Venn Pongal

(Recipe courtesy: Mrs. Santha Sriraghavan) (serving 2 persons) INGREDIENTS 1. Raw rice: quantity – 1 big tumbler 2. moong dhal (green gram): 1 ladle 3. Pepper: 1/2 spoon 4. Jeeragam/fenugreek: 1/2 spoon 5. Ginger: 1 piece 6. Cashew nut: 4 nos. 7. Ghee: 1 ladle 8. Salt: 1/2 spoon 9. asafoetida powde (little) PREPARATION METHOD: 1. Mix rice, (necessary amount) salt & dhal. Add 1 & 1/2 tumbler

(the same tumbler with which you had measured rice) of water to it & keep in cooker.>
2. Put ghee in frying pan. Add pepper, cashew nut (add cashew nut at the last when 
you are frying), asafoetida powder & jeeragam/fenugreek to it & fry it for sometime.
Add this to the rice mixture that was cooked in cooker. And there you are ready to 
gulp the tasty pongal!

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Iyengar Puliyodarai

by TRS Iyengar

Ingredients: (This serves for 8 persons approx.)
Tamarind 100 gms
Red chills  20 gms
Bengal gram (Chana Del/Kadalai paruppu) 25 gms
Black Gram (uLutham paruppu) 15 grms
Mustard seeds (kadugu) 1 tea spoon
Asafeodita ) Hing, 5 gms 

Salt to your taste
Turmeric Powder (Haldi powder/manjal podi) 1tea spoon
Gingly oil (Til oil – Nallennai)  200gms
Coriander seeds (Dhania) 1 tb spoon
Jeerakam 1/2 tea spoon
Fenugreek seeds (Vendayam) 1/2 tea spoon

Ground nuts & or Cashew – 50 grams (if both used, then 25 grams each)
curry leaves – 2 bunch

Preparation Method:

Soak Tamarind in small quantity of water for an hour or so. Make out the tamarind into thick pulp level. Keep aside. Fry the Fenugreek seeds separately into golden color, without oil and make it as nice powder; keep this too to add in the last.

Now, fry the Chilies, Grams,  groundnuts, in pure gingili oil to golden color, then add the turmeric powder &  mustard seeds at last. Once you got these into golden color, now add the tamarind pulp and stir well in minimum heating. Now add the curry leaves, Asafeodita (Hing – perungayam) and salt. once you get it like a paste or creamy shape, (the more it is solid, the less you can use it for mix in rice),  take it out of stove and let it cool. Add the Fenugreek powder at the last and mix it well. By now, you got the the aroma of Iyengar Puliyodarai, a mouth watering smell floats around the kitchen/home!

Now, you got the best of best Iyengar Puliyodarai (Pulihora) or Puliyodharai that is prepared and served in most of the Srivaishnavites’ Temple and functions.

Note:This should be prepared only in gingili oil.  First, pour 1 tablespoon full of gingili oil in the cooked rice; then mix the above preparation of Puliyadari Mix and spread it evenly; Now, Fried and powdered Fenugreek may be added after mixing the preparation in rice to get added aroma. Shelf life for 15 days. (You can even add the powder of fried ground nuts over the rice to get more tastier smell!)

Warning: This cooked Item contain highest cholesterol proposition, hence persons with high cholesterol level to avoid eating this too much.

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Traditional Iyengar Dahiannam Recipe – (Dodyonam aka Dahi Bath)

How to Prepare Iyengar Dahi annam known as Curd rice?

by TRS Iyengar

Rice: 200 gms

Green or Red Chillies: 4 – cut into pieces

Black gram: one Teaspoon heap (Ulutham paruppu in Tamil, Urid Dal in Hindhi)

Bengal gram: two teaspoon heap (Kadalai Paruppu in Tamil, Chana Dal in Hindhi)

Curry Leaves: about 20 leaves (Kariveppilai in Tamil, curry patha in Hindhi)

Mustard seeds: Half teaspoon (Kadugu in Tamil, Rai in Hindhi)

Asafoetida: one pinch (Perungayam in Tamil, Hing in Hindi)

Gingili oil: One table spoon

Salt: to taste

Milk: 100 ml

Curd: 200 gms

Ginger: one piece – only if one likes (At times, during seasons, the route of Mango-ginger known as “Maa-Inji, is available. If this mango taste ginger is cut into smaller pieces and mixed into the cooked rice then the taste would be very rich with a fine flavour and aroma!)

First, fry in gingili oil the black gram & Bengal gram to golden color; now add the chili pieces, mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafetida.  while hot, immediately pour these fried items to the curd and add salt. Now you’ll get the fine aroma of Iyengar Dodyonam aka Dahi bath! Leave this for few minutes and then mix into the cooked rice. The rice absorbs it and becomes somewhat tight. Now add the boiled milk and mix it together. You got the tasty Iyengar Dahi annam (Curd Rice) as prepared in the Srivaishnava Temples. This menu serves for four persons.

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Milagu Orai (Peper bath)

Ingredients:

1. Cooked Rice  – 5 Cups

2. Peper (Milagu) – 3 Tea spoon

3. Red Chillie  – 2 Nos

4. Bengal Gram (Channa Dhal – Kadalai Paruppu) – 1 Tea spoon

5. Black Gram (Udid Dhal – Ulutham Paruppu) – ½ Tea spoon

6. Asfoetida powder (Perungaayam) – a pint – just little

7. Musturd  (Kadugu) – ¼ spoon

8. Seasame (gingli) oil – 2 spoon 

Method of cooking:

Pour two teaspoon of seasame oil (Gingili oil – NalleNNai) in a pan and heat with low flame. 

After few minutes of heating, put red chillies, Chanadal, Udid dhal and fry till it gets golden colour and now add the pepper into the pan and fry it.

Grind these but not so nice powder and it should be some what rough and to the size of Rawa. 

Mix this powder with cooked rice.  

Fry mustard and asfoetida powder with little oil for 3 seconds and mix this also with that rice.

Now delicious  Milagu Orai is  ready for serving during rainy season.

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More menus to appear soon