Veg mixed Aval Adai

Veg mixed Aval Adai

Aval, our humble cereal, has been around for ages. It is often described as flattened rice or light dry flakes of rice. Apart from being readily available, Aval is a digestible raw form of rice that absorbs liquids and swells up, much to the delight of those who eat it!

The process of making Aval contributes in making it more nutritious. When Aval is made, rice is parboiled, beaten thin and dried for about 2 days. This causes the upper part of the grain to ferment, making the rice in pro-biotic bacteria and Vitamin D. The pro-biotic elements are not present in the conventional form of rice and this certainly gives Aval an uppercut. Aval is also found to be rich in Vitamin B, Vitamin C and dietary fibre.

All types of Aval are good for health! Especially Red Aval! 

Let's see some healthy recipes using Aval! 

In this post I'm going to give you the recipe for Aval Adai! 

Looks yummy and Sounds great right?!?! It's not only healthy but also very tasty and easy to prepare! 

We can prepare it in few minutes! Can give it as Evening Snacks for our kids! 

Here we go! 

Ingredients:

Aval - 1 cup
Grated Carrot - 1/2 cup
Grated Potato - 1/2 cup
Grated Cabbage - 1/2 cup
Grated Capsicum - 1/2 cup
Finely chopped Onion - 1/2 cup
Finely chopped Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
Finely chopped Pudhina leaves - 1/2 cup
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp 
Salt - to taste
Oil - 250 g

For seasoning:
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp


Method:

You can use any type of (thin/thick and red/white) Aval! Here I'm using thick white Aval! 

Wash and clean up the Aval with clean water. 

Soak the cleaned Aval for 10 minutes.

Wet grind the Aval with very little water to make a fine paste!

Take all the chopped / grated veggies in a mixing bowl! 

Here I used diced potato instead of grated Potato!

Add chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala powder to the veggies and mix well!

Add reqired salt and mix well!

Season it with cumin seeds!

Add Aval paste to the veg mixture and knead it to a dough! You can add little water if needed! Check for salt! 

It can be looser than Chappathi dough but not as loose as Dosa batter! 

Make small balls with this dough and keep aside!

Heat the tawa! 

Make Aval Adai by pressing the small ball on the hot tawa! 

Add oil in the sides. Close it with lid and cook in medium flame! Flip and cook both sides!

Crispy healthy Aval Adai is ready! 

Serve hot with coconut chutney and Tomato Sambar! 

Note:

• You can use vegetables of your choice! 
• If you don't like Garam masala powder, you can skip it!

Will be back with another healthy and delicious recipe! Till then take care! Stay Strong and Healthy! 

Kaaradaiyan Nonbu Adai / காரடையான் நோன்பு அடை

Kaaradaiyan Nonbu Adai

காரடையான் நோன்பு அடை

Kaaradaiyan Nombu / காரடையான் நோன்பு also known as ‘Savitri Vratham’ is an important festival for the women in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. 

On this day, married women and young girls observe this Vratham and wear Sacred Yellow Threads / மஞ்சள் சரடு and pray to Goddess Kamakshi, for the longevity and well being of their husbands, while unmarried girls observe this Vratham to get ideal person as their husband! 

Kaaradaiyan Nombu is observed on a chosen day when the transition takes place between two Tamil months, namely, Panguni and Masi. It is observed at the exact time when the Tamil month of Masi ends and the month of Panguni begins. In the Gregorian calendar, this festival falls in the month of March. Women observe a strict fast on this day and special feast is prepared for the occasion. 

A special kind of Sweet and Salty Adai called Kaaradai is prepared with Homemade Raw Rice flour and Black eyed peas! 

The type of Rice is a special kind of Rice which is called Kar Arisi / காரரிசி, which becomes very reason for the name of this Vratham, Kaaradaiyan Nonbu! 

The following is the Tamil chant while doing Neivedyam. 

"Urukaadha Venneyum 
Oradaiyam Naan Nootren
Orukkalum En Kanavar 
Enai Vittu Piririyadhirukka Vendum!"

"உருகாத வெண்ணெயும், 
ஓரடையும் நான் நோற்றேன்    
ஒருகாலும் என் கணவர் 
எனை விட்டு பிரியாதிருக்க வேண்டும்!"

 
I'm very happy to give you the preparation of two types of this Special Kaaradai here!

Kaaradai - Sweet:

Ingredients:

Homemade Rice Flour - 1 cup
Black Eyed Peas / காராமணி / Lobia - 1/2 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup
Coconut (either grated or finely diced into tiny bits) - 1/4 cup

Cardamom powder - 1tsp


Note: We can use either White and Red Black eye peas or காராமணி (Lobia)!

Method:

Roast the Black Eyed Peas to golden brown without oil and soak it in fresh water for about 7 to 8 hours.

Prepare Rice Flour with the special kind of Rice called Kar Arisi / காரரிசி. Please refer my blog post for preparing Rice Flour!

Pressure cook the soaked peas upto 4 whistles till the peas become soft.  Drain the excess water and keep aside! 

Roast the Rice Flour without oil till the moisture content of the flour goes! If you can see small balls of rice flour, then you can stop roasting!

Take equal quantity of Jaggery equivalent to roasted Rice Flour. (1 : 1)


Dissolve the Jaggery in 1 : 1 measure of water and filter it to remove the impurities. 

Heat the filtered Jaggery water.

Add grated / diced coconut and pressure cooked peas.

When it boils vigorously, add cardamom powder. Now add roasted rice flour slowly to make it a soft dough! Take care no lumps are formed. Switch off the stove!

Allow the dough to come to room temperature.

Prepare small lemon sized rice balls with the dough. You can add little normal water if required for making the dough more softer! 

Make each ball to Sweet Kaaradai by pressing it with your fingers and make small hole in it as shown in the picture!

Cook these Sweet Kaaradais in Idli cooker for about 10 minutes!

Serve hot!

Kaaradai - Salty:

Ingredients:

Homemade Rice Flour - 1 cup
Black Eyed Peas / காராமணி  - 1/5 cup
Coconut (either grated or finely diced into tiny bits) - 1/4 cup
Red Chilli - 2 or 3
Mustard - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 strand
Asafoetida Powder - 1 pinch
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

Roast the Black Eyed Peas to golden brown without oil and soak it in fresh water for about 7 to 8 hours.

Prepare Rice Flour with the special kind of Rice called Kar Arisi / காரரிசி. Please refer my blog post for preparing Rice Flour!

Pressure cook the soaked peas upto 4 whistles till the peas become soft.  Drain the excess water and keep aside! 

Roast the Rice Flour without oil till the moisture content of the flour goes! If you can see small balls of rice flour, then you can stop roasting!

Heat the oil in a pan! When it is hot, add mustard seeds! When it splutters, add red chilli, curry leaves and Asafoetida Powder.

Now add grated / diced coconut and pressure cooked peas. Add water and bring it to boil! (Take 1:1 - water and rice flour!)

When it boils vigorously, add required salt. Now add roasted rice flour slowly to make it a soft dough! Take care no lumps are formed. Switch off the stove!

Allow the dough to come to room temperature.

Prepare small lemon sized rice balls with the dough. You can add little normal water if required for making the dough more softer! 

Make each ball to Salt Kaaradai by pressing it with your fingers and make small hole in it as shown in the picture!

  

Cook these Salt Kaaradais in Idli cooker for about 10 minutes!

Serve hot!

We take these Sweet Kaaradai and Salt Kaaradai with fresh Butter! 

Wishing you all a Very Very 

Happy Kaaradaiyan Nonbu!

I'll be back with a healthy and delicious recipe soon! 

Till then, Eat healthy; Stay healthy! Bye!

Kollu / Horse Gram Paratha

Kollu / Horse Gram Paratha

As we are in a faster Life Style, our food habits are becoming worse! So our health too!

To overcome our health issues, we are in a compulsion to have healthy food habit!

Today I'm going to give you a Very Very Healthy Recipe, yet a delicious one!

Kollu Paratha! Sounds great! Right? Come! Let's see how to make it!

Ingredients

For Chappathi:

Wheat flour / Atta - 2 cups
Salt - to taste.
Oil - 1 or 2 tsp

For Stuffing:

Kollu / Horse Gram - 1 cup
Grated Carrot - 1 cup
Grated Coconut (optional) - 1/2 cup
Coriander Leaves (finely chopped) - 1/4 cup
Curry Leaves - 2 strands
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Asafoitida powder - 1 pinch
Oil - as required
Salt - to taste
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Method

Kollu / Horse Gram Stuff:

Soak Kollu / Horse Gram for eight hours.

Pressure cook the soaked Kollu / Horse Gram up to 5 whistles.

Drain the water and allow it to cool.

(Don't waste the drained water! We can use this water in preparing soup, rasam, koottu, or just we can add it in Sambar! Nobody can find it!)

Grind the boiled Kollu / Horse Gram with Curry Leaves to a coarse powder.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a shallow bottomed pan!

Add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add the coarsely ground Kollu powder!

Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, asafoitida powder and required salt!

Mix well and saute for 2 - 3 minutes.

Add the grated carrot and saute for another 3 minutes. If you wish to add grated Coconut, then add it now!

Switch off the stove and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

This is the stuff for our Paratha!

Paratha:

Prepare Chappathi dough using Wheat flour, Oil and Salt, in your method.

Make small balls of the dough.

Stuff the Kollu powder in those small balls and roll it.

Heat the Tawa! Prepare Parathas with very little oil!

Serve Hot with Tomato Chutney or Tomato Thokku!

Or a simple Dhall fry will go better with this Paratha!

Have a Healthy day! Will be back with yet another Yummy Recipe soon! Bye!

Pachai Payaru or Green Gram Dosai

Pachai Payaru or Green Gram Dosai

Green gram, also known as the mung bean, is a small round bean similar in shape to the field pea. People primarily eat green gram as a sprout, and as a bean it cooks up fast and has a sweet flavor. With its high fiber and nutrient content, it offers a number of health benefits.

Pachai Payaru Dosai

 Helps With Weight Control

If you're having trouble losing weight because you feel too hungry whenever you cut back on calories, consider adding green gram to your diet. A 1-cup serving has 15 grams of fiber. Fiber in food fills you up and makes you feel satisfied. When people eat an additional 14 grams of fiber a day, they eat 10 percent fewer calories.

Lowers Blood Pressure

Doctors recommend you get 4,700 milligrams of potassium a day. Eating a potassium-rich diet helps lower blood pressure by counteracting the effects of sodium. One cup of cooked green gram contains 537 milligrams of potassium; that's more than 10 percent of the recommended daily amount.

Nonmeat Source of Iron

Women and children have the greatest need for iron and are at the most risk for deficiency. Not getting enough iron in the diet is one reason deficiency occurs. As a source of iron, green gram can help you meet your daily iron needs. Combining your green gram with a vitamin C-rich food, such as peppers, helps with iron absorption.

Pachai Payaru

 

Here I'm going to give a very healthy recipe, Pachai Payaru Dosai!Hope you all like it.

 

Ingredients

Pachai payaru or Green Gram - 2 cup
Ginger - 1 inch
Green Chilli - 2 or 3
Curry Leaves - 4 strands
Salt as required
Oil as required

Dosa Batter

Method

Wash and Soak payaru for 5 to 6 hours.

Wet grind the soaked payaru with ginger, green chillis, salt and curry leaves smoothly to form a dosa batter consistency. It must not be too thick  or too watery.

Prepare dosas and serve hot with Sambar and coconut chutney or tomato chutney.

* To make it still delicious, I added coriander leaves, curry leaves, grated carrot and finely chopped onion and seasoned with mustard seeds to the batter.

Yummy Pachai Payaru Dosai!

Have a nice day! Bye friends!

Pidi Kozhukkattai

Pidi Kozhukkattai or Upma Kozhukkattai

A healthy traditional dish which we all love to have is Pidi Kozhukkattai. It is called in various names, as Kara Kozhukkattai, Pidi Kozhukkattai or Upma Kozhukkattai. Whatever the name may be; the taste remains the same; the craze for the dish remains the same. Here I'm happy to share the preparation.

Ingredients

To make Rice Rava:
Raw Rice - 1 cup
Pepper - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 2 tsp

For Seasoning:
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Black gram (splitted) - 1 tsp
Red Chilli - 2
Asafoetida powder - 1 pinch
Curry Leaves - 1 strand
Green Chilli - 2
Coconut (grated) - 1/4 cup
Coconut Oil - 1/2 tbsp
Cooking Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste


Method


Wash and clean the rice. Soak the rice in new water for 5 minutes.Drain the water and dry the wet rice on shade, spreading it on a clean dry towel for half an hour. The dried rice, when taken with our hands, must stick on to our hands and when dropped, it must leave our hands easily. This is the right stage for grinding.

Dry grind the rice coarsely with pepper and cumin seeds to form a rava.

In deep thick bottomed pressure pan, heat coconut oil and cooking oil.

When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds; when it splutters, add black gram, then red chilli, then asafoetida powder, then curry leaves, then green chilli, and then grated coconut, one by one. Roast the coconut till golden brown.

When the coconut is golden brown, add water and salt. Allow it to boil.

Water is three and a half (3.5) times the rice. (Rice - 1 cup : Water - 3.5 cups)

When the water boils continuously, add the prepared rice rava to the boiling water slowly with continuous stirring. Take care for there is no lumps are formed. Continue to stir the rava and water; rice rava will be half cooked now and becomes a dough like form.

The dough must be slightly thicker than Idli batter and looser than Chappathi dough. At this stage switch off the the flame.

(At this stage, for Rice Upma, we can close the pan and place the weight and pressure cook for 4 whistles and serve hot.)

Allow it to cool for few minutes.

Spread the dough on a big plate; take a small amount of dough and make small egg shaped balls with it. If it is too hot, sprinkle little water.

 

Arrange the balls in Idli plate and cook for 12 minutes.

Pidi Kozhukkattai is ready to serve. Coconut chutney and Sambhar will be the nice combination for this.

Note: We can remove the green chillis and red chillis before making balls.

Have a great day. Will revert soon with another delicious recipe. Bye.

Ragi Pidi Kozhukkattai

Healthy Pidi Kozhukkattai - Ragi

Hai! Friends,

I tried to make some sweet for this Navarthri, and landed up in this healthy Pidi Kozhukkattai.

Ingredients

Ragi Flour (Finger Millet)  -  1 1/2 cup
Jaggery (Powdered)  -  1 1/4 cup
Cashew nuts  - 10
Raisins (Dried Grapes)  -  10
Ghee  -  2 tbsp.
Cardamom Powder  -  1/2 tsp
Salt  -  1 pinch
Water   -  3/4 cup

* Flour : Jaggery : Water  =  1 1/2 : 1 : 3/4
* As I like more sweet, I added extra Jaggery.

Method

Fry Cashew nuts, Raisins and Ragi flour in Ghee and keep aside.

Add water to Jaggery powder and filter it for impurities and bring to boil.

Add salt.

Add fried flour to the boiling jaggery  slowly. Take care that no lumps are formed.

Add cardamom powder and mix well.

Take it off from heat and now the mixture will be thick like ordinary Kozhakkatai Maavu.

Leave it for few minutes, so that it comes to cool.

Make medium sized balls and arrange it in Idli Cooker and cook for 8 minutes.

Now the Ragi - Healthy Pidi Kozhakkattai is ready to serve.

Have a nice day!

Kambu Kara Appam

Kara Appam - with Healthy Kambu

Here I prepared an appam with Kambu and I'm happy to give the preparation method.

  

Ingredients

Kambu  (Pearl Millet)  -  1 cup
Orid Dhall  -  1/2 cup
Boiled Rice  -  1 cup
Fenu Greek  -  1/2 tsp
Carrot  -  2
Onion  -  2
Ginger  -  1 finger sized
Green Chilli  -  2
Curry Leaves  -  2 stripes
Coriander Leaves  -  1 cup (finely chopped)
Mustard  -  1/2 tsp
Oil  - 
Salt  -  to Taste

Method

Soak Kambu (Pearl Millet), Orid Dhall, Rice and Fenugreek altogether.

Grind the soaked ingredients, with onion, carrot, curry leaves, ginger and green chilli to make a thick batter.

Batter must be nicely ground and thick and not watery.

Season the batter with Mustard seeds and Curry leaves.

Add grated Carrot and chopped Coriander leaves to the batter and mix well.

Preheat the Appakkaral (Kuzhi Paniyaram pan) and pour oil to each Kuzhi and prepare Appam and serve hot. It matches well with tomato chutney.

*  You can add a little water to the batter and prepare dosa.

Have a Nice Day.

Appam / அப்பம்

Khuzhi Appam

Hai friends,

Finally I learnt how to do this Kuzhi Appam. My favourite dish.

My mom does it very very well. I don't know how to express, it will be that much soft; hmmmm.... no words to say.....

Till now I know only to eat. But, Mummy....... I learnt it how to make. Ya hooooooooo.......................

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Raw rice  -  1 cup
Rice flakes (Aval)  -  1/2 cup
Jaggary   -  1 1/2 cup
Cardomom   -  4
Coconut (grated)  -  1/4 cup
Oil  -  as required
Salt  -  1 pinch

 

Method:

Soak Rice and Aval separately for 2 hours.
Grind rice and aval separately. Add jaggary and cardamom and grind altogether to make a thick batter. 
Batter must be thick and not watery.
Add a pinch of salt and grated coconut to the batter and mix well.

Preheat the Appakkaaral (Kuzhi Paniyaram Pan) and put little oil in each Kuzhi. Pour the batter in each kuzhi. Put little oil and cook both sides in medium flame.

Serve hot.

Looks nice.  Am I right, friends?

Please leave your valuable comments to my improvement.

Have a nice day.

Veg-Kambu Chappathi

Kambu - Mixed Vegetable - Healthy Chappathi

Hai friends,

Today when I was trying to do some healthy dish, I landed up on this Kambu- Mixed Vegetable Chappathi.

Ingrediants

Kambu flour - 2cup
Wheat flout - 2 cup
Chow Chow (Grated) - 1/2 cup
Carrot (Grated) - 1/4 cup
White Raddish (Grated) - 1/4 cup
Coconut (Grated)
Coriander (Finely Chopped) - 1/4 cup
Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil

Method

In a mixing bowl, take grated Chow Chow, Carrot, Raddish, Coconut, Coriander leaves, Cumin seeds, Salt, Turmeric powder and Chilli powder, and mix well. (You can take vegetables as per your wish and availability)

Season the mixed vegetables with mustard seeds and mix well.

Add Kambu flour and Wheat flour to the mixed vegetable and mix well. Make to a dough. (Water may not require, as it is obtained from the vegetables) 

Make Chappathis and serve hot. It matches well with Tomato Chutney and Coconut Chutney.

Have a healthy day!?!?