Pineapple Stuffed Rice Dumpling | Pineapple Poorana Kolukattai

Happy Vinayaka Chathurthi to everyone…

Pineapple Stuffed  Rice Dumpling | Pineapple Poorana Kolukattai was in my to-do list for a long time. For this Vinayaka Chathurthi, I had planned to post many kolukattai recipes. But everything gets end up at the planning stage itself. Somehow today I’ve  pushed myself to prepare this pineapple kolukattai  to post before Ganesh Chathurthi which falls on 5^th September, 2016.

Coming to the recipe, we know  poorana kolukattai can be made of varieties of pooranam.  I like this one very much not only b’cos pineapple is my favourite fruit but the unique taste & flavour of pineapple make these dumplings, something distinctive & more delicious. In this recipe, I’ve used sugar instead of jaggery to retain the colour & flavour of pineapple.

You can check out other Kolukattai Recipes Here.

Recipe for Pineapple Stuffed  Rice Dumpling | Pineapple Poorana Kolukattai:

                          Cuisine : Indian

Category: Festival Recipe | Snack

Preparation time : 15 Minutes

Cooking time : 20 Minutes

                          yields –12-15 Nos 

Ingredients:

• Rice flour – 1 cup
• Gingelly oil – 1 tbsp
• Sugar – ½ cup
• Pineapple (chopped) – 1 cup
• Cardamom powder – 1 tsp
• Ghee – 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste

Method:

For outer dough (மேல் மாவு):

1. Take a pan with 1 ½ cups of water with 1 tbsp of gingelly oil & little salt  and bring it to rolling boil.
2. Take a wide mouthed bowl, put the rice flour ,  add the boiling water slowly to the rice flour, stirring quickly with a whisk. Stop adding water when it reaches the correct consistency.
3. 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):

1. In a pan, add ghee & sauté the finely chopped pineapple pieces till pineapple becomes tender.
2. Add sugar and stir till both pineapple & sugar some together  like a ball.
3. Add cardamom powder and mix well & switch off.

For making Kozhukattai:

1. Make small balls out of rice flour dough and pineapple stuffing.
2. Take a rice flour dough ball and by applying oil on hand ,flatten it to form like a small bowl (சொப்பு/கிண்ணம்). Keep the 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.
3. 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  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 Pineapple Poorana Kozhukattais are ready for Pooja!!

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.
• 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.
• You can use jaggery instead of sugar but both colour & flavour will get changed.
• Increase or decrease sugar depending on the tartness of pineapple.
• Pineapple essence &  yellow  food colour  can be used which are purely optional. If you add essence, then cardamom powder can be skipped..

Tags: Vinayaka Chathurthi recipes, Pillayar sathurthi festival recipes, Kolukattai recipes, How to prepare stuffed dumplings? How to use Pineapple as stuffing in kozhukattai?, Fruit poorana kolukattai recipe, Fruit stuffed rice dumplings, Annaasi pasha kolukattai recipe, Pillayar chathurthi kolukattai recipes

Read more ...

Adyar Ananda Bhavan Style Bittergourd Chips| Pakarkaai Chips| Karela Chips| Bitter Gourd Crispies

Adyar Ananda Bhavan style Bittergourd Chips| Pakarkaai Chips| Karela Chips| Bitter Gourd Crispies is an oil fried snack made with bitter gourd. Kids would love to eat while preparing bitter gourd this way as they tend to avoid this wonder veggie all because of its bitterness. I prepare this chips not very often but may be when I get bored with the regular side dish and crave for something fried. It can also be stored in an air tight container for 2 to 3 days.

Recipe for Adyar Ananda Bhavan style Bittergourd Chips | Pakarkaai Chips | Healthy Recipes:

Cuisine : Indian| South Indian

Category: Snack | Side Dish

Preparation time :10 Minutes

Cooking time : 20 Minutes

Serves  – 2

Ingredients:

• Bitter Gourd (cut into thin slices) – 1 cup
• Besan flour | Kadalai Maavu – 3 tbsp
• Rice flour | Arisi Maavu – 2  tbsp
• Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Ajwain | Omam (crushed) – ½ tsp
• Fennel (crushed) – ½ tsp
• White sesame seeds | Ellu – 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil – For deep frying

Method:

1. Wash bitter gourd in running water and cut into thin slices & keep aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients except bitter gourd & oil and mix everything well.
3. To this add the bitter gourd slices and mix. Drizzle few drops of water and make sure that the powders just coat the bitter gourd slices.
4. In a broad kadai, add enough oil and heat.
5. Once the oil is hot, take a handful of bitter gourd slices and drop one by one in the oil. Stop adding the slices once the slices spread evenly in the oil.
6. After 2 minutes, just turn them around and fry in medium high flame.
7. Once bitter gourd slices become ¾ th cooked, bring down the flame to medium low and fry till the chips become crispy & golden brown in colour.

Healthy, Crispy Bitter Gourd Chips are ready to munch on during meal time or snack time.

Note:

• Try to select tender bitter gourd and make thin slices as much as possible.
• Don’t keep the flame high at the final stage as the chips will become darker in colour.

Tags: Recipe for making Adyar Ananda Bhavan style Bittergourd Chips, Pakarkaai Chips recipes, Bitter gourd crispies, A2B Bitter gourd chips, Healthy snack Recipes, How to prepare Adyar Ananda Bhavan style Bittergourd Chips at home?, Bitter gourd recipes, Pavakkai recipes, Diabetic friendly recipes, Karela chips recipe

Read more ...

Dry Gulab Jamun | Sukha Gulab Jamun

Dry Gulab Jamun | Sukha Gulab Jamun is nothing but a gulab jamun without sugar syrup. We can prepare jamuns following any recipe with  khoya, paneer, bread or even ready-made gulab jamun mix. I prefer these dry jamuns as they lack the sugar loaded syrup. By this way we can satisfy our sweet tooth by indulging in jamuns with less sugar compared to our regular jamuns.

Today I’ve used the MTR Gulab Jamun mix because I wanted to make something quick. At the same time, it had to be sweet for 2 reasons. One, my son’s b’day and the other one, to break the silence in this space for so many months!    

Let us go for the recipe.

Check out the recipe for Sweet Potato Gulab Jamun here.

Recipe for Dry Gulab Jamun | Sukha Gulab Jamun Using Instant Jamun Mix:

                          Cuisine : Indian

Category: Dessert

Preparation time : 10 Minutes

Cooking time : 20 Minutes

  yields –20-25 jamuns

Ingredients:

• Gulab jamun mix – 1 cup
• Sugar- 1 cup
• Water – 1 cup
• Cardamom powder – 1 tbsp
• Rose essence – 1 tsp
• Oil – to deep fry
• Powdered sugar| desiccated coconut – as required

Method:

1. Measure the jamun mix. Add in a broad dry mixing vessel. Break any lumps in the mix. Measure ¼ cup water and add this little by little to the jamun mix. Gently mix the powder with the water to form a smooth dough.
2. Make smooth, small balls out of this dough and keep them aside.
3. In a heavy bottom pan, add sugar and water. Bring it to boil while stirring in between. Make the sugar syrup in ½  string consistency, add cardamom powder and keep it aside. When the sugar syrup is warm, add drops of rose essence.
4. Heat oil in a deep bottomed kadai. Once the oil gets heated, turn the flame to simmer and add the jamuns carefully in a single layer. Don’t overcrowd them in the oil.
5. Fry the jamuns till they become golden brown and the sizzling sound subsides.
6. Take out these jamuns and dump them in the sugar syrup while it is hot.
7. Repeat the procedure for rest of the batch.
8. Allow the jamuns to soak in the sugar syrup atleast for an hour.
9. Check for the jamuns get soften inside with the tinge of sugar syrup.
10. Take out the jamuns from the sugar syrup, roll them in desiccated coconut or powdered sugar.
11. Refrigerate, arrange them in a serving plate  & enjoy!!!

Note:

• If you find the dough becomes watery or the jamun gets broken in the oil, add some ready mix/ Maida.
• Add the fried jamuns when the sugar syrup is hot.
• I didn’t use powdered sugar as I’ve got sugar with tiny crystals. This rolling part in powdered sugar, you can avoid if you want still less sugar. Usually I skip this!
• I always prefer brownish jamuns, if you want you can take out while it is golden brown in colour. But ensure that the jamuns get cooked completely before taking out.

Tags: easy diwali sweet recipe, Dry Gulab jamun recipe, Bengali sweet recipe, Gulab jamun using instant jamun mix, Recipe for sukha gulab jamun, how to make gulab jamun using ready mix?, other ways of making gulab jamun, gulab jamun recipe with ready to make powder, Dry gulab jamun with MTR gulab jamun mix powder 

Read more ...