Deepavali marundhu/legiyam

This is a herbal concoction and signature dish specially done during diwali. It aids in digestion and keeps us away from all the tummy troubles that could arise on eating the various sweets and savories during diwali.

Ingredients:

Pepper - 2 teaspoon
jeera - 3 tea spoon
ajwain - 3 teas poon
coriander seeds - 1/2 cup
jaggery - 3/4 cup
ginger -100 gms
ghee - 2/3 tablespoon

Dry roast pepper, jeera, ajwain and coriander seeds and grind them together.
clean and grind the ginger to a paste. To this add the above ground pepper.

In a kadai, heat 2-3 table spoons of ghee and to this add the finely ground mixture and grated jaggery.

Keep stirring it till the jaggery dissolves in the mixture and it leaves the sides of the vessel.

When cool, tranfer it into an airtight bottle.

All the ingredients except ginger and jaggery are ground(dry) in a mixie jar

mixed with ginger and jaggery paste and boiled in ghee to thicken, generally made in a vengali uruli( bronze vessel) or kal chatti(stone vessel)

The end product ready to be taken before eating sweets and savories.

Maddur vada

Maddur vada is a deep fried snack very famous in a small town called 'Maddur' near Bangalore. It has a shelflife of anywhere between 5 -6 days and is very filling. Just one big vada fills the stomach.

Ingredients:

Rice flour ----- 1 cup
Maida -----------1 cup
upma rava or chiroti rava --- 1/2 cup
chopped onions( 1 no)
curry leaf - 1 sprig
chopped coriander 2 table spoons
salt to taste
Chopped green chillies from 2 numbers
oil for frying

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients in a bowl. Pat them flatly with your oiled palms or use a plastic sheet/plaintain leaf to pat them.

Slip them into hot oil for frying. When the sizzle of the oil drowns, remove them from oil.

Generally in Bangalore hotels it is served with chitranna(lemon rice) but one can eat it as an evening snack with coconut chutney or it tastes good even without any accompaniment.

The above maddur vada(clicked by me) was made at Tiffany's Maddur. I made them at home. will upload those pics shortly

Tip: when you use upma rava, the white rava appears prominently on the vada, else there is not much difference to taste between chiroti rava and upma rava.

Vadu manga

These are tender mangoes brined and spiced. A traditional accompaniment to curd rice especially common in most Tam-Brahm homes. It goes well with rasam rice also.





Ingredients:
tiny tender mangoes(Max of 1" in size or smaller) --- 1 measure/cup ( called ser in tamil)
Powdered crystal salt ------ 1 tablespoon
chilli powder --------------- 1 tablespoon
Gingelly oil/ castor oil ----- 1 tablespoon

Method:
Wash the mangoes and dry them on a cloth.
Coat the mangoes with oil.
Add salt and chilli powder over the mangoes and allow them to rest for 3 days with just a toss over every morning.
On the 3rd day the salt and mangoes will release water and the mangoes will be soaking in the spicy solution.
The more it soaks the more the mangoes will absorb the spices. Tastes yummy with curd rice.
The above preparation was made in Lalgudi with homegrown mangoes.

Tip: Powdered mustard can also be added. Gives a lovely aroma.

payattham paruppu payasam

Moong dal porridge(payasam). This is a traditional payasam made for all auspicious ocassions. It is also good for mouth ulcers.

Ingredients:

moong dal : - 1/2 cup

channa dal - 2 table spoon

jaggery ----- 3/4 cup

cardomam -- 2 nos

cashew nuts - 10 nos

small slivers of coconut or gratings

Milk - 1 cup

Method:

Pressure cook moongdal and channa dal in 1 1/2 cups of water.

Mash them well and boil them in a dish.

Add jaggery and slivers of coconut or gratings and boil them till the jaggery dissolves

Add milk when the mixture bubbles and switch off.

Garnish with fried cashews and cardomam

vepampoo rasam

Vepampoo rasam(Neem flowers rasam) is a simple rasam made with the flowers of neem. This can also be classified as medicinal food as vepampoo has medicinal properties.

Ingredients:
tamarind - marble sized
jaggery - marble size
turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon
asafoetida - a small pinch
salt to taste
a sprig of curry leaf

To season:
ghee --- 1 table spoon
dried vepampoo -- 1 table spoon
dry red chillies -- 2 no's
jeera --- 1/2 teasspoon

Method:

Boil tamarind, jaggery, turmeric, asafoetida in 2 cups of water.
when boiled the tamarind becomes tender simmer it on stove.

In another kadai, heat ghee and roast the vepampoo. remove the vepampoo and keep aside. In the same kadai with the remaining ghee roast jeera,dry red chillies and curry leaf.

Add the roasted jeera, dry red chillies and curry leaf to the simmering tamarind mixture. switch off the stove and add the roasted vepampoo to the rasam in the end and close with a lid. The vepampoo will infuse its flavour and goodness into the rasam.

Vepampoo rice
Alternatively the roasted vepampoo can also be mixed with plain rice and ghee.This is called vepampoo saadam( neem flower rice). Even today my family elders make this a practice of eating this rice once in a week. It de-worms and flushes out the toxins.

Eggless Black Forest cake

This cake was baked by my daughter and son to keep themselves occupied during their 15 day school break and I helped them. Recipe courtesy Milkmaid booklet.

Ingredients:
milkmaid tin ---- 1
refined flour ---- 13/4 cup
butter ---------- 100 gms
soda water ------ 1 1/4 cup
sodium bicarbonate--- 1 teaspoon
cocoa powder ----- 2 to 3 spoons
baking soda -------- 1 teaspoon
cream ------- 200 gms
powdered sugar ----- 2table spoons
tinned cherries ----- 20-30 numbers
vanilla essence ---- 1 teaspoon
nestle chocolate bars ---- 2











Method:

Sieve flour,cocoa,soda,sodium-bicarb.
In a bowl mix milkmaid,vanilla essence and butter till they blend well. Slowly blend in the maida mixture and soda water alternatively till all the flour and soda are used.
Now pour the mixture into a greased dish and bake for 15 minutes( my oven bajaj make)
or according to your oven settings

remove the baked cake and when cooled slice them horizontally to make two equal halves with the help of a twine thread or knife.

Soak the halves in sugar syrup present in the tinned cherries.

Parallely blend in the castor sugar and cream and layer the halves with the cream. Spread the cherries on the lower half and cover with the other half.

Now dress the top half also with the cream, grated chocolate and place few cherries and cool them in the fridge for half an hour.

Tips: Instead of tinned cherries, you can buy preserved cherries and soak them in hot sugar syrup and can use the syrup.


Tip 2: cut the cake with a thread to get two equal halves

Angaya podi

This is one of the ancient tamil recipe. This has all herbal ingredients and is classified under 'pathiya samaiyal'(diet food).This is best eaten with hot rice and ghee to the accompaniment of pacchidi(raitha) or appalam (papad)

Ingredients:
Dhaniya ----1/2 cup
Jeera--- 3 teaspoon
Pepper --- 2 teaspoon
Dry neem flowers--- ¼ cup
Dry ginger – 1 piece(I inch)
Sun dried Sundakkai – 30 numbers
Asafoetida ---- small piece ( the size of sundakkai)
Curryleaf ----- ½ cup
Salt to taste
Dry red chilli ---4 number


Method:
Dry roast neem flowers, sundakkai and curry leaf separately.
Dry roast salt,asafoetida and all other ingredients one by one.
When cool grind them all together.

‘Angaya podi’ is recommended during post natal period to new mom’s as diet food. This helps in reducing the fat piled during the postnatal period.It also helps in knocking off dirt (kasadu in tamil) from the stomach and refreshes your body.

(will upload photo shortly)