Parrupu Podi - Mixed Lentil Powder/Daal Powder

Me and My Son are going to india, for one month, yipee!!!!!  My much awaited vacation!!! But poor hubby, though he can manage well in the kitchen, i m doing my best to make his work easier.

Paruppu podi/Mixed Lentil powder comes handy in these times.

Ingredients

Tuvar daal/pigeon pea - 1 cup

Kadalai paruppu/Gram dal/Chana dal - 3/4 cup

Black Pepper/Milagu - 3 tbsp

Round Red Chillie - 15-20 nos.

Dry Ginger Powder - 1.5 tbsp

Curry Leaves - one tight fist

Hing - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Method

Dry Roast Tuvar dal, Gram Dal , curry leaves and Red Chillies separately. Grind the roasted ingredients and the rest together to a fine powder. Store in a Air Tight Container.

Tastes Great with Hot Rice and Ghee.

Pineapple Orange Juice

Pineapple & Orange both are good source of  Vitamin C. Pineapple is enriched with vitamins, Minerals, Fibers help in maintaining ideal weight and balanced Nutrition.This is one of my favorite combination.Instead of sugar i used honey because sugar will destroy the vitamins in juice.

Ingredients:

Pineapple pieces -1 cup
Orange-2
Honey   2-3 tsp
Water - 2 cups
Ice cubes- 4-5  

Preparation Method:

1. Blend all together in a blender to a smooth mixture.
2. Strain the juice.
3. Serve the juice chilled.



I am sending this Sanghi  Fall In Love(FIL)- Fruits

Ashoka Halwa /Moong Dal Halwa

 I was watching a travel show in a Malayalam channel. The hostess takes the viewers through a culinary journey. In one episode, the recipe was Ashoka halwa and the cooking episode is shot at a normal house and cooked by the lady of that house. That aunty mentioned it was famous in Thiruvaiyar/Tanjore area. And its also called as Thiruvaiyar Halwa similar to the halwa of Tirunelveli. Ashoka halwa is made using moong dal and its lot simpler to make. Watching the episode, I was tempted to make it immediately and made a mental note of the ingredients and measurements. I have made it long time back and the recipe was missing in my book. The aunty who made it was mostly eyeballing the measurements. Considering her age, she must be quite experienced in making it and she doesn't need cups and spoons as we swear by. The hostess tried to get across the measurements partially in weight and cups.

This is how I went about doing it.

Moon dal - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1 1/2 cups

Maida - 1/4 cup

Wheat flour -1/4 cup

Ghee- 1/2 cup

Caradamom powder - 1 tspn

Red food color - a pinch

Cashew nuts - 10 nos


Method

Dry roast the moong dal till light brown. I usually roast the dal before storing them. Wash and pressure cook in 1 1/2 cups of water for 2 whistles. Mash the cooked dal well. There will not be excess water in the cooked dal.

Heat a kadai with a tablespoon of ghee. Roast cashewnuts to golden brown. Drain them and roast both maida and wheat flour separately for few minutes. Keep them aside. In the same kadai, mix cooked and mashed dal and sugar. Heat the mixture. When it starts bubbling, slowly stir in both the flours and a pinch of red color. Add ghee at intervals. When the whole mixture comes together and starts leaving the sides, remove from fire. Add roasted cashewnuts and cardamom and give a good stir. 

 

This halwa is not very sweet and with comparitively less amount of ghee used, its not dripping with ghee kind.

 

 

 

 

This Tanjore special is joining the WYF: Speciality food  hosted by EC