Diwali or Deepavali means row of lights. It is also known as the "festival of lights worldwide. It is celebrated on the New Moon day of the month of Kartik. Deepavali is spread over 4 days starting with the 13th day of Krishna Paksha or second or dark fortnight of the month. It is associated with many episodes from the Hindu holy books like Ramayana and Mahabharata.All four days are celebrated by making a variety to sweets and savories, exchanging it with friends and family, lighting rows of oil and wick lamps and bursting firecrackers.We Mangalorean konkanis ( GSB) celebrate it for 4 days:Day 1- 21 st October 2014: Dhana-trayodahsi, Jala pooje( water pooja), thaila bhanga:Homes are cleaned, with special emphasis on the bathrooms where the "bhana" ( the huge copper pot in which bathing water is heated) is cleaned, decorated with rangoli designs and flowers. Little boys ( male kids)are given oil massage and bath and interestingly fish dishes ( both fried and curried) are cooked for dinner.Day 2 -22 nd October,2014: Naraka Chaturdashi : This is the day prior to Deepavali is called Naraka chaturdashi.This is in commemoration of Lord Krishna along with Satyabhama killing a wicked Asura by name Narakasura on the eve of Diwali.On this day grown men are given oil massage and bath and the traditional offering to God, godu phovu is made.Day 3- 23rd October,2014: Diwali and Dhanalakshmi Pooja:The Deepawali Day is celebrated with Dhanalakshmi Puja. People who own gold shops perform puja in the shops.The Deepawali Day is believed to be the day on which Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshman returned to Ayodhya from Lanka. Being dark night (Amavasya or No moon day), the night before new moon day) they were greeted by lighting hundreds of clay lamps. This gives the festival the name of Deepawali. Laxmi Puja is also celebrated on this and reflects the fact that this is a time of harvest. Traditionally, the time of harvest is a time of prosperity. According to myth, Laxmi Puja is performed on the day when Goddess Laxmi emerged from Kshira Sagara while the churning of Amrutha Madhanam.Day 4- 24th October, 2014: Govardhan Puja / Angadi Pooja/ Balindra puja.The day after Deepawali is celebrated as Govardhana Puja and Angadi Pooja. The shopkeepers celebrate this with a puja in their shop, inviting people over and giving out goodies.The day after Deepawali is also celebrated as Govardhana Puja. The sacred hill of Govardhan, near Mathura and Kamadhenu (the cosmic cow) which are connected with Lord Krishna are worshipped. Krishna lifted up the Govardhan mountain and held it like an umbrella, under which people and animals took shelter from the relentless rain. Once the rain subdued, the people gathered around the hill and had a great feast. This festival is especially popular among the devotees of Bala Krishna.One of my favorite laddoos made during festivals is the laayi undo. This is made using popped paddy powder.
Just like you have popped corn, you have popped paddy. The powdered version of this is used to make this laddoo. It is very tasty, light and versatile enough to be modified to individual tastes; for eg: you could add crunch and protein be adding bits of nuts like peanuts and cashewnuts. You can even add shev( fried crispy noodle pieces). It is simple and easy to make and tasty to eat! I am bringing this to Angie's Fiesta Friday! It is her birthday and you cannot go to someone's birthday party empty-handed!
Servings: makes 10- 15 medium-sized laddoos ( balls).
Ingredients:
Sticky Jaggery( anta god): 1cupLaayi pitto ( popped paddy powder): 2 cupsPeanut halves: 2 tbsp,Cashewnut pieces: 1 tbsp,Cardamom powder: 1/4 tspWater: 4 tbspGhee/ butter: for greasing the palmsMethod:
Heat jaggery and water in a pot until the jaggery is completely melted and liquid. Now turn off the heat, let it settle for 5 mins. Gently pour the molten jaggery into a thick-bottomed pot, leaving behind any sandy residue.
Dry roast the cashew nut pieces and peanuts and keep aside.Heat the molten jaggery on medium flame until it thickens and is sticky when attempting to pick to pour from a spoon. We call it the "string" consistency, which means if you take a drop between your index finger and thumb, you should be able to see a string of jaggery when you pull your fingers away from each other.
Now mix in the laayi pitto ( popped paddy powder), the nuts and cardamom powder. Mix well .
Grease your palms with butter/ghee. Take a tablespoonful of the hot jaggery-popped paddy mixture and shape it into balls of desired size. If the mixture cools down, you will not be able to shape it into balls. Do not squeeze the balls hard as they will get even harder upon cooling down, making it difficult to eat!
Store in an air-tight container.Stays fresh at room-temperature for upto a month.Enjoy!Cooking made easy:
Most often jaggery has sand/ dirt residues in it. Melting it, letting it settle down and then transferring the jaggery to another pot helps get rid of this sand.Ensure that the jaggery is cooked on a thick-bottomed vessel on a low flame as it is very easy to burn the jaggery!Tip for healthy living:
Having a oil massage on the head not only helps rejuvenate hair and help it grow, it is also a great stress-buster and calms the body.Food for thought:
Happy are those who dare courageously to defend what they love. Ovid
This is my hundredth post! I truly cannot believe that I have completed 100 posts on my blog!!! That too in less than nine months! To many bloggers out there, this may not be a big deal... But for me, it is! I never thought I would come this far! Like I have said before, blogging is hard work. Hats off to all the wonderful food bloggers out there who take the time to take pictures of their food and write about it. For me, as a working mom, it has been really hard to take the time to do my posts. I have had to stay up late after the kids have been cajoled into bed, wake up during the wee hours of the morning just to complete a post or to post something on time. The good part of it is the appreciation I have received from family and friends, recognition by many different organizations, making new friends with the wonderful people from the blogging world and last but not the least the immense amount of learning that occurs on a daily basis, in more ways than one!I have given much thought to what I would write about for my hundredth post. I finally decided to go with something that is part of basic cooking skills: ghee or clarified butter. This is such an integral part of Indian cooking. Ghee that is sold at premium rates in stores like Trader's Joe, Whole Food etc. Did you know that ghee can be easily made at home?? All you need is butter! As simple as that. For time immemorial, ghee has been made at home in Indian households. I remember my mother collecting cream from boiled and cooled milk, storing it in the fridge, churning it and making butter and then converting that butter into ghee.
Let me share this simple method of making this liquid gold at home that is totally natural without any added preservatives or chemicals in it.Servings: yields approzimately 700 ml of ghee.
Ingredient:
Unsalted Butter( sweet cream butter): 3 lbsMethod:
Take the butter in a thick-bottomed pot.
Heat it on medium heat until it is completely melted.
Once it melts, reduce the flame to the lowest possible and let it boil.
It will start frothing. Continue boiling, stirring in between until the frothing stops, generally around 30-40 minutes.
The liquid now is golden with a slightly dark residue at the bottom. Stop boiling at this point. Switch off the flame.
Boiling any further will burn the milk solids that has separated and settled at the bottom .This will turn the color of the ghee brown instead of golden.
Once the ghee has settled down/ cooled down a little, strain and pour it in a airtight container of your choice to be stored, ideally a glass jar of some kind.
The dark residue will be left behind.
Can be stored at room temperature. Remains fresh for a month.I am bringing this to all my wonderful friends at Angie's Fiesta Friday. This week's co-hosts are Andrea@cooking with a wallflower and Sylvia@superfoodista.I look forward to these parties ...it is so much fun.If you haven't yet been there you should try it!Cooking made easy:
Many people suggest the addition of clove, cinnamon stick, beetle-nut leaf during the last stage of ghee preparation to make it more aromatic. I sometimes add it. It is not a must. My mother sprinkles a little buttermilk when the bubbling has stopped and it has turned golden. This also is supposed to make the ghee very aromatic.Tip for healthy living:
For time immemorial, ghee has been use in everyday Indian cooking. However over the years, people have shied away from ghee believing it to be fattening and rich in cholesterol thereby leading to heart-issues. Today how here butter is being promoted, ghee too is being promoted. Like anything else, anything when consumed in moderation does not cause ill effects on the body . Too much of anything is bad for the body. My kids are vegetarian an picky eaters. Hence I make sure I use ample amount of ghee in their food.References:http://www.ancientorganics.com/about-our-ghee/http://creationbasedhealth.com/benefits-ghee-clarified-butter/http://www.care2.com/greenliving/15-amazing-benefits-of-ghee.htmlFood for thought:
The fewer the facts, the stronger the opinion. Arnold H. Glasow
Laddoos are a very popular Indian dessert/ snack. Anything that is sweet and is shaped like a ball is a "laddoo". Undo is laddoo in my mother-tongue, Konkani. As kids we loves undos/ laddoos. These are usually made for all kinds of celebrations, festivals or any other auspicious occasion. There are hundreds of varieties of laddoos/undos. The basic method is pretty much the same: you make a sticky syrup out of jaggery, mix in the desired main ingredient and make balls out of it while the mixture is piping hot. The good part is that everything is natural and is a great source of instant energy. Today I am going to write about sesame laddoos which are extremely nutrient dense being rich in protein, fiber and makes for a great snack!
Servings: makes 15 small laddoos
Ingredients:
Jaggery: 1/2 cupSesame seeds: 1 cupCardamom powder: 1/8 tspWater: 2 tbspMethod:
Heat jaggery and water in a pot until the jaggery is completely melted and liquid. Now turn off the heat, let it settle for 5 mins. Gently pour the molten jaggery into a thick-bottomed pot, leaving behind any sandy residue.Dry roast the sesame seeds for 5 mins and keep aside.
Heat the molten jaggery on medium flame until it thickens and is sticky when attempting to pick to pour from a spoon.
Now mix in the toasted sesame seeds and cardamom powder. Mix well .Grease your palms with butter/ghee. Take small spoonful of the hot sesame mixture and shape it into balls of desired size. If the mixture cools down, you will not be able to shape it into balls.
Store in an air-tight container.Stays fresh at room-temperature for upto a month.Enjoy!
Cooking made easy:
The key for good laddoos is the stickiness of the jaggery. Not all jaggery are meant to be sticky. Back home, specific jaggery known as sticky jaggery is available in the store. Here in the US, I have found the Kolhapuri jaggery to be sticky enough for the laddoos.How does one test if the jaggery has been boiled enough to be sticky enough for the laddoo?We call it the string test. Take a drop of boiling jaggery and drop it in a glass of water. If the jaggery maintains its solid state and remains stringy it is the right consistency. If it sinks and dissolves in water, then you need to boil it some more until you achieve the stringy consistency.Tip for healthy living:
Sesame seed is a wonderful source of protein for vegetarians with 4.7 gms of protein per ounce.It has a low glycemic index, hence is great for diabetics.It is rich in magnesium which is a key in lowering blood pressure. It is also rich in zinc which is good for the skin. It has phytosterols that help lower cholesterol and has anti-inflammatory properties due to the presence of sesamol in it. It also helps regulate the GI system as it is high in dietary fiber.In a nut-shell, it is a small seed that packs a punch!References:http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=84http://www.care2.com/greenliving/20-health-benefits-of-sesame-you-wont-believe.htmlhttp://www.nutrition-and-you.com/sesame-seeds.htmlFood for thought:
That's the motivation of an artist- to seek attention of some kind. James Taylor
Today is Ganesh Chathurthi . Today is Lord Ganesha's birthday. Lord Ganesh is also known as the " elephant-face God" in the western countries. Ganesh Chathurthi is celebrated with much pomp in India and by Hindus worldwide. It is a festival of great importance to Indians just the way Christmas is to Christians. In quite a few Indian cities and towns there is a week-long celebration for this festival. Where I am from, we celebrate it is celebrated as a family gathering. That is, the eldest person in the family hosts the festival in his home and all the family members congregate there for the celebration. Being that we are so far away from home, we celebrate it by going to the local temple for prayer and preparing sweet appos at home as an offering to Lord Ganesha. It is believed that this was one of Lord Ganesha's favorite treats!
There are several different ways of making appos and as usual my recipe is one that is of no fuss, quick and easy to make, yet absolutely delicious! The only requirement is the availability of a appe pan without which this cannot be made!
I am bringing this to Angie and all the wonderful people at Angie's Fiesta Friday. I am sure they will be intrigued!!Servings: makes 21 medium sized appos.
Ingredients:
Wheat flour: 1/2 cupCoarse rava( sooji): 1/2 cupFreshly grated coconut: 1/2 cupPoha ( beaten rice) : 1 cupJaggery: 3/4 cupWater: 1 cupSalt: pinchGhee( clarified butter)/ oil: to grease the appe pan.Method:
Grind together coconut, poha, jaggery and salt with water.Take the mixture in a bowl.
Mix into it the wheat flour and sooji. The batter should have a thick consistency.
Keep aside for 5 hours or overnight.
Heat the appe pan over medium heat.Grease the pan using oil/ ghee. Pour tablespoonful of batter in each hole of the pan. Reduce the flame to low and let it cook.
When the top is done you can flip it over and let it cook for 1 min until done.
You can serve it hot or cold.
Enjoy!Cooking made easy:
Iron and cast-iron pots and pans tend to rust if not taken care of properly. Taking care of iron or cast iron pots and pans is not difficult if one is mindful. Do not use soap to clean iron pots and pans. Clean gently with a paper towel/ wash cloth or soft scrub. Dry immediately after washing and apply a thin film of oil before storing. This will ensure that the pan remains seasoned, does not rust and food doesn't stick to it upon cooking.
Tip for healthy living:
Avoid non-stick pots and pans with Teflon-coating. The Teflon coating upon heating releases chemicals that could be deleterious to our health. It is worse when the Teflon coating starts wearing off. If using non-stick pots and pans, upon wearing off of the Teflon coating, promptly discard the pan. References:http://www.ewg.org/research/healthy-home-tips/tip-6-skip-non-stick-avoid-dangers-teflonhttp://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=4491https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006nl/april/pdf060400teflon.pdfFood for thought:
The starting point of all achievement is desire. Napoleon Hill
Salad is an integral part of meals in my home. This is especially true if I make one-pot rice dishes like pulao and biryani. I often play around with the ingredients in my salad depending on what is available in my refrigerator at that time.When I made this particular salad, I had lots of ripe avocados which I feared might go bad and wasted if I didn't use them quickly! I decided to toss them into my regular cucumber-tomato-onion salad. The result was a nice and creamy salad which even the kids enjoyed. Since I avoid dairy, most of the time I use olive oil-lemon juice marinade.I again play around with the herbs, the most common one that I use being cilantro( coriander leaves). I cannot help it, it is the Indian in me.:)Servings: 4
Ingredients:
Cucumber: 1 medium sized.Avocado: 1 medium sized.Tomato: 1 medium sized.Onion: 1 medium sized(Any onion can be used, I have used yellow)Scallions( spring onion): 3Lemon juice: from 1/2-1 lemon ( depending on the size)Extra Virgin Olive Oil: 3 tbspCilantro: 2 tbsp, finely choppedSea Salt: to tasteBlack pepper: 1/2 tsp, freshly groundMethod:
Peel one cucumber and dice it. Dice one tomato, one onion( I have used white onion) and one avocado & add to the bowl. Chop up 3-4 scallions( spring onions) and add to the bowl. Now squeeze1 tbsp lemon juice into the bowl. Add 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp chopped cilantro/coriander leaves, 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper, sea-salt to taste and toss well.Serve chilled.Enjoy!Cooking made easy:
The avocado when tossed like this in the salad, it gives a nice creaminess to the salad.Lemon juice in the salad prevents the avocados from discoloring.You can also add black/ green olives , carrots diced small, red radish diced,small cauliflower florets, feta cheese or cottage cheese to this salad and make it even more interesting and nourishing.Tip for healthy living:
Cucumber slices may help alleviate the dark circles underneath the eyes. Cut cucumber into 0.5 cms thick slice and place them on your eyes with your eyes closed for 20-30 minutes. Take a nap. You will wake up feeling refreshed.
Food for thought:
Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.Confucius
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