Saree draping on lamp
Aadi masam begins today. Aadi masam is dedicated to Mother Goddess. Presenting a video on how to drape saree on Vilakku ,representing the vilakku as mother Goddesses. One can place the Goddesses face on the top, I haven’t placed the face so that you can light the lamp. If not for my friend Padma Vasu I wouldn’t have done this recording and published it in YouTube. Recording courtesy by my daughter Sindhuja.
Chapter 2
More display of Glass painting. The first painting is unique. Unity in diversity. Ladies from different states and religions playing different instruments in one frame.
Tanjore Painting
A ladoo that’s easy and quick to prepare and healthy. Make it, store it and whenever you feel hungry just have one. This ladoo is equal to any health bar that one buys.
Ingredients
Oats —– 1 cup
Peanut —– 1/4 cup
Walnut —– 1/ 4 cup
Jaggery —– 1/2 cup
Ghee —– 1/4 cup
Cardamom pwd —- 1/2 tsp.
Not a food page but some art work of my mother.
Few day’s back we celebrated Father’s day and I had written a small write-up about my appa giving a small glimpse about him. It’s not Mother’s day but I thought of sharing some of her art work she has been doing right from my school days, and still continues till today which keeps her busy even through the Covid time and lockdown.She learned many things from her friend / guru, Hema Mami . It is her interest in any form of art that she keeps learning new things. Now a days, she gets few ideas from youtube. So I will try to showcase some of her art work.
Chapter 1 / Art work 1….
The glass temple you see in the background is made from empty bottles. Bru coffee bottles for the pillars, small injection bottles placed on the top in-between the glass sheets for the gopuram and the dolls of Krishna, Saraswathi and Lakshmi are all hand made.
Mattanna / Red pumpkin is used in South Indian household's either to make kootu,olan or sambar. I have only named a few South Indian dishes. This time I wanted to try something different with Mattanna / red Pumpkin. So here is a sabji with minimum ingredients and a sativik one too. Go ahead try it and enjoy with chapati or phulkas.
Ingredients
Red pumpkin — 2 cups
Capsicum — 2 cups
Tomato — 1 cup
Green chili — 1
Ginger —
Coriander seeds — 1 tsp
Cummin seeds — 1 tsp
Dry red chili — 2
Salt — 1 tsp
Oil —- 2- 3 tbsp
Coriander leaves — 1/2 cup.
When you want to make a prasad quickly here’s a recipe, a ladoo with minimum ingredients simple, easy and quick to make.
Ingredients
Dates — 1/2 cup
Besan — 1 cup
Ghee — 3 tsp
Honey — 3 tsp
Pistachios — 2 tsp
Cardamom pwd — 1/2 tsp.
Here’s a very simple and easy sabji with green tomatoes.
Ingredients
Green tomatoes — 250gms
Besan —- 3 tbsp
Turmeric pwd — 1/ 4 tsp
Red chili pwd —- 1/2 tsp
Coriander pwd —- 1/ 2 tsp
Cummin seeds —– 1/ 2 tsp
Sauf / fennel seeds — 1/2 tsp
Salt —- 1 tsp
Oil —- 2-3 tbsp
Fresh coriander leaves.
Method
Wash and cut the tomatoes into cubes. Heat oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds and sauf and stir .When you start getting a nice aroma, add the turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder and stir. Now add the besan and fry everything together in low flame for 2 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and salt . Cook the tomatoes for 4-5 minutes. Your Green tomatoes subji is ready.
Ingredients
Rava — 1 cup
Sugar —- 1 1/ 2 cup
Chikoo pulp — 1/2 cup
Ghee — 1/2 cup
Cardamom pwd — 1/2 tsp
Water — 2 1/2 cups Few cashew nuts
Father’s day special. Dedicating today’s Kesari to both my appas.
APPA — My take on APPA Adorable, Persuasive, Protective, Amazing. The feeling between a father and daughter is mutual.
I have been thinking of writing about my dear Appa for a long time. Not only about my biological appa but one more person, my father-in-law whom I used to call appa. Both of them are not physically with me today but there are so many things I learned from them that I feel they are always with me. To mention a few things, my technical knowledge with regards to house maintenance which usually requires a carpenter or a electrician, I would try to fix it before calling a professional. As a young girl I would be my appa’s assistant holding a screw driver or a spanner. I have grown up watching him repair things at home. Right from setting the house with furniture from different parts of India or calling a carpenter and designing, the end result would be unique. People talk about foldable cots, dinning table with a center rotator, shoe rack or a writing table which can be extended . I had the good fortune of enjoying it right from my school days, thanks to appa. Some of the things that he loved to do were stocking up on the orange mithai while traveling, preparing mango milkshake or just buying a lollipop when he used pick me from my grandparents home after college. Here’s how he prepared mango milkshake. He would add the mango pieces, milk ,sugar and crushed ice. How do you crush ice at home? Simply take the ice cubes from the freezer, wrap it up in a thick clean towel and hammer it with your idikki ( pakkad) or just smash it on your kitchen platform.😊. This was his humble brilliance.
What do I write about the Appa who I got after marriage! There has been only two instances where we have discussed about something important, but the understanding was always there. Just the look would make me realize what he would want to say; whether it was for a half cup of coffee or a small sweet piece or rasam made by me in a small cup or anything else. When someone would point out that he was diabetic he would reply with a smile, ” it’s ok I will have an extra pills tonight!”. Even when he lost his memory and speech ,the smile was never lost. When ever I would ask him for something, the answer would be a smile. There had been situations were I had to feed him or take him to toilet. He would look into my face which said many things. I think I was fortunate to serve my this appa a little, since I wasn’t blessed to do anything to my biological appa whom I lost 30 years back. One thing was common with both of them there smiling face whatever the situation was.
I could keep writing because the bond between a father and daughter is extremely precious, whether you express it verbally or not.
I dedicate this to all the lovely fathers. You could also share few lovely moments you had with your appa or one or two specific things you learned from him.
When we talk about Kesari, the main ingredient that comes to our mind is rava / semolina. Here I have used aval / poha instead of rava. To give a natural flavor I have added the fruit of the season Mango 🥭. It’s quick to make and the taste is ….
Ingredients
• Aval / Poha — 1 1/2 cup
• Mango plup — 1 cup
• Sugar — 1 1/2 cup
• Water — 3 cups
• Few Raisins and Cashews
• Cardamom pwd— 1/2 tsp
• Ghee — 1/ 2 cup.
This is a easy dish to prepare as well as Cook! The flavor of the potato gives a unique sweet taste that can be an accompaniment to any main dish. Give it a try!
Ingredients
Sakkarai Vallikizhangu / Sweet Potato —- 250gms
Coconut — 1 cup
Urad dal — 4 tsp
Cumin seeds — 1 tsp
Coriander seeds — 1 tsp
Dry red chili —- 1
Mustard seeds— 3/4 tsp
Turmeric pwd —- 1/2 tsp
Salt — 1 1/4 tsp
Sesame oil — 3-4 tsp.
Method
Peel the skin of the sakkarai valli and cut them into 1 inch pieces. Soak them in water to avoid discoloring. Remove the pieces for water add the turmeric pwd and salt and pressure cook for two whistles. Dry roast cumin seeds, coriander seeds and red chili, keep aside. Dry roast coconut till the coconut turns color. Cool the fried ingredients and grind them into a coarse powder. Heat oil in a pan add the mustard seeds, when they crackle add the cooked sakkarai valli and give a toss. Fry them for 4-5 minutes tossing them in-between. Now add the grounded powder and mix well. Cook further for 2-3 minutes. Your Sakkarai valli poriyal is ready. Enjoy it with hot rice, rasam , mor kuttan or even with chapati.
Sujatas Recipes 