Category Archives: Snack

Boondi

Today’s Navarathri recipe is Boondi, a fried chickpea flour sweet that is quite popular in Sri Lanka and available in Indian sweet shops. As I like it and I do not like the too sugary consistency of shop-bought boondi, my mother occasionally makes it at home. This is my mother’s recipe for boondi.

Boondi

Time taken: 25 mins

Serves 2

BoondiIngredients:

  • Chickpea flour – 2 tbsp
  • Wheat flour – 2 tbsp
  • Salt, to taste
  • Vanilla essence – few drops
  • Kesari powder – pinch
  • Sugar – 4 tbsp
  • Cardamom – 2 or 3, crushed
  • Rose essence – few drops
  • Cashewnuts – 2 or 3, chopped
  • Raisins – 1 tsp
  • Chickpea – 1 tsp, fried and split
  • Low fat vegetable oil, for deep frying

Method

  1. Mix the chickpea flour, wheat flour, salt, few drops of vanilla essence, pinch of kesari powder with a little water in bowl to make a batter. The consistency of the batter should not be watery nor too thick but fluid enough to be scooped easily with a spoon.
  2. Heat the oil in a pan.
  3. When the oil is heated and ready for frying, scoop the batter with a spoon and push it through a slotted spoon over the pan so that the batter falls through in little pieces into the oil.
  4. Ensure that the boondi pieces are golden brown all over before transferring them out of a pan onto a plate lined with grease absorbing paper. Repeat until all the batter is transformed to fried boondi.
  5. Make the syrup for the boondi by stirring the sugar with ¼ cup of water in a saucepan on medium heat. Add the crushed cardamom, kesari powder.
  6. When the syrup starts thickening slightly, add a few drops of rose essence and remove from heat.
  7. Add the chopped cashewnuts, fried and split chickpeas and raisins to the syrup.
  8. Transfer the fried boondi to the syrup. Let it soak for some time before serving.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Ravai laddu

Today’s recipe for Navarathri is ravai laddu (semolina laddu).  The semolina laddu is the type of laddu that is commonly made in homes in northern Sri Lanka. The boondi or chickpea gram flour laddu is rarely made in homes and is usually available only in Indian sweet shops.

Ravai laddu

Time taken: 25 mins

Makes 5

Ravai ladduIngredients

  • Semolina/ ravai – ½ cup, slightly roasted
  • Sugar – ¼ cup
  • Vegetable oil margarine (preferably sunflower or canola) – 3 tbsp
  • Chickpea – 2 tbsp, fried and split (store-bought or overnight soaked and fried at home)
  • Cashew nuts – 2
  • Cardamom – 3, crushed
  • Raisin – 1 tbsp
  • Hot water – 2 tbsp

Method

  1. Heat the sugar and margarine in a pan for 2 mins on low heat.
  2. Add the fried, split chickpea to the pan as well as the chopped cashew nuts, raisins and crushed cardamom.
  3. Stir and cook for another 2 – 3 minutes until they have combined well.
  4. Add the semolina and stir for around 3 minutes.
  5. Increase the heat to medium and add 2 tbsp of hot water to the pan and mix well. Remove pan from stove.
  6. Scoop the mixture into a little mold and overturn to a plate. Let the laddu cool before serving.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Murukku

Today’s Navarathri food festival recipe is my mother’s recipe for crispy and crunchy murukku. This is a delicious snack and it is usually difficult to stop eating the entire bowl, after tasting one or two pieces.

Murukku

Time taken: 30 – 40 mins

Serves 10

MurukkuIngredients:

  • Chickpea flour – ¼ cup
  • Steamed wheat flour – ¾ cup
  • Coconut – 2 tbsp, freshly scraped
  • Pepper – ¼ tsp
  • Salt – ¼ tsp
  • Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
  • Sesame seeds – 1 tsp
  • Water – 1 cup
  • Low fat oil, for deep-frying

Method:

  1. Blend 2 tbsp freshly scraped coconut with 1 cup water and extract a cup of coconut milk.
  2. In a saucepan, heat the coconut milk, adding the salt, pepper and turmeric powder to the pan.
  3. When the milk boils, remove from heat and briefly cool the milk for a few seconds.
  4. In a bowl, mix the chickpea flour and the steamed wheat flour.
  5. Stir in the boiled, spiced coconut milk into the bowl of flour mix and make the ‘murukku’ dough.
  6. Fold in the sesame seeds into the dough mix.
  7. Heat some low-fat oil in a pan.
  8. Scoop some of the dough into the murukku mold and squeeze out the dough through the mold over the pan with the oil. Once the noodle-like ‘murukku’ is cooked and golden brown on all sides, remove from pan and transfer to a tray lined with grease absorbing paper.
  9. Repeat the process until all the dough is squeezed out of the mold and fried.
  10. Serve immediately or store in air-tight container to prevent the ‘murukku’ from becoming mushy and to retain its crispiness.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Kolukkattai

With the start of Navarathri today, I thought of posting nine of my mother’s recipes of some food that she typically makes during this nine-day festival. I have always been fond of Navarathri, since my childhood, and I think of all the religious festivals that my family has observed, this has been the favourite and better observed.

The nine days of the festival are dedicated to Goddesses starting with the first three days for Goddess Durga, symbolizing courage and strength, the next three days for Goddess Lakshmi, symbolizing wealth and beauty, the last three days for Goddess Saraswathi, symbolizing knowledge and wisdom. The last three days are the most special of the nine days.

To start off the Navarathri food fest, I will first share one of my favourites – Kolukkattai. This is a steamed half-moon shaped dumpling made especially during the Aadi pirappu (July 15th, which is the first of the month of Aadi in the Tamil calendar) and during the ceremony that marks the arrival of a baby’s first teeth. It is actually ‘Mothaham’, a round shaped version of the kolukkattai, that is made during Navarathri but at my home, my mother prefers to make kolukkattai generally.

Mothaham

Mothaham

Kolukkattai

Time taken: 40 – 45 mins

Makes 10

Kolukkattai

Kolukkattai

Ingredients:

  • Green gram – ½ cup, roasted and split
  • Water
  • Wheat flour – ¾ cup
  • Rice flour – ¼ cup
  • Salt – pinch
  • Low fat oil, as required
  • Coconut –½ cup, freshly scraped
  • Jaggery – ¼ cup
  • Cardamom – 4, crushed

Method

  1. Boil the green gram in about 1 ½ cups of water, for about 20 mins, until it is well-cooked. Add water if the liquid dries up before the gram is cooked. Drain and keep aside.
  2. Meanwhile, mix the wheat flour, rice flour and a pinch of salt. Add hot water slowly while stirring the flour mix with a spoon.
  3. Add a little oil and bring together the mixture into a ball of dough.
  4. Divide the dough into 10 small balls, adding a little oil, to have a smooth dough mix.
  5. In a pan, cook the jaggery on low heat and stir as it melts.
  6. Add the scraped coconut and quickly stir for a couple of minutes, not allowing the coconut-jaggery mixture to burn.
  7. Add the boiled and drained green gram and the crushed cardamom to the coconut-jaggery mixture. Mix and remove from heat. Let the mixture cool.
  8. Roll out each of the ten small balls of dough and spoon 1 tbsp filling in the center of the rolled out dough. Close the dough wrap over the filling in a half-moon shape, by hand or using a pre-fabricated mold shell, or into a round dumpling shape. For the ceremony that marks the arrival of the baby’s first teeth, tiny coconut chips are embedded into the dents pressed by the mold or finger along one half of the half-moon shaped dumpling.
  9. Steam the ‘kolukattai’ (the half-moon shaped) or ‘mothaham’ (the round shaped dumpling) for about 10 mins.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Dragon fruit juice

The fresh fruit juice for this weekend is dragon fruit juice. Though the fruit is native to the central American region, it is also cultivated in South east Asia and Sri Lanka. Besides being an impressive fruit to look at, it is rich in Vitamin C and is a good natural source of antioxidants.

Dragon fruit juiceSimply blend the fruit pulp with some lime juice and a dash of sugar and enjoy the dazzling and nutritious drink! 

Peanut Chocolate Cake

I generally like my mother’s chocolate cakes a lot. Recently, she tried out a nutty vegan version of her chocolate cake which came out really delicious. Here is my mother’s recipe for the yummy cake.

Peanut Chocolate Cake

Time taken: 50 mins

Serves 8 to 10

Peanut chocolate cake

Ingredients:

  • Vegetable oil margarine – ¾ cup + 1 tbsp (for frosting)
  • Sugar – 1 cup
  • Banana – ½ , as an egg substitute
  • Wheat flour – 1 ½ cup
  • Soya milk – 1 cup
  • Peanut – ½ cup, coarsely ground + 2 tbsp (for frosting)
  • Vanilla – 2 tsp
  • Cocoa powder – 2 tbsp + 1 tsp (for frosting)
  • Baking powder – 1 tsp
  • Baking soda – ½ tsp
  • Icing sugar – 2 tbsp, for frosting

Method:

  1. Sift the dry ingredients – the wheat flour together with the cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda – and keep aside.
  2. Mash the banana in a bowl. Add the margarine and sugar to the bowl and whisk them together.
  3. Gradually add the soya milk and continue whisking.
  4. Stir in the coarsely ground peanuts and vanilla essence.
  5. Slowly fold in the dry ingredients.
  6. Pour the cake batter into a greased tray and bake at 190⁰C/374⁰F for 40 mins.
  7. Whisk 1 tbsp margarine together with 1 tsp cocoa powder, 2 tbsp icing sugar and 2 tsp ground nuts to make the frosting.
  8. Spread evenly on surface of the peanut chocolate cake, after the cake has sufficiently cooled.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Aluwa

Today’s guest blogger is Nilusha Doranegama, a clinical traumatologist. The recipe she is sharing with us today is one of her favourite recipes of her grandmother’s. Nilusha mentioned a time in her childhood when she was so fond of aluwa that she had advocated for having aluwa instead of cake for birthdays.

Aluwa

Time taken: 30 mins

Makes 25 – 30 pieces

Ingredients:

  • 10 cups of rice flour (from 4-5 cups of soaked white raw rice)
  • 2 cups of sugar
  • 3 cups of water
  • 3-4 cardamoms
  • 1 cup roasted cashew nuts

Method:

  1. Roast the rice flour under medium heat.
  2. Boil the sugar and water in a non-stick pan.
  3. While continuously stirring, add ground cardamom seeds and chopped cashew nuts.
  4. Allow the syrup to cool a little and add the roasted flour and mix in well.
  5. Quickly spread the aluwa on a tray lined with waxed paper and cut it in to pieces immediately.
  6. Coat the aluwa with remaining flour.
  7. Makes 25-30 aluwa pieces.

Recipe source: Nilusha Dishni Doranegama.

Kesari

When I asked my mother to teach me a simple and quick to prepare Sri Lankan dish for an informal international pot-luck with friends a year ago, she taught me to make Kesari. I took a few photos of the outcome of that lesson. So, today, I thought I would share the recipe for the first Sri Lankan (and Indian) recipe that I officially learnt along with the photos from that day.

Kesari

Kesari is delicious both as a dessert and a special snack and takes very little time to prepare.

Kesari

Cooking time: 10 – 15 mins

Makes 10 pieces

Kesari slices

Ingredients:

  • Semolina – ½ cup, lightly roasted
  • Water – 1 cup
  • Sugar – ¼ cup
  • Kesari powder – pinch
  • Rose essence – drop or Vanilla essence – 1 tsp and pinch of crushed cardamom
  • Vegetable margarine – 1 ½ tbsp

Method:

  1. In a saucepan, boil a cup of water and the sugar.
  2. When the water starts boiling, add the kesari powder and either the vanilla essence and pinch of crushed cardamom or drop of rose essence.
  3. Stir continuously, while adding the semolina.
  4. When the mixture starts to thicken, add the margarine while continuing to stir.
  5. Remove the pan from the stove and transfer the kesari to a plate.
  6. Level the kesari on the plate and allow it to cool for at least 10 mins before slicing and serving.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Egg cutlets

Today’s theme has been egg focused. The third recipe for today is my grandmother’s recipe for egg cutlets, as remembered by my mother.

Egg cutlet

Time taken: 15 – 20 mins

Serves 4

Egg cutletsIngredients:

  • Egg – 1 + egg white, for dipping the cutlet
  • Potato – 1
  • Onion – ¼, chopped
  • Green chilli – 1, chopped
  • Pepper – 1 tsp
  • Salt – ¼ tsp
  • Fennel powder – ½ tsp
  • Bread crumbs, for rolling the cutlets
  • Oil, for deep frying

Method:

  1. Boil the egg and potato for about 10 minutes.
  2. Mash the boiled potato in a bowl and keep aside.
  3. Finely chop the boiled egg and add to the mashed potato.
  4. Add the finely chopped onion, green chilli to the bowl and add the pepper, salt, fennel seasoning to the cutlet mix.
  5. Mix well and divide the mixture into four balls.
  6. Whisk lightly the white of an egg in a small bowl.
  7. Dip each of the cutlet balls in the egg white and roll them in bread-crumbs. Keep aside.
  8. Heat the oil for deep frying the cutlets. Drop the cutlets into the frying pan and fry them, turning them around so that they are browned on all sides.
  9. Remove the cutlets from the frying pan and place them on grease absorbing paper before you serve them with a chilli or tomato sauce.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Watermelon and lime juice

The best fruits during unbearably hot weather are watermelon and lime or lemon. So, combining both is a special treat and my favourite fruit juice. Besides instantly reducing dehydration and giving a healthy energy boost, watermelons and limes are said to be good sources of Vitamin A, B and C and good for preventing or fighting different types of cancer.

So, today’s juice blends both to make a refreshing and healthy summer drink.

Watermelon and lime juice