The World famous Masala Dosa :)

My mom makes a very different Masala Dosa. My mom and dad came up with this recipe a long time ago. The best part about this recipe is that it uses a lot of vegetables other than potatoes which makes it a healthier Masala dosa. It is also really light and extremely delicious. There are times when we gobbled up more than five to six dosas.

I hope you relish it as much as we did.

MASALA DOSAIKKU THADAVARA CHUTNEY( The chutney to be applied on one side of the dosa before placing the masala in the dosa)

Ingredients:
1 cup chana dal (kadalai parupu)
3 to 4 red chillies
2 spoons oil
1 medium sized onion - chopped
3 to 4 spoons of grated coconut
salt

Method:
Heat oil in a pan. Add the chana dal and red chillies and fry them for a couple of minutes.
Add the onions and grated coconut and saute it for about 5 minutes. Remove it from the heat, add salt and grind it into a paste.

ALOO MASALA :

Cut onions, beans, carrot, capsicum, green chillies, ginger. Boil some potatoes (just for binding).
First saute green chillies along with ginger, Add onion first, then capsicum, after sometime carrot and beans, put turmeric powder and salt and at last add the mashed potatoes and again little bit of salt.

Garnish with coriander leaves and mix it well.

Make Dosas. Apply the chutney on the inner side of the dosa. Place a spoon of the masala on it. turn it like a wrap and serve.

PS : The chutney is the best part of this masala dosa, make sure you make lots of it. You can eat it with plain dosa too.

Kuch Meetha ho jaye!!

My mother has recently become very techno friendly,she used to be very scared to even touch the laptop. After months is nagging she is now very happy using a laptop.  Now she mails us every now and then and has also taken a liking to social networking :). She mails us stories and anecdotes but most importantly recipes for all the yummy dishes she makes. 

She sent this as a mail to us before Varalakshmi puja:

Varalakshmi Puja is celebrated as festival in Tamilnadu, Karnatka, Andra Pradesh and Maharashtra.  It is believed that married women perform Varalakshmi Puja or Varalakshmi Vrat so that her family be blessed with wealth and prosperity.

The Friday before full moon day is celebrated as Varalakshmi puja of Tamil Month ‘Aadi’ . Shravan month is for Marathi, Telugu and Karnataka calendar. Skandh Purana gives full description of Varalakshmi Puja. . Women also fast on this day. It is believed that worshiping of Goddess Laxmi on this day is same as worshiping to Ashthalaxmi, eight Goddess of Wealth, Prosperity and Fame etc.

Kozhakattai, vadai, appam and normal festival food is made.

 VELLA KOZHUKATTAI(Modhak) -

The outer cover :
(one glass of rice is enough for 20 vella kozhukattais.( If you make more dough you can make manikozhukattai which is very easy.)

1. Soak the rice for an hour minimum in water, then grind it and make a watery consistency (add a pinch of salt). Keep the kadai/pan, pour little oil and pour the watery rice batter and stir it till thick. You might have to knead it in the end till you don't get any lumps.OR

2. Dry the soaked rice under the fan, then grind it and sieve it to get fine powdered rice. Boil one to one and a half glasses of water, pour two tablespoons of oil ,after it comes to a boil put the rice powder and stir till it becomes thick. OR

3.For convenience, use store-bought rice powder , the same as point(2)

For filling:
Take one glass of Jaggery, pour 1/4 glass of water in a kadai/pan along with it. When the jaggery dissolves and the consistency is thicker, put one to one and a half glass of coconut scrapings. Put of the fire as soon as it is ready and add three to four powdered elakkas/ cardamom pods

MANI KOZHUKATTAI

After the outer mavu is prepared as above you have to make it into small round balls and steam it like idli.

If you want paruppu alongwith that you have to soak urad dal for one hour grind it coarsely with hing,salt and red chillies(Urad Dal Usuli). This also should be steamed like idli.

You have to separately fry the steamed urad dal after  like paruppu usuli, and keep aside.  Then fry the steamed mani kozhukattais, you can add the urad dal usuli if you like or eat only fried mani kozhukattais according to your taste.

VADAI

Soak urad dal for one hour with two teaspoons of rice(to make it crisp), grind it with green chilly, pepper, ginger with less amount of water.(more water will make the batter watery it is not possible to to make vadais- correct amount of water is necessary) Add cut curry leaves, (or grind them as you wish). add salt just  before making vadas to prevent the vadais from absorbing more oil .

Your vadai is ready.

APPAM

1)Soak rice one cup for 1 to 2 hours, grind it with one small banana, vellam one cup, put two or three elachis.(the consistency should be like cake dough) OR

2)Take Jaggery ,dissolve it in little bit of water, then add wheat flour, put two to three elaichis, make it to the consistency of a cake dough.  The more the batter sits,the appam will be better.

After that, pour the batter  into the appakkuzhi (like making kuzhi paniyaram/ donut holes), and take it out when golden brown.

List of festivals this year

This is the the list of festivals for this year. Kindly make a note of it and remember to celebrate it.

1)August 3rd - Adi perukku- lime rice, tamarind rice, coconut rice,curd rice and  payasam are made.Some prepare aviyal and papad also.

2)August 12th - Varalakshmi vradham - kozhakattai, vadai, appam and normal festival food.

3)August 13th - Avani avittam (changing of poonal)-vadai,appam,payasam and normal food.

4)August 21st- Janmashtami(Lord krishna's birthday)-seedai, vella seedai, something with aval,curd, milk and butter.

5)September 1st- Vinayaka Chathurthi-Kozhakattai(main),vadai payasam and normal food.

6)Sept 13 to Sept 27th -Mahalaya paksham observed for our ancestors-Sincere people do not take onion,garlic or outside food.

7)Sept 27th - Mahalaya amavasya - Navathri festival starting- golu to be kept. 

8)October 5th - Saraswati puja-as usual vadai, payasam.

9)October 6th - Vijayadasami- same as above.

10)October 26th - Deepavali - sweet and kara, payasam and normal food.

11)December 8th -karthigai deepam - pori urundai, adai.

12)December 10th- deepam in temples.

13)January 5th - Vaikunta ekadasi - supposed to be special. If we fast we can go to Vaikunta.

14)Jan 8th - Thiruvadirai(Arudra dharisanam)festival for Lord Shiva- Rice kali made with vellam and puli koottu made.

15)Jan 14th- Bogi - sweet poli, vadai with normal food.

16)Jan15th. - Pongal - Makara sankaranti- Sweet pongal, kara pongal, vadai is special.

17)Jan 16th- Mattu pongal- all rice like lime rice,tamarind rice, curd rice, coconut rice are made alongwith payasaour brothers and 18)Feb 20th - Mahashivarathri 

19)March 14th - Karadaiyan nombu(Satyavan savithri(Sweet adai and kara adai made and eaten with butter)

20)March 31st - Rama navami_Lord Rama's birthday- (panagam, neer moru and kosumari made)