Paal kozhukkattai (Type 2)

Paal kolukkattai is a famous payasam / kheer in my home town. I have never seen it being served in any restaurant. so I guess it is a regional dessert. It can be made using white sugar or jaggery. Click to see my milky white paal kolukkattai. The whiter one is more popular and made of cow's milk. But the jaggery based one has more native flavor and made with coconut milk.This version is my hubby's most favorite and he started asking me once more on seeing this :)

Paal kolukattai in jaggery and coconut milk payasam.

For kozhukkattai:

Rice flour - 3/4 cup
hot water - 1/2 cup
salt - a pinch

To make kolukkattai:

Bring 1/4 cup water to boil along with a pinch of salt.
Add this to the rice flour slowly till it reaches chapati dough consistency.

Divide the dough into two equal portions.
Make small balls of 1/2 inch diameter from one half of dough and elongated spheres of 1 inch length (Hemispherical cylinder) from another half.
Lets call them both as 'kolukkattai'. (While preparing big batches, they place the kolukkattai over a new wet cotton cloth spread on a large plate called thambalam and cover with the same cloth).

Bring 2 cups of water to boil and add handful of the kolukkattai to it.
Add them in smaller batches with some interval, otherwise all will get dissolved.
Wait till all the dumplings get cooked and water gets reduced to the minimum.

For payasam base:

Jaggery (crushed) - 3/4 cup
coconut - 1/2 (or) 1.5 cup extract
ghee - 1 tsp
cashew - 4
almond - 2
raisin - 10
cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
shredded coconut - 2 tbsp

Method:

Shred the coconut and add 1/2 cup warm water to it. Squeeze the milk. repeat the same thrice to get all the coconut milk. Keep aside.
Add 2 cups of water to the jaggery and bring it to a boil.
Remove any dirt by filter. Pour this to the prepared kolukkattai and bring to a boil.
Now switch off and add the coconut milk, cardamom powder.

Fry the nuts, raisin in ghee and pour over the payasam. Decorate with freshly shredded coconut.

Paal kolukkattai payasam is ready.

Serving suggestions:

serve warm as dessert.

Brinjal puli pachadi

Katharikkai - Brinjal / eggplant , puli - tamarind , pachadi - less cooked curry / salad.
other names: Sutta kathirikkai puli mandi, eggplant tamarind chutney.

Ingredients:

brinjal - 1 (100 gm)
green chilly - 2
curry leaf - 1 sprig
shallot - 3
asafoetida / hing - a pinch
red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
cumin - few seeds
salt - to taste
tamarind - 3 inch strip

Method:

Wash the brinjal and pat dry. Apply few drops of sesame oil allover the brinjal and rub well. Pierce a metal skewer (vadai kambi) into the brinjal and start broiling it over medium flame. (In olden days they place these brinjals over hot charcoal, after cooking rice and let them get broiled themselves).

After sometime we may see the skin of the brinjal getting char and it will start smelling great. It will take around 5 minutes in low heat to get it cooked completely. I broiled chinese eggplant, that was long and slender.

Place it over a plate and let it cool. Then peel and discard the skin. Mash the brinjal coarsely with hand. Chop the onion, chilly, curry leaf and add them to the brinjal. Extract the tamarind juice with very little water and pour it to the mixture. Add all the powders, salt, cumin and mix well.

Brinjal puli pachadi is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as side dish with any rice.
The tamarind taste and spice level should be dominating in this pachadi.