WISH YOU ALL A VERY VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS DIWALI.
Finally I managed to cook some goodies for Diwali. To say the truth, this is the first time I cooked so many things for the festival. All these years, my Aayi prepared and I ate. But this time since I am so far from home, I was missing all the fun. When I came to know, my brother and sis-in-law are going to native for the Diwali, I started feeling homesick. Also I needed something to come out of all the tensions that I am going through these days. So here is what I made. All these took me 2 hrs to make(that was pretty slow). I feel very relaxed now :D. Here is what I did(not good pictures, please excuse me).
From the top, ganti(sweet), bottle gourd burfi(gardudde khadi), chivda, ghariyo(savoury). Will post all the recipes soon.
Chivda is a kind of ‘namkeen’. There are many kinds of ‘chivda’ or ‘chivra’ ( see here for the Konkani version). Among Marathis and Kannadigas, the no-deep frying version is more popular. My aayi prepares this frequently and we call it “Phova upkari”. The thin variety of poha(also called as ‘paper avalakki’) is used for this. Everybody has their own versions of it, I have tasted many varieties during my college days, but I always loved my Aayi’s version as it is more flavorful. She serves this poha topped with some fresh grated coconut.
Ingredients: Thin poha 3 cups Coriander powder 1 tea spn Cumin powder 1 tea spn Chili powder 3/4 tea spn Oil 2 tbl spn Turmeric a pinch Sugar 1 tea spn Curry leaves 1 strand Mustard seeds 1/2 tea spn Pea nuts 1 tbl spn Split dalia (hurigadale/putani) 1 tbl spn Salt
Chili powder and sugar can be increased or decreased to suit the taste.
Method: Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they start popping, add curry leaves. Fry on a very low flame. Add pea nuts, dalia and fry for sometime. Add chili powder, turmeric, coriander powder and cumin powder. Add the poha and mix well. Now add sugar and salt (do not add sugar and salt before). Mix well(if needed, add extra oil). Keep on a very low flame for sometime, till the poha becomes crispy. Cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container.
While serving add some fresh/frozen coconut on the top.
Preparation time : 10mins
This traditional dish is almost forgotten. I have not seen anybody preparing it these days. When I was a kid, aayi prepared them occasionally. It requires a lot of patience and time to prepare this dish. If you master it once, this might become easier. But the taste is so unique and tempting that you would feel like making again and again. Back home, we enjoy it the most when eaten with a hot cup of tea on a rainy day in July.
This is a special variety of “Chattambade”. Few days back, I had posted about the " Chattambade" that is made of chana dal. But the difference is, the chana dal chattambade, need to be eaten immediately, and they are a bit soft. Gharyo are very crispy and can be stored for around 15 days (like any other munchies). It was an absolute favorite of my Dad and when my parents saw the Diwali spread here , he started asking my Aayi to prepare it :D.
PS: While grinding the daal for this dish, water SHOULD NOT be added. Though I knew this, I added little bit of water because my blender was not grinding it properly. But then, when I tried making these, they just got broken and I had to make them again. So be careful, NO water while grinding.
Ingredients: Urad dal with skin 2 cups Coconut 1 tbl spn Ginger 2" piece Green chilies 4-5 Curry leaves 6-7 Oil Salt
Method: Soak the urad dal(with skin) in water for around 1-2 hours. Grind it coarsely without adding water. Add coconut, chopped ginger, chopped chilies, curry leaves pieces and salt. Apply some oil to a plastic sheet(I used aluminum foil). Take a small ball of the mixture, and spread with hand (spread as thin as possible, take care they should be able to lift easily).
Heat oil. Lift the vadas and deep fry on a very low flame. (If flame is kept on high or the vadas become thick, they remain soft from inside). Take out on a kitchen towel. Cool them to room temperature and store in air tight container.
Preparation time : 1 hr
Updated on 25th Oct 2006: Following is an easy method of making these. Pelicano said, “I used a small “cookie scoop”(the kind which has a release hoop that ejects the mixture)to scoop up the ground urad daal and place mounds of it on the board. Then, as the oil was heating(i used 350-360 F),I took a steel “wok spatula”(the Asian groceries have these)and dipped it into the oil to coat it. This spatula has a curved edge and needs to be kept oiled like cast iron…don’t know if you’ve seen these, but they hold a film of oil on itself very well…I used the underside to press the raw vada as flat as possible…and it did so very neatly…then when, the oil was hot, i used this same spatula to lift it and turn into the hot oil….it became an easy system,just had to dip the spatula into the oil each time i made a new group to fry”.
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