My Culinary Trial Room

Happy Vijaydashami and Dussehra wishes to all my dear readers. I know I am late in wishing but I wanted to, never mind the time. So again hearty wishes.
Today ends the maha~navratri festival and with due respect and prayers we pray to Durga maatha to bring us prosperity and happiness. Wanted to end the vrat with a sweet note and so made this delicious pineapple rava kesari and black-eyed peas sundal for neivedhiyam. I had some pineapple essence in my pantry so used that to flavor the kesari but you can use crushed pineapple pieces too. Also I was out of sugar and cashews, so used what I had in hand ~ only half cup of sugar while the recipe called for 1 cup but the sweetness was okay for us. Feel free to use one cup if you are a sweet-tooth. Also I replaced the cashews with almond and pistas since that was what I found in my pantry.

~*What U Need*~
Sooji / Semolina / Rava – ½ cup
Sugar – 1/2 cup
Water – 1 ½ cups
Food color – a pinch
Ghee – 3 tsps
Chopped almonds, pista - 5 each
Pineapple essence - 1/4 tsp
Dried grapes - 5

How I Made it:
Dry roast the semolina till golden brown and u get a nice aroma. Boil 1 ½ cups of water till you see bubbles coming up. Add in the semolina and keep stirring till the water is absorbed, say 3-4 mins.

Add the sugar and mix well. When the sugar has melted and combined well, add the food color, pineapple essence and the ghee. Stir well till the mixture comes off the pan. Remove from flame.

Fry the almonds, pista and dry grapes in ghee, add this to the kesari and combine well. Grease a plate with ghee, drop the mixture onto this and smooth out. Once cooled, cut into slices. Serve!!!

Kaaramani idlipodi sundal ~ After adding ginger to my previous sundal, I wanted to add flavor to my next try and hence tipped in some idli podi which I had in hand and bang, the sundal was yummy and different from the regular ones.

Adapted from Priyasfeast
~*What U Need*~
Kaaramani/Cow gram - 1/2 cup
Grated Fresh Coconut - 2 tbsp
Idli podi - 2 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Urad Dal - 1/4 tsp
Dried Red Chillies - 1-2
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Hing - a small pinch
Salt, Oil

How I Made it:
Soak kaaramani for 4 hours. Rinse and drain. Pressure cook for 2 whistles till soft. Drain and set aside. Heat 1 tsp oil in pan. Add the mustard seeds, urad dal and let them splutter. Add the broken red chillies, curry leaves and hing and fry for a few seconds.

Now add the cooked cow gram and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the idli podi and mix well. Next goes in the grated fresh coconut and salt. Mix well. Remove from flame. Serve hot!!!