Tag: festival recipe

Menthe Idli /Fenugreek sweet idli:

November 8, 2020

We Indians do not need any introduction for methi. Methi seeds are an integral part of our day to day cooking and has an important role in our cooking, even though it is used in a minuscule portion.

Fenugreek or Methi is a power packed, nutritionally rich and produces heat in our body. Hence, the usage of methi is recommended in winter months to keep our body warm and disease free. Traditionally methi has been used as a seed as well as greens. It plays a main part in post-partum/ after delivery diet of Indian ladies. It is believed that it helps in breast milk production.

Today, I am going to share our age old, traditional recipe, which I used to relish during my childhood.

It is a semi sweet idli and tastes really good with methi flavour and is usually served with coconut – ginger chutney, to give it a bit of a kick.

Ingredients:

Dosa rice – 2 cups

Methi – 1 fistful ( approx. 2 tablespoons)

Jaggery –  2 / 2 block  ( according to the taste)

Poha – ½ cup

turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method:

-Soak methi and rice separately for 4 hrs , after washing it properly.

-Grind methi into a fine paste, by adding sufficient water.

-Add soaked rice into it, add salt, jaggery and grind, until rice turns into small grainy texture. Like a small rava consistency.

-After grinding, remove the batter, it should be a little watery. Now add turmeric, poha into the batter, mix properly, leave overnight or until it ferments. It takes a little longer in cold regions.

-Next day, mix nicely, make idlies in an idli mould, like a regular idli.

-Serve with coconut – ginger chutney.

Chutney in brief: Fresh coconut, roasted red chillies, fresh ginger, little tamarind, and salt.

 

Hasaru Unde/Green gram Laddu/ Whole moong flour Laddu:

October 17, 2020

Wishing all my readers a happy Navarathri!

Green gram / whole moong is very nutritious and loved by everyone at our home. When I found the whole moong flour at my regular organic stores, I was excited to try my hand at using it in my regular cooking. While thinking of utilising it, idea of preparing laddu came to my mind and I immediately tried my best by using my Besan laddu recipe as a base and it did turn out super delicious with its earthy flavour. Everyone gave a thumbs up at home and  liked it .

So, I am sharing the recipe with you all.

Ingredients:

Green gram flour/ whole Moong flour  – 3 cups

Sugar – 2 ¼ cups

Ghee – 1 ¼  cup

Dry fruits – 1 cup

Cardamom powder – 1 teaspoon

Method:

-Chop dry fruits. I normally use half cup of cashew bits and half cup of slivered Almond bits.

-Dry roast almond and cashew bits and keep aside.

-Powder sugar and keep aside.

-Take one thick bottomed wok, roast green gram flour in very low temperature.

-When it is a little hot, start adding ghee little by little during the roasting process.

-Do not add or pour all the ghee at one go. It will not help to roast evenly, and it will form a muddy consistency, and will affect it in even roasting.

– I took exactly 20 minutes over a small flame.

-After it roasts and you’ve added all the ghee, mixture becomes very runny and colour will turn greenish brown.

-At this time, your house will filled with roasted flour’s aroma. This is the time you should switch off the gas and leave this mixture to cool completely.

-It will take anywhere between 30 to 40 minutes.

-Now add powdered sugar, cardamom powder and roasted dry fruits and mix everything properly.

-Now start using your hand and mix it once and start making small roundels by taking little mixture at a time.

-At this time, you will feel that the laddus are a little wet and glossy and shining.

-Arrange these over a clean, dry platter. After some time (one hour) laddu’s will be dry and glossy texture will vanish.

-Store it in a dry container and enjoy with your family.

Steamed Modaka / Steamed Rice dumpling with Coconut Jaggery filling:

September 12, 2018

Ganesha Festival aka Vinayaka Chaturthi is the time, when we indulge in so many varieties of traditional delicacies- Genasale, patholi, Chakkuli or Chakli– to name a few. Two varieties of Modaka (steamed and deep fried) Panchakajjaya, Halittu (nothing but rice noodles), Guliyappa are the main things which we normally find in our region.

Ganesha has one more name as a “Modaka Priya” means, he loves to eat Modaka. Steamed medakas are also known as Ukkarisida Modaka / Ukdiche modak in India.

Which is ground rice batter, which is cooked until it reaches a ball form and kneaded and stuffed with a coconut jaggery filling and steam cooked.

Some people or in some region, people do use rice flour, instead of soaked and ground batter.

Now a days, people make various kinds of modak from, khoya, chocolate, dry fruits etc. But traditionally it is done in this way.

Procedure goes like this –

Ingredients:  

Dosa rice /white rice – 2 cups

Grated coconut – 1 cup

Grated Jaggery – ½ cup (to taste).

Ghee/ Clarified butter – 4 tsp.

Salt to taste

Modaka mould – (optional)

Method:

-Wash rice and soak it for 2 to 3 hours.

-Grind soaked rice into smooth paste by adding water and salt.

-Now keep thick bottomed kadai, pour the ground batter and add some water to make thin consistency.

– Now add 2 tsp of ghee and start heating this mixture by continuous stirring. When it becomes little thick and forms a mass, switch off the gas and keep it aside to cool.

-When it is ready to handle, knead it further and form a smooth dough.

-Cover the dough with wet cloth, to retain moisture.

In the meantime, make sweet coconut-jaggery mixture. In a thick bottomed vessel add jaggery and ½ cup of water and heat. If you find some impurities in jaggery syrup, sieve this liquid and heat further and add fresh grated coconut and cook until it is sticky and forms mass. Add remaining ghee to this and mix. Now stuffing is ready.

Method to make Modaka by using mould-

-Grease the mould by using ghee.

-Take a lemon sized dough at a time, knead a little and use.

-Close the mould, apply the dough all around the mould, fill a tea spoon of coconut jaggery mixture by leaving very little place at the neck of the mould.

-Now take a tea spoon of dough and seal it. Now Stuffed Modaka is ready.

-Proceed until all the dough is over and arrange all these medakas in an idli steamer.

-Steam cook for 15 to 20 minutes.

 

If you are using Rice flour or Modaka flour:

Ingredients:

Rice flour – 2 cups

Water – 2 cups

Salt

Ghee – 1 tea spoon

Method:

-Boil water by adding salt, ghee in a thick bottomed pan.

-When water starts to boil, add rice flour and keep in a simmer for 5 minutes.

– Switch off the gas. After some time, knead the dough and follow the same procedure as above. 

-While kneading, if needed , sprinkle some hot water and proceed.

-Proceed until all the dough is over and arrange all these medakas in an idli steamer.

-Steam cook for 15 to 20 minutes.

Note:

-If you don’t have Modaka mould, take a lemon sized dough, make a 4” disc by using your thumb and fore finger of both hands.

-Keep this in your left palm, in a cup shape, put filling (smaller in size) and cover it. Arrange all these medakas in an idli steamer.

-Steam cook for 15 to 20 minutes.