SWEET PUTTU

We prepare this puttu mainly on ‘shivarathiri day’…So we call this as Shivarathiri puttu ...This is made out of rice flour and jaggery.My mil makes home made rice flour by soaking raw rice etc. For the actual procedure , see here with pictures. U can try with good quality store bought rice flour too.. 

Ingredients :

• Raw rice / Maavu arisi  - 1 cup
• Jaggery – 3/4 – 1 cup (depends )
• Channa dal / kadalai paruppu – 1 handful (soak in water )
• Cardamom – 3-4 seeds (powdered)
• Salt – very little..
• Ghee – 1 tsp (optional )

Method :

• Soak the raw rice/Maavu arisi in water for 2 hrs .
• Drain the water and spread the rice on a news paper / cloth for 10 mins so that the excess water gets absorbed..
• Grind the rice in a mixie or processer to make powder..(rice should be little moist )
• Sieve and again grind it to make a fine powder.
• **If u use store bought rice flour , u can start from the next step..But u should add little water mixed with salt to make the flour a bit wet.
• Grease the idly plate with oil and keep the finely ground rice flour on the idly plate.
• Steam it for 10 to 15 mins..
• In the mean time take the soaked channa dal and pressure cook till it blossoms.
• Do not over cook the channa dal.Usually what we do is , we keep the channa dal in a bowl with water inside the idly pot and allow it to cook along with the rice flour..By the time the rice flour gets ready , the channa dal will also get cooked and blossomed..
• Mix the channa dal & rice flour .
• Take the jaggery in a wide mouthed bowl and add little water just to cover it.
• Melt the jaggery and strain the impurities if any..
• Allow the jaggery to boil till it becomes frothy..
• Now mix the jaggery syrup to rice flour mixture ..
• Add the cardamom powder .. Mix well and Njoy  by adding a tsp of ghee !!

KITCHEN CLINIC :

JAGGERY : Hey folks, do you know that a single chunk of jaggery is rich in number of nutrients. It is popularly known as gur to all of us. Believe me, it is a wonderful tablet that can cure you from niggling health problems like cough, asthma, indigestion, fatigue, migraine etc. so never ever think twice for eating this nutritious food. You will be glad to read that a single small piece of jaggery helps in purifying your blood prevents mood swings. It helps in regulating one’s liver functions and preventing rheumatic afflictions. Always remember that regular intake of small chunk of jaggery in your diet helps in regulating your blood pressure and also helps in getting rid of the body toxins. So don’t think, just include this rich food in your diet for gaining all its benefits! All in all for maintaining the optimum health, including jaggery in your diet especially in winters can be the best thing that you can do. Nutritionally, jaggery is a storehouse of nutrients like proteins, minerals, phosphorous, iron, magnesium, vitamins, potassium etc, which are very much required for the normal functioning of your body systems. you will  be glad to read that consuming jaggery in winters helps in generating enough heat in the body, thus keeping you warm inside and warding off the cold temperature at the same time. In winter, there is a drop in our body temperature, and as a result we have to try harder to keep ourselves warm. Consuming jaggery not only provides you with much-needed energy but also keeps you warm. Great! Isn’t it? So what more are you thinking now, just gorge on chikki made of jaggery and nuts or small chunk of jaggery itself and enjoy this chilly cold weatherwithout getting affected from seasonal ailments.

Take care , catch u all in my next post