Paal Paayasam

Wishing a Happy Onam to all...

Onashamsakal.... 

No festival is incomplete without a grand feast which ends with a sweet, So today being Onam, i prepared a simple paayasam, Paal Paaaysam.Whereever malayalees are there , they will definitely celebrate it with a grand Kerala Sadya. So wishing you a Happy Onam to all...
I have prepared a simple Onam Sadya also we made pookalam at home.

 Pookkalam

Kerala Sadya

Recipe for Paal Paayasam
Ingredients

1. Kaima rice/Jeerakashala rice/Basmathi Rice - 2 cups
2. Water - 4 cups
3. Milk - 1 1/2 Litre
4. Sugar - 2 cups (the sweetness of my sugar was less)
5. Cardamom powder - 1/4 Tsp
6. Ghee - 1 Tbsp
7. Cashew Nuts - 10 to 15 slit
8. Raisins - 2 Tbsp

Preparation

• Wash and drain water from rice. In a pressure cooker, add rice and water. Cook for 4 whistles on medium flame. Once done off the flame and allow the pressure to release.Transfer this to a bowl.
• In the same cooker boil milk and cook on low flame.Let it reduce to 1 liter.
• Add sugar and mix well until sugar dissolves.Add the cooked rice and mix well. If lumps are there just mash it using a spoon.
• Now add cardamom powder. Switch off the flame and remove from fire.
• Heat ghee in a pan , fry cashew nuts and raisins till golden brown. Pour this on to paayasam and mix well.
• Serve it hot or cold.

Note

• The payasam thickens with time so switch it off accordingly.
• Addition of cardamom powder is optional.
• Also tempering cashew nuts and raisins in ghee is optional. You can directly add it.

Puli Inji

Puli Inji, a sweet and sour pickle or sauce in an essential finger-licking side dish served as part of Kerala Sadya.This is a sweet and sour ginger pickle from Kerala where ginger is cooked in a sweet and tangy tamarind sauce.Though there are many side dishes prepared for sadya like avialy, Kootu Curry, Kaalan, Olan, Saambhar,pickle,etc... no sadya is served without puliy inji.This is the first dish which i will prepare a week before Onam comes....The first lick on this tangy sauce makes your taste buds stand up and enjoy your meal.This is awesome.Each home it is prepared in differently fried ginger , tamarind and jaggery being the stars of this dish. This comes in the category of 'thodu curry's. So do prepare this to have a complete authentic meal from Kerala.

Ingredients

1. Ginger skin removed and sliced - 3/4 cup
2. Tamarind - 2 lime size balls soaked in 1 cup warm water
3. Green Chilli - 3 chopped
4. Curr Leaves - 2 Sprigs
5. Mustard Seeds - 1 Tsp
6. Dry Red Chilli - 3
7. Jaggery / Sharkara grated - 3/4 cup
8. Water - 1 cup
9. Turmeric powder - 1 Tsp
10. Red chilli powder - 1 Tbsp
11. Asafoetida/ Kaayam - 1/4 Tsp 
12. Fenugreek/ Uluva/Methi seeds - 1 Tsp
13. Salt - as needed
14. Coconut Oil - as required

Preparation

• Heat an earthen pot / non- stick sauce pan (not iron pan),  add coconut oil,splutter mustard seeds, then add dry red chilli and 1 sprig of curry leaves .
• Add green chilli and sliced ginger and fry nicely to golden brown. Keep aside.

• Squeeze the soaked tamarind,extract the juice and keep aside.
• In the same pot/pan add grated jaggery, tamarind extract, water, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, asafoetida,1 sprig of curry leaves and salt. Mix well.
• Let it boil and cook on low flame,till the gravy thickens and reduce to pulpy texture.

• Now add the fried ginger mix, kept aside and mix well and remove from heat.
• Heat a pan, add fenugreek seeds and dry roast it. Immediately powder it using a mortar. Add this to the prepared tangy sauce. Mix well.

• Let it cool and reach room temperature before store it in air tight container. You can serve it after one hour of preparation. If stored properly will last for 3 weeks.

Cucumber (Kakkarikka) Pachadi | A Special Side Dish for Onam Sadya

  

Cucumber(Kakkarikka) Pachadi is an authentic Kerala festive recipe, made during the festive seasons of Onam,Vishu and even served for wedding sadya's in Kerala.
I love and like to make this pachadi as it has a very good flavour and very easy to make.Hope you too try this for Onam...

 

Ingredients

1. Cucumber(Kakkarikka) - 1 Big
2. Grated coconut - 3/4 Cup
3. Mustard Seeds - 1/4 Tsp
4. Ginger chopped - 1/2 Tsp
5. Green chilli - 2
6. Yogurt -1/2 Cup
7. Jeera powder  / cumin powder - 1/4 Tsp
8. Curry Leaves - 4 to 5 leaves
9. Salt - as needed

To Temper

1. Coconut Oil - 1 Tbsp
2. Mustard seeds - 1 Tsp
3. Curry Leaves - 1 Sprig
4. Dry red chilli - 3

Preparation

• Wash  and peel the skin of cucumber.Grate it to fine shreds as shown in figure. Add some salt and mix well. Keep for 5 minutes.

• In a mixer grind to a smooth paste of coconut, green chilli, ginger,mustard seeds. Add in yogurt and mix well.

• Drain the salt water from shredded cucumber and add the coconut - yogurt paste. Mix well. Sprinkle jeera powder and curry leaves , mix properly. The pachadi should be quite thick and not watery. 

• Heat oil to temper, add in mustard seeds, let it crackle and dry red chillies, curry leaves. Pour this onto the pachadi.
• Serve as a side dish for rice at lunch.

Beetroot Pachadi | A Kerala Sadya Recipe | Kerala Onam Special Recipe

Pachadi is one of the special traditional side dishes that is served during festivals , especially )Onam ,Vishu and also during Hindu marriages.The use of vegetables and even fruits vary so much and also in their taste. The main ingredient being freshly grated coconut ground to smooth paste along with ginger, green chillies, and mustard seeds and yogurt and is mixed with variety of raw or cooked vegetables.  

Today i made Beetroot Pachadi , which is a bit sweet in taste. This was on my list from quite sometime.The final verdict from my family was "Delicious", i loved the rich colour that Pachadi had was truly amazing to have with rice.

Ingredients

1. Finely chopped or grated beetroot - 1 cup
2. Water - 1 cup
3. Grated coconut (grind o smooth paste) - 3/4 cup (I had previously made coconut paste was 1/2 cup)
4. Green Chilly - 2
5. Chopped ginger - 1/4 Tsp
6. Mustard Seeds - 1/4 Tsp 
7. Yogurt - 1/2 cup
8. Salt - as needed

To Temper

1. Coconut Oil/ Oil - 1 Tbsp
2. Mustard Seeds - 1/2 Tsp
3. Dry Red Chilli - 2
4. Curry Leaves - 1 Sprig

Preparation

• Cook grated beetroots in 1 cup of water till it turns soft. It takes just around 4-5 minutes to cook the beetroot. Cook until all the water get absorbed. Cook on medium flame. (Be careful not to get burnt beetroot.)

• Meanwhile grind the grated coconut, green chilli, mustard seeds and ginger to a smooth paste. 
• Add in yogurt and grind just once.
• Add this grind paste to the cooked beetroot, also add salt and cook for a couple of minutes.(i cooked for 1 minute on sim flame).Remove from flame.

• Heat oil for tempering, add curry leaves and mustard seeds. When mustard seeds starts to sizzle and pop add the dry red chilli halves into it.
• Pour this on to the pachadi and mix well.

 

Do check out my Special Pineapple Pachadi - Kerala Style  
and Pineapple Pachadi - Kerala Sadya Style

Mothagam | Vinayaka Chathurthi Recipe

Happy Vinayaka Chathurthi

Ganesha Chaturthi is the Hindu festival celebrated in honour of the god Ganesha,the god of beginnings and wisdom.The festival, also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi. The festival lasts for 10 days, ending on Ananta Chaturdashi.

The main sweet dish during the festival is the modak, a dumpling made from rice flour with a stuffing of fresh grated coconut, jaggery, dry fruits and some other condiments. It is either steam-cooked or fried.I am making this for the first as for Ganesh chathurthi...Here goes the recipe.

Ingredients

1. Rice flour (Ready made idiyappam flour/ pathiri podi )-1 Cup [I used double horse brand]
2. Sesame oil / Ellannai  - 2 Tsp
3. Boiling Water   -  As needed
4. Salt   -  As needed

For Coconut Pooranam

1. Coconut  -  2 Cups
2. Jaggery   -  1 cup 
3. Elachi/Cardamom - 4

 

 

Preparation

• For the dough, add sesame oil to the dough. Add salt to boiling water and mix well using a wooden spatula. Make a smooth and soft dough. Keep covered.

• You can make equal sized balls and keep covered. 
• For the thenga pooranam, place grated coconut jaggery and elachi powder in a pan, with little of water. Cook on medium flame until, it starts leaving the sides of pan, switch off the flame. Keep it to cool and make poornam balls.

• Meanwhile, boil water in a steamer.
• Make small cups out of the dough,  place the poornam inside the dough and shape it as shown in the figure.

• Repeat and finish the kozhukattais and keep covered until steaming.  
• Arrange the mothagams on the steaming plate and cook for 20 - 25 minutes. Or until they are cooked. When cooked you will see that the mothagams are a little shiny on the outside.