Akkara Adisal - Rice, Jaggery & Ghee Pudding

This is one dish, I always loved preparing. I made this dish on Thiru aadipuram, which is andal's(Godha devi's) b'day. She loved Lord Krishna . Anything with Ghee is really delightful to eat.

Things we need

Rice- 2 cups

Milk - 6 cups

Jaggery- 5 cups (well grated)

Ghee - 1 cup

Cashews - a handful

Raisins - a handful

Saffron Strands

Jaadikai (Nutmeg) - a little grated

Cardamon - powdered

How to make

Wash the rice & add the milk to the rice & pressure cook it. Once done, Mash it well & keep it aside.

Then in a thick bottomed vessel, add around 1 1/2 cups of water & add the jaggery & allow it to boil. The jaggery will dissove completely & will start to thicken. Take a drop of the boiling jaggery & drop it into a cup of water. The jaggery shouldn't melt & it should go to the bottom of the cup like a ball. When you see so, the pagam is done (the consistency is perfect).

Add the boiled & mashed rice to this & mix it well. Allow it t boil a bit. In a kadai add a little ghee, fry the cashews, raisins, the nutmeg & add it to the dish. Then in a small cup, take 4 or 5 strands of saffron & soak them in milk &then crush them till they dissolve & give out color. Add this & the cardamon powder to the dish & mix them well.

Finally add the remaining ghee & mix well. The ghee is a key thing in this dish so do add enough to render it tastier.

(In the picture it looks a little thick in consistency, as I liked it that way,but, it has to be a a little semi solid in consistency for the real Akkara adisal)

Its done. It is an easy dish. Enjoy the delicious Akkara Adisal.

Daal Makhani - Black Gram Dal

This dish was my favourite at restaurants. I wanted to learn it . Thanks to Sulbha Phanesekar, I could make this dish.

Things we need
Black Urad Dal - 1 cup
Rajma - - little less then 1/4 cup
Onions - finely chopped
Tomatoes - ground well
Ginger Paste (or ginger garlic paste)
Bay Leaf - 1
Cumin Seeds - 1 tbsp
Chilli Powder - 2 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tbsp
Garam Masala - 2 tbsp
Dried Kasturi methi leaves
Milk - 1/2 cup (or cream)
Butter - 3/4 of a stick (7 to 8 spoons )
Oil
Salt
Soak the urad dal & the rajma bean over night. Pressure cook for 3 whisltles . Drain the water from the cooked dal & keep it aside. Mash the dal well.
In a kadai take a little oil, when it is hot, add cumin seeds, bay leaf, then the onions. Fry them well. Add a little butter & ginger paste, tomatoes and fry them well till the raw smell goes away. Then add turmeric, chilli powder , garam masal powder & saute them. To this add the drained water we took from the dal, the remaining butter & allow it to boil. Add the cooked dal & salt to this& stir well. Cook in slow flame for almost 20 mins. If needed add a little water. It should be a semi solid. But don not add too much as we need to add milk.
When done, add the crushed & dried kasturi methi leaves & finally the milk (or even cream).
Its is very yummy with chapatti.

Vatha Kuzambu without tamarind

Things we need

Onions 1 1/2 Sliced well
Tomato 2
Coriander leaves
Sambar powder
Red chilli - 1 or 2
Channa dal 1/2 sppon
Urad dal 1/2 spoon
Peanut 1/2 spoon
Mustard seeds
Fenugreek Seeds
Oil
Asafoetida
Salt
Curry Leaves
How to make it
Grind the tomato & coriander leaves with salt. in a kadai, take some oil. Once it is heated up, add th emustard & allow it to spurt, and then the fenugreek seeds, red chilli, then the lentils (dals) & the peanuts. Fry them till they are brown, then add the curry leaves, onions, & fry them till they are transparent. Then add asafoetida, then some sambar powder. Just sauté it a bit. Then add the tomato coriander ground mix. Allow it to boil well. then turn it off.
Its a very easy dish. It tastes good with rice or pongal.