Aval payasam

It is an easy to prepare, easy to digest, delicious dessert.

It is also called Awal paayaasam, rice flake pudding, pressed rice pudding or beaten rice pudding.

Aval is also called attukulu, atukulu, avval, avvalaki, avalakki , poha or rice flake.

Payasam is also called payas.

Ingredients:

• Rice flakes: ¼ cup
• Milk – 2 cups
• Sugar: ¾ cup
• Cashew nuts: 5 to 10
• Raisin (Kismis / ular drakshai): 5 to 10
• Almond (Badam): 4 to 6 (optional)
• Pista: 4 to 6 (optional)
• Cardamom powder: A pinch
• Ghee (nei / clarified butter): for frying
• Saffron: A few strands (optional)

Method of preparation:

• Fry badam, pista, kismis and cashew nuts in ghee.
• Break them into small pieces.
• Boil milk under low flame.
• Roast a little the rice flakes (with a very little ghee) till golden brown.
• Add the rice flakes with boiling milk and stir.
• Add sugar and stir. Add pista, badam, kismis, cashew nuts and cardamom powder.
• Remove from heat.
• Garnish with saffron.
• Serve hot or cold with great pleasure.

Valaikkai Bajji / Plantain bajji

It is a very tasty snack, prepared from unripe banana fruit called plantain, liked by everyone at all time. It is also called vazhaikkai bajji. Kela ka pakora and kele ka pakoda are the names in Hindi.

Ingredients:

• Gram flour: 1 cup
• Rice flour: 1/4 cup
• Red chili powder: 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
• Cooking soda: 1 Pinch
• Plantain (Raw banana): 1 or 2 according to size
• Oil for frying
• Salt to taste

Method of preparation:

• Make a thick batter of gram flour, rice flour, turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt and cooking soda.
• Peel the skin of raw bananas with the help of a knife and make thin slices lengthwise.
• Dip the slices one by one in the gram flour batter and deep fry them in hot oil till the appearance of brown color.
• Serve hot with or without chutney, pickle or thokku.
  

Black pepper Kuzhampu

It is a very delicious and tasty sambar like liquid preparation, taken and enjoyed with rice, puri, chappathi, bread, paratha, idli, dosai, oothappam, etc.

• Cut 200 gm sambar onion (small onion) and a tomato.
• Dissolve lemon sized tamarind in water.
• Fry one tsp each of black pepper (kali mirch / milagu), cumin seed (jeera- jeeragam), black gram (uluttham paruppu /urad dal), Bengal gram (kadalai paruppu / channa dal), ¼ tsp of fenugreek (methi / vendhayam), a piece of dry ginger (sukku / shoont) and 4 red chilies. Garlic (lasoon / poondu) can be added with this as optional.
• Add a little water and grind well into paste.
• Heat a pan and fry in oil the seasonings consist of mustard (kaduku / rai), black gram, fenugreek and cumin seed.
• Add onion, tomato, tamarind extract, salt, the well grinded paste and curry leaves.
• Add some water if required.
• Remove from flame after boiling.

Tasty tomato pickle

This is a very delicious and tasty pickle, suitable to enjoy with purotta, paratha, parantha, puri, chappati, chappathi, idli / idly, dosai / dosa, curd rice, biriyani / briyani.
It is called ‘Suvaiyana thakkali oorukai’ in Tamil.

Ingredients:

• Tomato: 1 Kg
• Garlic: 150 gm
• Turmeric powder: As required
• Chili powder: As required
• Fenugreek powder (Methi): 1 tbsp
• Asafetida (Hing): a little
• Gingelly oil (sesame oil / edible oil / til ka tel): for sauté
• Mustard (Sarson / Rai): for sauté
• Salt: As required
  

Method of preparation:

• Wash tomatoes and dry them.
• Remove skin from garlic.
• Grind them together in a mixer.
• Add salt and mix.
• Pour this on a wide plate and keep under hot direct sunlight so as to get it dry like jam.
• Heat and stir this in a sauce pan (Kadhai).
• After some time add turmeric powder, chili powder, fenugreek powder (methi powder) and asafetida (hing).
• Stir and turn the stove off.
• Use another sauce pan for sauté and mix well.

To view this recipe both in English and in Tamil, Visit

http://dailycookingtips.blogspot.com/2009/08/tasty-tomato-pickle.html

Godhumai Mavu Halwa

It is also called Wheat Halwa / Wheat Flour Halva, Atta ki hulva, a very tasty and delicious sweet dish.


It is an easy to prepare dessert. It can be had at any time.

Wheat flour is called Godhumai mavu / Gothumai maavu / Godumai mavu in Tamil language.

It is also called Atta in Hindi.


Ingredients:

• Wheat flour: 1 cup
• Sugar: ¾ cup
• Ghee: 3 tbsp
• Cardamom powder (yelakkai podi): 1 tsp
• Roasted Almond or peanut / ground nut: 20
• Fried Raisins (Poriththa kismis): 20
• Saffron / Kesari powder / food color: A pinch (optional)

Method of preparation:

• Heat ghee.
• Add the wheat flour.
• Roast till pleasant aroma with a change in color.
• Add 3 cups of boiling water.
• Stir well avoiding formation of lumps.
• Add cardamom powder, color and sugar.
• Continue stirring to get thick halwa.
• Some more ghee may be added according to your choice.
• Garnish with roasted nuts and fried raisins.

Red Chili Chutney / Varamilagai Thuvaiyal

It is an easy to prepare Tamil home recipe, also called Milakai / Chilli / Lal mirchi / Lal mirch / tuvaial / thohaiyal / thovaiyal / thovial / thovaial.


Ingredients:

• Red chili (Varamilakai): 7
• Tomato (Thakkali): 2
• Onion (Vengayam): 1
• Tamarind (Puli / imli): A little (A small lemon sized ball)
• Curry leaves (Karuveppilai / kari veppilai / kari patha): About 10
• Mustard (Kadugu / Rai / Sarson): ½ tsp
• Black gram (Uluntham paruppu / uluththam paruppu / Urad dhal / dal): ¼ tsp
• Split chick peas (kadalai paruppu / Channa dal): 1 tsp
• Oil for frying: 1 table spoon
• Salt: As required
  
  

Method of preparation:

• Cut the onion.
• Cut the tomatoes.
• Heat 1 tsp of oil in a wok (iruppu chatti / tawa).
• Add split chick peas, curry leaves and red chilies.
• Wait for spluttering and add onion.
• Sauté well.
• Add the tomatoes.
• Continue sauté for a while.
• Add the tamarind ball and stir.
• Remove from flame.
• After cooling, finely grind all the ingredients with salt.
• Heat again 2 tsp of oil in a wok.
• Add mustard followed by black gram.
• Allow to splutter.
• Mix this with the chutney and transfer to a serving dish.
  

Tastes good with hot idli / idly, dosai / dosa, Puri, purotta / barotta / parantha, vellai paniyaram, kulipaniyaram, etc.

Wheat Laddoo (Godhumai mavurundai / Atta laddu)

It is an easy to prepare energetic dessert. It is enjoyable to have during tea time along with snacks. It is also called kodhumai maavu urundai.

Method of preparation:

• Roast 250 grams of wheat flour (Atta / Godhumai mavu).
• Mix 200 grams of grated jaggery (Gud / Vellam) with the roasted flour.
• Add 30 grams of ghee (clarified butter / makkan / vennai).
• Mix well.
• With the help of your palm, prepare ball shaped laddus of your preferred size.
• Serve with or without snacks and tea or coffee.