Tamil Varusha Pirappu Recipes – Tamil New Year Recipes
Wish you all a Happy Tamil New Year!! Tamil New Year is celebrated on the first month of the Tamil solar calendar, Chithirai. It is celebrated by the Tamil population in Indian and around the world. From wikipedia: The Tamil New Year follows the Nirayanam vernal equinox and generally falls on 14 April of the Gregorian year. 14 April marks the first day of the traditional Tamil calendar. The Tropical vernal equinox falls around 22 March, and adding 23 degrees of trepidation or oscillation to it, we get the Hindu sidereal transition or Nirayana Mesha Sankranti (the Sun’s transition into Nirayana Aries). Hence, the Tamil calendar begins on the same date observed by most traditional calendars in India as in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Manipur, Mithila, Odisha, Punjab, Tripura etc. not to mention Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka and...
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Kai Murukku
Kai Murukku is a traditional South Indian snack made for festivals and special occasions. It is made with freshly ground wet rice flour and deep fried in oil. Kai means hand in Tamil. It is a tradition in Hindu Brahmin weddings to make this murukku in jumbo sizes and various shapes. For snacking we generally make murukku with two circles. For special occasions like wedding bigger murukku is made with 7 or 9 circles and we call it “Seer Murukku”. My mom is a pro in making these Seer Muruku and she always takes care of these in our family weddings. I will be posting a video of this making very soon. Preparation time: 90 minutes Yield: 15 to 20 two circle murukku Ingredients: Rice flour – 3 cups Urad flour – 2 tbsp Butter – 2 tbsp (room temperature)...
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Semiya Kesari – Vermicelli Kesari
Kesari also known as Sheera or Sooji Halwa is a delicious Indian dessert made with semolina or vermicelli and sugar. We generally make it is as an offering (prasad) to God or for special occasions. This Kesari is made with vermecelli and it will be a nice variation if you always use sooji. Kids will also love it. Since it takes only a few minutes to make this you don’t have to plan ahead. You can make it for an unexpected guest or surprise your kids when they come back from school. It reminds me of my childhood days when my mom surprises with different kind of sweets and snacks…:) Also check out our recipe for Rava Kesari. Preparation time: 30 minutes No. of servings: 5 to 6 Ingredients: Semiya (vermicelli) – 1.5 cups Water – 2 1/4 cups Sugar...
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Karthigai Deepam Recipes
Happy Karthigai Deepam to all our readers!!! Karthikai Deepam is a traditional Hindu festival observed in South India.It falls in the month of Karthikai (mid-November to mid-December) as per Tamil calendar. This occurs on the day when the moon is in conjunction with the constellation Karthigai (Pleiades) and purnimai. This constellation appears as a group of six stars in the firmament in the shape of a pendant from the ear. Many legends and lyrical poetry have grown round this star. The six stars are considered in Indian mythology as the six celestial nymphs who reared the six babies in the saravana tank which later were joined together to form the six faced Muruga. He is therefore called Karthikeya, the one brought up by the Karthigai nymphs. Houses and streets are lit up with rows of oil lamps (Deepam) in...
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Bread Halwa
My mom used to make this bread halwa very often. It is very simple to make unlike other halwas. We can use any kind of bread (except salty one) for bread halwa. The taste and color slightly varies according to that. Time of Preparation : 45 minutes No of Servings : 15 to 20 Ingredients: Bread – 1 loaf (any kind and I have used white bread) Milk – 6 cups Sugar – 1 1/4 cup Ghee – 4 tbsp Cahews – 4 tbsp Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp Method of Preparation: Crush the bread to small pieces. Heat 3 tbsp of ghee in a pan and fry the bread till golden brown. Add the milk and sugar and stir occasionally. Stir it in medium flame and mash it so that there is no lumps. It will soon thicken...
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Corn flakes Mixture
This Corn flakes mixture is one of the easiest snacks which everyone will like. We can make in large quantity very easily. This sweet and spicy mixture is my all time favorite. Time of Preparation : 20 minutes Spice level : 2 Ingredients: Corn flakes / Corn poha – 14 oz pack (approximately 5 cups) Cashew nuts (broken) – 1/2 cup Raisins – 1/3 cup Peanuts – 1/3 cup Curry leaves – 4 strings Red chilli powder – 2 tsp Salt – 1/2 tsp (adjust according to taste Sugar – 1 tsp Oil – for frying Method of Preparation: Heat oil in a small kadai and fry the cashew nuts, peanuts, raisins and curry leaves one by one and transfer them to a tight storage box. Add the red chilli powder, salt and sugar. Fry the corn flakes (I...
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Panagam
Panagam or Panakam is a drink made with jaggery and spices. It is one of the best natural drink to beat the heat apart from Neer More (spiced buttermilk). Jaggery is unrefined natural sugar which contains iron and traces of other minerals. It is by far the most natural sweetener and it has the ability to cleanse your body, helps indigestion, relieves fatigue, etc. SInce it is unrefined it may contain some impurities but you can removed them by dissolving it in water and filtering it. Jaggery is used in many Indian sweets considering its health benefits. Panagam is one of the best way to add jaggery to your diet. This drink is generally made as a neivedhyam (offering to God) for any pooja at home and temples. Specially on the occasion of Rama Navami, it is one of...
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Kalan – Onam Sadya Special
Kalan or Kaalan is a traditional dish from Kerala, South India. It is a creamy dish made with plantain, yam and coconut spice mixture. Coconut plays an important part in Kerala cuisine. Most of the dishes calls for coconut in some way or the other. I made this dish for the Onam festival and it came out very well. Though the recipe is simple the flavors are amazing. If you carefully follow the steps you will achieve the right taste. You can serve it with rice and papad or any thoran/poriyal. I like to eat it with even rotis. Give this recipe a try and you will love it. Preparation time: 30 minutes No. of servings: 5 Spice level: 2.5 out of 5 Ingredients: Raw plantain (Vazhakkai) – 1 Cubed Yam (Chenai or Suran) – 1 cup Black pepper...
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Onam Festival Recipes
Wish you all a very Happy Onam!! Onam is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the people from Kerala (located in South India). This festival is celebrated every year for 10 days in the Malayalam month of “Chingam” which falls between August and September. These 10 days are celebrated as a harvest festival and also as a homecoming for King Mahabali, who was banished by Lord Vishnu in Vamana avatar. For more details please refer here. All the 10 days are part of Onam celebrations and each and every day is celebrated with various traditional rituals starting from making “Pookalam” (rangoli with flowers) on the front yard of houses everyday for the 10 days which marks the beginning of Onam and set the tone for the celebrations. The celebration continues with conducting Vallam Kali – Snake boat races...
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Paruppu Payasam
Paruppu Payasam is a delicious Indian dessert made with lentils, coconut milk, milk and jaggery. It is made during festivals and special occasions. I usually make it just with milk but this time as per my sister’s advice I also added some coconut milk which made this a lot of more richer and delicious. Try to use the thick or the first milk extracted from the coconut. For more details about how to extract coconut milk, read “How to extract coconut milk“. Preparation time: 40 minutes No of servings: 5 Ingredients: Moong Dal – 1/2 cup Chana dal – 2 tbsp Jaggery – 1/4 cup Milk – 3/4 cup Fresh coconut milk – 1 cup Ghee or clarified butter – 1 and 1/2 tsp Cashew nut – 1 tbsp Cardamom – 2 pods A few saffron strands Method of Preparation:...
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Paal Payasam (Version 2) / Milk and Rice Kheer
Rice Kheer is an Indian dessert which will be very tasty and is generally made for special occasions. For making Rice Kheer, we have to stand and near the cooking range for a long time to reduce the milk. But for this version of Rice Kheer we need not stand and wait. Only thing is the gas consumption will be more but definitely no strain :). Time of Preparation : 5 minutes Cooking Time : 3 hours No of Servings : 4 to 5 Ingredients: Milk (Full fat or 2%) – 5 cups Basmathi rice (washed) – small handful (around 3 tbsp) Saffron – a pinch Sweetened Condensed Milk – 1/2 can (7 oz) Ghee – 1 tsp Method of Preparation: Take a pressure cooker and add a tsp of ghee. Slightly toss the Basmathi rice and add the...
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Varalakshmi Vratham and Recipes
Varalakshmi Nombu Or Varalakshmi Vratham is a sacred ceremony observed by Hindus in the tamil month of Aadi or Sravana (Hindu Calender month) which falls between July and August. Aadi is an auspicious month and a lot of festivals and religious ceremony are observed in this month such as Aadi Perukku, Aadi ammavasai, Aadi Velli, Aadi Pooram, etc. On the day of this Vratham, married women worship Goddess Lakshmi for the well being of their husband and family. Varatham is a Sanskrit word, meaning “Vow” or “Promise”. It denotes a religious practice or actions which includes fasting, doing pooja, reciting mantras/prayers, etc. I am sharing a detailed procedure of the Varalakshmi Vratham rituals that we follow at home. It may vary with each household. This may be of help to the beginners or anyone who wants to know about...
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Rava Pongal / Sooji Pongal
Wishing you all a very happy Pongal…The second day of the pongal is “Thai Pongal” and it falls on the first day of the tamil month “Thai”. On this day we make “Chakkarai Pongal” and “Ven pongal”. For people who want to try something different other than regular ven pongal, here is the recipe for “Rava Pongal”. It is very easy to make and it will taste very good. Time of Preparation : 30 minutes Spice level : 3 No of Servings : 3 Ingredients: Rava – 1 cup Moong dal – 1/2 cup Water (for dal) – 3 cups Water (for rava) – 2 1/2 cups Salt – to taste Black pepper – 1 tsp (crushed coarsely) Cumin seeds – 3/4 tsp Green chillies – 2 (slit lengthwise) Ginger – 1 tsp (grated) Curry leaves – a few...
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How to Make Jalebi?
Jalebi is one of the most popular Indian desserts. They are just like funnel cakes but soaked in a sugary syrup. Jalebi is an easy to make yet very tasty sweet that will satisfy anyone with a sweet tooth. If you go sweet shopping in India, you will find this in every sweet shop. It’s that popular. Jalebi is a thinner and easier version of another sweet – Jhangri. This is yet another recipe I was hoping to post for Diwali but I guess this can also be made for Christmas! Preparation Time: 60 minutes No Of servings : 9-10 No Of Jalebi’s : 30-40 Ingredients: Maida/all purpose flour : 1 cup Besan Flour : 1 tsp Warm water : 3/4 cup Oil : 1 tsp Rapid rise yeast : 1 tsp Cardamom Powder : 1 tsp Yogurt :...
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How to make Gulab Jamun with Khoya?
Now a days making Gulab Jamuns with ready mix has become common. But we can find a huge difference in taste if we make them from the scratch. My grand mother and my aunt still make these for me if I ask for Jamuns. I got this recipe from my aunt and here goes the step by step procedure for making these delicious Khoya Jamuns. Time of Preparation : 50 minutes No of pieces : 30 Ingredients: Khoya – 1 cup (homemade or store bought) Maida / All Purpose Flour) – 1/2 cup Baking Soda – a pinch Milk – few tbsp Oil – For Frying Ghee 3 tbsp For Sugar Syrup: Sugar – 1 1/2 cup Water – 1 1/2 cup Cardamom – 4 to 5 (crushed) Method of Preparation: Sieve the maida and baking soda and mix...
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How to make Khoya?
Khoya / Khoa / Mawa is nothing but reduced dry milk. It is the key ingredient for the Gulab Jamun which makes the Gulab Jamun very rich. Believe me.. we can find a lot of difference between the ready mix Gulab Jamun and the traditional one. We have to put a little effort for preparing this Khoya but it is worth making like this. Here is the step by step method of making Khoya. In my next recipe, I will make traditional Gulab Jamuns using homemade Khoya. Time of Preparation : 1 hour 20 minutes Yield : 1 cup Ingredients: Whole fat milk – 1.5 liters Method of Preparation: Boil the milk in medium flame in a non stick pan. For first few minutes we can boil it in high but we should keep stirring continuously. When the milk...
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Rasgulla (Step by Step Instructions)
Rasgulla is a very popular sweet in India made of freshly prepared cottage cheese. I love milk sweets a lot and Rasgulla is my all time favorite. Here is the step by step procedure for making this delicious sweet.. Time of Preparation : 1 1/2 hours No of Pieces : 12 Ingredients: Milk – 4 cups Lemon juice – 3 tbsp Ice cubes – 5 Sugar – 1 cup Water – 1 1/4 cup Cardamom powder – a pinch Method of Preparation: Boil milk in a thick non stick vessel. When it starts boiling, reduce the flame and add the lemon juice. Stir continuously till the milk curdles and the whey separates. Now turn off the heat and add the ice cubes. Keep it aside for 5 minutes. Now strain the curdled milk using a fine muslin cloth. Wash...
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Ashoka Halwa
Ashoka Halwa or Asoka Halwa is a popular dessert from Thiruvaiyaru, Thanjavur District (South part of India). When you hear the name the first thing that anyone can think of is, why is it named as Ashoka Halwa!! Sorry, even I am on the same page with you… But I can tell you, this is by far the best tasting Halwa I have ever had. My sister lives in Thiruvaiyaru and whenever I meet her I get to taste this Halwa. She knows I am fond of this sweet and she packed me some Halwa flour to make it here. If you are fond of Halwas like me, you should definitely give this a try for this Diwali. The main ingredient of this dish is split moong dal or paasi paruppu. There are different methods of preparation for this...
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