Kaara kozhukattai

I was looking at a very quick neivedyam during one of the days in Navarathri. I was flipping through my cooking diary frantically and I landed here. Atti Kindi Kozhukattai. Or simply Easy Kaara Kozhukattai. It is from Solai's Kitchen (http://solaiachiskitchen.blogspot.com/2007/08/kozhukattai.html) I followed her recipe to the last line. Just that Iused four instead of six red chillies and used the modak mould to make the kozhukattais. They looked good and tasted yummy too.

Ingredients:

Boiled rice (puzhungal arisi: One and a half cups

For the tempering:

Oil: 2- 3 tbsp
Mustard: 1 tsp

Channa dhall: 1 tsp

Urad dhall: 1 tsp

Red chillies: 4 (broken into small bits)

Curry leaves: 1 sprig

Grated coconut: 3 tbsp

Hing: One big pinch

Salt to taste

Method of preparation:

• Soak the rice for a couple of hours
• Drain water and grind it with the required water and salt for two minutes in the mixie. The batter should have the consistency of dosa batter.
• Add a cup of water to the this. Do not be apprehensive of adding water because once this is put on the stove, it will quickly dry up
• Take a heavy bottomed kadai
• Temper with all the above mentioned items except coconut.
• After the tempering, add the rice paste. Stir constantly. Initially little lumps would form. On constant stirring, the whole batter would become one large lumpy substance
• This is the time to introduce grated coconut to it
• Keep stirring once again
• Make desired shapes and steam for about 5 - 7 minutes
• Serve hot with chutney of your choice

Atta Ladoos

I had previously mentioned the visit of my close friend R. We landed up yapping till 4 in the morning.. And to our utter surprise, a large portion of our discussion was on food!! Yummy discussions indeed.. R remembers me as a single working woman who was completely calorie conscious! She had no clue that I had even taken interest in cooking. She was surprised to see this transformed friend and was more than glad to share her cooking secrets with me.

This atta ladoo is a direct bi-product of those lovely late night talks. About making these ladoos, all I can say is, they are easier to make than blogging how to make them! So simple, yet so tasty and nutritious! This made a quick evening prasadam during Navarathri.

Ingredients (makes 7 ladoos)

• 1/2 cup wheat flour / atta
• 1/2 cup grated jaggery or a little less if you prefer it little less sweety
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 - 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 - 2 tbsp cashews and raisins

Method of preparation:

• Take a kadai. Dry roast the atta till a heavenly aroma arises. Empty the roasted atta in a fairly large bowl
• Add the grated jaggery to it
• In the same kadai, heat ghee
• Fry the broken cashews and raisins till they become golden brown
• Pour the ghee over the atta
• Add the cardamom powder
• Mix well and make ladoos
• If making the ladoos becomes a trouble (in most cases it wont), just heat a little ghee and pour over the mixture
• Yummy ladoos are ready in ten minutes flat!

Vadai Curry

If anybody were to ask me to name one truly local Chennai dish, the first name that would come to my mind is Vadai Curry. This yummy easy accompaniment to idlis can be made with leftover masala vadais or the vadais can be made afresh. In my waist-friendly version, I steam the vadais instead of frying them. This recipe isfrom my close friend Gauthami. I have added my imagination here and there to make it more yummy.

Ingredients (Serves 2 generously)

For the Vadais:
Chana dhall: 1/3 cup
Toor dhall (half of chana dhall): half of 1/3 cup
Urad dhall: 1 tbsp
Raw rice: 1 tsp
Green chillies: 2
Saunf: ½ tsp
Ginger: ½ inch piece
Corriander leaves: 1 tbsp
Salt: to taste

For the Tadka:
Oil: 3- 4 tbsp
Mustard: 1 tsp
Jeera: ½ tsp
Saunf: ½ tsp
Cloves: 2
Cinnamon: 1 small piece
Bayleaf: 1
Curry leaves: few

For the gravy:
Green chillies : 2 (chopped)
Onions (medium); 1
Ginger-garlic (grated or paste): 2 tsp
Tomatoes (medium): 2
Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
Garam masala: ½ tsp
Dhaniya powder: ½ tbsp
Chilli powder: to taste
Coconut paste: 2 tbsp (optional)
Corriander leaves (to garnish)

Method of preparation:

· Wash and soak the three dhalls and raw rice together for two hours atleast
· Now add the other items and grind to a rough paste. Do not add water while grinding
· Steam it for about 7 – 10 minutes or till it is done in a cooker. You could choose to deep fry the vadais also
· When the vadais are cool, break them into pieces and have them ready
· Now heat a kadai. Heat oil for tempering
· Add mustard, jeera, saunf, cloves, bay leaves, curry leaves and cinnamon. Saute for a couple of minutes
· Add green chillies, ginger garlic, and onion. Saute for another 3 – 4 minutes
· Now add the tomatoes
· Add the required salt and add all the masala powders – turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala and dhaniya powder
· Cover and cook for about five minutes. The tomatoes should loose its raw smell
· When the tomatoes are cooked, add the broken vadai pieces to it
· Let it cook for another five minutes
· Now add some water. Adjust salt and let it cook on a slow flame till the vadais absorb the water and the vadai curry becomes a thick gravy.
· Add the coconut paste if you want to. You could also conveniently skip this step
· If you want the curry to be more flavourful, add another ½ tsp of garam masala at this stage
· Garnish with coriander leaves
· Serve hot with idlis