Karadaiyan Nombu Adai - Kara Adai

This recipe makes 20 to 25 adais.

Ingredients:

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Rice flour                       - 1 cup (240 ml)

Water                             - 2 cups

Coconut oil                    - 2 tsp

Coconut                         - Scrap and cut into thin slices ( 1 to 1.5 tbsp)

Cow peas/Karamani        - 1 handful  ( Soak in water for 4 hours and pressure cook with little water)

Finely chopped ginger     - 2 tsp ( from a 1 inch piece)

Green chillies                  - 2 , finely chopped

Lemon juice                    - extracted fro half a lemon ( optional)

Salt                                 - to taste

Mustard seeds                 - 1.5 tsp

Split urad dal                   - 1 tsp

Curry leaves                    - a sprig

Method:

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• Dry roast the rice flour in a kadai on a medium flame for 10 to 15 min. The end point is when you draw a line with the flour,it should flow continuously as shown.
• Set aside in a plate to cool down to room temperature.

• Add coconut oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves.
• Saute till urad dal turns light brown.
• Add green chillies, ginger,coconut slices and cooked karamani/ cow peas.
• Saute for few seconds.

• Add measured quantity of water and salt. 
• Mix well.
• When it starts to boil, add the rice flour and mix well with a flat spatula on a low flame.
• Within few minutes, you will get a smooth dough leaving the sides of kadai. 

• When it is warm enough, pour lemon juice and mix well.Take a small ball of dough and pat into flat round adais.
• Make a hole in the centre with your finger.
• Steam the adais in a idly plate for 15 min. When it appears shiny on the outside, then it is done.
• Take out and set aside for some time,then take them out . When it cools down slightly, the adais will not stick to the plate. 
• Serve with softened butter.

Karadaiyan Nombu Adai- Vella Adai

Karadaiyan Nombu is  observed by south Indian Brahmin ladies for the welfare and long life of their husbands. It is similar to the Karva chauth in North India. This year (2012) , Karadaiyan Nombu was observed on March 14th. To know more about the festival, click here.

The Kara adai and vella adai are offered as neivedyams with softened butter. Here is the recipe for the vella adai.This recipe makes 20 to 25 adais.

Ingredients:
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• Rice flour                        - 1 cup (240 ml)
• Coarsely crushed jaggery - 1 cup ( 240 ml)
• Water                              - 2 cups
• Crushed cardamom          -  4  ( Put the outer cover in tea.It adds to the flavour)
• Ghee                               -  2 tsp
• Coconut                         -   Scrap and cut into thin slices ( 1 to 1.5 tbsp)
• Cow peas/Karamani        -   1 handful  ( Soak in water for 4 hours and pressure cook with little water)

Method:

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• Dry roast the rice flour in a kadai on a medium flame for 10 to 15 min. The end point is when you draw a line with the flour,it should flow continuously as shown.
• Set aside in a plate to cool down to room temperature.

• Crush the jaggery with a pestle and measure the required quantity.

• Adjust the quantity of jaggery and water according to your quantity of rice flour.
• (Ratio of rice flour : jaggery : water = 1: 1: 2)
• Add the crushed jaggery and water in the same kadai .
• Stir on a medium flame. When the jaggery melts completely, drain the solution to remove any dirt.
• Add the strained solution to the same kadai and allow it to boil.
• Add the cooked karamani and coconut slices into it.
• Immediately add the rice flour and stir continuously on a low flame without any lumps.

• Within 3 to 5 min, you will get a smooth dough leaving the sides of kadai.
• At this point, switch off the flame.
• Add cardamom powder and ghee. Mix well . Use a flat spatula.
• When it is warm enough, take a small ball of dough and pat into flat round adais.
• Make a hole in the centre with your finger.
• Steam the adais in a idly plate for 15 min. When it appears shiny on the outside, then it is done.

• Take out and set aside for some time,then take them out . When it cools down slightly, the adais will not stick to the plate.

Serve with softened butter.

Click here for Kara adai.

Crunchy Beetroot & Masoor dal soup

This nutritious soup is easy to prepare and is very filling too. It is crunchy because it has very small chunks of beetroot and onion that is not completely blended. Try it out! One heavy serving of this soup can even replace a light dinner and it is highly nutritious.

This recipe serves 3.

Ingredients:
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• Beetroot  -   3 medium sized
• Carrots    -   1 medium sized
• Masoor dal  -  1/4 cup
• Salt             -   to taste
• Onion         -   1 finely chopped
• Butter         -   1 tsp (add more for richness)
• Crushed Peppercorns    -  4 to 6 ( according to taste)

Method:

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• Peel off the skin and chop beetroots & carrots into very tiny pieces.
• Wash and add the masoor dal to the chopped slices.
• Add water sufficient enough to cook the veggies and dal.
• With the required salt, pressure cook the mixture.
• With a hand blender / mixer,  blend the cooked vegetables.( If you use a mixer, cool the mixture to room temperature and then blend)
• Do not blend it completely. Just pulse twice/ thrice leaving tiny chunks of beetroot.
• Add little water if it is too thick. Warm it again if it not hot.
• In a kadai, add butter,finely chopped onions and crushed pepper.
• Saute till the onions turn light brown.Adjust salt and pepper according to your taste.
• Garnish the soup with the sauteed onions.

Serve hot.

Lemon Sevai and Thengai/coconut Sevai (Rice noodles )

Lemon Sevai

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Ingredients

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• Cooked Rice noodles  -      3 cups( Refer to the recipe with the provided link)
• Lemon juice                -     extracted from  1 lemon
• Ginger, chopped finely -     1 inch piece
• Green chillies               -     2 to 3 ( finely chopped)
• Curry leaves                -     5 to 6
• Coriander leaves          -     finely chopped
• Gingelly oil                  -     1 tsp
• Mustard seeds             -     1/2 tsp
• Chana dal                    -     1 tsp  ( kadalaparuppu)
• Split urad dal               -     1/2 tsp ( ulutham parupu)
• Asafoetida                   -     a pinch
• Turmeric powder         -     1/2 tsp

Method:

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• Heat oil in a kadai. Add asafoetida and mustard seeds.
• When it splutters add chana dal , urad dal and saute till golden brown.
• Add curry leaves,ginger,green chillies and turmeric powder.
• Saute for a second and add the cooked sevai/rice noodles.
• Mix well and break the noodles slightly.
• Switch off and pour lime juice.
• Mix well and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with coconut chutney. coriander leaves in the chutney's recipe is optional.

THENGAI SEVAI 
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• Sevai/rice noodles - 3 cups
• Coconut oil                        -   2 to 3 tsp
• Mustard seeds                    - 1 tsp
• Red chillies                         -  3
• Urad dal, chana dal             - 1 tsp each
• Curry leaves                       - a sprig
• Shredded coconut              - 1/2 cup
• Cashews                           - 5(roasted to golden brown in a tsp of ghee)

You can also do this tempering without coconut and cashews.

• In a kadai, add coconut oil and mustard seeds.
• When it splutters, add the dals and saute till golden brown.
• Add curry leaves and red chillies.
• Saute for few sec and add shredded coconut.Fry for 2 to 3 sec more.
• Add the cooked rice noodles/sevai and mix well.
• Garnish with roasted cashews.

Serve with coconut chutney.

Sevai ( Home made rice noodles)

This recipe serves 2 adults.

Ingredients:
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• Idly rice                 -       250 grams 
• Salt                        -       according to taste
• Water                     -       as required.

Method:
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• Wash the rice 2 to 3 times.
• Soak the rice in water for 2 hours.
• Add water little by little and grind the soaked rice with salt into a very smooth paste with a grinder.
• The consistency of the ground batter should be shown below.

• In a kadai, add a laddle or 1/8th cup of gingelly oil.
• To it, add the ground batter and keep stirring on a medium flame till it becomes a soft dough as shown below.

• Keep aside to cool down to room temperature.
• Dip your hands in water and make into dumplings as shown below.

• Steam the dumplings for 15 min.The outer layer will turn shiny.
• To make sevai, you need a sevai maker as shown below. There are also other types available in the market.

• The dumplings have to be put in the sevai maker when it is hot otherwise it will harden very much.
• So after 15 min of steaming, take 1 or 2 dumplings from the steamer with a fork and put it immediately in the sevai maker.
• Close and keep the remaining dumplings in the steamer itself so that it remains hot.
• Rotate the handle of sevai maker. Place a plate beneath the sevai maker.As you turn the handle,hold the legs of the sevai maker so that it does not move.Rice noodles will emerge from the holes as shown.
• Repeat the process for all the dumplings.

• Basic homemade rice noodles is ready. You can flavour it as per your choice.