Pongal  Recipe

 Ingredients:

¾  cup  white  rice

 Â¼  cup  moong  dal (lentil)

 1 ½ cups of grated jaggery (brown  sugar)

 Â¼  cup  cashewnuts

 Â¼  cup  raisins

 1/8  teaspoon  cardamom  powder

 2  tablespoons  butter

 3  cups  water

 Clean  the  rice  and  dal  with  water.  Add  three  cups  of  water  and  cook  in  a pressure  cooker  or  cook  in  a  saucepan  till  mushy.  Mash  well  and  add  jaggery. Mix  and  cook  till  the  jaggery  is  incorporated.  Heat  butter  in  a  skillet  and  add raisins  and  cashews.  Fry  till  the  cashews  are  brown  and  the  raisins  are  plumped up.  Add  the  nuts  and  raisins  to  the  pongal .  Add  some  cardamom  powder  and mix  well.  Serve  warm. 

Medu Vada

 1 cup urad dal

3-4 green chillies

A sprig of curry leaves

Handful of coriander leaves (cilantro)

½ of an onion

4-5 whole black peppercorns (optional)

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Soak the urad dal for 1-2 hours and then grind it into a smooth and fluffy batter, using very little water. Add chopped onions, green chillies, curry leaves, coriander leaves, peppercorns and salt. Heat oil in a deep pan. Wet your palm, take a small scoop of batter and flatten it on your palm. Make a round vada and make a hole in the centre with your thumb. Slowly slip the vada into the hot oil. Fry the vadas till they are golden brown in color. If you find it hard to make vadas using your hands, try using a Ziploc bag or a sheet of plastic. Wet it, place the batter on it and make the vada. Then lift it off the plastic sheet and fry. Remember to wet the surface from time to time or the batter will stick. Serve hot with coconut chutney. This vada goes well with ven pongal or idlis.

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