Masala Cheeyam | Masala Seeyam | Chettinadu Masala Paniyaram

Masala Cheeyam | Masala Seeyam | Chettinadu Masala Paniyaram is one of the traditional Chettinad dishes made by Chettiars on all auspicious days, marriage functions etc. It is a tasty replacement for our regular  Ulundu Vada (Urad dhal fritter) in the  breakfast | dinner menus  in marriage functions. It can also be had as a tea time snack.  It is prepared by deep frying the seasoned batter in oil.  

The masala seeyams, with crispy  outer layer & porous, soft, spongy inner,  taste great when  eat them hot with  any dip  like sambar | chutney. You can  try this Cheetinad special delicacy  for a change on festival days instead of urad dhal vada. It can be served hot with any chutney of your choice but I like it with coconut chutney | mint chutney. Here we go for the recipe.

Ingredients:

For the seeyam batter:

• Ponni Raw Rice – 1 cup
• Whole Urad Dhal – 1 cup
• Salt to taste

For seasoning:

• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Mustard – 1 tsp
• Shallots ( Finely chopped) – 3 tbsp
• Green chillies (Finely chopped) – 2 tbsp
• Curry leaves (Finely chopped) – 3 tbsp
• Coconut gratings – 2 tbsp
• Oil – For deep frying

Method:

1. Wash rice & urad dhal together and soak with enough water for 2 hours.
2. After 2 hours, grind into a smooth, fluffy batter by adding little water now & then. When the batter is done, add the required salt and grind with the batter and take out in a vessel. The consistency of the batter should be like thick idli batter.
3. Heat oil in a kadai, splutter mustard seeds, add the finely chopped green chillies, curry leaves  & shallots and sauté for 2 minutes till the onion becomes translucent & release a nice aroma. Finally add coconut gratings, sauté for a while  and switch off.
4. Allow the seasonings to cool. Then add the seasonings to the seeyam batter and mix everything well.
5. Heat the required oil for deep frying in a broad kadai. Keep a bowl with water ready nearby.
6. When the oil is ready, dip your hands in water, take out a small lemon sized batter, roughly roll the batter into round ball and drop into the oil. Do the same for the rest of the batter and drop them scattered in the oil one by one without touching each other.
7. Keep the flame in medium. Turn the seeyams now & then so that they get cooked evenly on all sides. When they reach golden brown colour,  take them out and drain in a tissue paper | paper towel.

Hot, crunchy, spongy Masala Cheeyams are ready to eat  with tea | coffee.

Note:

• The batter consistency is very much important for seeyams. Be very careful when you add water while grinding the batter. If the batter is runny, the seeyam cannot be formed into shape, will be difficult to drop in oil & will drink more oil too.
• By any chance, if your batter is runny, add 1-2 tbsp of rice flour and mix well.
• Always grinder makes the perfect  seeyam batter but if you are using mixer grinder, use 1 tbsp of urad dhal extra and for grinding, use ice cold water.
• Small onions | shallots will give a good taste & flavour for seeyams but you can add finely chopped big onion too instead of shallots.

Tags: Masala Cheeyam recipe, Chettinattu seeyam recipe, Chettinad masala seeyam recipe, How to prepare batter for seeyam? How to prepare seeyam batter using mixer grinder? How to make seeyam batter? Tips for preparing masala seeyam in shape, Cheetinad Recipes, Chettinad Savoury Snack Recipes, Chettinad Seeyam Recipe, Karaikudi Special Recipes, Chettinad Marriage Recipes, Chettinad Masala Paniyaram recipe, Masalai cheeyam recipe

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In the Media....Malligai Magal

My collection of recipes in Malligai Magal…

I know I had been a bit lazy the last 3 months.  I posted rarely and the front page was quite static. But I came to lament this and told my friend that I never even posted  about  my supplementary feature in Malligai Magal.  When 2014 was about to get over, my friend asked me a good question.  “Have you decided to post only 68 posts in a year?”.  Only then I realized that my blog had 68 posts in 2013  as well as  2014. What a coincidence?!!! But it is not a coincidence I’m proud of.  In 2013, I had posted 68 in a span of about only 5 months,  but in 2014, I made the same number in 12 months...  Anyway this year I don’t want to do the same. I'm sure  that this drought of posts is over.

It is old news by now but I wanted to tell you that my recipes have been featured in Malligai Magal for three consecutive months (October, November & December).

Expecting all of your support in the forth coming years too…

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Ulundhu Kali | Urad Dhal Halwa | Sweetened Black Gram Halwa

Ulundhu Kali | Urad Dhal Halwa | Sweetened Black Gram Halwa is an authentic, traditional South Indian dish. First and foremost word, I want to tell about this dish is …it is not a gorgeous | appetizing one to bring waters in your mouth but words are scarce to say about its health benefits. A healthy thickened porridge, called “Kali” in Tamil, is usually  prepared during the occasion when girls attain their puberty since it is believed to strengthen the pelvic and back bones. It is very good for girls in their teens, lactating moms, ladies in menopause, etc. Every household in Tamil Nadu have their own proportion for preparing the base flour for this kali and here is my version.

Ingredients:

• Black urad dhal  - 1 cup
• Raw rice – ¼ cup
• Jaggery - ½ cup to ¾ cup
• Gingelly oil | Ghee – 1 to 2 tbsp
• Water  - 2 cups + 1 cup + ½  cup

Method:

For preparing Ulundu Kali Flour:

1. In a thick bottomed kadai, dry fry urad dhal in slow fire until you get nice aroma & remove. In the same kadai, fry rice till its colour changes. 
2. Cool  and powder both in a mixie or flour mill.

For preparing Ulundu Kali:

1. Melt jiggery in ½  cup of water and strain the impurities. Keep it aside.
2. Take a cup of kali flour in a mixing  bowl,  add a cup of water and prepare a thick batter without any lumps. Keep it aside.
3. Boil  2 cups of water in a thick bottomed kadai and bring it to rolling boil.
4. Now, keeping the fire in simmer, slowly add the urad dhal batter, mixing it quickly with a wooden spatula so that lumps will not be formed.
5. After the mixture gets thickened and becomes glossy, add the jiggery syrup and mix well.
6. Cook in medium flame till the mixture reaches halwa consistency.

Your Ulundu Kali is ready. Now you pour the kali in  a serving plate, dig a hole in the middle, drizzle some gingelly oil | ghee over this and start eating from the outer layer when  hot.

Note:

• It is believed that Ulundu when combined with gingelly oil will give you the whole benefit of eating this kali. If you don’t like you can add ghee also.
• It is always tastier to eat hot kali, so make it in small quantity.
• The kali flour can be stored for 3 to 6 months like our regular rice flour.
• White urad dhal can also be used with the same measurements to prepare Ulundu kali flour.
• You can also use palm jaggery instead of jaggery.

Tags; Ulundu kali Recipe, Black Urad Dhal Kali Recipe, Urad dhal with skin recipes, How to prepare ulundhan kali with roasted urad dhal powder? Skinned urad dhal kali recipe, How to prepare uluththankali for girls?, How to prepare ulunthuk kali with black gram?, Ulundhu Recipes, Dhal Recipes, ulundu sweet kali, Urad dhal halwa recipe, How to prepare ulundu kali flour?, How to prepare Ulundu kali with dry flour? 

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Ambur Chicken Biryani | Ambur Special Biryani

Ambur Chicken  Biryani | Ambur Special Biryani is  a famous  biryani like Dindigul Thalappakatti Biryani  in  Southern India. The biryani is named after a place called ‘Ambur’  in Vellore District of Tamil Nadu.   This special biryani was first made during  the reign of Nawabs of Arcot in Vellore. You can see a lot of biryani stalls in Ambur and hence who ever crosses this place won’t  miss the opportunity of tasting this yummy biryani.

Now, about ambur chicken biryani, this biryani is usually made with seeraga samba rice. Another highlight in this biryani is using  freshly ground chilli paste for spicing up the biryani. But I have used chilli powder  instead of chilli paste and the taste was really awesome. I’m sure one who tastes this biryani won’t deny this fact.  
I usually prepare this biryani  in pressure cooker and I found no difference between dum biryani and pressure cooker biryani.  

This  recipe is  for Ambur Chicken Biryani using pressure cooker.

Ingredients:

• Seeraga samba rice – 2 cups
• Chicken – ½  Kg
• Onion (Big) – 3 Nos (chopped lengthwise)
• Tomato – 1 No.(chopped)
• Green chilli – 3 Nos.
• Curd – 1 cup
• Ginger, garlic paste – 2 tbs
• Chilli powder – 2 tbs
• Turmeric powder -1 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves (finely chopped) – ¼ cup
• Mint leaves (finely chopped) – ½ cup
• Salt to taste

For seasoning:

• Bay leaf – 1 No.
• Cinnamon – 1 inch piece
• Kal paasi – 2 Nos
• Cloves – 2 Nos
• Cardamom  - 2 Nos.
• Fennel seeds – 1 tbsp
• Oil -4 tbs
• Ghee – 1 tsp (optional)

Method:

1. Wash chicken very well in running water , cut it to required size.
2. Marinate the chicken pieces with ½ cup curd, 1 tsp chilli powder & turmeric powder for 30 minutes.
3. Take a pressure cooker, pour the oil and wait till the oil gets heated. Add the items given under “seasoning” one by one and wait until all these splutter to get the aroma from the seasoning.
4. Add half the quantity of coriander leaves & mint leaves and sauté till nice aroma comes.
5. Add onion and Green chilli (just break into 2 or 3) and sauté well until the onion becomes translucent.
6. Add ginger garlic paste and sauté till it gets cooked well.
7. Add finely chopped tomato and add some salt so that the tomato will get cooked easily and sauté till the tomato gets smashed well.
8. Then add  the remaining chilli powder & garam masala powder and sauté till the oil oozes  out from the masala. Next, add the balance curd curd and sauté well until the mixture gets glossy appearance.
9. Then  add the marinated chicken along with the marinade, sauté well. 
10. Add required salt  and  2 cups of water, close the lid and wait for  2 whistles and 5 minutes in simmer.
11. In the mean time, wash the seeraga samba rice and leave it as such after draining the water. It is sufficient if we do this part before 10 minutes of making biryani.
12. Now open the pressure cooker, drain the chicken pieces and measure the gravy, add water so that the gravy+water =4 cups and keep it aside.
13. In a separate pressure pan, add ghee/oil, sauté rice along with the balance coriander, mint leaves and the cooked chicken pieces.
14. Then add gravy+water (4 cups) and  needed salt. You can check for spice & salt  at this stage and you can add if needed. Stir well and close the lid. Wait for 1 whistle, then simmer the flame for 3 minutes. Open the cooker after releasing the pressure slowly. Then follow the same procedure as we have done for all other Biryani Recipes.

Your delicious, hot, spicy  Ambur Chicken Biryani is ready to serve! I have served the biryani with onion raita and Egg Curry!!

Note:

• You can prepare this biryani with basmati rice also with same ingredients & water measurements.
• Use the fresh curd with the above measurement; if you are using a sour curd, reduce the quantity accordingly.

Tags: Chicken biryani recipe, Ambur Chicken Biriyani recipe, how to make Ambur Chicken biriyani at home, Chicken biryani with seeraga samba rice, Chicken biryani with jeera samba, jeera samba Chicken biryani recipe, seeraga chamba rice Chicken biriyani, jeera chamba Chicken Ambur Chicken biryan, with seeraga samba rice, Chicken biryani with basmati rice, Chicken biryani with raita andEgg Curry, Ambur Star hotel Chicken biriyani recipe, pressure cooker Chicken biryani recipe

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Purple Cabbage Poriyal | Purple Cabbage Stir Fry | சிவப்பு முட்டைகோஸ் பொரியல்

Purple Cabbage Poriyal  | Purple Cabbage Stir Fry | சிவப்பு முட்டைகோஸ்  பொரியல்  is a simple recipe. Usually, I use purple cabbage  for making colourful salad, but today I prepared this poriyal and tasted very nice with  Murungaikaikathirikai sambar.

Here is the recipe…

Ingredients:

• Purple Cabbage (finely chopped)  –  ½ cup
• Onion ( finely chopped) – 1 No.
• Green chillies(slitted) – 2 Nos.
• Coconut gratings – 2 to 3 tbsp
• Salt to taste

For seasoning:

• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Mustard – 1 tsp
• Urad dhal – 1 tsp
• Curry leaves – few.

Method:

1. Wash purple cabbage leaves well in running water , chop it fine. Keep it aside.
2. Heat oil in a kadai and season with the items given “For seasoning”.
3. Then add green chillies and onion. Sauté till the onion becomes translucent.
4. Add the chopped purple cabbage  and sauté for about 2 minutes in simmer.
5. Close the lid and cook for 2 minutes by stirring in between.
6. Finally add salt, coconut gratings, combine well and switch off.

Your tasty Purple Cabbage Poriyal  | Purple Cabbage Stir Fry is ready to serve.

Note:

• Don’t add water while cooking  because it will make the stir fry mushy. Purple cabbage tastes better while it is crunchy.

Tags: Purple cabbage poriyal recipe, Cabbage recipes, purple cabbage stir fry, Colour cabbage stir fry recipe, How to cook purple cabbage?, poriyal recipes, Side Dish Recipes, Simple side dish,simple stir fry using purple cabbage, சிவப்பு முட்டைகோஸ்  பொரியல்

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