MIXTURE

South Indian ‘mixture’ and Maharashtrian ‘chivda’ and North Indian ‘farsan’ are all similar yet a little different. And as the name suggests, it is a mixture of several items.

Agreed it takes time to prepare it but the taste makes the efforts worthwhile!

Ingredients

Groundnuts – ¾ cup

Pottukadalai (Futana dal) – ¾ cup

Aval (thick poha) – 1 cup

Curry leaves – 3-4 tbsp

Besan (gram flour) – 2 cups

Rice flour – 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Red chilli powder – 2-3 tsp

Asafetida – ¼ tsp

Cashew nuts (optional) – 2-3 tbsp

Oil for frying

Method

Microwave the groundnuts for 2 minutes. After 5 minutes, stir them and again microwave them for another 2 minutes. Set aside.

Microwave the ‘pottukadalai’ for 2-3 minutes – till it is crisp. Set aside.

Use 1 cup besan for making ‘omappodi’ and the other cup for ‘boondi’.

Omappodi (sev) – To one cup of besan, add 1 tsp of rice flour, ½ tsp red chilli powder and salt and mix well. Add water little by little and make a dough which is a bit loose so that it falls through the ‘omappodi naazhi’ easily.

Heat oil in a kadhai.

Fill the dough in ‘nazhi’ (chakli maker) using the ‘omappodi’ plate.

Squeeze it in circular motion into the hot oil. Lower the heat.

After a minute, flip the omappodi. After another minute, when both sides are uniformly golden brown, drain off from the oil.

Prepare omappodi with the entire dough. Set aside.

Boondi – To one cup of besan, add ½ tsp of rice flour, and salt and mix well. Add water to make a smooth, thick batter.

Use boondi-maker to make boondis in hot oil and drain off. Set aside.

Use a big steel strainer to fry ‘aval’ (poha) in batches – take 1 tbsp aval in the strainer and dip it in the hot oil in a kadhai and drain off onto a tissue when done. Repeat with the entire ‘aval’. Sprinkle required salt and mix well.

Next take a tbsp of curry leaves in the strainer and dip in hot oil till they turn crisp. Drain off onto a tissue.

Fry cashew nuts till light brown.

Now all items are ready to be mixed.

Heat 2-3 tsp oil in a big kadhai. Add 2-3 tsp red chilli powder, asafetida and salt (required for the micro waved groundnuts and ‘pottukadalai’) and mix well. First add groundnuts and pottukadalai and curry leaves. Mix well.

Next add the boondi, omappodi, aval and cashew nuts and mix well. Check the taste.

If you feel it needs to be more spicy, heat 1 tsp of oil, add red chilli powder and add it to the mixture and mix well.

Tips
Use of strainer for frying 'aval' and curry leaves makes the job easier and saves time as well.

By the time you are done with the frying, you will be tired! To save some of the hard work, I do a bit of cheating – I use ‘boondi’ available at the store. The rest are home-made!

If you want to increase the quantity, you can ‘adulterate’ the mixture with 1 cup of ‘murmura’ micro-waved for a minute – it will taste as good but won’t look like the authentic South Indian ‘mixture’.
                                                
© Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.

RAVA LADOO

At home, 'Rava ladoo' has been considered a poor cousin of all Diwali sweets  – in spite of the addition of cashews and raisins! My father loved it and he’d go for it; the rest of us would ignore it for better options like Gulab Jamuns, Jangiri, and Laddu. Very rarely would Rava ladoo be made at home just like that. Believe me - it tastes good, has very little ghee and is easy to make.

Ingredients

Rava (semolina) (fine) – 250 gms – 2 cups

Powdered sugar – 250 gms – 2 cups

Cardamom – 1 ½ tsp

Cashew nut pieces – 2 tbsp

Raisins – 2 tbsp

Milk – 6-8 tbsp

Melted ghee – 8-9 tbsp

Method

Heat 1½ tbsp ghee and fry the cashew nuts and raisins separately and set aside.

Heat 3 tbsp ghee in a kadhai and fry the fine rava on medium heat for 2 minutes. Then lower the heat and fry it till very light brown – it will give out an aroma. Turn off the heat and continue to stir for 2 more minutes.

Add powdered sugar and mix well so that there are no lumps.

Add fried cashews and raisins and cardamom powder and mix well.

Take 4-5 tbsp of melted ghee and 8-9 tbsp of hot milk and sit down to make the ladoo.

Use half portion of the ladoo powder, add 2 tbsp ghee and 3-4 tbsp of milk and mix well. It should not be too soggy but a bit dry.

Start making ladoo while it is still hot. See that the ladoo is tight and doesn’t have cracks.

Repeat with the second half of the powder.

The ladoos are prepared in two batches - otherwise the mix will turn cold and making ladoos will be difficult.

Tips

Don’t over-fry the rava – you will see some of it turning brown as you are stirring it. Keep the flame low and heat it stirring all along for one or two more minutes. Turn off the heat and continue to stir for two minutes more.

If you add more milk, making the ladoos will be very easy but it will be very soft and won’t last.

Use both hands (I mean one finger of the right hand too) for making the ladoo - as shown in the video. 

© Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.

(RIBBON) PAKKODAM

Pakkodam or Ribbon Pakodam is another variety of murukku – using rice flour and gram flour (besan). This is prepared during Diwali or as an any-time snack.
As all the ingredients are easily available in the market anywhere in the world, it is worth a try!

Ingredients

Rice flour – 2 ½ cups

Besan (gram flour) – ¾ cup

Red chilli powder – 1tsp

Asafetida – ¼  tsp

Salt to taste

Butter – 25-30 gms (1/4 of a 100gm butter pack)

Oil for frying

Method

Mix rice flour and besan. Add salt, red chilli powder, asafetida and butter and mix well.

Add ¾ cup of water and mix well. Add more water gradually and make a slightly loose dough. (Put a tbsp of the dough into the chakli-maker and try squeezing it onto a plate – if it comes out effortlessly, it is fine. If it is t too tight to squeeze, add a little water and mix well.

Heat oil in a kadhai.

Fill the ‘naazhi’ (chakli-maker) with the dough and squeeze it in the hot oil moving your hand in a circular motion.

After 2 minutes, flip it gently.

When both sides are golden brown, remove and drain off the oil and place on a tissue paper.

Prepare pakkodam with the entire dough.

After cooling, store them in air-tight containers.

 © Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.

LADDU

Laddu is an elaborate sweet prepared all over India – especially for Diwali and weddings. It is also known as Boondi laddu in North India - of course the boondis are smaller!

It was my maternal grandma who taught me to make this – way back in 1974! She was visiting me when my son was one and a half. She couldn’t remain idle – she was itching to prepare special items for us. I suggested ‘Laddu’ and she was as excited as me. I observed the way she prepared the batter and sugar syrup – their consistency. At the end of it I noted down the recipe in my recipe book. I would try it out once in a while – and successfully – I had observed its preparation you see! That is the best way to learn a recipe.

It’s after a long gap that I ventured to make ‘laddu’.

Ingredients

1. Besan(gram flour) – 2 ½ cups
2. Rice flour – 1 tsp
3. Orange food color - a drop
4. Water - about 1 cup
5.  Cashew nuts – 2 tbsp
6. Raisins – 2 tbsp
7. Cloves (optional) – 8-10
8. Ghee – 1 tbsp
9. Oil for frying

For sugar syrup

1. Sugar - 3 cups
2. Water - 1 1/2 cups
3. Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
4. Saffron strands - 1/2 tsp / Rose water - 1 tsp

Method

1. Mix besan and rice flour and add water to make a fairly thick batter, making sure there are no lumps.
2.  Add a drop of orange color and mix well.
3. Heat 1 ½ cups of water in a big vessel and add sugar. 
4. Stir and keep boiling till you get a thick syrup. 
5. Add a few strands of crushed saffron strands / rose water. 
6. Add a drop of orange color and mix well.
7. Heat oil in a large kadhai. 
8. Use a boondi maker (you can even use a steel colander) to make the boondis.
9. Hold it above the hot oil, lower the flame and add 3-4 tbsp of batter and allow the boondis to fall in the oil, making sure they don’t stick together.
10. Gently turn the boondis till they are done ( when the bubbles in the oil almost disappear).
11. Drain off the boondis and drop them in the hot syrup.
12. Clean the bottom of the colander before making each batch of boondis.
13. Keep adding hot boondis to the warm syrup till the syrup is completely absorbed.
14. Warm the vessel at the end to melt and mix the thickened syrup sticking to the sides of the vessel.
15. Heat ghee in a small kadhai and fry the cashew nuts and raisins separately till they are golden brown and add to the laddu.
16. Sprinkle cardamom powder too and mix gently.
17. Cool for a little while and make laddus. 
18. If you are unable to make laddus, don’t worry – leave it as boondi – they taste really great too!

Tips

1. The boondis should be round and not flat. You can try to rectify by adding a little more water / besan to the batter.
2. If the sugar syrup is extra-thick and boondis don’t absorb it, try to add a tbsp of water and heat on low flame, scraping the thickened sugar sticking to the sides.
3. The syrup should not be very watery – laddus will be too soft and will not last.

 © Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.

CHAKKA VARATTI (Jackfruit Halwa)

During the jack fruit season (April - June), jack fruit-lovers have a go at it. In Kerala, most houses have jack fruit trees. I still remember my granny serving us - then kids -  HUGE helpings of 'chakkavaratti' when we went there on vacation from wherever my dad was posted. No, granny would just supervise; the 'chakkavaratti' would be prepared by the cook, assisted by the maid in cleaning and chopping the jackfruit during the season.'Chakka varatti' - my favorite - is very tasty by itself. It is also used to make delicacies like 'Chakka Pradhaman' and 'elai adai'. It is usually prepared during the jackfruit season (April-May) and stored for up to a year (in the fridge).

Ingredients

Jack fruit pieces – 2 glasses

Jaggery – 1 glass

Ghee – 3-4 tsp

Method

Remove the seed from the jack fruit whole-pieces and chop them into small pieces.

Sprinkle a tbsp of water and pressure cook it in a separate vessel for 2 whistles.

On cooling, blend it well in a mixer / food processor.

Dissolve the jaggery in minimum water and boil well.

Add the jack fruit paste to the jaggery syrup and stir well on high heat for a few minutes and then on medium heat.
Stir continuously so that it does not get burnt.

Add 2-3 tsps of ghee and stir well till it is thick and leaves the sides of the vessel.

Cool and store in a clean, dry container in the fridge.

This jack fruit halwa is very tasty to eat.

This can also be used for a variety of desserts - ‘chakka pradhaman’ and 'elai adai'.

© Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.

ADA PRADHAMAN

A speciality of Kerala, ‘Ada Pradhaman’ makes use of ‘palada’made from rice, jaggery and coconut milk. Traditionally it would be made at homes from scratch but nowadays you get very good ones in the market.

Ingredients

Rice palada – 100 gms (1/2 cup)

Jaggery – 1 cup

Coconut – 1 (extract milk)

Raisins – 2 tbsp

Cashew nuts / almonds – 2 tbsp

Cardamom powder – ½ - 1 tsp

Ghee – 2-3 tsp

Method

To prepare coconut milk -

Grate a big coconut.

Grind it with a tbsp of water, put it in a thin cloth and extract the thick milk and keep aside the 1^st milk.

Again put the same coconut in the mixer, add 2 tbsp of water and grind again.

Extract the 2^nd milk (thinner than the first one) and keep aside separately.

Again grind the same coconut with a little water and extract the thinnest 3^rd milk and set aside.

 To prepare ‘Ada Pradhaman’ -

Heat 1 ½ -2 cups of water in a thick-bottomed vessel and cook the palada on low heat, constantly stirring, till it gets cooked.

Dissolve 1 cup of jaggery in ¾ cup of water and make a syrup.

Add the cooked palada and stir well on low heat.

Add the 3rd coconut milk (dilutest) and boil for a few minutes.

Add the 2^nd milk and boil for 2 minutes.

Turn off the heat.

Add the thick coconut milk and stir.

Add cardamom powder.

Fry the raisins and nuts in 3 tsp of ghee and add them to the ada pradhaman.

Serve hot / chilled.

 Tips

If extracting coconut milk is too cumbersome, try coconut milk available in packs.

I would rather add regular milk because marketed coconut milk does not have the freshness!

 © Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.

ONAM SADHYA (FEAST)

‘Onam’ is the harvest festival of Kerala – the 10 day festivities celebrate the annual ‘visit’ of the legendary King Mahabali to his kingdom – Kerala – now also known as ‘God’s own country’. It is celebrated in 'Chinga maasam' (Aug - Sep). 'Pookkalam' (floral rangoli) competions, 'vallam kali', 'pulikkali', and traditional dances and festivities are the highlights of the festival.

Every household decorates the front yard with ‘pookkalam’  and indulge in festivities. On ‘Thiruvonam’ day, they wear new clothes, distribute ‘ona kodi’ to all the servants and enjoy an elaborate feast. These days when family members are scattered all over the globe, they make it a point to have a family reunion at least during this period.

The ‘ona sadhya’ typically consists of all the dishes mentioned under ‘sadhya' (feast).

              Ona sadhya items                  

Feast items beginning from left outer circle -

kichadi (white), pachadi (golden brown), thoran, urulakizhangu roast, koottu, olan, avial, kaalan, puli inji, maangaakary, vadai, sharkaravarati, chips, curd, paal paayasam.

Inner circle - beginning from left from near end - ghee, paruppu, rice, pappadam, sambar, rasam.

         

View of the same items from the other end in the above pic! 

The banana leaf should have the narrow end to the left hand side of the eater.
The items should be served in a particular sequence. Also each dish has an allotted spot on the banana leaf! Here's the complete feast served in the right sequence (as in the above photo).

First paal paayasam is served on the near right end.

Next, the dishes are served in order from the far right end of the eater -

kichadi, maanga pachadi, vegetable (urulaikizhangu roast), thoran (avarakka), koottu, avial, olan, kaalan, puli inji, maangaakary.

Near-end beginning from left end -

pappadam, pazham, chakka pazham (optional), sharkaravaratty, varathuppery, chakka uppery, paruppu vada, rice, ghee, sambar and paruppu.

The steel cups from left to right at the far end contain- paayasam, rasam and curd.

If you want to make 'ada pradhaman' / 'palada pradhaman', instead of 'paal payasam' go ahead!

                © Copyright 2011. Brinda Balasubramonian.