Paalaada

Maida and egg preparation.

Ingredients :-

• Maida - 2 cups
• Eggs - 2 nos
• Water - As required
• Ghee - As required
• Sugar - As required

Preparation Method :

1. In a bowl, mix ingredients 1 to 3 and whisk thoroughly and make a liquid batter(paalappam batter consistency).
2. Use non stick paalappam chatti and pour a spoonful of batter and spread it, by twisting the chatti with hands.
3. Do not cover the chatti.
4. Cook for 2-3 minutes,until it gets cooked well.
5. Spread a little ghee on the top.
6. Spread a little sugar on the top.
7. Roll it.
8. Make one by one using the above method. 

Ney Payasam

A sweet dessert for Onam...Simple to make..even kids can try

Ingredients :-

• rice ½ cup
• water 1 cup
• ghee ¼ cup
• coconut grated ½ cup
• jaggery 1 cup
• cardamom powder a pinch

Preparation Method :

1. Cook rice with water and aside.
2. Melt jaggery in ½ cup of water and bring to boil.
3. Add cooked rice and add ghee little by little stirring continuously.
4. Add Coconut and mix well.
5. Cook on low medium flame till thickened and add cardamom powder and serve hot.

Dal Paysam (Parippu payasam)

Ingredients: -

• 1 cup (100 gm) Split green gram (moong dal)
• 100gm sago (sabudana) soaked for ½ hr
• 300gm jaggery (molasses)
• ½ coconut (big)
• 5 pods of cardamom, powdered
• 15-20 cashewnuts
• 10-12 curry leaves
• A few coconut pieces
• 1 tbsp raisins (Kismis)
• 1 tbsp ghee

Preparation Method:

1. Roast the split green gram till light brown and fragrant.
2. Wash the dal and soak for ½ hour
3. Add ½ cup water to jaggery, and place on low heat. When completely melted, pass through a sieve to remove impurities.
4. Scrape the coconut, add ¼ cup water, knead, squeeze and extract the milk. Pass it through a muslin cloth or fine sieve and keep aside (This is called 1st milk)
5. Now add ¾ cup water to the coconut, knead, squeeze and extract the milk, pass through a sieve and keep aside (2nd milk).
6. Fry curry leaves, cashew nuts and coconut pieces in ghee till light brown.
7. Pressure cook the dal for 10 min.
8. Add the cooked green gram to the jaggery syrup, and cook on low heat with stirring to prevent sticking.
9. Simultaneously, cook the sago on low heat with sufficient water, with continuous stirring.
10. Add cooked sago to gram jaggery mixture. (You know that sago is cooked when it looks translucent.)
11. Simmer for 2 minutes and then add the 2^nd milk and raisins.
12. Simmer for another 2 minutes and add the 1st milk.
13. Stir, add cashew nuts, curry leaves, coconut pieces and cardamom powder.
14. Serve hot with plantains.

  

Chawal ki Kheer (Rice Pudding)

Chawal ki Kheer is a traditional Punjabi dish and is always made during Lohri celebrations. It is typically served cold, garnished with a lot of nuts and raisins.

Ingredients:-

• ½ cup rice (short grain is better)
• 1 litre full cream milk
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ cup nuts and raisins (cashewnuts, pistachios, almonds)
• 1 tbsp ghee or butter

Preparation Method:

1. Soak the rice in warm water for 10 minutes.
2. Cook the rice in 1 cup milk and 1 cup water. (If using a pressure-cooker, pressure cook the rice for 5 minutes with ¼ cup milk and ¾ cup water in case of basmati rice, and with ½ cup milk and 1½ cup water for any other rice)
3. Warm the remaining milk and add to the rice.
4. Bring the milk to a gentle boil and leave it simmering over very low heat. Stir occasionally.
5. Let it simmer until it becomes thick, and the quantity reduces to a little more than half of the original.
6. Add the sugar and mix well. Let it simmer for another 10 minutes.
7. Heat the ghee and fry the nuts and raisins on low heat until they brown slightly. Pour it over the kheer.
8. Chill the kheer and serve cold.
9. If the kheer is too thick after refrigerating, mix it with a little cold milk just before serving.

Note: Since you will be serving the kheer cold, it needs to be a little sweeter than needed while cooking, since the sweetness reduced when it is served cold.

Variation: Pal payasam

When making pal payasam, all the steps are identical. The difference is that the rice used is red rice and Pal payasam is thinner in consistency. Also, it is served hot, usually accompanied by a plantain.

Semiya Payasam (Sevaiiyan)

Ingredients:-

• ½ cup crushed vermicelli (sevaiiyan/ semiya)
• 3 cups full fat milk
• 5 tsp sugar
• ¼ tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder
• A few strands of saffron
• 2 tbsp cashewnuts
• 2 tbsp raisins

Preparation Method:

1. Dry roast the vermicelli until it is light brown.
2. Add 1 cup water and cook until vermicelli is soft.
3. Stir in sugar and mix well.
4. Dissolve saffron in milk, bring it to a boil and add it to the vermicelli.
5. Heat ghee and add cashewnuts. When the cashewnuts brown, add raisins and pour them into the payasam. Add cardamom powder.
6. Simmer for 2 minutes. Serve hot.

Ada Prathaman

Ingredients:-

• 200 gm readymade ada
• 2 coconuts, freshly grated
• 500gm jaggery
• ¾ cup ghee
• ½ cup raisins
• 5-6 cardamoms
• ½ cup cashewnuts

Preparation Method:

1. Soak the coconut in ½ cup warm water for 5 minutes and squeeze to extract the milk (1st milk).
2. Next, add 1½ cup water to the coconut and grind it. Extract the milk using a muslin cloth (2nd milk).
3. Fry cashewnuts and raisins in 1 tbsp ghee until brown. Drain and keep aside.
4. Boil the ada in lots of water about 25 minutes until soft.
5. Heat ½ cup water and jaggery until jaggery melts.
6. Add ghee and continue stirring for a minute.
7. Add the cooked ada.
8. Pour in the 2nd milk and bring it to a boil.
9. Simmer for 2 minutes, and then then add the first milk and the cashewnuts and raisins.
10. Add cardamom powder, mix well and serve.

Note: To make homemade ada, mix a little water with rice flour until a thick paste is obtained. Spread it on banana leaves and steam until solid, about 10 minutes.