When I posted North Indian Navratri recipes for 9 days, I found Rice kheer recipe (Chawal ki kheer in Hindi) is one of the most important prasad recipes offered on Navratri 3rd day for Mata Chandraghanta & 8th day for Maa MahaGauri & Kanya puja. So I wanted to try rice kheer and post in my food book. Usually I make South Indian rice kheer (Paal payasam in Tamil) by roasting and pressure cooking rice in milk. But North Indian kheer is prepared in a different method. Authentically, basmati rice or long grain rice (Chawal) is soaked in water, cooked in full fat milk in an open kadai simmering in low flame for long time. As the rice gets cooked, quantity of milk is reduced. It becomes thick and creamy. Kheer gets a natural color & sweetness from rice & milk. Then cooked rice is sweetened with sugar, boiled till thick and then flavored with cardamom & garnished with nuts. It can be served warm or chilled as you like. It tastes finger licking delicious. I saw few recipes with condensed milk (Milk maid) instead of sugar but I went with the traditional procedure & used sugar. Some people also made it with left over rice.
As I had already posted Bengali Chaler Payesh, making this North Indian rice kheer was not so difficult for me as the procedure is similar. After watching many video recipes and websites, I could do it confidently. It came out really well and tasty. Even though the quantity of rice is less, the yield of this kheer is more. Sendhil & myself enjoyed it taking 2 to 3 servings. Do try this simple and easy rice kheer during this navratri, offer God and get her blessings. Soon I till try to post an easier version of this kheer by using pressure cooker & condensed milk. Now Lets see how to make rice kheer recipe with step by step pictures and video !
Wash and soak rice in water for 30 mins to 1 hour.
Roll boil milk in a pan.
Add soaked rice, boil in medium flame.
Stir at regular intervals and boil till rice is cooked soft.
Add sugar, cardamom powder and boil till slightly thick.
Garnish with chopped nuts and serve warm or chilled.
Rice Kheer Recipe / Chawal Ki Kheer - Step by step photos
Wash and soak rice in water for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Boil milk in a wide pan. When it roll boils, simmer the flame. Add the soaked rice.
Cook rice in medium flame by stirring at regular intervals to avoid burnt bottom. It takes nearly 20 to 25 minutes for rice to cook. You can also cover cook for last 5 minutes to make the rice soft. But keep the flame very low.
After rice is cooked, add sugar, cardamom powder.Sugar melts and kheer becomes watery.
Boil till kheer becomes slightly thick.i.e when you pour, rice & milk should not separate. They should be well blended but pourable. This is the right consistency. Remember this kheer thickens when cool down. So add more boiled milk, adjust sugar if needed. Garnish with chopped nuts, saffron threads and serve warm or chilled by refrigerating it.
Notes
Soaking helps the rice to cook quick & soft. If you don't have time, you can wash and cook the rice without soaking too.
Add more sugar if you have sweet teeth, but not more than 1/3 cup.
I have not used ghee. If you wish, you can roast the nuts in ghee and add to kheer.
To make a quick version, you can cook rice & milk in a pressure cooker.
You can also use condensed milk instead of sugar.Add 3 tbsp. Guess it will be enough.
If you like kesar flavor, add saffron soaked milk.But color of kheer becomes yellow.
Easy to cook, delicious, festival special rice kheer is ready to enjoy !
South Indian, North IndianNavratri Recipes for 9 days golu at home . In this post, I have framed a list of Navarathri prasadam recipes of Tamil nadu, Andhra and North India for nine days as per my readers request. Last year I made a detailed post on how to keep golu at home. At that time, many of my readers asked me to make a post on Navratri naivedyam recipes list. So today I have come up with the list of prasad recipes like rice varieties, sweets, sundal recipes/snacks based on South Indian and North Indian Navratri festival. Hope this post will be helpful to you all.
In Tamil nadu, during Navarathri people worship Goddess Durga for the first three days, Goddess Lakshmi for the second three days and Goddess Saraswathi for the last 3 days. People used to offer some sweets and sundal recipes for God in front of Golu. Even though navarathri is a 9 days festival, the day that comes before Navarathri i.e Amavasya and the day after Navratri where we celebrate the victory of good over evil as Vijayadasami, comes to 11 days.
Married ladies & young girls are invited to home and we give thaamboolam along with a sundal variety or sweet as Golu prasadham. We usually keep the golu on Pradhamai day evening. So we offer sweet pongal/sakkarai pongaland chana sundal/kondakadalai sundal for neivedyam and we offer some fruits, rock candy on Vijayadasami day.
I have shared this table of naivedyam recipes by referring Nataraja Deekshithar’s blog post. He had given a clear explanation about Navaratri celebration in temples and its importance. He has also mentioned the list of flowers, leaves, kolam, fruits, Neivedyam and Raga to be used for Navratri 9 days. I took the neivedyam recipes, added 2 more recipes for each day morning & evening neivedyam and framed this table.
I have given different sweet recipes, rice variety and sundal recipes for 9 days. You can alter the sweets and sundal varieties based on your liking. But the rice variety given here is as per the tradition according to Deekshithar’s post. So you can follow the same. I have linked all the recipes to my post. You can click on that to view the respective ones. I am yet to post few sundal recipes in this list. I will do it this week.
I hope this table would be useful for people who wants to get some ideas for Navratri recipes. Ok, lets check the table below.
In Andhra Pradesh, Navadurga ( Nine aspects of Goddess Durga) is worshipped during Navratri. Varieties of prasadam is offered to God on these nine days.
In North India, People worship nine different forms of Maa Durga.
Day 1 – Maa Shailaputri to bless disease free life Day 2 - Mata Brahmacharini to increase longevity of family members Day 3 - Mata Chandraghanta to fulfill all the wishes and provides relief from worldly pains Day 4 - Maa Kushmanda to improve the intellect and decision making ability Day 5 - Mata Skandmata to keep the physique healthy Day 6 - Maa Katyayani for health and happiness Day 7 - Maa Kaalratri to remove Evil powers Day 8 - Maa Mahagauri to provide success in life(Kanya puja is performed) Day 9 - Maa Siddhidatri for all sidhi
People perform fasting, pooja and pray the Goddess by offering nine different bhog on these 9 days. Lets see them below. Sorry, I have not shared Vrat ka recipes ideas. I have just mentioned the sweet recipes and the ingredients you can offer on these 9 days.
DISCLAIMER : I have made this list based on the inputs from various sources. Please alter them according to your tradition by consulting your family elders.
How to make Kozhukattai dough( Kozhukattai maavu in Tamil) with step by step pictures and video. Dough for kozhukattai outer covering (Mel maavu) can be prepared at home using raw rice or with store bought rice flour / idiyappam flour / Anil Kozhukattai flour (unroasted rice flour).
Kozhukattai made using homemade processed rice flour always gives the best and soft kozhukattai. But many of us like to ease our job by using store bought kozhukattai flour or idiyappam flour. Yes, ready made kozhukattai maavu or idiyappam maavu also gives decent results when compared with the traditional ones.
So I have shared 3 methods of making kozhukattai outer cover using store bought rice flour. You can try any based on your liking. I learnt method 1 & method 2 from my MIL. Method 3 is from my friend Shalini. She also taught me a traditional method of homemade kozhukattai dough. I will share it tomorrow. I personally like method 2 because I follow the same procedure for making idiyappam. So I am used to this method and its more convenient to me.
There are few points you should keep in mind to make soft and crack free kozhukattai. I have shared few tips and tricks to make perfect kozhukattai dough. I have also made a short video on the making of this dough in 3 ways. I hope beginners would find it useful.
North Indian style modak dough differs in method and ratio of water & flour. I will share that post later. Now Lets see how to make kozhukattai maavu using rice flour with step by step pictures and video.
Kozhukattai dough - Kozhukattai maavu in 3 ways
How to make Kozhukattai dough using store bought rice flour
Store bought kozhukattai flour or idiyappam flour - 1 cup ( I used Anil kozhukattai maavu)
Water - as needed ( 1.5 to 1.75 cups)
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Sesame oil or ghee - 1 tsp
Sesame oil - to grease hands
How to make Kozhukattai Maavu in 3 ways
Method 1 : Heat 1.5 cups of water in a bowl adding salt and oil.
When the water roll boil, add the rice flour.Stir without lumps.
Mix well in low flame till its thick.
Dough will be formed.Remove from flame.
Cover till it becomes warm. Remove in a plate and knead with greased hands.
It will become smooth and crack free.Cover with wet cloth and lid till use.
Method 2 : Boil 2 cups of water adding salt & oil/ghee.
Let the water roll boil.Add the required water to 1 cup rice flour, mix well.
Knead when warm. It will become smooth and crackfree.Wrap with wet cloth and cover with lid till use.
Method 3 : Mix 1 cup rice flour and 2 cups of water adding salt & oil/ghee.
Heat a kadai and add the rice flour batter.
Mix till thick in low flame. Knead after it becomes warm.
Wrap the dough with wet cloth and cover with a lid till use.
Kozhukattai dough - Step by step pictures
Always prepare the stuffing/pooranam before making kozhukattai dough because fresh dough gives best kozhukattai.
Method 1: Measure 1 cup of store bought idiyappam flour or kozhukattai flour. Boil 1.5 cups of water in a kadai adding salt and oil/ghee.
Add the rice flour to the water and mix well till it becomes thick and forms a dough. Touch the dough with your fingers to see if its sticky. If its slightly sticky or non-sticky, dough is done.
Switch off the flame, transfer to a plate.Let it become warm enough to handle. Grease the hands with oil and knead the dough for 5 minutes till smooth and crack free.
Wrap the dough with wet cloth and cover it with a lid till use. You can store the dough for 6 to 8 hours without refrigeration.
Method 2: Take 1 cup of rice flour in a plate. Keep aside.
Boil 2 cups of water adding salt and 1 tsp oil/ghee in a wide bowl.
When the water roll boils vigorously, remove and add to the rice flour gradually. Mix with a ladle.Add water little by little and keep mixing. Kozhukattai maavu takes 1.25 to 1.5 cups and not more. But I always boil more water and keep it ready in hand to mix if needed.So I have mentioned 2 cups of water.
Mix to become thick,non-sticky dough. Transfer to a plate and cover till warm. Knead with greased hands for 5 minutes till smooth and crackfree.
When the water roll boils vigorously, remove and add to the rice flour gradually. Mix with a ladle.Add water little by little and keep mixing. Kozhukattai maavu takes 1.25 to 1.5 cups and not more. But I always boil more water and keep it ready in hand to mix if needed.So I have mentioned 2 cups of water.
Method 3: Mix 1 cup of rice flour with 2 cups of water and 1/2 tsp salt. Whisk to make a thin batter.Heat 1 tsp ghee in a kadai and add the rice flour batter.
Mix in low flame till it becomes a thick dough.It leaves the pan and becomes a smooth dough. Keep stirring continuously to avoid lumps.
Remove the dough to a plate and cover till warm. Grease hands and knead well for 5 minutes till dough becomes completely non-sticky and smooth without cracks.
Cover the cloth with a wet dough and keep aside till use. Keep the stuffing inside the dough and make kozhukattai.
Notes
First make the stuffing part/pooranam before making the dough because dough should not sit for long time.
Kneading is important to make the dough crack free.
Dough should be non-sticky and smooth without cracks to make perfect kozhukattai.
I used Anil Kozhukattai maavu.You can use idiyappam flour as well.
Water quantity may vary as per the flour you use. Anil kozhukattai maavu takes 1.25 to 1.5 cups of water.
Make this kozhukattai dough using store bought rice flour and ease your job !
Last year I shared an easy paal kozhukattai recipe with milk, coconut milk and sugar. I know paal kozhukattai is a very popular dessert recipe in Chettinad, Tamil nadu. So I was looking for some authentic recipes to try it. Finally I found it from an YouTube video of Nagu’s Nalabagam. Based on that recipe, I tried it yesterday for my Thursday Guru pooja neivedyam. It was very tasty with the nice flavor of coconut milk, jaggery and moong dal. It is prepared without milk. Still kozhukattai came out very soft. Addition of cooked moong dal makes the paal kozhukattai thick and more flavorful.
I guess there are many variations in this particular recipe. Friends from Chettinad region, do let me know if there is any change in this recipe. I am happy to try again and post it. Ganesh Chaturthi is fast approaching. I think many people make paal kozhukattai apart from other kozhukattai varieties. Try this yummy paal kolukattai with jaggery. You will love its result. Lets see how to make Chettinad style paal kozhukattai with step by step photos.
I will try to share some useful kozhukattai video recipes from tomorrow for Vinayagar Chaturthi .
Store bought kozhukattai flour or idiyappam flour - 1/2 cup ( I used Anil kozhukattai maavu)
Water - 3/4 to 1 cup
Thick coconut milk -1/2 cup
Grated jaggery - 3/4 cup ( Add 1 cup for more sweetness)
Moong dal - 1.5 tbsp
Water - 3 cups for cooking the rice balls
Cardamom - 2 nos
Sesame oil or ghee - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
How to make Chettinad paal kozhukattai
Dry roast and pressure cook moong dal. Grind coconut and take coconut milk.
Boil water. Add 1 tsp oil and salt.
When the water roll boil, add the rice flour. Stir well.
Mix well in low flame till its thick.
Dough will be formed.Remove from flame.
Remove in a plate and knead with greased hands for 5 minutes till smooth.
Make small balls from the dough and keep in a plate.
Boil 3 cups of water. Cook the balls till it floats on top.
Melt jaggery, strain and add the syrup, cardamom powder, moong dal. Boil for 5 minutes.Lastly add the coconut milk, mix once and switch off the flame. Serve hot!
Paal kozhukattai recipe - Step by step photo
Dry roast moong dal in a cooker base. Roast till it gets nice aroma. Add water and pressure cook till soft. Mash it and set aside. Grind 1 cup of grated coconut adding 1/2 cup warm water.Strain and extract thick milk from it. Keep aside.
In a wide kadai, boil 3/4 cup of water ( flour : water ratio is 1:1.5 or 2 cups based on the flour). Add 1 tsp sesame oil or ghee and salt.Let the water starts to roll boil.When the water starts to roll boil, lower the flame completely and add the rice flour.Mix without lumps.It will become a thick dough.
Switch off the flame, transfer to a plate.Let it become warm enough to handle.
Grease your hands with oil and knead the dough for 5 minutes till it becomes non-sticky, smooth and crack free.Cover the dough with a wet cloth till use.
Make small balls or cylinder shaped lengthy ones with the dough. Arrange them in a plate. While you roll the balls, cover the remaining dough with wet cloth. It should not dry.
Boil 3 cups of water in a wide bowl. When the water roll boils vigorously, add half of the rolled balls. Let it cook in high flame for 2 minutes. Do not cover it. Cooked kozhukattai will float on top. Now add the remaining rolled balls and cook everything together for 3 minutes.Stir it once in the middle gently.
Alternatively you can steam cook the balls in idli pot for 10 minutes and remove when warm. Please check my easy paal kolukattai recipe for step-by-step pictures.
Strain the jaggery syrup and add to the cooked kozhukattai water. Mix gently and boil for a minute.
Add cardamom powder, boiled moong dal and thick coconut milk. Mix well and boil for 1 minute in very low flame. Remove and serve hot or cold.
Notes
Adding oil in the water helps to cook the dough non-sticky and soft.
Kneading is important to make the dough crack free.
Kozhukattai will break and dissolve in water if you add without boiling the water. Water should roll boil well.
I used Anil Kozhukattai maavu.You can use idiyappam flour as well.
Try this yummy paal kozhukattai with jaggery and coconut milk. You will enjoy it !
Last year during Diwali, I tried this easy kalakand recipe using paneer and condensed milk ( Milk Maid) by watching YouTube video. Kalakand recipe is nothing but a rich milk cake. It is one of the popular desserts in West Bengal, Rajasthan, Delhi and some places in North India. Traditionally it is prepared by boiling and thickening milk with sugar. It takes hours to prepare.
This easy and instant kalakand recipe calls for just 3 ingredients namely Paneer/Chenna, Condensed milk and cardamom powder. For variations, it can be prepared with ricotta cheese instead of paneer and rose water or kewra essence can be added instead of cardamom powder. It can be prepared so easily and quickly. Its ideal for beginners. In North India, I heard people make Kalakand for Janmashtami as it is a milk based sweet. So I thought of sharing this easy and instant kalakand recipe for this Gokulashtami. Do try this easy, Instant Kalakand recipe using condensed milk and store bought paneer. Lets see how to make it with step by step photos.
Kalakand recipe with condensed milk
Easy, instant kalakand recipe with condensed milk / milk maid
Paneer / Indian Cottage Cheese - 1 cup ( I used Milky mist brand)
Milk maid or Amul condensed milk - 200 ml tin
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Butter or ghee - 1 tsp
HOW TO MAKE KALAKAND
Crumble or grate the paneer.
In a kadai, heat 1 tsp ghee and add the condensed milk. Mix well.
Add grated paneer, cardamom powder and mix well.
When the mixture thickens and leaves the sides of pan, switch off flame.
Transfer to a greased or butter paper lined bowl. Refrigerate for an hour. Cut into pieces.
Garnish with chopped nuts. Serve !
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Take the store bought paneer and grate it. Measure 1 cup from it ( loosely packed) and keep aside.Line a pan with butter paper or grease it well with ghee and set aside.
Heat ghee in a non-stick kadai and add the condensed milk. Mix well in very low flame.
Add grated paneer, cardamom powder or rose water and mix well. Paneer absorbs condensed milk and it will thicken initially. But if you keep mixing in low flame, mixture will become loose and watery.
Keep the flame medium and stir well. After 3 to 4 minutes, it will start to thicken and leave the sides of pan. Mix for a minute. You will see the mixture becoming grainy and thick. Switch off the flame and remove the pan immediately.
Pour it to the butter paper lined pan for 2 inch thickness. Level it and refrigerate it for 1 to 2 hours till its well set. Garnish with chopped nuts and stud it well. Cut into pieces and serve chilled for best taste.
Enjoy !
Note
You can add some sugar ( say 1tbsp) if you feel sweet is less.
Fresh chena tastes the best. But I used store bought paneer.
If you mix for long time, kalakand may become chewy.So remove at the right time.
If you are not able to cut into pieces, refrigerate for more time.
I wanted to post no burst Maida seedai recipe during last year Gokulashtami but I couldn’t. So this year I thought of starting my Gokulashtami recipes with some interesting seedai varieties. For Krishna Jayanthi, we make seedai recipes using rice flour. I came to know about this maida sweet seedai ( Inippu seedai) and maida kara seedai recipes when my fellow bloggers posted it. When I read this seedai is a no burst, fool proof recipe that is ideal for beginners, I was very happy and confident to try it.
I thought maida has to be steam cooked to make this cheedai. But when I saw this easy, instant sweet seedai recipe in Sharmis passions, I tried it immediately. But I used less milk. Even though its my first try, it came out really well. It had cracks but still I was happy with the results as it tasted great. My MIL usually says sweet seedai have mild cracks. The taste of this sweet maida seedai reminded me tea kadai vettu cakeand sweet maida biscuit. This seedai tastes crispy outside and soft inside. You can store this seedai for a week and enjoy. If you trying for the first time, do follow the same quantity mentioned in this post. Once you get them perfect, you can make in bulk quantity. Friends, do try this interesting seedai variety for Gokulashtami and enjoy. Lets see how to make Maida sweet seedai with step by step photo and video !
Add milk gradually and make a slightly sticky dough.
Grease your fingers with ghee or oil and make small balls.
Spread them in a dry cloth and rest for 10 minutes.
Deep fry till golden in low to medium flame. Remove and store after it cools down.
Maida sweet seedai recipe - Step by step photo
Powder 1/4 cup sugar along with 2 cardamom. Remove in a bowl and measure 1/4 cup from it.
In a wide bowl, take 1 tsp melted ghee. Add cooking soda, powdered sugar, all purpose flour, sesame seeds.
Mix well till crumbly to spread the ghee in flour. Add milk little by little and make a slightly sticky dough. Take care you add the milk slowly else dough will become very sticky. Don't worry if its too sticky, add 1 tsp more maida and try to bring the dough slightly sticky. No need to rest the dough. Roll the balls immediately.
Grease your fingers with ghee or oil and roll the seedai. Make small sized, smooth balls without cracks using three fingers.Do not roll tight. Spread them in a dry cloth. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a kadai. Drop a pinch of dough. If it comes to the top immediately, oil temperature is right. Lower the flame completely. Take the balls and make a perfect round if its flat.
Drop 10 to 15 seedai per batch by standing a feet away( Just for precaution) But don't scare, this seedai never burst. Do not disturb the seedai in oil till it starts to float on top. Then toss the seedai with a ladle and cook till golden in color uniformly. Keep tossing whenever needed. Flame should be low to medium for uniform cooking else seedai will become dark brown quickly.
Remove when the bubbles reduces. Do not wait for the bubbles to stop completely. This seedai becomes slightly bigger in size after frying. It tastes soft when hot. It becomes crunchy when it cool down. Store it after they cool down. Enjoy. It stays good for weeks together.
Notes
Do not add more cooking soda. Seedai may disperse in oil.
Do not make the dough too sticky and loose. Seedai will dissolve in oil.
If the dough is too sticky, you can add 1 to 2 tsp more flour to achieve the right texture.
After rolling, if the balls flatten, it shows moisture is more in the dough. In that case, roll it again and then drop in oil.
As I had already posted Bengali Chaler Payesh, making this North Indian rice kheer was not so difficult for me as the procedure is similar. After watching many video recipes and websites, I could do it confidently. It came out really well and tasty. Even though the quantity of rice is less, the yield of this kheer is more. Sendhil & myself enjoyed it taking 2 to 3 servings. Do try this simple and easy rice kheer during this navratri, offer God and get her blessings. Soon I till try to post an easier version of this kheer by using pressure cooker & condensed milk. Now Lets see how to make rice kheer recipe with step by step pictures and video !
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