Curry In Kadai ~ An Indian Cooking Blog

We @ Curry In Kadai, wish you all a very happy Dasara( Vijaya Dasami ). May this Dusshera light up for you and bring in happiness for one and all! For us Dussehra means celebrating it at ammamma( grandma ) house. Wow, we used to go to Kalikamma temple everyday during dussehra, and amma(goddess) would be dressed in different avatars everyday. I remember, in my grandmas place the goddesses are 5 sisters and each sister will be in different color, like yellow, white, red, etc.,


All these 10 days the goddesses or ammas come out for Oregimpu( a procession ). A person would sit behind the goddess figure and starts dancing according to the music. And sometimes the person would be possessed by the goddess( poonakam ). We when kids used to have mixed feelings, like half scared and half interested in the whole proceedings. We miss all the happenings here in US though!


Here's is a Milk porridge, Paala payasam/sirannam, rice cooked and simmered in whole milk and cooked with raisins, badam(almonds), dried coconut, cashew nuts and elaichi that is mostly offered to god as prasadam. A must in any festival in moms house!


Here are some pictures and i will post the recipe soon!!

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

Lakshmi Ksheera Samudra Raaja Tanaya
Sree Ranga Dhaameshvari
Daasi Bhootha Samasata Deva Vanithaam
Lokaika Deepankuram
Sreeman Manda Kataaksha Labdha Vibhava
Brahmendra Gangaadharam
Tvaam Trailokya Kudumbineem
Sarasijam Vande Mukunda Priyaam

Meaning: Goddess Lakshmi, who is the daughter of the king of the ocean of milk, whose abode is Srirangam (with Lord Ranganatha), who is served by all the divine ladies in heaven, who is the guiding light for the world, who has obtained the sustained (continued, everlasting) glance (Grace) from Brahma, Indra and Shiva, whose abode is the three worlds (Bhu, Bhuva, Suvaha) - I offer my prostrations to Thee, the beloved of Lord Krishna (Mukunda). Courtesy by Eaisai

For this Diwali, I made Panakam, Vadapappu and Kesar Badam Semiya Kheer ( Payasam ) Naivedyam to Lakshmi Devi.

Ingredients for Kesar Badam Semiya Kheer:

• 1/2 cup of semiya/Vermicelli
• 4tbsp ghee / melted butter
• 1 litre of milk( whole milk would taste great )
• Cashewnuts( as much as you want )
• Almonds( 10-15)
• Small golden raisins( kishmish )
• Saffron strands ( kumkuma puvvu )
• Sugar to taste

How to make Vermicelli Kesar Badam Kheer:

• First heat ghee in a thick bottomed kadai( sauce pan ), add cashew nuts, semiya and raisins one by one.
• Let them roast and once the semiya/vermicelli become golden brown, reduce the heat and add half of the milk and thinly chopped almonds. Keep stirring until milk starts to get together, now you can add milk if you want the kheer to be thin.
• Cook until the semiya/vermicelli is cooked. If you try to cut the vermicelli with finger it should fall apart right away, at this point add sugar. Cook until the sugar dissolves and finish off with saffron strands soaked in milk.

For Panakam:

• Goddess lakshmi likes this a lot and its very easy to make, takes a couple of minutes
• 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 ina bowl even before starting the pooja, and by the time its time for naivedyam, panakam will be ready.

For Vadapappu:

• Vadapappu is a very easy naivedyam, clean the yellow moong dal, wash with water and then soak in enough water for around 1 hour.
• once you are able to cut the dal with your nails, then its ready for naivedyam.

My Kesar Badam Vermicelli Kheer is on its way to:

• Sweet Series
• Diwali 2009 contest
• Sweet Celebrations
• Sunday Snacks - Festive Snacks of Navratri and Diwali

Looking for something sweet to be served for the unexpected guests? Here's something quick and easy that can be ready to be relished in a very few minutes with very few ingredients, my favorite Semiya Kesari, aka vermicelli sweet. This recipe is from my sister's MIL. This is a regular item in her kitchen every week, as bava( Brother in law ) loves it. Usually mom makes only Payasam( kheer ), Upma with vermicelli or semiya, but this Kesari is new to us. Toasted Raisins and Cashew nuts in butter add that extra flavor and nuttiness to the Kesari. Vermicelli Halwa tastes so good when hot and stays good in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup vermicelli
  
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/3 of a butter stick
• 1/2-3/4 cup sugar
• a few golden raisins
  
• a few cashew nuts
  
• yellow food color( optional )
  
• saffron

How To:

• In a thick sauce pan / kadai, heat butter and add cashewnuts, raisins and crushed cardamom
  
• Once the cashews( kaju ) turns into golden brown add the semiya aka vermicelli and toast until they turn lightly golden brown.
  
• Meanwhile boil the water along with saffron and food color(optional ). Once the water is bubbling hot, stir in this water into the toasted semiya, reduce heat and close the lid.
  
• Once all the liquid has been absorbed, stir in sugar and let all the sugar dissolve and the vermicelli thicken
  
• Tada, sumptuous ddelicious simple dessert is ready in minutes ready to be relished hot or cold...
  

My simple Vermicelli sweet is on its way to:

• WYF : Quick Meal hosted by EC
• FIC: Favorite hosted by Curry Leaf
• Sweet Time hosted by Shanthi