Kalkandu Vadai

It is a delicious Chettinadu sweet, karkandu vada, tastes good hot or cold.

Ingredients (for Qty 20):

• Raw rice (colam rice / pachcharisi / kachcha chawal): ¼ cup
• Husked black gram (Urad dal / Uluntham paruppu): 1 cup
• Sugar candy (Kalkandu): 1 cup Sugar: 1 ¼ cup
• Oil for deep frying: 3 cups
• (If sugar candy is not available, 1 ¼ cup sugar can be used)
  

Method:

• Wash and soak the raw rice and black gram together in water for an hour.
• Drain the water well.
• Grind this using a grinder by adding sugar gradually, without adding water for about 20 minutes.
• Transfer the batter to a vessel.
• Turn upside down a small flat bottomed vessel, wet with a little water and place a plastic sheet on top of it.
• Wet your palms with water.
• Take a small scoop of batter.
• Keep it on the plastic sheet and gently flatten it.
• Make a hole in the centre.
• Carefully remove from the plastic sheet and deep fry in oil under medium flame.
• When both sides turn golden brown, drain the oil well and keep it on a plate.
• Serve hot or cold.
  

Tip: In the U.S., one cup (8 fluid ounces) is equal to 237 milliliters, In the U.K., one cup is 227 millilitres and in Australia, one cup is 250 milliliters.

Kummayam

It is an excellent, easy to prepare, delicious chettinadu / chettinad sweet dish or dessert.

Ingredients:

• Raw rice (pacharisi / colam rice / kachcha chawal): ¼ azhakku (approx 60 ml)
• Black gram (uluttham paruppu / urad dal): ½ azhakku (approx 125 ml)
  Split green gram (pasipparuppu / moong dal wash): 2 azhakku (approx 500 ml)
• Jaggery (vellam / gud): 500 gm
• Ghee (nei): 200 gm
  
  
  Method:
  
  
• Roast the rice, black gram and green gram separately.
• Mix them together and grind to fine flour.
• Sift with the help of a sieve and keep aside.
• Take the jaggery in a vessel.
• Add a little water.
• Heat a little till the jaggery dissolves and filter.
• Mix this with the flour.
• Make up the consistency like that of dosai batter.
• Now, heat it slowly by adding ghee gradually.
• Cook till the appearance of shiny colour.
• Serve hot or cold.
  

Suitable to prepare during festivals and special family functions.

Ragi idli / Finger millet idli / Kezhvaragu idli

Ragi (finger millet) is rich in protein and calcium. It is easily digestible and good for all ages. It is also called as ragee, African millet, coracan, corakan, kurakkan, eleusine coracana and keppai.

Ingredients:

• Ragi: 200 gm
• Rice: 100 gm
• Black gram (Urad dal / Ulundham paruppu): 100 gm
• Fenugreek (Methi / Vendhayam): 2 tsp
• Curd (yogurt): 50 gm
• Salt to taste
  
  

Procedure:

• Clean ragi thoroughly and soak overnight.
• Also soak the black gram, rice and fenugreek overnight.
• Grind them separately and mix them together.
• Add salt, curd and keep for 5 to 6 hours for fermentation.
• Grease (apply edible oil) idli plates and pour the ragi batter.
• Cook in pressure cooker without using whistle or cook in idli cooker.
• Remove idlies using a spoon. (Same as making common idli).
• Serve hot with coconut chutney, Kuruma, puli kuzhambu or Kaara kuzhambu .

Thengai Mangai Pattani Sundal

It is a tasty evening snack, also called chundal, rich in protein.

Ingredients:

• Dry green peas (pattani): 2 cups
• Raw mango (mangai / kachcha aam): 1
• Coriander seeds( malli / dhania) : 4 tsp
• Coconut (thengai / nariyal): 1/4 cup
• Mustard (kadugu / rai / sarson): 1/4 tsp
• Red chili (vara milakai / lal mirchi): 8
• Asafetida (Perungayam / Hing): one pinch
• Husked black gram (Ulundham paruppu / Urad dal): 1 tsp
• Oil: 1 tsp
• Salt: 1 tsp

Method:

• Soak peas overnight in four cups of water, pressure cook in medium flame for two whistles, strain the excess water and keep it aside.
• Grind coriander seeds, coconut, and red chilies.
• Fry mustard, black gram and asafetida in oil and add the ground masala.
• Keep frying until a pleasant flavor comes out.
• Now add peas and salt.
• Cook for a few minutes.
• Remove from flame.
• Garnish with chopped mangoes.
• Serve hot or cold.
• Suitable to serve during festivals like Navarathri and Ayudha puja / Saraswathi puja. During non season of mangoes, mango powder can be used effectively.

Ellurundai / ellu urundai / Til ke Laddoo

Sesame seed sweet ball (Winter laddu). It is a suitable dessert that warms up our body during winter season. Narimedu (Madurai special)

Ingredients:

• White Sesame seeds : 1 cup
• Jaggery (gud) : 1 cup
• Grated dry coconut : 1/2 cup (Optional)
• Peanuts (groundnuts) : 1/2 cup
• Cardamom Powder : 1 tsp
• Ghee : 1 tbsp

Procedure:

• Roast the sesame seeds till golden brown.
• Roast the grated coconut.
• Roast the groundnuts and coarsely powder them.
• Melt jaggery in a heavy bottomed pan, add 1 tbsp of ghee and stir.
• On boiling, add all other ingredients and stir.
• Remove from flame.
• Grease your hands with a little ghee and make laddoos when the mixture is of bearable warmth. You can heat again a little, if mixture becomes cold.
• Laddus can be stored for 10 to15 days in an air-tight container.

Sarkarai Pongal / Sakkarai Pongal / Chakkara Pongal / Jaggery Rice, a sweet dish

• Take a pressure cooker.
• Add 2 cups of washed raw rice, ½ cup of slightly roasted split green gram and 4 cups of water.
• Pressure cook till the contents become soft.
• Remove the lid.
• Add ½ cup of ghee, 5 cups of grated jaggery and 100 ml of milk.
• Stir and cook under low flame so as to get the contents thick.
• Add a tsp of cardamom powder, 10 each of fried cashew nuts and fried raisins.
• Mix well and serve hot or cold.

Glossary:
Raw rice – Colam rice / Pacharisi / Kachcha chaval
Split green gram – Pasipparuppu / Moong dal wash
Jaggery – Vellam / Gud
Cardamom – Elakkai / Elaichi
Cashew nut / Mundhiri paruppu / Khaju
Raisin - Kismis / Ular dhrakshai

Kesari (A type of halwa like dessert: Kulipirai, Sivagangai, Devakottai special)

Ingredients:

• Rava (Sooji) - 1 cup
• Ghee - 4 tbsp
• Sugar - 2 cups
• Saffron or Kesari powder – 1 pinch
• Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
• Cashew nuts - 5
• Raisins (Kismis) - 5
• Water - 2 cups
  

Method of preparation:

• Heat 2 tbsp of ghee in a pan.
• Fry cashew nuts.
• Remove the fried cashew nuts and keep separately.
• Now in the same pan roast rava, till golden brown.
• Add boiling water.
• Keep the flame low till the rava is cooked.
• Add 2 tbsp of ghee, sugar and stir it continuously till it becomes thick.
• Add saffron or kesari powder, cardamom powder, raisins and fried cashew nuts.
• Stir a little.
• Serve hot.