Pongal Thirunaal - Uzhavar Thiruvizhaa

"Pongal Nal Vazhthukal" to everyone.

I am late in posting this post but I am sure you will enjoy reading. This festival is also known as "Uzhavar Thirunaal" or "Farmer's Festival". So the name is kind of self - explanatory. It is indeed a harvest festival and giving thanks to the almighty for all the good fortune.

There are some routine practices which makes this festival special. First and foremost is the food - sweet and spicy pongal, vadai, payasam, sweet pori mixture [sweet flattened rice flakes mixture], pongal kuzhambhu, coconut chutney etc.

The highlight of the festival is the offering of freshly harvested produce - rice, tumeric bulbs, sugar cane and country vegetables [brinjal, broad beans, pumpkin, potato, field beans, sweet potato etc]. The celebrations are seen in full form in rural areas more than urban areas, especially in households who own large farms. The food is cooked and offered to the Sun god along with the fresh farm produce. Then new clothes are distributed to all the farm workers and then the food is served to all who have gathered.

Check out this post for more about the Pongal celebrations : Pongal-Words and klicks

There is a practice of drawing kolams in the front yard of each household. Powdered rice [அரிசி மாவு] is traditionally used to draw these kolams. Rice [Arisi /அரிசி] is considered as the representative of Goddess Lakshmi. It is believed that drawing kolams in rice flour early in the morning ensures that you and your household is blessed by Goddess Lakshmi.   Powdered white stone [வெங்கசங்கள் பொடி] is used nowadays for drawing these designs.

Let us leave the religious beliefs aside and look at it in a scientific way. India has one of the lowest incidence of Alzheimer's disease [progressive loss of brain's memory capacity]. The present day research shows that training  your brain cells on a regular basis is best way to keep this disease at bay along with low fat herbal diet.

Kolams are like geometric abstract patterns, inter mingled religious and philosophical motifs. Each one is of a different design and measurement and attributed to a specific diety. Some are so large that they cover the entire breadth of the street. They did not have any book in hand to draw them kolams and they rely solely on their memory for the designs. It was a very subtle creative way of increasing the memory capacity of the brain. This same scientific principle applies to learning all the hymns, mantras and slogams for each God and reciting them every morning.

Kolams are a symbol of auspiciousness and very widely practiced in Tamil Nadu. Traditionally the front yard is drenched with water, sometimes cowdung is mixed with the water and this is used to wash the front yard. It is believed to ward  of evil spirits, in other words infectious germs. Kolams are drawn and outlined with Kaavi/ காவி [Red brick colouring] to give a lovely look.

Rice flour is mixed with water to make a thick paste and the patterns are drawn especially during Krishna Jayanthi.

The month of December [மார்கழி] is famous for the early rising ritual among Hindus. The whole house hold gets up early around 4:00 AM and finish the morning rituals. The men go around the streets in groups singing hymns and the women folk decorate the front yard with large kolams. There is an underlying competition of who draws the largest and most complex pattern in a short period of time.

Information courtesy : Wikipedia , Indian Heritage

There are various patterns in Kolams - Pulli [dots] are arranged in sequence and lines are joined in straight lines or as twisted chains to make patterns. The stroke is known as kambi [கம்பி /twine] which runs around pulli [புள்ளி/dot]. If the stroke is twisted and runs around the dot to form a loop, it is called Nelli / [நெளி கோலம் ]. Various figures like flowers, birds, pots, fish and sometimes welcome writings are also written.

Now coming to the recipe, this is a classic combination in Tamil Nadu. Where ever you go in Tamil Nadu, no matter how tiny the restaurant you would be served with pongal and vadai.

During this festival, varieties of pongal, both sweet and spicy are prepared and served. This spicy variety has been in existence for a very long time since Sangam period [சங்க காலம்] dating back to 3000 B.C. Addition if various spices came along the way. It is very healthy and tasty and fit for all age groups.

Note: Please have this for breakfast and not for lunch or dinner as it is meant to release energy for your whole day's work. Have in moderation [around 1 cup] if your job does not involve much moving around

For the Ven Pongal:
Raw rice /pacharisi: 1 and 1/2 cups
Moong dal: 1/2 cup.
Fresh ginger [chopped] : 1 inch piece
Whole pepper corns: 1 tbsp.
Cumin seeds: 3/4 tbsp.
Cashews: 8-10.
Curry leaves: 1 sprig.
Salt: to taste.
Water:  4 cups.
Ghee: 2 tbsp.

1.Wash and soak the rice and dhal together for 1/2 hour. Drain the water, add the 4 cups of water and pressure cook for two whistles on medium flame.
2.Let the pressure settle down.
3.Meanwhile heat the ghee. Splutter the cumin, curry leaves and pepper corns.
4.Add the chopped ginger and cashews. Fry for 2 minutes and remove from flame.
5.Open the pressure cooker lid and add the fried spices and salt to the cooked rice and dhal.
6.Mix well and serve hot.

The best combination for pongal is medhu vadai, sambhar and coconut chutney....

This is my first experimental trial of this vadai as I was very skeptical about the outcome. I have heard stories about the consistency becoming watery, the dough very sticky, the vadai becoming too hard etc etc etc... but I asked my hubby's aunt [சித்தி] who is my chinna mamiyaar [சின்ன மாமியார் ] for the recipe. Her tips are at the end of this post...

For the medhu vadai:

Whole urad dhal: 2 cups.

Cumin seeds: 2 tsp.

Pearl onions [chopped] : 5-6. 

Whole pepper corns: 1 tsp.

Green chillies [chopped]: 2-3. 

Curry leaves: 1 sprig.

Fresh coconut flesh [chopped]: 4 to 5 one inch pieces.

Salt : to taste 

1.Wash and soak the dhal for a couple of hours and grind to a smooth thick dough without adding any water. Take the dough in a bowl.

2.Add all the other spices  and salt except the onions. Mix well.

3.Heat the oil and test for the temperature by frying a tiny blob of the dough [see tips].

4.When the oil is heated enough add the onions and mix well.
5.Apply some oil on your palms and take a small golf ball size of the dough. 

6.Flatten it slightly and make hole in the centre of the dough.

7.Gently slip it into the hot oil and fry until it is golden brown on all sides.

8.Take the vadais out of the oil and drain them on kitchen towels.

Enjoy hot with sambhar and coconut chutney.....

Note: even if you don't get the shape right don't worry, enjoy the tasty vadais. If there are some left overs, soak them in sambhar for "Sambhar Vadai" or in some runny yogurt and top with some bhoodhis and fresh coriander for "Curd Vadai"

Tips for making soft vadais:

1.Soak the urad dhal for only 2-3 hours.

2.Grind the dhal in a grinder and not a mixie.

3.Do not add any water when grinding the dhal or when taking the dough out of the grinder.

4.Add the onions and salt only when you are about to fry the vadai as the onions tend to let out water when it comes in contact with salt.

5.Heat the oil to the right temperature - not too hot nor cold. Test by frying a small blob of the dough. If it pops up to the surface immediately and colours very quickly - then the oil is too hot. If it does not rise to the top, then the oil is too cold.

6. The dough blob should sizzle and come to the top slowly and steadily to the top and colour evenly.

Enjoy.....

Scribbled by Reva

Sunshine Breakfast - Carrot Beet Muffins

Now this is what I call "Sunshine Breakfast" .... Winter is here now and I am having trouble even getting up from my bed. Just want to curl up even more under the duvet and sleep until I see the sun .... of course that is not going to happen for one good reason "The sun never appears" during the winters ..:(

I definitely have to get from my bed ... now what can be the motivating factor to make me come out of my cosy bed..!!!

Hhhhhmmmm , if sunshine doesn't stream through the window, make the sunshine stream through the breakfast plate.

Missed the point!!! Well, tasty filling breakfast can make any person feel better and if the breakfast is filled with spring flavours and autumn colours, then it is guaranteed to beat the winter blues and run a mile against the icy winds singing songs...

No , I am not exaggerating..... You know that I don't make up stories. Read on and I am sure that by the end of the post [recipe] you will agree with me..:)

Makes: 10 large muffins and Freezable
Carrots [peeled and grated]: 200 gms.
Fresh beets [peeled and grated]: 100 gms.
Eggs [medium]:2.
Dark muscavado sugar: 100 gms.
Plain flour: 260 gms.
Sunflower oil: 60 ml.
Baking powder: 2 tsp.
Ginger powder: 1 tsp.
Cardamom powder: 1/2 tsp.
Vanilla extract: 1/2 tsp.
Yogurt: 80 ml.
Skinless groundnuts: a handful.

Garnish: few tbsp of creme fraiche.

1.Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C /325 degrees F /Gas 3. Place 10 paper cases in a muffin tray.
2.Dry roast the groundnuts on medium flame, cool and pulse to coarse bits. Keep aside.
3.Put the eggs, sugar and oil in a bowl and beat until well combined.
4.In a seperate bowl sift together flour, baking powder, ginger and cardamom powder.
5.Then add this mix to the egg mixture.Beat until well combined.
6.Add the yogurt and vanilla extract and stir gently until combined.

7.Add the groundnuts, grated carrots and beets and stir gently until just incorporated.
8.Spoon into the muffin paper cases until two thirds full and place the tray in the preheated oven [middle rack]. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the skewer inserted in the centre of the muffin comes out clean.

Cool and serve with a dollop of creme fraiche ..

Note: You can omit the beets and add courgettes or just plain carrots. Try to play around with other veggies like pumpkin, squash or leafy greens like spinach to give a completely new flavour..:)

You can a big batch and freeze half the muffins wrapped individually in cling film for upto a month. Just defrost for a couple of hours and warm them in the oven preheated to 150 degrees C/ Gas mark 2 for 4 to 5 minutes. They will be fresh as new...:)

Enjoy..

Scribbled by Reva

Caribbean Porridge with Fresh Strawberry Puree

          Porridge, we all know that it one of the healthiest breakfast around. Yes, yes, yes - I agree that oats is immensely rich fiber and all the other goodness but it gets monotonous to have the same breakfast every day.

          Something to satisfy the chocolate cravings with fruity additions, sweetened with intense earthy honey is definitely what I want for breakfast.

          As far as food is concerned, pleasant visuals gets a thumps up from me even before I taste it. I can see that I am getting a positive nod from anyone who is reading this, most of you would agree with me, isn't it???
     
         Caribbean porridge - the name itself sounds so exotic. It is from the cookbook by Levi Roots who is a "Reggae singer" and a "Celebrity Chef". His book "Caribbean Food made Easy" reflects soulful Caribbean cooking with traditional simple ingredients.
         Dotted with beautiful photographs of the  Caribbean islands, the people with their innocent smiles, breath taking landscapes, sandy white beaches, market scenes with all the bountiful produce on display and food stalls.

         The recipes are very simple resembling Indian cuisine in more ways than one.

        This porridge calls for exotic spices and mellow coconut milk which gives an absolute new flavour to this humble porridge. The recipe is adapted a little according to the ingredients in hand. The strawberry puree and the honey are extra additions suited for my taste.

For the porridge:
Rolled oats: 75 gms.
Water: 100 ml.
Bay leaf: 1.
Whole cloves: 2.
Cinnamon stick: 1 inch piece.
All spice berries : 6-8 [optional]
Thick coconut milk: 50 ml

1. Heat the water in a pan with the spices. Let it come to a boil.
2.Reduce the flame and add the oats.
3.Simmer and stir until cooked.
4.Remove from flame. Remove the spices with the help of a spoon.
5.Add the coconut milk and stir well. Keep warm until serving time.

Fresh Strawberry Puree:
Fresh strawberries: 2 handfuls.
Powdered sugar: 1 tbsp [optional]

1.Hull and wash the strawberries. Whizz along with the powdered sugar to a puree.

Serving the porridge:
Runny honey: 4-5 tbsp.
Chocolate bits: 1 tbsp.
Cooked porridge and strawberry puree.

1.Mix the porridge with around 3 tbsp of honey. In the serving bowl pour the cooked aromatic coconuty porridge until half full.
2.Top with a thick layer of strawberry puree.
3.Top with the remaining porridge.
4.Drizzle with 2 tbsp of strawberry puree and honey.
5.Garnish with chocolate bits.

Serve along with small glasses of strawberry puree, honey and a bowl of fresh strawberries. yum, yum, yum :)

Guys , believe me once you taste this porridge, you will not go back to "skipping breakfast" or "eating unhealthy breakfast" habits.... So lovely is the taste of this dish...

Go on... give it try:)


Sending it to Radhika's Scrumptious Breakfast
 

Enjoy....


Scribbled by Reva

Oats Butternut Squash Rosemary Breakfast Muffins

Breakfast has become a distant dream to most of the working adults especially Mommies with kids to take care of.  They always put their little angels/princes in front of them right from the moment they get up to the moment they go to sleep.

         Result : They compromise on their own health which is not a good thing obviously!!!

          I remember my mom [who is a busy practicing doctor even now],  used to get us ready for school every morning. She made sure that we had our breakfast but she didn't have any. My dad would join us sometimes but most of the times he was out of the door before we even woke up from our sleep.  I guess this is the case with most of our mothers and households.

          I didn't realise the importance of a good breakfast until I ultimately became a busy bee with my work, household duties and my daughter. When I don't have a good breakfast I often binge on the next meal which is not so healthy of course!!!!

          But during the busy morning hour it is easy to skip the meal as in my case because of laziness and I do take my health for granted. Now I realise that my daughter is going to follow my own unhealthy eating habit.

           Say this as pure timing, there was this new cookery show in BBC 2  earlier this year by Lorraine Pascal named "Baking made Easy" which featured these yummies. She is a former "Super Model" turned into a "Super Cook". Her recipes are just wonderful and oh so easy to make. Don't be misled by the name, it can be eaten anytime of the day to fill your tummy.

            It is an easy recipe with all the goodness of fiber and protein but lesser calories. The additional plus point is it can be made in 2-3 batches in one go and can be frozen for upto 3 weeks.

            Another interesting thing is she used greaseproof paper for the muffin cases which so easy to make and gave the muffin the "Deli feel"....

For the original recipe please visit this link :  Pumpkin and Rosemary Savoury Muffins

            I just substituted a few ingredients from the original recipe. First I will give my version and then the original one. I have tried both the recipes and both works fine. The only difference was in texture as my version resulted in thicker texture, not like the usual soft fluffy muffin texture.
           Taste wise both worked fine as these muffins are not sweet so you can have it with a little honey or with a savoury spread.

Dry ingredients:
Whole rolled oats: 180 gms.
Whole meal flour: 130 gms.
Baking powder: 1 tsp.
Bicarbonate of soda: 1/2 tsp.
Salt: 1 pinch.
Fresh rosemary sprigs: 3.

Wet ingredients:
Eggs [large]: 2.
Skimmed milk: 275 ml
Low fat yogurt : 100ml
Vegetable oil: 60 ml.
Honey: 3 tbsp.
Butternut squash: 240 gms.

Sprinkle on top:
Pumkin seeds: a handful.
Flax seed powder: 1-2 tbsp.

Making the muffin cases:
1.Preheat oven to 200 degrees/ 400 F/ Gas mark 6. Cut the grease proof to 14 cms square. Push the each square piece into each muffin hole . Let the sharp ends of the paper stick out.

Now for the muffins:
1. Peel the butternut squash and cut it into 1/2 cms cubes. Steam until soft and keep aside.
2. Grind the oats to a powder. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Chop the rosemary sprigs and add to the dry ingredients.

3.In another bowl mix the eggs, milk, yogurt, oil and honey. No need to beat the eggs, just mix until well combined.
4.Add the wet ingredient mix to the dry mix and mix gently. Do not over-mix the mixture.
5.Add 3/4th of the cooked butternut squash. Mix very gently as it will break very easily.
6.Spoon into the prepared muffin holes until 3/4th filled.

7.Place 1-2 pieces of the butternut squash pieces on top each muffin.
8.Sprinkle with pumkin seeds and flaxseed powder.
9.Bake for 20-25 mins until well risen.


Note: Once cool, freeze the required number of muffins wrapped in clinge flim and place in ziplock bags. Defrost for 1 hr and reheat in microwave for 4-5 mins until warm.



Sending this to "CWS-Cooking with Seeds" an event started by Priya  guest hosted by Gayathri with "Pumkin seeds" as the theme for June.

"Cooking it Healthy - Proteinicious" , an event started by Shobha .

"Wholesome Wholegrain Cooking-WWC", an event started by Sanjeeta KK , guest hosted by Heather of Girlichef.com with "Spelt/Oats" for breakfast as the theme for June.

"Quick and Easy recipe Mela" happening in www.spicytasty.com

Enjoy....


Scribbled by Reva.

French Toast Strawberry Kebabs

French toast has always been  my favourite "On the run breakfast"...... tastes so yum...

Reposting for the following events...... for the original recipe visit this link please: Strawberry French Toast Kebabs

Sending this to
"Only" cooking with Bread by Pari
"Dish starts with D"  by Akila
"B for Breakfast" by Charita
"Cooking with fruits" by Smita
"Anyone can cook" by Ayeesha

 

Enjoy...


Scribbled by Reva

Strawberry French Toast Kebabs

         Who in the world doesn't like french toast.....??? It is a wonderful way to disguise stale bread, dress it up and serve as new.
         The wonderful aroma of the cinnamon emanating when toasting the bread just fills your home with a warmth...it is just wonderful.

         Just to give it a new look, cut the toasts into squares and alternate them with strawberry halves and assemble them onto a wooden skewer...Middle eastern touch to the french classic, I guess!!!
         You can combine with any fruit of your choice and make it as colourful as possible...

For the toasts:
Bread slices : 4-5 [thick and a day old]
Egg: 2
Milk : 100ml.

Sugar : 3 tbsp.
Cinnamon powder :1/2 tsp.
Vanilla extract: 1/2 tsp.
Oil/butter: 1-2 tbsp.

1.Beat the eggs, sugar, cinnamon powder and vanilla extract. Add the milk and mix well .
2.Soak the bread in this mixture and toast on a non stick pan with a dash of oil or butter.
3.When golden brown on both sides, remove and keep it warm.
4.Proceed to finish the rest of the slices.

You can use white or brown bread [not seeded ones],  just make sure that it is thick.

To assemble:
Strawberry halves: 8-10
French toasts: 4-5 slices.
Wooden skewers: 3-4.

1.Cut the toasts into squares.
2.Thread them onto the skewers alternating with the strawberry halves.
3.Serve with more fresh strawberries or whipped cream.

My entry for the AWED-French  event by DK, guest hosted by Priya.

Enjoy...


Scribbled by Reva.