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Friday, September 6, 2013

Aava Pettina Pulihora | Tamarind Rice | Vinayaka Chavithi Recipes

I love Andra style Chintapandu Pulihora for its tanginess and it is also an easy rice variety to prepare with basic ingredients at home. It is usually prepared for any festival or any happy occasions. Today I am posting an Aava pettina Pulihora recipe which is a slight twist to the regular pulihora recipe but gives a new dimension to it. 'Aavalu' means mustard seeds in telugu and we are giving a mustard flavour to the traditional pulihora by adding the freshly pounded roasted mustard powder in this recipe and hence it is called 'Aava pettina Pulihora'. The preparation process is quite similar to the regular chintapandu pulihora but the mustard powder adds a new flavour to the usual pulihora. If you have not tried this Aava pettina pulihora you can try this recipe for a change from the usual rice variety. Try this Aava Pulihora along with Puran poli(Bobbatlu) for Vinayaka Chavithi festival as it is nearing by.

If you are interested you can also check out my earlier post Aratikaya Aava pettina Kura (Raw Banana curry with mustard flavor).

Also check out other Pulihora Recipes in my blog:

For a complete list of Various options for Ganesh Chaturthi menu, check out here.

Aava Pettina Pulihora Recipe | Tamarind Rice flavoured with Mustard powder:

Serves 2

Prep time: 10 mins | Cooking time: 30 mins | Total time: 40 mins

Cuisine: Andhra - Indian | Category: Rice Varities

Ingredients:

1 cup Rice(Sona masuri or equivalent)

1 big lemon sized Tamarind

2 tsp grated Jaggery(optional)

3/4 tsp Mustard seeds

Salt to taste

1 tbsp. Sesame Oil

for tempering:

1 tsp Mustard seeds

3-4 tbsp. Groundnuts

1 tbsp. Chana dal

2 tsp Urad dal

2 tsp Sesame seeds

3-4 whole Red chillies

4-5 light colored long Green chillies, slit

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

a sprig of Curry leaves

a pinch of strong Asafoetida

2 tbsp. Oil

Method:

Wash and soak rice for 10-15 mins and cook it in rice cooker or pressure cooker with 2 cups of water until it is done. Let the rice sit for some time and spread it on a wide plate by smearing a tbsp. of sesame oil which helps in keeping the grains separate.
Soak tamarind in water for 15 mins and extract the pulp and keep it aside.
Dry roast mustard seeds until they start popping and pound it into a fine powder using a pestle and mortar. You can even grind it in mixer but the pestle and mortar works efficiently here and adds a nice taste.
Heat oil in a deep bottomed kadai/pan and crackle mustard seeds.
Add ground nuts and fry them until they turn slight red in color and the skin begins to split.
Add chana dal, urad dal, red chillies and slit green chillies and fry until the chillies wilt and the dals turn light golden brown in color.
Add curry leaves, sesame seeds, asafoetida, turmeric powder and fry half a minute.
Add extracted tamarind pulp and jaggery and let it cook until it thickens and the oil separates from the edges. It takes 7-8 mins.
Switch off the flame and let it cool completely.
Reserve some portion(2-3 tbsp) of the tamarind mixture we prepared now and add cooled and spread rice along with freshly ground fine mustard powder and salt and mix it nicely until everything is neatly incorporated. Now taste the rice and add more tamarind mixture or salt as needed and adjust the rice according to your taste buds. Prepare it slightly sour so that it tastes delicious once it is rested for some time. Rest it for an hour at least.

Serve it as a variety rice in your meal or as a meal by itself with Curd Rice/Daddojanam.

Notes:

Use rice varieties like sona masuri, ponni, jeeraga samba for these kind of rice varieties, I do not suggest basmati rice.
Always make it bit tangy so that it will taste nice once it settles down.Do not add more mustard powder as it might give bitter taste.
You can even mix the mustard powder with a tbsp. of lemon juice before adding to the rice. Also adjust the tamarind mixture accordingly.
You can even add 1 tsp of chopped ginger in the tempering but I do not prefer to add it.
You can cook the tamrind pulp separately until thick and do the seasoning separately and mix everything together - rice, thickened cooked tamarind pulp, seasoning, roasted mustard powder and salt until everything is mixed nicely.But I prefer to cook my seasoning in tamarind as it will enhance the taste of pulihora as the seasonings absorb the taste better when it is cooked in tamarind pulp.
This rice is ideal to pack for travel as it does not get spoilt, you can keep it for long up to a day.

Check out other important recipes for Vinayaka Chavithi:

Steamed Kudumulu - with 3 fillings

Karida Bele Kadubu | Fried Modak

Bellam Kudumulu | Vella Ammini Kozhukattai

Paal Kozhukattai | Undralla Payasam

Puran Poli

Palathalikalu | Pala Thalikalu | Vinayaka Chavithi Recipes

Palathalikalu, Undrallu Payasam, Undrallu, Kudumulu, Bele Kadubu, Undrala Guggillu etc are the most favourite foods for Lord Ganesha and we prepare them without fail for Vinayaka Chavithi every year. Palathalikalu and Undrallu Payasam are made very similar just that the shapes are different where as in the former one the rice flour mixture is rolled into thin cylinders(or pressed even in sevai press) where as in the latter one the rice flour mixture is rolled into small balls also known as Ammini Kozhukattai in Tamil.

Palathalikalu is a typical Andhra sweet but it is also prepared in few regions of Karnataka. 'Thalikalu' are made with rice flour in the shape of long cylinders and are steamed and then cooked in thickened milk. One can make thalikalu by using a sev press as well- using the big holed one if you are short of time, but there are chances that the sev will get broken into tiny pieces or melt into the payasam and hence I adapt to make the cylinders by hand even though it is time consuming.

In Andhra the base for payasam is milk which is thickened with rice flour and grated coconut is added to it, but in our house my mom thickens the milk by adding ground coconut-cashew nut-poppy seed mixture which not only thickens the payasam nicely but also adds the taste to it. I strongly recommend you to try this way of payasam base- I am sure you will love it.

Check out other important recipes for Vinayaka Chavithi:

For a complete list of Various options for Ganesh Chaturthi menu, check out here.

Palathalikalu Payasam Recipe:

Serves 2-3

Prep time: 20-30 mins | Cooking time: 30 mins | Total time: 1hr

Cuisine: Andhra - South Indian | Category: Festival Sweets

Ingredients:
for Thalikalu:

1/2 cup Rice flour *(use freshly home made)

2-3 tbsp grated Jaggery

1 cup Water

a pinch of Salt

1 tsp Oil/Ghee

for Payasam:

1/3 cup grated fresh Coconut

1 tbsp Poppy seeds

6-8 Cashew nuts

1 1/2 cup Milk

1/2 cup Water

1 1/4 cup grated Jaggery

1/4 tsp Cardamom powder

Method:

to prepare Thalikalu:

In a vessel, add water, salt and oil and let it come to a boil.
After it boils, reduce the heat and add jaggery and rice flour. At this point don't touch the rice flour, leave it as it is for 10-12 mins over medium heat.
Take some dough in your hand, and using your fingers make small balls and make them into thin cylinders of 1 1/2 inches length as shown in picture.If the dough keeps sticking to you hand, smear little oil to your fingers to continue making the cylinders. This is the most time consuming process but the end product makes you forget all the pain you have taken while making it.
After you finish making all the cylinders, place the steamer(or vessel) in a pressure cooker without any lid on the vessel. Do sprinkle one or two tea spoons of ghee on the top of the cylinders and steam it for 10-15 min without using a weight (like you would make idli).
Once the pressure drops open the cooker and place the steamer(vessel) aside. You should be seeing shiny thalikalu as shown in the picture.

to prepare payasam:

Soak cashew nuts and poppy seeds in 1/4 cup warm milk for 15 mins.Grind cashew nuts, poppy seeds, grated coconut and cardamom into a fine paste.
Mean while boil milk and water and add jaggery and the ground coconut mixture. Cook it on low flame until the jaggery is melted.
Add steamed rice balls and simmer for 6-8 mins until they absorb all the flavours and starts floating up. At this stage adjust the thickness of payasam by adding more milk to suit your required consitency. Do not boil for long as the mixture might curdle up sometimes.
Let it sit for few minutes before serving which will help it to absorb the flavours and sweetness.

Serve it warm or at room temperature.

Notes:

Jaggery can be replaced with sugar in the recipe.
The addition of jaggery while making the rice balls makes them mildly sweet and makes it delicious when cooked in the coconut-poppy seed kheer. How ever it is optional to add jaggery while making those rice balls, but I suggest you to add.
If you do not have time to make those cylinders, you can use a sev maker(slightly big holes) to press them into long cylinders. You do not need to steam them, you can press them directly into the milk-water mixture and boil it until they float and then add ground coconut mixture and jaggery and boil for some time.

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Ammini Kozhukattai | Undrallu Sundal | Ganesh Chaturthi Recipes

We usually prepare Undrallu Sundal with the left over dough of the modak(kudumulu) and also we make very less quantity to offer for Neivedyam on Vinayaka Chavithi as we prepare lot of other varieties too. Otherwise we usually make this as a snack for evening to enjoy it.During the season of Avarekalu(hyacinth beans) we prepare this with the tender hyacinth beans known as Avarekalu Kadubu which is really tasty. I had prepared this Undrallu Guggillu along with Pappulo Undrallu as the base for both the recipes are same.It is a very simple and delicious snack.

We call 'Undrallu Sundal' as 'Regi Undralla Guggillu' but as it is bit unusual name for many I named it with the most commonly known name - 'Ammini Kozhukattai' as it is called in Tamilnadu. The preparation process for this snack is really time consuming as the rolling of tiny balls takes lot of time and it would be easy to make in large quantity if you have some one to help.

Check out other important recipes for Vinayaka Chavithi:

Steamed Kudumulu - with 3 fillings

Karida Bele Kadubu | Fried Modak

Bellam Kudumulu | Vella Ammini Kozhukattai

Paal Kozhukattai | Undralla Payasam

Puran Poli

For a complete list of various options for Ganesh Chaturthi menu, check out here.

for Rice Flour Marbles:

1 cup Homemade Rice flour

2 cups water

2 tsp oil

1/2 tsp salt

for Seasoning:

1/2 cup grated fresh Coconut

1/4 cup chopped Coriander

3-4 Green chillies, slit or 1 tsp Green Chilli Paste

2 Red chilies, broken

1-2 tsp Lemon Juice(or to taste)

1 tsp Mustard Seeds

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1 tbsp Chana dal

1 tsp Urad dal

2-3 tsp Oil

a pinch of Asafoetida

Salt to taste

Method:

to prepare Undrallu/Rice flour Balls:

In a vessel, add water, salt and oil and let it come to a boil.
After it boils, reduce the heat and add rice flour. At this point don't touch the rice flour, leave it as it is for exactly 15 mins over medium heat.

Switch off the flame and using a ladle mix it well until you get it into a smooth consistent dough (as shown in the picture). Once it cools a bit, you can use your hand at the end to knead into a smooth dough as shown in picture.

Take an empty vessel and apply oil on its base and edges.Take some dough in your hand, and using your fingers make small balls as shown in picture (the smaller the balls, the better the taste.it all depends on your patience).If the dough keeps sticking to you hand, smear little oil to your fingers to continue making the balls. This is the most time consuming process but the end product makes you forget all the pain you have taken while making it.
After you finish making all the balls, place the vessel in a pressure cooker without any lid on the vessel. Do sprinkle one or two tea spoons of oil on the top of the balls and steam it for 10-15 min without using a weight (like you would make idly).
Once the pressure drops open the cooker and place the vessel aside. You should be seeing shiny balls as shown in the picture.

to do Seasoning Part:

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and let them splutter and then add urad and chana dal until golden brown.
Now add cumin seeds, asafoetida, red chillies and green chillies (or green chili paste).

Add rice balls from the vessel and mix it well in medium heat for about 5min.
Finally switch off the stove and add salt, lemon juice, grated coconut and cilantro and mix it well.

Serve it hot and enjoy the snack!

Notes:

During the season of Avarekaalu(hyacinth beans), you can boiled Avarekalu to the tempering and fry nicely and follow the same process. It tastes nice.
You can even add 1-2 tbsp. Idli Milagai podi at the end and mix nicely for a more spicy version.

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Dry Fruit Modak Recipe | Kharjur Modak | Ganesh Chaturthi Recipes

As Ganapati festival is nearing, I am sure many of you might have started preparations for the festival. Steamed Modak called Ukadiche Modak and Fried Modak are mostly prepared for Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Maharasthra. You would see various flavored Pedas like simple doodh peda modak, dry fruits modak, chcolate modak, mango modal, kesar modak etc shaped in the form of Modaks in most of the sweet shops during Ganesh Chaturthi.

I have posted a Paneer Modak Peda recipe last year and this year I thought of posting something simple and hence chose Dry fruit Modak recipe. I have posted a version of Dry fruits- Oats Ladoo recipe earlier and I have prepared this dry fruit modak in a similar way with few modifications. The modak mold gives a nice shape to it which makes it look even more appetizing. This recipe is definitely a boon to those calorie watchers and also for those who are looking for quick sweet recipes for Ganesh chaturthi. More over you can prepare this much ahead so that you need not worry on the festival day.

If you want to make it on normal days, prepare it in the form of ladoos instead of modak and can be packed in your kids snack box. It is a really healthy recipe with no sugar and almost no fat. As my mixture was a little chunky you cannot see the design exactly like how the regular modak would be, but modak mold works very nicely for simple plain peda with a lovely pattern on them. Try this simple Dry fruit modak recipe for Ganesh Chaturthi and enjoy!!

I had a tough time capturing these photos as the brown food is very difficult to capture, I am not very happy with the photos. But it did not stop me to share this easy and delicious Modak recipe.Try this simple Dry fruit modak recipe for Ganesh Chaturthi and enjoy!!

Check out other important recipes for Vinayaka Chavithi:

Pappulo Undrallu Undraalu with Biyyam rava - Andhra recipe

For a complete list of Various options for Ganesh Chaturthi menu, check out here.

Easy Dry fruit Modak Recipe:

Yields 15 modaks roughly

Prep time: 40 mins | Cooking time: 15 mins | Total time: 45 mins

Cuisine: Indian | Category: Sweets/Festival Sweets

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of Seedless Dates

1/4 cup Almonds

1/4 cup Cashew nuts

1/4 cup Walnuts

1/4 cup Raisins

1/4 cup Dry coconut pieces

2 tbsp Poppy Seeds (Khus Khus)

1 tsp Ghee

Method:

Chop all the nuts - cashew nuts, almonds and walnuts finely. Also chop the seedless dates and dry coconut pieces to fine pieces.
Dry roast the chopped nuts one by one separately for 1-2 mins taking care that they would not get burnt, remove them and keep aside in a plate.
Dry roast coconut pieces until they turn slight brown in color and remove them aside too. In the same pan add poppy seeds and roast them slightly until they start popping, remove and keep aside.
Heat ghee in the same pan and add chopped dates and raisins and fry continuously until it comes together and becomes like a thick mass.This takes 4-5 mins roughly. Do not leave it unattended as the raisins might get burnt. Switch off and let it cool slightly.
Grind the roasted nuts with dry coconut pieces and poppy seeds to a coarse powder in pulse mode. I like the bite of dry fruits, so I do not powder them completely and hence keep them very course. It is your wish to grind them how you want.Remove the mixture aside into a plate.
Now add the date-raisin mixture and pulse it in the mixer to get a coarse mixture. Again it is you wish here to grind it smoothly or keep it coarse like I did.
Take out the mixture into the same pan and add coarsely ground nuts and mix nicely and bring it back on the flame and stir continuously for 2-3 mins until the mixture becomes slightly sticky and hold the dry fruit mixture nicely.
Remove the mixture into a plate and let it cool slightly until you can handle with bare hands.
Press the mixture slightly hard to form a sticky mass.
Make gooseberry sized balls out of it and place them in a modak press(as shown in pic) and press it tightly by levelling the down and pressing it firmly to get modak shaped ladoos. If you do not have modak press you can make into ladoos.
Prepare all the modaks(ladoos) and store them in an air tight container.

Serve it as it is as a snack/dessert.

Notes:

You can add nuts like pistachios or any other nuts of your choice.
Anjeer(figs) can also be added along with dates, in that case reduce the dates to 1 cup and add 1/2 cup of figs and follow the same process.
If you like cardamom flavor add 1/4 tsp of Cardamom powder to the mixture when you are mixing it.
There are no hard rules for this recipe, you can make it a per your wish. You can grind the mixture smooth to get smooth modak(ladoo) or keep it coarse to enjoy the dry fruit bites.
You can even alter the nuts and dry fruit quantities according to your wish, the mixture should hold its shape when we try to make ladoos.
You can store them up to a couple of weeks.

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Pappulo Undrallu | Vinayaka Chavithi Naivedyam Recipes

In Andhra, Undrallu and Bella Kudumulu are the most common naivedyam recipes offered to Lord Ganesha on Vinayaka chavithi. My MIL usually prepares Undrallu, Bellam Kudumulu, Chintapandu Pulihora, Chakkara Pongali, Garelu every year for Vinayaka Chavithi. As I mentioned earlier at my mom's place the menu would be different like we prepare Kudumulu - with 3 stuffings, Undrallu Payasam or Palathalikalu, Undralla Gugillu, Stuffed Capsicum Kandunta along with other sambar, rasam varieties. I follow the similar menu which my mom prepares for Ganesh chaturthi but had been learning other traditional Andhra varieties from the last couple of years.

There are so many variations to Undrallu like Undrallu Payasam, Paala Undrallu, Undralla Gugillu, Pappulo Undrallu, Biyyapurava Undrallu etc and you can choose any variety to prepare for Vinayaka chavithi based on your interest. Talking about today's post - Pappulo Undrallu , it is a nice variation to regular Undrallu Payasam as the base used in this Pappulo Undrallu is moong dal(pesarappu) payasam and hence it got its name - Pappulo Undrallu. These tiny rice flour balls absorb the flavors nicely and adds a nice soft bite in the payasam. If you are scared to prepare stuffed Kudumulu for Vinayaka Chavithi you can attempt this easy Pappulo Undrallu or Undrallu Payasam or Palathalikalu and still enjoy the tasty food for the festival.

Check out other important recipes for Vinayaka Chavithi:

For a complete list of Various options for Ganesh Chaturthi menu, check out here.

Pappulo Undrallu Recipe:

Serves 2-3

Prep time: 20-30 mins | Cooking time: 30 mins | Total time: 1hr

Cuisine: Andhra - South Indian | Category: Festival Sweets

Ingredients:

for Undrallu:

1/2 cup Rice flour *(use freshly home made)

2-3 tbsp grated Jaggery

1 cup Water

a pinch of Salt

1 tsp Oil/Ghee

for Payasam:

1/2 cup Yellow Moong dal

1/4 cup grated fresh Coconut

1/3 cup Water/Milk

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp grated Jaggery

1/4 tsp Cardamom powder

Method:

to prepare Undrallu:

In a vessel, add water, salt and oil and let it come to a boil.
After it boils, reduce the heat and add jaggery and rice flour. At this point don't touch the rice flour, leave it as it is for 10-12 mins over medium heat.
Take some dough in your hand, and using your fingers make small balls as shown in picture. If the dough keeps sticking to you hand, smear little oil to your fingers to continue making the balls. This is the most time consuming process but the end product makes you forget all the pain you have taken while making it.
After you finish making all the balls, place the steamer(or vessel) in a pressure cooker without any lid on the vessel. Do sprinkle one or two tea spoons of ghee on the top of the balls and steam it for 10-15 min without using a weight (like you would make idli).
Once the pressure drops open the cooker and place the steamer(vessel) aside. You should be seeing shiny balls as shown in the picture.

to prepare moong dal payasam:

Soak moong dal in water for 15 mins. Pressure cook moong dal for 3 whistles or cook it on stove up until it is cooked very soft. Drain the excess water and mash the moong dal nicely.
Mean while boil 1/2 cup of water(strained from moong dal) and add jaggery and cook it on low flame until the jaggery is melted.
Add mashed moong dal to it and mix nicely and bring the mixture to a boil. If you feel that the mixture is very thick add some more water or milk (1/3 cup approx ) to get a slightly thinner consistency. But do not make it very think or very thick, it should be of medium consistency.
Add steamed rice balls and grated fresh coconut and simmer for 6-8 mins until they absorb all the flavours and starts floating up. At this point of time adjust the thickness of payasam at this stage by adding more milk or milk to suit your required consistency.
Add cardamom powder and mix well.Let it sit for few minutes before serving which will help it to absorb the flavours and sweetness.

Serve it warm or at room temperature.

Notes:

Jaggery can be replaced with sugar in the recipe.
The addition of jaggery while making the rice balls makes them mildly sweet and makes it delicious when cooked in the coconut-poppy seed kheer. How ever it is optional to add jaggery while making those rice balls, but I suggest you to add.
Moong dal can be replaced with Toor dal in the recipe. I usually do not suggest you to roast the moong dal ahead as we want to cook the moong dal to a very smooth texture.
You can thin down the moong dal with milk as well instead of water for a richer version.

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Friday, September 6, 2013

Aava Pettina Pulihora | Tamarind Rice | Vinayaka Chavithi Recipes

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Palathalikalu | Pala Thalikalu | Vinayaka Chavithi Recipes

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Ammini Kozhukattai | Undrallu Sundal | Ganesh Chaturthi Recipes

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Dry Fruit Modak Recipe | Kharjur Modak | Ganesh Chaturthi Recipes

Monday, September 2, 2013

Pappulo Undrallu | Vinayaka Chavithi Naivedyam Recipes

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