Porulvalangai Urundai - Healthy,fat free sweet balls

I have earlier blogged about the Sathumavu urundai. The steps are the same. That was inspired by the traditional Porulvalangai. Each family has a recipe for this sweet. The difference is what goes into the flour. Basically, healthy ingredients are added to prepare the flour. Once the flour is made, rest of the process is same as blogged earlier. Hop over to read Sunshinemom's post on the same. She shares some interesting facts about the sweet- the origin and what's in the name. And here is my recipe of the traditional sweet.

You need

Whole wheat - 3 cups

Boiled rice/Puzhungalarisi -1 cup

Whole moong - 1/2 cup

Powdered Ginger /Chukku - 1 tspn

Coconut sliced and chopped into bit sized pieces

Method
Wash and drain whole wheat and boiled rice separately. Dry roast wheat,rice and moon till brown. Both wheat and rice will start spluttering when roasted for some time. You can stop when you find more grains start spluttering. Cool and powder the three ingredients together. I usually get it powdered from a flour mill. Mix in ginger powder.

This powder will keep good for more than a month. You can make balls as and when required.
Take 1 cup of jaggery and make a syrup of soft ball consistency. Stir in the coconut pieces. Remove the syrup from fire. With 1 cup of jaggery you can use two cups of flour. Take one cup of the flour in a bowl. Add a ladle of the syrup. Mix with a spoon. Be careful not to touch the hot syrup with your fingers, it will stick to the skin and skin might get burnt also. When the syrup is fully mixed with the flour, slowly roll into balls . Roll the finished the balls in the flour to get a coat over it. These balls harden on cooling. Enjoy these delicious, healthy sweet balls.

SAMBAR PODI or SAMBAR POWDER

THE QUEEN OF SPICES IN MY KITCHEN SHELF - SAMBAR PODI

Many of you may wonder when I include Sambar podi as an ingredient in not only Sambar, but also in rasams, kozhambus and koottus, various curries. I even use them in North Indian currys such as Paneer Butter Masala or Gobi Aloos, Koftas and so on. I also use it as a garnish on dahi vadas, pachadis, in aloo parathas and literally every other dish that calls for chilli powder. The term ‘SAMBARA’ in Kannada means “pungent or aromatic vegetable substance used as flavoring” as per the dictionary. The Sambar podi (Spice powder) in my kitchen shelf is the queen of all spices and it combines very well with the other specified ingredients to lend a unique flavor to various dishes.

When I set up an independent house hold after my first child was born, mother sent me jars and jars of this sambar podi – the most precious gift a girl in that position would wish for - with who ever visited me from her place. My mother–in–law supplied me with her special flavorsome rasam podi. All my dishes turned out quite delicious with the two podis ruling my kitchen.

With the advent of the 21st century , when all the younger generations are scattered all over the globe, it is impossible for them to find help to pound the spices, or take the spices to the “misheen” (shops with grinding machines).

This post is for the die hard connoisseur who is willing to get the traditional flavours of the Sambar podi, from wherever she/he might be stationed. Chillies also come in a variety of shapes, sizes and shades of red, and all types are not available everywhere. The chilli variety I use is Guntur Red Chillies, as they are quite spicy. Byadagi chillies are less pungent, but provide a bright red colour. Here is a good site that describes different chillie varieties in India. You can however use any variety that appeals to you, in terms of pungency and colour.

For convenience and since some of you asked for cup measures rather than grams, I have provided the recipes using red chillie and turmeric powders instead of the whole spices. In this recipe I have used ready made MTR Chillie powder. If you want the recipe using whole spices and large quantities, do check this post.

INGREDIENTS:

1. Red chilly powder - 2 cups (Whole red chillies are not used here, since it can not be contained in cup measures. Same applies to turmeric sticks also.)
2. Turmeric powder – 2 heaped tea spoons
3. Dhania (Coriander seeds) – 2 cups
4. Tur dal (Red gram / split pigeon peas ) – ¼ cup
5. Chana dal (Bengal gram dal) – ¼ cup
6. Urad Dal ( Black gram dal) – 1 tbsp
7. Black pepper corns – 2 tbsps
8. Cumin seeds – 2 tbsps
9. Fenugreek seeds – 2 tsp
10. Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

METHOD:
1. Grind all the ingredients except the turmeric powder and the chillie powder into a fine powder.

I usually mix all the ingredients and them and keep them in the Sun for a while so that it gets powdered easily. If this is not possible, the ingredients may be allowed to stand in a hot pan for a while. It should NOT be roasted though, as that will change the flavour completely.
2. When the powder is fine enough, add the turmeric powder and run the mixer.
3. Finally add the chillie powder and blend in the mixer.
4. Stop running the mixer at intervals so that it does not get heated, as even this little heat will roast the ingredients and change the flavour!

6. An orangish red coloured sambar podi is now ready.
7. Store the sambar podi in clean, dry, air tight jars to preserve the flavour.

The snap above shows the various lovely colours in the mixer stage by stage - lentils and dhania (corriander seeds), then addition of turmeric, and addition of red chillie powder little by little, that finally contribute to the lovely orange red of sambar powder. Now your Spice Queen is ready to rule your kitchen.

The measures above give about 5 cups of powder, and this quantity lasts us about 2 weeks for a family of 3 to 4 members, and we use this in almost every other dish. However, depending on how well you store it, this powder can retain almost all its original intensity and flavour over six months – maybe more. My daughter stocks up on Sambar powder when she visits us once or twice a year. She stores it in tightly sealed plastic bags, and keeps the bag in air tight jars. Just a little is brought out every alternate week in small amounts, and stored in a small box for daily use.

Vellarikkai Menthya Kuzhambu - Cucumber Fenugreek Tamarind Gravy

VELLARIKKAI MENTHYA KUZHAMBU

Cucumber Fenugreek Tamarind Gravy

Tingalnagavalli is a function celebrated on the 30th day after a wedding. It was customary to have a nalangu or a get together on this day where the bride and groom were fussed all over once again.

On my Tingalnagavalli day, though we did not have any traditional ceremonies, my father-in-law decided to invite all his friends for dinner. My mother-in-law prepared an elaborate and delicious dinner, while I ran around assisting her. My sister-in-law and me served the sumptuous hot meal on the green banana leaves. The guests treated themselves amidst good humour and animated chatters. They praised and blessed my mother-in-law for the delicious and lavish dinner. I was taken aback when I heard my father-in-law’s loud statement – “Thair pachadi was very good!” That dish was my meager single handed contribution for the dinner! When I come across men who keep pecking about even a minute shortcoming in the meal, or the ones who keep a long drawn poker face even if you had served the heavenly nectar on their platter, I always remember my father-in-law for his thoughtfulness and culture. His comment not only made me happy by enriching my self esteem, but it also inspired me to learn more.
He savored my simple vellarikkai menthya kuzhambu with paruppu chutney and roasted papad with the same excitement and relish, as he would the rich and complicated Bisibele Bath.

INGREDIENTS:
Cucumber – 1
Tamarind – 1 lime size
Salt – 2 tsps
Sambar powder – 2.5 tsps
Sesame oil - 3 tsps
Asafoetida – ¼ tsp
Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp
Bengal gram dal – 1 tbsp
Curry leaves – a few
Red chillies – 3
Rice flour – 2 tsps
METHOD:
1. Soak tamarind in warm water and extract the juice.
2. Scrape (Peel can be retained if preferred) and cut the cucumber into cubes discarding the seeds if they are hard.
3. Add salt and sambar powder to the tamarind juice.
4. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds.
5. When it splutters add the fenugreek seeds and the Bengal gram dal.
6. When it becomes golden in colour add the asafoetida powder and broken red chillies.
7. Add curry leaves and pour the seasoning into the tamarind juice and boil.
8. When it starts to boil add the cucumber cubes .
9. Cover with a lid and cook on slow fire.
10. When the cucumber is glassy and done make a paste with rice flour and water and add it to the kozhambu.
11. Switch off flame when the kuzhambu thickens giving out a heavenly aroma.

Relish the hot spicy and tangy menthya kuzhambu with hot rice and a spoon of thick ghee.

We've got few enquiries on the versatile sambar powder from this post, which finds uses in so many dishes and recipes in this blog, other than just Sambar! We will do a post very soon on Sambar powder to answer all those questions!