
Bean curd puffs  -  3 or 4
Dough fritters / you tiao -  1/2 or a whole
Red ginger bud  -  1tsp ( shredded)
Roasted peanuts  - 3 tbsp

Soya sauce  -  1tsp
Chili sauce  -  1tsp
Salt to taste

For the Sauce

Tamarind paste  - 1/2 tsp
Lime juice  - 1tbsp
Lime rind  - 1/2 tsp
fresh red chilies - 2 or 3
Palm sugar  - 2tsp






Steps:
First prepare the sauce with all its ingredients mixed well.
Dice the pineapple, green apple, cucumber, turnip to bite size pieces.
Do the same with the bean puffs and you tiao.
Add in the bean sprouts first to the sauce.
Toss in the remaining ingredients including the soya sauce and mix well until all the ingredients are coated with the sauce.
Sprinkle with generous portion of crushed roasted peanuts.
Serve immediately.
My Notes:
A popular Javanese dish, originally from Indonesia with a name "rujak". A fruit and vegetable salad unique to Singapore and Malaysia. Different ethnic group has different version of the dish here in Singapore.
Basically it is a tossed salad of various ingredients with a unique sauce. A happy jumble of ingredients to be eaten as soon as it is prepared.
Red ginger bud is a must in this recipe as it gives a fragrance that has no substitute. Sometimes it is not available and so have to give a skip.
I have excluded prawn paste, a must ingredient, as I am a vegetarian. Half a spoon of it is added while preparing the sauce.
Bean curd puff and the plain flour fritters ( you tiao) were brought fresh from the market.

The word 'rojak' means a ' mixture of ' in Malay language. Enjoy this tangy, crunchy flavorful mixture which is a great appetizer.

Longan White fungus Dessert

Longan White fungus Dessert 

Ingredients:

Fresh Longan Fruit  - 15 to 20 Nos.

White Fungus  -  70g

Dried Red Dates  -  50g

Ginkgo Nuts  -  50 g

Pumpkin Seeds  -  25 g

Palm Sugar  -  100g 

Steps:

Soak white fungus and dried red dates separately in warm water for minimum 30 minutes. 

The yellowish white fungus will swell and increase double its size and will be semi transparent.So soak in a big container with sufficient water until it is gelatinously soft. 

The base core will be firm, trim that away. Snip the rest which resembles petals into small bite size pieces.

In a heavy bottom sauce pan, add 1 cup of water and the palm sugar. 

Bring it to boil, until palm sugar completely melts. Filter for impurities and bring to boil again.

First add the soaked red dates, after 2 minutes add the pumpkin seeds and ginkgo nuts.

Add 3 more cups of water and the white fungus, close with a lid and let it simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.

Peel the longan fruit, remove the seeds and add to the simmering sugar water.

Switch off. Mix well. let all the ingredients soak in in the sugar. 

This dessert can be served warm or chilled.

My Notes:

White fungus or snow fungus is mainly used by Chinese in desserts or in soups. Very rarely it is used in stir fry vegetable dish.

I was hesitant for quite long to make this dish as was not sure to cook this white fungus. But the first try proved it otherwise. very simple and easy. 

It has been prized for its medicinal properties of anti-inflammatory and anti-tumour. I like the chewy texture and being bland in taste, can go well with  any mix of fruits.

Ginkgo nuts is, in contrast, soft slightly nutty and slightly bitter. Helps alleviate cough and phlegm. It is nutritious but advised not to take in large quantities.

I have used the vacuum packed type. The fresh ones have shell. It is dry fried to remove the shells and then have to be cooked longer to be used in the recipe.

Longan gives a soothing and calming effect. 

There can be variations given to prepare the dish.

Pandan leaves can be added to get that unique flavour. 

Chinese pear can be cut into cubes and added to the dessert. 

Pumpkin seeds can be substituted with sunflower seeds and ginkgo with lotus nuts.

A chilled longan dessert  is a great  welcome on a hot day.