Panasa Thonalu with a twist

Panasa thonalu is a traditional sweet made in andhra during festivals.The dough is made into panasa thonalu (jackfruit) shape and dipped in the sugar syrup.But my granny used to make them hot rather than sweet.She used to add salt and chilly powder in place of sugar.

When ever she was at my place she used to make them for us with her weak hands (she was

70+ then).She is no more and we all forgot about this snack.One day suddenly i remembered this and made but i was not sure of the name.Then i checked with Rekha of plantain leaf and she in turn checked with her mom and told me the name.Thanks rekha....

Here goes my granny recipe with a twist...

Ingredients:-

Maida/All purpose flour/Plain flour 1 cup

Ghee 2 tbsp

Salt as per taste

Ajwain(vammu) 1 tsp

Red chilly powder 1 tsp

Oil for deep frying

Method:-

Take maida,ghee,salt,red chilly powder and ajwain.Add warm water and make a dough similar to puri dough.Let it rest for 1 hour.

Now take a lemon sized dough and make thin puri.

Then make vertical slits from end to other without cutting the edges of the puri.

Then slowly rotate the puri holding the edges.And slightly press the edges.

Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Take oil in deep bottom kadai and once the oil is hot,leave thonalu in batches and deep fry until light grown in colour.

Let it cool and store in a air tight container.

Gavvalu

Gavalu (shell) is a famous sweet which is made during the festivals.I made this for sankranthi.Gavalu can be sweet and hot.I have done both but i prefer sweet than hot.

The ingredients are very few but to make this you need gavalu chaka ie a wood piece which has small horizontal slits.And the dough is made into small marble size balls and rubbed on the slits and they form a shape similar to shells which in telugu called gavalu.

This is the shape of gavalu chakka (wood piece)

What is needed to make gavalu :-

Plain flour/maida 2 cups

Samolina/suji/bombay rava 1/4th cup

Milk 1/2 cup

Ghee 4 tbsp (optional)

Jaggery 1 cup grated

Elachi 1

Oil for deep frying

How to make gavvalu :-

Make a soft dough with maida,rava,milk and ghee.Let is rest for 1/2 an hour.

Apply little oil to the mould (gavvalu chakka)

Make small marble size balls and rub each ball on the mould.You will get shell shape.Do with entire dough.

Heat oil and add gavvalu in batches and fry till golden colour.Take them on a kitchen tissue.

In a thick bottom pot take jaggery and add water till the jaggery immerse in the water.

Let it cook till you get thick syrup.To check if it is done or not,take water in a small plate and add a spoon of the syrup to the water.With your fingers if you can make a ball then the syrup is ready.Add elachi powder to it.

Now add the fried gavvalu and mix well and spread them in a big plate.If you

found gavalu are attached to each other,slowly try to detach them and spread them.

Let it come to room temp and store in a air tight box.

Now the recipe for salted gavvalu

Maida 2 cups

Semolina/suji/bombay rava 1/4 cup

Carway seeds/Ajwain 1 tbsp

Red chilly powder 1 tbsp

Salt as per taste

Method:-

Same as sweet gavvalu but with this there is no need of adding jaggery.

Cauliflower fitters/Bajji

This too i made it for the festival lunch.Very simple and easy to make.It is just like any other fitters/Bajji.

Ingredients:-

Cauliflower florets 10

Besan/Gram flour/Sanagapindi 1 cup

Rice flour 2 tbsp

Ajwain 1 tsp

Cooking soda a pinch

Salt as per taste

Red chilly powder 1 tsp

Water for making the batter

Oil for deep drying

Method:-

Make a thick batter of besan,rice flour,ajwain,cooking soda,salt and red chilly powder.

Soak cauliflower in hot water for 5 minutes and strain the water.

Dip each floret in the batter and deep fry in batches.

Take them on a absorbent paper and serve hot.

Other fitter recipes in my blog

Baby corn fitters

Onion fitters

Mirchi bajji

Kadhu Ki Kheer

I saw this recipe of kadhu ki kheer at zaiqa long back and it is very easy to make with very few ingredients.I made this on the sankranthi.

Ingredients:-

Kadhu/Soorakaya/Bottle gourd - 1 cup grated

Milk 2 1/2 cups

Milk powder 1/4 cup

Sugar 1 cup

Raisins few

Cashew few

Almonds few

Green cardamom 1

Ghee 1 tbsp

Method:-

Fry all the dry fruits in the ghee and keep aside.

Remove seeds from the bottle gourd and grate it

Heat milk in a thick bottom vessel.Let it boil for 5-6 minutes.

Mix milk powder in a little water and add it to the boiling milk and stir continuously

Then add grated bottle gourd,sugar and all the dry fruits.

Keep the flame in simmer and let it boil for another 5 minutes.

Serve hot or cold.

Chakari Pongali/Sweet Pongal

I made this pongali on the bhogi day.I love this combination of jaggery,moong dal and rice.Very easy to make and very tasty dessert.

Ingredients:-

Raw rice 1 cup

Moong dal (pesara papu) 1/4 cup

Jaggery 1/3rd cup

Elachi 1

Cashew few

Raisins few

Badam 4 (soak and blanched)

Ghee 3 tbsp

Method:-

Soak moong dal for 2-3 hours.

In a pan take ghee and fry cashew,raisins and badam separately.Keep aside.

Pressure cook rice and dal,approx for 4-5 whistles

In a deep bottom pan take jaggery and 1/2 cup of water.

Bring it to boil.Then add the cooked rice and dal.

Mix throughly and add the cashew,elachi,raisins and badam.

The left over ghee after frying the dry fruits can also be added to the pongali.

Let all the water dries up and jaggery is thoroughly mixed with the rice.Then switch of the stove.

Kala Koora

సంక్రాంతి శుభాకాంక్షలు

Happy Sankranthi to my readers and to all my friends.

Kala koora is one the delicacies made on sankranthi that is on the second day of the festival.Kala Gura is made with different seasonal vegetables.|This recipe is my sisters mother-inlaws.

Ingredients:-

Soorakaya/Bottle gourd 5-6 (peeled and chopped into 1' thick pieces )

Brinjal 4 (chopped into thick long pieces)

Tomatoes 2 (chop each tomato into 4 pieces)

Cauliflower 5-6 florets

Potatoes 2 (Chopped into thick pieces)

Tamarind (fresh) 2 pieces

Chikudikaya/Indian broad beans 5-6 (Slice into 2 pieces)

Onion 2 chopped finely

Green chillies 3 silted

Curry leaves few

Red chilly powder 1 tsp

Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil 2 tbsp

Method:-

Take a deep pan,add oil.When hot add onions,green chillies and curry leaves.

Fry until onions are pink in colour.Now add all the veggies,turmeric powder,red chilly powder and salt.

Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook for 5-6 minutes.

By now the veggies are soft.Add 1/2 glass of water.

Let it come to boil.Now simmer and cook till the veggies are very soft and the curry is semi dry.

Jantikalu or Murukulu for Indian Cooking Challenge

I am very fortunate to have got included in the cooking challenge and i thank srivalli for accepting me in the challenge.This is 4th challenge and since the beginning i had my own doubts whether i deserve to be in the challenge.After i made this muruku all my doubts are cleared,muruku came out so well just like what we get to eat from swahagruha back home.I can't wait to make this for my mom and sisters.

Thanks so much valli for including me in the challenge.You have given the recipe so well that the muruku came out well and the taste is awesome,it got over within a day.My kids had that for breakfast,lunch and evening snacks.Only thing i altered is that i didn't take raw rice,as i found it difficult to grind the raw rice into fine powder.Now the recipe

Ingredients:-


Rice flour 3 cups (raw rice 4 cups given by valli)
Udad dal 1 cup
Water 1/2 cup or more

For Seasoning

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Sesame seeds- 1 tsp
Asafetida/ Hing - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Butter - 75 gms

How to prepare:

Wash and drain the rice. Shade dry the Rice for 1/2 hr. Dry roast the Urad dal to light brown. Allow it to cool.
If you are using more quantity, you can get it ground in rice mil, else use your mixie to grind both Rice and Urad dal.

First grind rice into a fine flour, keep it aside. then grind the urad dal to fine powder.

In a wide vessel, take both the flours along with salt. Mix well.

Add cumin, Sesame seeds and asafetida powder to the flour, mix well.And finally add the butter.

Gather everything well and you will get more of a crumbling mixture.

Now slowly add water and knead a dough which is little more softer than the puri dough.

Heat a kadai with oil enough to deep fry. Once the oil is hot enough, simmer to low flame.

Take the Muruku Aachu, wash and wipe it clean. Then divide the dough into equal balls.

Fill the Muruku maker with the dough. You can either press it directly over the flames or press over a paper and gently slide it down the hot oil.

Cook over medium flame, using a slotted spoon, turn it over to other side to ensure both sides turn golden colour. You will know by seeing the colour that its cooked. Remove to a kitchen paper and store it in a air tight container.

Thank you srivalli for this wonderful recipe.

This is my entry to the cooking challenge started by srivalli.