Christmas Fruit Cake [No Alcohol version]

It is that time of the year when the air is filled with the sweet scent of cinnamon, nutmeg, orange , mulled wine, log fires and much more ..

Not to mention about the classic festive bakes with doubles up as treats for family members and edible gifts for friends and colleagues..

Fruit & Nut cake is one such classic which makes us feel Christmassy in every bite. It is a perfect marriage of dried fruit & nuts and heavenly aroma of spices which is tied together with the fresh flavours of oranges and honey.

J.M.Bakes in Coimbatore was & is famous for its plum cake. The cake was sold as slices wrapped in plastic wraps with no glazed or extra toppings. We were so crazy about this cake that it was our weekend treat during school time. At that I didn't know about spices or dried fruit or glazed cherries or muscavado sugar but all I knew was that the cake tasted awesome.

For this recipe I did not add cherries as I wanted a cake that was light but at the same time rich with flavour. This is my preference but feel free to add glazed cherries if you prefer to.

Recipe reference : BBCgoodfood
I have made a few changes to the original recipe and it turned out well.

For the Recipe 
Unsalted butter [at room temperature]: 200 gms
Large eggs: 5
Plain flour:280 gms
Ground almonds: 85 gms
Mixed dried fruit: 400 gms
Light muscavado sugar: 140 gms
Ground ginger & cinnamon:1 tsp each
Ground cloves & nutmeg: 1/2 tsp each
Salt : a pinch

For the glaze and decoration
Fresh orange juice: 4-5 tbsp
Runny honey: 2 tbsp
Dried nuts [of your choice] : a handful

Preheat the oven at 180C/Gas mark 4/Fan 160C. Grease and line the base and sides of 23 inch loose base round cake tin.

Mix the flour, ground almonds and ground spices.

Beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the eggs one by one and mix thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients and the dried mixed fruit.

Mix lightly as to blend everything together.

Pour in the prepared cake tin and bake for 45mins to 1 hr. In the meantime mix the orange juice and honey together.

Once the cake id done, remove from the oven and let the cake cool slightly. Remove the cake from the tin. Brush the cake with the orange honey mix until well absorbed.

Decorate with the dried nuts.

Notes:
Instead of the mixed dried fruit, feel free to add 1 or 2 varieties of dried fruit - raisins, dates, cherries, stem ginger with any nuts of your choice.
Instead of the orange honey glaze you can also decorate with marzipan and fresh fruits like grapes and figs.
The cake keep good for almost a week without the orange honey glaze.

Merry Christmas every one .. Enjoy the holiday season..

Scribbled by Reva

Coconut Laddoo

 It is festival season for the next 3 months, as much as it is enjoyable it does comes with its own share of cooking. Such huge variety of sweets and savories that need to be whipped up almost every other week.

Am I complaining? No ..

Why should I when there are so many quick and easy recipes that come handy for such demands. Coconut Laddoo with condensed milk is one such recipe.

Any recipe with coconut and I go GAGA .. something is so eternally mesmerising about coconut.

Laddoos plays a very important role in our festivals and the varieties are endless from motichoor to dry fruits laddoo to chocolate laddoo. There is something for everyone and for me it is Coconut laddoo. The fresh coconut scrapings combined with cardamom and ginger gives a very unique refreshing flavour.

This recipe is so simple with very few ingredients and the laddoo gets ready in about 30 minutes time. They taste great on the day of making but you can store the laddoos in the fridge for upto a week. just microwave for 5 seconds before serving.

For making around 16 - 20 coconut laddoos you need
Fresh coconut scrapings : 2 cups
Condensed milk : 1 and 1/3 cups
Cardamom powder : 1/2 tsp
Ginger powder : 1/2 tsp
Ghee : 2 tbsp

For rolling and decorating the coconut laddoos
Desiccated coconut : 2-3 tbsp
Powdered sugar : 1 tbsp
Almond slivers : a few

How to make coconut laddoos

1.Heat a heavy bottom pan on medium flame. Add ghee and coconut scrapings. Stir the coconut scrapings until all the ghee is incorporated and the mixture dries up a bit. This will approximately take 5 minutes.

2.Add the condensed milk, salt, cardamom and ginger powder. Mix thoroughly. Frist the mixture wil becomes a bit watery but will gradually start coming together.

3.Keep stirring until the mixture thickens and starts to leave the sides of the pan. Remove from flame and transfer into a bowl.

4.Let it cool a bit. Meanwhile mix the desiccated coconut and powdered sugar. Spread the mix on a plate.

5.Take a small amounts of the warm coconut mix and roll them into laddoos. Roll the laddoos in the desiccated coconut sugar mix. Decorate with almond slivers.

Notes
Buy juicy coconuts for the laddoos not the mature ones as they give a oily taste to the sweet.

U can also add khoya when making the laddoos for more volume and texture. Fro 1/2 cup of khoya add 1/2 cup of condensed milk.

For variations, try adding nuts [cashews, pistachio and chirongi] when making the laddoos.

Instead of almonds , you can use various pistachio and cashews for decorating.

Sivappu Arisi Sarkarai Pongal

Hi everyone,

"When life is sweet, say thankyou and Celebrate. When life is Bitter, say thankyou and Grow"

Not trying to be philosophical but for some reason this particular line stayed in my memory. I saw this in one of the bookshop windows a few years back. This best part about this statement is that we forget to celebrate when we feel blessed but make sure to crib/whine/get angry and frustrated when things don't go our way.

Probably this fast moving world has made us forget the small things that have a positive impact in our everyday life but we hang on to the negative things, burden ourselves mentally and emotionally and turn the whole situation bitter. Sweet pongal/payasam especially rice based are my ultimate comfort food. The process of making these sweet dishes, the flavours, textures and aroma of the finished dish in itself is so therapeutic.

This recipe calls for red raw rice and coconut milk with a mild ginger and cardamom flavour. It is a simple way to include other rice varieties [other than the usual raw rice] in our diet.

 
For the recipe
Red raw rice: 1 cup [washed]
Moong dal: 1/4 cup
Jaggery: 1 cup
Water: 1/4 cup
Coconut milk [strained first]: 1 cup
Coconut milk [strained second]: 2 cups
Coconut milk [strained third]: 2 cups
Cardamom powder : 1/2 tsp
Ginger : 1 inch piece
Edible camphor: 1 pinch
Saara paruppu [chironji or charoli in hindi]: 1 tbsp
Ghee: 2 tbsp

1.Bring the water to a boil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the jaggery and stir until everything is dissolved. Remove from flame and set aside.
2.Heat a pressure cooker on medium flame. Roast the moong dal for a couple of minutes until a nice aroma emanates, Add the washed rice, ginger, cardamom powder and coconut milk [second and third strained]. Close the lid and cook for 3-4 whistles. Put off the flame.
3.Meanwhile heat 1 tbsp of ghee in a small pan and roast the saara paruppu. Set aside. Filter the jaggery syrup and mix the edible camphor in the syrup.
4.Once the pressure in the cooker subsides, open the lid and mash the rice dal mix slightly. Place the cooker on medium flame. Add the jaggery syrup little by little and mix well.
5. Once the jaggery syrup has been absorbed into the rice dal mix, add the roasted saara paruppu and the remaining ghee and mix well. Switch off the flame.
6.Let the pongal cool for about 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk [first strained] and mix gently.

Serve warm or cold.

Notes:
1.The amount of liquid required [wether using water, milk or coconut milk] is determined by the age of the rice. I had used new rice which requires less water. If you are using old rice, then increase the liquid amount by 1 cup to the already given ratio.

2. Instead of coconut milk you can use regular milk or just water. If using milk or water, add all the liquid into the pressure cooker to cook the rice dal mixture.

3.Feel free to use cashew and raisin instead of saara paruppu.

4.You can also add 2-3 tbsp of fresh scraped coconut to the rice dal mix and continue to make the pongal. 

Scribbled by Reva

Gulab Jamun

இனிய தீபாவளி நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள் .. Wishing everyone a Very Happy Deepavali .. 

I am sure everyone is busy with Deepavali preparations. I miss Coimbatore especially during festivals - hours of clothes shopping amidst the frantic crowd, matching accessories for the clothes, sweet and savoury preparations, cleaning and decorating the house, early morning oil bath on deepavali, meeting friends, visiting temple and so on..

God ! I miss the excitement.

Preparing sweets and savouries at home is an adventure [to say the least].There are a lot of things that can actually pose a challenge when it comes to home preparation - Space, time, patience,getting the right consistency, storing the eatables and above all the "health of the person" who knows it all ..

Traditionally, most of the sweets and savouries took days of preparation right from soaking the rice to grinding to making the sugar syrup to the final product. Nowadays we can find ready mixes in the super market isle right from jamun to payasam to murukku. It is an easy option out but home-made is the best.

Having said that my favourite sweet shops in Coimbatore are way too many - Sri Krishna Sweets in Ramanathapuram. Their "Mysore-Pak and Badusha" is to die for, A1 chips "Coconut milk Murukku and Oppitu [otherwise known as poli]", Adyar Aanada bhavan "Milk sweets" and Nellai Lala for their "Mixtures and Halwas".

Ever since I stared blogging I try to make sweets at home. Many a times the supposed to be sweets have turned out to be complete diasters but I am getting the hang of it now.

Gulab jamuns are the most easiest of sweets that can be made at home. There are so many variations to make gulab jamun from scratch. I have used milk powder in this recipe but you can also try with koya [milk solids] to make them. If you are one of those who have used the ready-made mix Gulab jamun mix to make these sweet dumplings, you should try making them with milk powder.

They are so soft, soaked in sugar syrup, delicately scented with rose water and cardamoms that they melt in the mouth.

For the sugar syrup
Castor sugar: 2 cups
Water: 1 and 1/2 cup
Cardamom pods: 8-10
Rose water: 2 tsp

In a heavy bottom vessel add sugar, water and cardamom pods. Let this bubble for around 8-10 mins in medium heat until you get a syrup consistency [when you touch the sugar syrup between your index finger and thumb, you will get a sticky consistency]. Be careful not to over boil the syrup to one string consistency. Remove from heat, mix the rose water in the syrup and keep the syrup warm 

For the Gulab Jamun:
Milk powder: 1 cup
Maida: 1/4 cup.
Curd: 2 tbsp
Milk: 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Bicarbonate of soda: 1 small pinch
Salt: 1 pinch
Ghee: 1 tbsp
Oil: for frying

Mix milk powder, maida, salt and bicarbonate of soda. In a small cup mix the milk and curd and set aside. Add the ghee to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly followed by the milk-curd mixture. Bring everything together to a smooth dough. Wet your palms a little with the milk and make small balls from the dough. The surface of the balls should be smooth without any cracks.

Fry the jamuns in small batches of 4-5 until they are golden  brown. Remove them from the oil and immerse them in the sugar syrup immediately. Fry all the dough balls and soak them in sugar syrup. Once done, transfer them into a seperate container and store in a cool dry place.

Notes:
Getting the syrup consistency is crucial - it should be sticky and not string consistency.
Make the jamun balls of smaller size so that they cook evenly when frying and soak up the syrup completely.
The temperature of the oil should be medium meaning a batch of 4-5 dough balls will approximately take 4-5 minutes to attain golden brown colour.
The dough should be smooth edging on sticky. If required add 1tsp of milk to the dough.

Have a very happy deepavali everyone ..

Happy cooking

Enjoy

Mullu Murukku ... Deepavali special

Deepavali is just round the corner ... Hhhhmmmm, just to think about the festival I can't help wondering how things have changed in the past decade or two ...

U know, the way the festival is celebrated especially when you are residing outside India.  My childhood celebration is different to how my daughter celebrates ... Most of the time I long for all the family gatherings, waking up early in the mornings for the oil bath, new clothes, trays of sweets and savouries waiting for God's blessings, boxes of crackers and the general celebration mood...

Now a days it has become inevitable but to spread our wings and explore outside our own boundaries leading to a life style very much different from our parent's working years which carries its own "pros and cons" ...

Of course, I miss the closeness of family members but being in a foreign country has led to a different type of gathering to celebrate festivals which mostly includes friends....

Seperation from family has led to finding closeness with friends in a much more stronger way ... community forming strategy in a foreign land..:) It doesn't mean that we are a closed group.

In fact most of work colleagues are very interested in finding out what we do during festival times and it is such a learning experience for them and they absolutely relish our food ...:))

So now coming to the recipe, it is quite different from the usual murukku recipe by my MIL's sister. I am very much in the learning stage when it comes to traditional savouries but it was a good learning experience. This murukku has a wonderful spicy flavour from the chilli and garlic and I bet no one can stop with just one murukku.

For the murukku:
Rice flour: 1/2 kg.
Roasted gram [pottukadalai]: 50 gms.
Curd: 3/4 cup.
Dried red chillies: 3.
Garlic pods: 3.
Asafoetida powder: 1 tsp.
Butter [unsalted and melted]: 2 tbsp.
Salt : as required.
Water : as required to make the dough.
Coconut oil: 2 tbsp.

To fry the murukkus:
Equal quantities of cooking oil and coconut oil roughly measuring around 1/2 litre each.

1.Dry roast the roasted gram [pottukadalai] for 1 minute and cool. Grind to a fine powder and seive. Keep the powder aside.
2.Soak the red chillies in a little hot water for 15 minutes. Grind the soaked red chillies and garlic to a fine paste. Drain the paste through a fine seive to seperate the juice and any large bits. Reserve until later use.
3.Beat the curd until smooth.
4.Mix the dry ingredients first - rice flour + roasted gram flour [pottukadalai maavu] + salt + asafoetida powder.
5.Add the beaten curd, the chilli garlic juice and melted butter. Mix thoroughly. Add water little by little to make a soft pliable dough. Cover with a lid and keep aside for 5 minutes.

6.Meanwhile place the oil for frying in a deep heavy bottomed vessel on medium flame.
Fix the murukku maker with the mullu murukku plate [achu - அச்சு] and oil the insides with the pure coconut oil.
7.Apply some coconut oil on your palms and take a small amount of the dough into the murukku maker.
8.Place the top part of the maker on the dough filled bottom portion of the murukku maker and press either directly onto the oil or onto a small oiled plate and then slip it into the oil.
9.Fry until both sides are golden brown in colour and remove the murukkus from oil once the sizzling stops.
10.Drain on paper towels. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough.

Once all the murukkus are completely cooled, store in air tight containers. Enjoy with a hot cup of tea but they do taste delicious just as they are...:))

Notes: If you are an amature cook like me when it comes to making traditional savouries, then here are some tips for you.

Make sure that all the ingredients are as fresh as possible because snacks especially fried ones tastes best when its ingredients are fresh.

Coconut oil imparts a wonderful aroma and flavour to the savoury items but feel free to use the usual cooking oil if you prefer. If using salted butter, then be careful about the amount of salt added to the dough.

Home made rice flour works best but I use shop brought rice flour. So it is your choice to use which ever flour you want.

Substitute dried red chilli with chilli powder and fresh garlic pods with garlic powder. If garlic powder is unavailable, then omit the ingredient completely.

It is important to seive the flours as it helps remove the lumps - so don't forget to seive.

The oil should be at the right temperature - visit this link on how to check the temperature of the oil. 

Enjoy and happy deepavali..

Scribbled by Reva

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

Sweet and Kaara Butter Seedai

         Krishna Jayanthi is not complete without any prasadham offerings to Krishna. So many items are offered to him on the auspicious day. Obviously I can't make everything, so had to zero down on two items. Seedai seemed innocent enough for me to try.

             I have read some scary stories but I thought I will give it a go. I possibly couldn't prepare the flour at home, so I used store brought flours.This is my first experiment with seedai. Mixing the flours was easy but rolling them into equal size balls about 1 cm in diameter was the difficult job.
            Seriously I don't have the patience...... it is like you see an awesome song of SRK and Kajol from their forth coming film and then you have to wait till the movie is released which will be after 2-3 weeks. How frustrating is that!!!!!

            I rolled them and left it to dry for nearly  6 hours .... now this is the kaara seedai we are talking about. The sweet seedai story is a different story:)

            I feel "Sweet Seedai" represents Krishna and "Butter Kaara Seedai" represents Radha.... the perfect match:)

Kaara Butter Seedai:

Rice flour [roasted]: 2 cups.
Urad dhal flour [roasted] : 1/2 cup.
Melted butter: 50 gms.
Salt: 1 tsp.

Asafoetida powder: 1/2 tsp.
Cumin: 1 tsp.
Water: as needed to make a dough
Vegetable oil: to fry the seedai

1. Mix all the ingredients until you get a fine bread crumb consistency.
2.Then add the water little by little to get a firm dough.
3.Make small equal sized round balls around 1cm in diameter.
4.Arrange them on a newspaper or clean white cloth which can absorb moisture.
5.Let the seedai dry out for atleast a couple of hours.

6.Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Fry a small piece of the dough to see if it just pops up and not bursting.
7.Don't add too many seedai at once, maybe 5 to 8 depending on the size of the frying pan.
8.The seedai will automatically float on top of the hot oil when done.
9.Drain on kitchen towels and store them in air tight containers when completely cooled.

Sweet Seedai.

           By the time I finished making the savoury version, it was already 6 in the evening. Then I finished my dinner and then I started with the sweet version at 11 in the night. It was well worth the time and effort.

           I found this recipe in one of the famous blogs around which is none other than DK 's Chef in you. It was an easy recipe, explained very well and presented beautifully. I didn't dare to change the recipe in anyway but made a few adjustments. I didn't have fresh coconut, so I used dessicated coconut and added 1 tsp of sesame seeds. Also I added 1 tbsp of ghee.

           The real fun part was preparing the jaggery syrup. It was not the usual method but worked out perfectly fine.

Rice flour: 1 cup.
Urad dhal flour: 2 tsp.
Powdered jaggery: 1 cup.
Hot water: 1 cup.
Ghee: 1 tbsp.
Dessicated coconut: 1 tbsp.
Cardamom powder: 1/2 tsp.
White sesame seeds: 1/2 tsp.

1.Take the jaggery in a bowl and add 1 cup of hot water. Let it sit for 40 minutes.
2.Roast the sesame seeds until aromatic and keep aside.
3.Mix the rice flour, urad flour, sesame seeds, ghee, cardamom powder and dessicated coconut together.

4.Filter the jaggery syrup and add it to the flour mix little by little until you get a firm dough consistency.
5.Make small equal sized balls of 1 cm diameter. Spread them on a news paper and let them dry out for a good couple of hours.
6.Heat oil and fry the seedai in small batches.
7.Drain on paper towels and store in air tight containers.

Note: You might have some syrup left which can be used for something else.

I enjoyed making them and tasting them. They were awesome ....

Enjoy....


Scribbled by Reva

Kutti Krishnar Came.....

      I am sure by this time "Kutti Krishnar" would have visited everyone's home and had lots of yummy goodies to eat. That is why he is late to visit my household, he!he!!

         Blogging about this auspicious day was quite a challenge to me.First, I had to draw the small foot impressions beautifully. Second, to prepare the  all the sweet and savoury dishes to offer on the celebration day. Third, to keep the snacks safe from my hubby and friends who have a special talent to sniff out the goodies, no matter where it is hidden.

        Now all the three jobs are hard, atleast for me:) I can't really draw foot prints and more over all the rooms are carpeted. Me and my hubby went and got 2 slate tiles as I needed something as a rustic background for the footprints and for general food photography in future.

        My dear friend Christy who is an talented Ophthalmologist, beautiful singer, wonderful friend and a very loving caring human [I can go on and on about her] helped me draw the footprints as I just took some pics.

        Actually we celebrated this festival last week as we had our friends Christy and Karthik over at our place. Me, my hubby, Christy and Karthik are all classmates from medical school and it is like we have not grown up from those lovely youthful days. Friends become family in a foreign place, isn't it?

       We all know that Lord Krishna is full of mischief and always playing pranks on everybody around. His famous act of mischief is to steal butter from neighbours home and gulp the whole thing down.

       I didn't have much thought on why this little boy was so naughty. My aunt is a very pious person and I just popped her the question. Her answer was

"The butter is mixed with kalkandu [rock sugar candy]. Butter signifies our soul and sweet sugar represents traits like unconditional love, kindness, generosity, politeness and being humble. This indirectly indicates that our heart and soul should be filled with all the good qualities which makes everyone around us happy".

        This month's "Mangaiyar Malar" [which a women's magazine in Tamil] has a special festival edition. The real meaning of why Krishna steals butter is explained in a very simplified manner.

        "Butter is churned out of curd which inturn comes from milk. Until then we actually don't see the butter. Churning action causes the butter to seperate from the whey and float seperately. It is this butter that Krishna eats. Like wise our soul and spirit is caught amidst all the worldly pleasures, responsibilities, hardships, our liking for material things, jealousy, anger, hate, laziness, cruelty etc. 

           Chanting Krishna's name and praying to him enables our soul to leave all the worldy bonds and seperate like butter from whey water. The butter is eaten by Krishna meaning the soul of the person who has given up everything by chanting his  name ultimately becomes one with Krishna himself being absorbed into his blood and soul".

        It was such an eye opener to why we practise certain customs and believe in age old stories about divine beings:)

Hope everyone enjoyed reading the post....

Happy Krishna Jayanthi.....


Scribbled by Reva