Every special occasion or festival doesn’t get a completion
without having payasam / Kheer. It’s a custom in some South Indian weddings to
serve payasam first before other dishes are served. Payasam is considered as a symbol
of happiness, to share the happiness with others. It’s also an easy dessert to
prepare as they don’t demand much time or ingredients. Semiya payasam is one of
the verities of payasam. Both roasted and non- roasted semiya can be used to
make this payasam. As cashews are not available in my pantry I used only raisin
for topping. Otherwise both, roasted cashews and raisins can be used.
Ingredients:
Semiya / Vermicelli – 1cup
Milk – ½ litter
Water – 2 ½ cups
Sugar – 1cup
Cardamom powder – 1/2tsp
Badam – 8numbers
Raisin – 1tbsp
Ghee – 1tbsp
Method:
Boil the ½ litter milk (approximately 4cups) till they reach
3cup consistency.
Soak badam in water for 1hr. Peel off the skin and grind in
a blender adding little water.
In a heavy bottom pan add ghee 1tbsp, raisin and fry for few
seconds.
Remove the raisins and keep aside. In the same ghee add the
semiya and fry till they turn light brown.
Now add the water to it and close the pan and cook till the
semiya gets softer.
Once the semiya is ready, add the boiled milk and sugar.
Stir once and let them boil for 5min in low flame.
Add the badam paste and make them boil for 3 more minutes.
Add the cardamom powder and raisin to the kheer and remove
from the heat.
Serve hot or keep in the fridge and serve chilled. Both taste
yummy.
Use fried (in ghee) cashews for topping while serving.
We call it as ‘Poori masal’ as this masala is made
exclusively for poori, although it tastes good with chapatti or roti. This one
is very easy to prepare, no tiresome procedure or grinding of masalas. Use this
masala for making bread sandwich, it will taste amazing.
Ingredients:
Potato – 4 small
Onion – 2medium
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Split chana dal / besan dal – 1tsp
Urad dal – ½ tsp
Curry leaves – 1tsp
Green chilli – 3 numbers
Red chilli – 2munbers
Chopped coriander – 1tsp
Turmeric – ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Oil – 2tbsp
Method:
Wash and cook the potatoes. If you are using pressure
cooker, cook till 4 to 5 whistles. Peel off the skin and keep aside.
In a heavy bottom pan heat oil and add mustard seeds. Once
they start cracking add curry leaves, split chana dal, urad dal, green chilli,
red chilli, turmeric and fry.
Add the chopped onion and fry till they turn translucent.
Now mash the potatoes and add it to the pan, stir well so
that the masalas get mixed with potato.
Add some water, give a quick stir and close the pan.
Let the masala get cooked for 5 to 7 min in low flame.
Remove from heat, add the chopped coriander and serve hot
with poori.
Note: The taste of the masala depends on the potato. So make
sure they are well cooked and get
mashed easily.
If the masala looks watery, mix1tsp of rice flour or besan
flour in little water, add it to the masala and mix well before removing from
heat. It will make the gravy thick.
I love Roses and was thinking to grow one at my home for a long time. But
they need a “very good care” like watering daily, regular nourishing,
preventing from pest. Also they need abundant sunlight. But basically I’m
little bit lazy to do all these though I love gardening ;-) Another
thing is, my balcony receives less sunlight, so I kept the thought on hold for
months.
But suddenly my love for growing rose bloomed again, seeing this paneer
rose. Paneer rose is a variety in rose family. They are very aromatic but their
leaves are so fragile and fall quickly if it’s not handled with care.
This
flower gives a pleasant smell even after its life. Finally I decided to give a
try.
Here I have to say, I have zero knowledge about growing Rose. So googled
and gathered some basic knowledge about this plant,
It has to be fertilized at
least 15 days once.
Watering twice a day will keep the plant fresh and healthy.
And while fertilizing, first water the plant, and then apply the fertilizer,
again just sprinkle some water over it. By doing so the fertilizer doesn’t get washed
away in the water.
One fine day bought a
small paneer rose plant and rose fertilizer from a nursery. I dropped the idea
of growing them in balcony and chose a place with abundant sunlight. The plant
I bought has no flowers or buds. They took 2 months for first bud. Then the second one came so fast in next 10
days. There is a point I noted is rain water makes the plant so fresh and grow
fast. In the place like Chennai, rain water is a real treat to the plants.
After
a month there was a double treat from the plant! Yes 2 flowers at a time!!
Actually there was one more bud hiding behind these roses. That one bloomed in
next two days. The ‘Paneer water’ used in temples for 'abhishegam,' is made out of
these rose petals
Pattani Sundal is one of the sundal varieties, made with ‘Green
peas’ or ‘White peas’. Here I have used both the peas. This one is a simple
version, where I added just spices to the cooked peas and served for tea time.
Otherwise we can add shredded coconut, dhaniya podi or finely chopped green
mango. The pattani sundal sauted with green
mango is a very famous South Indian chat in Chennai Beaches.
Ingredients:
Green peas – ½ cup
White peas – ½ cup
Mustard seeds – 1tsp
Green chilli – 3 to 4
Red chilli – 1number
Turmeric – ½ tsp
Asafoetida – ½ tsp
Chopped coriander – 1tbsp
Lime juice – ½ tbsp
Curry leaves – 1tbsp
Oil – 1tbsp
Salt to taste
Method:
Soak both the peas for 7 to 8 hours.
Cook the peas adding water, salt and turmeric in a pressure
pan. Make sure the water level is little less to the peas (for 1cup peas, ¾ cup
water). Just 1 or 2 whistle is enough as the peas have the tendency to turn
mushy easily.
Add oil and mustard seeds in a pan. When they start crackle,
add all the tempering items one by one, green chilli, red chilli, asafoetida,
curry leaves and a pinch of turmeric and fry for a second.
Now add the cooked peas (remove the excess water) and sauté carefully.
Remove from the heat add the lime juice and chopped coriander,
mix well and serve.
