Idiyappam / Sevai (Rice String Hoppers)

Idiyappam or string hoppers or sevai  is a low calorie, stomach friendly dish since it is a steamed one. This is a famous breakfast recipe among the people of Kerala, Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu. This is very safe for babies, older and convalescent people. Whenever we go to the doctor for fever, diarrhea or vomiting, his list includes idiyappam next to idli. So every mom should know the art of making this delicious idiyappam.

Idiyappam can be made with different flours and when it is combined with other ingredients, make varieties of idiyappam , sweet, savoury and so many. Today I am going to post the simple idiyappam recipe. I’ll post the other varieties in due course.

Ingredients:

• Idiyappam flour – 1 cup
• Water – 1 ½ cups
• Gingelly oil – 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Sieve idiyappam flour well . Transfer this flour into a large bowl and ½ tsp salt with this flour and mix well. Keep it aside.
2. Bring water to rolling boil. Add gingelly oil to water and pour this boiled water to the rice flour slowly, stirring the flour with a ladle. Stop adding water when the dough becomes smooth.
3. Quickly knead the dough well with a ladle itself and put this hot dough in the kitchen press (idiyappam press) and close the kitchen press. Press and swirl the idiyappam press on a greased idli plate in circular fashion so that the rice strings fall over smoothly.
4. Place this idli plate in a idli maker with steaming water. Cook this for 10 minutes.

Lovely idiyappam is ready to serve. Today I prepared Thengaippaal sodhi (தேங்காய்ப்பால் சொதி) using coconut milk as side dish for idiyappam. This is very easy to prepare and is a yummy combo!

Note:

• If you use plain raw rice flour for making idiyappam, slightly dry fry the flour without changing the colour.
• Only the hot dough is easy to squeeze out into strings. So, don’t prepare the dough at a stretch, do it in batches.
• Add correct amount of water. If water added is less, it will be very hard to press. If you add excess water, then strings will not be formed.

Tags: Idiyappam recipe, sevai recipe, Plain idiyappam, Rice string hoppers, arisi idiyappam

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Karuveppilai Sadam/ Karuveppilai Rice (Curry Leaves Rice)

Karuveppilai Rice/ Karuveppilai Sadam is one of the rice variety we can make with curry leaves. Karuveppilai or curry leaves is a nutrient dense herb, which has many medicinal values. This ingredient  is a must for the most of South Indian recipes like  Sambar, Rasam, Poriyal, Kootu, etc which will never get completed without these leaves. These leaves add flavor and taste to all the dishes and so it is used mainly for seasoning. But most of us throw it away while eating and when we use these leaves for  making rice, there is no possibility of avoiding these curry leaves. So, this Karuveppilai rice/ Karuveppilai Sadam  is a better way to include this herb in our regular diet to get the benefits of this ingredient.

Ingredients:

• Cooked rice – 1 ½ cup

To roast & Grind:

• Oil – 2 tsp
• Curry leaves – 1 cup
• Jeera – 1 tsp
• Red chillies – 4 Nos.
• Dhaniya – 1 tbsp
• Toor dhal – 1 tbsp
• Pepper corns – ½ tsp
• Grated coconut – 2 tbsp
• Tamarind – small gooseberry size

For seasoning:

• Ghee or oil – 2 tbsp
• Mustard – 1 tsp
• Jeera – ½ tsp
• Red chilli – 1 No.
• Hing – ½ tsp
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Salt to taste
• Fried cashew nuts for garnishing

Method:

1. First roast curry leaves in a tsp of oil till it becomes crispy without changing its colour. Remove and keep it aside.
2. In the same kadai, add the balance oil and roast all the other things given under “roast and grind” except tamarind.
3. Grind all the above items with tamarind and little salt to a coarse powder.
4. In a pan, add ghee/oil and season the items given under “ seasoning”. Then add turmeric powder and the curry leaves powder and sauté for few seconds.
5. Now add the cooked rice and required salt and give a nice stir so that everything gets mixed well.
6. Garnish it with fried cashew nuts.

Karuveppilai sadam is ready! This can be served with any vadam/papad or chips. This is an ideal lunch box recipe. Kids will love to have this because of its lovely green colour. Try it & enjoy!!

Note:

Care should be taken while grinding curry leaves, otherwise the green colour will be lost.

Technorati Tags: Kariveppilai sadam, curry leaves rice recipe, how to prepare karuveppilai podi sadam, kariveppilai podi rice, curry leaves podi rice recipe, curry leaves powder rice, karuveppilai rice

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Seppankizhangu Roast (Colocasia/ Taro Root/ Arbi Fry)

Preparation time :20 minutes     

Cooking time : 20 minutes

Serves 3 

Difficulty : Medium

Seppankizhangu  in Tamil is known as Colocasia or Taro root in English and Arbi in Hindi.  My son loves to have any fry/roast for his lunch menu, especially for sambar or dhal rice. This combo definitely wins everybody’s heart . This seppankizhangu roast tops every other deep fry item but I had not known about it for a long time because I was not familiar with this vegetable and  it had not been tried at our home.  I tasted this vegetable for the first time in Mor Kuzhambu at my friend’s house and it was not that much interesting. When I tasted this vegetable as a roast in some of the marriages and I was very impressed and thought that it was a trade mark secret of marriage cooks. Some two years back, I tried making this roast at home,  knowing my son’s interest in deep fry items. It came out very well and from then, it has become a favourite of everyone who tasted this dish.

Ingredients:

• Seppankizhangu  - 15 Nos.
• Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
• Curry leaves few
• Crushed garlic – 2 pods
• Oil for deep frying
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Cook seppankizhangu along with a tablespoon of salt and  turmeric powder with enough water until it gets cooked completely.
2. Cool it and peel off the skin. Cut this into small, thin round discs.
3. Pour oil in a deep bottomed kadai and fry seppankizhangu in batches in medium flame till it becomes golden brown in  colour and crispy enough.
4. Remove the excess oil from the same kadai, keeping a table spoon of it , add curry leaves and crushed garlic. Then add required salt, chilli powder, fry for just few seconds so that the raw smell of chilli powder goes off. Now add  fried seppankizhangu. Sauté well in simmer till everything gets mixed well, just for 2 minutes.

Your yummy seppankizhangu roast is ready to be served with sambar , rasam, curd or with any variety rice.

Note:

• Seppankizhangu should not be over cooked since it will become mushy and your roast will not be crispy.
• You can  also cook this kizhangu the previous day , slice it and store it in the refrigerator.

Tags: Seppankilangu roast, Seppankilangu fry, Cheppankizhangu roast, Cheppankizhangu fry, Seppankilangu chips, Seppankilangu spicy chips, Arbi fry

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Rasagulla (Bengali Sweet)

Rasagulla is a famous  Bengali sweet/desert and the method is very simple but I can’t guarantee the output. Because we need to follow the procedure carefully so that the correct texture of rasagullas  can be obtained. I heard lot of stories  from my friends about making rasagullas at home. I have tried it long before but I got the exact texture at the very first attempt. Today, being a special day, my husband’s birthday, I wanted to try it again to surprise my hubby. I recollected the recipe and started this venture with a little doubt but ended up with great result. This time also I got it right!. I thought of sharing this recipe immediately, so that it will be useful for our forthcoming festivals , especially for Diwali. My husband will also  have a look at this special sweet I have made on his B’day!

Ingredients:

• Milk (full fat) – 500  ml
• Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
• Sugar – 100 ml
• Water – 300 ml
• Cardamom powder – 1 tsp
• Ice cubes – few
• Pistachio for decoration 

Method:

1. .Boil milk and add lemon juice, stir the contents so that the milk curdles totally and the whey water gets separated.
2. Swich off and add the ice cubes and stir.
3. Drain the whey water using a clean muslin cloth  and rinse it under running water .
4. Gently press to remove the excess water from the paneer and hang it for 10 minutes.
5. Transfer the contents from the muslin cloth in a bowl and knead it gently for about 5 minutes.
6. Make it like a small ball. I got around 12 small balls out of ½ litre milk.
7. Place a kadai on stove, pour water, sugar and cardamom powder. When the sugar gets dissolved completely, strain the syrup using metal strainer.
8. Again heat the sugar syrup in a kadai/vessel, when it boils, gently drop the balls into the sugar syrup and boil in medium heat for about  2 minutes. Then simmer and close it with a lid , cook the balls for about 10 minutes, opening the lid now and then.
9. Now you will find the rasagullas become double in size. At this stage, switch off and refrigerate and serve the yummy rasagullas.

Note:

1. Kneading part plays an important role in getting porous rasagullas, so do this with enough patience.
2. Don’t overheat the sugar syrup, if you find that it is thick while straining you can add some water.
3. We can use whey water for curdling the milk which is the way the Bengalis use to curdle. This will also give soft rasagullas.

Tag: Bengali sweet, Bengali desert, Indian sweet, Indian desert, Diwali recipes, milk based sweet recipe, sugar syrup recipe.

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Pattaani Sundal (Dry Peas Sundal)

Preparation time :10 minutes     

Cooking time : 15 minutes

Serves 3 

Difficulty :  Easy

Pattani/ Dried peas sundal is a tasty sundal recipe. The recipe I followed here is a simple one and not the famous “Thengai Mangai Pattani Sundal”. I will post the recipe for Thengai mangai pattani sundal later.

This is a dry sundal variety and can be made during Navarathri festival too!

Ingredients:

• Dried peas – ½ cup
• Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
• Turmeric powder – a pinch
• Amchur powder – ½ tsp
• Grated coconut – 2 tbsp
• Garlic clove – 1 No.
• Salt to taste

For seasoning:

• Oil – 1 tsp
• Mustard – 1 tsp
• Jeera – ½ tsp
• Asafoetida – a pinch

Method:

Soak dried peas over night or for minimum 4 hours. Pressure cook peas for 2 whistles or until done. Grind coarsely coconut and garlic and keep aside. Pour oil in a kadai, season the items given for seasoning, transfer the cooked peas, add red chilli powder, turmeric powder  and required salt. Sauté well till all the moisture got absorbed. Now add coconut paste and amchur powder. Give a nice stir until everything blends well and switch off.

It can be served as a healthy evening snack or can be had as an accompaniment for sambar/rasam/curd rice.

Note:

If you prepare this sundal as Neivedyam for Navarathri pooja, skip using garlic.

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Easy Kuzhi Appam/ Easy Kuzhi Paniyaram

Happy Onam to all!

Today is Thiruvonam, being celebrated by all Malayalis all over the world in a grand manner. When we think about Onam there are many Kerala specialities that strike our mind but most important are Athai pookolam , Onasadhya and Boat race. Keralites believe that King Mahabali comes to visit his people on this day. So to welcome King Mahabali to their home, they make attractive “Kolam” at the front yard using varieties of colourful flowers. They make Onasadhya, an elaborate meal which includes Ada Pradhaman, Parippu Pradhaman, Thoran, Kalan, Puli Inji, Olan, Avial, Unniyappam/ Nei appam etc. I have seen many restaurants which offer Onasadhya for a week with some special offers! The celebration also includes Kali dance, Boat race, Elephant procession, etc. Out of these I like Boat race and Elephant procession very much.

Actually I wanted to post some of the Onasadhya recipes but I was little bit busy. Today also I have a function to attend. But I want to post something related on this special day. So I made easy Kuzhi Appam today. I got very soft, porous appams! You can visualize the softness of appam through my clicks!!

Preparation time :10 minutes

Standing time – 2 hours    

Cooking time : 30 minutes

Serves 4 

Difficulty :  Easy

Ingredients:

• Rava – ½ cup
• Maida (all purpose flour) – ½ cup
• Grated coconut – ¼ cup
• Jaggery – ½ cup
• Idli batter – 4 tbsp
• Salt a pinch
• Cardamom powder – ½ tsp
• Oil/ Ghee as required

Method:

Melt jaggery in ½ cup of water and strain the impurities. Add all the above ingredients in a bowl except oil and mix everything by adding sugar syrup and bring it to dosa batter consistency. Leave this batter for about 2 hours. After 2 hours, check for the batter consistency. It should be like idli batter, if it is too thick, add some water to bring it to required consistency. Heat paniyarakkal and add some oil/ghee in each hole, pour the batter into each hole and allow to cook in simmer. When it is done, flip appam to other side and cook on both sides.

Soft, yummy appams are ready to serve!

I have prepared these appams using dark Paagu Vellam, so the colour has turned to the darker side but very tasty. But you can use yellow jaggery if you are worried about the colour.

  

Note:

1. Standing time of minimum 2 hours is a must to get soft appams. If you have time, you can leave it for more time.
2. I don’t use baking soda/appa soda but if you want you can add.
3. You can also deep fry these appams in oil. 

Tags: Kerala Kuzhi appam recipe, Recipe for Onam festival, Onam festival recipe, Sweet paniyaram, Quick sweet paniyaram, instant appam recipe, Rava Maida Paniyaram, Rava Kuzhi Paniyaram, Rava Maida Kuzhi Appam, Rava Maida Appam, Sweet Appam, Sweet Maida Appam, Sweet Rava Kuzhi Appam

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Muttai Thokku (Egg Masala)

Preparation time :15 minutes     

Cooking time : 15 minutes

Serves 3 

Difficulty :  Easy

Egg masala/ Egg thokku is always in the hit list of my menu. Usually during working days, I don’t have the opportunity of preparing this masala since my son and I don’t prefer taking non vegetarian dishes in our lunch boxes. So today I prepared this masala as an accompaniment for rice and sambar. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

• Egg – 3 Nos.
• Onion (finely chopped) –  1 No. (Medium size)
• Coriander leaves for garnishing

 To grind:

• Tomato – 1 No. (Medium size)
• Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Pepper – 1 tsp
• Fennel seeds – ½ tsp
• Khus khus – ½ tsp
• Grated coconut – 2 tbsp
• Garlic – 3 pods

 For seasoning:

• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Cinnamon – a small piece
• Curry leaves few

Method:

Boil the eggs and remove the shell carefully. Make a slit on the surface of the egg and keep it aside. Grind the items given under “To grind” to a fine paste and keep it aside. Pour oil in a kadai and season with the items given under seasoning, then add onion and sauté well till the onion becomes golden brown colour. To this add the ground masala and sauté till the raw smell of the masala goes off. Then add ½ cup of water and bring it to boil. When the gravy gets shortened like a thick gravy, add the eggs and mix the masala so that all the eggs get coated with the masala completely and cook for 2 minutes or till it reaches thokku consistency. Switch off and garnish with coriander leaves.

Your egg masala or egg thokku is ready to be served with piping hot rice! Do it and enjoy with your family!!

This will be little  spicy since we add pepper corns and hence can be served as  a good side dish for rice with sambar/curd or with some bland pulao like Jeera Pulao, Peas Pulao, etc, or with roti/parotta.

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Peerkangai Kootu (Ridge Gourd Kootu)

Preparation time :10 minutes     

Cooking time : 15 minutes

Serves 4 

Difficulty :  Easy

Ridge gourd is known as Peerkangai in Tamil and it has high dietary fibre. It is a diabetic friendly vegetable and also  helps in aiding weight loss. It has high beta carotene, zinc, iron and  magnesium. So it is better to include in your weekly diet. When peerkangai combined with dhal gives many health benefits and I can term it as a “Bachelor recipe” because this one dish gives all vitamins, proteins, etc essential for day to day life. It serves multi purpose, i.e. it can be served either for mixing with rice or as a side dish for rice & rasam/ kuzhambu/curd or for chappathi too.

Peerkangai kootu is very easy to prepare and delicious too. This can be prepared with any dhal. Using moong dhal will not require too many preparations.

Ingredients:

• Ridge gourd     - 1 No. (Medium size)
• Moong dhal     - 75 ml
• Turmeric powder – a pinch
• Red chilli powder – ¼ tsp
• Shallots            (chopped) - 5 Nos.
• Green chillies(slitted) – 2 Nos.
• Tomato            (chopped) – 1 No.
• Scraped coconut – 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste

For seasoning:

• Mustard – 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds (Jeera) -1 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Oil – 1 tsp

Method:

Wash , remove the skin of the ridge gourd and cut into small cubes.  Cook the moong dhal with turmeric powder  and water until very soft.  Pour oil in a kadai and season with the items given for seasoning. Then add onion, green chillies  and tomato, sauté for a minute. Now add ridge gourd pieces and sauté for a minute, then add cooked moong dhal and red chilli powder and mix well. Cook the vegetable with a lid covered for 5 minutes. Now add coconut and required salt, mix everything and cook for a minute. Your

peerkangai kootu is ready to be served!!

As I already told, this tastes great when it is mixed with hot rice with a few drops of ghee. Bachelors, you can have this hot rice with pickle or chips and I assure you of a heavenly meal, Try it!

This can be taken as a side dish for kara kuzhambu, Meenkuzhambu or for rasam.

Note:

Depending on the usage of this dish i.e. main/side dish, you can adjust the spice level with the addition of chilli powder. The measurements I have given will be mild enough to take it as side dish.

Tags: Rodge gourd kootu, Restaurant style ridge gourd kootu recipe, Peerkangai kootu, Peerkangai Kootu South Indian recipe, Kootu with ridge gourd, Ridge gourd paasi paruppu kootu, Peerkangai Paasi paruppu kootu, Ridge gourd Green moong dhal kootu

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Green Moong Dhal Gravy (Green Gram Curry | Green Bean Gravy)

Preparation time :10 minutes   

Cooking time : 20 minutes

Serves 3 

Difficulty :  Easy

Green gram or green bean is known as Pachai Payaru in Tamil and green moong in Hindi.  Highly nutritious among all beans, it contains low fat protein and high fibre.  Green bean has low glycemic index and hence very good for diabetics and those who are on diet.

Green Bean gravy / Pachai Payaru Kuzhambu is a delicious one which can be prepared easily and goes well with steamed rice, roti, chapathi, idli or dosa.

Ingredients:

• Green Bean – ½ cup
• Onion (chopped) – 1 No.
• Garlic ( crushed) 3 pods
• Tomato (chopped) – 2 Nos.
• Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
• Coriander powder – 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
• Tamarind juice – 1 tbsp
• Coconut paste – 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste

For seasoning:

• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Cinnamon – a small piece
• Fennel seeds – ½ tsp
• Curry leaves – few

Method:

Dry fry green gram in a pan in simmer till you get a nice aroma. Switch off and allow it to cool. Wash the bean in water, then pressure cook along with a cup of water for 2 whistles. Take a pan, pour oil, season with the items given under ‘seasoning’. Then add onion and garlic, sauté till the onions turn into golden brown colour. Add tomatoes and sauté till it gets mashed well. Then add all masala powders and  transfer the cooked bean to this . Stir everything by adding water if required. Add salt and give a boil. Finally add coconut paste and tamarind juice, give one more boil and switch off.

Your green bean gravy is ready to be served with rice/ roti. It can even be had with bread.

Note:

1. You can skip the frying part of the bean but I feel frying enhances the green bean’s aroma.
2. You can make this gravy either watery or thick gravy by adjusting the water quantity. Both ways it is yummy.

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Spicy Pidi Kozhukattai (Spicy Rice Dumpling)

Pidi Kolukattai/ Kozhukattai can be made as sweet or savoury . Today I made spicy kollukattai. Very simple recipe, stomach friendly …so we can make it as evening snack also.

Ingredients:

• Rice flour – 1 cup
• Water – 1 ½ cups
• Grated coconut  - 3 tbsp
• Salt to taste

For seasoning:

• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Mustard – 1 tsp
• Green chillies (finely chopped) – 2 Nos.
• Curry leaves (finely chopped) – 2 tbsp
• Asafoetida – a pinch

Method:

For preparing rice flour, check with "How to prepare kolukattai flour?"

In a large bowl, add rice flour, coconut and salt .Pour oil in a kadai and season with the items given under seasoning. Transfer these seasonings to the rice flour and mix well. In the mean time, bring water to rolling boil. Add this boiled water to the rice flour slowly and mix it with the flour quickly using a whisk or laddle. Stop adding water when the dough has reached the required consistency. Allow it to cool. Mix it evenly by hand . Then apply oil on hand, make a ball out of this dough, flatten and press it with fingers to make “Pidi Kolukattai”. Steam these kolukattais for about 10 minutes or when the Kolukattais reach glossy texture. Switch off and Spicy Pidi Kozhukattai is ready for Nivedhyam!

Note:

Be very careful while adding water to the flour because water quantity will vary depending on the quality of rice used for making flour.

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White Channa Sundal

Sundal is a traditional dish made as “Neivedyam” on Vinayaka Chathurthi and during Navarathri festivals. It is a healthy snack too and diabetic friendly. Sundal can be made with any of the  dry pulses.

Today, being Vinayaka Chathurthi, I made white channa sundal. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

• White channa – ½ cup
• Grated coconut – 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste

For seasoning:

• Mustard – 1 tsp
• Asafoetida – 1 tsp
• Dry chillies – 2 Nos.
• Curry leaves – few
• Oil – 1 tsp

Method:

Wash and soak channa dhal overnight (atleast for six hours), if you are going to prepare in the morning. Pressure cook channa for about 4 whistles until soft. In a kadai, pour oil, season with the items given for seasoning, add the drained channa and required salt. Cook for 2 minutes, add coconut, mix well. Kondaikkadalai sundal is ready.

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Thengai Poorana Kozhukattai (Rice Dumpling with Coconut Filling)

Lord Ganesh is fond of Modhagam, rather than other kolukattais. So everybody will make this on Vinayakar Chaturthi and kids also love this kozhukattai. We can use a variety of stuffings and each has its own taste. I will blog other varieties also in due course. Today, I prepared Coconut stuffing for making Modhagam/Poorana Kozhukattai.

Ingredients:

• Rice flour – 1 cup
• Jaggery – ¾ cup
• Grated coconut – 1 cup
• Cardamom powder – 1 tsp
• Ghee – 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste

Method:

If you follow Method 3 in “How to prepare Kolukattai flour”, then the dough for outer cover is ready. If you follow other methods, you need to follow the following steps.

For outer dough (மேல் மாவு):

Take a pan with 1 ½ cups of water with 1 tbsp of gingelly oil  and bring it to rolling boil. Take a wide mouthed bowl, put the rice flour, add little salt, mix well. Add the boiling water slowly to the rice flour, stirring quickly with a whisk. Stop adding water when it reaches the correct consistency. Allow it to cool. Then knead the dough by applying some oil on your palm and keep it covered in wet cloth. Let it sit for 10 minutes.

For Filling (பூரணம்):

In a pan, melt jaggery with ¼ cup of water and strain the impurities. Again heat the jaggery till it starts bubbling. In the mean time, take a pan, add ghee, slightly roast the coconut gratings, then add jaggery syrup and cardamom powder and mix well till it reaches the consistency to make small balls.

For making Kozhukattai:

Make small balls out of rice flour dough and coconut-jaggery mixture. Take a rice flour dough ball and by applying oil on hand ,flatten it to form like a small bowl (சொப்பு/கிண்ணம்). Keep the coconut stuffing inside and cover this stuffing with the rice dough by gently stretching the edges of the dough so that the filling should get covered completely. Repeat the process for rest of the dough also.

If you find making kozhukattai in this shape difficult, you can make it in semi circular form. Flatten the rice dough on a plastic sheet/ banana leaf greased with oil , place the coconut stuffing at the centre, then fold the plastic sheet/banana leaf so that the kozhukattai gets folded at the centre. Seal the edges properly to ensure the stuffing does not come out.

Steam the kozhukattais for about 15 minutes and give a standing time for about 5 minutes. Delicious Poorana Kozhukattais are ready for Pooja!!

Note:

1. Be very careful while adding water to the flour because water quantity will vary depending on the quality of rice used for making flour.
2. Rice flour dough should be kneaded well by applying oil so that it should be soft and pliable. Otherwise the outer layer will get cracked or  sometimes, becomes hard.

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Vinayaka Chaturthi

Vinayaka Chaturthi is one of the most important festival observed among Hindus throughout India. The worship pattern varies from region to region, lasting from 1 to 11 days. This festival is  celebrated as the Birth Day of Ganesha and falls on Shukla Chaturthi in the month of Aavani.

Lord Ganesh – the name itself depicts “Gana -isha  i.e. Lord of Ganas".  He is a symbol of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune. So it is a practice to worship this god whenever a new venture/ business is taken up. He is created by Parvathi by the turmeric, she used for bathing and created life through her breath. He is made elephant headed to defeat Gajamukasuran. There are many stories/ reasons for creation of Ganesha and for his unique appearance.

Now, coming to Chaturthi festival, it has been a practice to make  idols, perform pooja by making Modhagam, Kolukattai, Aval, Appam, Pori, Pacharisi idli, Athirasam, etc. After this Pooja, the idols will be thrown into nearby water bodies i.e. well, river or sea. In the olden days, idols had been made with the mud taken near our home and immersed in the well after performing Pooja. This symbolizes the  cycle of creation and destruction in Nature.

I think,  Ganesh is the only God, versatile enough to be made in different forms. It is believed that  when we hold a handful of mud, sandal or turmeric, thinking about Ganesh, the mud will take the form of Ganesh and you need not be an expert in making idols.  Many artists express their creativity in making Ganesh idols. Yesterday, I had seen an advertisement for “Robot Bheem Gansha” being exhibited at Valluvar Kottam, Chennai. At last he has taken the latest form “Robot” also! Vinayaka in any form is very cute, right?

These big idols after performing Pooja will be taken out in a procession and all will be immersed in the sea. In the recent years, making big and tall idols out of “Plaster of Paris” has made a serious impact on the environment and now, many shops come out with Ganesh idols using bamboo, coconut shells, Dharba grass etc. So we can buy these idols for Pooja.

Happy Vinayaka Chaturthi!!!

வேண்டுவதை வழங்கும் வேழ முகத்தானுக்கு விரும்பியதைப் படைத்து வாழ்வில் வளம் பெற அனைவருக்கும் விநாயக சதுர்த்தி நல் வாழ்த்துக்கள்!!!

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How to prepare kozhukattai flour?

Vinayaka Chathurthi is fast approaching and all of you will scratch your heads to make different kolukattais to offer to "Modhaga Priyan"  Ganesha. Any kolukattai needs a basic thing i.e. kozhukattai flour.  I hope this post will be useful to get ready for making kozhukattai on 9^th Sep, 2013, Right?

How to prepare rice flour for kolukattai? I know , you will be asking , who has time to do all these things? But it purely depends on our mindset. If you start doing it, get comfortable with the process, you won’t go for store bought items. Ok? Let us go for the method.

There are many methods of preparing kolukattai flour, I’ll list all of them. You may choose the method which suits you the best.

Method 1:

Wash and soak the rice in  water  for about 30-45 mins. Drain the water completely and dry it by spreading on white cloth under fan for an hour. Grind the rice in flour mill, again dry it completely under the fan, sieve it  and store it. This flour you can prepare in advance.

Method 2:

Clean the rice and wipe it with a clean towel.  Grind it in the flour mill or mixie . sieve it well. In a thick bottomed kadai, dry fry the flour till it gets heated. Cool it and store it. This also can be made in advance.

Method 3:

Wash and soak the rice in water for about an hour. Grind it in a mixie/grinder, depending on the quantity, by adding enough water and required salt. Take a thick bottomed kadai, pour 2 tbsp of gingelly oil, pour the rice batter (it should be watery) and stir quickly to avoid lump formation. Sauté until the moisture from the batter dries out thereby forming a ball like mass. Switch off, cool and knead the batter well, keep it covered  in wet cloth for 10 minutes. Then use it for making kozhukattai.

Method 4:

Go to the Departmental store, choose and buy Kozhukattai/idiyappam flour from any brand of your choice!!!

I am guessing that most of you would go for the 4^th method… Am I right?

Note:

Raw rice has to be used for making Kolukattai flour.

Of all the above methods, the first & third method will give you soft Kolukattais! 

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