Ribbon Pakoda (Oatu / Ola Pakoda) Recipe | Diwali Snacks

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Ribbon Pakoda(Murukku) / Nada Thenkuzhal is one of my fav snacks. As kids we used to call it oatu pakoda as it sounds catchy :) When I thought of making diwali savoury snacks to post here the first 2 items I listed down were omapodi and ribbon pakoda, as last year there were many friends and readers requesting for both. 

I wanted to try grinding the raw rice method but somehow took the shortcut this time but still this tasted equally good. The spicyness and the sesame garlic flavour is the best in this recipe so dont miss it. I will sure try that method too and make a post atleast by next diwali haha :) As for now enjoy the visual treat till I am back with another diwali special :)

Ribbon Pakoda Recipe - Ingredients

Serves: 2

Cooking & Preparation Time: 40 mins

Rice Flour (Idiyappam flour) - 1 cup

Besan Flour (Kadalaimaavu)- 1/2 cup

Split gram dal (Pottukadalai) - 3 tbsp 

Butter - 1.5 tbsp

Chilli powder - 2 tsp

Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Sesame seeds - 3/4 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - to deep fry

Method:

1.Grind gram dal to a fine powder, sieve it once. In a mixing bowl - add rice flour, besan flour, gram dal powder, sesame seeds, butter, red chillies, garlic paste and required salt.

2.Add water little by little to form a soft stiff dough. Grease the press with oil then fill it up with the batter till 3/4th and keep it ready.Meanwhile heat oil.

3.Press the dough starting from the edge to the center in a circular motion in the preheated. Do not add more layers to ensure even cooking.Turn  over to other side when the bubbles ceases and cook again till bubbles ceases(shh sound  reduces). Drain it tissue paper, cool down completely and then store it in an airtight container.Repeat the same for the prepared remaining dough too.

You can keep this for a week and enjoy this as a tea time snack!

My Notes:

• If you like pepper you can add 1/4 tsp freshly ground but make sure its fine enough to get through the press.
• Also grind garlic to a very fine paste. You can even grind redchillies with garlic and skip red chilli powder.

Tags: ribbon pakoda, ola pakoda, ribbon pakoda recipe, oatu pakoda, Diwali snacks, ribbon pakoda recipe, ola pakoda recipe, oatu pakoda recipe, easy diwali snacks

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Omapodi / Plain Sev Recipe | Easy Diwali Snacks

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As I've told, mittu is picky even when it comes to snacks...she loves omapodi and nendran chips....and I've rarely seen her enjoying cookies/biscuits. The other day when I was getting her ready to school, she asked amma I want omapodi.....in the busy hours I ignored even lending ears to her and rushed her downstairs.....After waving bye and having a deep breath , I heard what she said.....browsed around ammas cookbooks , my collections and finally made this omapodi and guess what?! Mittu was surprised to see omapodi when she returned and the first thing she asked was: amma from where did you buy this?! haha She totally loved it and said amma make this for me often ok?! And that made my day complete!! :)

Having been very busy in the kitchen for the past weeks to fill up this space with more diwali specials, I totally forgot that diwali is only 2 weeks away.....and only now I've started to post the recipes that I made ready for this Diwali 2012....As I dont want the recipes to wait in the drafts so planned to atleast rush with my recipes from today :)

Though diwali reminds me of lights, crackers, new clothes, distributing sweets to neighbors.....On the other side each channel competiting with their own special programs, movies and diwali releases the whole city looks festive which sets the diwali mood .The best part I enjoy is making sweets/savouries at home and it has become even more special when I started to make on my own. 

Omapodi (Plain Sev) - Ingredients

Cooking & Preparation Time: 30 mins

Besan flour - 1 cup
Rice flour (Idiyappam flour)  - 1/4 cup
Butter - 1 tbsp (at room temperature)
Ajwain(Omam) - 1 tsp
Hot oil - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - for deep frying

Method:

1.Dry roast ajwain for 2 mins till nice aroma comes, then powder it(I used my hand mortar and pestle) - It is ok if its coarse as we will be filtering it. Add the ajwain powder to 2-3 tbsp of warm water and set aside for a while.Then filter it and keep aside.

2.Sieve besan flour and rice flour and transfer this to a mixing bowl. Add the filtered ajwain water, hot oil, butter and required salt and mix it.3.Add water little by little to form a soft sticky dough. Take ur sev press and fill it till 3/4th.Meanwhile heat oil - To check if the oil is hot, pinch a small piece of dough and drop it in oil if it immediately comes to topthen the oil is ready.

4.Press it in the preheated oil starting from the corners like a circle finishing it up in the middle. Once it is cooked on one side turn over to other side and cook till bubbles(shh sound) ceases. Repeat this process for the rest of the dough.

Drain in tissue paper , cool down and store it in an airtight container.Enjoy it with ur tea/coffee! Chat recipes with Sev :

• Dahi Puri
• Sev Puri
• Bhel Puri
• Dahi Papdi Chaat
• Masala Puri
• Aloo Channa Chaat
• Bread Dahi Chaat

My Notes:

• Be very careful while adding water as the dough consistency is very important. Do not let the dough rest for more time as it will get dry and pressing will be very difficult. 

• If it takes time then cover the dough with a wet cloth. Still if its difficult to press through, then sprinkle a little water to loosen the dough but very little.

• I used my idiyappam press as I like my sev to be very fine. You can either use a big hole press or small one as you like it.

• You get a big murukku kind while you take out it is very brittle so tends to break down to sev by itself.

Tags:omapodi, omapodi recipe, sev recipe, how to make omapodi, how to make sev, homemade sev recipe, how to make sev at home, plain sev recipe, sev for chaats

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Aloo Bajji / Potato (Urulaikizhangu) Bajji Recipe | Easy snacks

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Who can say no to hot bajji's? either its vazhakai or urulaikilangu bajji - I just cant stop with one. When it was raining cats & dogs hubby suggested to make aloo bajjis with a add on saying that you can make a post too...yeah he knows me well :) 

I jumped out of the bed, whipped up the batter and made these bajjis and hubby was happy eating the hot bajjis with his favourite coconut chutney. But I had to stop my temptation till I clicked the pics then happily started munching them :)

Aloo Bajji Recipe - Ingredients

Serves: 2

Cooking & PreparationTime: 10 -15 mins

Besan flour - 3/4 cup
Rice flour - 1/4 cup
Potato -2 medium sized
Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds powdered - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Orange food color - a pinch(optional)
Oil - to deep fry
Salt - to taste

Method:

1.Rinse and wash potatoes, pat them dry. Peel off the skin, then slice them using a slicer - Dont make the slices very thick else it will not get cooked inside - Set aside. In a mixing bowl add all the ingredients except potato and oil.

2.Add water and make it to thick paste first without any lumps. Then add water little by little to form a thick batter(like the dosa batter but not too runny). Heat oil - Dip each potato slice in the batter, turn to coat well on both the sides.

3.Carefully transfer it to the preheated oil. Turn over to cook well on both sides till golden brown. Drain in tissue paper.

Serve the bajjis hot with coconut chutney - yum combo!

My Notes:

• Make sure the batter is not too runny else the batter will not coat well on the veggie.
• Adding baking soda gives fluffiness and soft texture to the bajjis but you can very well skip it too.

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7 cup Cake / 7 cup Sweet / 7 cup Burfi (With video) | Diwali Sweets

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As diwali is nearing I've slowly started to make sweets and savories and have few already lined up for this space so keep watching :) 7 cup Burfi / Sweet / Seven cup cake whatever we call it - Amma learnt this sweet from our neighbor years back when I was schooling and after few disasters during the initial stages she got it right and now perfect everytime she makes it. The version amma makes is slightly different and results in a textured burfi as seen but the taste is just awesome. The burfi as we all know gets its name from the number of cups of each ingredient...I love the addition of carrots but if you prefer you can add coconut too.

Amma made this a week back to pack it for my friend and my only work was to click and now post it here :) Clicked the stepwise and video late evening so the color and clarity takes a backstep...but am sure you can understand the consistency by looking at the steps and video. With no further delay lets get on to learn how to make 7 cup burfi.

7 cup Burfi Recipe - Ingredients

Makes: 10-12 burfis

Cooking & PreparationTime: 30 mins

Besan flour - 1 cup
Sugar - 2.5 cups
Ghee - 1.5 cups (melted)
Carrot / Coconut - 1 cup (grated)
Milk - 1 cup

Method:

1.In a kadai - Roast besan flour in a tsp of ghee until nice aroma comes and the color slightly changes, set aside. Then saute the carrots in the same kadai till it shrinks and raw smell leaves, set aside. In a mixing bowl add sugar, ghee and carrots.

2.Then add milk and mix it with a whisk till sugar completely dissolves. Finally add the besan flour, mix well without any lumps.Grease a tray with ghee and keep it ready.

3.Transfer this to a nonstick pan and keep stirring. First stage is : it starts bubbling then forms a thick mass.

4.It easily leaves the sides of the pan with a porous texture thats when the color changes to a brown shade too. Please check the video for the right consistency to switch off. 

Transfer the mixture immediately to the ghee greased tray and when its still warm mark the pieces then when it is cooled down cut them into desired shapes. 

Cool down completely and then store in an airtight container.

My Notes:

• You can increase sugar to 3 cups and reduce ghee to 1 cup.

• The consistency is very important else it will turn into halwa :)

• You can either use carrot or coconut or use half cup each. 

• If you prefer add ghee roasted cashews.

Technorati Tags: 7 cup burfi, 7 cup cake, 7 cup sweet, how to make 7 cup sweet, 7 cup burfi video, 7 cup barfi, diwali sweets, easy diwali sweets, 7 cup sweet video

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Mushroom Biryani | Mushroom Recipes

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I am really very happy to write a guest post for one of the inspiring bloggers Raks. She is one of the strong supporters for my space, a dear friend who gives me feedback every now and then, puts even the criticisms in the best possible way that makes me do even better. She is my all time inspiration in cooking!!

When she asked me to do a guest post for Raks Kitchen with a mushroom recipe, I was surprised at the same time very happy so readily accepted it. I left the dish choice to her but should admit I was keeping my fingers crossed that any recipe other than dosa should be her choice and do you know why?! yes I struggle to click pictures of dosa and the feeling totally puts me down. I took a deep breath only after she asked for biryani :)

I made few adjustments to the veg biryani I make and came up with this recipe....should say it turned out great and had a thumps up from hubby. If anyone says I cook the perfect grains seperated rice I owe all the appreciations to Raji as she gave me the exact measurements since then I am following it to the dot and it comes out perfect every time. Now lets geton to the mushroom biryani recipe...

Mushroom Biryani Recipe - Ingredients

Serves: 2

Cooking & Preparation Time: 35 mins

Basmati Rice - 1 and 1/4 cups
Cleaned Button mushrooms - 3/4 cup chopped
Onion - 1 big chopped lengthwise
Tomato puree - from 2 medium sized tomato
Thick Curd - 2 tbsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 2.5 tsp
Garam Masala powder - 1.5 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Ghee - 1/2 tbsp
Water - 2 cups
Salt - to taste

To grind to a paste:

Coriander leaves - 4 tbsp
Mint leaves - 3 tbsp
Green Chillies - 1
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp

To temper:

Cloves -2
Cardamom -1
Cinnamon - 1/4 inch piece
Bayleaf -1

Method:

1.Grind the ingredients under 'to grind' with little water to a fine paste. Set aside.Heat oil+ghee in a pressure cooker and add the items under 'to temper' then add ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute.

2.Then add onion and saute till its golden brown. Then add tomato puree saute till raw smell leaves, then add coriander mint paste and saute till raw smell leaves.

3.Then add red chilli powder, garam masala powder, required salt and saute till the masalas is well blended. Then add mushroom and saute for 2mins until water leaves and it starts softening. Then add curd.

4.Once the masala is nicely blended with the mushrooms , add basmati rice - give a quick stir.

5.Then add required water and pressure cook for 3 whistles(After the first whistle lower the flame). Once pressure releases, fluff the rice with a fork carefully without breaking the rice.

Serve hot with onion raita - the best combination.

My Notes:

• If you like the lemon flavour, squeeze lemon juice once the biryani is done.

• You can also use 1/2 cup of coconut milk which gives a nice flavour but adjust water level accordingly .

• I usually use 1:1.5 cups of rice:water ratio but this time 2 cups for the rice to be sligtly moist.You can presoak basmati rice for 15-20mins and use 1.5 cups of water.But you can use the measurement according to the variety of basmati rice. I use India Gate Basmati rice.

• Enjoy it hot with onion raita.

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Pasi Paruppu Payasam / Moong Dal Payasam (Kheer) - with coconut milk

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I love any type of payasam and this moong dal payasam is my fav.I made this for mahalaiya ammavasai last week. As saraswathi,ayutha pooja is fast approaching I wanted to post this payasam recipe.Check out for ulunthu vadai recipe here.

Moong Dal Payasam Recipe - Ingredients

Serves: 2

Cooking & PreparationTime: 30 mins

Moong Dal (Paasi Paruppu) - 1 cup
Jaggery dissolved in water - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup
Coconut Milk - 1/4 cup
Cardamom - 1 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp
Cashews, Raisins - 1 tsp each

Method:

1.Dry roast moong dal till golden brown and nice aroma rises. Set aside to cool. Take coconut milk extract and set aside.

2.Heat ghee and roast cashews and raisin and set aside.Then pressure cook moong dal (with 1/2 cup of water) for 4 whistles and keep aside, It should be mashy enough. Just mash it once thats enough. 
3.In hot water, immerse powdered jaggery and crush it well, filter to remove impurities and keep it ready. Now take a wide bottomed pan(I used a nonstick pan) add cooked moong daal, then add filtered jaggery syrup and milk. Let it cook for 3-5mins.
4.Then add coconut milk, cardamom powder - give a quick stir.Bring it to single boil, dont let it boil for more. Add ghee roasted cashews and serve hot/cold!
I love it cold - thick and creamy payasam...yummm! Do give a try for urself and see :)

My Notes:

• After coconut milk is added dont let it boil for more time it will start to curdle.

• Dry roasting moong dal gives a nice flavour.

• You can skip milk and make it fully with coconut milk itself.

• Adjust sweetness according to your taste.

Tags: pasi paruppu payasam, pasi paruppu payasam recipe, moong dal kheer, how to make paasi paruppu payasam, payatham paruppu payasam, step by step pasi paruppu paysam recipe, moong dal payasam recipe

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