Bobatlu - Ugadi Shubhakankshalu

Puran Poli: (Happy Telugu New Year)

Other Names: Bobbatlu, Puran Poli, Paruppu Poli, Boli, Obbottu, Bobatlu. Polelu.





Bobattlu ( Andra Special Sweet)

Ingredients:

Maida/All purpose flour 3 cups
Salt
Turmeric 1/4 spoon
Cooking soda 1/4 spoon
Warm water 1 cup
Ghee/clarified butter/sesame oil 1 cup
No working flour/dusting flour.

Dough Preparation:

In a large bowl add flour. Mix salt, turmeric and soda in warm water. Add this water now to flour and prepare a smooth dough.

Add ghee/oil for further smooth finish. Now wrap the dough in a wet cloth and leave it for 1 hour.

After a hour add 1 half cup of oil to the dough and once again set it aside. leave the oiled dough for at least 4 hours/till the oil gets absorbed.

Then divide them into equal parts, small roundel by only using oil on your hands. Never use dry flour here, like making chappathi/poori.

Ingredients:

Chana dal/kadalai parrupu 1-2 cups
Jaggery 1-2 cup
Freshly grated coconut
Til seeds/black sesame seeds 4-6 spoons
Cashew nuts 1/2 1 fistful
Cardamom 8-10 powdered
Color (optional)
Ghee 1/4 cup

Filling:

Pressure cook lentils till tender. Make sure that the lentils are done and still intact in shape.

Heat ghee in a pan, add cashew nuts and sesame seeds. Add cardamom powder and jaggery. Let jaggery melt freely. Later add cooked lentils + grated coconut. Cook on low heat till the moisture is absorbed. Bring this to semi-solid and not watery anymore. If it is watery cook further, as it may ruin the poli preparation.

Poli Preparation:

Take a clean plantain leaf, smear with ghee. Place the dough roundels on it. Press with your hands to make thin rotis. Place 1-2 spoon of filling in the middle and seal them carefully, press and flatten them again.

Heat a griddle and add gee. Toast them both the sides till golden and remove from heat.

Serve warm, or at room temperature or cold as a dessert.

Carrot-Walnuts Fudge - Its Purely Decadent!

Gajjar-Akhrot Halwa:

Ingredients:

Carrots 1/4 kilo
Walnuts/Pecan 1 and 1/2 cups
Condensed milk 1/4 cup
Brown sugar 3/4 cup
Milk 1 cup
Cardamom powder 1 spoon
Ghee 1/4 cup.

Method:


Peel the carrot and chop them down.

Cook the carrots in milk till tender, puree the same.

Heat ghee in a deep, heavy bottomed vessel. Add sugar, condensed milk, cardamom and carrot paste. Keep stirring till the moisture is all sucked up.

Now add grated/pounded walnuts to it. Bring it to thick halwa consistency.

Grease a plate and spread the carrot halwa. Slice them into desired shapes.

Hope you all will enjoy this Carrot Fudge.

Ghi Alu - Ghee Roasted Potatoes

Urulai Kizhangu - Nei Varuval:

Ghee Roasted Potatoes. Asli Ghi Aloo. Desi Ghi Aloo.

Yeah, you guessed it right, had nothing to do with' on the other day. So, usual...was playing with my food, as I went throwing in few things in the pan, a new dish was born! Anyhow the result is important, technically it lacks any description tho', but I just wanted to call it 'Ghi Alu'. All I did is, got carried away with desi ghi, which happened to be very aromatic(you know). I agree, I agree...its sacred food' back home and one shouldn't abuse it. But you see, my chances of using our ethnic stuff and native vegetables are meek here (the only nearby Indian store is 150 miles away). Being a nostalgic gastronomic person...I have to treat myself, once in a while! Aaah, why am I confessing so hard over 6 teaspoons of ghi!!! Am I guilty?

Non-Vegetarian's take a look here:

Nei Kozhi - Ghee Chicken

Ingredients:

Golden Potatoes 2-4 large - sliced/cubed, whatever
Ghi/ghee/clarified butter 6-8 spoons
Garlic powder 1 spoon
Salt
Turmeric 1 pinch
Pepper powder 2-4 spoons/ or even more' as required
Curry leaves toastd and crushed
Cumin seeds 1 spoon.

Method:

In a wide pan, melt 2 spoons of ghee. Add cumin seeds and wait till they splutter.

Add potatoes, Cover and cook briefly. Once it is done, soft and tender...remove the lid. Add all the other ingredients(except remaining ghee). Now fry over high.

Add ghee whenever you feel like, once they are done crisp and aromatic, remove from heat.

Serve steaming hot:)

Nei Idly - Rethinking First Food!!!

Nei Idly - Baby's First Meal

An emotional eating habit is vanishing away in today's fast food culture!!! What brings an enjoyment in eating a meal? Why are we attached sentimentally to certain mythological foods? Knowing some basics of food (like what it is made of, where do we find them, how hard it is to produce/procure) and putting a bit of thought in the hardship' to earn a meal...are all kind of awareness' that we need to teach ourselves. Being aware of our own meals will never drive us to over eat or waste the food.

The "super-size" foods are really haunting me, in today's mechanical life. Many are happy to see an over sized meals on their cart for just few bucks...clearly it isn't leading us anywhere! To get that satiated feeling one' doesn't require a 'Super-Size' burger or pizza!! Well...eating food is an essential task of our lives, just bring a mindful awareness and an art of appreciation. Well, slow down a little the next time, when you practice 'emotional eating habit', eat in smaller portions with a great sense of appreciation of food.:)

Share With Me About Your First Happy Meal

Well...this is my favourite childhood food':) There is nothing much to rant, why it should be always me to be nostalgic? I want to hear from you all too...come on, feel free to share with me about your 'First Happy Meal'. Lets really get interactive at my comment column today:)

Recipe:

Idly
Sugar
Ghee.

You know what to do, right?!

Nei Appam

Unniappam:

Appam. Paniyaram. Unniappam. Nei Appam.

During summer vacation, We (myself and cousins) used put our Derra'(camp) at Madras, Periamet...Grandma's house. All day long is mostly fun filled activities...learning to drive bicycle in the narrow streets, playing cricket using rubber ball, passing comments on all the baldies from 4th floor, persuading Uncle to take us to the beach, light house, circus, what ever...definitely tired by evening!!!Grandma used to make this 'nei appam' in the evening and we will devour it, in minutes.

This is one recipe, that I requested my Auntie to bring the original recipe for me to try. She is so kind to photocopy all her recipe collection and brought that as a sweet surprise to me, at the airport(when I headed back here). Although I made them using this fancy griddle, my grandma used to bring the same shape without any special equipment...she directly fries the batter in hot ghee, yep' still it turns out very uniform in shape, fluffy and so spongy! Hmmm, kind of still working on it!! Here you go, my short cut version till then...

Ingredients:

Raw rice 1 cup
Jaggery 1/2 cup
Coconut milk 1/4 cup
Coconut grated few spoons
Cardamom powder 1/4 spoon
Dash of ginger powder
Ghee/clarified butter for deep frying/pan frying.

Method:

Soak rice for several hours and wet-grind the same to thick batter.

Add all the other ingredients to it, except oil.

Now heat oil, in a pan...and spoon-in the batter and fry the same, till golden brown to reddish brown.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Kuzhi Paniyaram

Kuzhi Paniyaram:

Kaara Paniyaram. Paniyaram. Kuzhi Paniyaram.

My mommy never made this dish. But I always longed for it! I happened to taste this in some lollu restaurant(kind of like mess), alright. I actually like the shape of the dish...more than the taste...its so 'cute'.

This time, when I went home for vacation...I saw this 'kuzhi paniyaram tawa/vessel' in the kitchen. Our maid said..."Akka neither your Dad or Mommy like this paniyaram that I make, it would be better...if you take this tawa with you". I was so angry at my Dad...said, 'okay this is such a yummy breakfast...probably the cook didnt do it well for you'll...I will fix it, you are going to love it'.

I used the dosa batter...spiced it up, did exactly the way they do. To my surprise, it turned up great (for the first time). Once agian, neither my Dad or Mom liked it...they wanted the usual 'Dosa' or 'Idly'! Hmmm, what can I say!:( I happily packed this 'tawa' for myelf here!:)

Ingredients:

Dosa batter 2 cups
Spanish onions small 2
Greenc hilies 3
Salt
Asafoetida 1/4 spoon
Chana dal 2 spoons
Urad dal 2 spoons
Mustard seeds 1 spoon
Cumin seeds 1 spoon
Curry leaves few
Sesame oil few spoons.

Method:

In a wide wok, heat oil. Add all the spices and followed by finely chopped chilies and onions. Fry real good, till they turn golden color.

Now add these to batter. Mix well.

In the paniyaram vessel, smear enough oil. Fill the batter up in the laddles...

Slow cook them over low-medium heat. Once yous ee some golden color on the sides, carefully turn them using a bambook skewer/ they do give a sharp needle to go witht his vessel, better use it.

Cook them ont he other side too.

Serve warm with chutney. hmmm, I love it.

Nei Kozhi:

Ghee Fried Chicken. Neyyi Kodi Koora. Ghi Murg.

Ingredients:

Whole Chicken(bone-in, skin-on, cut into chunks)
Ghee 1 cup
Ginger 1" minced
Garlic 4 beads minced
Purple onion 1 small bulb grated
Country tomatoes 3 finely chopped
Salt
Turmeric powder 1/4 spoon
Chili powder 1 spoon
Cloves 2
Cinnamon sticks 1
Cardamom pods 3 crushed
Curry leaves to garnish.

Method:

In a wide wok, heat 1/2 a cup of ghee. Add cloves, cinnamon and cardamom pods. Wait till it pops.

Add ginger and garlic...fry till its fragrant.

Add onion paste and fry real good. Maybe till its aromatic as well.

Add tomatoes and wait to it becomes pulpy and oil show up on sides.

Stir-in chicken and fry real good.

Add salt, turemric and chili powders. Cover and cook over medium heat. Let it get doen with its own water.

When chicken is tender and oil shows up on sides, remove from heat.

Heat remaining ghee in a seperate pan, crisply fry curry leaves in it.

Now garnish this curry leaves on chicken.

Serve warm to go wtih chappathis/plain rice.

Nei Appam:(Tamizhar Style)

Appam. Arisi Appam. Ghee Fried Appam. Rice Appam. Chawal ki Appam. Inippu Appam.

Ingredients:

Rice 1 cup
Jaggery 3/4 cup grated
Coconut grated 1/4 cup
Cardamon seeds powder - 1/2 spoon
Coconut milk 1/2 cup
Ghee for frying.

Method:

Soak rice for 2 whole hours. Then wet-grind it into thick batter.....using coconut milk.

To this batter, add grated jaggery, coconut and cardamon seeds powder. After adding jaggery the batter may become thin. (so try to make thick batter in the first step)

Variation 1:

Smear ghee in the traditional 'appam tawa' or 'kuzhi-paniyaram tawa'. Run spoonfull of batter in each pit. Cook over medium heat. When it gets browned at one side. Using a edge of the spoon turn this to other side and continue cooking. When it is done....transfer to serving plate.

Variation 2:

Or simply heat ghee in deep kadai/wok. Run spoonful of batter like a bonda' in the hot ghee. Fryt hem till golden-reddish brown. Transfer to kitchen tissues.

Serve warm as a snack or dessert.