Saturday, April 19, 2008

Aloo Paratha

Aloo Paratha is one of the easiest and tastiest recipes to make within a matter of minutes. The best part about this dish is, the filling can be replaced with any of your favourites like gobi, paneer, methi, kheema, palak etc.


Ingredients
Potato - 1 Big
Wheat Flour - 1 cup
Jeera - 1 tbsp
Green Chillies - 1 Chopped
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - as required

Making the Filling
Wash and cut potato into 4 big pieces. Take water in a container, add salt and boil the potato pieces for about 15 minutes. To test if the potatos are done, pork the potatos with a fork. It should easily pass through the potato. Strain water from the boiled potato and peel off the skin after it cools. Mash potato pieces with a fork. Add salt, chopped green chilli, Red chilli powder, turmeric powder and Jeera to the mashed potato. Mix everything thoroughly.

Making the Dough
Take wheat flour and salt in a wide bowl. Knead the dough with warm water. Dough should be very soft but not sticky. Put a damp paper towel on the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Rolling out and Frying Parathas
Make equal sized balls of the dough as well as potato filling and keep them aside. This potato filling makes 5 parathas. Take a ball of dough, flatten it once. Dust both sides of the dough with wheat flour. Start rolling the dough just until you make sure the potato filling fits in the dough.
Place a mashed potato ball in the middle of dough and seal all the edges by bringing them together. Make sure that the dough is closed completely. Start rolling the potato stuffed dough gently with the help of dry flour. Heat a pan and brush it with oil/ghee. Fry the parathas on both sides.

If you are not planning on consuming them as soon as you make, place them in a sealed container.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Ugadi


Andhariki Sarvadhari nama samvatsara subhakankshalu. We would like to wish you and your family a very happy, prosperous and a peaceful new year.


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
smallWater - 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.