Moong Dal Payasam/Pasi Paruppu Payasam

Ingredients:

Pasi paruppu/moong dal - 1/2 cup, heaped

Jaggery (powdered) - 1/4 cup (add more if you are a sweet lover)

Milk - 1/2 cup

Water - 3/4 cup, approximately

Ghee - 1 tsp

Elachi - 1, powdered

Cashews - 4-6, broken into pieces

Method:

Fry moong dal with little ghee until you get the roasted fragrance (take care not to brown it too much). Add enough water and milk and pressure cook up to 3 whistles (for more richness cook fully in milk instead of adding water). After done, mix well in a mashing way and add powdered jaggery and elaichi to this. Now boil the payasam in low flame for 2 minutes and add milk/water as per the need to adjust the consistency.

Fry cashews in ghee and add it to the payasam and enjoy hot!

Recipe Courtesy: Rak's Kitchen

Poli (Jaggery Stuffing)

For the stuffing;

Ingredients:

Channa dal - 1/2 cup

Jaggery - 3/4 cup (increase to 1 cup if you are a sweet lover)

Coconut - 1/2 cup

Elachi - 2, powdered

Method:

Pressure cook channa dal to 3 whistle, cool down and grind in blender or mash it with masher just to make it a paste. Keep aside.

Take jaggery in a heavy bottomed vessel. Then pour water just enough to immerse jaggery. Heat it and when jaggery dissolves completely, filter it in a metal strainer to remove impurities if any. Again start heating the jaggery syrup. When it starts boiling, at one stage, the syrup will get frothy. At this stage add the ground dal paste and coconut. Stir continuously without forming any lumps. Add elachi powder and mix thoroughly.

Note: Add very little water to the jaggery. The lesser we add water to jaggery, sooner the stuffing will get ready. Keep stirring well till the mixture starts leaving the sides of the vessel.

For the cover;

Ingredients:

(Makes 5-6 medium poli)

Maida / All purpose flour - 1 cup

Pooranam(Stuffing) - as needed

Oil/Ghee - 4-5 tbspns

Luke warm milk - as needed

Salt - as needed

Turmeric - a pinch

Method:

Mix oil and salt in the flour and mix thoroughly. Add luke warm milk and make into a smooth dough just like our chapati dough and keep covered for 1 hr to 3 hrs.

Make equal sized ball of dough and the stuffing too. Roll the dough ball to a thick circle and place the pooran ball in the middle and cover it as shown in the picture.

Dust with flour and roll carefully till the dough spreads and covers the pooran as a thin layer.

Heat tawa and grease with ghee/oil and cook on both sides till golden brown spots appear on both sides of the poli.

Top with ghee/butter enjoy hot.

Recipe Courtesy: Rak's Kitchen

Almond Cookies

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 1 cup

Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

Toasted ground almonds - 1 cup

Softened butter - 1/2 cup

Powdered sugar - 3/4 cup

Egg white - 1

Almond extract or vanilla extract - 1 tbspn

Method:

In a bowl take powdered sugar and butter. Whisk the sugar and butter thoroughly till both the ingredients are well combined.

Add the egg white to the mixture. Mix well.

Now add the almond extract or vanilla extract and the ground almonds to the cookie mix.

Lastly add the all purpose flour and baking powder. Combine all the ingredients to form a dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Shape the refrigerated dough into balls and place on a baking tray. Make sure there is an inch or two of gap between each cookie as they will expand on baking.

Bake at 180C or 356F for 15 minutes or till they turn light brown.

Let the cookies cool down completely before you eat.

Recipe Courtesy: Quick Asian Recipes

Pineapple Rasam

Ingredients:

Tuvar Dal - 1/3 cup 

Tamarind - a small marble size, extract about 1 3/4 cup of tamarind juice from the tamarind

Salt - according to taste

Rasam Powder - 1 1/2 to 2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Pineapple - 1 1/2 cups, crushed with juice 

Ghee - 1 1/2 tsp 

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Cilantro Leaves - 1 tbpsn, for garnishing

Method:

Pressure cook the tuvar dal with just enough water to cook (about 1/4 cup water approximately) or alternatively cook the tuvar dal on a stove top until very soft and mushy. Keep aside.

Place the tamarind water in a heavy bottomed pan and add salt, rasam powder, turmeric and let it boil. When it starts to boil, lower heat and add crushed pineapple with juice to this and let it simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes until the tamarind loses its rawness and the pineapple absorbs the spices a little.

Now add the mushed soft lentil to this, add some more water according to your preference and consistency required and simmer for another minute or so.

Heat the ghee in a pan, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds to it. When they start to splutter pour them into the rasam.

Garnish with cilantro and serve hot on top of plain rice or as a soup.

Sending this post to Anu's South Indian Cooking hosted by Sangeetha

Rava Pakoda

Ingredients:

Rava - 1 cup

Green Chilies - 2, chopped finely

Ghee - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - a few, chopped

Curd - 1/2 cup, more if needed

Salt - according to taste

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Mix all the ingredients and set aside for 5 minutes. Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan on medium flame till it is sufficiently hot to deep fry. Now make patties or just drop them as small balls.

Fry them till golden brown and drain them in the paper towel. Serve hot.