Nei Payasam | Aravana Payasam

 Nei Payasam also known as Aravana Payasam is very popular as prasadam in Kerala Temples especially Bhagavathy (Devi) Temple and Ayyappa Temple . Sharkara Payasam ,Kadu Madhuram or just Aravanai are some other names for Nei Payasam.

Nei means ghee and payasam means kheer. This payasam gets it flavor and taste from just 3 ingredients; rice,ghee and jaggery. The payasam is either garnished with fried coconut bits or ghee fried cashews . A pinch of ginger powder at the end elevates the flavor profile manifold. 

Though we call this as Nei Payasam, the consistency of nei payasam isn't like the usual paysam (kheer). Consistency of nei payasam is gooey and thick similar to sakkarai pongal . 

Originally, Kerala Matta raw rice or red rice is used in the preparation of Nei Payasam,but if that us not available we can use any short grained rice, but a strict No to Basmati rice as it will alter the taste of Nei Payasam, because of the natural flavor that Basmati rice possesses

 In temples, nei payasam is made in huge bronze urulis and slow cooking method is followed. Ghee is poured at intervals until the ghee is completely absorbed into the rice and jaggery mixture.  Normally, dark colored jaggery is used for preparing nei payasam, hence the color will be dark and deep brown. 

Aravana / Nei Paysam shouldn't be confused with sakkarai pongal though they may sound similar. The quantity of ghee used in Nei payasam in more also there is no use of milk or lentils. Because the quantity of ghee is more ,we cannot eat this nei paysam like any other paysam for dessert . Just a small quantity can be savored and that itself will be very satiating and satisfying. 

Even to this day, Bhagavati Seva Pooja always has the offering of nei paysam and the same is distributed to all those partaking in the Pooja . 

I have very fond memories of enjoying piping hot Nei Payasam and crispy fried Medhu Vadai served as prasadam in leaf cups after Bhagavathy Seva Pooja.  The taste still lingers on my tongue and nothing can beat the taste and flavor of prasadam that is blessed with divine vibrations.

Holy month of Aashada or Aadi or Karikatam(July 15 to Aug 15 as per English calender) is known for Bhagavathy Seva ,many Brahmin families hailing from Kerala / Palakkad have the tradition of performing thus pooja at home on either Tuesdays or Fridays in this holy month .

So,whether or not you perform Bhagavthy Seva at home,you can always prepare Nei Payasam and offer as prasadam during auspicious pooja days or even on Tuesdays and Fridays during Aadi Maasam .

Preparation Time - 15 to 20 mins
Cooking Time - 45 mins
Complexity- medium 
Serves - 2 to 3

Ingredients 

3/4 cup raw rice (I have used Sona Masuri )
3/4 cup powdered organic jaggery 
1/2 cup ghee 
Few cashews 
Pinch of dry ginger powder 
Pinch of cardamom powder 

Method 

• Wash the rice well and pressure cook it with 3 cups of water and let the pressure release naturally. 
• The rice must be cooked well and soft but not mushy . With the back of ladle ,lightly mash the rice but don't make it mushy . 
• In a thick bottomed vessel , melt the jaggery with 1/2 cup water . We don't need any string consistency  just the jaggery needs to melt . Incase ,you see any impurities in the jaggery syrup,then filter it out and bring the syrup to a quick rolling boil.
• Slowly add the mashed and cooked rice and mix it well without any lumps .Gradually add the ghee in parts and keep stirring until all the ghee is well absorbed into the nei payasam and the paysam looks glossy and well done .
• If you are using coconut bits ,fry them in ghee until it turns golden brown and crisp ,likewise the same with cashewnuts as well.
• Add this to the nei payasam along with cardamom powder and ginger powder and mix it well .
• Offer it to the lord and distribute it among family and friends. 

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Vella Seedai /Innipu Cheedai - Janmashtami Special

 Vella Seedai or sweet jaggery fritter balls are an essential prasad /offering made for Gokulashtami/ Krishna jayanthi to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna .

We make two types of seedai; Uppu seedai (savory)  and Vella seedai (sweet) along with various other favorites of Lord Krishna to be offered on the special day when we all rejoice and celebrate lord Krishna's birth .

To know how we celebrate Krishna Jayanthy in a typical Tambrahm (Tamil Brahmin) house hold head over to my post, Krishna Jayanthy Celebrations where you can also find link to all the special recipes we make for the big festival .

Making seedai is an art and requires a little expertise and caution while making it . With practice we can easily master this and become a pro .

I am giving all tips and tricks to make a fail proof seedai so that even beginners and newbies can make it with an ease . These tips are applicable for flours which are either home made or store bought. 

Traditionally rice flour and udad dhall flour at prepared at home for purpose of maintaining hygiene and quality but now a days we get good quality ready made flours so we can use that even. 

In this recipe, I have used store brought rice flour and  udad dhall flour to make the recipe, thus making it easy for working women and those who are pressed for time.   

Points to keep in mind 

• Roast the rice flour in a dry pan until it feels warm. The flour should be roasted just until you can feel the warmth no need for the flour to change color . Sieve the flour well through a sieve once it cools down.
• Roast the udad dhall flour the same way and sieve it. If you are unable to find ready made udad dhall flour,  take 1 cup of udad dhall and dry roast in a pan until it turn crisp ,cool it and then blend into a fine powder using the blender . Sieve it to get a really fine powder without any grits . 
• Melt the jaggery in hot water and strain it to remove any impurities .
• Sieving the flours and jaggery syrup is very important as even a small particle or grit can cause the seedais to burst in the oil .

To know how to make Uppu Seedai and also on how to roast the flours check the video link below 

Ingredients 

1 cup rice flour 
1tbsp udad dhall flour /Ulutham maav
1/2  cup grated jaggery + 3/4 cup water to melt it
1/2 tsp white sesame seeds / yellu 
2 tsp grated coconut  (optional)
Pinch of cardamom powder
Oil to deep fry 
1 tbsp unsalted butter/ ghee at room temperature 

Method

• Take a wide mixing bowl and add the sieved rice flour and udad dhall flour along with the sesame seeds and grated coconut. 
• Meanwhile, heat the melted jaggery in a pan and let it come to a rolling bowl.we donot need ant string consistency.  When the jaggery is boiling add in the cardamom powder to this.
• Pour this hot jaggery syrup over the flours and mix it gently with a spoon so that the syrup gets incorporated well with the flours.
• Now add the melted butter and gently with your hands knead a soft and pliable dough.most of the times the jaggery syrup is enough to knead the dough but incase if you feel the dough is dry , sprinkle some warm water and knead until its firm but soft.  Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 mins.
• Heat oil in a kadai and start rolling small balls from the dough . The balls must be crack free and the same time not rolled very tight. 
• If you roll it tight there is a chance of the seedais bursting in oil . Grease your palms with ghee while you begin to roll the balls .
• When the oil is heated, reduce flame to medium and first drop one ball into the oil . It must not disintegrate in the oil. Incase it disintegrates means the moisture content is more . To fix this ,sprinkle some rice flour and knead the dough again until the dough feels dry and firm . Donot panic. 
• Once the dough is of righr consistency, drop the balls into the oil carefully and fry on medium flame by occasionally splashing oil over the seedais,this will prevent the seedais from bursting. 
• Fry until the oil stops hissing and the seedais have turn nice and brown. You can see cracks on the seedais once they are fried. This indicates that the seedais are perfectly done both from the inside and outside.
• Carefully take it off from the hot oil and let them cool completely before you can store in a dry container. 

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Balehannu Rasayana | Baalehannina Rasayana - Vegan Banana Salad

 Balehannu Rasayana is a delicacy from Karnataka and prepared for most festivals . 

Baalehannu is banana and rasayana means essence.  Very simple to make as there is no cooking involved and also not much of chopping and pre preparations. Rasayana is also known as Seehikarne or Seekarne .

If you haven't tried this delicious and flavorful vegan banana Salad, I suggest you must try this for sure and you will keep asking for more .

Rasayana is made for satyanarayana pooja , ganesh chaturthi or even during navaratri for prasadam.  A similar version called Kelyache shikran is made in Maharashtra using milk and bananas . Poonam's blog has the perfect recipe for Shikran . Click here for the recipe.

Balehannu Rasayana tastes very well with dosa , chapathi and neer dosa . Rasayana is made in 3 variants depending on how the family likes .

One variant makes use of coconut milk ,jaggery ,bananas and cardamom  powder and this is slightly liquid  in nature while the dry version used jaggery powder ,grated coconut and some cardamom powder mixed with chopped bananas. I have always liked the dry variant as I have very vivid childhood memories associated with this delicious recipe my Amma and periamma would make for me. I ate this for the very first time when my perima made it using Elaichi or Elakki bananas.  The natural cardamom flavor present in the bananas adds a lot of flavor to the Rasayana. 

The color of the rasayana depends on the color of jaggery being used . You can also sugar if you want but I prefer using jaggery as it is healthy and also adds a rustic flavor to the Rasayana. 

Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cooking Time - nil
Complexity - easy 
Serves - 3 to 4

Ingredients 

3 to 4 elaichi bananas or 2 regular bananas 
2 tbsp grated coconut
3 to 4 tsp jaggery powder 
Pinch of cardamom powder 

Prepare the rasayana just before serving as the bananas will turn back and lose the taste.  Also use firm and medium ripe bananas. Over ripe bananas are to be avoided

Method

• Remove the banana skin and chop into medium round slices 
• Toss the chopped banana slices with jaggery, cardamom powder and coconut and serve immediately.  DONOT REFRIGERATE.

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Bevvu Bella (Neem flowers Jaggery mix) & Ugadi special recipes

Bevvu (neem flowers ) bella (jaggery) is a traditional recipe prepared on the day of Ugadi and it is a must. The first thing that is served on Ugadi is this bevu Bella by the eldest member of the family.  Bevvu Bella , Panaka and Kosambri are prepared and offered to God which is then served as prasadam .

Yug means an Era and Aaadhi means Start ,so Yugadhi / Ugadi means a dawn of new era !

This bevvu Bella is a symbolic representation of our life where in we have accept both happiness and sorrow in our stride and take our live in a positive note . Jaggery is a representation of happy tidings while neem leaves denote some of bitter times we face in our life .

As I said ,Ugadi is the New Year's day as per the Indian Lunar Almanac and like any other occasion, the new year is celebrated in all glory . The house is cleaned ,the Pooja rooms are well decorated with Flowers, neem leaves and mango leaves which are all symbols of prosperity and happiness.  Beautiful rangolis are drawn in front of the portico.

Ugadi falls in the peak of summer ,hence neem leaves are used in abundance because of the so many medicinal properties it possess. The neem leaves are hung outside the main door as well as the Pooja room and it acts a natural disinfectant  and pest control to keep the tiny insects away .

What is  a festival without food ?? Like any other happy occasion there is lot of traditional food prepared on the special day of Ugadi and the meal is enjoyed by all the family members 

A typical Ugadi menu will have the following items . (Click the links below for recipe) .

Obbatu / poli/Holige is also made as part of the menu . This recipe will be up shortly on the blog.

Rice

Thovve/ Plain Dal

Southekaai Kosamri (cucumber salad)

Maavinkaai Uppinkaai (Mango pickle)

Majjige Huli (yogurt based curry) 

or

Mix Veg Sambar 

Beans Palya (Beans curry )

Or

Aloo Gadde Palya (Potato Curry)

Aam Vade (Dal Vada / Lentil Fritters )

Gass Gasse Payasa (Poppy seeds kheer)

Maavinkaai Chitranna (Mango Rice) 

Puliyogre (Tamarind Rice)

Tomato Rasam 

Curd /Yogurt

Preparation Time - 5 mins
Cooking Time - nil
Complexity - simple

Ingredients

3 to 4 tbsp powdered jaggery 

Few fresh neem flowers / dried flowers 

Method 

• Slightly crush the neem flowers with your fingers and mix it with the powdered jaggery . If you want you can add a tsp of honey and mix it .
• Offer it to the God along with panaka and kosambri and then distribute it among the family members. 

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Ukkarai | Okkarai - Diwali Special Sweet

 Ukkarai is a traditional sweet prepared for Diwali without fail in certain parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala . It is a customary tradition for Tambrahms of Tirunelveli, Madurai side to make this Ukkarai for Deepavali . The  Chettinaad style Ukkarai is different from this version as that recipe uses only moong dhall in the preparation .

I was introduced to this sweet only after my marriage and till then I had neither tasted nor even heard of Ukkarai as it was never made in my mom's house . 

Ukkarai is actually a vegan recipe as freshly pressed gingelly (til) oil was used to make this in olden times ,but now a days as many do not relish the flavor of sesame /til oil in sweets, hence ghee is used which doesn't make it vegan friendly. If you are vegan,you can use coconut oil or sesame oil and make Okkarai.

The name really intrigued me and I thought it must be a very complicated sweet to make and was waiting to see how it is prepared .When MIL shared the recipe, I was surprised that it was very easy to make and really doesn't require any special skill of making jaggery syrup or cooking nuances. 

Each family has a slightly different proportion of dal used for making Ukkarai . Some use 50/50 proportion of moong dhall and channa dhall while some use just moong dhall and some just channa dhall .I did experiment with all these combinations but at the end we were all happy with just the Channa dhall Ukkarai in terms of taste as well as texture .

Some families make this Ukkarai even for Avani Avittam and I found this to be very close to Hayagreeva Maddi except that Ukkarai is a little dry and coarse . 

Donot forget to make Diwali Lehiyam along with Ukkarai . Recipe for Diwali Legiyam/ Marundhu here. 

Soaking Time - 3 hrs 
Preparation Time - 15 mins
Cooking Time - 45 mins
Complexity - Medium 

Ingredients 

1 cup channa dhall / kadalai paruppu
1 cup grated/powdered jaggery 
1 tsp elaichi powder 
2 tbsp ghee /gingelly (til) oil/coconut oil
Few cashews 

Vegan friendly- Replace ghee in the recipe with coconut/sesame(gingell)oil.

Method 

• Wash and soak the channa dhall in sufficient water for 3 hrs .
• Drain the water and grind to a fine paste without adding water.  Incase there is difficulty in grinding, you can sprinkle some water and grind. 
• Grease a plate with some ghee and spread this ground batter on it and steam it for 15 mins . Use a knife or tooth pick to check if it is steamed well . When you prick it through the steamed dough,the knife/tooth pick should come out clean. Let it cool .
• Break the steamed dough roughly with your hands and pulse it in a blender until it turns into a coarse crumbly mixture.  Keep aside. 
• Melt the jaggery with half cup water and filter it incase you find any impurities else let it boil further on medium heat until it reaches the soft ball consistency (meaning- when you drop a few drops of jaggery syrup in water, it should hold shape and not spread)  {{ 2nd row 1st picture above }}
• At this stage add the crumbled dal mixture with cardamom powder and quickly mix it in with the syrup .keep on stirring and breaking the lumps simultaneously.  
• Add some ghee and continue to stir it for another 5 to 10 mins . The mixture may look lumpy and soft initially, but as you keep stirring it will begin to appear grainy and course . Give it some setting and cooling time before serving. 
• Roast some cashews in ghee and mix it well with the ukkarai.

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Sukku Vellam & Navaneetham - Krishna Janmashtami special

 Sukku Vellam and Navaneetham are two most important offerings made on Janmashtami or Gokulashtami . This year Janmashtami is on the 30th August 2021 and today we shall these two simple yet important offerings made to Krishna Kanhaiyya . 

I never thought of recording this as a blog post until a few of my friends kept asking me about these two recipes after they savored it as prasadam at my home .

It is said that if one is unable to make a huge and lavish spread of offering for Lord Krishna it is best to offer ChukkuVellam,Navaneetham and Thayir Aval (Gopalkaala) .

Most of the goodies made for Janmashtami are centered around ghee ,butter and aval (poha) as they are most loved by Krishna .

This time I plan to make Aval Ladoo from Narmadha's blog while you may want to try Poha Chiwda/Aval Mixture and Vegan Aval Payasam from my collection. 

Chukku Vellam or Sukku Vellam is a mixture of dry ginger powder and jaggery.   Needless to say ginger is very useful to aid digestion especially after eating a heavy meal . Since we normally offer a grand spread of goodies as prasad to Kutty Krishna, it is best to take one small portion of sukku vellam after the heavy indulgence.

A small folklore associated with sukku vellam which I have heard from my elders -  since Devaki was just in her post partum/delivery phase ,this ginger jaggery mix would help her in digestion. Hence it is included as part of Janmashtami special offering. 

Sukku /Chukku Vellam shouldn't be confused to a traditional drink from Kerala known as chukku vAllam which is ginger infused warm water . Vellam in Tamil is jaggery while VAllam in Malayalam means water .

 

Navaneetham is very simple but delicious prasadam made from butter .

Lord Krishna's love for milk,butter ,curd and all his pranks with the Gopikas to get hold of the fresh butter from their homes is well known and we all have loved reading those. To make navaneetham ,you have to do is mix the butter ,powdered sugar , cardamom powder and offer it to baby Nandalaala .

Some more savories which we make at home unfailingly for Janmashtami 

Uppu Seedai

Butter Murukku/Benne Murukku

Mucchore / Moong dhall Chakli / Manam Kombu

Thenguzhal 

Kodubale

Ribbon Pakoda

Ingredients 

Sukku Vellam

2 tsp dry ginger powder 

1/4 cup powdered jaggery 

1 cardamom /elaichi

1 tsp melted ghee 

Navaneetham

4 tbsp soft unsalted butter 

3 tsp powdered sugar 

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

Method

Sukku Vellam

• Pulse the ginger powder,jaggery and cardamom in the blender for a minute .
• Transfer it to a plate,add the melted ghee ,mix well and roll it into small balls .

Notes

• Donot consume more than one ball in a day as ginger has a tendency to increase body heat and may leave you feeling uneasy. 
• You can also use dried ginger (shunti) .in that case first powder the whole dried ginger in the mixie and then add the jaggery to it .

Navaneetham 

• Let the butter to soften at room temperature. 
• Mix in the powder sugar,cardamom powder with butter and offer it. 

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Jaggery Maa Ladoo - Healthy Roasted gramflour balls

 Diwali is round the corner , and slowly we will now start planning our festive snacks to be prepared which is a yearly ritual in most homes all over India . I love this Festival of Lights and all the happiness it brings along . 

Diwali is the most celebrated festival and there is a lot of positivity, good vibes, joy and cheer everywhere.  People go about shopping for new clothes , fairy lights , rangoli powders , different types of Mud lamps which are designed and painted beautifully by the local potters and artisans .The homes are all decked up with lights, flowers , beautiful drawn rangolis and a joyous occasion for friends and family to meet and greet one another..Sweets and savories are exchanged and in totality people love to celebrate Diwali .

This month in our Shhh Secret Cooking Challenge Poonam of Annapurna decided to celebrate with Diwali theme so that we have a collection of some amazing delectable snacks and sweets to plan our Diwali Snack list . If you are a fan of karanji or ghujjiya like me then head to Poonam's blog for winter special Matar Karanji .

What is Diwali without sweets ? I wanted to present some healthy sweet without using too much of sugar and luckily Narmadha of Nams Corner with whom I am paired this month was kind enough to give me 2 versatile ingredients pista and cardamom which are used in any sweet when I told her I plan on making some sweet .Narmadha has prepared a crunchy and crispy Besan murukku with the secret ingredients  besan/gramflour and butter I gave her . 

As I mentioned  , I was on the lookout for a healthy and nutritious sweet , a casual talk with Kalyani on some general topics suddenly took a turn and ended up in discussing how her grandmother would dish out Maa Ladoo , a delicious sweet using jaggery .  Next what , I immediately decided to try that with slight variations and the recipe for the theme was ready. 

Maa ladoo is generally made using Sugar and I have shared the recipe on my blog.  Click the image below for recipe .

Maa ladoo is a most favorite sweet in our home and it just vanishes soon after it is made . I prepare this unfailingly on Diwali and many a times just like that to satisfy our sudden sweet cravings.

This time along with the main ingredient; Roasted gram /pottukadalai , I added some badams and pista and used organic jaggery in place of sugar .Need I say ? It was as usual a super hit and there was a request for another batch .  

Jaggery Maa ladoo can be prepared in just 15 mins and there is no extensive labor involved in the making or pre preparation .The most happy part.. No Cooking at all. 

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Preparation Time - 15 mins
Cooking Time - Nil
Makes - 10 to 12 ladoos 
Complexity - easy 

Ingredients 
1 cup roasted gram /pottu kadalai/hurigadle 
1/4 cup badams + pista (almonds + Pistachio)
1 cup powdered jaggery 
3/4 cup melted ghee /clarified butter 
3 to 4 green cardamom pods 

Method 

• Lightly dry roast the roasted gram , pista and badam in a dry pan until they feel warm . This will help in increasing the shelf life . (**this step is optional )
• Add these roasted ingredients and cardamoms to a blender and grind into a fine powder . Sieve these to a wide bowl to remove any grits if at all .
• Add jaggery powder to this gramflour and mix it well with a spoon.
• Pour in melted ghee on to this mixture and mix it well till the mixture feels moist and crumbly . The ghee has to be warm . When you pour the ghee the flour will slightly sizzle , this is the perfect temperature for ghee .
• Grease your palms, take a handful of this mixture and shape into balls . You can add some more warm ghee if you feel the mixture is dry and not holding shape .  Store it in a dry container. 
• Jaggery powder can also be added or reduced depending on the sweetness.  This time I used only 3/4th cup of jaggery as this batch of organic jaggery that I  used was very sweet and tasty. 
• 
  

Do not miss to head to the recipe of spicy , crunchy Madrasi Mixture / South Indian mixture on my blog . This is the most sought after savory made for Diwali . Now a days it is easily available in the shops , but when made at home , it is healthy as well as hygienic.  

Jaljeera | Jaljira

Jaljeera is an Indian drink which is served as a starter before any meal and a very tasty appetizer.  This drink helps in digestion as well a very good source of hydration in peak summer. 

Jal jeera loosely translates to cumin water.  Cumin as we know has lot of medicinal properties and plays a vital role in aiding digestion and preventing stomach disorders .

Jaljeera is flavored with fresh herbs and spices like black salt, rock salt, ginger ,  fresh mint and some lemon juice to make it all the more tasty .

This drink can be easily prepared at home and relished during summers.  We can make a big jar of this healthy and tasty drink and refrigerate it .

Instead of sugar , I have added jaggery powder which makes it all the more healthy.

Jaljeera can  be served in various ways . Some love to have the drink topped with lot of boondi while some like it with a fizz by adding club soda instead of plain water .

Preparation Time : 5 mins

Cooking time : Nil 

Makes 3 to 4 glasses 

Complexity: simple 

Ingredients 

10 to 15 mint leaves 

Small piece of ginger  chopped

2 tablespoon  jaggery powder 

1 lemon

Small piece of ginger  

2 tsp roasted jeera powder

1 tsp chat masala 

1/2 tsp black salt 

1 tsp salt 

500 ml chilled water 

Method 

• In a blender jar , add the  mint leaves, ginger ,jaggery powder , jeera powder , salt, black salt, chat masala and grind into a fine paste with little water .
• Strain this using a strainer and collect the extract in a big vessel .
• Add in the chilled  water to this extract and the lime juice squeezed from the lemon.
• Stir it well and serve chilled. 

Notes

1. Adjust jaggery if you want it a little more sweet .
2. Store bought jaljeera powder can also be used to prepare this drink . In that case, skip the additional usage of chat masala, black salt and roasted jeera powder. 

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Seeyam | Sugiyan | Chithunde

Seeyam / Sugiyan/ Boorelu/ Chithunde/ Suyyam; call it by any name -this is a very traditional South Indian dessert made for various occasions. Some family traditions call for making this sweet during Navratri ,Diwali or Ganesh Chaturthi while some families make it during Sumangali Pooja or Shraddh / Devasam . In my family it is made during shraadh (the day we pay obeisance to the departed souls) . I am sure many families must be following this ritual of making this as an offering while paying homage to the ancestors / departed souls in the family .
There are various ways in which this dessert can be prepared , some use the Bengal gram / channa dal. - jaggery filling while some use the coconut jaggery filling . I have used the coconut jaggery filling for the same as per my family practice . Likewise the outer covering also varies , some use udad dhall / black gram batter while some use rice flour - maida batter and dip these filling roundels into the batter to coat well and deep fry them in oil .


Preparation Time : 30 mins
Frying time : 10-15 mins
Complexity - difficult

Aval Payasam | Poha Kheer - vegan version

Most often the terms Vegan and Vegetarianism are confused to be one and the same. However, there is a minute difference even though the underlying principle is the same i.e. staying away from consuming meat and animal products.
Veganism goes up  one level further and restricts the use of Diary and Diary products as well . Milk, curd, yogurt, paneer/cottage cheese, ghee, butter, cheese etc are not consumed by those who follow the Vegan Diet.
When someone says they are strict Vegans the immediate questions that arise in people mind is Don't you eat sweets ? How boring, no desserts for you ?
The answer is use of coconut milk, soy milk, almond milk in place of diary milk . Trust me ,our Indian sweets can easily be made using coconut milk and almond milk which makes it taste all the more tastier and richer.

Today's kheer/payasam is one such variant which make use of coconut milk in place of regular milk and the cashews are fried in coconut oil as against ghee.

Preparation Time : 5mins
Cooking Time : 15 mins
Serves : 2-3
Complexity : Easy

Paanakam| Paanagam - Traditional Indian Cooler (Ramanavami & Narsimha Jayanti special)

Paanakam /Panagam is a traditional South Indian summer cooler made using jaggery,ginger powder ,lemon and cardamom powder. Its a power packed energy and health drink to keep the body well hydrated and maintain the body temperature during the severe summer days .

The jaggery version of Paanakam is popular in Tamil Nadu while the lemon based Paanaka is popular in Karnataka . 

(Photos and write up updated on 20th March 2022)

Jaggery is a very good source of iron and potassium while lemon and ginger have antioxidants and good digestive properties. Since summer is the time when the heat wave causes excess dehydration and also leads to increase in body heat, a glass of chilled Panakam on a daily basis will help fight all the dehydration, tiredness and exhaustion .

In  Tamil Nadu,we can find huge stalls along the road side where free Panakam is served to the wiery pedestrians . Even temples have huge pandals or shamianas where panakam and neer mor (spiced Buttermilk) is served to the devotees as prasadam after the Pooja rituals.

Ramanavmi and Narsimha Jayanthy are the two main summer festivals where in Paanakam is a main offering .

Prasadam for both the festivals is incomplete without the Paanakam along with 

Neer Mor (Spiced Buttermilk)

Vellarikai Kosamri / Cucumber Salad 

Medhu Vadai / Ulundhu Vadai 

Sakkarai Pongal or 

Sheera / Kesari

Ramanavami 2022 - April 10th

Ramanavmi is celebrated to rejoice the birth of Lord Rama ,the 7th avatar/incarnation of Lord Vishnu . The festival normally falls in the Gregorian Month of March or April every year . As per Indian Calender it is celebrated on the 9th Day of the Chaitra Shukla Paksha (9th day after Amavasya).

Devotees chant verses from Ramayana or sing hymns/bhajans in praise of the Lord and offer prasad and Arati towards the end of the Pooja Rituals.

Narsimha Jayanty is celebrated to rejoice the 4th Incarnation of Lord Vishnu on the 14th day of Vaisakha Shukla Month (14th day after Amavasya); Generally it is in the Gregorian Month of May.
Lord Narasimha incarnated as Half Man and Half Lion to save Prahlada- an ardent devotee of the Lord Vishnu from his Demonic Father Hrinyakashyapu.It is believed that the lord incarnated at the time when the Sun was about to set and the Moon was to rise called as Andhi Sandhi Time .Hence the festival is also celebrated at that time of the day .Devotees observe fast the whole day and immerse in the activities like singing bhajans,doing some kind of charity work and finally break their fast after offering Pooja,Prasad and Arati to the Lord.

This post includes step by step video to make Paanagam / Paanaka

Preparation Time : 5mins
Cooking Time : Nil
Serves  : 2-3 glasses ( 300 ml approx)
Complexity : Simple

Ingredients
1 cup powdered jaggery (160-180 gms)
1.5 cups water (1 cup is 200 ml approx)
1 teaspoon dry ginger powder/chukku podi/shunt powder
2-3 cardamoms/elaichi/elakka powdered
pinch of edible camphor/pacchai karpooram
2-3 teaspoons lime juice
few strands of saffron/kesar/kungumapoo

Method

• Soak the jaggery in 1.5 cups of water and let the jaggery melt .
• Stir it well and filter it to remove any form of impurities.
• Now add the ginger powder,cardamom powder,edible camphor,saffron strands and stir well.
• Lastly add the lemon juice mix well and serve it chilled or as is.

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