Rava Kesari

Yellow color rava kesari is my favorite.

Rava kesari is the classic Indian dessert appreciated along with breakfast.
Moreover we can classify the 'Rava kesari' as the trade mark of TamilNadu's weddings and auspicious occasions. (I am not sure , if it is a must in other parts of India / if it is called by other name...). We can tell it as a dessert served along with breakfast or with fried items like bajji, sojji, vadai and filter coffee in the evening. .
The very sight of the server coming with a big vessel filled with 'ghee flavored' Rava kesari would make many lips to bloom.
Then only all will turn their attention towards the fluffy Idlies, the ghee smeared Venn Pongal and Uthappam served with piping hot sambar and chutney , on the tender banana leaf.
Traditionally it is made in saffron color by adding the food color.
But many make it in yellow color also.
It is the tradition to serve the sweet before all the items. (But the guests would be waiting to get the meal served completely before tasting).
Guests should be encouraged a lot to go for more and more servings while not asking so points out the lack of care for the guests, as the Indian tradition emphasizes treating the guest like God , irrespective of anything.

There is a poem / kural in Tamil from the famous Thirukkural written by Thiru Valluvar (virudhombal 10)
"Moppak kuzhiyum anichham;mugamthirindhu
Nokkak kuzhaiyum virundhu"
This kural (poem) compares the delicate nature of the guests with the rare and tender flower called 'anicham' which will wilt even when we smell it.
How nice . right. So it is the Indian culture to serve the guests even before they ask for more:)

Anyway the lingering taste of kesari will bring back the memories of so many unforgettable weddings and occasions to us.
Have a sweet weekend!

Special Note:
I got this recipe from a small scale but successful caterer in Tirunelveli,TN, India. If you want to make a fool proof one , just read the highlighted lines carefully. This recipe has helped me a lot while making bulk quantities, as it will not demand any muscle work like the home made version:)

Using bright orange food color in kesari is more traditional.

Rava kesari to celebrate Baby Jesus' Birthday, the Christmas, 2011

Ingredients:

Ravai / rava / semolina / sooji - 1/2 cup
water - 1.5  cups (thrice that of rava)
sugar - 1 cup (twice that of rava)
cashewnuts - 10
raisins - 15
ghee - 2 tsp
orange / yellow food color - 1/8 tsp
Cardamom - 4
(Powder the cardamom and discard the skin. (I put the skin in to the tea).)

Method:

Heat a thick wok / pan , which has a proper tight lid.

Then heat a tsp of ghee and fry the broken cashews , raisins one by one and keep aside.

Take out.

In the same pan add 1 more tsp ghee. 

Add ravai.

Dry roast the rava till a very few (not every particle)turns a mild red with a nice aroma.
Transfer it to a dry plate.

Add 3 cups of water in the same pan and let it come to a boil.

Add sugar.
Then add the food color and mix well.

As the water starts bubbling , reduce the flame (almost near switch off point).

Now add the rava in a wide spread manner . Do not put as lump in one place . 

Add it slowly without stirring and cover it tightly with a lid.

Add the fried cashews and raisins and cardamom powder.

Cook Covered in LOW HEAT.

Allow the rava to be cooked in that low heat .

Do not stir the kesari now, as it may create lumps.

After 5 minutes open and check if all the water has been absorbed by the rava.

 

Mix gently.

Perfect Rava kesari is ready !

 Rava kesari starts leaving the sides of the wok.  The end product should not be dry but somewhat sticky.
Rava kesari is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as dessert along with breakfast or evening tea and spicy snacks.

Serves 6 people.

Indian style deep fried Chicken .

This is an authentic recipe for deep fried chicken. Long before the chicken 65 and kebabs starts showing up, this old version has been decorating the festive platters in India. There is an interesting story behind it also.
I heard this from my mom's aunt, my grandma who lived in Tuticorin, TN, India. She was an out spoken lady , blessed with great hospitality too. No one would return hungry / sad from her house and that was her motto also.
While preparing this fry, she told us how the women in lesser fortunate families prepared this fry. It occupied my mind and always wonder how they sustained a healthy relationship with such a big family. Lot to know:)
Coming to the story.....
In those days people lived in joint families or had a lot of kids. So ladies would secure some nice eatables and preserve them for the hubby who comes late after many have finished dinner and gone to bed. (Some 60-70 years back, people would prefer to sleep by sunset... funny.huh!).
While making the Kozhi kulambu , the lady of the house would drop all the chicken pieces in to the kulambu. Later on she would pick up a few pieces and preserve them for her hubby . Even though the elders knew it, they would pretend as they didn't watch them:) Good in-laws and lucky DIL ! As soon as the man arrived / takes bath , she would brush the cooked chicken pieces with the masalas and deep fry them to win over her his love. The man would have dinner in the vast kitchen itself and would leave a share for the wife .
You may ask about the others in the family , but the story ends here depicting the poverty and joint family culture at that time.
What a romantic citation . Right. .
Though these kind of stories may seem funny , we can understand the cravings of common people when hotels and restaurants were rare.
Here goes the recipe...



Ingredients:
Chicken drumstick - 4
Lemon juice / vinegar / curd - 2 tbsp
Red chilly powder - 2 tsp
coriander powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
chilly garlic paste - 1 tsp
salt - to taste
oil - 1 cup

Method:
Wash and clean the chicken drumsticks with some Turmeric powder.
Cut a few small slits on it or prick it with fork.
Bring 2 cups of water to boil. Add the chicken along with ginger garlic paste, Turmeric powder, salt and cook till the meat becomes tender.
Filter and reserve the soup for any other purpose or discard.
In a large mixing bowl add all the other ingredients except oil and mix well.
After the chicken pieces get cooled, add it to the masala prepared.
Heat oil in a wok.
After it reaches the smoking point, reduce flame and carefully slip the chicken pieces one or two at a time.
Fry till the outer layer turns red.
Then take it out using a slotted spatula and drain oil on paper towels.
Indian style deep fried chicken drumsticks is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with any rice + non veg kulambu / rice + sambar / or as starter with Indian breads.

Short cut:
We can just drop the cleaned drumsticks while making a chicken curry and take them out after 10 minutes. Then let it cool , mix with the masala in the bowl and deep fry. In this way we can reduce the wastage of soup and minimise the effort to make a ginger garlic paste separately.