Nuvvula Undrallu / chavithi

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Nuvvula Undrallu / Sesame seeds Undrallu

Nuvvula Undrallu or sesame Undrallu is another version of the undrallu payasam. In this recipe, we use sesame seeds and poppy seeds which gives milk an interesting flavour and an unique taste. This nuvvula undrallu

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Pala Undrallu / Chavithi / Paala Undrallu

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Paala Undrallu / Milk Undrallu Payasam 

Paalu undrallu is also known as undrallu payasam. The undrallu that are prepared with the rice flour are pampered with sweetened milk and dry fruits resulting in a delicious dessert which is loved by Lord Vinayaka. This Paala undrallu or paalu lo undrallu

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undrallu for vinayaka chavithi

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Undrallu for Vinayaka Chaturthi / Undrallu recipe for Ganesha Chaturthi

Another 9 days to go for Vinayaka Chavithi - 25th August 2017. I am posting the most important and basic dish for this famous Ganesha festival - Undrallu ( Rice flour balls ). These undrallu or rice flour balls are made with rice flour. These balls are then

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coriander coconut pulao / pulao recipe

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Coconut Coriander Pulav

I love pulavs - let it be of any version. They taste awesome with all the flavours of masalas bursting out along with the goodness of all the veggies included in the rice. These kinds of pulavs or flavoured rice are very nice for our tummy especially during the monsoon or winter days when we want to have all spice in our foods. These spices like black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and garlic actually

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Poornam Boorelu / pesala Boorelu

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Poornam Boorelu / Whole Moong Dal Boorelu 

This weekend is Varalakshmi Pooja. I am sure everyone must be busy preparing for the big day. Shopping, cleaning homes, decorating puja room and idols. Married women are totally busy with all these work. These are the work that is to be done before the Varalakshmi Puja day. 

On the Pooja day, we are totally busy with preparing Kalasam, decorating the Goddess Lakshmi Devi idol, preparing Naivedhyam for Goddess Lakshmi and other such activities. Everything will go well if plan our to-do list well in advance. Planning will help in doing things smoothly and without any fuss. Right from the sarees we want to wear, till the flowers we use for decoration, plan and keep everything ready to avoid the last minute hurry.

For this special occasion, I am sharing the recipe of Pesala Boorelu ( Whole Moong Dal Boorelu ). This is a popular Andhra recipe which is made during festive occasions specially during the festive season of Sankranthi ( Pongal ). These are also known as Poornam Boorelu.  Boorelu are traditional sweets that can be made with channa dal, moong dal, whole moong dal, coconut-rava or with chenna. They can be made with many other variations as well which I will be sharing soon. You can also check my other Naivedhyam recipes :

Tempered black chickpeas
Easy Coconut Ladoo Recipe

Banana Appalu
Paneer Payasam
Spongy rasgullas
Dates and Nuts Ladoos
Kalakand

I have heard many people think that Boorelu are very difficult to prepare. But it’s a false thought. They are very easy to prepare provided you follow the simple tricks and techniques that are mentioned here. This was the first sweet that I prepared after my marriage and I was on the Cloud Nine after that. Because my man loved them to the core.

Pesala Boorelu are very healthy and tasty too. I have used jaggery in this recipe. But if you wish you can replace it with sugar. For the outer skin, I have prepared and instant version of batter which does not require any soaking, grinding or fermentation. Firstly, we prepare the stuffing that should go inside the boorelu ( i.e. poornam ), then dip them in the batter and deep fry them. Its as simple as said. So, lets get into the preparation of these Pesala Poornam Boorelu.  

Preparation

Take the whole moong dal in a vessel. Check for any inpurities and wash them thoroughly. Add clean water in the vessel and put it on the stove.

On a medium flame, cook the whole moong dal. Keep stirring occasionally. Cook until the whole moong dal is soft and cooked. But it should be grainy.

To check if it is cooked till the correct stage, take a grain of whole moong dal between your thumb and index fingers and crush it. It should become mashy. 

Now switch off the flame and drain the water right away. Allow this to cool. 

Meanwhile, lets get the other ingredients ready. Grate the coconut and keep aside.

Grate the jaggery and keep aside. If you are using sugar, make a powder of the sugar and keep it aside. Take the cooled moong dal in a blender along with cardamom pods.

Make a coarse powder of this mixture. Do not add any water while making the powder. In case you are preparing in large quantities, then make the powder in batches. Transfer this to a big vessel. Add grated jaggery ( or powdered sugar ) and mix well.

Alternatively, you can grind both the jaggery ( or sugar ) along with the cooked moong dal together and transfer to a bowl. To this dal-jaggery mixture, add grated coconut and mix well.

If this mixture is too watery and you are unable to give shape, then put this mixture on the stove and cook until it dries up a liitle. Keep stirring continuously while cooking to avoid burning and sticking at the bottom of the pan. Cool this mixture and make small balls from this mixture. Keep them aside.

Now lets prepare the batter for the poornam boorelu. There are 2-3 variations for making this batter. The tradidtional way of preparing the batter is by soaking the urad dal and grinding it and then fermenting it for 5-6 hours. But here I am using an instant batter which does not require any soking, grinding or fermenting. I will mix maida ( all pupose flour ) and rice flour and make a batter. There is another variation for the instant batter with wheat flour. We mix maida and wheat flour and make a batter. But I personally feel that the second variation gives a hard outer skin where as the first variation will yield a soft and crunchy outer skin of the boorelu. So, here in this recipe, I am sticking to the first variation with rice flour. Take the maida and rice flour with a pinch of salt and mix well.

Add water little by little and mix thorouhgly so that there are no lumps in the batter. The batter should not be thin. So do not add more water. The batter should be of dropping consistency and not that of pouring consistency.

If you think that the batter is too thin then add little maida and make it a thick batter. Now that we are all set, heat oil in a pan.

To check if the oil is hot enough, put a small drop of batter, it should not come up immediately. It should come up gradually. At this point, dip the moong dal mixture into the batter with your fingers.

Coat the batter well all around the ball. And gently place the coated ball in the oil to deep fry.

Place 4-5 such balls in a batch.

Cook them on a low to medium flame until the balls turn light golden in colour. Remove from the oil on place on a paper napkin to remove the excess oil.

Repeat the process for the remaining balls and finish off. I could make around 25 boorelu with the measurements given below. These Poornam Boorelu ( whole moong dal boorelu ) stay good for upto 2-3 days. Enjoy with your family.

Ingredients

Whole Moong dal 1 cup

Jaggery 1 cup
Grated coconut 1/4 cup
Cardamom pods 5
Oil to deep fry             

For batter

Maida 1/2 cup

Rice Flour 1/2 cup
Salt a pinch

Method

1. Wash the whole moong dal and cook with water. Cook until it becomes soft but still has the grainy consistency. Press between your index and thumb fingers and you should be able to mash it.
2. Drain the excess water from the cooked moong dal and allow to cool.
3. In the mean time, grate the coconut and jaggery and keep aside.
4. Take the cooled moong dal in a blender along with cardamom pods and make a coarse powder.
5. Add grated jaggery, grated coconut and the powdered moong dal and mix well.
6. Make small balls out of this mixture. If the mixture is too watery, put it on the stove for a few minutes until it dries out. Keep stirring continuously while cooking to avoid sticking at the bottom of the pan.
7. Mix maida, rice flour and salt in a bowl and mix well.
8. Add water little by little and make a thick batter.
9. Mix vigorously such that there are no lumps in the batter.
10. The batter should be thick, and not too thin. If you feel the batter is thin add more maida and make it thick.
11. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying.
12. To check if the oil is hot enough, put a small drop of batter in the oil. It should not come up immediately. If it comes up immediately, the oil is very hot. Try to reduce the heat by adding more oil or reduce the flame for some time.
13. Now, dip the moong dal balls in the batter and coat the batter well all around the ball.
14. Place it gently in the oil. Cook atleast 4 balls in a batch.
15. Cook on low to medium flame until they turn to light golden colour.
16. Remove from oil and place them on a paper napkin to remove the excess oil.
17. Repeat the process with the other balls.
18. Serve them warm or at room temperature.
19. These boorelu stay good for upto 2-3 days at room temperature.

Notes

• Always use fresh oil ( preferable refined oil ) so that you do not have a oily smell or taste while enjoying the boorelu.
• These poornam boorelu can be prepared with other stuffings like channa dal, rava-coconut and many other variations which I will be discussing very soon.
• The moong dal mixture should not be watery. If by chance, it becomes watery and you are not able to give shape to it, then cook on a low flame until the water content evaporates and becomes thick.
• Do not add too much water while preparing the batter. The batter should be thick. When you dip the ball in the batter, it should coat the ball evenly.
• You can add more of grated coconut as per your preference as long as you are able to give shape to the moong dal dough. 

This post has been submitted to the Livogen Iron Chef Contest ..  http://www.livogen.in/iron-chef

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senagala talimpu / tempered black chickpeas

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Black chickpeas Sundal / Senagala Talimpu

Another one week to go for Varalakshmi Pooja and here I am posting the special recipe for this day - Talimpu senagalu. This is also known as Sundal in Tamil. Senagalu means black chick peas in Telugu. These black chick peas are generally soaked overnight and included in the Taamboolam ( along with betel leaves, betel nuts, banana or coconut, a blouse piece, kumkum and turmeric powder ) to the guests who

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sesame chutney / Nuvvula Pachadi

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Sesame Seeds Chutney / Nuvvula Chutney

Breakfast serves the main meal of the day. We need to eat a healthy breakfast to gain energy for our daily routine activities. Today´s dish is sesame chutney which is very healthy and nutritious. Sesame seeds are a rich source of calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, manganese, copper, zinc, fiber, vitamin B6 and the list is endless. So I suggest all my readers to include these sesame seeds in your daily diet. You can check mz recipes where I include sesame seeds in my cooking. 

Snake Gourd Sesame seeds kurma

Stuffed Ridgegourd Curry

 

I generally prepare idly, dosa, upma, ragi dosa, etc for our breakfast. There should be a side for all these dishes. So I try to prepare variety of chutneys. Some of them are basic coconut chutney, tomato chutney, onion chutney, ginger chutney and many other chutneys. There are many variations for all of these chutneys.

Sesame seeds chutney is a flavourful, nutty and spicy chutney that goes as a side or dip for any of the South-Indian breakfast. Sesame chutney is very simple to prepare - fry, grind and do tadka. The basic ingredients that is essential for any chutney is salt, spice and tamarind. If these three ingredients are perfect, any chutney will be tasty and delicious. For sesame chutney, the spice should be perfect. That’s when you will get the actual flavour and taste of the sesame seeds.

Preparation

Heat oil in a pan.

Add sesame seeds and garlic. Fry for 3-4 minutes.

Now add red chillies. Fry for a minute.

Add coconut pieces or grated coconut. Fry for 2-3 more minutes.

Add tamarind and salt.

Now switch off the flame. Allow this to cool. Transfer to a blender.

Grind to a paste adding water little by little. Now for tadka, heat oil in the same pan. Add little oil and once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds.

Once they splutter, add cumin seeds and methi ( fenugreek ) seeds.

Once they crack, add dry red chillies,  curry leaf powder or curry leaves, hing and switch off the flame.

Add this tadka to the ground sesame paste. Enjoy as a side or dip for your breakfast.

Ingredients

Sesame seeds  1/4 cup

Coconut  1/4 cup
Red chillies 8
Garlic  4
Tamarind  small lemon size
Salt  to taste
Oil  1 tsp

For Tadka

Oil  1 tsp

Mustard Seeds 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds  1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds  few
Hing  2 pinches
Curry leaves  few sprigs
Red chillies  1-2

Method

1. Heat oil in a pan and add garlic and sesame seeds. Fry for 3-4 minutes.
2. Add red chillies and fry for another 2 minutes.
3. Now add coconut pieces or grated coconut and fry.
4. Add tamarind and salt and switch off the flame.
5. Allow this mixture to cool.
6. Grind in a mixie to a paste adding water little by little. Keep aside.
7. Do the tadka with mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, red chillies, curry leaves and hing.
8. Pour this tadka on the ground sesame paste and enjoy with your favourite breakfast.

Notes

• You can always vary the measurements of the coconut and sesame seeds. If you like the flavour of sesame seeds, you can reduce the quantity of the coconut and if you like the flavour of coconut, you can reduce the quantity of sesame seeds and prepare this amazing chutney.
• You can dilute the chutney with water if you want a thinner consistency of the sesame chutney. My mom always prepares a diluted version of the same chutney but she adjusts the spice levels accordingly.
• Increase the amount of spice as per your taste buds. I added more red chillies while grinding as the spice was not sufficient for me.
• You can also use green chillies while roasting the sesame seeds, but the colour of the dish would vary.
• If you have any leftover red chilly seeds, you can also use those seeds to prepare this chutney instead of the whole red chillies.

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Coconut Laddu Recipe / Kobbari undalu

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Coconut Jaggery Ladoos Recipe / Kobbari undalu / How to make coconut laddu

Today´s recipe is yet another sweet snack that is my all time favourite since my childhood. It is coconut jaggery laddoos - kobbari bellam laddu. When I was a child, my mom used to make these kobbari undalu in bunches and store them for us as an after-school snack. I literally used to drool over them😛. When we grew up and left homes for further education, somehow, we forgot about them. Even after marriage, the coconut jaggery ladoos just skipped from my mind.

One fine day, when I was browsing through my old photos of my childhood days, I recollected all the snacks that my mom used to prepare for us. She used to prepare tapioca chips ,  sweet kova, Poornam Boorelu etc.,.  The coconut jaggery laddus topped the list. I was quite crazy for them and the mere thought itself waters my mouth. They were chewy, juicy and all of the above, tasty. They are also very healthy. They have all the goodness of coconut. They are rich in fibre and essential vitamins and minerals. They help in converting the bad cholesterols into good and healthy cholesterols and in turn promoting a healthy heart. We are using jaggery ( bellam )instead of sugar which again is very healthy. 

The best thing that I like about these coconut jaggery ladoos is that they are very easy to prepare with just three ingredients. The only difficult part is grating the coconuts. I manually grate the coconuts with the help of a traditional grater. The rest of the preparation is easy peasy.

Preparation

Grate the coconut and keep aside. You can grate it with the help of a food processor as well. I grated the coconut with a traditional grater as shown in the picture below. You can also make coconut pieces and put it in the blender to make a paste. But to get the perfect texture its always advisable to grate the coconut manually. Grate the jaggery.

If you are using normal jaggery, then add little water to the powdered jaggery and put it on the stove. Cook until the jaggery melts completely. Switch off the flame and filter the impurities. Since I used organic jaggery, I did not have need to filter as they do not have any impurities. Mix the grated coconut to the jaggery and mix well.

Put this mixture on the flame as low as possible and cook slowly. Keep stirring occasionally to avoid sticking at the bottom of the pan.

Cook until you are able to form ladoos out of the dough. To check if the dough is ready, take a small portion of the coconut dough on a plate.

Allow it to cool a little bit and try to form a ball. If you are successful in making a ball, then switch off the flame.

If you are not able to form a ball, then cook for some more time. Add cardamom power while it is still hot and mix well.

Cool the mixture to an extent such that you are able to hold the mixture in your hands. Give shape to the coconut-jaggery mixture. You can give any shape as you prefer. You can shape it as laddoo or peda or any other shape.  I shaped them like laddoos with a cashew in the center. The other shape was like that of an apple with a cashew acting as the stem. Once they cool completely, you can store them in air-tight containers. They stay good for upto 15 days. These coconut jaggery ladoos will be great for short breaks and as after-school snacks.

Ingredients

Coconuts 2 ( OR ) 3 cups grated coconut

Jaggery 2 cups

Cardamom Powder 1/2 tsp ( OR ) powder of 8 cardamom ( elaichi ) pods

Method

1. Grate the coconut manually and keep aside.
2. Grate the jaggery.
3. If you think there are impurities in jaggery, then add little water in jaggery and put it on flame. Cook on a low flame until the jaggery melts. Once it melts, switch off the flame and filter through a strainer for impurities.
4. Mix the jaggery and the grated coconut and mix well.
5. Put it on a flame as low as possible and cook.
6. Cook until you are able to form a ball or a ladoo.
7. Take a small portion of the coconut mixture and try to make a ball. If you are able to make a ball then switch off the flame and add cardamom powder. Mix well.
8. If you are not able to make a ball then Goto Step 6.
9. Allow this mixture to cool a little and then get ready to give shapes. 
10. Store them in air-tight container and enjoy with your loved ones. 
11. Coconut jaggery ladoos stay good for up to 15 days.

Notes

• You can feel free to add any nuts or dry fruits to make them rich and more nutritious.
• You need not add any ghee or oil because coconut itself contains oil. That oil is sufficient for cooking and while making shapes. Even if you do not apply any ghee or oil, you will get a perfect shape. But if you wish you can grease your hands with a little ghee to get a nice flavor ( kammadanam ) on the ladoo.
• My laddoos were soft because I did not cook them for long after I was able to give shape. If you want a little harder ladoo, then cook for another 5 minutes after you are able to form a ladoo. Hope you are able to understand. If you have any doubts, please leave them in the comments section. I will be more than happy to guide you accordingly.

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