Vennai Puttu for ICC January

Srivalli chose vennai puttu, a traditional dish from Tamilnadu for this month's Indian cooking Challenge. Recipe source is Priya Suresh who shared her grandmother's recipe.
I would say that it was an interesting sweet dish and was more closer to halwa in consistency. 

Ingredients:
1 cup rice
1/2 cup jaggery powder (Check the notes.)
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
2 Tbsp shredded or sliced fresh coconut pieces
1/4 cup cooked chana dal
Few cashew nuts to garnish (I used almonds)

Method:
* Soak rice overnight or at least for three hours. Throw away the water used to soak. Grind the rice finely adding a little water. It should be somewhat like idli batter.
* Meanwhile cook chana dal in a pressure cooker or in a sauce pan just until cooked. The dal should hold the shape and not turn mushy.
* Add 1/4 cup of water to jaggery and boil until it starts to turn foamy. There is no need to reach any threaded consistency. Strain the syrup and keep it aside.
* Boil 2 cups of water in a nonstick pan / heavy bottomed vessel. Add the ground rice paste to the water slowly and keep stirring continuously through the process. It starts to form lumps and so keep stirring to avoid it. Try to break the lumps any formed with the back of the ladle. Cook on medium flame until the rice paste is well cooked. You may have to continue to stir through out the process.
* Now add the jaggery syrup, cooked chana dal, cardamom powder and coconut to the cooked rice paste and stir well. Continue to cook until it turns into a solid mass and starts to leave the sides of the pan.
(I used a non stick pan and so, the paste was never stuck to the pan. And so this tip of the cooked puttu leaving the sides of the pan that  helps to determine the final stages may not work if using nonstick pan.)
* Pour this puttu on a greased plate and garnish with ghee toasted cashew pieces. I garnished with almonds and coconut. Let it cool completely and cut into slices.
* Refrigerate the leftovers. It will stay fresh only for a day if left at room temperature.

Note:
1. The quantity of jaggery powder mentioned was way too low for us. The dish had only a hint of sweetness and probably the jaggery powder should be somewhere between 3/4 - 1 cup.
2. I was not able to slice the puttu into pieces and so popped the puttu in the freezer for a few minutes and then sliced them.

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Chiroti / Pathir Pheni for December ICC

Our Sankranthi / Pongal wishes to readers who are celebrating.

Thanks to ICC, I could try a recipe this month that I had been planning to do for years now. Actually I haven't eaten them in decades, if I remember correctly. Before some of you start wondering how old am I really, let's jump to the topic. :) For this month's Indian cooking Challenge, Srivalli went with pheni / chiroti, thanks to Harini's grandmother for the recipe. I must admit that I am still confused about the title and the dish though my son and I enjoyed it immensely. To be honest, until Valli announced this month's challenge, I hadn't heard the name pathir pheni in my life and according to web sources, it belongs to Karnataka. It was a big surprise to me as more than half of my life was spent in that state. And also the phenis of Andhra we are familiar with, do look different. When I told my mother and my husband about this month's ICC, they both were surprised to hear that phenis and chirotis are same. For us, they both are way apart. However such things do happen in India owing to the vast differences in the regional cuisines. As far as I know, this month's recipe is a mini version of Karnataka's weddings' staple dessert - Chiroti since the recipe is more similar to chiroti preparation than phenis.

Chirotis are synonymous to weddings in my dictionary since I have eaten them only during those functions. I am not aware of the present scenario but when we were kids, traditional style Brahmin weddings in Bangalore region used to have chirotis served mandatorily at the end. They are strong competitors to holiges, the other famous dessert from the region. Chirotis are flaky discs of about 10 inches diameter. When you tear a piece, you would be able to notice the layers. Chiroti itself is not sweet and so, usually powdered sugar is sprinkled on top and badam milk / milk is poured on it so that you can dunk it in the milk-sugar mixture and enjoy it. A pheni is either dunked in sugar syrup during preparation and it will have a sugar coating over the surface like a badusha. Or it can be eaten with milk - sugar mixture. Chiroti on the other hand is usually served with milk - sugar mixture. I am not aware about "behind the scenes" of chiroti making but my guess is that probably the cooks will go with many layers of large rolled circles of dough to get those super sized chirotis at wedding feasts.  

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chiroti rave / pheni rava / fine semolina
1/2 cup maida / all purpose flour
A pinch of salt
3 Tbsp solidified ghee
2 Tbsp rice flour
Oil to fry
1/2 cup sugar powder
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 clove powdered (optional)

Method:
1. Mix the sugar, cardamom and clove powders in a bowl and keep aside. Or powder sugar, cardamom and clove together.
2. Combine the semolina and /or flour, 1 Tbsp solidified ghee and salt in a mixing bowl, rubbing the mixture with your hands. Then gradually add water and form a dough that of poori / roti consistency. Cover and allow the mixture to rest at least for an hour. The more the resting time, better the chirotis / phenis would be.

3. When you are ready to prepare the phenis / chirotis, whisk the remaining ghee and riceflour in a small cup and keep aside.

4. Divide the dough into 5 equal portions. Roll them out into thin circles. Apply the rice flour - ghee paste on each of the rolled out circle. Don't worry about getting perfect circles. It is hard because of the elasticity of the dough.

5. Place the rolled out circles, placing one on top of another so that you have layers of them with the flour - ghee paste in between. Apply the paste on the surface of the top rolled out circle too.

6. Starting from one end, go on rolling the layered circles like a carpet, to form a tight log. Apply the paste while rolling too. Tuck the ends securely.

7. Cut the log into one inch pieces. Roll out each piece again into a circle or press lightly with your hand.

8. Heat oil in a small wok for deep frying. Fry the rolled out circles on low flame until done, taking care they don't change the color. Drain them on paper towels. Serve warm with sprinkling on powdered sugar and pouring on some almond milk. Chirotis are best served warm but they can be stored for longer periods at room temperature.

Note:
1. This recipe source uses only chiroti rava. There are versions which use only all purpose flour and some use both flour and fine semolina.
2. If fine semolina is not available, grind and sieve the regular semolina to get a finer consistency.
3. For quick fix badam milk, add MTR's badam mix to warm full fat milk or evaporated milk and combine well.

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Sindhi Cuisine ~ Majoon for ICC

Majoon - a Sindhi delicacy from Mrs. Sabnani's blog has been this month's Indian Cooking Challenge theme. I kept contemplating until the end to go with it or not since it is a calorie laden sweet dish and only two of us at home like sweet stuff. I so enquired my son actually showed the recipe to my son and asked him whether he would like to have it. I started making it only after he assured me that he would try it. :)
Vaishaliji mentions that majoon is a winter special dish. Sindhis usually prepare it in bulk quantities and store it to last thru the winter months. It can be stored for up to six months if it doesn't come in contact with any trace of moisture. It is served as breakfast in small quantities, each day during winter. :) And newly wed daughters and married daughters receive it from their mothers during this season. 
This dish is simple in terms of preparation but takes longer since the milk and other ingredients have to reduce to a solid mass. And majoon is like embellished paalkova. It tastes fabulous as it's SouthIndian counterpart but is full of other yummy additions like poppy seeds and nuts.
I usually pick a time to cook dishes of this nature when I need to take care of things in the kitchen so that I can keep an eye on the dish instead of constantly hovering over it. This time I was cleaning in the kitchen and helping my daughter with her homework while the dish almost took care of itself. It was a lot easier since I cooked the whole time on simmer mode and didn't have to check quite often.

Ingredients: (Make about 1 & 1/4 cups)
2 cups milk (I used a cup of each - full fat milk and skim milk.)
6 Tbsp sugar (I like my sweet dishes not overtly sweet. Sugar quantity can be increased if more sweetness preferred.)
1/2 cup khoya (Another half cup can be added if preferred.)
2 Tbsp poppy seeds / khus khus
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
10 dried dates - coarsely chopped (I added pitted dates.)
3/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts - almonds, pistachios and cashews (I just pulsed them in food processor. Vaishaliji has mentioned to avoid walnuts if preparing the majoon in larger quantities.)
3 Tbsp ghee (I omitted it and still found the dish to be rich.)

Method:
When I have to deal with milk dishes and the recipe involves simmering and stirring for longer times, I usually go with a non stick saucepan. It makes the cooking job a hell lot easier and after cleanup is a cinch.
Heat milk in a nonstick pan and when it starts to boil, add everything except nuts. Cook on slow flame until it reduces to half the original quantity. Leave a spoon or a ladle in the pan so that the milk would not boil over (and so automatically your time to babysit that dish is considerably reduced. :)) Then add the nuts and ghee into the mixture and stir well. Continue to cook until the mixture turns into a thick mass and ghee starts floating over the surface.

How to serve:
Heat about  2 - 4 Tbsp of majoon with 2 tsp of milk in a microwave and serve piping hot.

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Pudachi Wadi / Cilantro Rolls For April ICC

Srivalli chose Maharashtrian Pudachi Wadi or cilantro rolls inspired from this recipe, for this month's Indian Cooking Challenge. A spicy filling of cilantro - coconut mixture encased in a chickpea & wheat flour dough is deep fried. This is a perfect tea time snack, especially for spicy food lovers. I guess I was generous with the usage of spices and chili powder in this recipe and these wadis turned out to be a treat for our spice / heat loving palates. I did not even need green or tamarind chutney to savor them.
I am not at all happy at the way these images have turned out. I was super exhausted on that particular day and had very little time to capture these delicious wadis. And also it was a cloudy day. All factors combined lead to this poor representation of this fabulous wadis. :(

Ingredients for about 10 - 12 vadis:
Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients. The process is not as complicated as it seems.

For outer covering:
3/4 cup chickpea flour / besan
3/4 cup wheat flour / atta
3 Tbsp hot oil
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste

For the stuffing:
2 cups cilantro / coriander leaves
1/4 cup grated dry coconut / copra 
1 Tbsp poppy seeds / khus khus
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp ginger - green chilli paste (I ground 1 big Serrano pepper and one inch piece of ginger adding a few Tbsp of water in my blender.)
3 cloves garlic chopped fine (I did not use it.)
1/2 tsp chilli powder
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp lime / lemon juice
1/2 tsp sugar

For the paste:
2 tsp oil
1 tsp kala masala / garam masala
2 tsp thick tamarind pulp

For deep frying:
Oil

Preparation:
1. Wash the cilantro leaves. Spread on a dry towel for a few minutes. I put the leaves between two layers of a thick towel so that the water was absorbed by the time I finished other prep work.
If you still feel the leaves are wet then just pat them gently with the towel. Finely mince the cilantro and keep aside.
Adding dry leaves is crucial since you want to avoid the final stuffing mixture turning soggy because of the watery cilantro.
2. Lightly toast the sesame seeds, poppy seeds and the coconut. Let cool and powder them.
3. Mix all the ingredients mentioned under "for the outer covering" and form a firm dough adding water as needed.
4. In a small cup, combine the ingredients mentioned under "for the paste".

5. Now comes the stuffing preparation. Heat a Tbsp of oil in a kadai and add the onions. Saute them until translucent. Add the ginger - chili paste, garlic if using, roasted & ground powders (from step 2), salt, sugar, lime juice, chilli powder and mix well. Fry for a couple of minutes. Then add the cilantro leaves, mix well and cook for a minute or so and turn off the stove.

Method:
* Pinch a small ball of dough and roll it thinly into a circle using some flour for dusting. How big the rolled circle should be depends upon one's preference. It can be anywhere between 3 to 6 inches of diameter. Leaving the edges, smear the center of the rolled dough with the paste. And then spread a few spoons of stuffing mixture.

* Cover from both sides as shown in the pictures. And then fold one end and seal it. (The recipe says to use water to seal but I did not.) Repeat with the other end.
 

* Repeat these steps until you use up all the covering dough and the stuffed mixture.

Actually I made these in different shapes - triangles like samosas and even half moon shaped like these kajjikayalu.

* Heat a few cups of oil in a deep pan or a kadai. When the oil is hot enough to deep fry, slowly drop the stuffed rolls and fry flipping them until wadis turn golden brown on both sides.

People who are participating in the ICC has been exempted from posting for blogging marathon "with the theme" today and so this is going to be my 7th day (or the final) post in the first group of this blogging marathon #5. From tomorrow, the second group's marathon starts and check out my sweet dishes during the run. J

I have enjoyed working with this first group in BM#5 though there had been some blogger mishaps and we have lost some posts in the process. Check what the other marathoners are cooking on this final day.
Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Cool Lassi(e), Harini, Kalyani, Priya Mahadevan along with me
Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: Priya Suresh, Veena 
Seven Days of Indian Sweets: Shylaja, Srivalli  
Seven Days of Regional Specials: Priya Yallapantula  
Under 15 mins Quick Breakfast: Aarthi, Vaishali

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