Gananpathy Bappa Morya

It's Ganesh chaturthi and its very grandly cellebrated in Mumbai.Like everyone we bought a ganesh idol home on the eve of the chaturthi. I was determined to celebrate ganesh chaturthi as elaborately as i could this year.

The things to buy on the eve of the chaturthi:

1.Ganesha idol with an umbrella and poonal(thread)

2.cotton garland

3.arukampul and erukam poo

4.lots of flowers

5.cloth piece

6.camphor

7.incense sticks

and other items for puja .

Neivedhyam dishes:

1.modaks -sweet

2.modaks-salted

3.appam

4.vada

5.payasam

6.idli

7.fruits

8.rice

Recipes for neivedhym dishes:

1. Modak sweet

Ingredients:

rice 2cups

coconut grated 1 cup

jaggery grated 3/4 cup

cardamon chopped 2-3

On the contrary to the two day procedure of making the modaks our south indain mamis have reduced the job to a single day easy finish one.

-soak 2 cups of rice early in the morning for about 2 hrs.

-Grind the soaked rice in a mixer to a smooth paste neither thick nor thin like a flowing consistency.

-Take a one and a half part of the paste and keep the remaining aside.

-Take a large nonstick kadai and add a tablespoon of oil and a pich of salt and then add the mixture.

-mix well then keep it in the flame and keep stirring.

-keep stirring without break till the dough gets a bit thick and its cooked.

-If its too thick and is still very white that is not yet cooked add some water

-it forms a dough and its color changes from bright white to dul white indicating its cooked.

-keep this aside.

Now for the filling,

-Take a nonstick kadai and add 1 cup of grated coconut and 1/2 cup of grated jaggery.

-mix in low flame.

-After it mixes well add cardamin pieces and keep aside.

To make the modaks,

-Take some oil in a cup for greasing

-make small balls of the dough 

-make a cup out of the dough ball by flateening thin the edges and make a cup.

-put small amount of the poornam in the cup and bring the edges together to make a dome shaped or that of a raindrop..

-do the same till all the dough is used.

-Take a steamer usually a idi steamer and add water at the bottom

-grease the plates and place the modaks

-let it steam cook for jsut 5-6 mins and not more.

-If its kept for more time the odak 'll get hard and dry

-the modak turns a bit translucent on being cooked.

2. salted modak /urad dal modak.

Here the same dough can be used for making this modaks.

The filling is the paste made for vada(see vada preparation)

The modaks are made flat like a coral shell with the filling inside.

They are stamed the same way as above.

3. Vada

Ingredients :

urad dal-1 cup

green chillies 3-4 chopped

salt to taste

-soak the urad dal for about 2 hrs

-grind it along with chillies and salt to a smooth paste 

-paste should neither be thick nor be loose 

To make vadas,

-take a lump of the paste and pat it flat on a plantain leaf greased or any plastic cover greased.

-pat it not so thin and not too thick it should be like a donut.

-heat oil in a deep bottomed kadai 

-wet your hands slightly and pull the patted dough carefully and put in the oil

-fry till it turns yellowreddish brown

-keepaside a part of the paste for the urad dal modak

4.Appam

Ingredients:

half the part of the ground rice paste (check above)

same amount of jaggery grated

same amount of coconut grated

same amount of wheat flour

cardamon chopped

To make appam..

-mix all the above till it becomes a smooth paste without lumps

-let the paste be thin like dosa batter

-use the same oil used for the vadas

-take large tablespoon

-pour a tablespoon of the batter in the hot oil but be careful and keep the gas on a low flame

-it automaticlly comes up like a poori ,fry a bit more then take it off.

do the same till all the batter is used.

5.Payasam

Ingredients:

moong dal -1/2 cup 

grated jaggery  -11/4 cup

cardamon pieces

cashew nuts broken

Method:

-pressure cook mong dal

-mix jaggery and the cooked moong dal and let it boil over a low flame.

-after it mixes well remove from the flame and add cardamon pieces

-fry some cashwes in ghee and pour into the payasam.

6.Idli (made of raw rice)

Ingredients :

rice 2 cups 

urad dal 1/2 cup

-soak rice in hot water the previous day

-soak urad dal for not more than one hour

-grind urad dal first the raw rice

-pour in greased steamer plates and steam cook  for 10 min

For the remaing part of the  ground rice paste use it for making rangolis 

dab a cotton piece in it and use it to put rangoli

do the puja and keep the idol and adorn with the cloth piece, a piece of jwellery and

poonal and the thread garland..

Offer  all the neivedhayam dishes along with cooked rice with some dal and ghee

Cabbage and peas curry

It was a pleasant monday evening and mondays are special for the fresh arrival of veggies.
Many people bargain with the local grocery wallas, as i'm really bad at the art of bargaining i choose the supermarkets where there are digital weighing scales and the veggies are free to be chosen and handled.It gives a sense of security from being fooled.
We 've llimited options due to our upbringing in the choice of vegetables anyway there isn't much to pick from the grocerywallas other than cabbage,cauliflower,carrots,beans,bhendi,tendli.The other veggies go out of season or very poor in condition.After my marriage i got many tips on how to buy vegetables.The greens ought to be dark greener except bitter gord and like.
And my special cabbage which is available all around the year and it has become a staple diet of my family,though i choose the greener it is always tasteless. Cabbages in mumbai have a bitter taste or they come tasteless.So i thought it would be better to fry them with lil water than steam or boil cook them.But though it didn't turn out much as expected i added other veggies to cabbage to make it more interesting.This is one of them,

cooking time:20 min

Ingredients:
shredded cabbage(1/2)
peas 1 cup
red or green chillies 3-4
curry leaves chopped
mustard -1tsp
cumin seeds-1 tsp
urad dal -1 tsp

Method:
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.
when they splutter add urad dal,cumin seeds,green chillies and saute for few secs and add curry leaves.
Then add the cabbage and peas and pour a lil water and saute.
cover and cook and keep adding lil water in intervals so that they don't ge burned.
keep doing till the cabbage and peas are cooked and soft.
Add salt to taste and saut for few min.
Serve hot with rice.

Italian Pasta

I was very tired eating noodles in the evening so i decided to do some pasta..mamma mia.
I already bought a macroni pasta and i was finding a way to use my favorite baby corns.Baby corns interested me so much and i bought a packet of it but oh boy how long it takes to cook. Now for the recipe..
Cooking time:30 min
serves:4-5




Ingredients:
any kind of pasta 200g
for pasta sauce:
onions chopped 2
tomatoes chopped 2
capscicum chopped1
baby corns few
oil/butter
virgin olive oil 1 tsp
cheese
cumin seeds
chillies slit 2
chilli powder
salt

Method:
For pasta:
Take a large deep bottomed pan with 1 litre of water.
Boil the water and once it boils fastly add the pasta.
stir for sometime
add 1tsp of oil and salt
let the pan uncovered
It usually takes 10-12 min for the pasta to cook.
check the packet.
stir occassionally.

For sauce:
Meanwhile cook baby corns in water separately.
Then heat butter/oil in a pan and add mustard and cumin seeds and chillies.
Saute the onions tillsoft.
Add the tomatoes and capsicum and 2-3 tsps of chilli powder.
saute them all.
add some water and add the cooked baby corns.
Make a gravy and add salt.
you can add also oregano flakes or any masala powder to make it more spicy and hot.

After the pasta's cooked drain immediately and mix with the
sauce.mix gently.
add cheese and garnish.
serve hot.

Veg pulao with raita

Veg Pulao

This is one of the most simple recipe and has more vegetables to give a satisfying meal.
It's very nutricious and tasty and so hot.

cooking time: 30-45 min
serves:4

Ingredients:
1 cup basmati rice
1/2 cup cauliflower lets
1/4 cup shredded cabbage
1/4 cup sliced carrots
1/4 cup peas
1/4 cup capsicum
1/4 cup chopped potatoes
1/4 cup chopped beans
chopped onion small
piece of garlic
pulao masala or
tej patta
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
kasakasa
piece of ginger
cardmon piece
3-4 green chillies
1 tsp cumin seeds
curry leaves a bit
salt to taste


Method:

Take the basmati rice and cook it with 2 cups of water in cooker.
take pan and saute the onions in oil with seasonings rai,cumin seeds,cloves,cinnamon,
cardmon,ginger,green chillies.
Add all the other vegetables and mix well
Add 1/2 cup of water
add salt and 2 tbspns of the pulo masala and cook covered
OR insted of the pulao masala
grind together onions,garlic,tej patta,kasakasa,cumin seeds,cloves
and make into a paste. Add this paste to the vegetables and cook covered.
After all the vegetables are cooked and soft take the rice and spread on a large plate to cool for sometime.
Then mix the vegetables with the rice.Mix them slightly without pressure and don't mix them well into paste.
serve hot with raita.


Raita

Prep time:2min
serves:4

Ingredients:
4 cups curd
1 onion chopped fine
1 tomato chopped fine
green chilies slit -3
salt

Method:
Mix the tomtoes and onions in the curd.
Add salt and green chillies.
serve.

Ice Tea

Ice Tea

Prep time:2min
cooking time:-
serves:1

Ingredients:
Light tea decoction 1 cup
sugar as required
ice cubes crushed 4
lemon slices for decoration
lemon juice 1/4 cup

Method;
Add lemon juice and sugar to decoction and mix well.
Add ice cubes and decorate with lemon slices.
serve immd.