Onion + Cashew Pakoda and a Vegetable Pakor(d)a

        I never knew Onion Pakoda can be made at home, until I got married. I watched with eager one evening, when everyone were preparing to make pakoda, cutting and chopping a large number of onions and green chillies, which were mixed and kneaded in a wide bowl, for a large family of about a dozen members, under the careful instructions of my father in law. When not done right, he didn't hesitate to get his hands in and did the kneading himself till he was satisfied and without doubt, those pakodas were the best. He was the one who coined the phrase 'pepper sized tamarind' ( milagu alavu puli) to be added, when making his favourite coconut chutney, also mentioning the precise amount of other ingredients that goes into the chutney, which I don’t remember ‘but' for that nailing phrase. I still remember my first class on home made pakoda and the happy moments so vividly and yes, I still follow that 'pepper sized tamarind' every time I make coconut chutney.

        Back home, when the weather was cold or if my mother was too lazy or sick, pakoda and rasam rice will be the menu, be it for lunch or dinner, we still loved it. Hot peppery rasam, onion pakoda, coconut thuvaiyal, with rice on a rainy day is an unbeatable combo for a satisfying meal. Pakoda is the perfect savoury that matches this wintry evening and make sure to have a cup of  hot tea, you will definitely need that to drown that spicy pakoda, especially if you bite into a chilly. Do not make it in a hurry, enjoy making it like a therapy, in a relaxed mood, with the music on and if it’s drizzling, just roll up your sleeves and feel the rain drops sprinkle in your warm hands, let the cold wind blow in your hair, blend in with the weather before you cook, food will never disappoint the creator.

Onion Pakoda
Onion                               2 medium size (sliced)
Bengal gram flour          1 cup
Rice flour                        1/8 cup
Hot oil                             1 1/2 tbsp
Green chillies                  2 ( chopped)
Ginger                              2 tsp  (finely chopped)
Fennel                              1/2 tsp
Curry leaves                    10
Coriander leaves             2 tsp (finley chopped)
Cashew                             25
Asafoetida powder         a pinch
Salt

Method
Mix bengal gram flour and the rice flour, to this add the asafoetida powder,  sliced onions, chopped green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, salt, fennel, coriander leaves and start kneading it using hand.
Do not add water at any stage,( my father in law was very particular about that) this will be a little frustrating but believe me it gives a wonderful result.
The water from the onions that is released while kneading is enough to bind everything together.
when it begins to come together, add the hot oil and knead again until it is sticky.
Add in the cashews.
Pinch a small amount of the mixture and drop in hot oil on medium heat and fry till golden brown.

Note:
Do not try to make a ball or press the mixture, this will result in a lumpy pakoda.
If the onions are not sticking to the batter, then knead again until it sticks. But, try not to overdo, as it will water down the batter and the pakoda will not be crispy.

Vegetable Pakoda
This can be called as a vegetable bajji or pakora as it is called in north india. The same batter can be modified to make our version of pakoda, but two different tastes. Both the versions are good when served hot.

Ingredients for Bajji
Bengal gram flour           100g
Rice flour                         1tbsp
Flour (Maida)                  1 tbsp
Carrot                               100g
Beans                                100g
Chilli powder                   1 tsp
Turmeric powder             a small pinch
Curryleaves                      few
Coriander leaves              1 tbsp (chopped finely)
Salt

Method
Whisk all the dry ingredients, add in the remaining ingredients, add the vegetables cut in long strips of about 2 inches in length and add enough water to make thick batter to make the bajji.
Take a small amount of the vegetables mixed with the batter, drop it in hot oil and fry on medium heat until it gets a golden colour.

Vegetable Pakoda
Ingredients
The same as listed for vegetable bajji, plus add 1/4 cup of peanuts and 1 1/2 tbsp of hot oil to the mixture and add little water (it takes about 1-2 tbsp of water ) to mix the ingredients. The vegetables should be chopped into small pieces for pakoda.
It should be a sticky mixture and not a batter. Pinch a small amount  and fry in hot oil on medium heat.

Ulundu Saadham and Ellu Thuvaiyal - Urad dal rice with Sesame chutney

                                      Is it just me or everyone goes through this stage in blogging, I don’t know. Lately,  I have this feeling to quit blogging. I love food and to savour every delicious food on earth, but my expanding waistline warns me to pause for a while, my kitchen beckons me to cook the long list of food yet to be tried and I am still thinking. For now, I’ll keep going, till I make up my mind.

                                    Last week we drove down south and stopped by at Namakkal, to visit the famous Anchaneyar temple, abode of 18 feet tall Lord Hanuman, with no roof above his head. There’s a fort atop a huge rock, right opposite the temple. Deciding to climb the rock to explore, had our lunch there to gear up for the climb, but it only slackened my better half’s movement, who decided to stay back, half way up the hill. Well, he didn’t miss anything, as there was nothing but ruins, but up there, it gives a  beautiful view of Namakkal City, also popular for its eggs and poultry, which is exported  and that explains the origin of the eggs in my pantry. I did not miss to observe the bakeries, that were present every two kilometres or so and even stopped at one of the bakery, only to be surprised to see a variety of delicious looking baked foods. I grew up in Salem, a gastronomical paradise, still making it a point to eat in our favourite spots, every time we visit. It’s all about food down south, food speaks a volume there and I don’t think I have ever had such an experience in any of the restaurants in Chennai.

   Ulundu saadham and ellu thuvaiyal, again a southern speciality food, was always reminisced by my mother in law, every time we talked about this food, of how it would taste so good with sesame chutney. She is a native of Madurai district, but I guess she must have learned from her in laws, who are from Palayankottai and I from her. I have given two versions, a spicy version I found in a book and a sweet version by my MIL.

Ulundu Saadham I
Ingredients
Rice                               1 cup
Urad dal                       1/3 cup
Green chillies              3
Fenugreek                    1/2 tsp
Garlic cloves                2
Gingely oil                    2 tsp
Water                            4 cups
Salt                                1 1/4 tsp
Gingely oil                   as needed
Coriander leaves         1 tbsp

Method
Rinse the rice and urad dal in water.
Combine everything in a pressure cooker, including the rice and the urad dal and pressure cook for 15 minutes.
Add chopped coriander leaves and stir well.
Before serving drizzle a generous amount of gingely oil on the rice for a nice flavour.
Serve with Sesame chutney/thuvaiyal.
Note:
The fenugreek seeds in the rice will give a slight bitter taste, but it has health benefits.
I have served with a potato spicy curry and Black sesame seed thuvaiyal.

Ulundu saadham II 
Ingredients
Rice                                1/2 cup
Urad dal with skin       1/8 cup
Coconut milk                1 1/2 - 2 cups
Salt                                 1/2 tsp
Water                             2 1/2 cups
Jaggery                          to taste (optional)

Method
Rinse the rice and urad dal, add in to a pressure cooker.
Add water and salt.
Pressure cook for about 13 minutes.
When cool, stir and mash well, add coconut milk and serve.
Add grated jaggery to taste.
Note:
I have made it like a porridge (kanji), but according to my MIL, the rice and urad dal are cooked with salt and grated coconut is stirred in, without mashing it and served like rice.
The other method is, use coconut milk instead of water,( or a mixture of both) while cooking rice and dal, that way it will taste more sweet, with a rich coconut flavour.
It  tastes good even without jaggery, but it is more delicious with a light sprinkling of jaggery.

Ellu Thuvaiyal/ Sesame chutney
White sesame seeds           2tbsp
Urad dal                            1tbsp
Red chilly                          1
Garlic clove                       1 ( small)
Tamarind                            pepper size ball
Salt

Dry roast urad dal, red chilly and the garlic until the dal changes to light golden colour.
Dry roast the sesame seeds separately until it begins to change colour.
Combine the roasted urad dal, red chilly, garlic, sesame seeds, salt, tamarind and grind to a thick paste with little water.
Note:
For a spicier chutney use two red chillies and a slightly bigger piece of tamarind.
The other method to make ellu thuvaiyal is to blend roasted sesame, red chilly, salt and tamarind to a paste, without using urad dal.

                                                                                                                         Namakkal Anchaneyar

                                                                                                                  The Fort

   
                                                                                                                             From the top

Pain Au Raisin/ Raisin Roll

                               It was  a sweet surprise, when I had this danish pastry in Pondicherry last month. A union territory, that was formerly a french colony,  it’s a two and a half hour drive from Chennai to this beautiful city to explore, shop, admire the french influenced architecture, sink in the aroma of Auroville’s natural products and marvel at the peaceful co-existence of two cultures; the french and the tamil. Though not the first time, this trip to pondy was different as I exploited my visit to get my first taste of many french foods and even carried back some baked food from the famous 'Baker Street'. But nothing swept my heart like the Raisin roll and I knew it won’t be long before I make my own and I made it last week on my birthday. Not that I was celebrating, which is totally not me, but the fact that, there will be more people around to share the food made me fix that day.  Danish pastries are made using a croissant dough and having made a croissant before, just made some additions to the croissant recipe to make this sweet and buttery pain au raisin.

Ingredients  
Flour                                  300 g
Milk                                   100 ml
Water                                 100 ml
Sugar                                 4 tbsp
Salt                                    1tsp
Melted butter                   35 g
Fast action dried yeast    7 g (1 sachet)
Cold butter                       150 gms
Raisins                               4 tbsp
Juice of                              1 small orange (optional)
Egg 1 + milk 1/2tbsp for egg wash

Method
Whisk flour and the salt.
To about 50ml of lukewarm water , add a tbsp of sugar and the yeast and leave it to rise for about 10 - 15 minutes.
Add the remaining sugar to the milk and stir to dissolve.
Add the milk, melted butter and the yeast to the flour mixture.
Add the remaining 50 ml of water and knead to a soft dough for about 10 minutes.
( It will be quite sticky for the first 5 minutes, continue to knead and it will soften up gradually)
Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover and leave it to rise for about 2 hours.
Soak the raisins in orange juice.

From here onwards the procedure is same as croissant.
Shape the butter into a square and chill it.
Knead the dough lightly, roll into a square, place the butter in the middle and wrap the dough around the butter.
Flip it over and roll into a rectangle shape and fold 1/3 on both the ends and close it like a book. If the butter is soft and melting, chill for 30 to 40 minutes.

Roll again into a rectangle, fold one end in 3rds and close with the other end. Chill if necessary.
Repeat this rolling and folding for three more times. Chill and use flour to dust whenever necessary.
Finally, roll the dough to a big square, spread the custard on the rolled out pastry dough and sprinkle the soaked raisins.

Cut out strips of an inch wide, and roll the strips like a coil, place it on a  greased baking tray, continue the same with the rest of the dough. Generally, the entire dough is rolled and then cut out into small rolls, but I think my method is much easier.
Whisk the egg and the milk lightly and brush the rolls with this mixture and after 15 minutes, bake for about 15-17minutes at 200*c in  a preheated oven.
For the custard
Can use eggless custard or custard made using custard powder also.
Ingredients
Cream                    200ml
Egg yolks               3
Caster sugar          1/3 cup
Flour                      2tbsp
Butter                     1tbsp
Vanilla                    1tsp

Method
Beat egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick. Stir in the flour.
Heat the cream and just as it begins to boil lightly remove from heat and add in to the egg mixture, stir until everything is mixed.
On medium heat, stir the custard continuously until it is thick. It takes about 2 to 3 minutes to thicken to a consistency that is required to spread on the roll.
Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and the butter, cover with a tight lid, when it is cool, chill in the refrigerator until required.

Note:
The dough can be prepared a day or a few days ahead and stored in the freezer until required.
Make sure to chill the dough, every time before rolling and folding to prevent the butter from melting.
For the custard can use full cream milk also.
Can use up to 1/2 cup of sugar for a really sweet custard.