Coconut milk payasam-Aadi velli special

 The fourth month of tamil calendar is called Aadi.The tamil almanac marks many festivals during this time,celebrating Mother goddess"Shakti",and all the fridays and tuesdays of this month are considered very auspicious.Worshipping "Amman" with different abhishekams,making  "koozhu",and offering neyvedyams are religiously followed in temples and at homes, one such recipe that I would like to share with you today is coconut milk payasam .

Ingredients

• coconut scrapings -1 cup( white part only,avoid the brown layer)
• jaggery - 3 to 4 Tbsp,add more or less according to preference
• rice flour-1 Tbls
• dried fruits and nuts of choice -2 Tbsp
• ghee or oil to fry the nuts and dry fruits 
• cardamom seeds powder from 2 pods .

Instructions :

• start by boiling the jaggery in 1/2 cup of water .When it is fully dissolved if you feel there are impurities, filter and return to simmer .
• add the coconut scraping to a blender and add in 1/2 cup of warm water to this ,blend to obtain thick milk.
• extract the milk using a strainer into a separate bowl.
• Repeat the process with another half a cup of warm water,using the same scraping  .This way you will end up with about 2 cups of coconut milk .
• add in the rice flour and whisk well
• now add this milk to the boiling pot of jaggery and keep mixing .do not boil,as it can promote curdling ,always simmer once the milk is added .let this sit on simmer for the next 5 minutes 
• while this is simmering roast the nuts and dry fruits and make a powder of the cardamom seeds.
• once the time is up ,turn the heat off ,add the cardamom powder ,and garnish with the roasted nuts .
• Enjoy with loved ones. 

Here is a quick video tutorial:

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microwave chocolate-5 minutes recipe

 Homemade chocolates ,ready in minutes and great as a gift.These were yummy,soft and chewy.I made a small batch ,Which yielded  about 25 pieces - all by the way,vanished in thin air before  the weekend...a note to myself  next time,make an even smaller batch.

 Update : We  visited India this year and I made a big batch as gift for relatives ,everyone just loved it and kept asking me the recipe .Hope you all enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them .

ingredients:
1/4 cup: evaporated milk
1/4 cup:powder sugar
1/2  to 1 tbs butter(change to preference)
1/4 cup chocolate chip
1/4 cup almond powder

Recipe

• Microwave the milk and sugar for 2 minutes,no need to stir .
• add butter and chocolate chip microwave another 2 minutes stirring every 30 sec.
• add almond powder,if runny microwave 1 more minute and do the drop ball test as follows
• In a bowl full of water drop the chocolate paste and look what happens ,if the chocolate settles on the bottom ,you are able to pick it up and roll into a ball then its good, but if it dissolves right away then the paste needs some more microwaving
• once cool cover with plastic wrap and refrigerated for a minimum of 2 hours
• once cool shape into desired size,these can be made into truffles or can be molded into fancy shapes
• Enjoy with your loved ones.

Note: I bought the molds from eBay -I don't remember the seller but it's called silicone candy molds .Just go to eBay and type the name .
Here is a quick video tutorial:

Secret to Perfect vadai recipe

Medu vadai is the star of festival season or to say most of the festival at home would be just incomplete with out this crunchy on outside and soft on the inside deep fried savory donuts.I have been trying to perfect my skills at making them as long as I can remeber asking my hubby whats his favorite food,yes they top my husbands favorite food list,so I said to myself-' I should make 'em and I should make 'em perfect ' there began my quest for the perfect vadai.
Almost every household in south India makes them ,but to get a crunchy on outside and soft on the inside" hotel style" vadai ,the batter should be just right.which could be possible in a wet grinder ,but then ,I always do a small batch and I think if this method were to be applied for a larger quantity it would work all the same . Here is my  foolproof method that makes perfect vadai every time ,
Ingredients :

Urad dal:1 cup
Water: few tbs to grind the dal
peppercorns-7to 8
salt as per taste

To grind:
urad dal-1 tbs
rice-1 tsp

oil for deep frying

• start by soaking 1 cup of urad dal in enough water for a minimum of 4 hours,set this aside 
• In a pan dry roast 1 tbs of urad dal and 1 tsp of rice,let cool and grind into a powder.
• Now grind the previously soaked urud along with a few peppercorns and a little bit of salt using as little water as possible.
• add in the powder and beat well with a wire whisk until you notice "stiff peaks" - means when you try to pull the batter it stands pointed on both the ends ,which means our batter is ready.
•  line up a plate with tissue paper and lets and shape the vadai
• dip your fingers into water and take a portion of the batter,roll it into a ball,dip your thumb into water again and make a dent in the center
• slide this vadai gently into the pan with preheated oil ,
• flip after a few seconds and remove when golden brown,repeat for the rest of batter
• bring this to the plate and wipe off surface oil if any,
• serve with your condiment . 

Here is a quick video tutorial :

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Adhirasam recipe

A festival delight made out of freshly ground rice flour and jaggery offered to the Gods.As far as I can remember my grandma used to make these the best.....crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.lets have a look on the ingredients:

2 cups raw rice
1 cup jaggery
1tsp cardomom powder
oil for deep frying

Although the ingredients list is simple enough the recipe takes a little patience as the consistency of the dough directly influences the final product,take care to batch test if uncertain .

Recipe:

• start by soaking 2 cups of rice for about 2 to 3 hours
• drain and spread over a kitchen towel to get dry for about 20 minutes.
• heat 1 cup of jaggery in about 1/4 cup of water and bring to a boil.simmer until the syrup is thick enough to settle in the bottom of a bowl filled with water 
• Return to the rice and make sure it is only a three fourth part dry and still has some moisture,make a coarse powder of this .
•  Add cardomom powder and the jaggery syrup,mix everything slowly and thoroughly  to get a smooth dough .For best result let this sit for 24 hours before proceeding further
• Next day take a small portion of the dough and shape it like a puri on a sheet ,use a little oil if sticky.
• carefully drop this into preheated oil and fry until golden brown.
• Enjoy

Here is a quick video tutorial:

Tips : 

1. If the next day the dough tends to be dry add a little milk 
2. Do not refrigerate the dough 
3. If the adhirasam breaks apart this means the jaggery syrup was too thin.
4. If the product is too hard it means the rice flour had no moisture(I remember making real hard once two years back out of store bought rice )"FRESH" ground rice with some moisture is the key.also let it sit for 24 hrs minimum.

Wishing all happy festival season!

Thank you for visiting !

paal kozhukattai recipe

A south Indian delicacy often prepared during festivals and offered to the Gods as naivedyam. Traditionally jaggery is used to sweeten the dish but this recipe uses agave ,feel free to substitute any sweetener of your choice.

Ingredients :
1/2 cup raw rice
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup coconut
cardamom seeds from 3 pods


Preparation of  rice for kozhukattai : (can also be used as regular kozhukattai shells)

• soak 1/2 a cup rice for an hour and grind into a paste,this should resemble the consistency of idli batter  .
• heat a non stick pan on medium flame, transfer the paste ,add salt if desired and stir continuously .
• As the water starts to evaporate you will find that the paste of rice turns into a lump.This should not take more than 5 min.Let this cool.
• meanwhile prepare coconut milk by adding 1/4 cup warm water along with 1/4 cup of coconut in a blender for few minutes.strain and keep aside.
• The dough should by now be cooled and ready to work with.Take very little portions and shape into balls,remember these will expand further when boiled in milk ,so try keep them tinier than you actually want them to be.
• bring together the milk and the coconut milk in a pan ,let simmer add the kozhukattai one by one.do not stir.
• add the sweetener
• Now stir gently taking care not to break the kozhukattai.you will know that they are done once they start to float on the top.which will not take more a few minutes
• finally add the crushed seeds of cardamom stir well and turn off the heat .
• Paal Kozhukattais are Ready for the offerings .

Notes:If you want to make this all milk and no coconut it will still taste wonderful.

The rice dumplings make the milk thicker so if you want to have it like payasam then add more milk and sweetener.

Here is a quick tutorial :

Let the festival you are celebrating be an auspicious one! 

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