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.

Kozhi kulambu.

Kozhi (pronounce as koli) is the Tamil translation for chicken. Before the arrival of the broiler chickens in India, the home grown chickens would sense a tough time during the festival days .Yes , it is true, there was a time when people would not get chicken from grocery stores. Instead the lady of the house should have a strong mind to process the bird. My mom being a fragile lady, used to instruct the maid to finish all the processing outside our gate and to bring the cut pieces. So having chicken curry would be a distant dream for those chicken hearted people in that period. But getting goat meat was not that difficult, as there would be ample shops selling them.
Nowadays we are very lucky to have chicken in any time of the year.
But definitely we miss the native style 'kozhi kulambu' prepared with country chicken (Nattu Kozhi). Any way I tried to make the most of what I get to bring back those memories.
I prepared this Kulambu for Easter dinner along with rice and deep fried drumsticks.




Ingredients:
Chicken (with bone) - 1/2 kg (1 lb)
salt - to taste / 2 tsp
water - 5 cups
oil - 4 tbsp
Fennel seed (sombu) - 1 tsp

To chop separately:
Red onion - 2 (100 gms)
Roma tomato / vine tomato - 4
curry leaves - 1 brig
cilantro - 1 handful
mint leaves - 1 handful

To Dry roast and powder: 
(we can add 1 tbsp garam masal powder instead of this step)
Pepper corn - 1/2 tsp

coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Fennel seed - 1 tsp
cinnamon - 1 inch
Cardamom (Elakkai) - 2
Cloves (Kirambu) - 4
Cashew - 10


To wet grind:
Ginger - 2 inch
garlic - 4 pearls

To grind(optional)::
coconut - 1 long piece (1/2 cup shredded)
cumin - 1 tsp




Powders :
Red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
coriander powder - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Method:
Wash and clean the chicken pieces in running water.Apply some turmeric powder and keep aside.
Heat 2 tbsp of cooking oil in a deep pan and add 1 tsp fennel seeds (sombu).
After it turns red , add the curry leaf ,chopped onion and fry till it becomes golden brown.
Then add the chopped tomato, green chilli, cilantro , mint leaves, curry leaves and cook till they becomes mushy with oil starts showing up.
Now add the ginger garlic paste and stir it well for 30 seconds.
(Adding the ginger garlic paste after the tomato is a good idea to prevent charring of ginger-garlic paste).
Now put the chicken pieces and stir it for 2 minutes.
Grind the roasted spices along with coconut (optional). We can do this without coconut also. But coconut removes the strong chicken flavor and imparts a sweet smell.
Add water along with the powders, salt.
Then cook the chicken till it becomes tender (simply in a tightly closed vessel).
Check for salt.
The chicken kulambu should be thinner than the chicken gravy .
Kozhi kulambu is ready!


Serving suggestions:
Serve hot as side dish with paratha /Idly / aapam / thicker dosa / ghee rice / coconut milk rice / plain rice.
Serves 6 people.

Happy New Year

Today is the traditional New Year for Tamil people. Many are trying to celebrate it on Pongal day. I am cherishing my memories , when people had elaborate festivities in Temples on those days and finished preparing Idly , sarkarai pongal, sambar and a koottu. Any way my hearty wishes for a Happy New Year for those who celebrate it.

The Lent season and Easter.

Hi friends,

Wish to brief a bit about the Lent days and the Easter we celebrated.
The Lenten season started with Ash Wednesday . Many people choose to remain vegetarians throughout the season. Actually I planned for a more silent Lent season with meditation and prayer. I had a theme called Sufferings of Jesus. Surprisingly I was able to concentrate more on the 'Stations of Cross' (the Fourteen stages from which Jesus was accused , suffered and crucified) on those days.
This 'Stations of cross' prayer has a lot of meaning , recommended for people who wish to view the worldly things with a good perspective.

The holy week started with the Palm Sunday (on 04-05-2009).
We got some palm leaves as a symbol of greeting and welcoming Jesus. It is a custom to make crosses out of them to keep inside the house for an year.
The next year we have to return them to the Church, where the dried leaves are burnt to make ashes to distribute on Ash Wednesday.


The day before Good Friday is called the 'Maundy Thursday' and it refers to Holy Thursday, when Jesus instituted the Eucharist (holy bread and wine representing the body and blood of Jesus) at the last supper, and also commemorates the washing of the Apostles feet, the word Maundy comes from the Latin word Mandatum which means commandment,Jesus said to His Apostles `A new commandment I give you,Love one another as I have loved you`.

On Good Friday, we had fasting till afternoon and had simple meals after that.
I prepared 'Koottan Choru' (a one pot meal) and Paruppu thovaiyal (fried dhal chutney).
Then we went for a small drive and I bought the marshmallow candies shaped like chicken along with Jelly bean eggs and marshmallow bunny to decorate the Easter cake.
Then attended the Good friday Mass with 'Stations of cross', a procedure / representation staged by the school children of St.Cecelia Church. That was a wonderful presentation by the kids. Everyone applauded the troop.
The we came home by 10 Pm , had mild dinner and slept.

The Saturday is the day of expectation and to bless the food in Church. In India we won't go for a blessing of food. I ran very late on cake decoration and cooking. I was not able to finish cooking 11Am . So we didn't take it for a blessing. Simply Prayed with the prepared food in our house itself.
The menu was chicken kulambu, authentic Chiken fry, raitha, rice and carrot cake. other recipes will be coming soon:)
Thanks to Premy's cake for her wonderful cake decoration ideas. They were very useful for me.


In the night , we attended the grand Easter Mass in the St. Cecelia Church of Iselin. That was a lovely Mass and the church was decorated with white flowers and the resurrected Jesus. There was a Baptism ceremony in the pond , while everyone of us confirmed the faith again. Then we returned very late at night.

The next day , that is on the Easter day we visited the orchid show in the Botanical garden, Bronx, NY. The travel was very tiresome , had to take 3 trains and a bus to reach the show. Car parking , toll and traffic were enormous .so we chose to travel by public transit. It was a very worthy journey ,as I was able to relax and enjoy the views:)
Reached the show by noon. It was very very spectacular one, a rare show and a must to see. I have never seen such a vast collection of orchid flowers in one place. The garden was so big and the freezing breeze restricted us to explore other places.
Yet enjoyed the Easter day in the NY and came home for a goodnight sleep.

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead!

Moghlai Kichidi (Green gram rice)

While searching for a rice recipe with green gram , I came across this wonderful kichidi from the web.
I was blown over by the title Moghlai Kichidi and I am sure no one can deny the delicious pulaos and kichidis from Moghlai recipes. Surprisingly the end result resembled much like a biryani to me .
In the original recipe they soaked the Basmati rice and green gram for 2 hours before cooking. I used brown Basmati rice (soaked for 2 hours) and sprouted green gram. Brown Basmati rice has a lot of fiber content and so it can be used as a best substitute for white rice.
Here goes the recipe.



Ingredients:
Organic Brown Basmati Rice - 1 cup
sprouted green gram - 1/2 cup
onion - 1 (chopped)
green chillis - 4 (slitted)
Tomato - 1 (chopped)
ginger - 1 inch
garlic - 3 pods
cilantro , mint leaf - a handful
Bay leaf - 2
salt - to taste
oil - 2 tbsp
To powder:
shahi Jeera - 1/2 tsp
cloves - 3
cardamom - 2
Cinnamon - 1 inch
To temper:
curry leaves - 1 brig
cashew nuts - 10
ghee - 1 tbsp

Method:
1. Wash and soak rice for 1 hour.
Soak green gram overnight.

2. Make a powder of the items given.
Chop onion, tomato and green chilli.
Make a coarse paste of cilantro, mint leaf, ginger and garlic. Keep aside.

3.Heat oil in a pan, put the bay leaf. Then add onion and green chillies till they become soft.
Then add the tomato and cook till it becomes mushy.
Now add the ginger garlic paste and bay leaf.

4. Fry till the raw smell goes. Add the spices powder and mix.

5. To this, add the soaked rice and green gram. Add the salt and fry till the rice turns a bit white.
Then add water just enough to immerse everything. Cover and cook in very low flame till done.
If all the water is sucked add little more water if necessary.

6. Garnish with cashew nuts and curry leaves fried in ghee.

Moghlai kichidi is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Cooking time : 1 hour.
Serves 2.
Enjoy with any raitha.

Moghlai Kichidi goes to Trupti's CFK - Rice event. Cooking for Kids event is a master mind of Sharmi of Neivedyam. This kichidi full of fiber is good to overcome obesity and other related problems. Hope all the kids like my Brown Basmati - Moghlai Kichidi.

Simple Tomato koottu (Thakkali koottu)

Many may be very familiar with a side dish made with tomato. Just posting this for the new chefs and for my record.
This is one of the most simple but delicious dishes made by my mom. I always consider this koottu as my mom's signature dish. Though the version seems so simple, I have never achieved the mom's touch in this koottu.
Whenever my mom ran out of any vegetables in her fridge, then she used to make a simple dhal and this thakkali koottu along with rice. I always love these kind of quick to fix recipes, as they won't demand me to stay in the hot stove for long hours. Just a gentle serving on plain steamed rice can do the magic. Good for a lazy cook. huh:)
A very simple dish but surely a mouthwatering one.

Thakkali koottu.

Ingredients:
Ripen Tomato - 4 (250 gms)
Green chilli - 4
Shallot onion - 6
Shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
salt - to taste
oil - 1 tbsp
mustard seed - 1/2 tsp
cumin seed - 1/4 tsp
curry leaf - 1 brig.

Method:
Chop the onion and tomato very finely and keep separate.
Heat oil in a wok.
Put the mustard seeds and after they crackle add the chopped onion, slitted green chillies, curry leaf . Fry till the onion gets soft. (Not red).
Then add the chopped tomato , 1/2 cup water, salt and cook covered, till the tomato turns mushy.
After the tomato gets cooked completely, add the cumin seeds, shredded coconut and heat for a minute. The consistency should be like a thick curry.
Switch off flame.
Tomato koottu is ready !

Serving suggestions:
Goes well with chapathi , plain rice , curd rice, any sambar rice.
Serves 4 people.
Time taken : 15 minutes.

Note:
The Vine tomato, Indian country tomatoes, cherry tomatoes or plum tomatoes add more taste to this koottu.
But the Bangalore tomato or Roma tomato won't bring the real flavor.