Sundal - Navratri Special

Golu and Sundal are synonymous with each other. This year I managed to go all the way and make a different  one each day. Some were made following expert recommendations (meaning mom's) and a few were my own creations. In this post I will try to detail the recipes for these 8 tasty sundals.

I made sundal in three different ways-

Method 1 or M1: With ground masala (D's mom shared this method with me )

Method 2 or M2: With tenga- manga (coconut and raw mango)

Method 3 or M3: With regular seasoning and coconut.

Top Row:         White peas (M2), Kidney beans(M3), Peanuts(M2)

Middle Row:     Chana dal(M3), Lima beans(M1), Moong dal(M3)

Bottom Row:   Black eyed peas(M3), Chick peas(M3)

Inactive prep time - 8-9 hours
Active prep and cooking time - 5-10 mins

Note 1-

            All the pulses except moong dal,  chana dal and peanuts need to be pre-soaked in water for 8-9 hours. If you miss this step, you can also soak them for 4-5 hours in hot water.

           Also I cooked all my pulses except peanuts and chickpeas in microwave, as they might turn mushy sometimes when we pressure cook. By microwaving I had more control and I often checked and saw that they don't turn mushy.

Ingredients-

Pulse of your choice

Oil - 1-2 tsp
Salt as per taste
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

For Sundal with ground masala(M1):

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Udat dal - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - 4-5

Green chilli - 1, chopped (optional)

Asafoetida - 1/8 tsp

To grind  :

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Chana dal - 1 tbsp

Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp

Red chilli - 2 or as per taste

Coconut - 1 tbsp

For tenga-manga sundal ( coconut and raw mango )(M2):

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Udat dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 4-5
Asafoetida - 1/8 tsp
Raw mango - 1 tbsp, grated

To grind:

Coconut - 1 -2 tbsp, grated

Green chilies - 2 or as per taste

For regular sundal(M3):

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Udat dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 4-5
Red chillies - 2 or as per taste, broken into 2-3 pieces
Asafoetida - 1/8 tsp
Coconut - 1 tbsp, grated

Procedure :

Pressure cook or microwave and cook your pulses with salt and turmeric. Drain and keep aside.
 
For Sundal with ground masala

In a small pan roast ( on medium heat ) all the items under the "to grind" section until golden brown. Cool and grind into a coarse powder and keep aside.

In a medium sized pan heat oil ( on medium heat ). Once hot add in the mustard seeds and wait till they splutter, then add udal dal and asafoetida till udal dat becomes slight golden in color. Add curry leaves and green chillies ( if using ) and give a quick stir. At this stage turn the heat to low and add in the pulses and the ground masala. Mix slowly and properly.

Serve hot.

For tenga mangai sundal ( coconut and raw mango )

In a food processor blend coconut and green chillies to a fine paste and keep aside.

In a medium sized pan heat oil ( on medium heat ). Once hot add in the mustard seeds and wait till they splutter, then add udal dal and asafoetida till udal dat becomes slight golden in color. Add curry leaves  and  give a quick stir. At this stage turn the heat from medium to low and add in the pulses, ground chilli and coconut and mix slowly and properly. Sprinkle the grated raw mango and mix again.

Serve hot.

For regular sundal :

In a medium sized pan heat oil ( on medium heat ). Once hot add in the mustard seeds and wait till they splutter, then add udal dal and asafoetida till udal dat becomes slight golden in color. Add curry leave, red chillies and give a quick stir. At this stage turn the heat from medium to low and add in the pulses and coconut. Mix slowly and mix properly.

Serve hot.
 
Note 2-
             You can also use other pulses like soy beans, pigeon peas , split green gram and even green peas. You can choose from any of the three methods and make your sundal.

Aval Puttu / Poha Puttu

Navratri can never be complete without Puttu which is considered to be a very auspicious sweet dish and is served along with sundal.
Though I have tasted rice puttu , I found aval puttu interesting as it seemed quite easy to make ( as compared to rice puttu ofcourse!). Also it did not require the puttu maker . So the recipe for aval puttu is as follows:

Inactive prep time - 30 mins

Active prep time - 5 mins

Cooking time - 30 mins

Ingredients :

Aval / poha - 1 cup, thick

Jaggery- 1/2 cup , roughly crushed

Coconut - 1/4 cup, shredded

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Cashew nuts - 1-2 tbsp

Raisins - 1 tbsp

Salt - a pinch

Other things required:

A clean cotton cloth or a clean men's handkerchief

Procedure :

Soak the jaggery in 1/4 cup of water half an hour prior to cooking.

Take a big wok and dry roast the aval / poha on medium to high heat, stirring constantly till it turns golden brown. Make sure that you don't burn it.

Once they change color , transfer into a big plate and cool. Once cool transfer it into the blender and grind it coarsely (rava-like). 

Transfer into the same plate and add a pinch of salt. Simultaneously bring about 1/4 cup of water to boil.

Take a tea spoon and add about 2-3 measures of water into the powdered coarse aval/poha and mix with your finger tips. Repeat this process till the powdered aval/poha resembles bread crumbs (refer the picture above). At this stage you should be able to make a ball with the aval in your palms. And it should seperate and fall loosely when you try to disintegrate it. [ i.e your poha should not stay lumpy but should have just enough moisture to be able to hold it in a ball initially. It took me 9-10 tsp of water to get the desired texture].

Keep this aval/poha-water  mix covered for about 5-10 mins . Transfer it into a clean cloth and steam it for 15 mins approx. [ I steamed it in a pressure cooker ]

Now once cooked transfer it into a plate. Add cardomom powder and coconut to the poha and mix with your finger tips properly.[ I used frozen coconut, so I thawed before adding to the poha . Alternatively ( and to enhance the taste ) pan fry coconut in a tsp of ghee till it slightly changes color and then add to the poha ]

Filter the jaggery along with the water in a tea strainer and remove all the impurities. In a wok heat the jaggery till it thickens. [Keep a small bowl with cold water next to you to test the thickness]. Once the jaggery comes into boil start testing the thickness by dropping a tsp of jaggery into cold water.If it forms a lump without disintegrating then the syrup or paagu is ready. [ If it disintegrates then you need to boil it more ].

Turn of the heat once you get the right syrup, pour it over the aval - coconut mixture and mix properly with your fingers without any lumps.

In a wok heat ghee. Add in the cashews and fry. Once they turn golden brown add in the raisins and fry till the raisins puff up.  At ths stage add in the puttu / aval- coconut -jaggery mix and toss it for few seconds and serve.
 [ If you feel that your puttu has lot of moisture toss it in ghee for few more mins ]. The color of puttu depends on the jaggery used.

Aadi Perukku kalantha saatham [Mixed rice]

On this special day - Aadi Perukku (18th day in the month of Aadi on the Tamil calendar), the lunch menu consists of any three mixed rice items. In this blog, I am posting one such menu with these three - Lemon, Coconut and Curd rices.

 

Prep Time - 10 mins
Cooking Time - 10 -15 mins

Ingredients :

Cooked Rice - 3 cups (1 cup for each rice item)

For Lemon Rice :

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Chana dal - 1/2 tsp

Cashews - 1 tbsp

Green chillies - 2 [ or as per taste ] , chopped

Curry leaves - 5 to 6 

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida - 1/8 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

For Coconut Rice :

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Chana dal - 1/2 tsp

Red Chillies [ Dried ] - 2 [ or as per taste ] , broken into medium pieces

Curry leaves - 5 to 6

Asafoetida - 1/8 tsp

Coconut [Shredded] - 1/2 to 3/4 cup

Peanuts - 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Oil - 1 tbsp

For Curd Rice :

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Green Chili - 1 finely, chopped

Curry leaves - 3 - 4 leaves

Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp, chopped

Curd - 3/4 cup

Milk - 1/4 cup

Oil - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

 

Procedure :

Separate and fluff up the rice with a fork.

Lemon Rice :

Heat oil in a medium pan on medium heat. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter, add chana dal, urad dal and cashews and give it a quick stir. Then add green chillies, curry leaves, asafoetida and turmeric stir for few seconds till you get a nice curry leaves aroma [ make sure that you don't burn ] . Add one cup of cooked rice and salt and mix properly. Switch off the heat and pour in the lemon juice and mix again. 

Serve hot.

Coconut Rice :

Heat oil in a medium pan on medium heat. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter, add chana dal, urad dal and add peanuts and stir for few seconds. Add the red chillies, curry leaves, asafoetida and stir for few seconds till you get a nice curry leaves aroma . Add coconut, mix and turn the heat to low. Add rice and salt. Mix and serve hot.

Curd rice :

Heat oil in a small pan , when hot add mustard seeds and let them splutter , add the green chillies and curry leaves. Switch off the heat and pour the mustard seeds and green chillies over the rice.Take a large spoon and mix so the rice gets mashed up. Now add milk , curd and salt and mix again. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Adi Vellikizhamai Special Lunch

Beginning of Adi month in Tamil calender year is celebrated with a  special lunch.

Beginning with Rice and proceeding clockwise the items are Appalam / Papad, Cabbage masala vadai, Ellumichampazham / Lemon Rasam , Okra morekuzhambu , Carrot kosmalli / Carrot salad , Vazhakkai / Plantain podi pota kai and Tenga paal. The detailed recipe of each of the above  would follow soon.