Varalakshmi Vratam Vantalu / Sravana Sukravaram Prasadam / Naivedyam

Varalakshmi Vratam falls on the second friday of the Sravanam Masam. It is widely performed by the married ladies all across South India for their husband's long life and for riches to the family. This year Varalakshmi Vratam falls on 28 August.

Goddess Lakshmi is worshiped throughout this holy month of Sravana in the form of Ashtalakshmis Aadi Lakshmi, Dhanya Lakshmi, Dhairya Lakshmi, Gaja Lakshmi, Santana Lakshmi, Vijaya Lakshmi, Vidya Lakshmi and Dhana Lakshmi. For any pooja bhakti is the main element but a lot of preparation go into this pooja.  

Apart for Pooja, 3,5,7,9 or 12 different naivedyam / prasadam will be made. It is completely depends on you on how many prasadam varieties you can make and offer. If you want to offer 9 varieties here is the list Boorelu, Garelu, Paravannam, chakkara pongali,  Pulihora, miriyala pongali, plain rice with pappu (Plain Dal/Tomato Dal/ Yellow Cucumber Dal/ Mango Dal/ Green Sorrel Dal), daddojanam, Aratikaya Bajji.

Boorelu	Garelu	Paravannam
Chakkara Pongali	Pulihora	Miriyala Pongali
Pappu	Daddojanam	Aratikaya Bajji

Curd Rice / Daddojanam - South Indian Rice Item

We South Indians can't end our meals without curd rice. In everyday meals, we just mix curd with rice and eat it with a pickle but when I make as an offering to God, specially on festival days I follow this recipe. 

You can beat the summer heat with this yummy curd rice. Some people also add pomegranate to this recipe but curd rice just with tempering and no fruit and vegetable also tastes heavenly.

Ingredients

1/2 cup Raw Rice

2 cups of Water

3 tablespoons Milk

1 cup Thick Curd

Salt to taste

3 tablespoons chopped Carrot

1 tablespoon Ghee

10 Cashewnuts

To Temper

2 teaspoons Ghee

1/4 teaspoon Mustard Seeds

1/2  teaspoon Urad dal

2-3 Green Chillies

1/2 inch Ginger 

1 Sprig Curry leaves

1. Pressure cook rice with 2 cups of water for 4 whistles. Let it cool, then mash the rice. Add milk, curd and salt. Mix it well.

2. Chop green chilli to small circles and chop ginger to small pieces. In a small pan, add 2-3 teaspoons of ghee , mustard, urad dal, saute for till dal turns to light brown. Then add green chilli, ginger and curry leaves. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add this to curd rice. Chop carrot to small pieces. Add this to curd rice. Mix it well.

3. In a small pan, add a tablespoon of ghee, and cashews. Saute it till cashews turn to golden brown. Add this to curd rice. You don't have to follow this step in case you don't want to add cashews. Mix it well.  

4. Yummy,  heavenly delicious curd rice. Add water if required to make more smooth. Adjust salt accordingly. Have it with any Indian pickle.

Cabbage Vada / Cabbage Garelu

Vada is a popular South Indian breakfast and snack item. We like Onion vada but Cabbage Vada has become our favourite recently and also I am making these quite often these days. It is easy to make and very delicious and crispy.

Vadas can be offered to god as prasadam. I usually make Medhu vadas / Garelu for prasadam but got bored with it recently and can't offer onion vada to god as there is onion in it. So found a better alternative in Cabbage Vada.   

Recipe for Medhu Vadas / Garelu

Ingredients (Makes 12)

1 cup Urad Dal

2 cups finely chopped Cabbage

3 Green Chilli

2 sprigs Curry Leaves

salt as needed

1. Soak urad dal in water for 2-3 hours. Grind it in pulse / juice mode with 4 tablespoons of water.Add salt and mix it. Finely chop cabbage,green chilli and curry leaves. Add all these to urad dal mixture. Mix it well.

2. Heat oil for deep fry. Wet your palms with water, take a big lemon sized dough, turn it and shape it a ball, flatten it and with your thumb place a hole in the middle.

3. Drop it gently in hot oil. Fry till vada turns golden brown on both sides. Remove it onto a absorbent paper.

4. You can have these Crispy cabbage vada with coconut chutney or sambar.

Semiya Kesari / Vermicelli Kesari

Vermicelli Kesari / Semiya Kesari is a yummy dessert recipe. This is a quick and easy to make. I always make Vermicelli payasam but wanted to make a vermicelli dessert without milk and here is what I made. 

It takes about 15 minutes to make this and tastes excellent. Because it is easy to make you can make it for your unexpected guests too. They will be surprised with this. 

I used the normal vermicelli but the fine vermicelli gives best results and takes less water and time to cook. You can add yellow or orange food colour to it.

Ingredients

1 cup Vermicelli

1 1/2 - 2 cups Water

1/2 cup Sugar

2 drops of Food Colour

few Strands of Saffron

3 teaspon Ghee

pinch of Cardamom Powder

10 Cashew nuts

5 Kismis

1. Break vermicelli to small pieces. Roast vermicelli in a teaspoon of ghee till it turns to light brown. Then boil this in water till it becomes soft. Make sure the vermicelli cooks very well and becomes really soft. Add more water if necessary.

2. Now reduce the flame to medium. Add sugar and let it dissolve completely. Add food colour and saffron.

3. Mix it well and keep it aside. In another pan, melt ghee, add cashew nuts, fry them till light brown and then fry kismis. Kismis will take few seconds to fry. Mix cashew nuts and kismis to vermicelli.

4. Enjoy this yummy dessert.

Broken Wheat Halwa / Annavaram Prasadam

Annavaram is very popular for the famous temple of Lord Satyanarayana Swami and Annavaram Prasadam. The aroma, colour and the taste of this prasadam is unique. I never thought I can make this at home. The recipe which I made will not be exactly like uncomparable prasadam that we get in the temple, but I tried my best. 

This is first time I made this recipe. The taste was excellent but for the perfect colour you need to 

dry roast broken wheat and make the prasadam with just dark brown jaggery. 

Annavaram brings back very fond memories of my childhood. My parents always used to take us on pilgrimage summer vacation tours. Use to go there almost during all summer holidays and spend lot of time on hill, near the temple and the river. We specially used to love the ride on Jutka from the railways station to the temple. Used to bring lots and lots of prasadam packets back home for our friends and family. Annavaram prasadam tastes so yummy and is mouthwatering.

Ingredients

1/2 cup Broken Wheat

2 cups Water 

1/2 cup Jaggery

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

2 tablespoon of Ghee

15 Cashews

pinch of Cardamom Powder / Elaichi 

1. Dry roast broken wheat until it turns to dark brown on a low flame. (I didn't !!). Then boil it in water till it becomes very soft. Add more water if necessary. You can also pressure cook it with 2 cups of water for 3 whistles. When all the water evaporates and broken wheat becomes soft, add jaggery (+ brown sugar) . You can replace brown sugar with jaggery. Let it boil for 10 minutes and keep it aside.

2. Now in a small pan, fry cashews in ghee with a pinch of cardamom powder till golden brown and then add that to halwa.

3. Mix it well and offer to god or just have it as a dessert.

Sooji Appam / Ravva Appam

 

Appam stuffed with Sooji Halwa. I have posted Sooji Halwa already. I made that with lot of ghee which I felt is not a good idea to use as stuffing, so I made another sooji halwa version here for the stuffing. 

Sooji Appam is crispy on the outside and chewy inside. Everyone including kids will love it.

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour

1 cup Sooji / Ravva

3 1/2 cups Water

2 cups Jaggery

6 Cardamoms

Oil for deep frying

Directions

1. Dry roast sooji till  light golden brown. Transfer that into another bowl and keep it aside. Chop Jaggery to small pieces.Keep it aside.

2. Boil 3 cups of Water. Then add Sooji. Keep stirring it continuously so that no lumps are formed and cook it till till it is almost done.

3. Then add jaggery. Cook it till Jaggery melts and sooji becomes non sticky and starts leaving wall of the pan. Keep stirring till then. Let it cool completely.

4. Meanwhile, make the outer layer. Add 2 teaspoons of Oil to all purpose flour. Rub it into flour. Add 1/2 cup of water to flour (1/4 cup of water at a time) and knead it well for 5 mins. Keep it covered for 45 minutes. Then divide the dough into 8 parts and make balls with it. Make 8 lemon sized balls of Sooji halwa. (I have almost 1/3 of sooji halwa left. You can reduce the quantities if you want).

5. Now grease a plastic sheet with little oil. Take a maida ball flatten it by hand on the sheet like a circle keep sooji halwa ball on it. Cover it with outer layer from all the sides make a ball again and flatten it. 

6. Keep oil for deep frying. Now take the appam onto your hand and gently drop it hot oil. Deep fry it till both sides turn golden brown.

7. Tasty and yummy festive food.

Miriyala Pongali / Katte Pongali

 

Miriyala Pongali is a traditional andhra style rice and moong dal recipe.  This is often served in temples as prasadam.The aroma of this prasadam in temples is simply irrestable. It is made during festivals like Sankranti and offered to god as naivedyam. New rice from the harvest and moong dal (pesarapappu) is used to prepare it.

I often prepare it for breakfast because it is very easy to make and tastes so good. Peppers corns fried in Ghee (Clarified Butter) brings so much of flavour and aroma to this.

Tastes good with Sambar(Drumstick Sambar / Radish Sambar) or Vanakaya Pulusu Pachadi.

 

Ingredients

2 cups of Rice

1 cup of Yellow Split Moong Dal

4 cups of Water

2 teaspoons Ghee

1 teaspoon Pepper Corns

15 Cashews

3/4 teaspoon Salt

To Temper

2 teaspoons Oil 

1/2 teaspoon Channa Dal

1/2 teaspoon Urad Dal

1/4 teaspoon Jeera

1/4 teaspoon Mustard

1 teaspoon Fresh ginger

2-3 Green chillies

10-15 Curry Leaves 

pinch of Asafoetida

1. Clean Rice and Moong Dal and cook with 4 cups of water for 3 whistles. After it is cold, mash it. Keep it aside.

2. Heat a pan, add oil channa dal, urad dal, jeera and mustard. When they turn light brown add slit green chillies, curry leaves, ginger, asafoetida. Fry till the dals turn golden brown. Add this tempering to Rice.

3. Now in the same pan, add ghee, cashew nuts and pepper corns. Fry them till cashews turn golden brown. Add this and salt to rice. Mix all these well.

4. Tastes very delicious with Sambar.