Aritipuvvu kura - Banana Flower


Ariti Puvvu.


Remove the stigmas of each flower in the flowrets.


Center piece is edible.


Dry grind the pieces and then wash well with water, removes tartness.


Cook with salt and turmeric in water.



Make tadka and add the cooked vegetable.

Sri Varalakshmi Vratam -09

A very happy Sri Varalakshmi vratam to all my readers.


A rainy day here today, nice day to be home, perform puja and enjoy the prasadam. Everything went on schedule, except I forgot to go and get flowers yesterday evening. So, manadara buds I collected all week came to my rescue. I did 9 items for prasadam. Pulihara, pulagam, paravanam, dadojanam, boorelu, chiti-boorelu, cabbage pakodi, potato bajji and puri.

Sri Varalakshmi Vratam Preparation

With Sri VaraLakshmi vratam coming up, if you are like me, first I will have the audio of the puja/vratam ready. I will have a satisfaction that someone is reading out while I am doing the puja.

I did my groceries today. Vegetables and other items are for everyday use. Main items for Friday are coconuts, betal leaves, flowers and fruit. I have been plucking "ready to bloom" mandara buds since Monday and saving in an air tight box for Friday.

Tomorrow, I have to take out my "vendi samagri" for the puja and polish them once.

Odd number of dishes must be performed for the naivedyam. Starting from 1, 3, 5 or 9.
I prepare a list of the food items I want to prepare and strike them off as I complete each one of them.

Pulagam is ammavari preethi, so that's one and most easiest of all. Pulihara, paravanam and dadojanam in the next category. They form as a full meal on a special day. That's 4 items with rice already.

Next for fried items, cabbage pakodi and pototo bajji.

If I soak urad dal, straight away I will have 3 items, garelu, perugu garelu and thepi garelu.

But if I want to make boorelu, then I will make chitiboorelu/karam boorelu and using the bajji batter and make mirchi bajji. Not able to decide which ones to pick.

For maha navaidayam : rice, mudda pappu, vankaye kura, charu, tomato pachadi and fresh curd. I keep this very simple when we do not have guests over for lunch/dinner on that day.

Don't forget to soak vayinam senagalu overnight to give "Vayinam" to friends and family who come to see "ammavaru".
If you would like to read the vratha vidhanam and kadha for your self :
http://www.telugubhakti.com/telugupages/Vratas/Varalakshmi/varalakshmi.htm

Listen to BrahmaSri Sankaramanchi RamaKrishna Sastri gari vratha vidhanam at:
http://www.andhravilas.com/moviedetail.asp?fid=6375130

Sankalpam for people in the East Coast of America:

Mama upaatha durithakshaya dwara sri parameswara preethyartham aadya Brahmanaha dwithiyaparardhe swethavaraha kalpe vyvaswitha manvantharae kaliyuge prathama paadey Krouncha dveepe Ramanaka varshe Aindra khande Prasaantha Saagare Pushkara Kshetra Meroh Uttare Paarswa digbhage Thurpu Amerikaayaam asmin varthamana vyvaharika chandramaanena *** naama samvatsarae Dakshinayane Varsha rhuthau Sravana maasey Shukla Pakshey *** thithau Brugu vaasarey Varalakshmi Vaasarey subha nakshatrae subha yogae subha karana yevam guna visheshana visishtaayaam subha thithau *** sri matyaha *** name *** Gotravathyaha sabhatrukayah asmaakam saha kutumbaanaam kshema, sthairya vijaya ayurarogya aishwaryabhi vrudhyardham dharmartha kaama moksha chaturvidha phala purushartha sidhyartham satsanthaana sowbhaghya phala vyapthardhyam srivaralakshmee devatha muddhisyae sri varalakshmi devatha preetyardham karpoktha vidhanena yavathshakti dhyanaavahanaadhi shodashopachaara poojaam karishye thadanga sri mahaaganapati poojam karishye thadanga kalasa poojaam karishye.

For the year 2009 it is:
Sri Virodhi nama samvatsaram
Dasami thidi , Anuradha nakshtram
Your name and gotram

Boorelu


Traditional Andhra sweet, a must for special occasions and festivals. There are two kinds of boorelu, one with pesarappu filling and the other with senagapappu filling. Pesarappu and sugar go well and senagappu and jaggery go well. The second is basically Bobbatullu - Puranpoli filling.
Pesarappu filling is a very light and tastes well. The procedure looks lengthy but, there is nothing that can actually go wrong with this method. So have fun preparing and enjoy!
For the filling:
2 cups Moonga dal - Pesarappu
1 cup freshly grated Coconut
1 tsp Elachi powder
2 cups Sugar

For the covering:
1 cup Minnappu - Urad dal
1/4 cup Raw Rice

For people trying it for the first time, I would advice you have more of the covering batter just in case. Mix minnappu and rice and soak in water for 2 hrs. Drain and grind to a smooth paste using as less water as possible. Keep aside.

Soak pesarappu for 1 hr in water. Grind to smooth batter using less water. Pour the batter in the idli stand trays (like idli) and steam cook for 15 minutes on high and 5 minutes on low flame. Remove the batter idli's and let cool for 5 minutes.

Grate coconut and keep aside. Measure sugar keep aside. Have the elachi powder ready.

I have tried and tested other methods, but by following this method, you will have fluffy stuffing inside.

Depending on the quantity you are making, divide the idlis and sugar in equal ratio. In a mixer jar add one quantity of idli's (say 4) and add one ratio of sugar and dry grind briskly till the idli and sugar mix well, repeat the process for all, transfer into a bowl. The consistency of the filling will be same. Then add grated coconut and elaci powder to the bowl and mix thoroughly.

Make medium sized balls using wet palms, press hard inot a tight ball so that they do not fall apart. Make all the balls ready before you start frying.

Now, rice and urad dal can be made into a semi thick batter (to the consistency of bajji batter). Do not use too much water. Empty into a wide bowl and add water if the batter is too thick.

Take a low bottom kadai and add oil to it. When oil is hot enough drop about 7 - 8 dal balls into the batter (enough for 1 batch) roll the ball in the urad/rice batter
and drop it gently into the oil. Repeat the process for all in the batch. Do not disturb them immediately. After 2 -3 minutes move them gently. Sometimes they attach to each other like a cluster, do not try to remove them, they will get fried in spite of sticking to each other.

Turn them on the other side and fry till they are golden yellow. Remove them and place them on a paper towel for the excess oil to be absorbed.

Follow the same procedure for all of them. If you have the covering batter left over, it can be made into dosa, rotti or add onions and fry them like fritters.

Serve them warm. If you would like to eat it traditionally, make a hole in it with your litter finger, add warm ghee and enjoy!

Store them in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
File picture from a long time...

Whole Moong Dal Vada - Fritters


2 cups Whole Green Moong dal
1 tsp Rice flour
1 bunch Spring onions - Only Green part
4 - 6 Green Chilies
Few Curry Leaves
Coriander

Soak moong dal over night in water. Drain the water and grind moong dal roughly using as little water as possible. Soft batter makes the vada soft. Grind green chilies also roughly.

Add chopped spring onions (only green part), coriander, curry leaves and salt. Now add rice flour and mix well. It does not require any more water. These are spicy vadas, so, suit your taste and add green chilies accordingly.

Heat oil in a kadai (I personally prefer a traditional concave shape kadai for maximum usage of space with less oil) and never let the oil be screaming hot! It burns the first batch.

Make small balls of the batter and flatten it in the palm with fingers and gently drop in oil. Keep turning back and forth so they will not burn.

Once they all turn golden yellow, it’s time to remove from the oil. Place them on paper towels so the excess oil is absorbed.

Vada make a great evening snack, they do not absorb much oil and fry quite fast. Enjoy with a cup of hot coffee or tea.