Puli Vadai

Puli Vadai is one of the popular & most liked snacks of  Kongunad, especially in Pollachi & Udumalpet belt. One of my favorites too😋 My Mom never failed to prepare this snack for me whenever I visit her😍 People of Kongunad make two types of Puli Vadai. One with tamarind, coconut, rice, toor dal. Some people call it Arisi Vadai, some say its Puli Vadai. I'll post it later. The other one is made with sour curd/yogurt replacing tamarind & this is the one we are going to prepare now. Here comes the recipe...

Puli Vadai Recipe

Soaking Time: 3 hrs | Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Makes : 10-12
Recipe Category : Snack | Recipe Cuisine : South Indian

Ingredients:

For Grinding:
Idly Rice - 1 cup
Curd/Yogurt (slightly sour) - 3/4 cup
Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
Red chillies - 3 
Curry leaves - few
Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Salt as needed

For seasoning:
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Channa dal + Urad dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Cilantro - finely chopped
Oil - 2 tsp

Oil for frying the Vadas

Method:

1. Wash and soak the rice in curd/yogurt for minimum 3 hrs. 3/4 cup of curd is enough for 1 cup of rice to get soaked well. If you feel its too thick add little more. 

2. Soak the red chillies along with the rice.

3. After 3 hrs, you can see the rice absorbed the curd well & ready to get grind. Now grind all the ingredients given under To grind to a smooth paste in a mixer/grinder. Don't add water.

The batter must be thick, it should not flow from your hand. If it flows cover it with a paper towel to remove excess water. You can keep it in fridge for 1 hour to firm up.

4. In a pan heat 2 tsp of oil. Add the mustard seeds. Let it splutter. Then fry the channa+urad dals till golden brown followed by curry leaf, cilantro. 

5. Now add the batter to the seasoning and give it a quick stir, say for 20 seconds & switch off the stove. Don't stir it much or the batter will get cooked.

6. Heat the oil for frying the Vadas. Take a plastic paper/Ziplock cover & place it on a flat surface. Slightly oil the paper. Take a small piece of the batter and make a ball. Place it on the paper, wet your fingers with little water & spread the ball with finger tips to form a circle. It should neither be thick nor thin. 

7. Now gently remove the spread batter from the plastic sheet and drop it carefully in the heated oil. It will start to fluff up. Flip the vada. Fry till it turns golden brown. Remove & drain it on paper towel. You can fry 2 or 3 vadas at the same time based on your pan size. But don't overcrowd.

When you rip the vada it should be hollow inside like this.

Serve hot.

Jackfruit Payasam (Chakka Pradhaman)

Chakka Pradhaman is a traditional payasam (pudding) of  Kerela made with chakka varatti (Jack fruit jam). I made it with fresh jack fruit pieces as I don't have chakka varatti here. I didn't have much hope on it till I tasted it. But it was beyond my expectations. Its really yummy & also can be made with less effort & time. Here comes the special recipe for Tamil New year & Vishu...

Chakka Pradhaman Recipe

Preparation time : 10 mins | Cooking time : 20 mins | Serves : 3
Category : Dessert | Cuisine : Kerela

Ingredients:


Jack fruit pieces (Riped) - 12
Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Thick coconut milk - 3/4 cup
Ghee - 4 tsp
Coconut bits(thin sliced small pieces) - 2 tbsp
Cashew nuts - few
Raisins - few
Cardamom powder -1/4 tsp


Method:

1. Pressure cook jack fruit adding water just to get immersed for 2 to 3 whistles. Allow it to cool.

2. Drain the water & grind it to a smooth paste. Set aside.

3. Prepare 3/4 cup of coconut milk.

3. In a pan heat a tsp of ghee & fry the raisins, cashews, coconut pieces & set aside.

4. In the same pan, add the powdered/broken jaggery with 1/4 cup of water. Let it dissolve completely. Once it got dissolved, filter it to remove impurities. Heat it again until it bubbles (No need to check the string consistency).

5. Add the jack fruit paste to it & mix well to get coated well with the jaggery syrup. Let it become thick.

6. Add 3 tsp of ghee. Then add the coconut milk & give a quick stir. Switch off the stove when its about to boil. If you allow it to boil for a long time after adding coconut milk, it will curdle.

7. Now add the Cardamom powder, fried cashews, raisins & the coconut pieces & give a stir.

Serve it warm or cold.

Bread Paneer Cutlet

Unsure what to do with your leftover bread that's going to expire soon? You can make best use of it making this Bread Paneer Cutlet. It is a healthy & an easy to make evening snack. It can also be served as an appetizer or starter for parties. Also be used as patties & sandwiched between Burgers, an attractive way to make the kids eat:) The preparation method is almost the same as Veg cutlet except for the bread & paneer added to it. It can be shallow or deep fried. I shallow fried it to be on the healthier side. Here comes the recipe..

Bread Paneer Cutlet Recipe

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Makes : 10-12
Recipe Category : Snack | Recipe Cuisine : Indian

Ingredients:

Bread (White/brown) - 4 slices
Potatoes - 2 (Boiled & mashed)
Paneer (Shredded) - 3 tbsp
Onion (Medium) - 1/2 (finely chopped)
Capsicum - 1/4 (finely chopped)
Cilantro - few (finely chopped)
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Kashmiri/Red chill powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/4 tsp
Chaat masala - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Corn flour - 1 tbsp
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Salt as needed

Method:

1. Cut the sides of the bread & crumble the slices as small as possible.

2. Boil the potatoes. Mash it well & add to the bread crumbles. Add the chopped onions.

3. Shred the Paneer & add it followed by the chopped Capsicum & ginger garlic paste.

 4. In a small bowl mix the turmeric, garam masala, chaat masala & red chilli powders & add it to the mixture. Then add the corn flour, chopped cilantro & salt to it.

 
 5. Now combine everything well to form a dough. Don't add water to it as the moisture in onion & potato itself is enough to form the dough. It should be non sticky. Grease your hands with oil & make round shapes & flatten it thick.  Or you can make heart shaped  cutlets if you wish.

6. Add oil in a pan & shallow/deep fry till the cutlets turn golden brown. Flip the sides for shallow frying till both sides turn brown.

7. Serve it hot with tomato ketchup/hot chilli sauce.

Points to be noted:

• You can even add carrots & peas to it if you wish. 
• If you dont have Paneer just skip it.
• Never add water while making the dough.
• If your chilli powder is too hot, just add 1/4 tsp.
  

Chicken Briyani (Thalapakatti Style)

After experimenting a variety of methods preparing Briyani, I just sticked on to this method as it tasted heavenly whenever I made this way. The main flavour of this Briyani comes from the freshly ground homemade Briyani masala & also the Seeraga samba rice we use. I was longing for a longtime to try it with this rice to get the authentic flavor of Dindigul Thalapakatti Briyani & finally found it in an Indian grocery store. From then, Basmati is my 2nd choice when it comes to Briyani:) What are you waiting for? Try out this method & make your Sundays filled with aroma!😋

Chicken Briyani (Thalapakatti Style) Recipe

Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 3
Category: Main | Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients:

Seeraga samba rice - 2 cups

Chicken - 1/2 kg (cleaned)
Onion - 1 large 
Tomato - 1
Green Chillies - 2 slit
Ginger Garlic Paste - 3 tbsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander Leaves (Cilantro) - 1/2 cup chopped
Mint Leaves - 1/4 cup chopped
Yogurt - 1/4 cup 
Water - 2.5 cups

Coconut milk - 1 cup
Lemon juice - 2 tsp

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Oil - 3 tbsp
Salt to taste

 

For the Marinade:

Chicken - 1/2 kg (cleaned)
Thick Yogurt (curd) - 1/4 cup
Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

 

For the Briyani Masala Powder:

Cloves -5

Cinnamon Stick - 2 inch piece 

Fennel Seeds (Sombu) - 1.5 tbsp
Coriander seeds - 1/2 tbsp
Cardamom - 4
Star Anise - 1

To temper:

Bay leaves - 2 

Cloves - 2

Cinnamon stick - 1 inch piece

Cardamom - 2

Star anise - 1 

 

Method

1. Wash and soak the rice for 25 mins. 
Wash & clean the chicken. Marinade it with the ingredients listed under For the Marinade.

 

2. Grind all the items given under For the Briyani Masala powder and set aside.

3. Now heat the oil + 1 tbsp ghee and temper it with bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon sticks, star anise & cardamom. Add the onions, green chillies and saute for few mins till it becomes slight golden brown.

5. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell leaves. Then add chopped tomatoes till it becomes mushy.
 Add in chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and the ground Briyani masala powder and saute it for 2 mins. 

6.  Then add the coriander, mint leaves & yogurt & saute it till the oil seperates from the masala.

 7. In a pan, add a tsp of ghee and fry the soaked and drained rice for 2 mins carefully without breaking the rice. 

8.  Transfer the masala & marinaded chicken to the pressure cooker. Blend it well & stir it for a min to get the chicken blended well with the masala.

9. Now add 2.5 cups of water + 1 cup of coconut milk, salt, chopped coriander & mint leaves and bring it to a boil.

10. Now add rice to the boil & finally add the lemon juice.

11. Cover the cooker with the lid. For those who are using gas/flame stove, cook it in medium flame for 7 mins and reduce the flame to completely low for 5 mins & switch off. Those who are using coil stove, cook in medium for 8 mins & switch off . Let it be on the coil. Allow the steam to be released all by itself without disturbing it. Open the cooker once the pressure is fully released.

 Add a tbsp of ghee and fluff the rice with a fork or with the backside of a flat spatula.

Serve it hot with onion or cucumber raita.

Points to be noted

• You can also use basmati rice if you dont have Seeraga Samba.
• I always use the freshly ground ginger garlic paste, as it adds more flavor than the store bought ones. Also grinding it with curd reduces its strong aroma.
• While sauting the onions, always add little salt to it so that it gets cooked fast.
• Never try to release the pressure until it gets released by itself.
• Frying the rice in ghee & adding lemon juice avoids stickiness of the rice.
• If you want more mint flavor add more mint leaves. As we like a mild flavor, I added only little.

Sakkarai Pongal (Sweet Pongal)

Hope everyone's festive mode is on to celebrate the upcoming Pongal festival. Wishing you all a very Happy Pongal!!

Sakkarai Pongal is made in different ways using a brass pot in a firewood oven which is the traditional method or in a pressure cooker with gas stove. In my native Pollachi, most people use the traditional method to make Pongal. They used to rinse the raw rice and pour that rinsed water in Pongal Paanai. Rice will be added only after it becomes frothy & falls down. The cooked rice will be served along with Mochai Kulambu, Dal, Veggies, Vadai & Payasam. Celebrating Pongal with the cooker made Pongal no where matches the Pongal celebrated in a traditional way in the villages. Cherishing those memories, I'm posting the recipe of Sakkarai pongal in the pressure cooker method.    

Sakkarai Pongal Recipe:

Recipe Cuisine: South Indian | Recipe Category : Sweet 
Cook Time : 30-40 mins | Serves : 4

Ingredients: 

Raw rice (or Long grained rice) - 1 cup
Moong dhal - 4 Tbsp
Jaggery - 1 cup
Water - 5 cups
Milk -1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Edible camphor (optional) - a pinch
Cashews & Raisins - few
Ghee - 1/4 cup

Method:

1. Soak the rice for 15 minutes. 

2. Add a tsp of ghee in the cooker. Fry the cashews & raisins till golden brown & set aside. With the remaining ghee in the cooker, fry the moong dal till a nice aroma comes.

3. Add 5 cups of water to the cooker and add the soaked rice. Let it cook along with the dal till 5 or 6 whistles.

4. Meanwhile make the jaggery syrup. Add little water to the jaggery just to get soaked and heat it till the jaggery gets dissolved. Switch off. No need to check the string consistency.

5. Once the pressure gets released completely and the rice & dal are cooked well, mash it & add the jaggery syrup and milk to it. Stir it for 5 to 10 minutes till you get the semi solid Pongal consistency. 

6. Now add the ghee, cardamom powder, a tiny pinch of edible camphor, roasted cashews & raisins. Stir those along with the pongal for 2 minutes and switch off the flame. 

Points to be noted:

• If the pongal is too watery, stir it till a semi solid consistency is reached. 
• Switch off when it is in a semi solid state. Or it will become hard & dry after sometime. It should be mushy & in a melt in mouth texture.
• Add ghee generously as it gives a rich & divine flavor to the Pongal. 
• Adding edible camphor gives the taste of the Pongal prasadam we get in temples:) but it is optional. If you decide to add it, only add a tiny pinch or it will spoil the taste of the Pongal. 
• Add the jaggery syrup only when the rice & dal are well cooked.  
• Using long grained rice instead of the regular sona masoori makes the pongal softer & fresh even after hours.
  

 

Plum Cake

Plum cake is the one that comes to my mind after Santa during Christmas season😃 It was in my wish list for a long time. I made sure to bake it this year before Christmas & post it in my blog. But I was not much confident about the outcome as I rarely bake cakes & also its my first try on Plum Cake. And yes..finally I made a super soft & aromatic Plum cake👍 Felt nostalgic as it tasted similar to the one which my Dad used to get me from a famous bakery in my hometown😃 I always had a doubt why its called Plum cake when no plums are added to it or rarely can see dried plums in it. Then I came to know, initially Plum cakes made in European countries were prepared with fresh plums & hence the name. Then it changed over time & a wide range of cakes made with dried fruits & nuts are often referred as Plum cake or Fruit cake. In traditional method they used to soak the dried fruits & nuts in Rum for a month before adding to the cake mix. But in this recipe I soaked those in Orange & grape juices replacing Rum. Its a bit long process, but worth the taste😋
Try this recipe & celebrate Christmas with a yummy Plum cake🎂 Wishing you all a Merry Christmas🎄🎅 & a Happy New year💥

🎂Plum Cake Recipe🎂

Preparation Time : 15-20 mins | Soaking Time: 1day | Baking Time : 40-50 mins | Makes:1.65 lb
Category : Dessert | Cuisine : Indian

Ingredients   

All purpose flour/Maida - 2 cups

Brown Sugar -2 cups

Unsalted butter(softened) - 1 cup

Eggs - 5

Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Salt - a pinch

Vanilla extract - 1 tbsp

For Soaking:

Orange juice - 1 cup

Grape juice - 1/2 cup

Chopped nuts(Almonds,Cashews,Walnuts,Hazel nuts,Pistachios) - 1 cup 

Raisins(Black) - 3/4 cup

Tutty fruity+cherries - 1 cup

Orange Zest (top layer of orange peel)) - 1 tbsp

 

For Sugar caramelization:

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Water - 1/4 cup

Boiling water - 1/4 cup

For Spice Mix:

Cinnamon - 2 inch piece

Cloves - 5

Cardamom -2

Method:

1. The first step is soaking. Chop the nuts you needed to add. Put the nuts in a mixing bowl along with raisins, Tutty Fruity, Cherries & Orange zest & mix well.

2. Prepare a cup of fresh Orange juice & 1/2 a cup of grape juice. Add those juices to the above mixture in the bowl.

3. Allow overnight or 1 day to get those dryfruits & nuts to get soaked well & absorb those juices. I allowed to soak it for a day.

A day after..look how the fruits & nuts absorbed the juice.

4. Now comes the Caramelization part. Add 1/2 cup of sugar in a heavy bottomed vessel & a little water, say 1/4 cup or even less. Allow it to boil till all the sugar got dissolved & a thick syrup consistency is reached. It should be brown. Turn off the stove. 

While that process is going on keep ready 1/4 cup of  boiling water. Now add the boiling water to the thick, brown sugar syrup. The syrup will harden a bit. Turn on the heat again & heat till the sugar crystals dissolve. Once all the sugar crystals are dissolved & you get a smooth syrup (just like honey consistency) turn off the heat. Set aside & let it cool while you proceed with the cake preparation.

5. Add 1/2 cup of sugar, cloves, cinnamon stick & cardamom in a small mixer jar/blender & make it a fine powder.

6. Sieve 2 cups of all purpose flour/maida & set aside. Add softened butter in a mixing bowl & blend well with a hand whisk or an electric whisk.Then add 5 eggs & blend well. Now add caramalized sugar syrup, powdered sugar & spice mix & blend.

To the blended mixture add the remaining 1 cup of sugar, a tbsp of Vanilla extract, all purpose flour, a pinch of salt, baking soda & baking salt and blend well for 2 mins.

7. Finally add the soaked nuts & fruits mixture along with the juice to the above blended mixture. Blend those well. The mixture should be neither thick nor watery. It should be in the consistency shown in the pic. 

   Coat the cake tin/pan with butter & dust it with little flour. Or you can place a butter paper if u have.

8. Pour the blended cake mix to the coated cake pan evenly. 

9. Preheat the conventional oven to 350 F. Bake it for 40-50 mins. If you are baking in 10 inch pan it may take 70 mins. Check after 40 mins inserting a tooth pick. If it comes out clean without sticking, your cake is done & ready to take it out from the oven.

10. Allow it to cool completely & then make pieces.

Now the yummy Plum cake is ready to eat!🍰

Points to be noted:

• You can coat the soaked dry fruits & nuts with 3 tbsp of flour before blending so that it wont get deposited at the bottom while baking. 

• If you want to make this cake instantly without soaking for a day, you can boil those dried fruits, nuts & juices altogether for 5 to 6 mins in medium flame. Allow to cool completely & then add it to the cake mix batter.

• Don't skip adding Orange zest. It adds more flavor to the cake. You can add less cloves if u want less spice flavor. I added more to supress the egg smell.