Pachai Payaru(Paasi Payaru) Sundal/Moong Bean/Green Gram Stir Fry Recipe

Now blogging is taking a back seat due to other personal commitments.I will try posting at least 2 posts a week from now on. Sharu as usual is busy with her school and other classes.Growing up kids generally need much energy than us especially protein in take should be on the higher side for kids to cope up with the education system today and the competition they face.Legumes form a major source of protein for people who do not eat eggs or non- vegetarian .In our house we generally prepare chicken or fish only on sundays and my kiddo is not a person who would have at least an egg a week mind it I said a week and not a day .So fussy is she with eggs so I had to find alternate ways of adding protein to her diet .One such easy as well as delightful ways is by adding sundals to our daily diet.(You see Sharu is very fond of sundals ).

Coming to today's recipe the paasi payaru sundal is one that does not require much planning as it requires less or at times no soaking time at all.I generally prepare sundal with sprouted moong beans which adds to the health quotient. Moong beans though small in size they are great with regard to health benefits. They are easy to digest and thus they play a very important role in Ayurvedic diet regime. It serves as a great source of protein to a vegetarian diet without adding much calories.

Pachai Payaru Sundal/Moong Bean Stir Fry Recipe- Ingredients

Moong beans/pachai Payaru -1 cup (soaked for 4 hrs or more)
Coconut - 2 tbsp(grated)
Salt - to taste

To Temper :

Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard- 1 tsp
Urad dhal - 1/2 tsp
Hing - 1 pinch
Red chilly - 1

Method:

1. Pressure cook the soaked paasi payaru with a pinch of salt and water for 2 whistles or till done (soft but not mushy).
2. Heat oil in a kadai add the items in to temper list followed by the cooked paasi payaru and a pinch of salt and saute well check for salt ,switch off the stove and add the grated coconut ,mix well .

My Notes:

• The same can be applied to prepare sundal with sprouted moong beans for a healthier version.
• You can omit the coconut if you do not prefer.
• You can even dry roast the moong beans till aroma arises and then pressure cook it with a soaking time of 1 hour.(Amma does this).
• I have tried pressure cooking moong beans without any soaking or roasting though it cooks well it does yield a lesser quantity.
• I always cook moong beans in a bowl placed in the pressure cooker with water.In this method you can avoid over cooking.See to it that the bowl with moong beans has water just to immerse the beans .This way you can avoid throwing the extra water while cooking moong beans.

Sakkarai Pongal (in pressure cooker)Recipe

Todays post is sakkarai pongal I know that everybody is familiar with this dish and this being pongal time all would have got enough of it but still I want to have a note of it in my little space.Hope every one would have had a great time with family and friends,especially in Tamil Nadu kids are having a whale of time enjoying their pongal holidays.In our house we have the custom of making sakkarai pongal and vadai on the day of pongal.I usually follow the short cut method of pressure cooking which is easy and time saving.Traditionally this pongal is prepared in a new earthern pot.Usually everyone adds only few spoons of moongdhal to the pongal but we use rice and dhal in the ratio 2:1,Amma does it that way so I follow the same ratio.

Sakkarai pongal is a favorite among kids and it is a whole meal by itself with carbs , protein ,vitamins and minerals. Moong dhal is easy to digest and attributes to the protein component. Jaggery is rich in iron,vitamins and minerals. Jaggery is said to have properties that aid digestion of food.A small piece of jaggery after a heavy meal helps in digestion.A friend of mine suggested that I include recipes that make up a healthy breakfast for kids.This pongal also comes under that category,it is a one pot meal and also loved by children,so mothers need not go around the kid to feed the breakfast.Now to the recipe.

Sakkarai Pongal Recipe- Ingredients

Raw Rice - 1 cup
Moong Dhal - 1/2 cup(yellow,split)
Jaggery- 1 1/2 cup(grated)
Cashew - 10
Raisins - 10
Elaichi - 3 nos
Ghee - 4 tbsp
Salt - a pinch

Method:

1. Wash and pressure cook the rice and dhal together in 3 cups of water with a pinch of salt for three whistles(please adjust according to your cooker).
2. Now in a pan heat jaggery with the crushed elaichis in 3 tbspn of water till the all jaggery melts and you get a thick syrup.Strain this syrup into another bowl.
3. Once the rice ,dhal mixture is ready mash it well and add the jaggery syrup to the cooker ,mix well and cook till the jaggery and rice mix come to a boil add 2 tbsps of ghee and keep stirring else the pongal may get burnt.Heat 2 tbsps ghee in a pan ,fry the cashews and raisins and add it to the pongal.Serve hot.It tastes equally yummy even at room temperature.

My Notes:

• You can increase or reduce the amount of jaggery as per taste.
• The colour of the pongal depends on the jaggery used ,paagu vellam gives good color.
• You can decrease the amount of water if you don't want your pongal to be gooey .
• The use of cashews and raisins is optional and can be omitted if you don't like it.
• A pinch of salt is added to the rice dhal mixture to avoid/reduce spill over,moongdhal has this quality. A tip from a chef was to add a pinch of salt to any sweet dish to enhance the taste.
• You can reduce the amont of ghee but this sure compromises on the taste.

Atta Laddoo Recipe

We went to visit my parents .I wanted to make something simple and light for my parents,so decided to make these atta laddoos.First I was sceptical about making laddoos with wheat flour/atta as I thought it would have the raw smell of atta,but some how decided to go head with this and my hesitation did prove me wrong, the laddoos came out well.Later I repented for making it in such a small quantity and everybody loved it.I got this recipe from sharmis passions,but increased the sugar quantity as we prefer sweet on the higher side.The laddoos came out in a melt in mouth consistency and the addition of powdered nuts added to the taste,just loved the idea of adding powdered nuts yummm. The sun here was playing hide and seek hence the difference in colour in the two photos.

Whole wheat flour has numerous health benefits.It is rich in dietary fibre which reduce the risk of colon cancer.Whole wheat flour which has high amounts of betaine and choline reduces the risk of heart diseases and Osteoporosis.Addition of the nuts added to the goodness.Pistachios are source of iron which helps in increasing the haemoglobin and RBC level in the blood.Cashews are a rich source of magnesium which keep our nerve system relaxed and reduce muscle spasms. Badam is vital for brain development and also regulation of cholesterol.

Atta Laddoo Recipe - Ingredients

Atta/Whloe Wheat flour - 1 cup(I used Aashirvaad atta)
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Ghee - 1/4 cup
Cashew - 10
badam - 10
Pistachios - 10

Method:

1. Dry roast all the nuts in a kadai ,see to it that they don't change colour.This step is to ensure that the are nuts crisp to get a fine powder.Transfer it to a plate.In the same pan dry roast the atta /whole wheat flour till it changes colour.This may take around 8 to 10 minutes depending on the quantity you are using.Do this step in low heat and constant stirring to avoid the flour getting burnt.Keep it aside.
2. Now powder the cooled nuts to a fine powder and transfer it to a bowl.In the same mixie jar you can now powder the sugar to a fine powder.
3. Now mix well the roasted atta ,powdered sugar and nuts powder in a wide bowl .Heat the ghee and add it to the atta mix , make laddoos and enjoy them.

My Notes:

• You can reduce the amount of sugar if you prefer your sweets on the milder side.
• Amount of ghee used may increase to 1/3 of a cup depending on the atta used.
• If you use home made atta the laddoos may turn out in brown shade.
• You can add elaichi powder to the mix before adding ghee and mix it well.Actually I forgot to add it.
• Adding nuts is your choice you can omit them completely or just add chopped nuts.
• Mine was a small quantity so I added all the ghee at the same time if doing in large quantity do so in batches.
• You can sieve the atta flour before roasting but I didn't

Medu Vadai Recipe (Ulundu Vadai Recipe)

This vadai is my kids favourite vadai as it is crispy on the outside and soft inside.This vadai is made during pooja's as an offering .When made for pooja's we avoid onions in this recipe.I love to have it with sambar but my kid loves it with curd ,Will post the curd vadai soon.Although it is deep fried it is rich in protien.Hot vadai with piping hot sambar on a cool evening is a true bliss.

Medu Vadai(ulundu Vadai) Recipe- Ingredients

Urad Dhal(full deskinned) - 1 cup (I used Udayam brand)
Ginger - 1 inch (peeled)
Green chilly - 3
Onion - 1 (finely chopped)
Salt to taste
Water to grind (3 tbsp)
Oil to deep fry

Method:

1. Wash and soak a cup of urad dhal for an hour. Place the soaked dhal in a strainer to remove all the water and grind the dhal along with ginger, green chillies and salt.
2. Grind the dhal till it turns out fluffy,(add water by spoon only to enable the grinding )and transfer it to a bowl and add the onion
3. Now that the batter is ready you can heat oil in a kadai. Wet your hand, take a lemon sized ball of the batter place it on a zip lock cover, flatten it and make a small hole in the center.
4. Transfer the flattened batter to oil and fry on medium till you get a golden color. Drain from oil and transfer to a plate with tissue paper. This helps in absorbing any excess oil.
Serve hot with coconut chutney or sambar or both.

My Notes:

• Adding salt while grinding prevents the batter from turning watery if salt is added later.
• You can add a tsp of rice flour to the ground batter to thicken the consistency.(I didn't)
• Always be careful with the amount of water used.More the water in batter the vadai tends to absorb oil.If the batter is too thick then the vadai turns out hard.
• I grind my vadai batter in the mixie , as it is only for 5 of us. Use a grinder for a larger crowd.
• To check for the batter's fluffiness just drop a small ball of the batter in water if it floats then you have ground the batter smoothly.
• You can add finely chopped green chilly, curry leaves and coriander leaves also.
• You can add peppercorns and jeera while grinding which gives an extra zing. Adjust the number of green chillies if using pepper.