Basundi (easy and traditional methods)

Basundi - a milk based dessert.

Basundi may seem a simple dessert with lesser ingredients but the traditional version calls for lots of time, a heavy bottom vessel.....and lot and lot of energy.

Recently I decided to make this for him in the traditional way here. But the milk was kind of sticky all the time and I took a very long time in getting a cup of this yummilacious dessert. So I replaced that version next time and and made us 2 cups of more delicious basundi in just 10 minutes. Hope many can use this recipe in this holiday season to get their favorite basundi quickly.

Ingredients:

Whole Milk - 1 liter
sugar - 12 tsp
saffron - few strands
cardamom - 8
almond - 5
cashew - 5
pista - 5
Lot of time and a heavy bottom vessel:)

Method:

Pour the milk to a heavy bottom vessel and heat till it boils.
Then reduce the temperature and let it evaporate.
Gather all the cream (பாலேடு) appearing above. Keep aside. Again go on heating(for 1 and 1/2 hour or more) in low flame with constant stirring, till it gets a very thick fluid stage.
If we go on heating we will get paalkova. So stop at this liquid stage.
(If we are using 6 cups of milk, then we will get 2 cups of basanthi).
Then add the gathered creamy layers along with finely chopped nuts, sugar, saffron and cardamom powder.
Switch off. Let it come to room temperature and keep refrigerated for 2-3 hours before serving.

Basundi is ready!

Easier version:

This quick basundi version will come handy when we want to present a rich dessert with limited effort.

Ingredients:

Sweetened Condensed milk - 1/2 cup
whole milk - 1 1/2 cup
paneer (Indian cottage cheese) - 4 cubes
cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
pista, cashew, almond - each 5

Method:

Bring the milk to a boil and wait few seconds till it looses its raw smell.
Switch off.
Add the condensed milk and mix well.
Crumble the paneer and mix with the above.
Add the coarsely crushed nuts and saffron .
If needed add more sugar and refrigerate.
Quick basundi is ready!

Serving suggestion:

keep refrigerated for 2 - 3 hours and serve chill after a hot lunch.
Serve in ice cream bowls.

Idiyappam and Paaya

After posting the idiyappam recipe, I couldn't resist raving about this  famous combo, 'Idiyaappam with aattukkaal paaya'. It resembles the famous Nihari dish and has some history behind. click to read. Traditionally the paaya should be cooked overnight or 6-8 hours. But I am narrating a simple process.

Preparing 'paaya and idiyappam' together is a time consuming process for me. I always plan the paaya for lunch with some ghee fried rice and save some paaya for dinner......So that I can leisurely indulge myself with my idiyappam process by evening:)

Idiyappam with aattukaal paya (goat leg curry).

Here is the link to both of my recipes. Enjoy!

Idiyappam
Paya

Tips:

I suggest using white raw rice flour(pacharisi mavu) for making idiyappam to serve with paya. That will yield very soft idiyappam (like the street foods) while the red rice flour idiyappam is good to go with sugar.

Idiyappam

I don't know what took me so long to post this dish. Idiyappam is a very popular main course dish in South India, next to Idly. Idiyappam is always recommended for easy absorption and hence a quick energy. It is preferred by elderly people, children and for those in convalescent period.It is a rice based dish.
Nowadays instant idiyappam (sevai / dried rice noodles) is more popular because of time constraint. Anyways preparing idiyappam from scratch yields a very good quality version. Xav loves home made idiyappam than the instant one, so I have to master this art for our Saturdays:)

Idiyappam squeezed on idly plate. My idiyappam press is also on picture:)

There are many kinds of idiyappam presses in India. I use my murukku nazhi with idiyappam plate, but if we need to make more number of idiyappams, the above tripod style press is more convenient (I had one like this in Madras...couldn't carry it here..hmm...So kitchen gadget lovers should buy this one...hi..hi).I got this image from this website.

Idyappam with store bought samba red rice flour. I used double horse brand red rice flour.

Petal-soft idiyappam waiting for its matching side dish.

My favorite combo:  shredded coconut + sugar with idiyappam.

Hubby's choice:  Idiyappam with  coconut milk and sugar.

For 3 big size idiyappam:

Ingredients:
Raw rice flour (pacharisi) - 2 cup
(puzhungal arisi flour can also be used. But the flavor will be different).
water - 1 1/2 cup
salt - 1/4 tsp
ghee / oil - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Dry roast the rice flour, till it gets a sandy texture.
Store for future use or start preparing right now.
Bring water to rolling boil with salt, ghee.
Pour over the roasted flour and mix to get a soft chapati dough stage.
Divide into 3 equal portions.
From one part, take a handful and stuff inside the idiyappam press (idiyappam nazhi).
Grease a idiyappam plate or idly plate with a drop of ghee / oil.
Squeeze the strings in continuous fashion. Place inside idly cooker or idiyappam steamer.
(I use pressure cooker for both idly and idiyappam.Pour 2 cups water in the cooker.Leave the bottom-most plate empty and keep the idiyappam plate above it, as shown in picture. This will ensure the idiyappams to get cooked without getting wet. I keep it for 10 minutes in high steam without putting the weight valve).
Likewise steam all the idiyappams.
The whole process will take 1 hour.
In the mean time prepare the side dish and serve hot.

Serving suggestions:

Serve idiyappam as dinner or breakfast.
The popular side dishes are lamb paya (aattukkaal paaya), mutton kulambu, vegetable kuruma, shredded coconut with sugar, coconut milk mixed with jaggery solution and cardamom or sugar.
Idiyappam with paya is more popular in Tamilnadu.

Tips:

Dry idiyappam are commonly available in market as instant idiyappam. They are easy to make, but the home made ones are definitely more delicious.
Ready-made idiyappam flours are more easier, as they are already double roasted and hence we can start preparing the idiyappam immediately.
If we want to make our own flour, then soak 2 kg of raw rice for 2 - 4 hours. Drain and let dry in shade for 1 hour. Then grind in the nearby mill or your mixie to a fine state. Roast it at home to get the sandy texture, let cool completely and store in air tight container for 2 months.
I prefer buying plain white rice flour.

Inippu sundal

Sundal / sprout stir fry is a healthy Indian-snack.While all the other sundals remain spicy there are a few variations too.  Karamani and green gram are more suitable for making a sweeter version. It can be classified as a healthy dessert because of the benefits of red cow peas.

Other names: thattam payaru inippu sundal , karamani, red cow peas, red chowri, red chawli, azuki beans, small red beans.

Sweet karamani sundal.

Ingredients:

Red cow peas - 1 cup
jaggery - 1 cup (or less)
freshly shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
cardamom - 2
ghee / coconut oil - 1 tsp
cashew - 4
raisin - few

How to cook the cow peas?

Add twice the measure of  water to the unsoaked karamani (red cow peas) and pressure cook till 2 whistle. Then reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes.
If soaked overnight: add enough water to cover karamani (red cow peas) and pressure cook till 1 whistle. Then reduce heat to minimum and cook for 5 minutes.
Soaked red chowri can be cooked in stove top too. But it will require more water and time.
Dry roasting the bean reduces the cooking time in stove top method.

Method:

Wash and cook the red chowri beans. Drain the excess water from cooked dhal. The water can be used in making curries, soup, rasam etc.

In a separate vessel add 1/2 cup water to jaggery and dissolve it by heating. Pour the clear jaggery solution to a bowl and discard the sediments.

Heat the oil / ghee in a wok and put the cashews, raisins. Let the raisin puff in minimum heat. Pour the jaggery solution and heat till it gets thick.Add the cooked beans and reduce heat. Wait till it looses the excess moisture and turns grainy.

Switch off and sprinkle the cardamom powder, shredded coconut. Mix well.

Sweet Sundal is ready!

Serving Suggestion:

Serve as snack.
It can be wrapped inside a chapati and served as sweet rolls.
Excess inippu sundal can be kept frozen and used later for making  boli / sweet paratha, susiyam or stuffed kozhukattai.

Vegetable biriyani in cooker

Cooker briyani is very common among Tamilnadu people.Though biriyani experts won't accept it as a real briyani, I love this version because of the taste and simplicity. If we have all the ingredients in hand, we can make this briyani within an hour.'Cooker briyani' may be my first dish under the supervision of my mom. Nothing can beat mom's simple cooker biriyani and I can never achieved her perfection till now:) Her secrets are very good quality ghee and cashews, which I hesitate to use because of diet. But I am narrating her procedure here. This kind of biriyani has been a challenge to me since I got used to the dhum / tawa process, as we can't check the rice often in cooker method. But tried this for my blog and got it successful. Posting this fool-proof method for those 'briyani lovers' longing for mom's style briyani:)

Vegetable briyani with potato chips and carrot onion raita.

Vegetables:

Cauli flower - 1/4 flower, potato - 1, butter beans(cooked)-1/2 cup ,
green beans - 10 , carrot -1 , green peas - 1/2 cup .

Other Ingredients:

Basmathi rice / Jeeraga samba raw rice - 2 1/4 cups
salt - to taste
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red onion - 1 (big)
green chillis - 5 (slit).
Lemon - 1/4
water - (rice x 2) - 1 = 3 1/2 - curd measure = 3 cups
curd - 1/2 cup

To dry roast and powder:
(or use garam masala powder)

Fennel - 1 tsp
star aniseed - 1/2
kali jeera - 1/4 tsp
cinnamom stick - 2 inch
cardamom - 6
cloves - 4
cumin - 1/4 tsp

To temper: (whole spices)

bay leaves - 2
cashew nuts -10
raisins- 10.
ghee - 5 tbsp

Masala 1:

Tomato - 2

Masala 2:

cilantro- 20 tender plants
mint leaf -1  cup leaves
green chilly - 10
cashew - 5

Masala 3:

Ginger - 2 inch
Garlic - 5 cloves

Preparation:

wash and clean the vegetables. peel the skin of carrot, potato and cut into long thin slices.
Cut the green beans in to long pieces.
Pluck 5 -6 florets from the cauliflower.
Defreeze the green peas.

Wash the rice and soak it for 1/2 an hour.

Grind all the pastes separately.

Chop onion, chilly into long thin slices and keep aside.

Method:

Heat ghee in a broad vessel or cooker.
Add the bay leaves and items given under tempering.
Then goes the chopped onion .
Fry it till golden brown and add the ginger garlic paste and stir well till the raw smell goes.
Now add the tomato paste and cook till the oil oozes out of it.
Then add the cilantro , mint paste and cook till the oil start oozing out. Now put the vegetables and add salt, powdered garam masala. Just stir well. Don't cook them now.
Now add the soaked rice and uncut green chillies to the cooker vessel along with the prepared masala. Squeeze some lime juice over.
Boil the require water separately and pour water, curd, mix well now and check for salt in this stage.Let it come to a boil. (Boiling the water before adding helps in evenly cooking the rice , otherwise sometimes we get some uncooked rice while making briyani).
Close with the cooker lid and put a pressure valve.

(I use a cooker vessel inside the cooker and pour some water around the base cooker, just like idly cooking. Mine is a 10 liter cooker, but we can prepare it directly in cooker if we have a small pressure cooker).

Wait till a whistle comes. Reduce the flame to medium and cook for exactly 5 minutes. Switch off and open lid once the pressure is gone.
Add a little ghee over the biriyani and wait for few minutes. Don't stir now.

Vegetable biriyani in cooker is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Take out the briyani carefully without mashing the whole rice and serve hot.
Serve vegetable biryani hot with onion raitha  and potato chips.
Serves 4 people or more people.

My other briyanis:

Layered vegetable biryani,
Hyderabadi vegetable briyani
vegetable tawa biriyani.

Kathamba Chutney (mixed chutney)

Kadambam / kathambam - mix of varieties; Chutney - Indian dipping.

Even though coconut chutney is a common side dish for Idly , there are many chutnies in my native that will make us vote for the homely Idly dosa. Every ingredient in this chutney is a blessing that makes it healthy and flavorful.

This is my mom's favorite too. I thought it will be nice to publish this as it is her birthday. Some years back, one fine morning my Amutha Anni (Sister inlaw) prepared it with Idly during her first visit. It was a big delight for our taste buds that got used to the regular coconut chutney and also it was her first dish in my dad's home. We were all surprised to see the young doctor preparing that chutney extremely delicious. Mom liked the chutney very much and told everyone she knew of it:) I fondly remember the way she admired anni and after that , this mixed chutney has become my favorite too.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Onion - 1 big
Cilantro / coriander leaf - a small bunch
mint leaf - handful
curry leaf - 2 sprig
tomato - 1
garlic - 2
ginger - 1 inch
cumin - 1/4 tsp
salt - to taste
tamarind - 2 inch
coconut - 1 tbsp
red chilly - 5
black gram - 1 tbsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
oil - 1 tbsp + 1 tsp

Method:

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok.
Fry the dry red chillies, urad dhal (black gram), till the chillies turn glossy and take them out.
In the same wok, add the onion , ginger, garlic and fry till onion gets a golden color.
Add the tomato and cook till it mashes.
At the same time wash the cilantro and mint leaves to remove any impurities.
(I wash thrice or till it runs clear).
Slide in the clantro, curry leaf, mint leaf and stir for a few seconds / till they wilt.
Switch off. Put the salt, cumin, fried chillies, dhal and let them cool.

Grind the ingredients with 1 tbsp water.

Take the chutney in a serving bowl.

In a separate wok pop the mustard seeds in 1 tsp sesame oil, slide in some curry leaves and run over the chutney.

Mixed chutney is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve hot as side dish with idly or dosai.
Also goes well with chapathi.

Kappa kizhangu

Yezhu ilai kizhangu poriyal / aal valli kizhangu/  yucca root stir fry /  cassava / tapioca stir fry.

Though I am calling it as poriyal, this is not a poriyal for a Keralite. I have seen them serving this as 'kappa' along with fish curry. This is a main dish like rice.

I got introduced to this kappa kizhangu dish, through my mom's friend, Saranya Amma. Many years ago, she was our new neighbor when we did the housewarming in appa's new house. Her husband had a great taste for gardening and he planted a lot of tapioca roots in their backyard along with many beans and greens. Their kitchen garden was marvelous and we like the way she mingles with us all. I learned some gardening skills from that aunt. The tapioca grew extremely fast and he harvested lumps of roots, which they shared with the whole street:) She introduced us to many dishes using kappa.
One among them is the stir fry or poriyal. The more moistened version is taken along with fish curry just like rice as kappa.

Kappa Kizhangu.

Ingredients:

Yucca root - 2 lb (or) 1 (big)
green or red chillies - 3
salt - to taste
turmeric powder - 1 tsp
shredded fresh coconut - 1 cup
Coconut oil - 1 tsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig

Method:

Wash the root to remove the soil.
Slice it into big chunks (4 inch long) and remove the bark just like we do with a sharpener and  pencil:)
See 'How to remove the yucca skin?'. It is interesting:)
Then wash again and put the chunks in a big vessel and add enough water to cover it. Add the turmeric powder and 1 tbsp salt. Cook covered for 15 minutes. Check by piercing a knife. It should pass through easily and the root should start falling apart. Otherwise cook again till it becomes soft.

Remove the cooked roots and discard the water.
Chop it into 1 inch cubes.

Heat the oil in a wok and add the mustard seeds. Once it finish popping add the finely chopped chillies, curry leaves. Then slide in the yucca cubes and stir well. Add little more turmeric and salt if needed. Sprinkle a handful of water and cook covered to make more moist.

Switch off and add the freshly shredded coconut.

Kappa kizhangu is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as main course along with fish curry.
Also can be simply served as tea time snack without any curry.