Poha Chiwda | Aval Chivda | Easy Snack Recipes | Diwali Snacks

Poha Chivda or Poha Chivda is nothing but an Indian version of hot and sweet trial mix. It makes for a perfect tea time snack and the mild spiciness and the just right sweetness makes it a perfect pairing for your coffee or tea. You may share it with your partner over your tea table or if you are like me, put the kid to sleep, pull out your favorite cooking book and snuggle onto your couch with your personal cup of black tea and personal plate of chivda. I however prefer the latter.

I made this sometime back just before Diwali when I had little above half a cup of red poha and out of ideas on what to make with it. A phone call to the mother came to rescue and I got into business once the kid was up and playing on his own (which seldom happens). BTW, he is a BIG-TIME attention seeker and can never be by himself and his mom has to be his playmate 24/7. But that is what makes me happy these days. Watching him play, watching him grow, watching him do anything ~ I just can't get enough of it.

Prep Time: 10 mins; Cooking time: 20 mins; Serves - 2 ~*What U Need*~ Poha/Aval - 3/4 cup Peanuts - 1/4 cup Roasted chana dhal - 1/4 cup Cashews - 1/4 cps Black raisins - 2 tbsp Curry leaves - 1 sprig Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Hing - 1/8 tsp Brown sugar - 1/2 tbsp Salt - to tast Oil for deep frying How I Made it: Measure all your ingredients and set aside. Heat oil in a kadai. When it is hot, add the poha and fry it. It should become crisp and will start floating in the oil. Drain and place in a kitchen towel. Similarly fry the peanuts, cashews, raisins, dhal and curry leaves and drain excess oil. Once it is warm to touch, take a large bowl, add all the fried items sprinkle hing, red chilli powder, salt and brown sugar and mix gently till evenly coated. Cool completely and store in an air tight container.

Serve as a tea time snack.

** My Notes:
** The oil should be very hot. When you drop the poha, it should fry and immediately come up.
** I used the red variety poha but you can use whatever you like.

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(Amma Cooks) Sweetened Aval Pori Mix | Easy Festival Recipes

With everyone getting geared up to celebrate Vinayagar Chathurthi (people in the other side of the world would have finished your celebrations but here we have just started with it), we (me and amma) thought that we could share some easy neivedhiyam recipes here. The first one was the kondakadalai sundal which is easy to make, diabetic friendly and a must for Vinayagar Chathurthi neivedhiyam. Next is this, a simple mix of aval, pori, vellam and kadalai just like a trial mix. All you need to do is measure, mix and serve. As simple as that. Its diabetic friendly too as you are not using sugar here and makes a simple tea time snack. I love this a lot and amma makes it a point to make this for every festival, not only for vinayagar chathurthi.

~*What U Need*~ Aval/Poha - 1 cup Roasted Channa dhal - 1/4 cup Pori - 1 cup Grated Jaggery - 1/2 cup Cardamom powder - a pinch How I Made it: Mix everything with a spoon. Flavor with cardamom powder.

Serve as neivedhiyam!!!

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Aval Payasam | Gokulashtami Recipes | Festival Recipes

Aval a.k.a poha payasam is part of the neivedhiyam kept for Lord Krishna on Gokulashtami. Before marriage amma used to make a simple sweet with poha, roasted gram and jaggery and that is what we kept for neivedhiyam alongside some butter. Amma has never made seedais till date and we have never asked for it. Thanks to all the maamis who lived near us, we had a non-stop supply of sweet and salt seedais for every gokulashtami and so amma never bothered making some.

Coming to this recipe, this payasam is so simple to make, thick, creamy and just right for that sweet cravings. I had the organic red rice beaten poha in hand and so used that but the thin white variety also works just fine. In fact amma tells that the thin variety suits best for this payasam. Also to make the payasam more creamy skip the sugar and replace it with sweetened condensed milk. If you are a health freak, then you can replace the sugar with jaggery or palm jaggery. I will be trying both ways and will update the blog once done.

~*What U Need*~ Aval / Red rice poha - 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Sugar - 4 tbsp Milk - 2 cups Ghee - 1+1 tbsp Cardamom powder - a pinch Cashews - 4-5 Raisins - 10 How I Made it: Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a kadai, add the poha and fry till golden brown. Remove and set aside. In the same kadai, add another tbsp of ghee and fry the cashews and raisins, remove and set aside. Add milk and cook till reduced to 3/4th. Then add the poha and cook till reduced to half. Add sugar and cook for 3-5 mins. Add cardamom powder. Remove from flame and add the cashews and raisins.

Serve warm or cold!!!

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Poha Laddoos / Aval Laddoos | Diwali Sweet Recipes | Poha Recipes

Here comes another simple laddoo recipe out of my Diwali gift hampers that I sent out to friends and family. Unlike the dates choco laddoo that I made, these are not diabetic friendly. Its laden with ghee and has added sweeteners. I have used jaggery here but those not in favor of jaggery can use sugar but I feel jaggery gives a unique sweetness to the laddoo with compliments the ghee flavor beautifully. That being said, this is a good way to add beaten rice, jaggery and ghee to ur kids diet, all three when taken minimally has its own benefits.

We love to have this poha cereal for our morning breakfast. It has all the goodness in it and when you top it with nuts and bananas you get all the required proteins that your body needs. I usually use the thin variety of beaten rice to make this as when soaked in milk it becomes soft easily. This time when the huss was sent for grocery shopping, he came back with a 1 kg packet of the thick variety and worst of all he was not ready to go back to exchange it. And so the poha was lying in my pantry unused. When I was banging my head on how to put it into use, I thought of trying this simple laddoos. I used ghee to bind the laddoos and so the huss was happy to eat them.
P.S. I made this for Diwali but this can be made for Karthigai Deepam also.

~*What U Need*~ Aval(thick variety) - 1 cup Jaggery - 1/2 cup Ghee - 1/4 cup Cardamom powder - a big pinch

How I made it:
Dry roast the poha till you get a nice aroma. Blend the poha till you get a coarse powder. Add jaggery, 1/2 of the ghee and cardamom powder and give it a whiz just to blend and bring it together.

Tip into a mixing bowl, add the remaining ghee little by little and mix well. Form lemon sized balls out of this.

Healthy kid friendly laddoos.

** My Notes:
** The jaggery itself gives some binding so adjust ghee as needed.
** You can replace the cardamom powder with 2 cardamom pods.
** Thick variety aval suits best for this as you get a crunchiness for it.

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Poha & Groundnut Laddoo / Aval Verkadalai Urundai | Poha Recipes

Poha a.k.a flattened rice is one of my favorite breakfast. A cereal or upma with a simple tadka ~ it makes a healthy breakfast option.
The beaten rice that the huss purchased this time from the market was of the thicker variety which I find not ideal for the above said recipes. It was lying untouched in the pantry and I didn't want to waste it. So come up with this easy laddoo variety. The laddoo vanished the same day itself ~ thanks to the huss who loved it (that goes without any doubt 'cos I could find him sneaking around the kitchen to pop one into his mouth whenever he felt hungry).

I have added ghee to bind the laddoo together. I would recommend you to do the same. A few tsps of ghee are essential for the body. But if you are so calorie conscious then increase the jaggery cos that makes the mixture sticky and will help in forming laddoos.

~*What U Need*~ Aval(thick variety) - 1 cup White sesame seeds - 1/4 cup Roasted groundnut - 1/2 cup Jaggery - 1/2 cup Ghee - 2-3 tbsps Cardamom powder - a big pinch

How I made it:
Dry roast the poha till you get a nice aroma. Dry roast the groundnuts for 1 or 2 mins. You can remove the skin from the groundnuts but if you are lazy like me you will leave it as such. Dry roast the sesame seeds and set aside. Blend the groundnuts and poha till you get a coarse powder.

Add jaggery, ghee and cardamom powder and give it a whiz just to blend and bring it together.

Tip into a mixing bowl, add the sesame seeds and mix well. Form lemon sized balls out of this.

Healthy kid friendly laddoos. How I love making easy to make and simple to put laddoos like these!!!

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Maa Laddoo / Roasted gram/Pottukadalai laddoo | Gokulashtami Recipes

Maa laddoo stands second inline among my favorite laddoo varieties. First is the ever green rava laddoo... or do I like Maaladdoo the most??? I don't want to be partial here. Both are my favorites.
Believe me, I hate bhoondhi laddoo. Don't look at me like that. I have already got cold stares from near and dear for the same reason. However I like the Mothi laddoo that we get at Adyar ananda bhavan or the ones from Thirumala. Who wouldn't...

Powdered roasted gram sweetened with sugar and bound by ghee...

I still remember the first time I made this laddoo. I was as stingy as I could be with the amount of ghee and the result was that the laddoo crumbled to the slightest touch.. shall I be precise and tell feather touch here???
So this time when I decided to make these, the first promise that I made to myself was "Just add the amount of ghee that the recipe calls for". With closed eyes, I did it and I am really happy with what I did. The aroma that filled the house was heavenly and the laddoo just melted in the mouth. After this experiment, I have come to one strong decision.. "Add in what the recipe calls for and if calorie laden, restrict to a bite or two"... Ahhhh doesn't this principle sound great...

Makes - 8 medium sized laddoos ~*What U Need*~ Roasted gram/Pottukadalai - 3/4 cup Sugar - 1/4 cup Ghee - 1/4 cup Cardamom powder - a big pinch Cashews - 1 tbsp, broken Raisins - 1 tbsp

How I made it:
Dry roast the gram for 1-2 mins and grind to a fine powder. In the same mixie, add sugar and cardamom powder and grind to fine powder. Set aside.

In a non stick pan, heat ghee, fry the cashew pieces till brown and raisins till puffed up. Add the roasted gram powder and roast for another 2 minutes. The mixture will start clumping up but keep stirring. Remove pan from heat.

Add the powdered sugar to the mixture and mix till combined. The heat from the ghee will melt the powdered sugar a bit enabling you to form balls. Form small-medium sized balls. Do this when the mixture is warm.

Ghee laden yummy laddoos ready!!! Pop one into ur mouth whenever you cross the dabba...

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Rice kheer / Arisi Payasam | Gokulashtami Recipes

Rice kheer or phirni is a popular Indian festive sweet... It take many forms across the country and each state has it own way of making it. It is very rich and is usually served as an after-meal dessert or as an offering to God on special occasions or festivals. It is made by stewing ground rice in milk till cooked and thickened. The outcome is a rich, delicious and creamy dessert. You can add any flavors like mango pulp, saffron, badam paste or rose syrup but what I have here is the basic recipe with no added flavorings .

Rice kernels cooked in milk, reduced and sweetened with condensed milk

I generally make semiya payasam for any festivals or occasions but then for this Gokulashtami wanted to make something different and special at the same time easy to prepare. I stumbled upon this recipe at Rak's kitchen. I made my own changes to the recipe and hence I can say that this is minimally adapted from her blog with added elements from my side. She calls for pressure cooker method but I simply boiled till the rice cooked. Also I didn't have basmati rice at hand and hence I replaced it with raw rice. Am not sure of the taste differences that this alteration will make as I haven't tried the kheer with basmati.

The payasam was not overly sweet and had a creamy texture. My MIL for whom I sent a cup of the payasam, called me up and praised me on how delicious the kheer was ~ an act she doesn't do easily and a praise that I have got for the first time in all three years of marriage. :)

~*What U Need*~ Milk - 3 cups Raw rice - 2 tbsp Ghee - 1 tbsp Cashews - 1 tbsp, broken Raisins - 1 tbsp, broken Condensed milk - 1/4 cup Cardamom powder - a big pinch Pachai karpooram - a pinch Grated coconut - 1 tbsp

How I Made it:
Heat ghee in a pan, roast the cashew and raisins and set aside. In the same pan, roast rice and break it into a corase powder by giving few pulses in the mixie.

Heat ghee, roast the coconut. Now add in the milk and bring to boil. Add the powdered rice kernels and cook till soft. By the time the rice cooks, the mixture would have reduced by quantity.

Once done, add the condensed milk and mix well. You will get a thick consistency. Add the cardamom powder and pachai karpooram and mix well.

Serve warm or chilled!!!

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Peanut-Sesame Laddoos

I once came across the quote “No man in the world has more courage than the man who can stop after eating one peanut.” ~Channing Pollock and thats true in my case. I love peanuts. Roast 'em, salt 'em, boil 'em, season 'em / eat 'em raw they exhibit unique flavors each time (they stand second to potatoes). I love having salted and toasted peanuts as a munch-on. Sometimes I just boil them with some salt and enjoy it as such. Ever since I became a "woman", mom has made it a point that I have kadala urundai ( aka peanut jaggery laddoos), one every day. A handful of peanuts with a piece of jaggery is such a storehouse of proteins/nutrients, she says. But she never allows me to take more than one. I love 'em whole-heartedly that you can find me sneaking into the kitchen to grab a ball and she standing behind my back. Oh god I don't understand how moms sense every step of ours. Thats what the pure soul was created for, right?

This recipe is an extended version of my mom's kadala urundais. I added some toasted sesame seeds & ghee & cashews & dried grapes to give the dish a richness and crunchiness. Expecting mothers please ignore sesame seeds… But you can make the peanut laddoos and have one daily – a rich source of protein and other nutrients

~*What U Need*~
Raw Peanuts – 1 cup
White Sesame Seeds – ¼ cup
Ghee – 2 tbsp
Broken Cashew + dried grapes – 10 each
Jaggery – ¾ cup

How I made it:
Dry roast the peanuts till toasted nicely and crunchy. Repeat the same with the sesame seeds till evenly brown. Roast the cashews and dry grapes in ghee till the cashews turn brown and the grapes puff up. Set aside.
Break the jaggery roughly. Remove the skin off the peanuts.
Now add the peanuts and jaggery into a blender / mixie and coarse grind to the consistency you need. This totally depends on you, u cam make it into a fine powder or with medium/large granules. Once done, tip the mixture on to a plate, add the ghee + cashews + dry grapes and toasted sesame to this, mix well and then form laddoos.

A perfect blend of healthy sweetness & crunchiness. A yummy snack that can be popped into ur mouth on your each visit to the kitchen.

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Ragi Vermicelli Payasam

I had quarter of this packet of ragi semiya lying around my pantry for days together. When I made uppma out of 3/4th of the packet and I got not-so-good-kinda comments from Mr.A I was not interested to buy another packet of it. Left with ¼ packet which cannot be transformed into a dinner/breakfast for 2, I had no other option but to discard it with closed eyes. But then I didn’t have the heart to waste something healthy and useful and hence it remained safe in my pantry.

I was talking to A some days back about the soaring gold rates, some random talks, me asking for a gold ring and finally getting deviated to me not getting a bike for A. I don’t understand till date how if I ask him something always ends up with me not getting him anything (… and that ranges from an Optimus Prime Autobot action figure to a Yamaha Rz/ZZ/??* Bike) *refers to all the bike models coming up everyday and which is Greek and Latin to me.

Coming back to the conversation, though I was demanding something from him, my backend was processing all the leftovers in my pantry that had to be turned edible. Single Broccoli floret and iceberg lettuce gosh I have salad idea for dinner, 1 pomegranate – needs to be made into a refreshing chiller / or can I just make Oh god I just hate popping out the pom seeds, let that be where it is. Oh dear I still have that semiya packet. I hate converting left overs into dishes. You don’t have enough to make a dish out of it. That was when it struck, why not make a paayasam out of the semiya substituting the normal ones with the ragi semiya. Atlast I get to have my favorite paayasam and I use up the semiya packet… I got the thought say 2 weeks back, but then I postponed it so that I could make the dish for Gokulashtami and here is how I made it…

~*What U Need*~
Ragi Semiya – ½ cup
Water – 1 ½ cups
Milk – 1 cup
Thin coconut milk – 1 cup
Thick coconut milk – 1 cup
Sago pearls – ¼ cup
Cashew + dried grapes – 10 each
Sugar – 1 cup
Ghee – 2 tbsp

How I Made it:
Boil water and add in sago pearls. Allow to cook till the sago pearls turn completely glass with no hint of white. Next add in the thin milk of coconut and milk and allow to boil
Add in the ragi semiya and boil till the semiya is half done. Add the sugar and mix well and boil till the sugar melts in. Verify taste and if needed add sugar to taste. I didn’t do a taste check as I had to keep this pooja but 1 glass sugar was sufficient for the quantity mentioned above.
When the sugar has melted add first/thick milk of coconut, heat for 5 seconds and switch off the stove.
Roast the cashews and dry garpes in ghee till the cashews turn brown and the grapes puff up. Add this along with the ghee into the payasam and give it a stir.

Delicious and creamy ragi payasam ready!!! The flavor of raagi in paayasam was different to the regular ones but the dish was worth the effort.

My note:
After adding first milk of coconut, do not boil the payasam or it will curdle.
If the payasam become thick, either add hot milk or water with some sugar added.

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