Ellu Bella Recipe – Sankranti Ellu Bella Mix

Ellu Bella (Sesame seeds-Jaggery trail mix in English) is one of the most popular Makar Sankranti recipes in Karnataka.This is basically a mix of 5 main ingredients – Sesame seeds, Jaggery, Dried coconut pieces, Roasted Peanuts and Fried Gram dal.During Sankranti festival, this mix sold in small packets in all the shops.This ellu bella mix is exchanged with friends & relatives to celebrate this harvest festival and as a token of love for better bonding of relationship. In Kannada, they call this as Ellu beerodu in which they give a pack of ellu bella mix, betel leaves & nuts, fruits ( preferably banana), Sugar moulds ( Sakkare achu) and sugar cane to the near & dear. I have seen my friends ( School moms group) preparing this ellu bella mix 2-3 days before Sankranti and distribute to all. Being in Karnataka for the past ten years, I wanted to share their traditional sankranti recipes in my blog. So I asked my friend Archana to share the recipe and the method of making ellu bella.She explained patiently and clarified all my doubts on how to cut jaggery & coconut into small pieces etc. Thank you so much Archu. Some people add equal measure of all the ingredients whereas some use according to their preferences. I have just followed my friend’s recipe. I prepared ellu bella for the first time in my house successfully and distributed to Raksha’s friends as well. They all loved it very much.Next year I must try homemade sakkare achu. Now lets see how to make Ellu bella recipe at home with step by step pictures !
Check out my other Karnataka recipes too!

Ellu Bella Recipe

Sankranti Ellu Bella Mix Recipe

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Sweet

Serves: Serves 3

Prep time: 120 Minutes

Cook time: 5 Minutes

Total time: 125 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 200ml Roasted peanuts - 1/4 cup Fried gram dal/Hurigadale - 1/4 cup White sesame seeds - 2 tbsp Dried coconut pieces - 2 -3 tbsp Jaggery pieces - 1/4 cup Sugar balls - 2 tbsp ( optional) Sugar coated Jeera or fennel seeds - 2 tbsp

METHOD

Take the whole dried coconut. Grate it using a grater to remove the skin. Slice it using a chips slicer to make thin slices.Chop into very small pieces using a sharp knife. Spread in a plate. Take the jaggery and cut into small blocks using a knife.Then cut them into very small pieces using scissors or nut cracker tool. I used scissors ( Achu vellam/Achu bella works the best. But I used round ones).Spread the jaggery pieces in the plate. Microwave peanuts in high power for 2-3 minutes.Remove in a cover or cloth and rub it well to remove the skin. Break them into 2 and keep aside. Sun dry the coconut & jaggery pieces for 2 – 4 hours OR Dry roast the coconut pieces without changing the color. Warm the jaggery pieces without melting.Sun drying is the best option though. Dry roast sesame seeds till it crackles. Set aside to cool. In a wide bowl, take the roasted, broken peanuts, fried gram dal, sugar balls, jeera mittai, dried coconut pieces and jaggery pieces. Mix well and store in a box. Distribute to your Family & Friends ! Enjoy !

Try this easy,traditional Karnataka special ellu bella mix at home and have a great celebration !

Distribute ellu bella with a pair of banana, betel leaves & nuts, sakkare achu & sugarcane piece as shown below ( sugar cane is missing in the pic )

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Thiruvathirai Kali | How To Make Thiruvathirai Kali Recipe in Pressure cooker

Thiruvathirai also called as Arudra darshan is one of the most important festivals celebrated in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In most of the Tamil houses, Kali / Rice kali will be prepared and offered to Lord Shiva on this festival day. In my family, my mom has the practice of making thiruvathira kali alone whereas my MIL makes Thiruvadirai kali, 7 kai kootu in pressure cooker and thiruvathirai sweet adai, sambar/thalagam, thayir pachadi along with cooked rice as well. So I follow that every year.

 Long back, I had shared a post for Thiruvathirai adai, kali, kootu recipes. This year, I made a detailed video and wanted to have a separate post in my blog. Thiruvathirai kali is prepared with raw rice and moong dal roasted and ground to a coarse flour, pressure cooked and then mixed with jaggery syrup flavored with cardamom powder, grated coconut and ghee. I always pressure cook rice and dal mixture to make my job easy and to save time. It is one of the tastiest rice kali recipes. My family loves it a lot. 

Basically we make this kali with a fluffy texture but I saw many recipes with kali in Pongal/halwa texture. It purely depends on how we powder the rice+dal. If you want fluffy kali, powder it coarsely else powder it nicely like fine rava. Whatever be the texture, this kali tastes absolutely yummy. Now lets see how to make Thiruvathirai kali recipe with step by step photos and video !!

Check out my thiruvathirai celebration post and Adai, kootu recipes post too !

Thiruvathirai Kali Recipe

Thiruvadirai/Thiruvathirai kali recipe for neivedyam

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Sweet

Serves: 2

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 240ml Raw rice/Pacharisi - 1/2 cup Moong dal/Paasi paruppu - 1 tbsp Water - 1.5 cups ( to cook rice) For syrup Powdered jaggery - 3/4 cup Water - 1/4 cup Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp Grated coconut - 1/4 cup Ghee - 2 tbsp Cashew nuts - few

HOW TO MAKE THIRUVATHIRAI KALI - METHOD

In a kadai, dry roast moong dal till it turns golden brown in color. Stay nearby and keep roasting patiently. Transfer to a plate. In the same kadai, dry roast rice till it becomes puffy and slightly golden in color. Do it in medium flame. When the vapor starts to come from the kadai while roasting, roasting is done. Rice takes nearly 4-6 minutes for roasting. Transfer to the plate and let them cool down. Grind the rice+ dal to a coarse rava. Pulse it 4 or 5 times using inch button for few seconds. Transfer it to a cooker base. Add 1.5 cups of water ( 1:3) and pressure cook in very low flame for 2 whistles. Open the lid after the steam is released. Mix well and set aside. In a kadai, take the powdered jaggery. Melt it by adding 1/4 cup of water. Strain the impurities in a wire mesh. Again pour the syrup to the washed kadai and boil it. Add grated coconut & cardamom powder. When the syrup starts to roll boil, simmer the flame to low and add the cooked rice+dal mixture. Break all the lumps with  a ladle and keep mixing. Rice absorbs all the syrup and becomes thick and smooth. Switch off the flame. Roast cashews in 2 tbsp ghee till golden in color. Add this to the kali, mix well and serve hot ! Enjoy !

Note

Do not burn the dal or rice while roasting. It spoils the entire flavor of kali. So do it patiently in medium flame. Pressure cook rice & water in the ratio of 1:3 else rice will not be cooked well and kali tastes hard and chewy. Do not add less jaggery, kali tastes bland. Rice & jaggery ratio is 1:1.5 Cardamom powder and grated coconut is a must for kali. It adds flavor. Adding ghee & roasted cashews makes the kali rich. So do add it.

Try this easy, yummy kali at home on this Thiruvathirai festival and Enjoy !!

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How To Celebrate Thiruvathirai At Home | Arudhra Darshan Celebration

Significance of Arudra darshan

Soure:wiki and google

Thiruvathirai /Arudhra darshan is a popular Hindu festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Arudhra Darshan or Arudara Darshan is observed in the Tamil month of Margazhi (December – January) on Thiruvathirai Nakshathram day. In this year 2023, it falls on 27th December, Wednesday. Thiruvathirai(Arudhra) in Tamil means "sacred big wave". It is essentially a Shaivite festival and celebrates the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva, which is represented by the Nataraja form. Arudra festival is celebrated with fervor in Lord Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, Australia and in other parts of the world by Tamil speaking population. In Kerala, this festival is primarily celebrated by women. 

The most important Arudhra Darisanam festival takes place at the Chidambaram Lord Nataraja Temple in Tamil Nadu. In Thillai Chidambaram temple, 10 day Festival is held during Thiruvathirai. Arudhra signifies the golden red flame and Lord Shiva performs in the form of this red-flamed light. The cosmic dance of Lord Shiva represents five activities – Creation, Protection, Destruction, Embodiment and Release. In essence, it represents the continuous cycle of creation and destruction. Arudra Darshan celebrates this ecstatic dance of Lord Shiva.

It takes place on the full moon night in the month of Margazhi and this is also the longest night in a year. The festival is mainly observed in the Tamil speaking world. Many people observe fasting / Nombu vratham on this day. Women will fast during the day time. They will take food before sunrise and start their fasting. They will break the fast after witnessing the moon rise. 

Some people observe fasting for 10 days. So Nonbu (fasting) starts nine days before and ends on Thiruvathirai day. So totally they fast for ten days. There is special food called Thiruvadhirai kali made of Rice, Jaggery, Moong dhal, Coconut, Cardamom and Ghee with Thiruvathirai ezhu curry kootu which is made out of seven vegetables, that is cooked and served on this day.  (Source: wikipedia). We also make Thiruvathirai adai using rice flour and jaggery in addition to Kali and kootu. 

As per the Puranaas, on this day Lord Shiva has shown this blissful dance that energizes this world to two of his devotees - Vyagrapadha and Adisesha (on whom Lord Vishnu Reside). Hence this day is celebrated, in appreciation of the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva, by offering Prayers to the Nataraja aspect of the Lord.

Special prayers are held on the day at all Shiva temples. Milk, honey, water, sandal paste and other cooling liquids are offered to Lord Shiva on this day. This is to cool a burning and turbulent Shiva who is performing the Tandava – the cosmic dance of Nataraja. Special abhishekam, rituals and celebrations are held on the night of Thiruvathirai.

Thiruvathirai Celebration in my house :)

Our Celebration

In our house, we celebrate this festival in a grand manner by offering thiruvathirai kali, ezhu kai kootu and thiruvathirai adai made of rice flour and jaggery to Lord Nataraja. We also draw maakolam all over our house. My MIL draws a procession car(Thaer) with Shiva lingam in the wall of pooja room and consider it as idol. We tie a yellow rope in our hands after the pooja. I have shared our pooja procedures in detail. Please check it. You can follow/alter this method based on your tradition.

Celebration in my MIL's house :)

Please CLICK THIS LINK for Thiruvathirai Adai, Kali and kootu recipes.

Thiruvathirai kali recipe with video

Thiruvathirai Thalagam/ Ezhu kai kuzhambu

Visit my in-laws blog LEARN KOLAM for Thiruvathirai Kolam

Ingredients Required

• Raw rice
• Moong dal
• Jaggery
• Rice flour
• Cardamom powder
• Grated coconut
• Ghee
• Butter
• Any 7 vegetables ( Raw banana, sweet potato, yam, yellow pumpkin, broad beans, arbi, field beans, mochai, brinjal, chow chow, cluster beans, ladies finger)
• Green chilli
• Cumin seeds
• Coconut oil
• Tempering ingredients for kootu

For Pooja

• Coconut
• Betel leaves and nuts ( 7 each)
• Fruits ( 7 banana)
• Banana leaves ( 7 leaves)
• Turmeric pieces ( 7 nos)
• Yellow rope ( to tie around wrist or neck)
• Lamp, wick
• Incense stick, camphor

Pre Preparatory activities

The previous day, clean the house. Wash the lamps, put the wick. Keep turmeric, kumkum dots & make it ready for the next day neivedyam. We have the practice of drawing procession car ( thear) in the wall of pooja room as shown in the first picture and in the entrance of house. We draw maa kolam in the house entrance and in pooja room.

 As mine is a wooden pooja room shelf, I draw in a paper & keep it as GOD and I draw maakolam at the house entrance alone.We keep 7 dots using viboodhi, manjal, kumkum, sandal, kajal( Kanmai), red saandhu , rice flour in the middle of thear picture for this nonbu. We keep 7 betel leaves, 7 nuts, 7 banana, 7 turmeric pieces, 2 yellow ropes (for me & my daughter) in a plate & keep in front of God. All these things are time consuming jobs. So we do it the previous day night & keep them ready. If you don’t have this practice at home, just do the pooja by keeping a Lord Nataraja or Lord Shiva photo in the auspicious time.

We make kali, 7 kai kootu, adai, cooked rice, thayir pachadi, dal/paruppu and sambar for neivedyam. So we do some pre-preparatory works for cooking as well. We roast rice + dal, powder & keep it for kali. We chop the vegetables for kootu & sambar and refrigerate it in a box.

Thiruvathirai day 

On Festival day, we should do the pooja in the early morning in auspicious time. This year as it falls on Wednesday, we should do the pooja before 7.30am ( Avoid rahu kalam, yama kandam). So start the cooking activities by 6 am. Prepare thirivathirai kali, adai & kootu ( Rice, dal, sambar, thayir pachadi). Decorate the pooja room with flowers and light the lamp. 

Arrange all the neivedyam dishes in the banana leaf. Keep a plate with banana, coconut, betel leaf and nut, turmeric pieces along with yellow rope. Do the pooja by showing dhoop, dheep and mangala harathi. After doing the pooja, tie the yellow rope around your wrist or neck.
Enjoy kali, kootu and adai !!

DISCLAIMER : The pooja procedures I have shared above is as per my family’s practice. Many people don’t have the habit of drawing thear, maakolam, offering adai. Even my mom makes kali and kootu for thiruvathirai and offers them in front of Lord Nataraja picture for pooja. So take this post as a guidance and change it according to your custom.

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Gobi Paratha Recipe–How To Make Cauliflower Paratha With Video Recipe

Gobi Paratha is Sendhil’s most favorite Paratha recipe. After marriage he took me to In-swing restaurant in BDA complex, Banashankari and got this cauliflower paratha for me as he loves it very much. That’s the first time I tasted a stuffed paratha in my life. He told me to try the same at home. As I was a beginner in cooking, I did not have any idea about the stuffing part, how to roll paratha etc. 

When I tried it, all the stuffing came out while rolling and the paratha became a disaster. Still he appreciated me for my attempt and ate well. And that’s my man. Now after so many years of cooking, I can make a good gobi paratha for him. So I wanted to share this recipe in my blog with step by step photos and a detailed video recipe to help beginners. 

You can try this yummy paratha recipe for dinner or lunch box. Even Kids would love this paratha if you cook it adding ghee or butter. It comes out soft and stays good for hours. Lets see how to make Gobi paratha/Cauliflower paratha at home easily !

Gobi paratha recipe/ Cauliflower paratha recipe

How to make gobi paratha/Cauliflower paratha at home with step by step photos and video !

Cuisine: Indian

Category: main course

Serves: 6 

Prep time: 30 Minutes

Cook time: 10 Minutes

Total time: 40 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml Atta/Wheat flour - 1cup Cooking oil - 1 tbsp Salt & water - as needed For paratha stuffing Cauliflower - 1 no or Grated cauliflower - 1.5 cups Cooking oil - 2 tbsp Green chilli - 1 no ( finely chopped) Grated ginger - 1 tsp Ajwain/Carom seeds – 1 tsp Red chilli powder - 1 tsp Dhania powder/coriander seeds powder - 1 tsp Garam masala powder - 1 tsp Cumin seeds powder - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Aamchur powder - 1/4 tsp ( optional) Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp. ( to garnish) Salt - as needed

METHOD

In a wide bowl, take the wheat flour, add required salt and 1/2 tbsp. of cooking oil. Mix well. Add water little by little and make a smooth, non-sticky dough.Knead well, apply a tsp of oil and cover the dough with a dry cloth, leave it for 20 minutes. In the mean time, lets prepare the stuffing. Take the cauliflower and remove the leaves, cut into 4. Remove the stem part and separate the florets in a plate. In a wide bowl, boil water and add the florets. Boil for few minutes, parboil and drain the excess water. Remove the half cooked cauliflower florets to a dry kitchen towel/cloth. Pat it dry. Grind the florets in a dry mixer jar without water. Wipe the sides of jar and grind in batches. You can also grate it. But grinding is easy. Take in a plate. Heat oil in a kadai and when it gets heated , add the finely chopped green chilli, grated ginger (If u wish u can add very finely chopped onions at this stage) and saute well. Add the grated cauliflower, salt, red chilli powder, dhania powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder ,aamchur powder and ajwain. Mix well till all the moisture is absorbed. Let the mixture cool down.Divide the stuffing into lemon sized balls.   Take the chapathi dough and make lemon sized balls. The size of dough ball & stuffing ball should be equal. Take one dough ball, dust it in wheat flour and roll into small poori size.Make the corners thinner than center. Keep the stuffing ball in the center and seal it. Again dust in the flour and roll to a thick or thin paratha as u wish. Sendhil likes it medium thick.So I do it accordingly. Heat a dosa tawa, cook the paratha on both the sides till half cooked in medium flame. Brush one side of paratha with ghee or cooking oil and cook for few seconds till brown spot appear.Flip the paratha and brush the other side of paratha.Cook for a minute. Keep flipping and cooking till brown spots appear all over the paratha. Brush with ghee and remove in a plate. Serve hot immediately with raita or pickle OR stack the paratha in a clean kitchen towel or thermal foil for later use. (Remember the more you brush with ghee, softer the paratha would be.) Enjoy !

Note

Do not make the chapathi dough very sticky. Rolling will be difficult. You may have to dust the paratha with more flour which leads to dry paratha. You should grease the paratha with cooking oil or ghee for best taste. Cauliflower stuffing should be free from moisture so that paratha won’t become sticky while rolling. Adding aamchur powder gives a mild tangy taste. Skip if you don’t have it.

Enjoy this yummy, flavorful gobi paratha with your favorite side dish or simple masala raita.

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Sooji Halwa | Suji Ka Halwa Recipe | Rava Sheera Recipe

Most of the time I make South Indian style Rava kesari  ( Rava = semolina in English) for functions, pooja and celebrations at home as it is our family favorite and the most comfortable sweet for me. I have already shared varieties of rava kesari recipes like rava kesari with milk/ Paal kesari, microwave rava kesari, semiya kesari, pineapple kesari, mango kesari etc. 

Its been my long time wish to try North Indian style Sooji ka halwa/ Rava sheera. So I tried it for New year celebration yesterday. In North India, Suji ka halwa is one of the most popular and easy halwa recipes that is made in all houses for all the festivals & occasions and is served in most of the temples as Prasad. This halwa is served along with Poori and Chole for breakfast. Halwa poori chole is one of the most popular breakfast combo in North India and Pakistan. 

In Karnataka, people call this sooji halwa as Kesari bath. Rava/sooji, Sugar and ghee forms the basic ingredients for this sweet recipe. But Rava kesari, suji ka halwa and kesari bath has its own variations in the quantity of ingredients, method of preparation, taste, color and texture. I watched few You tube videos and followed Food viva for the recipe. 

Though it tastes mildly sweeter than the South Indian rava kesari, it was dripping with ghee and finger licking good. We loved it very much. Its taste reminded me of the banana sheera I had in my friend’s house Satya Narayana pooja. Its very easy to prepare for special occasions and to treat your surprise guests. For variations, you can use milk instead of water. Lets see how to make North Indian special suji ka halwa/ Sooji halwa/Rava sheera recipe with step by step photos and a detailed video !!

Suji Ka Halwa Recipe

Suji Ka Halwa - North Indian version of Rava kesari

Cuisine: North Indian

Category: Sweet

Serves: 3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 10 Minutes

Total time: 20 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 200ml or 250ml Bombay Rava/ Sooji /semolina - 1/2 cup ( Do not use chiroti rava) Ghee - 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp Sugar - 1/2 cup Water - 1.5 cups Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp or 2 pods crushed Saffron threads - few Milk - 1 tbsp ( to soak saffron thread) Chopped cashews, badam and few raisins/dry grapes

METHOD - HOW TO MAKE SOOJI HALWA

Soak saffron threads in 1 tbsp hot milk.I din’t use saffron in this recipe. I used cardamom powder alone. Heat 1/3 cup of ghee in a kadai.Roast the dry grapes, cashews and almonds till dry grapes bloat and nuts turns golden. Add rava and roast well for 4-5 minutes in medium flame. Rava turns light golden brown in color. Add 1.5 cups of water to the rava and mix well till 3/4 th of the water is absorbed by the rava and becomes semi thick.Keep the flame low and cover the kadai with a lid. Cook the rava for 2-3 minutes. Open the lid and add sugar, cardamom powder and saffron milk ( if using). Mix well without lumps.Sugar melts and the mixture will become watery. Keep the flame medium and mix well.  Halwa turns thick and starts to leave the sides of pan. Immediately add 1tbsp of ghee, mix well quickly and transfer the halwa to a bowl. Do not wait for the halwa to thicken completely. Remove it as soon as it becomes semi thick because this suji ka halwa becomes dry and hard when it cools down. So remove it at the right time. Garnish with few nuts and serve warm. Enjoy !

Note

Add more sugar ( Say 3/4 cup of sugar) if you need more sweetness. You can use milk instead of water but cook the rava for more time if using milk. Do not reduce the quantity of ghee. It helps to keep the halwa soft. If you don’t want to add more ghee, use half the quantity of oil.

Try this easy, yummy Suji Ka halwa/Rava sheera at home and enjoy !!

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