Thirattupaal/Paalkova (Chettinad Style)

Tags

authentic thirattupaal, Chettinad Desserts, Chettinad Foods, Chettinad Palaharam, Chettinad style thirattupaal, healthy paalkova, karupatti, paalkova, pillaiyar nombu, Thirattupaal, Thirattupaal recipe

Diwali nearing and list of sweets lining up 🙂 Thirattupaal is a very common sweet in my place. This is the Chettinad style thirattupaal. Only difference in this style is that instead of sugar we use palm candy(karupatti) And that taste is a little different from normal paalkova. And this is quite healthy and better than normal refined sugar. Gur/Jaggery can be replaced instead of palm candy(karupatti) This is as well a healthy option.

Ingredients:

Milk : 1 liter (whole milk works best)

Palm Candy/Karupatti : 3/4 cup ( can be replaced by Jaggery/Sugar)

Lemon Juice : 1 teaspoon

Salt : a pinch

Method:

• Take a heavy bottomed pan, pour milk and boil it.
• Keep boiling in medium heat.
• Break down karupatti to pieces. In another small pan, heat karupatti with very little water and let it boil. Then filter out for any impurities.
• When milk simmer add the above karupatti liquid or directly add jaggery powder/sugar.
• Keep stirring for a while. If karupatti is used then milk will curdle automatically. (somehow mine did not curdle, so I used lemon juice to make it curdle)
• If jaggery or sugar is added, then lemon juice needs to be added in few mins after adding them.
• Make sure to keep stirring and add a pinch of salt. At one stage all the water content would evaporate and become thick. Then stop and cool.
• This is a fabulous dessert 🙂

Optional Elaichi powder can be added for a bit of flavor. This whole process takes around 45 mins to one hour.

Advertisement

Okra Gravy/Vendakkai Mandi + Beetroot Vadai

Tags

Beetroot, Beetroot Vadai, Chettinad Foods, chettinad mandi, chettinad recipe, chettinad vendakkai mandi, mandi, Okra Gravy, Simple vadai recipe, simple vendakkai recipe, Vadai, Vendakai Mandi, Vendakkai Mandi, vendakkai recipe

Today’s post is going to be a simple chettinad home food and both these are my favorite. Both of them are so comforting, that I can have them everyday for lunch with rice 🙂 If you are wondering what is mandi it is the water that we first wash rice before cooking it. This water is nutritious. Usually we prepare it on the day we are about to prepare Idli/Dosa batter, when you will have more rice washed water. This is a very delicious gravy.

Ingredients:

Okra/Vendakai : 15 numbers

Potato : 1 medium or 2 small

Red Pearl Onions : 20 numbers (one large onion can also be used )

Green Chili : 6 to 7

Tamarind juice : 1 tablespoon

Mandi : 2 cups ( Take 4 cups of rice and use 2 cups water mix and filter our water in a bowl this is mandi)

Salt : 1 teaspoon

To Temper:

Mustard Seeds : 1⁄2 teaspoon

Urad dal : 1⁄2 teaspoon

Curry Leaves : Few

Asafoetida : 1/8 teaspoon

Sesame Oil : 1 teaspoon

Method:

• Wash Okra and dry pat it in a clean towel. This helps in reducing the stickiness.
• Peel onion skin, they can be chopped to large pieces. Pearl onions you can use it just by slicing it to 2 pieces.
• Remove potato skin and chop to large pieces.
• Slit green chili to 2 pieces.
• Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, Urad dal, asafoetida. When they crackle add the curry leaves.
• Next add the onions and green chili. Sauté for 2 mins.
• Next add the okra and potato. Saute these for 5 mins.
• Add the mandi now to this. Let it get cooked for 50%
• Now add the salt and let it boil for some more time. When it is almost 80% percent done in cooking both potato and okra, add the tamarind juice. After adding tamarind juice it will be ready in 5 mins.

This is usually served with rice.

Beetroot Vadai:

You might have already seen my guest post on this, Again I thought let me give this 🙂

Ingredients:

Beetroot: 1⁄2 cup grated

Onion : 1⁄2 large red onion

Toor dal : 1⁄2 cup

Channa dal : 1⁄2 cup

Fennel seeds : 1 teaspoon

Asafoetida : 1⁄4 teaspoon

Turmeric powder : 1/8 teaspoon

Salt : 1 teaspoon

Red Chili : 6 to 7

Oil : for deep frying

Method:

•  Soak Toor dal and Channa dal in water for 1 hour.
• Peel the skin of beetroot and grate it fine.
• Chop onions.
• Drain water and grind these two to a coarse paste without water ( if needed add 1 teaspoon water) Don’t grind it too smooth.
• Mix fennel seeds, asafoetida, salt, red chili (broken to pieces) and the grated beetroot with the dal.
• Since beetroot has some water content, when we fry the vadai it will drink up more oil.
• So I prefer to store it in refrigerator for at least 1 hour and then prepare the vadai.
• After 1 hour, take out the vadai batter. Make small round patties and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan for frying. Make sure it is in medium hot. It should not be too hot , as well not yet heated up.
• Just to ensure, make a very small ball from the batter and throw it in the oil, it should come up immediately. This means oil is ready now for frying.
• Slowly add the patties and fry it. To know when it is done, the sound of oil should come down.
• Remove from hot and place it in paper towel to soak up extra oil. Then serve it.

We have it with rice and sambar or this is a great evening tea snack. Vendakkai mandi and beetroot vadai with rice is a great combination 🙂

Lentil Meat Balls (Vegan)/ Kola urundai kulambu/ paruppu urundai kulambu

Tags

Chettinad Foods, chettinad recipe, kola urundai kulambu, Lentil Meat balls, paruppu urundai kulambu

Kola urundai kulambu, this is a very famous recipe in chettinad families. Made out of lentils is a great source of protein. This was one of the dishes in my wedding lunch 😀 , I grew up with grand parents and my parents were living in a different place. My grandma is an expert in this recipe. Just watching her cook is amazing. When my uncles used to visit us, this is for sure in the days menu. All of us love this to a great extent.

I was always a bookworm, just studies and never used to think of cooking, anything else when I was young. Only after I started cooking I know how joyful it is. Miles away from my family, now I feel how blessed I am to have had a chance to eat food which was cooked and served with so much of love. Few days back I got this recipe from my grandma and tried it, though I couldn’t get it so lovely as her, it turned out better 🙂

Lentil is called as paruppu in tamil language

Ingredients:

For the balls:

Pigeon split pea lentil/ Toor dal : 1 cup

Red Chili : 3

Fennel Seeds : 1/2 teaspoon

salt : 1/2 teaspoon

Onion: 1/2 of a large

Cilantro : Few Finely chopped

Curry leaves : few

Grated coconut : 2 table spoon

Asafoetida : 1/4 teaspoon

For gravy:

Tamarind : 1 small lemon size

Red chili powder : 1/2 tablespoon

Coriander powder : 2 tablespoon

Turmeric powder : 1/4 teaspoon

Onion : 1/2 of a large chopped

Garlic : 8 to 10 pods

salt : 1/2 teaspoon

To season:

Mustard seeds: 1/2 teaspoon

Urad dal : 1/2 teaspoon

Fennel seeds : 1/2 teaspoon

Curry leaves : few

Oil : 2 tablespoons.

Method:

Soak tamarind in water.

Soak the lentil/paruppu for 30 to 45 mins. Along with red chili, fennel seeds, asafoetida and salt grind it with minimal water. It should be a coarse paste. Do not make it smooth. Now heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan. When it is hot, put onions, let it turn translucent. Next add the ground mix of lentil and mix well in the pan. Have the heat in low. Otherwise it might start sticking to the pan. Keep stirring for 5 mins. Stop the heat. Then add the curry leaves, cilantro leaves, and grated coconut and mix well. Now we can make balls out of it.

Make the balls and keep it aside.

Pour extra water in the tamarind and make it as a juicy water. Add Red chili powder, corriander powder, salt with it. Keep it aside.

In a pan heat oil and add items in to season. Now add onions and garlic. Let it turn translucent.

Next add the juice we made out of tamarind to this. Let it heat well for around 6 to 7 mins. You can find the water in it boiling at this moment we are ready to add the balls.

Add 3 balls at one time. Leave it for 2 mins. Next add another 3 balls. leave it for 2 mins, then add the similar way until the balls are all put in the gravy. This is to avoid the balls get stuck with each other.

This has to cook around 15 mins, so that the gravy gets into  the ball. At the end add some chopped cilantro leaves.

This is a great choice with plain cooked rice. I hope you enjoy this dear friends 🙂

Steamed Rice Balls/ Chettinad Kozhukattai

Tags

Chettinad Foods, Chettinad Kozhukattai, Kozhukattai, Steamed Rice Balls

This is one common dish in chettinad homes. My grandma used to prepare this whenever the whole family gets together. Its one of the delicious dishes that she prepares, though I had never given attention to how she prepares it, I love them. I used to get into the kitchen and sneak, when ever it is ready, grab some of these balls and have it when its hot. Its very yummy :). Now away from my family , and have ample amount of time wanted to eat this by any chance. Got the recipe from my grandma and here it goes…

Ingredients:

Par boiled rice (Idly rice) : 1 cup

Green chili – 3 chopped

curry leaves – 1 tea spoon

Red onion – 1/2 chopped

mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon

cumin seeds – 1/2 teaspoon

urad dal – 1/2 teaspoon

channa dal – 1/2 teaspoon

Salt : 1 teaspoon

Oil : 2 table spoon

Method:

Soak the rice for 1 hour. After 1hr of soaking, grind the rice and salt in mixer. Grind it coarsely. Don’t make it smooth. Mix one cup water to this.

Heat a griddle/ non stick pan with oil. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, cumin seeds. Let them crack. Keep your stove in low. Now add the curry leaves. Add onion and green chilies. Let the onion turn translucent. Let it cook for 2 to 3 mins, not more than that. Add the ground rice with water. You should go on stirring. Otherwise the rice would form lumps and stick to the base. At the stage where you find that the rice gets bonded, thick and they will not stick to the base. It gets together and you can make balls out of it. Now stop the stove. Let this cool for 2 minutes.

You can make them in which ever shape you want, I would prefer the round shape. If it sticks to the hand you can grease you hands with little oil and do it.  Now steam them in idly pot or a stock pan. Steam can be done in high also. It took 8 mins for me. This can be had without any side dish.