Karadaiyan Nonbu vella adai / Sweet Adai

Nonbu vella adai /  Sweet Adai

Raw Rice : 1 cup

Water : 2 + ¾ cup

Black eye beans ( white ) /vella karamani  :  Handful

Coconut pieces : 2 tbsp

Jaggery powder : 1 cup

Cardamom powder :  ½ tsp

Ghee :  2 tsp

* Soak Beans overnight.

Next day cook for a whistle in a cooker directly, in sufficient water.  Drain water.

* Wash rice.  Drain it well.

Dry fry in a kadai till it puffs up.

Spread on a kitchen towel.  Let it cool.

Grind nicely as much as possible.  Don’t bother if it is not as nice as machine ground flour.

* In a Non-stick pan, Boil water and jaggery powder …  when the jaggery powder melts completely , strain to remove any dust or stone. 

Reheat the jaggery syrup adding rice flour, ghee, coconut pieces, cardamom powder and boiled beans.

When all the water gets absorbed in flour, remove from fire.  It must be in half cooked state in solid form.

Grease the idly mould with few drops of ghee.

Fill rice mixer in idly mould .  You can fill the rice mixer when it is still hot.  Dip your hands in water and spread adai evenly to get perfect shape. Make a dent / hole in center of each adai .

Steam cook the rice mixer, for 12 mts.  Allow a standing time of 5 mts.

Enjoy the Sweet version of Adai with some plain butter.

Nonbu Adai -- Salt version

Nonbu Uppu Adai / Salt Adai

Raw Rice : 1 cup

Water : 2 + ¾ cup

Black eye beans ( white ) /vella karamani  :  Handful

Coconut Pieces :  2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Hing powder :  2 pinches

Green chilly : 1

Mustard seeds : ¼ tsp

Curry leaves: few

Coconut oil : 1 tbsp

Soak Beans overnight.

Next day cook for a whistle in a cooker directly, in sufficient water.  Drain water.

Wash rice.  Drain it well.

Dry fry in a kadai till it puffs up.

Spread on a kitchen towel.  Let it cool.

Grind nicely as much as possible.  Don’t bother if it is not as nice as machine ground flour.

In a Kadai , temper in oil with mustard, finely chopped green chillies, hing powder .

Add water and when it boils add rice flour gradually and mix very well without lumps by stirring continuously .

Add salt, finely chopped coconut pieces, curry leaves and boiled beans.

When all the water gets absorbed in flour, remove from fire.  It must be in half cooked state in solid form.

Grease the idly mould with coconut oil.

Fill rice mixer in idly mould .  You can fill the rice mixer when it is still hot.  Dip your hands in water and spread adai evenly to get perfect shape. Make a dent / hole in center of each adai .

Steam cook the rice mixer, for 10 mts.  Allow a standing time of 5 mts.

Enjoy the Salt version of Nonbu adai as it is or with any chutney.

Kaaradaiyaan Nonbu

Karadaiyan Nonbu

Karadaiyan Nonbu or Vratam is an important fast observed by Tamil women , based on the legend of Satyavan and Savithri .  Savithri used the power of her dedication to her husband Satyavan to prevent Yama, the god of the dead, from taking him when he was fated to die.  She became the ideal of the faithful wife.

Tamil married women worship ‘Savithri Devi’ on this Karadaiyan Nonbu day for the longevity and healthy life of their husband.  It is a practice to Pray Goddess Kamakshi , imagining her as Savithri Devi.   Fast observed till tying nonbu saradu and then to have Adai as Prasadham.

It is observed during  the transition of Tamil Month Maasi and Pangni.

How to do Karadaiyan Nonbu :

Deity Kamakshi should be well presented with Sandal powder & Kumkum Tilak / Bindi and flower garland .

Put Kolam / Rangoli.  Light a lamp .  Light incense stick.

Prepare Nonbu Saradu by tying a small flower in a yellow sacred thread.  All married women in the house should tie a Nonbu saradu and also we should offer a thread to Goddess Kamakshi .  I do have a habit of offering a Nonbu Saradu to Sita Devi as she is also one of the ideal wife.  Number of thread counting should be in even number.

Nonbu Neivedhyam Adai, both Sweet and Salt version should be offered.

Recipe for Adai :

 Sweet /Vella Adai

 Salt / UppuAdai

In Plantain leaf ( which should have tip part ) / Nuni Ilai , keep all the following items :

Betel leaf ,  betel nut,  Turmeric stick , Banana , Coconut ( broken into 2 parts ) , Nonbu saradu.

And in the middle of the leaf keep Sweet and Salt version of Adai along with un-melted butter . 

While offering the Adai as Neivedhyam following prayer should be recited :

“Urugada Vennaiyum

Oradaiyum nan tharuven

Orukkaalum en kanavar

Ennai piriyadhirukkanum “

After reciting the above slogam, we can offer a Nonbu saradu for Kamakshi and we our self should tie a nonbu saradu .

Prayer / Slogam while tying Nonbu saradu is :

“Thoram Gruhnami Subage Saharidram Dharaamyaham

Bhartuhu Aayushya Siddyarthem Supreetha Bhava Sarvadha”.

Do Namaskaram .  (a  traditional Indian greeting or gesture of respect.) and get the blessing " Dheerga Sumangali Bhava ".

Now we can enjoy the Neivedhyam , both Sweet and Salt Adai.

Adhirsam ( using Jaggery )

Adhirsam ( Jaggery version )

Adhirsam is a very famous jaggery based south Indian sweet which is considered as ‘must do’ sweet especially for Marriage Ceremony , Diwali , etc.

If we follow some tricks and tips perfectly,  surely we’ll get perfect adhirsam.  Let’s see the procedure along with loads of tips.

Rice ( Maavu arisi / Patni chawal ) –  1 cup

Jaggery  :  1 cup ( coarsely powdered )

Water : 1/3 cup

Green Cardamom :  4 

Dry ginger powder :  2 pinches

Melted ghee :  1 tsp and some more for greasing.

Yield :  12 pieces.  

Soak rice for 4 hrs.

Drain water and spread on a kitchen towel.  Let it dry for half an hour.  Avoid drying more than half an hour.

Meanwhile powder jaggery coarsely and let it soak in 1/3 cup of water. 

After half an hour,  Rice will still have some amount of wetness .    ( using dry hands pick a fistful of rice .  It should partially stick to your hands but your palm should not get wet….  This is the perfect consistency )

Using mixer grinder, grind the rice as a fine powder as much as possible.  Can grind rice in batches.  

Sieve the flour to get fine and smooth rice flour.  We can add the left over coarse rice flour while grinding for next batch.  

Keep the prepared rice flour in a vessel .  Mix well with Cardamom powder , dry ginger powder and a tsp of ghee. 

Keep it closed using paper or cloth to retain its wetness. ( Do not use steel plate to cover the vessel )

Generally we should start preparing adhirsam immediately .  ( That is .., we can’t prepare rice flour well in advance as it may lose its wetness )

Now prepare for jaggery syrup.   Boil the jaggery with water  till jaggery completely dissolves.  Strain to remove stones or dust particles. 

Again boil jaggery till it reaches to soft ball consistency.  Keep stirring frequently in between.

Keep a cup filled with a ladle of water. When you drop few drops of jaggery syrup in this water , the syrup will not dissolve but when you gather it , you could feel like soft ball . 

Remove from flame and pour the hot syrup over the  rice flour and mix it using ladle without any lumps. 

Rice flour absorbs syrup and become a thick batter.

Close with a lid.  Give standing time and keep it covered for 7 to 8 hrs or overnight.  The more it matures the more it tastes great.

Next day we can pat and deep fry.

Grease Plantain leaf or plastic cover with melted ghee ( room temperature ).

Heat the oil to medium heat and keep the flame in low to medium throughout the frying process . 
Pinch out a very small portion of dough  and drop in oil, it should not dissolve in oil and also it should not raise immediately  ( just to make sure the dough and temperature of oil is perfect ). 

If that small ball dissolve in oil while frying, try adding little bit of wheat flour in the rice flour.

Divide the dough into equal portion.

Pat the dough into small disks .  Can use ghee greased hands to pat .  Make sure to have uniform thickness. 

If you are making adhirsam for the first time, Pat and start frying adhirsam, only one at a time.  Make sure not to pat too thin or too thick.

Though we are going to fry only one adhirsam at a time, it’s better to have sufficient oil otherwise adhirsam will stick to the bottom of the pan.

If you are confident, you can fry 3 to 4 adhirsam at a time .

Frying will not take more time so keep watching.

Gently drop the patted adhirsam in the medium heat oil and when it starts fluffing , gently flip to other side and fry .  The colour will change slightly and immediately remove from oil .

After removing from oil, using one more ladle , very gently press to remove excess oil .  

Tightly squeezed adhirsam will become hard.

Keep the fried adhirsam in a wide plate. 

Keep frying all the adhirsam but Don’t stack one over the other .   

Actually even after removing from oil, the cooking process will continue with the redemption of the heat exist in the adhirsam.  

Let it cools down completely before tasting it.

Crispy tasty adhirsam is ready to serve.

But it becomes very soft and even more tasty if we eat it next day so if time permits cook adhirsam and eat it next day .

Enjoy delicious Adhirsam with family and friends.

Note :  1 cup of rice may give 2 cups of flour approximately .  

Would like to hear from you ...  Kindly pass on your lovely comments .

Health Mix Halwa

Health Mix Halwa

Health mix halwa is Healthy and also easy to prepare.  I have used Manna brand health mix.  We can use store bought or homemade health mix to prepare this halwa.  It takes less time unless like wheat halwa.   Let’s see how to make health mix halwa.

Wheat flour -  ½  cup 

Health mix flour -  ½ cup

Melted ghee  -  1 cup

Sugar  -  1 + ¼ cup

Water  -  2 cups

Green Cardamom -  3

Cashews  -  6

Nutmeg powder / Jadhikai / Jaiphal   -  2 pinches

In a heavy bottom pan  mix wheat flour, health mix flour and ¾ cup of ghee without any lumps add chopped cashews .  Cook on low flame .  Keep stirring frequently till nice aroma comes and the cashews becomes golden brown. 

Meanwhile mix water and sugar in a vessel and boil till sugar completely dissolves .  Keep it aside.

When the flour mixture is ready and cashews turns into golden brown add the sugar syrup gradually and keep stirring while adding syrup.  You should get the mixture without any lumps. 

Keep the flame in low and keep cooking till the halwa thickens nicely.

Add cardamom powder and nutmeg powder.

When all the water gets absorbed and the halwa become very thick in consistency, add ghee in instalments.

Add one tsp at a time and mix nicely till it gets absorbed in halwa.

Keep a mould or plate , well-greased with ghee.

Cook halwa till it become fairly thick and it becomes like a dough and it will comes out smoothly without sticking to the walls of the pan.

Spread the halwa in the silicon mould or plate which is well greased.

Let it cool and comes to room temperature.   

If you are using silicon mould , do not disturb halwa till it comes to room temperature and unmold it in flat plate gently.  

Cut into square or desired shape.

Enjoy the healthy halwa with family and friends.

Note :

ü I have used Manna brand health mix.  You can use any brand or homemade health mix.

ü Mill ground wheat flour tastes great than the readymade wheat flour.

ü No need to add any food colour.

ü Avoid using Non-stick Pan for cooking halwa , as you may not able to find out the correct consistency .

I would like to hear from you….  Kindly pass on your suggestions and appreciations.   Thank you.

Carrot Burfi

Carrot Burfi

Burfi with carrot and coconut which melts in mouth.  

Grated Coconut :  ½ cup

Grated Carrot  :  1 + 1/2 cup

Full cream milk :  1 cup

Ghee :  ½ cup

Sugar :  2+ ½ cup

Cardamom powder :  1 tsp

In broad vessel mix milk and sugar…. 

Boil till one string.  (  If you take a drop of syrup and press within two fingers , you’ll get a thin string . )

Add coconut and carrot .

Gradually add ghee …  one tsp at a time.

Cook till all the water gets evaporated and the big bubbles starts forming .  When the burfi starts leaving the sides remove from flame and spread on the greased plate . 

Let it cool for some time.

Mark as a square or diamond shape .  Let it cool completely .

Can remove pieces very easily.

Very tasty Carrot Burfi which really melts into the mouth is ready to serve.  

Rasmalai

Rasmalai

Rasmalai is a very famous Milk based Bengali sweet.  ‘ Ras’ refers to the juice and ‘Malai’ refers to the milk cream.  Let’s see how to prepare it .

For Paneer balls :

Paneer --  250 grams

Corn flour --  2 tsp

Cardamom powder – ½ tsp

Sugar --  2 tsp

For sugar syrup :

 Water :  2+ ½ cups

Sugar :  1 cup

For Rabdi / Flavored milk :

Full cream Milk :  1 ltr

Sugar :  1 cup

Cashew & Almond :  10 each

Cardamom : 2

Saffron :  few threads .

In food processor knead Paneer .  Can also knead by hands.  Add Corn flour, cardamom and sugar and mix  with the kneaded paneer.

Shape them into equal size disc , roughly about 25 discs.

Making sugar syrup :

Boil sugar & water… let the sugar dissolve completely.  Keep the flame to low and drop half portion of the prepared paneer discs , do not stir .

We have to cook paneer disc in sugar syrup.  Let it cook for 5 minutes with closed disc in low flame.  Remove the lid and cook for 10 more minutes in low flame.    Paneer  may dissolve in sugar syrup if the heat is high. 

Remove first batch of cooked paneer carefully and drop the rest of the discs gently in sugar syrup and cook in the same way.   After it gets cooked, add the 1^st batch of cooked paneer  also in the sugar syrup.  Let all the cooked paneer soak in sugar syrup for 2 hrs.

Preparation of Rabdi / Flavored milk :

Soak Almonds in hot water for an hour.  Remove skin.  Grind along with cashews . 

Add Almond Cashew paste and sugar to the full cream milk.  Boil in medium flame till the  quantity reduce to  half of its portion.

Add cardamom powder and saffron .

Remove from flame. 

Very gently squeeze the paneer disc to remove excess sugar syrup and add all the cooked paneer in Rabdi / flavored milk.  Let it soak in flavored milk.

After it comes to room temperature we can refrigerate.

Serve chilled Rasmalai .

Garnish with sliced Almond and saffron threads.

Very soft Rasmalai is ready to serve.