Karuppu Kondakadalai Sundal / Black Channa Sundal | Festival Recipes

I am making some kind of sundal for our evenings these days. A bowl of warm sundal with a cup of hot cardamom tea is becoming a perfect tea-time for the dipping temperatures here. Moreover amma has asked me to give some boiled legumes to the kid on a daily basis and so its becoming a regular atleast for his sake. I already have a healthy collection of sundal recipes in the blog and found it to be missing this basic kondakadalai sundal.

Amma says that the black version of the chickpeas are best when compared to the white version and so I usually make this sundal. This is a diabetic friendly dish and if you are giving it to elders then ignore the tempering and just stick to plain boiled chickpeas. Makes it all the more healthy. But if its for the kids, the tempering is necessary as it adds flavor.

~*What U Need*~ Karuppu Kondakadalai / Black Channa - 1 cup Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp Salt - as needed To Temper: Oil - 1 tsp Mustard - 3/4 tsp Red chilli - 2 Asafoetida - 1 pinch Curry leaves - 1 sprig How I Made it: Soak channa overnight and pressure cook it with salt and water for 4 whistles or till soft. Drain water and set aside. Heat oil in a kadai and temper with mustard, red chilli, hing and curry leaves. Add the grated coconut and fry till lightly browned. Add the cooked channa and stir fry till dry. Transfer to serving bowl.

Serve hot!!! Healthy guilt free snack ready.

So thats it Folks...
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(Amma Cooks) White Channa Sundal | Kondakadalai Sundal | Vinayagar Chathurthi Recipes

When I moved to the U.S. one thing that I missed other than family, relatives and native food, was my amma's food. I miss her biryani, her nei choru, her nilgris chops and everything cooked by her. I miss her a lot. Its not that I don't like this place, I do like it, its neat, its lavish and moreover it completes my dream. But end of the day when you sit back, you don't have anyone around to have some coffee talk. A steaming hot cup of coffee, some murukku, 7.30 serial in Sun TV with your family is what I am talking about. I deeply miss it.

I was so disappointed on thinking that I would have to stop the Amma Cooks series which has been going on for a while in my blog. But thanks to my amma, I asked her to send me the clicks of the dishes that she makes so that I can get them published here and she wholeheartedly obliged. So you are gonna see some easy and yummy recipes from her. There is not gonna be any pictures with greatly styled food(...okay mine are not great too), just a single image that was taken using a P&S, but its "hers"... So lets start off with a simple sundal recipe for Vinayagar Chathurthi...

~*What U Need*~ White Channa/Kondakadalai - 1/2 cup Coconut - 2 tbsp Salt - to taste To temper: Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Urad dal - 1/4 tsp Red Chillies - 2 Curry leaves - few How I Made it: Soak channa overnight and pressure cook until soft (4-5 whistles). Heat oil in a pan, and temper with mustard seeds, urad dhal, red chilli and curry leaves. Add a dash of hing powder. Add the cooked channa and mix well. Add coconut, stir well and remove from flame. Serve warm!!!

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Day 10#: Kaaramani Idli Podi Sundal / Vijayadashami & Dussehra Wishes

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!!!

So thats it Folks...
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Day 9#: Pachaipayaru Inji Sundal | Navarathiri Recipes & Saraswathi Pooja Wishes

Happy Saraswathi pooja and Ayudha pooja wishes to all my dear readers. Hope you had a great day today. Its been a long and hectic day for me with all the cleaning and wiping. And when done with that I had to prep up for the evening pooja... Whew... I actually wanted to postpone this post to tomorrow but then the lil one started his night early and I had some 'me'-time and the huss was away from the PC and so I sat to frame the post.

I made Sarkarai Pongal and Pachaipayaru sundal for neivedhiyam today. Both easy to make recipes and that is what I wanted after all the work done today. Some easy-peesy dishes that will not take too much time in the kitchen. I already have a sarkarai pongal recipe in my space but that uses a pongal pot. So I decided to put up one which can be made in 30 mins and which uses a pressure cooker. Off to the recipes.

~*What U Need*~ Raw rice / Pacharisi - 1 cup Moong dhal - 3 tbsp Thinly sliced and cut Coconut - 2 tbsp Jaggery - 3/4 cup Water - 2 tbsp + 1/4 cup Broken Cashews & Raisins - a handful Ghee - 3 tbsp Cardamom powder - a generous pinch

How I made it:
Soak rice and moong dhal in water for 1 hour. Add 2 tbsp water to jaggery and boil till the jaggery melts. Strain to remove impurities.

Pressure cook rice and moong dhal with 1/4 cup of water for 3 whistles till soft and mushy. Add jaggery syrup and mix well. If required add some more water and bring it to porridge consistency.

Meanwhile, heat ghee, fry the cashews and raisins till golden brown and puffy. Also fry the coconut till light brown.

When the mixture starts to boils again, add the ghee, cashews, raisins, coconut, elaichi powder and give it a stir. Serve hot!

~*What U Need*~ Green gram - 1/2 cup Grated Fresh Coconut - 2 tbsp Grated ginger - 1 tsp Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp Urad Dal - 1/4 tsp Dried Red Chillies - 1-2 Curry Leaves - 1 sprig Turmeric powder - a pinch Hing - a small pinch Salt, Oil

How I Made it:
Soak the green gram for 2 to 3 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, ginger and hing and fry for a few seconds.

Now add the cooked green gram and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the grated fresh coconut and salt to it and mix well. Remove from flame. Serve hot!!!

So thats it Folks...
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Day 8#: Sweet Corn Sundal With Coriander & Lemon | Navarathiri Recipes

For day 8 of Navarathiri, I made this simple sweet corn sundal or rather a simple chaat. Its no sundal cos it involves no tempering. But you can also go ahead and use sweet corn to make sundal just like the other sundal recipes ~ tempering with mustard seeds, red chilli and curry leaves and finally adding in grated coconut. But to me, I could never pair sweet corn with anything else let alone coconut. So doubtful of the flavor combination, I boiled the sweet corn kernels and flavored it to my taste buds. I made pachaipayaru sundal the traditional way as a backup as I was not sure if this could be used for neivedhiyam.

~*What U Need*~ Sweet corn kernels - 1 cup Pepper - 1/4 tsp Salt - to taste Lemon Juice - 1/2 tbsp Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp, chopped

How I Made it:
Pressure cook the sweet corn for 3 whistles. Drain and mix with the other ingredients.

Serve hot/cold.

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Day 7#: Masala Channa Sundal / Masala Kondakadalai Sundal | Navarathiri Recipes

For day 7, I made this masala channa sundal for neivedhiyam. I had seen this in Sharmi's blog and had bookmarked it immediately. Adding the homemade spice powder gives a unique taste when compared to the regular tempered sundals that I make. You can add the spice powder for any type of sundal varieties but I think it goes best with channa sundal. Again this also makes an easy stir fry which could be used as a side dish or could be packed off for lunchboxes.

~*What U Need*~ Kondakadalai/Chickpeas - 3/4 cup Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp Oil - 1 tsp Salt - to taste To roast and grind: Urad Dhal - 1 tsp Channa Dal - 1/2 tsp Red Chilli - 1 To temper: Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad Dhal - 1/2 tsp Red Chilli - 1 Curry Leaves - 1 sprig Hing - a pinch

How I made it:
Dry roast the ingredients given under 'roast and grind' and grind it to a coarse powder. Set aside.

Soak channa in water overnight. Pressure cook for 3 whistles till soft. Drain and set aside. In a pan, heat oil add mustard seeds, urad dhal allow it to crackle. Add hing, curry leaves and split red chilli and saute.

Add the cooked channa and mix well. Add the dry roasted powder, coconut and salt and mix well. Cook for 1 min and remove from flame.

Serve hot as evening snack!!!

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Day 6#: Kaaramani Inippu Sundal / Sweet Cow Gram Sundal | Navarathiri Recipes

For day 6 of Navarathiri I made this kaaramani inippu sundal for neivedhiyam. Making different types of sundal for all the nine days of Navarathiri is so interesting and I am planning to continue this habit. That way I would have the satisfaction that I am including one dhal or pulse in our everyday diet.
Cow gram a.k.a black eyed peas a.k.a kaaramani has high fibre content and helps to alleviate constipation and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. These simple bean variety is a low-fat and low-calorie food. They are also protein and iron-rich. With so much benefits, there is nothing wrong in including this in your daily-diet. A handful of cow gram boiled with some salt can make wonders to your health.

~*What U Need*~ Cow gram / Kaaramani – 1/2 cup Salt – A pinch Jaggery – 1/4 cup Water – 2-3 tbsp Grated coconut – 3 tbsp Cardamom powder – a pinch(optional)

How I Made it:
Soak the cow gram in water overnight. Drain and pressure cook with water for 2 whistles. Drain and set aside. Take the powdered jaggery in a pan, cover with little water and make a syrup. After the jaggery has melted, strain it to remove the impurities. Heat again till it becomes frothy and thick. Remove from flame and add the cardamom powder. I skipped it.

Add the cooked kaaramani and mix gently to avoid turning mushy. Add the grated coconut and mix well. Cool completely.

Serve as snack.

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Day 5#: Channa Dhal Sundal / Kadalaparuppu Sundal | Navarathiri recipes

Its day 5 of Navarathiri and today I made this simple channa dhal sundal for the pooja. I am simply loving making all these sundal varieties as a)it fills up my blogging space b)we have a healthy snack for tea-time and c)its so easy to make and hardly takes anytime in the kitchen.

Its raining cats and dogs here in Chennai and its a perfect climate to coze up in the couch with a steaming cup of tea (read hot-chocolate if you are my kind) and some hot hot bajjiyas. The climate is making me soooooo lazy that I hardly enter the kitchen to cook, much to the huss's wrath and all I make is dosas and coconut chutney for our dinner. A large jar of Thakkali thokku residing in the fridge saves us when I am in an utterly dormant state. (...the huss is forced into the kitchen to make dosas). Ok, that being said, these sundal varieties have become life savers for me as I am able to skip entering the kitchen staying long the kitchen.

Coming to this sundal, it has a story behind its birth in my kitchen. Actually today morning, I didn't soak any lentils or pulses or dhal to prepare sundal as I had settled for making sweet corn sundal with a thought that I had a pack of corn kernels in my fridge. Only when I was rampaging through the fridge in search of it did I realise that I had used up the corn by making a salad for my previous day lunch. Without second thoughts, I set about soaking the channa dhal for one hour and the sundal was made in half an hour's time. So this makes an easy to make snack even if you do not have too much time.

~*What U Need*~ Channa Dal - 1/2 cup Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp Ginger - 1/2 tsp Salt, Oil To temper: Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad dal - 1/4 tsp Curry leaves - 1 sprig Red chillies - 2 Hing - a generous pinch

How I Made it:
Soak channa dal in water for an hour. Pressure cook with enough water for 1 whistle. Allow the pressure to leave by its own. The dhal should be soft but not mushy. Drain and set aside. In a pan heat oil, add mustard seeds, urad dhal. Allow to brown. Add hing, curry leaves and split red chillies and fry for a minute. Add ginger and saute.

Add the cooked chana dal and salt. Mix well until its combined. Add coconut, give a quick stir and switch off.

Serve hot!!!

** My Notes:
** Adding ginger and hing helps to avoid gastric problems. So donot avoid it.

So thats it Folks...
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