Neiappam

Neiappam - Traditional Sweet made during Krishna Jayanthi. Some even make it during Aavani Avittam - the Only Male Function!!!! There are n number of recipes for making this, we even have an instant appam recipe. Now, i have made it using the long way by soaking rice and dal. Tasted yummy!!!!

Ingredients

Rice - 3 cups

Urad dal - 3/4 cup

Methi seeds - 1 tsp

Freshly Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup

Jaggery - 3 cups (equal to that of Rice measurement)

1 Medium-sized riped Banana

Method

Soak rice, urad dal and methi seeds for 4-5 hours.  Drain and Grind to fine batter with lil water. The batter should not be thin!!! The Consistency should be between idly and dosa batter. Not too thick and Not too thin!!! Cut the jaggery using Knife to thin slices. Add jaggery and banana to the final round of grinding. Transfer the batter to another vessel, add fresh coconut and mix well. If the batter is too thin add 2 tbsp of wheat flour.

Heat the appam pan, pour the batter in each kuzhi, Dont worry about the Calories, add some Ghee to the appam. Keep the flame low and cook both sides.

Whole Wheat Bolognese Pizza

I like the bolognese sauce recipe from Jamie Oliver. It's very simple yet delicious! Once  the bolognese sauce has cooked, it can be stored in the freezer and use at anytime especially when I feel lazy to cook, so it's good to cook extra. Simply cook some pasta then mix it with the bolognese sauce, job done for my lazy day.

Another way to do is, which I've just realized that bolognese sauce go so well with a cheesy pizza. What I did is just to spread the sauce on a pizza dough and sprinkle all kind of cheeses that I've in the fridge and bake.  To add a bit of the goodness for my pizza, I make a whole wheat pizza dough to go with it. The whole wheat pizza dough really surprise me as the crust texture is very delicious and crispy. I make the bolognese sauce a bit spicy as I add in some chili at the earlier stage. So, the crusty whole wheat pizza, the spicy bolognese sauce and all the cheeses... what to say.... simply the best! 

Recipe for the whole wheat pizza dough:  In a mixing bowl, add 100g bread flour, 100g whole wheat flour, 10g caster sugar, half teaspoon of salt, half teaspoon of instant dry yeast and 110g water. Knead all the ingredients until they become a crumbly consistency then add in 10g olive oil.  Continue to knead until  smooth springy soft dough, cover it with cling film and let it rest for 1 hour. Divide the dough up into two equal portion and roll them into two of 8 inches round baking pan. Let them rest for 15 minutes. Spread the bolognese sauce onto the pizza dough then sprinkle with some freshly grated cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese. Continue to proof for another 15 minutes. Bake the pizza at lower rack in the oven at 220 preheated oven for 12-15 minutes. 

Recipe for the bolognese sauce: Finely slice 2 rashes of smoked streaky bacon, peel and finely chop 2 medium onion, garlic, carrots, celery and a fresh chili. Place a large casserole-type pan on a medium to high heat. Add 2 lugs of olive oil with the sliced bacon and 2 heaped teaspoons dried oregano and cook until bacon is slightly golden. Add the chopped veg to the pan and stir every 30 seconds for around 7 minutes or until softened and lightly colored. Stir in 250g mince beef and 250g mince pork together with 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes. Fill both empty tins with water and add to the pan. Stir in a good pinch of salt and pepper. Finely chop a small punch basil stalks and stir into the pan. Bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer with a lid on for about an hour, stirring every now and again to stop it catching. Remove the bolognese sauce from the heat. Finely grate 100 gram parmesan and stir half into the sauce. Tear and stir in any larger basil leaves, keeping the smaller ones for sprinkling over before serving. Mix up everything and taste and season with a little more salt and pepper if needed. At this stage you can allow it to cool, bag it up and freeze it, or eat it straight away with your pasta or pizza. 

Sweet Boondi or Tidippu (Sihi) Boondi for Ram Navami

TIDIPPU BOONDI OR SIHI BOONDI

Boondi Laddu is a sweet prepared on all auspicious occassions and feasts. Wedding ceremonies and temple festivals seem incomplete without the traditional Laddus. A piligrimage to Thirupathi is consummate only after the devotee has savoured the Thirupathi Laddus as prasadam.

Every year we have a Vijayadasami procession for the family deity - Lord Sri Rama - in our native village. Rukmani prepares 8 Kgs of the customary Sundal for distribution after the pooja. We usually carry Laddus from a reputed sweet stall at Bangalore to distribute with the Sundal. On one such occassion there was an unexpected surge of devotees and to our utter discomfort we sensed a shortage of laddus.

Our manager's nephew Mani shocked all of us when he suddenly punched four or five times into the Laddu basket crumbling all the Laddus into mere boondies! We were all smiles when he efficiently distributed the sweet boondies in smaller portions to one and all who had gathered at the temple. We thanked smart Mani for his presence of mind and to this day we buy only Tidippu Boondies when it came to distribution of sweets for any occassion.

Tomorrow being Rama Navami, I prepared Sweet Boondies to celebrate Lord Sri Rama's birth day.

INGREDIENTS
Besan or Bengal gram dal flour - 1 glass ( 250 gms)
Sugar - 1 glass ( 250 gms)
Milk - 2 tsps
Cashew nuts - 10
Raisins - a few
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Cardamom - 4 ( Powdered)
Cloves - 4
Edible camphor (Pache karpoora) - 1 small flake( Powdered along with cardamom)
Turmeric or saffron colour - 1 pinch
Oil - for frying

METHOD
1. Add water little by little to the besan and make a thick and smooth batter, similar to dosa batter.
2. Take a heavy bottomed vessel and add sugar and one glass of water to it.
3. Add two tsps of milk to sugar and water mixture and continue to boil.
4. Remove the scum from the top with the help of a spoon thus cleaning the syrup.
5. Heat oil side by side in a kadai on the second burner of the stove.
6. Add colour and cardamom - camphor powder, and reduce flame when the sugar syrup becomes sticky.
7. Take a perforated ladle ( jarani) and hold it about 2 to 3 inches on top of hot oil.
8. Pour a cup of batter on the perforated ladle and gently tap the rim of the ladle, so that drops of batter fall into hot oil. The boondie drops will rise to the top immediately.
9. Drain the boondies when they stop sizzling and add it to the sugar syrup.
10. Switch off the flame under the sugar syrup to avoid crystalisation.
11. Fry all the batter into boondies and add to the warm syrup.
12. Fry cashew nuts, raisins and cloves in ghee and mix into the boondies.
13. Spread the sugar soaked boondies on a plate and cool.
Share your joy and the golden yellow sweet boondies with your loved ones on all happy occassions.