Poornam Boorelu/Poornalu/ Burelu (In Telugu) is one of the most important Neivedyam /Prasadam recipes for Varalakshmi Vratham in Andhra. Most of the people make this during Diwali and Ganesh chaturthi too. Boorelu is very similar to Tamil nadu style Suzhiyam/Suzhiyanrecipe but the ingredients used for the outer covering is different. In suzhiyan, maida and rice flour is used for the outer covering whereas boorelu needs rice + urad dal batter (Just like dosa batter) for the covering. Otherwise, the procedure for making Pooranam is one and the same. Pooranam ( Stuffing) can be made with Senaga pappu ( Chana Dal ), Pesarapappu ( Moong dal ) or Kobbari ( Coconut). This morning I tried it for pooja and of course to post this special recipe on this Varamahalakshmi festival day. Even though its my first attempt, it came out very well and I am happy with the result. For this recipe, I asked my neighbor Sowjanya who is from Andhra. She told, on Varamahalakshmi, they make a count of 9 boorelu/poornalu and offer to God. It should be consumed only by the family members after the pooja. So its a must and should sweet recipe to be made for them during this festival.She shared her recipe along with some useful tips too. Thank you Sowjanya for the perfect recipe. We all loved it. Do try this Andhra special sweet recipe for festivals and have a great celebration. Ok, Lets see how to make Pooranam Boorelu ( Poornalu) with step by step pictures.
Wash and soak the rice and dal together for minimum 4 hours. Over night soaking is also fine. Grind it to a slightly coarse paste in dosa batter consistency adding required water. Make sure batter is not too thin. Set the batter aside for one to 5 hours. But I used it immediately without resting time.
Wash and pressure cook chana dal adding enough water. Chana dal should be blossomed and retain its shape ( i.e when you press the dal, it should become mushy) Do not over cook the dal. Grind it to a coarse paste without adding water or mash it with a ladle.
In a pan, melt jaggery adding water. Strain it to remove the impurities using a metal strainer. Boil the syrup till it becomes frothy or reaches one string consistency. Add the ground chana dal paste, cardamom powder and grated coconut. Mix well till it becomes a whole mass and leaves the sides of pan. Switch off the stove and let it become warm. Make balls of golf balls size and arrange in a plate.
Heat oil to deep fry. Test the oil temperature by dropping a pinch of batter. If it rises to the top, oil heat is just right. Simmer the flame completely.Take the ground batter, add sugar, mix well. Dip a stuffing ball into the batter using a spoon. Wipe the excess batter in the sides of vessel and deep fry the balls in medium flame till it turns slightly golden with brown spots.Do not fry for long time. Remove in a tissue. Offer to GOD and get the blessings. Enjoy eating!
NOTE : You should make 9 or 5 balls and offer to GOD. It should be eaten only by the family members.Do not give this as prasad to others.
Tip 1 : Adding sugar in the batter gives a mild sweet taste to the outer covering too. So it won't taste bland.
Tip 2 : Poornam should be thick and there should not be any moisture content in it else it will disperse in oil when you deep fry the balls.So add besan flour if needed to make the stuffing thick.
Tip 3 : If the batter is thin, you can add some rice flour to bring the right consistency.
Note
You can use the remaining batter to make dosa or punugulu.
While cooking dal , if u add more water , drain the excess water and grind to a smooth paste.
If there is more moisture in the cooked dal, you can add some besan flour to thicken the stuffing quickly.
It stays soft and good for 1-2 days.
Enjoy this delicious traditional Andhra sweet at home !
Andhra Pulihora also known as Chintapandu Pulihora in Telugu is a must try recipe during festival time. As Varalakshmi Vratham is fast approaching, I thought of sharing some Andhra style neivedyam recipes for this festival. This morning, I was asking my friend Megha about Varalakshmi Vratham special recipes as her MIL belongs to Andhra. She suggested recipes like Boorelu, appalu, Garelu and Pulihora. As our family is a big fan of tamarind rice, I started with this recipe. The ingredients and preparation of Andhra Pulihora is completely different from our Tamil nadu style Puliodharai. Its a very simple recipe without any grinding job. In the traditional temple style pulihora recipe, they add sesame seeds powder or mustard powder. But I made the basic version as told by Megha and watched Attammaa TV YouTube video recipe too for more reference. This Puliogare paste i.e. Pulihora Pulusu can be quickly made in minutes if you have readymade tamarind paste in hand. Its an ideal choice for quick lunch box recipe. Raksha loved it a lot and asked me for second serving as well. But this pulihora needs a standing time of minimum 2 hours for all its flavors to blend well. So friends do prepare this rice at least two hours before serving to relish its actual taste and flavor. Now lets see the step by step recipe of how to prepare Andhra Pulihora / Chintapandu pulihora in detail.
Ridge gourd (Turai/Luffa/Torai in Hindi, Peerkangai in Tamil, Beerakaya in Telugu, Hirekai in Kannada, Peechinga in Malayalam) has lot of health benefits.It is low in cholesterol and saturated fats but high in vitamin C, dietary fiber, riboflavin, thiamin, zinc, iron, manganese and magnesium. Usually I make Ridge gourd thogayal or Peerkangai Chutney/kuzhambu for rice. But recently I tried Ridge gourd peel/skin chutney and Andhra Beerakaya pappu for the first time. I followed this dal recipe from Prathiba’s blog. I tweeked a bit & It came out well. Its a quick and easy, one pot dal recipe for rice. Apt for working women and Bachelors. Soon I must try Ridge gourd curry/poriyal and gravy for chapathi too. Lets see how to make this easy Andhra style ridge gourd dal/Beerakaya Pappu.
Basically I love to make different varieties of chutney for idli,dosa.So I keep hunting some interesting chutney recipes even after posting40+ chutney recipes in my blog. I wanted to make variations in peanut chutney as Sendhil loves peanuts.I have tried Andhra stylepeanut chutney with coconut & peanut tomato chutney.But Peanut onion chutney without coconut was pending in my list.So I tried it last week for dosa.It was awesome.We all loved it.I am happy to include this yummy recipe in my chutney collection.I have not removed the skin of peanuts in this chutney after reading some health benefits of peanut skin HERE.So this chutney is quick and easy to make.Try this tasty side dish for idli,dosa.You will love it like us.Lets see how to make peanut onion chutney below.
Sendhil loves chutneys made using groundnut.I usually make Peanut/Groundnut chutney in this way.I was looking for a Peanut/Kadlekai chutney with the combination of tomato & red chillies but without onion.I came across this recipe in Sailu’s kitchen.In Andhra,this chutney is known as Palli Pachadi.I tried it by adjusting the quantity of chillies as per my family’s taste.It came out very well.Sendhil loved it a lot with hot idli.It tasted great for dosa as well.Friends,do try this chutney recipe if you are a peanut lover.You will make it very often.Color of this chutney may vary if you use more chillies & tomato.Lets see how to make this yummy Andhra style side dish for idli dosa - tomato palli chutney.I forgot to tell you – It’s a no onion no garlic recipe .I am happy to add this chutney to my35 chutney recipes collection.
Andhra Tomato Peanut chutney Recipe
Peanut chutney adding tomato--Palli Pachadi in Andhra style !
Cuisine:Andhra
Category:Side dish
Serves:Serves 2
Prep time:10 Minutes
Cook time:10 Minutes
Total time:20 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
Groundnut/Peanuts - 1/4 cup
Tomato - 2 nos ( small) OR 1 big
Red chillies - 2 nos
Green chilli - 1 no
Tamarind - a pinch (optional)
Salt &water – as needed
To temper
Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Hing/Asafetida -a pinch
METHOD
Roast the peanuts in medium flame for 5 minutes till it turns crispy. I roasted in microwave high power for 3 minutes.Rub the skin and take the groundnuts in a plate.
In a kadai,heat oil and saute the red chillies,green chillies,tomatoes until tomato turns mushy. Lastly add the roasted peanuts,tamarind and salt.Switch off the flame and let it cool.Grind it to a smooth paste adding water.
Temper mustard seeds,hing & curry leaves. Add to the chutney !Serve with idli,dosa.
Enjoy !
Note
Add more chillies if u like spicy chutney.
I sauteed the green chillies too.But the original recipe called for using raw chilli.
Sorry for this week's delayed post.My younger sister Radha was here for the past week.We had a great time together after years by spending most of the time in chatting,shopping etc.So i gave a small break to my blog posts.Today’s Sunday biryani recipe is Hyderabad’s most popular qabooli biryani made using chana dal.I made this for my sister and she loved it a lot.When I heard about the title of this biryani,I wondered how come a biryani can be made just by using chana dal.But when I prepared it,I was really amazed with the flavor and taste.For any biryani,it’s the whole garam masala and spice powders that matters the taste.Even if u add vegetables,meat or make plain biryani,the right amount of spices is the key.For this biryani,Curd chutney is the best side dish that is served in Hyderabad,Andhra.So I made perugu pachadi/Curd chutney(Dahi chutney) by referring Preeti’s blog.For this biryani recipe,I watched Vahchef’s video and referred preeti’s recipe too.Friends,do try this kabuli chana biryani with curd chutney for your Sunday Lunch.Relish it with your family.
Kabuli biryani recipe
Hyderabad popular qabooli biryani recipe using chana dal
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Lunch
Serves:Serves 3
Prep time:30 Minutes
Cook time:20 Minutes
Total time:50 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
Basmati rice - 1 cup( India Gate)
Water - 6 cups
Salt - as needed
Whole garam masala - 1 each (cinnamon,cloves,cardamom,bayleaf)
For masala
Chana dal - 1/4 cup
Cooking oil – 2 tbsp
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Whole garam masala( Cinnamon,cloves,cardamom,kalpasi and bayleaf) – 1 each
g&g paste - 1 tsp
Big onion – 1 no ( sliced)
Green chilli – 1 no (slit)
Mint leaves – a handful
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Dhania powder – 1.5 tsp
Curd – 1/2 cup
Lemon juice – few drops
Big onion – 1 no to caramelize
CURD CHUTNEY FOR BIRYANI
Fresh thick curd – 1 cup
Finely chopped green chilli – 1-2 nos
Mint+coriander leaves – 2-3 tbsp
Big onion – 1 no ( finely chopped)
cumin powder- 1/8 tsp
Salt – as needed
METHOD
Wash and soak the basmati rice and chana dal for 30 minutes. Slice the big onion and deep fry till it turns golden brown.Set aside.
Boil 6 cups of water and some salt.Add the whole garam masala.Drain the excess water from the soaked rice.When the water comes to roll boil,add the rice and boil for 5-7 minutes in medium flame.Remove the rice when it is cooked till 90%.Let it cool.Do not drain the boiled water.
In the same water,add the soaked chana dal and cook till its firm and soft.Drain the excess water and keep the cooked chana aside.
Heat oil+ghee in a kadai and saute the whole garam masala.Now add the sliced onions,g&g paste and green chilli.Saute till onion turns transparent.Add mint leaves and mix well.
Add the spice powders and salt one by one and mix well.Lastly add the curd and mix well.Add the cooked chana dal and give a nice boil till the gravy thickens a bit. Make sure there is little water and the gravy is not too dry.
Once the gravy is done,layer the cooked rice and sprinkle some chopped mint leaves.
Garnish with caramalized onions and add some lemon juice.Cover the kadai tightly with a lid and keep the flame low.Put in DUM for 15 minutes.Nice aroma will waft through.It shows your biryani is done.Remove and fluff it with a fork.Serve with curd chutney or mirchi ka salan.These two are meant to be the best side dish for this biryani.
HOW TO MAKE CURD CHUTNEY
Finely chop the green chilli,mint leaves,coriander leaves and onions.Take them in a bowl.Mix thick curd and salt.Beat well and serve.
Enjoy !
Note
I saw some kabuli biryani using black chana. If you are using that,soak the chana overnight and then cook them in pressure cooker till done.
Increase the quantity of green chilli for more spicy biryani.
Enjoy kabuli biryani with this simple curd chutney.It’s the best side dish !
I usually make Chilli bajji / Milagai bajji / Mirchi bajji without any stuffing. Recently when I was talking with my friend Shalini, she told me about this Andhra style chilli bajji with a spicy stuffing. In Telugu, they call it as “Mirapakaya bajji”. The moment she told about this recipe, I started drooling and felt like tasting it right away. Without any delay, I bought the bajji milagai on the same day and made it for our evening tea time snacks.
By getting an idea from Shalini, I googled some Andhra style stuffed chilli bajji recipes with tamarind, roasted gram dal or roatsed peanuts. I watched few you tube videos for the stuffing part. But I followed my usual bajji batter recipe for the outer cover. I was completely happy and satisfied with the outcome.
You can use either homemade bajji mix as I did or store bought instant bajji/bonda mix. What more to pen down, spicy stuffed chilli bajji along with hot ginger tea tasted divine for us. Friends, do try this chilli bajji in this weekend and share your feedback with me. Serve hot hot bajji topped with finely chopped onions and coriander leaves drizzled with lemon juice. I am sure your family will enjoy it to the core. Lets see how to prepare this spicy, hot Andhra style stuffed mirchi bajji recipe with stepwise pictures.
Andhra Mirapakaya bajji recipe / Mirchi bajji
Andhra style mirchi bajji recipe for evening tea time !
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Snacks
Yields:10 nos
Prep time:10 Minutes
Cook time:5 Minutes
Total time:15 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
Long Chilli / Bajji milagai - 5 nos
Oil - to deep fry
For the stuffing
Fried gram dal/Pottukadalai OR roasted peanuts - 1/2 cup
Red chilli powder - 1.5 tsp
Ajwain/Omam- 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
Hing - 1/8 tsp
Chat masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind - small gooseberry size
Salt & water - as needed
For the bajji batter
Besan flour - 1 cup
Rice flour - 1/3 cup
Cooking soda / Baking soda - 1/8 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Food color - a pinch ( optional)
Hing - 3 pinches
Omam/Ajwain - 1/2 tsp
Salt & water - as needed
METHOD - HOW TO MAKE ANDHRA MIRCHI BAJJI
To make Andhra michi bajji, take all the ingredients given under “for stuffing” and grind them to a paste. Check for taste and add more chilli powder if you need.
Wash and cut the chillies into two vertically. Remove the seeds partially or completely based on the spiciness you need. Keep it aside.
Stuff the chilli as you like and arrange in a plate.
In a wide bowl,take the flours, baking soda, salt and mix well to a paste adding little water. Now add more water and bring it to dosa batter consistency. Make sure there are no lumps in the bajji batter. The chilli should be well coated with the batter. So make the batter slightly thick. Too thick batter gives you hard bajji and too thin batter makes tails in the bajji. So consistency of batter is very important.
Now take a stuffed chilli and dip in the batter. Heat oil to deep fry. To check the heat of oil, put a pinch of batter and if it rises immediately, batter is just right.simmer the flame and drop the chilli coated with bajji batter by holding its stem.
Deep fry both the sides till golden brown and crispy. Enjoy eating hot with tea/coffee !
Chop the onions & coriander leaves finely. Sprinkle some salt and add few drops of lemon juice. Mix well. Sprinkle them on top & serve the bajji.
You don’t need any chutney or side dish for this. But kids may like it with tomato sauce. So serve accordingly !
Note
The consistency of batter is very important.To check the right consistency, just dip your finger in batter. If its coated well, the consistency is correct. If the batter is too thin, finger won’t be coated completely. In that case, add some besan and rice flour to adjust the consistency. Check for salt and proceed.
For variations, you can powder & grind roasted peanuts and sesame seeds instead of gram dal.
Adding ajwain to the bajji batter helps for easy digestion. So do not avoid it. If you don’t have ajwain in hand, use jeera/cumin seeds.
Enjoy this hot, Andhra mirapakaya bajji with your evening tea/coffee !
Palakura pappu/Spinach dal is an Andhra based, simple and easy one pot recipe. It can be made under 15 minutes and its a super healthy dish packed with the nutrition of dal & palak leaves. I had tasted this once in Jayanagar, Nagarjuna restaurant. Long back, I shared this Palakoora pappu recipe tried from Sailu’s food in my Andhra Lunch Menu post.
This time I tried it by getting the recipe from my friend Megha & I modified it slightly as per our taste. As her in-laws belong to Andhra, she makes this palak dal very often. Nowadays I make this for Sendhil’s lunch box whenever I don’t have enough time to prepare in busy mornings. Its a great recipe for Bachelors and working women. You can prepare this recipe at least once in a week and have a simple and healthy lunch.
My friend made it spicy but I had reduced the chillies as per my family’s taste. Also Megha told me to add little tamarind extract at the end but I used tomato here. But I read in readers comments in Vahchef's site that palak & tomato should be not be used together. I don't know the actual reason for it. So I am planning to use tamarind extract or lemon juice in place of tomato from next time. Please enlighten me if you know the correct reason. Try this easy palak dal recipe for rice and enjoy !
Palakura pappu recipe
Andhra style dal palak - Palakura pappu
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Lunch
Serves:Serves 4
Prep time:5 Minutes
Cook time:10 Minutes
Total time:15 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 250ml
Palak/Spinach - 2 cups ( 1 big bunch)
Toor dal - 1/2 cup
Tamarind or Tomato OR lemon juice - Berry size or 1 no (Do not chop the tomato)/ few drops
Salt & water - as needed
Big onion - 1 no
Green chillies – 4 nos ( I used 2)
Ginger - 1 inch (finely chopped)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Sugar – a pinch
Oil - a drop
To temper
Cooking oil or ghee - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Garlic cloves - 5 nos ( crushed with skin)
Red chillies - 2 nos ( I used guntur chilli)
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Hing/Asafetida - a big pinch
METHOD
Wash and chop the palak leaves finely.In a pressure cooker base, take the toor dal and add 1.5 to 2 cups of water. Add turmeric powder,roughly chopped big onion, one full tomato(optional) slitted green chillies ginger, ,salt, sugar and chopped palak leaves.{Here I used one tomato.But I read its not good to add palak & tomato together. So If uou don’t want to use tomato, use 1 tsp tamarind extract after cooking the dal and boil well}
Let it pressure cook in low flame for one whistle.After the steam is released,open the cooker and mash everything well using a thick ladle or whisk. Boil it to bring its right consistency.( If you don’t want to use tomato, add tamarind extract after opening the cooker now and boil the mixture for a minute)
In a kadai, heat ghee or oil and splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds, red chilli and crushed garlic cloves. Saute well for a minute and add them to the boiling dal.
Add tamarind extract if uing. Boil for a minute. After the dal becomes slightly thick and pourable, remove it and serve hot with rice adding a drop of ghee. Enjoy ! (Note : You can also add few drops of lemon juice instead of tomato or tamarind).
Note
I read in Vahchef’s site by readers that palak & tomato should not be cooked together. I am not sure about the reason. So if you want to skip tomato, add thick tamarind extract only after cooking the dal palak mixture. You can also use lemon juice instead of tomato or tamarind.
If using tomato, do not chop it and add to dal. Dal won’t be cooked well n mushy. So add it as whole tomato.
Make sure the dal is mashed well after cooking else the mixture will look watery and separate.
You can replace toor dal with moong dal too.
This palakura pappu can be done in another way.ie. Heat oil in a cooker. Temper all the spices given above and then add onions, green chillies, ginger. Saute them for a while and now add the moong dal and washed palak leaves. Add required water and salt. Pressure cook everything for one whistle in low flame.
Easy, healthy Palakura Pappu is ready to relish with hot rice n ghee !
Gongura/Red Sorrel leaves in English,Ambadi in Gujrati,Marathi,Pitwa in Hindi,Pundi in Kannada & Pulichai Keerai in Tamil,Mestapat in bengali and Nalita in other languages is a very famous green variety in Andhra.Most of you would have heard about gongura pickle.But i tried thogayal with it years ago.Yes,this was the first & foremost recipe i tried after marriage from this websiteviagoogle search.Recently a reader asked me to post gongura recipes and especially thogayal recipes.So after a long time,i referred that blog again and made this thogayal yesterday for rice.It was spicy,tangy n yummy when we had with hot rice and ghee.In the original recipe,it was titled as gongura pachadi/gongura chutney but i named it as thogayal because of its thick texture.Its very simple to make and you can store this thogayal for more than a week too.Even bachelor’s can try this and use it for 2-3 days without refrigeration.Soon i will share more gongura recipes like gongura sambar,gongura pappu in my blog and now lets see how to make this yummy Andhra style gongura thogayal for rice.
Gongura thogayal recipe
Andhra style gongura thogayal recipe- Tastes yum with hot rice n ghee !
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Thogayal
Serves:Serves 3
Prep time:10 Minutes
Cook time:10 Minutes
Total time:20 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
To pressure cook
Gongura leaves - Half bunch ( say 3 handful)
Green chillies - 5 nos ( big finger size)
To temper & saute
Sesame oil/Gingely oil OR cooking oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Red chillies - 1 no
Green chillies - 1 no ( slitted)
Curry leaves - few
Hing/Asafetida - A big pinch
Small onions – 5 nos ( whole)
Big onion – 1 no ( small,finely chopped)
METHOD
Wash the gongura leaves,drain the water and take in a pressure cooker base.Add green chillies,salt to it along with little water(Leaves will leave some water.So add little water) Pressure cook in high flame for 2 whistles.Open the lid and let it cool.
Take out 2 green chillies & reserve.Grind the cooked mixture to a smooth paste.Check for taste and add the reserved chillies,grind again. In a kadai,heat oil and splutter mustard seeds,uradl dal,hing,curry leaves,red chillies & green chillies.Add finely chopped big onions and whole,peeled small onions and saute till transparent.
Then add the ground paste and mix will till the mixture thickens and oil leaves from it.If needed add a tbsp of oil in the middle.Remove and let it cool.Store in a box and refrigerate.
Mix with hot rice adding few drops of ghee. Enjoy !
Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of green chillies as per your spice level.
Add a small piece of jaggery while grinding the leaves.
You should saute till oil leaves from the paste and becomes thick.Else this thogayal will spoil soon.
This thogayal stays good for more than a week if stored properly in refrigerator.Use a clean spoon while you handle.
Enjoy mixing this yummy thogayal with plain hot rice adding few drops of ghee !