Pelalu vadiyalu

My friends from other parts of Andhra also never heard of this item, so let me explain a little about them. These are sun dried items, mainly used as a side dish with rice and dal. They belong to the category of papads and varthans (vadilayu). I guess it is a regional delicacy; even my husband had not tried it before marriage and now is a big fan himself!

My aunt back home in India is a specialist in making pelalu vadiyalu. She would send us every year when we were small. But, with age she stopped doing personally, but passed on her recipe to the mahila society, a small scale industry run by the women of the village. That was one returning gift we brought from home with us always. Every time I would fry them, I would ration at the dinner table, saving for a special craving time. These are the pelalu vadiyam that I am talking about, but, not anymore.

I spoke to my aunt, she assured me that's it's all about mixing to a right consistency and binding the ingredients together. So, a prized family recipe I am sharing with you all today.

This is my maiden in trying out the pelalu vadiyalu. I am very happy with what I was able to make. It all started when recently I was strolling by the aisles in Apna Bazar in Edison, I found a big bag of pelalu, by the puffed rice and rice flakes (poha-atukulu).

Pelalu (Juwar Dhani) are already-popped sorghum. They are exactly like popcorn - flavor-wise, only with teeny tiny kernels.

1 bag Pelalu

1 tsp Red chili powder

1 tsp Vammu

½ cup Sesame seeds – Til

Add salt, vammu, red chili powder and roasted sesame seeds on pelalu and mix well, sprinkle water (in small amounts) till you are able to make a solid round ball. Squeeze hard so that it binds well. Place the ball on the knob of a pickle or jam jar and level it using your fingers, pressing hard and leveling at the same time. Then turn it around and gently tap the knob so that it falls freely on the cover.

Sundry the vadiyams on a polythene cover for 2 – 3 days or till they are dry and light. Store in an air tight container to be used throughout the year.

Heat oil in a kadai and fry the vadiyams on medium/low flame till nicely done. Drain and place on a paper towel to absorb the oil. Serve with lunch or dinner as a side dish for pappu or sambar. My son loves it with his curd rice!

Majjiga mirapakayelu - Dried chilies

Sun dried green chilies that are soaked in sour curd are called majjiga mirapakayelu. These are the regular type without any stuffing. The whole procedure takes about 6 days, 3 days to soak and 3 good sunny days for drying. Prepare in bulk to last a whole year. A speciality side item, usually served with dal and rice as an accompaniment.

5 lbs Long Green chilies
1 Gallon Yogurt - curd
2 tsp Vammu

Make fresh curd and leave it outside for a day to make it sour. Add salt, turmeric and vammu and beat it well. Do not add water.

Wash and wipe green chilies and sun dry them till they are dry. Using a knife or a pin make small holes/slit on the green chilies at 2 places if they are very long.

Gently place the green chilies in a container with a lid. Add the beaten curd on top of the chilies and gently press on so all of them are immersed well in the curd. Set aside for 3- 4 days in cool dry place and gently turn the chilies once a day so that all of them are covered evenly.

On the 4th day, separate the chilies and the curd. Transfer the curd from the container into an aluminum tray and place the chilies on a polythene cover and sun dry them. At night place the chilies back in the curd in the aluminum tray. Repeat this process till the curd dries or for 2 days. Then discard the remand curd and sun dry the chilies till they are light and completely dried which will take about 2 - 3 good sunny days.

Use a napkin and wipe the curd that dried on the outside of the chili, by doing this the oil will remain clear after frying them. Discard any seeds that are loose. Store in an airtight container. They have good shelf life.

Heat couple of tsp of oil in a kadai and fry the chilies or medium/low heat till they are nicely done, be careful not to burn them. Drain on a paper napkin to absorb the excess oil. They are a good side dish with dal and rice.

Bellam Avakaye

A special pickle very personal to coastal Andhra. It is called bellam avakaye due to the presence of bellam(jaggery) in it, don't brush it off yet, the way it is prepared and amount of spices in it makes it a longing, mouth watering pickle. Kids love this as it is not too hot/karam and it has an addicting taste to it. A little lengthy process than our regular avakaye, but it has an excellent taste of it own! I promise you, you will not be able to buy it in any store. So, get started....

3 raw Mango – Hard and very sour
2 cups Mustard powder – ava pindi
1 cup Red Chili Powder
¾ cup Salt
1½ cup Oil - preferably Sesame\Till oil
2 tsp Fenugreek seeds
3 - 4 cups Jaggery

Traditionally "Collector kaye/mangoes" are used for this pickle, but since we can hardly find any variety, I personally did it with the regular mangoes that are really raw and green.

In a skillet fry the fenugreek seeds on low flame till they are nicely roasted. Keep aside.

Mustard powder can be made by dry grinding raw mustard seeds in a mill or a blender to a soft powder. 1 cup of mustard make more than a cup of mustard powder so, measure the powder before using.

Wash and dry mango. Cut mango length wise (making 4 halves) leaving the hard seed shell intact, remove the soft seed. Remove the fine film in the lining of the shell of the mango by scrapping with a knife and clean with a dry paper towel.

In a glass jar (do not use plastic with pickles) add mustard powder, chili powder, turmeric, salt and fenugreek seeds. Mix all the ingredients together. Then add oil and mix well. Now add the mango pieces and mix thoroughly. Set aside for 4 - 5 days mixing once a day. Use dry ladle to mix.

On the 4 th or 5th day remove the mango slices from the avakaye base and sun dry them separately. Mango slices on a cover and the avakaye base in the container for 4 - 5 days till the mango pieces completely dry. Cut the mango slices into smaller pieces and keep aside.

Depending upon the personal choice of sweetness, roughly about the amount of avakaye base , chop jaggery into small pieces. Transfer into a kadai and add 1/4 cup of water and bring to boil on medium heat stirring continuously. When it starts to boil and cook, test it to confirm if it has reached the correct consistency. Place a drop of the boiling liquid in a bowl of cold water, if you are able to bring it together like a ball, it has reached the stage. Remove and let the fumes settle down. Let it not cool too much, when it is still warm and in semi solid form transfer into the avakaye base and mix well. Add the cut mango pieces and mix well. Let it come to room temperature and transfer into an air tight container.

Bellam avakaye has a good shelf life. Keep away from moisture for long lasting pickle. This is a good side dish with white rice or curd rice.

Bellam Avakaye - Photo Tutorial

Mix avva (mustard powder),red chili powder, salt, fenugreek seeds and oil with mango pieces and keep aside for 4 - 5 days.Separate the mango pieces from the mixture and sun dry them separately till the mango pieces dry well.
Make jaggery syrup and bring to room temperature.
Mix the syrup with mixture.
Cut the mango pieces into small pieces.
Add the mango pieces with the base and mix well.
Mix thoroughly and let cool. Save in an air tight container.

Saggubiyam Vadiyalu

2 cups Rice flour
1 cup Sabudana - Saggubiyam
3 tsp Chili-ginger-coriander paste
1 tsp Jeera
1/4 tsp Food colouring - Optional
1 Lemon

Cook saggubiyam with 1:2 ratio water in pressure cooker. It is easier and we want it completely cooked. Remove, keep aside.

In a large vessel take 1:7 ration water to each cup of rice flour and bring to boil. Then add jeera, salt and Chili-ginger-coriander paste and mix well. Take a taste and add accordingly. Food colouring can be added at this time.

Take rice flour in a vessel and add enough water about (1:2)and mix well. We have to add rice flour to the boiling water and if it is not done well, lumps to rice flour are formed and it will not cook evenly. By mixing in water and stirring into the hot water slowly, it makes the job much easier.

Cook on medium heat till bubbles pop up and then add the cooked saggubiyam and mix well. Keep stirring from the bottom of the vessel so that the bottom does not burn. Remove from the flame once bubbles pop up.

Let cool for half hr and then add lemon juice and mix well. Do not close the lid when hot, vapour will settle down. Cover with a paper napkin for a while and then put the lid on.

Prepare this during the day and let it sit over night. It will settle down and thicken.

Lay out a polythene cover where there is plenty of sunshine. Take hand fulls of the dough in your hands and drop them in small "drops". Use a spoon if you are not comfortable to use your hand. Once they dry they become very light and when fried they puff up and become bigger.

2 to 3 days of good sunshine is enough for drying them. Once they are dry, they come off from the cover by them selves.

Store in an air tight container, no expiration date, can be used all thought the year.

Enjoy as side dish with rice or a spicy snack with tea/coffee.