Nimmakaya pulihora is a great rice dish that is very easy to make. Personally I like this dish due to its taste and easiness.

Ingredients

Rice – 2 1/2 cups (Rice cooker)

Lime - 2

Green Chillies – 2

Ginger - 1/2 inch root

Groundnuts/Cashews – fistful

Chanal Dal – 2 tsps

Urad Dal – 2 tsps

Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp

Curry Leaves – 1 Sprig

Jeera – 1 tsp

Chopped Cilantro – 1/4 cup

Turmeric - 3/4th tsp

Red chillies – 3

1. Cook rice by adding 5 cups of water

2. Add 2 tbsps of oil to a pan. After oils heats up, add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add jeera, chana dal, urad dal, red chillies and peanuts. Fry everything until the dals turn to golden brown color. If you are using cashews instead of peanuts, add them now instead of earlier.

3. Chop greenchillies and ginger and add the same along with curry leaves to the pan.

4. Fry everything for a minute. Squeeze juice out of lemon.  Turn down the heat to Low. Add lemon juice, turmeric and salt to the pan and mix everything well for few seconds. This mixture is called pulusu. Turn off the heat and let the pulusu cool down.

5. Take a wide container. Slowly add cooked rice to the same. Make sure the rice does not have any lumps and does not become mushy. Let the rice cool down for a minute while mixing it occassionally.

6. Now, add pulusu to rice in smaller quantities. Keep mixing everything gently along with cilantro.

7. Pulihora tastes more delicious, the next day.

Ingredients

Minapappu (Urad Dal) – 1 cup

Green Chillies – 2

Onion – 1/2

Ginger - 1/4 inch root

Procedure

1. Soak Urad Dal in water for 6-7 hrs. Strain water from soaked dal.

2. Blend small amounts of Urad Dal in a Blender. Consistency of the dough has to  be very thick. Make the dough by adding very little amount of water as possible.

3. Add salt during every batch. By doing this, water from the dal will come out and we will end up adding very little water for grinding.

3. During the last batch of dough, add ginger and greenchillies and Grind. After the dough is almost done, add onion and just pulse it for few seconds.

4. Mix all the batches of dough thoroughly.

5. Heat a kadai and add enough oil to fry Garelu. Maintain the stove temperature to be medium.

6. In the meanwhile, take a small bowl full of water.  Keep a platic sheet (Ziploc bag) ready.

Now, here is the procedure for making the Garelu shape with the dough. Water your hands using the bowl, clean the plastic sheet with water, take handful of dough and make a ball. Place it on the plastic sheet and slowly make it into a circle and keep a hole (just like a donut) with your finger. Dampen your hand again and by holding the plastic sheet with another hand, take out the dough and put it slowly in the oil. Fry on the other side after one side is done. Make sure that they are not over fried.

7. Remove them and place them on a paper towel.

Semiya – 2 cups

Milk – 7 cups

Sugar – 2 1/2 cups

Ghee – 3 tbsps

Cashews – Handful

Raisins – Handful

Elachi (cardomom) – 3

1. Add 2 tbsps of butter to a pan. Roast Cashews until golden brown color and keep it aside.

2. In the same pan, fry raisins until they puff up and keep them aside.

3. Fry Semiya in the same pan until golden brown color and keep it aside. In the mean while heat milk in a seperate vessel until boil (on medium flame).

4. While the milk is boiling, slowly add vermicelli to the same while mixing.

5. Let Semiya cook in the milk until almost done (keep stirring occassionally on medium flame).

6. Add Sugar, crushed Elachi powder, Cashews, Raisins and remaining ghee to the Payasam.

7. Let the payasam cook for a while

Tips : You can add more milk to the payasam based on the thickness you want it to be.

Wishing you a very very happy, healthy and wealthy new year.

Wish you a very happy Ugadi

Ingredients

Cauliflower – 1

Tomato – 2

Potato – 1

Onion – 1 big

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Red Chilli powder – 1 tsp

Amchur powder – 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

GingerGarlic paste – 2 tsp

Frozen Peas – 1/2 cup

1) Take a microwave safe bowl and wash cauliflower florets. Add very little water to the bowl. Place a plate or lid covering the bowl and microwave for about 4-5 minutes.

2) After the cauliflower is steamed, add salt to the same and mix well.

3) Peel the potato and dice into bite sized cubes. Add diced potato, salt and little water to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 2-3 minutes.

4) Take a pan and add oil to the same. Add Jeera and turmeric to the pan.

5) Add dice onion to the pan and fry until onions become transluscent. Add ginger garlic paste and fry until raw smell disappears.

6) Add diced tomatos to the pan and put the lid on. Let the gravy cook until you see oil seperating from the gravy.

7) Add all the masala powders, peas and salt to the Gravy. Put the lid back and let the curry cook for 2 mins.

8) Add potato cubes to the pan and continue to cook for 5 mins.

9) Take the steamed cauliflower florets and add it to the curry. Gently mix the gravy and florets. Make sure the florets donot get mushy. Cook the curry for a while until the florets are cooked and get a good coating of the gravy. Garnish with Cilantro.

This curry tastes great with chapati or paratha.

Ugadi is the start of a new year and a very important festival of the telugu and kannada people. This is also celebrated in Maharastra as Gudi Padwa.

Ugadi marks the beginning of a new Hindu lunar calendar with a change in the moon’s orbit. It is a day when mantras are chanted and predictions made for the new year. Traditionally, the panchangasravanam or listening to the yearly calendar was done at the temples or at the Town square but with the onset of modern technology, one can get to hear the priest-scholar on television sets right in one’s living room. [3]

It is a season for raw mangoes spreading its aroma in the air and the fully blossomed neem tree that makes the air healthy. Also, jaggery made with fresh crop of sugarcane adds a renewed flavor to the typical dishes associated with Ugadi. “Ugadi pachchadi” is one such dish that has become synonymous with Ugadi. It is made of new jaggery, raw mango pieces and neem flowers and new tanarind which truly reflect life – a combination of sweet, sour and bitter tastes! [3]

Ugadi pachhadi – ఉగాది పచ్చడి with all six tastes (షడ్రుచులు), symbolizes the fact that life is a mixture of different expereinces (sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise) , which should be accepted together and with equanimity. [2]

We make Garelu, Ugadi Pachhadi, Payasam & pulihora and offer it to God as Nivedhyam on this auspiscious day.

Ugadi Pachhadi Recipe:

Ingredients:
Raw Mango (diced) – 1 cup
grated Jaggery – 1/2 cup
Neem flowers – 1 tbls
Salt – 1/4 tbls
Tamrind paste – 1 tbls
Green chillies (Finely chopped) – 1 small
Water – 3 cups

Add all the ingredients to a vessel and mix them well. You could optionally add Sugar cane pieces, banana slices and small coconut pieces.
 

References:
1. Eenadu Online
2. Wikipedia
3. About Ugadi