| Traditional Recipes...for Navarathri
Ammini Kozhakattai Tiny Steamed Rice Balls
Ingredients
 5 cups rice flour (rice should
be soaked for six hours, drained
& pounded into fine flour)
1/2 coconut (shelled & chopped fine)
salt to taste |
For Seasoning
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp black gram dal
2 red chillies
8 green chillies(cleaned & chopped)
2 sprigs curry leaves(cleaned & chopped)
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder |
Method
Heat oil in a heavy pan and add mustard seeds, black gram dal, red chillies and asafoetida powder. When brown, add green chillies and curry leaves. Fry for a minute and add 4 1/2 cups water and salt. When water boils, add rice flour and coconut pieces. Cook on a low fire, stirring continuously till batter leaves sides of the pan. Cool and form tiny balls. Steam till done.
Note : You can also add 1/2 cup cooked kala chana with Ammini Kozhakkatti.
Ulundhu Vadai Black Gram Fried Snack
Ingredients
3 cups black gram dal (cleaned & soaked for 1 hour)
12 green chillies (cleaned)
4 sprigs curry leaves (cleaned)
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
Oil for frying
20 raisins
Salt to taste
Method
Drain black gram dal and grind it along with green chillies, curry leaves, asafoetida powder and salt to a fine paste adding very little water. Heat oil in a pan. Take a small ball of dough and with wet palms, pat into 6 cm discs on a small sheet. Press a hole with your thumb in the centre and drop it into the oil. Make a few Vadais at a time. Fry till golden and drain. Serve hot with Chutney and Sambaar.
Konda Kadalai Chundal Seasoned Black Chick Peas
Ingredients
1/2 kg kaala chana
1 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 coconut (grated)
Salt to taste |
For Seasoning
1 tsp mustard seeds
3 red chillies (broken)
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
6 green chillies (chopped)
3 sprigs curry leaves (chopped)
3 tbsp oil |
Method
Clean, wash and soak chana overnight. Pressure cook along with turmeric powder till very soft. Heat oil and add mustard seeds, red chillies and asafoetida powder. When brown, add green chillies and curry leaves. Fry for a minute and add boiled chana and salt. Cook on a low flame till dey. Add grated coconut. Mix well and serve.
Pattani Chundal Seasoned Dried Green Peas
Ingredients
1/2 kg dried green peas
1 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 coconut (grated)
Salt to taste |
For Seasoning
1 tsp mustard seeds
3 red chillies (broken)
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
6 green chillies (chopped)
3 sprigs curry leaves (chopped)
3 tbsp oil |
Method
Clean, wash and soak green peas overnight. Pressure cook along with turmeric powder till very soft. Heat oil and add mustard seeds, red chillies and asafoetida powder. When brown, add green chillies and curry leaves. Fry for a minute and add boiled green peas and salt. Cook on a low flame till dey. Add grated coconut. Before serving, add the juice of 2 lemons and mix well.
Note : You can also add 1/2 cup cooked kala chana with Ammini Kozhakkatti.
Bajji Vegetable Fries
Ingredients
1/2 kg besan
1 tbsp rice flour
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
4 potatoes (peeled & sliced)
4 raw bananas (peeled & sliced)
Oil for frying
Salt to taste
Method
Make a batter with besan, rice flour, red chilli powder, asafoetida powder, salt and water. Heat oil. Dip banana and potato slices in the batter and fry a few bajjis at a time till golden brown. Drain and serve hot with chutney or sauce.
Rawa Kesari Semolina Cake
Ingredients
1 cup rawa
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
3/4 cup ghee
12 pods cardamom (powdered)
10 cashewnuts (broken)
25 raisins
1 tsp orange colouring (mixed in 1 tbsp water)
Method
Heat 4 tablespoons of ghee in a pan and fry cashewnuts and raisins till golden and drain. In the same ghee, fry rawa till light pink in colouring. Add 2 cups boiling water (to which the colouring has been added) and cook till done. Add sugar and rest of the ghee and cook on a low fire, stirring continuously so that no lumps form. When dry, add ground cardamoms, cashewnuts and raisins. Mix well and serve.
Omappodi Noodle-Like Crisps
Ingredients
3 cups besan
1 tbsp rice flour
1 tsp ajwain (cleaned & soaked in water dor a few minutes)
A lemon-sized ball of butter (unsalted)
Oil for frying
Salt to taste
Method
Grind ajwain to a very fine paste. Mix along with besan, rice flour, butter, salt and enough water to form a soft dough. Heat oil in a pan. Take a small quantity of the dough and press through an Omappodi (sev) mould directly into the oil. Cook on a moderate flame till done. Cool and store in air-tight tins.
Mixture Assorted Crispices
Ingredients
5 cups besan
1/2 cup daliya
3/4 cup groundnuts
20 cashewnuts (broken)
4 sprigs curry leaves (cleaned & chopped fine)
1 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp asafoetida powder
Oil for frying
Salt to taste
Method
To 2 cups besan, add a little salt and enough water to form a batter of dropping consistency. Put the batter through a sieve in drops, into the hot oil. Deep fry till pink, drain and set aside. Similarly, use all the batter. To 1 1/2 cups besan, add a little salt and enough water to form a soft dough. Take a small portion of fough and press through a sev mould directly into hot oil. Deep fry till done, drain and set aside. Similarly, use all the batter. To 1 1/2 cups besan add a little salt and water to form a soft dough. Take a small portion of dough and press through a Thenguzhal (thick sev) mould directly into hot oil. Deep fry till done, drain and set aside. Similarly use all the batter. In a little oil, deep fry daliya, groundnuts, cashewnuts and curry leaves (separately). Mix together boondhi, sev, thick sev, groundnuts, daliya, cashewnuts and half of the fried curry leaves. Fry asafoetida powder in half teaspoon oil. Remove and add table salt, red chilli powder and curry leaves and stir well. Add it to Mixture and stir well. Cool and store in air-tight tins.
Pokkodaam Rice and Gram Flour Ribbon Crispies
Ingredients
4 cups besan
2 cups rice flour
3/4 red chilli powder
1 tsp asafoetida powder
A large lemom-sized ball of butter
Oil for frying
Salt to taste
Method
Mix together rice flour, besan, red chilli powder, asafoetida powder,
butter and salt with enough water to form a soft dough. Heat oil in a
pan. Take a small quantity of dough and press through a Pokkadaam mould
directly into the oil. Cook on a moderate flame till done. Cool and store
in air-tight containers.
Chirotee 
by
Mrs. Lakshmi Shankar
Ingredients
Maida -
2 1/2 cups
Sugar - 1
1/4 cups
Ghee - 4
tbsps
Ghee for deep
frying -
3 cups
Saffron - a
pinch
Preparation
Sieve the maida
till fine.
Mix the two table
spoons ghee with maida and add water and knead well.
The dough should
be hard.
Make equal sized
small lemon shaped balls.
Roll them into
circles of 6cm diameter to thin rounds.
Brush melted ghee
over each circles.
Stack the four
rotis one on top of another.
Roll them to a
cylindrical shape.
Now cut the cylinder
to small 2 cm pieces evenly.
Roll these individal
pieces to small circles.
In a pan, make
a sugar syruo by adding the sugar to equal amount of water and saffron.
The syrup should
leave a thin trail when you pour with a ladle.
Switch off the
fire.
In a pan, heat
the ghee and fry the rolled rotis.
Drain and immediately
soak them in the sugar syrup
After 5 minutes,
arrange them in a serving plate.
Can be stored
in containers for about a week.
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