Sakkarai Pongal

 I wish a very Happy Tamil New year to my readers. I made Sakkarai Pongal (sweet pongal) as part of the celebrations.  An insider who makes this delicacy in temples shared it and I was surprised pleasantly by the results. The addition of saffron adds additional taste and nice color to the sweet. My mom does it in a different way by adding milk and yellow moong dhal. Believe me this sweet is definitely tempting, melting and crunchy with nuts.                          

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup of raw rice

2 cups of water
1/2 cup of powdered jaggery
8 cashew nuts
8-10 raisins 
pinch of saffron
1 tbsp of milk
2 tbsp of ghee 



Preparation:


1.Soak rice in water for 30 minutes. Add the water to the pressure cooker, as the water starts to boil.
2.Wash the rice and add to the water. Close the lid and pressure cook for about 3 whistles, then simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Melt the jaggery with little water. Stir well till there is no lump formation. Add to the cooked rice.
4.Immerse saffron in a tbsp of warm milk and add to the rice.
5.Heat the ghee in the pan and add the cashew nuts and raisins. As the cashew nuts turn golden brown, transfer it to the rice. 
6.Mix them well.Yummy and delicious sakkarai pongal is ready.

Mint rice/ Pudina rice

 Variety rice is a common recipe in Tamil cuisine. Some of the common ones are tamarind rice, lemon rice, coconut rice, mango rice, yoghurt rice etc. Mint rice or Pudina rice falls under the same category. The flavor of the rice is enhanced by all the spices and the mint. 

Serves up to 2 people
Preparation time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup of Basmati rice
1 red onion
1 cup of mint leaves and coriander leaves
2-3 green chillies
1 inch of ginger
1 tbsp of broken cashew nuts
2-3 cloves of garlic
2 pieces of clove
1/8 tsp of turmeric
1/2 tbsp of cumin powder
1 tbsp of ghee
oil as required
salt as required

Preparation:

1. Cook the rice with 2 cups of water. If I have a choice between gas/electricity, I usually prefer cooking in a gas instead of electricity. Allow the rice to cool. 
2. Add little oil to the pan, then add the chopped onion, ginger, green chillies and garlic. Saute well for 2 minutes and then add the cashew nuts.

3.Add mint and coriander leaves and salt to the pan. Saute well till the leaves are wilted. Allow them to cool and grind them together with little water.

4.Add ghee to the skillet and add 2 cloves. Then transfer the ground paste to the skillet. Add turmeric and cumin powder to the paste. As the raw smell disappears and the ground paste thickens, switch off the flame.

 

5.Add the rice and saute gently. Close the lid. Let it steam for 5 minutes. 

6.Mint rice is ready, serve with papad.

Vazhakkai varuval/ Raw banana roast/ plantain roast

  Vazhakkai varuval is my hubby's favorite and the charm works really well all the time. Though he was brought up in Mumbai, he loves all the South Indian dishes and this recipe is definitely one of them.

Ingredients:

2 raw bananas/ plantain
1 medium chopped red onion
3-4 cloves of garlic
1/2 tomato
1-2 dried red chilly
1 teaspoon of red chilly powder(per spice level)
1/2 tsp of garam masala
1/8 tsp of turmeric
1/4 teaspoon of mustard
1/4 tsp of Bengal gram dhal
1 tbsp of oil
salt as required

Preparation:


1.Peel the skin and cut the raw banana in to small circles. Cut the garlic in to halves. Heat the oil in the pan. Once the oil is heated, add mustard, dried red chilly and Bengal gram dhal. 

2.As the mustard sputters, add onion and garlic. Fry till the onion turns golden brown.

3.Add turmeric, red chilly powder and salt, saute for a minute. Now you can add the raw banana and mix well.  Add half cup of water and close the lid.

4.Cook for 10 minutes. Do it in the shallow pan so that the raw banana are roasted. Now add the chopped tomatoes and garam masala. Close the lid.

5.Once the tomatoes are wilted and raw banana is cooked. Allow the raw banana to roast and then curry is ready.