Cheppi (bland taste) kheeri ( kheer in Marathi means ‘ payasam ‘ or ‘pudding’, the dish I am referring to is ‘ kheeri ‘ the difference may be because there is no sugar in it) is a festival dish. At my native it is usually prepared as the offering to god on the next day of Janmashtami. (I explained about Janmashtami rituals yesterday, I have uploaded some of the pictures that I had clicked last year on Janmashtami).
On Janmashtami all the decorations are done as shown here , the next day, some rituals are followed to take out these decorations. The poojari (or bhatmam ) goes to the places where he had kept the saligram and bala-krishna statue previous day. He does the pooja and offers ‘ cheppi kheeri ‘, ‘cow’s milk’, ‘ venti randayi ‘ to god. After the offerings are done, bhatmam takes off the decorations and takes his saligram and bala-krishna statue back with him. The tulsi and other decorations are discarded near ashoka katte (a round stone structure beneath the tree where the poojas are offered).
‘ Venti randayi ‘ is a side dish prepared by cooking chana and colocasia leaves and stems ( venti literally means stem) in coconut gravy. Usually a few pieces of leaves are tied into knots and put into the dish, this is the specialty of the dish). Following is the picture of the leaves being cut (taken during Janmashtami 2005 at my native, last year I didn’t know I would be writing this post, otherwise I would have taken the detailed pictures).
Cutting colocasia leaves and stems for ‘ venti randayi ‘
‘ Cheppi kheeri ‘ looks like Rice congee , but since coconut or milk is used, it looks completely white. The main aroma of this dish comes from ‘turmeric leaves’ ( haldi panna ). These leaves are grown at home and usually used in variety of dishes for their aroma. (I do not think these are available outside India).
Pictorial:
Cook rice. Grind coconut with enough water to smooth paste. Add this paste to rice and cook. Tie each turmeric leaf into a knot and add to the dish. Cook for around 5mins. People like it to eat with or without salt. The leaves are discarded while eating.
Sugarless rice pudding(Cheppi kheeri)
Ingredients
- 1 cup dosa rice or any normal white rice
- 3/4 cup fresh coconut
- 1-2 turmeric leaves
Instructions
- Cook rice.
- Grind coconut with enough water to smooth paste. Add this paste to rice and cook.
- Tie each turmeric leaf into a knot and add to the dish.
- Cook for around 5mins.
- People like it to eat with or without salt. The leaves are discarded while eating.
Sugarless rice pudding(Cheppi kheeri)
Ingredients
- 1 cup dosa rice or any normal white rice
- 3/4 cup fresh coconut
- 1-2 turmeric leaves
Instructions
- Cook rice.
- Grind coconut with enough water to smooth paste. Add this paste to rice and cook.
- Tie each turmeric leaf into a knot and add to the dish.
- Cook for around 5mins.
- People like it to eat with or without salt. The leaves are discarded while eating.
Usually in North India and in Marathi households, chapathi/phulka is prepared along with lunch or dinner. But Konkani lunch does not include them. We make chapathis for breakfast with various types of potato bhajis .
During normal days, mom serves chapathi and egg curry / omlet / bullseye . But during fasting, like in festivals or ‘ ‘panchami ‘- fifth tithi or ‘ekadashi’-11th tithi, where some people don’t eat meat, onion, garlic, rice items, she serves chapathi with potato bhaji (without onion, garlic) or simple upma .
Usually for fasting potato bhajis , poha massala is used because it gives a distinguishing taste to the bhaji . I had thought this bhaji is only prepared at my home, but when I got a request for this bhaji , I was very surprised. Since the poha masala is readily available at our place, this delicious bhaji gets ready in 10mins (depending on the speed with which potato cooks).
Ingredients: 2 cups boiled and chopped potatos 1/2 tea spn mustard seeds 5-6 curry leaves A pinch asafoetida 3/4 tea spn poha masala A pinch turmeric 1 tbl spn coconut Oil Salt
In addition to above, I used few cumin seeds in seasoning. But since cumin is already there in poha masala, it is NOT required in this dish.
Method: Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they start popping, add curry leaves and asafoetida. Add potatos, turmeric and little water. Add the poha masala , salt, coconut and cook for 2-3mins. Serve hot with chapathi .
Serves : 3 Preparation time : 10-15mins
