Sweet Urad Dal Vadai / Inippu Ulunthu Vadai

     Sweet Vadai is a really good twist on vadai; I first had sweet vadais in my sister’s in-law’s house. This is also too easy to prepare and I suggest this to beginners wanting to try their first diwali sweet.

Video for how to make vadai:

Recipe Cusine: South Indian | Recipe Category: Dessert

Preparation Time: 2 ½  hrs | Cooking time: 20 mins | Yields : 12-15 vadai

Ingredients:

For Vadai:
Whole White Urad Dal (mulu vellai ulunthu)	½ cup
Rice Flour	1 tbsp
Salt	¼ tsp
For Syrup:
Suagr	½ cup
Water	½ cup
Cardamom Powder	¼ tsp
To Deep Fry:
Oil	As required

Procedure:

Procedure for Vadai:

1. Wash and soak the urad dal for 2 hours. Then drain the water completely and grind it into a fine, thick, soft and smooth paste .with little water only.

2.  When the batter looks like  butter, then this is the right consistency. This will take 20-30 mins in a wet grinder. You can grind it with mixi also. But you can get only less quantity if using mixie.

3. Then take the batter out from the grinder and transfer it into a wide bowl. Now add 1 tbsp of rice flour and salt. Mix them well with your hands.

4. Take either banana leaf or thick plastic sheet, apply oil on it and keep it aside.

4. Heat the oil in a deep fry pan, wet the hand with water and make lemon size balls from the batter.

5.  Place the ball on the oil applied sheet and press it gently. Make a hole at its center.  Then turn over the ball on your fingers and put it in the hot oil carefully.

6. Cook till the vadai becomes golden color on both sides. Take it out from the oil and keep it aside.

Make vadai from whole batter like procedure from 4-6.

Sugar syrup procedure:

1. Mix water and sugar in a bowl. Bring it to boil till the sugar dissolves completely.

2. Then strain the syrup using metal strainer and then add cardamom powder. Mix well and again bring it boil till the sugar syrup becomes little bit thick. (pisupisupu patham ot like gulab jamun syrup consistency)

3. Sugar syrup is ready and keep it aside.

Sweet vadai making Procedure:

1. Put fried vadai one by one in the hot sugar syrup and press them gently with spoon.

2. Take out from the syrup after a minute and drain the syrup from the vadai.

    Yummy, tasty and easy sweet is ready.

Note:

1. Soak when both the vadai and the syrup are hot.

2. The sweet vadai can be kept for 2 days in room temperature; you can keep it for a week if you store it in fridge and re-heat using microwave or steamer.

Click here for ulunthu vadai (methu vadai).

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Kolam #132 - Simple Deepam Kolam

simple kolam for Diwali

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Green Gram / Pachai Payaru / Paasi Payaru Laddo

     Generally people prepare moong dal / Yellow grm laddos, But in our native village ladoos are prepare with whole green gram instead of moong dal. This ladoo is very healthy for kinds because the skin is also used.

Recipe Cuisine: South Indian | Recipe Category: Sweets

Preparation Time: 10 | Cooking Time: 15 mins | Yields: 13 laddus

Ingredients:

Whole Green Gram / Passi Payaru / Pachai Payaru	½ cup
Sugar	6 tbsp (1/4 cup + 2 tbsp)
Ghee	¼ cup
Cardamom Pods	3
Cashew Nuts (otional)	5

Procedure:

1. Dry roast the green gram in a heavy bottom pan at low flame. Fry them till the green gram becomes golden color and a nice aroma also comes out.

2. Allow it to cool down and grind them into a fine powder using the dry mixie. (don’t cool them completely, grind them when they are still little bit warm)

3. Sieve the powder with fine siever. Keep it aside.

4. Powder the sugar with cardamom pods using the same mixie jar.

5. In a wide bowl, add the green gram powder ( from step 3) and powdered sugar ( from step 4). Mix them well with spoon.

6. Now heat the ghee in a small pan till the ghee melts completely and becomes very hot.

7. Immediately pour this hot ghee into the green gram and sugar mixture (from step 5).

8. Mix them well quickly with spoon. Now the mixture looks like bread crumbs. You should not touch with your fingers. Because the ghee is very hot.

9. After a few seconds, you can mix with your fingers, but while the mixture is warm.

10. Take a small portion from the mixture and make small balls of your choice. Keep it aside and leave it for 15 mins and serve.

   Healthy and tasty green gram laddo is ready.

Note:
1. If you want to make more quantity, dry roast the whole quantity of green gram and powder the sugar separately. But mix them with ghee in batches.

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Ragi Omapodi

     Typical omapodi is prepared using besan/kadalai maavu. I tried it with ragi flour and the result was quite good.

Recipe Cuisine: South Indian | Recipe Category: Snacks

Preparation Time: 15| Cooking Time: 15 mins | Yields: 1 ½ cup

Ingredients:

Ragi / Finger Millet Flour	½ cup
Rice Flour	2 tbsp
Ajwain / Omam / Carom seeds	½ tsp
Butter or Hot Oil	½ tbsp
Salt	As Required
Oil	For deep fry

Procedure:

Ajwain / Omam water preparation:

1. Dry roast the ajwain for 1min or till they start to splutter.

2. Remove from the flame and allow it to cool down. Then grind them into a coarse powder using the dry mixie.

3. Then put the powder in a bowl and add 2 tbsp of warm water. Mix them well and leave it for 15 mins.

4. Then strain the water using the strainer and use this water for making omapodi.

Omapodi Dough Preparation:

5.  Add ragi flour, rice flour and salt in a wide bowl. Mix them well with your fingers.

6. Then add butter and ajwain water (from step 4), mix them well with your fingers.

7. Now add water little by little and knead a soft and pliable dough.

8. Heat the oil in a deep fry pan till it becomes hot; put a pinch of dough into the oil. If the dough comes up immediately, then this is the correct stage of oil heating.

9. Grease the murukku press with oil (use omapodi plate with lot of holes). Now fill the press with the dough upto ¾ of the press.

10. Once the oil has reached the correct temperature, squeeze the murukku dough directly over the hot oil. Don’t overload the omapodi.

11. Fry them in a medium heat and turn over occasionally and cook till the sizzling sound stops and the omapodi turns into golden color.

12. Then remove it from the oil and place it on a tissue paper to remove the excess oil. Repeat the pr0cedure (from step 9-11) for remaining dough.

    Healthy and tasty millet omapodi is ready for this Diwali.

Note:

1. If you are making large quantity make them in batches.

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Aloo / Potato Gulab Jamun | Easy Jamun Recipes

     Most Potato based recipes are masala types of food. I saw first a sweet recipe using potato in a website long back. So I wanted to try this jamun recipe. It is almost like normal jamun and definitely worth trying once.

Recipe Cuisine: South Indian | Recipe Category: Sweets | Recipe Source: Premascook

Preparation Time: 25 | Cooking Time: 15 mins | Yields: 20 Jamuns

Ingredients:

For Jamun:
Mashed Potato (more or less ¼ kg)	1 cup
Maida	1/3 cup
Cooking	A pinch
Ghee	1 tsp
For Syrup:
Sugar	1 cup
Cardamom	3
Water	½ cup

Procedure:

1. Wash and cut the potatoes into 3 or 4 pieces. Pressure cook them with little water for 4-5 whistles in medium flame or till the potatoes becomes tender.

2. Allow it to cool down. After the pressure has gone remove the lid of the cooker and take the potatoes out and then remove the skin of the potatoes; mash them well with potato masher or grind it into fine paste.

3. Now add the maida, soda and ghee with mashed potato. Knead well for 5-8 mins or till the dough becomes soft. Cover and leave it for 5-10 mins.

4. Then grease you hands with oil and make small balls from the dough.

5. Heat the oil in a pan in a medium flame. Then add the balls and fry till the balls become golden color.

6. Drain the oil and keep it aside.

7. Meanwhile, mix the sugar and water, heat the mixture in a medium flame till the sugar dissolves completely (or 10-15 mins) and add the cardamom powder. Mix them well and switch off the flame.

8. Now put the jamuns into the sugar syrup and leave it for an hour and serve.

Tasty and yummy Aloo jamun is ready.

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Halwa Recipes

Easy and Tasty Halwa Recipes Collection:

Bread Halwa

Beetroot Halwa

Papaya Halwa

Corn Flour Halwa

Custard Powder Halwa

Rusk Halwa

Wheat Flour Halwa

Milk Halwa

Carrot Halwa

Apple Halwa

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Kambu Aval / Pear Millet Flakes Mixture

     Rice flakes (aval) is normally prepared from rice. I got pearl mille flakes (kamby aval) from organic store. Using this pearl mille flakes I tried mixture and it came out very well. As this is a very easy and quick recipe, I recommend preparing this snack as a karam for this Diwali.

Recipe Cuisine: Indian | Recipe Category: Snacks

Preparation Time: 5 mins | Cooking Time: 10 mins | Yields: 2 cups

Ingredients:

Pear Millet Flakes	1 cup
Roasted Peanuts / ground nuts	½ cup
Curry Leaves	2 spring
Red Chilli Powder	½ tsp
Salt	As required
Oil	For Deep Fry

Procedure:

1. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan, deep fry the flakes either directly or using the metal strainer till they become crisp. Drain the oil completely and keep it aside.

2. Deep fry the ground nuts (roasted and de skinned) using the metal strainer for 1 mins. Drain the oil completely.

3. Deep fry the curry leaves using the strainer till they become crisp. Switch off the flame. Drain the oil completely.

4. Mix the fried pearl millet flakes, ground nuts and curry leaves.

5.  Sprinkle red chilli powder and salt. Mix or toss them gently and allow it to cool down. Then store it in air tight container.

             Healthy and tasty snack is ready to have with tea.

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Chick Peas / Channa / Kondaikadalai Sundal

     This sundal recipe is traditional recipe and is prepared especially during navrathiri. The procedure is very simple and can be prepared as regular snack also.

Recipe Cuisine: Indian | Recipe Category: Snacks | Serves: 3

Preparation Time: 5 mins |Soaking Time: 8 hrs| Cooking Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Chick Peas / Channa / Kondai Kadalai	1 cup
Salt	To taste
To Temper:
Oil	1 ½ tsp
Mustard Seeds	½ tsp
Urad Dal	½ tsp
Curry Leaves	1 spring
Cumin Seeds / Jeera	1 tsp
Grated Ginger	1 tsp
Red Chilli	1-2
To Garnish:
Grated Coconut	1 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Wash and soak the chickpeas over night or 8 hours.

2. Then drain the water from the soaked chickpeas, and then add ½ cup of water and little salt.

3. Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles in a medium flame. Allow it to cool down completely. After the pressure has gone, open the lid of the cooker and check if the chickpeas are cooked or not. Suppose chickpeas are not well cooked, again pressure cook for 2 more whistles. Again allow it to cool down and drain the water completely. Keep it aside.

4. Heat the oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and wait for popping.

5. Then add urad dal, red chillies (break them into half), curry leaves and grated ginger. Sauté for a min.

6. Now add the cooked chickpeas (from step 3) and sprinkle required salt. Mix them well and cook in a low flame for 2-3 mins.

7. Finally add the grated coconut and mix them well. Immediately switch off the flame and transfer it into serving bowl.

   Healthy and tasty sundal is ready.

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