Paapad Ka Subzi

Appala Kootu:

Pappad Ka Subzi. Appalam Kootu Curry. Aalu-Pappad ka Subzi.

This is my Brother's favourite dish. Whenever he goes to India...Mommy will try to fix them! So....when last time I went to home, I made them for him! Guess he liked it!:) We made it to go with our Vatha Kuzhambu...nice variation from Sutta Appalam!

Ingredients:

Potatoes 2 large (boiled, peeled & cubed)
Chana dal 1 cup soaked in water
Pappad/Appalam 7-10 (fried in oil/toasted in microwave)
Salt
Turmeric 1/4 spoon
Chili powder 1/2 spoon
Green chilis 4 chopped
Ginger 2" grated
Garlic 6 beads chopped
Onion 1 large finely chopped
Tomato 1 large chopped
Curry leaves few
Cilantro few
Mustard seeds 1/4 spoon
Cumin seeds 1/4 spoon
Asafoetida 1/4 spoon
Oil few spoons.

Method:

Cook chana dal in a pan...with little salt. And retain the dal alone. Do not over cook them. Set aside

Mash potatoes gently.....leave them little bit chunky here and there, set aside.

In a wide wok, heat oil. Add mustard, cumin, asafoetida, curry leaves. Wait till they pop up.

Add chilies, ginger, garlic and onions. Fry real good...till the raw odour leave the pan.

Now add tomatoes...wait till they wilt up.

Add salt, turmeric and chili powder. Now stir-in mashed potatos, cooked dal and cracked pappads. Mix well...cover and cook for few minutes.

Remove from heat and add cilantro leaves.

Enjoy as a side dish with Vatha kuzhambu...nice variation for sutta appalam!

Akhrot Halwa

Akhrot Halwa:(Version 2)

Walnut Halwa. Akhrot Halwa. Nuts Halwa. Pecan Halwa.

Its again my favourite Mughalai Style recipe. Akhrot Halwa is famous around North-Arcot belt. Its prepared during Ramadhan month! Rich in nuts satisfy you after long fasting hours! Myself and my Brother like to have it quite often. It is Yummy and has very different taste from regular halwa's. Probably because they use lots of 'milk gova/khoya' here. Hmmmm, cant wait to have it!!!

So...there is no great difference between my version 1 & 2. I have tossed plenty of whole nuts for decoration. Used home-made ghee and twist here is actually the food color! Although I hate to color my food with chemicals...I did it this time....just once!

Ingredients:

Walnuts 2 cup slightly toasted and grated
Ghee 2 cup
Sugar 2 cup
Milk gova/khoya 2 cup
Heavy cream/milk 1 litre
Condensed milk 1 cup
Cardamon seeds powder 1 spoon
Food color of your choice
Favourite nuts of your choice for decoration.

Method:


Toast/ fry in ghee...all the decoration nuts first and set aside.

Mix sugar and heavy cream and boil them, reduce it into half(maybe add cardamon seeds powder too)

In a separate pan, heat ghee and add gova, fry it real good. let it get loosened up first and slightly change color. That is golden brown. Do not fry beyond this point. It may become too brown.

So now to this fried gova add reduced milk. Further add condensed milk to.

Toss your grated walnuts + color and cook them. When the halwa consistency is achieved, it leaves the pan. Maybe one can run few more spoons of ghee at this point.

It turns up into dark velvety brown color. With distinct aroma. Now toss the fried nuts from step 1 to it. Mix well! Serve this after heavy meals as dessert. Heaven!!!

Makkan Peda:

Arcot Makkan Peda.

Makkan Peda is quite famous sweet around North Arcot Districts. After a nice Arcot Biriyani....treating with Makkan peda is kind of special! My lecturer cum friend Punitha mam(she is from Melvishaaram!) she used to bring home made 'makkan peda' & 'Mutton Kheema Balls' for me! She is not only a very good teacher, a dear friend to me and an excellent cook! She is the one...who shared most of the secret recipes from arcot belt! like Mutton Kebabs, Minced Meat Balls, Makkan Peda....etc.

Ingredients:

Kowa(sugarless) - 250 gms
All purpose flour few spoons(to knead-optional)
Cooking soda - a pinch
Yogurts 1 cup
0i1/ Ghee for deep frying.

For stuffing:

Sliced almonds 1 spoon
Chopped cashews 1 spoon
Saarai Paruppu(I don't know in English) 1 spoon
Pumpkin seeds 1 spoon
Raisins 1 spoon.

For sugar syrup:

Sugar 1 1/2 cups
Water - 1 cup
Saffron few strands.

Method:

Mix all the ingredients for stuffing together. set side.

Prepare sugar syrup of sticky consistency. Set aside t cool down.

Mix soda with few spoons of unmelted ghee.... till it becomes frothy.

Now mix the sugarless kowa and all purpose flour...bring them to crumbled stage.

Add yogurts and knead them to make a smooth fissure less dough.
Keep well covered for about an hour or so.

Now make equal parts out of it....as big as large lemon/orange size. Push a spoon full of stuffing inside it. Repeat the same for all the remaining dough and stuffing.

Then gently tap their sides...its should be in saucer shape(enterprise space ship shape)

Deep fry them gently in ot ghee...till golden to reddish brown outer. Remove and leave over kitchen tissues. Then immerse in the sugar syrup.

Let the pedas to soak in the syrup for really really long time. The pedas should be very soft and like melting in your mouth. Serve chilled!

Vellore Fruit Halwa:

Vellore Fruit Halwa. Fruit Halwa.Vellore Jothi Sweet Stall Style Fruit halwa.

Vellore Jothi Sweet Stall Style - 'Fruit Halwa' really tastes better! Maybe generous amount of ghee and freshly prepared kowa, makes it unique and outstanding! Well...its one of my favourite Sweet dish from the town!

Since it is called 'Fruit Hlawa' don't confuse yourself with any kind of fruit! They use just 'pumpkin'! Well...it took me years to figure this! Nothing tough about the recipe....but using fresh ghee and kowa makes it really wonderful!!!

Ingredients:

White Pumpkin/Winter melon - pulp grated 2 cups
Dry Coconut - grated 1 cup
Fresh Kowa(sugarless) 1 cup
Tooty-frooty 1/4 cup(multi colored)
Organic yellow food color/saffron
Pineapple essence few drops (optional)
Cashew nuts halved 1/4 cup
Golden raisin 1/4 cup
Sugar 3/4 cup
Ghee 1 whole cup.

Method:

Prepare a pearly consistency sugar syrup. Stir-in grated pumpkin and grated coconut.

Cook over medium heat...with constant stirring. Add food color, essence, tooty-frooty, cashew and raisins to it. Continue cooking. Maybe till halwa consistency is achieved.

Add kowa and ghee now. Let them blend to it. Remove from heat.

Serve chilled as a dessert.

Rawa Kesari - Tamil Nadu Style

Kesari:

Semolina Halwa. Semolina Halva. Semolina Haluva. Rawa Kesari. Rava Kesari. Rawa Halwa. Sooji Ki Halwa. Sooji Halva. Sooji Halwa.

Kesari, name comes from the word 'kesar'/saffron...as it is traditional way to make this simple pheasant dessert. But later, saffron is replaced by food colors(especially orange). Only I could only associate 'Kesari' as lovely orange colored Halwa.

Pari, my brother loves this so much. So, I made this when I visited home.

Ingredients:

Semolina 1 cup
Sugar ¾ cup
Milk 3-4 cups
Cardamom seeds powder 1 spoon
Orange food color less than ¼ spoon
Cashew nuts 20 - halved
Golden raisins 1 fistful (dry grapes)
Ghee ½ + ½ cup.

Method:

Heat a non-stick skillet. Dry toast ‘semolina’ for few minutes…..till fragrant. Transfer it to a bowl. Set aside.

In the same skillet, heat ½ cup of ghee. Add cashew nuts and fry them till they turn to golden color. Set aside.

In the same oil, fry raisins till they pop. Set this aside too.

Now add sugar, cardamom seeds and kesar color. Add ½ cup of water and continue to boil

When it comes to boiling point. Add ‘semolina’ without forming any lumps. Use wooden spatula (greased with oil or ghee).

Further add 3-4 cups of milk + cashew nuts + raisins + ghee. Continue cooking.

When semolina is done…sucking up all the milk and moisture & oil shows up on side. Remove it from the stove and transfer it to display bowl.

Serve warm or cold as a dessert.

Simple and easy to fix dessert. I like it warm than cold. As it gets hard…when served cold.

Paruppu Saadham:(Tamizhar Style)

Nei-Paruppu. Uppu-Paruppu. Mudha Pappu.

Ghee is said to have this essential neurotransmitter 'Serotonin'! This neurotransmitter is responsible for our mood stability, feelings of well-being, appetite and satiety! This Serotonin plays a key role in memory power! Moreover ghee is treated for ulcer and body heat! It also smoothens the wrinkled skin...natural anti-aging oil!

Ingredients:

Thoor dal 1 cup
Ghee/clarified butter 1 small cup
Salt
Curry leaves
Dry red chilies 6
Mustard seeds 1 spoon
Cumin seeds 1 spoon
Chana dal 1 spoon
Urad dal 1 spoon
Asafoetida.

Method:

Wash thoor dal in running water for 2-4 times. Then soak them in plain water for about 20 minutes. Just use limited water to soak....1 cup of dal with 1 & 1/2 cup of water.

In a pressure cooker, add this soaked dal along with its water. Add salt too. Now run few spoons of ghee over this. Pressure cook them till soft. Maybe for 3 whistles.

Now in a blender, blend this cooked dal for few seconds. Then transfer them into serving bowl/display vessel.

In a small pan, heat ghee. When it is smoky hot....maintain the stove over medium heat. Add mustard seeds. Allow it to pop & splutter well.

Then add chana & urad dal. Then add red chilies, cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida. Fry them till fragrant.

(Be very fast while you are frying your sesonning items....as if you delay, the chana, urad dal may become very dark. The cumin seeds may turn to charr. So its safe to maintain the stove over medium heat...while frying these)

Now run this sesonning over the dal. Mix them using a laddle.

Serve this warm along with plain steam cooked rice. One can run few more spoons of ghee to the rice....before serving this.

Its really simple & great dish. One can fix this within minutes.

Fruit Halwa:(Vellore Style)

This is one of my ever favourite Sweet from my native town. As a matter of fact, I rarely found it good.....anywhere other than from Vellore. Hey, one important thing! Though its called 'Fruit Halwa'.....it doesnt actually has any fruits in it, to my knowledge. But still they call this same. Anyways.....here it goes!

Ingredients:

Thinly grated White Pumpkin 2 cup
Thinly grated Coconut 2 cup
Tootty Fruity - 1 cup (green + red + yellow)
Green grape raisins(dry grapes-green)-1/2 cup
Cashewnuts 1/2 cup(splitted)
Cardamon seeds powder 1 spoon
Fresh Milk Gova sweetened 1 cup
Sugar 1 cup
Ghee 1 cup
Saffron Strands 1-2 pinch(or yellow food color)

Method:

In a wok heat few spoons of ghee and add sugar to it. Further add, 1/2 cup of water to it. Let it boil and come to syrup consistency.

To this syrup add saffron strands and cardamon seeds powder.

When pearl consistency is acheived, add pumpkin,coconut, cashew nuts and dry green grapes in it. Let it get well cooked. One could further add ghee if needed. (No need to fry cashews or grapes for this recipe)

Once halwa consistency is acheived, add tootty-fruity, milk gova and drizzle ghe on top.

Mix them thoroughly. Serve chilled.