Curry In Kadai ~ An Indian Cooking Blog: April 2011

Kandi Pappu Pachadi ~ Toor Dal Chutney ~ Yellow Pigeon Peas / Lentil Chutney

16 COMMENTS Posted by KALVA at 6:55:00 PM

Kandi Pachadi / Toor Dal chutney, Yellow Lentils are toasted to golden brown along with some asoefetida and then ground to a coarse paste with tamarind and red onions.. This chutney take s me back to my childhood where mom would make this chutney in a snap and then mixes it with steaming hot rice and of homemade ghee. This is so comforting, hearty and earthy! This Kandi pachadi is protein packed and actually tastes better when relished right away! Mom makes this chutney at its best, mine never tasted like mom's until i actually saw mom making it. There are a few things to keep in mind, the chutney shouldn't be ground to a smooth paste but should be like coarse paste using very minimal water, we should just use soaked tamarind actually. And add onion only at the end and just pulse it. If you have mortar and pestle please use it to make this chutney and i promise you wont regret at all!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Toor dal / Tuwar dal/ Kandi Pappu / Yellow lentils / Split Pigeon Peas
3-5 Dried Red Chillies
Gooseberry sized tamarind / 2 marble sized tamarind balls soaked in some water
a pinch of hing
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp oil

How to make Kandi pachadi:

In a kadai / pan, heat oil and then add toor dal/ kandi pappu and toast them under medium heat until it turns into golden color.
At this point add cumin seeds and red chillies, add toast everything until the lentils turn into red color and you will notice a very nice aroma. Add hing and remove from heat and let them cool.
In the mean while coarsely chop onions into chunks and keep aside
In a blender, add the toasted toor dal and red chillies mixture and then grind to a coarse powder and then add soaked tamarind and salt and grind again
Once the chutney looks like shown in the picture, add onions and run the blender in pulse setting.

You can add tadka/popu/seasoning and then add to the chutney. I couldn't wait any longer and relished the chutney right away along with hot rice and ghee.. Yummm heaven!!

Note: You can store in the refrigerator, but i wouldn't recommend as the chutney will loose its crunch.

This Nutty Spicy Kandi pachadi / Toor dal chutney is on its way to:

P.S. Everyone has unique taste palette, so please adjust the ingredients according to your taste.

Happy Sri Rama Navami ~ Vadapappu and Panakam as Naivedyam!

7 COMMENTS Posted by KALVA at 12:16:00 AM

Sri Rama Rama Ramethi, Rame Rame ManoRame ....

Sahasthra Nama Thathulyam, Rama Nama Varanane .....

My favorite picture of Lord Sri Rama, we all have this same picture at home

Happy Sri Rama Navami Everyone. Sri Rama Navami is so special at moms place as this is kind of a big festival. At dad's shop, we will do the pooja in a grandeur with lots of prasads( naivedyams ) like Panakam, Vadapappu, Kajjayam, Vada, Pulihora, Fruits and Coconuts. All these will be served to everyone in a plantain leaf which is then placed on top of a handfan made of Palm tree leaves( Thataku Visana Karralu ). As Sri Rama Navami comes during the months of peak summer, we give out these hand fans along with the prasad to everyone. And dad still does celebrate the festival the same way even now. Here are two of the most popular Naivedyams( offerings ) for Srirama Navami, Panakam and Vadapappu. Panakam is jaggery( gur ) water with some spices. This panakam cools your body is very good during summer ( vedini thaggisthundi, chalava chesthundi )

How to Make Panakam:

This Panakam is a must for Sri Rama Navami
You need to soak Jaggery / Gur in water, once its melted add a tsp of ghee, crushed cardamom, and ground pepper. I usually put all the ingredients in a bowl even before starting the pooja, and by the time its time for naivedyam, panakam will be read

How to Make Vadapappu:

Vadapappu is a very easy naivedyam, clean the yellow moong dal, wash with water and then soak in enough water for around 1-2 hours. Once you are able to cut the dal with your nails, then its ready for naivedyam.
In this vadapappu, we usually add some fresh coconut pieces, chopped raw mango, lots of lime juice, red chilli powder and salt.. Mouth watering!

P.S. Everyone has unique taste palette, so please adjust the ingredients according to your taste.

Aloo Badam Bonda for Happy Ugadi ~ Sri Kara Nama Samvatsara Ugadi Subhakankshalu ~ Ringing in the Telugu New Year

6 COMMENTS Posted by KALVA at 11:57:00 PM

We at CurryInKadai, wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year ahead! Looks like this year its going be really good for everyone and there will be a lot of rains and good times ahead.. Actually we need to celebrate Ugadi in double dose, one from India winning the World Cup!! Kudos to Indian Cricket Team!! Ugadi is so important for Andhrites and we start the day with the pooja and then taking Ugadi Pachadi made with Mangoes( new mangoes ), neem flowers, jaggery/sugar, salt, tamarind juice, khus khus( gasagasalu ), putnala pappu etc., Its actually a juice with Shadruchulu.

Today the house will be swamped with family and freinds enjoying a feast with lots of sweets and savories. Mostly comprising of foods made with Mangoes, like Mango Rice, Sweet Mango chutney, etc., Aloo bondas are a definite must at my in laws house for Ugadi. Aloo Bondas are Dumplings made with potatoes and spices and are sumptuous and super easy! These bondas are brimming with flavor from ginger, mint and cilnatro along with nuttiness from almonds and cashew nuts! I bet no one can eat just one!

Ingredients:

Potatoes
Ginger
Chillies
Curry leaves
Lime Juice / Grated Green mango
Cilantro
Mint
Besan / Chick Pea Flour
Slivered Almonds
Cashew nuts
Mustard seeds
Jeera
Ajwain
Oil

How To:

Boil the potatoes and peel the skin off mash them and keep aside
Chop ginger, chillies, cilantro and mint in a chopper or blender
In a kadai, add some oil and do the tadka, cashew nuts and then add curry leaves followed by ginger chilli paste
Let it fry for a min and then add turmeric, slivered almonds and potatoes
Mix everything well together and add salt to taste and then chopped mint and cilantro let the mixture cool
In the mean while, heat oil in kadai, and in a mixing bowl, add besan, chilli powder, salt, ajwain seeds, baking soda and salt and sift the flour
Keep adding water until it gets the cinsistency of Pancake batter
Now make balls out of potato mixture, dip the balls in the batter and drop them into hot oil and cook under medium heat until done
You can either add more water / flour if you want thinner / thicker besan coating outside the aloo bonda.
Relish them hot off the kadai with some onion chutney / ketchup!!

P.S. Everyone has unique taste palette, so please adjust the ingredients according to your taste.

Yay! India Won the Cricket World Cup 2011...Time to celebrate!

1 COMMENTS Posted by KALVA at 5:05:00 PM

Wow...We won!! What a game.. Dhoni Sena did it again! .. My first Live World Cup 2011! Never liked cricket before, until this World Cup 2011! Thanks to dear husband! What a great feeling.. Even my 2 year old cheered, screamed and jumped along with us!! Everyone played so well, Tendulkar, Dhoni, Gambhir, YuvRaj, Sehwag, Raina, Zaheer Khan, Munaf.. etc., must say every one!! Well done Guys!! You made India so Proud again! As always!!

Here are some of my favorite Moments in World Cup 2011!!