AVAL PAYASAM WITH ROCK SUGAR

HOW TO COOK AVAL PAYASAM WITH ROCK SUGAR

INGREDIENTS :

For Grinding :

METHOD :

• Heat Ghee in a pan and fry the Cashew Nuts and Raisins, remove and keep it aside.
• Toast the Aval/Beaten Rice in the remaining ghee until into turns light golden brown colour.
• Toast the Aval on a very low flame.
• In a separate pan, boil the Milk, lower the flame and allow it to thicken, stirring occasionally.
• Add Rock Sugar and mix well, leave this on a low flame until the rock sugar melts.
• Soak Poppy seeds in 1 Tbspn of warm water for about 10-20 minutes.
• Grind all the ingredients mentioned under 'For grinding' to a smooth paste.
• Mix the coconut mix to the boiling milk and give a quick stir.
• Leave this on a low flame until the raw flavour goes.
• Add the toasted Aval to the above and cook it on a low flame until it turns soft & cooked.
• Finally, garnish the Aval Payasam with fried Cashew nuts and Raisins.
• Serve  Aval Payasam hot or cold.

NOTES :

• Adjust the sweetness as per your taste preference.
• You can substitute Rock Sugar with Refined Sugar/Jaggery.
• If the Aval is of the thick variety, it can be coarse ground before adding it into the milk.
• Thick full cream milk gives a perfect consistency to the Payasam.
• If using normal milk, reduce its volume until it thickens.
• The coconut mix enhances the flavour. But that step is purely optional.

ARISI-PARUPPU SADHAM

HOW TO COOK ARISI-PARUPPU SADHAM

INGREDIENTS:

Method:

• Wash the Rice and Tuvar Dhal until the water runs clear.
• Soak it for 15-20 minutes.
• Pound Garlic, Ginger, Cumin Seeds and Peppercorns into a coarse mix.
• Heat oil, splutter Mustard Seeds, Fenugreek Seeds, Dry Red Chillies and Curry leaves.
• Lower the flame and add Asafoetida to it and give a quick stir.
• Immediately add Shallots, Green Chillies and saute them until onions turn translucent.
• Add the pound spices to the above and saute for a while.
• Add Turmeric powder and mix well.
• Add Tomatoes to the above and cook until they turn soft.
• Pour 5 cups of water and salt to the above and allow it to boil.
• Add the Rice and Tuvar Dhal and mix well.
• Pressure cook this for 3 full whistles on a high flame and for 1 or 2 whistles (5 minutes) on a low flame.
• Switch off the flame and wait until the pressure is released from the cooker.
• Serve Arisi-Paruppu Sadham hot, with a drizzle of Ghee.

Notes:

• Soaking the rice gives a good texture to the dish.
• Rice & Water ratio depends upon the variety of rice you use.
• I have used Parboiled (Ponni) rice for the recipe.  Can make the recipe with a good variety of raw rice like sona masoori.
• Raw rice needs less water whereas parboiled rice needs more water.  Use as required.
• Sesame oil suits best for this recipe.
• Arisi Paruppu Sadam should be slightly mushy so I have added extra water.
• But if you like your rice to be separated then add just 31/2 - 4 cups of water.
• Serve Arisi Paruppu Sadham hot with a drizzle of ghee over the rice.

SAMBAL IKAN BILIS

HOW TO MAKE SAMBAL IKAN BILIS

INGREDIENTS:

METHOD :

• Soak the Dried Red Chillies in hot water for 20-30 minutes until they are soft.
• Dry roast the Shrimp paste until fragrant.
• Grind soaked Dry Chillies, Roasted Shrimp Paste, Birds Eye Chillies, Garlic and Shallots into a smooth paste.
• Soak the Dried Anchovies for about 10-15 minutes.
• Clean and wash them well and allow it to dry on a paper towel.
• Heat oil in a wok and deep fry the Anchovies and keep it aside.  
• In the remaining oil saute the ground paste on a high flame for about 10 minutes or until all moisture evaporates.
• If the mix is a bit dry, add some more oil and saute them on a low flame for another 5-10 minutes or until oil separate from the mix.
• Add tamarind extract and boil it for another 5 minutes on a low flame.
• Add salt and palm sugar and mix well.
• At this stage, the sambal should be fragrant, if not saute it for some more time.
• Finally, add the onions cut into rings and deep fried anchovies and give a quick stir.
• Leave this in low flame for few minutes.
  

NOTES :

• I used the long- wrinkled variety which is less spicy. To reduce the spiciness can snip off the soaked dry chillies into two and de-seed them.
• Blend the shallots coarsely.
• Grind the paste with less water to avoid splattering while sauteing the Sambal in high flame.
• Adding the onions cut into rings gives a good texture to the sambal.
• Can make the sambal chillies without fried anchovies too.
• If adding fried anchovies (ikan bilis) deep fry them first and set them aside. 
• And finally, toss them into the Sambal to get the much-needed crispiness.
• Can use the same oil to saute the sambal.
• Anchovies and dry shrimp paste will add saltiness to the sambal, so add salt at the final stage if necessary. 
• Can add Sugar instead of Palm sugar.
• Serve it at room temperature.
  

RAW MANGO PACHADI

HOW TO MAKE RAW MANGO PACHADI/PACHA MANGA PACHADI

RAW MANGO PACHADI

INGREDIENTS :

To Grind :

To Temper :

METHOD :

• Wah, Peel and Core the Mango.
• Cut the Mangoes into small pieces.
• Cook the Mangoes with a dah of Salt and Turmeric until 1/2 done.
• Grind grated Coconut along with Mustard Seeds, Ginger and Green Chillies to a smooth paste.
• Add the ground paste to the cooked Mango pieces and cook for a while on a low flame, until the raw flavour goes.
• Whisk the Curd and pour it to the above.
• Leave it on a low flame and cook for few more minutes.
• Remove from fire and keep it aside.
• Heat Coconut Oil in a pan, splutter Mustard Seeds, Fenugreek Seeds, Dry Red Chillies and Curry Leaves.
• Pour the tempering into the Raw Mango Pachadi.
• Serve Raw Mango Pachadi with Rice or serve it as one of the side dish for SADHYA.
  

NOTES :

• If the Mangoes are not very sour, add some more curd.
• Preferably use Curd which is not much sour.
• Adding Ginger to the Raw Mango Pachadi is totally optional.
• Can also add powdered dry roasted fenugreek seeds at the final stage.
• If adding powdered fenugreek seeds to the Raw Mango Padhadi, avoid adding them while tempering.
• Do not over boil, once the curd is added. It may curdle and make the Raw Mango Pachadi watery.
  

HOW TO MAKE SEV

INGREDIENTS:

METHOD:

• Combine all the dry ingredients and mix well.
• Melt the butter and pour the hot butter into the above ingredients and mix well.
• Add a little bit of water at a time and knead it into a soft dough.
• Grease the Sev "press" with attachment.
• Roll some dough and fill the cylinder of the Sev Press with the dough and close it.
• Heat oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. 
• Oil should be moderately hot while dropping the Sev Strands into it 
• Now hold the Sev press over frying pan and press the handle.
• Press out thin strands of Sev directly into the oil making a whole circular motion.
• Stop as you complete one circle. 
• Deep-fry the Sev on a very low flame until the colour changes from all the sides and sizzling stops. 
• Remove the Sev with slotted spoons and drain on an absorbent paper.
• Follow the suit and deep-fry the remaining sev.
• Keep aside to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Transfer the sev into a deep bowl and break them into small pieces.
• Store in an air-tight container and use as required.

NOTES :

• Use water as required.  The amount mentioned is how much I used while preparing the dough.
• Deep fry the Sevs in very low flame, otherwise, they will turn brown.
• Drop the Sevs into hot oil in swirls and wait until the sizzling stops before turning up to the other side.
• It is perfect to fry them into nice yellow colour. 

RASAM POWDER

INGREDIENTS:

METHOD :

• Dry Roast Coriander Seeds until fragrant and hot on a very low flame.
• Add Mustard Seeds, Cumin Seeds and Fenugreek Seeds to the above and dry roast them for few minutes on a low flame until they splutter.
• Remove them from fire and keep it aside.
• In a separate pan heat Oil/Ghee and fry the Asafoetida block until it turns crisp on all sides.
• Add Pepper, Cinnamon Stick and Curry Leaves to it and fry for a while.
• Add Red Chillies to the above and fry them until they fluff up and are really hot.
• Remove from fire and mix all the ingredients along with Turmeric stick, Jaggery and allow them to cool.
• Grind it into a fine powder in a mixer or coffee grinder.
  

 NOTES :

• Roast all the ingredients on a very low flame.
• Care should be taken not to burn the ingredients.  It would totally spoil the taste of the powder.
• Can use Turmeric Powder(1 Tbspn) instead of Turmeric Stick.
• Adding Jaggery and Cinnamon Stick is truly Optional.
• If making a big batch can grind it in a mill.(if the facility is available in your neighbourhood).
• If grinding at home, do not overload the mixer.  Grind them in small batches and mix them all finally.
• Store them in an airtight container in dry place.
• Do not use a wet spoon or wet hand while using the powder.