Yesterday I prepared this South Indian style arisi payasam for Tamil new year celebration. We make this payasam mainly for Tamil new year ( Tamil Varusha pirappu/Tamil Puthandu) and Ganesh Chaturthi festival. Sometimes we prepare this sweet dish for Friday Mahalakhsmi pooja neivedyam too. Today I have shown the basic arisi payasam recipe/Rice kheer with jaggery and milk using a pressure cooker.
Arisi Paruppu payasam is our family favorite payasam variety. To prepare this Indian style rice kheer raw rice, moong dal, water, jaggery and milk are the major ingredients. Sometimes I use coconut milk instead of boiled milk if making for guest or special occasions. Adding coconut milk makes it more rich and flavorful. Whenever Sendhil gets stomach upset or stomach inflammation problem, I make this for his breakfast with less rice, more dal and coconut milk as both have healing property. I will make a separate post on it later.
In this recipe, I have used boiled milk. For variations, you can use coconut milk in place of regular milk by all means. Sometimes I prepare the same payasam adding condensed milk(milkmaid) or sugar instead of jaggery just like paal payasam. This kheer can be done easily. Try this yummy, healthy payasam for Tamil new year and enjoy ! You can also make arisi thengai payasam on Tamil new year. Now lets see how to make arisi paruppu payasam/Rice payasam with jaggery with step by step pictures and a video.
Arisi paruppu payasam recipe
Arisi paruppu payasam recipe - Rice moong dal payasam recipe
In a pressure cooker base, heat 1 tsp of ghee. Roast the moong dal till dal becomes aromatic and golden brown.Remove in a plate. Add 1 tsp ghee and roast the rice. Roast till it turns puffy and white. Its optional to roast the rice. But roasted rice gives more flavor to the kheer. So the choice is yours.
After roasting the rice add 2.5 cups of water. Add the roasted dal and pressure cook in very low flame for 3 whistles till they cook mushy. Remove after the steam is released. Mash it really well.
Add grated jaggery and 1/2 cup water. Mix well in low flame until jaggery melts completely. ( If jaggery has impurities, you should boil separately and melt the jaggery in 1/2 cup water, filter it and then add the syrup to the cooked rice). After the jaggery is completely mixed with the rice, let it boil for sometime till raw smell of jaggery goes off. If needed, add 1/2 cup water while boiling. Add cardamom powder & mix well.
After the payasam becomes slightly thick, switch off the flame and add 1/2 cup boiled milk or thick coconut milk. Mix well and check for consistency. Add more milk if needed. Heat ghee in a small pan. Roast cashews, cloves and crushed mace till cashews become golden. Mix well and add to the payasam. Serve hot.
This rice kheer becomes very thick when it cools down.So you should add more milk, water or coconut milk to adjust the consistency, check for taste. Add more sugar or jaggery syrup if needed. Give a boil and serve hot.
Enjoy !
Note
Roasting rice is optional.But it gives a nice flavor to the payasam.
If you feel jaggery has impurities, you should mix it with 1/2 cup water. Boil and melt in medium flame. Once its melted completely, strain it through a metal filter. Then add this syrup to the cooked rice+dal mixture.
The quantity of milk depends on the desired consistency of payasam.
You can use 1/2 cup coconut milk instead of milk.
Add equal quantity of milk and coconut milk if you wish.
Adding cloves and small piece of mace gives a awesome flavor to the kheer. So do not skip it.
Try this yummy arisi paruppu payasam at your home for festivals and enjoy !
Mango Pachadi / Manga pachadi in Tamil and Arisi paruppu Payasam/Rice moong dal payasam is a must & should neivedyam(Prashad) recipe for Tamil new year(Puthandu) in Tamil nadu. But people make it with their own variations. Some people make this sweet mango pachadi adding sugar. Some make it with ripe mango too. But we make it with raw mango adding jaggery, coconut paste and neem flower ( Veppam poo).
This pachadi has to be prepared with 6 different taste ( sweet, sour, spicy, tangy, bitter, salt) to denote that all the emotions of a person has to be treated equally. Tamil Brahmins make it almost the same way but without coconut. Basically I am a big fan of rawmango recipes. This mangai pachadi is even more special as I make it only once in a year and that too on Tamil new year day. I love this combination of sweet and spicy taste more than Sendhil & Raksha.
Today I have shared our style of making raw mango pachadi with step by step pictures and a video. I have also mentioned the points for variations. Do try it for this Tamil new year celebration and offer God ! Check out my Tamil new year lunch menupost for more neivedyam recipes we prepare on this day.
Mango Pachadi Recipe For Tamil New Year
South Indian Raw Mango sweet pachadi for Tamil new year
Grated jaggery - 1/3 to 1/2 cup ( Based on sourness of mango)
Green chilli - 1 no ( finely chopped)
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Water - As needed ( I used 2 cups)
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup ( Grind to paste)
Neem flower - 1 tsp ( use only for Tamil new year)
To Temper
Cooking oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli - 1 no
Curry leaves - Few
Hing/Asafetida - a pinch (optional)
HOW TO MAKE MANGO PACHADI - METHOD
Wash and peel the skin of raw mango. Slice it roughly into big pieces. Set aside. In a mixie jar, take the grated coconut and add required water. Grind to smooth paste. Keep aside.
In a kadai or deep bowl, add 2 cups of water and let it roll boil. Add the mango slices, finely chopped green chillies, salt and cover cook till it turns soft and cooked. ( If the mango is too sour, you may need to add more jaggery for this pachadi. To avoid this, drain the cooked water to remove sourness and then proceed if you wish) . My mango was not too sour. So I din’t drain the water.
After the mango is cooked well and soft, mash it roughly with a ladle. Add the grated jaggery ( If the jaggery has impurities, melt it by adding 1/4 cup water and filter it. Add jaggery syrup to the cooked mango).Add little water to melt the jaggery if needed. Mix well and boil till jaggery melts and raw smell goes off. Now add the coconut paste, mix well till it becomes semi solid in consistency. Switch off the flame and remove the kadai.
Heat a small kadai and dry roast the neem flower till it turns golden brown and crispy. Remove in a plate and crush it well. Heat oil in the same kadai and splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, red chill, hing and curry leaves. Add the seasoning and crushed neem flower to the mango pachadi. Mix well. Offer God and get his blessings !
Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of jaggery based on the sourness of raw mango.
If the jaggery has impurities, melt it by adding 1/4 cup water and filter it. Add jaggery syrup to the cooked mango.
You may have to add more jaggery if the mango is too sour. To avoid this, drain the excess cooked water and then add jaggery.
We add Neem flower only for Tamil new year otherwise it is not needed.
If you don’t get fresh Neem flower, you can use dried ones.
You can use yellow pumpkin or banana stem to make the same pachadi
Try this sweet mango pachadi for this new year and have a great celebration !
Musk melon (Also known as Cantaloupe in English, Mulam pazham in Tamil, Kharbooja in Hindi, Thaikumbazham in Malayalam) is one of the best summer coolant fruits available across India during summer season. Muskmelon has lots of health benefits. It aids in weight loss, good for eye sight, treats kidney stones, boost immunity and many more. Many people love to eat this musk melon in fruit salad or eat it as such. But we love to have it as juice, milkshake or smoothie.
Last year I had shared musk melon juice recipe. So this year, I thought of sharing this easy musk melon milkshake with you all. I used to make it adding sugar but now we have switched to honey as a healthy alternative. But today I have made this post with sugar. You can use either sugar, honey or cane sugar based on your taste. Similarly milkshake is usually prepared with ice cream. But I have just used milk to make it a low calorie drink. Add ice cream if you are making for kids. It adds richness & creaminess to the milkshake. Ok, now lets see how to make summer special musk melon milkshake recipe with step by step pictures and a video !
Musk Melon Milkshake recipe
How to make musk melon milkshake recipe without ice cream
Take the musk melon and cut into two halves.Scoop out the seeds in the middle. Drain it in a filter. You can either discard the seeds or sun dry it to make dried melon seeds that can be used for making kheer and garnishing halwa/burfi.
Now scoop the pulpy part of the fruit and transfer it to a mixie jar. Grind it adding milk, sugar and vanilla essence. Add 2 scoops of ice cream if you like. It makes the milkshake much creamier. Grind it to become smooth, creamy and frothy. Transfer to a serving glass. Garnish with sprinklers or few small pieces of musk melon and serve immediately.
Enjoy !
Note
You can replace vanilla essence with cardamom powder if you like that flavor.
If you are making for kids, you can add 2 scoops of ice cream while grinding. It makes the milkshake more tasty.
You should not add ice cubes. Instead you can freeze the milk, crush and add it while grinding.
Try this easy, healthy, yummy, creamy musk melon milkshake at home and enjoy !
For every South Indian, Rasam and Potato curry must be the most comfortable & simple lunch menu. Whenever Sendhil have his lunch at office, I make rasam and potato poriyal for myself & Raksha as we both are big fan of this combo. Usually I make my South Indian style rasam recipe adding tamarind, tomato and dal water. But today, I prepared a simple tomato rasam recipe without tamarind and toor dal water for the first time following this recipe. I tweaked the recipe to ease the process. It came out well. Myself & Raksha loved it a lot. It tasted great with potato poriyal. I
f you are looking for some simple, instant tomato rasam recipe without dal and tamarind, you should give this a try. It can be prepared quickly under 10 minutes. Lets check how to make Instant tomato rasam at home with step by step pictures.
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp ( finely chopped) to garnish
To temper
Ghee - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds/Jeera - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli - 1 no
HOW TO MAKE TOMATO RASAM WITHOUT DAL - METHOD
Dry roast coriander seeds, pepper, cumin seeds for few minutes.
In a mixie jar, take the washed and chopped tomato, roasted coriander seeds, pepper corns, cumin seeds. Grind to a smooth paste adding 1/2 cup water.
In a kadai, add the ground tomato paste, slit green chilli, chopped curry leaves, crushed garlic, turmeric powder, salt and a pinch of sugar. Add 1.5 cups of water to it and check for taste. Add more salt if needed. Let the mixture boil well for 3-4 minutes till the raw smell of tomato goes off.
In a small tadka pan, heat ghee and splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds, pinched red chilli. Add this seasoning to the boiling rasam. Garnish with coriander leaves. Add 1/4 cup water and boil till frothy. Remove in a bowl.
Cover with a lid and give a standing time of 30 minutes before serving. Serve hot with rice, potato curry and appalam/papad !
Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of spices based on your taste.
Tomato should be fully ripen. If not, add berry sized tamarind while grinding.
Tempering in ghee is a must. It adds nice flavor to the rasam.
Garnishing with coriander leaves enhances the taste & flavor of this rasam.
This is my way of eating rasam rice with potato curry & papad !
Pazham pori @ Ethakka appam – Kerala special Nendram pazham bajji ( Ripe banana fritters in English) was in my try list for years. Crispy and hot Pazham pori with tea/Chai is one of the most popular and classic combo in Kerala. People love to have this pazham pori with hot tea as an evening snack. I have tasted this bajji only once in Bangalore - Ernakulum intercity express train pantry car. I loved it very much and I decided to blog this recipe at that instance. But I couldn’t find nendram pazham/etha pazham in my area.
Recently I got few ripen nendram pazham from my neighbor. My neighbors from Kerala used to buy this nendram pazham regularly and feed their toddlers for breakfast as it has lots of health benefits. As soon as I got the ripen banana, this pazham pori recipe flashed in my mind. I browsed for few recipes and videos to make a crispy pazham pori just like the ones I tasted in train. I came across many pazham pori recipes with eggs, besan flour and even with wheat flour. But I wanted to try the traditional, authentic ones with Maida and rice flour.
Finally I got this recipe from my neighbor and tried it for our evening snacks. This sweet bajji is of my kind. I loved it a lot more than Raksha & Sendhil. We are planning to visit Kerala during this summer vacation. I have a big list of dishes to taste in Kerala hotels. This pazham pori is also one among them. I will try to update this post and share a picture in my Instagram feed from Kerala tea shop. Now lets see how to make Kerala special Pazham pori recipe with step by step pictures and video !
Pazham Pori Recipe - Kerala Ethakka Appam
Pazham Pori Recipe - Kerala Ethakka Appam - Kerala Nendram Pazham Bajji Recipe
Sugar – 1 to 2 tbsp ( based on the sweetness of banana)
Turmeric powder – 1/8 tsp
Cooking Soda – a pinch (optional)
Jeera / Cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp
Crushed Cardamom seeds – 1 no ( optional)
Water – 1 cup ( approx)
Cooking oil or coconut oil - to deep fry
HOW TO MAKE PAZHAM PORI - METHOD
Take the ripen banana and peel the skin. Cut into long, thin or thick strips as you wish. Set aside. Taste a small piece of banana to know the sweetness. Mine looked over ripen and black as u see in the picture. But It was mildly sweet. So I had to add more sugar in the batter. The quantity of sugar in the batter depends on the sweetness of banana.
In a wide bowl,take the maida, rice flour, sugar, turmeric powder, cumin seeds, cardamom powder and a small pinch of cooking soda. Adding soda is optional. Mix well.
Add water little by little and make a smooth, lump free batter. Batter should not be too thin or too thick. Its consistency should be like bajji batter.It should fall like a thin ribbon. Batter should coat the banana well. So make it accordingly. Please watch the video for reference. I used approx 1 to 1.25 cups of water.
Heat oil in a kadai and when it gets heated ,drop a pinch of batter to check oil temperature. If it rises to the top immediately, oil heat is just right.
Now take one banana strip and coat well on both the sides in the batter. Drop in hot oil. Deep fry 2-3 pazham pori for one batch. Flip & Cook in medium flame on fry both the sides till golden. Remove in a tissue paper. Serve hot to enjoy its best taste.Tea with pazham pori is a classic combo in Kerala. You too give a try and enjoy !
Note
Rice flour is not used in many recipes. But I added it to make crispy pazham pori.
Cardamom powder is also optional. If you want the flavor of banana to be dominant, skip it.
Adjust the quantity of sugar based on the sweetness of banana.
Adding cooking soda is optional. If you don’t add pazham pori looks flat and thin. But mine looked slightly bulgy because of soda. Its your choice of how you want it.
Try this Kerala special snack – Pazham pori at home for your tea time and enjoy !!
This is my second post on vegetarian spaghetti recipe. I started trying out spaghetti based recipes recently and my first recipe was easy garlic spaghetti. We loved that a lot. So Raksha & Sendhil asked me to try some varieties of spaghetti recipes for breakfast. Last Sunday I made this easy, Indian style tomato spaghetti recipe with very simple ingredients. I browsed many vegetarian spaghetti recipes and tried it finally with my own twist. It came out really well and we all loved it.
Raksha took 2 servings which made me very happy. For Raksha, I used red chilli flakes, pepper powder in little quantity for less spicy taste and added more cheese whereas for myself & Sendhil, I added more spices, used Italian seasoning and made it without cheese. It was tasting great and packed with full flavor.
Friends, do try this easy, yummy tomato spaghetti recipe for your kids and family.Adjust the spice level based on their taste buds. I am sure they will love it. Lets see how to make this easy, Indian vegetarian tomato spaghetti recipe with step by step photos and video !
Tomato spaghetti recipe - Indian vegetarian spaghetti recipe
Easy tomato spaghetti recipe - Indian vegetarian style recipe for breakfast & dinner !
Boil 8 cups of water in a wide bowl. Add 1 tsp of cooking oil or olive oil, add 1 tsp salt. Put the spaghetti and let it cook till half done. Now add the whole tomato in spaghetti water and let it cook. Remove the tomato to a plate after its skin gets cracked ( blanched) .
But keep cooking the spaghetti in medium flame for 20 minutes till it turns soft yet firm. i.e Cook Al dente. If you cover & cook, water may spill. So cook it in medium flame till 3/4 th of the water is absorbed.Then cover & cook for 10 minutes to become soft. Take one spaghetti and check it. Break it with your fingers. Taste one. If its soft and slightly chewy, spaghetti is done. Please checkTHIS LINK for cooking spaghetti in detail !
Peel the skin of tomato and grind it to a puree. Set aside.Transfer the cooked spaghetti to a colander and drain the excess water. Wash the spaghetti in the running tap water so that it remains firm. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a kadai and saute the finely chopped garlic cloves. When it starts to turn golden, add the finely chopped onion and capsicum. Saute till onion turns transparent.
Now add the tomato puree, salt, red chilli flakes, pepper powder , sugar and Italian seasoning ( If using). Mix for a minute and then add the cooked spaghetti. Toss well till the spaghetti is evenly coated with the sauce.Switch off the flame and add the grated cheese. Mix well, remove and serve hot !
Enjoy !
Note
Spaghetti takes more time to cook. It took nearly 25 minutes in medium to high flame. I covered & cooked it for the last 5 minutes.
Washing the cooked spaghetti in running water helps to keep the spaghetti stay firm.
You can cook the spaghetti and keep in advance if making for guests or parties.
You can add canned tomato puree too.
Adding Italian seasoning is purely optional. But it gives a nice flavor to the dish.
If you have fresh or dried basil, you can add that too.
Try this yummy, tomato spaghetti recipe at home for breakfast/dinner !
Arisi paruppu payasam recipe - Rice moong dal payasam recipe 
