Usually
we prepare Panakm juice for Rama Navami. Even though it is lemon juice with
jaggery, it is surprising that we don’t prepare it on normal occasions. My
suggestion is that you should make this drink as a regular from this summer as
it has dry ginger powder for spiciness and makes panakm as very refreshing
drink.
Recipe Cuisine : South
Indian | Recipe Category: Beverage
Preparation Time: 10 mins | Yields: 2 ½ cups
Ingredients:
Grated Jaggery
½ cup (1 cup = 240 ml)
Dry Ginger Powder / Sukku Powder
½ tsp
Cardamom Powder
½ tsp
Lemon Juice
1 tbsp
Water
2 cups or required
For Garnish:
Basil Leaves (optional)
As Required
Procedure:
1.
Powder or grate the jaggery using the grater.
2. Mix
this grated jaggery with water and mix them well till the jaggery dissolves
completely.
3. Strain
the above jaggery juice using the strainer.
4. Now
add the dry ginger powder, cardamom powder and lemon juice with the jaggery
juice. Mix them well.
5. Serve
as it is or chill and serve. Before serve sprinkle the basil leaves over the
top of the juice.
Note:
1.
Adjust the jaggery level according to your taste.
2.
Color of the panakm depends on the color of the jaggery.
About a
month back, our family hired a cook to prepare feast for our guests in a family
function. While preparing payasam, the cook used Paccaipayaru (Greengram)
instead of Paasip paruppu (Moong dal).
Luckily the payasam turned out to be
very good and the Green gram Pasayam recipe was born. I tried it again at home
and everyone including my kid lapped it up. Such is the story of Green gram
Pasayam.
This recipe procedure is very simple and fast grinding and mixing
of the three ingredients - Peanut, Dates and Jaggery which can be done in 3
minutes. Mixing
of Peanuts and Dates makes it very healthy and energetic.
Peanut is a good low cost alternative for Badam. Kids do not have more than one
or two dates at a time. This Energy Ladoo helps them have more.
Recipe Cuisine : Indian | Recipe Category: Sweets
Preparation Time: 1 ½ mins | Cooking Time: 1 ½ mins | Yields: 12 (gooseberry size)
Ingredients:
Roasted De-skinned Peanuts / Ground nuts
½ cup
Deseeded and Chopped Dates
¼ cup
Grated Jaggery
2 tbsp
Cardamom Pods (optional)
2
Procedure:
1. Add
peanuts, cardamom pods and dates in a dry mixie jar. Ground them into a coarse
powder.
2. Then
add the grated jaggery and again powder them into a little bit coarse powder.
3.
Immediately transfer the powder into a plate or bowl.
4. Make
gooseberry size balls from the powder.
Healthy and yummy Dates Peanut Laddu is
ready!!!
Note:
1. Make
laddu immediately after transferring the mixie it into a plate. If
you delay, the mix will get dry.
Black Rice / Kavuni Arisi
Paysam is very very odd looking blackish pink colored payasam. The dry grapes
are almost indistinguishable. The sudden spice of sweetness when you bite the
dry grapes without knowing gives kavuni arisi payasam its unique culinary effect.
Black Rice Kheer is very popular in Manipur where it is called
"Chak Hao Kheer". Black Kavuni Rice was once served only for royal family in china.
It was called "Forbidden Rice” because it was denied to the General
public. It was also called Purple Rice or Magic Rice because it changes color
after cooked.
Black rice is high in nutritional value and is a source of iron,
vitamin E, and antioxidants. The outermost layer of black rice contains one of
the highest levels of antioxidants found in food. Kavuni Arisi payasam is
a great way to make people have Kavuni Arisi.
Kids mostly like the blackish
pink color and my kid really relished it.
Recipe Cuisine : Indian | Recipe Category: Sweets
Preparation Time: 5 mins | Cooking Time: 25 mins |
Yields: 2 - 2/12 Cups
Ingredients:
Kavuni
Arisi / Black Rice
½
cup
Water
2
1/2cups
Powdered
Jaggery or Jaggery Syrup
¾
cup
Boiled
cold Milk
2
cup
Ghee
1
tbsp
Cardamom
2
Cashew
Nuts (optional)
10
Dry
Grapes / Raisins
15
To Garnish:
Finely
Chopped Almonds
4
Procedure:
1. Wash and soak the rice with
2 1/2cups of water for 4-6 hrs.
2. Pressure cook the rice with
soaked water for one whistle in high flame. Then bring the flame into simmer
and cook for 15 mins.
3. After pressure has gone
remove the lid of the cooker and smash the rice with back side of the ladle.
4. Then add the Jaggery syrup
and mix them well.
5. Then add the milk and
powdered cardamom. Mix well and again heat the mixture till they become little
bit thick.
6. Meanwhile, heat the ghee in
a pan, add cashew nuts and raisins. Fry till the cashew becomes golden color.
7. Mix this fried cashews and
raisins with the payasam mixture (from 5).
8. Then switch off the flame
and transfer it into serving bowl. Serve it hot or cold as per your choice.
Note:
1. You can use fried coconut pieces
instead of cashews.
Ragi
Sweet Kozhukattai is a soft, healthy and tasty. You can definitely try this for
variety. You can mix ragi sweet kozhukattai along with standard rice
kozhukattai.
Recipe Cuisine : South Indian | Recipe
Category: Dessert
Preparation Time: 5 mins
| Cooking Time: 30 mins| Yields: 15 nos
Ingredients:
Finger Millet Flour / Ragi Maavu
½ cup
Jaggery Syrup (click her for the
recipe)
¼ cup
Split grren gram / moong dal/
paasiparuppu
2 tbsp
Grated Coconut
2 tbsp
Rice Flour
1 tbsp
Sesame Oil
1 tbsp
Procedure:
1.
Wash and soak the moong dal for 1 hr or soak it warn water for ½ an hour.
2.
Dry roast the ragi flour till nice aroma comes out from it. Allow it cool down.
3.
Heat ½ cup of water in a heavy bottom pan or non stick pan. Add the soaked
moong dal and cook till the dal becomes half cooked. At this time close the lid
of the pan and keep the flame simmer.
4.
Mix the roasted ragi flour and ½ cup of water in a bowl without lumps.
5.
After the dal is cooked, add sesame oil and the ragi batter and stir
continuously. After few mins, the batter becomes thick.
6.
At this stage, add the jaggery syrup and mix them well. Stir occasionally. Add
grated coconut and mix them well.
7.
Finally sprinkle the rice flour and mix them well. Cook till the mixture
becomes thick and leaves the sides of the pan.
8.
Switch off the flame and allow it to cool down completely.
9.
Now make small lemon sized balls from the mixture and press gently with your
fingers only. See the video. Wet your hand with water and make the kozhukattai,
because the ragi kozhukattai batter is little bit sticky.
10.
Steam cook the kozhukattai in a steamer for 10 mins.
11.
Wet your hand and take the kozhukattai from the steamer. Allow it to cool down
for few mins and then serve.
Athirasam
is a traditional Tamil recipe. But not many make it puffy as it should be. I
learn the method to make it puffy from my Sithi (mother’s sister). The trick is
to ensure that the rice powder is coarse and the syrup consistency. This sweet
is old but gold not only in color also in taste.
Recipe Cuisine : Indian | Recipe Category: Dessert
Preparation Time: 45 mins | Cooking Time: 20 mins | Yields : 40
Ingredients:
Raw Rice
3/4 kg
Jaggery
1/2 kg
Cardamom
10
Oil
For Deep Fry
Procedure:
Flour Preparation Procedure:
1.
Wash and soak the rice for 3-4 hours. You should soak it for atleast 3 hrs.
2.
Then drain the water completely and spread over the cotton cloth till it
becomes dry. It will take 20-30 mins approximately. Please ensure that there is
little bit moisture even though it has to look dry.
3.
Grind them into batch wise using the mixer grinder. You should not grind into a
fine powder.
4.
Sieve the ground flour using the coarse siever (rava sallladai). So that some
un- ground rice particles gets deposited at the top of the siever. Keep this in
a separate plate.
5.
Do this 4 the step for the remaining rice. Again do this for the un-ground rice
particles.
6.
Close the flour with paper and use the whole flour immediately for adthirasam.
Because you can’t use this later because as this flour contains moisture.
Jaggery Preparation Procedure:
1.
Grate the jaggery or powder the jaggery using the hammer.
2.
Mix 1 cups of water with jaggery and bring into boil. When the jaggery dissolves completely, then
switch off the flame.
3.
Strain the jaggery syrup with steel filter to remove the impurities.
4.
Again boil the jaggery till it reaches soft ball consistency. Take water in a
small wide bowl. Put 1 tesp of syrup into it. If it does not dissolve into the
water and you are able to make soft ball then this is the correct stage. Now
switch off the flame immediately.
5.
Grind the cardamom into fine powder. Now put the powdered cardamom into the
jaggery syrup and mix them well.
Athirasam Batter
Making Procedure:
1.
Now take the rice flour in a wide bowl, add the jaggery syrup little by little.
2.
Mix them well with strong handle ladle.
3.
Now the batter looks like a bonda batter. Don’t worry about its consistency.
4.
Close the lid and let it rest for 2 days at room temperature. (at least minimum
one day)
5.
After two days, knead the dough with your hands. Now it should become thick dough
like chapathi dough.
How to make Athirasam?
1.
Heat the oil in a pan for deep frying
the athirasams.
2.
Divide the dough into lemon size balls. Grease the thick plastic sheet or banana
leaf with oil. Place the dough on the greased sheet and press with your fingers
into a 2mm thickness circles. Put hole at its center.
3.
You can make 3-4 pieces like this and take each circle with your hand (just
trun over the sheet over your fingers) and flip it into hot oil. The oil
temperature should not be too hot but should be in medium hot.
4.
Put 3-4 adhirasams at a time. (depends on your oil and pan). If it is cooked
one side then turn over it to other side. Cook till they turn into golden
color.
5.
Take it out from the oil and strain the oil completely. Then place it on the
tissue paper so that it absorbs the excess oil.
6.
Allow it to cool down completely and store them in a air tight container.
Note:
1.You can have the athirasams even till 10 days if
stored in room temperature.
2.
Instead of preparing the complete athirsam and storing it for later use, you
can alternatively store the dough in fridge and use it in batches. Please note
that you should ensure that the dough comes to room temperature before fry.
