Jujups

When I came across the AFAM event, I noted the fruit is Papaya. I was pondering what to prepare with it. Its mostly used as a vegetable in my kitchen. If it is ripe, it is eaten. I wanted to dish out a not so common recipe using Pappaya. I was discussing with MIL regarding this. It was then she mentioned about Jujups and told me that she has noted the recipe in one of her diaries. She added that she has not tried making it. The search for the recipe diary turned successful. But the Jujups recipe was not in the diary pages, it was noted down in a sheet of paper. The sheet has possibly survived a minimum of 25 years. One can imagine its condition. It was so delicate. If I hold the sheet in my hand, it will turn into pieces. Actually it was almost in pieces. Being in between the diary sheets for so many years, it was maintaining the sturcture somehow.Anyway, I managed to write the ingredients and method and bid a farewell to the paper.

I was not sure how it will turn out. Nonetheless, decided to go ahead with the recipe. My MIL also said she is not sure if the recipe is a fool proof one. Till the final stage of the prepration, I was apprehensive of the end result. Finally, it was worth the effort. It turned out much better than the store bought one. This recipe is a keeper for me.

Before you all get impatient with my long introduction, let me go to the recipe now.
You will require

Grated pappaya - 2 cups

Salt - 2 tspn

Sugar - 1 1/2 cups

Water - 3/4 cup

Essence (your choice) - 1 tspn (I used orange)

Lime - 2 Nos

Method

Select a ripe and firm papaya. Else when you grate, it will turn mushy.

Soak the grated papaya in water with 2 tspn salt added to it. Leave this for half an hour

Wash and drain the papaya
Take a kadai or a heavy bottom vessel.

Add 3/4 cup water and papaya. Cover and cook the papaya till the whole water is evaporated. It took 15 minutes for me.

Add sugar to it. Keep stirring. When the sugar melts and the papaya turns into a sticky mass, add essence and lime juice. This step took 10 minutes

Cook for 2 minutes. Remove from fire.

Grease a plate with ghee and transfer the cooked mixture to it.

When it is warm and you can hold in your hand, take a spoon
full and shape it. Dip your fingers in water and start rolling. It will be easier to shape them.

Later roll on sugar and keep it aside.

Enjoy your jujups. Once you taste this, you will stop buying from stores.

Next time, I should try in MW. I can make it with less physical strain.

This goes to the monthly event AFAM, hosted by Nags for the month of Jan with the fruit - Papaya.

Pongal and Sankaranti Special

Wish you a very happy Pongal-Sankranthi.

Sakkarai Pongal

Ingredients:
Milk - 3 cups
Water -1 cup
Rice - 1 cup
Green gram dal (moong) -1/4 cup
Powdered Jaggery -1 1/2 cups
Cardamom - 6(powdered)
Cashewnuts -50 gms
Raisins - 50 gms
Ghee -2 Tbsps.

Method:

Wash rice and moong dhal together and let it drain. Boil milk and water in a thick bottomed pan. Add rice and dal and cook in low flame until smooth. Add powdered jaggery and let it blend with the rice and dal mixture. Add ghee and powdered cardamom. Stir well and remove from fire. Roast cashewnuts and raisins in one more spoon of ghee. Pour the garnishing on the hot pongal.Serve it with a dash of hot ghee.


Urad Dal Vadai

Ingredients:
Black Gram Dal (urad dal)-1 Cup
Fresh Ginger -1" piece
Curry Leaves -A Few
Black Pepper - 1/2 Tsp
Jeera -1/2 Tsp
Salt - To Taste
Oil - For Frying

Method:
Soak urad dhal in enough water for 25 minutes. Drain the dhal and grind it with ginger and salt, without adding water. Remove from the mixer. Mix in coarsely crushed pepper and jeera (cumin seeds),and finely chopped curry leaves. You can adds a spoonful of coconut gratings as well. This is optional. Dip your palms in cold water. Take 2 Tbsps of the batter and flatten on your palm. Make a hole in the centre and slide it into hot oil. Fry on low flame until crisp and golden. Serve hot with chutney or sambar.

Ellu Bella – Healthy Sesame Seed and Jaggery tidbit

Ingredients:
Ellu or Sesame Seeds - 2 Cups
Ground Nuts -1/4 Cup
Roasted Gram -1/4 Cup
Cube Jaggery – 100g
Diamond Sugar -1/4 cup
Copra - 1/2

Method:
Lightly roast the sesame seeds until you get a pleasant aroma. Roast and remove the red husk from the groundnuts. Break the jaggery into small squares. Scrape and cut copra into small pieces. Mix the prepared ingredients with roasted gram and diamond sugar. Serve ellu bella.

Morkali/Koozhu

It is a very traditional tiffin. It is mostly prepapred in the evenings since it is labelled as a ligh tiffin. It is known as Koozhu in Kerala whereas in TamilNadu it is called morkali.
It is an easy to make tiffin with simple ingredients.

Rice flour - 1 cup

Buttermilk - 1 cup

Water - 1 cup

Salt as required

For Seasoning

Oil - 1 tblspn

Mustard - 1 tspn

Chana dal- 1 tspn

Curry leaves- few nos

Green chilly (chopped) - 1 nos

Curd chillies (thayir molagai) - 3 Nos

Take a bowl. Add oil. Keep in MW for 30 seconds.

Add mustard and again keep for 30 seconds. When mustard splutters, add the rest of the seasoning and leave for 1 minute.

In another bowl, make a thin batter out of the rice flour, buttermilk, water and salt. Mix well. Pour the batter over the seasonings in the first bowl.

Cook in MW high for 4 minutes. Stir once in between.It will be cooked well.

If you touch with a wet finger, it should not stick to your finger.

It can be eaten as it is else can be cut in to pieces.

To cut into pieces,grease a plate with oil and spread the kali on it and level it with a spoon. Cut into squares and serve cool with pickle or chutney of your choice.

This can be cooked on stove top also. Now you can guess why I cooked in MW. Yes, this goes to Srivalli for her MEC-Tiffin, the theme for the month of January.