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.