Ney Payasam/Aravana Payasam-A Pongal And Sankranti Treat

NEY PAYASAM / ARAVANA PAYASAM

MAKARA SANKRANTI is the auspicious day when thousands of devotees throng the sacred Shabari Malai to take a glimpse of one of the great celestial wonders -the MAKARA JYOTHI. This Jyothi bobbs up over the far away hills thrice as soon as the Pooja at the sanctum sanctorium is completed.
The Month of Makara has already set foot this evening. But we have to wait for the Sun God to rise and then offer prayers and pongal to Him. In the evening we happened to watch the live telecast of Makara Jyothi at Lord Ayyappa's abode. I was enthralled by the sacred visuals, while my husband with a sudden spurt of inspiration captured a few pictures from the live telecast.
As today happens to be the first day of Pongal I had prepared Ney Payasam as Prasadam in the morning, and was thrilled to watch the Makara Jyothi on the same evening.
Ney Payasam or Aravana Payasam is a special dish prepared as an offering to Lord Ayyappa, and to all deities in all other temples of God's Own Country - Kerala.

INGREDIENTS

Rice ( I used Basmati Rice ) - 1 cup
Jaggery - 2 1/2 cups
Ghee - 4 tbsps
Cardamom - 4
Edible camphor - 1 pin head
Raisins - a few
Cashew nuts - a few
Copra( Dried coconut )chopped - 2 tsps

METHOD

1. Wash and soak rice for 15 minutes and drain.
2. Heat 1 tbsp of ghee in a heavy bottomed pan and fry the rice in it.
3. Pressure cook rice with 1 cup of water until three whistles.
4. In the mean while disslove jaggery in a cup of warm water and strain.
5. Heat 1 tbsp of ghee in the same pan and blend in the cooked rice without mashing.
6. Add the filtered jaggery and start cooking.
7. Add ghee little by little until the payasam thickens.
8. The jaggery syrup should coat each and every grain of rice.
9. Fry cashew nuts, raisins and the copra pieces in one more tbsp of ghee and add to the payasam.
10. Mix in the powdered cardamom and edible camphor.

Offer the flavoursome Ney Payasam to the Lord and then relish the prasadam.

KOOLA MASALA CURRY:

I WISH ALL MY FRIENDS HERE A VERY HAPPY PONGAL!!

Now, about my recipe......

This is a very different curry which I have learnt when I was very young. This one is a favourite dish in our family. The main ingredient is gram flour. [ கடலை மாவு]. Just adding some greens and a little spice, it will yield to a very delicious side dish. This dish is very suitable for pulao varieties as well as sambar sadham.

கூலா மசலா கறி

Ingredients:

For koola:

Gram flour- 1 cup
Small garlic flakes-5
Green chillies-2
Shredded ginger- half sp
Coriander leaves [ chopped]- half cup

For masala:

2 onions,
2 big tomatoes,
Turmeric powder- half sp
Curry leaves,
Chopped coriander- half cup
garam masala powder- half sp
Salt to taste
Enough oil to fry and cook
Turmeric powder- half sp

Procedure:

Sieve the gram flour.
Grind all the ingredients for the koola.
Add this to the gram flour with enough salt.
Knead to a soft dough.
Make oblong sized balls and steam them for 10 minutes.
Cut them in to slices.
Fry them to a slightly golden colour in enough oil.
These should not be fried to crisp.
Heat a broad pan and pour 5 tbsp of oil.
Add the onion and fry it to golden brown.
Then add the chopped tomato with the greens and cook them until they are mashed to a paste and the oil floats on the surface.
Add the fried koolas and cook on slow fire for some minutes until the koolas are combined and soaked well in the tomato mixture.
Sprinkle the garam masala powder and mix well.
Cook for a few more minutes until the koolas are coated well with the masala.
The delicious koola curry ready now!

Tomato Gojju / Thakkali Gothsu

Tomato Gojju is a very popular side dish for Chapathi's, Dosas and some Rice varieties. Tomato Gojju is called so in Karnataka and Thakkali Gothsu is the name for the dish in Tamil. The same Gojju can be mixed with white rice to make Tomato Rice / Baath. This forms the base for Tomato Rice/Tomato Baath. It tastes delicious when served as a side dish with Venn Pongal/ Khara Pongal. This is one of the exclusive recipes from my Mother's kitchen and an all time favorite at my Mom's place.This is how you make it.

Ingredients:

3 medium sized tomatoes (Finely chopped)

2 medium sized onions (Finely chopped)

3-4 green chillies (Finely chopped)

2 cloves of garlic (Minced or chopped)

1 teaspoon of Fenugreek seeds

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder

1 teaspoon of red chili powder (optional)

1 sprig of curry leaves

1 tablespoon of finely chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon of mustard seeds, Urad Dal and Chana Dal

Salt to taste

Oil for seasoning (About a table spoon)

Method:

For the Gojju Powder:

• In a small fry pan, roast the Cumin seeds and the Fenugreek seeds together until the aroma from both the spices are released. 
• Grind it into a slightly coarse powder and keep it aside.

For the Gojju :

• Take a deep pan and add about a tablespoon of oil.
• Once the oil is hot add Mustard seeds, Urad Dal, Chana Dal and curry leaves.
• After the mustard seeds crackle, add the chopped onions and green chillies.

• Then add the garlic and mix well. Garlic is added after onions and green chillies to prevent it from burning.

• Sauté them until translucent.Then add the chopped tomatoes and mix well.

• Now add the turmeric powder, salt and red chili powder. Along with all these add the ground Fenugreek and Cumin powder. 

• Mix all the ingredients well. Cover and cook for about 5-7 minutes on medium heat.

• Mix the contents in between and cook for an additional 5-10minutes.

• Garnish with cilantro.Tomato Gojju is ready to serve.

Enjoy eating and I will be back with a new recipe soon!!

Notes:

• Red Chilli powder is for the extra red color. It can be adjusted to taste and is optional since we already added green chillies.