Boiled Rice Thattai- South India Snack for tea time

Ingredients ( 30 pieces approx)

1.    Boiled Rice                                       250 gm

2.    Pottu Kadalai                                   100 gm

3.    Butter                                                  2 spoonfuls.

4.    Pepper                                              25 gm

5.    Jeera                                                15 gm

6.    Groundnut oil                                   250 ml

7.    Little curry leaves

8.     Little powdered Asafoetida

9.    Salt to taste

Method of Preparation

Time required: ( Hardly 25 minutes excluding soaking time for boiled rice)

Soak boiled rice for 2 to 3 hours. Then grind the rice into nice paste in a mixie adding little water. The ingredients pottukadalai, pepper, Jeera, Asafoetida are to be made into fine powder. Curry leaves are to be chopped  into pieces .Then  using mixing bowl, rice paste , fine powder, curry leaves, little salt and butter are to be made into a thick mixture. Then the mixture is made into small balls . These balls are to be pressed hard using muslin cloth  into circular flat shapes.

Now 250 ml groundnut oil (or sunflower oil) may be taken in a frying pan. Then it is to be heated. Put 4 or 5 pieces in the heating oil. You stop frying when oil stops bubbling.  Remove oil using oil filter vessel and then store in a air tight container after allowing them to cool for sometime.

Here is your favourite snack, boiled rice Thattai to be enjoyed  during tea/coffee time. Thattai prepared in this method will not devour oil much. Pepper and Jeera along with asafoetida will remove the ill effects of oil items. Curry leaves is good for health being green one.

Nirmala Ramani

 

South Indian Recipe- Aval payasam

Ingredients

1. Aval (Poha or flaked rice)               50 gm
2. Moong Dhal(payatham paruppu) 25 gm
3. Jaggery                                            200gm 
4. Dry ginger powder(Chukku)             5gm
5. One full Coconut-  Grated.
6. Coconut-small pieces –say 20 to 25 – in shape of teeth like thin structure.
7. Ghee                                                 2 spoon.

Method of Preparation

Time required: ( Hardly 25 minutes excluding soaking time for boiled rice)

After Washing aval and moong dhal, cook them in a pressure cooker till one whistle and then let them cool.

Sprinkle little water on grated coconut and squeeze it to get coconut milk of grade I. Then the left out coconut content must be grinded  in mixie with half tumber hot water and half spoon raw rice. Again squeeze it to get coconut milk of grade II.  In the same way, prepare coconut milk of grade III using the remains. Keep all the three grades in different small vessels.

In a shallow thick pan, put aval( poha) and dhal mix, add jiggery pieces and heat it. When jiggery mixes up properly and starts to boil, add coconut milk of grade III.Then again add the coconut milk of grade II when it starts boilng.  Put dry ginger powder over it and put off the gas. This is basic payasam.

In the small frying pan, add 2 spoon ghee and coconut small pieces and fry it till the coconut gets roasted. Then pour it over basic payasam. Then pour the coconut milk of Ist grade and close it with a lid immediately so that the aroma will not escape from the vessel of payasam. This will give you traditional Aval coconut iduchu pizhinda payasam.

This  is every one favourite sweet dish to be enjoyed in festivals.  Coconut milk soothens the stomach lining. The moong dhal is protein rich item.

Nirmala Ramani

 

Thai amavasai – India’s Homage to Ancestors in Hindu Religion

The word “Tarpanam” means “satisfying” or “satiating”. 23.01.2012  is a once a year Best New Moon date to perform Tarpanam for ancestors. ‘Thai Amavasya’ or New Moon in January is the only one of the ‘Big 3’ New Moons that occurs in the Sun’s Northward movement(Uttarayana ) through the zodiacs. This Uttarayana is for six months and this six months considered as half day in Heaven for divine Gods and Devas. In North India, the day is observed as “Mauni Amavasya” when many Hindus observe complete silence for a day.

There is a popular belief that on Thai Amavasya day, the departed souls visit the earth plane to bless their relations. Performing rituals like Tarpanam will help  us to express our  gratitude to our forefathers – ancestors, who are the reason behind our existence and status today. There are only 3 times a year that we can strongly influence our ancestors. A strong factor behind blocks or failures in our relationships,finances, health etc is because of the interference from our departed and unsatisfied ancestors. However, performing Tarpanam rituals to our ancestors will act like a harmonious accord, which involves our effort to appease them and they in turn bless us with happy life. During prayers, we shall ask them to come and eat (the essence), be satisfied and happy. We should thank them and invite them to move on into the light where they can be protected and peaceful. We should also feel the energies around us  and tell them not to be afraid. We are only offering love, gratitude and nourishment.

The other two Big 3 New Moons are:

Adi Amavasya- the New Moon in the Tamil month of Adi

Mahalaya- the New Moon in the Tamil month of Puratasi

This particular Tarpanam in Tamil “Thai” month will have great effect if it is done at Rameshwaram, a favoured place by Vedic Tarpanam Specialists. Rameshwaram is a coastal town in the far south of Tamil Nadu that is home to a temple that has 23 wells that have the properties of removing karma when visitors have the water poured over their heads. This town is named after Rama who killed Ravan and asuras. By killing Ravan who is a Brahmin, Rama was affected by Brahmaharthi Thosha.  He had to perform Tarpanam to appease this karma of killing and he did it in Rameshwaram. Thousands of devotees from various parts of the country takes holy dip in the sea off the coast here on the occasion of “Thai Amavasya,” .

 

South Indian Recipe – Onion Sambar

Before starting the cooking, just verify whether you got the following ingredients. These ingredients can be increased or decreased based on number of people to be served as this quantity specified is for 3 adults. (tsp means tablespoon.)

Ingredients:

1. Thuar dhall – Half cup
2. Tamarind- Quarter cup
3. Ash gourd (White pumpkin)- one small slice from full gourd
4. Yellow  gourd (yellow pumpkin)- one small slice from full gourd.
5. onion- 3/4 pieces
6. Tomato- 2/3 pieces
7. Red chillies- 4/5
8. Coriander seeds- 2 tsp
9. Bengal gram- 1tsp
10. Fenugreek (venthaiyam in tamil)- 1 tsp
11. Sunflower oil or til oil – 4 tsp
12. Ghee – 1 tsp
13. Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
14. Urad dhall- Half tsp
15. Salt to taste
16. Asafoetida – Half tsp
17. Curry and Coriander leaves- few
18. Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Cooking method:

We divide the process into three. The first phase is to cook thuar dhall with vegetables. The second phase is frying. The third and final phase is completion with some value addition.

First phase:

Wash and Soak Thuar dhall ( half cup) in water for 5 minutes.  Cut  yellow pumpkin into small pieces ( not too small ) . Then with soaked thuar dhall, add the pmpkin pieces and one tsp of turmeric and keep it in pressure cooker and boil it for 10 to 15 minutes till thuar dhall becomes soft to break in easily. These  thuar dhall and vegetable pieces can be mixed and kept. This mixture may be called as ‘Mixture -A’

Take tamarind in a small vessel  and put water and keep it for 10 minutes so that tamarind gets dissolved. Then extracting tamarind water(3 cups), pour it in a vessel used to cook for sambaar. Then start boiling  it with little turmeric and cut white pumpkin pieces , cut onions , tomato pieces with half asafoetida. Let is boil for 10 minutes till tamarind smell vanishes. Add 2 tsp of salt. This can be varied as per requirement. This mixture may be termed as Mixture ‘B’

Second phase:

Take one frying pan. Then put 2 tsp of sunflower oil or til oil . Add red chillies, coriander seeds, bengal gram, fenugreek and fry till they get golden colour. Then cool them. Then grind it in a small mixie and keep the mixture ready for final phase.

Third and final phase:

Again in the frying pan, put sunflower oil/til oil (2 tsp) along with tsp of ghee. Put Mustard seeds and heat. When mustard seeds rupture, add urad dhall( 1tsp) and heat for a minute more. Then add small pieces of   curry leaves in this. This can be put in the vessel containing mixture ‘B’. Then the mixture ‘A’ can be added and all of them can be boiled for another 5 minutes. After finishing this, keep the vessel closed with little coriander leaves.

Chef Nirmala

 

Vegetarian Cuisines – Mooli Paratha

This is Mrs. Nirmala Ramani from Coimbatore.  This is my maiden attempt to guide our readers and learners to cook indian dishes- south or north in a simple way. This is my maiden cookery article for the benefit of all. Hope this is palatable  to all:

Item:	Mooli Paratta.		For serving two members
			( 6 pieces with subji)
Ingrediants:
	Vegetables:				Price
	1	Radish	2 nos		4.00
	2	Tomato	4 nos		4.00
	3	Brinjal	4 nos		5.00
	4	Onion(Big)	3 nos		5.00
	5	Green chillies	6 nos		2.00
	6	Coriander leaves	small qty		3.00
					23.00
	Provisions:
	1	Wheat	2 cups	200 gms	15.00
	2	Turmeric powder	2 tsp
	3	Dhania powder	1tsp
	4	Masala powder	1tsp
	5	Chilli powder	1tsp
	6	Cummins seeds	1tsp		20.00
	7	Mustard seeds	1tsp
	7	Salt to taste
	8	Butter	20		20.00
	9	Cooking oil	50		10.00
	10	Curd			20.00
					85.00
Price on 20.2.2011			Total cost:		108.00

Preparation:

Mooli Paratha:

Wash and peel Radish. Grate radish and add salt and  turmeric to it. Finely chop the green chillies and add to this mixture. Now add omam. Add wheat flour and salt to taste in this mixture and knead well. Add water if needed. Cover this with a damp cloth and keep aside for atleast 15 minutes. After that, divide this atta into 5-6 balls and roll it for chappathis. Heat Tawa well and make paratha after roasting on both sides of the rolled ones adding enough oil to it.

Optional: Add butter to this parattas to give more taste and softness.

Brinjal (baingam) subji:

Heat a kadai in stove. Add 2 tsp oil. When hot, add mustard seeds and jeera to it. When it splutter, add finely chopped tomatoes and sauté it nicely. When oil separates , add brinjal pieces and sauté it again. Close the tawa with lid for 2-3 minutes to allow it to cook. Now add all masala powders with salt and sprinkle little water to it . Cut the green chillies and all to this. Allow it to cook well. Sprinkle with waer whenever needed. Finally add coriander or dhania leaves after removing them from fire. Baingan subji is ready.

For subji, some one will like it with curd.  For those desirous of hot stuff, use Avakkai pickle also for mooli paratta

(Generally grated radish is lightly cooked  with masala and stuffed between rotis but I will not suggest this as cooking it will make it less nutrient.)

– Chef Nirmala

 

Names of grains in four languages- Tamil, Hindi, English and Malayalam

Many persons feel the problem of getting proper equivalent words for any grain in some other languages. This is my attempt to cover some of the grains in four different languages:

Tamil                          English                       Hindi                           Malayalam

Sombu                         Aniseed                       Saunf                           Parinjeerakam

Perunkayam                Asafoetida                  Hing                            Kayam

Brinji elai                     Bay leaf                       Tej patha                     Karuvapatta

Thuvaram paruppu      Red gram                    Thuvar dhal                 Thuvaram paruppa

Kadalai paruppu          Bengal gram                Chana dhal                  Kadala paruppa

Ullutham Paruppu       Black gram                  Urad dhal                    Uzhunu paruppa

Payatham paruppu      Green gram                 Mung dhal                   charu paruppa

Elakkai                        Cardamom                  Elaichi                         Elakaiya

Pattai                           Cinnamon                    Dal chini                      Patta

Krambu                       Cloves                         Lavang                                    Kramba

Dhania                         Corrainder                   Dhania                         Kothambalari

Jeeram                         Cummin seeds             Jeera                            Jeerakam

Karuvepilai                  Curry leaves                Kati patha                   Karuveppala

Mendyam                    Fenugreek                   Mehthi                         Vendayam

Poondu                        Garlic                          Lasun                          Valathulli

Inji                               Ginger                         Adrak                          Inji

Kaduku                       Mustard                       Rai                               Kaduka

Jathikai                        Nutmeg                       Jaiphal                         Jathika

Milagu                         Pepper corns                Kalimirch                    Kurmilaka

Kasa kasa                    Poppy seeds                Khus khus                   Kasa kasa

Sivappu Milagai          Red chillies                 Lal mirch                     Chuvanna milaku

Ellu                              Seasame                      Til                                Ella

Manjal                      Turmeric                      Haldi                           Manjal

 

Chef Nirmala

 

Ten traditional Hinduism tips

1. Hear daily  Rudram and Chamagam or Vishnu Sahasranamam in the morning. This will create good resonance in the body. If not possible, hear them atleast at week ends. Peace will prevail in the family. Casettes are available now for this.
2. Morning heat should not fall on body. So we should wear some clothes to cover.
3. We should not say anyone “Sinner”. If we say anyone who is not a sinner, the full sin will add to our life history. Even if he is a sinner, half of it will be attached to us. So we should avoid pointing anyone as sinner. God is there to punish the guilty.
4. We should not wake up anyone who sleeps soundly after hard labour /work unless it is urgent or due to some unavoidable reasons. In the same way, any one who tries to create wedge between husband and wife  or any one who creates enmity between son and mother will get Brahmahatya Dosham ( Biggest Sin) for which he has  to suffer long. So avoid these.
5. If any flowers are given in the temple, it should not be kept in the ear.
6. In a death procession, we should follow the body and we should not go in front of the body.
7. In our palm (hand) , at the bottom Devi Parvathi  is there and in the middle Devi Saraswathi is there. so when we wake up, it is better to see our palm first so that full day will be pleasant and fruitful to us.
8. Doing puja without any asan or mat is not good. Better to use wooden plank  fit for sitting,, carpet etc.
9. With wet clothes, no one should do pooja. In exceptional cases, this can be done by shaking it for seven times in air so that some wetness will reduce and it is accepted in agamas. Only sad functions like death etc. are done with wet clothes.
10. Hair cut should not be preferred on Chathurthi  as it will cause ill effects on mother. In the same way, during Shasti, it will harm brother. Hair cut during full moon day will harm father. During Navami, hair cut will spoil the wealth of the family. Sunday and thursday, there is no dosha or no problem for hair cut.

(These are tips that are passed from generations to generations of Hinduism. The relevance of these points in today’s world is solely based on how you perceive them.)

– Nirmala Ramani

(Grandmother and Homemaker)

 

Proteins – The building blocks

I plan to organise my cookery into normal cookery and cookery for sick .

Before going deep into this, I would like to give some background regarding our diet which is supposed to provide us with proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals and vitamins. Since it is not possible to get all of them in one diet, knowledge of sources of  these basic nutrients and their effects on human body is helpful to keep our body fit.

First I will take up Proteins:

‘Protein’ word is derived from the Greek workd ‘protos’ which means  ‘that which occupies the first place’. Proteins form the major constituents of basic living cells of human beings. So proteins are needed  by human body to replace the day to day wear and tear of  the tissues. Proteins are complex substances formed by a combination of nitrogenous substances called ‘amino acids’. They are the building blocks of  protein. We have nearly 19 to 20 type of amino acids out of which 8 are very important. The 8 essential amino acids contain nitrogen and cannot be synthesized in the body. So they have to be received  from food. The other non-essential amino acids can be synthesized by the body and they supply power or energy to the body.  The essential amino acids build and also repair and replace body cells.

First class proteins are found in meat, eggs and milk. These food items are called ‘Complete proteins’  and contain almost all essential amino acids. All cereals, pulses, vegetables and fruits have ‘incomplete protein’  or in other words, it has some esential amino acids. So vegetarians must consume milk or eggs to supplement low-protein diet in order to be healthy.  They can use combination of sources in order to achieve the desired complete proteins.  Two sources of vegetable protein eaten at the same meal would excchange their amino acids and vegetarians can have complete proteins. So normally you can see two vegetables are taken in indian meals. In south, two vegetables can be seen, one in ‘saambaar ‘ and another in ‘curries’ .

Some of the combinations of two or more vegetable proteins are given which will form complete proteins.

1. Cooking of rice every day with a mixture of lapsi and sprouted methi seeds or moong beans. (100:25:25)
2. Mixing of 3 kgs of wheat with 400 gms of chana dal (Bengal gram) and 100 gms of methi seeds. This mixture is to be grinded and kept for making chapathis daily.
3. One fully ripe banana cna be eaten with each meal. This is good for all including children.

Each gram of protein provide four calories. One gm of protein is recommended per one kg of body weight.

Pure ghee or butter is not a substitute for complete proteins.

In the next topic, we can see about carbohydrates.

Nirmala Ramani