New Arrival !:-)

Dear All,

We are blessed with a baby boy (on April 13th, a day before Vishu, which was on 15th this year). We named him Devang.



This is the mini-sadya prepared by Amma for his naming ceremony. Of course, we had Pal Payasam and Neyyappam/ Unni Appam also, but I missed clicking pictures of the dishes.

Wishing everyone a wonderful year ahead...

This blog will have to wait for some more months for posts:-)

Also, I have realized that pictures from my blog are being used in other websites. This may not be something new to all bloggers out there, but I never thought it would happen to me, my pictures being of poor quality!

Check this out: http://kshore.com/recipe/?rid=48

The picture is taken from my post:

http://ammascooking.blogspot.com/2008/10/diwali-celebrations-and-events.html

I hope to get back to all this and take care to edit my photos and add a watermark/ copyright info etc.

Take care all!

Diwali Wishes

Hope everyone had a safe and Happy Diwali!

Onam Celebrations

Flower Carpet



Onam Sadya-small plantain leaf with Avial, Pacchadi, Cabbage Thoran, Upperi, Ulli Sambar


Pal Ada Payasam

Happy Ganesh Chathurthi

Chakka/ Jackfruit Thoran

I have always refrained from making jackfruit-based dishes due to the fear of getting my hands (knife, cutting board, etc. also) sticky with the white gum. Jackfruit too has played an important role in making my childhood memories special, second only to the king of fruits in India, mango. I remember grandmother choosing the ripe/unripe jackfruit that needed to plucked from the tree depending on whether it was going to eaten or cooked, ensuring everything it touched was covered in coconut oil first and then cleaning it thoroughly, peeling and removing the flesh and seeds separately. The smell of a ripe jackfruit and biting into the soft, sweet yellow fruit itself was refreshing during the summer!

Amma makes so many mouth-watering jackfruit delicacies like chakka chips, chakka thoran, chakka sambar, chakka payasam, chakka varatti (jackfruit jam), chakkakuru-muringa curry (jackfruit seeds-drumstick curry), etc. during the season when jackfruits are available in plenty.

After the Vishu feast (I did prepare a feast, but had no time to take pics of the Sadya on the plantain leaf:-(), I had the jackfruit from the Vishu Kani waiting to be cooked, and I chose to make the thoran. Of course, I was scared I would make a mess of it, especially cutting and cleaning. With lots of oil applied on the knife, cutting board, my hands and plates, I set about the task of peeling and chopping the unripe inside of the fruit into big chunks. After following Amma's recipe, the result was the thoran in the picture below (unfortunately, I did not even plate them and take some good pics:-(), and R and I loved eating it by itself, and also with rice for lunch and with phulkas for dinner! A called it 'chakka noodles' and had it with her 'mammam' and yellow sambar.



To make the Chakka/ Jackfruit Thoran, you will need:

Jackfruit - unripe medium sized fruit/ 1/2 kg of the peeled fruit
Onions - 2 - finely chopped
Ginger - peeled and pounded - 2 tsp
Garlic - peeled and pounded 4-5 cloves
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Chana dal - 2 tsp
Urad dal - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Red chillies - 3-4
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Asafeotida/ Hing - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste



Method:

• Apply lots of oil the knife, cutting board, hands and plates, and peel the jackfruit
• Chop the inside fruit into chunky cubes (seeds and flesh and all) and wash in lukewarm salt water
• Boil the pieces in enough water with salt and turmeric powder until cooked
• Pound the pieces. I transfered the boiled pieces back on the cutting board and used my rolling pin to kind of mash them
• Heat oil in a large pan and add the chana dal, urad dal, red chillies and roast, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves and asafeotida
• Add onions, ginger, garlic and stir fry for a few minutes
• Mix the jackfruit into this with salt, red chilly powder and grated coconut
• Keep stirring and mixing well on low flame until all the ingredients are blended well and a lovely smell wafts into the air from the dish

Serve with rice/ chapathi (or eat it as it is!)


Dear Priti of Indian Khana is hosting Festive Food: Summer Treat event and I am sending the Jackfruit Thoran as my entry.

Happy Vishu

Wishing everyone a very Happy Vishu!

Diwali Celebrations and Events

Wishing everyone a very Happy Diwali (belated). Though I am away from home this Diwali, I am lucky to be with my parents and my brother and family, that too in a country that celebrates Deepavali and has a national holiday for the same:-)

This Diwali season has been very eventful for me. Apart from being able to spend 3 full weeks away from home but still feeling at home with parents and family, I got to meet my classmate and friend from school after 12 years, with her family! Also, I was extremely pleased to meet Priti and Nags. On the flip side, this is my first Diwali without R to celebrate together, he is away for work.

Apart from traditional simple diyas, we also got some brightly painted Diyas from the Little India market.

The previous eve, we applied henna on our hands with the Mehndi cone we had bought. The picture below shows the Mehndi butterfly tattoo on my daughter's hand. I made a similar tatto for my niece who is a year older than my daughter.

And an impromptu design with a diya on her palm.

The children also enjoyed lighting sparklers, without which Diwali celebrations would have been dull.

Of course, no festival celebration is complete without a Pooja and offering to the Gods and Goddesses. We made Murukku and Unni Appam for the festival, which are usually made during Vishu. Below, I share the recipes for the two snacks.

Murukku - A Savoury Snack

To make the Murukku seen in the picture, you will need:

Rice flour - 3 cups
Urad Dal flour - 1/2 cup
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
Asafeotida/ Hing - 1/2 tsp
Ghee/Butter - 1/4 cup
Salt - to taste
Oil - for deep frying (we used Canola oil)


Method:

• In a mixing bowl, knead all ingredients into a thick dough adding only enough water
• With a murukku press or mould, start pressing out the dough into circular forms of medium size on to cut papers or a plate
• Slide them into the oil for deep frying and fry until both sides turn light golden brown

Note: Murukku can be stored in air-tight containers. Children love to this, but if you prefer a spicier hot version, just add red chilly powder while kneading the dough.


Serve with tea/ coffee

Unni Appam - A Sweet Snack

Traditionally, this snack is deep fried in ghee, and is also known as Neyyappam. However, we did not use ghee or butter while preparing it.



To make the unni appams seen in the picture, you will need:

Rice - 2 cups
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Black Sesame seeds - 2 tsp
Cardamom powder - 2 tsp
Jaggery - 1 cup
Coconut - chopped into small pieces - 1/2 cup
Oil - for deep frying (we used Canola oil)

Method:

• Soak the rice for 2-3 hours, drain and grind it to a thick batter
• Melt and strain the jaggery, and mix it along with cumin seeds, sesame seeds and chopped coconut pieces in the rice batter
• Ensure that the batter consistency is not too thick, and it can be poured into the appam griddle
• Heat oil in the appam griddle, and start pouring the batter into it using a ladle
• Usually, the appams turn automatically within the mould after one side is done. If this does not happen, just turn the sides after one side is done, and take the appams out after both sides turn dark brown
• Dry them on kitchen napkins

Note: You can also add mashed bananas to the batter and make Banana Appams.

Serve with tea/ coffee

Now, to the events.

After Rakhi, Krishna and Ganesh Chaturthi, Onam and Navaratri celebrations, Priti of Indian Khana is hosting Festive Food event again with Diwali Celebrations. This entire post and the two recipes go to this amazing event.

The Unni Appams, a sweet snack, goes to

Vaishali's Sweet Vegan, as it has "no butter, milk, cream, ghee or other dairy products, no eggs, and no honey" .

Another great event this month is Easy Craft's WYF: Party Food.


I am sending both the snacks, as a party calls for savoury and sweet dishes, and the murukku and unni appam are ideal for family get-togethers, children's parties, freinds' parties, etc.


Finally, these two different-shades-of-brown goodies go to a lovely colourful event hosted by Sunshinemom at Tongue Ticklers, Food In Colours; the FIC-Brown event for October.


PS: I am not able to visit all your blogs as I am on a kind-of-vacation-like mode, which means though I could blog this post, the next post will most likely be after a week or two when I return home and settle down. I promise to catch up on all your posts and the comments in the previous posts

"Back with a Breeze"

I remember reading ages ago, while doing follow-up reading on 'Gone with the Wind,' that Margaret Mitchell retorted to requests for a sequel to her book with "What shall I call it, 'Back with a Breeze'?" Well, I felt like using the phrase for today's post title because I am back, and in great spirits!

Dear friends, I sincerely apologize for my absence from the blogosphere, and for not visiting your blogs. I was slightly indisposed and was unable to post on my blog or participate in the many wonderful events that were held the past month. I have missed reading all your blogs! I promise to visit all your blogs, catch up with the event round-ups, and also collect the awards that my blogger friends have passed as soon as I read all the comments to my previous post. I thank each and every one of you for the kind words and support you have been giving me.

Though my parents could not stay back to celebrate Onam with us, my elder brother was able to visit us on Onam day and partake of the Onam Sadya that I prepared. I would love to share the pictures of the Pookalam (flower carpet), and the Ona-Sadya, as seen below.

Inside the house, on Onam day

Outside the house, at the entrance of the main door, the day before Onam

Ona-Sadya

I am so glad that I can still participate (I hope) in the Festive Food Event for Onam Celebration hosted by Priyanka of Asan Khana.

Though I prepared Puli-Inji, Cabbage Thoran, Avial, Kootu Curry, Pacchadi, Sambar, and Pappdam (I wanted to prepare Olan, Kaalan, and Erissery too, but couldn't), the recipe that I would like to submit for the Festive Food: Onam Celebration event is that of Kootu Curry. Unfortunately, I do not have separate pictures of the dishes, and have to make do with a cropped image of the Kootu Curry from the Sadya.

Things you will need:

Chena/ Yam/ Suran - 2 cups - cut into cubes
Nendra Kaya/ Plantain - 1 cup - cut into cubes (of the Nendra variety
Black Chana/ Kadala/ Chick peas - 1 1/2 cups - soaked overnight
Water - 2 cups
Ginger - 2 tbsp - peeled and pounded
Coconut - grated - 1 1/2 cups
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilly powder- 1 tsp
Jeera/ Cumin powder - 1 tbsp - roasted
Pepper - 1 tbsp
Red Chillies - 2
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 strands

Method:

• Pressue cook the cut chena and nendra kaya along with kadala and ginger (2 whistles)
• Coarse grind 1 cup of coconut along with turmeric, red chilly, and jeera
• Mix this into the cooked vegetable and peas mixture, and add pepper
• Temper mustard seeds, red chillies, and curry leaves, and roast the remaining 1/2 cup coconut in this until brown
• Season the dish with the above mixture

Serve for Sadya, or with rice and chapathi on normal days

Chole Mur Mure Sev Chat and Gud Appam

I have been unable to blog the past few days, and missed wishing my dear blogger friends a very Happy Independence Day as well as Happy Raksha Bandhan. Hope everyone had lots of fun and food, and celebrated the occasions at home with friends and family.

I have never celebrated Rakhi, and I am glad to have learnt so much about the festival and how it is celebrated through the first FF event: Rakhi – Thread of Love. I prepared Chole Mur Mure Sev Chat (as I would like to call it) when my brother visited on Thursday, and this is how it looked up-close:

To prepare the Chole Mur Mure Sev Chat in the picture, you will need:

White chickpeas/ garbanzo bean - cooked soft - 2 cups
Mur Mure / puffed rice - 1 cup
Sev- 1 cup
Onions - chopped - 1 cup
Tomatoes - chopped - 1 cup
Coriander leaves - chopped - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Red Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Jeera powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Tomato Chilly Sauce - 1tbsp (optional)
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt -to taste

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan, add 1/4 cup of chopped onions, saute until light brown, add the boiled chickpeas and the powders along with salt to taste and mix well
• Add water, and keep on low heat until gravy becomes very thick
• Take a serving plate and serve the chickpeas masala on it and spread to form a base
• Add the Mur Mure and Sev on top (preferably with hand)
• Top it with chopped onions, tomatoes, and coriander leaves
• Lastly, sprinkle pepper (and salt, if you wish) on the entire dish

Notes:

• If you have Chat Masala, you can use that in the dish. I did not have it at home, and normally do not use it.
• If you have leftover chole, or white chana masala nothing like it.
• Squeeze a wedge of lemon on top, or mix lemon juice with chopped onions and tomatoes before adding. It tastes even better, but I did not add it as we were having it for tea (with milk).

Another click, top view:

Serve with hot Elaichi/ Cardamom Tea

You may also be interested in: Bread Aloo Sev Chat

Now, let me get to the sweet dish. This is traditionally called Kalathappam, but my version is a variation, and I'd rather not call it by that name, for fear of ridicule from the 'purists,' and more importantly, it has never turned out as good or tasted as good as my mother's! I will call this Gud Appam, for more reasons that I will explain later. First, a look at the dish:

You will need:

Rice - washed and soaked for atleast 4 hours - 1 cup
Cooked Rice - 1/4 cup
Jaggery - 1/2 cup (adjust for sweetness)
Coconut - grated- 1/4 cup (optional, a variation)
Ghee - 2 tsp
Cardamom pods - pounded - 3
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Salt - a pinch

Method:

• Grind the soaked rice, cooked rice, grated coconut into a batter of dosa batter consistency
• Melt the jaggery in as little water as possible, bring to boil, and strain into the rice batter while it is still hot
• Add the baking soda to the batter and mix well, and leave for 15-20 minutes
• Heat a pressure cooker on low flame, and grease the bottom and sides with ghee
• While the pan is hot, pour the batter and cover the lid without the whistle
• Leave to cook on low flame for 10-15 minutes, and check if batter has risen and cooked evenly (insert knife, it should come clean)
• Let it cool, and with a greased flat ladle take the appam and lay on a clean dry muslin cloth/cake paper?/ aluminium foil

Notes:

• You can try adding roasted nuts or roasted coconut pieces in the batter. The badam/almond you see on top is one that I added for the picture.
• Normally, caramelized onions are used in the recipe
• The batter is similar to Appam batter (without yeast and fermentation process), and jaggery is also added, which is why I like to call this Gud Appam

The picture below is a version I had made earlier, with the caramelized onions, which did not turn out as good, and was not cooked evenly:-(

Serve with hot tea

Both these dishes, without further ado, go to the first Festive Food Event: Rakhi- Thread of Love.

Festive Mood, Awards, and MeMe

Ever since my dear friend Priti of Indian Khana announced the Festive Food Event along with Purva of Purva's Daawat (another dear and new friend from the food blog world), I have been elevated to a festive mood. This is the main festival season too, with Rakhi, Krishna Janmashtami, Navarathri, Ramadan, Ganesh Chaturthi, Dussehra lined up one after the other (If I have missed any, please forgive!).

Though I intend to post a sweet dish made specially on Raksha Bandhan and submit for the first FF event: Rakhi – Thread of Love, I could not help but think of Aviyal, the quintessential part of Kerala cuisine and festive occasions. Any feast is incomplete without it, and so would have been my little spread on Sunday, if I had not made the Aviyal in the picture:

Now, before get to the recipe, let me warn the Aviyal purists that this Aviyal does not have yam in it because I did not have yam at home at the time I decided to make it. Also, I used yellow pumpkin! I know, it sounds ridiculous, but then, I have grown up with Aviyal, and each time I have it, I am reminded of the story I have heard of the cook who just chopped all remaining vegetables after a feast and made Aviyal with them. So, that is exactly what I did with the vegetables that were leftover from last week in the fridge, and in a very simple way!

To make the Aviyal in the picture, you will need:

Veggies:
Plantain - 1 (I do not peel the skin)
Carrots - 1
White Pumpkin - about a 150 gm piece
Drumsticks - 1 large
Beans - 4-5
Longyard beans - 4-5
Bitter Gourd - (shocking?) - 1
Snake Gourd - 1 medium length
Green chillies -2
Curry Leaves - 2 strands
Ginger - finely chopped - 1tbsp (optional)
Garlic - 2 cloves (optional)

Note: All vegetables can be cut into long rectangles.

For the base:
Coconut - 2 cups - grated
Curd - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Jeera/ Cumin seeds powder - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tsp (Use Coconut Oil for the best taste)

Method:

• Boil the vegetables except garlic in a pan with 2 cups of water and salt to taste, adding the hard ones first, and the soft ones later
• Grind the coconut, curd, turmeric and jeera powders into a coarse paste (not too fine)
• Once the vegetables are evenly cooked, add the paste and curry leaves and mix well
• Allow to simmer for 2 minutes, adjust consistency (gravy/ dry) with water
• Pound the garlic and add at this stage and mix well
• Add the oil on top (Neyyi Nanakkuka), and remove from heat

Serve hot with rice. We have this with chapathis too.

Awards

*Swati of Swati's Sugarcraft and Purva of Purva's Daawat have passed me the Brillante Weblog premio-2008 award. Thank you so much, girls. This means so much to me!

Brilliant Weblog is a prize given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design. The purpose of the prize is to promote as many blogs as possible in the blogsphere. Here are the rules to follow:

• When you recieve the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back.
• Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design.
• Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brilliant Weblog’.
• Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional).

I would like to pass this to:

Cham of Spice Club

Nupur of One Hot Stove

Priya of Akshayapaatram

Sra of When My Soup Came Alive

Srivalli of Cooking 4 All Seasons

Sunita of Sunita's World

VP of Vegetable Platter

*Priti of Indian Khana has passed me the 'Rocking Girl Blogger Award.' Priti is a rocking blogger herself, and I am so humbled by her gesture. Thank you, Priti :-)

I would like to pass this award to:

N of A_and_N at Delectably yours, (A, if there ever is a Rocking Boy Blogger award, I'd pass it to you, but you see, I'd never receive it in the first place!)

*SriLekha of Me and My Kitchen has passed two awards to me: "Beautiful Site Award" and "Best Blog Darts Thinker Award."

Thanks a lot, SriLekha, I am truly blessed!

I would like to pass these awards to:

Adam of Baking with Dynamite

Dee of Choos & Chews

Kevin of Closet Cooking

Laavanya of Cookery Corner

Lore of Culinarty

Nags of Edible Garden

Sia of Monsoon Spice

Sireesha of Mom's Recipes

Suganya of Tasty Palettes

Vaishali of Holy Cow!

MeMe

Pragyan of Sorisha - Cooking at Pragyan's and Priti of Indian Khana have tagged me with The Booky MeMe. I have done this before, but I so love to read, and want to do this again!

The rules of the tag are as follows:

Pick up the nearest book, Open to page 123, Find the 5th sentence, Post the next three sentences, and Tag 5 people and acknowledge the person who tagged you.

Nearest Book: Journey of a Master, Swami Chinmayananda. The Man, the Path, the Teaching, by Nancy Patchen. Central Chinmaya Mission Trust. (Bought it this weekend, and currently reading)

The three sentences after the 5th sentence on page 123:

1. Then joining hands, they circled the lamp three times.
2. After the ceremony, the parents of both the bride and groom escorted them to Poothampalli House, Manku's family home.
3. Upon entering the home, Manku scattered grains of rice over the threshold; then she was received with honour with the lamp from the prayer room by Kouchi Narayani, the eldest woman of the household.

I would love to pass this MeMe to:

Clumbsy Cookie

JZ of Tasty Treats

Mathew of Ambrosia

Purnima of Fantasy Cooking

Sukanya of Hot N Sweet Bowl

Whew! This is one lengthy post. I need some rest after this!:-)

Puli Inji curry

Amma makes Puli Inji (literally, Tamarind Ginger) usually for Vishu (one of the many items prepared as part of the Vishu Sadya), and it is my all-time favorite. While deciding to make the Puli Inji, I also thought I will try to make the Allam (Ginger, in Telugu) Pacchadi (pickle) made by my mother-in-law. The recipe that follows this post will be that of Ginger Pickle.

Things you will need:

Ginger - peeled and cut into small pieces - 2 cups (250 gms)

Red chillies - 2

Red chilly powder - 1 tbsp

Tamarind paste - 1/2 cup

Jaggery syrup - 1/4 cup

Coriander leaves - 1 strand

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped ginger pieces
• Add the red chilly powder and stir well
• Once the ginger turns a darker brown, let it cool
• Grind the ginger into a thick paste, do not add water
• Heat tamarind paste along with jaggery syrup on low flame and bring to boil
• Add the ginger paste and keep stirring until the mixture boils to a think paste
• Temper mustard seeds, red chillies, and curry leaves and add to the mixture

Serve with hot rice, idli or dhokla