Rasam Podi

This is the rasam powder mix my mom and grandma makes. They have been following the ratio to book for years. All the measurements are rough and approximate, because we never measure it with a scale. Everything is "கை அளவு கண் அளவு" (Taken in hand, measured with eyes!!)But I sure can vouch for the taste, because it has come this way over a few years! :)

Rasam Powder
Basic Spice powder to make Rasam

What we need:
Red Chilli - 100g
Dhania - 50g
Peppercorn - 50g
Jeera - 50g
Fenugreek (Vendhayam) - 25g
Mustard - 2 tbsp.
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp.
Asafoetida - 1 tsp.
Curry leaves - a few sprigs

How to do:
1. Dry roast the mustard till it starts to pop. Remove and set aside.
2. Dry roast the fenugreek seends till it turns dark red. Remove and set aside.
3. Dry roast the dhania seeds till it starts emiting out a nice aroma. set aside.
4. Now add all the remaining ingredients (except turmeric powder and asafoetida) to the pan and roast well.
5. In a mixie, grind together all of them with turmeric powder and asafoetida to a fine powder.

Note: 1. It is important to roast Mustard and Fenugreek well (as in Step 1 and 2). Otherwise the rasam will taste bitter.
2. In order to make large batches, increase the quantity of ingredients propotionately.
3. Storing in an air-tight container preserves this powder along with its flavor for upto an year. You can use upto 2 tbsp. of this rasam powder to make 2 servings. Please do refer to my Thakali Rasam recipe for the procedure.

Panakam and Neer Mor - Neivedhyam

Neer Mor (Diluted Buttermilk) and Paanagam (Jaggery Juice) are definite Neivedhyam for Rama Navami.

Ram Navami or राम नवमी is celebrated marking the birth of Lord Rama, son of King Dasharatha of Ayodhya, and a divine figure in Hinduism believed to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The day also known as Sri Rama Navami, falls on the Navami, ninth day of the Chaitra month of Hindu lunar year in 'Shukla paksha' or waxing moon, thus named Chaitra Masa Suklapaksha Navami, and marks the end of nine-day Chaitra-Navratri celebrations.

Source: Wikipedia

This version of Neer mor is my favorite. It has a good cooling effect on the body. Probably that is the reason why it is served during Rama Navami festival that falls in April, which is the on-set of summer in India.

Source: Wikipedia
Panakam is the drink made from Jaggery seasoned with cardamom, ginger and pepper powder. It has high medicinal values too. So, these 2 are those refreshing drinks I would like to have in anytime of the year!

Neer Mor
Diluted Buttermilk
Serves 2
What we need:
Curd - 5 to 6 tbsp.
Water - 1 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup
Asafoetida - 2 pinch
Green Chilli - 2 or 3 tbsp., minced
Coriander - 3 to 4 tbsp.,minced
Grated ginger - 2 tbsp.
Salt - as needed
Grated Mango - 2 to 3 tbsp. Optional


How to do:
In a bowl, add curd, water, milk and whip well. Add all other ingredients, mix well and serve chilled. Stir well before drinking.


If you do not want to pick out the chillies, coriander or ginger, grind together all these ingredients and mix it with the buttermilk.

Panakam
Spiced Jaggery Water
Serves 2

Trying to capture the reflection of Lord Rama in the panakam


What we need:
Jaggery powder - 5 to 6 tbsp. (or you can also grate pieces of Jaggery)
Pepper powder - 2 pinch
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp.
Grated Ginger or Dry Ginger powder (Chukku podi) - 3 tbsp.
Water - 2 cups


How to do:
In about half a cup of water, dissolve the jaggery. Drain to remove any impurities. Add water and mix all other ingredients. Serve chilled.


Now coming to the event part, this is the first event I am participating since I started blogging. Sending this entry to WYF: Festive Treat Event at Simple Indian Food

Buttermilk is lower in fat and calories than regular milk because the fat
from buttermilk has already been removed to make butter. It is high in
potassium, vitamin B12 and calcium. Buttermilk is more easily digestible
than whole milk and it also contains more lactic acid than skim milk.

Pori Upma / Mor moraalu Upma

It was one of those lazy monday morning when my mom-in-law and I were sitting across the dining table, in comfortable silence, sipping our morning coffee.

Me: What for breakfast ma?
MIL: Hmm... Shall I make Pori upma?
Me: Pori?? Oh, you mean Aval upma?
MIL: No, I mean Pori upma. I saw the packet of Pori you bought for Bhel Puri. I'll make Upma with that.
Me: Oh, I have never heard of it!! Err... Can I take a picture of it?

It was then I came to know this typical Andhra dish made with Pori (Tamil) or Bhel (Hindi) or Mora moraalu (Telugu) as it is called. Commonly known as Puffed rice, Pori is a staple food in many parts of North Karnataka, Bengal and Bangladesh.

Pori Upma
Puffed rice Upma
Serves 2

What we need:
Pori - 2 cups
Onion, medium sized - 1
Green Chilli - 1, minced
Potato, medium sized - 1, diced into small cubes
Ground nuts - a handful
Chana dal - 1 tbsp.
Mustard - 1 tbsp.
Cumin (Jeera) Seeds - 1 tbsp.
Curry leaves - 1 or 2 sprigs
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Oil - 2 tbsp.
Coriander - for garnishing
Water - to sprinkle

How to do:
1. Heat oil in a pan, and add mustard and turmeric powder. When mustard starts to pop, add cumin and chana dal and groundnuts.
2. Whent the chana dal starts brown, add the onions, green chilli, and curry leaves. Add salt.
3. Cook till the onion turn soft. Now sprinkle some water in the bowl of Pori and mix well with your hand. Do not add too much water or else pori will become soggy.
4. Add the pori to the pan and mix well.
5. Remove from flame and garnish with fresh coriander.

This is a very light meal and doesn't need any side dish at all. But you can serve it with little yoghurt as an accompaniment.

Simple Mushroom Garlic Pasta

This is the dish I can't make anyone in my family eat. I don't know if it is Mushroom or the odd shape of pasta (!) that does the trick. Rarely have I come across vegetarians, who like Mushroom. Of late, as if making a survey, I have started questioning every vegetarian friend I meet, if he/she likes mushroom. I invariably end up with no company! So whenever I go to restaurants, I just can't order any mushroom dish for the sake of my companion. Phew! So much rambling for this little umbrella-shaped veggie, right?


Ever since I had tasted this pasta in Pizza Corner, I wanted to try it out at home but didn't know the recipe though. So what? I once again transformed my avatar (into a Chef!) and experimented. The result was worth it too!

Mushroom Garlic Pasta
Pasta cooked in White Mushroom Garlic sauce
Makes 1 Portion

What we need:
Pasta (Fussilli, Macaroni or Spaghetti) - 2 cups
Mushroom - 100 g
Onion, medium sized- 1, finely chopped
Garlic - 2 to 3 pods, minced
Pepper powder - 2 tbsp.
Salt - as needed
Fresh (heavy) cream - 3 to 4 tbsp.
Flour - 1 tbsp., heaped
Water - as needed
Butter/Oil - 2 tbsp.

How to do:
1. Cook the pasta according to instructions on the packet. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok or pan. Add the onions, garlic and half of the salt.
3. When the onions turn soft, throw in some pepper powder and mix well.
4. Dissolve a tbsp of flour in 2 tbsp of water. Whip well to dissolve all the lumps. Add the flour paste and half a cup of water to the pan.
5. Mix well. When it starts to boil, add the pasta and salt as needed.
6. Keep stirring to coat the pasta with the mixture. Now add the cream.
7. Stir well and let it sit on low flame for 2 to 3 minutes.

Suggested serving: With Garlic bread.

Thakali Thokku

I have clearly been smitten by the Tomato Bug. Yeah, in a week's time, I have made both tomato chuntey and thokku and here I am, blogging the same.

Those big ripe tomatoes in the fresh produce section always leaves me buying about 1 kg everytime. And in the home of 2, 1 kg of tomato lasts forever......! And tomato is not a clear winner in V's palates. So thsi time, instead of finding its way to the trash, all those ripe tomatoes got themselves chopped and made into Thokku, which luckily could be kept for 3 to 4 days in fridge. This is my mom's version and utterly delicious.

Thakali Thokku

Tomato chutney (Pickle style)

What we need:

Ripe Tomatoes - 3 to 4
Salt - as needed
Mustard - 1 tbsp.
Chana dal (Kadalai paruppu) - 2 tbsp.
Cumin (Jeera) - 1 tbsp.
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Sesame (Gingely) Oil - 4 to 5 tbsp.

How to do:
1. Wash and roughly chop the tomatoes. Heat oil in a kadai and drop in the mustard and asafoetida.
2. When it starts to crackle, add cumin and chana dal.
3. Once they are done, add the chopped tomatoes. Add salt, chilli powder and turmeric powder.
4. Keep mixing occasionally. It takes about 5 to 7 minutes for the tomatoes to get cooked.
5. When the oil starts to separate, remove from flame.

Serve with Idlis, Dosa, Chapati. You can store this in refridgerator for upto a week.