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  • Boondi Laddu

    I always thought making boondi laddu was like moving a mountain but one of my relatives made it sound so very easy. She said it would take just 2 cups of besan, sugar, and water each!! It sounded very easy, so we gave it a try!! Ingredients 2 cups Besan (Gram flour) 2 cups sugar 4 cups water 1 tbsp cardamom 2 tbsp cashew nuts 2 tbsp raisins a pinch of cooking camphor 2 tbsp Ghee (clarified butter) oil for deep frying Preparation Sift the flour and add 2 cups of water to it. The batter should be of dosa batter consistency (not too watery). Simultaneously, prepare the sugar syrup by adding 2 cups of water to 2 cups of sugar. On medium heat prepare sugar syrup. The syrup's consistency should be of a honey-like thickness (Single-string consistency). In a pan heat ghee and fry the cashew nuts and raisins till golden brown. Add crushed cardamom powder and cooking camphor (mesmerizing aroma spreads throughout your house). Cover the syrup with a lid so that it does not crystallize. In a deep-bottomed pan heat oil. The oil should be hot enough. When you drop a small drop of batter in the oil, it should immediately bubble up. The oil temperature is the most important aspect of making perfect boondis. If the temperature of the oil reduces the boondis will stick together. The boondis should cook and come up separately. Hold the steel skimming ladle like the one shown below above the hot oil and pour a small amount of batter into it. Drops of batter fall into the oil and bubble up. Remove the boondis after 5-10 seconds and place them on a paper towel. To see if the boondis are perfectly cooked for laddus, press one boondi between your fingers. It should get squeezed in, instead of cracking and breaking into pieces. Transfer the boondis to the syrup while you are preparing the other lot of boondis. Yes, you will need some helping hands!! The Boondis should completely take up the syrup. This is when you can start preparing laddus. Hold some boondis tightly in your hands and make a tight fist so the boondis can hold together. It surely needs practice :) I truly enjoyed the whole episode and the best part was tasting your homemade laddus!!

  • Sesame and Peanut Chikki (Praline / Kadalai Mitai)

    The festival of Sankranti was a delightful and busy time for us. We were fortunate to have my mother and mother-in-law with us, and they expertly prepared various traditional Sankranti recipes. I was amazed to discover how easy it was to make Chikki, a sweet and crunchy snack. Inspired by their expertise, I tried making this delicious treat using various ingredients such as almonds, cashews, pistachios, and melon seeds. It was a truly enriching experience for me. Ingredients 1 cup sugar 1 cup roasted peanuts or roasted sesame seeds (any nuts desired) 1 tsp ghee Preparation Heat a pan and add 1 tsp ghee, to this add sugar. Keep tossing the sugar on medium heat. No water should be added. The sugar melts and caramelizes this way as shown in the picture and changes color. As soon as all the sugar caramelizes and changes color, add the crushed peanuts. Peanuts should be slightly crushed to give a thick texture. Mix quickly turn off the heat immediately and transfer it to a clean surface in the kitchen which is slightly oiled. The whole process should be done very quickly and carefully before the sugar syrup starts getting a thicker consistency. After pouring the mixture on a flat surface quickly roll it with a rolling pin to make it flat. Cut them into pieces and let them cool. After it cools down break them into pieces and enjoy. It is homemade and kids will cherish it. The following is made of roasted sesame seeds with the same procedure.

  • Ugadi Pachadi

    Ugadi Pachadi is a special dish made on Ugadi Day. This pachadi has got different tastes and flavors like sweet, spicy, sour, tangy, and bitter. It symbolizes different emotions and phases in life like happiness, anger, sorrow, etc one has to face in the coming years. Background Until I was in India, I never used to take festivals, traditions, and culture so seriously. For me, festivals were to eat delicious food and enjoy the whole day sitting at home or watching special TV programs. It used to be a day of enjoyment. That was because there were elders to do all the poojas and cooking stuff, so we didn’t have many responsibilities. Now it’s all over and here I am trying my best to carry over the traditions and values to another generation and to do it the way my mother and grandmother had done. I think we all wouldn’t have given so much importance to festivals and traditions if we were in our land. It’s the distance, which has brought about the difference in me and most of us. I have never seen so many crowds at the temples in India during festivals like I see here. It's only when we get away from where we were (India), we start realizing what we miss. Ugadi is celebrated as New Year in Andhra and Karnataka. In Maharashtra, it’s celebrated as Gudi Padwa. A new month called the Chaitra Masam (March/April) begins. The flowers start blooming, birds chirping, and spring lingers with the start of this month, called Vasanth ritu. In Andhra, it’s the season for mangoes and all women at home make avakaya in this season. My mother-in-law makes great avakaya (mango pickle) for all of us. Recipe Ingredients 1 cup raw fresh mango finely chopped along with skin 1 tbsp of margosa flowers (neem flowers) rinsed well ½ cup of grated jaggery 3 -4 tbsp tamarind juice chili powder salt to taste Preparation Soak Tamarind, boil in less water, clean, and get some thick pulp. Soak Jaggery in 3-4 tbsp water, boil, and filter it to separate it from sand and other impurities. Mix up all the ingredients into a semi-liquid form and enjoy. Every ingredient spreads its flavors and is a real feast to the tongue. We had been to the temple on Ugadi and they served this pachadi as “Prasadam”. Oh, it was a heavenly taste, not only to the tongue but also to the soul. They added Bananas too. Couldn’t get enough of it and no wonder they call it Prasadam (Prashad). We had been to the temple on Ugadi and they served this pachadi as “Prasadam”. Oh, it was a heavenly taste, not only to the tongue but also to the soul. They added Bananas too. Couldn’t get enough of it and no wonder they call it Prasadam (Prashad).

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