Rajma sundal (Kidney Beans Sundal)

This is another sundal that I made during Navarathri last year. Easy to make and very healthy too. Sundal is just any bean/lentil tempered with oil and a few basic ingredients (mustard, black gram etc). It can be eaten on its own or as a side with other snacks.

Difficulty Level: Easy

Time: 8 hrs (prep time), 10 min (making time)

Ingredients:

• Kidney beans - 1 cup ( you can use canned or fresh). If you are using fresh then they need to be soaked overnight
• Water
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp urad dal (black gram split)
• few dry red chillies (2-3 nos) or a mix of green and red chillies
• a couple of tbsps of grated coconut
• few curry leaves
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp oil

Method de Preparation:

1. Soak the kidney beans covered in water overnight. Then cook them in the pressure cooker with the water drained, just enough to cover them for the equivalent of 3 whistles. If you cook them a lot they will become mushy which is still ok taste wise (like how mine turned out) but you may not see the individual beans. It is basically a taste preference. Any extra water can be drained and used for other cooking purposes.
2. If you are using canned kidney beans just drain the beans and wash them. They can be used directly.
3. Take oil in a pan, add the mustard. When it splutters, add the urad dal and the red chillies along with the curry leaves. When they are all done, add the rajma and then the coconut and salt to taste.
4. Turn off heat and serve immediately or later :)

* This can be made almost instantly if you are using canned beans however the sodium levels will be much higher, so use fresh when you can.  Similarly you can use fresh or frozen coconut based on availability.

Vella Aval (Sweet Rice or Sweet Poha)

Aval or Flattened/Beaten rice is considered very auspicious and is used for many religious festivals as an offering to God. Vella Aval is specially made for Krishna Jayanthi. Extremely easy to make, it can be made even as a snack under very short notice. 

Difficulty Level: Easy

Time: 1 and 1/2 hrs (prep time), 10 min (making time)

Ingredients:

• Aval - 1 cup
• Water
• Jaggery - 3/4 cup
• 2 tbsp scraped coconut
• a pinch of cardamom powder
• 1 tbsp cashews
• 1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

Method de Preparation:

1. Soak Aval in water for an hour to an hour and a half and drain it, keep aside.
2. Roast the cashews in ghee and keep aside.
3. In the same vessel, take the jaggery on the stove top, add just a bit of water to immerse, and melt it.When it thickens starting to boil, add the coconut, cardamom powder and keep stirring.
4. Add in the aval when the jaggery solution had reduced some in quantity and keep stirring, till it all comes together. Turn off heat at this point.

* The vella aval shown in the picture below has been cooked well but is not granular or separated by rice flakes. If you like it that way, soak the aval for lesser time and take care to condense the jaggery solution well before adding the aval.

Paal Payasam ( Milk Kheer or Rice Pudding)

When I think of Paal Payasam, the story that comes to my mind is that of the famous Tenali Raman. He is known for his great appetite along with his infamous wit. After a very sumptuous meal, he states he cannot even eat a morsel more. And proceeds to drink liters of this amazing dessert when it was served. The king asks him how he managed that when he said he was stuffed. To that the witty Tenali Raman responds "Your majesty, just like all the people in a crowded street clear the road when you arrive, all the food in my stomach clears way for the king of sweets - Paal payasam!"

Like any dish, making the paal payasam can be considered a trivial task where one can just mix milk, sugar and cooked rice and call it that :) However once you have tasted the dish as it should be made, you will know the difference trust me. I would like the recipe to speak for itself, but I urge you to go ahead and try this version and you will love it!

Difficultly level : Medium

Time : 30 min (prep time), 30 min (making time) -Pressure cooker method

          6 hrs (slow cooker method)

Ingredients:

• Milk ( 1 litre or .25 gallons or 5 glasses)
• 1/4 cup raw rice
• 1 glass sugar (~ 200 to 250 gms)

Optional additions:

• couple of strands of saffron
• a tsp of ghee
• a tbsp of cashews
• a pinch of cardamom

* The glass I refer to here is a normal stainless steel one found in most Indian homes that holds about 200 ml of liquid.

Method de Preparation: ( Pressure cooker)

1. In a vessel keep 3/4 the milk and the raw rice along with the strands of saffron (if adding) and allow to cook. Keep the heat at a medium to medium low and allow the mix to cook slowly (equivalent of 3-4 whistles).
2. Once it is done and you can open the cooker, take the mixture out. The rice should have cooked well and the payasam will have a lovely pinkish/reddish tinge to it. 
3. Transfer to a vessel on the stovetop, add the sugar and the remainder of the milk. Keep stirring without allowing it to stick to the bottom.  The mixture will first turn watery as the sugar melts some and then will begin to condense. When it does, you can turn off the gas. Approximately the payasam in the end will he half the original quantity you would have started off with.
4. At this point, my mom is done. She keeps is plain, simple yet extremely tasty. If you like you can add a pinch of cardamom powder and also roast the cashews in ghee and add to this.

Method de Preparation: ( Slow Cooker)

1. Add the rice,saffron and entire milk to the slow cooker and keep on lowest setting for the first 4 hours. You can mix a couple of times in between.
2. Add the sugar and turn to medium setting and allow to cook for another 2 hrs.
3. You can add the cardamom and roasted cashews at the end if you like. Make sure you turn of the heat at 6 hrs, and if you find the payasam already condensed at that time transfer it to another vessel because the slow cooker's vessel retains heat and keeping it in it will continue to condense the payasam further.

Chakkarai Pongal (Sweet Rice Lentil Pudding)

Feb 23rd 2011

It is only as you grow older that you celebrate festivals because they signify something or because you want your children to learn some traditions. When I was younger, festivals were always about holidays from school, yummy food, great TV programs and new clothes in some cases.

Pongal or Indian Thanksgiving is the first festival of the year. There is a popular saying in Tamil -" Thai poranthal Vazhi porakkum" translated to "When this month arrives, an opportunity is born for everything". Such is the significance of this festival and this month. We celebrate Pongal on 3 days - Bhogi, Thai Pongal and Kaanum Pongal.

Coming to this dish, "Chakkarai" translates to "sugar" in Tamil. This is made on the second day - on Thai Pongal. It is the accompaniment to its salty companion - Venn Pongal. It is made only during Pongal or when I really ask my mom for some or during other special occasions. It is served as prasadam in many a temple. Without further ado, here is the recipe for this dish that is rich and unparalleled.

Difficulty Level: Medium


Time: Prep Time (20 min), Making time (15 min)

Ingredients

• Raw rice or Long grain rice  1 cup  [ Do not use Basmati or Jasmine Rice]
• Dry roasted Moong Dal - 1/2 cup
• Jaggery - 3 cups 
• Water

To season

• Ghee - as much as you like :)
• Cardamom powder - 2 tsps
• Jadhikka or Nutmeg powder ( best to crush a fresh one) - 3 tsps
• Cashews - 1 tbsp
• Raisins - 1 tbsp or lesser (Optional)
• Borneo- Camphor or Pachai Karpooram ( 1-2 small pieces)

Method de Preparation

1. Dry roast moong dal so that the raw smell goes away and it becomes slightly brown.
2. In a pressure cooker boil the rice and moong dhal with 2 and half cups of water. Add a spoon of ghee for smell and taste. Allow to cook well or equivalent of 3 whistles.
3. Take the jaggery in a vessel and soak in water just sufficient to immerse it. Turn on heat and start to melt it. If jaggery is in blocks, pound and powder some or break into smaller pieces. If you use too much water, your pongal will end up being too liquid.
4. Turn on heat and allow to boil till jaggery melts. Depending on the quality of your jaggery you might need to decant it to remove impurities. Most imported varieties don't have any.
5. As the decanted or non-decanted jaggery solution boils, add the camphor to it. Allow to boil and thicken.
6. Add the cooked rice+dal mixture to this and allow everything to come together. Add a few tbsps of ghee.
7. Once desired consistency is reached ( like a porridge) turn off heat and add Cardamom powder.
8. Take ghee in another small vessel for seasoning and in it fry cashewnuts and raisins, add the nutmeg powder. Empty this into the first mixture and add a few more tbsps of ghee. 
9. Serve hot even as the main dish, I won't complain :D

Tips:

1. The Jaggery used for this dish should be dark brown in color for the best taste. Most imported varieties are milder and light brown in color and don't taste as sweet. So go ahead and use 3 1/2 cups if needed.
2. Brown sugar can be used instead of jaggery when not available and tastes moderately good but it cannot compete with the former.
3. The camphor and nutmeg give it a unique taste that you get in most temples, so use it if you can.
4. This is a recipe where more the ghee the better. For that matter for any recipe that calls for ghee, that is the case :D. If ghee used was not enough, you can add more when serving.

Confessions:

When possible I use jaggery from India. I need to decant it but the taste is much better and the color is a dark brown. For this batch I have used jaggery available here and you can see  it is not as brown as this dish is traditionally.