It's purattasi saturday!

maa vilakku

Today it is the first saturday of purattasi month. According to tamil calendar purattasi month falls between september 15 and october 15. Today we offer thaliga for lord venkateswara. It is a mixture of rice, fruits, dal and vada. It has a heavenly taste! The main neivedhyam is maa vilakku(pindi deepam). This lamp is made of rice flour, jaggery and ghee. I drew namam on foreheads of chechu & aadhu. Today i prepared 5 varieties of rice, ( pulihora(temple style), lemon rice, coconut rice, curd rice, sweet pongal) , vada, dal & rice kheer and raw banana stir fry  for neivedhyam. i came to know that 5 varieties of rice can be offered to lord through geetha atha(my last aunt). All the dishes turned out well today! chechu took kalasam to the neighbourhood houses to collect rice for pooja. chechu enjoyed very well today!

                                                      this is thaliga(mixture of rice, dal fruits and vada)

happy ganesh chaturthi!

         Today is ganesh chaturthi. Happy ganesh chaturthi to all!
For me and chechu it is an important festival as ganesha is our favourite god. Chechu was thoroughly excited and amused with all these customs. Today all the dishes turned out well. The neivedhyam for pooja was chakkarai pongal, black channa sundal , sesame ladoo, spicy oats kozhukattai, peanut rice, coconut rice, mixed dal vada and tender coconut payasam.

Happy gokulashtami!

        Today is the birthday of lord krishna. It is a happy time for all the kids. My happiest food memories as a kid was gokulashtami & diwali. All my aunts and chittis join together to prepare the goodies. As a kid i would watch eagerly what they prepare. Pedatha was a great inspiration for all of us. After chechu was born gokulashtami was very special festivalfor me. Chechu was always the first to taste the sweets and snacks prepared at home After the pooja.( sometimes before too :))!
         This year it is special for me as there is one more special addition in our family, our little aadhu. Chechu and aadhu made this occasion special for me.
Today i prepared rice kheer, fried gram ladoo, sweet seedai, thirattupal, murukku and buttermurukku. Ladoo is chechu's all time favourite. This year it is aadhu's too!

Bread oothappam & bread adai!

Bread oothappam

         The name 'bread oothappam' may sound strange or difficult one. But it is a simple dish which i prepare them in a jiffy for breakfast. Always bread and idly / dosa batter will
Be available in my kitchen. I prepare different dishes for a change using them .

Ingredients:
Bread slice - 10
Idly/dosa batter - 3 cup
Pepper powder- 1 tsp
Jeera powder - 2 tsp
Coriander leaves - little
Salt to taste
Oil - 2tsp

Method:

Cut the sides of the bread.
Pour idly batter in a bowl. Add pepper, jeera and coriander leaves and salt if necessary.
Mix them.
Take each slice of bread dip in this batter and toast them in a dosa tawa.
Pour oil in the sides
To make it more spicy i add dosa podi to the batter.
No chutney is necessary.
We can serve them hot with sauce.

Bread adai

Ingredients:
Bread slice- 10
Idly rice- 1/4 kg
Red chilly - 6
Tomato - 1
Onion - 1
Ginger - 1 small piece
Oil - 2 sp
Salt to taste

Method:
Soak idly rice for 1 hour.
Grind the rice with red chillies, ginger, tomato, onion and bread slices.
Add salt and grind them to adai batter consistency.
Pour them as adais in a tawa. Spread oil All over.
Serve them hot with any chutney.

Breads & sandwiches

Breads & sandwiches

        Breads and sandwiches have become a common breakfast at home. Mornings are lazy for me with my 6 months old aadhu. It's rush hour for my hubby. I am very fascinated with bread and love to try all types of bread sandwiches. I need something quick, appealing and healthy. I know its not only me in this situation, there are many mothers like me.  My hubby dislikes bread. Making him eat is a big task. It took many years to convince him.
   Now, i am posting a few healthy and nutritive sandwiches.

Double decker grilled sandwich.

Ingredients

Whole wheat bread or sandwich bread - 12 slices
Butter for toasting

For carrot chutney:
Carrots - 4
Red chilly - 6
Urad dal - 2 tbs
Oil - 1 sp
Salt to taste

For mint chutney:
Mint leaves  - 1 bunch
Green chilly - 3
Jeera - 1 tsp
Fried gram dal - 4 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 sp

Method

First prepare both chutneys separately and keep aside.
Heat oil in pan, add urad dal ,  red chilly  and grated carrota and saute for few minutes.
Add salt and when cool, grind as chutney in a mixie.
For mint chutney, heat oil add jeera, green chillies and mint leaves.
Add fried gram dal and salt. Grind as chutney in mixie.
Cut the sides of the bread.
Take three slices of bread. On one layer spread carrot chutney. Place another bread on top.
Now spread mint chutney and close it with another slice.
Spread butter on top and toast the breads in  griller.
Now sandwiches are ready to serve hot .

My grandma's special!

Chiralam - my grandma's special!

               Today , i dedicate this recipe to my grandma(paternal) who passed away last year on this day! This is my grandma's  favourite delicacy. She shared this recipe with me when i was in my late teens. I would prepare this whenever she would ask for it. It is a simple protein rich delicacy! this dish originated from chirala in andhra pradesh. Thats why my grandma named it chiralam. It's a wonderful dish for evening snacks.my jayanthi atha(dad's younger sister) is an expert on making of this dish!

         

Ingredients

Tuvar dal - 1 1/4 cup

Idly rice - 1/2 cup

Raw rice- 1/4 cup

Red chilly - 8

Asafoetida - a pinch

Green chilly - 7

Saunf- 1 tbsp

Onions - 6

Ginger - 1 piece

Garlic - 1 pod

Dhaniya - 1 tbsp

Sambhar powder- 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Oil - 3 tbsp

for seasoning

Mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves

Preparation

1. Soak dal and rice for  3 hrs. Grind them with red chillies asafoetida and saunf.

2. Grind ginger, garlic and dhaniya to paste. Add this paste to the batter.

3. Steam cook this batter in an idly cooker For 15 minutes.

4. Chop these idlis to cubes.

5. Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves, finely chopped green chilly and  onions . Saute for few minutes. Add 2 tbsp sambhar powder and saute again.

6. Add the steamed chiralams and saute again.

7. It tastes best when served hot.

Chechu's dinner tantrums!

   After a long time i prepared rava idly and sambhar for dinner, which is my favourite dish. some sour curd was available at home. So i prepared this in a jiffy. When i kept idlies in his plate, he gave a stare look. He demanded me to pour dosa. Dosa & idly batter got over yesterday. But there was left over rava idly batter. I added 2 cups of wheat flour ,salt and water to tackle this situation. Crispy wheat rava dosas were ready. Chechu had them with a smiling face. As a mom, i am happy that i solved his tantrums and made him to eat!