South Indian recipes

Kalkandu vadai ( Chettinadu spl)

December 27, 2013 By

As you all might be knowing for this weeks BM i have choosen chettinadu cuisine and will be bring chettinadu recipes for three days . The first one was Kuzhi paniyaram for breakfast or snack , and today am here with a sweet appetizer this is a very very delicious and yummy sweet vada which can be served as a appetizer or as a sweet too. This sweet vadai is a very famous chettinadu spl dish which is prepared on auspicious occasion and festivals .

This recipe I have seen many times in TV shows and also some of our blogger friends have shared it when I was blog hopping I was thinking to make it soon and today I made these yummy vada after a long postponement . This yummy sweet vada can be served hot or cold . Check Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 35 .. Lets move on to the recipe..

Ingredients

Urad dal / Black gram dal – 1 cup
Raw rice – 2 tbsp
Sugar / Kalkandu ( sugar candy/ Misiri) powdered – 3/4 cup or
Oil for frying

Method

Wash and soak urad dal and rice mixture for 30 mins.
Drain the water completely, add sugar/ powdered Kalkandu/ sugar candy pd and blend them in a blender/ Mixture till fine Batter.
Add water while grinding if needed only in drops .
Transfer the batter in a bowl and heat the oil for frying the vada’s.
Wet your hands with water and take a small portion of the batter slightly press and make a hole using your thumb.
Slide the edge of the shaped vada using your thumb till and allow it to drop in hot oil.This needs a little practice to get perfect shaped vadas.
These vada will puff up well fry them in very low heat as they tend to darken faster becoz of sugar in it.
Turn and fry them both sides till light brown in color.

Tips

If using kalkandu / sugar candy just grind it in mixer to fine powder and use them.
Instead of Raw rice you might also add channa dal or bengal gram dal.

Ananda Bhavan Rava Kesari| Rava Kesari Recipe

December 16, 2013 By

Kesari is our family fav and my mom never forgets to make this delicious sweet for our b’day’s as this sweet is our all time fav . When I saw Priya Ranjit of Cook Like priya sharing an Adyar Anadha Bhavan style kesari which was very similar to what my mom used to make I bookmarked it and here am with this delicious Anadha Bhavan style Rava kesari . Adyar Andha bhavan was my most fav place for south indian savories and sweets. In which Rava Kesari is one such popular one , Thanks to priya for this yummy recipe which was close to Ananda Bhavan one and was so yummy to enjoy .

Rava kesari is an south Indian fav occasional sweet which is prepared in every home in south india for festive occasions. This is generally made of coarse semolina which is roasted in ghee and then cooked in water to form soft texture then sweetened with sugar and topped with roasted nuts . This is indeed a blissful sweet to enjoy any time of a day and so loved by kids too. Let move on to the recipe.Check Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 35

Recipe Source : Cook Like Priya

Ingredients

Rava / Semolina – 1 cup
Ghee / Clarified Butter -5 tbsp
Sugar – 3/4 Cup
Boiling water – 2 cups
Lemon yellow color – few drops
Cashew nuts – 6-8 chopped
Raisins – 5 Nos
Kesar Essence – 1-2 drops ( Not more than this)

Method

In a kadai / pan heat 2 tbsp of ghee.
Put chopped cashews , raisins and saute till they are light brown .
Add Rava , roast them in a medium flame till they are light brown .
Now slowly add the boiling water simultaneously mix them with other hand.
Cook them in slow flame stiring continuously till the water evaporates .
After the rava cooks and water evaporates add sugar and mix well.
Add rest of the ghee in between will it is cooking.
Add yellow color, kesar essence and go on stiring till they form a mass and leaves the corners of the pan.

Serve warm and enjoy .

Tips

Stir continuously while pouring water to avoid lumps.
Use generous amount of ghee for the perfect texture.

Masala vada/Masal vadai Recipe | Paruppu Vadai

January 17, 2013 By manjulabharathkumar@gmail.com

Masala vada/masal vadai is one among the favorite snack of tamil nadu . Masal vadai are the crispy delight prepared from channa dal soaked and ground in to coarse paste in which onion, green chilli , ginger,fennel seeds and salt is added, after which they are shaped and deep fried in hot oil till golden and crispy beauties. slurrrp !!! mouth watering right?? My mom never fails to make these in rainy days so i learn’t to make masala vada from her .. lets quickly look into the ingredients and method to make these delicious vadas..

Ingredients

Channa dal/Bengal gram dhal- 1 cup
Onion-1 no ( finely chopped)
Green chillies-3 nos ( finely chopped)
Fennel seeds/ sombu-1 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Mint leaves – 4- 5 ( chopped)
Ginger – 1 inch piece

Salt as needed

Method

Soak Channa dal for 3 – 4 hours. After 3-4 hours drain channa dal completely.
Grind the batter to a coarse mixture without adding any water. I usually remove a handful of soaked dal before grinding and add them after I am done grinding.
Note: Don’t grind too long as we don’t want the batter to become a paste.
Mix onions, green chillies, ginger, fennel seeds .cut mint leaves curryleaves salt and cut curry leaves.

In a kadai heat oil , at the same time make vadai by taking a portion of the batter and flattening them between your palm.

Now deep fry the shaped vadai in hot oil fry the vadai till golden in color. Do the same for the rest of the vada mixture and fry them in low heat.
Lower the flame after you drop all vadai and cook in medium flame until done , keep flipping from one side to other frequently. Drain it in paper towel.
Serve hot with coconut chutney as side dish or enjoy it as is .

You can serve even with Tomatillo cilantro chutney Click here

Tips

Soak the channa dal well till it breaks when you try with your fingers, if its not soaked well the vadai will turn hard.
You an skip onion and add cabbage or spinach as well.
Green chillies can be skipped and you can use red chilli, but make sure you grind them with channa dal.
Flatten the vadai well in between your palms and press it , even that helps in making crispy vadai.
Leftover Vadai can also be used for making vadacurry.
Crush these masala vadas in White peas/ vatana gravy sundal top it with onion, coriander leaves and enjoy!!