Paal Payasam / Rice Kheer - Maha Shivaratri Naivedyam Recipe

I prepared Paal Payasam this time for Shvaratri. Paal apayasam is made of raw rice, milk and sugar. This traditional dessert is made on auspicious and festival days. Payasams are always easy to prepare and they never fail you. Here goes the recipe for Paal Payasam,

Ingredients:

Milk - 8 cups (i used small coffee tumbler) 
Sugar - 1 cup 
Raw rice - 3 tbsp (i used basmathi rice)
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Cashews and raisins - each 1 tbsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp

Method:

Add milk to a heavy bottom pan and bring to boil. 
Heat ghee in a pan. Add the cashews and raisins and fry till they turn light brown and keep aside.
In the same ghee add the rice and fry till it turn very light brown. 
Add the fried rice to the boiling milk.
Keep the flame in low and stir the milk in frequent intervals.
Keep watching the milk, to avoid burning at the bottom. Also place a ladle in the milk to avoid overflow. 
Once the milk reach half of its quantity, check if the rice get cooked well.
Keep the process till the rice got cooked.
Now add the cardamom powder, cashews and raisins.

Remove from the heat and serve hot or cold after refrigerating it. 

Last year I prepared Paasi Paruppu Payasam and here is the little intro for Shivaratri Festival  

Vangi Bath / Brinjal Rice/ Kathirikkai Sadam

I have to do something with the Eggplants sitting in the fridge, before it goes to trash. Other than usual curryies and subzis Vangi bath answers two problems, what for lunch?and What is the side dish? Its a good lunch menu and it tastes nice without any heavy side dish. So for today's lunch i prepared this rice. 
It can be prepared in a jiffy if you have the malasa powder given below comes handy. You can prepare this and store it in fridge in a air tight container for 2 to 5 days. It stays fresh. 

Ingredients:

Brinjal / Eggplant - 4 numbers
Onion -1/2 of big
Rice - 1 cup 

For Masala:

Chana dal - 2 tsp
Urad dal- 1 tsp
Dhaniya - 1 tsp
Red chilli - 4 to 5 
Shredded coconut - 1 1/2 tbsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
Peanuts - 4 to 5 
Hing - a pinch
Turmeric - a pinch

For Tempering :

Oil - 1 tbsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Green Chlli - 1 slitted 
Curry leaves - 3 to 4 
hing - a pinch

Method:

Cook the Rice and keep aside. Make sure its fluffy and not sticky.
Fry the ingredients given for masala without oil except coconut and sesame seeds. Switch off the stove, add the coconut and sesame seeds and fry for few min in the heat. Cool down the mix and grind it to fine powder. 
Chop the eggplants in lengthwise (or in the desired shape). 
In a heavy bottom pan add 1 tsp oil, add the chopped eggplants and a pinch of salt and cook till it get soft and fried little bit.

Remove the eggplants and keep side.
In the same pan add 1 tbsp oil and mustard seeds, once it splutters add urad dal, hing and curry leaves, green chilli and fry of few seconds.
Chop the onion in lengthwise and toss into the pan. Fry till it turn brown.

Now add the cooked eggplants, salt and fry for a minute.
Add the grounded powder and mix well.

Add the rice and mix all, till they get combined. Adjust salt.

Remove from heat and serve hot with Raita or chips. Pachadi goes well with this recipe.

Chinese Style Fried Rice– Simple Version/ Without Egg and Sauce

This version of Chinese style Fried Rice has no egg or sauce. Just veggies and pepper powder for spice. I prepared Gobi Manchurian as side dish for this Fried rice. I used cabbage, carrot and capsicum. Other than this you can add broccoli, spring onion, bean sprouts. Leftover rice can be used for this recipe.

  

Ingredients:

Cooked rice – 1cup

Cabbage – ½ cup

Carrot – 1medium size

Bell pepper/ Capsicum – ¼ cup (chopped into fine pieces)

Pepper powder – ¼ tbsp.

Salt

Oil – 1tbsp

Pineapple chunks – 5 to 9 chunks (depend on your taste)

Method:

Heat oil in a wok; add the chopped cabbage; carrot and bell pepper sauté in the medium- high flame for 3min.

Add salt and pepper powder and sauté for another 2min.

All the veggies should get cooked well but shouldn’t lose its crunchiness.

Now when the veggies reached the stage, add the cooked rice, sauté for 2min in medium heat.  

In the meantime heat 1tsp oil in a pan and add the pineapple chunks to it, sauté the pineapples for a minute or 2.

Add the pineapples to the rice and give a quick sauté.

Remove from heat and serve hot. 

Aadi Pathinettu Recipes

Aadi pathinettu or Aadi peruku is a festival celebrated every year 18^th day of Tamil month ‘Aadi’ ( mid-July to mid-August). In this period of the year, the river water level rises after the yearly monsoon. People, especially women do the water rituals, near the river banks to show their gratitude to the mother nature. A thanks giving, to the water sources for making their life prosperous. Kalandha sadam (variety rice) is the main menu on this special day along with sweet and vada. I prepared,

Pal payasam,
Thengai sadam,
Puli sadam,
Thayir sadam and
More Kuzhambu.

 

Here goes the recipes..

Thengai Sadam / Coconut Rice

Puli Sadam / pulikachal sadam / puliyogare / tamarind rice:

 

Puli sadham is made with cooked rice and pulikachal mix.

Pulikachal Mix:

Ingredients:

Puli – small lime size (soak in water and extract the juice)
Red chilli -7 to 8 numbers
Peanuts – 1tbsp
Hing – ¼ tsp
Chana dal – 1tsp
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Turmeric powder – 1tsp
Black sesame/ karuppu ellu seeds (powdered) – ½ tsp
Coriander seeds powdered – ½ tsp
Vendayam / fenugreek powdered – ¼ tsp
Curry leaves chopped – ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Sesame oil / nallennai – ¼ cup

Method:

Soak the tamarind in ½ cup water.
Dry roast coriander seeds, sesame seeds, fenugreek separately. Powder them separately and keep aside.

Dry roast the peanuts, remove the skin and keep side.

Make thick extract out of the soaked tamarind and keep aside
In a heavy pan or kadai, heat the sesame oil ( if not available, use any refined oil).
When the oil is ready, creak mustard seeds, add chana dal, hing, curry leaves, red chilli, peanuts and fry for few seconds.
Pour the tamarind extract followed by turmeric powder and salt.
Stir and let them boil for 10min in low flame.
When the oil starts oozing out, add all the powers (sesame , coriander, fenugreek) one by one and mix well.
Let them boil for 2more min.
Remove from the fire.

Puli sadham:

Mix the pulikachal to the cooked rice 1 hour before serving.
There is lot of side dishes which makes puli sadham more yummy, chips, vadam, papad, raita, potato fry, more kuzhambu.

Pal Payasam/ Kheer:

A kheer, made with cooked rice and Milk.

 

Ingredients:

Milk – ½ litter
Raw rice – ¼ cup
Sugar – ¾ cup
Cardamom powder – a pinch
Ghee – 2 tsp

Garnishing

Cashew nut – 1tbsp
Raisin – 1tsp

Method

In a pan add ghee, cashew nuts, raisin and fry. Keep aside
In the same ghee add the raw rice and fry for 1min in low flame.
Pressure cook the rice adding water ¾ cup. (3 whistle).
Boil the milk and add the cooked rice.
Stir well and add sugar. Let them boil for 2min.
Add cardamom powder and remove from fire.
Garnish with cashew and raisin.

More Kuzhambu:

In simple, More Kuzhambu is a type of Kuzhambu made with curd and coconut masala.

Ingredients:

Thick curd – 1cup
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Shredded coconut – 1tbsp
Pottu kadalai / roasted gram split – 1tbsp
Green chilli – 2numbers
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Ginger – 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Curry leaves – 1tbsp
Hing – a small pinch
Salt to taste
Coconut oil or refind oil – 2tsp

Method

Add water ½ cup to the thick curd and beat well.
Add turmeric and salt to the curd and bring to boil.
Boil them for just 2min in low flame.
Grind coconut, cumin, green chilli, ginger, roasted gram split adding little water.
Add the past to the boiling curd.
Let them boil for 5min.
Remove from fire.
In a small kadai, heat coconut oil, add mustard seeds, when they splutter add hing and curry leaves.
Pour them to the more kuzhambu.
Now the yummy More Kuzhambu is ready. Serves with hot rice, or serve as a side dish for the Varity rice.

Thayir Sadam:

The simplest but yummiest rice variety made with cooked rice and curd.

Method:

In a small pan add any refined oil, add mustard seeds, when they start cracking add finelly chopped green chilli, finely chopped ginger, urad dal and hing. Remove from the fire and pour them to the cooked rice.
Add some salt and thick curd along with little milk and water.
Mix well with a ladle.

Serve with any pickle.

Arisi paruppu sadam

It’s a very famous ‘Kongunadu’ dish. I got this recipe from my dearest friend. Healthy dish as rice and dal is used. It can be taken as breakfast, dinner or even as lunch, when you have no time to prepare elaborate lunch menu. Sambar is the best side dish option. Also papad, vadam goes well with Arisi paruppu sadam.

Ingredients:

 Raw rice – 1cup

Toor dal – ½ cup

Small onion (peel off the skin) – 1 cup

Chopped tomato – ¼ cup

Mustard seeds – 1tsp

Urad dal – 1tsp

Curry leaves – 1tbsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Red chilli – 3 to 4

Salt to taste

Oil - 1tbsp

Ghee for topping

Method:

Soak rice and dal for 30min in water.

In a heavy bottom pressure cooker, heat oil, add mustard seeds, when they splutter, add the curry leaves, red chilli, followed by onion, chopped tomato and turmeric powder.

Fry for 2 to 3 min till the tomato get mushy and onion turn light brown.

Now add the soaked rice and dal. Add the required salt and mix well.

Add three cups of water and close the cooker.

Remove from the stove after three whistles.

Serve hot, topping with ghee.

Note: You can do the entire recipe in pressure cooker directly or use a heavy bottom pan with lid.

Coconut/ Thengai sadam

Coconut rice is rich in taste and aroma (even in cholesterol if you are health consciousJ). This comes under the ‘variety rice’ category, we say in tamil ‘kalandha sadam’. Easy to prepare. Simple side dish like papad (rice papad taste so good with this), vadam, and potato fry make the dish awesome. Here I made ‘Vendakai/ Okra More kozhambu’, which also goes well with thengai sadam. Leftover rice can also be used.

Ingredients:

Cooked rice – 3cups

Shredded coconut – 1 cup

Red chilli – 1

Green chilli – 1

Hing -1tsp

Mustard seeds – 1tsp

Urad dal – 1tsp

Cashew – 4 to 5

Curry leaves – 1tbsp

Salt to taste

Oil – 1tbsp (use coconut oil for more aroma and taste, here I used refined oil as I don’t have coconut oil)

Method:

Cook the rice and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds when they start cracking add urad dal, hing, red chilli, green chilli, curry leaves and cashew (Keep aside few roasted cashews for garnishing). Fry for few seconds in low flame.

Add the shredded coconut, salt and fry for 2 to 3min.



Coconut mix before adding rice



Add the cooked rice when the coconut starts turning light brown.

Keep the flame low and slowly sauté for few seconds.

Garnish with cashew and serve hot.