Posts Tagged ‘Raw Rice’

The month Margazhi is fast approaching.  After singing thirupavai it is usual to to do Venpongal as naivedyam to Aundal. Here I am giving you the method of doing the ven pongal.

Ingredients

Raw rice – 1 cup

Moong Dhal – 1/2 cup

For Seasoning

Black Pepper – 1 tsp

Jeera – 1 tsp

Fresh Curry leaves – 15-20 nos

Ginger – 1/2 inch (cut into small pieces)

Cashew nuts – 10 to 15 nos ( break it into half)

Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp

Procedure

-Soak the rice and dhal for half an hour.

-Pressure cook them by adding 3 1/2 cups of water.  Allow 4 whistles in high flames and simmer  it for 10 minutes.

- In a thick bottomed pan apply 1 tsp of ghee and fry the cashew nuts till they are golden brown.  To uniformly fry the cashew nuts break it into 2 halves and then fry.

-Again add 1 tsp of ghee and fry jeera and pepper one by one and atlast add curry leaves and  ginger and fry them too.

-Take 1/2 a cup of milk (hot) and add hing and allow it to dissolve.

-Soon after the cooker gets released add all the fried ingredients and then the milk with hing and the required amount of salt and mix it such a way that the rice – dhal mix is well smashed.

Tasty ven pongal is ready for serve.  For each and every serve you can add melted ghee to enhance the taste.

Chutney,  sambar,  gotsu, paringikai- mochaikottai pulikuzhambu and thalaga kuzhambu are the best side dishes for this ven pongal.

if you want the flavor of hing to be heavy, then add the hing to the rice -dhal mix and pressure cook it.

This is a very simple variety of kootu made out of cucumber and  chenna dhal.

INGREDIENTS

Cucumber – 2 cups ( chopped into small pieces in the form of cubes)

Chenna Dhal – 2 tbl spoons

Grated coconut – 2 tbl spoons

Cumin(jeera) seeds – 1 tsp

Red chillies – 2 nos (to taste)

Salt – 1/2 tsp ( to taste)

Raw rice – 1/2 tsp

PROCEDURE

-Pressure cook the chenna dhal and cucumber by adding 1/2 cup of water, salt and one pinch of turmeric powder.  Just allow three whistles and lower the flame for 2 minutes.

-Grind the coconut, jeera , raw rice and red chillies into a fine paste,  by adding little water.

- Add this paste to the cooked cucumber and allow it to boil for 2 minutes.

-Season it with 1/2 tsp mustard, 1/4 spoon asafoetida and fresh curry leaves.

This a very tasty kootu.  Because of its mild nature kids will like it.  It also serves as a side dish to chapathi.

( We all know that cucumber is a watery vegetable. When cooked by adding water it becomes all the more watery.  Don’t drain the excess water.  Instead use it for grinding the coconut paste.  Its nutritious value will be preserved. As far as possible never drain the water used for cooking the vegetables.  All the nutrients will be lost)

It is a famous kanidika preparation. I tasted this gojju in one of my friends house Mrs. Swarna who hails from Bangalore , but settled at Delhi. The taste was so good. I got the method of preparation from her which I am going to present it to you now. This brinjal – capsicum gojju.

Ingredients

Required Vegetables

Tender Brinjal – 100 gms

Capsicum -100 gms

Tomato – 100 gms

Chop all the vegetables into small square pieces.

To prepare the Gravy

Tamarind – small lemon size

Chutney Dhal (pottukadalai) – 1 teaspoon

Mustard – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Grated coconut – 1 handful

Red chillies – 2-3 nos ( accoring to taste)

For seasoning

Oil -1 table spoon

Mustard -1 tsp

Methi – 1/2 tsp ( you can season it with whole  methi or if you use methi powder then make it to 1/4 spoon )

Red Chillies – 1 nos

Curry leaves – 10-15 nos

Asafoetida(Hing or perumkayam)  – 1/2 tsp

Procedure

– Strain the tamarind with 1 1/2 cup of water and add the chopped vegetables, one pinch of turmeric powder , salt  and cook them.

-In a dry pan allow the mustard to splutter.  Set asside.  Add one tsp of oil to the pan fry the chutney dhal ,red chillies  and coconut just for 2 minutes.  Allow it to cool and grind it along with mustard and turmeric powder into a fine paste.

- Add this paste to the tamarind – veg gravy and just allow it froth. If you prefer add one small bit  of jagarrey to enhance the taste.

- Season it with mustars , methi, red chillies, curry leaves and hing.

Mouth watering gojju is ready.  It can be served along with raw rice, venpongal, idli , dosa and chapathi.

The famous Unniappam is a very tasty delicious rice pudding of Kerala. Though it is done on many occasions, it is considered as a favourite dish which Unni kannan likes. So we can call this as a Janmashatami special. It is also done on the occasion of Karthikai , a Tamil Nadu festival which comes during the month of December. It is also called karthikai appam.

Ingredients

I am sure Krishna Jayanthi special is Cheedai. Let me tell you about the preparation of both vella cheedai and uppu cheedai.

UPPU CHEEDAI

Ingredients

Raw rice – 4 cups
Urud dhal – 1/2 cup (i.e. 8:1 ratio)
Grated coconut – 1 cup
Chenna Dhal – 1/4 cup
pepper – 2tsp (optional)
Jeera – 2 tsp
Asafoetida – 1 tsp
Salt – 2 tsp ( add less or more according to your taste)
Edible oil – for cooking
Butter – 35 gms (appx. 2 tsp)

Procedure

- Fry the raw rice till it turns light red ( ilam sivapu) in color and make it into a little bit coarse powder.

-Again fry urud dhal till it is deep red( nalla sivapu) in color. Allow it to cool and make it into a fine powder.

-Grind pepper and jeera coarsely. If you are not going to add pepper then you can add jeera as whole.

-Soak the Chenna Dhal for 1 hour.

- Now mix the rice flour, urud flour, ground jeera-pepper powder, soaked chenna dhal, 1 cup grated coconut, asafoetida and salt and make it into a thick paste by adding water.

- Make it into round balls of marble size and spread it on a dry cloth.

- Preheat the oil. Just drop 1 ball into the oil. If it raises up then the oil is heated. Drop as much balls as possible allowing sufficient space for the rice balls to cook.

-Fry till golden brown. Drain the oil. Allow it to cool and store it in an air tight container.

VELLA CHEEDAI

Ingredients

Raw rice – 2 cups
urud dhal – 1/4 cup
Jaggery – 2 1/2 cup
Coconut – 1/2 cup ( cut it not small thin pieces ie. pallu pallu -a thiruthanam) )
Sesame (ellu) – 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder (elachi) – 1 tsp
Butter – 35 gms

Procedure

-Fry the raw rice till it turns little deep red in color (i.e you have to fry little more than uppu cheedai ). Make it into little coarse powder.

-Again fry urud dhal till it is deep red( nalla sivapu) in color. Allow it to cool and make it into a fine powder.

-Now take 2 1/4 cup of water in a vessel. Heat it and allow the jaggery to dissolve in it. Decant it into another vessel to remove the mud and other impurities in the jaggery.

-Once the jaggery water starts boiling add the coconut pieces and add the rice flour little by little so that there are no lumps and cool it for 5 minutes.

-Switch off the stove, transfer it into another vessel. Mix with urud flour, sesame seeds, cardamom powder. Make it into a thick paste.

- Make it into small balls of marble size and spread it on a plate. (If you spread it on a dry cloth, then all the moisture will be absorbed and the cheedai will become very hard).

- Preheat the oil. Just drop 1 ball into the oil. If it raises up then the oil is heated. Drop as much balls as possible allowing sufficient space for the rice balls to cook.

-Fry till it is deep brown in color.

Sweet and crispy vella cheedai is ready to be served for the kunju krishans at home.

Hotel Sambar

Ingredients

Thoor Dhal – 1 cup
big Onion – 2 Nos
Sambar Vegetables – 1 cup
Tomato – 4 Nos Salt – 1tsp
Tamarind – small size lemon
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves – 10 to 15 leaves
finely chopped coriander – 2tsp
Asfoetida (perungayam) – 1/2 tsp

To fry and grind

Red Chillies – 6 nos
Coriander seeds (Dhaniya) -1 1/2 Table spoon
Chenna dhal – 1Table spoon
Methi Seeds – 1/2 tsp
Black pepper – 1/2 tsp
Cumin’s seeds (jeera) – 1tsp
Curry leaves – 1 hand full

For seasoning

mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
broken urud dhal – 1 tsp
oil – 2 table spoon

Sambar procedure

-Pressure cook thoor dhal with little turmeric powder
- Cut the sambar vegetables in small pieces. Also chop onion and tomato longitudinally .
- Apply some oil in the kadai and fry the things to be grounded. Let it cool and make it into a fine powder.
-Again apply some oil in the kadai season the mustard seeds , broken urud dhal and onion. When the onion gets fried little add the Sambar vegetables. Saute it and then add the chopped tomato and the required amount of salt. Saute for few about 2 to 3 minutes.
- In the mean time strain the tamarind with 1 1/2 cups of water. Add it to the seasoned vegetables
- Allow the mixture to boil till the raw smell vanishes and all the vegetables are well cooked
- Now add the well smashed thoor dhal and the prepared powder to the mixture. Mix it well and allow it to boil for another 5 minutes.
- Add few curry leaves and chopped coriander.

A very tasty hotel sambar is ready to be served. It can be had with raw rice, idli, dosa etc.

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VARUTHU ARACHA KUZHAMBU is one of the delights of Nellai or Thirunelveli.

It can be taken along with raw rice and it is also one of the best side dishes for Ven Pongal.

Ingredients

Tamarind – 1 big lemon size

vegetables – 2 cups

In general we don’t use onion for this kuzhambu. The other vegetables used for this preparation are ash gourd (pooshanikai), parangikai or chakarai pooshinikai, carrot, plantain, ladies finger , colocasia (Sepan Kizhangu) etc.. Sepan Kizhangu has to be pressure cooked. The remaining vegetables can be precooked by adding salt.

To Fry and grind

Thoor Dhal, Chenna Dhal, Urud Dhal – 1 tsp each,Grated Coconut – 4 table spoon

Sesame or ellu – 1 table spoon,Raw rice -1 tsp, Red Chillies – 10 -12 Nos

For seasoning

mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves – 10-15 nos
oil – 1 table spoon ( coconut oil is optional)

Procedure

-Stain the tamarind with 2 cups of water.

-Pre- cook the vegetables by adding salt and turmeric powder and when it is half cooked add the tamarind water to it and let it cook.

- In the mean time in a dry kadai first fry the sesame and rice till the fried flavour of sesame comes. Apply 1/2 tbl spoon oil to the pan and fry all the three dhals till they are golden brown along with the red chillies. Also fry the coconut in the same kadai without applying oil till it is golden brown.

-Allow the ingredients to cool and grind them into a smooth paste by adding required amount of water.

- Once all the vegetables are cooked add the paste and a small bit of jaggery. Mix them well and once the mixture starts to froth at sides turn the stove off.

-Season it with mustard seeds and fresh curry leaves with the remaining oil.

A very tasty varuthu aracha kuzhambu is ready. It is wholesome kuzhambu. Its preparation involves dhal and lots of vegetables.

Adding jaggery to any tamarind preparation will enhance its taste.

Mullu thenkuzhal is one of common seer bakshanams of South India. It is displayed in almost all the occasions in seer thattu.

Ingredients

To prepare the flour for thenkuzhal

Raw rice – 3 cups

Moong dhal -1 cup

Chenna Dhal – 1 handful

Mix the above ingredients and make it into a fine powder.

If you are going to mix it as powders then the ratio is

Rice flour – 3 cups

Moongdhal powder – 3/4 cup

besan – 2 tbl spoon

butter – 1 tbl spoon

sesame – 1 tbl spoon ( for contrast colour use black sesame)

Chilly powder – 2 tsp (Optional)

Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp

Salt – 1 tsp

Procedure

-Mix the flour along with chilly powder, sesame, asafoetida, salt and butter with water into a thick paste but a soft one.

-Heat oil in a kadai. Test how hot it is by dropping a pinch of dough into it – if it sinks, the oil hasn’t become hot enough. If the dough springs to the top with bubbles all around it, then the oil is just ready.

-In your murukku press, place the thenkuzhal plate and load the dough and press it directly into the hot oil. Fry it untill it is golden brown and crispy.

Crispy thenkuzhal is ready. Allow it to cool and store it in an air tight container.