Ingredients:
- Finger millet flour (Kezhvaragu or ragi) – 100 ml
- Jaggery (powdered) – 100 ml
- Cashew nuts – 6
- Grated coconut – 1 Tablespoon
- Sesame seeds – 1 Tablespoon
- Cardamom powder – a pinch
- Ghee (clarified butter) – 1 Teaspoon
- Skimmed milk (warm) – 3 Tablespoons
Method:
- Heat ghee in a kadai over medium heat, add cashews and roast. Keep aside.
- In the same kadai roast ragi flour for about 5 minutes. Keep aside.
- Turn off heat. Add sesame seeds in the same kadai and roast for few seconds and keep aside. For roasting sesame seeds, the remaining heat in the kadai is enough.
- In a separate pan, fry coconut, cardamom powder and jaggery together until the coconut releases a good aroma. That is, coconut turns dry while dry roasting.
- Now mix all together, sprinkle warm milk and by using your hand form them into small balls. If you feel the mixture is still dry add little more milk. Initially add a tablespoon of milk and make the mixture into crumble, then add another tablespoon of milk. Like wise add remaining milk and form the mixture into small balls.
- Store them in an airtight container. From this recipe you will get 6 ladoos.
Note:
- Ragi is Finger millet.
- Jaggery is unrefined non-centrifugal whole cane sugar.
- Both are available in Indian stores.
- You can substitute powdered sugar for jaggery.
Ingredients:
- All purpose flour – 500 g
- Baking soda – ¾ Tea spoon
- Butter or ghee – 100 g
- Fresh curd (yoghurt) – 200 g
- Sugar – 500 g
- Water – 500 ml
- Oil for deep frying
- Saffron and almond flakes for garnishing
Method:
- Sieve flour and baking soda together.
- Add ghee and mix lightly.
- Add curd and mix the dough, don’t knead.
- Cover with dry cloth and let it rest for 20mins.
- Divide the dough into thirty balls. Flatten them slightly and press each at the centre with your thumb. Don’t worry if the surface is rough, it allows the sugar syrup to penetrate easily.
- Heat oil in a wide pan; keep the flame in medium, deep fry the badushas to a golden brown.
- Drain those on a paper towel and allow them to cool.
- Then dip them in sugar syrup. Make sure that the sugar syrup is well coated on all the sides.
- Arrange on a tray and decorate with almond flakes and saffron.
Making Sugar Syrup:
- By boiling sugar and water together, prepare one-string consistency sugar syrup.
- It means, when the sugar syrup is boiling, if you place a drop of it in-between your thumb and index finger and pull back slightly, it will form a single string. This is the correct stage. In this stage make the flame at the lowest point.
Ingredients:
- Black eyed peas - 150 g
- Split channa dal – 150 g
- Jaggery – 150–200 g
- Grated coconut – 100 g
- Cardamom – 8 nos
- All purpose flour – 200 g
- Water
- Turmeric powder – ½ Tea spoon
- Salt
- Oil or ghee
Method:
- Soak black eyed peas in water for about 6 to 12 hours, drain water, wash with fresh water and cover them with wet cloth. In between rinse them with fresh water twice a day. In 24 hours they start sprouting. In the second day the sprouts will be ready to use, so carefully wash the sprouts with fresh water by not breaking the tiny sprouts. Drain excess water and spread them in a clean plate and keep aside.
- Soak split channa dal for about an hour and cook (do not mash) those with sprouted black eyed peas by using little amount of water.
- Discard cooked water (or can be used for making rasam) and grind with jaggery into coarse in a wet grinder. Keep aside.
- Dry roast grated coconut.
- Mix the ground mixture, roasted coconut, pinch of salt and cardamom seeds.
- Then make them into small lemon sized balls. Keep aside.
- Mix all-purpose flour, pinch of salt, turmeric powder and water. This mixture should be of bajji or bonda batter consistency.
- Make that lemon sized small balls (dal, sprouts and jaggery mixture) into patties (or like vada), dip in all-purpose flour batter and place over heated dosa tava. Pour a tea spoon of oil or ghee and cook both the sides until they are done. Cook one or two at a time.
Ingredients:
- Fenugreek seeds – 1 Teaspoon
- Pearl Barley – 2 Teaspoon
- Tapioca pearls – 1 Tablespoon
- Palm sugar (Panang kalkandu) – 70 g
- Cardamom seeds - ¼ Teaspoon
- Skim Milk – 70 ml
- Dry ginger (Sukku) – small piece
- Water – 50 ml
- Salt – pinch
Method:
- Dry roast barley and fenugreek seeds; grind together into a fine powder and keep aside. Make sure that not to over heat while roasting.
- Bring water to boil in a bowl and add tapioca pearls. When they are half cooked, add ground mixture, dry ginger and milk. Cook till they are done.
- Add palm sugar, salt and crushed cardamom seeds.
- Mix them well and simmer for few minutes.
- If you like little bit watery and sweet add little more water and sugar according to your taste.
- Serve chill or warm.
Ingredients:
- Split channa dal – 300 g
- Jaggery – 150–200 g
- Grated coconut – 100 g
- Cardamom – 8 nos
- All purpose flour – 200 g
- Water
- Turmeric powder – ½ Tea spoon
- Salt
- Oil or ghee
Method:
- Soak split channa dal for about an hour and cook (do not mash) those by using little amount of water.
- Discard cooked water (or can be used for making rasam) and grind with jaggery into coarse in a wet grinder. Keep aside.
- Dry roast grated coconut.
- Mix the ground mixture, roasted coconut, pinch of salt and cardamom seeds.
- Then make them into small lemon sized balls. Keep aside.
- Mix all-purpose flour, pinch of salt, turmeric powder and water. This mixture should be of bajji or bonda batter consistency.
- Make that lemon sized small balls (dal and jaggery mixture) into patties (or like vada), dip in all-purpose flour batter and place over heated dosa tava. Pour a tea spoon of oil or ghee and cook both the sides until they are done. Cook one or two at a time.
Note:
- This is one of the famous traditional sweets in Kongu region of Tamil Nadu (India).
Sandhavai (Rice Noodles):
Ingredients:
- Idli rice – 400 g
- Grated coconut – 100 g
- Water
- Salt
Method:
- Soak idli rice for about one hour. Grind soaked idli rice and grated coconut together in a wet grinder with minimum amount of water like for making idli.
- Add salt and mix the batter.
- Make idlies by steam cooking, here no need to ferment the batter.
- Make rice noodles (Sandhavai) by pressing hot idlies in Sandhavai maram (shown in picture - available in East Indian stores)
- Serve with coconut milk.
Thengai Paal (Coconut Milk):
- Boil coconut milk (about 200 ml) and skim milk (about 50 ml) together in slow flame.
- Add required amount of jaggery, dried ginger root (pinch), cardamom (3 nos) and pinch of salt. Simmer for few minutes and serve warm with Sandhavai.
Note:
- It is a famous traditional food made while inviting newly married couple in Kongu region of Tamil Nadu (India).
