Last year this day, I tasted Karnataka special Obbattu saaru for the first time in my (school moms group) friend Megha’s house. This title may sound new to some of you. Let me first tell you what it is. Obbattu saaru also known as holige saaru and hoorna saaru is nothing but a rasam kind of gravy that is prepared using leftover pooran/hoorna used for making obbattu. Its one of the most popular recipes in Karnataka. Usually Kannadigas make obbattu(Holige/Puran poli) for almost all the festivals like Ugadi,Varamahalakshmi, Gowri Ganesha etc.
On those days, they never fail to make this obbattina saaru using the left over dal chana dal pooran. Everybody love this saaru equally as obbattu. Authentic version of this gravy requires freshly ground masala with rasam powder/Thili saaru powder, coconut and poppy seeds.
As I don't have Karnataka style rasam powder in hand, I have not shared the traditional method of making obbattu saaru in this post. Instead I have given an easy ans simplified version without using rasam powder from my friend Mega. She taught me a very simple and quick recipe using readymade spice powders. Many thanks to Megha for teaching me this easy n quick version.
To be frank, I love this saaru more than obbattu. The combination of sweet and spicy taste is the highlight of this gravy. It tastes great when its reheated and used the next day. This morning I made obbattu saaru using the leftover chana dal pooranamI made for Ganesh chaturthi kozhukattai/modak.
I am sure many of you would have made this pooran yesterday for Gauri Ganesha festival. So I thought of sharing this simple recipe for you to try if you have some pooran left over in hand. I will try to post the authentic obbattu saaru recipe soon. But before that, try this easy method and let me know how u liked it. .Lets see how to make this Karanataka style easy Obbattu saaru with simple steps.
Do check out my Mysore rasamrecipe if interested !
Obbattu Saaru Recipe
Obbattu Saaru - Karnataka's delicacy using dal pooran
Take the tamarind extract using 1 cup of water. Mix 1 cup of dal water & 1/3 cup of pooran to it. Add finely chopped onion, slit green chillies, curry leaves, salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, dhania powder,hing and mix well. Check for taste and adjust the spices and salt accordingly. (Instead of red chilli powder + dhania powder, you can use Karnataka thili saaru pudi / rasam powder).
Boil well for few minutes till it thickens slightly. Lastly temper mustard seeds, cumin & curry leaves. Add to the gravy. Garnish with coriander leaves & grated coconut.
Enjoy mixing with plain rice & ghee!
Note
Instead of Red chilli powder & dhania powder, you can use thili saaru powder i.e rasam powder if you have. You can also use sambar powder.
Adding grated coconut for garnishing is optional.
You can add a piece of jaggery for more sweet taste.
If you don’t have pooran in hand, pressure cook some toor dal or chana dal, mash it well and use it along with cooked water. Add some jaggery to get sweet taste.
Try this simple version of Obbaattu saaru and enjoy with plain rice !
Kara pidi kozhukattai with store bought rice flour ( spicy kozhukattai recipe )is my favorite kozhukattai recipes since my childhood. My mom makes it at least once in a month as an evening snack for me. Actually my mom makes this kara kolukattai by grinding soaked idli rice or instantly using store bought rice flour or idiyappam flour.
Today I made an instant version using store bought rice flour. This is an easy version of spicy kozhukattai recipe. If you are not able to make Ulundu pooranam kozhukattai for Ganesh chaturthi, this kara kozhukattai is a good alternate option. You can eat this kozhukattai as such or with some coconut chutney or tomato chutney as side dish. Ok, Lets see how to make kara pidi kozhukattai recipe with step by step pictures.
Check out my entire collection of Ganesh Chaturthi Recipes HERE
Kara Pidi Kozhukattai Recipe
Pidi kozhukattai recipe - Kara kozhukattai / Spicy kozhukattai recipe
Cuisine:South Indian
Category:Festival recipes
Serves: 12
Prep time:5 Minutes
Cook time:10 Minutes
Total time:15 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 cup = 250 ml
Store bought rice flour - 1 cup (Use idiyappam or kozhukattai flour)
Water - 2 cups
Salt - as needed
To temper
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tbsp
Chana dal - 1.5 tbsp
Red chillies – 3-4 nos ( pinched into small pieces)
Curry leaves - few
Asafetida/Hing - a big pinch
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
HOW TO MAKE KARA PIDI KOZHUKATTAI - METHOD
Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard seeds, urad dal & chana dal. Saute till golden. Add pinched red chillies and curry leaves. Add hing. Mix well. Add water, grated coconut and salt.
When the water starts to roll boil, simmer the flame completely and add the rice flour. Mix well without lumps. Rice flour absorbs all the water and becomes a whole mass. Gather it and remove in a plate. Let it become warm.
Grease your hands with oil and make kozhukattai using your fingers.Take a big gooseberry sized ball and press it with your fingers to make it elongated. Kozhukattai will get the impression of fingers. Make all the kozhukattai and arrange them in a greased idli plate.
Heat water in a idli pot and let it roll boil. Now keep the idli plate and cook for 5 minutes. Switch off the flame and remove the kozhukattai when it becomes slightly warm. Enjoy !
Note
You can use homemade rice flour if you have in hand.Water quantity may vary slightly.
Red chillies can be replaced with finely chopped green chillies too.
My mom makes this kozhukattai by reserving some idli rice batter while grinding for idli,dosa batter.You can also try that way.
You can also make it by soaking and grinding raw rice. It tastes even more better.
Make this easy, spicy kozhukattai for Ganesh Chaturthi and enjoy !
Mothagam/ Modak recipe is a must to do for Ganesh Chaturthi.It can be prepared with chana dal pooranam or coconut pooranam. My mom makes Thengai poorana kozhukattai (coconut poornam kozhukattai) whereas my MIL makes chana dal pooranam. Last year during Ganesh Chaturthi, I shared an easy, coconut pooran recipe(Thengai poornam). But I love this authentic version more than the instant ones. I make coconut pooran mostly for Kerala ila ada or puran poli. This year I wanted to make this mothagam post using thengai pooranam.Coincidentally, when I was browsing to find out the North Indian style Modak recipe also known as ukadiche modak, I found its ingredients and method of preparation are very similar to our South Indian Thengai pooranam kozhukattai. So I tried this modak recipe yesterday to share it here. It came out very well. Please click on this video link and this video link to check the dough making and for shaping the modak. Do try this easy, flavorful Mothagam recipe with coconut pooran if you are looking for a quick stuffing option.You will love it.I will try to share fried modak recipe in this week before Vinayagar Chaturthi. Lets see how to make modak with step by step picture and a video.
Please click THIS LINK for full Ganesh chaturthi recipes collection.
Mothagam/Modak recipe
How to make mothagam/Modak recipe with coconut pooran.
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Sweet
Serves:12-14 nos
Prep time:10 Minutes
Cook time:20 Minutes
Total time:30 Minutes
INGREDIENTS 1 cup - 250ml
For stuffing
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Grated jaggery - 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp
Cardamom - 2 nos ( crushed)
Water – little to cover jaggery
For modak dough
Rice flour – 1 cup ( I used store bought idiyappam flour or kozhukattai flour)
Water – 1.75-2 cups ( as needed)
Salt – a big pinch
Ghee – 1 tbsp
HOW TO MAKE THENGA POORANA KOZHUKATTAI - METHOD
Grate coconut and jaggery. Heat a kadai and put the coconut & jaggery together. Add 1 tbsp of water if needed. Mix it well. Jaggery gets melted ( If you feel jaggery has mud, then you must melt jaggery adding little water. Make a syrup & strain it using metal filter. Then you can mix grated coconut and proceed). Mixture will become watery and if you keep stirring in medium flame, the mixture will become thick and start to leaves the sides of kadai.
(Note: The quantity of coconut should be more than jaggery. So start with 1/2 cup of jaggery for one cup of coconut for mild sweetness)
Switch off the flame as soon as the mixture starts to leave the sides. If you stir more, pooranam will become hard and chewy. So switch off the flame at the right time. Initially pooran will look wet. But when it cools down, it will thicken and becomes non-sticky. Transfer the pooran to another plate to avoid heating up more.
To make the kozhukattai dough, heat water adding ghee & a pinch of salt in a pan. Here I used 1.75 cups of water for store bought rice flour. But this quantity may vary.so keep some hot water ready in hand so that you can add it while making dough.
When the water starts to roll boil, simmer the flame completely and add the rice flour. Mix well without lumps. Do it quickly. Rice flours absorbs all the water and becomes a thick mass. Switch off the flame.
When the dough becomes warm, grease your hands with oil and knead the dough. Make it smooth without cracks and cover the dough with a wet cloth till use.
Take a big gooseberry sized ball from the dough and make a cup by pressing the sides. Stuff 2 tsp of pooran inside the cup and close to make a coconut shape. Grease the idli pot and arrange the modak. You can also use a mold to make modak.
Heat water in an idli pot and when the water starts to boil vigorously, keep the idli plate and cook the modak for 7-8 minutes. Switch off the flame and let it be in the idli plate for 10 minutes before you remove the modak. When the modak turns warm, carefully remove them into a plate. Offer to God !
TIPS FOR SOFT AND CRACK FREE KOZHUKATTAI
Use good quality rice flour. If you are planning to make by grinding rice, buy raw rice ( in Tamil nadu we call as “maavu arisi) ie. the rice used for making rice flour. Its a different quality, not the one we use for pongal.It is cheaper in cost too.
Always add the required water while making the dough. If the dough becomes sticky or dry, you’ll get cracks. Keep the unused dough covered with a wet cloth & then with a lid while you make mothagam.
Its always better to prepare the outer covering after making pooranam/ stuffing to prevent the dough sitting for long time.
U can refrigerate the unused dough by keeping in an air tight box & use the next day or the same evening.
Pooranam can be prepared the previous day and refrigerated.
Apply sesame/gingely oil in your hands every time when you make the shape.
Last but not the least, do not cook the kozhukattai in idli pot for long time which may lead to cracks.( maximum of 8-10 mins is enough)
Always place the idli plate arranged with kozhukattai after the water in the idli pot starts roll boiling. This helps for quick cooking & also the kozhukattai remains white in color and crack free..
U can identify the cooked kozhukattai by its shining look. Always remove the kozhukattai after it becomes warm. Do not remove when it is hot. Kozhukattai may break.
Try this easy, flavorful coconut pooran modak for this festival and enjoy !
I wanted to make a post on How to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi at home during last year itself. So I had clicked pictures of our Ganesh chaturthi pooja procedure / Puja Vidhanam and kept in draft. In this post, I have shared how to perform a simple Ganesh chaturthi pooja at home, festival date, things required for pooja and Vinayagar/Ganesha abishekam items list and its benefits, pooja procedure, Ganesh chaturthi neivedyam/prasadam recipes like Kozhukattai varieties and appam recipes with links.
Please check THIS POST for complete Ganesh chaturthi Pooja vidhanam/Puja vidhi with sloka and mantras in PDF format. I have also shared a short video on how to make an eco friendly Ganesha idol using kozhukattai maavu/Kozhukatte dough. Hope you find these ideas useful :)
This year 2023, Vinayagar Chaturthi festival falls on September 18th, Monday as per Vaakiya panchangam. Time to perform pooja - Auspicious time of the day as per the calender ( Nalla neram). Avoid Rahu Kalam and Yama Kandam. Usually we do the pooja in the afternoon. i.e after 12 noon based on the day.
Ganesha is the Lord who is first worshipped before any holy occasion or puja. Ganesh Chaturthi also known as 'Vinayak Chaturthi' or 'Vinayaka Chavithi' is celebrated by Hindus all around the world as the birthday of Lord Ganesha. It is observed during the Hindu month of Bhadra in Hindi /Avani in Tamil (mid-August to mid-September). He is revered as the preserver of all good things and prevents Vigna (meaning obstruction/bad omen). His motto is Shubh-Laabh (good prospect and good prosperity).
Generally Ganesh Chaturthi preparations commence from almost a month before the festival. The celebrations last for around ten days (from Bhadrapad Shudh Chaturthi to Ananta Chaturdashi). On the 11th day, the idol is taken through the streets in a procession and immersed in a river or the sea symbolizing a ritual see-off of the Lord in his journey towards his abode in Kailash while taking away with him the misfortunes of all the people.
At home, Ganesha pooja starts from bringing or making a clay idol of Lord Ganesha. Various special food items are cooked for offering/Neivedyam (bhog). Although there are a large number of sweets offered to Lord Ganesha during the pooja, Modak is known to be the lord`s favorite sweet and is therefore one of the main dishes made on this day. Other dishes include Karanji, laddu, barfi, peda, vada, sundal and appam.
The idol is given a bath(Abishek) with scented water and then decorated with flowers. Jyoti is lit and then the aarti begins. People read Ganesh Chaturthi story after pooja. Various bhajans and mantras are chanted at this time. It is believed that chanting the mantras with complete devotion brings life to the idol. It is also believed that during this period, Ganesha visits the home of his devotees and bring prosperity and good fortune with him. He removes all the obstacles that you experience on the spiritual path. Along with Ganesha, Gouri idol is also placed in South Indian families and worshipped. Gouri Vrata is performed as “Mangala Gauri” by women for good life and prosperity.
Let me share our celebration procedures with list of items for abishekam, Pooja and neivedyam. Hope you all find it useful. Please consult with your mom or mil and do the pooja accordingly.
I have also shared the audio links in Tamil, Telugu for Ganesh chaturthi Pooja Vidhanam. I have also shared a youtube video link for Ganesh chaturthi Pooja vidhi in Hindi. Please refer the end of "How to do Pooja" section for the links.
Click this Video on how to make Homemade Ganesh using Kozhukattai dough.
Tulsi can be used for decoration but its allowed only on this festival day.
Flowers
Kumkum and Sandal powder
Incense stick
Camphor
Sesame oil and ghee for lamp
All Fruits, coconut, betel leaves & betel nut for offering
Banana leaf
Turmeric powder for manjal pillayar
For Neivedyam recipes
Coconut
Jaggery
Chana dal/Moong dal
Sugar
Besan
Urad dal
Green chillies, ginger, salt ( for pooran)
Raw rice for payasam
Urad dal for vada
Wheat flour,banana & jaggery for appam
Sesame seeds for ellu urundai
Click HERE to see the no onion no garlic lunch menu cooking with ingredients
On the previous day morning, make pooran and laddu( if making). Store in a box. On the same day night, wash all the lamps, put the thread, oil & keep it ready for pooja. Soak chana for sundal & urad dal for vada.
Generally we do the neivedyam in the noon or during the auspicious time of chaturthi day. Usually it happens in the afternoon. We also make full meals like rice, sambar, poriyal, thayir pachadi on that day. So we prepare the lunch recipes, vada, kozhukattai recipes and sundal on chaturthi morning. Start cooking around 8 am in the morning. You can finish everything by 11am.
If you keep the pooran ready, you can make 21 kozhukattai in 30-45 minutes. In that 45 minutes, you can pressure cook dal for sambar. Inside the cooker, keep a tiffin box with the chopped vegetables for poriyal or kootu. Prepare the rice in another cooker. By this time, you can make kozhukattai and steam it. Make Dal, sambar, poriyal, pachadi and keep them ready for neivedyam. Click HERE to see how to cook a no onion no garlic lunch menu easily.
Abhishekam should be done by the elders of the family.
But in our house, my daughter sits with my husband and do the abhishekam when she was young :) Take all the abhishekham items in a plate as shown in the picture. Keep a bowl full of water. Keep some flowers in a plate. Keep an incense stick and a camphor ready. Take a wide plate ( thambaalam). Keep a wooden plank inside it and keep the Ganesh idol. Start the abhishekam by putting some flowers and few drops of water. Before doing abhishekam, keep this mind. Ganesh idol should not fall down during abhishekam. So do not pour more water and touch the idol carefully with support. First do the sesame oil abhishekam, then apply shikakai powder. Wash it well by adding water. Then apply turmeric powder. Light the incense stick and show the dhoop & dheep. Mix rice flour in water and do the abhishekam. Then comes milk, lemon juice, tender coconut water, curd, panchamirtham followed by honey. Collect the panchamirtham with honey in a plate. Pour some water and then continue with sandal paste, kumkum and lastly viboodhi abhishekam. Finish the abhishekam with little milk. Show the dheepam.
Pour water and start to decorate the Ganesh. Collect all the abhishekam water in the wide plate and pour in tulsi plant or under some trees. Put a poonool/Mupiri nool (3 thread string) from left to right keeping Ganesha facing towards you. Then wear a new cloth for the idol. Decorate with Vellerukku malai, arugampul malai and flowers. (If you are using homemade clay Ganesha, pour water and other abhishekam items only in spoons else Ganesha will dissolve in water). After abhishekam & decoration, start doing the pooja.
You can chant this Ganesha Gayathri mantram while doing Abhishekam.
Please check THIS POST for complete Ganesh chaturthi Pooja vidhanam/Puja vidhi with slokhas in PDF format.
Take the decorated Ganesh and place it over peeta/Wooden plank. Light the lamp on the sides of Ganesha. Keep a small turmeric Ganesha( made of turmeric powder mixed with little water) nearby the idol. Keep kumkum & flowers. Place a plate with 5 types of fruits, coconut, betel leaves & nuts in front of the God.
In another plate or banana leaf, spread the nevideyam recipes.Kozhukattai varieties comes to the left side of Ganesha. Rice and other items has to be kept in the usual order. Refer picture for the idea. Keep payasam and aval.pori kadalai/Puffed rice with peanuts in small bowls. Chant Ganesha ashtothram and do the archanai. Then show the dhoop & dheep. Finally do the mangala aarti.Finish the pooja. Some people have the practice of keeping Kalash and do the pooja. SoI have made a separate post about "Pooja Vidhanam/Puja Vidhi" with mantras in PDF format. You can download it and use if interested. Please check THIS POST .
On Chaturthi evening, make wheat flour appam and do the neivedyam. The next day morning, you can keep idli for neivedyam or simply fruits would do. On afternoon, keep dal & rice with ghee for neivedyam. Continue this neivedyam till Ganesha stays in your house.
Ganesha Visarjan
The next day or the third day, take the ganesha idol along with flowers & vastram, some puffed rice, jaggery and fried gram dal (Do not remove anything from idol) and put it in water. Let the Ganesh idol dissolve in water and take away all the misfortunes of people.
AUDIO, VIDEO LINKS
Click thisLINK for Pooja Vidhanam Video, Audio in Telugu
Check this LINK , LINKfor Pooja Vidhanam Audio in Tamil
Please click this LINK for full collection of neivedyam recipes. This LINKfor Kozhukattai making Videos & Homemade Ganesh idol using rice flour dough.
Disclaimer : I have shared the procedures based on our tradition. Please take the as a reference,consult the elders of your family and do the pooja as per your practice. Beginners can follow this if you don’t have any specific procedure at home.
Hope you find this post useful. Wish you all a very happy Ganesh Chaturthi !
My sister Radha’s Son – My chella kutty Krish Karthik :)
For the past few months I have been getting requests from my readers to share a collection of breakfast recipes and lunch box ideas for Indian kids. Some people specifically asked me to share recipes excluding the usual idli , dosa , poori , pongal. Not just by mails, some of my new friends who visit my blog for the first time asked me whether I have a collection of kids lunch box and after school snacks ideas. At that moment,I realized there are many people like me worrying and thinking about what to prepare for kids breakfast,what to pack for their school lunch box,snack box,how to make them eat healthy foods etc etc. When I told about my readers request to my friend Shalini, she helped me to frame this list of recipes for kids. Most of these recipes are the ones we usually make for our childrens breakfast & lunch box and can be prepared easily in busy mornings. We took nearly 2 hours over phone to prepare this exhaustive list. I should thank my readers for insisting me to do this list. And Many Many thanks to you my dearie Shalini. But for your help,this post would not have come up. In this post, you can find the list of Indian style sandwich varieties, North Indian Paratha recipes, pasta & Noodles recipes, rice varieties, wraps & rolls, Salad & milkshake recipes that are generally liked by kids. I have given the links for recipes that are already available in my blog.I will share the remaining in my upcoming posts. Nowadays most of the kids are picky eaters. So Friends, please take this list as a reference, make your own variations if you are a non-vegetarian and plan your kids breakfast, lunch & dinner recipes based on their liking. Do share your ideas & mention the names of recipes that are left out in this list. I will add them up. I hope this list would be useful to all the moms landing on this page. I have also shared a picture of Sample daily menu of my daughter’s healthy meal program catered by Amrutha Caterers in her school. Many working women have opted this meal program for their kids to give a balanced diet.+919036060369 is the contact number of Amrutha caterers. You can also frame a table like this and follow it.
A very special thanks to my sister Radha for sharing her son Krish Karthik’s picture as a cover photo for this post.Once she had made my badam halwa and clicked a pic while he was eating .When I told about this post,she happily shared this picture with me.Thanks dear,Love you. I will start posting Ganesh Chaturthi Festival recipes from Saturday.Lets check out the list of kids recipes below.
General Ideas for food decoration
Basically kids love colorful dishes and food that look small in size( mini). So you can try to present the food more colorful and make small sized poori , paratha , idli & dosa for them.For example, we can make mini uttappam kind of dosas by adding vegetables like carrot,coriander leaves & onions. When my daughter was young, I used to make dosas like alphabets, numbers & in different shapes. Buy some cookie cutters in various shapes and cut the idli, dosas, poori in those shapes. It would be attractive for them. While making sandwich,make bite sized or finger like pieces for them to hold easily. You can add ghee, cheese, nuts & choco syrup in the dishes to fascinate the kids but remember to use them in moderate quantity. Try to google search for various decoration ideas and make the food attractive to the kids.
Here is the picture of sample healthy meal menu from my daughter’s school. Right click & save the image to view the actual size of this picture.
Thanks for visiting this page.Happy cooking !
Disclaimer : I have made this post based on my own idea. Please give credits to this post & do not copy it without my permission. Thanks for understanding.
Obbattu Saaru - Karnataka's delicacy using dal pooran
